I started watching Angel Beats about 5 months ago. (I say "about" since I don't always update my list immediately after watching something.)
I'm on episode 10 of 13 now.
During this same period of time... * I also started watching Guilty Crown about 5 months ago, and finished it (22 episodes) about a month ago. * I watched the first 2 episodes of Young Black Jack about 3 months ago. * I watched the first episode of RWBY 3 about 2 months ago. I plan on finishing this. * I started watching Solty Rei about 3 months ago and I've seen 4 episodes. I plan on finishing this. * I watched episodes 3 and 4 of Squid Girl about 3 months ago. I plan on finishing this but this is basically an episodic thing anyway. * I watched the first 2 episodes of Gakkougurashi (School-Live!) about 3 months ago. I think I want to finish this. * I began watching Atelier Escha & Logy about 4 months ago and finished it (12 episodes) about 3 months ago. * I watched the first episode of Steins;Gate about 3 months ago. I plan on finishing this. * I may have watched the first episode of Casshern Sins and Cat Planet Cuties about 5 months ago. I don't actually remember since both of those were added some time after I watched them, as with a lot of the stuff I randomly run across.
So that's a maximum of 10 + 22 + 2 + 1 + 4 + 2 + 2 + 12 + 1 + 2 = 58 episodes in five months.
That's about 11 to 12 episodes a month, on average. So about 3 episodes a week. Or less than one a day.
My actual watching usually occurs in short bursts when I'll watch an episode a day or even more than one a day for a few days in a row. And then I'll not watch anything for a while.
Apparently the reason the wiki avoids pronouns entirely boils down to a very stupid argument amongst the moderators over the data book, which, if I am not mistaken, was written long before Alluka was introduced and basically just says, "The fourth of the five sons has not yet been introduced."
Which makes me think Togashi was playing his cards close to the vest more than anything, but canon nitpickers are a stupid breed to begin with.
so for the longest time i thought lain's "future" outfit, as pictured in an artbook, was a prototype design for an alternate conception of the show as far future sci-fi. i'm not sure why. i guess i made that all up? anyway it's apparently her computer avatar, and a main fixture in the video game. there's an idle animation of her twirling around. it's pretty cute.
So apparently Blood Blockade Battlefront was created by the author of Trigun and directed by the person behind Kyousougiga, and my two favourite critics on ANN put it as second-best of the year behind only Yurikuma Arashi, which is godly.
There is a key animator at Bones who has an exclusive contract with them because literally nobody else in the industry can draw fight scenes like him. Apparently his work shows up fairly often in that show.
Watched the GiTS Arise movie today. It felt a little underwhelming personally, which not to say it was bad, just that the place that it built up to kinda felt like a retread of the second season of Stand Alone Complex. Still, the fact that they ended the film with a shoutout to the opening of the first film makes me happy.
That's fair. One episode a week would take you about two or three...
Still, the two longest arcs are two of the best, so once you get there it shouldn't be too much trouble keeping up. But on the other hand, I watched the last twenty-odd episodes on Crunchyroll with ads in one day, so I'm not one to talk... except that I generally take over a month to finish twelve/thirteen-episode series? I dunno. That last stretch is probably the best, though. It's a very tonally unusual show, in that it doesn't make any bones about being FMA-level heavy just beneath the surface from fairly early on, but you kind of don't notice until it falls on you like a tonne of bricks.
but you kind of don't notice until it falls on you like a tonne of bricks.
"Also, the boss actually added a rule this time."
"A rule? What?"
"Go absolutely crazy."
Holy shit, that sequence.
After what happens at the end of the penultimate arc, it's kind of easy to forget how intense and horrific that whole series of events is. It's where the series really shows you its hand at makes you ask yourself exactly what you expect out of a story like this.
but you kind of don't notice until it falls on you like a tonne of bricks.
"Also, the boss actually added a rule this time."
"A rule? What?"
"Go absolutely crazy."
Holy shit, that sequence.
After what happens at the end of the penultimate arc, it's kind of easy to forget how intense and horrific that whole series of events is. It's where the series really shows you its hand at makes you ask yourself exactly what you expect out of a story like this.
It's an excellently done turning sequence for everything in that show. It's really just easy to forget how unsettling the show can get in general in the early sequences.
