I'm trying to remember just what happens in the first episode. The first few episodes of every new arc are just completely tonally opposed to the rest of the series.

Let's put it this way: at some point you will watch the blue-haired girl kills herself by ramming her neck over and over into a kitchen knife while the green-haired one watches and laughs maniacally. That's quite the difference to the opening episodes where they play Uno after school (I know it's not Uno that's not the point).

I'm starting to get into God Eater. It's shaping up to be pretty good.

i started watching melody of oblivion it has a kind of offbeat vibe that i like

~Anime Series Tevish is familiar with~

Full Metal Alchemist: I liked this at first, until the final arc lost its mind...

Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood: I LOVE this one. Like, the first couple episodes of the original FMA are probably better, becasue they take more time for things like Night of the Chimera's Cry, but it's well worth the sacrifice for a much more coherent and fulfilling story in the end. Honestly, I might recommend watching the 2003 show up through... the death of Hughes at the latest. More likely just up to where it catches up to the "present day". You get some fun side stories and some extra character development. Then watch Brotherhood. Or just watch Brotherhood.

Haibane Renmei: The more I think about this one, the more I realize it might be my absolute favorite. It's almost pure character building and ontological mystery, world building and daily life in a slightly magical world. And yet... I got really, really invested in it. I think I was more wound up watching the finale of Haibane Renmei than any of the big action series I've watched. Like, seriously, I needed to take a while for the adrenaline to wear off, and that's NOT something that the huge fancy combats have done for me.

Claymore: Speaking of huge fancy combats not doing much for me... I enjoyed Claymore, though Rakki was only a hair less annoying than Ruby Rhod from The Fifth Element, and that's not a good place to be. But in the end, it fell kinda flat. I feel like it could have been a lot more. And, from what I've heard, the Manga is more, and better, and kinda delivers on the interesting elements of Claymore. That said, it's still not my favorite anime. Not by far.

Spice and Wolf: This is another one I really love. A thrilling tale of Medieval Economics! No, really... I liked the first season better than the second, though the second arc of the second season was, IMO, and improvement on the first. It ruined me for using generic universal gold pieces in fantasy stuff, though, by forcing me to do the research on period currency after being presented with some of said material in a really engaging way.

Attack on Titan: I actually like this show. I know some people around here loathe it so I'll keep this short, but I enjoyed a world pushed so far to the brink, and humanity's response, flawed as it is. I liked a lot of the characters -- less the leads, I'll admit, but Sasha, Pyxis, and Hange just steal scene after scene. And while I don't particularly *like* Eren or Mikasa, I do think it was interesting to see how their world shaped them into such monomaniacal little sociopaths, and I found myself wanting things to work out in their favor despite all that. I think AoT gave me what people tried to sell Game of Thrones to me on, with different and (to me) somewhat more fresh thematic angles on the same basic assumptions about humanity, the world, and your characters. (I will say at this point my interface with GoT is the novel, not the show. I've heard the show can be better at points thanks to high production values and good adaptive writing)

Mushi-shi: It's good. And very different. All the shows I've mentioned up to now basically have one plot, and follow it from beginning to end. Mushi-shi is basically pure Monster of the Week. There are a couple elements that come back, but I don't really think you have to watch the episodes in any particular order to get the impact of each one. And that's kinda cool. Plus, the Mushi are consistently creative in their design and behavior, defying the typical descriptor of "monster" "ghost" or "Faerie" in favor of being... things that exist. Supernatural things that can be harmful, weird, or even helpful. It's very interesting to see.

I had a conversation with some friends today while at a Smash Bros. tournament about some anime. I tore in to Attack on Titan and Sword Art Online and found no real stand-up response other than "I liked how they decided to go full hog on the gore in Attack on Titan".

Higurashi was also brought up and someone suggested to me Log Horizons (which is on my to-see list) and... another anime that I'd never heard before and I can't remember the name. I was told it was the bloodiest, goriest anime he'd ever seen. Akame ga Kill! was sorta talked about because one of my friends of the meat is currently watching it and it reminds me that I need to write down my thoughts while they're still fresh.



