Board 8 > Jeff Zero & Leonhart in Different Houses: The Odyssey Continues [JZLF]

(+) Yeah! (+)

Emi and Hiroko are both great. Same with Kaori. Basically all the ladies in the show are really good other than Tsubaki, who sucks.
---

Kaori's decent. I have my own issues with her, but it's pretty big spoiler territory so I won't talk about it yet.
---

Man, Tsubaki must kill the black cat or something in the second half to earn this animosity. The worst she's done so far is lose a baseball game!
---

The other female anime characters who've lost baseball games are even more hated than Tsubaki. You just don't come back from that.
---

yeah baseball games are big deals in anime if you're female

thankfully Minori managed to survive losing a game but you have to be THAT good to survive
---

So that's why Haruhi wanted to win the baseball game so badly in that one episode
---

the fate of the universe depended on the outcome for a reason
---

also potential worst case work scenario impending

now I might not get to go visit my family for Thanksgiving depending on how things play out and that would suck
---

Anyway, I had a long day and I've got an early start to my day again tomorrow, so no YYH tonight. Feel free to keep those anime recommendations coming.

I'd ask for audiobook recommendations, too, but I got nothin' last time I asked.

oh hey their daily deal is The Hobbit for 4 bucks that seems like a good deal
---

actually I've literally never read or seen Harry Potter before

do you guys think it's something I'd like? maybe I could get started on that series in audiobook form

or maybe I could go with A Song of Ice and Fire or something? I have no interest in watching the show, but maybe the books?
---

Thumbs up to both
---

ASOIAF books are great

harry potter, not so much
---

or I could just get another Agatha Christie book

those have been pretty good listens
---

I remember Crispin Freeman once said he offered to do audiobooks for the entire Haruhi Suzumiya series and they turned him down

man that would've been amazing
---

Amagi Brilliant Park actually is a good anime, and is from the writer of FMP. It's not amazing, but it's pretty nice.

Other than that, My Love Story!! is incredible and I highly recommend it. Totally wonderful show. It's about a guy whose looks are a bit unconventional, but he's just super sweet, and the romance he has with a girl. Adorable and lots of fun.
---

Mac Arrowny posted...

It's about a guy whose looks are a bit unconventional, but he's just super sweet, and the romance he has with a girl.

sounds like that one might hit a little too close to home
---

He's a huge muscle-bound guy with a buzz-cut who's 6'7".
---

man it's like the story of my life like Clannad was for Jeff Zero
---

Oh yeah I actually heard of that and want to read it sometime
---

Well, I finished Your Lie in April so here's a quick post of final thoughts. I don't want to tag everything so spoiler alert

I enjoyed it! I'm an absolute sucker for things that tug on the heartstrings so of course this played my heart like a damn piano. Just as an aside, I briefly checked the Gamefaqs anime board to see what people thought about this and, man, almost everyone hated it. They called it emotionally manipulative but I've never felt that was a fair criticism. The whole point of fiction is to manipulate emotions and make people feel things, so the real measure of quality should be how well it accomplishes that goal. Your Lie in April made me feel things.

Anyway, I honestly don't see what's wrong with Tsubaki. I kept waiting for her to do something unforgivable but she never did. She acted dumb and rashly at times, sure, but I always knew where she was coming from so I never held it against her. I actually felt she was quite reserved given her overwhelming emotions about Kousei and especially about Kousei/Kaori. By the end I was even more invested in her side of the story than Kaori's, if only because Tsubaki's felt more real. By comparison, Kaori set realism aside a bit in favor of thematic beauty and tragedy. That was still amazing but I dunno, I found Tsubaki to be more engaging.

Speaking of Kaori, I liked her letter at the end and how it shed a new light on their whole relationship. The whole time she was trying to become his muse and she succeeded. D'awww. I don't want to go on too long but basically every other character was great, too, even super minor ones whose names I don't remember like Hiroko's daughter or Tsubaki's no-nonsense friend. Kousei's mom was really the only character I disliked, for obvious reasons, but even she filled her role in the story well so I guess that's fine.

