730 replies to this topic

[Blue Leafeon]

I need a new anime to watch.

Thing is though, I'm picky. I prefer plots that aren't too dark, really don't like fanservice and can't stand much childish stupidity.

 

Which rules out like 90% of the animes out there. Whee.

 

Too bad nobody ever finished subbing Kirby of the Stars. >> I'd like to watch it all the way through to the end. In Japanese, of course, because Kirby Air Ride music >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> the crap 4kids used.

[Mercurius]

I need a new anime to watch.

Thing is though, I'm picky.

Uh huh...

 

I prefer plots that aren't too dark

Well, that's easy!

really don't like fanservice

Getting hard to please there, but doable...

and can't stand much childish stupidity.

Ok I got nuthin'

[Blue Leafeon]

^ I lol'd.

 

Some childishness and stupidity is okay. It's only when the show revolves around it that I have a problem. (See: Pokemon anime)

[kirant]

I need a new anime to watch

Let's see if I can help.

 

 

I prefer plots that aren't too dark

(Looks at my viewed anime list)

 

Well.  I'm out.

 

...Haibane Renmei maybe?  Not overtly brooding in many ways until the last episode, though a bit strange and takes zero steps to explain the world it inhabits.

[Mercurius]

I'm looking through my anime list and I'm like...

 

Dark

Spoiler

 

Fanservice

Spoiler

 

Childish Stupidity

Spoiler

 

Dark + Fanservice

Spoiler

 

Dark + Childish Stupidity

Spoiler

 

Fanservice + Childish Stupidity

Spoiler

 

Dark + Fanservice + Childish Stupidity

Spoiler

 

After I dismiss all the slice of life, more or less aimless/token plot comedies, and straight up weird episodic stuff, I'm left with...

 

Golden Time and Norn9.

 

If we allow for a fair amount of childish stupidity, there's Yona of the Dawn, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU, Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo(I can't remember how much fanservice this had though), and Assassination Classroom. Can't remember how much of a plot Inu x Boku SS actually bothered to have but probably not enough to really get it out of slice of life.

 

https://hummingbird....ime/golden-time

https://hummingbird....orn9-norn-nonet

https://hummingbird....katsuki-no-yona

https://hummingbird....ic-comedy-snafu

https://hummingbird....o-pet-na-kanojo

https://hummingbird....u-kyoushitsu-tv

[Blue Leafeon]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll be sure to check 'em out sometime.

 

Meanwhile, I remembered Valkyria Chronicles had an anime inspired by it, so I decided to go watch that. It is actually quite decent, despite a few oversights.

[Fire Blazer]

 

If we allow for a fair amount of childish stupidity

 

>lists some of my fave anime ever

 

fuck you man your opinion sucks

 

i didn't find any of those to have any real childish stupidity

 

ok maybe Sakurasou but that also had plenty of fan service

 

i see childish stupidity as like, Pokemon or maybe Yo-kai Watch or other shows which are just super cheesy and too childish/light-hearted such that it's actually kind of cringeworthy

 

Assassination Classroom is a comedy and has some silly jokes but it's not the kind of cringeworthy material we get from watching a show aimed at people less than 10 years old

 

anyway Blue Leafeon, I think I'm pretty good at suggesting anime, but it's hard when you say what you're not looking for as opposed to what you are looking for.

 

Here are some though:

 

Haikyuu!!: Sports anime, volleyball. I didn't care for either of those before watching this anime, and came out an ultra mega fan. However, I am also a real-life athlete who loves the adrenaline and competitive nature of sports, so YMMV.

 

Aldnoah.Zero: It's a little dark but compared to Code Geass or Attack on Titan or Tokyo Ghoul or other stuff (there are things even darker than those ofc, those are just big names), it's really not that bad. There's occasionally some blood and brutal character deaths but if you can handle it, there's not much fan service or childish stupidity (at most, a character acts childish, lol). That aside, it's a fantasy/mech show.

 

Buddy Complex: Another mech/war show, this one with time travel. Not that dark, even less than Aldnoah.Zero IIRC, maybe a tiiiny bit of fan service but I don't remember any (there's just a bit of romance).

