The Anime Society Thread 6

Anyone watching Hibike! Euphonium season 2? Or has anyone watched Hibike! Euphonium season 1? The animation and plot is gorgeous.

I'm still alive, just about. Will post my thoughts on what I'm watching later today. For now, I absolutely love this OP:



And the anime ain't bad either.

I realize I forgot to post the link here, but I posted an Anime Opening Theme quiz in Forum Games a few days ago. It's difficult, I only scored 30 out of 82. Feel free to try and beat that~

Aiko! Always nice to see you post here, and to hear what you're watching.

The Drifters OP is probably my favourite this season, and the series is up there in my top five... shame the animation couldn't be a bit better though.

So, my thoughts on what I'm watching:

Yuri!!! on Ice

After watching the PV for this and noting that Yamamoto Sayo is the director, I was intrigued as to how this anime would fare. Ice skating is something new when it comes to anime (ignoring Death Parade)...

...and so far it's turning out to be rather promising. The first episode was excellent, arguably the strongest of the season. It's difficult to say how things will transpire from this point onwards, but as it stands, it's definitely one of the better showings of the season.

Sound! Euphonium 2

KyoAni has built up a formidable reputation over the years and rightfully so, but if I'm honest, I was starting to tire somewhat of their style, even though their offerings were far from bad. That is, until Sound! Euphonium came along. The first season was very good, both from a production standpoint (as you'd expect) and in terms of character development, so I'm glad the second season has continued with very much the same. Unlike Yuri!!! on Ice where I'm still undecided how things will end up, I'm more confident that KyoAni will continue to offer what was so great with the first season.

Ajiin 2

Like with Sound! Euphonium, Ajin kicks off again and I've enjoyed the first few episodes. I know a lot of people have been put off by Polygon's CGI and I'll admit that it worked better in Sidonia no Kishi than it does here, but what it lacks in that regard it more than makes up in its well crafted plot. The first season was one of the few I genuinely anticipated watching the next episode of, so I'm hoping it'll be the same this time around. So far, that seems to be the case.

Izetta: The Last Witch

I wasn't too sure to make of this one, given that I'm not that familiar with the studio Ajiadou or the staff behind it, but after watching the PV and the last few episodes, I'm enjoying it a lot. The opening episode set the foundations extremely well, and the second more than satisfied my penchant for overpowered main characters. What's encouraging is that the battle sequences are handled particularly well, so I'm excited to see what's to come.

Drifters

In a similar vein to Izetta, although I was aware of Hoods Entertainment, they haven't produced a lot of anime, so I wasn't sure what to expect. However, it was encouraging to see Nakamura Yuuichi voice the main character. Needless to say, after watching the PV and especially episode two, this anime is definitely ticking all of the boxes. The animation is incredibly stylish and fluid, and the plot, while simple, has only touched upon the surface, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens next. Oh, and that opening song I posted above is awesome. It's not often I go back to watch an opening once I've seen it once, and I've done it multiple times with this one.

March Comes in like a Lion

I'm a big fan of Shaft and Shinbou Akiyuki and I'm aware that the manga is by the critically acclaimed mangaka Umino Chika of Honey and Clover fame, so I was looking forward to this one. So far, it's proving to be one of the better offerings of the season. It's a lot slower paced than a lot of the stuff I'm watching, but that's part of the appeal. It's also refreshing to watch an anime that's based around a competitive activity in shougi, and yet, it focuses more on introspection of the main character as he comes to terms with the present and his future. Definitely one I'm keeping on.

Poco's Udon World

In a similar vein to March Comes in like a Lion, Poco's Udon World is another slice of life anime that is doing things pretty well at the moment. Not much else to say other than the fact that I'm sure a lot of people can relate with the main character, and Poco himself is very cute. In a weird sort of way, I'm enjoying the dynamic between the two characters more because of my two-year-old daughter. Keeping this one on for sure.

x

Hey! As you are watching and lots of animes and surely listening to lots of soundtracks, you surely know the composer Yuki Kajiura. The name of her is well known to you, isn't it?

Season seems pretty bad in general so far, I have high hopes for Occultic Nine but that's not been great either,

I've found the overall quality quite high, personally, but the season definitely lacks a single standout series. I was also disappointed with the first episode of Occultic;Nine, and didn't pick it up, though I've heard the second is supposedly better?