Nov4
MetaVerse Episode 36: Keep Hitting Us
Some of our favorites, surprises and dislikes from the Fall ’13 anime season
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:05:18 — 51.0MB)
SHOW NOTES
NEWS
- Space Dandy to air simultaneously on Toonami with English dub
- Crunchyroll to simulcast One Piece
- Crunchyroll simulpubbing Kodansha Comics manga (including Attack on Titan, Space Bros and Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Mago)
- 10 Million Hits for Metanorn!
FALL ’13 DISCUSSION
- “Early Favorite”
- “Better Than I Thought It’d Be”
- “I Tried, But I Just Couldn’t”
- “Bottom of Garbage Bin”
- Other shows discussed: Kill la Kill, Galilei Donna, Log Horizon and more
MUSIC
- OP: “Strike the Blood” by Kishidan Kyoudan and the Akeboshi Rockets from Strike the Blood
- OST: Uchouten Kazoku OST
- ED: “Your Song” by Yun*chi from Log Horizon
PS: Give us your suggestions via MetaQ.
About Meta Cast
The team behind Metanorn's Podcast, MetaVerse. Our aniblogging experience gives us the expertise to dish out detailed opinions on which series to watch and ones to drop. And remember, we take fangirling seriously!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Well, I woke up sick this morning, and found this. Nothing like laying in bed with my laptop trying to chill.
Space Dandy is trying out something new in the distro. Let’s see how it works.
Kyousougiga. Is pure Id. It’s on a mildly different version of loopystuff than Monogatari, but some of the things they explore with family, longevity, finality.
Fanservice in Yozakura is pretty brief, so, in odd contrast it does seem rather WTH, doesn’t it? But, after this long, you kinda adapt It’s Anime, There Will Be Service.
Hey, Fosh, have a Happy Non Non Day. Nyan-pasu! If it’s SOL, I typically watch it. But I did have some pause. “What? Another one, how far can you go, dude?” But Silver Link, good character design, and nano.RIPE convinced me to go for it.
With Outbreak Company I think the moe-import-export is a ruse, other things going on under the surface…It’s alot of fun, and not at all like Dog Days (different kind of cheese)
Strike the INDEX? Yeah, I can see that floaty island becoming like Academy City. Extended fanservice in the manage left out of the anime? What is this….To Love Ru?
BlazBlu was just horrible horrible horrible. I even watched a minute of the second to confirm, but no, horror upon storytelling horror.
B2 Bomber Blues….
UMD is a show I could drop, keep, or maybe even Drop Kick. Such a rich magitec world, but it has some up and down writing with mostly down.
Kill la Kill! Saving anime! I’m really was not under the impression that the medium needs saving. I only ever started to hear this phrase in about the five or so years. Band Chick is just so much. So much.
Valvrave got serious, and then it pissed me off with Marie. Does Sunrise do that in all their shows, Fosh? This is about the only show I think I have ever watched by them.
The fourth episode of Galilei Donna was about the worst thing I’ve seen this season, or even this year. Bottom of the barrel animation, plot, and characterization. I see where lvlln is going. It’s Da Vinci’s bloodline that should be special. He was total BL. I think the show is really over selling the STEM genius of Hozuki. Or it’s not getting sold correctly. It looks like they live in a prefab world, where you can compile stuff rather easily. But she is a young girl, and a child having that much thought to see such a big project to completion is rather amazing.
Log Horizen is pretty darn awesome.
Bouncy Bouncy and the Hero Guy is one of my favorite shows. The animation really does make up for the derpy characters and plot. At times it feels like Phino just showed up in the wrong TV program.
I was ready to drop Samumenco, but the third episode saved it for me.
20 Million Hits is a GO!
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Valvrave, I didn’t really care that much about Marie: minor side character, had a moment in the sun, burned out hard while having a big damn hero moment. Don’t forget how this show operates: Throw tons of stuff at the wall and see what sticks.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
D’awwww get well soon Skylion!
I am hype to see Space Dandy on Toonami because if it goes well we might see more studios attempting that in the future.
Kyousogiga is a trip I love the animation, characters, story even though I will agree it can be very confusing at times but the recent episodes are filling in the blanks quite nicely.