 

Gatchaman Crowds: Going down MAL, skipped from "B" to "G", lol... too many dark shows I've watched... this one isn't dark IMO so much as it is very deep and like... psychological/sociological (as in it covers psychology and ESPECIALLY sociology and if you pay attention and think it will like, really get you thinking with how deep it is). There's no real fan service or childishness IIRC.

 

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun: Has a bit of fan service maybe but it's mostly a comedy with a bit of romance. Tbh I don't remember any fan service if there was any. I suppose it might come off as stupid sometimes but not in a aimed-at-5-year-olds way.

 

Isshuukan Friends: Touching show, I guess it'd be something like... romance/slice of life? Eh. For basically any of these anime you can see the MAL page for some quick info (just don't read the reviews ) http://myanimelist.n...shuukan_Friends

 

I might recommend Log Horizon but it has a bit of fan service. Probably a bit less than SAO but eh. I'll stay on the safe side and not recommend them I guess.

 

Noragami is probably a bit too dark...

 

One Piece is great but can be dark, stupid, and have fan service, depending on what's going on

 

One Punch Man, if you haven't heard/seen it already

 

Rokka no Yuusha is a little dark and has a bit of fan service but isn't bad or gratuitous on either IMO.

 

Rolling Girls is solid but has a lot of female characters. I wouldn't really call it a fan servicey show, it's just super colorful and bright and has some cute female characters. there may have been a fan-servicey scene or two but I don't remember them as that's not what the show is about.

 

Samurai Champloo is a classic but too dark so RIP

 

OH! Tsuritama is a show about fishing that is like, way better than a show about fishing has a right to be, XD. But seriously it's pretty good, got good character development and comedy and such. No fan service or childishness or darkness IIRC.

 

Working!! and Oregairu have some light fan service (no like nude stuff, but they are about romance so you'll see characters blushing or the like), but they're mostly comedy and... slice of life, I guess. Working!! takes place in a restaurant, which is a little refreshing. Oregairu takes place in a school/on trips, but it's a parody of the romantic comedy genre and can get pretty insightful/deep at times. (I really liked both Working!! and Oregairu, giving them 9's and 10's)

 

I think that's more than enough so I'll stop there.

 

FWIW I did not mention anything with any real fan service IMO, a little bit is kind of a given since it's anime and all but the worst I remember is one scene where they're naked (but no tits or the like) in Aldnoah.Zero and even in that case it's very serious in the sense a real incident takes place there so it's not just unnecessarily watching someone shower only for them to come out of it looking wet and sexy or w/e

 

there are some naturally just sexy outfits and such but again. None of these shows are ecchi or shows that make their name on fan service, or I wouldn't recommend them. I think every show I listed is at least an 8 if not higher except AZ season 1 so yeah.

 

/longpost

[Mercurius]

i see childish stupidity as like, Pokemon or maybe Yo-kai Watch or other shows which are just super cheesy and too childish/light-hearted such that it's actually kind of cringeworthy

 

Assassination Classroom is a comedy and has some silly jokes but it's not the kind of cringeworthy material we get from watching a show aimed at people less than 10 years old

To someone that doesn't regularly watch anime, anything that tends to use popular anime conventions aimed at a younger audience is pretty much childish stupidity. Assassination Classroom and season 1 of SNAFU are very "anime" shows. There are all kinds of reasons they can be denounced as immature and the like. (Then there are the ones denounced as childish stupidity by anime fans, which tend to be ones I like because it's childish and stupid.)

 

On that note, Golden Time can be pretty stupid at times, but that's mature stupidity so it gets a pass.

 

Ugh, Working!!...I couldn't even get to the end of the third season and I was skipping the vast majority of the content in the episodes. I vastly prefer the author's other work Servant x Service by virtue of it lacking Souta, Inami, and whatever huge tits ponytail chick was named.

[Blue Leafeon]

i see childish stupidity as like, Pokemon or maybe Yo-kai Watch or other shows which are just super cheesy and too childish/light-hearted such that it's actually kind of cringeworthy

*adds the original Sailor Moon anime and digimon to that list*

 

Pretty much what I'm talking about when I say childish stupidity. You can't get away from ALL of it, but when the show revolves around nothing but stupid childish gags and has nothing but middle school logic, it really, REALLY annoys me.

