My UserPage - phaolo (up573790)

Guys! C'mon! Help me!

My timeline is an absolute wasteland, and my anime-watch-levels are starting to go through the roof. I HAVE to get back to this, and put gaming aside for a while (or at least scale it back quite a bit). I'm starting to miss anime way, way, waaay too much.

So hit me with it! What have I missed over the last, let's say, two years?! Fall 2016 Season - Summer 2018 Season specifically.
Like, what are the big ones I should have watched but have not (no matter if it's good or bad), or the low-key ones that based on previous experience I should like.

So, what'd I miss? I got two months worth of AniDB posts to catch up to.

This'll be a little blog where I post updates on my own little fan project, which is a fan edit of Naruto, where I cut away as much filler as possible. Details and some follow-up questions can be found here. But to keep it brief:

- Will be released volume sized, meaning one episode per manga volume, or as close as possible. In total, that'll mean 72 episodes that are shorter or longer than 1:30h each.
- Releases will be (hopefully) weekly, but may be biweekly if I do not have the time.
- Will be using soft subs, based on Region 1 translation, but retranslated where I see fit.
- DVD sources will be used for as long as possible. Undecided on whether I'll switch to Crunchyroll/HDTV sources in late Shippuuden, or wait for more DVD sources.
- Not all filler will be cut, as removing some of it can break the flow and/or cause inconsistencies. Will try to be very selective in what to keep and what to cut.
- The Kakashi Gaiden arc will be restored to its original placement (between Part I and Part II, rather than shoved into the middle of the Itachi Pursuit Mission arc.)
- The first episode will not be released until I'm done with at least half of Naruto Part 1, so around episode 13-14. Reasoning being that I'd rather be far ahead, than falling behind, in case I get busy with other real life things. I'd prefer to not have an irregular release schedule, as it'll (hopefully) prevent people from asking "when's the next episode coming?"
- If you're wondering about the Nindo name, refer here: http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Nind%C5%8D
- Reason why I'm doing this is because, while I'm not the biggest fan, Naruto was my gateway anime, and I do think that it's a decent battle shounen overall; Definitely not the best, but certainly not the worst. So I do hold it close to me. But as I've also read the entire manga, from beginning to end, I've been constantly annoyed by Pierrot's adaptation of it, due to their constant use of filler and unnecessary (long) flashbacks. They're severly sucking out any shred of entertainment to be found, and it's only gotten progressively worse as the show went on and became a cash cow for them.

Status (Last Update: 2016-11-08 YMD - Bolded is newly updated):
Naruto: Nindo Episodes 01 - 10

Naruto: Nindo Episodes 11 - 20


Feel free to ask questions, don't be shy. But keep in mind that off topic comments, regardless of content, will be removed. This is strictly about the project itself.
I will NOT post any link whatsoever to my releases on AniDB. You'll be able to find them elsewhere.

*Writing this for archival and linking purposes, so that I won't have to repeat myself*

One common complaint I hear about the Fate/stay night anime adaptations is that they can feel weak in the character department, as several characters aren't properly developed, and sometimes it's the story department. There's a reason for this.

This post assumes that you're watching ufotable's [Unlimited Blade Works] adaptation first, or that you've watched Fate/Zero and then jumped to [Unlimited Blade Works].

Unlimited Blade Works is the second route, the middle route, out of three from the original Visual Novel, i.e the second story you're supposed to experience. Several characters aren't developed or have much screen time in UBW simply because they are dealt with in the other routes (Fate and Heaven's Feel.) For example, while Caster has a prominent role in UBW, she only has one single scene in both Fate and HF, both of which were relatively short, like a 5-10 minute read. Likewise, considering how big of a role Kotomine Kirei had in FZ, his role in UBW is abysmal in comparison, reason being that he instead has a very big role in Fate and especially HF. Saber's story is dealt with relatively easy in UBW whereas the whole Fate route deals with her story.

In regards to Fate/Zero if you've watched it or are planning on watching it before [Unlimited Blade Works].


This is a problem that occurs simply because of the anime structure. While it definitely works really well in the Visual Novel, as you have all story content ready for you at any time and it intentionally foreshadows the other routes, it's a bit harder for the anime, as ufotable currently have no plans to adapt the Fate route (what we know of), and the Heaven's Feel movies aren't out yet. This problem would've been remedied had they adapted all three routes in the proper order and consecutively, with a proper schedule, or alternatively if they had made an anime original story. And no, they couldn't just go and merge all three routes into one. As anyone who's read the VN will tell you, it's 100% impossible. All three routes contradict each other. There is no main true canon route (like Nagisa is the main heroine in Clannad for example); they are all canon and equally important. And for the record, if anyone says that Saber's route is the main story of FSN, they are, in my honest opinion, idiots. And objectively wrong.

