That was interesting, i'd be similar although I initially can decide a range (i.e. 7-8, 8-9) by "feel" and initial impressions before i then compare to other animes i've seen and my personal thoughts.

However in general:

7 - Good. I wouldn't necessarily say "definite watch" but it was enjoyable. Most things i watch probably fall under this category because they're generic or don't do anything special apart from entertaining me.
8 - Very Good. Solid and easy to recommend to fans of the genre. It generally has one particular area that's rather strong (comedy, romance, story etc.)
9 - Great. Something i'd recommend to pretty much anyone unless i knew they wouldn't like it (violence or romance). Has to be strong in one of the aforementioned areas and probably even another. Generally also has a good "accompaniment" such as Production (visuals) or Soundtrack.
10 - Masterpiece. This generally excels in more than one area and has good accompaniments.

I've stated before that i've only ever rated Clannad, Kanon and Ef as a 10, but they're all essentially of the same genre which means i can only really say that for those three, all had strong romance, story and comedy (maybe not Ef) as well as having great production in both visuals and soundtrack (the Ef soundtrack i love in particular).

As you stated before with Da Capo however, i do think there are some exceptions to my scoring system just due to favouritism... the one that easily stands out is G Gundam which i have fond memories of as a kid and whilst i like the comedy and action, the production quality and overall "feel" of the anime is probably a 7 but i'm just so fond of it that i bumped it up a few.



I completely agree and was rather disappointed that i couldn't do this... for example i'm personally finding that Code Geass should be as close as a 10 as should be (maybe 9.8) but because it just doesn't quite stand with the aforementioned trio of 10s that i don't want to rate it as such. I've been reconsidering it lately but haven't settled on a resolution yet.



I hadn't seen that you had watched it as well! I felt sorry for Noe at the end, but i never was attracted to her as much as you were lol . She was a bit too quirky for me and I personally was rooting the Hiromi side although did get annoyed by her attitude at the end when she started to tell Noe to leave them alone (just wasn't her place).

I don't think it moved me as much as other series like Code Geass, Clannad etc. but the one scene that stood out in my mind (for me) as being particularly angst-y was near the end after Noe walks to the beach with her broken leg and it ends with Shin'ichiro singing Noe's song to himself and having to state that in his heart lies Hiromi.

The soundtrack wasn't as memorable as i remembered however, although a few tracks have stood out... will probably have to listen to it more to remember certain themes.

I wouldn't say I was "attracted" to her, I just absolutely adored her. More like a crazy little-sister thing; I really wanted to huggle her

*backs away from the crazy girl*

I think it's one I might watch again, and that's very unusual for me. I have the urge to watch it all right now, but that would be bad since I have to go to work early

Lol, i got the wrong end of that comment then since you'd said "in love" as opposed to just "loved" lol (my female friends like to make distinction as much as possible it seems lol).

Don't worry about watching it now... i can guarantee that it only takes 4-5 hours since i managed to watch it in one sitting ... you should worry about having to sleep for work, not for having to go in early .

+ Also, have you been on that trip where you were finally going to get round to watching either Kanon or Ef ?

Yeah, "in love" gives the wrong idea but I did mean it more than just "oh I loved it". She makes me feel all gooey inside, and it really hurts when she's sad. It's like with Sawako; I just really want her to be happy and I don't think a hairy old gaijin has what it takes

Unfortunately, that trip hasn't happened. Rather sadly, it's been shrunk from a week on paradise island to this Friday in smelly London. Boss keeps saying the trip is still on, but I can't believe it any more.

I might well watch this Sunday

Let me know how it goes if you do decide to

+ Have just come back off a binge of 4 films:

Rebuild of Evangelion: You Are (Not) Alone 1.11 - My initial impressions were that i'd completely underestimated the difference in budget between a movie length feature and a TV Series... i mean it's quite obvious when you think about the transition between a Hollywood blockbuster and your average TV series but i never really grasped the concept with anime... until now. I have to say that the detail in some of the panoramas was completely stunning. However, whilst i do judge based on production values as well, (un?)fortunately i also judge by content. I'll start off by saying that i've never watched the original series despite hearing so much praise about it, however like my flatmate, there's just something about mecha anime that doesn't push the right buttons (bar G Gundam, and i'll be further putting that theory to the test when i get round to watching Gundam 00 which seems to be well regarded). Anyhow, mecha aside. I can see where the series appears different. since whilst it's not the first Shounen anime to portray the protagonist to be fairly useless (at least, at the start), this is the first i've seen where the boy is a whiny emotional wreck who doesn't understand what's at stake and has essentially been guilted into piloting said mecha. Original yes, appealing? Not to me at least. Admittedly he does redeem himself in the last section of the film, but according to the synopsis for the second film, it's not a recurring habit. As such, i think i'll end up watching the rest of the films (when they're out) to see just what the fuss was about... but i have to say it doesn't necessarily appeal to me.