 

Same kind of goes for fan service. SOME fan service is okay (I know I'm never going to escape it) but nonstop pantyshots and women who are barely dressed are not.

 

anyway Blue Leafeon, I think I'm pretty good at suggesting anime, but it's hard when you say what you're not looking for as opposed to what you are looking for.

I notice I tend to naturally lean towards things with conflict--such as having a protagonist and antagonist, good guys/bad guys, etc. I also tend to lean more towards male-geared anime than female. (Only exception to this is Cardcaptor Sakura; sailor moon has ALWAYS driven me insane at some point, if it doesn't just kill my emotions outright and make me apathetic towards everything.) I do like mystery anime (but NOT Detective Conan) as well.

Some of my favorite anime are:
Detective Academy Q (despite the fan service and childishness at times)
Zoids Genesis (the plot gets really dark after a point but meh, it's just so good D8 )

Valkyria Chronicles

Cardcaptor Sakura (only feminine anime I've outright enjoyed throughout)

Monster Rancher

 

and some others but I REALLY NEED TO GO RIGHT NOW.

[Fire Blazer]

eh. I have different standards then, I guess. *shrug*

 

 

Pretty much what I'm talking about when I say childish stupidity. You can't get away from ALL of it, but when the show revolves around nothing but stupid childish gags and has nothing but middle school logic, it really, REALLY annoys me.

 

Same kind of goes for fan service. SOME fan service is okay (I know I'm never going to escape it) but nonstop pantyshots and women who are barely dressed are not.

 

then you should be ok with basically every show listed. I absolutely hate pantyshots and walk-ins and other such crap, they're super annoying, so blegh.

[Mercurius]

Started watching this one movie called Harmony because it happened to pop up on the streaming site I use.

 

At first I was like,

 

"Oh, this looks like a serious business psychological utopia-but-not-really kind of thing that questions the viewer as to how to feel over the subject viewed through an outsider's eyes..."

 

Then I was like

 

"Wait did she just say boobs?"

 

(It turned out to be talking about their biological modifications but yeah uhh...total mood killer)

[Fire Blazer]

lol trolled

 

so I've actually been watching a significant amount of shows this season unlike what I usually say. I just ended up picking up show after show out of boredom, I guess. then again it's also summer and I think there tend to be a couple more notable shows than normal during the summer season. *shrugs*

 

Kiznaiver: good, interesting, funny, but somewhat episodic in nature and kind of suffers from not going too deep into an otherwise cool premise and not having a very... recognizable and... what's the word... like... notable overall plot that is kind of hanging over us/present. can't think of the word. it just kind of goes and is fun as it does, but isn't all that exciting or anything.

 

Bungou Stray Dogs: like above, though this show has weird bits of comedy mixed with some serious bits of action/dark things happening and it's pretty weird in that sense and I'm not too sure what to make of it >>; it might start to get a less episodic feel starting next episode and delve more into an overall notable plot and maybe stop having jokes that sometimes hurt the mood of things or make the tone feel inconsistent/the shifts somewhat jarring, but idk

 

My Hero Academia: started off ok/typical Shounen stuff, but I'm trying to be patient with it and it seems like it's slowly paying off, as it's gotten kinda good the past couple of episodes and I'm now getting more and more excited to see things develop. I'll probably keep watching this to the end if it keeps being good and maybe even read the manga eventually (I kept seeing it/hearing about it but kept ignoring it out of laziness/for whatever other reason)

 

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress: probably the most exciting show yet, it's exciting, has some cool action scenes, has some cool characters, it's got an interesting setting with samurais and trains and... steam-weapons? and zombies and other stuff, it's got some solid conflict, it's got its dark moments, it's got a cool opening and ending... it's just a fun to watch, somewhat thrilling show overall and I look forward to watching more of this--hopefully an overarching plot (I think this might have been the term I was looking for earlier) comes into play soon though now that we've kind of got what feels like the "intro arc" done as far as introducing the main characters/the premise/the events, it's all a matter of where it goes after this and if it can execute on a slightly larger scale.

