Dangard Ace Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Needed some mecha shows so tried Brave Bang Bravern. Bullbuster was okay but was no Daiguard. Started off as a real robot show. Interesting, earth base robot political drama maybe with the multinational start? Should've known with the word Brave in the title it'd turn into something different. Enjoyed the parody in the first episode. It gives vibes like Neo Getter Robot vs Shin Getter Robot first episode. Looking forward to the rest of the series. Other Mecha shows this season I should get around to trying is Metallic Rouge and Synduality. I'll even slog through Gundam Seed to get my giant robot mecha action. Box office reviews says it's doing well so what the hell. It'll hold until Grendizer U shows up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stampeed Valkyrie Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 (edited) Speaking of Metallic Rouge.. What the hell is going on with this series? Its drawing from several other similar Sci Fi series.. with hints of BGC, Blade Runner, even some GITS. But its missing a key element. 3 episodes in and its motivations are about as clear as mud. Edited January 29 by Stampeed Valkyrie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikaru Ichijo SL Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Wow, Solo Leveling is a great show. I wasn't planning to watch it. It seemed too dark for me. But I am glad I am watching it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dangard Ace Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 36 minutes ago, Hikaru Ichijo SL said: Wow, Solo Leveling is a great show. I wasn't planning to watch it. It seemed too dark for me. But I am glad I am watching it. It really is. After I watched the first episode I went online and read the entire mangwha. Since I read it I haven't felt the need to watch eps 2. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikaru Ichijo SL Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 1 hour ago, Dangard Ace said: It really is. After I watched the first episode I went online and read the entire mangwha. Since I read it I haven't felt the need to watch eps 2. lol I am planning to read the light novel. Someday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seto Kaiba Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 8 hours ago, Stampeed Valkyrie said: Speaking of Metallic Rouge.. What the hell is going on with this series? Its drawing from several other similar Sci Fi series.. with hints of BGC, Blade Runner, even some GITS. But its missing a key element. 3 episodes in and its motivations are about as clear as mud. I wish I knew... it's like the writers wanted to write a post-cyberpunk story but couldn't think of a single original idea or even an original spin on an existing idea. Instead, it's just sort of a halfhearted version of I, Robot mixed with a bit of Rockman X or Android Kikaider. The protagonist, Rouge, is basically a female version of Rockman/Mega Man X hunting 8 9 7 6 off-brand Mavericks around Mars for reasons that have yet to be explained. It can't seem to reconcile this with its desire to also do the I, Robot/Measure of a Man thing about whether a self-aware robot is "alive" and therefore a person. The problem is that whole schtick only works if the robots in question are outwardly inhuman in appearance or expression. Metallic Rouge really fails to sell it because the Neans are too Human. They look perfectly human except for the occasional odd skintone and weird circuit markings, they clearly have Human emotions and are capable of independent thought at the same level as Humans. The Neans are treated almost universally horribly for no reason. It seems to be something put into the story simply because "the rights of AI" are form letter post-cyberpunk fare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seto Kaiba Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 For the first time in a while, I'm firing up the HiDive up to look at what I had in the queue there. This season's simulcasts from them is the very image of "nothing interesting", so I'm going back to one of last season's offerings in The Bibliophile Princess. The title and summary make it sound like it's a copycat work inspired by Ascendance of a Bookworm, albeit without the monomaniacal emphasis on making books and more emphasis on characters. The animation is quite high quality for what it is, though the story comes up pretty short in terms of wit, charm, or really anything to hold the audience's attention. It's not bad... it's just bland. Villainess Level 99 isn't doing anything particularly interesting either... just the usual isekai invincible protagonist flexing on the normals unthinkingly. 'Tis Time for Torture, Princess hasn't done anything interesting either. It's the same joke over and over. The Foolish Angel Dances with the Devil is still doing unremarkable school love comedy stuff. Hokkaido Gals are Super Adorable! is also doing the unremarkable school love comedy stuff. 