Like, Tonpa? First of all F that dude. More to the point, his actively weeding out the newbies was actually a wonderful way to put Hisoka's ferocity, the frightening intensity of the Hunter Exams, and what sorts of people Hunters are into perspective. This dude, he cowers at the idea of Hisoka despite his tough guy facade, which then makes you really think about the sort of shit Kil has dealt with by the time he rips out Johness' heart, and all.
But you know what got me the most of that arc? Gon's parting words to Kil's sibling. You do not cross his friends, at all.
I have a lot of thoughts going in a lot of directions right now, so I cut it off prematurely. Suffice to say I adore this series to my core. Sequences like that really drive it all home for me, terrifying as they are.
Gon's absolute purity of motive makes him one of the single scariest protagonists in anime. There is really no other way to put it. He is pure, and he has no conscious filters; consequently, he is terrifying.
Also, yeah, Tonpa really is such a dick, but the way in which he is a dick (and where his cowardice shows, when it shows) does indeed put things into perspective rather nicely. It's in those little details and flashes of nastiness that you see where the show is really taking you, but it's done with such a light touch that you can almost blink and miss it.
He's the exact opposite of Killua in so many ways, it's compelling and hilarious and adorable all at the same time. Leave it to Hunter Squared to make me ultimately be less scared by the professional ex-assassin than the stereotypical shounen bud. Not that either of them are ever close to their respective stereotypes of cool-headed calculator (which isn't even true; he's just an actively conscious thinker), and bootstrapping hothead with a passion for life.
Yet the latter is also one of the most relatable anime protagonists (at least from my personal experience). So many of his actions are driven by an overwhelming compassion; compassion for his lost father, that for his friends, seeking to just help some guy he met out of the blue and can't necessarily even trust.
You have me thinking of silly moments where you remember that they really are just kids. As bright-eyed and full of hope as you'd expect from any kid off the street or again the standard protag. Like Kil getting flashbacks of candy, in a manner reminiscent of throwaway gags. Or both of them scanning the auctions, Kil letting Gon lead the way as he makes sure nobody crosses Gon. It all happens so quickly, not that I'd expect any less from either of them.
They are two very interesting, well-realised characters who happen to make a marvellous team and bounce off each other in fascinating ways. And although it is easier to forget with Killua, you never really forget that they are both children, which is nifty in itself.
Spoiler:
On that note, the contrast between Killua and Alluka is an interesting bit of writing, in how the former has seen more than most adults and is constantly trying to keep up that façade when, at the end of the day, he's a scared child, while the latter arguably behaves like an even younger child than she is due to being sequestered for years on end—and, of course, there's Nanika, who is quite literally Alluka frozen in early childhood, and lashing out at others' selfish use of her abilities as a very powerful toddler would.
Also... I am aware that this is contentious, but by the end of the series, it seemed pretty clear to me that Killua genuinely loves Gon. Not necessarily in terms of physical attraction, but the degree to which he has put this trust in this one person, this first real friend he was ever able to make, and the degree to which he is frustrated with and yet so clearly adores him—it really rang true as a depiction of first love for me.
Like, Kurapika and Leorio? I know close friends who are exactly like that. But Killua, that's going headlong into unrequited love territory. It's really very sweet.
That's contentious? Rhetorical question, I've seen too many folks act like Kil and Gon can't possibly be an item, because how could they, they're kids, what in the heck are you on, gosh. As if that's somehow impossible in the same series that one of them beat the ever-loving graces out of an enemy for not only toying with his emotions over one of his most cherished loved ones, but also with the knowledge that the same person has been little more than an undead plaything since their disappearance. It's, well, it's awful and Gon reacts precisely how you would expect him, or at least someone like him, to react, and it's utterly terrifying even while I feel for him.
This all reminds me of two opposing forces can spring simply from love - notably in the arcs both of us referenced - no matter how twisted, or frightening. Squared Hunters, in the same turn, honestly never lets you forget of how basic and raw these emotions are, how close they are to everyone; that's not to imply mimicry in all of us of course, but I'd call someone a fool if they acted like they never experienced such intense emotions. Nor if they haven't crossed personal lines, or surprised themselves, despite and because of their very moral codes. I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Just, really, HxH brings me a pained smile in showing people or groups who are so close yet so utterly, remarkably disconnected from one another.