 

Ace Attorney: it started off ok but got a bit better the past couple of episodes, it's still not an AMAZING anime and unfortunately there's no dub which sucks but as an Ace Attorney fan I am very pleased overall and happy that it is getting a solid anime to adapt the game's events, and as a fan of the game it basically can't disappoint unless it completely screws something over which so far it seems fine with since it's a relatively vanilla adaptation that isn't making too many big changes or taking any major risks IMO

 

Mayoiga: this show is all over the place, it's just one silly or stupid thing happening after another, it doesn't make much sense, the characters are stupid, it's like... idk in a way the plot feels cliche, it's the whole "paranormal activity" deal but in an anime where the paranormal place is a village, i dunno, so many plot points are brought up and then kinda disappear later, and it doesn't feel like a very well-threaded show in terms of narrative or the like, but despite that I'm probably going to watch it a tiny bit more on account of being interested about how all this chaos gets resolved (especially in hopes of it actually resolving the many plot points it brings up... >_>')

 

Assassination Classroom: as always, this one's a feels-trip, it's exciting, it's funny, and it makes me sad that we're once again near the end, this time in the anime. this really is one of my all-time favorite shows and it seriously just breaks my heart even thinking about how it's over, which attests to both how sentimental and emotional I am as well as just how enjoyable the manga/show are and how invested I was (and am, I guess) in them

 

7 shows is not bad, and I'm also slowly watching SHIROBAKO (which isn't really my thing as someone not interested in how anime is made but it's still entertaining regardless, somehow) so yeah, I just wish there was a show with maybe a bit more action since all of the shows either have no action or very little, segmented action sequences, except Kabaneri I guess

 

(One Piece isn't really in an action segment either now and even if it were, the animation lately has been pretty bad, and even when they try to put on the "good director" I think it's bad/I don't really like his style or work, so... >_>')

 

/ramble

 

EDIT: whoops, forgot Re: Zero something

 

(spoiler warning for premise of show) I don't really like this show because even though it's got a decent premise that's very thrilling what with the main character dying and coming back to life (you learn this in like.. the first episode, so not really much of a spoiler), it's got a lot of other stuff in the middle and it kinda leaves me with a lame/empty feeling what with everyone forgetting and some plot points not being covered and a lot of like... awkward scenes that I guess kinda ruin the seriousness of the show a bit? idk. it just doesn't feel well-executed to me in some regards, the main character is a little silly/dumb (though thankfully not terribly so or it'd be untolerable)... so eh, it's hard to not watch it with it ALWAYS THROWING CLIFFHANGERS AT YOU where you really wanna see how things turn out, but like, the bulk of the show is kind of failing to be interesting, especially when it's not even bothering to mention other plot points--at least acknowledging things like how Puck was ok with Subaru knowing about him/his name and all, why Emilia originally said her name is Satella, etc. etc. lets us know that it's not just being ignored and they aren't just random plotholes or something, which when you're not touching upon the subject for several episodes makes us impatient and questioning of the narrative and such otherwise

 

so basically, could have been great but is basically just mediocre due to most of it being pretty lame/shallow and not very well-executed IMO. maybe it'll redeem itself, we'll see, it's at least better than Mayoiga

[Mercurius]

I'm watching Ace Attorney, Re:Zero, Assassination Classroom and Shounen Maid this season. Still watching YGO Arc-V too. I'd watch that Kabaneri show if it wasn't for how zombies are involved.

 

I already know everything that happens in Assassination Classroom anyway so it's most useful to watch for mental reference for fantasizing about Nagisa pinning me down in a hold...o-or something making Shounen Maid THE MOST HYPE SHOW OF THE SEASON 10/10 INSTANT AOTS NEXT WEEK WHEN?! seriously this show can even make me of all people see family in a positive light. maybe it's because it's kind of hard to actually see chiyo and madoka as being blood-related.

 

Re:Zero is popular because suffering and loss but since I can't really care about the main character (I neither like him or particularly dislike him...) none of that really matters to me. I'm really just in to watch Emilia be pretty, a.k.a. whenever the top and sides of her eyesockets stop splitting. Not like there's all that much else to watch.