Definitive Anime Ranking (of a guy who has seen exactly four animes)
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Your Lie in April
DeathNote
Knights of Sidonia

Despite being last, even Knights of Sidonia was great, though, so I guess that's a sign that I should watch more anime.
---

I wouldn't call it emotionally manipulative, but I would say it's extremely predictable and by the book, so I think it actually failed at tugging at my heartstrings. I enjoy stuff like that, too, but I couldn't get worked up to that level with YLIA. The main reason I could never really become attached to Kaori was because I figured out within a couple episodes that she was going to die. They made it way too obvious. Like, I'm bad at figuring that stuff out, so if it's obvious to me, you telegraphed it way too much. Also, the letter at the end was kinda dumb. Kousei was tormented most of the time he knew you because he thought you liked his best friend and you really didn't and you knew all along? Bah.

also I guess Tsubaki needed to slap a little girl in the face to reach unforgivable territory lawl

she's unbelievably selfish though
---

I'm not really fan of Your Lie in April for various reasons. If I remember I'll make a more detailed explanation when I'm back from work tonight.

Also the 4 anime you've listed are all really popular (the top 3 easily being in the most popular of all time), so just keep that in mind when trying to calibrate how much you like anime in general.
---

Robazoid posted...

Despite being last, even Knights of Sidonia was great, though, so I guess that's a sign that I should watch more anime.

https://myanimelist.net/topanime.php?type=bypopularity

that's a general consensus on popularity

can't go wrong with any of them

recommend

#2 Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan)
#3 Sword Art
#6 Code Geass
#9 Tokyo Ghoul
#11 One Punch Man
#42 Kiseijuu (Parasyte)

crazy to see I've only not seen 14 of the top 50 most popular
---

*Votes Toradora and/or Madoka Magica*

...I might be a bit of a fanboy for those shows.
---

anti-rec Sword Art Online
---

I generally don't recommend Madoka to people, but it seems like something Roba would like.
---

we doing anime recs:

i don't know i need more info from roba to do recs

i'd also do anti-recs but i'd feel like a jerk
---

pyresword posted...

Also the 4 anime you've listed are all really popular (the top 3 easily being in the most popular of all time), so just keep that in mind when trying to calibrate how much you like anime in general.

Yeah, I realized as I was making that list that it was like someone who had played two video games acting like they knew what they were talking about. It's why I included that self-deprecating bit in brackets about only seeing four. Still, I'll try to change that soon so all of these recommendations are appreciated (though I don't want to hijack Leon's topic for my own anime adventures so people should probably focus on recommending things to him since he asked too!)

Also, not gonna lie, what I watch next will likely depend on how easily I can find stuff. Maybe I should look into trying one of those streaming websites like Crunchyroll

-----

Now time for Your Lie in April talk!

LeonhartFour posted...

I wouldn't call it emotionally manipulative, but I would say it's extremely predictable and by the book

That's a much more fair criticism than a lot of what I saw on the anime board. Will explain why it didn't bother me next:

LeonhartFour posted...

The main reason I could never really become attached to Kaori was because I figured out within a couple episodes that she was going to die. They made it way too obvious. Like, I'm bad at figuring that stuff out, so if it's obvious to me, you telegraphed it way too much. Also, the letter at the end was kinda dumb. Kousei was tormented most of the time he knew you because he thought you liked his best friend and you really didn't and you knew all along? Bah.

Yeah, I called her sickness pretty early (that obvious tragic foreshadowing I mentioned) but I guess it didn't bother me for one big reason. It felt so obvious that she was going to die that I actually expected her to survive, making that the 'twist'. Her dying actually hit me a bit harder because of that, I guess. As for the letter, that didn't bother me either. I don't know about the dub but in the subtitled version Kaori described herself in the letter as someone who was just passing through. Her only goal was to get him playing piano again, not to have him fall for her, so she used Watari as a shield. It was a poorly thought out plan and it backfired, sure, but I thought it was kind of nice despite that.

