Anime - Magical Girl Anime Thread, hajimarimasu!

[majestic]

Komi Can’t Communicate… episode something.

 

This is gradually getting worse. If I stop posting it is because I decided to become an ascetic hermit free from the shackles of modern technology or I killed myself to escape my OCD.

[Sarex]

24 minutes ago, majestic said:

Komi Can’t Communicate… episode something.

 

This is gradually getting worse. If I stop posting it is because I decided to become an ascetic hermit free from the shackles of modern technology or I killed myself to escape my OCD.

I stopped watching it because of the subs. I'll watch it with the fan subs eventually.

[Bartimaeus]

30 minutes ago, majestic said:

This is gradually getting worse. If I stop posting it is because I decided to become an ascetic hermit free from the shackles of modern technology or I killed myself to escape my OCD.

e: shoulda watched samurai champloo

Spoiler

so you could have even MORE things you don't want to watch tearing at the fabric of your mind while they all sit uncompleted

Edited November 11, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

40 minutes ago, majestic said:

This is gradually getting worse. If I stop posting it is because I decided to become an ascetic hermit free from the shackles of modern technology or I killed myself to escape my OCD.

I'd go with the former just in case there is an afterlife that can watch TV.

[majestic]

Just after I complained it had one of these great Komi and Tadano have a quiet conversation moments, but then the Bokukko and the insane Stalker Girl showed up and it was over pretty quickly. The episode doing a 24-style clock insert was semi-funny, meaning I appreciated the idea of the joke, even if it didn't cause any reaction.

Still, ugh. Stalker Girl made me want to gauge my eyes out  and pierce my eardrums .
 

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

6 minutes ago, majestic said:

Just after I complained it had one of these great Komi and Tadano have a quiet conversation moments, but then the Bokukko and the insane Stalker Girl showed up and it was over pretty quickly. The episode doing a 24-style clock insert was semi-funny, meaning I appreciated the idea of the joke, even if it didn't cause any reaction.

Still, ugh. Stalker Girl made me want to gauge my eyes out  and pierce my eardrums .
 

I think it was the weakest episode so far. While I generally like Komi and Tadano....the Komi fans are usually just gags that aren't very interesting. I'm not sure what they're trying to do with Najimi, but generally they get on my nerves much less than dog girl, physical exam rival, or the hair licking stalker.

Should have just watched Samurai Champloo or Hol Horse.

[Sarex]

Tales from Earthsea. It was an interesting watch and it kept my attention. I would rate it low for a Ghibli production, but better then Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind which is to say that it was still a very good movie. Lots of things unexplained (why the balance was being destroyed), some that make no sense (why he killed his father) and the ending that was left too open.

Edited November 11, 2021 by Sarex

[majestic]

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS, episode 8.
 

Spoiler

Tia doesn't try to resign, instead she goes into full shounen overdrive mode after Nanoha asks her to take it a bit easier in a very friendly and heartfelt manner. Training well into the night, getting up early for even more practice. The other girls talk about her past and how she lost someone dear to her very early in her life. Subaru eventually joins her in her training sessions, to practice some fancy new team moves for the upcoming mock battle against Nanoha. Cue training montage.

Nanoha easily blocks Subaru's and Tia's first attack, then they decide to try their new combination attack involving a decoy Tia trying to shoot Nanoha while the real one sneaks up on her from behind. For this Tia is holding a semi-released laser shot as a sort of blade she calls... gun blade. Well, gun blade beats silly German, so I'll take it.

Nanoha does her best Chinese Martial Arts master impression, blocks Subaru's power fist attack, and then simply catches Tia's laser blade with her bare hands (without even looking in her direction), very quietly asks Tia if her training is really so bad that they have to turn a mock fight into a brawl and that there is no point in continuing if they only pretend to listen to what she has to say, then crowd controls Subaru and proceeds to blast Tia to kingdom come, saying the mock fight over, the two having failed in their objective, i.e. declaring them to have been killed in action.

