What I think you're getting at is that you prioritise how a series appeals to your personal aesthetics of character, mood and tone over things like theme, subtext, dramatic progression and cinematography—which is to say, the stuff I take deadly seriously—or more mechanical matters like plot consistency and worldbuilding which a lot of people like to geek out about. Which is fine, but it means that unless you meet someone with similar aesthetics and priorities, it will be hard for you to really talk about what you liked and why without confusing some people, or, frankly, making some uncharitable fellow think that you lack standards. This would be unfair and inaccurate, but not incomprehensible.
I guess your explanation seems consistent with the fact that I feel kinda isolated from others' consensus taste. Probably more likely because of the "plot consistency and worldbuilding" aspects because people tend to geek out about those.
But I'm not sure I agree with your second bit -- if anything I'd say I derive information about the theme from my emotional responses to different aspects of the work, and those emotional responses are themselves derived from its dramatic progression.
I feel that what is actually happening is that I'm basically letting themes, dramatic progression, motifs, etc. drive the interpretation of the details and fill in the gaps in understanding the work, rather than the other way around (letting the textual details fill in the gaps and drive the interpretation of the themes, progression, and motifs).
(I didn't respond to the comment about cinematography since I am not entirely familiar with what is meant by that term.)
So over the past few days, due to traveling, I had some time to put towards anime (because reading in the car is impossible). Those anime happened to be Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto, My Hero Academia, Rage of Bahamut: Genesis. All-in-all a fairly entertaining group of shows to watch when you can't do anything else, though save for Sakamoto I don't think I would have sought them out without hearing about them from others (or in the case of MHA, watching the OP). Bahamut is completed so I'll just think on it later.
MHA is something I would recommend for those who don't mind, or enjoy superheroes, can appreciate an earnestly cheerful lead, and naturally lean positively for action, which this show is filled with (literally every episode so far). Although as someone that seeks out action-oriented media, so far I find it to be passable at best; predictable, rather standard, but colorful and energizing enough in its simplicity. Which is kind of a shame, since I'd expect the action to be even more colorful than the cast themselves, although I find myself caring for only so many of them. I mean Deku Midoriya is endearinglybright-eyed, Uraraka's happinessis infectious, while Iide's strict behavior is understandable enough, and Bakugo makes for a complex enough asshole rival that I actually find his dynamic with Midoriya engaging (bolstered by Daiki Yamashita/Akeno Watanabe, Ayane Sakura, and Nobuhiko Okamoto/Sachi Kouryu, respectively, doing fine work). But I wouldn't expect the show - so far anyway, apparently the manga's narrative gets much better going off of the fans - to blow any doors off, even if you can really appreciate one or more parts of the show. The animation which just feels very Scott Pilgrim and has a unique stylization (for that reason alone I recommend it to @Section42L), or the characters dynamics for the main characters, or the fervor. I do wish it had shorter pre-OP summaries and fewer flashbacks, though.
Meanwhile, Sakamoto was an unexpected treat. It's basically the logical result of some supernaturally gifted shounen MC being played straight, alongside normal people to boot. I've heard a lot of comments to the effect of it being one joke repeated over and over, specifically that Sakamoto is simply the coolest, and while that's strictly true it also doesn't really tell you about the best part. Namely, how Sakamoto makes compassion cool, and that's a comfortable change of pace. Plus it does both well at the same time, with Sakamoto's exaggerated and ridiculous responses just building the way for a moral lesson towards others. I mean, not that the moral is what I'm there for, but when his being the best is used to elevate others instead of making a mockery, it's comfier. What makes it even better is that the seiyuu choices are just great: Sakamoto is played by Midorikawa Hikaru (whose played many characters, notably Seto Kaiba and various icy supporting characters), and instead of belaboring the point with a list (just check out the MAL page), they are all more than fine in their one-note, if charming, roles.
I don't see either of these being Anime Of The Season for me, mind you. They're pushed out by the competition of JJBA: Diamond is Unbreakable, Re:Zero, and Flying Witch, all of which I've just kept in my top three since I enjoy them so much (if differently). Definitely not a waste of time if enough of the relevant boxes are checked off, and Sakamoto is recommendable to practically everyone I think. It's just plain good fun.
I'm not going to drop it, because I see no reason to pass up train zombies, but I'm a little disappointed in how Kabaneri has kind of... just been dropping off after the first few episodes. It's still nice. Still entertaining. Nothing is outrageously bad, though neither is anything outrageously good either. Maybe the fighting, if you were reaching or I guess didn't see other similarly fluid and fast-paced action.
I really like Kabeneri, and consider it to be leaping from strength to strength. It's a very "pure" zombie story, in the sense that it discusses what constitutes human (and therefore civilised, prosocial) behaviour. Unlike a lot of other stories broadly in the same genre, though, it dispenses with survivalist fantasy and fetishism, and I think the characters are much stronger for that.
It has its flaws, but I very much appreciate how it's a very faithful, traditional zombie story. Probably one of the most traditional in a long time, despite its anime-isms.
Even if I can appreciate a traditional zombie story, I've fairly consistently wavered at "Well that's aight" since episode four, although I'm not current yet.
