What was the recent Anime you watched?

[Akazora 293]

Guilty Crown

No one else is watching anime and it's making me sad...

This anime was as much a Code Geass rip-off as I thought it would be.  There were so many plot parallels, a lot of twists that should have shocked me didn't because it had already happened in CG.  I still enjoyed watching it to an extent though.  The philosophical parts were kind of corny, and there were a lot of plot holes, but like CG this anime was just something that you could turn your mind off for and be pleasantly surprised.  The animation was really nice when it needed to be and the music by Sawano was pretty good.  The directing was alright for Araki, though he's done much better with Death Note and SnK.  All in all, Guilty Crown is just a tiny bit below average.  Worth checking out if you liked Code Geass though. 

[Kenzi 146]

yes, yes.

spring break has yet to start

but I finally broke

gonna binge the crap outta F/SN and another recommendation a friend had for me

 

...but back on topic

the most recent anime I watched was probably random FMAB clips.

haha, I almost forgot how much I loved that show.

[Kitty Paw 34]

went to my friend's house and watched Naruto

[Ryo 73]

Can't remember, but I think I'll move on to F/SN now.

[Akazora 293]

  On 4/3/2015 at 11:09 PM, Ryo said:

Can't remember, but I think I'll move on to F/SN now.

The new 2014-2015 version, by ufotable, right?  You haven't accidentally started Deen's 2006 version, like many poor souls, have you?

[Ryo 73]

  On 4/4/2015 at 4:20 AM, Akazora said:

The new 2014-2015 version, by ufotable, right? You haven't accidentally started Deen's 2006 version, like many poor souls, have you?

Haha, nope just the 14-15 version.

[Akazora 293]

  On 4/4/2015 at 4:52 AM, Ryo said:

Haha, nope just the 14-15 version.

Phew, another one saved, haha.

[Balthazar Manfredie 226]

  On 4/3/2015 at 11:09 PM, Ryo said:

Can't remember, but I think I'll move on to F/SN now.

that one is also good

MH is just butthurt that it came out first 

[Akazora 293]

  On 4/4/2015 at 11:43 AM, Reverend Balthazar said:

that one is also good

MH is just butthurt that it came out first 

Dude, wat, haha.  Not even taking animation into consideration, everything about Deen's version is worse than ufotable's.  It was a bad adaption of the Fate route, not two ways about it.

[Balthazar Manfredie 226]

  On 4/4/2015 at 10:36 PM, Akazora said:

Dude, wat, haha.  Not even taking animation into consideration, everything about Deen's version is worse than ufotable's.  It was a bad adaption of the Fate route, not two ways about it.

see

butthurt

SN is good

[Moon Kid 16]

Pokemon

[Akazora 293]

  On 4/5/2015 at 8:11 PM, Reverend Balthazar said:

see

butthurt

SN is good

Just because I dislike something doesn't mean I'm butthurt.  I have the right to criticize what I think is bad; I'm not that blind of a Fate fanboy, as much as I love the series.

"Yo, Hitler's a bad guy."

"Nah man, you're just butthurt."

"...Wat."

Anyway, back on topic...

 

Steins;Gate

I've been meaning to get around to this, and after Kenzi recommended it and spring break rolled around I finally found the time for it.  This anime is really good and should be watched by everyone.  It has a perfect amount of global appeal and can be watched and  enjoyed by new and veteran anime fans alike.  The music is good, the atmosphere is nice, and the plot, for a time travel story, manages to be fresh.  While I'm personally not the biggest fan of the characters, and the animation can be underwhelming, the execution of everything else sets this apart.  Definitely worth the time and I'm anticipating the sequel.

 

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Bleh, dropped this for a long time, came back to it, and pushed myself through this.  I don't think I'm going to watch the second season, I'm just not invested enough.  This anime has aged relatively well, the animation is nice (but it's KyoAni, so I guess the animation's aight), the OST was... forgettable, and none of the characters were lovable.  It boasts a really climactic last episode, but the lead up to it was kind of messy.  I know there are a lot of people who love Haruhi, but this series just isn't my thing.  I only watched it because it's so famous.

