No.6, Sacred Seven, Blade, Tiger & Bunny, Usagi Drop, Steins;Gate

[pianocello]

I would like to hear some opinions on these anime. Thanks.

[lesterf1025]

Steins;Gate is an unusual time travel show. It seems to be about a group of oddballs and scientists who accidentally discover how to send messages into the past. They spend several episodes goofing off and experimenting with these messages and end up changing time in small ways and sometimes large ways but it all appears to be benign and harmless until half way through when it becomes clear that there are serious consequences to messing with time. The cast then spends the rest of the show trying to assess how bad the situation is and fix all the damage. Most people think the first half is too slow and unfocused but I think the first half is necessary to generate the tension in the second half. Besides all those little things that happen in the first half turn out to be important in the second half. I think it is a great show for people who are willing to enjoy a good sci-fi drama and are willing to be a bit patient.

Tiger and Bunny feels like an animated young adult comic book with an interesting premise about superheroes working for corporations and being rated on their popularity. It is competently made and has all the clichés of that genre. When I was in my late teens and obsessed with comic books and cartoons I would’ve enjoyed this a lot but my tastes have changed since then and this is just not my thing any more. However, enough people seemed to enjoy it that it appears to be getting a second season.


Sacred Seven is what you would get if you asked Hina Ichigo to cook dinner. She would throw everything into the pot that she thought was cute or fun whether or not it was edible. It is the same thing with Sacred Seven. It has a bunch of cool ideas and great fights but they all seem to have been haphazardly thrown together with no real thought about how it affects the plot or the characters. So if you aren’t real fussy about those things and you want to see some cool action and clichés and my personal favorite a maid army (how cool is that!), then you might enjoy Sacred Seven.

No.6 is a post-apocalyptic, sci-fi show set in the kind of dystopia that was quite popular in sci-fi when I was hooked on it in the 70’s and 80’s. It has a great first episode and a pair of lead characters that while different each have their own charisma. It is fun for 2 episodes then we end up outside the city and the show spins its wheels for several episodes before remembering that it is only 11 episodes long and then it suddenly introduces fantastic plot elements and character changes before rushing an ending. I lost interest and dropped it. Most people who liked it think it is passable until the last episode which they would rather forget.

[pathos]

I would like to hear some opinions on these anime. Thanks.

Usagi Drop and Steins;Gate are probably a couple of my favorite shows from the last...well, I don't know when.

Usagi Drop is a slice of life show, about a 30 year old taking in a 6 year old relative to raise by himself. It normally takes an exceptional slice of life show for me to take note of it. This one is pretty exceptional, imo. Also, as a side note, I normally don't like kids, in real life, or in anime. I really like the kid in this one, however.

Steins;Gate - really is a fantastic show. The characters are all quite likeable. The male lead is great. The show would still have been interesting without him, but I doubt I'd rate it nearly as highly without him. The show actually managed to surpise me quite a few times, which actually says quite a bit about it.

Tiger and Bunny - so far I've only managed to watch about 8 episodes. I keep meaning to watch more of it, but I never seem to get around to it. Not a bad show, and I'll certainly finish it one day. When I think about it :sweat:

[Buckeye]

Out of these titles, I have only seen all of Tiger and Bunny, and an episode of Steins Gate and No. 6. Tiger and Bunny, I can say is a great time to be had. Certainly, this is a show about superheroes and reality TV all combined into one. It's a fun show to watch, and certainly one where the creator had American audiences in mind.

[Sly05]

Of what you listed, I enjoyed Usagi Drop, Steins;Gate, and Tiger and Bunny the best. Usagi drop is an adorable series about a 30 year old bachelor who takes in the illegitimate daughter of his late grandfather. It approaches raising a child fairly honestly and realistically; the lead, Daikichi, isn't entirely prepared for it and is sometimes overwhelmed, but adapts and becomes a strong father figure for his daughter. Most of the series focuses on him learning what it means to be a parent and the developing bond between him and his daughter.

Steins;Gate takes its time early on setting up its plot and characters, but when the plot does kick in, you are glad it did and its a wild ride to the conclusion. Given the questionable quality of previous nitro+ adaptations, I didn't have high expectations of it going in, but I ended up really enjoying it from beginning to end. I consider it one of my favourite series of the year.

If you can get over the unfortunate name, Tiger and Bunny is also worth a watch. Its a goofy parody of American superheros set in a world where superheroes have corporate sponsors and compete with each other for points on a reality tv show. The protagonist, Kotetsu, is the heart of the series as an aging superhero who has seen better days, but has retained his belief in justice and protecting people. His eventual partner, Barnaby, is never quite as sympathetic or engaging, so I think whether you like the series are not depends on how much can sympathize with Kotetsu. Despite some serious plot points, it does tend to be goofy more often than not.

[superdry]

Steins;Gate takes its time early on setting up its plot and characters, but when the plot does kick in, you are glad it did and its a wild ride to the conclusion. Given the questionable quality of previous nitro+ adaptations, I didn't have high expectations of it going in, but I ended up really enjoying it from beginning to end. I consider it one of my favourite series of the year.


Technically, Steins;Gate and Chaos;Head (which is absolutely terrible) are 5pb's (now called MAGES) properties (Nitro+ had a hand in helping out, but the majority of the two games was done by 5pb). Not that most westerners would know who 5pb is compared to Nitro+.

Steins;Gate is fantastic. Yes, the first half of the show is pretty slow, but it helps build up everything that leads to the rollercoaster ride of the second half. It's also a show to watch some episodes or parts of an episode at least twice so you don't miss anything or miss some of the craziness that's explained (you might think there are some plot holes, but they're actually not).

[Nork22]

Sacred Seven - it's like a bastard child of Mai-Hime and Scryed. I think Sunrise was bored when they coined up this anime. Plot's all over the place.

[sickVisionz]

Steins;Gate Pretty great show about time travel with a ton of interesting characters who are fun to watch. There's a good mix of comedy (although weird nerd comedy so your mileage will vary) and drama.

Tiger & Bunny Mostly light hearted but serious when it wants to be. Dumb fun is how I'd describe what I've seen of it so far. Subject wise it's nothing like Cowboy Bebop but the mix of silliness, comedy, action, and then serious drama poking its head out every now and then gives me the same feel that I got from CB.