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SageShinigami

Member
Oct 27, 2017
30,445
Ive been out of the anime community loop for awhile and the most shocking thing is that Shield Hero has some noticeable popularity at all lol.

I swear ive seen atleast 30 anime that are literally the same as it, is the animation?

I could understand why something like Goblin Slayer could be popular, but shield hero?

Really?

Maybe it says something about me that i didnt even bat an eye to the controversial side of it till i read of it since im so used to the tropes in use.

If you break shows down far enough, there's nothing unique about them at all. We get 40 shows every three months. Everything's been done a lot.
 

cheesekao

Member
Dec 1, 2017
2,755
Ive been out of the anime community loop for awhile and the most shocking thing is that Shield Hero has some noticeable popularity at all lol.

I swear ive seen atleast 30 anime that are literally the same as it, is the animation?

I could understand why something like Goblin Slayer could be popular, but shield hero?

Really?

Maybe it says something about me that i didnt even bat an eye to the controversial side of it till i read of it since im so used to the tropes in use.
Sometimes it's just the mainstream audience simply being the mainstream audience. The recent Aquaman movie was pretty much an okay movie but it made over a billion.
 
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Sterok

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,083
Star Twinkle Precure 2

If Hikaru is going to become interesting, it's going to be due to her family dynamic. Should be interesting where they go with that. Lala's sensors are going to do whatever is convenient, and they're totally adorable, so I approve. Lala is the more reserved type, preferring to simply observe when faced with an unknown. But that's more about caution in an unknown region than fear or paranoia it seems. Lala being the chosen hero doesn't give me confidence in her home planet. Prunce needs to hook up her up with a universal translator so that Fuwa doesn't have to go around translating for her. So the reason she couldn't become a Precure before was because she didn't imagine herself becoming one before Hikaru. Very in-line with the season's themes. Milky has a god-tier transformation. Star already feels outdated. Another electric Cure is very welcome. No sign of any monster of the week. Wonder if that will hold when they go space hopping. As expected Lala is shaping up to be the true star of a good looking season.
 

Heh

Member
Dec 12, 2017
611
I was considering making my own thread but for now I'll just ask here.

I've been going through a rough spot with my grandfather passing away about a month ago, one cat a few months back, and our current one is sick, and life in general is just not very peachy for me right now.

Does anyone know any good uplifting or happy anime I can watch? I'm rewatching Yuru Camp for like the 4th time in the meanwhile. I don't care if its the weebest Cute Girls Doing Cute Things either, I like that kinda stuff.
Hey ya'll, thought I would ask here. I love watching shows/documentaries where regular people are devoted to their respective craft and becoming better at it. (it can be any job from shopkeeping to ballet) Any good anime that are kinda like that? I am thinking non-sports related and a light-hearted tone to it is also fine. Also, any good police/secret service anime set in a sorta contemporary setting that feature no supernatural elements?

Aria The Animation plus its sequels. My favorite anime of its type "iyashikei" which people might define as "comfy" which isn't too far off.

Its about three girls, Akari, Aika and Alice, developing their skills to become fully fledged undines (gondoliers) and their various wonderful adventures in the city of Neo-Venezia.
 

DNAbro

Member
Oct 25, 2017
25,832
Pokemon Sun and Moon 108

I should stop being surprised every time Sun and Moon has an episode about death because this is like the 4th one. I never expected them to actually touch what happened to Mallow's mother and it wasn't a question I was really asking. The short reunion was nice and feelsy though. Mallow even got a Shaymin out of it.

Also I also didn't expect for there to be a set up for story line dealing with Mohn since the games pretty much only hinted at it rather than doing anything with it. Maybe Lillie will actually do something again.
 

Busaiku

Teyvat Traveler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,371
What's the 4th one?
I now know of that, Minior, and Stoutland. Can't think of another.
 

Kewlmyc

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
26,670
Ive been out of the anime community loop for awhile and the most shocking thing is that Shield Hero has some noticeable popularity at all lol.

I swear ive seen atleast 30 anime that are literally the same as it, is the animation?

I could understand why something like Goblin Slayer could be popular, but shield hero?

Really?