 

I'm picking Nagi no Asukara back up again.  Ugh, I remember why I dropped this originally: middle school romance drama.  This is going to be like Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, isn't it...?

[machine 52]

Hibike Euphonium

seems really cute though the characters thus far seem kinda... bland like just generic "we're cute girls that play instruments and that's as far as our character development goes!" 

I'll stay optimistic with this one

 

  On 4/7/2015 at 12:38 AM, Akazora said:

I'm picking Nagi no Asukara back up again.  Ugh, I remember why I dropped this originally: middle school romance drama.  This is going to be like Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, isn't it...?

 

I know the middle school romance plot can be a little eye roll worthy but it's so innocent and pure and the coming of age aspects are usually a really nice touch! They're very sweet imo 

then again I'm really biased as I really liked both Shigatsu and Nagi

[Kenzi 146]

  On 4/7/2015 at 12:38 AM, Akazora said:

Steins;Gate

I've been meaning to get around to this, and after Kenzi recommended it and spring break rolled around I finally found the time for it.  This anime is really good and should be watched by everyone.  It has a perfect amount of global appeal and can be watched and  enjoyed by new and veteran anime fans alike.  The music is good, the atmosphere is nice, and the plot, for a time travel story, manages to be fresh.  While I'm personally not the biggest fan of the characters, and the animation can be underwhelming, the execution of everything else sets this apart.  Definitely worth the time and I'm anticipating the sequel.

hell yeah everyone should watch it, heh.

Aww man, I loved the characters, haha. They all provided some form of comedic spin on the show and it really helped lift the spirits of the dismal atmosphere at times. Oh, and speaking of which: “Going to hell for laughing at this. Saved you guys a spot.” (spoiler)

Any particular reason why you didn't like the characters? I'll admit that Feyris was a bit much, lol.

 

 

I recently finished the first season of F/SN and I’m following the second season now. I’ll have to say, I enjoyed it a lot more than F/Z. Actually, it’s probably the background info from F/Z that boosted my enjoyment. Otherwise, I would have been wayyy too confused trying to figure out what’s going on. I’m loving the characters so far, and the art and animation is still jaw-droppingly amazing. I’m really glad you told me to watch F/Z before F/SN because I was considering going the other way around since F/Z is the prequel (meant to be watched after F/SN from what I’ve read). Still a few holes here and there, but I’m definitely enjoying myself so far. Now I’m just hoping the ending will be just as good, if not better, heh.

 

However, I still have one complaint I would like to point out (and this goes to the series as a whole): I think it's unnecessary and rather tacky to let a battle go unfinished for the sake of plot progression--especially when there is no explanation to support it.

[hypothetical situation-ish] Okay, so an enemy/enemies (this pertains to both masters and servants) is on the brink of death and your servant is one slash away from killing them and eliminating another potential threat. Why on earth would you just let them roam around freely once more? What could you possibly gain from this? Entertainment? When there's no explanation backing up a decision like this, it makes the battle seem rather wasteful and once again, tacky. I understand the whole concept of chivalry when it comes to servants like Saber (so I'll let those instances slide), but the former is just... it's a bit frustrating to watch, haha.

 

Nonetheless, I still thoroughly enjoyed watching F/SN and I'll be looking forward to the upcoming episodes.

 

 

--

I’ve also recently started on Tatami Galaxy after a friend recommended it to me. Very unique layout and the way it personifies emotions and life events is ingenious. It has its fair share of comedic moments, yet it’s also able to present its point so clearly by intertwining distinctive characters into its captivating story. The show sets itself apart not only in art style, but in music and outline as well. Don’t be fooled by turning away after the first episode. It won’t make sense at first, but pieces of it will fall into place as more insight on the main character is presented. It’s definitely not your typical action-packed anime so it’s understandable that it won't have universal appeal. However, those of you willing to undergo this thought-provoking journey ought to do it as soon as possible--it's definitely worth a chance. Actually, it's pretty straight-forward in its conveying its message (it will clobber it into your head), but Tatami Galaxy is still something I do not regret investing my time in.

edit: jk it's actually a really weird show venture at your own risk

[Akazora 293]

  On 4/8/2015 at 5:18 AM, Kenzi said:

hell yeah everyone should watch it, heh.