I like the way the last two episodes highlight that reckless and stupid shounen behaviour has no place in a team. Lots of animes out there that could take a lesson from this. Well, and from Nanoha. Absolutely loved the defeated look on her face when she shot down Tia.

Well, maybe both of them will try to resign next episode to restore some semblance of derivativeness.

The one thing this needs is being sent back in time to the late 80ies or early to mid 90ies period to have better animators work on the show. It's definitely a magical girl show for people who usually don't like magical girl shows, it's pretty different, very sci-fi-ish and so far successfully toeing a very fine line between fun action, serious character development and a somewhat interesting storyline (caveat: that is me loving the setup, your milage may vary) without feeling as opressively melancholic as the first two seasons.

Could do with a little less fanservice, there's no need for Tia's gun holsters to wrap around her breasts, but seinen's gonna seinen, and it's really better this way than what came before, so please, by all means, focus on Subaru's hot pants and Tia's holsters as much as you want.

[majestic]

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS, episode 9:

Spoiler

Episode nine was a little weaker, opting to give the newbies a rundown of the first two seasons in the form of a video screen clip show exposition dump about the history of Nanoha and Fate, and why they are the way they are. Their reactions to seeing Nanoha outperform their antics at nine left them pretty impressed. Nanoha isn't exactly happy that their maintenance officer revealed her past so readily but comes to realize that training them without explaining her reasoning might not have been the best course of action.

The episode started with one of the instructors giving Tia a mouthful of fist for yelling at Nanoha, or rather, somewhat forcefully asking Nanoha why it's a bad idea to be a shounen protagonist, but Nanoha doesn't have time to answer. The answer was in the clip show and a bit of exposition: It gets you and your team killed - well, almost killed in Nanoha's case.

At the end Nanoha finds some time to talk to Tia alone, while the others all eavesdrop. Tia gets a quick preview of her level up options, and Nanoha explains that she can multiclass into being a ranged/melee dps hybrid if she wants.

I mean, it's not like that, but that's what it looked like.

 

Edited November 11, 2021 by majestic

[uuuhhii]

komi suffer many common weakness of the genre

like overreliance on character trait than actually have character

would be much better if made into anime 5 years ago

[Bartimaeus]

2 hours ago, Sarex said:

Tales from Earthsea. It was an interesting watch and it kept my attention. I would rate it low for a Ghibli production, but better then Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind which is to say that it was still a very good movie. Lots of things unexplained (why the balance was being destroyed), some that make no sense (why he killed his father) and the ending that was left too open.

As I recall, I had my fingers in my ears and my eyes closed during most of the final act of Tales from Earthsea because of how deeply embarrassed and ashamed I was with the totality of that film. Of all the anime movies I've watched, including some pretty miserable ones like the final two Rebuild films but also some other misbegotten garbage that doesn't need to be mentioned, only the second Madoka film rated lower than Tales from Earthsea. Nausicaa was the very first anime film I watched (...two years ago now?) and it didn't even slightly make me want to pluck out my eyeballs and puncture my eardrums while watching it. In contrast, Tales from Earthsea was the very last Ghibli film that I chose to watch (outside of the recently released Earwig and the Witch*), both because of its horrid reputation as well as the fact that it was a shonen fantasy anime, so it was admittedly pretty predictable that I would utterly despise it**. Still, I am shook.

*Which, for as much as I didn't like it and as kind of terrible as Earwig and the Witch was, I still liked a bit better than Tales from Earthsea.

**Originally, I wasn't going to watch Tales from Earthsea, but I got roped into it along with Ghibli's more dubious Ocean Waves, but I actually surprisingly liked Ocean Waves...no dice for Tales from Earthsea.

2 hours ago, majestic said:

I like the way the last two episodes highlight that reckless and stupid shounen behaviour has no place in a team. Lots of animes out there that could take a lesson from this.

Anything that shoots down bad shonen is a winner in my books...uuunless it came out past 2000, in which case it's still inherently trash, .

