Anime/Manga

That reminds me, I still need to read that.

Not watching it but I think an OVA just came out for it recently.

It's a shit anime. The manga was somehow not bad but not good either.

@Falcon

Since you were a Naruto fanboy, I think you'll like Samurai Champloo.

Mirai nikki is awesome

The animation was just plain awful.

I didn't like the last episode of the series, they left it way too open ended. I didnt even realize it was the finale at the time.

It was one of the best animes at that time but there are always ppl who hate some series.

lol

She has arrived. Bow to your queen.
kidding

What is this "k" project?
Anyone heard of it or have seen it?

You mean Gahara?

Seen it up to episode 3. Great animation and soundtrack. Also fanservice that would appeal to male and female audiences.
Storywise, I didn't see anything worth sticking around for and action went absent. Mind you I didn't finish, I got caught up in other things and just let it die, around season's end I came back to hear of so so reviews. I don't think it was bad (I think even another season is coming), but I don't have incentive to finish watching it right now.

Went unnecessary rant mode below, so best to just leave it at that :T
Y'know, I know I'm not supposed to watch that since I didn't watch the earlier seasons, but I'm doing it anyway just like the other season one shows I skipped on (OreImo 2, Rozen Maiden (2013), Hayate no Gotoku <technically>, Haiyore Nyaruko San W, Genshiken Nidaime)

And none of them seemed less interesting than that even with Rozen's "oh hey let's show you 44 chapters worth of material in one episode" thing.

All I got out of that was a few jokes about a dude who hasn't even appeared (yes yes Aragagi is the best MC ever in history supposedly), girls being told to rely on said guy and he's not there, and a girl running all over town til she gets slapped by Senjougahara til she takes her home and makes the usual shower scene reference. Meanwhile, shaft head tilts for everyone and random flash cards. I don't mind things that occur in other anime (otherwise I'd stop watching anime period), but it didn't do a single thing to wow me at all. While I'm not going to watch today's episode immediately, I'm still going to watch it at least to episode three to see if things turn around.

I'm well aware this show has meaning based on previous seasons, but I've watched other shows while ignoring that and managed to enjoy them (so far). If I can't enjoy what I've seen of this season, I'm not going back unless I get REALLY bored. I have enough new anime I need to catch up on as well as old, bad ones.

Watamote and Monogatari series cannot be compared. Monogatari will likely last longer and overshadow Watamote entirely. Monogatari is established, Watamote is just taking it's first and likely temporary steps into animehood.
Tomoko is creepy, not exactly pretty, and likely borderline crazy. But, she amuses me, and more importantly reminds me of some aspects of an old friend and myself, like Hikigaya Hachiman from OreGairu. These aren't necessarily GOOD aspects, but I'm still reminded of it and I like her unreal take on things. I can't guarantee it will keep it up, but I was very, very pleased seeing her animated.

They're both good shows in their own right. Even if reddit isn't important, on there upvote/numbers wise Watamote was the most popular first episode of this season, followed closely by Monogatari.
So I'm not writing off Monogatari yet, but right now, I need more, something interesting if not story then give me relatability...or comedy...or action.

On the bright side, finished Madoka today

Dude, WTF? Of course you're not gonna get anything from Monogatari. You haven't watched the past 2 seasons and the movie for god's sake. It doesn't an otaku legend to realize that you're not gonna enjoy an anime when you start watching it from the middle.

It's like watching Game of Thrones season 3 without watching the past 2. What do you expect? Duuuhhhhh.

You should just completely cut it off your anime list. You're really just wasting your time. The best thing you could do with MSSS is to just drop it since you have no plan on watching Bake, Nise and Neko.

It'll never impress or blow you away unless you finish watching the 3 titles I've mentioned above. Never.

It's a complete waste of your time.

tiny editOn the contrary, I listed several titles that I started from the middle and learned to enjoy. or at least I'm giving a decent chance (can't predict the future with Rozen Maiden but at least they gave me a decent base).

Heck, it goes beyond anime if I really want to list examples, didn't see the beginning of 24 until after Season 3 or so, missed most of the early parts of Lost, Supernatural, House, Beastmaster, Xena, Hercules, every Star Trek ever, etc etc. Some of those shows are episodic, and some have interconnected plot lines.

