Anime

[yugi006]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9wh8FgsEtNQ

[Mellific]

I love the opening song. I remember when I watched the series, I kept thinking... "at least there's this opening theme song to make me smile." But honestly, considering how most anime do their openings, this one was pretty brilliant. It literally shows the characters in a completely different light than they are shown throughout the entire series. But, at the same time, it's exposing the audience to the 'theme' of the show itself, without giving too much away.

I was also a huge fan of Death Note's second opener:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_3EYa3lMPw

[yugi006]

The opening is great. The band even recreated the opening dressing up and everything.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=8VJ0-iR5ArA

[Mellific]

That is pure awesome!  ;D

[Sessha]

Waiting on a season 3 of Log Horizon.

Sadly you are going to be waiting for that one for a long time. If I remember hearing it right, the author of Log Horizon got into trouble with the Japanese government over basically the Japanese equivalent of Tax Evasion.  As such no studio will touch his work. So best you can do now is go out and read the Light Novels if you want more Log Horizon.

As for Slime, I loved it, however he rushed tone of the series to me took a lot of the weight out of some of the scenes. I would highly suggest reading the manga as it seems to give more weight and gravitas to the situations presented.

Another series I think I honestly like a bit more than Slime was "Rising of the Shield Hero." It's an Isakai series but I like how it handles the main character and the ones around him. Which while the series is good don't get me wrong again I find myself going back to the manga and such. That said I would highly suggest everyone give the show a watch.

[Zaer Darkwail]

Sadly you are going to be waiting for that one for a long time. If I remember hearing it right, the author of Log Horizon got into trouble with the Japanese government over basically the Japanese equivalent of Tax Evasion.  As such no studio will touch his work. So best you can do now is go out and read the Light Novels if you want more Log Horizon.

According wiki he did pay the taxes which were due. However in Japan one's face/reputation is precious and serious crimes can place stigma on him. So only hopes may lay in few years (for scandal to set in/forgotten) or in non-Japanese animators/publisher who cares less for social stigma. I hope he can continue work and get approved for new seasons as I did like also his other work; Maoyū Maō Yūsha.

[Sessha]

According wiki he did pay the taxes which were due. However in Japan one's face/reputation is precious and serious crimes can place stigma on him. So only hopes may lay in few years (for scandal to set in/forgotten) or in non-Japanese animators/publisher who cares less for social stigma. I hope he can continue work and get approved for new seasons as I did like also his other work; Maoyū Maō Yūsha.

You pretty much hit the nail on the head. You are correct though, he did pay his debts and stuff off but the damage to his reputation is more than sufficient to kill many future prospects outside possibly an american company taking an interest and such.

[Haruki]

There's been a bit of a lull for me with the Fall '19 slate of anime.  Nothing much really has caught my attention.  I did want to take in Cautious Hero (I'm not typing out the whole title..:-P ) and Ascendance of a Bookworm, but figure I'll just wait for the whole thing to be out and just binge it later.  As well I'm taking a little breather from the isekai subgenre of fantasy, at least until Slime and Shield Hero pick up next year...those and Fruits Basket (2019) S2 are going to give me a plate full of stuff to follow in 2020.

As such, no time will be better than now to play catch-up.  I picked up where I left off with the anime adaption of Black Clover.  I started it when it started (October 2017), watched up to around ep 39 (Gauche's character arc), then put it down for a while.  I've read all the complaints and everything about this show elsewhere online back in early-mid 2018 (ie: terrible animation direction, iffy pacing issues especially early on, Asta's VA, all the comparisons to Naruto, Fairy Tail, etc etc), but dang it, I am now LOVING this anime.  Earlier on I felt this story got better starting around ep 14, but since picking back up from ep 40 and now up through the end of the Witches' Forest arc, this one has me roped in.

Is it great?  Far from it, it's typical 'shonen trash' as they say.  Is it the worst though?  Not to me.  It's like 'comfort food' anime; familiar characters and tropes, just enough backstory and lore/world building to keep it interesting without being overbearing, and some of the fights can be intense.  Sometimes that's all I need to enjoy anime.

I also admit a little bias, being a lover of medieval high-fantasy settings and characters, one of the things that got me interested to begin with.  Unlike Fairy Tail, with its bright cheery palette and 'friendship' mantra (which yes, Black Clover sometimes delves into), Black Clover has a certain....'grit' to it...that's the best I can come up with.  Not all the characters are 'pretty' in design, the settings are more earthy in tone.  I'm having a hard time not being inspired by, and rooting for that short, spunky, sword-wielding, LOUD protagonist.

You pretty much hit the nail on the head. You are correct though, he did pay his debts and stuff off but the damage to his reputation is more than sufficient to kill many future prospects outside possibly an american company taking an interest and such.