Maybe it says something about me that i didnt even bat an eye to the controversial side of it till i read of it since im so used to the tropes in use.
It's also co-produced by Crunchyroll, so it's being pushed massively. Good luck going to the site and not running into advertisements of it
 

SOLDIER

One Winged Slayer
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
11,339
Started Happy Sugar Life, a series I hadn't heard of until MB mentioned it in a recent video.

I'm all about any series that adds the crazy to anime romance, since it's a genre that's really really easy to subvert.

But I do want some early assurance that the show is intentionally making you uncomfortable that crazy girl's object of affection is a little girl who barely looks 10. I don't want it to turn out that the author wants you to root for that or anything.

Though in fairness the obsession that she shows feels less romantically inclined and more like:

ive-only-had-arlo-for-a-day-and-a-half-18708349.png


As long as that's the case, I'm digging it so far.
 

Sterok

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,083
Aikatsu Friends 43

Time for a celebration tour. The Minato family truly is solely made up of winners. Pure Palette looks like they're being set up to be the next dynasty after Love Me Tear. Nice speech by Aine. Surprisingly good new dance that I wish was present when there were actual stakes. Still no idea what they're doing the rest of the season. Hopefully not just spinning their wheels.
 

Xenoboy

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,076
Sweden
Started Happy Sugar Life, a series I hadn't heard of until MB mentioned it in a recent video.

I'm all about any series that adds the crazy to anime romance, since it's a genre that's really really easy to subvert.

But I do want some early assurance that the show is intentionally making you uncomfortable that crazy girl's object of affection is a little girl who barely looks 10. I don't want it to turn out that the author wants you to root for that or anything.

Though in fairness the obsession that she shows feels less romantically inclined and more like:

As long as that's the case, I'm digging it so far.
It's not romantic love if that's what you are asking, but I wouldn't say it's exactly like the Brooklyn 99 pic either.
 

SOLDIER

One Winged Slayer
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
11,339
It's not romantic love if that's what you are asking, but I wouldn't say it's like the Brooklyn 99 pic either.

What I mean is that it's an unwavering obsession, the sort of thing that goes beyond a traditional romantic commitment.

So yeah, I'm fine with the premise as long as that's what it's going for.
 

Richter1887

Member
Oct 27, 2017
39,143
What I mean is that it's an unwavering obsession, the sort of thing that goes beyond a traditional romantic commitment.

So yeah, I'm fine with the premise as long as that's what it's going for.
It does get creepy throughout the series (mostly the side characters you are yet to see) but not in a way that makes you feel disgusted at watching the anime. The anime shows how it is a bad relationship. Now if you are wondering if the main characters cross into something disgusting then don't worry, it is just like the picture you posted.
 

Baka_Bishie

Member
Oct 26, 2017
849
Mysteria Friends 4
A very plain episode, maybe too plain in all honesty, though I still found it effective if only because I've been in Anne's shoes before. Despite the title making me think this might be all about study group shenanigans, this episode actually dives into how Anne and Grea first met, and what it was that kind of brought them together in the first place. Anne's loneliness from being unable to connect with anyone due to her genius is a sentiment I can relate to; being smart can be a curse if you don't have particularly good social skills or know how to help coach other people since you naturally skip steps they need. I think the most effective thing is that the vast majority of this is conveyed through visuals, as there isn't actually much dialogue in this episode compared with the previous ones. Anne shows a level of vulnerability here that does a lot to make her seem less perfect, and explain why she's so attached to Grea. If there are any faults here, it's just that the production isn't the most inspired. This falls much closer in line with the last episode than the first two, and that kind of hurts the amount of visual storytelling this episode relies on. But it's a nice change of pace and a surprising amount of focus on a real-life issue reflected in Anne but it's handled fairly well all things considered.
 

Jexhius

Community Resetter
Member
Oct 25, 2017
964
Also I was wondering if Hyouka was worth watching. I learned about it through randomsakuga's twitter:

https://twitter.com/randomsakuga/status/1094189274302500864?s=21

I assume that's a metaphorical sequence? Either way that's a rad art style and it's up on Funimation, so I'm intrigued.
Yes you should.

