(CR) Asura Cryin' (First Season)

[Solace]

Originally Posted by Dragon TY

If thats it then how the hell does he beleive his past self could change something he couldn't do since his pasts self is still himself. Just a crazy thought of mind.

People change a lot over the course of time. A common thing that older people reflect on is how much more or less impulsive they used to be, for example. Or have you ever thought how your life might have turned out if only certain things did or didn't happen at key points? For instance maybe you asked someone out and they said no. What would your life be like if they had said yes instead?

[serenade_beta]

Revolutionary episode? In various meanings.

Spoiler for ep3:

The main thing... Putting the story aside, something clearly changed about the animation. I don't know... how to say, it was very "Shaft-like". Like the exchange with the windows. Which is interesting. But... what was with all of the posing? Throughout the second half especially, the characters constantly made comedic and strange poses. Now, what is that all about? Some attempt to get the crowd to laugh?

For probably the first time, this anime felt interesting without leaving viewers going "HAH?!". Near the end, it got chaotic again, with Misao popping out of nowhere (So... where did you go?) and some other stuff happening that needs explanations though... Well, I'll just leave it as "Maybe they will explain it later" because if I choose to word it different, some people in this forum start having seizures or something... Scary, scary.

Can't really say I liked the comedy forced in the middle of everything...

But for the most part, it was an interesting episode (hope the future episodes will do well too). At least they finally showed what the Shaeitais were. People dead (half-dead) in tubes inside the robots, but when the robots are not materialized (for some reason, signing that paper allows him to pull the robot from anywhere=no need for trunk anymore...). And so, that loli in that outfit (why that outfit? Lolicon?) is the student president's sister (one of them). Though it feels like her personality is very different from before she died... Reason?
And it turns out that club president is a cyborg or something, having weapons in her arm or something. (Action filled with plenty of odd poses)... Doesn't matter though. Characters like her tend to annoy me... ...........
In the meantime, that student president really is a great work of art, huh. Talking about demons and stuff when he (thanks, animators) is the one that looks like one the most, not mind killing others but when his own sister gets in danger, he starts screaming and stuff, and just packing up at the end. Oh, and can't forget him going on about the protagonist making a decision. Decision? Eh? More like... Forced? Haha. Give me your younger sister's real body and jump into a ravine, please.

And so, what seems like the prologue ends. We also get a short and lacking (hey, the usual thing, right?) introduction on the two sides the club president and student council president are on, and starting next episode (the animation still looks weird), new characters from the OP start to appear. Looks like it could get more interesting from here. It might just turn out to be an interesting anime, after all, right Munto?
Munto: "Hah, in the end, the show is just gonna end with sailor uniforms, right?"
Me: "Hahaha, wouldn't that be priceless!"

Protagonist?........Ah~, the guy who continues to get left in the dark as other stuff go on around him, the guy who puts a suitcase in front of him and tries to threaten the bad guys with it, the guy who got forced into joining the club president's side, the guy who's slowly building up something like a harem, that guy?
Someone like that existed?

[Nvis]

I loved that specific pose the miko girl was in.

[ThoHell]

Hmm... I just can't bring myself to like Natsume (the male lead), or whatever his name is. he seems like another one of those moronic annoying leads... Besides him, everything else seems fine.

[Alchemist007]

Is there a place to get the novel translations or summaries? (Both if possible)
Also how many eps is this planned thus far, only 13? It seems like a good series.

[Klashikari]

Episode 3 was probably one of the worst episode I could watch for any series alike. Honestly, the change of animation direction was for the worst: very awkward animations (especially Tomo and Reishirou running), skipped frames, awkward design, horrible camera pan, and especially RANDOM and STIFF poses and "change of art".

Spoiler for episode 3, big rant:

It almost looks like a SHAFT animator got a royal guest slot all of a sudden, but with the worst budget and ideas ever. Not only the transitions were really horrible (flashbacks and between scenes) but even the design itself got the short end of a stick in a matter of minutes.
To say the least, the SHAFT features were not only distracting but certainly not fitting the said series (I seriously question the random shot of Reishirou with demonic tooth). But the straw was really the poses: Tomoharu had like 90% of the time spread legs, and it went even more on the ridiculous side when he is confronting Shuri, Aine etc.

Honestly, it was almost like random comedy inserted here and there, for no apparant reason (well, that is to say, they really make it worse with the "fanservice" regarding Kanade, for no apparent reason, with special gloss effect to make things even more out of the mood).
I won't even comment about the ridiculous size of Shuri's weaponry: one needs to turn their brain OFF to prevent the obliteration of one's suspension of disbelief (comparison between her limbs and the missiles launchers for example).

