Summer 2019 anime

Isn't that god island the same as Raftel?

Secret Signature

Well, all the shows I was watching have finished their cour (except Carole and Tuesday), so I'll sum up my impressions.

• Cop Craft: Very fun premise and characters that work well when they focus on either comedy or crime drama… but completely fall apart during action sequences for which the staff had clearly no budget to work with. The haphazard pacing and direction of those sequences hardly helped (with the "fight" against the vampire in episode 5 being the most horendous example). Best opening and ending of the season though.
• Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?: Ironically considering the title, this was extremely hit-and-miss. Again, this show was at its strongest when it focused on pure comedy, not so well when it… tried to have a message. Because the writing in the "serious" parts ain't exactly very good. Also, while Mamako was supposed to be the show's main appeal, I find her kinda grating most of the time. And the less said about a certain scene in episode 2, the better.
• Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front − Babylonia: A prologue to the upcoming FGO series. Stellar animation and direction with a confusing but intriguing plot and characters babbling nonsensical philosophy. It is Fate alright.
• Fire Force (cour 1): Two of the ANN reviewers picked it as their worst show of the season, and while I don't think it's that bad, it does feel like the stunning production values and direction are almost too good for the source material they adapt. The first two episodes are definitely the strongest, but there are also a few examples of abysmal writing later on (the Princess Hibana fight primarily). And I'm still not sure why Tamaki exists. I honestly don't think I'm invested enough in the story or characters to bother with the second cour.
• Given: I came for the music, I stayed for the compelling character drama. I daresay that this might be the Yagakimi of 2019 if we talk about gay romance; episode 9 at least is one of my favorite this year, period. And while there actually isn't a lot of music, what little there is is pretty damn good!
• Granbelm: This one flew under the radar of many people, maybe because from the start it reeked of another Madoka imitator… and while that's not entirely wrong, it would be unfair to reduce the show to that. It was pretty fun to watch in the first half, and very fun to watch in the second half, with some nifty character writing and voice acting and mostly impeccable animation (although some of the fights were a bit hard to follow). The ending is neither too happy nor overly dark and wraps up everything neatly. Really, I like this show more and more thinking back on it.
• Kimetsu no Yaiba (cour 2): Boy howdy did this cour deliver some spectacle! Unlike the aforementioned FF, the writing, pacing and atmosphere were solid enough to fit the stellar animation and soundtrack, and the comedy was mostly excellent (Zen'itsu's screaming aside). The last episode certainly did a good job at hyping me up for season 2 the movie. (seriously, why not just make a season 2…?)
• O Maidens in Your Savage Season: I went into this show with no expectations, but I was more than pleasantly surprised. I love all the characters (well, except one obviously), the comedic parts were hilarious and the serious parts… were a bit overdramatic, not gonna lie. But even when the show went to some pretty dark places (in the second half especially) it always strived to find a positive outcome to the situations.
• To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts: I watched the first episode, which I liked well enough… and then promptly forgot that this show existed. So I guessed I wasn't that attached to it. Oh well.
• Vinland Saga (cour 1): This adaptation takes the interesting bet of playing the events in chronological order rather than starting with Thorfinn on the battlefield… and while it made for a slower-paced beginning, it also enhanced the sadness of seeing Thorfinn slowly become a revenge-hungry beast and follow the exact path his father wanted him not to. The background art is superb and the fight animation is also excellent… but I find the direction in non-action scenes a little flat. Still a very well-made adaptation nonetheless, but of course less impactful when I already know every beat of the story.

So my top 3 would probably be… Maidens, Given, KNY, with Granbelm and VS as honorable mentions? C&T's last episode airs next week, but even if the finale is awesome I doubt it will be enough to break into this top.

Edited by Lyendith on Sep 29th 2019 at 7:02:42 PM

Just going to leave this:

Isekai Cheat Magician Final Episode: Well, the bad guy who worship the woman who knows everything has finally been defeated and we know what the woman plan was: To make Taichi as a weapon so that she could be seen as a savior. Okay that was confusing.