7th Time Loop is managing to be slightly more diverting but still hasn't really done anything noteworthy with its story. Villain-san's Day Off is still a moderately amusing slice of life series that's still mostly just the incredibly threatening-looking main character overreacting to mundane things. All in all, I think the only two series this season out of the twenty-something I'm following that actually have me excited for the next episode are Mashle and A Sign of Affection. Kinda disappointed by that. Normally I find at least 3-4 and I don't usually follow this many titles either. I think the one I find most disappointing is Metallic Rouge, which is such a transparently cynical attempt to do "cyberpunk/post-cyberpunk by numbers". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanity is Optional Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 Metallic Rouge seems to me to just be a Bladerunner/generic scifi themed transforming superhero show (Gridman, Garo, Ultraman, etc...) I will say, however, that I am eagerly awaiting the OST, since so far the soundtrack has been quite nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seto Kaiba Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 It's been a very long time since I last watched a series as intensely frustrating as The Bibliophile Princess. It's a mystery to me how anyone could write a story where the main character is so passive that they're effectively entirely uninvolved in the actual story. Things happen in the story - political intrigue, attempted assassinations, personal drama - but all of it happens offscreen because the titular character doesn't do anything except sit around and occasionally be in the right place to overhear things out-of-context and get upset. It also seems like the few things the protagonist did that actually contributed to events all happen in a timeskip in the first episode. It reminds me a bit of The Irregular at Magic High School in the sense that it feels like the original story probably had a huge amount of internal monologue which never made it into the anime. As it is, it could have been an interesting series if only it'd followed someone other than the cast's least interesting character. HiDive's catalog is pretty darn slim... I feel like I remember it being bigger. Gonna go backwards again and hit Otaku Elf next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikaru Ichijo SL Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 i am enjoying Chained Soldier for some reason. The story is just ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seto Kaiba Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 Tokyo-style Elf (localized as Otaku Elf) is a fun little comedy series. I rather like the titular elf, Elda. The way she's drawn is extremely expressive and it makes her reactions very entertaining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beltane70 Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 7 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said: Tokyo-style Elf (localized as Otaku Elf) is a fun little comedy series. I rather like the titular elf, Elda. The way she's drawn is extremely expressive and it makes her reactions very entertaining. Wait until you hear her extremely cute (to me at least) sneeze! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikaru Ichijo SL Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic is pretty good. I am enjoying it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seto Kaiba Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 Just finished catching the latest episode of Metallic Rouge. It's flip-flopped back to not really giving a damn about its "Are Neans people?" schtick again. It's animated in a very stylish way, but I can't help but feel that the writing really doesn't sell the package. Rouge is still hunting these random rogue Neans for some random macguffin that seems to be stored in their chests and there's no real buildup to the fights. It's just a lot of pointless wandering around and shallow drama before one of fifteen random background characters reveals that they're the hidden robot master and a five minute long fight scene ensues. It's no fun guessing which one it'll be because there's no apparent connection between their screentime and who it turns out to be. Spoiler The only consistent bit is they all seem to be Neans who can pass for Human. We see the two rogue Neans she killed before the story started, and they're as Human-presenting as the lounge singer she offed in the first episode and the one who looks like a robot clown. I'm guessing the robot clown man is the next big fight there, since the robot circus is in town and where's the best place to hide a tree but the forest? Still a bit baffled by Bang Brave Bang Bravern. It doesn't really seem to have a plot. Or any semblance of direction. I'm not even sure why I'm watching it, to be honest. It's... not really fun, I'm just sort of waiting for it to pick a lane and either decide it's going all-in on parody, all-in on serious super robot nonsense, or try to pivot back to real robot. It's like someone is trying to hit every single super robot cliche by jackknifing wildly from trope to trope at breakneck speed. One thing I'll say is that this latest episode is painful