Summer Animu 2023: What Time Is It? Anime Time!

[bassgs435]

Atelier Ryza
Came for the thighs. Stayed for a comfy low stakes coming of age fantasy story focused on the cast’s development. Was pretty good

[BladeOfEden]

Came for the thighs

Well… that’s one reason to watch a show, I suppose.

[Formless Creature]

You mean came to the thighs?

[Toranth]

Well… that’s one reason to watch a show, I suppose.

Have you looked at the character's design?
It's officially a thing.
And people care.

[Formless Creature]

Yeah, the Atelier Ryza thighs meme is pretty widespread, I'm surprised there are people who didn't know. Personally, I'm not really the sort of person who watches shows for fanservice (and if fanservice takes precedence over telling a story, I'm probably gonna stop watching), but I can't really complain, because as an edgelord, all a show needs to do in order to attract me is either be really pretentious (so I can pretend I'm smarter than everyone else) or have cute anime girls suffering (because that's my idea of fanservice. Madoka was an anime I watched in my formative years and despite still to this day being my favorite it has caused irreparable damage to my psyche).

[BladeOfEden]

or have cute anime girls suffering (because that's my idea of fanservice.

If that’s not a red flag I don’t know what is

[Formless Creature]

I don't get off to it, but I'll always welcome it. Fanservice need not necessarily be aimed at making you horny. See clapbait.

The suffering of cute anime girls will always be optional to my enjoyment of a story, but will always enhance it. That's because the suffering of cute anime girls brings a potent energy to any work. However, some level of pretentiousness is obligatory.

To be specific, I like it because I have a savior complex. The suffering in question must be balanced by the ultimate happiness of the girls. If there is just suffering with no hope, then I get mad at the author for not letting me see them be saved.

[Nanaya]

Sometimes it is better that a character can't be saved or redeemed or what have you.

This suddenly makes me think of late 90's Aerith myths. Max level all characters before the scene, get all limits, yellow materia quest, hidden underwater section, play the piano, everything you can imagine being circulated for so long. Mew under truck level shit at its finest.

[Formless Creature]

It depends. Yeah, there are times where things would be cheapened if a character could be saved. I also think it's entirely within the right of an artist to create a story with an unhappy ending if they want to. But I don't really like that. I prefer stories that give you hope that the world can become a better place, even if bad things happen.

Rather than any particular extreme of "I want everyone to die" vs "I want everyone to live", it's more that my concerns lie with the overall philosophy of the work. If the author seems like they're going for an optimistic message, I don't mind the occasional permanent death or irredeemable character. The Danganronpa franchise is one of my favorites and most of the deaths in that are permanent.

Because, at least for me, there needs to be a balance. If I feel bad for a character, and the narrative insists on making me feel bad for them constantly, I'm just going to feel empty at the end of the work because all you get out of it is misery. This is what some authors wish to accomplish - inciting that feeling of emptiness or despair is exactly the purpose of some of the things I've read or watched. But I dislike it, it's just not really what I want out of fiction. In my own personal life, I've often had to deal with situations that were beyond my control, and be unable to help people I really wanted to help. Fiction essentially provides a sort of power fantasy, in creating a scenario where people can be saved, or at the very least be given some respite.

But on the other hand, if everything is all happy and cute all the time, it feels kind of... meaningless. Happiness without effort feels shallow, to me. That's why I don't touch CGDCT most of the time unless it's something like Shirobako where nothing serious ever happens (it's a show about making anime) but it's not like things come easy for them. Like, I don't need people to die, but I do need at least a little drama.

Regarding those sorts of video game urban legends, I used to watch a really old series on YouTube called Pop Fiction about those exact things. I'm too young to have actually been there, spreading the playground rumors, but I was fascinated by them all the same. Today's culture of datamining and spoilers would probably render something like this moot, but I really wish there was a game that tried to do this (e.g. unlocking a secret ending/item/character by doing something completely ridiculous). I'd say the way to get the true ending in Cave Story comes close, but it's not quite as extreme.

[Petrikow]

The suffering of cute anime girls will always be optional to my enjoyment of a story, but will always enhance it.

For me it simply isn't optional. Caveat being that girl can be boy too.

[Formless Creature]

I can respect it.

[bassgs435]

Sunshine in the Mirror
Even if I haven’t watched any LL Sunshine, I thought this was pretty good. A decent tale of development and connecting with people. Honestly a very fun show. The fantasy stuff was fun

[TomPen94]

Bleach: Pleasantly surprised by this episode. I liked the animation in the action sequences and giving Pepe that soundtrack was genius.
The worst (for now) is behind us. 3 episodes for the Royal Guard vs the Quincy Elite. Hoping to see some proper additions here.

JJK: Wow that episode felt kinda... slow... Very little happened in it. I suspect it adapted a smaller number of chapters than normal.
Expected this big event to open with a bit of a bang tho.

[Rafflesiac]

Zom 100: HOLY SHIT IT HAS AN ACTUAL OP NOW

Beatrix is great fun. Nice to see the full cast together goofing around; even Shizuka let loose some.

[bassgs435]

LV1 Maou to One Room Yuusha
Pretty good hidden gem. The comedy is great, good fanservice, great characters and a decent conflict. Also, surprisingly good animation for fights when it needs to. Good stuff

[bassgs435]

Reborn as Vending Machine
Surprisingly good despite the goofy premise. Characters were fun, and it’s interesting to see how many types of vending machine exist in Japan. Some tense moments too. Looking forward to S2

Bungo Stray Dogs S5
ABSOLUTE KINO. The plot is anazing and super engaging. Cast is at their best, and the ending was super emotional. Also, that cliffhanger makes S6 look epic as fuck. Too bad we’ll need to wait years because the anime had passed the manga

[BladeOfEden]

Agreed. The new Bungou was the best season yet, and probably the best show of the year so far imo.

JJK has its moments, but I still don’t see what all the hype is about.

As for Mushoku Tensei… that last episode was weird as hell. I get that it’s supposed to be romantic but the whole time I was just thinking “what the hell is wrong with this girl”. You don’t have the nerve to tell him who you are out of fear of learning he’s forgotten about you, but you’re fine with jumping straight into “undress me uwu” territory to reignite his memory BEFORE YOU EVEN TELL HIM WHO YOU ARE

[bassgs435]

Lastame
Pretty good show. Characters were fun, and there was some well done drama. Val’s arc in particular was great.

[Rafflesiac]

JJK: That drawn out completely silent segment of Mahjong was hilarious. Gojo is very cool. F for Hanami lol. And there goes Gojo.

In the words of Gege's senpai Yoshihiro Togashi: The situation has taken a sudden turn for the absolute worst.

[Zurvan]

As a dirty anime only I have to say I'm surprised to see Hanami exit this early...

Then again, maybe another face is about to exit sooneth