General anime thread/Anime (and manga) New OP,Edits Coming Soon!

[Sehnsucht]

^ the point where death note stopped being amazing and turned just "good" :D

I also think the third act of the series was the weakest. But not by all that much, I find - at least, so I found after my second rewatch a few months past. The ending was still fittingly brutal. >8D

 

[Xyzz]

Urgh, I thought the ending was super predictable and had people making lunatic guesses instead of sticking with reasonable deductions like they had before. Well, they weren't completely realistic before, but well, it's a fictional work, so it's fine - as long as it stays at a level where they don't force me to stop my suspension of disbelief

 

[Sehnsucht]

Urgh, I thought the ending was super predictable and had people making lunatic guesses instead of sticking with reasonable deductions like they had before. Well, they weren't completely realistic before, but well, it's a fictional work, so it's fine - as long as it stays at a level where they don't force me to stop my suspension of disbelief

Suspension of Disbelief is a strange topic that I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around to this day.

In what way was DN's ending predictable, and in what way did things go off course? I'd be interested to know.

 

[Frostwraith]

[collapse="Death Note spoilers"]I think L's death is what made the story more interesting. I got the feeling that Light became overconfident after L's death, which led him to underestimate Near and his eventual downfall.[/collapse]

 

[deadjames]

Just finished Attack on Titan a few days ago, it totally lived up to all the hype.

 

[:mad:]

words

Those are some pretty unfortunate spoilers for anyone that hasn't seen the show.

 

[Frostwraith]

Those are some pretty unfortunate spoilers for anyone that hasn't seen the show.

Spoiler tagged it. (Honestly forgot to do it. =/)

 

[PillsBuryDopeBoy]

Just finished Attack on Titan a few days ago, it totally lived up to all the hype.

Ah attack on titan. I remember when all my friends were watching it and they wouldn't shut up about it. So I decided to see what the hype was all about. I watched one episode.... then I watched the whole season.... then I read all the released chapters. Its such an amazing anime :3

 

[:mad:]

Spoiler tagged it. (Honestly forgot to do it. =/)

No harm done as I've seen the show, but I'm not as enthusiastic as most people are. It's good for what it is though.

Just finished Attack on Titan a few days ago, it totally lived up to all the hype.

Did it? That's great. The newest chapter was pretty cool, do you plan on reading the mango at all?

 

[deadjames]

Yeah I'm definitely going to start reading the manga, especially since season two hasn't been announced yet and I don't want to wait to know what happens. Speaking of second seasons I'm also super hyped that season two of Mushishi finally got confirmed.

 

[:mad:]

I feel like I'll never become a true elitist until I finish Mushishi. 3 episodes in, but it's tough. I can get through Aria and Kino no Tabi just fine, but Mushishi is almost too relaxing at times. I may just go with the manga, it's less of an investment and it's still reasonably acclaimed.

 

[deadjames]

Mushishi definitely isn't for everyone, I think a friend of mine put it best, he refers to it as "an anime for tea time." You kind of need to be in the right mindset to watch it.

 

[Sehnsucht]

Those are some pretty unfortunate spoilers for anyone that hasn't seen the show.

Should probably edit my posts as well. Thanks for reminding me as well.

Yeah I'm definitely going to start reading the manga, especially since season two hasn't been announced yet and I don't want to wait to know what happens. Speaking of second seasons I'm also super hyped that season two of Mushishi finally got confirmed.

I had started with the anime, but then caved in and read through the manga. So it was therefore interesting to watch the anime from that point on, under the lens of comparing differences in adaptation.

There are some minor segments of original material and differences in execution in the last leg of the anime, but no major deviations. And just in case you don't know, the anime is currently up to Chapter 33 (and the recent OVA also covers manga material). I would recommend (re)reading starting from Chapter 31 (which coincides with Episode 23), since the whole Stohess affair plays out a bit differently in the manga (but with the same results).

 

[Frostwraith]

No harm done as I've seen the show, but I'm not as enthusiastic as most people are. It's good for what it is though.

