Topic: Anime & Manga (NO SPOILERS PLEASE)

To anyone who liked Sword Art Online, I'd like to ask why you liked it. I'm not saying this to sound condescending: I just want to know. I'm trying to get into this show (5 episodes in) and it isn't clicking with me. It's a combination of me not caring about the characters and the show not doing too great of a job at showcasing the urgency and fright of trying to escape from an MMO (or at least that's what it tries to be doing, anyways). Does it get any better?

Oh, and Penguindrum is the bee's knees.

@moomoo Peguindrum is awesome! XD

It does get better but...prepare yourself for episode 14+...oh dear...

I'm not sure I can describe exactly what worked in the series, it has this sort of genius meets fanfic sort of feel, that's the closest I've gotten to a legit explanation. That and it's more about the emotions than the characterization or logic. And for a while that actually worked quite well.

@kkslider5552000
So, how exactly does it get better? Do the characters develop at all? Does Kirito ever demonstrate some sort of flaw at some point that would mean he would have to develop/grow?

Sword Art Online had so much potential, but it was all wasted...
can't get more OP in online games than Kirito

Sword art online is the anime counterpart to Twilight, Its popular for reasons you can't really explain. Its not very groundbreaking has had similar things in the genre that are much better coming before and after, and it has Mary sue of a main character.

I liked Sword Art Online (probably my third favorite "new" series shown on the revived Toonami behind Eureka 7 & Deadman Wonderland).

I liked it because of the absolutely gorgeous animation (the fantasy world(s) presented within were awe inspiring to behold), the virtual game theme (which tends to grab me), and it managed to have some great fight scenes (especially in the second half).

That said, it's story definitely has it's share of anime WTF moments...

Whoa. The last few episodes of CCS got a boost in budget, or something. The art is even nicer than it was before now. Almost done, just watched episode 66 so only four more episodes to watch. Everything's starting to get resolved to lead up to the ending too. I'm glad there's finally some progress, after episode 57 it really started getting repetitive.

Being a tad formulaic is a common complaint this anime gets but honestly it doesn't make it any less entertaining imo until this part. A different arch has started and it's much more formulaic than it was in the beginning. I made it through that though and the show has gotten back to relationship building. This is the strongest point of the manga and anime.

The relationships are all cute or heart warming and it very maturely handles certain relationships that other programs have only presented as jokes or to criticize. That's what I love about it, CLAMP set out to make a child's manga that was open minded and they really succeed. Nothing here is used as a statement or criticism. All the relationships feel natural and perfectly connect.

Love Lab is released on dvd 5 august ^^

Is Date a Live a good thing? Random question.

Sadly, I don't think its the dating sim version of Live a Live.

No. It's not terrible by any means, but its a harem anime that started out being sort of self-aware that it was silly and kinda dumb, but very quickly forgot its own hook and became a run-of-the-mill harem anime like so many others. Even at its best it wasn't really all that interesting, either...

Btw, New Tsubasa manga coming soon: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-06-16/clamp-to-lau...

tbh, I think both XXXholic and Tsubasa should've ended where they were. There's really no point to go back to them.

I thought Date A Live was okay. The music is great, the animation is fluid, and the story is really stupid but entertaining at the same time. You'll probably dislike it for it's random fan service, illogical character attraction, and slightly immoral relationships (think SAO).

The series does have it's serious note though; people do die, certain female characters are ridiculously overpowered, and there's a bigger scheme going off in the back. Unfortunately the second season only covered a small part of it and the story ended in another harem finish.

I know the second and third episode of Date A Live II had an excessive amount of fan service in it, which kind of ruined the drama it was supposed to build up. At least the second half of the season provided some exceptional character development. It's been a while since I've hated a fictional character so much (I think the last one was in Accel World).

Which reminds me, I probably shouldn't watch Accel World.

I thought Accel World was better than SAO? It has the same author but the story actually places more importance on strategy rather than just rush n' attack. Also, the protagonist in Accel World is everything Kirito isn't (well, mostly). There's also a greater focus on the others characters rather than just the protagonist as well.

Personally, I liked SAO more than Accel World but mainly because the story moved faster and the characters were more likeable. I still remember how detestable the main villain from the second half of the season was. He was like one of those conceited kids you'd meet in an online FPS that's just there to make everyone's life miserable.

So, how would you rate the shows that have been on the revived Toonami (excluding former AS Action series like Bleach, GitS, Bebop, FMA:B, etc., and borrowed CN action shows like Thundercats, SBT, Batman, etc.)? For me:

Short/Mid running shows:

• Attack on Titan - I didn't number this, because I've only seen 1 and a half episodes so far, lol. Can't judge it, but I didn't want to forget it.

