Anime What are You Watching/Reading Now?

[Lilly]

I been watching Suite Precure and HUMMY SOOO ADORABLE <33333 I'm on episode 11 :3

[Pleiades Rising]

[i]Noein[/i] is occupying me at the moment, and it's not bad so far. Mind you, it could be better, and it's not really living up to what I've heard, but I'm still in the early episodes (ep.7). As it stands, things are very mysterious and such, with lots of sci-fi oddness. But I do have to say this: Yu Goto is one useless character. Good lord, not another one of these I-can't-do-anything boys! [i]Noein[/i] has given me very little reason to care about this kid, and he only compounds his annoyingness whenever he opens his mouth. However, I'm led to believe that there's hope for Yu, basing my hope on another related character. Other than that, I think it's heading somewhere interesting. I'll see.

Also, everyone should be watching [i]Gunbuster [/i]and [i]Diebuster[/i]. I'm currently on the latter, and that too is full of sci-fi weirdness courtesy of GAINAX. It's full of gigantic robots, strange aliens, and Spirit Cranked to 11!!! I'm on episde 4, and I can't wait to see how this one unfolds. (GAINAX ending?) Edited May 25, 2011 by Pleiades Rising

[Gavin]

[font="Tahoma"][size="2"]Just finished the Dark Tournament arc of Yu-Yu-Hakusho and I've really enjoyed the series so far. Bah, can't download them in batches of ten any more because my ISP will kill me at home.[/size][/font]

[Magus]

So I tried watching the first episode of [b]Tiger and Bunny[/b] and unfortunately this one's not for me. I just couldn't get into it. I want to say it was because of the Tiger guy himself but at the same time the premise of it being a reality type thing don't sit well with me either. I may try it out again later on down the line, but right now I'm passing on it.

[Sangome]

[color="#9932CC"][font="Microsoft Sans Serif"]That's too bad, because I started it yesterday and I'm really enjoying it. I wouldn't really call it a "reality show" -- in-universe, maybe, but the show itself isn't. [But when I think of an animated reality show, I think of stuff like Drawn Together (ugh) and Total Drama Island, which [i]are[/i] penned as reality shows.] As for Kotetsu, I personally find him so adorkable, it hurts my soul, but I am also an unapologetic fangirl, so. =P

But yeah, Tiger & Bunny's what I'm watching now on the sub front. I also just remembered that [b]Durarara!![/b] starts tomorrow night on AS, and I've been meaning to watch that for forever now, so I'll be keeping tabs on that, too.[/font][/color]

[Pleiades Rising]

[i]Dennou Coil [/i]is getting more interesting, now that I've made it to ep. 11. Imagine if Hayao Miyazaki wrote and directed a third season to [i]Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex[/i]; you'd likely get something similar to[i] Dennou Coil[/i]. So far the series is told from the point of view of a group of children and how they engage with a technological society. But don't expect anyone to quote Baudrillard or Stekel; these kids are exactly that - just kids doing what kids do. However, in this series the kids do some interesting things in such a technologically advanced society, where the "toys" are both fun and kind of frightening ("Me Saatchi!"). It's quite nice to watch futurevision anime that isn't entirely cyberpunk. Edited June 26, 2011 by Pleiades Rising

[Magus]

I haven't been watching much, unfortunately. [b]Bleach[/b] is about the only thing I've been watching that's still running. I did check out [b]Durarara[/b] this past Saturday and I gotta say that I didn't really care for it. But I've been told that this is one of those series where you have to stick around for about 3-4 episodes before everything jumps off. We'll see. I also watched [b]Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood[/b] after DRRR went off as well. Man it's been so long since I've seen this thing I forgot what's going on. I only read the manga once, but I did like the episode and Oliver (is her name really Oliver? I want to call her Olivia) proved why she's one of the best females in anime. I just might end up buying this on dvd because of her. But other than that I haven't been watching much of anything. It's like my interest in anime is dwindling at a fast rate. Bah, where are my samurai anime at? Get crackin creators.

Manga on the other-hand, it's still Bleach and Naruto, but I've added Fairy Tail to the list as well. I've also been reading Hajime no Ippo too despite it having the worst pacing I've ever seen. Seriously, 4-5 chapters just for characters to get out of the locker room and another 3-4 just to hear the gong and an extra 2 to see the first punch thrown. That's ridiculous, but when things happen, it happens big time.

