Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni~No Spoilers
So I just finished the first season of this series. So I have mixed feelings about this series. The overall mystery was entertaining but certain arcs were really blah in my opinion. In fact the only two arcs that were excellent all the way through were the first and the last.
Also whereas I could take most of the violent scenes, certain scenes were just a little too over the top and disturbing. I didn't really like the torture scenes too much. Also the one scene with Shion killing Satoko was a little too much for me.
I also didn't really like the depressing tone the series took. The first arc worked for me because it was amusing to see the Moe girls turn psycho and to have the male character be the victim. I also realized that Rena is my favorite character since she seems to go from cute to psycho the best. I like Shion/Mion when they are normal but their psycho rampages didn't work as well for me. Satako and Rika were way too loli for my tastes (it sort of disappoints me that Rika seems to be the main character in the second season). I also think Keiichi makes the best narrator.
I will say that I liked how the show built up the overall mystery. I really liked how they kept bringing things from one arc back in another in slightly different ways. I also think besides the torture scenes the overall horror aspect of the show was done really well. Some scenes were actually pretty scary and that is impressive for a cartoon. I do wish they would have focused a little more on the humor aspect though.
So I guess overall I did enjoy the series, it is just very far from a favorite of mine.
In other news, Robert Jordan the author of the Wheel of Time Series has passed away. I don't think anyone on my FL was a fan of this series but I have been a fan even before I became an anime/manga fan. So this is really upsetting to me. It's not totally unexpected because he was sick but still.
The thing is the first book of this series came out in 1991 and the next book (book 12) was supposed to be the last one. Apparently it will still be published based on Jordan's notes and what he already wrote...but of course it won't be the same. :(
I actually got the last book he wrote signed by him so now I am extra happy about this.
Lesson to be learned: Don't start anymore unfinished series. I still have A Song of Ice and Fire too.
As for Wheel of Time, it's definitely not the best series ever. The first half, (books 1 to 6) every book was excellent but with the second half only book 9 was as good as the first half (and books 8 and 10 were just awful). But still I think I had the most fun reading this series than any other. I read the first 9 books in less than 2 months back when I actually read. And these books are not short at all. But even still they were real page turners so I never noticed the length. And I still think Matrim Cauthon is one of the best characters in any fantasy series I have ever read (including Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter).
Also whereas I could take most of the violent scenes, certain scenes were just a little too over the top and disturbing. I didn't really like the torture scenes too much. Also the one scene with Shion killing Satoko was a little too much for me.
I also didn't really like the depressing tone the series took. The first arc worked for me because it was amusing to see the Moe girls turn psycho and to have the male character be the victim. I also realized that Rena is my favorite character since she seems to go from cute to psycho the best. I like Shion/Mion when they are normal but their psycho rampages didn't work as well for me. Satako and Rika were way too loli for my tastes (it sort of disappoints me that Rika seems to be the main character in the second season). I also think Keiichi makes the best narrator.
I will say that I liked how the show built up the overall mystery. I really liked how they kept bringing things from one arc back in another in slightly different ways. I also think besides the torture scenes the overall horror aspect of the show was done really well. Some scenes were actually pretty scary and that is impressive for a cartoon. I do wish they would have focused a little more on the humor aspect though.
So I guess overall I did enjoy the series, it is just very far from a favorite of mine.
In other news, Robert Jordan the author of the Wheel of Time Series has passed away. I don't think anyone on my FL was a fan of this series but I have been a fan even before I became an anime/manga fan. So this is really upsetting to me. It's not totally unexpected because he was sick but still.
The thing is the first book of this series came out in 1991 and the next book (book 12) was supposed to be the last one. Apparently it will still be published based on Jordan's notes and what he already wrote...but of course it won't be the same. :(
I actually got the last book he wrote signed by him so now I am extra happy about this.
Lesson to be learned: Don't start anymore unfinished series. I still have A Song of Ice and Fire too.
As for Wheel of Time, it's definitely not the best series ever. The first half, (books 1 to 6) every book was excellent but with the second half only book 9 was as good as the first half (and books 8 and 10 were just awful). But still I think I had the most fun reading this series than any other. I read the first 9 books in less than 2 months back when I actually read. And these books are not short at all. But even still they were real page turners so I never noticed the length. And I still think Matrim Cauthon is one of the best characters in any fantasy series I have ever read (including Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter).