Anime of the 112th United States Congress [Winter 2011]

[blkmage]

Huh, no noitaminA this week, so no Hourou Musuko or Fractale until next week.

[TWWK]

I was all ready to watch Hourou Musuko last night...so disappointed! I'm totally hooked.

[MightiMidget]

Dragon Crisis is going on hold...because it amuses me too much to be dropped, but I'm following enough stupid things, and Infinite Stratos and the Zombie thing are enough harem comedy for me. Might poke away at it, but it's been bumped to bottom of priorities pile, and I'll probably pick up Hourou Musuko in its place if anything.

[blkmage]

Hourou Musuko's still going strong.

Fractale is, well, I don't know. I want to give it a chance, but it doesn't really work for me. It feels like it can't decide whether it wants to be serious or silly. I mean, this week was the kid does chores on a ship episode, but it felt really off, especially compared to equivalent instances in E7 or Xam'd. For some reason, the character art really bugged me too this week.

GOSICK also bugs me, but for a different reason. I've already said that I've been comparing it to Bungaku Shoujo and after reading the second volume of the light novel, I think I know why. Kujo and Victorique are a lot less interesting than and have nowhere near the chemistry of Konoha and Touko. That may change in coming arcs, but Bungaku Shoujo just feels more complex and interesting (although that could also be a product of the incredible amount of self-loathing that most of the characters have).

[Falx]

For those of you watching Yumekui Merry via gg fansubs, the oh-so-hilarious line in episode 7 (you'll know which one) is actually supposed to be "Couldn't you find her a more interesting swimsuit?"

This was apparently a "boring" line.

[Mouse2010]

Fractale is, well, I don't know. I want to give it a chance, but it doesn't really work for me. It feels like it can't decide whether it wants to be serious or silly. I mean, this week was the kid does chores on a ship episode, but it felt really off . . .

I definitely wasn't a fan of this week's Fractale episode. It didn't seem to accomplish much, even in terms of character development. This is a short series, right? Only 12 episodes? If so, it seems odd that they'd waste an episode on this stuff rather than advancing the plot. I'll probably keep watching it, but I'm kind of underwhelmed right now.

I don't mind when a serious series includes comic elements, or even whole comic episodes, but I just don't have a sense of where this show is going, and I didn't find the humor all that funny. (I DID like the scene where everyone started dancing, but that's about it.)

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Expectations are a funny thing.

I had really high hopes for Fractale, and I think I was justified in doing so due to Yamamoto's insistence that he was going out of his way to make a show that was "different." He would quit if this show wasn't a success. This new show would be made for people who had fallen out of love with modern anime and would reach back into the past to recover some intangible thing that anime is currently "lacking." Surely something atypical would come down the pipeline? Yamamoto told us it would.

Well, sod off Yamamoto. Your show is absolutely not different, atypical or non-modern. I find Fractale to be pretty much what any semi-knowledgeable fan might expect from a 21st century anime of its kind. And this would be fine, and it probably should be fine. Problem is, Mr. Yamamoto;s rants are proving to be an albatross around the neck of his show. I would enjoy the show more if he hadn't inflated my expectations.

I am not sure if I just infered this or Yamamoto said it, but I could have sworn one of the things that was meant to distinguish Fractale was that it wasn't going to be an "otaku show." One of the things I take that to mean is that it wouldn't have needless fan service. Well...right.

Level E has also managed to thwart my expectations. I thought it was going to be a DRRR-esque comedic, character-driven adventure. I thought that the jokes would be interspersed throughout the story, helping shuffle it along. Well, it turns out that the jokes ARE the story. The last few episodes haven't given us any narrative BEYOND the Prince's pranks. But, even though the show is just the Prince screwing with people...I still like it. A lot. The current arc has me in stitches. So, yeah...Level E is a lot of fun and has managed to remain so while subverting my expectations.

[blkmage]

Not that I don't agree with your assessment that Fractale has been pretty disappointing so far, but it has bigger problems than fanservice. I also wouldn't say that just because it has fanservice that makes it an otaku show, nor would I consider anything in Fractale servicey quite yet, just weird and awkward.