[Dagger]

I recently had the incredible good fortune to see the new Makoto Shinkai movie ([b]Hoshi wo Ou Kodomo[/b], aka Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below) in theaters. No need for me to wax eloquent about the visuals--they're ravishing, obviously. When the trailer first popped up online, I wasn't sure how I felt about the Ghibli-style character designs, but I think they were actually just right for this film. Many elements of Hoshi wo Ou Kodomo come across as an homage to various Miyazaki movies, and yet the atmosphere and the plot and the way in which those elements are used ended up being unlike any Miyazaki movie I've seen.

Despite the epic scale, the story is fundamentally and utterly rooted in the characters' emotions... I'm struggling to capture my reaction in words, and this is purely a personal response, but it frankly felt richer and deeper and more perfectly whole to me than any of the Ghibli films to which it invites comparison. I was sure I could see where it was going at the beginning, but many developments came as a pleasant surprise to me. I really look forward to seeing it again in the future. I can imagine myself watching this many, many times.

[KonekoOrihara]

[font="'Comic Sans MS"][color="#ff00ff"][i]I'm currently watching Durarara but I'm way far than Adult Swim is (I'm on episode 12.5) I'm not reading anything right now.[/i][/color][/font]

[Sangome]

[color="#9932CC"][font="Microsoft Sans Serif"]I've been watching [b]Durarara[/b] on AS as well, for the first time, myself. It shows a lot of promise so far, and I've been wanting to watch it for a long time now, so I'll be keeping up with it.

I tried watching one of the new summer anime earlier, [b]Twin Angels: Twinkle Paradise[/b]. I'm a girl. I like girly things once in a while. I could only make it to the seven minute mark before stopping. I got headaches and felt nauseated. Seriously. It physically hurt me. It makes me scared to try the other summer offerings.

On a much happier note, I got caught up with [b]Tiger & Bunny[/b] the other day. Man, I love this show to death. I'm not huge on shounen, but this is just a great show. It's restored my faith in a lot of modern anime, which says something, since I've had a hard time getting into a lot of it in recent years.

I've also fallen back into the habit of watching [b]GitS: 2nd Gig[/b] on Saturday/Sundays now. Always fun.[/font][/color]

[Asher]

I just finished watching Nana. It's been years since it came out, yet no announcement of a second season. Slightly disappointed in that because there's a bunch of questions left unanswered at the ending and I'm probably going to end up reading the manga anyways. It's one of the better anime dramas I've seen in awhile. There's pretty good character development, esp. w/ Hachi.

Now I am rewatching NHK ni Youkoso! It's been 3-4 years since I've seen it, but I feel like a need a fix because I've been feeling like a shut in. It's a great show, but I never really truly understood everything it had to offer. This time, I'm watching the dubbed version and I think Chris Hatton is doing a great job as Satou. I always crack up when he does Satou's outbursts.

[Lemon]

- Reading and watching [b]The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya[/b]. Its pretty good so far.
- I finished [b]Otaku No Musume [/b]recently I liked it, but the ending was...iffy.
- I'm planning to read [b]Happy World[/b] again, since I didn't understand the ending last time I read it, which was about 2 years ago.
- I'm reading/watching random episodes/volumes of[b] Naruto[/b]. I just can't read it in order oAo''
- I'm watching [b]Kodomo No Jikan[/b].

[CaNz]

I decided to jump on the [b]Durarara[/b]rararara[b]!![/b] bandwagon. I like it so far, and even though the cast is huge I like almost all of the characters, and I only really dislike Anri. Most of the character types seem slightly different from what I expect in animes... which is pretty nice. I am also really interested in all of the subplots (which is good because it seems like all this anime is is a series of subplots that somehow fit together in one city,

I also watched a cool movie. It was called [b]Gundam F-91[/b]. Like most Gundam stuff, it has a fairly predictable plot and premise. It takes place 30 years Char gives up being the main bad guy for the earth federation, so it is still part of the "universal" timeline, though there are no cameo appearances. There was one major difference between this and other Gundams though... A lot of main characters die in very brutal ways... and even more gruesome deaths are bestowed upon random people. I have watched a ton of Gundam, but this one scares me a bit.