Yozakura does fanservice quite well! I mean it could be a lot WORSE aka topless shots every other minute like DxD level which I have no problem with, but I mean most people are turned away with service shots in their face every ten minutes…
Non Non is a great series; however my only complaint comes back to the “energy” of the series it really needs a super hyper character type like Kana of Minami-ke! That said I still enjoy the storytelling and character interaction like episode 4? Yes it was sad and dramatic but they really made me feel those two girls were great friends <3
Strike the Index is the perfect name~
Valvrave I have been slacking on my posts due to some IRL stuffs, but yes Sunrise has a history of taking great side characters giving them some progression and then out of nowhere BOOM something sad or crazy happens to them, but it doesn't always involve character death. I mean the only shows outside of Gundam that play with that kind of set up are stuff like Code Geass, Tiger and Bunny and Mai-HiME minus the ending that everyone hated >.>
Log Horizon is a fun time and 100% better than SAO and Accel World combined.
GO GO 20 or 30 Million hits <3
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I think Non Non Biyori is about perfect as it is. It doesn’t need anyone messing up the serene yet amusing dynamic. Natsumi is already a baka character, and having someone be hyper would just make it so that the rare moments of ‘action’ wouldn’t have as much impact.
I feel like I’m not getting something with Kyousougiga. I don’t care for the constant hyperactivity of Koto and her two ‘brothers’. I don’t see any deep meaning in any of it. This past episode was probably the one I connected most with, but I still don’t really ‘get’ it. I understand the story perfectly fine, but it just has no resonance with me. It’s acceptable, not masterful.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I thought the sister returning from Tokyo serves just fine as an energetic prankster sort. Or maybe Mako-chan could visit…
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Oh man, poor Hika-nee, having her thunder completely stolen by Hotarun! That was so classic, and I was just dying. One of those jokes you could see coming the whole way, and it was still awesome.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
The pacing was perfect. I hope they have more of her character soon. Episode five didn’t, but next episode is still part of summer vacation, so there is hope.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
I guess a hyper girl would upset the balance between the current girls but I am not talking hyper as Hajime of Gatchaman b/c that is too extreme…
I can see the issues with gigga I mean it does have a nasty habit of pushing Koto into OMG-LOOK-AT-ALL-THIS-FUN-STUFF and story wise it does bounce around a bit much, but I have a feeling it will come together soooooon!
POWUH: 700-799 and Parkouring Fanboy with 776 comments
Oh my god, a BL anime about the hot descendants of Da Vinci – whom I’m not sure had any descendants – now there’s a concept that’s more compelling than Galilei Donna.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Yep.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Spammy is still humping my leg….
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
DOWN SPAMMY DOWN!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I thought the Spammy Tammer had already bested this insatiable beast.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Skylion needs to take spammy for a walk maybe hes just grumpy…
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…change his food, take him to the vet, the Old Yeller treatment?
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I have for myself. He still picks on you guys, cause you’re not as special as me. š
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
My picks for your categories:
Early Favorite: White Album 2, by a mile. Great characters, great interaction, authentic feelings. So far almost a perfect romance show.
Better than I thought: Toss up between NouKome and Arpeggio of Blue Steel. NouKome has some really derpy animation, and some of the jokes just bomb, but somehow it’s got this amazing flow that makes the show terrifically entertaining. Arpeggio is a show that’s apparently tough for people to see past the production method, but the action and combat is top rate, and somehow it’s making these AI characters tremendously interesting (Kirishima’s breakdown and Haruna’s awareness at the end of their battle was gripping).
I tried, but just couldn’t: I haven’t actually dropped any* show yet, but the closest ones in this category are BlazBlue, Coppelion, and Samurai Flamenco. BlazBlue, as everyone has said, is just terrible. Coppelion I don’t mind so much, but they really demand a lot of incredulity, and Samurai Flamenco needs to get an identity.
Garbage: Diabolik Lovers. Vile. Reprehensible. Truly embarrassing me as a human being.
I haven’t had any problems with most other shows. Galilei Donna I enjoy, Kill la Kill has done well to get away from straight up ‘boss fight of the week’, I’m actually still watching SekaTsuyo, and if you take it as a sports anime, the slowness is a lot less of a problem. Everything else is pretty much in the middle.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Not a bad list Highway!
White Album one of these days I will take a peek into season one and give it a test run one of these days.