It's worth knowing that the series starts fairly slow and dry, which can be off-putting. I certainly felt bored during a few of the opening episodes. It picks up as it goes along and and you become more invested in the characters (assuming that you do).
Ive been out of the anime community loop for awhile and the most shocking thing is that Shield Hero has some noticeable popularity at all lol.

I swear ive seen atleast 30 anime that are literally the same as it, is the animation?

I could understand why something like Goblin Slayer could be popular, but shield hero?

Really?

Maybe it says something about me that i didnt even bat an eye to the controversial side of it till i read of it since im so used to the tropes in use.
These are a number of works in this genre that manage to get decently popular, especially if the production looks decent. Wish fulfillment fantasy never goes out of style.
 

Jintor

Saw the truth behind the copied door
Member
Oct 25, 2017
32,361
i like hyouka a lot but yeah it's a bit inconsistent. i did find it fascinating enough to keep going though without being bored which is honestly probably one of the better things i can say about a show.
 

DWarriorSN

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,130
PA
Ahh i didnt know CR was pushing Shield Hero.

That explains a lot.

I was mostly surprised because "casual" anime viewers at work were talking to me about it and i was surprised something so generic broke into the mainstream like that.
 

Deleted member 1589

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
8,576
Shield Hero is as edgelord as it gets, of course it's popular.

I used to read it but there's honestly better Isekais in the market.
 

HockeyBird

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,584
I've been on a bit of a mech kick so I watched Darling in the Franxx to see what all the controversy was about it. It was certainly...something. To get it out of the way, the blatant sexualization of children is problematic for me and it doesn't really add anything to the story. Though it did give us some amazing lines "I'm so deep in you that I don't where you end and I begin". But that aside, I did enjoy the show at least enough to keep me watching. The world building they set up in the earlier episodes had potential. The final 8 episodes really do let the final product down. It definitely felt like there was last minute rewrites and realizing that they haven't answered many questions so they needed to cram it all with remaining episodes it had. The final episodes also focus on two other squad members more but they made them more unlikable. And they change Zero Twos personality completely. The whole twist was not a big deal for me but them wasting time on these other characters and rushing through the more important aspects is what ultimately prevents this series from being potentially really good, maybe even great if they had more time, to just kinda ehhh that was alright.
 

abellwillring

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,907
Austin, TX
Man, you guys weren't kidding about Rakugo. I watched the first 2 episodes (really more like the first 3 since the first one is a double) and it is so good! It actually has made me want to see one of these performances in real life. I see on Wiki there is a LA adaptation airing..it is a shame it doesn't appear to be on Crunchyroll as well. Is there any decent Drama on there? I have yet to watch anything on it.
I just finished the first season in absolutely no time flat. I am so incredibly hooked..it is hard to definitively state best or favorite of things especially when you have major time lapses between eras, but this is certainly one of the best anime I've ever seen. Truly, I am in awe watching it. I will be a wreck when I get through the 2nd season.

I want to buy this to try and get other people to watch it but amazon doesn't have it for sale. How is that possible?! Is it really only available via streaming?
 

zulux21

Member
Oct 25, 2017
20,330
I want to buy this to try and get other people to watch it but amazon doesn't have it for sale. How is that possible?! Is it really only available via streaming?
As far as I know no one picked up Rakugo for distribution in the US beyond streaming.
Not surprising as regardless of quality a historical drama anime is a super hard sell. It's not impossible it gets rescued but the market for historical dramas is super duper niche.

Sadly a number of solid shows don't have US releases such as later seasons of Mushishi,
Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin (had a stream but didn't get a dvd release because of low streaming numbers and quietly forgotten)
Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei (Haven't a clue why funi has never released this one)
Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger (long running sports series got streamed but not released)
Monster (seriously what the hell on this one. Viz dubbed the entire thing but never released it to dvd despite having a TV deal for it)
Bakuman (technically the first 7 episodes have a release. but the dub got cancelled and the rest never saw the light of day)
Cross Game (streamed on crunchy but never released)
Kemono no Souja Erin
Nodame Cantabile (streamed on crackle eventually but never released)

and tons of other shows :/
 

xEik

The Fallen
Nov 17, 2017
4,422
Principality of Catalonia
Mate, they had 24 episodes.
Those of us who watch mecha anime are so used to series with an episode count in the 40s or 50s that 24 may seem short.
In fact, it was a common praise for Planet With that they crammed so much story in just 12 episodes. It just goes to show that we are used to a slower pacing maybe just because we are spoiled.
Do note that even series with 50 episodes can have bad pacing and have to rush part of the story in the final episodes. I'd say there's more than a few Gundam that are guilty of this.
 