Score: 8 - Maybe too high? I have to say the production values weighted this fairly heavily... since it does look amazing. And i'd say that it technically has the basis of being good and appealing in terms of story and action... I won't be so petty to say that the one character ruins the film for me but it's what stops it from getting a 9.

Byoukoso 5cm (5cm per second) - I came into this expecting a lot since it received a lot of praise, after seeing a few gorgeous screenshots and hearing that the composer was the same one who did the soundtrack for Ef i was hyped up. I hate to say that this was disappointing but unfortunately i really was... i'll clarify, i was disappointed with the last third. The "movie" is split into 3 episodes and whilst the first and second are amazingly done (they do live up to my expectations), the third feels lacklustre and is very disappointing. In my eyes it felt a bit rushed and the sort of thing they could have made a good TV series out of however the critics seem to view it almost like a work of art only taking into account the concept, which whilst technically sound, lacked in execution (in my opinion at least). It may be because i'm just heavily biased since to me, the overall message of the film wasn't something i agreed with, especially after the first two episodes were so nicely done. However despite my disappointment with the last episode the other two are without fault, all three contain stunning visuals (now i thought the Cherry Blossoms were gorgeous in Clannad, but yet again... with a movie's budget this just takes the cake) as well as yet another amazing and fitting soundtrack (i guess i'm just drawn to the composer's style).

Score: 8 - If it weren't for the last episode this would easily be a 9 and would be pushing a 10 depending on how it resolved itself. However the disappointment from the last episode wraps things up so badly (imo) that it gets demoted to an 8 despite technically having two 9s and an 8 (for each episode).

Summer Wars - Now personally i don't class the former two as being "movies" per se but still more like an adaptation of a TV series. This is probably due to NGEs previous TV series and for Byoukoso's episodic format (and it reminded me of your "high quality" romance drama series aka Ef, Clannad, Kanon). Anyhow, as such this would probably class as my first proper anime movie (such as the Studio Ghibli series) and i have to say i'm not disappointed. I briefly pointed this out in one of my previous posts as being something to look out for due to multiple awards and high acclaim so i'd already had high expectations... couple in the fact i watched it to get over my disappointment from Byoukoso. It would be harsh of me to say that this didn't impress me visually... compared to the former it's certainly lacking since the detail was focused into other areas, the former two films had sweeping vistas and aimed for more realistic character models appearances whereas here the character models are more simplistic and the "big" scenes are in a "virtual" world which contain lots of detail, however just lack the "wow" factor (imo) of a realistic panorama. Anyhow, i can't really compare with Ghibli since i've never watched them, however they've never appealed since they gave off a very... child-ish? vibe. Whilst i won't say that this generally wouldn't be my sort of anime, it does lack the more mature themes that i like about the genre (of anime that is), that's not to say it isn't good however. It's got nice sections of action, drama and comedy, and whilst it doesn't have much character development, most of them are fairly well realised such that you feel a sense of familiarity with them (or maybe that's just me... since it reminds me a lot of my extended family lol). To be honest i'm finding it quite hard to actually write about this since it doesn't really stand out anywhere special, yet it doesn't do anything wrong... overall it's just a very good film which would be fun to watch with the family.

Score: 9 - Well i certainly enjoyed it more that the last two films and it's definitely of a high quality. I wouldn't mind watching it again actually.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time - After watching Summer Wars, i thought i might as well watch this as well since it was made by the same producer and animation studio. Not to mention that my best friend's sister absolutely loves the film so i thought it might be good. Whilst i won't say i should have known not to trust her... it's more like i should have known her opinion of it was probably too high . That's not to say it was a bad film however, just that it gets off to a slow start and things only really start to kick in during the latter half of the film. The quality of it increased steadily over the course of the film so whilst i can say that it doesn't necessarily "peak" at one point, there's an event which sets up what leads to the film's increase in quality... unfortunately although said scene acts as the catalyst, it's not necessarily during what i found an interesting part of the film... Anyhow, it's certainly solid but i doubt i'd go watch it again...

Score: 7 - It's certainly not bad, if it had started off as good as the latter half then it would have easily scored an 8, but the first half dragged on too much (in my opinion) that it sapped away from the overall 8.

