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We’re already eight months into the year!? |
Surprise delivery! We’re already more than half way through the year, so let’s look back at what the anime of 2015 have given us so far, and predict what the future may hold.
Hey all, Samu here. This was podcast was born out of my desire to have a retrospective look of the anime of 2015 so far. Back when I was just another RandomC reader/listener, I always listened to the retrospective podcasts that looked over each passing season. They often served as a chance to spotlight some series that may have been missed or deserved further discussion, and I got some good recommendations out of those podcasts. They were the best!
Since we haven’t done a podcast of that sort for a while, I thought ‘why the heck not’, and so this baby was born. Somehow, we balanced the timezone differences across four different continents, and this is the result. Make sure to listen out for Zephyr munching his steak or the sound of his creaking door. Enjoy!
- Samu – @its_samu, MAL profile
- Guardian Enzo – @GuardianEnzo, Anime-Planet profile, lostinanime.com
- Passerby – MAL profile, thestrangersroom.com
- Zephyr – @ZephyrRC, MAL profile
Part I – The Past Six Months (Winter & Spring)
- 00:00 – Introduction
- 04:14 – Common/prevalent themes so far in 2015:
Callbacks to 10-15 years ago, Old series getting new adaptations, Less sci-fi anime - 11:15 – Spotlight picks:
- 11:41 – Baby Steps 2
- 16:32 – Shigatsu Wa Kimi no Uso
- 23:56 – Hibike! Euphonium
- 28:13 – Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata
- 32:50 – Death Parade
- 38:56 – SHIROBAKO
- 46:57 – THE IDOLM@STER: Cinderella Girls
- 49:15 – Arslan Senki
- 55:57 – Biggest disappointments:
Gunslinger Stratos: The Animation, Kantai Collection, ALDNOAH.ZERO, Durarara!!x2 - 60:58 – Winter vs Spring – Which was better?
Part II – The Next Six Months (Summer & Fall)
- 00:00 – Re-introduction
- 00:48 – Summer Season – Were expectations met?
- 06:09 – What are the under-appreciated gems that more people should be watching?
Jitsu wa Watashi wa, Classroom Crisis, Senki Zesshou Symphogear GX - 14:12 – Looking Back: One show you didn’t blog that you wish you had
Sanzoku no Musume Ronja, SHIROBAKO, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Nanatsu no Taizai - 18:03 – Character Discussion: Ichinose Hajime (GATCHAMAN crowds) – Love or hate her?
- 26:53 – GANGSTA.
- 34:02 – Fall Season: thoughts and predictions
- 39:51 – Why isn’t Shokugeki no Souma selling well?
- 47:18 – Overall impressions of 2015 so far
- 52:52 – New blogger Incoming!
- 55:20 – Shoutouts:
Zephyr’s steak, Go buy Shokugeki no Soma blu-rays!, God Eater staff, Kekkai Sensen final episode?
Manga Recommendation: Seshiji o Pin! to (Straighten Up!)
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Two parts? wooah so great!
It’s buy one get one free this week :O we are so lucky!
Awesome, and double one at it!
Question, there’s only Part 1 currently on iTunes, are you guys planning to upload the second one there as well?
We’ll look into that. For the time being, you’ll have to stick with the flash player or the Mediafire download link. 🙂
I think I’m in the minority that actually thinks the winter season’s animes were better. Spring was ok with Arslan Senki, then summer was completely uninteresting. Well, my interest in anime seems to be dying out since the end of Kuroko.
I disagree. There are some good anime’s to watch this season. Non Non Biyori Repeat, Gate, God Eater, Akagami no Shirayukihimo, Chaos Dragon, Gaskkou Gurashi, Charlotte, Gangsta, Durarara, Jitsu wa Watashi, Overlord, and Sore ga Seiyuu are just some of the ones worth watching. Some folks are just hyper critical of anime and have too narrow a view on what they like and don’t like.
so, unlimited budget works is : perfect, no more words needed ?
