I can't remember how many people brought it up when it was new but I wanted to take a moment to talk about Quán Zhí Gāo Shǒu aka The King's Avatar. A lot of people have compared the series to Sword Art Online (which makes zero sense to me cause they have literally nothing in common). I was impressed with the animated series and ended up reading a fan translation of the original Web Novel.
I cannot recommend it enough. While the writing isn't the best (the author is incredibly repetitive and often long winded when they don't need to be) the story itself is quite good. I was disappointed after the fact with how the animated series glosses over the more wacky elements of the main characters mind games and schemes, as well as how it compresses events. If you can read a book while navigating past the parts you don't want to read I think it's well worth the effort. The series has ups and downs (its 1700 chapters long thus far) but the its ups are really up and I appreciate the series for avoiding a lot of melodramatic cliches and focusing primarily on the narrative.
Darling in the FranXX first few episodes started with a lot of sexual/puberty innuendo (is innuendo even an useful word here?) but after that they also slowly started exploring the characters and the world. The latest episode did actually shift more into that explore the world part and was really interesting/fun. Tiny vague spoiler, more generic and not about the episode directly:
Spoiler:
They showed bits of a creepy, sterile dystopia but didn't directly explain much about it. I don't know how future episodes will be balanced story-wise but I like the parts that explore the characters and the world and don't just feel like really, really clumsy fan-service.
LordofHats wrote: I can't remember how many people brought it up when it was new but I wanted to take a moment to talk about Quán Zhí Gāo Shǒu aka The King's Avatar. A lot of people have compared the series to Sword Art Online (which makes zero sense to me cause they have literally nothing in common). I was impressed with the animated series and ended up reading a fan translation of the original Web Novel.
I cannot recommend it enough. While the writing isn't the best (the author is incredibly repetitive and often long winded when they don't need to be) the story itself is quite good. I was disappointed after the fact with how the animated series glosses over the more wacky elements of the main characters mind games and schemes, as well as how it compresses events. If you can read a book while navigating past the parts you don't want to read I think it's well worth the effort. The series has ups and downs (its 1700 chapters long thus far) but the its ups are really up and I appreciate the series for avoiding a lot of melodramatic cliches and focusing primarily on the narrative.
Many thanks for the recommendation, I'm reading it now over at mangahere and so far, I am really liking it and its premises.
Or it could be that he sees Deimiurg is about to flat out murder some really important adventures, which may complicate his plans later on. So he decided to intervene as Darkness and get some fame in the process.
It will be fun seeing him trying to be a credible swordsman again, hopelessly flailing around without any skill or finesse.
But it was fun to see Sebas go off against a couple of mooks who had some build up (but this result shouldn't come as a surprise) and Entoma finally getting some extended screen time and well.. PUT YOUR FACE BACK ON PLEASE!
Sebas doing his thing was entirely expected because that’s how every fight vs the minions of Naz goes. Build up the enemy as some kind of bad arse credible threat, only for them to be instantly obliterated. I don’t fall for it anymore. Except bug lady. Bug lady had the unfortunate luck to go up against probably the one person who could fight her due to that specific anti-bug spell, and even then she really made them work for it.
I'm surprised there's a FLCL sequel on the way, not sure why.
Mostly looking forward to Golden Kamuy (have been reading the manga and love it) and Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu -Die Neue These- Kaikou, which is a watered down Legends of Galactic Empires.
I remember hearing that FLCL had a couple of 'episodes' or OVAs that continued the story a little, that never got aired in the US. I wonder if that's what it is?
Always remember the first rule of anime drama: if the plot is naturally moving toward resolution of emotional conflict, stop that from happening at any cost. Literally do anything else, including nothing at all.
Having two characters fully cease to communicate with one another works, right? Even if they share a room and even sleep in the same bed? Right?
Then insert, out of nowhere, completely random characters to create love triangles. Can't go wrong with love triangles, right? Guys?
Citrus really skirts the edge of verisimilitude, even considering its bizarre premise. When you start with something so provocative, you need to ground it in (at least some) rationale behavior. I think Citrus is frustrated at not having some fantastical gimmick to distract from its core idea, the blurry line between sexual tension and love. At one point, one of the [insert character to solve lack of plot] characters even flat-out remarks that her involvement in the story is the result of an unbelievable heap of coincidences.
Citrus needs more focus on the main character's purely platonic relationship (see left two characters in image below) rather than the outlandish erotic relationships she has with only-in-anime style weirdos (two characters on the right). That way, there is something the audience can meaningfully care about, rather than just be constantly distracted by roller coaster "twists" where someone runs hot and then, inexplicably, cold, or vice versa.
It's a good third for me with this season, with Violet Evergarden and Yuru Camp taking the first and second places. I did find the main girl highly annoying, but the other three made up for it with their own little arcs and quirks.
As for Overlord, I still need to properly watch the episode, but fight between Sebas and Zero aside (with an awesome bit of bs from Sebas post fight no less! ), it wasn't all that great.
I think Deimiurg might be doing his own thing as some sort of plot to expand Ainz's influence. Something like "There's this demon lord burning everything. Better join the lich king then, at least he only kills you if he has a good reason"
CthuluIsSpy wrote: I think Deimiurg might be doing his own thing as some sort of plot to expand Ainz's influence.
Something like "There's this demon lord burning everything. Better join the lich king then, at least he only kills you if he has a good reason"
Nah, I think he's just grabbing an item to further the might of Nazzarik. I don't think he's running a false flag operation to make joining Ainz look good, since its now clear he didn't recognize Ainz disguised as Momon(which seems silly. You'd think Ainz would have told everyone of his alter ego adventurer guize). I think Ainz will turn it into something like that.
Others of the court do know about him being an adventurer though. This is all a long con, though Demiurg is pretty loose in choosing how to act upon the orders given to him, as long as they serve his lord and the Great Tomb.
So I just watched the first episode of Sora uori mo Tooi Basho. Pretty adorable and I hope the rest of it stays good. It's an intresting premise for a Cute Girls do Cute Things anime
BaconCatBug wrote: So I just watched the first episode of Sora uori mo Tooi Basho. Pretty adorable and I hope the rest of it stays good. It's an intresting premise for a Cute Girls do Cute Things anime
After reading your post, I went and watched the first episode, too. Wow! I was immediately sucked it. So much for the three episode rule.
BaconCatBug wrote: So I just watched the first episode of Sora uori mo Tooi Basho. Pretty adorable and I hope the rest of it stays good. It's an intresting premise for a Cute Girls do Cute Things anime
After reading your post, I went and watched the first episode, too. Wow! I was immediately sucked it. So much for the three episode rule.
Have fun with the show and report back once you've finished it. BrookM may have a different order but this one, Violet Evergarden, and Yuru Camp are all great series in their own way. For me Sora yori mo Tooi Basho is/was the best of this season.
I'll check in here as I watch the show, no worries. I watched Citrus in two big chunks (although still have no watched Ep 12) so I am aiming to watch this more slowly.
BaconCatBug wrote: So I just watched the first episode of Sora uori mo Tooi Basho. Pretty adorable and I hope the rest of it stays good. It's an intresting premise for a Cute Girls do Cute Things anime
After reading your post, I went and watched the first episode, too. Wow! I was immediately sucked it. So much for the three episode rule.
I know, right? I immediately binged half the season and am going to watch the other half today.
AduroT wrote:All your cutsie slice of life stuff... bah! I need action. I need adventure!
Action adventure, betrayal? Try K-On!, it has one of the biggest betrayals in history (all in one episode, actually it's just one scene). Look at this thief, who else would dare to do such a thing?
AduroT wrote:All your cutsie slice of life stuff... bah! I need action. I need adventure!
Action adventure, betrayal? Try K-On!, it has one of the biggest betrayals in history (all in one episode, actually it's just one scene). Look at this thief, who else would dare to do such a thing?
I did not see that coming. That ending to episode 12 wasn't bittersweet, it wasn't melodramatic, it was pure, unadulterated depression fuel of the highest calibre. Bait and Switch of the purest form!
The ending of episode 13 was nice and bittersweet, but that episode 12 really crushed me on an emotional level.
Darling in the Franxx episode 12. Wowie zowie what a load of drama and fanservice. I loved it start to finish. The only negative thing is the little exposition dump in the 30s conversation with a staff person.
I haven't read/seen it but know of it. That's child's play compared to what the strawberry thief did.
BaconCatBug wrote:So, Sora yori mo Tooi Basho (actual spoilers)
Spoiler:
I did not see that coming. That ending to episode 12 wasn't bittersweet, it wasn't melodramatic, it was pure, unadulterated depression fuel of the highest calibre. Bait and Switch of the purest form!
The ending of episode 13 was nice and bittersweet, but that episode 12 really crushed me on an emotional level.
And now you can decompress with Yuru Camp△. It's so comfy you'll melt away.
CREEEEEEEEED wrote:Darling in the Franxx episode 12. Wowie zowie what a load of drama and fanservice. I loved it start to finish. The only negative thing is the little exposition dump in the 30s conversation with a staff person.
The series has really improved now that things are actually moving forward and we get more context. There are some things in the early episodes that'll probably make more sense in a second viewing but for a first time viewer the start was just a bit bumpy.
You know what the big problem with Anime is? I can't have it on in the background like youtube or twitch. But equally who want's to watch dubs? A real Catch 22.
CREEEEEEEEED wrote: You know what the big problem with Anime is? I can't have it on in the background like youtube or twitch. But equally who want's to watch dubs? A real Catch 22.
It is a visual medium. As for dubs it depends on the dub. Some are good and some are bad. Like FMA, the original Japanese actors are awful sounding while the dub is amazing.
Overlord is also done for now, with a wonderful magnificent bastard moment courtesy of Demiurg who once again manages to be such a clever bastard and outright evil at the same time.
Also quite liked the "battle" between Narberal and the other maids. We also finally got to see Delta in action.
BrookM wrote: Overlord is also done for now, with a wonderful magnificent bastard moment courtesy of Demiurg who once again manages to be such a clever bastard and outright evil at the same time.
Also quite liked the "battle" between Narberal and the other maids. We also finally got to see Delta in action.
Spoiler:
Yes, that was an assault rifle she was using!
Which may explain Yygdrasil's death. I mean, think about it; in universe she's a character from a fantasy game. Meaning that the fantasy game she's from has androids using high tech assault rifles fighting along side liches and dragons. I'm pretty sure that's a sign of a dying MMO. If you start adding sci-fi stuff to a fantasy game, then you have run out of ideas.... Or trying really hard to ape Warhammer, but I have yet to see a walking cathedral
Actually, all the guardians and NPC's of the Grest Tomb have been created by the members of the guild, as a reward to them from the game devs as they were the first to not only raid the Great Tomb, but also claim it for their selves. It was still very much a fantasy game, but the one responsible for creating Delta managed to create an android somehow as a special monster type.
Clostest thing to a walking cathedral would be the massive walking mountain that tossed the rock during the lizardmen arc, which is another gift from the devs to the guild, an extra reward for clearing the raid in record time IIRC.
Each player created his or her own guardians and whatnot, which explains why there's so much diversity between the maids and the level guardians, not to mention the animosity some of the guardians have towards one another. The guardians though were made to keep raiding parties busy until the guild itself could set up the final defences in the throne room, where they would have their last stand in honour of enemy raiders. Seeing as this never happened..
BrookM wrote: Actually, all the guardians and NPC's of the Grest Tomb have been created by the members of the guild, as a reward to them from the game devs as they were the first to not only raid the Great Tomb, but also claim it for their selves. It was still very much a fantasy game, but the one responsible for creating Delta managed to create an android somehow as a special monster type.