Also a shame about Log Horizon's author.  No doubt, he needed a bit of blowback for tax evasion, but at least here in the U.S., people have recourse and ways to battle back-taxes.  Not so in Japan.  They take that stuff downright seriously.  Here's hoping against hope the author can get another shot, but people over there from the government to publishers and others, are just more of the 'no bulls---' types and will turn their backs on you after one strike, not three.

[GrimWhisper]

I love anime, the last one I watched was Bungo Stray Dogs which is easily one of my favorite animes.

Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood may be my favorite of all time.

[Wandering Mind]

Full Metal Alchemist is awesome!  I read the manga and I was so pleased with how Brotherhood turned out.

[Mathim]

I started watching High School of the Dead on Hulu and could not understand what the deal was with all the gratuitous, slow-motion, protracted breast and panty shots that got so much focus. It completely takes the viewer out of the otherwise serious nature of the occurrences the story is built around. I couldn't keep going after more than a few episodes.

On the other hand, something intentionally ecchi and funny like Monster Musume (Living With Monster Girls) doesn't really suffer from that kind of thing, but the fact that they have tons of scenes with bare breasts was a surprise, though them holding back on crotch shots doesn't then make any sense by extension. It's sort of teetering on the edge of being something a little more restricted like To Love-Ru which is very charming and funny without going to those lengths, and outright hentai anime, so it's not really ideal since it would probably work better as either and trying to blur that line is just a tease that feels unnecessary and they ought to have made up their minds instead of straddling the fence.

[GrimWhisper]

I started watching High School of the Dead on Hulu and could not understand what the deal was with all the gratuitous, slow-motion, protracted breast and panty shots that got so much focus. It completely takes the viewer out of the otherwise serious nature of the occurrences the story is built around. I couldn't keep going after more than a few episodes.

On the other hand, something intentionally ecchi and funny like Monster Musume (Living With Monster Girls) doesn't really suffer from that kind of thing, but the fact that they have tons of scenes with bare breasts was a surprise, though them holding back on crotch shots doesn't then make any sense by extension. It's sort of teetering on the edge of being something a little more restricted like To Love-Ru which is very charming and funny without going to those lengths, and outright hentai anime, so it's not really ideal since it would probably work better as either and trying to blur that line is just a tease that feels unnecessary and they ought to have made up their minds instead of straddling the fence.

Unfortuante about High School of the Dead, I really liked it but I get what you mean it was way overboard. Rosario Vampire I think would fall under the category as well, way over the top fan service but great story.

[Mathim]

Unfortuante about High School of the Dead, I really liked it but I get what you mean it was way overboard. Rosario Vampire I think would fall under the category as well, way over the top fan service but great story.

Oh, those other ones I mentioned didn't have anything resembling a great story, they're just kind of funny and have very likeable characters at best. I have yet to see one that goes that route and manages to have a good narrative.

[Wandering Mind]

Rosario Vampire the manga is more bearable with respect to the fan service.  Don't get me wrong.  It has fan service but it's a fraction of the anime.

[Mathim]

So as far as harem anime goes, the one that seems to have the most plot is How Not to Summon a Demon Lord. It's produced by Funimation and it's got the same voice actor as the perverted main character from Desert Punk so it's perfect that he's also the voice of the guy in this one.

[Sessha]

 

I started watching High School of the Dead on Hulu and could not understand what the deal was with all the gratuitous, slow-motion, protracted breast and panty shots that got so much focus. It completely takes the viewer out of the otherwise serious nature of the occurrences the story is built around. I couldn't keep going after more than a few episodes.

On the other hand, something intentionally ecchi and funny like Monster Musume (Living With Monster Girls) doesn't really suffer from that kind of thing, but the fact that they have tons of scenes with bare breasts was a surprise, though them holding back on crotch shots doesn't then make any sense by extension. It's sort of teetering on the edge of being something a little more restricted like To Love-Ru which is very charming and funny without going to those lengths, and outright hentai anime, so it's not really ideal since it would probably work better as either and trying to blur that line is just a tease that feels unnecessary and they ought to have made up their minds instead of straddling the fence.

High School of the Dead is not for everyone. I don't particularly care for it myself(mostly because I'm over done on Zombie stories and such) There is another series by the same artist(creator?) of HSotD called Triage X. While it's done in the same style as HSotD there is much more focus on the characters. Yes you will get your ecchi service and such, but it's not as bad as HDotD.

As for Monster Musume being border line hentai. Let me tell you it's down right TAME compared to some of the stuff I've seen. You want softcore without being softcore porn sit yourself down to watch a few episodes of Seikon no Qwaser, Masou Gakuen HxH or Shinn Mai no Testament. That will redifine for you.

[Mathim]

High School of the Dead is not for everyone. I don't particularly care for it myself(mostly because I'm over done on Zombie stories and such) There is another series by the same artist(creator?) of HSotD called Triage X. While it's done in the same style as HSotD there is much more focus on the characters. Yes you will get your ecchi service and such, but it's not as bad as HDotD.