That whole situation with Kite and Neferpitou is particularly brutal when you realise how the Royal Guard and the King are, in their own way, a mirror of Gon's innocence, but from the other way around; and how their development and the way that they relate to one another is so much the way that children look at the world and grow. By the end, you find yourself heartbroken over the death of characters who basically wanted to wipe out humanity, because in a fucked up way, you get it. Togashi seems to like doing that a lot: The audience is never safe from implication.
Incidentally, by the end of what the show covered, Gon and Killua are both fourteen. Saying that romantic infatuation is somehow not a thing at that age is patently absurd. Although in this case, the subtext I got is less one of mutual interest than something a bit more nuanced and one-sided—not in terms of devotion, as I think Gon values Killua on a familial level, but romantically speaking.
But yeah, there is a lot going on in that show on a number of levels that aren't immediately apparent. It's very broad and yet also very subtle, which is rare.
Anichart winter. Definitely Dagashi Kashi and Durarara!!x2 Ketsu, perhaps Schwarzesmarken, maybe catch up on Utawurerumono, CG if I can catch up by then, Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, Iron Blooded Orphans. I'll look at the charts for the others after the winter shows I'm interested in are over.
Yeah, Killua is a scary motherfucker and generally a fascinating piece of work.
On the subject of the new season, I could quote all of what I said on the THEM forums, but that would be crossing the streams so I'll summarise: I will be very consternated if Koukaku no Pandora is not either awesome or awesomely terrible, the time-travel show sounds potentially quite decent, and that one with the storytellers is probably going to land somewhere between brilliant and a sappy snoozefest and I really hope it's leans "great" rather than the other way.
So I'm watching one of Sam Sutherland's This Exists videos about ROM-hacked automatic Mario playthroughs synched to music and right in the middle there's one set to an uptempo variation on... "Uninstall".
I just thought that particular bizarro dog-whistle was worth noting. It wasn't so striking as the quadruple-split-screen Queen arrangement, but it was such a weird choice that I had to mention it.
Also: I am watching a thing discussing just how out there the technical stuff going on in the three-part anthology film Memories is and thinking how badly I need to see this movie, if solely for that absolutely incredible animation.
Here for the curious. I have mixed feelings about this guy's work overall, but this video has some really fun, interesting stuff about cinematography and the mechanics of animation, which is very much my thing.
Yeah, I really appreciate what he does in that he covers stuff which most anime reviewers sort of just shove aside due to age, but his humour is very broad and doesn't always click with me. That said, in his best work, his enthusiasm for the medium and the period is really infectious—and occasionally he's just able to get across how a thing *feels* really well, like Odin being unbearably slow.
Finished watching the Hunter Exam arc. A lot of interesting character stuff, like the parallels being drawn between Killua and Hisoka, and Hisoka and Kurapika's ideals of judgment (with them both willing to act as judge, jury, and executioner in their own way, although I imagine when Kurapika gets to the actual "executioner" part he's going to be suffering some serious internal strife.)
Also Illumi is terrifying and makes Killua look like a normal, well adjusted person.
Also: I am watching a thing discussing just how out there the technical stuff going on in the three-part anthology film Memories is and thinking how badly I need to see this movie, if solely for that absolutely incredible animation.
Memories is great. I still put the soundtrack on sometimes.
Finished watching the Hunter Exam arc. A lot of interesting character stuff, like the parallels being drawn between Killua and Hisoka, and Hisoka and Kurapika's ideals of judgment (with them both willing to act as judge, jury, and executioner in their own way, although I imagine when Kurapika gets to the actual "executioner" part he's going to be suffering some serious internal strife.)
Also Illumi is terrifying and makes Killua look like a normal, well adjusted person.
You meet the rest of the family soon enough, and while they are... special, very special, Illumi is very much in a class of his own. He is one of those rare antagonists where his sympathetic qualities actually make him creepier.
I will also enjoy seeing what you make of the direction that Kurapika's arc takes.
On a completely different note, I just remembered that Mamoru Oshii has directed several live-action films, and this is one of the rare instances where I am intensely curious about an animator's non-animated work.