Aww man, I loved the characters, haha. They all provided some form of comedic spin on the show and it really helped lift the spirits of the dismal atmosphere at times. Oh, and speaking of which: “Going to hell for laughing at this. Saved you guys a spot.” (spoiler)

Any particular reason why you didn't like the characters? I'll admit that Feyris was a bit much, lol.

 

 

I recently finished the first season of F/SN and I’m following the second season now. I’ll have to say, I enjoyed it a lot more than F/Z. Actually, it’s probably the background info from F/Z that boosted my enjoyment. Otherwise, I would have been wayyy too confused trying to figure out what’s going on. I’m loving the characters so far, and the art and animation is still jaw-droppingly amazing. I’m really glad you told me to watch F/Z before F/SN because I was considering going the other way around since F/Z is the prequel (meant to be watched after F/SN from what I’ve read). Still a few holes here and there, but I’m definitely enjoying myself so far. Now I’m just hoping the ending will be just as good, if not better, heh.

 

However, I still have one complaint I would like to point out (and this goes to the series as a whole): I think it's unnecessary and rather tacky to let a battle go unfinished for the sake of plot progression--especially when there is no explanation to support it.

[hypothetical situation-ish] Okay, so an enemy/enemies (this pertains to both masters and servants) is on the brink of death and your servant is one slash away from killing them and eliminating another potential threat. Why on earth would you just let them roam around freely once more? What could you possibly gain from this? Entertainment? When there's no explanation backing up a decision like this, it makes the battle seem rather wasteful and once again, tacky. I understand the whole concept of chivalry when it comes to servants like Saber (so I'll let those instances slide), but the former is just... it's a bit frustrating to watch, haha.

 

Nonetheless, I still thoroughly enjoyed watching F/SN and I'll be looking forward to the upcoming episodes.

 

 

--

I’ve also recently started on Tatami Galaxy after a friend recommended it to me. Very unique layout and the way it personifies emotions and life events is ingenious. It has its fair share of comedic moments, yet it’s also able to present its point so clearly by intertwining distinctive characters into its captivating story. The show sets itself apart not only in art style, but in music and outline as well. Don’t be fooled by turning away after the first episode. It won’t make sense at first, but pieces of it will fall into place as more insight on the main character is presented. It’s definitely not your typical action-packed anime so it’s understandable that it won't have universal appeal. However, those of you willing to undergo this thought-provoking journey ought to do it as soon as possible--it's definitely worth a chance. Actually, it's pretty straight-forward in its conveying its message (it will clobber it into your head), but Tatami Galaxy is still something I do not regret investing my time in.

edit: jk it's actually a really weird show venture at your own risk

I don't really know, it's not that I particularly disliked the characters but I just felt like there was nothing particularly special about them.  I was able to empathize enough, and I still really enjoyed the anime.  Every individual character didn't have to be amazing, and in Steins;Gate the way the characters interacted with each other was enough.  Similarly, in my favorite anime of all time, Mawaru Penguindrum, there wasn't any standout character but I loved them all as a collective whole, if that makes sense.

 

As for the fights, a lot of things left out from the original source material make the end of certain fights feel kind of "tacky".

(UBW season 1 and Fate/Zero spoilers)