 

Ace Attorney is more out of obligation than anything. I don't particularly feel like the episodes get any better or worse. Though I actually did watch the fourth case they're going to cover next so I'll probably be annoyed by all the stuff they leave out from the game then.

 

I also finished that Harmony movie and I've got to say that it was really interesting how the setting's conflict basically doesn't matter to the protagonist, in spite of her responsibility tied to it by virtue of her social position. It's really just an excuse to have her go from point A to B. She has very little fucks to give about the country's crisis and let's the person who started this mess win without much resistance by the end of the movie. It's just so great, in a way. Her decision isn't hard to make, she keeps to what she is about, she cares more about her personal relationships than humanity's crisis. A lot of people out there would probably feel trolled by how there was "no point" because they are all about struggling and proving victorious over conflict to grow up into a better person or some shit and basically anything that decides to take an alternative is crap, but having a story build up all this plot only for the main character to say no to her obligations says a lot more about her than it would just going where the plot should according to proper writing conventions.

[Fire Blazer]

Re:Zero has that and the cliffhangers and dramaticness and tension from them not explaining crap/going through loops

 

I feel like sometimes it's not really a result of the great writing that the show is so popular, it just kind of naturally appeals to people with its premise and the result of that premise and doesn't need to be executed especially well as a result *shrug*

 

the latest episode was pretty good but even so I can't think it's a great show yet. it has some decent ideas and such but the pacing feels off (is it fast-paced? I dunno, it might help if I was familiar with the source material, but I'd take a guess and say "yes" since it's an anime...) and there are too many like... things that bother me with the show as I'm watching it. I dunno. it just bothers me, but it's also difficult to not get caught up in the excitement of 'oh man he's going to die so bloodily/get revived/aaaaaah/CLIFFHANGER' and all that :\

 

AA I think is good/fine animation quality is still eh but I don't mind them skipping stuff from the game so long as the adaptation still flows decently enough in itself (and since it's been ages since I played the game I don't particularly remember the game, though I'm still aware they're skipping lots of stuff)

[Mercurius]

Today's episode of Re:Zero was absolutely fantastic (although the participants for the royal selection are comically shallow in trying to convince people why they should rule, Emilia included...green hair military uniform girl seems to be the most convincing out of all of them) and to be honest I actually want to stop here because I just know that because silly things like "character development" are going to get Subaru what he wants in the end anyway even though he has very clearly revealed himself to be a huge dick and Emilia is not going to put up with his shit for any longer.

 

Now while most people out there who watch these LN adaptations have a tendency to criticize the way that these stories usually go because the main character happens to go through life without much trouble and gain too much favor for the most part that does not really bother me in the ones I watch because most of the time the protagonists I like in these shows are actually fairly attractive and sweet guys, so I am absolutely fine with watching them have little in the way of conflict they cannot overcome.

 

Re:Zero was different primarily because frankly, Subaru has been getting further and further annoying the more episodes I watched of it, more clearly based on real average people than anyone else, and honestly I don't really want good things to happen to him at all. So when I see this character designed to be relatable to the expected audience finally have to deal with the consequences of his poor character I cannot help but find the experience exhilarating and the one thing that makes me feel down about the situation is thinking about how Emilia had to put up with this asshole's shit at all.

 

Re:Zero, marked as completed! (actually I should just remove it from my list since I have no plans of rewatching it)

[Fire Blazer]

Finished Kiznaiver and it was... eh. It was good up until the last episode, but the last episode felt kind of shallow and even nonsensical. Feels like it devolved into even cheesier friendship talk than usual and just wasn't that insightful or anything. In the end, didn't like it, putting the show at a 7-8 instead of a 8-9 like it could have been.

 

I caught up on Bungou Stray Dogs and it was solid, though it failed to impress most of the time. The character designs are lol. It's funny but I dunno. It's missing something. What's the whole point of the show, even? I'm not sure. >_>' Well, it's good enough that I'll probably watch the 2nd cour/season/whatever when it comes out.

