Summer 2014 Anime Season

[AR-99]

Super behind on all my shows this season since things have been uber busy and consistently putting in 10 hour days. May just pick up 1 or 2 or fall.

[darksuzaku]

Well well, Mahouka's last episode was better than the last one. They didn't really that much on this part. I can say that the best thing here is that the ending completely hints towards a second season in the future. I had feared that they would omit the 2nd and big "material burst" at the end that serves as the premise for the next story arc. This is my preferred arc in the series until now and the anime didn't do it much justice.

As for series that finished, well, Zankyou no Terror had a soso ending. I was really expecting more. Ao Haru Ride, well, i'm also dissatisfied with this one, no romantic ending -_- One episode still missing for Blade Dance, and it's going to end without going to the blade dance itself. Maybe it's hinting for a 2nd season. Not a show that i specially like, but the music is very very of my taste

[Rekka Alexiel]

I just watched through Aldnoah.Zero... and oh my god. I haven't seen anything with a mid-season finale like that in a long time. Very much looking forward to it coming back in January now...

although, I don't know how it can continue with that ending...!!

I absolutely loved the music by kalafina (Kajiura Yuki and others from FictionJunction) and Sawano Hiroyuki (he's really cute, too!!). I'm totally getting this soundtrack later...when I have money... lol

[Goldknight]

Aldnoah zero pissed me off. How can it continue! ARGH!!!!!

[theultimatebrucelee]

Maybe they are trying to do things the Death Note style, which would be pretty refreshing for a change...or perhaps the good old Rinne Tensei no Jutsu is due out second season like they did in the 10th episode, which was kinda bull in my opinion.

[Keropi]

That Aldnoah Zero ending left me unsatisfied and feeling empty. I'm not too surprised though because Sunrise is famous for putting plot twists and sudden turns into their anime. I can't say for sure that it will turn out the way that it looked, but that was a frustrating ending for me. Not sure how much I feel like watching the next season now.

I liked that musical score. When they got into battles, the musical score made it sound dramatic -- like they were battling the gods in the heavens or something.

I thought the last episode of Mahouka was better also. I could actually feel tension in those fights. I couldn't feel any tension in the twenty fifth episode battles.

Mahouka (minor spoiler):

They still never explained Tatsuya's emotions in the anime. I was hoping they would get to that.

I ran across another reborn/reincarnated/reset/time loop story in the "Shiro no Koukoku Monogatari" manga. The main character was sort of a loser before he got brought over and was reborn so to speak. It doesn't dwell on the past life however. The main character doesn't appear to use his previous life's knowledge to the benefit himself or others so it doesn't seem to be much of a reborn-with-benefits type of a story. He could have had amnesia and the story would have preceded almost the same way.

Technically speaking Mujaki no Rakuen OVA is a time loop story, but after twenty five chapters of the manga:

The main character just about never takes advantage of his future knowledge and older chronological age. He still acts like a little kid nearly all of the time. The manga is just about all comedic fanservice. So Mujaki no Rakuen is not a reborn-with-benefits storyline either.

The Mushoku Tensei volume five cover picture is out and ?six year old Norn is on the cover. So we know how she looks like now. She looks like her mother. I have the picture if you want to see it Darksuzaku.

[Rekka Alexiel]

About Aldnoah.Zero, I really didn't care about Inaho at all. He was a completely flat character to me that I felt made no progression in anything remotely resembling character development. He started flat and he ended up...well, flat. lol

I am not sad at his death, since it was majorly anti-climactic. I am, however, more upset that they killed the princess.

I'm much more of a Slaine fan, so it will be good to see him coping with what happened. He at least shows more human emotion than Inaho did. orz The first time Inaho turned on Slaine after they worked together to defeat a baddie really pissed me off. It's like the whole premise of the show is trying to tell you that people of the same background are more enemies than the befriended enemy... if that makes any sense.

There are still a couple other interesting characters in the cast, like the PSTD guy and Inaho's older sister. It will be interesting to see how the storyline shifts since it appears as though the main trajectory has completely changed.

