Nova_Nibbles wrote: ↑Wed Dec 19, 2018 7:32 pm
FMA as a whole would have to be my all time favorite without a doubt.
OMG, I know right!? Such a good all-rounder! The characters, their relationships, the setting, the action, the music! The emotion behind all the crucial plot developments, driving the story forward... I swear, I CANNOT watch through FMA without crying like a little bitch at least three separate times.
Nova_Nibbles wrote: ↑Wed Dec 19, 2018 7:32 pmMade in Abyss was absolutely amazing, I agree.
I adore Nanachi in that. Such a strong character. To go through so much and still find a way to keep going, that pretty much personifies the entire spirit of that anime, in my humble opinion. Not to take anything away from Reg and Riko, though. I particularly love how dependent they are on each other, which creates a really nice relationship between them. Riko has all the knowledge of the Abyss, whereas Reg knows next to nothing because of his amnesia. Reg, on the other hand, is a powerful fighter and Riko wholly relies on him for her survival. They genuinely NEED each other to accomplish their goals, and that is something you don't always find in other adventure type anime out there, where some characters really are no more than talking baggage.
Haven't watched that one yet, but I've heard it's quite good. Maybe I'll give it a try once I'm done with my current batch.
Right now I'm slowly working my way through Seven Deadly Sins. Lots of fantasy, magic, action, and a cute giantess. Really liking it so far.
Nova_Nibbles wrote: ↑Wed Dec 19, 2018 7:32 pm
I really don't mind if they aren't all that amazing looking as long as the story line grabs me. If it looks incredibly beautiful but is completely shit when it comes to the story and the characters I won't enjoy it rather.
I completely agree. Some anime out there have breathtaking visuals and eye-ball 'sploding animation, but the story is what drives everything, and if the story is shallow or boring, and the characters don't resonate, then it won't have any staying power. I usually get bored of anime like that after the second or third episode, and then go on to look for something else.
The opposite can be true, as well. Some anime look really ugly or simplistic, but the story by itself is strong enough to carry it through. In some cases a good story can even transform an off-putting art style into something endearing. A good example of this is the Korean series of short films "There She Is" (I highly recommend this one, too, btw). A very simple art style, but the story is so good and so expertly told that it totally makes up for that.
Another great example of this is the manga, "Dorohedoro". The first time I read it I thought the art was absolutely hideous. It looked more like a bunch of rough sketches rather than a finished product, but the more I read it, the more the art style came to fit the tone of the story. Dorohedoro is a dark, grungy, gritty story full of lizard-men biting people's heads off and giant cockroaches wearing sneakers, and the rough, sketch-like quality of the art helped to accentuate that.