Clostest thing to a walking cathedral would be the massive walking mountain that tossed the rock during the lizardmen arc, which is another gift from the devs to the guild, an extra reward for clearing the raid in record time IIRC.
Each player created his or her own guardians and whatnot, which explains why there's so much diversity between the maids and the level guardians, not to mention the animosity some of the guardians have towards one another. The guardians though were made to keep raiding parties busy until the guild itself could set up the final defences in the throne room, where they would have their last stand in honour of enemy raiders. Seeing as this never happened..
Ah, that would explain it then. Its not a default feature but something personally crafted as a reward. That makes sense.
I do wonder who Ainz's nemesis would be though. Atm he's just curb stomping everything. I was hoping for a civil war, but it seems the minions are just that loyal.
So here's a question: What do you call animation from other countries other than Japan? Is it just Cartoons? Animation? Is any non-America's/English animation 'anime'? Like, France has been showing some stellar stuff lately.
Anvildude wrote: So here's a question: What do you call animation from other countries other than Japan? Is it just Cartoons? Animation? Is any non-America's/English animation 'anime'? Like, France has been showing some stellar stuff lately.
Anime is a very broad art style which originated in, but is not unique to, Japan. Some people misguidedly try to claim that Anime is only Anime if it comes from Japan/Japanese artists, but this simply can't be true. Art styles can be replicated anywhere by anybody with the skill to do it.
One example of non-Japanese anime. Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Hrm... See, I'd almost be willing to call Anime and Cartoons different genre. Like, Anime is an animated serial that has an ongoing plotline and dynamic characters (that is, characters who change over the course of the series), whereas a Cartoon would be an episodic status-quo hijinks-driven show.
Despite the sometimes graphic nature, I enjoy reading it, as it is about someone who just hunts goblins with a single-minded hatred and nothing else in a world where hunting goblins is about as glamorous as taking out the trash.
There is also an ongoing prequel manga that shows his origins indepth and his first steps into becoming the nightmare he is in the main story.
So its sort of similar to Berserk in terms of feel and tone?
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Anvildude wrote: Hrm... See, I'd almost be willing to call Anime and Cartoons different genre. Like, Anime is an animated serial that has an ongoing plotline and dynamic characters (that is, characters who change over the course of the series), whereas a Cartoon would be an episodic status-quo hijinks-driven show.
Thats only if you take Cartoons to mean stuff like Loony Toons slapstick, which I think is incorrect. Any animated movie or show would be a cartoon. It would include everything from the old Batman to Bugs Bunny, as well as all the Disney animated features like Cinderella.
Cartoons would be the overarching classification of all Animated Movies/TV shows using hand drawn stills(be they on paper or on a computer). That would be the overall Artform. An equivalently broad artform would be Live Action Movies or Oil panting just to give an idea of the scale.
Cartoons would then be divided into various artistic variations and then each of those will have genres.
Anime would be an artistic variation. All anime share a few specific traits which are unique to this type of cartoon. One trait that could be classified as unique to anime vs many other cartoons is that there tends to be more facial detail and complexity, the "Big eyes" associated with anime characters is part of this. Most cartoon characters have large eyes to make facial expressions more easily understood, but Anime tends to take it to the next level. While a cartoon like Bugs Bunny or Batman will typically reduce an Eye to only to a white shape with a pupil that may or may not be colored, along with a simple eyebrow. Anime tends to add more detail to the eye by differentiating between the Pupil and Retina, even going as far as to add reflections on occasion.
Having read the four light novels on itunes, i hope you like young ladies pissing themselves in fear.
once you get past the opening of the first book it is all pretty mild. I imagine the elf fortress from the second book is worse in the manga. The fourth book has a brief scene as well. Maybe its all mild compared to the first book, now that i think about it.
BrookM wrote: The manga really kept on hammering home just how horrible the goblins really are. I'll be honest, I could do without those graphic scenes.
Yeah those scenes, at least repeated viewings of those scenes aren't really necissary. I can get having the intro one and then mentioning it to help reinforce how awful they are. But yeah things in particular can be fairly graphic and Year One certainly doesnt hold back much.
Yeah, the training is pretty intense. That, plus seeing him learn in the field is really cool. Much like with Batman Year One and Batgirl Year One, I love seeing the development into the character as we know him.
I would think the new update will be sometime in the middle of the month. Priest Girl and GS himself are the best part of the party, but the others have grown on me. (Cow girl best girl though)
Spoiler:
Her arm or shoulder yeah, not having read or really known about the light novels I wasnt expecting that. But GS looks like he's getting his second wind.
Anvildude wrote: Hrm... See, I'd almost be willing to call Anime and Cartoons different genre. Like, Anime is an animated serial that has an ongoing plotline and dynamic characters (that is, characters who change over the course of the series), whereas a Cartoon would be an episodic status-quo hijinks-driven show.
Thats only if you take Cartoons to mean stuff like Loony Toons slapstick, which I think is incorrect. Any animated movie or show would be a cartoon. It would include everything from the old Batman to Bugs Bunny, as well as all the Disney animated features like Cinderella.
Cartoons would be the overarching classification of all Animated Movies/TV shows using hand drawn stills(be they on paper or on a computer). That would be the overall Artform. An equivalently broad artform would be Live Action Movies or Oil panting just to give an idea of the scale.
Cartoons would then be divided into various artistic variations and then each of those will have genres.
Anime would be an artistic variation. All anime share a few specific traits which are unique to this type of cartoon. One trait that could be classified as unique to anime vs many other cartoons is that there tends to be more facial detail and complexity, the "Big eyes" associated with anime characters is part of this. Most cartoon characters have large eyes to make facial expressions more easily understood, but Anime tends to take it to the next level. While a cartoon like Bugs Bunny or Batman will typically reduce an Eye to only to a white shape with a pupil that may or may not be colored, along with a simple eyebrow. Anime tends to add more detail to the eye by differentiating between the Pupil and Retina, even going as far as to add reflections on occasion.
See, 'cartoon' to me does mean everything from Bugs Bunny to Disney shorts.
The "overall artform" that encompasses hand-drawn frame-by-frame is "Traditional Animation", while Flash is "2D Computer Animation", there's also "Stop Motion Animation" and "3D Computer Animation", which can each be used for any genre- they're media rather than ideals. I can definitely see where you're coming from, though.
However, by your definition, wouldn't stuff like Shin-Chan and Doraemon be considered "Cartoons", then?
Anvildude wrote: Hrm... See, I'd almost be willing to call Anime and Cartoons different genre. Like, Anime is an animated serial that has an ongoing plotline and dynamic characters (that is, characters who change over the course of the series), whereas a Cartoon would be an episodic status-quo hijinks-driven show.
Thats only if you take Cartoons to mean stuff like Loony Toons slapstick, which I think is incorrect. Any animated movie or show would be a cartoon. It would include everything from the old Batman to Bugs Bunny, as well as all the Disney animated features like Cinderella.
Cartoons would be the overarching classification of all Animated Movies/TV shows using hand drawn stills(be they on paper or on a computer). That would be the overall Artform. An equivalently broad artform would be Live Action Movies or Oil panting just to give an idea of the scale.
Cartoons would then be divided into various artistic variations and then each of those will have genres.
Anime would be an artistic variation. All anime share a few specific traits which are unique to this type of cartoon. One trait that could be classified as unique to anime vs many other cartoons is that there tends to be more facial detail and complexity, the "Big eyes" associated with anime characters is part of this. Most cartoon characters have large eyes to make facial expressions more easily understood, but Anime tends to take it to the next level. While a cartoon like Bugs Bunny or Batman will typically reduce an Eye to only to a white shape with a pupil that may or may not be colored, along with a simple eyebrow. Anime tends to add more detail to the eye by differentiating between the Pupil and Retina, even going as far as to add reflections on occasion.
See, 'cartoon' to me does mean everything from Bugs Bunny to Disney shorts.
The "overall artform" that encompasses hand-drawn frame-by-frame is "Traditional Animation", while Flash is "2D Computer Animation", there's also "Stop Motion Animation" and "3D Computer Animation", which can each be used for any genre- they're media rather than ideals. I can definitely see where you're coming from, though.
However, by your definition, wouldn't stuff like Shin-Chan and Doraemon be considered "Cartoons", then?
Had to look those two up since I hadn't heard of them. They are a little simpler than many Anime, but I think they still fall into it as a specific artform. What I was saying in my post earlier was that Anime are a specific art style of Cartoon.
IE: All Anime are Cartoons while not all Cartoons are Anime.
Loved the final episode of Violet Evergarden, could've done without the bomb plot, but the rest of the episode was delightful. Watching her give a genuine smile in the end was gorgeous.
CREEEEEEEEED wrote: You know a show is good when you want it to be next Saturday already. Franxx episode 13 was so good. It felt like 5 minutes I was so engrossed.
Yup, they confirmed some theories but showed up with more questions. They also referenced some bits from the early episodes. But really, how can somebody who eats rats be so adorable?
Finally got the first episode of Golden Kamui, which aside from some verrrrrrrry dodgy CGI used for the bears and wolf looks good. I'm going to enjoy this one.
BrookM wrote: Finally got the first episode of Golden Kamui, which aside from some verrrrrrrry dodgy CGI used for the bears and wolf looks good. I'm going to enjoy this one.
I've been looking forward to that one, as both a historian and to fill the non-fluffy anime niche left from Fate/Apocrypha.
I'm debating if I wanna wait for the dub from Funi or not.
FranXX: And it seems to have soothed the outrage from last week.
Spoiler:
…well not the suicide bombing part but the episode in general. And the elite team has gender reversed pilot setups, which was an unexpected surprise and would allow for all kinds of pilot pairings that seemed impossible at the start of the series.
Also:
Hinamatsuri is hilarious. I gave it a try and it starts with a great first episode and never stops.
Hisone to Maso-tan is fun too. Nice animation and style, fun story, cute dragon.
Mario wrote: FranXX: And it seems to have soothed the outrage from last week.
Spoiler:
…well not the suicide bombing part but the episode in general. And the elite team has gender reversed pilot setups, which was an unexpected surprise and would allow for all kinds of pilot pairings that seemed impossible at the start of the series.
A lot of world building happened in ep 15, whilst also opening a lot of new questions. How it should be done. Although I don't think it means we'll see gender reversed setups in the rest of the parasites. The men/boys in tge elite team had golden klaxosaur horns that might have been holograms, and they referred to themselves as different to humans.
They didn’t have the hud helms on their suits though, and also spoke as themselves rather than thru the face of their robots, so there’s a lot different in their set up than just gender reversal.
Saw episode 4 of Tokyo Ghoul. It really bothers me that the Doves don't use guns loaded with Q bullets. I mean, ghouls are clearly superior to humans in close quarters, to the point that a single one can slaughter a bunch of doves, who are supposed to be trained fighters. Yet the doves have the brilliant idea of...engaging them in close combat. Why? You have guns! They've been proven to work! Its not like in 40k where the blokes who want to charge into melee tend to be powered armored and/or inhuman physiology, and as such have a chance of survival. The doves quite literally charge to their deaths.
So Digibro on his secondary channel make a very good rant about Fanservice and the big hullabaloo about it recently. I won't link because naughty words but you should check it out. The video is called "WEIRD ANIME SEX! (and why it's okay)".
Speaking of Fanservice, I am continuing to watch Uma Musume - Pretty Derby because it's cute (horse)girls doing cute things. I know I am part of the problem but I don't think that matters anymore, Anime was a mistake etc.