That's been on my to-watch list for almost a decade...
It's worth a look! I'm not sure whether I'd tell you to go with dub or sub, though. Like, it's set in contemporary Japan and it feels very much like everyone should be speaking Japanese, but I went with the dub because there is a lot of English in the original script that just sounds... *weird* in context, particularly given that two of the characters are native speakers where their seiyuu clearly aren't.
Me at the beginning, middle, and just before the end of Mayoiga.
Equally seriously: This show promised too much and delivered way too little, while the trite but workable conceit was mangled; really, just pass on it. The voice actors did their parts well (although I do still think it had too many characters), the music was solid (I have enjoyed Yokoyama's work on MSG IBO and Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches), visuals were okay, and the overall plot progression was fine enough. But it was just... so weak.
Again, I've heard it argued that it's actually a black absurdist comedy rather than an actual horror/melodrama thing, and given the writer and director, that bait and switch would not surprise me, but I obviously can't say whether that would make it work for you or not.
You would have to do some mental gymnastics for it to work as a comedy, I think, is the thing, and I've been keeping that in mind since like the third episode (heard it through someone who follows r/anime). It doesn't hold, not when it nonetheless goes for a bittersweet ending to try and show how we're all experiencing pain and other such junk, pulls out the unexpected tragic backstory in the final few minutes for two separate characters, and all of the last-minute romances.
I mean, I'm not opposed to black comedies, absurdist works (I'm actually quite receptive), or some combination of the two. There's just no black comedy despite the camp (which the writers are surely aware of), and it takes itself too seriously for the sort of self-reflective self-mockery you - and others - are thinking of. It's an argument, just not one that's very convincing to me, despite the times I found myself laughing.
The show, not the movie. I have not seen more than a few minutes of the movie but it is apparently an incoherent mess with fantastic visual direction. The show's direction isn't quite that good (nor the art quite that pretty), but it does look good, and it is very entertaining.
And, uh, kinda dark. I mean, you've got the team behind Cardcaptor Sakura, right? But there's also this flashback where these two characters' mother dies in a really horrifying and fairly gory way, pretty much in front of them. So yeah...
Also I was thinking of K, a show I'm low-key following but apparently don't have queued anywhere since you elaborated on it. In my defense both have impressively unhelpful and nondescript on the surface titles. Fittingly, though, X has been in a similar area for years though, so.
Edit: And now both are queued so I will not forget.
Spoiling myself on Kuma Miko is a little disheartening. I can't be surprised to be totally wrong about something when I ignore it due to disinterest, but it is... kind of strange. And heck, as someone who is actually relatively receptive to out-of-the-blue endings, or ones that take an unexpected twist, ending with Machi regressing to the psychological state of a toddler after essentially being bullied around to do other people's bidding sounds sad. Certainly not what I want in my SOL, even if I'm open to "serious" conflict in them.
Netoge was also disappointing, unfortunately. Built up nicely, before going off in an unsatisfactory direction that I feel could have been done better any number of ways. Not like I was expecting the doors to be blown off, since I'm well familiar with this genre, but still.
In between this week's Re: Zero and the KonoSuba OVA I feel like I should have gotten my fill of "jerk MCs getting deservedly wrecked," but I am not entirely sated.
What I mean is both were great and I'm glad I'm following them.
Yes! The OVA came out a few days ago. It's admittedly more fanservicey than I generally would have liked, but given the choice expressions and the ending, I can't complain too much.
To heck with SAO. This isn't about you, speak on it all you want, obviously. But to heck with SAO and to heck with Kirito, the music and the pink-haired girl are its only saving graces.
Lisbeth? Yeah, she's fine, dunno why she liked Kirito so much though, he came into her shop, was rude to her, broke some of her merchandise and was rude about that too.
(How that ep should have ended: they get back from the dragon cave, Lisbeth forges the new sword, Kirito hits the new sword with his old sword like he did the last one, new sword breaks just like the last one, split second where Kirito and Lisbeth's eyes turn into white circles and their mouths hang open, roll credits.)
It's kinda weird how many people see the latest episode of Re Zero as having Subaru be in the right.
Like, if we look at it from Emilia's perspective, she's known Subaru for all of a week, and from her point of view, he's a vaguely precognitive clingy weirdo whose suicidal recklessness has got him nearly killed on no less than 4 separate occasions, and made her look like an idiot at a critically important event, never mind the part where he won't tell her anything.
Like, yeah, he's been through a lot, but at the same time, his worldview has been the same pretty much from the word go.
My stream-of-consciousness thoughts on Spring 2016's selection, albeit purely from what I watched. My "ratings" are spoilered because I have Thoughts on those but like including them anyway, partially out of habit (e.g. MAL).
My Hero Academia: An incredibly shounen, and rather simply plotted, action anime that is all the better for how it keeps things simple. It takes a little while to build up, but once it does events go hard and fast, and the likable cast keeps things at least fresh throughout. Not that I can see this appealing to everyone, albeit for obvious reasons. Very fun first season and I'm looking forward to how they adapt the rest of the manga. I rated it 8/10.