Well Passerby and Enzo both blogged it, and I’m sure Zephyr watched it as well. I dropped it two episodes into the second cour because I was bored with it. Have no desire to finish it either. I’m sure my opinion on the series is very different from how the majority see it. The less I say about UBW, the better!
Perhaps you should’ve watched up to the point when things actually started happening, because the first two episodes weren’t doing much more than setting up, in my opinion.
I don’t think there’s much that needs to be mentioned about UBW that hasn’t already been talked about in some manner by someone.
It was extremely popular, had an immense amount of budget ensuring a consistent production, and was a lot better/comprehensive than the original movie we got before.
I suppose we can go into who liked it/hated it and why, but even then I feel like much of that is known at this point. It’s certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, and your feelings regarding the TYPE-MOON universe in general also plays a key role. I liked it myself, but there’s not much to really say.
If you liked the original VN you would love uFotable’s UBW because it was a faithful adaptation of the VN route with a healthy dash of F/Z references to keep it relevant to the “prequel that came first” for anime only viewers.
Story wise you either love it or hate it. I can’t say it was surprising with it’s twists and turns since 95% of the people who watched it probably knew what was gonna happen but I think the vast majority will agree that it was an excellent adaptation.
Man, all this waiting for an application to be accepted is killin’ me… The anxiety I tell ya!
Since Samu mentioned it, if I do get that post though, I’d like to make posts on the Project Itoh movies. Particularly Harmony as it’s inextricably linked to what I’ve been self-studying for years… Genocidal Organ’s incredibly interesting as well, though it would be very interesting to hear Passerby’s take on it.
Regarding Death Parade, I agree with what everyone says though I do have my own spin on it. Wrote an entire review on it too… Can’t believe it’s been months since it ended. That period of time really felt like yesterday…
Also, in reference to the current trends in ‘anime’, I’d say that entertainment media as a whole is being swept away by various variables on a very unsettling course… I won’t divulge what I think on the matter as it would go off on an even more unsettling tangent, but let’s just hope that someday, somewhere, someone strives against tremendous odds to rip it a new arsehole. Idiomatically speaking that is…
I was thinking the same thing. Project Itoh would most certainly be my first choice if I was offered the post. I’m a sucker for gritty and philosophical sci-fi and these films seem to fill the void of this year’s lack of such anime, not to mention the high production costs and the kickass staff for each film. Out the Trinity, I would say Empire of Corpses is the one I’m most looking forward to; I’m intrigued to see an anime movie inspired by the classic Frankenstein novel. Though it’s a shame that I would probably only be able to blog about it until the Subs come out for them, which would most likely be in 2016 anyway.
Oh man, I somehow managed to get some sleep… I’m awake now though… Ahem, anyways…
I’ve never read Frankenstein, but I gotta agree that Empire Of Corpses has quite the interesting premise. I remember how they were promoting all three since last year, and how that got me excited through the roof. I really like stuff like this, but I like them precisely because they’re great insights into the human condition, so to speak.
Don’t know about how soon the subs would come out though. I think that they’ll get the subs out real soon, considering that they’re relatively well-known and that the novels have already been translated.
Considering it’s a movie you’re looking anywhere upwards of 6 months depending (just look how long Psycho Pass’ movie took). We can get lucky (i.e. cam recordings), but it’s generally a good idea not to expect anything until the Bluerays are released.
I do expect great things from Empire of Corpses though, even if I cannot help thinking it would have made a great seasonal anime. Sometimes it can be too hard to properly deal with material in a movie format.
6 Months!? Oh lord… Man, I remember I had the chance to see the Psycho-Pass movie back while I was in Osaka but seeing that the movie included the very same characters that made Psycho-Pass 2 a terrible mistake, I said “Neeeeeeewwwwpe!”
Though I would greatly welcome it if the story has zero relation to Psycho-Pass 2.
And yeah, due to screen time constraints, it could potentially be either a blessing or a hazard to the story. And there’s also that nagging concern of having to ‘refine’ the whole thing down to make it easily digestible into tater-tot emulsified shakes.