  Reveal hidden contents

The biggest offender of this not-enough-info phenomenon is the Rin/Shirou/Saber vs. Caster/Kuzuki fight at the gas station.  First of all, team Saber initially had the upper hand since they were setting up an ambush on what appeared to be a lone potential Master.  Of course, Kuzuki still had Caster on hand, but it didn't change the fact that both of them weren't expecting or particularly prepared for a fight.  Using the element of surprise, Caster boosted Kuzuki's hand to hand combat strength with her magic (something not explicitly stated in the anime but could be assumed given Kuzuki can't use magic), enabling him to temporarily overpower and disable Saber.  Caster, as is revealed in episode 12, actually has no interest in killing Saber and instead wants to use Rule Breaker and take her in as her own Servant.  As Caster approaches Saber with Ruler Breaker, Kuzuki's magic boosts and fighting skills are enough to handle Rin and Shioru.  At this point, team Caster now has the upper hand.  However, Shirou's projection magic of Archer's swords surprises everyone and now the tables are turned back in team Saber's favor.  Saber recovers and attempts to attack Kuzuki before Caster swoops in to save him.  At a stalemate, the situation is as follows for team Caster: the only reason they were able to hurt Saber at all was due to the element of surprise.  In a fair fight, boosted Kuzuki stands no chance against Saber, injured or not.  Furthermore, neither of them know the extent of Shirou's power.  Does he have another ace up his sleeves or not?  Kuzuki, not knowing Caster's only goal is to stab Saber with her Rule Breaker and not, in fact, defeat her, realizes they are at a significant disadvantage and orders a retreat.  Caster in episode 12 returns more prepared by having both a hostage (Fujimura) as well as ambushing team Saber on the bus.  Even without the help of Kuzuki and the intrusion of Archer, she still has enough power and control over her self-made dimensional space to successfully take Saber in as her Servant, which was her only goal from the beginning.  As you can see, a lot of the small details aren't very obvious without the inner monologues of the visual novel and make some of the fights seem like all action and no conclusion, when there is in fact small peaks and valleys and development throughout.  I could go into details with the other UBW fights, like Lancer vs. Saber and team Archer/Saber vs. team Berserker, but that would take far too long, haha.

 

You're probably also wondering why the Fate/Zero especially felt very hit and run and, well, it's because they kind of were, which is a flaw of Fate/Zero.  F/Z was written by Gen Urobuchi, while the original F/sn was written by Kinoko Nasu.  Because F/Z was written as a prequel by a different author from F/sn, the nuances of the writing are of course different.  While it's not usually too noticeable, when you delve deep and look at the small details you can tell there are two different people writing the two parts.  It's kind of like how Levi's backstory OVAs were written by someone trying to emulate the original mangaka of SnK, and while it fits and makes sense and is considered canon, bits and pieces don't jive quite as naturally in comparison to the parent story.  Fans consider Zero's fights to be far worse and poorly written in comparisons to stay night's, with the exception of Kirei vs. Kiritsugu.  Fights end randomly, and once you strip away the dark and mature atmosphere of the series, you realize a lot of the strategies just don't make much sense.

 

--

I've considered watching Tatami Galaxy before, since a lot of people have recommended it.  Haha, that edit made me chuckle, +1 rep for you.

[Kenzi 146]

  On 4/12/2015 at 5:16 AM, Akazora said:

I don't really know, it's not that I particularly disliked the characters but I just felt like there was nothing particularly special about them.  I was able to empathize enough, and I still really enjoyed the anime.  Every individual character didn't have to be amazing, and in Steins;Gate the way the characters interacted with each other was enough.  Similarly, in my favorite anime of all time, Mawaru Penguindrum, there wasn't any standout character but I loved them all as a collective whole, if that makes sense.

 

As for the fights, a lot of things left out from the original source material make the end of certain fights feel kind of "tacky".

(UBW season 1 and Fate/Zero spoilers)