As for Monster Musume being border line hentai. Let me tell you it's down right TAME compared to some of the stuff I've seen. You want softcore without being softcore porn sit yourself down to watch a few episodes of Seikon no Qwaser, Masou Gakuen HxH or Shinn Mai no Testament. That will redifine for you.

I'm perfectly fine with the hardcore stuff, I've got a massive collection of it to be quite honest. I'm just saying it's boring to only go part-way so either avoid it or go all the way. It's funny at first for the ecchi stuff but you realize it's just the same joke over and over.

[WhiteWolfDancer]

I binge watched Tokyo Ghoul. It's an amazing anime but not for everyone.

[Haruki]

I just got as Xmas gifts, the first volume BluRays of two of my absolute favorite anime from the last year, the Fruits Basket do-over, and That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime.

With those two now in hand, I'll have plenty to (re-)watch over the next few months, or at least until some shows I wanted to stream have their seasons/series in the can for me to binge.  I usually buy a batch of anime as a little gift to myself, these being what I picked up:

- Grimgar - Ashes & Illusions
- Chihayafuru (S1 and 2)
- Flying Witch
- Kids on the Slope
- Okko's Inn
- Mirai
- Maquia: Where the Promised Flower Blooms

Grimgar was a quick one, wrapped that after a 3 night (4 ep per night) binge a couple weeks ago.  While all too brief, it told a good, character-driven story, and while it's another isekai, the characters basically have to start from rock-bottom.  No arriving to this world all OP'ed.

I've since moved onto Chihayafuru, a blind-buy for me (the LEs were cheap where I bought them).  This one's proving to be intriguing.....it's a josei story set in highschool and the sport is competitive karuta, a card game where the first halves of poems are read and the players have to eliminate the matching 2nd halves of said poems with the cards laid out before them.  I guess in Japan, anything 'really' can be made into a sport.  One would think the story is boring, but it's actually quite fun at least for me.  Not your typical 'high school romance' slice-of-life story.

[Sasquatch421]

Sadly the closest place I have to me that sells anime is Walmart which is whatever is popular at the moment. So the last series I actually bought was "The Ancient Magus Bride" which I am not disappointed in. So most of my watching comes from streaming... On Crunchyroll I have been loving "Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life" on Hulu, I've been watching "No Guns Life" and on HiDive it's a rewatch of "Space Runaway Ideon"

[Azuresun]

I'm currently racing through "Dr Stone", and really enjoying it. It's one of those series' that really does something new with the basic shonen formula, in that while the hero is physically weak compared to nearly anyone else in the setting, his unique setting-altering power is being really good at science and using it to rebuild the world thirty-seven centuries after a strange apocalypse which petrifies every human in the world. Having spent way too much time playing Subnautica, there's just something really interesting about seeing characters build something from nothing, and it's also surprisingly good as a straight "get kids interested in science" program, because unlike most shonen characters, Senku's accomplishments are based in real-world science that anyone can learn. And it does score some unexpected hits right in the feels, by highlighting how even very basic technologies we take for granted would have seemed miraculous when they first arrived.

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

It's subtle, but one thing I like is that the Stone Age tribesfolk Senku works with aren't presented or regarded by him as inferior or backward--they all have strengths he doesn't, and he respects them for doing so much with such a basic technological starting point.

The opening is also awesome.

[Haruki]

As it's been mentioned in this thread a few times already, and recommended to me, it's looking like I'll need to get caught up on Log Horizon soon, probably during the summer with other anime I plan on watching this year (2nd seasons of Fruits Basket and Reincarnated as a Slime included).

Log Horizon is getting a 3rd season this Fall, finally after years of waiting!  Wouldn't have seen that one coming considering how Japan takes their tax laws (and evasion of such) seriously, throwing the hammer down on anyone who does it and basically ruining (in this case, the author of the source material this anime draws from) their careers.

[Zaer Darkwail]

Cheers for Log Horizon getting third season finally. Perhaps reason not complete ruin was that author did not intentionally tax evade and he did pay back the money what was owned. But still even accidental event caused strong stigma until years later someone dares pick up his work into animation.

[stormwyrm]

The main reason I think it too so long was that the second season caught up to the tail end of the books, Volume 8 at the time it aired. Mamare Touno has only written three more volumes since, so I guess Log Horizon Season 3 will likewise catch up to the tail end of the books and it will again be some years before we see a new season. I don't think the reason was any strong stigma from his tax evasion, it's just that it's only now that he's written enough new material for a new anime adaptation. Might account for the delays in publishing though: he went on a nearly three-year hiatus between Volume 10 (September 2015) and 11 (March 2018). Takes a year or so for a new season to be greenlit even under ordinary circumstances.

[Zaer Darkwail]

Aha, I see. So it makes sense then why it took so long (three-year hiatus giving quite a gap).