********Official ATOT ANIME Thread********

[ZetaEpyon]

Originally posted by: VanillaH
In general, I believe anime keeps just getting better and better as time progresses. This is evident when my best picks shift from from Mahoro2 to Uta-Kata, then to Mahoraba, ending up with Haruhi. Plus, the sheer number of shows is increasing at an alarming rate as well; quantity doesnt always translate into quality, but you do get a greater pool for more potential. This year, in particular, saw a near-exponential increase due to a mass volley of shows climaxing in April.

While there's certainly a lot more anime being produced in the last year or two (at least by number of concurrent series), I'm not so sure that I'd agree that it keeps getting better and better, or even that having so many series available is necessarily a good thing.

First of all, yeah, there are a lot of series... but they're all really short. It seems like we're in the middle of a progression from a standard of 24-26 episodes down towards 12-13 episodes, or even less. I checked through completed series that started from 2000 to 2006, and found the following:

2000: 51 series, 2160 episodes (avg. 42.35)
Notables: Inuyasha, Hajime no Ippo, Love Hina, Seikai no Senki

2001: 85 series, 2532 episodes (avg. 29.79)
Notables: Hellsing, Prince of Tennis, X, Mahoromatic, Seikai no Senki II, Noir, Galaxy Angel

2002: 79 series, 2474 episodes (avg. 31.32)
Notables: Gundam SEED, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Witch Hunter Robin, 12 Kingdoms, Azumanga Daioh, RahXephon, Full Metal Panic!, Naruto (Unfinished @208)

2003: 99 series, 2697 episodes (avg. 27.24)
Notables: Fullmetal Alchemist, R.O.D. the TV, Texhnolyze, Kino no Tabi, Scrapped Princess, Last Exile

2004: 126 series, 3074 episodes (avg. 24.40)
Notables: Major, Gundam SEED Destiny, Genshiken, Yakitate!! Japan, Gankutsuou, School Rumble, Elfen Lied, Gantz, Samurai Champloo, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig, Bleach (Unfinished @101)

2005: 106 series, 2557 episodes (avg. 24.12)
Notables: Major 2nd Season, Noein, Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid, Honey & Clover, Tsubasa Chronicle, Ah! My Goddess TV

2006: 114 series, 2098 episodes (avg. 18.40)
Notables: NHK ni Youkoso!, Honey & Clover 2, Tsubasa Chronicle 2, Black Lagoon, Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu, Ergo Proxy, Fate/stay night

Notables are well-known, or generally well-liked series that started that year.


Clearly, there has indeed been a rise in the number of series being produced. However, the overall number of episodes produced hasn't changed all that much, and the average number of episodes per series has dropped noticeably. I think the apparent 'flood' of anime that we've noticed recently is more from improved access to fresh shows than an actual increase in total episodes. I know that I, personally, can far more easily get a hold of recent anime than I could in 2000, thanks to improved network technology of both the hardware and software varieties.

While there are indeed some long series that have finished for the earlier years I listed (Inuyasha, et al.), the major difference is that there used to be a far greater number of shows that made it to 40 or 50 episodes. That seems to have become a lot more rare, and in many cases, these types of series are now split into distinctly different shows. This even happens for shorter shows, such as the case for Black Lagoon, which will end up being about 26 episodes, but is split into two separate shows, instead of having a single continuous run.

In addition, in my opinion, the overall production values on a lot of shows seem to be diminishing. I don't know if this is due to a lack of funding, animation crews being split between too many projects, or what. Personally, what I'd like to see is a return to fewer, longer series that get aired on TV, and move the shorter stuff back onto an OVA format. Consistency in TV anime would probably improve, and things released as OVAs would likely have a higher budget than if they're aired on TV. I suspect, however, that the anime market in Japan simply won't support that sort of move, which is why we're seeing the current situation develop in the first place.

 

[konakona]

To put it shortly, the focus certainly has shifted from cell-drawn animation to gyaruge; many people (at least grown-ups who watch anime for hobby, not kids) consider anime as nothing more than a promo-work for games, mangas and light novels as of late. Most TV series are drawn overseas in china or korea, and more often than not shows are created financed by production committees under limited budget. Generally speaking, the amount of attention and care given anime production has gone down according to many. Nonetheless, this never mean an automatic decline in quality and sophistication in drawing, sophistication, plot and whatnot. Most noteably, emergence of quality visual novels and light novels have completely changed the scene : case in point - try comparing Doki meki memorial (not the new one) to Kanon. Another thing that deserves a mention is that most shows that are aired at "prime hours" and can guarantee good rating from loyal but less discerning mass of younger viewing audience tend to go longer. ARIA the animation, while hailed by many viewers hasnt gotten such good rating being aired at late nite and all.

