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# responses2332If you watched or are watching Kemono Friends, when did you start watching it? (Sorted)If you watched or are watching Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, would you recommend it as a starter to someone interested in the MSG franchise?Some notable reasons:
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Cutoff47Good starterNot a good starter
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%#I've seen snippets of other Gundam shows, and from what I can tell none of them are really good for someone who is new to/not interested in mecha. Most people who don't want to watch Gundam *think* they aren't interested by mecha. Hence the disconnect. IBO though gives you the "there's something else" vibe from the title and synopsis so you'll be willing to at least give it a try, and once you get going the incredible characters, world, premise, and intense action draw you in further. I always thought mecha was kinda lame before I tried it but TTGL, Knights of Sidonia, and now IBO have made me realize I was wrong, and I now own two Gundam figures.Too "in your face" about the whole child soldier thing. Get's tiring quickly.
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Age
I started watching it while it was airing, due to all the commotion it caused
34%175YesNoPersonally, I think I did enjoy it however I see alot of problems with it. What it did do was get me interested in the gundam franchise. It suffered near the end as well in my opinion.
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Average21.14
I started watching it after it aired, due to the commotion it caused
28%141First Gundam anime29%9%38%
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Median20Other20%104Also watched other Gundam anime43%19%62%
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Mode20I started watching it when it started airing10%5173%27%100%Gundam: IBO is a gangster story rather than the more usual space opera story that most Gundam shows have. As such, it is not representitve of the franchise as a whole. Additionally, it isn't really amoungst the best that the franchis has to offer. It is above average for anime but has major pacing issues and has whoe arcs that added nothing to the story. Finally, a 50 episoe show is quite a large number of episodes for trying a franchise. One of the shorter ovas like 0080 or 08th ms team (note, not Unicorn as that really expects you to have seen all of early Universal Century Gundam first) is a much better option.
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Std. dev.4.38
I started watching it when it started, dropped it, but picked it up again due to the commotion it caused
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GenderIf you watched or are watching Kemono Friends, when did you start watching it?If you watched or are watching Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, would you recommend it as a starter to someone interested in the MSG franchise?Because it doesn't have laser doing everything. its raw weapons and kinetic weapons which is said to be the best kind of weapon. not only that you can go in with absolute no knowledge at all. IBO is good at telling and showing its audience about things they use.
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Male89.6%2058%#
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Female9.1%209I started watching it when it started airing10%51YesNo
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Other1.3%30
I started watching it while it was airing, due to all the commotion it caused
34%175First Gundam anime13039169I feel that some of the other Gundam anime, whether UC or alternate timeline, are dated in some respects but IBO gives a new take on Gundam. While the show does have the classic mobile suits, fights and political tensions, I think that Iron-Blooded Orphans subverts many of the Gundam tropes and gives something original, modern, and realistic while paying homage to what it came from. It's a great place to start as it's refreshing from someone who has watched many Gundam anime. Also if you do decide to delve into the rest of the Gundam universe you'll be in for something different with those as well.Because it's pretty bad, it has an interesting and unique take on the franchise but falters a lot. OVAs like War in the Pocket or Thunderbolt are much better alternative routes if someone is averse to watching 0079.
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Total2297
I started watching it after it aired, due to the commotion it caused
28%141Also watched other Gundam anime19282274
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I started watching it when it started, dropped it, but picked it up again due to the commotion it caused
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Other20%104I think there are many other entries in the Gundam series which are better, both as a show and as a starting point.
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Total511
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Too different from other gundam entries. Wrong impression of franchise.
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Other:No connection to the main gundam universe or whatsoever. The political events are however rather similar and would give them a good impression about gundam. The emotional feelings it brings is also top-notch and is only rivaled by gundam 00.
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I'm planning to watch it
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after airing
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Kemono Friends is a shit
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initially dropped by came backTL;DR-- I definitely recommend it. It revitalizes the tech, characters, classic outer space vs Earth // regular human vs enhanced human conflict // the other tropes, and despite being full of nods to other Gundams that a first timer might not get, when they go and watch other gundams they might identify the tributes in a reverse function.

Long Answer

The first part is both a pro and a con, but because there are so many small nods to characters and tropes that came before it, IBO became a really fresh feeling approach to the classic Gundam space opera. I would argue that it is a recommendable starter because it highlights the strong points of what Gundam does well without becoming too preachy or dragged-through-the-mud at any point. I mean, I love 00 but Setsuna saying "Gundam" super seriously makes me laugh at this point.

Gundam has always had a love for the technology of that the universe has to offer and I think this Gundam brought a great refreshing take on the characters that were 'enhanced' and how the gundams were legitimately more powerful. It felt closer to science fiction with the A-V system (using initials to avoid botching the spelling) than science-fantasy with things like innovators or whatever the dudes were called in Seed and Seed Destiny.

