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AnotherDuck No, the other one. from Stockholm Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Mu
No, the other one.
#151: Jul 3rd 2014 at 6:07:19 PM

So, a few more impressions. Well, two. Mainly.

Locodol seems kind of bland. Mostly because the characters aren't very interesting, either in personality or design. The only real distinguising detail of the main protagonist is that if you've got to do something, do it right. Otherwise her mother was more interesting. Going to give it maybe a few more episodes to see where it goes past the introduction.

Glasslip is another Slice of Life. I somehow thought of Nagi no Asukara, which would probably be a good thing. It's not quite like that, though, being somewhat more humourous and chaotic. Rather anorectic character design, though, and huge eyes. May turn out good, depending on how the relationship side of things goes, and whether that becomes a focus or not. Can't say which would be better at this point, though. Not impressive, but worth a shot.

Didn't bother with Argevollen or Tokyo Ghoul.

Oh, and Free! is just as it was in the first season.

edited 3rd Jul '14 6:07:53 PM by AnotherDuck

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majoraoftime (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#152: Jul 3rd 2014 at 6:34:33 PM

Terror in Resonance is apparently being premiered by Funimation tomorrow derp July 5 at Anime Expo. Much hype.

edited 3rd Jul '14 6:35:34 PM by majoraoftime

HighVelocityPointyThings Since: May, 2012
#153: Jul 3rd 2014 at 7:31:20 PM

Argevollen has delusions of realism. The good news is that they've also applied it to the characters. The bad news is that I have a really hard time caring about them. It has neither the charisma and polish of Buddy Complex, the irresistible insanity of Nobunaga The Fool, nor the barely-concealed potentialnote  of Valvrave The Liberator. There's a chance that this will become a Hidden Gem, but only a chance. Regardless, it will inevitably rise or fall by comparison with Aldnoah Zero.

Hylarn (Don’t ask)
#154: Jul 3rd 2014 at 7:36:50 PM

I liked Argevollen more than those other things you mentioned

AnotherDuck No, the other one. from Stockholm Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Mu
No, the other one.
#155: Jul 3rd 2014 at 7:42:04 PM

"It has neither the charisma and polish of Buddy Complex..."

It's that awful?

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HighVelocityPointyThings Since: May, 2012
#156: Jul 3rd 2014 at 8:15:30 PM

@Hylarn, Another Duck

I'm sorry, but if you can't like Buddy Complex, you must absolutely hate Mecha. Granted, I tend to rate anything with cool combat vehicles more favorably than I probably should. [lol]

The first episode of Argevollen just suffers from being badly put together, IMHO.

They're clearly trying to establish a "realistic" setting, but all of that falls apart the moment you look at it - and I'm not talking about tanks-vs-mecha level here. It seems like they have a few individuals on the production team that are trying for realism, but they're unable to overcome the rest of the staff.

The characters themselves are believable without making me want to rip their throats out from the inside, but they also completely fail to stand out. It feels like I'm looking at a cast of stand-ins from very early in the production: "Generic MC, but he's already in the army" "Wise but duty-bound commanders A, B, and C". "Bridge Bunnies A and B."

The starting premise is generic, which I wouldn't complain about if it weren't also so terribly vague. It's paint-by-numbers, but somehow I still can't make out what they're trying to get at. I'm willing to give this a pass since they've got plenty of time to sort it out, but they've completely failed to get me committed to a second episode, which is a bad indicator.

Hylarn (Don’t ask)
#157: Jul 3rd 2014 at 8:30:01 PM

I'm sorry, but if you can't like Buddy Complex, you must absolutely hate Mecha.

Didn't Buddy Complex sell really poorly? Most of Japan must absolutely hate Mecha, then

Personally, I found it competent but utterly unengaging

They're clearly trying to establish a "realistic" setting, but all of that falls apart the moment you look at it - and I'm not talking about tanks-vs-mecha level here. It seems like they have a few individuals on the production team that are trying for realism, but they're unable to overcome the rest of the staff.

Could you go into detail here? I didn't think we knew enough about it to be able to make these kinds of pronouncements

AnotherDuck No, the other one. from Stockholm Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Mu
No, the other one.
#158: Jul 3rd 2014 at 9:03:18 PM

Charisma and polish has nothing to do with mecha. Separate concepts. Buddy Complex had bland characters, stilted interactions, and a not very interesting setting. It could use a whole lot more charisma and polish to make it palatable.