LeonhartFour posted...

also I guess Tsubaki needed to slap a little girl in the face to reach unforgivable territory lawl

she's unbelievably selfish though

Well, smacking a little boy was what made me dislike Kousei's mother so that probably would've worked! Good thing Tsubaki didn't do that (and good thing she isn't unbelievably selfish, too!)
---

Robazoid posted...

Yeah, I realized as I was making that list that it was like someone who had played two video games acting like they knew what they were talking about. It's why I included that self-deprecating bit in brackets about only seeing four. Still, I'll try to change that soon so all of these recommendations are appreciated (though I don't want to hijack Leon's topic for my own anime adventures so people should probably focus on recommending things to him since he asked too!)

It's a lot harder to recommend for Leon at this point because he's seen a fair bit of anime, but you on the other hand are fresh so throwing things at you to see which one sticks is easier

If you're feeling like a noob though don't be. I've watched over 500 anime now and I'm still considered a noob compared to Mac's 1000 completed. Last I checked he went over 1000 a year ago. I think the one closest to him on this entire board is TRE which also has over 1000 watched IIRC.
---

Yeah, the last 3 or so times I've done anime recs for Leon it's been the same thing because I keep forgetting what I came up with the previous time. IIRC it's basically "uh samurai champloo and a bunch of stuff i'm rolling the dice on" so I'd just be wasting his time reading the same post another time.

But speaking of recs! Leon, I think you might like Harry Potter, but probably not love it. I doubt it'd backfire but you might just think it's meh. Doubtful you'd enjoy ASOIAF though I do think you'd prefer it to the show (but again don't think you'd like either.)
---

Robazoid posted...

(though I don't want to hijack Leon's topic for my own anime adventures so people should probably focus on recommending things to him since he asked too!)

again don't hold back on my account; this topic isn't just for me

it's better than me just posting a bunch of times in a row to no fanfare anyway; that's pretty boring for me so having something else to talk about would be welcome

Robazoid posted...

(and good thing she isn't unbelievably selfish, too!)

she absolutely is but you like it because it's realistic and understandable so whatever

I mean I'll give YLIA credit that its characters are fairly realistic and their motives and actions are pretty understandable (if not relatable)

it's probably me having less tolerance for middle school level maturity now that I'm in my 30s than anything else

xp1337 posted...

But speaking of recs! Leon, I think you might like Harry Potter, but probably not love it. I doubt it'd backfire but you might just think it's meh.

Yeah, this has always been my gut instinct about it, which is why I've never taken the plunge.
---

GranzonEx posted...

Robazoid posted...

Yeah, I realized as I was making that list that it was like someone who had played two video games acting like they knew what they were talking about. It's why I included that self-deprecating bit in brackets about only seeing four. Still, I'll try to change that soon so all of these recommendations are appreciated (though I don't want to hijack Leon's topic for my own anime adventures so people should probably focus on recommending things to him since he asked too!)

It's a lot harder to recommend for Leon at this point because he's seen a fair bit of anime, but you on the other hand are fresh so throwing things at you to see which one sticks is easier

If you're feeling like a noob though don't be. I've watched over 500 anime now and I'm still considered a noob compared to Mac's 1000 completed. Last I checked he went over 1000 a year ago. I think the one closest to him on this entire board is TRE which also has over 1000 watched IIRC.

I'm only at 979. I think Mac Arrowny has seen quite a bit more then me. He has watched anime for longer than I have and I think watches more series per year than me. I try to aim for 100 series a year but it's pretty hard to reach. Like I'm only at 59 with a month and a half to go.
---

malgraph has me at 44 for 2017, so you're ahead of me there :p (including what I'm watching now)

But uh, yeah Leon. Spice and Wolf. So good. Roba could even watch it too!
---

crunchyroll has a bunch of stuff. some of it is probably good.

pretty sure they have Haikyuu which is an all time great anime.
---

I want to get back to averaging 10 per season next year. I've been exhausted from watching too much and had to scale back the last 2 years. I used to do 20 shows per season when I started watching anime.
---

how's it going leon
---

fine I guess
---

GranzonEx posted...

