Forums / Media / Moving Images

Stride: very sports, much gay friendship. Animation could be better but it was just the first ep… I hope the races look awesome tho. Parkour is a cool concept for a sports anime.
Norn9: At least a little intriguing. Kinda gives me the feeling I'll get bored and drop it halfway. It's a little soft and wispy??
Shoujo-tachi: hilar, already love it. I hope it's like Nozaki-kun and stays hilarious/good.
AoKana: also looks good so far, another more interesting than standard sports anime it seems.

Sekko Boys: I am beyond words.
Mahou Shoujo: looks like an excellent short tbh, funny and easy to watch. I like "no thx, don't wanna be a magical girl" spoofs.
Rainbow Days: surprisingly not gay, it started really well! It's a shojo from a group of guys' points of view. They feel like an actual group of guy friends so far. twelve minutes of healing~

I think that's it/so far.

We've got an interesting line-up so far, I'm just really glad I'm watching up to 22 shows this season, it just means that there are a lot more choices. I had a couple season's with just 16 or 10 even, too many that didn't catch my interest. Just keeping a look out for their potential since I'm sure I may end up dropping at least three or two of them.
Anime Shorts:
Ojisan to Marshmallow:
Pretty cute first episode, a romance in an office setting with adult characters sounds good to me
Oshite! Galko-chan:
Oh boy real girl talk as some people have been calling this show, it's not as standard as a show were girls talk about cute stuff like cake and tea and the like. I think I like it.
Also I really like this character's design

Sekkou Boys:
Chuckles were had that's for sure I'll be watching this one
Sushi Police:
I've never seen anime take this form of animation in my experience, so I'm curious to see how this plays out
Anime:
Active Raid: Kidou Kyoushuushitsu Dai Hachi Gakari:
I'm getting Psycho Pass vibes from this, well a more happy go lucky Psycho Pass, or maybe I just want another Psycho Pass…
Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm:
It felt like an adaptation of a VN from 2004 when I watched it, and sure enough it is a VN adaptation, it might be ok as long as there isn't too much drama in this
Boku dake ga Inai Machi:
I hope the story turns out ok with only 12 episodes, it seems interesting
Bubuki Buranki:
Fire Emblem The Anime, ok not really but the CG models sure looked like some of the characters, this is the first time I consider watching a CG anime and it doesn't seem all that bad for a first episode
Dagashi Kashi:
I'm hoping for good comedy this season, and I did have a chuckle or two, although I really hope that character with the glasses doesn't become the one getting hit for comedic effect because that really ruins a series for me
Dimension W:
"Oooh" is what I can say so far, I really like the style of the show and characters
Divine Gate:
Yikes the opening dialogue for this show doesn't do the show any favors, it's really striking for the edge lord anime, but if it is I think I'll watch it for laughs
Durarara!!x2 Ketsu:
Still trying to stay onboard with the show, with all the character and stories together it's pretty hard
Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri 2nd Season:
Fans were saying the show is going to be a little more serious this time around, for me I still like the concept of modern vs medieval
Hai to Gensou no Grimgar:
It's nice to see characters not being OP, although I can see some petty drama being made here, hopefully one or two characters wont get on my nerves so much
HaruChika: Haruta to Chika wa Seishun Suru:
I just hope that reveal at the end doesn't cause some bad drama, also it's too bad Hibike aired before this one because all I can think about is well Hibike
Koukaku no Pandora:
It's got a quirkiness that I like, also android yuri?
Koyomimonogatari:
More Monogatari to hold us over until the movie releases. I hope to re-watch all of the series in order when it's done
Luck & Logic:
I doubt it might turn out good, but it's worth a shot hopefully not too generic
Musaigen no Phantom World:
Kyoani comes forward with their latest work and while it's ahem nice to look at pretty visuals I hope the story turns out well
Nijiiro Days:
Fans say that this show will be focusing on the relationships of different guys from their point of view, which sounds pretty interesting actually
Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya wo Mezasu:
Some fans were saying that this show actually focus on the development of making a VN with its characters better than Saekano did, which sounds good to me since I didn't like Saekano
Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu:
Wow people weren't kidding when they say that this show wasn't really ordinary, I like the story just from the first episode
Now I'm waiting on Ajin and Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!