[Keropi]

Yeah, Inaho came off as being rather bland and stoic to me too. I know that Tatsuya from Mahouka came off that way to a lot of viewers, but I had already read the manga and had heard about story elements before the anime began so Tatsuya doesn't come off the same way to me. I could see how Tatsuya's personality would be boring if I didn't know his background and thinking pattern. I think that was the main problem I had with Inaho. I didn't know enough about him or his motivations or why he acted the way he did.

I liked the last episode of Blade Dance more than I thought I would. It's too bad that that Blade Dance is such a slow starter. By the time the novels get better, a lot of people have stopped reading it.

It looks like the new Fall anime season will officially roll out in large numbers on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It should be fun.

[darksuzaku]

Mahouka (minor spoiler):

They still never explained Tatsuya's emotions in the anime. I was hoping they would get to that.

The Mushoku Tensei volume five cover picture is out and ?six year old Norn is on the cover. So we know how she looks like now. She looks like her mother. I have the picture if you want to see it Darksuzaku.

Well, as for Tatsuya, that doesn't really get explained in the novel until the next arc. The only serious reference about it comes in one of the sidestories that they skipped between the 2nd and 3rd arc. It was really too bad that they decide to skip them because 2 of them are really important for the plot (the student council election and the beach chapter, when "that" gets explained a little)

Definitely Mushoku tensei is being a very nice read. I think i'll refrain from taking a look at that photo (I already have my ideal Norn image on my mind )

The other day browsing the manga subreddit several people gave good comments for the "Arifureta" novel. I have taken a look at it and it really has the same kind of "feeling" as Mushoku Tensei, so i'm keeping this one on reserve for when i finish mushoku. The only problem is that the translations i have found are not really very good (they contain many parts poorly translated as if they had used google translator)

[Keropi]

Well, as for Tatsuya, that doesn't really get explained in the novel until the next arc. The only serious reference about it comes in one of the sidestories that they skipped between the 2nd and 3rd arc. It was really too bad that they decide to skip them because 2 of them are really important for the plot (the student council election and the beach chapter, when "that" gets explained a little)

Oh so they waited that long eh? I didn't know they didn't explain it for so long.

Definitely Mushoku tensei is being a very nice read. I think i'll refrain from taking a look at that photo (I already have my ideal Norn image on my mind )

Ah, I see.

Mushoku Tensei Main character sister Spoiler:

I've noticed that Norn acts more like how a real life younger sister would.

Mushoku Tensei supposedly gets more comments at their web novel site than all of the other web novels there combined.

The other day browsing the manga subreddit several people gave good comments for the "Arifureta" novel. I have taken a look at it and it really has the same kind of "feeling" as Mushoku Tensei, so i'm keeping this one on reserve for when i finish mushoku. The only problem is that the translations i have found are not really very good (they contain many parts poorly translated as if they had used google translator)

I've heard good things about Arifureta. I was thinking of reading that. I'll have to check that out. I'll try that next.

"Gun-Ota ga Mahou Sekai ni Tensei Shitara" is a reborn-with-benefits type of story, but the main characters gets in such screwed up and frustrating situations that I don't think I want to read it. I'd rather see the main character doing cool things than doing poorly and making many mistakes. "Knights and Magic" is about a guy that's reborn in a fantasy world and uses his knowledge from his previous life in the new world. But I don't think there's a manga or a novel translation yet. He's also only a young kid and he looks like a trap:

http://myanimelist.net/manga/59087/Knights_&_Magic

...so I'll have to pass on that right now.

I think there are three stories now that have the main character summoned to another world and he's given a seemingly lousy and weak power. Eventually though he shows up everyone and becomes quite powerful and well respected (maybe). It's sort of a new "I'll show you guys. I'll get the final revenge on you for disrespecting me" genre.

[Keropi]

I ran across these two versions of Aldnoah Zero's second Ending song today. They are pretty cool to listen to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G9CPZ8Zd7k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhrj-Vqp95s

The piano playing is pretty awesome.

I still have a hard time listening to that song only one time. The guitar in that song did sound like Linkin Park now that I think about.