I think the ultimate irony of this season is that Fractale is trying to do something new, but failing to create something compelling, while what's arguably the most otaku show of the year is something that's new, interesting, and thought-provoking, is more mature, and has less fanservice.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Not that I don't agree with your assessment that Fractale has been pretty disappointing so far, but it has bigger problems than fanservice. I also wouldn't say that just because it has fanservice that makes it an otaku show, nor would I consider anything in Fractale servicey quite yet, just weird and awkward.

I think the ultimate irony of this season is that Fractale is trying to do something new, but failing to create something compelling, while what's arguably the most otaku show of the year is something that's new, interesting, and thought-provoking, is more mature, and has less fanservice.

Right. As I was feeling pretty irritated when I posted that, I didn't make myself too clear. /me is aware that fan service isn't equivalent to otaku show.

The pseudo-bathhouse segment w/ needless fan service was meant to be just ONE example, just a single illustration of how, despite claims to the contrary, Fractale is playing the same cards as the glut of modern anime do. In many ways, I see the database theory playing out in the show, unique(ish) setting non-withstanding.

But yeah, this show has lots of issues =).

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Anyone else have this song get stuck in their head lately?

[Jake]

Gosick has consistently been my favorite show this season, and I'm not sure. Kore wa Zombie is another one I'm really enjoying.

Infinite Stratos was just kind of "there" on my anime schedule until Charles/Charlotte came in. Now I finally have a good reason to watch it!

I'm also watching Dragon Crisis, but mostly because I have nothing better to do with my time.

On hold are Level E and Beelzebub. I also tried to watch Rio Rainbow Gate, but that experiment ended horribly.

[blkmage]

Surprisingly, I've been enjoying Level E. I know the source material is pretty interesting, but I didn't have very much faith in Pierrot. It's been turning out pretty fine.

If it weren't for the fact that Fractale was only 11 episodes, it'd be dropped by now. You can go make the second season of Kannagi now, Yamakan.

Hourou Musuko is simply incredible. Usually, these types of manga don't really get much added to it by being animated, but everything about the way Hourou Musuko is put together makes it fantastic. I really, really hope that they go back and animate the elementary school part of the story now.

[Cadence]

OK, so I just decided to catch up with one currently airing show and for some stupid reason I picked Fractale.

Um...

Um...

I honestly just don't know what to say.



[SIZE="1"](But was that Toyosaki Aki I heard in episode seven? Too weird.)[/SIZE]

[MightiMidget]

I'm just one episode from being caught up on Hourou Musuko, and I think I like it. I find it very sad in an unintentional way. But also refreshingly (I saw someone refer to it this way and it fits) gentle.

[CrystalChalice]

Kimi ni Todoke 2: You have no idea how giddy I feel right now after watching that scene. It's gonna be a long wait until Episode 10 comes.

[LadyRushia]

So, I finally caught up with Fractale and Horou Musuko. Horou Musuko is just very delightful and I really like the way it doesn't over dramatize the issues at hand. As for Fractale, I was really really tempted to drop it around episode 6, but I kept with it and now this finale part is pretty awesome. Of course, it's basically a rehash of what happens in Tales of Symphonia and ToS actually explained most of what was going on before the end. Maybe I missed a few things here or there, but I don't think Fractale actually revealed anything until episode 8. I'm going to finish it simply because it's almost over, but at the end of the day it's just a pretty standard futuristic dystopianesque story.

I've decided to drop Level E because the whole prince's pranks thing got old after the third time around. It feel directionless, which I realize is probably the point, but its execution doesn't resonate with me.

[Mouse2010]

Just finished Fractale. I'd have to say that this was a series that didn't really live up to its potential, but I did like the ending in some ways. I'm a sucker for a good ending!

[blkmage]

Shows are ending.

Hourou Musuko is the season's second best show (behind Madoka). While I would've preferred an anime that covered from the beginning, I think the part that was covered was exceptionally well adapted. The production was excellent. The strength of the writing is largely because of the strength of the source material, but even the delivery of the lines from the cast fits in really well. And again, because of the source material, the subject matter of the story is something that isn't exactly well-traveled, especially because of the way it was treated. If you enjoyed it, I'd definitely recommend reading the manga to see the elementary school part of the story.

