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Sunday Without God (TV).


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Chiibi



Joined: 19 Dec 2011
Posts: 4829
PostPosted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 12:36 pm Reply with quote
I just showed this anime (1-3) on Friday to a good friend and she was all "ILOVEVERYTHINGABOUTTHIS"

So I'm really happy I have someone to fangirl over it with. Anime hyper
...........also bawled at the end of the third episode rewatch. :'(
BECAUSE UNFAIR.
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Michael Nathanael T.





PostPosted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 8:17 am Reply with quote
This anime is so cool!!! I've watched all episodes and I love it because of the dramatic story plus it has some mystery and psychological things....
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DuskyPredator



Joined: 10 Mar 2009
Posts: 15505
Location: Brisbane, Australia
PostPosted: Wed Feb 12, 2014 12:28 am Reply with quote
Episode 13 (OVA)

Just so artistically beautiful, and got me pretty close to some manly tears. We got some more spoiler[Hampnie Hambart] too, apparently Alis/Alice had spoiler[met him at some, Alis hoping that he found some peace]. And we saw Hampnie spoiler[dreaming about when he met Ai's mother], I think the scene was implying thatspoiler[ it is what made him decide to tell Ai to bury him].

There really was not much plot, there was fan service, some repeats of the 7 day thing, a little insight for the characters, and some very pretty art. That ED gets me every single time.
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Bango



Joined: 06 Jul 2013
Posts: 1122
PostPosted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 12:57 am Reply with quote
I was unaware it was even out yet. I thought it was the end of the month. Thanks!

EDIT:

I really appreciate the mexican dude who let me see this. The bonus ep was cool with the usual wonderful visuals, some badassedry, an answer to a question I always wanted to know and a surprising amount of fan service. Well, the first third was a hotsprings episode after all.

I have a really tough time deciding which is the winning shot here, spoiler[Scar's floral bra or Dee's trophy rump]. I also got a good laugh at the various gags. Poor Dee and Alis. spoiler[And why so worried about your development, Ai? Novel cover 5! Novel cover 5! You'll catch up!] Though I am a bit sad that plot prevented Ulla (who I really wanted to see) from joining them. They didn't even cut to her for completeness sake:(

IMO it didn't really add anything except for the end, which didn't add much but it did answer the question I wanted. But as bonus episodes go it didn't spit in the face of the rest of the series, so I guess that's good.
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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
Posts: 11762
Location: Earth
PostPosted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 10:11 pm Reply with quote
I kinda expected the OVA to have some fan service with the spoiler[onsen] in the beginning. What I didn't expect is seeing spoiler[Hambart] again in the OVA after his absence earlier on from the beginning of the series.

Not much else to add but I guess it's original for what it is.
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Bango



Joined: 06 Jul 2013
Posts: 1122
PostPosted: Thu Feb 13, 2014 11:58 pm Reply with quote
A friend said this about it and I agree fully (enough to even post it)

"I'm glad it exists, even if it's existence is nothing substantial."
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Chiibi



Joined: 19 Dec 2011
Posts: 4829
PostPosted: Fri Feb 14, 2014 12:15 pm Reply with quote
That last part of the OVA WAS FRIGGIN ADORABLE.

Totally made my day. :>

Bango wrote:
spoiler[And why so worried about your development, Ai? Novel cover 5! Novel cover 5! You'll catch up!]


Fffffffffff Ai couldn't catch up to Scar if the world ended. Laughing
She'll probably look just like her mother when she grows up.
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Crisha
Moderator


Joined: 21 Apr 2010
Posts: 4290
PostPosted: Wed Nov 04, 2015 10:49 pm Reply with quote
Anime Marathon Discussion (Nov. 6th, 2015 - Nov. 15th, 2015)

Spoilers Reminder for Marathon Discussion: Tag all spoilers within your post(s) and record the episode number(s) you're discussing at the top of your post.
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Dessa



Joined: 14 Jul 2004
Posts: 4438
PostPosted: Sat Nov 07, 2015 9:13 pm Reply with quote
Episodes 1-6

I watched this show as it aired, but I haven't watched it since, despite buying the BD collection. I'm also realizing that this is a bit similar to Torchwood: Miracle Day.

Rewatching the first episode, I'm noticing a lot that I didn't notice the first time around. Such as spoiler[the first man who called out to Ai being very obviously dead, both in his eyes, and how stilted he spoke].