2 hours ago, majestic said:

The one thing this needs is being sent back in time to the late 80ies or early to mid 90ies period to have better animators work on the show.

Edited November 12, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Samurai Champloo 16-19

First we have another two parter, but this time it manages to focus on all characters as well as bring in a side character whose arc feels complete. Then we have grafitti artists followed by gun slinging Christians.

[majestic]

  

10 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

As I recall, I had my fingers in my ears and my eyes closed during most of the final act of Tales from Earthsea because of how deeply embarrassed and ashamed I was with the totality of that film. Of all the anime movies I've watched, including some pretty miserable ones like the final two Rebuild films but also some other misbegotten garbage that doesn't need to be mentioned, only the second Madoka film rated lower than Tales from Earthsea.

So, when are you finally watching that third Madoka film?

10 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

Anything that shoots down bad shonen is a winner in my books...uuunless it came out past 2000, in which case it's still inherently trash, .

Nanoha talk:
 

Spoiler

To be honest that entire set of episodes confirmed my feeling that this season is actually pretty good from a writing point of view. The setting might not work for someone, one can easily dislike the fanservice that is there, don't like sci-fi anime, or any number of things, but the consistency of character traits and their development is really nice. Tia and Subaru began the series being scolded for reckless behavior and having to take an off-screen makeup examination to be admitted to Riot Force 6, after all.

They then build up some confidence, train, have their first real mission, that works out just fine, but then once again fall back into old patterns after seeing how impressive the Belkan Knights are in actual combat (even with the power limiters in place) and push themselves too hard to try and keep up with more experienced mages that have been doing this for longer than the pair has been alive. Tia has a reason for her desire to prove her strength that while pretty similar to standard shounen revenge nonsense is still understandable and relatable (her brother was killed in action and seen as a failure by his peers and superiors, and while magic isn't entirely explained in the setting, it seems like there are different schools and ways to go about it, and since Tia has the "same" magic as her brother, she's out to prove herself - considering her basic insecurity, being "stuck" with using a magic school that's derided as inferior just adds pressure).

Every step of the way makes sense, nothing feels out of place or out of character, people talk to each other trying to solve issues, and at least until Signum (the pink haired Belkan Knight with the sword) just whacks Tia for insubordination, but that's also something perfectly in-character for her, and both her and Vita have expressed their concerns that Nanoha is entirely too friendly with the recruits and should apply more strict disciplinary measures.

Nanoha meanwhile didn't just have one of the most badass moments that I've seen recently by easily defeating Tia and Subaru, she also did that with a perfectly fitting defeated look. She tells the crowd controlled Subaru to watch and learn, quietly, without any anger, then goes off and blames herself for being unable to make them listen to her and re-examines her teaching style and lessons. She's an absurdly powerful mage, but there's no real feeling of power fantasy attached to that.

The biggest positive net change in the third season is aging up the characters. Nanoha being nine years old in the first two seasons was ridiculous considering the maturity she shows all the time. It also really is nice to see the anime itself - not just Nanoha, but really everyone, treating Tia's reckless nonsense as something that needs to be addressed, not glorified, before it hurts her comrades and friends.

Usually that just happens after someone gets hurt.

There's of course every chance that this just goes to hell in a handbasket or devolves into hyper-fast paced power fantasy action nonsense in the second half of the season, but so far this season has been really impressive, and very much worth watching.

For me, that is. It still is pretty serious, and I don't know if the lighter feeling tone is because the first two seasons were a tad overdramatic at certain points (Fate being laser-whipped by her mother, for instance) and this just looks less dramatic and serious in comparison to the first two seasons or because it really cut back on the melancholic feeling.

 

[HoonDing]

I need to watch two movies before season three to follow continuity but im not in the mood

[Bartimaeus]

5 hours ago, majestic said:

So, when are you finally watching that third Madoka film?

Only when everything else that remains is pure shonen.

5 hours ago, majestic said:

Nanoha

So...the gist of it is that the seinen anime gets less melodramatic and more shoujo-y after aging up the characters. Doesn't really make that much sense to me, but I guess that's okay, .

