The Anime M@sterthread - Platinum is a Full Metal Panic Edition

[Top Sergeant]

Glad I didn't bother with it, then.

I'm finding that I can't go wrong if choose to avoid isekai, especially if harems are involved.  The Ambition of Oda Nobuna and Outbreak Company being the only two exceptions.

I really enjoyed The Ambition of Oda Nobuna, and was very happy to discover that the dub made it even better for me. Ep 9 is freakin' awesome.  8)

[pheonixstorm]

I don't remember which I watched.. sub or dub or both. It was a good show though. Certainly an odd twist to history :thumbsup:

[MadCapellan]

But, and let's be honest here, Zero no Tsukaima isn't any better or worse than any of the isekai anime that followed it; it's exactly the same and if it had been released sometime in the last five years would be derided as formulaic and boring.

Zero no Tsukaima is the isekai all generic isekai want to be. Let's not underplay Yamaguchi-sensei's talent. He assembled a winning formula of tsundere romance, a pseudo-historical class drama, a high fantasy setting peppered with real world "magic" & popular love comedy shenanigans w/a pair of strong but deeply flawed protagonists. While diminished somewhat by the anime adaptation, the characters & narrative are iconic, endearing & entertaining.

I won't attempt to argue that Zero no Tsukaima is somehow in the same artistic league as Kawamori's Escaflowne or Tsukimura's El Hazard - that would be a base falsehood - but there's a reason why dozens of shows over the past decade have desperately been trying (& largely failing) to be Zero no Tsukaima, & that's because the formula worked!

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

I really enjoyed The Ambition of Oda Nobuna, and was very happy to discover that the dub made it even better for me. Ep 9 is freakin' awesome.  8)

Yeah, the quality of the dub is especially surprising given that it's an older Sentai work, when at the time the studio was known for how bad its dubs tended to be.

[kato]

Zero no Tsukaima is the isekai all generic isekai want to be.

The funny thing about that being that 99% of the show would be the exact same if the MC was from that world instead.

[MadCapellan]

The funny thing about that being that 99% of the show would be the exact same if the MC was from that world instead.

I'd have to disagree. Saito's role in Zero no Tsukaima is to unintentionally infect Halkeginia with the liberal ideals of the enlightenment. This got downplayed in the anime adaptation, but Saito's modern personal values strongly impact the way the main cast is gathered together & comes to befriend one another.

Prior to Saito's summoning, the rest of the cast think about all their relationships in terms of class, station & power. Saito is intrinsically ignorant of those values & instead befriends people solely on the basis of who's just & kind. As he gains notoriety within Halkeginia's culture, his values inversely come to the attention of & garner credence with the natives. A native commoner would have known their place in the established order & either embraced their initial role as a sort of bodyguard/page or used it to subvert the nobility. They would never have created the bridges between people Saito made in the story.

[MadCapellan]

**BREAKING!!**

Twitter is aflutter that Toaru Majutsu no Index season 3 was confirmed in the latest issue of Dengeki magazine for October 2018!

JUDGEMENT DESU NO! 
 :clap: :clap: :clap:

[kato]

I'd have to disagree. Saito's role in Zero no Tsukaima is to unintentionally infect Halkeginia with the liberal ideals of the enlightenment.

Meh, you don't need to bring in a character from another world for that. Especially since iirc the world beyond Halkeginia's handful kingdoms is never explored.

[MadCapellan]

Meh, you don't need to bring in a character from another world for that. Especially since iirc the world beyond Halkeginia's handful kingdoms is never explored.

That depends upon how you define "world" I guess. The setting in Zero no Tsukaima closely mimics Medieval Europe, so I would assume the rest of that world would likewise be pseudo-Earth 1300 AD. You're correct that theoretically there could be some egalitarian fantasy nation elsewhere, but culturally that would be every bit as much an entirely separate "world", & running with the Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court grounds the audience in the character's perspective.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Up to the third episode of Wakfu: Quest for the Six Doufas.

Adamai really got hit with the idiot stick.

[Matti]

there's a reason why dozens of shows over the past decade have desperately been trying (& largely failing) to be Zero no Tsukaima, & that's because the formula worked!