 

Haven't watched this week's episodes of Re:Zero, Ace Attorney, or My Hero Academia yet, though I'm expecting good things of the last one (Re:Zero was kinda bad last week and AA is usually kinda mediocre, so I'm keeping expectations low so I'm not too disappointed). I'm also super behind on Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress though that was just like, me getting busy and stuff, it was a great show.

 

I also haven't been keeping up with Assassination Classroom but part of that is me already knowing what happens and part of that is me being too scared/depressed from the series ending. I already had to suffer and cry a lot with the manga ending, I don't think my poor emotional heart can take seeing that again, this time in anime form. >_>'

[^Leo^]

started on my hero academia, and liked it enough to bother reading the manga(also very solid btw). picked Jojo's bizarre adventure up again, and remembered just how stupid it is. def gonna keep watching for a week or two. other than that i'm really not watching anything right now. i watch an episode or two of ace attorney every now and then, but it's kinda just there to fill time since i've already played the games(also i have better things to do with my free time). i try to watch DB super sometimes too. just not as good as i wanted it to be.

[Fire Blazer]

started on my hero academia, and liked it enough to bother reading the manga(also very solid btw). picked Jojo's bizarre adventure up again, and remembered just how stupid it is. def gonna keep watching for a week or two. other than that i'm really not watching anything right now. i watch an episode or two of ace attorney every now and then, but it's kinda just there to fill time since i've already played the games(also i have better things to do with my free time). i try to watch DB super sometimes too. just not as good as i wanted it to be.

 

MHA is so rad. I'm sticking to the anime though because I'm tired of spoiling myself by reading mangas all the time. It's why I didn't read the manga in the first place back long before the anime was announced. Watching the anime just isn't as fun if you know what happens in the manga IMO. The anime is much more alive than the manga (color, voice, music, sound effects, etc.) and thus is more enjoyable for me so unless it's like One Piece or Tokyo Ghoul where the anime is relative trash to the manga (filler, non-canon stuff, bad pacing, bad execution, etc.) I feel like I'd get the most enjoyment out of watching the anime first, and then I can go back and read the manga if necessary to fill in any missed details.

 

Of course I don't do this for all series... like for Assassination Classroom I read the manga long, long before it got a proper anime, but I figure I should do it once in a while. I didn't really enjoy the anime seasons for AC or Noragami nearly as much as I should have due to knowing what happens, so I feel like the peak of enjoyment in an anime is just way higher than the manga, and I can't reach that peak if I already know what happens.

 

Just me going on a spiel on that topic I've been thinking about, haha. Ofc I still read lots of manga but I tend to avoid them if I'm not already invested in them or whatever and think they might get an anime (which is MHA exactly). Then there are series like HxH where I watched the anime and continued with the manga knowing it probably won't get an anime continuation for ages, and series like Tokyo Ghoul where I dropped the anime very quickly and went to the manga cuz it's better, and then series like One Piece where the manga is straight superior but I watch the anime anyway... and then there's Naruto where the anime is so blegghhh I dropped it AND wanted to drop the manga but didn't just because it's going so long and I kinda want to know how it ends (see also: Fairy Tail)... XD and then a lot of series are anime-only or based on light novels (maybe with spin-off mangas or the like) so it all depends~

 

all that being said I wish we had more awesome/hype series right now. maybe it's just because I'm not into some of them and I'm refusing to read others like MHA/Haikyuu (to avoid spoilers 'cuz we know they're getting new seasons) or Toriko/Bleach (cuz it's just not my thing) but things feel kinda lackluster for me. One Piece is always awesome but it's become such a natural part of my life that it's not the same as some new hit manga/show/whatever coming along and just being hype. basically, I need some awesome new thing to binge that makes me depressed once I've caught up and start having to wait weekly or monthly for chapters *shot*

 

EDIT: Oh almost forgot

 

I really disliked this week's episode of Re:Zero. Main issues are the pacing, Subaru's really annoying character, the dumb can't-talk-about-X plot device, and... honestly almost everything annoyed me, actually. I just really don't like the writing and even if things get a "reset" it won't fix the episode itself, it'll just be a chance for Subaru to try to redeem himself, but I'll still be left with a bitter taste in my mouth with this feeling like it's the 2nd time this has happened. Here are some more of my thoughts (c/p'd from Discord, thus the weird formatting and stuff).

