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kihocrystal · 6 years

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Winter 2018 Final Impressions

I’m a month late, as usual (whoops!), but here’s my final thoughts on the animes I watched this past season!

The “reviews” will be in alphabetical order!

3-gatsu no Lion S2 - 9.0 / 10 (A)

This second season of 3-gatsu was great! It’s just… a really great drama show about fighting depression (& a bunch of other character storylines)!

First off... THE BULLYING ARC WAS REALLY GOOD

extremely complicated, emotionally complex… this arc brings all sorts of emotions & angles into the forefront

multiple perspectives too: Hina’s, Rei’s, the bullied girl’s, the bully’s, the teachers’, and Akari too!

The art style can pull off both thick-outlined / bright colored style and watercolor-esque style incredibly well

it really is beautiful how it can visually portray both light-hearted and emotionally intense scenes

This season continues to show how good it is at character development for characters both main & supporting!

We get to see Rei moving through the ranks as a shogi player

and also moving through the ranks of conquering his depression! He’s improved more than ever before!

We get to learn about the white-haired master player (Souya); I liked how he has his own quicks and challenges he has in his daily life

Along with the other head shogi guy (Yanagihara)! (& how he shoulders his legacy for his friends)

Even the last episode offered some perspective from the foster mom about Rei & her kids

this show is just… really good at making normally-hated characters sympathetic, hot damn

Aside from bullying arc, this season also showed Hina preparing for the transition to high school

The finale episode was nice and sweet, with Hina saying goodbye to Takahashi and even getting a haircut!

This continues to be one of the best drama anime in recent years! Not to mention SHAFT’s best show since Madoka Magica :3

Cardfight!! Vanguard G: Z - 7.5 - 8.0 / 10 (C+)

And so ends the G series of Cardfight Vanguard… this final season I’ll say though is kind of a mixed bag

The plot had interesting ideas and moments at times, but the execution and pacing left a bit to be desired

though I will say it was definitely better than last season (CFV G NEXT)

This season didn’t waste any time getting to the main plot, as Chrono has to face off against a Diffrider right away

the diffrider stuff is continued from last season, but for the most part, it’s a new plot kicking off!

The rollout of all the new Diffrider Apostles (& them showing their strength) definitely made them look like powerful foes

not to mention the Zeroth Dragons, which were also shown to be powerful and very risky to use

Also knowing that anyone in the main cast could end up being The Vessel added some intrigue as well

the reveal that Kazuma would be the vessel definitely was a well executed twist imo~

However the pacing in places felt a bit too fast for me… the Relics subplot felt like it wrapped up too quickly, for example

the final fight against Gyze also kinda felt rushed… Gyze didn’t even have any dying words after his defeat :/

As a final season specifically, I feel like it kinda pales in comparison to Stride Gate, unfortunately

The cast was also kinda hit and miss in terms of how well they were utilized in the plot

some of the apostles definitely had more screen time than others (gredora only got like… two episodes)

plus gastille (the supposed apostle leader) got beaten sooner than like 3 other ones???

some villains carry over from last season too, such as Noa (Chaos Breaker) and the red-head punk kid

I liked all the new villains this season, personality-wise! (Also Yukari Tamura in there is a plus)

also no Am and Luna this season, really…

the previously established OG cast were integrated fine, for the most part

including Aichi and Kai getting the kill against Chaos Breaker Dragon

but the final episodes kinda just shoe-horn in a bunch of cameos that just didn’t feel natural :/

it just felt like “OH SHIT, this is the last season actually! Quick, throw in a bunch of cameos!”

this also applies to G characters, which makes less utilized characters (like Am & Luna, as mentioned before) look out of place :(

Sure, I’m saying a bunch of negative stuff right now, but I REALLY LOVE THIS CAST… I JUST WANT THE BEST FOR THEM

It’s the main reason I love CFV G, after all~

This season was definitely an improvement over NEXT for sure! The plot was interesting, I just wish the conclusion was better

The final episode basically just felt like an OVA, really… aside from the last scene, it didn’t really feel like an epilogue at all

I guess it just bums me out bc the original series got a good epilogue episode, so I know they could do it here, too…

In any case, I’M GONNA MISS THIS CAST, BIG TIME ;A;

In any case, this was a decent season to end the G series with! Not the strongest, but not the weakest either.

I’m gonna look back on my time with CFV G fondly for sure, if for nothing else than the great ensemble cast :’)

It’s gonna be weird going back to the OG cast for sure… I arguably liked the G cast better than the OG one :’D

Osomatsu-san S2 - 8.0 / 10 (B)

The consensus among fans seems to be that this season wasn’t as good as the first season

As for me, I… probably agree with that (though I still enjoyed this season!)

As with most comedy anime, whether the jokes land is pretty subjective. I feel like I didn’t laugh as hard this season? IDK

There were more “seasonal/holiday”-based episodes this time around (i.e. summer, new year’s, etc.)

What stays the same though is that this show is at its best when featuring the main brothers themselves

Skits involving the side characters (like Iyami, Dayon, etc.) didn’t make me laugh much…

I will say though that I enjoyed the second half of the season more than the first half~

Enough about the negatives, let’s talk about this season’s memorable skits / episodes!

The premiere was really good, as it poked fun at the huge popularity the show unexpectedly got xD

plus a bunch of references that *aren’t* gonna get them removed from streaming sites this time!

Jyushimatsu getting an “apprentice” with a little kid was also pretty funny~

The Karamatsu taxi skit, the spooky inn, & all the characters being stuck on an island were also good skits!

Ep. 18 (Iyami, Alone in the Wind) was also a crowd favorite, since it brought the feels for a change :’)

The finale 2-parter pulled a bait-and-switch yet again!

Part 1 was actually pretty serious, but the actual finale just has them trying to break out of hell xD

OH YEAH, I still really like the live-action stuff they do during the ending sequences

the first half’s ED was my favorite (the stop-motion of the brothers riding in the car)

I don’t have much to say about comedies generally, but Osomatsu-san is still my favorite in recent years ^^

Even though this season didn’t hit as hard as S1, it still provided some fun laughs~

Pop Team Epic - 7.5 / 10 (C+)

What can I really say about this show? It kind of defies description ^^;

Ok, yeah, it’s a sketch comedy, but it’s a really… crazy and random sketch comedy

The jokes are hit and miss (and in my experience was a bit more… miss than hit)

I never really laughed out loud at this show either

but then again, the humor here is more “being confused at what’s going on, but going along with it anyway”

There’s also a lot of modern anime references, so you might not get those jokes if you don’t follow most recent anime

Each episode has a long skit in it, plus a bunch of bite-size skits

I personally preferred the short skits over the long ones

There were a couple song parodies which I enjoyed (including the Earth Wind & Fire parody)

Also, this series definitely benefits from having an English simuldub! Some skits I found funnier in English!

OH YEAH, the voice actors (in both languages) change every episode, with female and male VAs in each episode

that enhanced the enjoyability of the sketches too, since I liked hearing favorite VAs do silly dialogue and performances!

I wouldn’t say this ranks among my favorite anime comedies, but it’s definitely unlike any other I’ve seen! ^^;

Your mileage will *definitely* vary with this one, so give it a try and see if it’s for you!

The Ancient Magus’ Bride (Mahoutsukai no Yome) - 8.5 - 9 / 10 (A-)

This was a very enjoyable fantasy drama show! Some people feel this show was overhyped, but I still thought it was really good!

I really liked the cast overall, especially Chise

She has really good character development throughout the show! She really becomes more strong and confident!

Seeing the fantastical world through her eyes was interesting as well!

Especially since those mystical elements were also responsible for her terrible childhood…

Elias was also an interesting guy… he and Chise have an interesting relationship together

Their relationship definitely has aspects that are unhealthy, but they do grow closer to each other by the end

If people can’t get past the whole premise of “him buying Chise to be his bride” though, I totally understand ^^;

They help each other learn too, which I liked to see

The supporting cast was also enjoyable! Not much to say about them individually though

The dragon keeper was nice and we got to learn about Elias’ origins through him

The dragons in general were great! Especially the old one that turned into a tree :’)

He gives Chise some good sage advice, even after death :’)

Angelica, Silky, and Stella (among others, like the other anti-hero duo) were good support characters too~

I liked Stella’s role of “normal girl who learns of the supernatural’s existence”

Cartaphilus was an… okay villain, I guess (though his methods were quite creepy indeed, which added some intrigue)

Some character designs are a bit questionable though… like who approved the vampire’s design? ^^;

Another large appeal of this was the world building of the fantastical elements!

I liked seeing all the different types of locales & supernatural creatures, both good and bad

As a low-fantasy show, this show does a Dang Good Job with the fantasy!

Chise learning more about herself and gaining confidence through these experiences were a highlight as well

I enjoyed each story arc as well, even though most of them were more explorative and introspective

This show can be dang beautiful sometimes, through both its art/animation and its stories (Thanks, Studio WIT!)