There's a lot in the first episode that doesn't make sense at first, such as spoiler[the way he asked her questions], but when you know info from later (because spoiler[that's how real Gravekeepers are]), it makes so much more sense.

I'm also realizing how prominently the characters from the final arc are featured in both the OP and the ED, making them seem like major characters for the whole series. I wish that the novels would come out over here, since it obviously goes for much further than the anime did, and I assume that those characters play a role further.

IIRC, Sunday Without God was one of the first LN-based series I saw. Now, having seen a lot more of them, I can see the definite pacing problems. This first arc (episodes 1-3) and the second arc (4-6), are likely each one novel. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd guess that both the third arc (7-8) and episode 9 are volume 3, and the final arc (9-12) are probably volume 4. It's not incredibly off from "standard" LN pacing, but I do think that the pacing could have been improved slightly. Then again, the final arc is a good place to leave it off, so they probably had to use this pacing to get to that part.

I do love Hampnie's description of school. It's a rather cynical way of looking at it, but you really can't argue that it's not accurate, either.

The first time I watched this, I completely missed the whole thing about spoiler[wishes], but it makes a lot of sense, now that I caught it. It also explains spoiler[where Ai came from], since spoiler[her mother must have wished for a child].

Also, I'm revising my above statement. It's not really that much like Torchwood: Miracle Day. It's not that people can't die, it's more that spoiler[after they die, they continue living]. It does give a very unique twist to a zombie story, one that I don't think I've seen anywhere else, except for maybe spoiler[Pride & Prejudice & Zombies] (not Japanese, but knowing that it's similar may be spoilers for the hidden book title).

It bugged me the first time around, and it bugs me now, but I really hate her hat. It shouldn't stay on the way it does.

Ai is pretty cute in Yuri's jacket.

Something that struck me, while rewatching this for sure, but I'm pretty sure when I saw it the first time as well, is how wonderfully the relationship between Hampnie and Yuri is portrayed. Sure, Hampnie spoiler[did something horrible to Yuri], and sure, Yuri spoiler[hates him for it], but, at the same time, Yuri spoiler[recognizes that if Hampnie hadn't done that, it would have been worse in the long run], and that spoiler[it was done for him], and continues to respect him.

The scene at the end of episode 3, where spoiler[Ai buries her father] got me crying the first time, and got me crying the second time as well.

Hmm, according to TV Tropes, 7-8 are one novel, and 9 is an entire novel on its own (the anime apparently adapts 5 of 9 volumes). Yeah, there are some pacing problems.


There are parts of the second arc that I enjoy, and there are parts that I don't. IIRC from my first watching, I found myself wanting to learn the story, but I was rather bored watching it, and that's coming across again. It just doesn't interest me that much, but I want to know what's happening.

I think, part of it, is that it's just so "off" from the rest of the show. The whole thing with spoiler[the witch] and spoiler[Kiriko's "parents"] feels out of place with the rest of the show.

I do have to say, though, I love, in the final episode of this arc, how they illustrated the scene between Ulla, Kiriko, and Ai, with the writing appearing over the artwork.
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Dessa



Joined: 14 Jul 2004
Posts: 4438
PostPosted: Sun Nov 08, 2015 4:06 pm Reply with quote
Episodes 7-12

Oh, wow, I'd forgotten that spoiler[Alice and Dee] showed up so early. I'd forgotten that spoiler[they're in 2 arcs, not just the one].

Curious, if anyone knows French, and would possibly be able to translate the writing in the opening? Also, I'm a bit disappointed that there aren't any evolving credits, changing spoiler[the single cross to two crosses after Hampnie's death].

I remember that this arc confused me a bit the first time through, because I didn't get what was going on very well. I'm hoping this time through improves it.

I love the flashback to spoiler[the commentary on schools]. And the spoiler[bath scene] was awesome in so many ways, especially since it managed to have humor in it without spoiler[fanservice].

We're also starting to get more info on spoiler[wishes], though it's not being presented in a straight forward manner. There's also bits being dropped that won't come into play until spoiler[the final arc of the anime].