Shirobako is a workplace comedy/drama series, but the workplace is an anime studio. So you get real life industry cameos/parodies like these (don't read too much of the text, it contains tiny spoilers). You don't need to know about the industry to enjoy the series and in the beginning it kinda overwhelms you by dumping a ton of characters, names, and jobs in front of your (same as the main character) but it's a really great series and you soon get used to the big cast. And the last episodes hit you hard.
Princess Principal is a series about "cute girls do spy things" set in a 19th century steampunk London-like environment. The series doesn't just blindly follow tropes and archetypes so you also get nice surprises now and then. It's also told out of chronological order so that might be a bit confusing from one episode to another. But the series is much better than what one would expect at first sight or from reading about it. It's worth watching if you have some downtime (12 episodes in total and that's it… for now).
No Franx this week? Is it just taking a week off or was the previous episode a season finale?
It's Golden Week so there's a break. I think they did broadcast some sort of "making of" with interviews (creators and cast). If I remember correctly the series will have 24 or 25 episodes in total.
Also what’s the deal with FLCL? They had the one episode a couple/few weeks ago but nothing since.
I don't t know, I think that was kinda like a preview and the full season will come later this year.
CREEEEEEEEED wrote:Also I binged my way through all of my hero academia last week. No regrets.
There's always the manga if you want to know more. There's also this (The song "You Say Run" on top of scenes from other anime, it's that one song)
MHA is the one to replace Naruto in the Big Three, I'd say.
One Piece is, of course, the anchor- unchanging, neverending.
I think the various Trigger and Fate series are filling the void that Bleach left.
But MHA has the chops to go all-the-way, I think, if handled correctly. Especially considering that it's a fantastic Superhero series in general, not just for anime.
Both Shirobako and Princess Principal are fantastic shows. Shirobako is something I would consider one of the definitive "must watch" shows for anyone with even a passing interest in anime.
And I started watching Haikyuu!!. It's really good. I occasionally played a bit of volleyball in high school but don't really have an interest in the sport but they make it look so fun and intense. The animation is nice, a match doesn't drag over a dozen episodes, and the characters are well rounded (and not just pure clichés). I can't stop binging episode after episode.
Yeah, its pretty jank.
At least they remembered they have guns this time. Not sure why they didn't give everyone a gun instead of charging into a blender, but anime gonna anime I guess.
So I finished the third season of Haikyuu!! over the weekend. Technically it's a sports series but it's even better than all the praise makes it out to be. I can highly recommend it to anyone, even if you have no idea about volleyball. It has action, drama, comedy, suspense and how the team gets better does's feel like they are collecting convoluted superpowers. The directing/cinematography/animation is excellent and they have some great moments that use visual metaphors. The artist for the original manga apparently made a horror manga before that so there are some really great derp faces involved all through the series. It would be worth it just for those alone. Here're some examples from Tanaka in the first few episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQfSfrN6FFs
On top of that the characters are all great. Some get more development, others a bit less, some get their development surprisingly late but the payoff is sooo good. There are some you hate at the start but who get explored and you end up liking them. And you also sympathise with minor opposing teams that barely get two episodes of development. That series is great for anyone and not just sports fans. If you haven't seen it do yourself a favour and start watching it (no matter how sceptical you are about the whole premise). I was hooked from the first episode but if you are undecided after the ninth episode then you probably just have no soul, that's how good it is.
And Hinamatsuri is still awesome without slowing down. It's a really great funny/strange slice of life series.
Anvildude wrote: Wait, is Hinata a gender-neutral name in Japanese? Like Ichigo?
Is it like "Sam" or "Alex"? Is Naruto's wife named their equivalent of "Chris"?
I don't know much about Japanese but I think they are all technically gender neutral (just not all used by all genders to the same degree).
I'm guess that's in relation to Haikyuu? For Hinata Hyuuga, Hinata is her first name but in Haikyuu Shouyou Hinata's case Hinata is the last/family name of the character. From the Haikyuu wiki (http://haikyuu.wikia.com/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dy%C5%8D_Hinata):
Nomenclature
Shōyō (翔陽) can be read as "flying heaven".
However, "yō" also has different meanings: "sunshine, yang principle, positive, male, heaven, or daytime".
His family name Hinata (日向) can be read as "place in the sun".
Hina (雛) also mean a chick or a baby bird, which is alluding to him being a baby crow (hina garasu).
His first name’s kanji 日 means day in Japanese
There's another point I forgot to mention in my last post, the sound (all of it):
* The sound effects are really good. From the squeaking of the sneakers on the floor, hitting the ball, funny sounds in humorous moments. It's all well made and when they play it sounds really satisfying.
* Music: The soundtrack was composed by Yuki Hayashi who also made the soundtrack for My Hero Academia. It's also really good and fits the series. There's nothing exactly like BNHA's "You Say Run" but there other memorable tracks… although somebody did a Haikyuu version of 'You Say Run' Goes With Everything and it's maybe even better than the original soundtrack for that moment but watch it at your own risk (it's laid over a scene from the third season so it spoils some stuff if you haven't watched it yet): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKvaEpkQv1g * The voice actors. There's also a My Hero Academia connection (at least in the Japanese version). The VA's of Iida, Bakugo, and Todoroki voice characters in Haikyuu. I think there are some more but those were the ones I remember.
Vaktathi wrote: Anything out currently in the AoT/IronBloodedOrphans/Kabaneri/etc vein that I may have missed? Having trouble finding something new currently.
I don't think there's something exactly like that in the current airing seasonal series but here are some that might fit adjacent interests (action, shounen, maybe mecha). I don't know what you have watched so it's a bit random, hoping that something sticks:
* There's a remake of Legend of the Galactic Heroes. I think the original were OVAs that were based on a (series of) book(s) and is supposedly really good. Space battle, politics and so on. I have only watched the first few episodes (no time) but it was fun. In comparison to IBO there are no mecha (yet) but space battles and more politics. The animation and other production values are okay to good (it felt not bad to me just a bit flat in a way).
* Megalo Box, is a futuristic remake/reinterpretation of Ashita no Joe. I haven't seen the original and have only seen two episodes of Megalo Box. It's animated in a deliberate rougher style (some people complained about the "low quality") but I like it. Visually It feels like Cowboy Bebop (not art direction, just visual style). From what I have seen it looks good with a fun story and the soundtrack is great (I really like the ED).
* Boku No Hero Academia season 3 is still going (climatic moment last/next episode). It doesn't fit your mentioned series exactly but it's a very well constructed shounen series. If you haven't seen it then starting at season one should give something to watch.
* Hinamatsuri doesn't fit with your criteria at all but everybody should watch a few episodes (until it reels you in). It's just a really good series
* Darling in the FranXX is a collaboration of old Gainax friends and contains mecha. It starts rather odd, gets better, and then gets odd in a different way. But even so, it's not exactly like the IBO. That both series have mecha is more or less what they have in common.
Here are some older series that also might be somewhat fitting in the criteria (in a rather loose sense as they are either mecha or shounen based ):
* Eureka Seven: It combines mecha with surf culture (kinda?), environmentalism, conflicts, and other odd bits and pieces. Really good
* Haikyuu!!: It's technically a sports anime and some people might write it off based on that alone but that would be a huge mistake. It has everything: action, comedy, drama, suspense, really good production values, addictiveness, and some really great character development. I ignored the series for a long time because it's a "sports anime" and really didn't want to watch something like that. That was a big mistake. Haikyuu!! is really good and for me it's in the group of top series where each has its own special something that makes put it there. I'm now in a position where I also read the manga and am now waiting for an announcement of the next season in a year or two (the director is currently working on 50 episodes something else)
* Space☆Dandy, he's a dandy guy… in space. It's fun, strange, odd, with aliens and odd stories in space. Each episode has a different director so it oscillates between different moods from one episode to another but the series is really great. It might take some time until it syncs with you but it's worth watching a few episodes while being a bit confused.
They lost me with the last episode of Darling in the Franxx. Really enjoyed the series up until then, but that was completely out of left field - and not in a good way.
Hero Academia is quite good. Enjoyable characters, good fights, don't see the superhero genre every day.
+1 the recommendation for Legend of Galactic Heroes. Especially if you like the space opera genre.
AduroT wrote: Hero Academia isn’t good. It’s gosh dang Amazing. Easily The best anime on tv right now, and definitely in my top five of all time.
I was at a friend's today, first thing I did when getting back was sit down and watch today's episode. I ended up crying when they started cheering for All Might, even though I knew it was coming. I'm so glad I ended up doing as recommended and reading the manga, because it makes seeing it be animated just that much more special.
Ctaylor wrote:+1 the recommendation for Legend of Galactic Heroes. Especially if you like the space opera genre.
I hope you mean the original. The remake is Berserk levels of bad animation IMHO. It's trying to pull a Guilty Gear but not even trying to half arse it. 3D simply will never work as well as 2D.
AduroT wrote:Hero Academia isn’t good. It’s gosh dang Amazing. Easily The best anime on tv right now, and definitely in my top five of all time.
I tried watching MHA and I couldn't get into it. I know I'm not the target demographic, just my uhpunions.
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Ctaylor wrote: They lost me with the last episode of Darling in the Franxx. Really enjoyed the series up until then, but that was completely out of left field - and not in a good way.
Agreed, I'll still watch the remaining episodes because Sunk Cost Fallacy, but it's going to have a hard time recovering.
Darling in the Franxx episode 23 was an utter mess. I've never seen a show implode quite as badly over just a couple of episodes. It's like the writers just gave up. Or were replaced at the last moment.
I will watch the last episode just to see if they can possibly screw it up any more than they already have. Because there is no way they can salvage it after the last couple of episodes.
Ctaylor wrote: Darling in the Franxx episode 23 was an utter mess. I've never seen a show implode quite as badly over just a couple of episodes. It's like the writers just gave up. Or were replaced at the last moment.
I will watch the last episode just to see if they can possibly screw it up any more than they already have. Because there is no way they can salvage it after the last couple of episodes.
Yeah, pretty much this. It's not as bad as some I have watched (iirc I've only ever quit an anime mid-season ONCE because it offended my delicate sensibilities too much) but it's still pretty bad.
Perhaps it's another Evangelion situation where they were coming to a deadline and they were like "Welp, nevermind"?
I'm back I to anime again.
Rewatching MHA In dub. That was fun.
But I'm finally watching Gurren Lagann
I'm also following Darling in the frankxx, dubbed of course,but I feel like the show is gaking the bed.
I still liked Darling 23. My only real complaint was giving them matching weapons and them being thrilled about it. Like no, your whole point was you were all unique individuals.
Looks like Fate/Extra's anime adaptation is finally out, but damn I forgot how cheesy the plot of that game managed to be (not to mention how Hammy Saber is)
I love how the Sub and Dub of MHA are both different, but both keep to the tone and ideals of the story. Like, they did a fantastic job of making sure the Dub translated properly to American, instead of just doing a direct translation. Even the whole Deku thing (which really, really doesn't work in English).
Anvildude wrote: I love how the Sub and Dub of MHA are both different, but both keep to the tone and ideals of the story. Like, they did a fantastic job of making sure the Dub translated properly to American, instead of just doing a direct translation. Even the whole Deku thing (which really, really doesn't work in English).
Yeah. It's a farcry from how dubs are in cheaper productions, although in a way we've lost some of the culture don't you think? How many memes were born of bad translations?