Some were better than others, but they all deliver either a heartwarming (or a dark) story

Some favorites of mine were the dragon-based ones, and the vampire loving the old man

The finale was good too! It’s unknown whether this conclusion is anime-original or not, but it was definitely a good S1 ending~

If you love low-fantasy shows, this is definitely one to check out!

Violet Evergarden - 8.5 - 9.0 / 10 (A-)

Best *new* anime (that I watched) of this past season, hands down~

Though to be fair, I still need to watch A Place Farther than the Universe… and Yuru Camp… and After the Rain…

Going into this season, this show was hyped and back and somehow… a lot of people were *disappointed* with this show?

I think it had to do with expecting a different show than what we got; as for me, I knew it’d be an episodic drama the whole time :P

But yes, this show has a (mostly) episodic plot with an overarching character arc. If that’s too slow for you, then you probably won’t like this show.

In any case, back to the positives! The first one being how good this show looks visually… as expected from KyoAni~

there’s so much detail in the backgrounds and the character elements (especially the lighting on objects like Violet’s metal hands)

this aspect is one thing *everyone* agrees on regardless, so… yeah, this show’s really pretty!

The main star (and focus) of this show was Violet herself… you can really see how she changes for the better from beginning to end

You get to see how “robot-like” she was at the start of the show, but she slowly learns about dealing with emotions of others… and herself

This character arc is definitely the “main” plot of the show, along with her coming to terms with Gilbert’s death and her war killings

The episodic plots were good in their own right, too!

Ranging from Violet’s start as a Memoir Doll to the different clients she works with, they all teach her something along the way

These sometimes focus on the side characters working at the Doll Agency too, so we get to learn more about them as well

The one that comes to mind first is Iris’ episode, where she (messily) reconnects with a former lover

Not all of them get a full episode in the spotlight, but they do get some focus scenes from time to time

Violet’s clientele episodes were the most memorable out of this lot IMO

ESPECIALLY EPISODE 10… that was the BIGGEST feels trip

I knew exactly how the episode was going to end, but I still teared up at that ending!

The finale was action packed, but also was a beautiful way to show how far Violet has come

I know some people’s issue with this show is that “it doesn’t know what show it wants to be” re: the action stuff, but I was fine with it personally

in any case, it was a pretty good book-end for Violet’s development, since she finally understands (a least a little) what “I love you” means :’)

I understand certain people’s gripes with this show, but this really is a great little drama show that *will* deliver the feels~

P.S. I also watched Fate/Extra: Last Encore this season. It hasn’t technically ended yet, so I can’t give final impressions on it right now. However, my current score for it is a 7.5/10 (C+).

#3 gatsu no lion #march comes in like a lion #cardfight!! vanguard #cardfight vanguard g #cardfight vanguard gz #osomatsu san #pop team epic #mahoutsukai no yome #the ancient magus bride #violet evergarden #Final Impressions

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agent-85 · 7 years

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Hello Jane! :)

(2) good storytelling ? There is no sense of balance in the story. (s2) To appreciate the ups and downs, you actually have to have both! like a roller coaster! This year its a endless downhill. And worse, the story is more and more driven (progresses) by action and plot twist and mostly for shock value... its the level 0 of storytelling and sense of rhythm. All that bring deus ex machina and plot holes and adding bullshit storylines like love triangle doesn't help (roboMay, Aida) (s3 flaws).

(3) Action and twist must serve the story and not leading it, it’s nonsense. Most of the writers in Ao3 like you, understand and deal better with all those basics writing principles. WTH? As for the flaws of s4 itself, they wanted to deal with very serious themes and used harsh imageries to do it, why not? but not only they were only used as plot device, but they were also mistreated and not resolved in any way. And worse, they don't acknowledge anything. You already know it hurt me a lot. :(

(4)I've seen people taking time for excuse, seriously? Like any other job they are accountable of what they do and how they use their time. It's bad writing. When you chose to write arcs it means that in everyone of them, you have a beginning, a middle and a end, and an opening for something else. But resolution doesn't just kill the bad guy, which basically all the finale did and GR, nothing else... bad writing again. And that ridiculous ending and cliffhanger... As for FS nothing, the void,

(5) no discussion, no meaningful interactions, no smiles, no relationship status. Complete nonsense! All of their build up, pumped up storylines fell flat at the end and the wins were for someone else (daisy, radcliffe, GR) and back to being support character. What did Jemma do at the end? she didn't save Fitz, she just killed a fake dad and shoot an unwoundable Aida... And all the tease around them with their forever love for nothing, its cool to say it but show it, and not just them telling

(6)other people that they love each other. WTF!? FS season without FS in it Bravo! -- Not even a tiny pay off... I have no illusion it would change because I'm sure they don't know how to write them out of angst, and if they are apart again. No thank you. Sorry Jane i talked a lot but i'm really not hyped in any way by s5, I loved my fun spy show with FS as main interest. ^^ Now it's the shadow of it. Anyway thank you Jane for being always amazing! Love you very much

Hey there!

