This isn't a recommendation more than a notice that something might be coming out really soon, but Takashi Murakami is planning to release an anime sometime in 2016. (This is the only article I've seen on it in english for a while...) Six Hearts Princess / 6HP / 6♥P is based off of a short that was pretty much the opening and ending of a fictional magical girl anime, and also acted the basis for Shu Uemura's 2013 holiday makeup line.

If you've seen the ED/OP, then it seems like a pretty over the top, but honestly typical magical girl series, with j-pop anthems and all. But there are clues that there might be something deeper happening here, other than the fact that Takashi Murakami is an internationally known artist who is commonly referred to as the coiner of the term "superflat", which pretty much is an art movement that uses commercial and high-art culture to comment on each other, and also tends to cross-examine the otaku mindset on occasion. The 'art' piece of this might be observing how the public will react to the show itself, which currently is a mystery other than a few shorts and teasers, a handful of concept art, promotional cosplays, and the fact that it was apparently based partially on the six perfections of Mahāyāna Buddhism, and by extension, Nansō Satomi Hakkenden or The Tale of The Eight Dogs.



(I am not kidding, he actually said that in this interview, sometime around the nine second mark.)

There's still no clear air date other than the anime possibly airing this year, but I'd still watch an unsettling goofy retelling of a samurai epic staring middle school girls in frilly outfits though if that's all it is.

Recommendations for anime where the final couple aren't telegraphed or practically together by the first quarter of the series? Or, at least, the first three episodes if it's a long series?

Macross does a pretty good job of it. I'm not all that comfortable with the idea of Asuka and Shinji as a final couple, but if that's your bag, I'll accept it. I'm not thinking of too many others, though.

Wow ok K IS pretty gay.
They boys have just met and have already hugged for no reason and had a huge uke blush.
10/10, would recommend

Nocturnalux wrote:

The fact that Kuro and Shiro look like dead ringers for Nezumi and Shion from Number 6 also adds a lot to the gay vibes.

I knew I'd seen them somewhere before! Why, of course.

YamPuff, hope you enjoy the series. I still have plenty K feels (just finished writing fanfic).

In some way the series is reminding me of Code Geass, in the sense that there is major BL going on with the pretty boys and at the same loads of camera ogling female T&A. Not to mention the very large cast of characters and urban fantasy setting.

I like the visual design and the music so far, so I'm definitely in it for the long haul.

Also : YAOI ON ICE
I MEAN YURI!! ON ICE


BRB STARTING A THREAD ABOUT THIS GAY THING

malna wrote:

Nocturnalux wrote:

a new clan whose core members are all guys

Good thing SCEPTER 4 makes up for it and surpasses them... by one female member, correct? And so does Homra, if I remember correctly.

I'm still considering watching the second season and the movie. What you write about Jungle sounds encouraging but I'm wary about a few things. First of all, [my OTP was brutally cut short by the season 1 finale. ;c Cue fact that a character whom I found most easy on the eyes and nice to listen to (if not compelling personality-wise) is no longer around. With that factors unchecked, I just don't find much incentive to watch further.  ]
Apart from that, from various sources I gather that fanservice gets overboard and distasteful in season 2.
But who am I kidding, I'll probably watch it anyway.

If the fanservice in season one did not bother you then I doubt you'll find anything in season two to put you off.
As for (spoiler for season one, very slight one for season two) [Mikoto no longer being with us, season two is packed with flashbacks of him and Munakata along with Anna fondly remembering him. And Munakata having conversations with Mikoto in his mind.]

Heh, it's true that K's male cast is the vast majority but Jungle takes it a step higher by having the core members all live together. If Scepter 4 is a stylish police force with military and samurai vibes and Homra is like a super tight gang-like group with a very close knit community and street flare, Jungle is a dysfunctional family full of misfits. They may be the antagonists but their dynamics as a group are weirdly fascinating.

If you enjoyed the gay vibes in K then season two is a must-see if only for Yukari who I think is actually gay. At least the cast thinks he is and he does not deny it.

Last edited by Nocturnalux (10-15-2016 12:45:09 PM)

So, in considerable part swayed by you, Nocturnalux, I gave the K second season a try (so far I'm three episodes in) and I am so glad I did! Thanks for that.

To get this out of the way, fanservice actually does get horrible in episode 1 but it tuned down since. One more thing I noticed - whereas I enjoyed music in season one, it gets way too flashy in many scenes in the second, to the point where it's distracting from rather than emphasizing them. But to make up for that, the animation is considerably better.

