Winter 2018 Anime

The actual best OP is the one in Kokkoku anyway.

I'm at episodes 4 or 5 for just about everything I picked up, except for B - The Beginning which I'll binge some other time. Dropped Beatless. Also dropped Pop Team Epic because I actually had to put in some effort to be amused by its skits.

On the flip side, the rest of the lineup is rather decent. My faves so far are Mitsuboshi Colors where I envy those kids for their carefree summer-vacation lives, and Kokkoku which is the kind of weird thing I watch anime for. Toji no Miko has also been a pleasant surprise for veering off the standard battle-high-school story trajectory, as well as its care in portraying different Japanese swordsmanship styles.

Slow Start’s OP is really catchy.

So. Is anyone in this thread still watching Beatless? I'm trying to but... Amazon Prime . ANN has a review up for episode 9 but it still hasn't shown up in my episode listing yet. Is it just late and someone at ANN has access to Japanese broadcasts or do I need to contact Prime Video's tech supoort team.... again

It's been out on the... less than legal sites since Friday.

Yeah, this has happened before. For someone reason episodes 4 & 5 didn't show up for me until I contacted tech support. However back when Anime Strike was still a thing I'd also have stuff show up several days late instead so I'm trying to get an idea if this is just my account (which means I need to get in touch with tech support again), or if Amazon is just being late for everyone and the ANN review is based on alternate sources.

At this point I just hope that the collapse of Anime Strike means that Amazon is getting out of the anime streaming game and that Beatless and Kokoku are just legacy deals. They're really, really bad at this. Arguable the worst in the business at the moment, at least among legit sources.

That's a shame. I had been thinking about getting a Prime account to watch some of the anime on there (I don't really order enough from Amazon to make the free one-day delivery worthwhile).

You shouldn't have too may problems with stuff that's already complete. But they seem to have an issue with weekly delivery. And their subtitles are ugly (and effect everything so if you plan to watch something like Grant Tour or the Man In the High Castle you'll have to turn them off when you go to watch it).

Thanks. I will have to think about it.

If you do get prime and run out of anime you always have their other shows.

Aaand Citrus is over (for now). Overall, if we except a few rapey scenes made unnecessarily long in the early episodes, it was a pretty flawless adaptation. The animation was decent to good (episode 12 notably had some great facial animation) and the voice acting well done, save for a couple of grating voices (Matsuri and Nina).

Sure, this ain't no anime of the year, but there's only so much you can do with this source material. There was at least some effort put into this *cough*Netsuzoutrap*cough* and it ends at a point where it can work as a self-contained series even if there's no season 2. So I don't really have any complaints.

Hopefully if this anime is popular enough it can lead to some other Yuri adaptations like Yagakimi or Anokiss (though the latter would be pretty hard to adapt).

Gakuen Babysitters is pretty good and its depiction of children was great, but Ryuuichi is a bit too passive at times and there being a literal pedophile as a supporting character did dampen my enjoyment somewhat.

edited 26th Mar '18 6:32:08 AM by Nouct

Uhm, I think you're misusing it towards him. Yeah, he's creepy but he's not a pedophile.

His closest friend certainly seems to think he's a pedophile.

Now that the season draw to a close, can I take a minute to gush about how awesome it was? Like, I think it was the best anime season in quite a long time. I've been following like 10 new shows, and most of the weren't just good, they were very good with some of the being just amazing. And I know I probably missed some pretty good shows despite that.

I'm actually kinda worried going into the spring season because this one has set such a high bar.

Yeah, there have been two shows I'd list as 8 or above out of 10, with Violet still waiting for its finale before I decide.

I rarely follow more than 3 shows at a time because not a whole lot is interesting to me. I dropped Darling in the Fran XX because of how dull it was, and it was one of the shows I was interested in. I'm still watching Killing Bites and Teasing Master Takagi-san because I liked them for different reasons. Killing Bites is relaxing junk food and Takagi-san is a really cute show in general.

Best anime this season goes to Devilman Crybaby though.

AOTS is a toss up between A Place Further Than The Universe and Yuru Camp, probably leaning more to the former than the latter but the latter was so Comfy!

Karakai Jouzu No Takagi San went way WAY too harsh early on, it got better quite a bit but damn the mean spirited jokes early on which seriously burned me. Mitsuboshi Colors never really got any traction after a great first episode.

Slow Start followed its name and had a really slow start, it got better but damn the big topic could have at least received a partial resolution instead treading water the entire series. The problem with slice of life series based on a continuing manga with a set goal.

edited 27th Mar '18 5:56:32 PM by Memers

This season was special, so many good shows that I couldn't watch them all. The funny thing is, the one that I kept up on was Killing Bites.