I have to admit, I was disappointed and underwhelmed by the finale, too. GR felt like a deus ex machina, FS was not resolved, and the whole thing was so rushed that I didn’t really care much that they were in space. They crammed too much in for there to be any time for the emotional impact to be felt. Becoming GR, really, was enough of a twist that they didn’t need to add going into space. And actually, if I had to pick between the two twists, I would have just done going into space. Tricking AIDA seemed like a flimsy reason for becoming GR.

(Really, the only thing I can think of is that they were picked up and sent into space BECAUSE he’s the new GR, and that somehow makes him a part of this war Robbie was talking about. Either way, it was too much in too little time. There had to have been a better way to structure that.)

BUT, I will say that it’s hard to compare a network TV show to any other form of media, ESPECIALLY fanfiction. When I write, the story is exactly the length it needs to be, I can involve any character and plot lines I like, and I can literally take years to finish it if I want to. Network TV is different. ABC tells them how many episodes they get and when the episodes will air. They couldn’t add a 23rd episode even if they wanted to, they had to involve ALL the characters because of the actors’ contracts (which is why the birthday video happens in 4722 Hours; they had to get Clark and Chloe in there somehow), and they had to work around things like commercial breaks. Network TV is a very complicated thing with a lot of factors going into it that I, luckily, do not have to deal with as a writer. So when people say they didn’t have time, it’s true that they had a limited amount of time. Could they have made a better use of their time? Certainly. But we must acknowledge that they have limitations we don’t have.

The real mistake they made, I think, was that they spent too much time in the Framework and not enough time in the aftermath. They had a big story, and due to the restrictions ABC gave them, they only had seven episodes in which to tell it. In my opinion, the only way to fit everything in was to make the story a little smaller, and they didn’t want to do that, so we have what we have. A lot of the things they added in were the “rewards” they promised the fans, namely, the return of favorite characters. Maybe you didn’t care for them, but they were the fun parts of this arc that helped add to the balance.

Of course, I think they focused too much on Evil Fitz and his relationship with AIDA for it to be truly balanced. That’s where all the pain came from, in my experience at least—they went too far showing how EVIL Fitz could be without showing a proper resolution. This is a problem with the greater MCU in general, though—it’s usually all pain, little gain. They need to learn how to tone down the pain or increase the resolution if they truly want to give their fans a satisfying ending.

Unfortunately, I don’t think they see it that way. Jemma shooting AIDA was supposed to be part of the resolution of Jemma’s arc, but I would have happily traded it for a chance for FitzSimmons to finish their conversation, because that’s what we really needed for a resolution. We actually had PLENTY of FitzSimmons love in this arc. Jemma declared her love more openly and boldly than we’ve ever seen her, and Fitz declared his love for her at great risk. You know what we were missing? Them declaring their love to EACH OTHER. Them being TOGETHER after they spent so long being torn apart! And you know, I don’t know if we needed a full conversation. We needed Jemma’s Amen, surely, and then Fitz reaching for her hand in the diner. They had enough time for that. All he had to do was reach for her hand, and for them to share a look and a smile. That would have told us, at least, where they were and where they were going. Elizabeth and Iain are good enough to make that mean more than ten minutes of conversation. But they didn’t add it in because they thought the love declarations and the hug were enough.

So really, the best way to look at it is as of the hug WAS their resolution. Jemma heard his love confession, she gave Fitz the support he needed, and then they apparently resumed their relationship. It’s a big blank to fill in, but I think that’s what they meant to portray.

Anyway, I understand missing the fun spy show with FS! I feel that way, too. Sometimes I feel like we’ve been cheated because we were hooked with a ship that was always together, and now they’re NEVER together. I wish they would bring back some of the humor and togetherness. They do have their more cheerful moments, like when Trip came back, but I definitely think we could use a lot more of the fun we fell in love with. All we can do is send our feedback and hope they listen.

#Meta of Agent 85 #AoS criticism #Laurent #I think?#Tell me if I'm wrong #Anons of Agent 85 #Answers of Agent 85

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