10. Casshern Sins - When it actually had action scenes, this show was decent, and the premise sure was unique, but most of the time I felt it was a dull, depressing, bore.

9. Samurai 7 - Though not as bad as CS, this one sure was a slow burner, and the characters didn't have much personality. That said, the robot guy was absolutely the best, and I loved the classical Japanese music.

8. Tenchi Muyo! GXP - This was pretty much your average, run of the mill harem show that doesn't do more or less than you'd expect it to. I did, however, greatly enjoy all the cameos of the classic Tenchi Muyo! cast.

7. Blue Exorcist - A big jump in quality for the rest of the list. By all rights, this SHOULD be higher on my list (and should be my favorite show currently airing on the block), as it's doing pretty much everything I like in anime, like great animation, awesome action, a nice balance between seriousness & relaxation, and a (surprising) amount of traditional Japanese culture at times, but despite all that, I just can't get over WHO the main character is. If he was ANY other demon (that was exceptionally strong for whatever reason), it wouldn't feel nearly as akward, but I digress.

6. Black Lagoon - This is certainly the most foul mouthed anime I've ever seen, lol. Seriously though, even though it isn't in my usual interest zone, it's actually a pretty great show, and at times downright baddonkey in the most awesome ways possible.

5. Space Dandy - Ah Dandy, not every episode is a hit, but when you get a funny one, it's really funny. Also, I just can't get enough of our lovable crew of doofuses, and I love the 80's level of neon vibrancy.

4. Soul Eater - These top four could all be interexchangable, they're that good. I wasn't a big fan of the Tim Burton-esque art direction (as some have called it), but that ends up being a small gripe, as the animation quality is insanely good, the action scenes are top notch, and the cast of characters are memorable and mostly very likeable.

3. Sword Art Online - The story may jump around with a serious case of WTF are they going with this, but they managed to build a couple of absolutely stunning fantasy worlds that are gorgeous to behold, I'm a sucker for the virtual game theme, and the action gets quite good.

2. Deadman Wonderland - One of the shows that premiered with the block, and almost nothing has topped it yet, IMO. It's like they took the concept of Superjail, actually made it good, gave it great animation, and threw in some FMA:B with a darker twist for good measure. Only downside was it was cut short.

1. Eureka 7 - This may not count, since AS did show it before, but I never watched it then, so I'm going to include it anyway. I love how bright this show is, it has some good action, I love the mechs, and I love the cheesy romance at the center of it all.

Long running shows:

2. Naruto Shippuden - This isn't a bad show by any means, it's just failed to really grab me. That's not to say it doesn't have it's moments, because it does, but it's pacing is very similar to DBZ, which wasn't a problem when you got to watch it 5 days a week, but at one day a week, it's slowness is very apparent.

1. One Piece - I was skeptical at first, and the Davy Back Fight arc was the worst possible place for them to start, IMO, because it brought my greatest fears of the series to life, but I stuck with it and am glad I did, because it's become MUCH better, I now love the crew and can't wait to see what antics they're going to get into this week.

I disliked it, but it has a pretty big fanbase and most of the female designs are very nice so it's probably not terrible. I only saw the first episode.

I dropped, Date a Live after the 3rd episode. I was fed up with Shido's screaming in every episode.

Finish reading Ghost in the Shell and it was good. The manga has more comedy in it and characters such as the Major is more upbeat than the anime. So now I'm watching Astro Boy (80s version) and I'm currently on ep 4 right now and loving every bit of it. Such a shame you don't see those kind of shows anymore.

I think after watching Astro Boy I'm going to watch the rest of Tezuka's other series like Black Jack, Jungle Emperor Leo, ect.

One Piece >>> Eureka 7 > Soul Eater > Blue Exorcist > Black Lagoon > Deadman Wonderland > Space Dandy > Samurai 7 > Casshern Sin = SAO >>>>>>>>> Tenchi GXP

to be honest, everything except tenchi and one piece on that list is a 6-8/10 for me

I can't rate Naruto (either series) because my opinion changes for it so much nowadays. And I'm not sure I can fully judge Attack on Titan yet.

Blue Exorcist I feel is a really overachieving series. Especially after episodes 2 and 3 that were so super serious and it was introducing seemingly bland characters and then it IMMEDIATELY became super fun in episode 5. In a lot of ways it's what Naruto should've done more of.

Why the heck is the American release of Oreimo season 2 gonna be so expensive?