Anyone (although by now i just assume it's just JJ and me with this thread ) caught any of this season's new anime?

Working!! - After watching the preview I wasn't blown away by it but it seemed good for casual watching, the series has lived up to this so whilst it's not anything special it has a few nice jokes thrown in for humour. Looking at a 7 for now.

Giant Killing - The first episode coupled with a blogging site's recommendation got me really into the manga... admittedly it's nothing special but i like the fact it seems to focus on the basics and more... tactics of the game as opposed to just the talents of the players. I'm not sure how they're going to deal with the 26 episodes since these 3 are already leading up to the latest chapter of the manga. Guess they're just have to fill in their own material similar to Saki. Currently looking like an 8.

Hakuouki - Previously mentioned Shinsengumi/Samurai based anime. I've actually found it rather good despite it being based on a Shoujo/Reverse Harem game. It definitely paints the female as the main character however not amazingly so since i know the "personalities" of the surrounding Shinsengumi, but not necessarily their names or faces... especially when i swear there are about 5 people who look a like. There's not so much swordplay but that seems to be picking up now and there's a nice air of mystery which keeps me interested. Also looking at an 8 for now.

Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou - This was probably the surprise hit for me this season, I mean the plot sounds like your typical Shounen affair and that's true, but there's nothing wrong with that and its blend of action, humour and ecchi. In my mind similar to last season's Omamori Himari except that i find it more entertaining to watch. Sitting on a 7 at the moment... animation quality doesn't seem to be as sharp as the others.

K-On!! - What can i say? It's more of the same moe-moe with the normal silly humour... it just feels like a natural continuation of the first season without the sort of moe overload that i felt at the end of it. I rated the first season a 7 but that was because at the time it just felt tedious to watch, i've changed that to an 8 now, which is probably what this season will end up as.

Kaichou wa Maid-sama - To be honest... i was disappointed, not because that it's a bad anime, just that i personally don't think it lives up to the entertainment i had reading the manga even though it's a carbon copy. The first thing i felt was wrong was that the main female character's hair is slightly too long... in the manga she always seemed to give off more of a Kuchiki Rukia (Bleach) hairstyle as opposed to her longer hair in the anime although actually looking back it seems that it's just the front which is too short in comparison with the back. The second thing that got me was that although the whole story is about the female president, the manga does a very good job of having the male "lead" be very prominent as well, such that i could read it from the guy's point of view and find it hilarious (with the way he teases her). The problem with the anime is that it goes back to the manga's "true" interpretation such that Misaki gets much more attention and screen time, which whilst isn't bad, personally wasn't what appealed in the manga for me... but then again the anime and manga weren't really aimed for me anyways lol. Despite it's shortcomings it still gets an 8 from me since it's just a not-as-good-as-it-could-have-been interpretation of the manga which i did enjoy.

Mayoi Neko Overrun! - Supposedly from the animation studio as Nyan Koi! and also about Cats... now in my opinion, Nyan Koi! was probably one of my favourite shows from the season it was in seeing as it kept my attention with its good humour, slight harem and your typical young male lead who manages to get himself into trouble without trying to find it. This doesn't quite live up to Nyan Koi!'s standards but it's still nice for a casual watch... not to mention has (imo) one of the most entertaining Tsundere characters to watch. She literally does embody the whole "everything she says, she means the opposite" and whilst not as "iconic" as Kugimiya Rie's Shana, Nagi or Taiga, is still very good. Currently sits at a 7 on the initial rating feel scale.

Angel Beats! - Whilst i can't say this show let me down, i can definitely say that i may have hyped myself up too much for it. But then one can only except great things from a Key-based anime who gave us the wonders of Kanon and Clannad (i'd say Air but... i seriously got bored during the first or second episode ). It's definitely not bad but it didn't quite start by living up to the aforementioned series, it set the scene in Ep1, gave us some nice humour in Ep2 and then gave us a sneak peak at the drama we could expect at the end of Ep3 but overall it's not quite come together yet. The thing about Clannad and Kanon is that since they're essentially from "Romantic Visual Novels" (*cough*), each girl has a developed personality (idiosyncrasy) which separates them from one another. Angel Beats doesn't do this so to be honest off the top of my head i have no clue about the character's names. Aside from this, it rivals K-On! (and !!) for the "in anime band" with their GirlsDeMo and hands down the best opening song for this season, can't actually wait till mid May when this is actually released as a single and i can listen to the full song. The start where the piano first introduces, then accompanies and then sort of plays on the off-beat is just wonderfully put together in my opinion. Anyhow, i'd love to rate this series as a 9, but currently it sits at an 8, not that that can't change and hopefully it will move itself up to a 10 to sit with the other Key works.