Gate is still shit and has now resorted to borderline rape scenes to get its new villains over as villainous. Jaysus. It seems to have worked because it grossed me the frick out, and made me hate the bad guy but I still feel it has little relevance to the actual story

Phantom World is hilarious, ignore the naysayers. It's not the first time KyoAni has done a fanservicey series.

Active Raid seems like it might be fun, I love "Superhero Police" type worlds and the dynamic between the characters is pretty nice.

Schwarzes Marken better step it up because episode one was a lot of "loud emo screaming over the horrid shit that happens to us" stuff. I did not realise it was a spin-off of Muv-Luv.

Sekko Boys is drugs but the right level of drugs. I will be watching for the sheer insanity.

I really wish I could enjoy episodic anime more, but…

I. The plot often overshadows the characters.

"Filler characters" as we call them, are one of the most pathetic beings in the anime universe. Most often in an episode all of the space is used to progress the plot-line, which leaves less space for character development or depth. Even worse, the characters become soul-less, one-sided plot devices that aren't even human. I feel really sad every-time I see a really brilliant character, only to see him/her return nevermore and never clarify his/her story.

Mushishi is a good anime because it involved one of the greatest motifs: the interaction between humans and nature. However, most characters inside this show aren't really what I call developed. We don't get to see much more in Mushishi of the mother who kills to protect the cotton changeling sons other than that she's a selfish b!tch.

II. They tend to get formulaic.

It's hard not to stick to a formula in an episodic anime if every episode you have to gather up all your creativity to tell a story. A formula saves a lot of time for the writer to create new content, but this bores out the audience.

One of the reasons why Cowboy Bebop is one of my favorite anime because despite being an episodic anime, it doesn't stick to a formula. You always get something new, this episode it's sci-fi horror, next episode is oddball comedy, the next episode it's a thriller.

III. It has no coherence.

Despite episodic anime's episodic sacrifices of filler characters' souls, the plot of episodic anime still never reaches its full potential. Because there are things that just can't be expressed in standalone episodes. A grand conspiracy, a rivalry between two opposing forces……for these we need arc-shaped anime.

Each episode in an episodic anime develops an independent plot, and the consequences are that there is no coherence. If viewed from a macroscopic level, each episode has little correlation.

You can have an episodic anime with each episode presenting an event from multiple perspectives, though this isn't strictly episodic, as the plot of the show is developed over multiple episodes.

This is just my opinion.

Short episodes does have the convenient ability to fully expand upon one centralized, simple idea that can't be expanded into arcs. That's why gathering the episodes together in an anime as a TV series rather than a film, or an OVA isn't the best idea.

So I started watching Cardcaptor Sakura. Dear lord, the animation quality kicks DBZ and even a lot of more modern anime in the Junk. The Keyframing is fucking awesome, even moreso considering the era.

I like how each time they nearly run headlong into a Trope they kinda just sidestep it almost comically.

Sakura is dressed up by Tomoyo instead of just poofing on a costume, Sakura keeps on getting busted mere minutes after she is trusted with a secret so we never have an impending "Liar Reveal" moment. Sakura being a borderline Sporty Girl since she lives in a house with only men. The reason the magical artifact was calling out to her in the first place was because the spirit inhabiting it was snoring. And the only reason it's down there is because her dad is Japanese Indiana Jones. There is just so much personality injected into this.

Can't wait to continue this.

Damn, I remember that show when I was a kid back in the 90's anime craze, I don't know if the nostalgia goggles are kicking in or not, but I remember the dub being rather good

Schwarzes Marken was a lot better with the second episode, since it has given more much-needed developmentment to the mains. It's won me over from hating it, so we'll see how it holds up.

Active Raid is still a lot of fun.

Nurse Witch Komugi R is just sort of brainless but still quite mindlessly entertaining.

This question is probably gonna start a flame-war, but I'm very curious about the answers:

Does the internet prefer One Punch Man or Kill la Kill?

I don't think there's really a definite answer to that. The internet isn't a collective hive-mind (most of the time) so some people will prefer OPM and others will prefer KLK. I suppose we could do a strawpoll on this website to see what the majority prefers but that would only tell us about this sites opinions. And besides all that, the two aren't really mutually exclusive. You can like both OPM and KLK, you don't need to prefer one over the other.