 

yeah that episode was terrible

I hated it. the MC and the writing are just really getting on my nerves

the concept is there but the execution is just awful. I'm actually annoyed

thankfully for once the comments don't seem all dumb and a few people seem to realize the show's flaws, which is rare

usually hear nothing but praise for even shitty shows, so long as there are plenty of potential waifus (which this show has lol)

[Fire Blazer]

Double posting because I have more thoughts on Re:Zero now

 

Today's episode of Re:Zero was absolutely fantastic (although the participants for the royal selection are comically shallow in trying to convince people why they should rule, Emilia included...green hair military uniform girl seems to be the most convincing out of all of them) and to be honest I actually want to stop here because I just know that because silly things like "character development" are going to get Subaru what he wants in the end anyway even though he has very clearly revealed himself to be a huge dick and Emilia is not going to put up with his shit for any longer.

 

Now while most people out there who watch these LN adaptations have a tendency to criticize the way that these stories usually go because the main character happens to go through life without much trouble and gain too much favor for the most part that does not really bother me in the ones I watch because most of the time the protagonists I like in these shows are actually fairly attractive and sweet guys, so I am absolutely fine with watching them have little in the way of conflict they cannot overcome.

 

Re:Zero was different primarily because frankly, Subaru has been getting further and further annoying the more episodes I watched of it, more clearly based on real average people than anyone else, and honestly I don't really want good things to happen to him at all. So when I see this character designed to be relatable to the expected audience finally have to deal with the consequences of his poor character I cannot help but find the experience exhilarating and the one thing that makes me feel down about the situation is thinking about how Emilia had to put up with this asshole's shit at all.

 

Re:Zero, marked as completed! (actually I should just remove it from my list since I have no plans of rewatching it)

 

yesterday's episode of Re:Zero was absolutely terrible in my eyes

 

but at least we did seem to watch the same show, because yeah, he's been getting super annoying. and yeah, I feel bad for Emilia having to put up with his nonsense.

 

so last night I had had enough and did some research into this show's flaws. I eventually found the manga and light novel both and took a glimpse of each to get a feel for them.

 

the anime was just done so poorly--the pacing, the expressions, it all just felt so cringe-worthy, and while Subaru is surely intended to be seen as annoying and flawed right now, the show as a whole was annoying me here--and it was somewhat of a continuation of the last episode and honestly, a continuation of things going throughout.

 

I read the manga and the same scene at the end with Emilia was handled so much better, it felt more natural, more believable, more reasonable, while still having the same concept and overall effect IMO. and that means that a recovery from it is actually plausible--in the anime, it feels like Subaru basically just doomed himself and I can't see him reconciling with Emilia or whatever. it's too late. he was too much of an idiot, despite having the gall to lecture others. in the manga, it feels like it's done just enough to give that sense of "feeling bad" but having room for improvement to get the bounce-back that we expect from a thing like this.

 

that being said, the manga is still only like... a 5-6/10 in quality so far. the light novel is of course probably even better since ofc it'll be more thorough and detailed but I'm gonna throw that aside for a bit and note that while it's probably better, it's not what I read and can't be that different that it's 100x better.

 

so anyway, I heard the anime covered about 9 manga chapters in one episode. that's ridiculous. just ridiculous. 2-3? solid. maybe even a little slow. 3-4? probably good. 5? maybe a little packed, but not bad. but 9? that's a problem. you're clearly cutting out on major details here. I've been annoyed by this in the past and this show is no different. it's nothing new, it happens when anime's are treated like advertising things for the source material and the creators don't want to make them truly stand on their own as quality pieces.