Kimi ni Todoke is a manga I enjoy, but I knew the arc that this season covered was one of the low points of the manga for me. As much as I disliked the arc, the resolution still works and the the adaptation and production remain strong. Unfortunately, I suspect we won't be seeing a third season for a while.

[blkmage]

Star Driver has its flaws, but it was very fun, enjoyable and awesome.

Fractale was very disappointing and pretty much squandered whatever promise it held. Or, alternatively, lol yamakan.

[MightiMidget]

Star Driver has its flaws, but it was very fun, enjoyable and awesome.

Fractale was very disappointing and pretty much squandered whatever promise it held. Or, alternatively, lol yamakan.

Yes...and yes. I would have done a happy dance for Fractale being OVER if I hadn't been tired and comfy in bed.

[blkmage]

ahahahahahaha Funimation is releasing Fractale and Freezing on BD/DVD ahahhahahahaahahahaha

In related news, Princess Jellyfish and The Tatami Galaxy still remain unavailable on BD/DVD.

In other news, people think the anime industry is dying. What could possibly have given them that idea?

[Midori]

Well, I haven't touched this thread in a while, but I must report that I've dropped almost all the Winter 2011 anime I started, the only exception being GOSICK. I'd catch up on Madoka, but since it's been cancelled or severely delayed, I'll wait until it continues or it looks like it's cancelled for good.

[blkmage]

Madoka's not going to be cancelled. Its BD pre-orders were at Bakemonogatari levels; it's going to be the one to beat for top selling show of 2011.

[MasterDias]

ahahahahahaha Funimation is releasing Fractale and Freezing on BD/DVD ahahhahahahaahahahaha

In related news, Princess Jellyfish and The Tatami Galaxy still remain unavailable on BD/DVD.

In other news, people think the anime industry is dying. What could possibly have given them that idea?

But Fractale and Freezing probably would sell better than Princess Jellyfish and The Tatami Galaxy. Regardless of quality, I have doubts that a josei comedy and a Masaaki Yuasa comedy/drama would sell that well for Funimation.

The fact they picked up Fractale so quickly out of all the noitiminA shows tells me that more people watched the streams than they did any of the others...and fanservice/action shows like Freezing almost always sell well. That's why companies keep licensing them.

They also picked up Shiki for release, which is also pretty unsurprising.

[MightiMidget]

I'm excited about Shiki being picked up for releasing. Though I would have been happier with Legend of Legendary Heroes...but there were low hopes for that one. *whistles*

[mechana2015]

I can't see why they're releasing Freezing on any hard media... it's going to have a very small target market, made smaller by the fact that it's absolutely terrible.

[MightiMidget]

Just watched the second-to-last Zombie ep...it makes me really sad how much it killed itself (no pun intended) with the crudeness. When it's not being shallow and crude it is so funny, quirky and sweet. Having low expectations for last episode, but I'm glad I stuck with it. The non-crude episodes were totally worth sifting for.

[Falx]

If you haven't watched it yet, the last episode can be skipped. It doesn't have any real plot and only exists as an excuse to get the entire female cast into increasingly skimpy and ecchi outfits.

The only redeeming part is a heartwarming bit where:

[spoiler] Eucliwood gets to sing thanks to her power being temporarily sealed [/spoiler]

Other than that it's just pure fanservice.

[MightiMidget]

Oh sadness...I was expecting that. :/ Aw well. I'll probably just skip then, despite that sounding positively heartwarming indeed. Thanks for heads up.

[blkmage]

Yamakan makes good on his promise and leaves, but not before wondering why no one liked Fractale.

According to Otona Anime magazine, director Yamamoto Yutaka has decided to leave the anime industry for the time being. He has been at a loss what to do because the audience didn't accept Fractale and he couldn't understand other TV anime. He wondered whether he had gone insane or the world had gone crazy.

Also, finished Yumekui Merry, which was zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.