Also, I noticed that Maou Sama Retry ended a week ago so to sum up my final thoughts: Both Maou Sama Retry and Isekai Cheat Magician are an okay Isekai. Not bad not good just okay, nothing special.

Anyways, apparently, Nakanohito Genome will get another episode so be sure to look forward to that for those who followed the anime.

"Making screw-ups and mistakes was I ever really good at. Because everything I touch went to hell."

I tried reading the manga of Fire Force to see if the anime would be of any interest to me.

I didn't find it to do a very good job at setting up the, well, setting, as I first thought the fire people or whatever were some out-of-context problem, like zombies. Like the world was normal, and then these things showed up. But no, from what I could understand, the world was always like that, and this is a fantasy world, not the real world dealing with a new problem.

That made the first few chapters a bumpy ride for me, and I didn't bother reading any further.

Considering I didn't like either The Promised Neverland or Demon Slayer, I might just not be finding Shounen Jump kind of stuff to my tastes anymore. (I know Fire Force isn't SJ, but it wouldn't be out of place in it's lineup IMO.)

In fact, the only manga from them that I still read is My Hero Academia and Blue Exorcist.

Edited by RedRob on Sep 29th 2019 at 1:05:34 PM

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet Unless I grew it. In that case, throw it in the trash.

And Symphogear ends. What a wild ride from its rough beginnings 7 years ago to now.

Now to look out for Symphogear Live 2020 to see if anything new is announced, because this series is the highest selling in any season it appears in now, and that will especially be true with this final season.

Watch Symphogear

Well, battle shonen is a formula, when you've read enough of them it becomes harder to enjoy. As far as I'm concerned though, KNY has a great execution of it.

Oh, it's the final one? Question then, are the Symphogear seasons continuous or are they disconneted à la Jojo? Because I've heard the first season was… a bit rough on the edges.

…Huh, Promare borrowed a lot more of FF's plot than I thought then.

Edited by Lyendith on Sep 29th 2019 at 10:48:11 AM

Fire Force had an unknown event cause it to happen some time in the past. Weirdly enough, Insects are outsider animals from an alternate dimension related to why all the fire is happening.

At least it did when I checked out on the manga a couple years back.

Every accusation by the GOP is ALWAYS a confession.

You could say that

First Season

Final Season

But yes they are a continuous story.

Question. Which one is better: Battle Shonen or Isekai

"Making screw-ups and mistakes was I ever really good at. Because everything I touch went to hell."

Thoughts on the stuff I watched to completion (or at least like had enough episodes during this time):

1. Dr. Stone: hands down, easily my favorite show I watched. It pretty much excelled at everything it wanted to do and then some. It has a poignancy and enthusiasm for its primary material, the cast is all-around great, and the music is one of Kato's better efforts.
2. Given: It's good, Sato's tension with his backstory and drive to learn more about music and Uenoyama being a disaster gay kept the A-plot chugging along at a reasonable pace with a good ending point for the tv series. The sudden dive into more out there stuff in the final third like Uenoyama's inner council felt off with what was a fairly grounded drama.
3. Lord El-Melloi II Case Files: Rail Zeppelin: Probably one of the more competently made adaptations of Nasu's spinoffs, but some certain creative decisions meant I didn't find it very satisfying as a work by itself. FWIW, I do look forward to the inevitable second season next year to see more of Waver's classroom doing their stuff.
4. Fire Force: It's very polished with the visuals and music yet at the same time the plot's pretty rough as they only just start to getting around to the actual conflict to the point where it felt like a very long prequel to actually set up the series proper. There's a lot of genuinely great moments and a very fun cast tarred mainly by terrible pacing. Episode 11 was a marked improvement so it's hopefully upwards from here.
5. Ensemble Stars: The artstyle really feels like the epitome of stylized blandness but it works somehow. Its melodrama wasn't quite as satisfying as Idolish 7's and the plot detours to exposit everyone's backstory really drag down the narrative, so by the end, it doesn't really feel like the main characters have actually progressed anything. It did accomplish its job of advertising the game because I ended up diving into the rabbit hole trying to find a credits song so good job I guess.

