I've been neglecting this thread, so here's a bit of a catch-up before my fading brain forgets everything about what I've watched since last time. Can't be bothered to find pictures to illustrate my comments on so many shows.
When I last reported, I was watching Revolutionary Girl Utena. Now that I've finished it, I'm really not sure what to make of it. I enjoyed the first arc of the story, but the second (the Black Rose arc) seemed to me to be just a trumped-up reason to have all the same duels again, while not significantly adding to our understanding of the story as a whole; quite a big waste of time, I felt by the end of it. However, after that it got better and better, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching to the end - but I still didn't really understand what the point of the whole thing was. Maybe it will be clearer on a rewatch; I'll see, but not for a while. As predicted, the film went down a lot more easily after having watched the series.
Girls und Panzer was just silly fun - but good fun, and well done. Nothing more to say, really. The OVAs were just stupid, though - just fanservice, and a complete absence of what made the series enjoyable for me.
Then I watched some films:
I'm embarrassed to say that I must have watched The Wings of Honneamise late at night and half-asleep or something, because I already can't remember a thing about it! I seem to recall feeling it was OK, but a bit dated. I guess I should go back and watch it properly...
Grave of the Fireflies on the other hand is etched into my brain. As near perfection as maybe - and that's not just the subject matter speaking, it really was one of the best-made things I've watched.
But what to say about Angel's Egg? Even the creator claims not to know what it's about, so what chance has anyone else? But it is beautiful, and hypnotic, and fascinating - and watching it feels like time well spent, even if the why? remains unanswered. Highly recommended.
The two Ideon movies: I enjoyed these, though I wouldn't say they were great. The ending was an interesting idea, though, which was what I wanted to see because it had been brought up in a discussion elsewhere of End of Evangelion and possible endings for the Rebuild remake. I suppose the idea that people on opposite sides are really fighting for the same thing is not so uncommon - Nadesico springs to mind as another example.
Patlabor OVA and films 1 & 2. To me the best bit of the OVA is the OP in which Noa is bouncing around frenetically in a way that she never quite manages in the series itself. The stories and their telling were pleasant enough, but didn't quite get off the ground for me. The films were another matter - much more meat there. I liked the first one best; the plot of the second seemed a bit convoluted, and there was more concentration on atmosphere rather than anything much happening (though that's not necessarily a bad thing). Still, all-in-all a decent watch.
Back to series:
Final Approach. A silly premise leads to a silly conclusion. Parts were amusing, I suppose, but I'm not sure why I bothered to watch it all.
Flowers of Evil and Free! - watched one episode of each and saw no reason to try another. Two flops in my book.
After finding the clip from Angel Beats! for the Pointless Thread, which intrigued me, I decided to try the whole series. Not bad at all, I'd say, though some rather confused story-telling, and a confused ending (providing alternate endings is a dead give-away that neither is good enough - but for me the alternative was far worse than the original). The whole idea of purgatory as a place to come to terms with your past so that you can move on to your future (perhaps as a metaphor for adolescence) is similar to the plot of Haibane Renmai - but not nearly so well done this time. I'd call it good, but not as good as it might have been.
Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi: pure undiluted fun! well, somewhat diluted by the "serious" episodes, I suppose, but they were necessary and no hardship in themselves. I don't really get the comparisons I've seen with FLCL, though - apart from a degree of liveliness, and a slight similarity of style, they're really not that alike, I'd say. Some of the animation in the first episode was stunningly good in the way it captured the expressions of a bored or frustrated teenage boy.
Watching now:
Kino's Journey. Slow (mostly), atmospheric, thoughtful, intriguing, beautiful and dark. The simple, pastel, slightly gloomy, visual style reminds me of Lain and Texhnolyze, and is the kind of thing that always draws me in (like Angel's Egg as well). Kino's very sparse but thoughtful remarks about what she observes remind me (a little surprisingly, I suppose) of Kyon's gentle snark in Haruhi Suzumiya. A rather adult show, and near the top of all the series I've watched.
Waiting to be watched soon:
Princess Mononoke
Gits2 - Innocence
Bakemonogatari
Otaku no Video