In other news, I watched the first episode of Bubuki/Buranki (or BBK/BRNK if you prefer). While the CGI animation seems to have been quite divisive in the anime community, I have to say I'm quite a fan of it. It adds a lot of smoothness to the motion which is great for an action-oriented show like this. Also, dat Kozaki Yusuke character design tho.

Speaking of OPM, I finally started reading it. Imo its really funny and a good manga overall, but I still think its incredibly overhyped.

Does anyone know if they ever sell shorts subbed? I've never watched one I actually want to buy. I feel like I could watch Rainbow Days with a glass of wine and be healed from anything. It's the only thing I'm still watching besides Sekko Boys and Stride. I hear Dagashi Kashi actually fell into a good rhythm with the last couple episodes though, maybe I'll watch that again. The first two episodes didn't really do anything for me.

It really all depends on if someone picks it up to licence in North America, and that's pretty much a roll of the dice for anything other than incredibly popular shows.

Is anyone else watching Erased? Because that show has actually been incredible so far and you should all check it out.

Mob Psycho 100 preview is out, ONE's artstyle looks amazing in motion

Based Bones

I actually kinda dropped a lot of shows this season, only ones I'm still watching are Erased, Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, Durarara, Snow White with The Red Hair. AssClass, Osomatsu, Gintama, Lupin III, Sekko Boys and Galko-Chan. Erased is obviously the most popular one but I really cannot recommend Rakugo and Lupin enough, those 3 (and DRRR/Osomatsu) are basically the only shows I need right now. I seriously cannot recommend those two shows enough, they really are just completely different to everything else airing right now.

One show I only watched the first episode of and really want to get back to is Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash. I mean, the plot is generic "trapped in a video game" crap, but well, just look at it

The show is goddamn gorgeous

All of you watch Yowamushi Pedal. No questions asked.

@R21

LMAO grimgar of fantasy and ash more like "nothing ever happens". The first episode has no story whatsoever, I found it to be pretty boring to be fair.

Have you tried DiaAce? It's more like YowaPeda than kurobas, idk why nobody else watches it. It's my favorite manga and the anime is so good at keeping to it. Even the tumblr comm for it isn't very big, which is a fuckin' mystery to me.

Log Horizon is the only good "trapped in a video game" series I've seen, though its animation might well be considered meh tier. Bought a family member the light novels, might read em myself at some point.

Erased is phenomenal, the whole time travel thing really becomes non-generic with the added spin of "prevent child abuse".

hey do you have enough jojo fans?

yes?

ok thanks just checking

Okay well Stride has officially failed me, I can't keep up my internal charade any longer. It's so confused about what it wants to be. They're not giving anywhere near the time and detail needed on the actual matches. Anime parkour was supposed to be so cool, but they gloss right over matches. Nana literally sits in a chair looking scared and stuttering "go" the whole time, and she doesn't know her dad is the King of Stride/coaching but then they showed us a flashback where he explains his job to her…? & the Tomoe thing too, like how many months has it been since the school year started, nobody at all knew about this super amazing Stride team coached by the King of Stride, do these people not read magazines or keep up with their sport's news at all

The plot isn't fleshed out enough or deep enough for me to get free! levels of attached. You know it's bad when there's a fanservice training camp episode mid-season but you don't know the characters well enough to ship any of them anyway. The only glimmer was Riku and that orangey blonde hair guy on Saisei but obviously I can't even remember his name. & that whole team is 1000x more interesting than Honan tbh, they should have focused on them. Their VA's did the ending which has become the only good thing about sitting through this show every week I haven't been so disappointed in an anime since DMMD.

But at least there's rugby ass to look forward to.

When I first saw that image I swear the first thing my eyes were drawn to was his ass. It would probably rank among my top 10 asses in anime and the show hasn't even aired yet. This and that football (soccer) anime that MAPPA is making better not disappoint me.

I mean it's literally center page, brightest spot on the page, asking me to observe it. He needs the guy on the right's legs tho, those thick ass thighs Eyebrows shota is pretty cute too.

I think they forgot to color the hem on blond guy's shorts, now that I'm looking somewhere other than senpai's ass. They look like hot pants + leg bands but everybody else I'm pretty sure is wearing spandex leggings under shorts.

I really like the art style, here's to hoping it's a good show.

