Anime - Magical Girl Anime Thread, hajimarimasu!

[bugarup]

Goshdarn the drawing style of those "Stardust Crusaders" is so fugly, I had to go to cute animals pics thread just to cleanse palate a little.

[majestic]

52 minutes ago, bugarup said:

Goshdarn the drawing style of those "Stardust Crusaders" is so fugly, I had to go to cute animals pics thread just to cleanse palate a little.

Well, they can't all be Kars...

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

1 hour ago, bugarup said:

Goshdarn the drawing style of those "Stardust Crusaders" is so fugly, I had to go to cute animals pics thread just to cleanse palate a little.

 

10 minutes ago, majestic said:

Well, they can't all be Kars...

He's got a sick air guitar too. Is there anything he can't do?

Besides return to Earth or find a gfbf his own age

[Amentep]

6 hours ago, Amentep said:

Also, is it me or does Zygoba's motivation stem from...

  Reveal hidden contents

...the fact that he's as anatomically correct as a Ken doll?  Dude was trying to overcompensate with his sex-slavery ring and Psychogun army, methinks.

 

I saw I got a couple of confused reactions, and I think its about this bit above.  So to explain...

Spoiler

...Zygoba takes off his only piece of clothing, a cloak, when Cobra attacks his base.  Presumably to make it easier to become immaterial, as his whole plan to defeat Cobra is built around this ability.  But in this nekkid reveal he also appears to reveal that he has no genitals.

 

[Bartimaeus]

44 minutes ago, Amentep said:

I saw I got a couple of confused reactions, and I think its about this bit above.  So to explain...

Lmao. That's pretty helpful context, because I had no idea how you reached that conclusion, but I figured you must've said it for a reason that was escaping me.

Cardcaptor Sakura, episode 65:

Spoiler

Lmao, did NOT know where that scene between Yukito and Toya was going to go, but it being a scene for a film was not what I expected. And Nakuru is directing? This can't be good...

Oh my gosh, Toya and Sakura both doing the patented Sakura scream in unison after they both realized what she'd done was so perfect.

There's only so many times Toya can nearly say what he's been trying to say since the beginning of this season BEFORE I RUN OUT OF PATIENCE, SHOW! ...I mean, not really, but seriously - how many times were Yukito and Toya off on their own during season 1 and 2 that that can apparently never, ever happen now?

Nakuru seems pretty into making this film... "That's precisely why I want him to come here." *FLAMES IN REFLECTION OF GLASSES* Oh, okay, so I guess Toya is going to be the target this episode.

Nakuru is kind of evil, but she's also strangely kind of nice. It's tough to see anything bad happening to her.

"That chair is one I've been using for a long time." Sakura, please, he drops so many hints and you miss literally every single one of them, .

FINALLY, IT IS DONE. It was pretty well worth the wait, too.

That video game that he's playing, which has to be an N64, PS1, or Dreamcast, somehow has a custom texture for the car he's using with his name on it? Some mighty good-looking graphics, too...

 

[majestic]

8 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

FINALLY, IT IS DONE. It was pretty well worth the wait, too.

Sakura listening in on that conversation was hard… to watch.

What did you think about her, uhm, decision at the end there? 

[Bartimaeus]

1 hour ago, majestic said:

Sakura listening in on that conversation was hard… to watch.

What did you think about her, uhm, decision at the end there? 

Yeah, I initially wrote "of all times to eavesdrop, Sakura..."

I'm not...sure it's going to work out quite how she expects.

@majestic Episode 66. We're almost at the end now.

Spoiler

Opens up with Toya saying "as long as you're by my side..." - yeaaah, I don't think it's going to work out, Sakura. I mean...maybe I'm wrong, but there's been a whooole lot of subtext...to the point where it's no longer much feeling like subtext. Hopefully Sakura figures out a way to restore Toya before the end of the show.

Toya's not so disabled he forgot about his little rivalry with Xiaolang, at least!

