Blazblue: Alter Memory

[Zangelin]

Compared to other anime with higher quality? Yeah it isn't that great...

Compared to other anime/movies or such based of video games? It's doing pretty well!

[SoWL]

I am not sure about that. I've heard a few people so far being like "this is pretty cool, I need to get into this" after seeing only the anime. Then they found out about all the lore and went all in.

That's what I've experienced, as well. They just don't have anything to compare the anime to, maybe except other anime of similar genres, and though it might seem like a jumbled mess, that urges some people to explore it through other means.

[SoWL]

Episode 4 turned out to be surprisingly decent. Not only did we finally get a proper OP animation, but the script finally covers important plotlines instead of zipping between badly staged action scenes. Oh, and Ragna is going to be a mummy this Halloween.

[LiveWireX]

You were able to watch it? I'm sitting on the Funimation page and Episode 4's not loading at all.

[BlackYakuzu94]

Damn, that actually was a pretty good episode; the added focus to other scenes really helped.

Could this anime actually end on a good note...

[blackhybrid]

Lol, Noel, can't cook or wrap a bandage. Overall decent episode, got a few laughs from me, and any episode ending with a Hazama/Terumi laugh gets a thumbs up from me.

[mAc Chaos]

That's what I've experienced, as well. They just don't have anything to compare the anime to, maybe except other anime of similar genres, and though it might seem like a jumbled mess, that urges some people to explore it through other means.

That's because they just see a new show with lots of interesting characters. I managed to watch some four episode short anime of some Tales of Grace game (that I never played) and I enjoyed it even though it summed the entire game's story up in such a short romp.

Whereas here we have diehard fans comparing every little detail perfectly against the game.

[BlackYakuzu94]

That's because they just see a new show with lots of interesting characters. I managed to watch some four episode short anime of some Tales of Grace game (that I never played) and I enjoyed it even though it summed the entire game's story up in such a short romp.

Whereas here we have diehard fans comparing every little detail perfectly against the game.

I had the same experience with the Persona 4 anime; I liked it, but my friend who played and beat the game didn't, because it cut a lot of stuff.

[SoWL]

I played through a good chunk of P4 and still liked it

You were able to watch it? I'm sitting on the Funimation page and Episode 4's not loading at all.

I watched it in raw.

[Kibafool]

I had the same experience with the Persona 4 anime; I liked it, but my friend who played and beat the game didn't, because it cut a lot of stuff.

If I had a nickle for every anime that cut stuff out when being translated from a different media (manga, light novel, video game). Something always ends up being summarized at some point. Atleast so far we've had a followable plot line, and from the sound of the new episode (haven't seen it yet) they are starting to tell the story better.

[BlackYakuzu94]

I also like how Jubei didn't have to tell Noel what to do, and she resolved to find Jin herself. It also makes Jubei less of a dumbass for leaving her alone for Hazama to find.

[NeoStrayCat]

Other than Ep. 4 being mostly a story driven ep. (of course the action scenes are a standstill), it went well without issue, of course the only gripe in this episode between this and CS is...

Carl not in the flashback (unless its somewhere in between the story), and no Tager extracting Lambda, which I find weird she's already at Kokonoe's Lab.

Other than that, small screen time for the dynamic duo of Hazama and Relius, which is OK enough.

Edited October 29, 2013 by NeoStrayCat

[Ryudrake]

What was with that NOL officer hesitating to say "Captain Hazama" then switching to some other title?

[Myoro]

Episode one: Dreadful, but it gave us a few unforgettable scenes. (Namely derp Ice Sorrrd, and Ragna's screaming)

Episode two: Still awful, Haku's 6A and Nu's 5B need to be nerfed.

Episode three: Bad but not that bad. Carl's fight scene was pretty poor, but we got some great Hazama time!

Episode four: Decent!? Great new OP!? the scenes actually progressed sensibly!? things were explained!? dialogue happened!?

If the anime keeps improving like this it might actually be really great by the end of it.

That or my standards are getting lower and lower without my realization...

I hope it's the former.

Edited October 29, 2013 by Myoro

[Zazz]

we knew there was gonna be some short summaries of things that are much more elaborate in the games, but I think they got everything to kick off the anime proper

- Noel's hilariously bad poetry

- Rachel being cryptic

- Kokonoe is being a bit of a bitch

- Jin wanting his BROTHEEEEERRRR~!

- Terumi making a speech about DESPAIR

- Ragna is surrounded by crazy girls and wondering how the hell he got into that situation.

surprises:

- Lambda showing up before Tager?

- Random Phantom!

- A good new opening

[TheYukianesa-01]

Did the budget just increase

It's so odd to see Jin as a nice guy in video. Also, why are they referring to Nox Nyctores as "Archenemy"? Just a subbing mistake?

I lol'd so hard at Tao's "You smell good" towards Rachel.

..Did they just paste Phantoms story art in?

[RifleAvenger]

What was with that NOL officer hesitating to say "Captain Hazama" then switching to some other title?

Hazama's in the Intelligence department. It's possible he's supposed to be undercover (a pretense for a pretense?) and the officer wasn't supposed to address him by his military rank.

[Sourenga]

Also, why are they referring to Nox Nyctores as "Archenemy"? Just a subbing mistake?

Yeah, this is what happens when you just translate what they say in anime, and don't look for already localized names to make it easier to watch for those who played the game... It's just like they now decided to call Kakuritsujishou as "Probabilistic Events" without actually confirming that the term was localized as "Continuum Shift".... Geez, explanations about the time loops are going to sound so dumb now.

So yeah... Subs suck, but the episode was pretty good.

Edited October 29, 2013 by Sourenga

[Narroo]

Now, if Ratchel could show some facial expressions. The cutouts in the game are more dynamic then the anime.

[harmless kitten]

Agreed. I honestly don't like the name Nox Nyctores, but throwing it out and replacing it with Archenemy for people familiar with the localization makes me think they either don't care about consistency or just don't like the terms the localization uses. It's one thing to translate Hakumen's chant or Ragna's release incantation differently, but translating terms differently just breeds confusion. Sure, you should be able to pick up that Archenemy is Nox Nyctores even without any prior knowledge, but it's kind of jarring.

[mAc Chaos]

Maybe they just aren't aware of the localization's terms.

[finalmessenger]

Funimation's subs don't use the localization

Edited October 30, 2013 by Chaoschao222
don't talk about fansubs :v

[harmless kitten]

Doesn't exempt them from lacking consistency. Looking up the official localization for Archenemy or whatever (I don't recall what they used for Jutsushiki and the longass name the NOL has in the original version) is twenty minutes in Google even if you're not familiar with BlazBlue.

Neither Aksys nor ArcSys have done a perfect job with localizing the game, but Funimation comes across as sloppy themselves. I assume that these problems will only be for the simulcast because it's, well, a simulcast.

[mAc Chaos]

I wouldn't expect much from Funimation.

[NeoStrayCat]

Well, as most people mentioned, if and when the inevitable dub comes out, then the localized terms would be coined in. It would be rather weird if that didn't happen however. But some people have doubts.