I don't know much about DAYS, the soccer show. I never got into the other soccer anime enough to finish them so we'll see what happens. The art for that one reminds me of Baby Steps.

OMG Rugby anime?! It has never been a better time to be a Welsh anime fan. I have to e-mail Crunchy support to beg them to pick this up for my region now.

Wow, that's some next-level man-service right there.

Anywho, I started watching Chihayafuru after a friend recommended it to me and I binged the entire 25 episode series in 3 days. I haven't binged a show that hard since HunterXHunter. Seriously, everyone should go watch it.

Really need to start Chihayafuru, I saw it and immediately thought "That looks completely my kind of thing". I'm about halfway through watching Akatsuki no Yona (which is amazing and should also be watched), so I guess that's what I'm starting afterwards.

The art for that one reminds me of Baby Steps.

That's probably why it appeals to me so much, Baby Steps remains my favorite sports anime. I mean besides my love of shows that look a bit abnormal, MAPPA is the only studio now along with KyoAni who's shows I always give an obligatory check out, and I usually like to give sports anime a check anyway. Really hope this doesn't disappoint.

Can it just be April already.

Schwarzesmarken is much better now it's got going (I know I ragged on it after only the first couple of episodes). Interesting political backdrop.

Just caught the latest part of Digimon tri. Still really good. Teased us by answering no questions and only asking even more.

I think it works even better with fewer fights. They spend a real good amount of time developing the characters beyond the original and it's really nice storytelling.

Gomamon still a besto.

I DIDN'T KNOW THE FUJOSHI GODDESS WAS GETTING AN ANIME WTFFFFF

Does that have a date on it somewhere?!? How long do I have to wait?!!

shojo series tho….

We must buy this at such a furious pace they have no choice but to give us Junko's BL next.

How did I not know about this gem before?
https://youtu.be/ys8Onvl1uxA

I have a friend who has all of ghost stories on DVD. It's pretty much the best thing ever.

This fucking staff, we're in for a wild ride

Copypasted from some random anon on /a/

At the very least Akio Otsuka will be returning as the voice for Skull Knight, Susumu Hirasawa will do the opening this time named "Hai yo" (Ash) and to be honest I have no problem with the composer from the movies returning, he did a great job setting the eerie mood and making it feel like it was all building to a disaster

It's going to have heavy cgi, not gonna lie, this pisses me off a lot (Although the third movie's cgi was tolerable) but I'll still watch it, lord knows when we might get a decent adaptation for this and if it will be in our lifetimes

You never know. Sometimes a studio comes out of the blue and blows everyone away. Just look at Trigger with Kill la Kill, or Shaft with Monogatari and Madoka.

I'm growing on CGI, I absolutely hated Knights of Sidonia, but I started watching Ajin and binged through all the current episodes in one go. It helps that the actual content is good, but the CG was some of the better I've seen. I was going to give the new Berserk a pass because of t but now I'm definitely going in with an open mind

On a completely different note, can we just stop to acknowledge this is now a thing

AOTY, I'm not even kidding. Sayo Yamamoto (recently started both her shows, Fujiko Mine and Michiko and Hatchin, both are amazing) AND Mappa in a FIGURE SKATING anime.

I'm currently happy because Crunchy confirmed Jojo Part IV for my region as well as some other cool looking shows. I will give Kiznaiver a try for sure.

Guys! Guys! Guys! Guys!

You'll never fucking believe it.

Toonami just announced on their Facebook page that theyèll be co-producing 12 new episodes of FLCL! Here's the full announcement:

Toonami is proud to announce an original co-prodution with legendary studio, Production I.G, “FLCL” seasons 2 and 3! That’s right, we are producing 12 new FLCL episodes to be split into two seasons, and serve as a sequel to the original classic, FLCL! Stay tuned for more info when we have it!

THAT is Good news! Let the crazy shenanigans resume!

