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User
Reviews 10
Approval 71%
Soundoffs 6
News Articles 10
Band Edits + Tags 7
Album Edits 13
Album Ratings 478
Objectivity 63%
Last Active 09-12-21 1:12 am
Joined 12-04-10
Review Comments 2,528
| Anime In 2014 (1/3)
Was initially planning on making this list at the end of the year but figured it would get way too long and I would have forgotten everything by then. | | 1 |  | Active Child
Rapor
Darker Than Black OVA (2010; Mystery, Supernatural) - The OVA ruined the series for me, even though I wasn't a big fan of the original show itself. Really can't remember much about this except for the stupid plot twist of turning the quiet girl into some sort of Messiah. Wonder where I've heard that twist before. Rating: 4.7 | | 2 |  | alt-j
An Awesome Wave
Voices of a Distant Star (2002; Romance, Sci-fi) - One of Shinkai Makoto's earliest works that I think served as a prelude for his future works - it's much of the same (teenage romance, distance, loneliness) but with a low budget, plain characters, uninteresting mix of genres (there was a random mecha fight for who knows why). Definitely not worth the watch unless you're interested in seeing where Makoto started from. Rating: 5.4 | | 3 |  | Bombay Bicycle Club
A Different Kind of Fix
Kaiji (2008; Psychological, Thriller) - Thought this would have been an awesome show since it sounded quite similar to Liar Game but this turned out to be a pretty big disappointment - shallow characters, weak and overused plot, uninspired villains, bad character design: even the game elements, which were supposed to sell the show, didn't come off as smart and intuitive most times. Some originality in the types of games though. Rating: 6.1 | | 4 |  | Bon Iver
Bon Iver, Bon Iver
Darker Than Black (2007; Mystery, Supernatural) - Enjoyable watch - had great production value, some nice fights, good pacing. Show lacked a lot of context though and rarely provided reasoning for why things happened and that's something that I cannot accept. A lot of the characters also felt overdone to me, and whenever they forced a sob story onto them, it was hard to take the show seriously. Rating: 7.2 | | 5 |  | Ceres
I Don't Want To Be Anywhere But Here
Gankutsuous (2004; Drama, Sci-fi) - A modern adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo. The age of the story definitely shows, but the sci-fi elements added were a very nice touch. The show had a great anti-hero (is that what he was?), although I do feel he wasn't given a fitting ending. Aside from the atypical visuals and the aforementioned protagonist, not much else stood out from the anime: from what I remember, the supporting cast was pretty bland and they made really stupid decisions. Rating: 7.3 | | 6 |  | DIIV
Oshin
Monster (2005; Mystery, Drama) - Let me just preface this by saying Monster could have easily been one of my favourite shows but three things ruined this for me: (i) Tenma (anyone who says Shinji from NGE is the worst protagonist in all anime has clearly not seen Monster), (ii) Episode 38 (hands down the worst anime episode I have ever seen), (iii) Lack of context (this seems to be a recurring problem for me, but I despise it when a show makes claims and never justifies/rationalizes them). Rating: 7.3 | | 7 |  | Everything Everything
Arc
The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004; Romance, Sci-fi) - Another one of Makoto's work but this time, it's done much better: a stronger cast with more realistic and fleshed out characters, a story that seems to know its objective, beautiful visuals and a nice background sci-fi story to boot. Rating: 7.5 | | 8 |  | Frameworks
Small Victories
Time of Eve (2010; Sci-fi, Slice of Life) - Gorgeous movie with sincere moments that brings up some pretty interesting questions regarding humans vs. androids. Only real downside is the annoying nature of quite a few characters - an older cast would have been more befitting of this story. Rating: 8.1 | | 9 |  | How To Dress Well
Total Loss
Infinite Ryvius (1999; Drama, Space) - Think Lord of the Flies but in space this time and with high school characters - lots of angst but it works so well. Was great seeing the characters drive themselves to insanity. Once again, a few extremely annoying characters/moments pulls this down, tagged along with the fact that the show was a bit too ambitious for its own good. Rating: 8.4 | | 10 |  | Justin Timberlake
The 20/20 Experience
Kino's Journey (2003; Adventure, Slice of Life) - Think Mushi-shi but with a young girl and a talking motorcycle. The main difference is probably that while Mushi-shi looks at internal strifes and interpersonal relationships, Kino's Journey observes the states of society in different settings. Show reminded me a lot about things I discussed in my philosophy classes. Rating: 8.5 | | 11 |  | Kimbra
Vows
Garden of Words (2013; Romance) - This is the last Makoto movie on the list, I swear! Not much to say about this one since it's pretty much the same as the rest of his movies but I'm such a sucker for them that I can't help but love them. This movie has the most beautiful animation I've seen and I don't expect that to change until his next movie comes out. Rating: 8.5 | | 12 |  | Lydia
Devil
Aoi Bungaku Series (2009; Short Stories) - 6 adaptations of famous Japanese literary work - never thought I'd like it but turned out to be surprisingly good and definitely interesting. Good watch for those who have never read any Japanese literature but would like to get an idea of what their modern classics are like. Rating: 8.5 | | 13 |  | S. Carey
Range of Light
Welcome to the NHK! (2006; Comedy, Drama) - A very honest look at depression, although the "comedy" does tend to get in the way and ruin the show quite a few times. Rating: 8.5 | | 14 |  | States
Paradigm