Making a list of notable shows is inherently a controversial task, resulting in a particular individual's favorites lists, more or less ;however, I would make sure I take out Fate (if you included it as a candidate for worst show of the decade, then thats fine i suppose , tsubasa chronicle and Elfen Lied out of that list. Genshiken, would be ho-hum, for not being the best representation of what great work the original work. Few more that I did not think worth a look either, but those two speaking from watching and discussing with others. The fact that your list is missing Kanon is enough proof for me to think not everyone agrees on what constitutes noteworthy. I sure hope you are watching the show, has there been OVAs that could definitely top this show in quality? I would be very hard pressed to name any. Where is Die Buster? Pani Poni? Futa-alter? Some very nice shows there with Mahoromatic, GA, Sutepuri and whatnot though.

As for accesibility, I give a partial nod. Back when computers were not there, people were watching stuff off VHS. English subbing might be one thing that could bar viewers from accessing more shows, since there are one too many great shows I have to lament for not being subbed in english for fewllow animephiles

 

[konakona]

It was a good thing that I did not have any faith in GA2 after all. Impreoved visuals means nothing if hampered by Magikano-like joke for a humor. Thoroughly unimpressive so far, though I would have to give the studio (Satellite, not a very reputable one btw) some benefit of doubt and hope for improvement in the future.

Gift, on the other hand, really hit the spot for me with more than satisfactory characters, visuals, quite a few lol moments, and best OP/ED out of the season IMO. Despite the first impressions from everyone calling it to-be-a-dacapo-clone, the subtleties involved in the setting and (so far) much faster plot sets it apart from the other "harem on a magical island" show.

Relying on initial impressions yet again fails in Sumomomomomomo (6 mo's, count em), where the creator have a sense of humor that actually works. Highly recommended. If first three eps didnt do the trick, wait till you see the 4th one
Chevalier was another shocker, so to say. I would not normally be into this kind of setting, drawing and plot, yet the outstanding quality and the intriguing plot of the show has won me over.

 

[AkumaX]

someone make an Announcement when Naruto is off filler-mode...

 

[Jinru]

Sadly, I doubt thats going to happening any time soon... they had like what? 40 fillers from 160 to 200. Then arc2 began and everyone was screaming in excitement about getting back to the story :frown:. those bastards!

 

[uhohs]

wow, vanillah is still around. haven't seen his posts in a long time.

 

[konakona]

I chime in once every two weeks or so when I get tired of posting at other places

 

[ZetaEpyon]

Ahh, nice to see someone else that is able to carry on a coherent discussion about anime without descending into fanboyism or general ridiculous drivel. :thumbsup:

While I agree that my "notables" list probably does include some amount of personal bias, that was one thing that I actually tried to avoid. Some of the shows that I included I would certainly not agree are that great, and others are not among my favorites, even if good. If I were going more by personal preference, things like Pani Poni Dash! would absolutely be included. However, for whatever reason, it simply wasn't as well known as other stuff, at least in the circles I frequent. Admittedly, the first few years are probably missing some great stuff, as I simply wasn't following nearly as much back then, and don't really know what was popular or good (often not the same thing).

As for Kanon, I definitely watched the original back when it came out. I have yet to watch the new one; life has been somewhat busy for me, and I've fallen behind on a lot of the shows from this season. It's certainly on my list to get to, though, as I enjoyed the original, and I can't pass on a KyoAni show.

As for current shows...

NHK ni Youkoso! seems to really be deviating from the manga now. I'm somewhat disappointed at this, but it might be interesting. In any case, it appears that Misaki most likely will not get any of the dark side that she has in the manga. Aside from the plot differences, was it just me, or did the animation quality take a massive dive in episode 19? It almost brings back memories of that terrible episode of RahXephon.

Chevalier grabbed me from the get-go, but the pace has dropped dramatically from the first few episodes, and it's starting to feel a bit tedious to me. I'll still keep watching though, the story is definitely interesting, and I get the impression that things will pick up soon.

On practically the opposite side of the spectrum is Code Geass, which I don't believe we've mentioned yet. Geass has been very fast-paced through 6 episodes, and I don't get the feeling that it's really going to slow down anytime soon. Additionally, it's got some mecha action (not always a focus) and character designs from CLAMP, both of which are bonuses for me at least.

I've only watched two episodes of Sumomomomomomo so far, but I'll definitely be trying to catch up on that. The crazy humor definitely makes for a nice contrast to some of the darker series that are currently airing.

 

[Jinru]

I was drawn to Chevalier in the beginning from the cultural aspect, it reminded me a lot of Gankutsuou until the end when things took a 180 and zombies came into play, I still really like where it's going though and the recent episode was unexpected!

At first I thought Code Geass was going to be one of those poor attempts at mimicking series such as Sokyuu no Fafner or RahXephon. The mind control thing seems kind of far fetched but I'll wait as the story builds up before I make any judgment.