In essence because of how the Japanese language work deku sounds like and insult but can also sounds like "you can do it" so he chose deku to reclaim the insult
In the Dub he takes it cause ochako finds it cute and to claim the insult.
Ok yeah, he also referenced Ochako when he took the name in the sub as well. I’m sad I miss so many good puns in One Piece as well because they don’t translate well.
It's one of those things that comes about because Japanese has multiple written and spoken languages that're all still 'Japanese'- like, we might start running into it with emojis, if they don't die out.
For example, if I were to write "eggplant water-droplets" it's not really funny. But if I were to write it in 'emoji' it'd be... well, still not funny, but slightly more amusing, in any case.
You run into that all over the place in Anime.
A couple more specifics on the Deku thing- the characters you use to write "Izuku" can also be pronounced as "Deku" which means... apparently "Wooden Puppet" which is I guess a colloquialism for someone who can't achieve anything. But then Ochako claims that "Deku" sounds like "Dekiru" which means "To be able to do" or "I can do it".
Then there's Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu, the iron kid. Who's name, when read, means "Ironiron Ironiron", but is actually 4 different symbols which mean iron, clear, pierce and an old one for iron. Yay jokes.
You see something like that in Speed Racer, actually, only multilingually. See, the Japanese word for '5' is 'Go'- and so the car is called the Mach 5, or the Mach 'Go'- and to go is to move in English, and etc. etc. there might actually be another layer or two to that pun, I think.
I kinda love it, honestly. Though yeah, it does make a lot of the translations very confusing.
Actually, on the concept of localized translations- does anyone know if Bakugo's nickname for Shoto is the same in Japanese? He calls him "Icy-hot" in the dub, and maybe the sub. And I find that hilarious.
I don't know, his nicknames are all over the place. He also calls him "half-and-half bastard", or just bastard, although "icy-hot" is my favourite one. I think there's a difference between sub ("round face") and dub ("pink cheeks") when he addresses Uraraka before their fight.
I prefer duns because I can understand them. And I can appreciate the whole show, and not just watch 1/10 of the screen.
Even if I did understand the jokes/pums on an intlley lvl, I can't on a cultural lvl, it will forever be lost on me.
Subs themselves are different shows from what aired in Japan. , Because even then we are adding something most of us can't understand trying to add something.
In a lot of cases, I like the Japanese voices. That's something that ends up changing a lot, actually- for instance, many Japanese characters will have this super-deep booming voice; the long vowels and emphasis on word length that the Japanese language has allows for a very resonant performance by the actors. However, the American VAs generally can't match that, partially because of how much more consonant focused English is, partially because of shorter words.
A good memey example of this is the "Omae wa mo shinderu" "Nani?" thing. The nani especially- that works in Japanese when it's extended, letting you do a "Naniiiiiiii" in almost any type of voice without it sounding odd. However, in English..."WhaaaaaaaaaT" doesn't have the same impact, especially certain voice types.
It means that you lose a lot of the initial acting with dubs.
Going back to MHA- the "Oh my, oh my, oh my... GOODNESS!" thing- they didn't do that in the Dub, because it would have just sounded odd coming from an American voice- but it perfectly fits the humorous, overly-boisterous side of All Might in the Japanese version.
Actually, that's an interesting difference I noted. In Japanese, All Might is almost a comedic character. He's got his moments of seriousness, but most of the time he's goofy and silly- even the blood throwup is commonly used as and treated as a gag in the subs... But in the Dub, he becomes much more dramatic, much more of a tragic, melancholy character. The moments of goofiness are the exception, not the rule.
Anvildude wrote: In a lot of cases, I like the Japanese voices. That's something that ends up changing a lot, actually- for instance, many Japanese characters will have this super-deep booming voice; the long vowels and emphasis on word length that the Japanese language has allows for a very resonant performance by the actors. However, the American VAs generally can't match that, partially because of how much more consonant focused English is, partially because of shorter words.=
Weird. I find it the opposite much of the time. Especially for younger male characters. They often have ridiculously high voices.
It works, though, for them. I mean, a lot of the time they're meant to be young teens (13-15) and so the higher voice and overt enthusiasm works better than the gruff, attempted badass voices they give them in the dubs.
Also, I think the Japanese VAs are more enthusiastic and 'into' it than the American ones. They put more emotion into their acting.
Japanese 11-15 year olds want their media heroes to be the same age as them to better project themselves onto the heroes, while Western Teenagers want "grown up" and "mature" heroes.
Japanese 11-15 year olds want their media heroes to be the same age as them to better project themselves onto the heroes, while Western Teenagers want "grown up" and "mature" heroes.
There's also a tendency to cast female VA's for main heroes, to project youthfulness.
Japanese 11-15 year olds want their media heroes to be the same age as them to better project themselves onto the heroes, while Western Teenagers want "grown up" and "mature" heroes.
There's also a tendency to cast female VA's for main heroes, to project youthfulness.
In fairness, western animation uses female voice actors for young children characters too.
Japanese 11-15 year olds want their media heroes to be the same age as them to better project themselves onto the heroes, while Western Teenagers want "grown up" and "mature" heroes.
There's also a tendency to cast female VA's for main heroes, to project youthfulness.
In fairness, western animation uses female voice actors for young children characters too.
Sure, but not for post-pubescent males. Its just not right for a young adult male lead to sound like a 5th grader.
Japanese 11-15 year olds want their media heroes to be the same age as them to better project themselves onto the heroes, while Western Teenagers want "grown up" and "mature" heroes.
There's also a tendency to cast female VA's for main heroes, to project youthfulness.
In fairness, western animation uses female voice actors for young children characters too.
Oh I'm not ragging or anything. It's the way the business and the culture of it work, but for those of us in US hearing Goku with a really childish voice can be kind of bizarre. Fortunately his English VA Sean Christian Schemmel is pretty good.
Dragonball is pretty much the only anime I can’t watch the subs for. Goku’s voice is just so bad to me. I tried with Super, but I just couldn’t do it, I have to wait for the dubs.
I don't think FLCL 2 had the same story type as the first, but I think the final episode managed to pull everything together nicely. I don't think it was bad, but I don't think I liked it as much as the original.
Wolfblade wrote: I don't think FLCL 2 had the same story type as the first, but I think the final episode managed to pull everything together nicely. I don't think it was bad, but I don't think I liked it as much as the original.
I agree. The finally kinda switched the perspective a little. It was strange seeing that side of Haruko. I am not sure I cared for the characters realizing and explaining what they "needed to do". But I want to watch it again for sure. I really enjoy the first season.
I've seen the first episode of the 3rd season and that feel to me more like the first, more than the second but that's all I have seen so far. really excited to see the rest!
There's a spicy ramen scene that's brilliant. (I think it was ramen, not sure.)
AduroT wrote: I’ve only caught the first couple. I’ve been lazy with it. The first episode of season three they showed awhile back looked a lot more interesting.
I think so too. I'm looking forward to seeing it in English but I'd also like to see the second season in Japanese just to see if that changes what I think about it. I have the first on digits but I don't know if it's also in Japanese or not. I should check. The second is worth a watch but kinda odd compared to the first season.
Wolfblade wrote: I don't think FLCL 2 had the same story type as the first, but I think the final episode managed to pull everything together nicely. I don't think it was bad, but I don't think I liked it as much as the original.
I agree. The finally kinda switched the perspective a little. It was strange seeing that side of Haruko. I am not sure I cared for the characters realizing and explaining what they "needed to do". But I want to watch it again for sure. I really enjoy the first season.
I've seen the first episode of the 3rd season and that feel to me more like the first, more than the second but that's all I have seen so far. really excited to see the rest!
There's a spicy ramen scene that's brilliant. (I think it was ramen, not sure.)
That's how I felt, FLCL 3 felt closer to the original, but I don't think either will have the same presence as the first. I don't think either will be seen as bad (although FLCL 2 will be remembered as average I think).
AduroT wrote: I’ve only caught the first couple. I’ve been lazy with it. The first episode of season three they showed awhile back looked a lot more interesting.
Season three looks a lot better. Season two felt very disjointed overall, but somehow the final episode managed to bring it together decently.
Anyone seen much of Black Clover? It's starting to turn into.....something. Still not sure if it's going to be any good but the main character is less annoying now and the animation on the fight scenes is improving episode by episode.
I guess the lack of posts is indicative of how crappy/forgettable the summer season has been to date. I honestly can't remember a season in the last 5 years that was so underwhelming overall. Is it too early to talk about what to watch this fall?
AduroT wrote: I hope you were already watching Academia! It’s definitely one of my all time top favorites!
I only started on wednesday. I've never been a fan of long running shonen stuff without a clear ending or story to tell. My self imposed rule is that if a show runs for more than 100 episodes, it's retroactively bad. That being said, it's a good show for what it is. I am pretty sure I could supercut the seasons and lose half the runtime though.
AduroT wrote: I hope you were already watching Academia! It’s definitely one of my all time top favorites!
I only started on wednesday. I've never been a fan of long running shonen stuff without a clear ending or story to tell. My self imposed rule is that if a show runs for more than 100 episodes, it's retroactively bad. That being said, it's a good show for what it is. I am pretty sure I could supercut the seasons and lose half the runtime though.
The series is not one of the 50 episodes a year death marches. It seems like they have found a balance in releasing one (two cour) season per year (meaning about 25 episodes per year, the first season is an exception). Overall there's not much filler that just leaves everything else in stasis so things move along quite quickly (even if some stuff could be cut even more for more impatient viewers). If I remember correctly even Deku's training montage before enrolling is technically longer (in in-universe time) than everything after that until even season three.
They also manage to balance the budget and animation quality rather well. While there's the occasional dip in quality it all stay relatively high (with some moments/episodes of really great animation). The story and characters are all also quite fun and interesting. It's a really competent shounen series.
How far are you now, already in season 2?
And if you want something else that's also really good try Haikyuu!!. It's really, really nice (fun/good story/great character development/…) and moves along quickly. Here's a "compressed" match against a filler team (from season 2) so there are a few mild spoilers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBB7EtT7E9M
I will admit I have enjoyed it so far. I like the fact that the main protagonist isn't a mary sue who manages to win everything and have all their accomplishments handed to them on a silver platter.
Don't forget that there's actual, long-term consequences for the protagonist's Determinatoring. it's not even that he's just working for his 'getting better-ness' but his mistakes actually stick around.
Planet With is funky. Not 100% sold on it, but it's just strange enough to be interesting. The mecha stuff is pretty straight-forward, but the characters are quirky (especially the cat sensei and the nurse).
Never heard of Gegege no Kitaro before now, but I like it. The train episode was very creepy for a kid's show. And this is definitely a kid's show.
Holmes of Kyoto is a decent character piece. The mysteries are pretty boring, sadly.
BrookM wrote: Overlord and Angelmois for me, the rest of this season and the next one are looking to be very disappointing indeed.
At least next season..
Yep! Very interested to see how the anime version of goblin slayer is done.
My comment was mostly a reaction to what I think is a very weak original show lineup this season. Though Planet With is growing on me. There are also a couple that I have my eye on now to binge when the season's are done.
That said, the only continuing series I am keeping up with at the moment is Overlord.
BrookM wrote: Overlord and Angelmois for me, the rest of this season and the next one are looking to be very disappointing indeed.
At least next season..
Yep! Very interested to see how the anime version of goblin slayer is done.
My comment was mostly a reaction to what I think is a very weak original show lineup this season. Though Planet With is growing on me. There are also a couple that I have my eye on now to binge when the season's are done.
That said, the only continuing series I am keeping up with at the moment is Overlord.