*rant off"... at least the plot itself was moving tad a bit, and certainly brought some interesting elements regarding Reishirou faction and the Asura Machina/Shaetai matter.
But the quality aspect of this episode ruined really everything... I certainly hope the animation direction will be set back to normal, because the ridiculous meter is reaching the "so bad it is funny / unlimited facepalm work" dangerous boundary.

[SaintessHeart]

I just started watching out this episode and it seemingly gives of the vibes of Chaos Head as an anime. I was pretty much thrown out of whack when he is attacked by a supermoe miko, a kinky looking senpai and a group of holey knights for no apparent reason over something called Asura Machina (Demon Machine in Latin as I figured).

The storyline seems pretty random and ambigious, but I shall continue watching due to the generous helping of a cliche filled harem.

Schwarzchild Darkness : Has it got something to do with black holes? A Schwarzchild radius is when all mass of an object could fit within that radius, it could cause the mass to collapse upon itself into a singularity (i.e black hole). Is it just dark matter or what?

[serenade_beta]

Originally Posted by Alchemist007

Is there a place to get the novel translations or summaries? (Both if possible)

As far as I know, no, there isn't. Perhaps you can visit Baka-Tsuki and see if someone there is interested in translating it.

Originally Posted by Klashikari

Episode 3 was probably one of the worst episode I could watch for any series alike. Honestly, the change of animation direction was for the worst: very awkward animations (especially Tomo and Reishirou running), skipped frames, awkward design, horrible camera pan, and especially RANDOM and STIFF poses and "change of art".

Spoiler for episode 3, big rant:

It almost looks like a SHAFT animator got a royal guest slot all of a sudden, but with the worst budget and ideas ever. Not only the transitions were really horrible (flashbacks and between scenes) but even the design itself got the short end of a stick in a matter of minutes.
To say the least, the SHAFT features were not only distracting but certainly not fitting the said series (I seriously question the random shot of Reishirou with demonic tooth). But the straw was really the poses: Tomoharu had like 90% of the time spread legs, and it went even more on the ridiculous side when he is confronting Shuri, Aine etc.

Honestly, it was almost like random comedy inserted here and there, for no apparant reason (well, that is to say, they really make it worse with the "fanservice" regarding Kanade, for no apparent reason, with special gloss effect to make things even more out of the mood).
I won't even comment about the ridiculous size of Shuri's weaponry: one needs to turn their brain OFF to prevent the obliteration of one's suspension of disbelief (comparison between her limbs and the missiles launchers for example).

*rant off"... at least the plot itself was moving tad a bit, and certainly brought some interesting elements regarding Reishirou faction and the Asura Machina/Shaetai matter.
But the quality aspect of this episode ruined really everything... I certainly hope the animation direction will be set back to normal, because the ridiculous meter is reaching the "so bad it is funny / unlimited facepalm work" dangerous boundary.

So it wasn't just me... (´・ω・｀)
Looking on Wikipedia, I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that
The third episode:
絵コンテ 演出 has 斉藤良成 listed.

[Greenish Growth]

Yeah, the third episode felt disjointed to me. I thought it was disappointing. It felt like they were trying to cram too much into it too.

Episode three:

Spoiler:

Did the case change weight too? How was he able to carry it so easily compared to the first episode? Didn't he notice the change in weight or was that because of inconsistency in direction?

[Klashikari]

^

Spoiler for episode 3:

That was an hilarous inconsistency I've found as well. Tomoharu was having hard time with the briefcase FIRST, and then, after he get angry because of Shuri's second appearance, he suddenly carries it with 1 hand only (with quite a moronic pose, especially after his encounter with Aine).

The briefcase was obviously lighter as it was empty from the start (and shown that tomoharu didn't have to drag it from the ground), but he indeed suddenly change the way how he is carrying it in the plain middle of the episode

[sirn]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

So it wasn't just me... (´・ω・｀)
Looking on Wikipedia, I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that
The third episode:
絵コンテ 演出 has 斉藤良成 listed.

I thought the same thing while watching the third episode, but seeing Saitou Yoshinari being credited as Storyboard, Episode Director and Animation Director explains everything. This "Belkan-type Animation" also happened in the third episode of Prism Ark which is also by Saitou Yoshinari, so it's something to be expected...

[Skyfall]

Episode 3 ... urgh. While scene transitions were never this anime's strong point, episode 3 simply felt painfully jerky most of the time. And what happened to the animation, both quality and style vise, .... as already noted, it felt like SHAFT took over, and on a very bad day at that.

Spoiler for episode 3:

While plot wise this was fairly decent, by confirming a lot of the things that could have been deducted before, execution wise it was borderline painful to watch at times. Seriously, Tomo using the suitcase as a shield against machinegun fire was nonsensical ... in fact his whole entrance in said room was. Shuri fitting weaponry inside her limbs that take up twice the room she should have was also quite shake-head worthy. (Her being a cyborg of sorts was not that much of a surprise, given her earlier performance and OP hints).