2 hours ago, HoonDing said:

I need to watch two movies before season three to follow continuity but im not in the mood

Example #4719 of me being unsure if there's any truth to anything HoonDing says...

Edited November 12, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[Bartimaeus]

Samurai Champloo, episodes 13 and 14.

Spoiler

Really awful melodramatic "death" scene/flashback that had some lady croak-singing over the entire thing aside (and boy, that scene just kept going and going), two more pretty good episodes.

Didn't expect Mukuro to go down like that - Jin cut him down so easily, I was actually shocked how quickly it happened...and boy, it was so satisfying. Unfortunately, there ended up being narrative reasons for why - brutal ending.

 

[kirottu]

21 hours ago, Sarex said:

Tales from Earthsea. It was an interesting watch and it kept my attention. I would rate it low for a Ghibli production, but better then Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind which is to say that it was still a very good movie. Lots of things unexplained (why the balance was being destroyed), some that make no sense (why he killed his father) and the ending that was left too open.

No.

[Sarex]

22 minutes ago, kirottu said:

No.

No what? You liked it?

[majestic]

2 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

So...the gist of it is that the seinen anime gets less melodramatic and more shoujo-y after aging up the characters. Doesn't really make that much sense to me, but I guess that's okay, .

I have a hard time explaining it because the parallels I could draw would perhaps raise undue expectations. So far, it's a sci-fi version of the Sailor Stars filler arc, just with a teambuilding and training part attached to it. That's not entirely correct because the first episode of the filler arc, and part of the second at least still had more slice of life elements than this. Sure, the team goes to the mess to eat and talk, they bond, spend some time in the bunk or relaxing outside, but that's here and there - and even all of that is spent on the Space Cop compound. The characters also aren't nearly as well defined as the main cast of Sailor Moon was at the time of the arc - that was some 166 episodes into the series after all.

The animation isn't good enough to give the action the more visceral feel it would need to become really entertaining, but at least I'm not 100% certain that everyone is going to pull through, so it feels as if something is at stake. Storywise they're trying to apprehend a criminal conducting some illegal research for so far unknown purposes. He sure looks more like a villain than the villains of the past two season (save for Fate's mother, but she was looking for a way to revive her lost daughter, not to destroy the world or summon Pharao 90, or something).

Time to watch some more, maybe they'll just mess it up. That would make it easier to talk about.

[majestic]

5 minutes ago, majestic said:

Time to watch some more, maybe they'll just mess it up.

Well, that's what I get for jinxing it. First instance of ridiculous fanservice in this season (interestingly enough, the shower and bath scenes so far weren't like this):

Spoiler

Subaru tries to wake up Tia and ends up being Nozomi from Love Live! *grab* *fondle* *boobrub*

At least Tia kicks her in the face for it and complains about being sexually assaulted, but still, what the hell, where did that come from? Not nice show, not nice.

*sigh*

On the other hand, the episode is called Riot Force 6's Day Off, Part 1, and it's about the team...

Spoiler

getting a day off to visit the nearby city for some R&R. I'd be surprised if this was a two parter just because it's an extended day off, so something relating to the story will probably happen.

Subaru and Tia head off on a motorcycle and Caro and Erio are trying to follow a schedule that Shari, the maintenance and tech officer of the group, made them. It contains items like "window shopping", "talking" and "eating lunch at a restaurant with an atmosphere conducive to conversation", in other words, Shari sent them on a date, but the two have no clue what they're supposed to do. 

I chuckled. Episode is trying hard to make up for the boob rub.

 

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

19 minutes ago, majestic said:

Well, that's what I get for jinxing it.

You should know by now to never jinx anything.

[majestic]

15 hours ago, KP Cross Split Attack said:

You should know by now to never jinx anything.

Yeah, mea culpa.

