Animu

Being a place for the planning of communal anime viewing.

Spring 2018 draft schedule

Katana Maidens
Kino's Journey: The Beautiful World
Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn Re:0096
Darling in the FranXX (airing last for logistical reasons)
Hinamatsuri
Citrus / Our love has always been 10cm apart?

Summer 2018 draft schedule

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Nominated

Planet With (action)
Hanebado (sports)
- This season's Badminton show
- Sports show / intense character drama
- Good pacing, plenty happening each episode, but not rushed. Technically you could accuse it of playing the tropes a bit at times, but it does so with such verve and good execution that it's really fun to watch. Had me bursting into laughter on public transport several times :-) --maxb
Happy Sugar Life (romance/drama)
Natsu no Arashi (comedy)
White Album 2
- The "2" refers to it being the second anime in that setting, but the storyline is entirely independent. The extent of the overlap is that the protagonists like the same pieces of music.
- Caution: Mild spoilers exist in some episode titles.
- A difficult show to comment on without spoilers. I watched it after having its soundtrack turn up on Google Play Music, and then seeing it turn up in an "if you liked 'Your Lie in April' you might like". In retrospect I should have thought a little more about why it was there. Let's just say the ending isn't all sunshine and happiness and leave it at that. I really liked some parts, and the bits I didn't like I still found sufficiently compelling that I stayed up way too late watching the second half of the series all the way through to the end. Whilst I'm not happy with the chosen direction of the plot, I admire the narrative craft. In the words of http://kotaku.com/white-album-2-is-one-of-last-season-s-hidden-gems-1541072591 (which, if you read, you really need to obey the instructions to skip sections containing spoilers): "If you need a serious romantic drama in your life, there are few better emotional rollercoasters in recent anime than White Album 2. Just don’t expect to come out of it feeling happy and fulfilled." --maxb
Ore Monogatari (24)
- An unconventional romance, with lots of storytelling to do along the way, and some comedy moments. Though the subject matter is completely different, the viewing experience feels a bit like Shirayuki-hime - there is a continuity, but it's very episodic. --maxb
Yuru Camp△
- A high quality slice of life that makes me smile. --maxb
AICO Incarnation (sci-fi/horror)

Future possibilities

Shows that we considered schedule-worthy

The Legend of Korra
- Mixed feelings. Episode 1 was painful, Korra is like another Subaru at the beginning. Fortunately they ease off the "this character is naive due to her upbringing and we need to show it" pretty quickly. Seems like it could have some promise, but the plot development seems very formulaic ("Introduce Heroine. Introduce Teacher. Inevitable heroine/teacher conflict. Introduce allies. Introduce nemesis.") - does it manage to grow beyond this? Also a bit wary of another year-long show. --maxb
  - Does it ever cease being a fantasy adventure show? No, at least not in the part I've seen. Does it get into more complex/ambiguous territory, develop meaningful longer-term arcs, and go beyond simplistic good vs evil? Yes, absolutely. (And Korra does suffer for her mistakes and start to learn from them - she'll always be headstrong but not to the point of incompetence the way she is in the first few episodes)
Have some reservations about immediately diving into this right after FMAB but I could be persuaded. -MP
- Have already seen season 1, but would be super enthusiastic for this. - maria
Chihayafuru S2
- How many of us have seen S1? I support Chihayafuru as a great show, but feel that people watching S2 without having seen S1 would be missing out on a lot. --maxb
- I have not seen Chihayafuru and am unlikely to watch it in my own time. --YYY

Proposals which have not been fully evaluated

Barakamon (12)
- Slice of life/comedy/drama about Tokyo calligrapher sent to live in remote Japanese island. --YYYY
- Seemed promising, based on reading a review, but after I watched a bit of it, I don't find it enjoyable. There's too much of people being obnoxious or irritating to each other. --maxb
Sabagebu!
- Comedy about high school survival game club. -YYY
- Watched episode 1. Feeling mostly neutral about it: it was kind of amusing at times, but sometimes felt like just a bunch of gags pasted together into makeshift plot. --maxb
- Started episode 1, it didn't really hold my attention --lmm
Non Non Biyori
- I enjoyed the first episode up to a point, but don't really feel the need to see more - it was somewhat amusing but ideally we'd find better things for the schedule --lmm
  - Oh, it's not your suggestion originally (as the wiki history would imply) ? --maxb
    - I suggested when we were brainstorming at dinner, on the grounds that CUAMS had watched it.
Very much iyashikei but has some comedic moments. I loved it but I don't think it's everyone's cuppa. --YYY
- I watched season 1, it was pleasant. --maxb
- I don't think Non Non Biyori should go in the comedy slot because half of the audience will be bored to tears. - YYY
- I feel that after two seasons of Rabbit, we're due a change of pace from "girls do everyday stuff in their picturesque town", but that Non Non Biyori could still be a good slot 5 in the future. --maxb
New Game! (ニューゲーム Nyū Gēmu)
- Cute girls designing cute vidya characters. -YYY
- Seen, liked, would watch again. --maxb
- Watched one episode - seems fun, would watch more. - maria
- Watched at least one episode - willing to watch more - AIM
- There are now two seasons, but season 1 comfortably stands alone. Season 2 was a fun chance to revisit the characters, but would probably seem a bit same-y if watched consecutively with season 1. --maxb
Poco's Udon World (うどんの国の金色毛鞠 Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari)
- Another propaganda anime for raising birth rates in Japan. Guy from Tokyo goes back to hometown, finds and takes care of a young boy who is actually a tanuki. Hijinks ensue. Also, first anime I've seen with a Maserati in it. -YYY
Kobayashi-san's Dragon Maid 小林さんちのマイドラゴン
- A light-hearted series with an underlying theme of interpersonal relationships improving people's (and dragons') lives. Best last episode that I've seen for a long time. --maxb
Ninja Girl and Samurai Master https://anilist.co/anime/21666/NobunaganoShinobi
- A comedy about a ninja girl serving Nobunaga - keeps the jokes flowing at a consistent pace, but not a serious historical show -- AIM
- Short episodes (50s opening, 2m40s content), but we can double up for each meeting
Phantom in the Twilight
- Chinese students studying abroad in London meet Creatures of the Night. Hijinks ensue.
- This one's a bit speculative - I've seen 2 episodes, will update when I've seen more. It's being played for Mild Peril and general hilarity, making for an entertaining but not at all serious show. So far, worth keeping an eye on and seeing what else is competing for slots. --maxb