Is Eriol planning on like...harvesting Sakura for her power and cards or something? I still can't figure out his game exactly. It feels like it should be patently obvious, but for some reason I can't quite put my finger on it. He clearly does not want to kill her...yet he wanted to cripple Toya in order to restore Yukito? Yukito and Kero are his own creations...does he intend on using her to reclaim them somehow, after everything has been re-fueled by her own magic? Or maybe there'll be some kind of test of loyalty where he expects the cards and Yukito/Toya to come back to him, but each and every one of them have all made it pretty freaking clear that that's never going to happen. I don't know, nothing I can guess seems quite right with everything said and done so far, so I'm still guessing.

Oh, great. Nakuru is glomming onto Sakura now? Discarding her brother in favor of the little kid, huh?

This probably looks silly and wholesome to someone not currently watching the show, but it's not!

...But it is kind of hilarious.

And now it's Sakura's turn to stop and stutter...her and Xiaolang have that in common, at least. Oh man, the framing of this scene, when she finally says it, and Yukito is just absolutely towering over her... Oh my gosh, he pointed out the fact that he and her father are basically the same guy! I didn't think that'd ever happen, but here we are. And now, having realized her grave error, Sakura is trying to sell Yukito on her brother... Both hilarious and cute but also kind of a little messed up. And now she's giving them her blessing...dear lord, lmao.

Sakura with the quick draw! Ain't nobody got time for the whole ritual. Oh my gosh, Sakura, YOU SAW HIM! How do you not remember? Blimey, girl, you need some glasses.

Who the heck keeps fixing this penguin slide? It's been fractured beyond repair a few times now, but somehow they keep getting it back up and running.

Xiaolang looks like he's trying his damnedest to not be embarrassed or run away or any other kind of shonen-esque reaction to Sakura crying her eyes out...OH, and he comes through with the handkerchief...AND THE HUG, AND THE KIND WORDS!

 

Edited November 15, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[majestic]

Sakura talk:

Spoiler

27 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

Yeah, I initially wrote "of all times to eavesdrop, Sakura..."

So, now that I'm no longer biking around while typing posts, yes, indeed. Nakuru isn't really evil, she just didn't understand that Yukito doesn't remember being Yue. She always thought Yue/Yukito wanted to drain power from Toya in the first place and befriended him just for that. It's what she meant in the first episode she showed up when she told Yukito that if he doesn't take it soon, it'll be hers. She just has - or had, at least - no idea that Yukito isn't attracted to Toya's magical ability (like Shaoran with Yukito, or Sakura with Kaho) but actually just... well, really, really likes him, to use the parlance of the show when it comes to love.

1 hour ago, Bartimaeus said:

I'm not...sure it's going to work out quite how she expects.

You don't "sound" entirely convinced that the show isn't going to pull a fast one.

Either way, you're in for one very memorable episode.

 

[Bartimaeus]

8 minutes ago, majestic said:

Either way, you're in for one very memorable episode.

I watched the next episode, and edited in an @you with the big edit before you posted. Did it not notify you? I thought it would even if you edit it in later.

9 minutes ago, majestic said:

Nakuru

Oh man, I did not understand what she was trying to say to him at all, but now all that totally makes sense. Okay, that's weird...maybe my "harvesting Sakura" idea isn't so crazy after all, then...

[majestic]

Just now, Bartimaeus said:

I watched the next episode, and edited in an @you with the big edit before you posted. Did it not notify you? I thought it would even if you edit it in later.

Oh noes. It usually does, but apparently being logged in on both my phone and computer is a bit messy. I'll go read up now, I've been dying to post something about #66 ever since I watched it.

 

[majestic]

1 hour ago, Bartimaeus said:

I didn't think that'd ever happen, but here we are.

Me neither.

Spoiler

I was honestly convinced the entire time that her crush on Yukito will just fizzle out when she realizes that she likes Shaoran more than him. Instead, Sakura just stands there, stutters a bit, tells Yukito that she really, really likes him (using suki, not ai****eru - difference being similar to English "loving" something, and a romantic "I love you"), and then the scene makes her small, and you can see what Yukito is going to say just by the way she looks at him, before he says a word:

Suki, daisuki... ah well, it should not be. Boy what a rhyme, I think it's thyme... erm, yeah. Sorry. Gomen!

Man Sakura, break my heart, will you?