Seriously tho, ‘cam-recordings’… WTF… XD
I’m not kidding :P, movies are not the same animal as seasonal shows. Subbers want good quality rips to work with, something movies and their initial theatrical releases don’t allow for; it’s why you see discussions on anime movies usually emerge over here in the English speaking world about 6-8 months later as that’s when the DVD/Bluerays are released. Sometimes there are expections for really popular/mainstream stuff (i.e. Dragon Ball Z and Evangelion), but they more often prove the rule. Don’t immediately discount cams either, some of the recordings coming out have been almost as good as DVD rips, just need to know where to look 😉
As for the Psycho Pass movie it’s not as bad as you think. Might have the same characters, but barring some really bad Engrish IMO it was the plot that the second season was missing. The issue of course being it had only 2 hours to work with instead of 6.
Now that’s a relief! The way Pscyho-Pass 2’s new characters were done made them seem like they possessed spoofs of mental disorders more than anything; and having studied the field for years, it just made me blew my top off~ I seriously hope that when I do get around to watching the movie, those over-the-top elements are outta sight and outta mind…
Glad to see I’m not the only one eagerly awaiting Project Itoh.
I think the thing with Psycho-Pass S2 is the same thing we see with stuff like Aldnoah – Gen Urobuchi may have serious flaws as a writer, but he’s better than no Gen Urobuchi a good majority of the time.
@Zephyr: Awww yis!
@Enzo: Not too sure on what flaws the Butcher has in his writing, need to analyze it more, but Psycho-Pass 2 was written by the same dude who floundered parts of Zankyou no Terror in addition to being the writer of Hamatora. Dude’s a downright sensationalist… Perhaps he needs to get back to the School of Real-life, see how things ‘really work’.
The writer of Psycho Pass 2 was Tow Ubukata, the same guy who wrote Mardock Scramble and the GitS Arise series, with his magnum opus being the former. I’m not a fan of his works, ESPECIALLY as he takes credit for butchering the entire GitS franchise before doing the same to Urobutcher’s Psycho Pass. However, Ubukata stated in an interview that the producers were rushing him to make the script for the second season in a set amount of time.
Frankly speaking, not all of the blame should go to him, because it doesn’t help when your superiors give you the position as the writer of an esteemed series, only to push on to you the task of making a needless season for the sake of narrative coherence between S1 and the movie.
I think it’s best to have a podcast only on Mid year & End of the Year, so that it won’t get boring.
Just voice my opinion.
And also, pull some random guest.
I’m glad you talked about Durarara. I think it just seems way too serious lately. In the beginning it just seemed a little more lighthearted with just the color gangs and such. But now you have a bunch of Yakuza involved and a lot of people actually dying (quite horribly I might add) among other forms of extreme violence. And what was with that scene in the bathroom with the drugs? That was some heavy stuff. What’s it doing in a show like Durarara?
You also have Mikado being manipulated by that one guy and seemingly going bonkers.
The only thing I hated about Shigatsu was that they never named the disease she had. Come on! If sword art online could do it a show like this could. I wish that was the new norm in shows like that.
I think it was intentional, and I actually liked it better that way myself. Keeping things as a mystery is one way to tell a story, and one could argue actually spending time on what the condition was/is might’ve ultimately detracted away from the finale and what it was trying to focus on (Kousei).
I can see where you’re coming from though.
Anime was a mistake…. Oh God, Samu. Hahaha. I lost my crap with that line.
I really think Passerby sounds like Benedict Cumberbatch. Is he not telling us something?
Oh no, Benedict Cumberbatch sounds like me. What a suspicious fellow he is.
Will there be a July impressions post any time soon?
Apologies, but monthly impression posts are on hold for this season. The writers responsible for most of the impressions are extremely busy IRL right now, so it won’t resume until the fall at the earliest.
We won’t be doing Monthly Impressions this season sorry =(
A lot of folks are extremely busy this summer – or just me. I’m dying at work, with weddings and a lot of other life-issues coming my way.