Oct 26, 2017
2,780
But that is true, it is misconception to think shows with better animation have bigger budget. Take One Punch Man were it has been repeatedly mention that the show was created with a very average and if anything it was proper scheduling that helped create its great animation. If you don't want to take my word, go read Bahi JD tweets as he is an American animator working in Japan.


It's just logic for how animation works. Yes, there can be some studios / products that have better animation than others because some animators are better than others, but thing is, animation is easily affected by budget. You can throw twice the in-betweeners animators with twice the money and have twice the number of frames drawn in a given episode.

Akira had a pretty big budget and it showed, right?

The famous Kyoani in fact throws more money to their products, that's why they get better results. Because they famously give more time to the production phase before the initial release, an in a company time = money.
 

Lotus

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
105,541
Kaguya Ep. 5

"I raised that boy" Lmao

This adaptation really is amazing
 

/XX/

Member
Oct 25, 2017
610
Spain
It's just logic for how animation works. Yes, there can be some studios / products that have better animation than others because some animators are better than others, but thing is, animation is easily affected by budget. You can throw twice the in-betweeners animators with twice the money and have twice the number of frames drawn in a given episode.
Well, in this particular situation you propose a good scheduling is still the limiting factor! Because, consider the following; do you think every sheet of 'dōga' worked on by an in-between animator is going to be deemed usable? Well, not at all, and given your reasoning more staff with an in-between checker position is going to be needed. But, the in-between checker sometimes needs the animator to do the corrections in time, right? The in-between checker signals them and returns the sheets to the in-betweener in question. All that without taking into account how first the key animation must be definitive in time to serve as clear guidance, because at that point more key animation directors should supervise in time the correction for the 'genga' itself... and what if the key animation needs to be returned too? What about having the necessary layouts first? We have witnessed by now how little successful many productions lately have been throwing animation directors at a problem of clearly deficient planning.

Every step of the process is a continuous back-and-forth, and incorporating more people into the production line can make it more unmanageable too... so, with all of the above in mind, we have that the time required must be clearly a common denominator of the process in a way that lack of such key resource is ultimately the decisive element. Of course, "time is money" as well, although money alone isn't gonna solve a whole lot, I suppose. Also, having "twice the number of frames drawn" can't be a particular benefit without a clear or apt direction or expressive intent behind the cuts in question. Limited animation is an stylistic approach too, and the timing isn't a concession but a methodology to master on its own, with several attributes perceived depending on the specific situation and results wanted.
 
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fourfourfun

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,671
England
I've mowed through a fair few bits on Netflix in recent years. I have to say, Hero Mask is one of the best things I've watched. I'm actually going through it again to savour it more. Well worth a go.
 

Deleted member 5322

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,523
Watching Domestic Girlfriend...the concept is hilarious and the plot it does with it seems pretty hooky. It's nice!
 
Oct 25, 2017
2,333
Well, in this particular situation you propose a good scheduling is still the limiting factor! Because, consider the following; do you think every sheet of 'dōga' worked on by an in-between animator is going to be deemed usable? Well, not at all, and given your reasoning more staff with an in-between checker position is going to be needed. But, the in-between checker sometimes needs the animator to do the corrections in time, right? The in-between checker signals them and returns the sheets to the in-betweener in question. All that without taking into account how first the key animation must be definitive in time to serve as clear guidance, because at that point more key animation directors should supervise in time the correction for the 'genga' itself... and what if the key animation needs to be returned too? What about having the necessary layouts first? We have witnessed by now how little successful many productions lately have been throwing animation directors at a problem of clearly deficient planning.