Death Note.... now thats an awesome crime/thriller anime. I'm really liking the character development and intricate plot, good vs bad where the bad guy is represented in light as the sort of guy you want winning, especially since he's the main character.

 

[ZetaEpyon]

I agree about Code Geass. I really thought it'd end up being a cheesy, derivative show, which I guess still isn't entirely untrue. However, it's been interesting enough for me to stay interested, particularly considering the quickly-developing plot.

As for Death Note, it is indeed good. I'm behind a few episodes as of now, but it's not on my top priority list for catching up, as I've read the entire manga. It is nice though, to see that it's translating well into anime. I had been a bit apprehensive about that when the series was first announced.

On a side note, does anyone else think we should split this off into a new thread? It doesn't seem like the original post is getting updated at all anymore, and it takes forever and a day to load 53 pages of stuff.

 

[konakona]

props to you for a meaningful contribution to the thread

you are probably right about eps19 and the degredation in the drawing quality when they were at iincho's place, though there was some earlier signs of this in eps4 when they make a trip to akiba. well, it may well be the case that they just draw things differently when not focusing on fewer number of characters; not quite as apparant a change as seen in say, utawarerumono eps14, where they actually undewent the change of studio responsible for the artwork.

While I agree a newer thread would be more appropriate, most people at AT seem quite indifferent to anime these days - among those who watch stuff at all that is. My guess is such that naruto and bleach arent too engaging at the point, and those two happen to be the shows that are overwhelmingly popular around here I am fully with the idea of respecing everyone's tastes as is, but at the same time wish people would venture out of their foothold and start "discovering" other types of shows (trust me, I do)

Old stuff : no surprises here, except Asatte no Houkou just keeps on getting better - so good that it actually topped Kanon for my power ranking list. eps8 was just, gorgeous, picture perfect. Synergy between the background music and the remeniscence scene was a killer. That, of course, is not to say Kanon wasn't anything short of amazing. Kinda behind on several others that I regard as less significant, hopefully I would have enough time to catch up on those over the weekend

Recently, I started watching Sokou no Strain. Going into eps1 with much anticipation from reading predominantly positive response at anime blogs, I was pleansantly satisfied with what show had to offer. The show is brought to you by Studio Fantasia - the same people who have a track record of quality shows like kiminozo and stratos4. The director is Watanabe Tetsuya, who is renowned for his ability to skillfully present emotional elements in kiminozo.

Tired of anime that relentlessly rely on miracles to keep the main crew alive? This show is completely ruthless (well, almost) in the sense that subcharacters typically seen as important get murdered without any hesitation, right from the get-go. IMO, this adds to the creators' aim of conveying the anguish and inner growth of the protagonist through a war.

3D battle scenes stand out, seamlessly blended with 2d counterpart which is also great. Speaking of seamlessness, same could be said about innocous service scenes that neither disrupt the flow nor feel annoyingly blatant. If you care about the voice acting cast, Kawasumi Ayako and Tanaka Rie are in it.

Finally got my hands on BALDR FORCE EXE RESOUTION OVA. KOTOKO fanboy i am, so the show was a must watch and getting a new remix version of face of fact alone was worth my time The sheer level of violence is way above what we saw in Elfen Lied. This is some of the very best 3D quality I have seen in any anime series, period. 2D seems to follow the doctrine of sacrificing intricate details where they dont matter, and instead concentrating on things of high relevance. Overall, I feel this beats all other OVAs I have seen in a while, and the fans of the original appear to be quite content as well - definitely a good sign.

I am really impressed by the progress made in the 3D area, especially in terms of natural integration with 2D. Compare the two afformentioned shows to Divergence Eve (the worst I can think of in that category) for 3D scenes, and you will see what I mean

 

[AkumaX]

Originally posted by: VanillaH
props to you for a meaningful contribution to the thread

you are probably right about eps19 and the degredation in the drawing quality when they were at iincho's place, though there was some earlier signs of this in eps4 when they make a trip to akiba. well, it may well be the case that they just draw things differently when not focusing on fewer number of characters; not quite as apparant a change as seen in say, utawarerumono eps14, where they actually undewent the change of studio responsible for the artwork.

While I agree a newer thread would be more appropriate, most people at AT seem quite indifferent to anime these days - among those who watch stuff at all that is. My guess is such that naruto and bleach arent too engaging at the point, and those two happen to be the shows that are overwhelmingly popular around here I am fully with the idea of respecing everyone's tastes as is, but at the same time wish people would venture out of their foothold and start "discovering" other types of shows (trust me, I do)

Old stuff : no surprises here, except Asatte no Houkou just keeps on getting better - so good that it actually topped Kanon for my power ranking list. eps8 was just, gorgeous, picture perfect. Synergy between the background music and the remeniscence scene was a killer. That, of course, is not to say Kanon wasn't anything short of amazing. Kinda behind on several others that I regard as less significant, hopefully I would have enough time to catch up on those over the weekend

Recently, I started watching Sokou no Strain. Going into eps1 with much anticipation from reading predominantly positive response at anime blogs, I was pleansantly satisfied with what show had to offer. The show is brought to you by Studio Fantasia - the same people who have a track record of quality shows like kiminozo and stratos4. The director is Watanabe Tetsuya, who is renowned for his ability to skillfully present emotional elements in kiminozo.