I'm not a fan of mecha, but I don't hate it either. I like characters and interactions, not flashy combat and mecha designs with "impressive" stats and abilities. That's just fluff for easily impressed people in my mind. Much of mecha does focus on that, though, which is why it's not quite my to-go genre. What is impressive is if you set a standard for the work, and then go above that without breaking suspension of disbelief.

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HighVelocityPointyThings Since: May, 2012
#159: Jul 3rd 2014 at 9:21:16 PM

Didn't Buddy Complex sell really poorly?

Buddy Complex sold decently for a show having near-zero promotion, and volumes have been written about the taste of Japan.

@Another Duck

"not a very interesting setting" I'll give you. The rest suggests that you're using a very different dictionary than mine.

Anyway, it's a throwaway topic.

Could you go into detail here?

Sure. The mecha themselves are obvious - they're heavily on the side of Real Robot - except for that of the protagonist, which looks like it belongs in a completely different show.

The opening shows mecha and tanks advancing upon a fortress - and infantry running with them on foot, and then later still we see mecha riding on what looks like dedicated carriers. We have tanks - alongside what look 18th-century cannons. We have plentiful display screens in the command vehicles, yet the mecha cockpits are painfully sparse.

It's really not "realism" as much as it is "unrealistic inconsistency". I'm hoping that they try and explain it later on.

edited 3rd Jul '14 9:24:15 PM by HighVelocityPointyThings

jedi1113 Since: Jun, 2009
#160: Jul 3rd 2014 at 10:15:40 PM

I found the fact that the Argevollen is completely out of place to be interesting. At least I want to know why that is the case since all the other tech we saw in that world in nothing like it, so it is strange that they would create something like that. I think you are being a bit harsh on the first episode, but you are entitled to your opinion. Isn't it a two cour show? It can afford to be a bit slow on the setup. Not that I found this episode amazing or even great, but it is serviceable enough for a intro for me to give a chance.

EDIT: Responding to individual points

I have always found the infantry attacking alongside mechs to be weird, but other shows do it.

The mechs are really slow and the ones we saw on the carriers were in pursuit of a much faster vehicle. Why they don't have faster mechs idk, but with what they have it makes sense to have transport.

The artillery shown looked way beyond 18th century cannons. I just rewatched to check.

The cockpits seem to have about as much display as you would need. Of course a command vehicle would have way more, it is a command vehicle.

edited 3rd Jul '14 10:26:47 PM by jedi1113

Hylarn (Don’t ask)
#161: Jul 3rd 2014 at 10:25:21 PM

Hm. Wikipedia is saying it's supposed to be 24 episodes, but I don't know where they got that, and nothing else I found listed a length. XEBEC hasn't done a 2-cour series for quite some time, either

jedi1113 Since: Jun, 2009
#162: Jul 3rd 2014 at 10:28:28 PM

Ani List also says 24 episodes. That is where I pulled that from. Not that it is a completely reliable resource.

Silentedge89 Since: Apr, 2012
#163: Jul 3rd 2014 at 11:21:35 PM

Normally I hate dark and depressing anime but Tokyo Ghoul has "vampires", a kick ass soundtrack, and that gorgeous animation. I'm sold.

Iaculus Pronounced YAK-you-luss from England Since: May, 2010
Pronounced YAK-you-luss
#164: Jul 4th 2014 at 12:15:53 AM

You want infantry working alongside mechs for the same reason you want infantry working alongside tanks. They're smaller, more agile, and can get into places that the big, clunky war machines can't. See the average game of Titanfall for a souped-up, amphetamine-soaked version of this principle.

What's precedent ever done for us?
Thorn14 Gunpla is amazing! Since: Aug, 2010
Gunpla is amazing!
#165: Jul 4th 2014 at 12:15:56 AM

This is looking to be a backlog season for me.

I might cancel my Crunchyroll account if all I'm going to be watching is Jo Jo and like 2 other shows. sad

Everything else looks either terrible or not my style. (Hate SAO with a passion, not into gory shows or harems either.)

Only Jinsei and Aldnoah.Zero look good.

edited 4th Jul '14 12:20:25 AM by Thorn14

Hylarn (Don’t ask)
#166: Jul 4th 2014 at 12:24:02 AM

Wait, isn't Jinsei a harem show? And you're not into Sengoku Basara?

kiukiuclk from 3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693 Since: Feb, 2013 Relationship Status: My TiMER is ticking
#167: Jul 4th 2014 at 12:29:36 AM

[up][up][up] Of course, there is no real point to mecha if they are basically tanks with more complicated movement and a larger target profile. The hoppers made some sense at least.