Sakura giving Yuktio her "blessing" for loving Toya is one really nice piece of character development - one of the few things she gets in the show over her usual static self. Not losing her grip at that point to not further make Yukito any more uncomfortable than she already did (or maybe that's just me projecting, but a not quite 12 year old girl confessing her love to an 18 year old would be massively embarrassing, I imagine), and for the first time really realizing something by figuring out that he likes Toya in that way, not her.

Plus that face is really hilarious.

Imagining being angry at Toya beats crying...

Yukito trying to gently get out of that mess without hurting Sakura any more than she's already. Then there's of course this scene:

Looks like Sakura's world comes crashing down on her.

Then Sakura goes back to something Tomoyo said (hey, I said it would come up again, right? ), just not without understanding what Tomoyo really meant, but hey, she had her moment of realizing something, so there's that.

Just a little bit, I feel like crying. You know, not long ago Shaoran would have just left, and wow, Tomoyo, how hard was it to leave Sakura there to be consoled by Shaoran?

Callback to #40: DREAM!

I also totally did not keep the tabs with the image links open in my browser ever since I watched that episode, waiting to post them. Nope. Totally not. Like... no way I'd do something like that, right? *goes to finally close 6 tabs*

22 minutes ago, Bartimaeus said:

Oh man, I did not understand what she was trying to say to him at all, but now all that totally makes sense. Okay, that's weird...maybe my "harvesting Sakura" idea isn't so crazy after all, then...

Well, you only have a few episodes left to find out. Eriol has a weird way of going about his goals, but it's in character for Clow Reed (remember the first movie about the supposed rivalry between Reed and Rei Ayanami fortune teller lady voiced by Rei Ayanami that turned out to be love?).

To cap it off:

Incoherend rambling why I liked this episode more than #60 (or any other, until the second film, at least):

At the end of the day I'm still amazed that they managed to pull the episode off like that, and it feels like the culmination of so many things, and... well, and there's me liking Sakura more than other characters. I know, I know, Meiling got the rougher deal, seriously, and Tomoyo consoling Meiling has a tragic spin that this episode doesn't, but really, if you make me cry over a hug and cheer Shaoran on, then hey, you win, episode. You win. No way you can't win.

 

 

[majestic]

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, Episode 15.

Lt. General Gaiz stands between three monitors talking to him in distorted voices about how they should proceed now that they're under investigation by the Main Office and their Navy-backed response unit.

For a while now I haven't been able to shake the feeling of watching a Neon Genesis Magical Girl when it comes to the military setup and secret response force and fighting dangerous enemies prophesied to bring about the end of the world, but that just seals the deal, right? This isn't a coincidence, but really deliberate. That's part two of the comparison I mentioned that I could make that would raise undue expectations.

At least now I can see that nagging feeling directly on screen.

 

[Bartimaeus]

1 hour ago, majestic said:

At the end of the day I'm still amazed that they managed to pull the episode off like that, and it feels like the culmination of so many things, and... well, and there's me liking Sakura more than other characters. I know, I know, Meiling got the rougher deal, seriously, and Tomoyo consoling Meiling has a tragic spin that this episode doesn't, but really, if you make me cry over a hug and cheer Shaoran on, then hey, you win, episode. You win. No way you can't win.

Strangely, the episode that "got me" the most is still the episode you just posted a picture of, S2E5/E40, but purely because...well, it was a great episode in of itself, but especially because of the montage of memories near the end. I might just be a sucker for good emotional montages with characters I love, though. Although obviously very different, that one in particular conjures some similar feelings, at least for me, to Pearl re-enacting her old war-time stories with Rose back in season 1 of SU. My heart attempts to bloodily carve itself out of my chest anytime I watch that one.

Spoiler

1 hour ago, majestic said:

I was honestly convinced the entire time that her crush on Yukito

I loved that she also said he was wrong at least a little to Xiaolang, even if she accepted what Yukito had said. That was an important touch for really perfecting the scene, because while what Yukito said did make total sense...the reality is it can be both. Lots of people end up looking for and marrying imitations of their parents, after all. And if Yukito feels like a bit of an imitation of her father, I have to say that Xiaolang feels like a bit of an imitation of her brother... But that's okay - it makes sense that you like other people that are similar to your two most important male role models, right?