Can you name the shows that hit the target?

You're correct that theoretically there could be some egalitarian fantasy nation elsewhere, but culturally that would be every bit as much an entirely separate "world", & running with the Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court grounds the audience in the character's perspective.

What I remember of the anime, there are a number of nations. Princess' (later queen) nation goes to war against some of them.

[MadCapellan]

Can you name the shows that hit the target?

Not really. It's not something that's really been successfully duplicated because most of those shows copied the superficial qualities without understanding the way the characters or narrative worked.

What I remember of the anime, there are a number of nations. Princess' (later queen) nation goes to war against some of them.

Yes? I'm not sure I understand. Those nations were all part of the same pseudo-medieval worldview.

[Wrangler]

How good/bad was In Another World With a Smart Phone?

Essentially what MadCapellan said. It better as Manga.

[HobbesHurlbut]

Up to the third episode of Wakfu: Quest for the Six Doufas.

Adamai really got hit with the idiot stick.

Hmm. Not too out of character though, he's still a kid though and saw what the Cube itself did. The Six Doufas being more powerful, well it would make you more cautious about using them yeah?

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

He's taking the word of a mysterious lady he's known for two minutes over that of everyone else he knows.

[HobbesHurlbut]

He's taking the word of a mysterious lady he's known for two minutes over that of everyone else he knows.

Yeah that's kinda what threw me for a loop.

[MoneyLovinOgre4Hire]

Also, after freaking out about how nobody should ever use the Doufas again, he promptly steals them so he can turn himself into a Dragonball character.

BTW, did the cast get changed for season 3?  Because the characters sound very different, which I guess is justified given just how much time has passed in-story since season 1 (though seriously, how long does Eileotrop puberty last)?.

[HobbesHurlbut]

(though seriously, how long does Eileotrop puberty last)?.

.....you ask that after seeing him use the Doufas?

[iamfanboy]

Zero no Tsukaima is the isekai all generic isekai want to be. Let's not underplay Yamaguchi-sensei's talent. He assembled a winning formula of tsundere romance, a pseudo-historical class drama, a high fantasy setting peppered with real world "magic" & popular love comedy shenanigans w/a pair of strong but deeply flawed protagonists. While diminished somewhat by the anime adaptation, the characters & narrative are iconic, endearing & entertaining.

I won't attempt to argue that Zero no Tsukaima is somehow in the same artistic league as Kawamori's Escaflowne or Tsukimura's El Hazard - that would be a base falsehood - but there's a reason why dozens of shows over the past decade have desperately been trying (& largely failing) to be Zero no Tsukaima, & that's because the formula worked!

I just have to disagree. It isn't the isekai all generic isekai want to be - it IS the generic isekai. It isn't just formulaic - it IS the formula. That doesn't make it BAD. It just doesn't make it any better than any of the others, it just means it came first. The LNs might be better... later on. I dropped it halfway through the first one; it had no differences from the anime.

Gate, Devil is a Part-Timer, Overlord, and Saga of Tanya the Evil are all superior takes, because they only use fragments of the formula and twist it around, as are Fushigi Yuugi, Escaflowne, and El-Hazard - they made pieces of the formula but weren't afraid to CREATE tropes rather than LEAN on them.

Y'know, I wonder if Fushigi Yuugi is the oldest isekai out there. I think it's the one that created the formula, but had its twist straight from the start - REVERSE HAREM!

[iamfanboy]

In fact, after further consideration, that's probably my beef with ZnT - I had experienced other isekai before. Hell, I watched fourth or fifth generation VHS fansub copies of FY way back in '97, and El-Hazard I bought the VHS tapes for almost as soon as they hit the stores after renting the first one. It was not a new genre for me when I first watched ZnT.

[Matti]

Gate, Devil is a Part-Timer, Overlord, and Saga of Tanya the Evil are all superior takes, because they only use fragments of the formula and twist it around, as are Fushigi Yuugi, Escaflowne, and El-Hazard - they made pieces of the formula but weren't afraid to CREATE tropes rather than LEAN on them.

