Current watches

[KLSymph]

Then I watched twelve episodes of No Game No Life, and it was way better than twenty-six episodes of Mahouka Koukou.

[Empyrean]

I really like No Game No Life. Definitely my favorite show of that season.

[Rukatin]

I'll have to get around to watching that then. Along with Terror in Resonance and Tokyo ESP. 

[thepanda]

Just saw the raw for the new Fate/Stay Night anime. Thank god for ufotable. Already like it better than the last studio's attempt.

[Rukatin]

Just saw the raw for the new Fate/Stay Night anime. Thank god for ufotable. Already like it better than the last studio's attempt.

Link please!

[thepanda]

tokyotoshokan, man!

[KLSymph]

The trailer for the new Fate/stay night certainly looks pretty good.

The Madan no Ou to Vanadis trailer looks godawful.  I don't look at preview trailers often, but I can honestly say I've never had my interest in an upcoming series killed so thoroughly.

Edit: Watched last season's Mahouka trailer for the first time.  At the very least, that trailer had the decency to seem interesting even though it's a filthy liar about what the anime actually looks like.  Conversely, No Game No Life's trailer accurately shows what the anime is like but leans really heavily on episode one, which isn't quite representative of the entire season, and emphasizes action over humor, which also isn't quite representative.

[Muphrid]

General consensus seems to be that the new Fate/stay night is good.  Archer vs. Lancer was very well animated, and they managed to get the first three days into 48 minutes with enough exposition to get by, but not a ton of it (although it's still noticeable in some places).  I was impressed with the music, too: it leans heavily on either Rin's motif or the motif for the whole series, but it mixes up the arrangement based on mood, and it tries to stay out of the way: a few bars of Archer's theme play when Archer arrives, but it goes to the background as a little bit of guitar shortly thereafter.  Was also impressed that they made sure we never saw Shirou's face.

[thepanda]

Third episode is going to be the talking episode, isn't it? Or do you think they'll manage to get to the Berserker fight?

[Muphrid]

I figure they have two options for that:

a) They cut off right as Ilya and Berserker show up.  Decent cliffhanger, but would be a slow episode, only talking to Rin and Kotomine.
b) They cut off as Archer tries to take out Saber.  Would leave fans guessing about Archer's goals and allegiances.  Decent idea, and leaves room for a decent amount of talking.

Ending after Ilya and Berserker leave would be pointless, as it's not long after Archer's shot and doesn't lend itself to a good cliffhanger.  I can't think of another natural stopping point between the two.

Given that this is supposed to run 24 episodes, I suspect they will go for (a), but I'm hoping they'll do (b).

[thepanda]

And they finally animate a decent Berserker fight. Some good cinematography in this third episode. Really helps you feel the scale of the battle.

[Muphrid]

Yep, I'm definitely impressed with, just for example, the amount of inconspicuous CG they've managed to integrate in there that adds to the power of the scenes.  Stuff like sparks coming off Archer as he readies his big shot.  Saber's Invisible Air effect is obviously CG, but it's a subdued enough effect that you don't dwell on it.  Or maybe it's just that they've used so much CG all over the place that it just doesn't clash anymore.

I'm also quite impressed with the music: from Rin's theme in episode 0 to Archer's theme (which I think is new material? or remixed enough that I don't recognize it immediately) as it plays during his introduction or his shot.  Very personal motifs from a classy orchestral score (well, if the guitar can be considered as part of that, anyway).

[KLSymph]

Oh, new Fate/stay night anime, why did you have a perfectly good Archer vs Caster fight and then as nonexistent an animation of Tsubame Gaeshi as every other adaptation?  When will I ever see a satisfying version of Tsubame Gaeshi? (Edit: Oh god I just remembered I complained about this eight years ago).

Coincidentally relevant to my Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei ranting and comparison with No Game No Life, here is someone else's comparison: Part 1, Part 2 by AnimeAddicts. (Warning: NSFW-profanity)

[thepanda]

Dog Days season 3 has begun! It's nice to have at least on feel good show this season.

[thepanda]

So, finished Sword Art Online 2 today. Such a well put together show. I mean, honestly, this series has become one of my all-time favorites.