I meant to watch Maidens, Vinland Saga, and Demon Next Door, but don't really have the time right now :|

Battle Shounen. Variety of powers put it above anything with OP M Cs. Well at least visually. Unless it's a comedic isekai where the battles are just a context for stupid shit to happen. Like Konosuba.

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet Unless I grew it. In that case, throw it in the trash.

Shounen tend to have some level of plot direction too, whereas a lot of isekai suffer from the MC just aimlessly doing stuff for ten volumes.

Secret Signature

From what I hear that's due to readers really loving slice of life.

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."

That applies to Shounen readers too to be fair, they usually love their So L in between punchfests

Secret Signature

Pretty much. Getting to see characters act like real people with each makes it easier for me accept the lengths they'll go for each other. Otherwise they just come off as overdramatic.

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet Unless I grew it. In that case, throw it in the trash.

x5 I fell off enstars when I realized they were giving the female protag the relevance and personality of a glass of water, did they get any better past episode 6 with that?

I absolutely cannot help but adore handsome 2D boys

Crap, I really need to watch Vinland Saga and Fire Force. I really enjoy Kimetsu no Yaiba's writing and I know the animation was superb, but I was never too fond of rewatching something I've already read...

As for given, it was very nice. Good characters and good balance of drama and comedy. Between this and the latest season of Mo Dao Zu Shi, I'm finding pretty good BLs despite normally not being into that.

Edited by KusaMigeru on Sep 29th 2019 at 7:59:58 AM

... And that's called jazz!

Shonen is a demographic, Isekai is a genre. Most, if not all, of the Isekai you think about when asking this quetion are in fact Shonen.

Anyone have a link to the fall schedule?

This ought to work.

It's been fun.

I am so curious the possible train-wrecks Seven Sins & Shokugeki will be.

Sins just got a studio change to DEEN & stuff like that generally doesn't work out well.

And with Shokugeki is this the last season? Cause if it is & if its only a single cour then oh boy will there be some compressed stuff.

"I am Alpharius. This is a lie."

• Machikado Mazoku: An interesting case for CGDCT, heavy on continuity and focused more on story and relationships than moe or comedy. I liked it, but more for it being a change of pace than anything special
• Granbelm: Very pretty, strong direction, good sound design... plot's pretty disjointed, and the fights don't really make sense, though. I quite liked it overall, but it really needed some more work on the writing
• Fire Force: Great direction, shitty writing. Not planning to pick it up next season
• Symphogear: Really good! Some great action, the plot is interesting, and it wraps the series up well. It is trying to do more than it really has time for, though, and the drama in particular suffers for it. Makes for an interesting compare and contrast with Granbelm—Both are bombastic fantasy action series starring teen girls with a sci-fi aesthetic, but they have very different weaknesses: Symphogear has trouble selling it's character drama, while Granbelm exceeds at that; meanwhile Granbelm's difficulty with coherence is in no way reflected in Symphogear's strong plotting
• El-Melloi II: Okay? Very clearly unfinished, which means that it spends a lot of time setting up things that don't get payoffs. This set-up is reasonably enjoyable, but the end result is still unsatisfying

Edited by Hylarn on Sep 29th 2019 at 10:47:16 AM

Yeah, I'm really disappointed in what we got for El-Melloi. It's not a mystery series, despite every arc so far being structured like a mystery - it has no real interest in letting the watchers try to figure things out on their own.

It's been fun.

ehhh not really, she does like one thing onscreen and one thing offscreen

I guess that's a proper drop then. I'll just wait for A3 to air then.

case files is just like that. I do feel the novels do a better job with atmosphere than the anime, but it withholds info until Waver cracks the case as well especially with how convoluted magecraft works making it impossible to figure out how things could work out. The charm in the series for me is the characters though, I just find the cases a means to that end.

I absolutely cannot help but adore handsome 2D boys