  Reveal hidden contents

The biggest offender of this not-enough-info phenomenon is the Rin/Shirou/Saber vs. Caster/Kuzuki fight at the gas station.  First of all, team Saber initially had the upper hand since they were setting up an ambush on what appeared to be a lone potential Master.  Of course, Kuzuki still had Caster on hand, but it didn't change the fact that both of them weren't expecting or particularly prepared for a fight.  Using the element of surprise, Caster boosted Kuzuki's hand to hand combat strength with her magic (something not explicitly stated in the anime but could be assumed given Kuzuki can't use magic), enabling him to temporarily overpower and disable Saber.  Caster, as is revealed in episode 12, actually has no interest in killing Saber and instead wants to use Rule Breaker and take her in as her own Servant.  As Caster approaches Saber with Ruler Breaker, Kuzuki's magic boosts and fighting skills are enough to handle Rin and Shioru.  At this point, team Caster now has the upper hand.  However, Shirou's projection magic of Archer's swords surprises everyone and now the tables are turned back in team Saber's favor.  Saber recovers and attempts to attack Kuzuki before Caster swoops in to save him.  At a stalemate, the situation is as follows for team Caster: the only reason they were able to hurt Saber at all was due to the element of surprise.  In a fair fight, boosted Kuzuki stands no chance against Saber, injured or not.  Furthermore, neither of them know the extent of Shirou's power.  Does he have another ace up his sleeves or not?  Kuzuki, not knowing Caster's only goal is to stab Saber with her Rule Breaker and not, in fact, defeat her, realizes they are at a significant disadvantage and orders a retreat.  Caster in episode 12 returns more prepared by having both a hostage (Fujimura) as well as ambushing team Saber on the bus.  Even without the help of Kuzuki and the intrusion of Archer, she still has enough power and control over her self-made dimensional space to successfully take Saber in as her Servant, which was her only goal from the beginning.  As you can see, a lot of the small details aren't very obvious without the inner monologues of the visual novel and make some of the fights seem like all action and no conclusion, when there is in fact small peaks and valleys and development throughout.  I could go into details with the other UBW fights, like Lancer vs. Saber and team Archer/Saber vs. team Berserker, but that would take far too long, haha.

 

You're probably also wondering why the Fate/Zero especially felt very hit and run and, well, it's because they kind of were, which is a flaw of Fate/Zero.  F/Z was written by Gen Urobuchi, while the original F/sn was written by Kinoko Nasu.  Because F/Z was written as a prequel by a different author from F/sn, the nuances of the writing are of course different.  While it's not usually too noticeable, when you delve deep and look at the small details you can tell there are two different people writing the two parts.  It's kind of like how Levi's backstory OVAs were written by someone trying to emulate the original mangaka of SnK, and while it fits and makes sense and is considered canon, bits and pieces don't jive quite as naturally in comparison to the parent story.  Fans consider Zero's fights to be far worse and poorly written in comparisons to stay night's, with the exception of Kirei vs. Kiritsugu.  Fights end randomly, and once you strip away the dark and mature atmosphere of the series, you realize a lot of the strategies just don't make much sense.

 

--

I've considered watching Tatami Galaxy before, since a lot of people have recommended it.  Haha, that edit made me chuckle, +1 rep for you.

Ahh, I see. I thought Okabe might've made an impression on you at the very least, but I'm glad you still enjoyed the series enough, haha. 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

What bothered me most was when Archer managed to infiltrate Caster's "base" and even backed her into a corner. So what would be the most logical thing to do here? To kill her, right? Well, he doesn't kill her, but the viewers are left without a proper explanation why. "Oh, it's because I felt like it" really isn't going to cut it. All the events following the sparing of Caster could have easily been prevented if only Archer just killed her on the spot. The fact that he never references such a significant decision, nor shows any sign of regret really makes it seem as if he was never involved at all--which we all know, is not the case. You could argue that it was done because Archer wanted to side with Caster all along. However, he clearly shows that he was reluctant to do so until Caster received the upper hand (which there was no way of predicting considering the position she was in at the time). The other fights, on the other hand, do make more sense after the provided context, so I appreciate your efforts in clearing those up. I was especially bothered by the Rin/Shirou/Saber vs. Caster/Kuzuki fight since it really did feel like a waste at first. You read my mind, haha. The only other thing that bothered me was that subtle use of deus ex machina when Shirou revealed his projection magic abilities in order to create "the tables have turned!" effect. I do like how it connects back to Archer, but I would have preferred if there was more development leading up to this occurrence. I'll definitely check out the visual novels now after seeing how many context clues I've missed.

 

Oh my gosh, yes. I was so utterly lost when watching some of Kiritsugu's fights. A lot of his abilities seemed like they appeared out of thin air and suddenly gained relevance to the show within a matter of seconds (especially the battles with Kayneth). That was until I saw Kiritsugu's backstory, but even that didn't provide enough explanation on the origin of his abilities. The fights were, however, still pretty thought out for the most part, I won't deny that. But I agree that F/Z's battles do pale in comparison to F/SN's. I didn't realize that F/Z and F/SN were created by different people. I also didn't realize that Levi's backstory was written by a different person, so those were interesting discoveries for me, haha.

