Recently I got back into watching animé after a roughly fifteen year hiatus. The reason for the break was mainly because I couldn't watch it. I had no way of doing so. Once I asked around on here for suggestions, I got the Crunchyroll and Funimation apps on my phone, and the Crunchyroll app on my PS4 and PS Vita as well. Since then I've been watching a variety of animé. Some were recommended by a friend and some I found on my own.

I tend to bounce between shows after I finish an arc or when I run out of episodes that are currently available for free users.
My favorites so far are:
•New Game! I found this one thanks to a friend's suggestion. It's a Slice of life animé about game developers. Two of my favorite things: Slice of Life animé, and games/game development. A no brainer. :V

•Sakura Quest. I found this one while looking for a show to watch on the app right after installing it. It was the first I tried, and it was awesome. Another Slice of Life animé, this one about a five young women who all have plans (well, except Ririko and to a lesser extent, Shiori), but their plans don't work out and they all end up in a small town called Manoyama. The town is slowly dying and they all have to try adjusting to the unexpected events that brought them together and work to revive the town. I promise, it's much better than it sounds. As an added bonus it's absolutely hilarious. lol

•Sword Art Online. I saved this one for last because I know how beloved (read: hated with the burning passion of a million suns) it is on here.
Now I could say a lot about this one. It's first arc was the one everyone knows about, and it was good, but it was marred by some stubborn choices by the writer, and a little annoying at times because of those choices (literally anyone was a better match for Kirito than the one he ended up with). However the second arc was my favorite because it showcased one of the best characters I've seen anywhere: Suguha/Leafa. Seriously, there is more emotion and story packed into her character and performance in that one arc than most shows pack in an entire series. Not to mention she was a champ. Who else would have done what she did? Yeah...
Arc three wasn't bad once it finally became interesting halfway through, and I've yet to watch arc four.


I also enjoyed the one episode I saw of Knights and Magic, and I really enjoyed the few episodes I saw of Royal Tutor.


So I ask: have any of you seen any of these shows? If so, what did you think of them? I'd love to find a few more people that are into some of the same animé as I am. :3

Also
yoshirulez! : I made an animé thread for you! You're not allowed to comment on SAO though.

Oh my. SAO is awesome. I have it on Netflix but II is in Japanese and I'm a rarity in the anime watchers. I prefer dubbed over subbed. Heck, I hate subtitles really. But I digress. My question is-You ever watch RWBY? It's not the best, but it's better than hamtaro... right yoshirulez!: ?

Yeah, just SAO, pretty much yelled at stupid stuff they did throughout the series, but it boils down to taste really.

manicman66 : I usually prefer dubbed over subbed as well, but SAO is an exception, at least in spots. For example, the Japanese voice actress for Suguha does a much better job on the heartbreak scene than the English one (who already did a good job), plus there was a lot of emotion lost in the dialogue itself in the translation.
But usually I go for dub anytime I can.

RWBY I have not watched, but I should probably give it a look since I want the game. :3


Frodlex : I just got upset and complained quietly at first and then to a friend via text message. And I mean seriously, what was with the way it broke it's own rules with the plot of arc two?? -___-

The only one I've seen that you listed was Sword Art Online. I enjoyed the first 14 episodes, but I started getting less interested through the fairy arc. I still haven't seen season 2.

I tried Sword Art Online and couldn't get past the 6th episode.

But...I tried Log Horizon and LOVED it. It's possibly my favorite anime ever. The fights take a backdoor to the characters, yet both are quite well-designed. I'm sooooooooo disappointed that we probably won't be getting a 3rd season.

I think I know Sakura Quest....I could be wrong about that....but sword art online I already know of. I told you I liked it then uh there were parts I didn't like about the show. Hence why I am not really bothered by season 2. Like as some people said here. It got interesting in the beginning then it died down a bit for me on some episodes. I had a feeling season 2 would be made I don't really want to watch it.

gamerforlifeforever : Aw really? :/ Episodes 15-22(?) Were my favorites, I hated the last two episodes of arc two though. The next to last because it made Kirito a monster tbh. Completely ruined his character that he had built for two entire arcs. The final episode did the same really because I had precious little respect for Kirito as a character by the time the final fight in the next to last episode rolled around, and when he pulled what he did, that quickly killed any remaining respect I had. In fact I couldn't stand him after that point.