Anyhow, how are you finding this season JJ?

Ben10 is awesome.

/facepalm.

That's not anime, it's a cartoon .

/On another side note.

The latest episode (Ep4) of Angel Beats! had a really nice scene where they integrated a more rock version of the OP as the opening song. It wasn't bad and i liked how they did it but the rock version imo doesn't lend itself well to the "light" and "airy" nature that the piano version gives off.

The next matter of importance is now trying to find a Gif of the "Yui-nyan" animation which happens in the episode... absolutely awesome .

EDIT:

Found:

... Don't judge me?

But anime is also a cartoon.

I liked the comic strip.

However i personally disagree with your interpretation.

I think that whilst the initial definition of "Cartoon" may have had a broad scope to include any form of animated works, i think that Anime has made its own niche whereby it now sits parallel to what i'd say are Western "Cartoons". My personal opinion is that both have their own specific style and as such, if they can now be differentiated from each other then they exist as separate entities.

I admit that to a Westerner that the easiest way to describe Anime is essentially "Japanese Cartoons" but then again, to the Japanese it would probably be just as easy to describe "Cartoons" as "Western Anime" just because they are both forms of Animated Works.

To me the word Cartoon (in the context of animation at least) in this day and age has evolved to cover specifically Western Animation generally aimed at children and young teenagers. So yes, by this definition i would not class shows such as Family Guy or South Park as cartoons. With regards to shows such as the Simpsons i'm not sure since it appeals to multiple age groups however i probably wouldn't since it's not technically "aimed" at Children.

Anime on the other hand i would say refers to Japanese animated works generally with the traditional manga draw style.

Anyway, the aim of this thread was not to debate about whether or not Cartoons and Anime were intrinsically the same or whether or not they were separate entities, it was to discuss Anime.

Indeed, and that comic strip popped into my head this morning, I meant no ill.
And now, I return you to your previously scheduled anime discussion.

These are the only two new ones I've caught up with for now, and I'm pretty much agreeing with what you said.

K-On!! is the same-old silliness. It's brilliantly done, very energetic, I adore the characters and it does make me laugh. There's also some underlying development with the girls thinking to the future, but we'll have to wait and see if anything comes of it. Probably going to rate an 8 as a dependable quality show.

I've just watched AB! 5 and it seems to be developing. I was kinda disappointed at first, but I'm growing quite attached to a couple of the main characters. I don't want to say too much in case you've not watched it yet, but I think it's going up in my ratings significantly... provided it carries on going somewhere! It could end up anything from a 7 to a 10 depending on if it delivers the potential I'm starting starting to see.

I will be in an animé-overload environment next weekend so I expect I'll be infected by something new there.

Sorry I haven't got time at the moment to go through every page of this thread but there are a few anime films I'm considering once I've seen Perfect Blue. These are: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Elfen Lied (Erufen Rito), Hikiko, Pet Shop of Horrors and Wicked City. I know some are one-offs and others are a series (I think).

Just wondering if any of these are to be avoided or alternatively brought to the front of the queue.

You're right about Episode 5! I only just got around to watching it and it seems to have thickened up the plot. I always seemed to prefer Tenshi/Angel over the others and now this seems things are finally moving ;D.

I've also seen the screencaps for Ep6 and that looks rather interesting as well, just need to actually get round to watching it ¬.¬.



I briefly looked at the synopsis'(?) of the ones that i hadn't heard of an wow, you really like your dark and psychological generes don't you .

For ones which should be brought to the front of the queue, Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni has nothing but praise from various different people. The thing you have to get your head around is that it's not structured like a normal series and the multiple story arcs all share the same setting and characters, but are not necessarily of the same timeline and my interpretation was that they represented the various different playthroughs (since it's based on a game).

I've also heard good things about Elfen Lied, it's quite old and roughly considered a classic anime iirc however i've not watched it and it doesn't seem to appeal to me that much.

As for things i could recommend to you, the "Higurashi" series always gets good praise so you should follow up with Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni "Kai" and subsequetly "Rei". Recently there was also what seemed like a push to get it to appear more mainstream in the form of "Umineko no Naku Koro Ni" and whilst it didn't get as good praise, it still seemed to be passable.

Also my flatmate and i believe JJ would also recommend and anime called "Monster" which i've not actually watched so i'll let JJ fill you in on how good he found it .