 

--

Tatami Galaxy is a bit of an oddball compared to other anime, and it wasn't until the last few episodes until I fully understood what the anime was getting at, haha. It was a nice change of pace though.

[Akazora 293]

  On 4/13/2015 at 2:41 AM, Kenzi said:

 

Ahh, I see. I thought Okabe might've made an impression on you at the very least, but I'm glad you still enjoyed the series enough, haha. 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

What bothered me most was when Archer managed to infiltrate Caster's "base" and even backed her into a corner. So what would be the most logical thing to do here? To kill her, right? Well, he doesn't kill her, but the viewers are left without a proper explanation why. "Oh, it's because I felt like it" really isn't going to cut it. All the events following the sparing of Caster could have easily been prevented if only Archer just killed her on the spot. The fact that he never references such a significant decision, nor shows any sign of regret really makes it seem as if he was never involved at all--which we all know, is not the case. You could argue that it was done because Archer wanted to side with Caster all along. However, he clearly shows that he was reluctant to do so until Caster received the upper hand (which there was no way of predicting considering the position she was in at the time). The other fights, on the other hand, do make more sense after the provided context, so I appreciate your efforts in clearing those up. I was especially bothered by the Rin/Shirou/Saber vs. Caster/Kuzuki fight since it really did feel like a waste at first. You read my mind, haha. The only other thing that bothered me was that subtle use of deus ex machina when Shirou revealed his projection magic abilities in order to create "the tables have turned!" effect. I do like how it connects back to Archer, but I would have preferred if there was more development leading up to this occurrence. I'll definitely check out the visual novels now after seeing how many context clues I've missed.

 

Oh my gosh, yes. I was so utterly lost when watching some of Kiritsugu's fights. A lot of his abilities seemed like they appeared out of thin air and suddenly gained relevance to the show within a matter of seconds (especially the battles with Kayneth). That was until I saw Kiritsugu's backstory, but even that didn't provide enough explanation on the origin of his abilities. The fights were, however, still pretty thought out for the most part, I won't deny that. But I agree that F/Z's battles do pale in comparison to F/SN's. I didn't realize that F/Z and F/SN were created by different people. I also didn't realize that Levi's backstory was written by a different person, so those were interesting discoveries for me, haha.

 

 

 

 

 

--

 

 

Tatami Galaxy is a bit of an oddball compared to other anime, and it wasn't until the last few episodes until I fully understood what the anime was getting at, haha. It was a nice change of pace though.

 

(Heh, more UBW season 1 and Fate/Zero spoilers)

  Reveal hidden contents

Archer does indeed reject a direct approach by Caster, saying her "team has limited fighting potential".  When Shirou asks why he let her go, Archer replies "even if I had struck her down, she'd have simply made her escape" which makes absolutely no sense due to poor translations and some missing visual novel info.  Rather, it's not missing so much as it's not explained very well.  Earlier in the episode, Archer had said in reaction to Caster escaping his attack, "within this territory, you can mimic True Magic".  True Magic is something not explained very well in the Fate anime and requires background knowledge of the visual novel and/or Nasu's other works.  True Magic is different from regular Magecraft in that it's consequences are "impossible" or "miraculous".  For example, with Magecraft you can create little balls of fire or light candles with a snap of your finger.  Impressive, to an extent, but something simple and mundane like a match can produce the same effect.  However, True Magic consists of things like time manipulation, teleportation, and spatial warping: things that are impossible to achieve under any other circumstances, even with Magecraft.  This is why when Archer first slashed at Caster before she took to the air, she emulated True Magic because her magical powers as a Servant were just that potent.  Even though she may seen injured, she's still capable of altering time and/or teleporting to safety.  This comes with a drawback, as she's only able to "use" True Magic at her base, Ryuudou Temple, and anywhere else she plans in advance (aka the bus ambush).  When Kuzuki was attacked by team Saber at the gas station, she wasn't able to use True Magic because she hadn't made preparations to set up the spells and rituals and whatnot.  So with that in mind, Caster was far from just one slash away from being defeated as it may have seemed.  Regardless, Archer should have still tried anyway, right?  He explains later that he wants Caster to continue draining mana from Fuyuki City and once she builds enough power uses it to take down Berserker, since Archer was unable to dent him and his time reversal/regeneration Noble Phantasm was even giving Saber a tough time.  He would "deal with Caster afterward".  That may sound kind of silly, letting an OP Servant buff up even more, but do know that Saber had yet to face off against Caster directly, since she was preoccupied with Assassin, so they still have a better than nothing chance.  It was choosing between the lesser of two evils, I suppose you could say.  Anyway, I didn't mean to rant, heheh.  On a finishing note, the only way to use True Magic as a human Mage is to reach the Root, also known as Akasha.  I'm not too surely exactly what the Root is, but it's apparently a metaphysical location known as the "force" that is the source of all events and phenomena in the universe, according the the Type-Moon wiki.  So like, God's library or something, is how I'm interpreting it, except maybe a bit more trippy.  Since you've only watched Fate/Zero once, I'm not sure if you noticed this but Tohsaka Tokiomi's reason for seeking the Grail was so he could use it to reach the Root.  He mentioned it once or twice, but it was mentioned in passing and didn't really make much sense or affect the plot, so it's an easily forgotten detail.

