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Mad Poster
Original Poster
#1 Old 15th Aug 2015 at 11:39 PM
Default Anime Fans: Give me a recommendation for a new series
So, I recently had been rebuilding my anime collection and I need to ask about some of the anime made after 2000.

Axis Powers Hetalia:
From what I know, it's a personification of the events surrounding WWII with the countries involved personified as military personnel related to that country.

Is it any good and what genre is it?

Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt:
From what I know, it's about two angels banished from Heaven, come across a stereotypical black priest, they team up and the angels fight certain entities to gain re-entry to Heaven, all while fighting the sinful urges of lust, gluttony and the breaking of sacramental vows.

I heard it may be a bit over the top, but it would make a worthwhile comedy addition.

Personal Quote: "I like my men like my sodas: tall boys." (Zevia has both 12 and 16 oz options)

(P.S. I'm about 5' (150cm) in height and easily scared)
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Top Secret Researcher
#2 Old 16th Aug 2015 at 12:33 AM
Haven't watched those two - the first one sounded good and I haven't gotten around to it, but for the second, it sounded like it focused on gross-out humor and I don't like that - but there are a couple series I did like.

Revolutionary Girl Utena

A very feminist series, heavy on symbolism and mind-screws. It focuses on pretty much every problem pertaining to adolescence and a coming of age, from the end of childhood to fads. Just don't watch the movie if you liked the series.

Princess Tutu

The spiritual successor to RGU. It's meant for a young audience or the kind of grown-up who still likes Disney movies. It talks about fairytales from a narrative point of view. in the beginning, it's similar to a Magical Girl show with ballet motifs, but in the second half it turns more to an exploration of narrative. I think about four layers of fourth-wall get broken throughout the series.

My MTS writing group, The Story Board
Field Researcher
#3 Old 17th Aug 2015 at 2:09 AM
Quote: Originally posted by PANDAQUEEN
Axis Powers Hetalia:
From what I know, it's a personification of the events surrounding WWII with the countries involved personified as military personnel related to that country.

Is it any good and what genre is it?


I can comment on this. I watched APH about, I don't know, four or five years ago (the first two DVDs). Like a lot of anime I watch, I found reasons to both like and dislike it, but overall, I think I liked it.

Some things I really loved about the show was the personification of all of the countries. This was, I think, it's biggest, most awesome selling point. All of the countries are personified as characters. They have names, I think, but if I recall, I think they just call each other by the country name (ex. Germany is Germany, Italy is Italy, etc. etc.). The personification of these characters comes about by country stereotype. The show's creators really lay on the stereotype, and it is a beautiful, glorious thing, that REALLY shapes its comedy. For example, USA is 'the hero' in some scenarios and rushes into the scene eating 100 hamburgers and drinking a giant soda. Britain is an uptight snob. Austria is musical and smart. Italy loves pasta and goes berserk in the food's presence; Germany is harsh and regimented, etc, etc. Because of all the varied stereotype depictions, you get really amazing scenes that are hilarious to watch. There are some scenes where it gets a bit more serious, but for the most part, it's light-hearted.

Now. Things I didn't like. The show often jumps drastically between art styles. You may like this, and I think most people do. It's not a bad art choice, just not one I am a fan of. For example, and I'm bad at my art styles, so please forgive me if I mix up my terminology here, but one scene will be in traditional anime/manga style, but the next will be in chibi-style, then it will be another style, etc. etc.

The show often jumps scenes quickly, and when I say quickly, I mean that. I don't think many scenes were more than a minute long. If they were more than a minute, they were split into parts, which was extremely annoying for me. Not a deal-breaker, but I jsut don't prefer shows to be interrupted with 'Hetalia!' being shouted between each scene... Maybe that was just my DVD version, though, and whoever produced that. I don't know. I really, REALLY wished they could have stuck with the same story without splitting it up, because not only that, but you had to have a recap of the opening they used for that particular segment. If it's split into seven parts, each lasting a minute each, you're going to see that opening segment seven times. It was a lot of padding. It also doesn't really go in order, if I remember. I would have liked that.

That's all I can remember, though. Some of the voices were annoying, but I think that about most anime I see, so it's not a big deal (most were fine, here, I think). It's really cool seeing big-scale events sort of made easier to digest and made in a light-hearted manner so you don't get depressed. They give some facts to educate, too (little fact cards popped up on the screen), and overall, I enjoyed it. But funnily enough, or maybe not so... but I got really into the character fandom with this show like no other. I'm not as entranced by the characters now as I was then, but if you're a fan of yaoi, let's just say the fandom will probably satiate you any desire you wish on any combination of characters you may want. It's great to see what the fandom can create, and for that, it was so totally worth it.

I would say it was good. It was worth watching once, but I probably wouldn't sit through it again. I would say that the genre is comedy.
Test Subject
#4 Old 30th Sep 2015 at 8:33 PM
Panty & Stocking is great imo, but also really raunchy and yes, over the top. However, the animation is pretty cool and the show is hilarious (if it's your thing).
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