To be fair, I think that it's mostly just me around here that hate it so much. At least, up here in the Off-Topic area. All the other anime you talk about I pretty much agree with you on, as far as I skimmed your post.

I think Barinellos also despises AoT, which gave me the impression of a semi-consensus? As for the gore, that was really a turn off for me. Like, I almost didn't watch the first episode after viewing the first two.

Oh yeah.... a couple others...


Last Exile: I've got a soft spot for really weird worlds being really realized. (And also for aeronautical adventure...) Last exile is VERY pretty, and while it's not as good as Brotherhood the characters are more engaging than those of AoT or Claymore, even if our Captain Ahab lays it on a little strong

Last Exile: Fam the Silver Wing: I think this one may have had a stronger overall plot. At least, we see more of it and it's more consistent. I also think they handled it being a sequel really well and gave the new characters the breathing room they needed. Fam was a little annoying at times, but I could mostly get behind her spunk and zeal

Attack on Titan didn't take the time it would have needed to get me invested in its characters or its world. It just assumed that that would happen. Thus the story wasn't that good, and it went from something cool and unique to a slighly weirder mecha anime where I was upset that they weren't riding around in the harness's anymore.

Sword Art Online had a really good first 10 episodes.

I actually think Barinellos dislikes the hype around it more than the show itself -- people touting it as some great work of emotional art or some baloney -- but I'm pretty sure everyone up here thinks it's mediocre at worst but not something to get upset over.

Except for me, that is. I think it's an affront to my sensibilities.

Oh! yeah. it turns out late at night is not a good time for me to remember comprehensive lists.

Vision of Escaflowne. This one weird. Not in that it had a weird setting or anything, the setup of normal high school student teleports to fantasy land where noble disenfranchised royalty struggle against an evil tyrant is like the neopolitan ice-cream of fantasy plots: it's not one standard, but it's made out of all the standards. But the pacing and some of the conceits... those were strange, and the ending was straight-up... what the hell? Like, it didn't lose its **** the way FMA 2003 did, but it tossed sanity overboard and dove headlong into planescape levels of esoteric. I mean, your bad guy is Isaac Newton and it is completely justified in context when his maniacal laughter gets overlaid on the leading lady kissing one of her love interests. Because as evil plans go...

I passed the middle already of the first season and it seems very light to me. Well as light as a shounen can be.

@Tevish...wow, I watch Visions like...10 years ago (edit: Ugh...aging...it was probably like 15 years ago... ) when I still rented VHS Anime from Starland in Tyson's Corner. Nostalgia. I don't remember much about the show, other than the high school girl gets transported, but I remember loving the soundtrack to the point that I bought it.

As for Attack on Titan. I like the gore. I think it's the first show that really translates a monster eating someones mother into reality. I mean, there are so many origin stories in which you "empathize" with the character, but this is the first I remember where they force you to experience it with the character.

Other than that, it's interesting, the concept I love, the application is a bit weak. I think Godeaters does a bit better in the realm of "how humans would adapt to unbeatable monsters" genre.

I'm having a hard time picking a new anime to watch. Suggestions?

Finish GC and then move on to Valvrave.
I don't know what you have watched. Try Jinrui. If you've already seen it, then you can probably watch it again.

I'm really rather fond of World Trigger, and that makes me anxious that I would like "The Big 3", although I don't really know if they're comparable. I also don't know why this would be a problem, since my taste in anime is garbage, but I guess it's a pride thing.

Big 3?
Also, watch Owarimonogatari.

I won't watch Guilty Crown.

You know why.

I'll try valvrave.

I don't assume I could talk about Rick and Morty in this thread?

It's as off topic as the simpsons.

I'm not sure I follow.

Well, that's why it was a joke. Sure, I do actually like valvrave, but I like it for the same reason that I like GC. Jinrui was the real suggestion.