[Dagger]

[quote name='Sangome' timestamp='1310548928' post='708362']
[color="#9932CC"][font="Microsoft Sans Serif"]
On a much happier note, I got caught up with [b]Tiger & Bunny[/b] the other day. Man, I love this show to death. I'm not huge on shounen, but this is just a great show. It's restored my faith in a lot of modern anime, which says something, since I've had a hard time getting into a lot of it in recent years.[/font][/color]
[/quote]
Wow, maybe I should check this out. It kind of flew under my radar, but I've seen so many people saying good things about it.

I'm watching more anime this season than I have in a long time, so it's a great new crop of shows as far as I'm concerned! And for the first time in my life, a visual novel I love to death ([b]Steins;Gate[/b]) has finally, [i]finally[/i] gotten a non-excruciatingly painful anime adaptation. It's quite good, actually, and seems to have been well received in both the Japanese and English-speaking fandoms. It's like Chaos;Head and Togainu no Chi were sacrificial victims offered up to ensure that at least this one title wouldn't get eviscerated in the transition from game to animation. Well, I don't know what kind of voodoo the producers had to perform to make sure Steins;Gate would be spared the Nitro+ anime curse, but I could practically cry from happiness that the TV series doesn't suck. Yet.

[Shinmaru]

Yeah, a lot of people believe [b]Steins;Gate[/b] is the best anime going right now. I'm torn between that and season two of [b]Kaiji[/b], but regardless, [b]Steins;Gate[/b] is damn good. [b]Tiger and Bunny[/b] is good, too. I kind of wish it didn't jump around in so many different directions, and the writing isn't quite as strong as I would like (although the latest episode might signal a change in this), but still, a good show, I say.

[Pleiades Rising]

I think I have an urge to watch anime that tend to polarize people: I'm starting on [i]K-On![/i], and after that I'll probably start [i]Lucky Star. [/i]I kinda like watching anime of this sort when most if not all of the hype surrounding it has passed. In any event, [i]K-On![/i] isn't bad. I haven't turned it off, but I also haven't been yearning to see the next episode. However, I might be shifting towards the latter, since this series speaks to my musician's heart. Having played guitar for years now, it might strike some heartstrings with me, but I'll hold off on anything more for now. Pretty good ED song, though! Also, Yui has great taste in guitars; I've always wanted a Gibson like that.

Oh yeah, I'm also rewatching [i].hack//SIGN[/i], another anime that polarized people, haha. Some just love it, others don't like how slow it is. (And no, I'm not watching it just so I can gaze at Subaru.)

[Akieen Cloud]

I just got done watching Brotherhood for the 8th time. lol. That and I found an new anime today called Blue Exorcist.

[Pleiades Rising]

Finished [i].hack//Sign[/i] a while ago (it felt like forever since someone update this!), and I enjoyed it a bit more than the last time I watched it sometime ago. Still, when the ending episodes roll around, that feeling of "huh? did I miss something?" remains. What did I miss? Buying the games, it seems. Oh you Japanese and your marketing ploys! Eh, I think I'll finally watch [i].hack//Roots[/i], too. That's now on my list, but I won't get to it anytime soon.

Also finished [i]K-On![/i] waaay back, and it's not bad. I didn't expect anything emotionally compelling from it (but, who did?) and it just sailed along at its own light pace. It's a decent tale of schoolyard friendships, I guess, and the music actually takes a backseat more often than not (and that kinda disappointed me). If the music had been front and center, then maybe it would have had a sense of urgency, like they actually had something to accomplish. Instead, things usually got resolved in one episode, and all would be cake and tea! In any event, I might watch the 2nd season to see where it all goes.

[i]Lucky Star[/i] did not disappoint me, thank God. At first, I didn't know if I'd even like this one, but I'm willing to give almost anything a chance. I remember someone saying if you can sit through the first couple of minutes of the first ep., then you've made it. I'm sure glad I've watched [i]Haruhi Suzumiya [/i]before seeing this, otherwise some parts wouldn't have been as funny (for instance, ep. 16's cosplay cafe). I'm up to ep. 18, so far.

Last of all, I'm rewatching [i]Kare Kano[/i]. All I can say is that when Gainax gets it right, they really get it right: e.g. the closing scenes of episode 4. Silence was never so affecting.