NouKome is a great one and it feels as insane and off the wall as Kore wa Zombie and Sora no Otoshimono to me and Arpeggio of Blue Steel is starting to grow on me, but for now I am kind of glad we stopped that for mini-talks because so far its “WHOA THAT BATTLE WAS AWESOME!” every week and that might be hard to avoid saying.
I don’t blame you for Coppelion it is kind of a meh series they have done the same thing over and over again but what can you really do about a series that is centered around rescuing people? I suppose more battles and like everyone else said if they are “military” why are they in school uniforms? I guess they just wanted to go that way?
Galilei and Kill la kill are fun so far <3
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I always got to mentally prepare myself before listening to these podcasts. That must sound weird, huh? š
Strike the Blood, Kakumeiki Valvrave 2, Kill la Kill and Yozakura Quartet: Hana no Uta easily fell into the āEarly Favoriteā category.
As for āBetter Than I Thought Itād Beā, thereās Arpeggio of Blue Steel: Ars Nova, Kyoukai no Kanata, Log Horizon and Tokyo Ravens.
āI Tried, But I Just Couldnātā goes to Coppelion and Samurai Flamenco. I gave Coppelion four episodes and Flamenco almost ten minutes. The latter was simply unappealing and ridiculous to me.
The crown for āBottom of Garbage Binā goes to Ace of Diamond. I donāt know why I even gave that show a chance.
Strike the Blood!! I am so in my comfort zone with that anime. Thatās why Iāve been unusually assaulting Karakuriās posts with my comments and managed to persuade her to take an interest in the show (like I got her into Trinity Blood), helping her out with stuff she didnāt understand by going into the manga which with the translations only went up with halfway through the final fight against Rudolf in āRight Arm Of The Saintā arc. The story is getting solid as it goes along but what hooks you is interaction between Kojou and Yukina which deviates completely from the typical meeting of two characters and because of that, I was able to ship them right off the bat.
Iāve been hearing that Strike has been compared heavily to Index thanks to surroundings, the class of residents on the island and the ranks each official has. But not only does it look like that, there are actually some seiyuus from the Index anime and/or movie playing some of the characters like Yuka Iguchi, aka Index herself, playing the homunculus Astarte.
Iām still keeping up with Sekai de Ichiban Tsuyoku Naritai! The premise just makes it interesting. I admit the first three episodes were hard to watch but now things seem to be improving.
Yeah, with Diabolik Lovers, thereās a lot of controversy. I once said itās a social experiment for me but you guys have no idea what Iāve seen on the discussions at MAL. That there are still a considerable amount of people watching it and pushing the material away like itās nothing at all and most I gather are female. Some even said they wouldnāt mind being āravishedā by one of the six guys and most are particularly fond of the one with the teddy bear Kanato because heās bipolar and has mood swings. I guess the show does well in bringing out the masochistic nature in girls. Karakuri is actually a big fan of its game version.
Valvrave is another gem this season. Not only is the story improving, itās getting a lot more serious. However, thereās no express how annoyed I was with the way Marie was dealt with especially when she was becoming more significant and I was beginning to like her. After the reveal of what her species is, it would have been impossible to kill her but we got sucker punched when Sunrise chose to make her brain dead. I mean, come on!!
Log Horizon was another surprise. One can say it fills in the gaps and succeeds in spots Sword Art Online wasnāt able to. Also, they have a pretty badass OP [Database]. It was one of a few I was downloading earlier today.
This is the first season where Iāve seen so many 2 cour series playing at once. I count 9 of them so far:
Strike the Blood (24 episodes)
Kill la Kill (25 episodes)
Magi: The Kingdom of Magic (25 episodes)
Phi Brain: Kami no Puzzle S3 (25 episodes)
Tokyo Ravens (24 episodes)
Log Horizon (25 episodes)
Golden Time (24 episodes)
Nagi no Asukara (26 episodes)
Samurai Flamenco (22 episodes)
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
LOL as in getting yourself pumped up? Nice!
That is an awesome list! I love all those shows and I am kind of shocked that Arpeggio has actually turned out to be a really fun series…
I knew Strike the Blood would be perfect for our resident vampire lover even though I continue to see it as another Index 2.0 because the themes are soooooooo close! Besides science they have more supernatural elements and that does set them apart from the world of Index.