I thought it was pretty good, but, of course, being good or bad is up to each person.

I always approach each series differently and set up my expectations from my first impression. The first thing I ask myself before starting a series is something like "What is the premise of this?" or "What is this series about?" and set my expectations accordingly.

That's how I actually tolerate Fairy Tail's absurd asspulls and is also the same reason why I think Sword Art Online could have been better. I could elaborate on this further, but I think my point is clear.

 

[PillsBuryDopeBoy]

Sword art was cool... until episode 15.
Im not that interested in romance and such, especially when it has a incest sort of vibe.

 

[deadjames]

Sword Art was alright, I'm more a .hack// fan myself.

 

[nessokman]

Near is my favorite character In death note

Attack on toran's most recent chapter was ridiculous. I am genuinely afraid of Hanji now

 

[Smooth Criminal]

[collapse="Death Note spoilers"]I think L's death is what made the story more interesting. I got the feeling that Light became overconfident after L's death, which led him to underestimate Near and his eventual downfall.[/collapse]

Spoiler

Near and Mello were nowhere near as interesting as L himself, though. I felt like they were tacked on for the sake of posthumously extending L's legacy.

And you could see Light's demise from a mile away.

Smooth Criminal

 

[nessokman]

Spoiler

Near and Mello were nowhere near as interesting as L himself, though. I felt like they were tacked on for the sake of posthumously extending L's legacy.

And you could see Light's demise from a mile away.

Smooth Criminal

Spoiler

at least near solved the Kira case, something L couldn't do. (proving light is Kira). Near is a cool character, I prefer him as a character because his quirks are somewhat like my own (stacking dice, creamers Always doing something active when thinking)

One thing I didn't like about near was that he would just suddenly figure something big out. I know that he is a good detective and that the only reason he was able to do so was because the author was running out of ideas.

Mellow was awful. His head on approach isn't how you handle an investigation like the Kira cad, he annoyed me to no end. I was happy

Spoiler

when he died

L was weird, I liked how he analyzed every situation so thoroughly and compared every outcome to find the one that fit the best.

 

[GwJ]

Spoiler

I think Mello gets some undeserved hate. Near and Mello are supposed to represent two halves of L's personality. Near's apathetic, analytical mindset is what gets the theoretical mystery solved, but Mello's rash, hasty, aggressive tactics are what give Near the evidence and situation he needed in order to prove it.

 

[Sarki Soliloquy]

Sword art was cool... until episode 15.
Im not that interested in romance and such, especially when it has a incest sort of vibe.

I found the romance to be quite fluffy. Gives me warm & fuzzy feelings. No mutual struggle to show how inseparable the bond is between the characters.

[collapse="Spoilers for Sword Art Online up to Ep. 15"]Also, Suguo was quite a ****ed up character, despite how ineffective he is as an antagonist. He's more like a horror character if you think about it.[/collapse]

 

[GwJ]

I liked sword art online but I think if it ended at episode 15, it would've been considered to be really good and its be on my definite must buy list.

 

[nessokman]

Attack on Titan's dub cast has partially been revealed. Jean is voiced by the guy who played havoc in FMA

 

[GwJ]

Not gonna bother watching the dub unless it's literally at opening of Toonami and even then, I'm still not sure.

 

[deadjames]

I don't see any reason to watch the dub, when I've already seen it subbed. I don't have preference one way or another, but once I see something in one language, I can't watch it in the other.

 

[GwJ]

Yeah, I don't know of any shows I've seen where I've watched both the dub and sub. I think I TRIED watching the sub to FLCL once, but it didn't appeal to me since I've seen the dub so many times.

 

[Frostwraith]

I may be watching the Attack on Titan dub out of curiosity to hear how the characters will sound in English.

Actually, watching anime in Japanese and English each as its advantages to me. First, I'm learning Japanese and always end up learning a few words watching subbed anime. Second, I still have some trouble understanding spoken English (which isn't my native language), so watching anime in English is a good way for me to concentrate on the dialogue.

It's more comfortable for me to watch subbed, but watching in English is an interesting challenge for me.