Every step of the process is a continuous back-and-forth, and incorporating more people into the production line can make it more unmanageable too... so, with all of the above in mind, we have that the time required must be clearly a common denominator of the process in a way that lack of such key resource is ultimately the decisive element. Of course, "time is money" as well, although money alone isn't gonna solve a whole lot, I suppose.

Qualified manpower is another limiting factor beyond time and money. It's easy to say "Just hire more animators" but there's only a finite supply of animators to hire. And not all of those are going to be especially trained and skilled. Director Shin Itagaki recently wrote about how one of the major issues of today's anime industry is that there simply aren't enough animators, and animation directors in particular, to cover the high volume of anime being made. Animation directors are important, he says, because there isn't usually time to train key animators properly and so the animation directors have to shoulder a greater burden in order to get a competent product out. "These days, it is normal for the unit/episode director (enshutsu) and animation director to redraw 80-90% of the key animation that is submitted" - a staggering figure! Throwing money and even time at that problem isn't going to do a whole lot if you simply can't find people who can do that.

"Itagaki stated that when "animation breakdown" happens, it is usually not because of negligence from the production assistants or because the storyboards were finished too late, but because the smaller/mid-sized production company had lost out to a bigger company in the "war for animation directors." In other words, the production has no choice but to leave bad animation as it is."

There's not really going to be an improvement on that front until the amount of anime being made decreases so that demand for animators doesn't outstrip supply and there's the possibility of training animators to raise their overall skill level.

(This is, incidentally, the main reason why KyoAni productions can be consistently polished - KyoAni is the only anime studio which doesn't use freelancers at all but only their own employees - who go through the studio's own training school, no less. Thus they don't have to compete with any other companies for animators. This parallel ecosystem allows KyoAni to completely sidestep the issues affected the rest of the industry.)
 

/XX/

Member
Oct 25, 2017
610
Spain
Qualified manpower is another limiting factor beyond time and money. It's easy to say "Just hire more animators" but there's only a finite supply of animators to hire. And not all of those are going to be especially trained and skilled. Director Shin Itagaki recently wrote about how one of the major issues of today's anime industry is that there simply aren't enough animators, and animation directors in particular, to cover the high volume of anime being made. Animation directors are important, he says, because there isn't usually time to train key animators properly and so the animation directors have to shoulder a greater burden in order to get a competent product out.
Yeah, that's right. As we know here, organisations like, for example, JAniCA have tried tackling the issue of such high barrier of entry for animators into the Japanese animation industry with a well regarded initiative, but it is obvious the underlying problem will persist until the "bargaining power" for animation studios they mentioned patently increases, in response to the still current committee system that mostly production companies sustain (holdings of recent foundation like USPI or TWIN ENGINE Inc., leverage that notion of power to retain further control over original properties).

Anyway, if we are talking within the realms of the present (unsustainable) situation, having creators at the helm with well established contacts and the capacity to attract talent with those good connections are factors for sure. So, consequently, an ample schedule can certainly help in accommodating the participation of determined people on a project, and the trainee periods would benefit from that leeway and exemplary supervision too. Recently, Tadashi Hiramatsu (former main key animator at GAiNAX and partly responsible of the training lessons for the studio apprentices) comes to mind on this matter about availability and time management, as he was capable thanks to schedules compatibility between the productions of Yuri!!! on ICE and Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms to assimilate additional tasks for the later, mainly because of the willingness and consideration coming from P.A.WORKS' leadership to proper establish comparatively relaxed milestones attainable for in-house workers on a formation phase (leaving aside Toshiyuki Inoue's own realism and penchant for perfection, which apparently became excessively ambitious).
 
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Richter1887

Member
Oct 27, 2017
39,143
Is there any point in watching the recap episode of Mob? I skipped it because I have been bringing the first season but I heard it had some new content in it.
 

SliceSabre

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,556
Endro 05

I wonder if the Princess is going to try to force Mao-sensei to publicly become demon lord again.

Manaria Friends 04

WILL YOU JUST FUCK ALREADY

Kotobuki 05

Yea the 3D-2D switching is still stupid but god I just like these dogfights so much I'm willing to look past all that. I hope we get to see more of the angry Councillor.
 
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