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ZiNgA's Quick Review thread
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ZiNgA BuRgA
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Post: #541
RE: ZiNgA's Quick Review thread
To Aru Majutsu no Index
Originally had dropped this half way through episode 6, but this time decided to continue on and finished it.  Turns out that it does get better, but still a fair bit worse than the Railgun side story.
It's largely a bunch of loosely connected stories which all seem to follow a similar-ish formula.
2.5 stars

Ano Hana Movie
Somewhat like the series, although stronger on the drama, and does seem like they were trying to find some way to extend the story.  Too much of a cry fest for me...

Date a Live 2
Seems like they've continued on with the same general feeling as the first season - try to merge a bunch of genres, but don't really do any of them particularly well.
In general, overall quality doesn't seem to be as good as the first season, but if you liked the first, I'd recommend the second.
The first arc (about episodes 2-4) might be alright if you haven't seen any ecchi before, but considering that this is supposed to somewhat be a parody, one shouldn't really expect that.  It might have been better if they focused on poking fun at the genre rather than implementing it so much.
The other arcs fare a bit better, but the ending to the series seems a bit rushed, and the series still hasn't ended (negative points from me there).

Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru
I ended up enjoying this one, possibly because I could understand the protagonist's point of view, or perhaps because he was treated somewhat atypically.  Usually loner characters would be 'assimilated into society' or achieve something special by the end; in this show, his self-absorbant nature actually provides unique traits which prove useful...
Ignoring the slightly odd premise of the show, the main characters provide an intriguing dynamic which drives the show along.  But then you look at the premise and some of it seems a little difficult to accept, or seems a little too contrived.
Otherwise, the show follows standard slice of life practice.
3.5 stars

Wata Mote
Does quite a nice job at expressing the protagonist's perspective and the difficulties she faces trying to be accepted in society.
Spoiler:
Unfortunately, Tomoko doesn't really change much by the end of the show.  I expect a number of viewers to find this to be a weak point, as you'd typically expect the protagonist to at least make progress towards their goal by the end of the season.  I'm a little more undecided on this one however - it does seem to fit in the general theme of Tomoko trying something to only result in failure.  It also helps drive home the point on how difficult it is for someone with her thought pattern to fix her social awkwardness.
Generally a somewhat depressing show, however, I don't think it was all negative.  The somewhat unique ending does seem to provide a slight glimmer of hope.  One does wonder whether the ending to the second last episode may have been more appropriate though (despite not being as unique).
3.5 stars

Tonari no Seki-kun
Simple idea and executed quite nicely.  The short episode format works quite well for what it strives to be, and there seems to be enough variation to keep things interesting throughout the season.  This isn't the show where you sit down and marathon it, rather it works nicely if you slip in an episode every few days or so.
However, perhaps the simplicity is itself a bit of an issue though.  Not only is the artwork simple, but there's a general lack of anything else, like character development.  Whilst I think it does a good job at what it tries to do, it ultimately doesn't try to do too much.
3.5 stars
12/08/2014 12:15 AM
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ZiNgA BuRgA
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Post: #542
RE: ZiNgA's Quick Review thread
Danna ga Nani o Itte Iruka Wakaranai Ken
Short reasonably entertaining episodes, with some slight story progression.
Second season, unfortunately, tries to focus more on plot than comedy, which I don't think works particularly well for 3 minute episodes.
3 stars (first season)

Plastic Memories
Thought it did a decent job at getting its message through - I thought the delivery method was fine, and didn't mind the loose ends they didn't bother tying up (ultimately, not that important to the main story line).  However these things do make the whole thing seem a little unrefined.
Ultimately however, my main problem is that I found it difficult to accept on the believability scale.  That and the lack of anything particularly spectacular didn't give me a great impression overall.
2.5 stars

Oregairu S2
I quite enjoyed the first season of this show, so looked forward to the second season.  It does take a few aspects of the first season, but I'm actually confused over a number of things in the second season (perhaps I need a rewatch).  I had the sense that the creators were trying to be a little too clever for their own good perhaps.
Overall, I'm undecided as to whether I like it or not, due to not really understanding it, though I would still rate the first season being better.

Nanoha Vivid
I initially didn't want to watch this, but ended up doing so anyway.  I expected this to be worse than the first 3 seasons, yet it still failed (miserably) live up to my low expectations.  Virtually no plot (despite what the first episode may make you think) and not a lot of action, preferring to stick to a moe-blob feel good style show most of the time.
The fights towards the end are probably the only highlights of the season, but even those were cut short.

Himouto Umaru-chan
This is another show which starts off alright but is unable to keep the momentum going throughout the season.  The standard portrayal of 4 unique personalities started off fine, but I thought there were many missed opportunities, and the slice-of-life aspects became rather bland.  "Plot" is rather minimal, with practically nothing changing by the end of the show.
2.5 stars

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime
I quite liked the fairy-tale feel of the first episode.  Unfortunately the rest of the show falls into more a shoujo style romance story and doesn't really seem relevant to Snow White at all.  The show is quite episodic, with not a lot of relationship between episodes, other than the over-arching romance plot.
Overall I felt that the quality was fine, although not exactly to my taste.  Nothing particularly caught me as being spectacular.
2.5 stars

Shirobako
This anime is mainly split into 2 halves.  I really enjoyed the first half, and felt it balanced all its aims fairly well.
The second half was less enjoyable - understandable as there's more focus on information and less on plot, but I also found it to be less believable and seemed lacking in polish that the first half had.
I felt a few things could've deserved a little more focus/attention, though I'm quite happy with the balance that was selected.
4 stars
05/12/2015 08:45 PM
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