Historical Fallbacks

Action
- Mirai Nikki
- Black Lagoon
- Hellsing Ultimate
  - Almost-veto from Mark, and awkward to fit into a schedule. (10 x double-length episodes)
Sci-fi
- Kaiba - older but it seems most of us haven't seen it, and I could stand to watch it again --lmm
  - Watching that scene once in company was enough. It's a good show but I'm not super enthused. - MP
  - The art style leaves me deeply unenthused. (Watched PV and a few minutes of ep 1) --maxb
Uncategorized
- Ping Pong the Animation

Special candidates

Gunbuster --lmm
Garakowa: Restore the World - a 1h film from Winter 2016, pretty, good music, and interesting enough, though did leave me questioning why they handled the pacing the way they did. --maxb
Initial D Legend (a reboot/retelling of the start of the story with better animation - first two watched already) --lmm
TO 2 (Symbiotic Planet) since we watched the first? --lmm
Thunderbolt Fantasy movie --lmm pp Lestaki
Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka?? ~Dear My Sister~ (ご注文はうさぎですか?? ～Dear My Sister～) [~60mins] - More GochiUsa for those who liked the TV series. Feels like a 60min episodes more than a movie. --YYY
Asagao to Kase-san. (あさがおと加瀬さん。) [~60mins] - An OVA of the celebrated Kase-san yuri manga series. Explores the relationship between the eponymous Kase-san and Yamada through a series of vignettes. Erica Friedman likes it so it must be good! --YYY

Informal planning principles

None of this is absolute. These are guidelines only and if following them would mean watching bad shows and not watching good shows then we will overrule them
We watch about 2:30 each week - normally 6 normal-length TV episodes from 6 different shows (watching each show from start to finish at one episode per week)
- If a significant number of attendees will miss one or two meetings (e.g. during holiday periods) we set aside the regular schedule and show "specials" instead.
We try to group the schedule into "seasons" (i.e. start and finish a group of shows at the same time) to provide some structure and (at least theoretically) to give newcomers a reasonable point at which to join.
- Seasons are long enough to complete a "short" show (i.e. 12 or 13 weeks) and do not necessarily align with calendar seasons
- We aim to start shows when they are still airing, but after enough episodes have aired to reasonably evaluate them (usually three or four)
- Seasons are named on this page after the "anime season" from which shows could have appeared in that season
  - i.e. if we start a season just before spring ends and summer begins (or even after a few summer episodes have aired, but not enough for summer shows to be considered for the schedule), we will call that season "spring"
  - i.e. at any given time we may be up to a season "behind realtime"
Avoid falling into a rut
- We try to enforce a mix of genres by using "slots"
  - Approximate slots
    - Action and/or general fast-paced
    - Sci-Fi
    - General, faster and/or more serious
    - General or sports, slower and/or more lighthearted
    - Comedy
    - Romance and/or drama
- Slot order is so that the tonal arc of the evening makes some sense
  - This sounds really wishy-washy, but at the same time it genuinely is surprisingly important - we've had meetings where we watched things in the "wrong" order for technical reasons and it didn't go well
- We can skip, reassign or "fudge" a slot if there really are no good shows in that genre that season, but we should be very wary if we find ourselves repeatedly skipping the same slot
- "Current" shows generally take priority over older shows
  - If there are not enough schedule-quality shows then we look to recent shows that we considered schedule-quality but did not make the schedule in a previous season, and/or to "classic" shows
Try to reach a consensus but also to broaden our horizons
- We largely rely on attendees watching at least the first few episodes of a show and then proposing it for the schedule
- We try to avoid scheduling a show that any attendee strenuously objects to
  - This is not absolute, particularly if there are enough "vetos" to make it difficult to assemble a schedule at all
We would prefer to air a show that some love and others dislike (though not hate) than one that everyone is "meh" about
- This is not to say that shows have to be controversial or provocative (though at the same time we don't shy away from such shows)
  - There is plenty of space for a well-crafted "safe" show, just not for a mediocre one.
  - Shows that are ambitious will ideally be given slightly more leeway regarding weaknesses in other areas.
    - But only slightly.
- Conversely shows that are content to remain within their genre ("if you want x you know where to find it") will ideally be held to a slightly higher standard.
We call shows that two or more people supported and no-one strenuously objected to "schedule-worthy" and list them separately below
- Experience suggests that we will most likely air them sooner or later
- This is solely as a matter of practicality; it doesn't imply any firm commitment
We can and do drop shows partway through, even partway through a season, but only when there is a firm consensus for doing so
- Generally if even one attendee was still enjoying a given show we would not drop it
The host retains an absolute veto over anything they find genuinely objectionable
- i.e. not just shows I don't like
- Animu/HostVetoes

History

Animu/History