 

the show feeling jumpy/messy/all over the place aside, I've come to realize I fell into a trap--the trap of the exciting prospect of "a rematch". The return-by-death thing is neat as a plot device to make things exciting, but I hate how he can't talk about. It feels like an artificial source of conflict, and the reasoning for why he can't is being drawn out--hurting the story as a result. It's tested my patience a bit too much with its nonsense. It bothers me even more that the author didn't explore other means of getting the knowledge across to at least help people with their... I dunno, suspension of disbelief? Not exactly the phrase I'm looking for but whatever. An example would be writing it down, or having him hint at it, or talk about things related to it but not... though he's already kind of done that, but in a joking way. Which bothers me even more, since that means there's room for him trying to convey it. Of course, there's the whole "if people find out they could just torture him in a way that he never dies to prevent things from resetting" but that isn't even explored so :\ I dunno, overall it's just annoying and frustrating and this "return by death" plot device has become more of a convenient excuse to let characters die in brutal ways than anything.

 

Like, even now the sad thing is that these episodes were so badly done I don't want Subaru to get over it properly via "character development" or whatever. I think I'd actually prefer a reset so I could pretend all that bull**** didn't happen. But you know what, that wouldn't fix the issues. And I've been frustrated with the show's pacing and execution before and overlooked it because it was "exciting" but I can't do that now. A bad show is bad and Seraph was smart to drop this show earlier, while I was dumb, or maybe just desperate for something "exciting" to watch. I always felt it was average and overrated, but now it's like a 5/10 overall. It had some good moments but the awkward, bad, annoying, frustrating, stupid moments outweigh all those.

 

Almost wish Subaru would die but then he really would get a reset, lol. Even if the show fixed his issues though (and it probably will to some extent eventually) it can't fix its own inherent problems with its plot devices and execution or the path it took to get there. While the manga helped this (e.g. in the Emilia scene Emilia specifically mentioned not remembering meeting Subaru before the loothouse, whereas in the anime I'm pretty sure they were much more generic with the conversation, refusing to actually touch on anything, it didn't handle the scene with as much tact or grace in general, Subaru's lines and facial expressions were exaggerated too much, etc.) in the end it's still just... mediocre. Maybe it'll get better, but for now I'm ticked off at the show. We already had a dramatic Subaru breakdown, you did it once and that was okay, you do it again (so soon even) and it's just annoying, Subaru's just at the whims of the show's creators so I'm not really even upset at him, unlike me hating say, Blackbeard from One Piece even though I know he's just a fictional character and I don't hate Oda for creating him.

 

Because there's well-created drama/conflict, and then there's... this, and there's no fine line between them but it's been crossed and the end result is gross and disappointing, enough that I'm upset I watched the show and thought it was good and believed the hype. With this rant I feel like I've cleared my head a bit and distanced myself though such that I don't really care what it does from hereon out (my only regrets being that Emilia was cool and Felt was LOL but it's not worth sticking around just for them when Subaru's the main character) so now I feel better. just ragging on stuff where ragging is deserved

 

And thankfully there are awesome shows like My Hero Academia instead

[Mercurius]

I tried reading the parallel manga chapter to when Emilia confronts Subaru and I prefer the anime version. The manga doesn't have the lighting, voice acting, and of course, animation of the latter. (I don't really care about the comment about the loot house, I already knew that anyway from memory.)

 

The other thing is that the manga just straight up feels like it gave me a different message. Like Subaru would say something like that from just being mildly frustrated. That's not what the anime tells me and I feel like the anime does a better job at showing just what sort of emotional conditions and motives you would be have to actually say something like how Emilia doesn't even understand how much she owes him. He isn't really considerate of her. He outright holds contempt for her, for not living up to being a convenience, and that's emphasized through his demanding tone and sneer. I don't think it's better to portray him the way he was in the manga, people look ugly when they have ugly feelings and can't hide it anymore. This is what the flawed in the form humans want their characters to be flawed look like without the glory of "good writing" to dress them up and whitewash the truth of how repugnant that kind of person would actually be. And the "can't tell about return via death" thing doesn't really concern me nevertheless, because even he could tell Emilia about that, it doesn't excuse him from everything even if she were to actually believe the outlandish claim. It's clear that whether his intentions have a meaningful motive behind them or not, that doesn't invalidate him being a dick.

 

The premise and artstyle of My Hero Academia don't interest me in the slightest so I never bothered with that.