Flying Witch: This one is also very simple and clear-cut, focusing on the day-to-day lives of student witch Makoto and her friends. I'll just say straight-up this is one of my favorite shows of the season, and the chill character-driven interactions make it a really good healing/unwinding show, particularly if you are open to slow shows or the SOL genre. There's something of an overarching plot, but that's obviously not the main focus. The sound and musical direction are on point, while Minami Shinoda (Makoto), Eri Suzuki (energetic little Chinatsu), and new to the scene but still good Shinsuke Sugawara (Kei), all have a fine delivery. Also Yuka Iguchi, aka the voice behind Tsukihi Araragi, wonderfully voices the supporting character Anzu! So I like that a lot! I rated it a 9/10.
The Asterisk War S2: What can I say about this that I haven't already said? I suppose that it keeps on keeping on with the tournament focus, and what I've read by looking ahead at reviews doesn't endear it to me any either. I rated it a 3/10.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable: JoJo is back in full force, probably the highlight of this season for me. Animation, voice acting, music, sound, faithfulness to the manga... all very good, all as expected, with some teasers for the manga readers to boot. This is a little hard to talk about since we're only a third of the way through the manga, but what has been adapted has been the same old JJBA, for better or for worse depending on your tastes, although I'd say it's the best entrance into the series despite your missing a few things by not having watched Stardust Crusaders if you skipped it. DP handles that well enough though, filling you in on the necessary details. I rated this a 9/10 but fully expect to give it a 10/10 by the end.
Mayoiga: Honestly I'll just refer you to this post here, since nothing has changed.
Re: Zero: A definite mixed bag depending on your proclivities, since in between the trapped in another world premise and Subaru's sporadically being an ass, there's enough to take issue with. The pacing is also kind of wonky, if ultimately fine, I feel. Practically all of the characters are very likable and work together well enough, which is good for a show as character-driven as this (with some dashes of mystery). I think my favorite aspects are the characters, character design, and music, in no particular order. This is in a similar boat to JJBA since we're just over halfway through, and there's still quite a bit from this third arc that needs to be adapted. But I've got high hopes. I rated it 9/10.
Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress: I'm feeling lazy, sorry, so same as Mayoiga I've been talking about it recently, you should find my thoughts easily. Five episodes in I rated it 6/10 before dropping it, but I can't bring myself to highly recommend for or against it.
Sakamoto desu ga: Again, in the interest of efficiency, given that not much ultimately changes for a gag-driven show like Sakamoto, I refer you to my thoughts a few pages prior. I rated it 8/10.
Space Patrol Luluco: I feel like this is a show where you'll love it for the hectic energy and utter silliness mixed in with the serious, or you'll hate it for the same reasons, since it's a very Triggery work. That said, I loved it, and rated it 9/10.
Comments
But I'm not sure I agree with your second bit -- if anything I'd say I derive information about the theme from my emotional responses to different aspects of the work, and those emotional responses are themselves derived from its dramatic progression.
I feel that what is actually happening is that I'm basically letting themes, dramatic progression, motifs, etc. drive the interpretation of the details and fill in the gaps in understanding the work, rather than the other way around (letting the textual details fill in the gaps and drive the interpretation of the themes, progression, and motifs).
(I didn't respond to the comment about cinematography since I am not entirely familiar with what is meant by that term.)
It's worth a look! I'm not sure whether I'd tell you to go with dub or sub, though. Like, it's set in contemporary Japan and it feels very much like everyone should be speaking Japanese, but I went with the dub because there is a lot of English in the original script that just sounds... *weird* in context, particularly given that two of the characters are native speakers where their seiyuu clearly aren't.
Now the term "naïve surrealism" comes to mind.
The show, not the movie. I have not seen more than a few minutes of the movie but it is apparently an incoherent mess with fantastic visual direction. The show's direction isn't quite that good (nor the art quite that pretty), but it does look good, and it is very entertaining.
And, uh, kinda dark. I mean, you've got the team behind Cardcaptor Sakura, right? But there's also this flashback where these two characters' mother dies in a really horrifying and fairly gory way, pretty much in front of them. So yeah...
From the Kiznaiver finale.
tbh i thought Subaru was a jerk main character but then i watched some SAO
every time i've joked about or attempted to exaggerate the douchiness of Kirito, he's gone and done exactly as bad and more
(How that ep should have ended: they get back from the dragon cave, Lisbeth forges the new sword, Kirito hits the new sword with his old sword like he did the last one, new sword breaks just like the last one, split second where Kirito and Lisbeth's eyes turn into white circles and their mouths hang open, roll credits.)
Like, if we look at it from Emilia's perspective, she's known Subaru for all of a week, and from her point of view, he's a vaguely precognitive clingy weirdo whose suicidal recklessness has got him nearly killed on no less than 4 separate occasions, and made her look like an idiot at a critically important event, never mind the part where he won't tell her anything.
Like, yeah, he's been through a lot, but at the same time, his worldview has been the same pretty much from the word go.
i don't think he was in the right, but for me it was kind of sad to watch because it was the inevitable consequence of Subaru being Subaru