Yeah, I don't know of any shows I've seen where I've watched both the dub and sub. I think I TRIED watching the sub to FLCL once, but it didn't appeal to me since I've seen the dub so many times.

Usually, when you watch dubbed first, you'll like less the original version and vice versa. You get used to the first version you hear and it's often strange to hear the characters differently voiced afterwards.

I've watched Death Note subbed and find odd seeing Death Note in English, but the reverse situation happens with Soul Eater and Fairy Tail for example. I've tried to watch Soul Eater in Japanese and I find the English voices to be overall better fitting for the characters than the original ones. Again, you get used to the first voice over you hear and when you watch it with different actors, it will sound strange.

 

[PillsBuryDopeBoy]

Attack on Titan's dub cast has partially been revealed. Jean is voiced by the guy who played havoc in FMA

Mike Mcfarland is playing Jean. OMG YES

 

[nessokman]

I can watch dub or sub, I tend to watch most series twice if I like them enough, I've already seen most of the bigger fights from AOT multiple times online so..heh.

I'll watch the dub for sure, I am interested in the voicing of eren and Armin. Watching dubs isn't that bad, I tend to just get over and forget what the Japanese sounds like, minus the voice of levi and eren.

 

[:mad:]

Nah, dubs are still pretty bad.

 

[nessokman]

Nah, dubs are still pretty bad.

Are they? Or are you just spoiled by the subs? When you were little and watching naruto/DragonBall/one piece, did you think the voices were bad?

No, you probably didn't.its the knowledge and having witnessed the subs that makes you think they are bad, and they are in comparison, but they aren't actually bad.

The attack on titan dub is really looking good so far. I'm waiting to see where they inevitably place todd haberkorn. He is going to get a part,I know this almost for sure, my guess is Armin.

 

[:mad:]

Of course not, I was a child and children are easy to please. The only show I know of where the dub is superior would be Yu Yu Hakusho. There are still some decent ones like Cowboy Bebop, Baccano, and to an extent, One Piece. I'm not vehemently against dubs like you might want to believe, I think they're great for people with small attention spans, the illiterate, or the casual anime fan. I'm just saying that more often than not, the voice acting is vastly inferior and Shingeki is no exception.

 

[nessokman]

Of course not, I was a child and children are easy to please. The only show I know of where the dub is superior would be Yu Yu Hakusho. There are still some decent ones like Cowboy Bebop, Baccano, and to an extent, One Piece. I'm not vehemently against dubs like you might want to believe, I think they're great for people with small attention spans, the illiterate, or the casual anime fan. I'm just saying that more often than not, the voice acting is vastly inferior and Shingeki is no exception.

The soul eater dub was superior as a whole. In the dub, the voices all fit.(not black star). Death the kid's voice was too deep subbed for one example.

I prefer blue exorcist's dub for that reason, fitting voices.

Small attention span has little or nothing to do with dub vs. Sub. I'm the ADD ADHD guy who watches and enjoys both thoroughly. How can you say with Absolute certainty that shingeki's dub will be inferior, though I doubt they can top those voices.

 

[Sehnsucht]

Halfway through Shinsekai Yori at the moment. It's a rather weird anime when it comes to storylines and worldbuilding, but I dig it. Not amazing just yet, but it's very solid stuff. I look forward to the latter half.

 

[Frostwraith]

Sub vs. dub is a ridiculous debate anyway, because it's all down to personal preference. (Unless it's something filmed that is dubbed. That is completely awkward.)

When you're judging something of artistic value, it's very often a matter of whether you like it or not. Japanese VAs are doing but one interpretation of the characters. American VAs do the same, but in English.

Now, on to the statement that "the original Japanese is always better" most people use to attack dubs. I agree and disagree at the same time. Just because it's the original version, it doesn't necessarily mean it's better from a performance point of view. Good and bad actors exist everywhere. Not all Japanese voice actors are good, not all American actors are bad. And even so, I repeat that good and bad when it comes to acting has its share of subjectivity thrown in.