Your screenshots look so bad in comparison to mine. If you ever re-watch the show, please find and re-watch the new version, . Re: tabs, a few times in the past I've actually kept some tabs open for literally months at a time when I'm meaning to have them serve some kind of purpose, but I've graduated to just keeping a permanent Notepad++ file that keeps all notes, links, ideas, etc., that I want to get to instead, which is...a bit more convenient, I have to say.

1 hour ago, majestic said:

Just a little bit, I feel like crying. You know, not long ago Shaoran would have just left, and wow, Tomoyo, how hard was it to leave Sakura there to be consoled by Shaoran?

I'm still not sure how I feel about Tomoyo this season. I'm trying to think of what I would've wanted for her instead of this all-wise and all-knowing role that she's kind of had this season, but I can't really think of anything, because any alternative to what they did would've probably created massive problems that would've had to be a major focus of their own. It's not that I wanted her to be jealous or cause problems or anything like that exactly...but having her being reduced to being pushed to the side like this and having her just accept and encourage everything doesn't seem quite right to me either. Maybe it's just the vestiges of Tomoyo's tragedy from the first season speaking, though... I suppose there was never going to be any way to resolve that kind of hurt in a satisfactory manner, though, given what we know about Sakura - and it's definitely better than them trying to force anything extraordinarily dumb that wouldn't have worked at all (like giving Tomoyo a different interest...or other even more stupid possibilities). But I just don't like the idea of Tomoyo being left out in the cold like this, though - the fact that it makes the most sense only makes it hurt more!

1 hour ago, majestic said:

Well, you only have a few episodes left to find out. Eriol has a weird way of going about his goals, but it's in character for Clow Reed (remember the first movie about the supposed rivalry between Reed and Rei Ayanami fortune teller lady voiced by Rei Ayanami that turned out to be love?).

Hmm...

 

Edited November 16, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[InsaneCommander]

7 hours ago, bugarup said:

Goshdarn the drawing style of those "Stardust Crusaders" is so fugly, I had to go to cute animals pics thread just to cleanse palate a little.

I bet you will love Vento Aureo:

[bugarup]

7 hours ago, InsaneCommander said:

Vento Aureo

 While fashion sense of those dudes is...questionable (though I had a shirt in exact same color and pattern as Third-from-Right's...shorts over tights? Or is that a backwards apron? Anyway, what I am saying is, who am I to judge), at least their heads and faces do not look, like, equivalent of car models of the eighties. 

Though this looks like concept art and in anime itself they probably look that, don't they. 

[gourn]

There are many magical girls in Anime world, But all of them I really like to put her name, she is Rem from Re:Zero

rem.jfif

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

13 hours ago, InsaneCommander said:

I bet you will love Vento Aureo:

Easily one of the best parts.

[Lexx]

I thought the drawing style is really good in JoJo. One of the fav things about it for me, even.

[majestic]

21 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

Strangely, the episode that "got me" the most is still the episode you just posted a picture of, S2E5/E40, but purely because...well, it was a great episode in of itself, but especially because of the montage of memories near the end. I might just be a sucker for good emotional montages with characters I love, though. Although obviously very different, that one in particular conjures some similar feelings, at least for me, to Pearl re-enacting her old war-time stories with Rose back in season 1 of SU. My heart attempts to bloodily carve itself out of my chest anytime I watch that one.

It's not the episode that got me the most, to be honest, there are others (Meiling's send-off for instance). I also agree that the episode with Dream was fantastic. Emotional montages, I get that. SU's was pretty good, but I think I really need to go back and watch at least parts of season one again now that I've seen the whole series. I have a feeling a few of these episodes would work, perhaps not better, but differently, or would be enhanced by knowing (and loving) the characters already.

Speaking of montages (Sailor Moon "spoiler", I guess):

Spoiler

When I watch the ending of the first season of Sailor Moon it's not the girls dying that causes distress, because hey, even watching it for the first time you know it's going to be all right. It's the combination of seeing them die and that short but really painful throwback that plays shortly after.