for the viewer in a more direct sense... the new mysterious girl "Lulu" is limited to saying just her name, Smith's name, and that ear-piercing screech small children do. It actually gave me a bit of a headache. Spoiler On an unrelated note, it feels surprisingly strange to see a Japanese series so lovingly depict the Pearl Harbor memorial of all things. Or, for that matter, the constant references to stopping over at Midway on their way to Japan. It is rather nice to see its protagonist actually get a moment of peace and quiet after basically being hazed by Bravern nonstop for the last two episodes. Spoiler There is the moment that begs the age-old question "Is drunk driving a giant robot a crime?" Lucky for Lt. Ao, Bravern himself can drive while Isami's three sheets to the wind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikaru Ichijo SL Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 Solo leveling just gets better every week. The ending of the 5 episode, was such a cliffhanger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seto Kaiba Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 (edited) Out of sheer bloody-minded frustration with the rather unsatisfying fare that I've found so far in this season, I picked up another new title in simulcast... The Witch and the Beast. Going in completely blind on this one... and it's off to a wild start if nothing else. Barely four minutes in and the not-even-properly-introduced protagonists have asked about the presence of a witch in... did they ever say where? Then all the train station windows blow out because of a 6+ story tall shark monster that's walking down the street that gets exploded by a witch who they then try to beat up before running away? There's a lot to unpack here. FWIW, the animation is simply gorgeous. Ooooooooookay... that escalated quickly. If you're averse to blood, gore, and grievous bodily harm in your fiction this is definitely not a show for you. It's rapidly approaching the Hellsing Ultimate level of bloody and gory by the time the first episode is over with things like amputations, impalements, and incinerations. Spoiler So... it seems like The Witch and the Beast is doing the Witch Hunter Robin thing. An organization containing magic users that's been set up to police the activities of witches in the world. Except the witches seem to be out and proud instead of living quietly in the hopes of avoiding detection and their magic is a LOT more showy. The witch in the first episode is impaling people with extreme prejudice and firing off the kind of beam spam you normally see in Dragon Ball Z. Edited February 7 by Seto Kaiba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seto Kaiba Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 (edited) Okay, a few episodes into The Witch and the Beast... and it's actually pretty darn good. I was right that it's doing kind of a Witch Hunter Robin-esque sort of story concept, but it has much more of an emphasis on action than on slow-paced character drama. That's not to say it doesn't do character drama reasonably well too. It's rather gory and violent when all is said and done, but there's some fascinating worldbuilding going on here underneath the "witch of the week" sort of dark fantasy detective story. The Witch and the Beast has grabbed my attention like no other title this season has. Spoiler The story's approach to the subject of necromancy is particularly interesting and unconventional... starting in the 4th episode. Edited February 7 by Seto Kaiba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikaru Ichijo SL Posted February 7 Share Posted February 7 I finished Captain Harlock, It was good. But damn the earth was run by idiots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikaru Ichijo SL Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 Chained Soldier was good again today. I do not know why but I like this show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seto Kaiba Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 The Witch and the Beast had a new episode drop today that closes out the necromancy story arc. Despite its emphasis on action as a dark fantasy series, they managed a spot of thought-provoking drama as well. I may end up looking up the source material for this one if it keeps bringing interesting takes like that one to the table. Metallic Rouge also has a new episode out, and it's kind of a mess. I didn't realize this was Studio BONES's 25th anniversary celebration title. Feels as bad when Tatsunoko Pro did The Price of Smiles as their 55th. An original anime to commemorate your studio's anniversary is a fine idea... but at least think the plot all the way out? Considering that this latest episode focuses on someone digging through Rouge's memories, there's surprisingly little actual exposition and it does nothing to clear up either of the show's halfhearted plot lines. It just sort of intensifies the feeling that this is a "if you can't dazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bullsh*t" moment from the writers. Bang Brave Bang Bravern still refuses to pick a lane. Trying to use an alien invasion