Funny Fact: I only watched Argevollen bc I heard of Aldnoah.Zero and didn't realize there was a second mecha show that started with A [lol]. It's main flaw was it tried to introduce to much. You had the setting, the new guy and the sci- girl are probably important, but it's hard to say who matters beyond that.

Tokyo Ghoul: Well, the first episode seemed promising. Hard to say where it's going however. It nailed the atmosphere a least.

edited 4th Jul '14 12:37:02 AM by kiukiuclk

Thorn14 Gunpla is amazing! Since: Aug, 2010
Gunpla is amazing!
#168: Jul 4th 2014 at 12:30:56 AM

[up][up]

Not the anime. Game was fun though. And Jinsei seems more of the "slice of life" genre than "Whacky harem romance antics"

I might watch Persona though. Depends if it feels new enough or if its gonna feel like just a replay of the last anime.

Otherwise...Meh. Jo Jo, Captain Earth (Which I'm not enjoying and really just hanging onto in the hopes of it getting better), and those I already mentioned.

I dunno, maybe I got spoiled by how fucking amazing Fall 2013 was.

edited 4th Jul '14 12:35:43 AM by Thorn14

Diamite Rainy Echoes Since: Jul, 2013
Rainy Echoes
#169: Jul 4th 2014 at 12:57:52 AM

Impressions Time!

  • Glasslip: Looks nice. Not sure where it'll go at the moment, but I'm gonna watch it. It might dive into glass-making trivia. I'd like to see that. Characters will take some time to get used to, which will not take long.tongue And chickens.tongue
  • Tokyo Ghoul: Sold! The premise is interestingly gory. Will gouge!

Hylarn (Don’t ask)
#170: Jul 4th 2014 at 1:08:08 AM

Huh, Rail Wars is pretty bad. Utterly paint-by-numbers, but with the bonus of the animation having difficulty staying on model and some truly nauseating gainaxing. OP and ED are good, though

bassgs435 will of the new world Since: Apr, 2013
will of the new world
#171: Jul 4th 2014 at 1:17:25 AM

I wonder what the freaking hell people expect out of a first episode

this is why the 3 episode rule exists. because you can't judge anything by the first episode alone and need at least 3 episodes to get an acceptable opinion

edited 4th Jul '14 1:17:46 AM by bassgs435

Iaculus Pronounced YAK-you-luss from England Since: May, 2010
Pronounced YAK-you-luss
#172: Jul 4th 2014 at 1:20:34 AM

[up]Some warning signs don't require a three-episode rule to manifest, though. Ugly, cheap visuals, extremely poor character writing, and a barrage of mega-sleazy fanservice, for instance. The three-episode rule tells you if a show is good, the first-episode check warns you if it's obviously, glaringly bad.

What's precedent ever done for us?
Hylarn (Don’t ask)
#173: Jul 4th 2014 at 1:35:20 AM

You can judge a lot from first episodes. The vast bulk of them are representative of the series as a whole, and it's usually pretty obvious when they're not. Waiting only gives you a better idea of where the plot is going

And, really, who is actually going to watch three episodes of something they don't like?

AnotherDuck No, the other one. from Stockholm Since: Jul, 2012 Relationship Status: Mu
No, the other one.
#174: Jul 4th 2014 at 1:41:47 AM

What you should probably watch out for are attention grabbers in the first episode, which may not be indicative. Mostly stuff like action and fanservice, but also comedic aspects I've seen be in far thinner spread than what the first episode would indicate. And if there's a lot of introductions, you can probably expect the series to shift gears once that's over with.

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TheHandle United Earth from Stockholm Since: Jan, 2012 Relationship Status: YOU'RE TEARING ME APART LISA
United Earth
#175: Jul 4th 2014 at 3:38:38 AM

Episode 1 of Kill la Kill: how to perfectly introduce the characters, the setting, the tone, and the pacing, in less than five minutes. At the end of that, "Before my body is dry" starts playing over a cloud-piercing, monumental Honnouji, as both Ryuuko and the audience together consider this literally awesome challenge... and step forward.

Code Geass also had a pretty awesome first episode, especially with Lelouch's reaction shot.

Gurren Lagann...

Gurren Lagann...

TT________________________TT

The first episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion... the first episode of Furi Kuri... those were total hookers!

Counterexample: It took Madoka three episodes to get to the point. And boy, was that point sharp.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

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