Finished the Heaven's Arena arc. Pretty standard training/tournament arc, all said and done, but eh, more Killua is never a bad thing. Also Hisoka confirmed to still be a raging creep. Killua is also apparently the son of David Bowie and a terminator.
Apparently the next arc is one of the better arcs or something? I dunno.
Comments
I started watching Angel Beats about 5 months ago. (I say "about" since I don't always update my list immediately after watching something.)
I'm on episode 10 of 13 now.
During this same period of time...
* I also started watching Guilty Crown about 5 months ago, and finished it (22 episodes) about a month ago.
* I watched the first 2 episodes of Young Black Jack about 3 months ago.
* I watched the first episode of RWBY 3 about 2 months ago. I plan on finishing this.
* I started watching Solty Rei about 3 months ago and I've seen 4 episodes. I plan on finishing this.
* I watched episodes 3 and 4 of Squid Girl about 3 months ago. I plan on finishing this but this is basically an episodic thing anyway.
* I watched the first 2 episodes of Gakkougurashi (School-Live!) about 3 months ago. I think I want to finish this.
* I began watching Atelier Escha & Logy about 4 months ago and finished it (12 episodes) about 3 months ago.
* I watched the first episode of Steins;Gate about 3 months ago. I plan on finishing this.
* I may have watched the first episode of Casshern Sins and Cat Planet Cuties about 5 months ago. I don't actually remember since both of those were added some time after I watched them, as with a lot of the stuff I randomly run across.
So that's a maximum of 10 + 22 + 2 + 1 + 4 + 2 + 2 + 12 + 1 + 2 = 58 episodes in five months.
That's about 11 to 12 episodes a month, on average. So about 3 episodes a week. Or less than one a day.
My actual watching usually occurs in short bursts when I'll watch an episode a day or even more than one a day for a few days in a row. And then I'll not watch anything for a while.
But then again, a silver lining is that the odd pacing kept my experience on its toes.
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I must see this. 0w0
Also... I am aware that this is contentious, but by the end of the series, it seemed pretty clear to me that Killua genuinely loves Gon. Not necessarily in terms of physical attraction, but the degree to which he has put this trust in this one person, this first real friend he was ever able to make, and the degree to which he is frustrated with and yet so clearly adores him—it really rang true as a depiction of first love for me.
Like, Kurapika and Leorio? I know close friends who are exactly like that. But Killua, that's going headlong into unrequited love territory. It's really very sweet.
Incidentally, by the end of what the show covered, Gon and Killua are both fourteen. Saying that romantic infatuation is somehow not a thing at that age is patently absurd. Although in this case, the subtext I got is less one of mutual interest than something a bit more nuanced and one-sided—not in terms of devotion, as I think Gon values Killua on a familial level, but romantically speaking.
But yeah, there is a lot going on in that show on a number of levels that aren't immediately apparent. It's very broad and yet also very subtle, which is rare.
dear sweet lord killua, what the everloving christ
"Oh, that wasn't even a technique. I just ripped it out."
On the subject of the new season, I could quote all of what I said on the THEM forums, but that would be crossing the streams so I'll summarise: I will be very consternated if Koukaku no Pandora is not either awesome or awesomely terrible, the time-travel show sounds potentially quite decent, and that one with the storytellers is probably going to land somewhere between brilliant and a sappy snoozefest and I really hope it's leans "great" rather than the other way.
The opening theme from Bokurano.
My mind stopped working for a moment.
I just thought that particular bizarro dog-whistle was worth noting. It wasn't so striking as the quadruple-split-screen Queen arrangement, but it was such a weird choice that I had to mention it.
Weakness
Where I saw this is honestly beside the point.
Also Illumi is terrifying and makes Killua look like a normal, well adjusted person.
i mean, otomo, man
You meet the rest of the family soon enough, and while they are... special, very special, Illumi is very much in a class of his own. He is one of those rare antagonists where his sympathetic qualities actually make him creepier.
I will also enjoy seeing what you make of the direction that Kurapika's arc takes.
On a completely different note, I just remembered that Mamoru Oshii has directed several live-action films, and this is one of the rare instances where I am intensely curious about an animator's non-animated work.
Apparently the next arc is one of the better arcs or something? I dunno.