that's explicitly carrying out global genocide as the framing device for a super robot comedy's not the best idea anyone's ever had, and as a result it's not doing the parody/comedy side of the series or the serious super robot side of things justice. It just feels inconsistent and leaves the humor frequently verring into "Dude, not funny" territory. Finished Tokyo-style Elf earlier today. It remained a cute, funny, and well-executed slice of life comedy 'til the very end. I ended up enjoying it immensely. The animation team made Elda so expressive that it's almost impossible to dislike her even when she's being a brat or a coward. The occasional historical infodumps related to her hobbies end up being an unexpected bonus too. All in all, from Crunchyroll's line up The Witch and the Beast and A Sign of Affection definitely feel like this season's standouts. HiDive's simulcast lineup is so unremarkable I kind of glanced at it once and just "eech... I'll go to the back catalog". Even there, they don't have a lot... but at least they've got VOTOMS and Dunbine. 16 hours ago, Space Casual Life said: My accompaniament to Dougram is now Mospeada. NO fansubs ANYWHERE in ANY FORMAT to be found (if anyone has a link please DM me?) so I'm watching it raw and getting by. FYI, this is still a violation of the forum rules... Quote Copyrights and Trademarks - File sharing and Streaming links File sharing and streaming links, discussion of file sharing or non-official media streaming or are not allowed on this website. MacrossWorld.com is NOT a file sharing nor a media streaming website. Please go elsewhere. While the old ADV Films Genesis Climber MOSPEADA box set is out of print in the wake of ADV Films's bankruptcy and the transfer of a fair amount of its assets to successor firm Sentai Filmworks, it's not difficult to find copies of the legitimate and licensed home video release w/ English subtitles. As much as I love the attention to detail that went into the design of the titular mecha, I have to admit I've always found Genesis Climber MOSPEADA to be a bit uninspired. It had an interesting premise but it definitely suffered more than a little at the hands of its sponsors and their desire for a Macross copycat series. The Legioss armo-fighter and TLEAD feel so much more generic than the more aesthetically pleasing Valkyrie, and they lack of the attention to detail that Arimaki put into the VR-052 MOSPEADA and other ride armor systems because of his passion for motorcycles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dangard Ace Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 I’m going old school. 1984 old school. Fist of the Northstar 150+ episodes You are already dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikaru Ichijo SL Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 Frieren was great again today it is just so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seto Kaiba Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 3 hours ago, Dangard Ace said: I’m going old school. 1984 old school. Fist of the Northstar 150+ episodes You are already dead. Gotta love the classics. 😁👍 I'm probably headed back in that direction myself... HiDive has Armored Trooper VOTOMS and Aura Battler Dunbine in its catalog, and I've never actually seen all of either so that's a treat I'm looking forward to. My watch group also veered backwards a bit, we're doing Kaguya-sama: Love is War. It's every bit as manic and madcap as I remember it being, with the warped perceptions of the main characters and the excessively dramatic narrator. Today's new episodes of The Unwanted Undead Adventurer and The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic were pretty unremarkable. Nothing really interesting going on in either series right now. (Though I'll admit I almost feel bad for the demons in the latter case... imagine trying to build a bridge in the middle of a storm and someone just starts throwing whole trees at you out of spite.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikaru Ichijo SL Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 The dangers in my heart has been excellent. Finally Kyoutarou is mainning up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seto Kaiba Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 A Sign of Affection is great again this week... but still very much at "it tastes like diabetes" levels of sweetness. On a lark, I decided to watch something from Crunchyroll's recommendations... and after the first episode I am VERY curious what I watched that convinced Crunchyroll's system that Keijo!!!!!!!! was something I might like. All I can think of is that it must have been either Birdy Wing or Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, because Keijo!!!!!!!! evokes the same feeling that the show isn't so much a thing you watch as something you hallucinate in some kind of on-demand fever dream. (Either the author is putting his own personal fetishes on display for the world to see, or he's a BIIIIIG fan of that one Chorusline song "Dance: Ten; Looks: Three".) