Madoka is not for you then. I find it rather polarising, its either you think its really good, or its just "another magical girl anime which is just popular".
Don't accuse me of "not wanting something new" though, I dropped Kimi ni Todoke for the opposite; it's becoming too cliche.
RE: Steins;Gate - can't really say it's a great show when the first few eps are actually quite lackluster. To be great, you have to be great throughout.
More on the "great". I'll use the recent Gundam shows for example. None of them is what you'll call great. Not Gundam SEED, definitely not SEED Destiny, not even 00 and 00 S2 and its movie, only SEED CE73 Stargazer came close. The only great Gundam show of recent years is Unicorn.
I just recently started getting into watching anime and I chose Full Metal Alchemist. I used to make fun of people for watching "that stuff" (I don't know why I did anymore,) but now I see what I was missing out on
Since I have not seen any other anime to make a comparison, I really can't say it is the best, but the story in Full Metal Alchemist is so attractive.
I enjoyed it a lot, probably because it was different, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless and it gets my recommendation. Maybe not yours, but it certainly got mine.
RE: Steins;Gate - can't really say it's a great show when the first few eps are actually quite lackluster. To be great, you have to be great throughout.
I started Steins;Gate with nothing to expect other than "the first half of the anime will set the scene for the insanely good second half", and I was not disappointed. Once you finish it you will understand why the first half was done that way, and why its obvious that this is the best and easiest way of presenting the anime.
More on the "great". I'll use the recent Gundam shows for example. None of them is what you'll call great. Not Gundam SEED, definitely not SEED Destiny, not even 00 and 00 S2 and its movie, only SEED CE73 Stargazer came close. The only great Gundam show of recent years is Unicorn.
Gundam Seed was one of the first few anime I watched, and compared to bulls**t I watched (also known as popular American cartoons), it was really good. After rewatching it a few times, my respect for it fell, but it was still a good anime to me. Probably rank lower than quite a few really good ones, but if you want to watch Gundam without committing Seed will be the one I recommend. Gundam Unicorn however, I had to soak up a lot of UC back story before appreciating it, and because of that I cannot recommend it to people other than the ones who are reasonably well versed in the UC timeline.
i enjoyed Madoka, but i cant stand to rewatch it again,
its unique, but sad at the same time.
Madoka is one anime that shocked me the most, at first, i was told that is a cute girls anime, which has powers,
im interested in watching it, and, heck, ep. 3 and the last 4 episodes shock me the most,
but a very" nice end, and sad at the same time,
I know why that anime is called Puella Magi Madoka Magica, because if that last episode.
about steins gate, i havent watched it, although its ready to watch.
got too many spoilers here and there,
@helloWorld : what genre you like to watch?
FMA is probably the only shounen anime (apart from InuYasha) that I watch
oh, and probably you shoud watch InuYasha too, its a bit old, but still a classic nonetheless.
If he wants more anime to watch, I can recommend a few, depending on his preferences:
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, story follows the manga a lot closer, and this is a must watch for people who enjoyed Fullmetal Alchemist.
Kara no Kyoukai if you like mystery and murder and things like that.
Katanagatari is good "monster of the week" anime.
Nodame Cantabile, School Rumble and Ouran High School Host Club if you want a laugh.
Once you are getting pulled in, the 2nd stage will be Suzumiya Haruhi (setting you up for the excellent movie, just watch the first season and then the movie), Code Geass, Ika Musume, Gosick,
Things which are popular but I will not recommend (you can follow other people's recommendations if you so wish):
Bleach, Naruto and other "long" shounen stuff: its just too damn long! You can start this when you are completely drawn in, but if you have a passing interest, there are better stuff to watch.
Claymore : Ending is not so good.
Elfen Lied : I cannot see what is so good with this anime, its mostly senseless gore and nudity. I am not impressed by the story either.
No, it's "another magical girl anime which is just popular because it did something else."
None AFAIK.
It's only popular JUST BECAUSE IT WAS DIFFERENT.
Don't accuse me of "not wanting something new" though, I dropped Kimi ni Todoke for the opposite; it's becoming too cliche.
RE: Steins;Gate - can't really say it's a great show when the first few eps are actually quite lackluster. To be great, you have to be great throughout.
More on the "great". I'll use the recent Gundam shows for example. None of them is what you'll call great. Not Gundam SEED, definitely not SEED Destiny, not even 00 and 00 S2 and its movie, only SEED CE73 Stargazer came close. The only great Gundam show of recent years is Unicorn.
I just recently started getting into watching anime and I chose Full Metal Alchemist. I used to make fun of people for watching "that stuff" (I don't know why I did anymore,) but now I see what I was missing out on
Since I have not seen any other anime to make a comparison, I really can't say it is the best, but the story in Full Metal Alchemist is so attractive.
Back to Shiki again:
It is simply the best horror anime and more no nonsense, the plot is very progressive and it never goes back to fool around, around episode 18 and onwards, it gets very bloody and visceral and it looks almost like the creators are showing us what really is Man's nature...
But more on this further, because at episode 19, Shiki hasn't quite arrived at that point...
Nineteenth Coffin
Osaki finally shows proof of the Shiki's existence; he explains everything in detail and shows how Shiki must be purged using Chizuru as example...
The village is mad with Rage and Osaki invokes the "mushi-Okuri", the ritual of driving the demons out, we latter see the villagers after dawning driving a massacre trough the village, in the between we see some dreadful images, the image of a dead mother holding her rooting child both already in advanced decomposition, Kaori who loved Megumi is now psychologically devastated, it’s terrifying watching her like that, just waiting for her best friend to come and kill her, but when her deceased father enters the house, she immediately reacts when he is right in front of her, she merciless destroys him...