I know a few you mention there and I totally agree with you. Another one is How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom. Not an anime (yet), but I totally enjoy of the light novels and I'm looking forward to more to come. I have mentioned it in some other topics, but to sum it up here: it starts like Ultima IV:



And that is as far as generic isekai goes. After that, the king resigns and nominates the male lead as his successor and makes princess his fiancee. "Princess and half the kingdom" isn't the happy end, but the beginning. Some of the characters are claimed to be tropes, but those aren't copies of templates. Let's just say that mad scientist, witch, and corrupt bishop aren't male lead's enemies but allies.

[kato]

Y'know, I wonder if Fushigi Yuugi is the oldest isekai out there. I think it's the one that created the formula, but had its twist straight from the start - REVERSE HAREM!

The first isekai generally acclaimed as such, and following the formula was Aura Battler Dunbine from '83, predating Fushigi Yuugi by a decade for the manga. MC is pulled into a medieval fantasy world with mana-powered mecha. Basically laid the groundwork for the genre, with many later isekai picking up individual plot elements of it and focussing on them.

[ANS Kamas P81]

Watched the Heaven's Feel movie finally, and I'll totally call it out for pacing issues (not as bad as 2001, but it's got some slow spots) but **** YEAH RIDER!  The Lancer-Assassin battle is as awesome as it should be, Zouken is reaching new levels of evil creepy old zombie grandfather, and by god the visuals are beautiful, especially once the snow falls.  They're definitely lobbing some love towards Shinkai with some of the shot composition in spots, which I find awesome.

Also, Sakura-chan~

[Wrangler]

The first isekai generally acclaimed as such, and following the formula was Aura Battler Dunbine from '83, predating Fushigi Yuugi by a decade for the manga. MC is pulled into a medieval fantasy world with mana-powered mecha. Basically laid the groundwork for the genre, with many later isekai picking up individual plot elements of it and focussing on them.

Isekai isnt always fantasy setting. Super Dimensional Century Orgess is similar but with twisted world where multiple worlds are mixed into a future timeline of Earth with main character and  he a his partner are caught in the middle of it.

[MadCapellan]

I just have to disagree. It isn't the isekai all generic isekai want to be - it IS the generic isekai.....

I'm not sure we're actually disagreeing!  :)) I was simply pointing out that originating that formula rather than directly copying it is an accomplishment worthy of acknowledgement. Introducing the template requires that you are the template!

The first isekai generally acclaimed as such, and following the formula was Aura Battler Dunbine from '83,

*TOMINO DISAPPROVAL INTENSIFIES*

[VhenRa]

No!!!

This weeks episode of FMP got delayed.

[Siden Pryde]

Just watched "Mary and the Witchs' Flower".  Studio Ponoc's first film is an enjoyable little romp.  Can really feel the Studio Ghibli influence (for obvious reasons), but it does manage to feel like its own film and not a Ghibli film.  Beautiful animation and an enjoyable score.

Watched the Heaven's Feel movie finally

Having seen a few clips on youtube, the film looks amazing.  Looking forward to being able to pick the film up, and the other two eventially.

[Maingunnery]

I just have to disagree. It isn't the isekai all generic isekai want to be - it IS the generic isekai. It isn't just formulaic - it IS the formula. That doesn't make it BAD. It just doesn't make it any better than any of the others, it just means it came first. The LNs might be better... later on. I dropped it halfway through the first one; it had no differences from the anime.

For me the best product of ZnT is "Halkegenia Online" and that is a fanfic crossover between ZnT and SAO.

[Weirdo]

...but there's a reason why dozens of shows over the past decade have desperately been trying (& largely failing) to be Zero no Tsukaima, & that's because the formula worked!

So basically, it's like how I view Love Hina - it follows all the tropes of the formula to the letter, but does it in such a way that becomes the definition of the formula for everything that follows it.

[MadCapellan]

So basically, it's like how I view Love Hina - it follows all the tropes of the formula to the letter, but does it in such a way that becomes the definition of the formula for everything that follows it.

Yep, Love Hina is another one like that! At the time, it revolutionized & re-popularized shonen love comedies, but now everything in it has been done to death, to the point that even though I loved it I struggle to enjoy watching it now. It felt REALLY stale on my last rewatch, but damn if it wasn't hilarious & innovative when it came out.....