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB0 Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Keijo!!! was fun as hell. Even if it did give me whiplash with how rapidly it went from "earnest sports anime" to "wildly unhinged parody of sports anime". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikaru Ichijo SL Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Saturdays Solo Leveling was just awesome. Again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stampeed Valkyrie Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 I'm going back a season and watching Ai no Idenshi. Its been on my to do list for awhile, with much of this season very meh.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikaru Ichijo SL Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 I am enjoying Bottom Character Tomozaki s2. I love Mimimi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seto Kaiba Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 So I decided to watch another episode of Keijo!!!!!!!! over lunch. Honestly, the main thing standing between Keijo!!!!!!!! and being the single weirdest sports anime I have ever seen is that it leans so hard into its obsession with breasts and butts at every opportunity that the alleged sport the series is titled for feels very much like an excuse plot more than it does a parody. Keijo!!!!!!!! is a sports anime (parody) in the same way that Dead or Alive Xtreme is a beach volleyball game. In a way, it's kind of a great example of what I thought Iwakakeru was going to be a few seasons back. The promo art made it look like Armpit Fetish: the Anime, but it was a laser-straight sports anime about rock climbing that bordered on infotainment at points. Keijo!!!!!!!! IS Ass Fetish: the Anime. If it took itself seriously, I'd rate it even weirder than that absolute drug trip of a sports anime Birdie Wing... but this is the "when your parents walk in" half of the "What anime looks like" meme incarnate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikaru Ichijo SL Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 Chained Soldier is such a fun show. I am really liking it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB0 Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 3 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said: So I decided to watch another episode of Keijo!!!!!!!! over lunch. Honestly, the main thing standing between Keijo!!!!!!!! and being the single weirdest sports anime I have ever seen is that it leans so hard into its obsession with breasts and butts at every opportunity that the alleged sport the series is titled for feels very much like an excuse plot more than it does a parody. Keijo!!!!!!!! is a sports anime (parody) in the same way that Dead or Alive Xtreme is a beach volleyball game. In a way, it's kind of a great example of what I thought Iwakakeru was going to be a few seasons back. The promo art made it look like Armpit Fetish: the Anime, but it was a laser-straight sports anime about rock climbing that bordered on infotainment at points. Keijo!!!!!!!! IS Ass Fetish: the Anime. If it took itself seriously, I'd rate it even weirder than that absolute drug trip of a sports anime Birdie Wing... but this is the "when your parents walk in" half of the "What anime looks like" meme incarnate. And in another episode or two they'll be off the rails with some insane homage to GaoGaiGar or Fate/Stay Night that leaves you thinking this can't possibly be anyone's fetish and it's all just a huge joke. To this day I have no idea. (Okay, those are both very late in the show, but... the point stands.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanity is Optional Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 (edited) 22 hours ago, Hikaru Ichijo SL said: Chained Soldier is such a fun show. I am really liking it. It's a shame that it didn't have a better budget. The characters and plot (and plot) are all decent to good, the manga is fun and has great art. Then it's getting upstaged in terms of looking good as an anime by that harem isekai this season. Edited February 16 by Sanity is Optional Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hikaru Ichijo SL Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 32 minutes ago, Sanity is Optional said: It's a shame that it didn't have a better budget. The characters and plot (and plot) are all decent to good, the manga is fun and has great art. Then it's getting upstaged in terms of looking good as an anime by that harem isekai this season. Which anime are you referring too. Is it Tales of Wedding Rings. I haven't seen it yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanity is Optional Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 3 minutes ago, Hikaru Ichijo SL said: Which anime are you referring too. Is it Tales of Wedding Rings. I haven't seen it yet. Yes, tales of wedding rings. Fairly well done (and well animated) check-box isekai harem. It's nice that there isn't a whole lot of relationship drama or misunderstandings in it, and the characters themselves aren't obnoxious (which is unusual for a harem show...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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