(spoilers for season two 1-3 eps) [I agree with you on Jungle. They are a breath of fresh air amongst all the other highly hierarchic and in some cases cult-like clans. I very much enjoy the democratic and easygoing feeling to the Jungles. I'm all for their own spin-off.
Gay or not, how on earth has Yukari ever won you over? He's so flamboyant and he looks down on people. (He is right about Kuroh being hopelessly uptight, though.)
Still, I have to say the richness and diversity of characters in this series in general is amazing. Fushimi and Neko are getting more and more wonderful with each episode. I enjoy Fushimi & Misaki's dynamic - from the first episode I'd been waiting for the scene in which Misaki would find out that the price on his head was lower than on Saru's.
I did enjoy flashbacks of Suoh and Munakata fighting and I'm looking forward to see more of these two together but really, all the characters have been pretty awesome and so where the script goes, I willingly follow. ]

Watched Toki o Kakeru Shoujo for the first time this weekend.

This is the first new anime I've actually watched in years. Was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

YamPuff wrote:

So if Yuri Kuma Arashi and Madoka Magica had drunken sex one night and got pregnant, I think their offspring might have been called Flip Flappers.

I am loving this show so far. The animation in ep03 reaches Space Dandy levels of extravagance.

Izetta: The Last Witch is my other favorite of this season: another show with ambiguous lesbians!

Started watching Watamote. It's one of the few pieces of media I've ever come across that actually gets what it's like to have severe social anxiety. It is both painful to watch and very funny. There's an episode where she orders a coffee at a Starbucks and that scene could basically serve as PSA for SAD. One of the things I like about it is that Tomoki generally is hindered from having friends and getting what she wants due to her being an absolute garbage can of a person and not because she is shy and awkward. I'll probably check out the manga when I'm done with the anime.

purplepolecat wrote:

YamPuff wrote:

Started watching Watamote. It's one of the few pieces of media I've ever come across that actually gets what it's like to have severe social anxiety. It is both painful to watch and very funny. There's an episode where she orders a coffee at a Starbucks and that scene could basically serve as PSA for SAD. One of the things I like about it is that Tomoki generally is hindered from having friends and getting what she wants due to her being an absolute garbage can of a person and not because she is shy and awkward. I'll probably check out the manga when I'm done with the anime.

I have a huge moe crush on Tomoko. I find her problems very relatable. I like the fact that she's not the typical shy girl who just needs to be coaxed out of her shell; she is fundamentally broken in many different and interesting ways, and is trapped in a cycle of self-sabotage, bitterness and social failure. It could be hard to watch for someone dealing with similar problems now, but for me those days are far enough in the distance that I can laugh about it. Other than that, I'd say this show is a must-watch.

It is a perfect anime. I loved every episode.

I actually found myself getting very anxious when her seat at school was changed as that would have been trauma for me in school, and till now, if I can't get a corner/ wall seat in a cafe/restaurant, I'll just leave..

I like thinking of Tomoko as being closet bi.

YamPuff wrote:

I finished Flip Flappers. It was almost a brilliant series, but like many shows that are heavily symbolic/mysterious (or try to be), it simply didn't deliver at the end in terms of a satisfying conclusion and explanation IMO. Even though it had 13 instead of 12 episodes, I felt the extra episode was wasted. There is a difference between an open ending and some mystery and simply being confused/ lost. It's frustrating because I believe that with only a little tweaking and rearranging, it could have been perfect. If the finale had been done like the artist memory episode, or the many Papika episode, wow, it would have really been something.

imo it wasn't really that much of a mysterious anime, it just had some fancy visuals at times. the ending was pretty generic and didn't deliver on the symbolism from earlier, so it just turned into a normal anime in the end. i don't care about explanations, so i'd be fine with one that explains nothing but is interesting; to me, the show didn't seem interested in EITHER of those things.

unrelated: the first episode of 6HP aired and apparently it's controversial, but i'll take psychosexual content over generic moe any day, even if the characters' youths are uncomfortable. hasn't been subbed yet though

Aelanie wrote:

The ending of Flip Flippers was alright, I thought. Although its imagery was complex and referential, the actual narrative is and always was an uncomplicated, cartoony affair, and the finale was appropriately the same. Cocona and Papika are together and happy, and that's what matters.

In any case, it was in all ways much, much better than how Izetta ultimately turned out...

Izetta was bound to turn into garbage, what with having the writer responsible for such classics as Guilty Crown, Code Geass, and Qwaser of Stigmata. That said, I was blown away by the first episode. Lots of great action scenes, emotional moments, and parallels to Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. It's unfortunate that the rest of the show wound up better meeting my expectations.