Currently/just finished watching/reading anime/manga thread.

[Nyerp]

oh my GOD

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXdAnLzHA80[/youtube]

well...i guess that's everything

[Nyerp]

watch more penguindrum you guys!!

[Nyerp]

uh wow that episode of samurai champloo was just awful

[Samus Aran]

uh wow that episode of samurai champloo was just awful

lol episode 22? yeah it's completely different and just weird and dumb

[Nyerp]

lol episode 22? yeah it's completely different and just weird and dumb

seriously

[Nyerp]

um wow episode 23 was also really stupid??????????

[Nyerp]

"i don't really want to kill you."; "i finally found what i was looking for. you two are my first friends."

...

"OKAY TIME TO LEAVE EACH OTHER FOREVER GOODBYE"

Oh.

[Samus Aran]

yep the ending is mediocre

[Samus Aran]

finished Angel Beats!

it was wonderful. it had some flaws, like a couple character traits changing way too fast with no real gradual "development," which i'm basically attributing to the fact that it's a short series and there just aren't enough episodes to flesh things out with more details

but in general, it was just fucking great. wonderful humor (with excellent timing, i might add), a strong cast, a really interesting concept, great soundtrack, above-average (nothing amazing but still) art and animation, and some very emotionally strong scenes, especially the ending, which was hnnnnggg sad but still happy at the same time

9/10~

[bluaki]

wonderful humor (with excellent timing, i might add)

there's a humor-focused full-episode-length special too
also a second and audio-only special, which isn't on MAL. A bit dull at parts but still enjoyable.

Both of them are in the folder I gave you. The latter subbed and in a video that visually indicates the speaker.

Somehow I forgot to add the Another Epilogue to my list when I watched it last year and added it just now upon noticing it in your completion history

[Samus Aran]

there's a humor-focused full-episode-length special too
also a second and audio-only special, which isn't on MAL. A bit dull at parts but still enjoyable.

Both of them are in the folder I gave you. The latter in a video with subs that visually indicates the speaker.

Somehow I forgot to add the Another Epilogue to my list when I watched it last year and added it just now upon noticing it in your completion history

yeah i plan on watching the special episode sometime, i already downloaded it

[don't let's]

um wow episode 23 was also really stupid??????????

the ending to episode 14 was the best. Though I think there was a better part but I can't remember.

[Nyerp]

i TRIED to like pani poni dash

i really did

[Nyerp]

kaz's thoughts on wolf's rain?

[Samus Aran]

Okay, so...Wolf's Rain.

On, the outside, it's a beautiful show. High production values from BONES, with pretty great visuals. The characters are well-designed but simple enough to fit the dreary near-apocalyptic world, which by the way is very well-designed itself. The palette is dark and grungy. It's all very moody, but reasonably so. Animation is particularly good, with a lot of great care shown in the animation of the wolves in particular. And of course, the music is phenomenal, and really bring out the emotion in some scenes.

I guess pacing is somewhat of a problem. It's not a big deal, buuuuttt...it is a bit slower than need be, with less being actually explained than I'd like. When a show is paced like this, I sort of expect a bit more plot development, but instead, a lot happens in the first and last episodes and not much happens in the middle. Like I said, it's not a big deal - I've seen much worse-paced shows. On the other hand, its pacing sort of fits the tone and the setting, so there is defense for it.

Obviously the recap episodes are a problem too. Four of them in a row is just unreasonable and it's probably one of the biggest reasons that I'm struggling to give the main series (without the fantastic last four episodes) a score of 9.

One of the things I found most interesting about this show is how, while being about wolves, it manages to treat its human characters with great care. The interactions between Quent and Hubb, for example, are done very well...the episode with them traveling together in the car is a highlight. And the romance/tragedy between Hubb and Cher is just fantastic. I honestly found myself more interested in the humans sometimes than the wolves and their somewhat typical "let's go to paradise" journey. While they're off running around, these humans are dealing with very serious, very relatable issues of heartbreak and an inability to escape the past. There's some serious Cowboy Bebop going on in the human characters, and that's a good thing.

So, all in all, it's a great show. Fantastic characters, great visuals (that first episode is a real eye-popper, btw), amazing soundtrack, pacing's a bit weak and a bit strange but usually fine, the story is maybe a bit confusing but not overly so (I've loved more confusing ones)...in general this is pretty much "9" material, but dem recaps, man. Those wasted four slots makes it hard to give that 9. I'm still kind of on the fence about it.