Also, let's consider the year. As science in general has advanced and our understanding, culturally it has become cooler to see near sci-fi tech being "in" rather than extraordinarily outlandish material. The gritty, almost medieval approach to IBO when it comes to combat is much closer to reality than... well... almost every other gundam where laser beams slice through absolutely everything except for plot armor and beam sabers can be powered on underwater (looking at you Gundam 00). The hacking, slashing, and punishment that the machines can take from projectile and giant melee weapons instills a sense of power and limitation in each of the machines that brings the action closer to the characters.

Related to this in a way is the fact that the characters are wonderful. No show is perfect but with the atmosphere and rules of the established world, the characters feel more alive.

While Gundam has a strong nostalgia factor going for it with super iconic characters and tropes within every iteration, I found that IBO peels off the unnecessary and reestablishes Gundam as being capable of delivering a solid standalone show that breaks down the established formulas and utilizes what's needed without losing the identity in any of the tropes or characters or setting that this is in fact Gundam.

I'd continue but its 4am and I'm supposed to be writing a rhetorical analysis of "Shelter" so.... I'll end it here.
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I watched it immediately after the final episode aired
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After it finished
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Binged a day or two after the final episode and everyone was recommending it. FriendsFriendsFriendsFriendsFriendsFriendsFriendsFriendsFriendsFriendsFriends
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After aired
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Soon
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I'm going to watch it soon
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I tried it due to the commotion but didn't like it
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Started watching it a few episodes after it started due to the amount of fanart that was being produced.
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I watched it after it aired.
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Plan to start soon
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Started watching after it was done airing, due to all the commotion it caused
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Considering it because of the online hype
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PTW
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Watched first episode, then discounted it until ~ep 4 when I saw buzz
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I want to watch it
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I'll probably pick it up soon to see what's up
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I'm gonna watch it because I want to be cool and hip and in the know
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I started watching when a friend reccomended it profusely
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i intended on watching it, but wait for it to finish.
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Read the manga after it aired
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Will watch soon
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Started while airing due to personal recommendation
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Started while airing due to personal recommendation
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Started while airing due to personal recommendation
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I started watching while it was airing because of somebody I follow on twitter posting about it. Then I saw an image of Shoebill and knew I needed it in my life. The hype started shortly after I started watching
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Planned on watching it after it aired, definitely watched it afterwards due to the commotion and cute character designs
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Haven't yet, but plan to soon.
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Going to!
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 and dropped it without picking it back up
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I watched one episode because my brother did, it was alright
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watched episode 1 day 1, and dropped the show after that due to horrible animation quality
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I started watching it when it started, dropped it, and picked it up just before it blew up (thanks to /u/ss_lmtd's posts about it)
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Accidentally clicked
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I'll watch it someday
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Added to queue haven't started yet
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Never watched it, looked boring and still looks boring.
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On my to watch list
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I haven;'t started watching yet but am planning to
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YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD BE AN EASTER EGG, BUT IT WAS ME, DIO!
I really don't care
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Dropped at first, stil haven't picked it back up.
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I started watching it while it was airing, dropped it, but picked up again due to the commotion it caused.
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Why would anyone watch this?
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I heard all sorts of stuff about it. I might give it a chance sometime.
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Haven't watched it yet, but I want to watch it eventually to understand all the hype
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I plan to watch it soon due to the commotion
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I am likely to watch it in the future
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I watched the first episode and dropped it.
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I watched the first episode and dropped it.
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drop after 1st episode, no picked up later
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Shall watch soon™, probably due to the commotion
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When people will finally shut up about it
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dropped after sadly finding out it was ass even after the commotion it caused.
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I'm planning on watching it, due to the commotion it caused.
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I started watching it about half way through the season because of all the fanart, dropped it in the first scene because of the horrible cgi, picked it back up after it finished airing because of all the commotion it caused, and loved it after I got through that first scene.
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Didn't watch, accidentally clicked a button
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Plan to
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I started watching after it ended, and immediately dropped it.
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Gonna watch it later
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Added to my plan to watch after seeing all the posts
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I did not know the series
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I started watching after episode 8, but not because of commotion, I wanted to binge watch it.
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Started watching, dropped, regretted.
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haven't started it yet, but probably will
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Dropped ep 2
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Started after all the talk, dropped after first ep, went ahead and read the spoilers about ep4, do not regret my decision honestly.
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started watching when it was airing but dropped at episode 3 .
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Started after the commotion and dropped it.
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I watched an episode and then put it on hold
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Curious about commotion, no intention of watching
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Haven't watched it
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I watched the first episode just to see the bad cgi and dropped it, then it got popular and I watched part of the second episode, but I couldn't continue watching it.
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I will watch it due to the commotion it caused
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I put it on my PTW
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Plan to Watch