Sunako once again looks very god; her vast wardrobe is worth mentioning as is from most characters, perhaps the best wardrobe or more varied in anime...
I see Sunako as an almost philosophical being, in being and in her speech and it is always worth listening to her…
The end is near but it will come at a huge cost, of Human lives solely...
The music is still one of the strongest points in the story, it always plays the right tune to increase the tension at the best moment, I hear new tunes, Gregorian chants and orchestral music, is played perfectly in the background immersing the viewer, dawning us to the world where the Shiki rise...
Twentieth Mourning
Im not sure anyone is reading this as i posts, but i regret my lack of skill in resuming an episode without much spoiling and keeping it short, because from this episode on, the reviews double in length, to the point i found it hard to blog the last episode when it aired, it was only much latter that i rewatched the episode and did it...
And although this blogs are just reedited\fixed from the originals, the next episode 20.5 a special will be written from scratch, and i have no idea what's in store for me...
The episode starts in the most brutal way in what is a scene of a brutality rarely seen on anime, they continue their raids hunting "shiki" hidden everywhere, pulling them to the light and staking them, there is blood everywhere, the shiki as it seems wont die without fighting back, with Osaki's mother killed by Ookawa's son’s Atsuhi, Ookawa takes it upon himself to exact revenge as is his duty as a father to do so without remorse...
The music is perfect for the moment, always ensuring the tension stays high changing accordingly to the mood...
After losing his loved one, Seishirou decides to go on a hunt himself, hunting humans, like his father once did, it was always his wish to be a shiki and it is his biggest desire to oppress those who oppressed him, Natsuno comes in and stops him, he plans to stop the shiki despite having risen has a werewolf himself...
The music changes again for the castle, to a more eerie and cold chorus, warming a little with Sunako as if invoking sadness…
Elsewhere Ritsuku is still struggling in pain and hungry, but refuses to "kill" someone just so she can continue and live on. Ritsuko manages to save Yasuyo and in the end stays together with Tooru...
This is a very strong scene, it is very sad; it is almost a tragedy...
The music for this part is played on a music box, it invokes sadness, loneliness and isolation, it plays perfectly with Ritsuko’s despair...
There is another part in which Sunako tries to convey her feelings to Muroi, it’s sad to listen to a “child” describing her own death, and how her frail body will probably succumb to the hands of a mighty hunter, hungry for revenge, she is afraid, Sunako is afraid of death, she killed more than any hunter might have and accepts that death is a punishment she deserves, still she is afraid and feels she didn’t do anything wrong, she was just trying to survive by not starving to death…
Is it a sin just wishing to be alive??
Sunako feels like a powerless child and her cry makes us sympathize with her, she's a monster, but we can’t come to hate a child forsaken by God Himself...
The shiki strike again, this time right in the middle of the "hunters", the new enemy looks just as human as any of them and Osaki doesn't accept to kill them, while the others believe traitors must be executed...
While I believe the tension this week didn’t increase from last week, instead, the Twentieth Night is more bloody, and at the same time it is sad, there are moments of rage, satisfaction, sadness and helplessness all in just one episode and even tragedy, like Ritsuko situation and even Sunako's story starts to fell like a tragedy...
Is it truly in Man’s nature to kill and destroy all that is wrong, or all that threatens his own safety??
Many viewer think Shiki gets awful from here on, but it is because they reveal themselves in Man's true nature, that is to destroy all that stands in His way, some viewers cant understand the situation and believe the writers are purposely siding with the Shiki, showing their weak side and how in the end they are just Humans like us and suffer like any person, all while portraying Humans as the real villain, I believe the story is neutral and i like how it develops, because in history, books only tell what people like to see and sometimes that is different from reality
This episode might have a big impact on the viewer, not only for the violence but for the tragedy and for the words spoken...
I never mentioned this before, Seishin, he is a novel writer and writes stories that are similiar to those of old times, like Cain and Abel, and he is quite philosophic and he is the one that narrates the next episode preview, his narrative is always interesting to listen\read...
Edit something:
Mayo chiki is over, Nakaru was the big surprise, damn she looks great without glasses...
Blood c is over, but im not quite sure what i watched, some sort of human blender or something, i mean, shiki looks shy compared with this...
So with this blody mess done with, let me return to shiki's bloody, i mean juicy parts...
Edit 4:
I just busted a gut and had a kidney failure laughing...
The reason is woody and 4chan, courtesy on Sankaku
NSFW and make sure no to laugh to loud...
Concerning ep 99 of FT, and just a really small spoiler
This week there was a fantastic fight between Gildarts and Natsu who learned a valuable lesson and Gildarts is seriously op, but he still made up for a good display of strenght with Natsu and even comedy in the midlle of the serious fight, like only Natsu can pull...
Juvia + Lisana vs Erza, a complete one-sided fight with Erza, Erza takes advantage of their strengths and makes it their weekness; Kana and Lucy in charge of fan service this week, the new arc looks greatly animated and fan service is up by a good 50%...
just finished mayo chiki,
Nakuru is so cute without her glasses, too bad her oppai is to big for my taste.
@djisas : i've opened that link of sankaku, i bursted my gut, and poked holes in my kidney.
that woody figurine is a MASSIVE fail, and i feel so bad of all the figmas he molested.
Watching appleseed for the first time can be weird, it is a unique form of animation that isnt used anywhere, but it makes for good action...
And maaya sakamoto for the lead role...
Fate\zero:
First episode, a whooping 47 minute long, less and they would loose a lot of impact, i think this is a very strong start and its already looking great...
Fate\zero:
First episode, a whooping 47 minute long, less and they would loose a lot of impact, i think this is a very strong start and its already looking great...