Wait pause... Didn't they say in the first episode that Ai was spoiler[seven years old when her mother died]? And now she was spoiler[only 5]? Or was that a mistranslation that it was spoiler[seven years ago that her mother died]?

spoiler[Alice's dream] hadn't made any sense at first, but now that I know what it was about, I understand that spoiler[it's a flashback to what happened before he came to Goran].

spoiler["Saving the world through destroying it"] isn't unique to Sunday Without God, but it is an interesting concept to look at, especially in the context of the world they live in. Sure, spoiler[Alice has his own specific goal], but even on a smaller scale, with spoiler[the Gravekeepers]. spoiler[With no one able to die, and Heaven supposedly closed, the Gatekeepers killing someone and releasing them is the only way to "save" someone].

Episode 9 shows us what we had reference to in an early episode, that of spoiler[where Gravekeepers come from and how they're born]. We also get a fun spoiler[road trip].

The episode as a whole, once we get to the meat of it, is rather disturbing. Showing each character spoiler[glimpses of their past, whether it be people or things significant to them]. And the development for Scar was amazing. However, it felt very rushed and "off."

Knowing that Episodes 1-3, 2-6, 7-8, 9, and 10-12 are each a novel, and that what happens in episode 9 is, overall, unimportant to the story the anime is telling, I would have rather skipped it. Like with Log Horizon season 2, telling an entire novel's worth of story in a single episode makes the episode feel rushed and off. Likewise, with the previous novel being adapted into 2 episodes, rather than 3, I'm sure there's a lot that was left out of it. I think I would have rather them expanded either the previous Goran arc or the next arc to an additional episode, fleshing them out better, and skipping this overall, saving it for a (presumable) second season.

And now we're to the final arc of the anime. This first scene, especially, is very disturbing, as we witness spoiler[Class 3-4 viewing the burning Ferris Wheel from the ending, and then being brutally murdered by Alice, while Dee watches in horror]. Only for, moments later, spoiler[everything to be reset, as if nothing happened]. For a show that has been mature, but not dark, it's a very jarring way to start the episode.

On first viewing, this arc confused me. There's so much that doesn't make sense. But watching it a second time, knowing the truth, everything is a lot clearer. Having just recently read spoiler[Higurashi], there are a lot of parallels with this arc.

This arc also plays heavily with spoiler[misdirection]. We've now seen spoiler[two pieces of the puzzle around July 28th], and it seems spoiler[to be pointing to one thing, when it's really something else].

And now, in episode 11, we get the full scene of spoiler[what happened on July 28th]. spoiler[Or so we think]. This arc is also reminding me a bit of spoiler[Another], though in a much less sinister manner.

And now, in the final episode, as things are going their creepiest, we find out spoiler[the truth of July 28th]. We find out that the reason spoiler[that Dee was a ghost outside of Class 3-4 was because she was still trapped], and that spoiler[Alice had physical form was because he wasn't trapped].

Like with the end of the first arc, the waterworks are starting, no matter that I already knew what was coming. Part of it is me being a sap, but another is a testament to how well the writers and animators did their part, that even with knowing, it still affects me the way it does.

It's also very fitting that the subtitles for the ending do something that's very rare in official subs: includes both the Japanese and translated endings, when the lyrics fit so wonderfully.

I know some people didn't like the ending (which is apparently explained much better in the novels, that spoiler[Ai used her wish to save him, which is part of his annoyance, since it was wishes that caused all of the trouble in the first place]), but I felt it was fitting.


I do still have the OAV to go, but as neither I nor my roommate have seen it, I'm gonna wait until she gets home so we can watch it together.
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Dessa



Joined: 14 Jul 2004
Posts: 4438
PostPosted: Mon Nov 09, 2015 10:38 pm Reply with quote
OAV

Episode 1
For a spoiler[hot springs episode], they were surprisingly spoiler[conservative about the fan service... for the most part]. I did also like the spoiler[sneeze cut joke].

Episode 2
spoiler[Alice] being one of my favorite characters, I'm glad to get story specifically focused on spoiler[him]. Oh, wow, didn't expect [spoiler]to see him again[spoiler]! Oh, and spoiler[they'd met before? Doesn't seem like Alice remembers, either].

Episode 3
Yay, more with spoiler[Hampnie]. Oh, hey, this is spoiler[Hampnie and Alta's meeting, leading to Ai's birth]. Okay, that was a pretty cute ending.


Of the three, I liked Episode 2 the best, followed by Episode 3. Episode 1 felt a little too obligatory, and didn't really do anything. We didn't learn anything, nor did it develop any characters. But 2 and 3 were really good.
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