The episode simply wins by doing everything right while at the same time being emotionally powerful enough to cause a tear or two, besides it's bittersweet instead of just sad. One thing ends, the other clearly begins (in earnest this time). Oh, and by being really surprising. Never thought she'd go and do that (I know I'm repeating myself ).

What I don't understand is how nothing else from Ms. Ohkawa came close to that. Although, caveat, I still have to try Magic Knight Rayearth.

More Sakura talk:

Spoiler

21 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

I loved that she also said he was wrong at least a little to Xiaolang, even if she accepted what Yukito had said. That was an important touch for really perfecting the scene, because while what Yukito said did make total sense...the reality is it can be both. Lots of people end up looking for and marrying imitations of their parents, after all. And if Yukito feels like a bit of an imitation of her father, I have to say that Xiaolang feels like a bit of an imitation of her brother... But that's okay - it makes sense that you like other people that are similar to your two most important male role models, right?

True, it can be both, and it makes perfect sense as a gentle way to let Sakura down - I mean, Yukito even comes down to eye-level with her. The framing of that scene is just absolute brilliance, and the episode (and the preceeding one) almost... almost makes up for all the downsides of the arc, and for Kero meeting Spinel Sun without even suspecting anything. Not even Sakura is that clueless, and that's saying something.

21 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

Your screenshots look so bad in comparison to mine. If you ever re-watch the show, please find and re-watch the new version, . Re: tabs, a few times in the past I've actually kept some tabs open for literally months at a time when I'm meaning to have them serve some kind of purpose, but I've graduated to just keeping a permanent Notepad++ file that keeps all notes, links, ideas, etc., that I want to get to instead, which is...a bit more convenient, I have to say.

They're not mine, but from a review of the episode I found after watching it. I just kept the imgur links to have them handy. I figured with the speed you were going through the episodes back then that you'd be done a good deal earlier.

But yeah, the Blu Ray is definitely looking better than the Netflix version too. I'm going to buy a set when I come across one, the show deserves as much. Notepad++ looks like work, so that'll stay the hell away from my private computer.

21 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

I'm still not sure how I feel about Tomoyo this season. I'm trying to think of what I would've wanted for her instead of this all-wise and all-knowing role that she's kind of had this season, but I can't really think of anything, because any alternative to what they did would've probably created massive problems that would've had to be a major focus of their own. It's not that I wanted her to be jealous or cause problems or anything like that exactly...but having her being reduced to being pushed to the side like this and having her just accept and encourage everything doesn't seem quite right to me either. Maybe it's just the vestiges of Tomoyo's tragedy from the first season speaking, though... I suppose there was never going to be any way to resolve that kind of hurt in a satisfactory manner, though, given what we know about Sakura - and it's definitely better than them trying to force anything extraordinarily dumb that wouldn't have worked at all (like giving Tomoyo a different interest...or other even more stupid possibilities). But I just don't like the idea of Tomoyo being left out in the cold like this, though - the fact that it makes the most sense only makes it hurt more!

In a situation like that you can become like Sonomi and be bitter for a long time, or you can try to move on. That's so much easier said than done though, and we're talking about girls not even 12 years old, so that is a bit... over their heads, or at least it should be. Not as much as Nanoha's maturity and resolve is in the first two seasons, but that's a completely different ballpark (and has a much different focus). 

There's definitely the problem of the second arc going on longer than it should too. That feels strange because in the end, it's only half the length of the first one, but it feels like Tomoyo's been stuck in a corner with no way to step forward - or back, so she became the enabler of romance for Shaoran. Which would be fine for a short arc, but 24 episodes?

Now imagine all of this in Clear Card going on for even longer, and Tomoyo becoming a caricature of herself. Ugh.

21 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

Hmm...

Oh my, I didn't want to imply that getting her into potentially deadly situations is Eriol's way of showing Sakura that he really, really likes her.

Potentially spoilerish questions, feel free to disregard:

Spoiler

Eriol is already in the fangs of an older woman who likes her men way too young. Eh... although, no idea, has that been revealed already?

Creepy couple. Fits though.