However, it is unquestionably the poor animation quality, the inconsistent character designs, the facepalm-worthy "posing" of the characters, and the general "artsy" presentation that turned this episode in to the mush that it was. I was having a lot of trouble taking the majority of this ep seriously, because it simply looked anything but. Compared to the first two epsiodes, this felt like a cheesy parody based on them. Bleh.

And blatant Kanade fanservice.

That aside, the plot offered some new details as well. While the 'shaetai' bodies being located inside the Asura Machine was not new, we do get to see how one gets bound to it. Which makes me wonder how Misao became one, and who was responsible for it, more so because she seems unaware of her own situation. If she was on the same flight with Tomo that crashed, that could have been the "when", which leaves us "by whom" and "for what purpose". Guess time will reveal that. (By the way, was i the only one reminded of EVA when Tomo's Asura started tearing the other one apart with bare hands ).

As for Reishiro ... i must say i find it ironically amusing that he keeps spouting stuff about demons and what not, yet he is, no matter how i look at it, the one of the three factions that would fit said label the most. That's short-sighted self-righteousness for you though ... i can't wait for the time when he (hopefully) gets to crash and burn. Speaking of Reishiro though, i wonder what the focus is going to be on right now, seeing that he is backing down for now.

Originally Posted by sirn

I thought the same thing while watching the third episode, but seeing Saitou Yoshinari being credited as Storyboard, Episode Director and Animation Director explains everything. This "Belkan-type Animation" also happened in the third episode of Prism Ark which is also by Saitou Yoshinari, so it's something to be expected...

That certainly explains why this episode felt almost embarrassing to watch at times ... i pray to whatever demons i worship that this guy is never allowed to work on this (or any for that matter) anime again. While first two episodes were quite enjoyable, this one was a painful experience. One i would much rather do without.

[Nvis]

Some of you guys overanalyze too much.

[serenade_beta]

Originally Posted by sirn

I thought the same thing while watching the third episode, but seeing Saitou Yoshinari being credited as Storyboard, Episode Director and Animation Director explains everything. This "Belkan-type Animation" also happened in the third episode of Prism Ark which is also by Saitou Yoshinari, so it's something to be expected...

That episode...
Though I wasn't really bothered there. (Actually, kind of liked it? ) But for this anime... Very obvious, not necessarily in a good meaning.

Originally Posted by Skyfall

That certainly explains why this episode felt almost embarrassing to watch at times ... i pray to whatever demons i worship that this guy is never allowed to work on this (or any for that matter) anime again. While first two episodes were quite enjoyable, this one was a painful experience. One i would much rather do without.

Ah, flag!
When you say it that way, kind of feel sorry for the guy.

Originally Posted by Nvis

Some of you guys overanalyze too much.

About what? The plot, the plot inconsistencies/odd parts, or the 3rd episode's incredible visuals?

[Used Can]

I've watched the first two episodes of this, and I think it's fairly decent. Although, just as others have said before, the main character seems quite annoying, as he's your typical loser thrown in a situation in which he'd rather not be. I think I'll be sticking to this just for Misao, and perhaps for Takatsuki as well.

I'd really like some novel spoilers on this.

[Greenish Growth]

Episode 3:

Spoiler:

(By the way, was i the only one reminded of EVA when Tomo's Asura started tearing the other one apart with bare hands ).

That was the first thing I thought of as well.

Originally Posted by Used Can

Although, just as others have said before, the main character seems quite annoying, as he's your typical loser thrown in a situation in which he'd rather not be.

I didn't find him annoying at all...until I saw the stuff he did in episode 3. I hope that was just an aberration. Many of the complaints people had for the first episode were the complaints that I had for episode three. Strange turnabout there.

[Garet Jax]

I haven't seen the lastest episode, but can Misao interact with normal things/people at all? I initially thought not, for obvious reasons, but she has been placing her hands on Tomoharu's shoulders/back during confrontations. Instinctive support gestures, I guess? She did ride on the bike in ep. 1 (could have just been floating along, though) and she blocked one attack in ep. 2, but that could be an energy thing.

[germanturkey]

my initial thought was that Misao's character design could be better.. but an interesting first ep.

[Nvis]

Is it me or Chihiro cut out the OP entirely?

[Raiga]

Spoiler for Ep3:

I dunno, I actually thought the rather goofy animation was kinda fun. Well, okay, the poses were definitely awkward, but I loved the crazy action.

Cyborg-senpai was pretty awesome. She does seem to have more ammo than could fit in her arms, but... it's anime. :P Takatsuki fanservice really was pretty unnecessary, though (who's the lucky bastard who got her out of her uniform?).

Dunno why it happened, exactly, but I'm glad Misao's back. ^^