Listening to this in honor of the FLCL continuation

Doesn't look that bad, they have clearly improved with the CGI (I was thinking it was going to look like the first movie which was god-awful) Hirasawa's music is great as always and the few 2D segments there are look gorgeous

Also it looks like they will do the very first arc of the series up until conviction (Skipping Golden Age of course)

I know I'm the only one who cares but urgh Durarara's ending was too good ;_; God I love that show so much, I'm going to miss it dearly. Good thing there's the light novels! Sure some things are still going, but I feel I know enough about them all to do my end of season summation, in ranked order:

Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu – Yeah, this show pretty much blew everything out the water. It's not to everyone's taste, but if anyone's looking for a fantastic adult drama then it's right here. It's basically the opposite of most shows I've seen as of late, just an excellent, engaging character drama through and through
Durarara x2 Ketsu – This was a fantastic way to end such a long show. Although the animation started really falling apart, the previous poor direction faded away, as it (finally) began tying up all the loose ends. Even in a large a cast as DRRR's, the vast majority of the cast played a substantial role in the finale, and I could not be happier, thumbs way up.
Lupin III part 4 – As my first Lupin thing ever, this was a great way to start. A beautiful little episodic show that was a lot of fun to boot, the Lupin universe has some of the best characters and they're all handled great. The ending wasn't as great as I had hoped, and lowered it very slightly, but still a fantastic show I heavily recommend
Ajin – Mentioned it earlier, but I hate CG in anime. It always looks awful, and while it does look better here fact still stands it's CG. So, with that said, it says a lot that it's still this high, just fantastic characters that really do carry the show, even if they aren't particularly likable they're always interesting. Really recommended to anyone who can get past the CG.
Osomatsu-San – Really glad I discovered this one, a fantastic and diverse comedy show, that's consistently hilarious to watch. Definitely among my favorite comedy anime, if you enjoy the Gintama style of comedy, this is worth watching. Speaking of
Gintama – Since the show is over this season, I'll write more than "It's Gintama". This season carries on the serious Gintama, and honestly it's better than the previous arc. First it sees the return of my favorite character, Isaburo, and has a way more interesting set of fights to me. Hope Gintama comes back soon.
Erased – This originally was #4 but it kinda fell off. Not bad! Not even slightly, but just, a certain reveal kinda burned a lot of my expectations from the beginning. Again, not even close to bad, and I still recommend, but yeah, a bit of a let down.
Sekko Boys – Probably my favorite short since Seki-kun, takes a funny concept and instead of relying on it, uses it as a vehicle for even funnier comedy. For it's length, it's worth it.
Koyomimonogatari – It's fairly basic monogatari, not much too it. It's fun for what it is, but it's really just a set up for the final season.
AssClass – It really is just more AssClass. Great when it hits, standard Shounen Jump when it doesn't. Not really much more than that, so far.
Kindaichi – I'm literally the only one who cares about Kindaichi, so I won't talk about it besides the cases were kinda dull this time around :/

And that's it. I dropped a bunch of stuff, notably Dimension W (heard I dodged a bullet with that one), Dagashi Kashi (Fun, but really standard) and Prince of Stride (sigh). Also put Gundam and Haruchika on hold, I intend to finish them but I really can't be bothered. So yeah, a fine season, not great but not bad. Next season though…

Next season has straight up too many good looking shows, here's what I care about:

Ace Attorney – Duh
Bakuon – Cute girls on motorbikes, hopefully it'll be fun
Bungou Stray Dogs – I really like the art and character designs, and it's by Bones, I like Bones. We'll see
Concrete Revolutio – Loved season 1, this season has goddamn Urobuchi involved. I'm down.
Flying Witch – Don't actually know anything about this but, uh, the art looks cool so we'll see
Joker Game – A period drama about spies set just before WW2? Sign me up.
Kabaneri of The Iron Fortress – Attack on Rail Wars. Whether it's gonna be good is up for debate, no doubt it'll be entertaining though
Kiznaiver – More Trigger, which always gets a watch from me. Really like the designs as well.
Kuma Miko – LOOK AT THAT GODDAMN BEAR THOUGH
Kuromukuro – PA Works always gets a watch from me, and them doing mecha? Hell yeah.
Mayoiga – I'm always out for a good mystery show, and apparently this has horror elements? I'm always looking for good horror, since it's in such short supply
My Hero Academia – It's the big hype show, so no doubt I'm watching it. Helps that it looks cool too.
Rinne 2 – Don't care what anyone says, Rinne was hilarious. I'm up for more.
Sakamoto desu ga? – This looks amazing, among my most anticipated shows for sure
Super Lovers – I'm trash
Ushio and Tora – season 1 was great, I love Mappa, can't wait to see how it ends.
Space Patrol Luluco – A Trigger short in the Style of Kill La Kill's second ED? Sounds awesome, always like a good short.