It'll be interesting how or if they censor it, and how far they go into the current story seeing as there's only 25 chapters or so.
Of the new shows, I only really got into Satsuriku no Tenshi and Maou Isekai. The former is a horror anime about murderers, psychological trauma and edge, and the latter is a silly version of Overlord. Same sort of idea in that the main character is a "evil" character, except whereas you got the impression that Ainz is a pretty intelligent (albeit clueless at times) person who had a life irl, the main character in Maou Isekai is a clueless NEET who's trying hard to bluff his way through everything and hope that no one notices him gaking himself out of nervosity from having to deal with people. The fact that one of his companions is an elf with huge tits doesn't help his nerves.
Also picked up Holmes of something something, thinking after the first episode it would be about antiques, but instead it's a rather poorly done Sherlock Holmes show that introduced a poorly done Moriarty to act as a nemesis of sorts. But seeing as there is eff all else to watch this season, might as well sit this one out and see where it ends up going.
I've got it on my drive, may watch it when I feel like it. Isekai is so hit and miss all the time.
Wolfblade wrote: It'll be interesting how or if they censor it, and how far they go into the current story seeing as there's only 25 chapters or so.
They may go with the light novels instead, which are further ahead of the Manga and while awfully grimdark, not as graphic, only talking about the aftermath for the most part and not the squick like the manga does.
I've got it on my drive, may watch it when I feel like it. Isekai is so hit and miss all the time.
Yeah, the genre is pretty saturated with Isekai atm. And when its not isekai there's some RPG reference in there somewhere. If only we had a proper fantasy anime...maybe one where the main character wields a big bloody sword to kill demons, and doesn't look like cgi crap.
BrookM wrote: Last I heard, still stuck on that boat innit?
I’d be happy with isekai that did not include a total Mary Sue for a change, like Grimgar or KonoSuba.
Spoiler:
Actually, they have finally gotten off the boat, and were tripping spiritual balls in an elf forest to try to heal Casca's chronic PTSD.
The lack of a mary sue is one of the good things Re: Zero had going for it. Compared to everyone else in the world, Subaru is pretty weak. No magic, no combat ability, no blessing, not particularly intelligent. Oh sure he's resourceful and stubborn, but that doesn't mean he's smart. If he were smart he wouldn't have had to die some 50 times before reaching a solution. He just has a time warp ability where he has to die in order to use, that he can't even tell people about. It's like playing a super hard rpg, where everyone except for you is a level 100 badass and the only way through is to save scum the feth out of it.
AduroT wrote: I could go for more Log Horizon myself. That one felt very unfinished. Also No Game No Life.
Log Horizon is the Spice and Wolf of the 2010's. It pains me that Season 3 will never be made of either due to it not being profitable enough to do so, it's basically promotional material for the manga.
AduroT wrote: I could go for more Log Horizon myself.
Still need to watch the second season, but I really enjoyed the first one as it had none of the angst of SAO and had some fun stuff in there, plus a main character not being a sue.
AduroT wrote: I could go for more Log Horizon myself.
Still need to watch the second season, but I really enjoyed the first one as it had none of the angst of SAO and had some fun stuff in there, plus a main character not being a sue.
The main character not being a mary sue tends to be the indicator of whether a show is worth watching at all nowadays.
Grinding my way through Deathmarch right now and it ticks of too many boxes on why Isekai is so loathed these days. Underage harem, obsession with food and the main character looks and sounds like Kirito, though instead of solo grinding like an antisocial, he simply dumps points into every skill he comes across to instantly master it. Dropped the manga like a brick back then because of this, almost as horrible as the Magical Adventures of Cheating donkey-cave / Konjiki no Word Master: Yuusha Yonin ni Makikomareta Unique Cheat.
After this I'll do the second season of Log Horizon and Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta / And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online?
Also watched Net-juu no Susume a.k.a. Recovery of an MMO Junkie a.k.a. Leave me alone, I want to be an elite NEET from now on. Most enjoyable.
BrookM wrote: Grinding my way through Deathmarch right now and it ticks of too many boxes on why Isekai is so loathed these days. Underage harem, obsession with food and the main character looks and sounds like Kirito, though instead of solo grinding like an antisocial, he simply dumps points into every skill he comes across to instantly master it. Dropped the manga like a brick back then because of this, almost as horrible as the Magical Adventures of Cheating donkey-cave / Konjiki no Word Master: Yuusha Yonin ni Makikomareta Unique Cheat.
After this I'll do the second season of Log Horizon and Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta / And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online?
Also watched Net-juu no Susume a.k.a. Recovery of an MMO Junkie a.k.a. Leave me alone, I want to be an elite NEET from now on. Most enjoyable.
Yeah, I quickly gave up on Death March. It just wasn't fun to watch. Just the same one sided power trip with the same bland main character. At least with Maou Isekai you get to see the main character's internal monologue where he panics from having to interact with people and hamming it up to maintain his image of a demon lord, instead of being so damned perfect all the time.
But hey, still better than Re : Monster, or "how not to do Overlord and make a huge bloody Gary Stu with the charisma of a dying sloth"
BrookM wrote:Also watched Net-juu no Susume a.k.a. Recovery of an MMO Junkie a.k.a. Leave me alone, I want to be an elite NEET from now on. Most enjoyable.
Yeah that one as fun. It had actual adults with their own relatable problems instead of the usual high school teenager bs.
Kumo desu ga, Nani ka? is getting an anime treatment! Yes! It's isekai, but with a fun spin on things. The English title is "So I'm a Spider, So What?" and is about a school girl who is transported to a fantasy game world, but instead of becoming the heroine, she's a lowly spider, lowest of the low trash tier mob monster, who must now try and survive in a massive dungeon swarming with monsters and humans. Really loving the manga so far.
BrookM wrote: Kumo desu ga, Nani ka? is getting an anime treatment! Yes! It's isekai, but with a fun spin on things. The English title is "So I'm a Spider, So What?" and is about a school girl who is transported to a fantasy game world, but instead of becoming the heroine, she's a lowly spider, lowest of the low trash tier mob monster, who must now try and survive in a massive dungeon swarming with monsters and humans. Really loving the manga so far.
Ok, that actually sounds like a fun concept.
Is she a proper spider, or a cutesy spider girl? The distinction is important.
BrookM wrote: Kumo desu ga, Nani ka? is getting an anime treatment! Yes! It's isekai, but with a fun spin on things. The English title is "So I'm a Spider, So What?" and is about a school girl who is transported to a fantasy game world, but instead of becoming the heroine, she's a lowly spider, lowest of the low trash tier mob monster, who must now try and survive in a massive dungeon swarming with monsters and humans. Really loving the manga so far.
Ok, that actually sounds like a fun concept.
Is she a proper spider, or a cutesy spider girl? The distinction is important.
BrookM wrote: Kumo desu ga, Nani ka? is getting an anime treatment! Yes! It's isekai, but with a fun spin on things. The English title is "So I'm a Spider, So What?" and is about a school girl who is transported to a fantasy game world, but instead of becoming the heroine, she's a lowly spider, lowest of the low trash tier mob monster, who must now try and survive in a massive dungeon swarming with monsters and humans. Really loving the manga so far.
That sounds really interesting. Another isekai that's a bit different is I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level. I's about a witch who accidentally maxes out her level by beating low level mobs and actually just wants to live in her little cottage without drawing attention to herself.
Overlord went from "this is all a bit slow and boring" to "okay, this is pretty grim dark and horrible for some people" just like that with today's episode.
I haven't seen it yet, but I am going to assume that all of those workers get killed.
I hope that girl who can see magic doesn't bite it though. Someone like her might be of interest to Ainz. It is a rare trait, after all.
I’m annoyed with the way Overlord introduces interesting characters only so it can use them for torture porn victims. None of the Nazerick crew has a worthwhile personality or motivations and they wasted a whole episode on a pointlessly one sided fight that served no purpose other than said torture porn. I thought the characters who could see magic users might make an interesting twist or foil, but no, he’s immune to that too unless he chooses not to be and then it’s such a visceral reaction that’s it’s just another source of torture.
Yeah, the outcome of that was disappointing. Ainz is a dick. I mean, I get that he's supposed to be evil, but that was cartoon villain (ok, yes, its an anime) tier of horsegak. And then there's his "death is the only mercy in Nazarick" line. Holy gak, how much of an edgelord can you be? What a terrible ending. I mean, is it really that hard to keep his word? If I were him I'd be like "Ok, you can leave alive...but only if you give me one of your eyes as payment. Gotta send a message to other thieves, you know, and I have a reputation to uphold." Isn't Momonga meant to be Lawful Evil? This is more chaotic evil or neutral evil. It's not very consistent. He let Tuare and that girl in Carne village live, why kill off Arche? It doesn't seem consistent.
And then he challenges the most powerful empire in the area, which of course he curbstomps. I want them to hurry up an introduce another player that they keep teasing us about to make the combat actually interesting instead of a Lv100 player just gaking over mobs.
What I'm beginning to like about Maou Isekai is that the OP isekai dude actually has limitations; if he uses too much mana he's out for days, which means he can't facestomp through victory. He actually finds a mob he can't beat too, and only got out of by bluffing. I appreciate that.
Spoiler:
Apparently the Web Novel turned out differently; Arche was turned into Shaltear's playful for a while, before being set free to live in a log cabin. Apparently she also taught Ainz how to dance. It also goes better for her sisters. I would have preferred that outcome. More consistent and less edgey
Grey Templar wrote: Well we didn’t have Arche confirmed dead. And Shalltear or Ainz could always resurrect her. He might want to make use of her ability.
Spoiler:
They said at the end that they used all of her body parts in Nazarick. Deimiurg got her skin, Entoma got her vocal cords, various undead got her limbs and Silk Hat Demon got her head. I don't think Ainz's resurrection ability works on someone who was so thoroughly dismembered.
Grey Templar wrote: Well we didn’t have Arche confirmed dead. And Shalltear or Ainz could always resurrect her. He might want to make use of her ability.
Spoiler:
They said at the end that they used all of her body parts in Nazarick. Deimiurg got her skin, Entoma got her vocal cords, various undead got her limbs and Silk Hat Demon got her head. I don't think Ainz's resurrection ability works on someone who was so thoroughly dismembered.
BrookM wrote: Nope, she and her lover have been turned into fresh fuel for the roach king.
Wrong guardian, and its worse than that.
Spoiler:
They were turned into hosts for some parasite monster.
As I said, I prefer the web novel outcome. Better for Arche and her sisters, but everyone still gets her rough.
Maybe they will borrow the web novel part about her sisters, because if they continue adapting the light novel, its going to get really depressing. And edgey as feth.
Grey Templar wrote: Well then. I am surprised they didn't use her in some fashion. Seems like Ainz would have found her ability a useful one to secure.
Spoiler:
Unless Silk Hat Demon is going to use her head in that way.
Probably. Though seeing as how he's a master mage who can apparently hide his magic level, he can probably detect magic himself. I can't wait for some abridged series to take the piss out of that episode Arche : His magic level....ITS OVER 9000! *vomits everywhere*
Seriously though, I didn't like that episode. I do not think they should have gone that route, as it was just miserable nonsense, and it runs contrary to Ainz's previous actions. You got the impression that he's harsh, but still had a sense of honor and knew how to be compassionate. In this episode he was just a witch. And I don't mean the magical kind, I mean the kind that the dakka language filter doesn't like. I get that he was angry and wanted to punish the thieves,
Spoiler:
but saying he will let her go, and then order Shaltear to torment her before killing her quickly was a real dick move. Just kill her on the spot you ossified feth, don't lie about it
I still liked the episode. Though it would have made more sense for him to do something like turn her into a puppet and use her. "See I let her go, but now she will serve me for eternity! mwahahahah!"