If something is an arc, it can be self contained. With a little effort and paying attention to details, you can catch up on what's happening now without having to backtrack.
Is this possible with every show? No.
But I'm willing to give it an attempt, more so because everyone is saying don't do it. But also because it is easier to find since it is fresh and fast download links aren't dead yet. Torrents are no nos and streaming is so so

But going beyond that, whether I get the story or not, visually nothing of note happened in episode 1. I actually like the style they've got going on there, but beyond that...nothing. Empty world, some banter here and there, throw in a tiger that didn't do anything, get slapped, take off some clothes and do some zooming in.
I'd criticize any show that does something like that. I have already when Titan had that period in time where basically nothing happened worth writing home about, because I understood, I let it slide, episode 11 was an example of this. Great speech by Pixis, disagreements among the soldiers, Eren's beautifully animated traveling sequence (of maybe 1 minute out of the entire show)...and that's it. +The Mikasa punch at the very end of the episode.
The fan in me at the time went "yay more Titan" but I knew there wasn't much there worth writing home about, worth telling others, MAN WATCH THIS SHOW RIGHT NOW.

But episode 13? Picked it up again, back to the intensity I expected from the show, the excitement, inspirational moments with the soldiers, titan killing, everything. While it wouldn't be the best choice, I could let someone with no prior knowledge of the show watch that episode and they'd get something interesting out of it, they won't know the full story but they'll get the sense of urgency, the fear that goes on in this world, the small hope that closing the hole brings. They could see there is a bigger picture here, something worth their time to go back and check out, or keep moving forward to see what else they might find out about this desolate world.

I want to believe this episode 1 is like that episode 11 of Titan, nothing particularly special and off putting to a newcomer. That the hype goes beyond having a history with the show/artstyle and nothing more.
Are you seriously telling me that the narrative of this show is so strict that it has no break where it can't wow someone that hasn't seen it before? When OreImo 2 could? When SAO could? When Titan could? When bloody when-will-the-fillers-end, Naruto could?

Your and others advice is sound. But for me, giving this a small chance at the cost of 30 minutes a week instead of trying to go find working http downloads (or streaming sites where I can abuse download helper quickly or hey buy, sure that's an option perhaps) and putting in 6+ hours of watching minimum to get back to the point where I'm at now...I don't like that option.
So yes, I'm doing it this way and hoping I can see some of what you other people love about the show. If not, I'll only have lost about an hour and a half of my life (depending on how long I go with giving it a shot). And I'll go on about my merry way blissfully ignorant. I'm ok with some wasting my time, otherwise I'd never bother writing on forums :lol:
I'm not asking to be spoonfed here, I just want them to show me something worthwhile in the next few episodes like other shows that I hopped on in the middle did.

You are NOT gonna last long with it. I don't recommend you doing that. It's a complete waste of your time but if you really wanna do it, fine. Just don't expect it to be fun to you.

Being ignorant about the series isn't gonna help.

Just drop it.

P.S.

Oh and btw, the 1st EP had 4 or 5 "wow" moments. Too bad, you will never get them since you haven't watched the past seasons.

now shrunk to save space since the topic was bumped.
All of it was subtext, but honestly it wasn't wow, it was just...there.
I don't like half of what Bobduh says especially about Sakurasou, but his "semi-liveblogging" is always useful to make sure I didn't miss anything.

There was nothing he wrote, except the stuff about the director and the initial first minute comparisons to the previous narrator Aragagi, that I didn't get myself. So I'm not really missing anything, it is just like that episode 11 of Titan, not actually great/special, but good for those invested in the series already. Unless you care to tell me of something he missed?

To quote what he wrote on episode 2 (yes still haven't watched it but I looked at the beginning and end of what he wrote, not the actual details until I watch it myself):
"As always, the fact that very little is actually happening does nothing to prevent the plot from barrelling forward"
Here's a fan, a critic, admitting what I basically said. Now don't get that wrong, that statement actually implies praise for the series since the "plot" moved forward. But there's the realistic admission that in the overall view of the episode, very little happened.

For comparison, these were his thoughts about episode 11 of Titan. He opened with an admission that the last few (specifically episode 9 and 10) weren't all that great, then dives into episode 11. Praises it for those Pixis moments, the soldier's despair, ending animation sequence, etc I mentioned before.
And again, as an invested fan into the show, that was a great episode.
But this was honestly another case of not a lot happened, yet the plot and character development moved forward a lot. The true payoff for all this didn't come to fruition til episode 13.

So again, I want to see if Monogatari can pull off a similar turnaround.

Just watched Crest of the Stars and Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust.

Both good. Nice break from the comedy anime series I've been watching.