VALVRAVEEEEEEE! I love that oddball series <3
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
If I had to put all the animes Iām watching into three categories, theyād go like this:
Most anticipated:
Strike the Blood
Kakumeiki Valvrave
Kill la Kill
Yozakura Quartet: Hana no Uta
Arpeggio of Blue Steel: Ars Nova
Moderate:
Magi: The Kingdom of Magic
Phi Brain: Kami no Puzzle S3
Little Busters! Refrain
Sekai de Ichiban Tsuyoku Naritai!
Tokyo Ravens
Galilei Donna
Kyoukai no Kanata
Log Horizon
Diabolik Lovers
Average:
Infinite Stratos 2
Freezing Vibration
Kyousougiga
Unbreakable Machine-Doll
BlazBlue: Alter Memory
Gingitsune
Walkure Romanze
Yuushibu
Golden Time
Nagi no Asukara
White Album 2
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
We need to get you more romance-y. Although a few seasons ago, I don’t know if you’d have even watched that many. š
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I don’t know if I can recommend…as my romances usually have liberal doses of ecchi, comedy, and other sorts of ingredients…
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Hahaha!! I accept your challenge, sir, and you’re welcome to try as I recall a certain Spammy Tamer saying one time that I wouldn’t get him with any of my vampire anime suggestions as I was spreading my influence to others, creating followers. My resume is short but I did get Karakuri with Trinity Blood and got her to stick with Strike the Blood and got Irenesharda into Shiki.
Speaking of Spammy Tamer, Spammy ate an earlier comment of mine. Could you get it from his accursed jaws?
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I’ve watched plenty of vampire shows. I just don’t really care that they’re vampires, and there’s nothing about vampires that would make me watch.
Have you seen Kiriya Hakushakuke no Roku Shimai? Heh. Heh. Heh.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Oh, hell yeah!!! Been there, done that and I liked it a lot. It’s actually the first hentai I’ve ever seen that had vampires in it though their species wasn’t revealed until the second episode. And the protagonist Daisuke picked Kurenai as his bride who in my opinion is the best girl among the Kiriya sisters so he did right. Second best would be Sumire.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Oh you, Jrow! Playing Uchouten Kazoku music during a Fall podcast! xD
Had a good time listening to you guys and here are my choices:
– Early Favorite – Kyoukai no Kanata: unlike lvlln š I am having fun with this series and love all the characters. As I don’t like the usual moeblob shows of KyoAni, I liked this action, fast paced one better.
– Better Than I Thought Itād Be: Yowamushi Pedal – This one surprised me as I wasn’t even going to watch it. The sissy otaku dude is cute in his own right but the whole surprising practice due to his weekly trip to Akihabara is a funny premise.
– I Tried, But I Just Couldnāt: Coppelion – ugh. I’m still watching due to Suzumura Kenichi’s voice glimpse in episode 5. As well, Maaya Sakamoto will be voicing a role so yeah.
– Bottom of Garbage Bin: Ars Nova – fugly CG & Blazblue – even Sugitan can’t save this.
Btw, I’ll agree with Jrow’s points on Ace of Diamond. I’ve dropped it myself for almost the same reason. The voice cast was amazing but the main dude is so annoying that I just couldn’t go on.
The highlight for Lerche was Carnival Phantasm period.
I have already accessed Metanorn on an Apple store in Sydney and left it there. Heheheeee. I should have taken a picture, damn it!
Looking forward to Space Dandy for sure and this reminds me, I’d like to give a shoutout to Yamato 2199, which just finished airing recently. This series was golden and everyone should watch it. Perfect combination of space drama, action and Sci-fi.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
High five for dropping Ace of Diamond. That series doesn’t deserve the cast it managed to get.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Still feeling sad to leave Takahiro Sakurai but oh well…
POWUH: 1000-1099 and Pirate King with 1048 comments
Heh, I probably could’ve went with an instrumental from one of the new OPs, but oh well, I do like that Uchouten track.
I have the final episodes of 2199 lined up to watch tomorrow. I even got a Akira Yamamoto figure earlier this month. š
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Oh naah, loved Uchouten so it was a good insert. I’m at episode 21 tonight but loving every minute of it. The figure is ooh lala! Pretty detailed and perfect for Akira. xD
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Yamato!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Anthony Bourdain in Tokyo. Wow. When you see it…
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Wait, 27 minutes in is where it gets pertinent to us.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Why is Non Non Biyori so great? Here’s a small part:
Ren-chon