He did seem offended at her vomiting. Maybe that was the justification.
Surprised Albedo didn't go all "How DARE you act so debased in Ainz's presence!" and murder her right there.
He is losing more and more of his humanity, becoming the very thing he was RP'ing when it was still a game. Him getting angry at her throwing up could be part of this, simply no longer understanding just how powerful he really is in this situation. It certainly didn't help that the leader tried to BS his way out the fight.
The workers were simply sent in to test the defences of the keep and to see how well these top-ranking "adventurers" would fare. The overall disappointment of the defenders at how poorly the parties all did should sum things up well enough. It is also worth remembering that this dungeon was created as a PVP instance with level 100 raiding parties in mind when it was still a game, quite a few features found there were gifted to the party as a reward by the game developers for capturing it in the first place.
As for Arche's head and its use..
Spoiler:
The daemon it was given to can use up to four heads at the same time and use whatever magic abilities the head has. Useful for defending or more likely, "research" as they put it.
I liked the episode, it went about as well as expected really, curbstomp battles are part of this all. Ainz will only up his trolling from here onwards and things will only get darker.
Grey Templar wrote: I still liked the episode. Though it would have made more sense for him to do something like turn her into a puppet and use her. "See I let her go, but now she will =
Spoiler:
Funnily enough, apparently that's what happened in the web novel. According to the wiki, instead of killing her, Shaltear made her into her plaything (well, sex toy, using the exact wording from there), and Arche eventually became a part of Nazarick. She even taught Ainz how to dance and later on lived on the 6th floor as a civilian with her sisters. I don't know why he changed it to be so miserable in the Light Novel.
BrookM wrote: Dear October, hurry up and get here already!
Ah yes, the true Dark Souls of anime. I wonder how they are going to handle the darker parts of the manga, because it can get pretty rough. That poor rookie party in the beginning :(
CthuluIsSpy wrote:Ah yes, the true Dark Souls of anime. I wonder how they are going to handle the darker parts of the manga, because it can get pretty rough.
That poor rookie party in the beginning :(
I hope that they go for the light novel route, which is not as graphic in the sexual violence as the manga, but still outright grimdark and depressing in its setting.
Anvildude wrote:That's not... Grimgar, is it?
The scrubs of Grimgar wish they were as effective in combat against goblins like that dude over there!
That's Goblin Slayer, a soon to be anime trying its hardest to out-grimdark Berserk.
In a nutshell, he is the sole survivor of a goblin attack on his village, forced to watch as they well, rape and pillage everything. This has turned him into a finely honed murder machine who only goes on goblin hunts and has reached his high status rank only through that. Some see him as a glorified trashman but he does not care, as long as he can kill goblins. What makes things quite crapsack is that goblins are a serious problem in this world, but due to a lack of proper rewards / trash tier monster levels, nobody really bothers to cull them and keep them in check. Add in that goblins are vile and cunning creatures, which makes them not an easy challenge for beginning adventurers but thankfully we've got..
Both occupy their own niches of the grimdark market for sure.
Berserk is a massive crapsack world that is out there to screw Gatz over any chance it gets, whereas Goblin Slayer looks nice and shiny (just look at all those legendary heroes), but underneath there are some serious "pest problems" that have ground all progress to a halt.
CthuluIsSpy wrote:Ah yes, the true Dark Souls of anime. I wonder how they are going to handle the darker parts of the manga, because it can get pretty rough. That poor rookie party in the beginning :(
I hope that they go for the light novel route, which is not as graphic in the sexual violence as the manga, but still outright grimdark and depressing in its setting.
Anvildude wrote:That's not... Grimgar, is it?
The scrubs of Grimgar wish they were as effective in combat against goblins like that dude over there!
That's Goblin Slayer, a soon to be anime trying its hardest to out-grimdark Berserk.
In a nutshell, he is the sole survivor of a goblin attack on his village, forced to watch as they well, rape and pillage everything. This has turned him into a finely honed murder machine who only goes on goblin hunts and has reached his high status rank only through that. Some see him as a glorified trashman but he does not care, as long as he can kill goblins. What makes things quite crapsack is that goblins are a serious problem in this world, but due to a lack of proper rewards / trash tier monster levels, nobody really bothers to cull them and keep them in check. Add in that goblins are vile and cunning creatures, which makes them not an easy challenge for beginning adventurers but thankfully we've got..
I'm really curious what the original Japanese writing is there, because that's an obvious Doom reference. But yeah, Goblin Slayer is great. At first I thought it was going to be another stupid edgy fantasy thing, but its actually fairly well written and intelligent. You can tell the writer is having a lot of fun poking fun at common fantasy and RPG conventions. He even takes the piss out of flails, which are stupid weapons which never really existed in the first place.
A slight correction for Slayer's backstory though - his entire village was not wiped out; his childhood friend survived as she was out of town at the time, iirc. Which is a good thing, because if everyone in his past was dead that would have been really depressing. She's pretty much who kept him sane throughout the years, imo. Well, as sane as a revenge obsessed killer could be, anyway. Even his companions were like "dude, I know that using poison gas and fire is the most efficient way to kill goblins en masse, but it also puts us in danger. Can you not do that?"
At this point it has been well established that all of Ainz's followers are loyal to him unto death, they may act odd or strange from time to time, but that's due to their programming from their original creators. While Demiurge comes across as a manipulative backstabber, everything he does is aimed towards furthering that silly little remark Ainz made waaaaay back in the first season about how fun world domination would be.
I also found the captured Death Knight from a few episodes ago a fun callback to the first season. To think that this Death Knight chased his enemies all the way to their own lands and still tries to kill them despite the time passed is glorious.
I also found the captured Death Knight from a few episodes ago a fun callback to the first season. To think that this Death Knight chased his enemies all the way to their own lands and still tries to kill them despite the time passed is glorious.
I am really digging S3 of Attack on Titan. The fundamental plot is increasingly convoluted and silly, but the pacing, subplots, action, characters, animation, and music are just so on point that I can't bring myself to care about the flaws.
Angolmois is still fine in my books, though I am getting a bit annoyed with the filters they put over everything to make it look like old scroll work or something along those lines.
Also watching Hanebado! but talk about messed up people doing messed up things.. bitch of a mother who abandons her daughter when she loses a match, only to want her back when she beats her adopted daughter. No wonder her daughter is so..
BaconCatBug wrote: I decided that anime right now is crap and I'm going to re-watch good anime. Any suggestions? I am re-watching Angel Beats as I type this.
Spice and wolf, cowboy bebop, trigun and FMAB, are all ones I'd recommend off the top of my head.
If somebody wants something older then i can still recommend Haikyuu (to this day I rewatch bits and pieces, it's so much fun).
Old stuff that still going this season:
* Attack On Titan
* My Hero Academia
* The "Naruto's kid show" had a really good episode actually. Worth watching for the animation and fight choreography alone (Boruto episode 65)
New stuff:
* Banana Fish: I only saw two episodes those were okay/good (at least worth a try) and it supposedly gets really good so I'll have to look into this one at some point in the future.
* Chio's School Road is absurd, and fun. It also repeatedly goes for the "You don't need enemies if you have friends like these" jokes making things worse (for the characters) and better (for the audience).
* Grand Blue is fun/special in its own way (it's about diving!) and pushes the "You don't need enemies if you have friends like these" idea even further than Chio's School Road
* High Score Girl: If you want some video game nostalgia with your comedy/romance/school anime then this is for you. It's quite nice (although I haven't seen the last few episodes)
BaconCatBug wrote: I decided that anime right now is crap and I'm going to re-watch good anime. Any suggestions? I am re-watching Angel Beats as I type this.
Darker than Black is pretty good. Well, the first season anyway. The second season is a bit gak.
D Gray Man is a nice shounen. Its filler arcs are actually nice.
And of course, you can't go wrong with JoJo.
BrookM wrote: Today's episode of Overlord can be summed up as.. ATTACK OF THE HORRIBLE CGI ARMIES
It was a fun one though.
Bad CGI vs Bad CGI. I don't know, I'm getting kind of bored of the constant out of left field curb stomps. Like, where did that Goblin Legion come from? Even Ainz had no idea what the hell was going on. Why are humans so gakky too? Can't even fight goblins. They need an alchemist to hurry up and make guns or high explosives, because humans need a damage increase. Or just hire the Goblin Slayer I guess.
Is anybody still following Attack on Titan? I'm the only one that thinks this season is going very... fast? In like 9 episodes the stuff that has happened is ... enormous. The problems come and are resolved at a pace that wasn't there before in the anime.
I do quite like this season of Titan. As you said, stuff isn’t getting drawn out as much, and they seem to be avoiding the previous cliche of inspiring speech immediately followed by slaughter. And we’re actually getting answers instead of just more questions.
Galas wrote: Is anybody still following Attack on Titan? I'm the only one that thinks this season is going very... fast? In like 9 episodes the stuff that has happened is ... enormous. The problems come and are resolved at a pace that wasn't there before in the anime.
From what I read the manga was really, really, *really* long/convoluted during this part (haven't read it) and the author sat down with the anime team and helped them re-organise everything for season 3 for better pacing.
Galas wrote: Like... the coup was... 2 episodes long
I like it. Better than crawling through half a dozen episode where nothing happens. It also doesn't really feel like a big deal. Wohoo the boss at the top changes but life's still fethed inside the walls (well, not inside inside the walls, just for the people in general).
Having seen the first season and still yet to get into the rest I'm glad that they've started speeding up Attack on Titan a bit. I'm a big fan of slow build stories but even AoT felt glacial! I think it was further harmed by the fact that every time they'd get near to doing something they'd kill off more than half the cast in attack so it would always feel like you were gaining more questions, no answers and even more barriers to answers.
So I'm glad they've shifted the pace the other way around and are pushing for more answers. There has to be a balance in anything between holding mystery and not witholding so much that the audience loses grip and interest.
I don't know. The start of the first season wouldn't be more frenetic. Yeah, then it slows down with the female-titan arc, and the forest part was a little longer that it could have been. But I have never feel bored or "I wish this was shorter" in any point of watching all Attack on Titan Seasons.
So basically my problem with season 3 is that I would love to have more of it
Well, the main reason for the slowing in the character deaths was more because they had literally run out of characters to kill. They had to add new characters in a couple episodes so they had some fresh meat
Fortunately I think they kept enough tension that you were always second guessing. I genuinely thought Mikasa was going to die a few times throughout the show. Its only now that certain characters have grown any plot armor,
I'm only 5 or 6 in but finding the whole "Need a male hero to save the overly emotional female semi-hero" to be really white knightish and annoying ...
as well as the way the series deals with females in general creeps me out a bit, well more cringe than creepy ... but hey.
do further seasons get over this? is it worth bearing for longer.
Cowboy Bebop is amzing and filling the gap at present after I powered through FMAB.
but I need another fix .. SAO was cool, I don't think I can get into Dragonball ... I prefer something slightly more .. adult.. But Devil man Cry baby crossed that line a lot for me ...