Nanhoa:
 

Spoiler

Of course the day off ends with an emergency scrambling, a damaged life pod that contained a little girl and two "relic" grade magic devices (i.e. dangerous precursor technology). Last episode had a news cast on TV some of the characters were watching where the current Space Cop Commander-in-chief gave a speech about needing increased funding to deal with rising threats. The girl from the lifepod meanwhile is speculated to be the result of the artificial mage experiment, an abandoned genetic (and apparently cybernetic) cloning, editing and enhancement program to produce perfect mages (soldiers?).

The attempt failed due to logistical and techical problems as well as ethical concerns. Guess that is what Professor Tomoe Dr. Scaglietti is working on, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Space Cop top brass is in on it - if not behind it. That also opens up the possibility of one or more of the newbie main cast to be the result of these experiments. Subaru is the daughter of a high ranking Space Cop admiral, so she seems like the most likely candidate.

Cloning is a viable technology, at least, because Fate is "just" a copy of Presea's daughter. Recently Professor Tomoe Dr. Scaglietti talked to a smaller girl that suspiciously sounded like Vita of the Belkan Knights. He may have access to Riot Force 6's genetic material. Woops.

edit: It also gives this whole mage ability limiter stuff a much darker spin, because the good Doctor is unlikely to ship his mages with one, right? Anyone else thinking of a fascist coup here?

edit 2: Now that I think of it, both Tia and Subaru have been able to cast spells that Fate and Nanoha have access to as well. That suddenly no longer seems to be the harmless imitation of idols it initially did.

 

Edited November 13, 2021 by majestic

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

JoJo Stardust Crusaders 10-12: J Greil's Hanged Man and Hol Horse's emperor, then Nena's Empress.

OH NO!

The laughs and tongue stuff in JoJo is consistently weird, which I guess fits the rest of the show.

1 hour ago, majestic said:

Yeah, mea culpa.

It could be worse... WARNING FOUL KNOWLEDGE AWAITS THOU 

after doing a dive on Cthullu mythos stuff in anime I found out that there exists an ecchi manga adapted from a hentai featuring shub-niggurath as an onee-chan. It's getting an anime adaptation to boot.

It's called the Elder Sister-like One and there aren't enough "OH MY GOD"s that can convey my shock.

[majestic]

6 hours ago, KP Cross Split Attack said:

It could be worse... WARNING FOUL KNOWLEDGE AWAITS THOU 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

That sounds awesome, really.

Spoiler

Not.

Also, uhm:

JoJo talk:
 

Spoiler

The moment it was clear that DIO's STANDOH POWAH is TIME STOP I thought to myself: "Now we're getting an asspull to finish this!" and what do you know, we got a major asspull and an eleventh hour superpower for JoJo: Timestop too!

Fun episodes, all in all, but was that really necessary? Was it necessary to let PORNAREFFU survive? Geez, really.

 

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

1 hour ago, majestic said:

That sounds awesome, really.

On the bright side.....well there isn't one.

1 hour ago, majestic said:

JoJo talk:
 

  Reveal hidden contents

The moment it was clear that DIO's STANDOH POWAH is TIME STOP I thought to myself: "Now we're getting an asspull to finish this!" and what do you know, we got a major asspull and an eleventh hour superpower for JoJo: Timestop too!

Fun episodes, all in all, but was that really necessary? Was it necessary to let PORNAREFFU survive? Geez, really.

 

Stardust Crusaders spoilers ahoy

Spoiler

It was definitely necessary

Finally DIO uses a meme attack that doesn't end up working, so Dire and Kakyoin got their revenge. And to top it off, his last words are "Kono DIO Da",  which means he went out screaming "it was me DIO". Truly one of the great anime villains almost entirely by virtue of being fun.

Every main character that survived will show up in a future part of JoJo, so that means PORANEREFFU will return at some point. While I don't hate him, I did like all the SC JoBros that got killed much better. It's kind of funny that Avdol "dies" first only to come back and die first unceremoniously. He deserved better tbh.

Oh, and you can say goodbye to the gym gods now, everyone drops 50 pounds of muscle from this point forward.

 

Edited November 13, 2021 by KP Cross Split Attack