Hope you understand. Hopefully my life won’t be as hectic next season and I can contribute more (and on time… damn my posts are late o_o).
I also look forward to your post on Episode 07 of Charlotte, Zephyr.
https://randomc.net/2015/08/15/charlotte-07 😀
This made me go ahead and marathon all your podcasts I will tell you this you have come a long way from your first one to this latest one. it is incredibly enjoyable to hear the series that we love and hate being discuss in this kind of manner. props to all of you guys specially zephyr and Enzo you guys are my favorite to listen to. thank you Samu for organizing this you’re the man.
You’re welcome! Going through all the previous podcasts is an impressive feat that not many could achieve, so kudos to you.
it was great. listening to all of it added a lot more value to the shows I watch then and some of the ones I watch now. I will look forward to your impressions for the end of the season.
Thanks so much for that – very kind of you. They’re fun to do, just a little exhausting…
Hope you also watch GOD EATER anime it’s a sleeper but it is being made by ufatomable which is VERY apparent in episode 5 which is just “WOW” it feels like been written by orobuchi(dont know). Any way I never expected i would love the an anime adaptation from a game and I cant wait for episode 6(2 week gap)
My heart was also cracked a little from the lack of mechanical sci-fi shows for this cour (not sure if Aquarion Logos count…)
OTOH: is Classroom Crisis (scifi?) any good?
Classroom Crisis won’t be the hard sci-fi you’re looking for—it’s more a mystery, if I was forced to fit it into a genre—but it’s turning out to be quite good, in my opinion.
We pretty much all agreed (apart from Enzo) that Classroom Crisis is the most underrated show this season, so I’d say it’s pretty damn good. I love the elements of sci-fi when they do come into play.
For the record, the manga Straighten Up! is a good one so far. Thanks for the recommendation!
You’re welcome! Everyone should check it out, it deserves more attention!
Is it weird that I always imagined your voices to sound like your avatars? Threw me off for a bit there, ha-ha. Anyway, nice discussion and hope to see (hear?) more.
I don’t know what you’re talking about, Zephyr sounds just like a blue-haired bishoujo would.
It was such a long time we hd the last one. As always it’s a leasure to hear your thoughts on last season(s) shows. I know it’s hard for people across the globe to find time to do it but I hope you will bug them more about it Samu. Keep the goodwork up. ;p
Damn keybord… Had* Pleasure*
I do recall watching your lie in April for 3 episodes then dropping it at some point and forgot why until you guys brought it up: It just wasn’t funny. At all. All the comedy sucked.
As for soma not doing well disk sale wise I can’t chime in on that as I don’t know too much about what makes Japanese consumers buy anime.On a personal note however I would say that, as a fan of the manga, Soma doesn’t look like the kind of thing I would go out of my way to watch it’s anime incarnation of. I’ve watched a couple of it’s early episodes and nothing about it really stands out to me as an ‘anime’ per say. It’s also the reason why even though I love One Punch Man, when it’s anime was announced I didn’t necessarily leap for joy, but just said, eh, alright. The manga in question(s) are already in pretty high quality that being in an anime wouldn’t necessarily change anything for me. Something like Hunter x Hunter is one thing because the visuals manga-wise were always hit and miss (though it didn’t make me enjoy it any less) so getting an anime that improved on it’s material was something I was willing to watch. I also think, though this may just be me, that I have some what of a different set of expectations when I’m approaching a manga than an anime. Recently my expectations for anime have only grown where as for manga I’m more willing to try out different things for a few chapters. It’s a bit hard to for me to explain why that’s the case so I’ll just leave it at that.
As for seasonal things, personally it’s been a pretty miserable time this year. Death Parade was a great show but I can’t really list any other standouts that I really liked as much as I felt I would and Winter and Spring fell in the same catagory of bad as there were only so few shows I watched from each (My love story, Kekkai Sensen were the ONLY two shows I watched last season). I’m watching more this season but nothing stands out to me personally and I can’t say there’s too much in the fall that I’m looking forward to either. I guess I can only hope 2016 is better.