I don't know why I spend ages doing these lists, it's not like anyone cares, but there's all the stuff I'm interested in. Yeah, Spring looks good.

A new trailer for my hero academia.

The Pillows are apparently returning for FLCL, which is good news

Looks like Bakuon is already getting a dub:

[hype intensifies]

{ Super Lovers – I’m trash }

This trashbag's body is ready.

Bloody hell PA Works, I see the A team has been working on this while the B team has been tearing apart HaruChika.

For a 15th anniversary celebration, I can't believe they're doing a mech show. Shirobako was their best project in recent memory, I have yet to see anything triumph Hanasaku Iroha. Drama is their strong point (sans Glasslip), not action. Feeling very uneasy with this, but it's PA Works, mandatory watch.

Tari Tari season 2 never.

>Kuromukoro

Hell yeah, PA Works at their best is still one of the best anime studios out there, their recent disappointments aside. This better not disappoint too, although I don't think it will. Yeah, Spring is gonna be good.

>Yuri on Ice

It didn't even need guys in it get me hyped, it could have been actual yuri and I'd still love it, but now we're getting possibly gay, definitely sexual, artsy, Yamamoto-directed figure skating guys? Can that show like, come out now?

Phantom World is over :( :( :(

Oh well, it was a nice little show. Ideally every episode would have had the strong plot of the final two but I think they set out to explore ideas rather than build a world.

I'm now anticipating the 2nd seasons of BBK/BRNK and Konosuba!

Roll on Jojo and Kiznaiver. I'll also give that Twin Exorcists whatsit a shot.

First Impressions:

Ace Attorney- A pretty faithful adaptation. I do admit I was expecting a bit more out of the animation as much the characterization relied on that in the original game, but it was consistently good throughout. I'm not gonna get used to the Japanese Names though. I REALLY hope Subs come out that feature the localized names. Props to Fus-Ro-Objection, but some more body language would have gone a long way.

Diamond is Unbreakable- The hook of the show is immediately more gripping than Stardust Crusaders was. Parts 1-3 carried this self aware "I'm a parody of my genre and I know it" sort of vibe to it, but with Part 4's first episode it feels like it's taking itself a tad more seriously. And I think it benefited from it. I don't think I'm ever going to forget that opening sequence anymore.

Now waiting on: Boku no Hero Academia, Bungou Stray Dogs, Flying Witch, Joker Game, and Kuma Miko.

New Anime~
Space Patrol Luluco 3/5 – Yeah, I liked it well enough, I'm not in love with it quite yet but I imagine it'll grow on me over time. Either way, not much of a time sink.
Ushio and Tora 2 4/5 – More Ushio and Tora, which is always good. This episode reminded me why I love it so much, pretty yet still creepy monsters and and characters. Still loving it.
Ace Attorney ?/5 …Honestly? I dunno how to rank it. Like, I really enjoyed it, but I have a suspicion that's mostly just the fanservice aspect, since I'm a huge Phoenix Wright fan. I don't really know how enjoyable it would be if you weren't already into the series. The animation is wonky, the pacing is waaay too fast as it tries to cram the whole first case into one episode, not giving time for any of the objections to actually sink in before moving to the next one. I guess I could say 2.5/5 for non-AA fans, 3.5/5 if you are, although I imagine either way it's worth waiting to see how they handle the larger cases. EDIT: scratch that, rewatched it, solid 2.5/5. the tone and humour is there, but there's just no effort otherwise. sigh.
The Lost Village – 2/5 – HAHAHAHA wow that was some amazing crap I just watched. Like seriously, this is one of the most poorly written shows I've seen in a long time and yet, I'm absolutely going to continue watching it. If it keeps up like this, it could be the best so bad it's good show since last summer's Chaos Dragon. In a sick twisted way, I actually recommend it.

more gripping than Stardust Crusaders was. Parts 1-3 carried this self aware “I’m a parody of my genre and I know it” sort of vibe to it, but with Part 4’s first episode it feels like it’s taking itself a tad more seriously.

Oh my goodness is that what probably happened to me?
I really liked the first season of Jojo which I'm guessing were part 1 and 2? And I didn't feel as invested with the first couple of episodes of stardust crusaders and just ended up giving up on it entirely.