Killing Bites is amazing. I never would have thought going in I would have watched past the first ep, let alone it end up as my favorite show of the season.

So now that the season is over I guess I can sum up my impressions:

Mahoutsukai no Yome: Great show overall, visually beautiful and well written, buuut didn't quite stick the landing to me. There were indeed a few pacing issues here and there, but the last episode especially felt a bit too "easy" in its resolution. Doesn't spoil the rest of the experience though; Chise's growth and the bonds she forms were a joy to watch.

Citrus: Honestly… I don't think it was possible to do a much better adaptation. There are a few hiccups, especially in the early episodes (did Mei really need to grope every inch of Yuzu's body to confiscate her phone?) but otherwise it nailed the important parts. The first four volumes of Citrus are generally agreed to be the weaker part of the series, so Passione did an okay job all in all.

Junji Ito's Collection: BOY was that hit and miss. The stories ranged from effectively unsettling to, most often, effectively nothing, and the animation from mediocre to awful. For a horror anime I can't say it scared me a whole lot. The opening and ending themes were pretty cool though.

Pop Team Epic: Again, this was hit and miss… by its very nature. This is a show that's hard to rate as a whole, since it runs on experimentation first and foremost. And some of these experimentations were absolutely glorious to watch. I wasn't sure I was gonna like it, but in the end I don't regret riding this train for a second.

Sora yori mo Tooi Basho: …What can I say that hasn't been said already? It was funny, it was sad, it was epic, it was beautiful, it was inspiring, it was magnificent. There were just a couple of episodes that were slightly weaker after they got to Antarctica, but that's just a nitpick. This gives Made in Abyss a run for its money as my favorite recent anime (and as the most tear-jerking episode with episode 12).

Violet Evergarden: Yet another anime that made me cry. I was a bit skeptical at first, but this is clearly a slow burner that needs to be experienced as a whole rather than bit by bit. The early episodes lived and died by their visuals, but as Violet grew more emotional, so did I, and the final episode felt like a very organic conclusion to the whole story. So you could say that it had a more underwhelming start than Mahoutsukai, but a more satisfying ending.

Darling in the Franxx: Whatever people might say, I really enjoyed these first twelve episodes. I'm interested in most of the characters and quite like how they and the setting are treated. Yes, the plot hasn't really gone anywhere so far, but I don't really mind as long as it picks up in the second half (and it looks like it does going by the last two episodes).

Need to finish: Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san and Fate/Extra Last Encore.

edited 8th Apr '18 11:20:58 AM by Lyendith

What you said about Fran XX reminded me of Kill La Kill. There really wasn't any plot progression in the 1st half either.

Hello there, I'm a bit new on this anime forum. Since I love to watch some animes. Here are some thoughts on the Animes that I watch for the Spring season:

• Death March To The Parallel World Rhapsody: Meh anime overall imo but albeit a bit relaxing. If you like a slice of life anime in an rpg genre, then probably the anime is for you (as the anime itself are focused in the slice of life elements rather than the action scenes which I have to admit that it's a little bit misleading). Though I have to admit that season 2 for this anime doesn't hurt either (Actually I like to replay the song Will from Houshin Engi for the main theme cuz it matches nicely IMO)
• Killing Bites: It's decent. Love the fight scenes. Better than the Juuni Taisen ones. The show was over-the top in the violence and the characters are okay I guess? The fanservice tho......Yea, Don't get me started on the Cobra Cannon in Episode 6....Eep!
• Violet Evergarden: An alright anime and sometimes it's a bit of an emotional roller coaster. Have to admit the ending is kind of eh....Can't wait for the OVA though.
• Junji Ito Collection: Yeah, anime is kind of eh but it's the closest adaptation of Junji Ito manga we ever get. Though I have to admit at least I do like the episode about After-Images (That made my heart broken) but yeah, meh adaptation overall

Will post later about my opinions on Grancrest,Darling In The Fran XX,Fate Extra and Houshin Engi remake as they aren't finished yet and I haven't caught up with Fate Extra.

Digging this up a bit, just to ask… Doesn't anyone know if there's an English translation of Cocolors?

Visually, the short excerpt I had seen back in January had already piqued my interest, but after seeing the full trailer I want to see it even more now…

edited 20th Jun '18 12:56:54 PM by Lyendith

Hoshin Engi was a better adaptation of the manga than the original while still being aweful due to its pacing. Feels like the studio wanted to do it seriously but the episodes given meant they cut and or go through tok much stuff too fast. So it has its own massive problems.

But hey at least the main villain still Gets what she wants in the end and go right to Karma Houdini by fusing with the planet in the ultimate form of narcissistic grandeur.

Weird seeing a Shonen Jump series where the villain is female and stays the threat throughout.

Will "The Ryou's Work is Never Done" ever get a TV Tropes page?