I want to get back to averaging 10 per season next year. I've been exhausted from watching too much and had to scale back the last 2 years. I used to do 20 shows per season when I started watching anime.

ROFL

I'm averaging like 0.3 anime per season
---

I don't know how you guys consume so much media

I probably play more video games than anything and I haven't even beaten that many this year
---

Man responding to a bunch of different quotes on my phone is so time-consuming

LeonhartFour posted...

again don't hold back on my account; this topic isn't just for me

it's better than me just posting a bunch of times in a row to no fanfare anyway; that's pretty boring for me so having something else to talk about would be welcome

Oh, I'll definitely post here if it's something I know you've seen but otherwise I'd just be posting blocks of spoiler tags and I feel like that would get annoying

LeonhartFour posted...

it's probably me having less tolerance for middle school level maturity now that I'm in my 30s than anything else

Well I'm 27 so I don't know if it has much to do with age. I think we just both have very different things that really bother us, like how you hate Eiko and I hate Laguna. Tsubaki clearly falls into that divide. At least we're still able to agree about the occasional thing when those buttons aren't being pressed, like Haruhi being a great anime or Kurisu being great character!

GranzonEx posted...

If you're feeling like a noob though don't be. I've watched over 500 anime now and I'm still considered a noob compared to Mac's 1000 completed

Man, 1000. I've got some work to do!

Mac Arrowny posted...

But uh, yeah Leon. Spice and Wolf. So good. Roba could even watch it too!

I'll have to look into where I could watch it! I'm reading World End Economica right now and it's a good VN by the same writer so I'm definitely interested
---

this topic series is not unfamiliar with posting blocks of spoiler tags
---

MariaTaylor posted...

GranzonEx posted...

I want to get back to averaging 10 per season next year. I've been exhausted from watching too much and had to scale back the last 2 years. I used to do 20 shows per season when I started watching anime.

ROFL

I'm averaging like 0.3 anime per season

You used to do at least 1 per season!

The trick to marathoning anime is to skip OP/ED. It really saves a lot of time in the long run. Multitasking helps too, like watching some slice of life anime while playing games or watching sports. It gets easier to watch 10+ anime per season when you've caught up on your backlog and only have to watch 2 shows per day as it airs.
---

Eh, I don't like to multi-task like that. It's not very fun. I occasionally do it but only if I'm not particularly interested in one but I still kinda want to watch it, which happens with football sometimes if it's a game not involving a team I root for.
---

Eh, if you watch an hour a day that's like over 50 anime per year. Not too difficult. I used to have watching anime as my main hobby too, and watched a lot of it.
---

unless you're watching YYH and an hour a day still takes two months
---

GranzonEx posted...

You used to do at least 1 per season!

yeah my average in like 2011 was maybe 2 per season, still well below the rest of the b8anime crew even at peak performance. it's been years since I watched even 1 per season.

GranzonEx posted...

The trick to marathoning anime is to skip OP/ED. It really saves a lot of time in the long run. Multitasking helps too, like watching some slice of life anime while playing games or watching sports. It gets easier to watch 10+ anime per season when you've caught up on your backlog and only have to watch 2 shows per day as it airs.

eh, I'm not interested in watching 10+ anime per season. I also love watching the OP and ED of a show. usually one of the things that keeps me interested in sticking with a show is being able to hear the OP at the start of each episode as I keep moving forward. that being said multi-tasking is good at times. now sure if you've looking at my exercise topic but one of the reasons I've even been able to watch a few shows lately is because I started watching anime while exercising.
---

MariaTaylor posted...

that being said multi-tasking is good at times. now sure if you've looking at my exercise topic but one of the reasons I've even been able to watch a few shows lately is because I started watching anime while exercising.

New Game S2 OP is perfect for this LOL
---

MariaTaylor posted...

pretty sure they have Haikyuu which is an all time great anime.

please watch this when you want to start a sports anime

It's volleyball too so maybe it'll feel exotic.
---

i read exotic as erotic

i'm not sure anything changed
---

Honestly should start sports anime with Baby Steps. Main dude and girl have a very nice relationship.
---