Season II so far has been worlds better than the last two episodes of arc two, but just about anything would be. lol Arc three was really slow until around halfway through when it actually became pretty interesting, especially to someone who has seen Sinon in the games beforehand.


supernerd117 : I got stuck after episode seven myself. I came back months later and watched the rest and regretted not doing so sooner. I still don't like episode seven though -- it was pointless filler in a show that seriously could have used more filling out. Why waste an episode when there's so much un-covered lore?

I'll look into Log Horizon now. Thanks for the tip!


Eniitan : Look at my reply to gamer for more detail on my thoughts about arc two. In short, barring the very ending I absolutely loved arc two. It was incredible up until that point. My real gripe though is that the entire story of arc Two is not only annoying because of...well...let me put that in spoiler tags.

Wow what a rant. -__- That aggravates me so much though. I mean it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, and completely destroys everything the first arc did. At least the remaining story of arc two was not only good, but also one of the most beautiful I have ever seen in my life.

If the end of arc Two was what put you off, then trust me, arc three is worlds better. It's definitely worth watching imo, if you can manage to get past the ending of the previous arc.

Oh and Sakura Quest is one of my all time favorites!! So glad that someone seems to have at least heard of it. It should be much bigger than it is, and it's already fairly popular. lol

I've seen Sword Art Online (it has been quite a while though). The first few episodes looked incredibly promising, but I lost a lot of my initial interest after the first 3-4 episodes.

Ultimately, I think the problem with SAO is that it is such a plot-driven anime without actually showing any of the plot. It just seems to me like the creators were unsure of the direction the story would take and neglected to delve into and elaborate on the story's deeper themes. 

Overall, I think SAO crumbled under the weight of potential the first few episodes had. Seasons 2 and 3 do little to remedy this for me. I've tried other anime with a similar premise like Log Horizon and Btoooom! and I ended up enjoying those far more.

I have seen a little of Sword Art Online but never actually got into it. I have never seen any of the other animes the last anime I saw was chuko chuko go and I am absolutely certain that I am spelling that wrong. It is an anime about high school and middle school students who receive eggs that contain chibis with powers in side. Each of these chibis represents the " true self" of their dreams, the person who they dream of becoming, if they lose the hope of being able to become the adults that they wish to be the chibis turning into Xs bent on destroying everything in their path. Restore the hope though and you restore the chibi. The first season was good the second season was a little weird and repitive for me.

I watched Sword Art Online a bit, maybe 16 total out of the 25 episodes, and I like it, especially the games, but I never heard of the other one.

SacredShadow : I agree. The series had two major issues to me: first, like you mentioned, it had a plot, but didn't reveal the plot. I mean there were some amazing plot points laid out between episodes one and six, but they never followed up on any of them. In fact they talk about one of them at the end of the first arc as though we should have just known that what we never saw referenced happened. They introduced four key characters and then ignored two of them entirely save for showing their faces in the final episode and having the other two cameo a few times for literally a few seconds each time.

The second problem was that they had one tiny aspect of the story that they liked and so they forced it even when it broke the story. It went from Death Game to Kirito x Asuna. And if you read the spoiler text in my previous reply you'll see more reasons about why that bugged me so much.


Thanks for mentioning the others. I recently finished my three main animé do I need some more suggestions.




Fantasy Castle : Like I said to a friend a while back, I feel as though I enjoyed SAO in spite of SAO. lol It has some really good points and follows almost none of them. As for the one you mentioned, it sounds interesting. I'll see if I can find it.


zanderlex : Ah, the second arc (15-25) is by far the best part, except for the last two episodes which are terrible. lol And I didn't know you played the games! Those are awesome! I actually liked the gameplay of Hollow Fragment the best, but it's complicated and they got rid of it. Lost Song was probably technically a better game though. I won't play the crossover, so I'm not familiar with it. I'll grab Hollow Realization later and I'm still super hyped about Fatal Bullet. :3