 

[Kitty Paw 34]

Code Breaker

[Kenzi 146]

  On 4/14/2015 at 6:44 AM, Akazora said:

(Heh, more UBW season 1 and Fate/Zero spoilers)

  Reveal hidden contents

Archer does indeed reject a direct approach by Caster, saying her "team has limited fighting potential".  When Shirou asks why he let her go, Archer replies "even if I had struck her down, she'd have simply made her escape" which makes absolutely no sense due to poor translations and some missing visual novel info.  Rather, it's not missing so much as it's not explained very well.  Earlier in the episode, Archer had said in reaction to Caster escaping his attack, "within this territory, you can mimic True Magic".  True Magic is something not explained very well in the Fate anime and requires background knowledge of the visual novel and/or Nasu's other works.  True Magic is different from regular Magecraft in that it's consequences are "impossible" or "miraculous".  For example, with Magecraft you can create little balls of fire or light candles with a snap of your finger.  Impressive, to an extent, but something simple and mundane like a match can produce the same effect.  However, True Magic consists of things like time manipulation, teleportation, and spatial warping: things that are impossible to achieve under any other circumstances, even with Magecraft.  This is why when Archer first slashed at Caster before she took to the air, she emulated True Magic because her magical powers as a Servant were just that potent.  Even though she may seen injured, she's still capable of altering time and/or teleporting to safety.  This comes with a drawback, as she's only able to "use" True Magic at her base, Ryuudou Temple, and anywhere else she plans in advance (aka the bus ambush).  When Kuzuki was attacked by team Saber at the gas station, she wasn't able to use True Magic because she hadn't made preparations to set up the spells and rituals and whatnot.  So with that in mind, Caster was far from just one slash away from being defeated as it may have seemed.  Regardless, Archer should have still tried anyway, right?  He explains later that he wants Caster to continue draining mana from Fuyuki City and once she builds enough power uses it to take down Berserker, since Archer was unable to dent him and his time reversal/regeneration Noble Phantasm was even giving Saber a tough time.  He would "deal with Caster afterward".  That may sound kind of silly, letting an OP Servant buff up even more, but do know that Saber had yet to face off against Caster directly, since she was preoccupied with Assassin, so they still have a better than nothing chance.  It was choosing between the lesser of two evils, I suppose you could say.  Anyway, I didn't mean to rant, heheh.  On a finishing note, the only way to use True Magic as a human Mage is to reach the Root, also known as Akasha.  I'm not too surely exactly what the Root is, but it's apparently a metaphysical location known as the "force" that is the source of all events and phenomena in the universe, according the the Type-Moon wiki.  So like, God's library or something, is how I'm interpreting it, except maybe a bit more trippy.  Since you've only watched Fate/Zero once, I'm not sure if you noticed this but Tohsaka Tokiomi's reason for seeking the Grail was so he could use it to reach the Root.  He mentioned it once or twice, but it was mentioned in passing and didn't really make much sense or affect the plot, so it's an easily forgotten detail.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Haha, so in other words, I should be watching a playthrough of the visual novel in order to fill up all the holes--more so than I originally thought. I still don't have a good grasp of what True Magic is, but hopefully I'll get a better idea once I jump into the visual novel. Thanks for taking the time to clarify everything for me! Have a rep, heh.