[Milkycat]

I have a pretty vast anime collection, but rarely have the time to watch it. I have several new and old series that I haven't even popped in the dvd player yet. I often get nostalgic and want to watch the oldschool stuff, what got me into anime in the first place, like X, Escaflowne, and Eva...but recently I got hooked on Kuroshitsuji. I love it so much!

[Sangome]

[color="#9932CC"][font="Microsoft Sans Serif"]So while I'm a touch late to the party, I spent the past couple of days plowing through [b]Puella Magi Madoka Magica[/b]. And boy, what a ride it was. Magical girls need a good deconstruction every once in awhile, and this does it with great gusto. I'm not really sure if there's much I can say that has not already been said, although I will say that the ending made me go ;A; in a bittersweet way.

Incidentally, I love how the show wound up making me root for characters I either initially wanted to punch [Kyoko] or was relatively indifferent on [Homura...oh my GOSH Homura]. The cast overall is extremely likable and all are pretty endearing.

But yeah. Great series. Now I need to go get lost in the TV Tropes pages for it and the Puella Magi Wiki.[/font][/color] Edited September 8, 2011 by Sangome

[Jax Rhapsody]

I think I've seen Escaflowne before. I've got a few Tenchi movies, can't wait to move on to buying actual tv episodes. I've got all of Outlaw Star and trying to get all of Trigun. I've been collecting One Piece manga and with Borders closing I feel it's gonna get harder. I think it's bullspit. I stole books 4-10 of the all new Tenchi series from a library but I'm missing like two or three. I only have like the first six One Piece books. I have a loooonnngggg way to go. I can read one in a day, so I'm going to try not to read them till I have a few. I need to see anime outside of AS and the CW. Sometimes I feel like a poser saying "Yeah I watch anime. I always watch adult swim." Or something like that. At least for a while the CW went ol skool and aired Cubix. Now they want to air DBZ"kai" as if it's something new and the season 1 of Yu-Gi-Oh.

[Sangome]

[color="#9932CC"][font="Microsoft Sans Serif"]Finally been getting around to watching [b]Baccano![/b] on Funimation's Youtube channel, and it's a delight. I'm up to episode 7, and things are starting to get pretty interesting.

It's also shaping up to be one of those shows where it's [i]really[/i] hard to pick a favorite; nearly everyone is likeable and endearing in some way. Though if I had to choose from what I've seen so far, then Isaac and Miria are my two favorites, followed by Jacuzzi and Nice.

I also have to agree with many and say that the dub is one of the finest Funi has ever produced; most of the characters have an accent/twinge, and, for the most part, it does not sound forced or hokey. It all sounds very natural and real, and adds a lot of personality to the characters. I especially love Colleen Clinkenbeard's voice for Nice in particular.

It's kind of a shame that this wasn't more well-received in its homeland. :/ Oh well, it's good to see that westerners love it, at least.[/font][/color] Edited October 4, 2011 by Sangome

[CaNz]

[quote name='Sangome' timestamp='1317759279' post='709765']
[color="#9932CC"][font="Microsoft Sans Serif"][b]Baccano![/b] [/font][/color]
[/quote]
I have been watching it too. I am not too sure about it since it hasn't been too long since I watched DuRaRaRa!! and I keep accidentally comparing the two. I am only on episode 4 though so I am sure I have more good things to come.

I am also watching PlanetES. I really like it so far, mostly because it does seem very believable for a Sci-Fi. I am only on episode 5 of that one so I have more good things to come from that series too.

[Shinmaru]

Westerners do love their gangster fiction. (Including me!) From what I've heard of the [b]Baccano![/b] dub, I wasn't that fond of it, but to be fair, I've heard just a few snippets. Maybe one day I'll rewatch the show in English and see how I like it.

[b]Planetes[/b] is awesome, too -- in my top 10, in fact! There are some goofy elements, but I love how low-key it is for the most part, and the intensity of the storyline at the end. It really is one of the greats of hard science-fiction in anime.

[CaNz]

[quote name='Shinmaru' timestamp='1317829930' post='709783']
[b]Planetes[/b] is awesome, too -- in my top 10, in fact! There are some goofy elements, but I love how low-key it is for the most part, and the intensity of the storyline at the end. It really is one of the greats of hard science-fiction in anime.
[/quote]
It is definitely making its way up on my favorites list (and keeping me up till 5am.) I am really curious as to where the story is going, and I like almost every character so far (and the ones I dislike I am pretty sure I am supposed to not like them.)