Fate/stay night was always intended to be experienced:

Fate (Saber Route) -> Unlimited Blade Works (Rin Route) -> Heaven's Feel (Sakura Route)

proven by the fact that you're locked out and can't read the later routes until you've first read the previous routes, something that can easily be cheated with by watching the anime in whatever order you want. But it's a story that builds on your previous knowledge, and in a way plays with your expectations. When you go into UBW, it expects you to know everything that happened in Fate, likewise with Fate and UBW when you go into HF - That's why Fate has an insane amount of world building and infodumps, whereas UBW and HF barely have any in comparison. Practically all plot holes or lacking development are shown and explained in the other routes. Not to mention that some characters can act differently depending on what route it is.

The biggest example being Emiya Shirou himself. Let this be known: FSN is a character driven story, specifically Emiya Shirou's story, and in all three routes he tackles his ideal of becoming a hero of justice, by saving everyone, differently.
- Fate: "Oneself as an ideal" He follows his ideal to the end, with no second thoughts. He's okay with dying, as long as it saves others. But he will primarily fight for others in their stead.
- UBW: "Struggling with oneself as an ideal" He acknowledges that his ideal is flawed and impossible to achieve, and may bring him missery in the end, but even so he wants to approach it, regardless of hardships, and at least do the best that he can and accept that not everything will go well.
- HF: "The friction with real and ideal" He takes on an entirely different approach to it, namely
FSN was never, and will never, be about the Holy Grail War. It was always about Emiya Shirou, and expecting anything different will just disappoint you. FZ on the other hand, that one was about the Holy Grail War. More on Emiya Shirou in a different post later™

It's why I, and many others, believe FSN should be judged based on its entirety, and not just 1/3 of the full package, as it's simply just not the entire story it's trying to tell, only a part of it. It is a not a work where all three routes are just individual stories. It takes character development from the previous routes and implements them into the later routes. It's also a reason why I personally have a bit of a problem when people compare FZ to [UBW] -- FZ was a complete story, with everything from the original light novel adapted, whereas [UBW] was just 33% of the entire FSN story. That's why I consider it to be a lot more fair to compare FZ to the entirety of FSN, despite similar episode count; FZ just simply has too much actual content in it to be pitted against one single lone route in a work that's comprised of three routes.

But as I said, there's not much one can do about that, as anime differs from visual novels, and I expect anime onlies to argue against me on that one, and I don't blame them, but that's just my two cents on the matter.

So the next time you want to complain about the story and/or characters in [UBW] (or any other FSN adapation) keep this in mind: You're only watching one third of the complete story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_Z5RFBAX2M Listen for added effect.

So, over a year ago (January 20th, 2014 to be precise), I pre-ordered Gurren Lagann Ultimate Edition from Anime Limited (UK) - a Blu-ray collector's package that includes the complete TV series, the two movies, both Parallel Works, an A5-sized 100p art book, limited to 2,000 copies. Needless to say, it's (so far) my most prized anime purchase, so much so that it has its own private space on my shelf.

However, a problem happened. Many customers' digipacks had a glue problem (mine included), so the disc trays would be either crooked or completely loose. This however wasn't much of a problem, as replacements were offered very shortly after the Ultimate Edition was finally released (October 20th), and I happily recieved my (perfect) replacement less than a month later. But, some people were not so lucky, as just today I recieved an email that some of the replacement digipacks could not be sent out, and they instead offered to send the entire series on blu-ray in an amaray case (standard price of £60), or a free £30 to spend on any of their products on their website http://shop.alltheanime.com/. However seeing as I had already recieved my replacement digipack, and I'm not the kind of guy to take advantage of mistakes, I humbly declined their offer. And seeing as this was a offer just for a single crooked digipack tray out of four, I'm impressed.



So what is the point of all this? Well, in simple, I just wanted to say that the fine people over at Anime Limited are great at taking care of their customers, something they've proved time and time again, and I have nothing but praise for them, even if some of their releases do have some mistakes. But I, personally, mainly buy these products as a way to support the industry, and I care more about actually owning them, or just be in awe at the sheer look of them, instead of purely watching them - that's more or less just a bonus - so I'm fine with these rather small mishappenings, but I can understand the concern some might have. Just the fact that they would give these offers is what I would call excellent customer service.

As long as a company takes care of their customers, and accept their flaws and work towards on fixing those flaws and improve that which could be improved, the support they'll gain is multiplied. There's a saying that goes "The customer always comes first!", and Anime Limited definitely got the memo.

So nice job, Anime Limited, you've successfully raised my confidence in youse guys.