Welcome to another general discussion thread! Feel free to use this thread to talk about things you have watched recently, questions you have, or recommendations you want to give!
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Past Seasons
Watched / caught up to two anime last week.
The first was Poketoon (JP dub Youtube playlist; EN dub Youtube playlist).
These are short stories that focus on different characters in each episode. There is no overarching plot, so each episode is very easy to pick up. It helps that the episodes are short too.
I enjoyed them a lot. I believe those of you who enjoy wholesome anime would too.
Some of my favourite episodes are:
Overall rating: 9 / 10
The second was Land of the Lustrous.
I find the story intriguing; I was very curious about the events that led up to the story. Obviously there’s some kind of conspiracy, which makes its hook even stronger.
The fight scenes remind me of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, which is a style I don’t see often (which makes it stands out in a way).
IMO it’s rather lackluster in the music department though. I barely noticed any soundtrack, and when I do, they don’t seem to fit the scene.
I find it a pity that the anime ended just as it was about to pop off. The way it ended makes it a prologue to the main story / arcs that come after.
It doesn’t look like the rest of the story is getting adapted, so looks like I’ve got to pick up the manga.
8 / 10
What makes you find it lackluster or not fitting?
I prefer exciting moments (e.g. fight scenes) to have explosive music that hypes me up. Land of the Lustrous’ soundtracks for such moments are kinda chill. I can sense that they are going for the tense vibes, but I’d rather something hyped.
I think the soundtracks for slice-of-life moments (e.g. the ones that MentalEdge shared) are ok. However, I don’t pay as much attention - and hence give less weightage - to the SOL music.
Ah right, personal preference is fair.
I do think that explosive/hype music would’ve been out of place though, looking at the more introspective and mysterious themes of the show.
As a huge fan of Land of the Lustrous OST specifically, it’s so odd to see someone feel it was the one low point.
I thought the subdued orchestral style with a focus on charachter themes was brilliant.
I regularly listen to tracks like Shinsha (Cinnabar) and Awakening Power.
The main notes of the main theme are seared into my head. Same for the flute melody used for Phos.
I love the use of the charachter themes, because the OST delivers on them by mixing them later to create powerfully evocative tracks to accompany charachter beats.
The full OST is something I’d pay hundreds of euros to hear on live orchestral instruments.
I haven’t watched Land of the Lustrous, but I have seen plenty of clips. I think that is the show that really helped Studio Orange find their style which then carried into Beastars, Trigun, etc. It’s very distinctive and I think it serves the lighting effects of Land of the Lustrous very well.