Tired of anime that relentlessly rely on miracles to keep the main crew alive? This show is completely ruthless (well, almost) in the sense that subcharacters typically seen as important get murdered without any hesitation, right from the get-go. IMO, this adds to the creators' aim of conveying the anguish and inner growth of the protagonist through a war.

3D battle scenes stand out, seamlessly blended with 2d counterpart which is also great. Speaking of seamlessness, same could be said about innocous service scenes that neither disrupt the flow nor feel annoyingly blatant. If you care about the voice acting cast, Kawasumi Ayako and Tanaka Rie are in it.

Finally got my hands on BALDR FORCE EXE RESOUTION OVA. KOTOKO fanboy i am, so the show was a must watch and getting a new remix version of face of fact alone was worth my time The sheer level of violence is way above what we saw in Elfen Lied. This is some of the very best 3D quality I have seen in any anime series, period. 2D seems to follow the doctrine of sacrificing intricate details where they dont matter, and instead concentrating on things of high relevance. Overall, I feel this beats all other OVAs I have seen in a while, and the fans of the original appear to be quite content as well - definitely a good sign.

I am really impressed by the progress made in the 3D area, especially in terms of natural integration with 2D. Compare the two afformentioned shows to Divergence Eve (the worst I can think of in that category) for 3D scenes, and you will see what I mean

I need to start reading your recommendations more

I hope Souten no Ken shapes out to be good (huge Hokuto no Ken fan )

 

[ZetaEpyon]

I'll definitely have to check out Asatte no Houkou and Sokou no Strain; aside from your recommendation, I've heard similar things from several of my other online acquaintances.

I was happy to see the animation return to normal in NHK ni Youkoso! 20 and 21. I don't know what the deal was with 19 (and parts of 4, as was mentioned), whether it was a b-team filling in or simply dealing with too many characters, but it's good to see that it seems to have passed. I am a bit disappointed with how some things in the plot are turning out, but it's pretty much to be expected, with only a few episodes left to go.

Just yesterday I watched the two most recent episodes of Code Geass. I continue to be impressed by how quickly things develop in this series. It's slowed down to some extent, now that all the main players have been introduced (I think), but I'd say it still outpaces the average show. There is a bit more of the cliche element starting to show up, but I still find it enjoyable, so I'll definitely continue to watch.

I'm also very pleased with how Chevalier is shaping up. It seemed to be getting a bit dull for a few episodes, but that's improved tremendously in the last several. I also wonder if watching too many of those in a row skewed my level of interest, as I had watched three or four consecutively while trying to catch up. Now I'm back to the normal once a week, and it seems much better.

I also finished off a few shows recently. First up is Black Blood Brothers. Wow, I really wish that the first eleven episodes had been as exciting as episode 12. I hear, though, that there will be a second season next year, so there's at least hope for that. I also finished off Tsubasa Chronicle 2, which, as one might have imagined, didn't really wrap anything up at all. Although I haven't heard anything yet, I would not at all be surprised to hear news of a third season to continue the story.

In other anime news, there's finally a date set for the end of Naruto filler! I suspect that anyone who follows the industry closely has already heard as well, but February 15th, 2007 is it. In addition to returning to the manga plot, they're changing the name of the anime to Naruto: Shippuuden (Hurricane Legend). The anime-only name change reminds me of Dragonball and Dragonball Z. Additionally, if you follow the current manga, the subtitle for the new series ought to make a whole lot of sense.

Now if only we could get Bleach to ditch the fillers too...

Edit:
I just thought of another thing that a friend mentioned regarding fillers. It really seems that some companies are just far more competent at acceptably dealing with filler than others. For example, Toei was able to do a reasonable job with Dragonball, and has (in my opinion) done a great job with One Piece fillers. On the other hand, Studio Pierrot has its hand in both the Naruto and Bleach fillers. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find fans that think they've handled either of them well.

 

[Kermy]

You guys get a thumbs up. I've been out of the anime loop for a while and your last few posts were quite informative.

 

[Laughingman12]

Originally posted by: Kermy
You guys get a thumbs up. I've been out of the anime loop for a while and your last few posts were quite informative.

You don't like anime anymore?

 

[Howard]

Are the later eps of Blood+ worth watching? I think I watched up to 14, but I found them pretty bad.