Ghost in the Shell. The original two films are amazing classics; whilst the Stand Alone Complex series is what you could consider a soft reboot (ghost in the shell characters remain very similar and honestly much of the SAC series 1 and 2 could be the prelude to the films if it were not for Togusa who advances up through the series yet is a newbie in the first film). There's also a SAC film and then they've one a second season of films which is a prequel series. It sounds messier than it is
Hellsing - there are (broadly speaking) two anime series of Hellsing. The original is older and the story doesn't go as far (but ends in a logical spot), however I feel that its pacing of each episode and its character development is by far and away the best.
The newer series has much improved animation and takes the story a lot further, but I feel that it rushes character development and it focuses more so on the lead vampire whilst his newly turned assistant almost feels less of a character than in the original (somewhere along the lines she lost some of her independent flare). Both are fantastic to watch and I'd honestly say see hte early one then the newer - whilst the earlier part of the story of both is similar, the latter goes far further into some very epic battles and moments.
Studio Ghibili has some great mature films too - Nausicca, Spirited Away, Laputa, Princess Mononoke, Howels moving Castle and a few others.
Anime side I'd recommend Wolf's Rain, Ergo Proxy, Death Note, Claymore, Attack on Titan, Samurai Champloo, Record of Lodoss War (which has several series attached to it). And then I'd say hunt down mostly any good anime films or series from the 80-90s which seems to be about the golden era for action and serious anime. Sometime around the millennium things seemed to shift into a lot of "cutified" anime and a lot of "its all a school" settings.
In addition to Overread's list, I'd recommend Steins;Gate and Psycho-Pass (Though only watch PP Season 1 and the movie, Season 2 is worthless trash). If you want an "adult" show Made in Abyss would also suit your needs. Also, (not kidding here) Princess Tutu is one of the best shows I have ever watched.
@Reanimation: Bleach is an odd duck in terms of Shonen. It suffers even more than DBZ from the sort of 'sawtooth power curve' that you sometimes get in Shonen, where the protagonists an enemies keep pulling new, unprecedented power-ups out of their asses to counter each other.
The first season/arc, the "Soul Society" arc, is actually really good after the first few episodes. There's significant character growth all around, including for the 'blushing damsel' characters, and the secondary cast is both fun and interesting.
HOWEVER! Bleach's later seasons (or Arcs, as they're normally called, since it's from before the current more standardized anime season system) vary WILDLY in quality, and most of them are considered lower-quality than the first. it's also rife with Filler arcs, which themselves both vary in quality and have changeable relevance to the main arcs.
As for Hellsing- Hellsing Original is definitely the better show, but yeah, the ending is one that was made for the show before the manga finished. It's good, but not much related. Hellsing Ultimate is... meh. it's okay. However, Hellsing Ultimate has an Abridged Series. And the Abridged Series is PHENOMENAL. I'm talking better than both original series, I'm talking more true to the story of Ultimate than Ultimate is, I'm talking better than DBZ abridged. I'm talking you're gonna be quoting it after the first episode. Watch it.
Galas wrote:So basically my problem with season 3 is that I would love to have more of it
If I remember correctly this season will have over 20 episode. And I heard the ride only gets wilder from now on.
CREEEEEEEEED wrote:Also does anyone follow MHA? That fight was something else.
Yup, it was nice and Bakugo finally got some major development. Tomorrow's episode should be fun:
Spoiler:
we get to see the Big Three
Reanimation_Protocol wrote:Cowboy Bebop is amzing and filling the gap at present after I powered through FMAB.
but I need another fix .. SAO was cool, I don't think I can get into Dragonball ... I prefer something slightly more .. adult.. But Devil man Cry baby crossed that line a lot for me ...
any other suggestions?
Samurai Champloo was already mentioned, there's also Space☆Dandy. Both fit as follow ups to Cowboy Bebop. But what exactly do you mean with more adult? A more serious approach to storytelling, maybe a bit more ambitious when it comes to themes. Do you want good character development, or just more blood and gore?
I liked Bleach in general, but I’m usually easier to please. Did the manga for that end or is it ongoing? I know they didn’t make all of it into the anime but just kind of stopped at one point.
Bleach's manga ended in 2016. Pretty lame ending too. Bleach suffered from the same issue as Dragonball. It took so long for the manga to go anywhere at all that the anime perpetually road its butt and had to keep generating filler (most of which was very bad, even by the standards of filler). It then didn't help that Bleach's last few arcs were so bad themselves people who watched the anime but didn't read the manga thought they were filler.
Bleach basically was meant to just be the Aizen arc, and then END. But it became so popular, that it was continued- either due to publisher pressure or the mangaka realizing he had a cash-cow on hand. Without having any original plans to extend the story, however, he'd sort of 'blown his load' on powerups and character development and "What a Tweeest!" revelations in that first arc. And you can kind of see that- each successive arc is essentially set up as its own story, but is constrained by the pre-existing powerups and historical baggage from prior arcs- these all built on each other so that each arc just got worse and worse overall.
Which is a real shame, because the setting, concept and characters are all actually really, really cool and interesting.
For an example of what can be done with the setting, you could check out "Friendship Souls"- a Bleach crossover fanfiction that's... basically better than the original series, while still remaining true to the whole story and setting.
In a lot of ways, it's what happened to Legend of Korra- the creators thought they only had a single season to work with, and so the plotline that could/would have been developed throughout the whole show (had they known how long it would run) ended up getting compressed into a single season- and then, once the whole story and plotline gets resolved, it's suddenly "Oh, well, make more." And then you make another season/plotline/story arc, and it gets finished up, and then "How about some more?" and so on and so forth.
So...Momon just summoned the children of a Great Old One. As in, a Lovecraftian Great Old One. Shub-Niggurath, to be exact. No, seriously, he actually said her name. Her spawn even had goat voices, which is a nice touch, because one of her epithets is "the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young"
I mean, that's cool and all, but can we please have another player? These impressive spells aren't really impressive if there's nothing worthwhile to use it on.
Its like, idk beating the Moonlord to get the SDMG in terraria, only to realize that everything dies to it in less than a second. Its just not fun.
But what exactly do you mean with more adult? A more serious approach to storytelling, maybe a bit more ambitious when it comes to themes. Do you want good character development, or just more blood and gore?
I Grew up on Akira, GiTS & Guyver and my first forays back in have been One Punch Man, FMA-B, SAO ... Appleseed and I'm starting on Berzerk and a few others mentioned above asap.
I guess to answer the question is I prefer something less around the Adult themes and gore (not that I have any problem watching them, though I did draw the line with DMCB that felt a little gratuitous)
But more around strong characters, decent action and hopefully something that avoids whole episode long divergence into character expositions on their heartfelt feelings for another character that really we as viewers picked up on through subtext like, in the first 30 seconds ...
I'm thinking something that covers some of Guyver, Bladerunner, Batman, Altered Carbon, Bright etc. in a serious style but is able to have fun with it as well.
Hmmm thinking about it ... I guess I like sci-fi Cyberpunk crossovers ... be great if there was a Shadowrun style manga.
Eh, I didn't like the film that much. It was pretty edgelordy, and the whole thing about how Japan is the only nation with a stable government and legislative system made me eyeroll pretty hard. Like, feth off, that's dumb. Even Ghost in the Shell didn't try pulling that, and it gave actual reasons as to why Japan recovered faster; it wasn't hit as hard during WWIII and it advanced nano-machine tech to the point that it can repair radiation fallout, as well as advances in cybertech. Psycho-Pass basically went "right, so natural disasters and gak happened, everywhere is bad except Japan because Sybil System. K thx bye"
You know what would have been interesting? If they showed alternatives to the Sybil system, and that would have lay the ground work for a sort of cold war over different philosophies concerning governance and maintaining social order. But noooo that would have been hard.
Eh, not as bad as Gate where the foreign special ops team lamented that they didn’t even get to see the super awesome Japanese special ops team before they were slaughtered by them.
AduroT wrote: Eh, not as bad as Gate where the foreign special ops team lamented that they didn’t even get to see the super awesome Japanese special ops team before they were slaughtered by them.
I'm all caught up with AoT S3 now and wow. So good, I don't know why I waited so long. I also started watching Gabriel Dropout, that's pretty good if anyone's interested.
AduroT wrote: Eh, not as bad as Gate where the foreign special ops team lamented that they didn’t even get to see the super awesome Japanese special ops team before they were slaughtered by them.
Yeah, at least GINO got to see Gojira before getting curbstomped!
But what exactly do you mean with more adult? A more serious approach to storytelling, maybe a bit more ambitious when it comes to themes. Do you want good character development, or just more blood and gore?
I guess to answer the question is I prefer something less around the Adult themes and gore (not that I have any problem watching them, though I did draw the line with DMCB that felt a little gratuitous)
But more around strong characters, decent action and hopefully something that avoids whole episode long divergence into character expositions on their heartfelt feelings for another character that really we as viewers picked up on through subtext like, in the first 30 seconds ...
I can't really help you with sci-fi cyberpunk and I can't exactly remember what everybody else recommended, or if you already mentioned these, so here's a list of stuff that might work for you (with links for further reading):
* https://myanimelist.net/anime/1/Cowboy_Bebop : bounty hunters in space, kinda space cowboys, more episodic with a overarching story in the background; really good and fun (this one probably did need to be added but I wasn't sure so here it is)
* https://myanimelist.net/anime/17677/Buki_yo_Saraba : a short movie (half an hour or so) about a group of dudes whose job it is to defuse old war robots. A bit of a tiny anime "The Hurt Locker" in a way.
* https://myanimelist.net/anime/237/Eureka_Seven : Sci-fi, mecha, environmentalism; all kinds of stuff mixed. Really good, there was also a sequel called Eureka Seven AO but most people didn't like (I'd like to add "as much as the original" but people really didn't like it). I think it was okay to good and like some of the ideas explored there.
* https://myanimelist.net/anime/20583/Haikyuu : Technically it's a sports series about volleyball but it has some really good character development. There's also action in the form of the actual games and the production values are quite high. It's funny, has it dramatic moments, good suspense, and also has a good soundtrack. One of my favourite series so I added it despite fitting even less into the categories.
* https://myanimelist.net/anime/35557/Houseki_no_Kuni : How to explain this one? It's about gems that are alive? The visuals might need to adjustments as it's 3D with some 2D (instead of the other way around) but you get used to it and it works really well with the subject matter.
* https://myanimelist.net/anime/31251/Mobile_Suit_Gundam__Iron-Blooded_Orphans : Gundam (mecha). I haven't seen many others so I can't make a comparison but I liked this one. Stuff about war, child soldiers, politics, inequality, stuff like that. I like that they have nearly no beam weapons so there's a lot of close combat and maces bashing mecha into pieces (plus guns and grenades, and some serious orbital kinetic weaponry) instead of stuff just going "pew pew pew" all the time. Some of the hair styles need a bit more time to get use to.
* https://myanimelist.net/anime/35240/Princess_Principal : spywork (has a few nice "I didn't expect that" moments but is not genre defining great) in an alternative history steampunk Britain. Is quite fun, good production values, often a bit overlooked
* https://myanimelist.net/anime/205/Samurai_Champloo : The followup to Cowboy Bebop, different story, similar setup (but not in space), also great. Has a lot of really great sword fights and a superb soundtrack.
* https://myanimelist.net/anime/35839/Sora_yori_mo_Tooi_Basho : Four girls want to go to the antarctic. I thought it'd be some bland/funny slice of life series but it surprised me and was really great. I don't know if any description could explain why I liked it so much. It has great character development, is funny, and has the drama is really good and not overplayed. It's one my favourite series of 2008. Maybe a funny moment works to draw you in? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6zsNySn7uU
* https://myanimelist.net/anime/20057/Space%E2%98%86Dandy : The followup to Samurai Champloo. This one, again, takes place in space. This time the bounty hunting is different, and it's less about (combat) action but again everything is really good, from the production values to the soundtrack. The series is even more episodic and the overarching is pushed really far back into the background. They got different writers, directors, and animators for every episode so the themes are often switching around, and so is the approach to every episode. It's a wild ride.