Kaiba (2008; Adventure, Sci-fi) - Only way I can describe this is as a visual experiment. The show has a very interesting, albeit unoriginal, universe but it's endearing in almost all aspects (cast, music, situations, dialogue). Rating: 8.6 | | 15 |  | Utada Hikaru
Deep River
Mushi-shi (2005; Adventure, Fantasy) - Already made a list about this one because of how great it was - very honest and twinkly stories. Rating: 9.1 | | 16 |  | Vampire Weekend
Modern Vampires of the City
Kemonozume (2006; Romance, Supernatural) - Fluid animation, lovely cast all-round, great sense of humour, blast of a finale: all that this show brings to mind is fun. Rating: 9.2 | | 17 |  | Vancouver Sleep Clinic
Winter
Ergo Proxy (2006; Sci-fi, Mystery) - Thinking this might be my favourite anime so far, right besides FullMetal Alchemist. Excellent cast (with Pino being my favourite child-character of all time), excellent plot whose focus is to examine the essence of what makes someone, or even something, a human, odd-pacing that shifts between information-filled episodes and empty-spaced episodes, and add to that one of the most impactful endings where everything clicks together in the last 15 seconds of the show. Rating: 9.7 | |
silentstar
05.04.14 | sorry for those extremely vague/generic descriptions - there's a reason I stopped reviewing. anyway, let's discuss away these shows, since I haven't had a chance to do that
here's my mal: http://myanimelist.net/animelist/aadil67 | Jasdevi087
05.04.14 | ERGO PROXY!!!!!!!!!!!! | Greyvy
05.04.14 | attack on titan nuff said! | Jasdevi087
05.04.14 | Actually by the looks of your MAL, we might have similar tastes. But a 4 for Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
Kai? | Jasdevi087
05.04.14 | Yeah, vague title. | silentstar
05.04.14 | @greyvy, no
@jasdev, couldn't bear the show's characters at all (and let's not talk about character design), sequel didn't do the mystery justice, and if I remember correctly, they used the power of friendship to solve their problems (lol). | Diamondize
05.04.14 | Ergo Proxy had a great story, but the filler episodes were so bad. | silentstar
05.04.14 | fair enough. I enjoyed the characters way too much to mind them and if I remember correctly, one of my favourites episodes was actually a filler (the one where they're stuck in the ice desert since the ship won't move). it's not like there were many anyway, haha | Jasdevi087
05.04.14 | That's unfortunate. I felt that the theme was more about belief that your will alone can overcome
life's challenges rather than the cliche "friendship is power" but you're entitled to your own
thoughts. | silentstar
05.04.14 | ehhh, I suppose. I think I was just annoyed at the fact that I had to watch an entire 50 episodes for what was an ok show
and that theme just doesn't work too well with a show like this - it's hard to focus on the cold, harsh reality of murder and bring it back to having faith in one's self as a way of dealing with the insanity; doesn't mesh too well for me personally.
have you watched any of the shows on the list, though? if you have a mal account, I could probably find you some recs | Jasdevi087
05.04.14 | Ergo Proxy and Darker than Black are the only ones on this list I've seen. I didn't enjoy Darker than Black. http://myanimelist.net/animelist/Lostinblue087 | silentstar
05.04.14 | "shame they never made a 2nd season am I right"
haha, glad I stopped where I stopped. show was whatever - it was good fun at times but lacked any substance
@jasdev, I'd say go with: 1) Psycho Pass, 2) Shinsekai Yori, 3) Wolf's Rain, 4) Now and Then, Here and There 5) Infinite Ryvius (it's 9 on this list - if you don't mind the sometimes immature cast, you'll probably like it. it takes about six episodes to really get going though) | Jasdevi087
05.04.14 | Thanks. I'll check Psycho Pass and Now and Then, Here and There because I've had those rec'd before. | ZombicidalMan
05.04.14 | well I've seen 2 | dimsim3478
05.04.14 | Kino's Journey rules, yep | silentstar
05.04.14 | ending episode was ace - never caught on to the fact that it was actually one of her earliest events until I read about it though, haha | treeqt.
05.04.14 | although the "comedy" does tend to get in the way and ruin the show quite a few times [oo] | treeqt.
05.04.14 | Ergo Proxy had a great story, but the filler episodes were so bad. [oo] | treeqt.
05.04.14 | and watch lain | dimsim3478
05.04.14 | oh holy shit nice job rec'ing Ceres | ResidentNihilist
05.04.14 | Star, watch Eureka 7 if you haven't already. It's written by Dai Sato (Ergo Proxy) and it fucking rules. | Rhyme
05.04.14 | my friend wants me to watch darker than black but idk if i should trust her. the only thing I've watched on this list was garden of words though but i agree that it had amazing animation. | Pheromone
05.04.14 | 6,11 and 15 rule.
you still need to check Texhnolyze before lain | treeqt.
05.04.14 | after | silentstar
05.04.14 | @resident, already watched the show, although it has been 6-7 years, haha. opening 1 was my jam for a long time
@rhyme I'd say to skip darker than black unless you really have nothing else to watch - it's just mindless fun that becomes extremely frustrating when you realize that there is nothing to think about.
@pheremone, I'm actually watching it right now! episode 7 at the moment - show is extremely slow but the plot is definitely intriguing.
@treeqt, watched Lain about a year ago and the show went completely over my head. might revisit it though, depending on how I feel about things | treeqt.
05.04.14 | try texhnolyze first then i guess | toxin.
07.12.14 | sweet list | dimsim3478
07.12.14 | i just found out that Mushishi is back and I'm freaking out | DrGonzo1937
07.12.14 | Man, I'm rusty on Anime these days, don't know any of these |
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