[Akazora 293]

  On 4/16/2015 at 12:40 AM, Kenzi said:

  Reveal hidden contents

Haha, so in other words, I should be watching a playthrough of the visual novel in order to fill up all the holes--more so than I originally thought. I still don't have a good grasp of what True Magic is, but hopefully I'll get a better idea once I jump into the visual novel. Thanks for taking the time to clarify everything for me! Have a rep, heh.

No problem, and thanks!

 

  On 4/15/2015 at 2:13 AM, Kitty Paw said:

Code Breaker

God bless you girl, how do you keep on stumbling upon bad, discrete anime?  Do you frequent MyAnimeList at all?  It's a good place to start searching for at the very least decent anime, so you won't have to waste time on things like Code:Breaker.

 

Recent anime I've watched:

 

Nagi no Asukara

Well, am I ever sorry I dropped this show in the first place.  It's what Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso could have been if done correctly.  While the plot revolves around middle school romance drama, the anime presents character relationships in a believable and relatable way.  The animation is a notch above average and the art is good.  The mid-series twist really hit me hard, and I must say the OST is superbly executed.  Whoever was in charge of sound did an awesome job.  While not one of the best anime I've ever seen, it's still leaps and bounds above most and I would recommend it to almost anyone.

[Kitty Paw 34]

  On 4/16/2015 at 12:45 AM, Akazora said:

No problem, and thanks!

 

God bless you girl, how do you keep on stumbling upon bad, discrete anime?  Do you frequent MyAnimeList at all?  It's a good place to start searching for at the very least decent anime, so you won't have to waste time on things like Code:Breaker.

 

Recent anime I've watched:

 

Nagi no Asukara

Well, am I ever sorry I dropped this show in the first place.  It's what Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso could have been if done correctly.  While the plot revolves around middle school romance drama, the anime presents character relationships in a believable and relatable way.  The animation is a notch above average and the art is good.  The mid-series twist really hit me hard, and I must say the OST is superbly executed.  Whoever was in charge of sound did an awesome job.  While not one of the best anime I've ever seen, it's still leaps and bounds above most and I would recommend it to almost anyone.

Just bad luck, someone recommended it to  me, so I watched it.

 

Sword Art Online

[Akazora 293]

  On 4/16/2015 at 1:43 AM, Kitty Paw said:

Just bad luck, someone recommended it to  me, so I watched it.

 

Sword Art Online

This post is so ironic, I can't even...

[machine 52]

Watched the first ep's of Major and Cross Game in hopes of figuring out which series I'd want to watch first.

(1st episode spoilers)

I just wanted a lighthearted sports anime to tide me over until DnA decides to stop with the recaps but all I got was two tiny crying baseball children and death 

[Moon Kid 16]

Pokemon

[Akazora 293]

  On 4/20/2015 at 11:38 AM, Moon Kid said:

Pokemon

You got to get out some more.  I think the most recently anime you've watched has been Pokemon for months.

 

Speed Grapher

Wow, now that's bad animation.  Sure it's an old anime, but even so it has some miserable action.  It's a shame, since Yusuke Kozaki makes awesome character designs and is a superb artist.  He's responsible for FE: Awakening and if, No More Heroes, and the upcoming Under the Dog.  The premise is kind of interesting: a man obtains the ability to blow things up by taking pictures of them.  But the actual plot runs far deeper than that, as it delves into morals of money and greed.  It's nothing too special, but it's darker than your average anime at least.  There was this one character that had a lot of potential, but he ultimately fell short.  The first two-thirds of the anime was also really slow, though it picks up by the last eight episodes.  There are a few logical issues, and overall it was relatively predictable and a chore to watch.  Maybe it's because the animation was atrocious.  I wouldn't recommend it.  It's a pity, I initially thought I had stumbled upon a hidden gem, haha.

 

I'm started back up Noir again, another old anime.  Ugh, this pacing is slaying me...