 

[majestic]

There's a helicopter in StrikerS they're often flying around with. It's the only thing on the show that is CGI, and I have no idea why*. It looks terrible and out of place, like late 90ies made for TV grade. It seems such a silly thing, but I wish this would look better. Not just the helicopter, but everything else. It's not bad, it's just not... nearly as good as it could be, and arguably perhaps even deserves in this season.

Nanoha talks to the others about trying to find a family that will take Vivio in and where Vivio also would like to stay, and her team is basically: "Nah, not going to happen." She's already way too attached to Nanoha-mama and Fate-mama, but apparently Nanoha can't see the trees for the forest, or however that saying goes. The scenes with Vivio continue to be absolutely heartwarming.

edit: Oh boy, that attack on the Space Cop HQ was pretty successful. Episode gets bonus points for making decent use of the character's magical enhanced cyborg abilities. Girl who can walk through solid matter drops through the ceiling and takes out the entire defense command with a few well placed grenades. Meanwhile all the defensive magic turns out ot be useless with the entire area blanketed in an anti-magic field.

Spoiler

Subaru confirmed as cyborg. The numbers gang shows up to capture the newbies and they're talking about that it's probably not going to be easy to capture them, even if the "Type 0" models are a bit older.

One of the enemies packs the same power fist as Subaru and the newbie gang gets cornered by a swarm of magic missiles that look suspiciously like Nanoha's abilities. Seems like the good Doctor had access to a whole lot of material to experiment with.

Lt. General Whathisface meanwhile simply keeps the conference going in the middle of the attack. Gee. Nothing to see here, nothing at all. He's trying to gather support and more funding for his non-magical defense project. Such a coincidence. I wonder if that thing will save them next episode.

*I suspect the animated rotor blades would have been out of scope for the budget or the time they had. Because every time the helicopter shows up grounded it's just drawn normally like everything else is.

Edited November 16, 2021 by majestic

[InsaneCommander]

Stardust Crusaders 16-20

 

I’m enjoying the creativity of the enemies and their stands. The lovers was (were?) particularly unique. But Death 13’s episodes were the best.

 

Spoiler

Dogs getting screwed again!

“No one would send their stand after us in the air…” Of course Polnareff. Stando-bug is proof of that.

Stando-baby!

 

 

Why would those people let a baby travel with strangers??? Are they all Dio’s lackeys? And why would JoJo and his friends accept it????

For a moment I thought the dog would become a Siren head.

Since the baby survived, he will probably become one of the most powerful Stand users in the future.

 

 

 

Edited November 17, 2021 by InsaneCommander

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

49 minutes ago, InsaneCommander said:

Stardust Crusaders 16-20

 

I’m enjoying the creativity of the enemies and their stands. The lovers was (were?) particularly unique. But Death 13’s episodes were the best.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Dogs getting screwed again!

“No one would send their stand after us in the air…” Of course Polnareff. Stando-bug is proof of that.

Stando-baby!

 

 

Why would those people let a baby travel with strangers??? Are they all Dio’s lackeys? And why would JoJo and his friends accept it????

For a moment I thought the dog would become a Siren head.

Since the baby survived, he will probably become one of the most powerful Stand user in the future.

 

 

 

Lali-ho!

[Gorth]

I caved in and resorted to Amazon Prime... $2.99 per episode (HD version), but what the heck, it's only 7 episodes. Not going to break the bank. Started watching something called Mieruko chan. Very interesting. Very bizarre. Funny and scary. Not quite sure what to think of the characters (or overall story arc) yet. Only watched episode 1 so far.

 

Once done with Mieruko chan, I managed to get my hands on something called 'Those who hunt elves'. Haven't watched it yet, but it looks like completely unapologetic fun, not to be analyzed or thought about too seriously.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Jojo Stardust Crusaders 14 and 15: Enyaba's Justice.

This show is never normal lmao.

[majestic]

19 hours ago, Gorth said:

I caved in and resorted to Amazon Prime... $2.99 per episode (HD version), but what the heck, it's only 7 episodes. Not going to break the bank. Started watching something called Mieruko chan. Very interesting. Very bizarre. Funny and scary. Not quite sure what to think of the characters (or overall story arc) yet. Only watched episode 1 so far.

That's still running and all that...