However, it is undeniably true that cultural aspects are very often lost in translation. As someone who speaks two languages fluently, I know what I'm talking about. Humor, idiomatic expressions and such are often impossible to fully translate. This is where the script writers for the dubs need to improvise in order to maintain a natural sounding dialogue. Translating is not switching words with others from another language with the same meaning. It's about conveying a message. A translator's job is to ensure the original message is preserved when switching languages. And if changing the script is what is necessary to do so, that's the way the translator should head. Being a translator requires creativity for situations like this.

Just my opinion regarding subs and dubs. Watching subbed, dubbed or both, it's all a matter of personal choice.

 

[GwJ]

When I justify why I prefer subs almost exclusively over dubs, I usually argue that in the case of at least decent shows (I like to think I watch shows that are at least decent), the Japanese VAs exhibit more authentic or expressionistic emotion and character. Of the dubs I've seen, quite a few sounded like people who were still greenhorn VAs were reading off of a piece of paper are trying to "say this line" rather than "be this character".

Let me give you an example. Here's a bit from FLCL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgllycqBk-w
Personally, I love FLCL to death and I'd consider it a favorite of mine and also my first explicitly Japanese anime I've seen (by that, I mean I'm not counting watching Pokemon or Yugioh when I was a youngster). This isn't a fantastic example since the dub isn't that bad, but you can definitely catch what I'm talking about. Some of the lines and deliveries feel like they're just "spoken" and not "felt" by the VA, as if they're just reading off of a paper they glanced at once or twice prior.

I don't know how much more dedicated Japanese VAs put into their work than the English VAs, but the Japanese VAs offer a more intimate expression of their character in most occasions in my honest opinion.

 

[nessokman]

When I justify why I prefer subs almost exclusively over dubs, I usually argue that in the case of at least decent shows (I like to think I watch shows that are at least decent), the Japanese VAs exhibit more authentic or expressionistic emotion and character. Of the dubs I've seen, quite a few sounded like people who were still greenhorn VAs were reading off of a piece of paper are trying to "say this line" rather than "be this character".

Let me give you an example. Here's a bit from FLCL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgllycqBk-w
Personally, I love FLCL to death and I'd consider it a favorite of mine and also my first explicitly Japanese anime I've seen (by that, I mean I'm not counting watching Pokemon or Yugioh when I was a youngster). This isn't a fantastic example since the dub isn't that bad, but you can definitely catch what I'm talking about. Some of the lines and deliveries feel like they're just "spoken" and not "felt" by the VA, as if they're just reading off of a paper they glanced at once or twice prior.

I don't know how much more dedicated Japanese VAs put into their work than the English VAs, but the Japanese VAs offer a more intimate expression of their character in most occasions in my honest opinion.

Said not felt us exactly how soul eater's Japanese VA's were. The American cast did a good job on emotion. Since I try to watch all my loved series twice, I get a chance to hear dub and sub of most series.

 

[:mad:]

I don't even really consider the whole subs vs. dubs thing to even be a debate precisely because it's preference. Quite frankly, dubs don't even feel like I'm watching anime and the experience is differently entirely. If you can enjoy them, then more power to ya, I just think they're a crock of **** and I don't even acknowledge them. I can only pray that one day we'll stop discussing pointless news like what English VA is voicing whatever unimportant character.

Halfway through Shinsekai Yori at the moment. It's a rather weird anime when it comes to storylines and worldbuilding, but I dig it. Not amazing just yet, but it's very solid stuff. I look forward to the latter half.

Yeah I feel that it's pretty overrated, but still a solid show regardless. It really kicks into overdrive in the closing episodes, it has one of my favorite endings just behind The Tatami Galaxy and Kaiba.

 

[deadjames]

I just started Heaven's Lost Property, the first episode was pretty bad, not sure if I'm going to continue it or not.

 

[GwJ]

Oh man that was one of my first anime so I wasn't able to tell if it was good or bad since I had nothing to compare it to pretty much. That being said, all I remember is Nymph is best girl and the OP is rad (season 2's special OP is radder)