CREEEEEEEEED wrote:I'm all caught up with AoT S3 now and wow. So good, I don't know why I waited so long. I also started watching Gabriel Dropout, that's pretty good if anyone's interested.
Gabriel Dropout was fun and don't forget the two special episodes (one is unexpectedly different but really, really good).
Having sat through the entirety of Gate with a friend a few days ago, it is horrible, but typical anime fare as far as portraying Japan goes. Not as bad as Joker Game in terms of the message it wants to portray, but still pretty nauseating.
Am watching Zombieland Saga right now, which started today and so far.. quirky and fun.
Anime has that problem. Most shows are really bad at scaling power, and the protagonist ends up being "da best ting eva, mmk?"
Even Jojo had this problem by the end of Stardust crusaders, and that series usually does a pretty good job at managing its characters strengths and not resolving everything with an unsatisfying curbstomp.
Its ok to have your characters to be gak at something. Its why I like Konosuba so much; everyone in that show is incompetent, and succeed through sheer luck and a bit of dickery. Its great.
I did like how in gate they didn't have magic curb stomp everything and showed that conventional weapons can deal with dragons, with the larger specimens being particularly durable. The problem though is that they went with the other extreme and had conventional wreck everything, even though you'd think that a magical barrier would minimize casualties. It should have been an even fight. However, it really screwed up the geopolitical aspect; there is no way that the global community would not brow beat Japan into allowing everyone to use the gate, and the UN would certainly get in on it.
Japan in the show makes a point of stating that if the resources beyond the gate are bountiful, it will become a Japan versus the world scenario. The other countries also want to go through the gate, but they are portrayed as less virtuous than the noble Japanese people who only do what is right and would never ever do horrible things.
*looks into camera* THE SDF IS EVERYBODY'S FRIEND. JAPAN IS FRIEND OF EVERYBODY.
You know you are in for a load of cringe when the men in green, accompanied by that orchestral score, do something noble and heroic without sustaining any real casualties of their own. One guy got an arrow in his arm and that's it really?
Throw in the horrible harem bs, characters with "punny" names (Princess Piña Co Lada, oh go feth yourself), just horrible. But a great recruitment tool for the SDF right?
As for Konosuba, it helps that Kazuma (Kazuma desu) only picks up the idiot ball whenever he doesn't need to worry about anything. When push comes to shove he will save the day (somewhat I guess), though sometimes at the cost of his own life.
BrookM wrote: Japan in the show makes a point of stating that if the resources beyond the gate are bountiful, it will become a Japan versus the world scenario. The other countries also want to go through the gate, but they are portrayed as less virtuous than the noble Japanese people who only do what is right and would never ever do horrible things.
Yeah, that was dumb. I guess the author really didn't want to think about Manchuria. Or Nanjing. Or Luzon. Or everything that the Imperial Japanese Army did, really. For a military force that was obsessed with discipline, they sure did a gakky job in keeping their own officers in check.
BrookM wrote: Japan in the show makes a point of stating that if the resources beyond the gate are bountiful, it will become a Japan versus the world scenario. The other countries also want to go through the gate, but they are portrayed as less virtuous than the noble Japanese people who only do what is right and would never ever do horrible things.
I noticed that about Gate to, and it was pretty cringe worthy. Especially given the current political environment in Japan with all the WWII apologism going on.
I love pun names but I disappoint myself by never picking up on them until they’re pointed out. I guess it’s because I’m reading them and not hearing them spoken.
Joker Game is in my opinion a tad lot worse with portraying Japan during war, as it takes place during WWII, but skirts around all of the stuff Japan did during the war. They mention Manchuria as a colony or something IIRC but not what they were up to there or the why, I guess that was what the disclaimer at the start was for. Though they did get a kick out of pointing out how stupid the Japanese military was with its honour before reason mindset.
Absolutely laughable was when one of the operatives went undercover with the French resistance and was called Francois or something.
CthuluIsSpy wrote: Anime has that problem. Most shows are really bad at scaling power, and the protagonist ends up being "da best ting eva, mmk?"
Even Jojo had this problem by the end of Stardust crusaders, and that series usually does a pretty good job at managing its characters strengths and not resolving everything with an unsatisfying curbstomp.
Its ok to have your characters to be gak at something. Its why I like Konosuba so much; everyone in that show is incompetent, and succeed through sheer luck and a bit of dickery. Its great.
I did like how in gate they didn't have magic curb stomp everything and showed that conventional weapons can deal with dragons, with the larger specimens being particularly durable. The problem though is that they went with the other extreme and had conventional wreck everything, even though you'd think that a magical barrier would minimize casualties. It should have been an even fight.
However, it really screwed up the geopolitical aspect; there is no way that the global community would not brow beat Japan into allowing everyone to use the gate, and the UN would certainly get in on it.
This is one of the things that I really like about Attack on Titan actually.
The protagonists always pay in blood for their victories. Nothing is ever accomplished by any one character going Super-Sayan, progress is only made with the help of others. Painful setbacks occur. Morale issues abound, people have to deeply question their actions. Hard choices have to be made, and people die when things don't go according to plan. New powers or abilities come only through traumatic experience.
The underlying story is hugely nonsensical, but they manage to keep the suspension of disbelief going fairly well by managing this sort of thing.
Vaktathi wrote: This is one of the things that I really like about Attack on Titan actually.
The protagonists always pay in blood for their victories. Nothing is ever accomplished by any one character going Super-Sayan, progress is only made with the help of others. Painful setbacks occur. Morale issues abound, people have to deeply question their actions. Hard choices have to be made, and people die when things don't go according to plan. New powers or abilities come only through traumatic experience.
The underlying story is hugely nonsensical, but they manage to keep the suspension of disbelief going fairly well by managing this sort of thing.
How many real victories did they actually have? I haven't read the manga but from the anime (and what I remember) it looks like most of their victories (until very recently) were more like "not as big losses" as they could have been.
CthuluIsSpy wrote: Anime has that problem. Most shows are really bad at scaling power, and the protagonist ends up being "da best ting eva, mmk?"
Even Jojo had this problem by the end of Stardust crusaders, and that series usually does a pretty good job at managing its characters strengths and not resolving everything with an unsatisfying curbstomp.
Its ok to have your characters to be gak at something. Its why I like Konosuba so much; everyone in that show is incompetent, and succeed through sheer luck and a bit of dickery. Its great.
I did like how in gate they didn't have magic curb stomp everything and showed that conventional weapons can deal with dragons, with the larger specimens being particularly durable. The problem though is that they went with the other extreme and had conventional wreck everything, even though you'd think that a magical barrier would minimize casualties. It should have been an even fight. However, it really screwed up the geopolitical aspect; there is no way that the global community would not brow beat Japan into allowing everyone to use the gate, and the UN would certainly get in on it.
This is one of the things that I really like about Attack on Titan actually.
The protagonists always pay in blood for their victories. Nothing is ever accomplished by any one character going Super-Sayan, progress is only made with the help of others. Painful setbacks occur. Morale issues abound, people have to deeply question their actions. Hard choices have to be made, and people die when things don't go according to plan. New powers or abilities come only through traumatic experience.
The underlying story is hugely nonsensical, but they manage to keep the suspension of disbelief going fairly well by managing this sort of thing.
Yeah, AoT is pretty good when it comes to that. I still don't like the Titan transformation gimmick, but at least Eren is so incompetent that it hardly gives the protagonists an advantage. When Eren got eaten by that titan in the first season, I legit thought that he was dead for good, and that the rest of the series would be about Armin becoming a master tactician, both haunted and driven by the death of his friend, and after a grueling war finally leads humanity to victory. But nope, Kaijuus.
Vaktathi wrote: This is one of the things that I really like about Attack on Titan actually.
The protagonists always pay in blood for their victories. Nothing is ever accomplished by any one character going Super-Sayan, progress is only made with the help of others. Painful setbacks occur. Morale issues abound, people have to deeply question their actions. Hard choices have to be made, and people die when things don't go according to plan. New powers or abilities come only through traumatic experience.
The underlying story is hugely nonsensical, but they manage to keep the suspension of disbelief going fairly well by managing this sort of thing.
How many real victories did they actually have? I haven't read the manga but from the anime (and what I remember) it looks like most of their victories (until very recently) were more like "not as big losses" as they could have been.
In a situation as fethed up as the one they are in "not too many dead this time" is pretty much a victory.
My main problem with Attack on Titan is that so many side characters get added and eaten that I actually start to lose track of who is who. Part of it I think is that they've not gone with crazy hair/outfits as much for all characters; which is often done in anime to make the characters stand out apart more easily. So I regularly get a bit jumbled who is who (esp in the first season); esp as they can lose half the characters in one attack.
To me Attack on Titan is just boring shock value for the sake of shock value. The "twists" are all arse-pulls and nothing ever feels natural. No idea how much of that is adaptation decay however.
Mario wrote:[How many real victories did they actually have? I haven't read the manga but from the anime (and what I remember) it looks like most of their victories (until very recently) were more like "not as big losses" as they could have been.
This is also why I like the show so much, even after dramatic victories, the prize is typically survival, and little else
CthuluIsSpy wrote:
Yeah, AoT is pretty good when it comes to that. I still don't like the Titan transformation gimmick, but at least Eren is so incompetent that it hardly gives the protagonists an advantage.
When Eren got eaten by that titan in the first season, I legit thought that he was dead for good, and that the rest of the series would be about Armin becoming a master tactician, both haunted and driven by the death of his friend, and after a grueling war finally leads humanity to victory.
But nope, Kaijuus.
Yeah, Eren is an emotionally imbalanced whiny teenager, and everyone else is fully aware of it (which is also nice for them to highlight, he's "the idiot" to half the cast) who's only worth anything when he gets his mopey schtick together for a few moments and channels his angst. That said, an Armin focused show could have been interesting too.
Well technically his spinal cord was never severed when that happened. He only lost his arm and leg, so the Titan never ate his spinal fluid. Which seems to be the catalyst.
Grey Templar wrote: Well technically his spinal cord was never severed when that happened. He only lost his arm and leg, so the Titan never ate his spinal fluid. Which seems to be the catalyst.
Came damn close though.
^^^
Grey Templar beat me to it, they did manage to think about that particular loophole
It's more that a core bit of the story hinges on the content of a certain basement and the childhood of several children now young adults; and the loss of most of their parents. Ergo there's a delibrate large gap in the story that mostly frustraits because AoT tends to move at glacial speed in terms of its overarching plot (mostly because it all hinges on going places the titans are and every at tempt at that ends with 80% of the then cast being killed)
Yeah, the manga starts off hard. I haven't seen it yet, but if its berserk levels then its doing a good job.
It gets lighter after that though, so its not quite berserk...well, except for that one time with that band of adventurers at the elf tree. And that other time when the goblins attacked a village. But other than that, lighter.
First episode was not bad, they actually managed to show off how horrible things are without outright showing it like in the manga. They also cut out the flashbacks of the adventurers, probably for brevity, but we could do without those IMHO.
I think the elf tree may be the next episode IIRC, so with the worst two out of the way the show can forge on to the arcs involving the other adventurers and maybe end the season with him hiring everybody else to protect the farm of Cow Girl.
I don't think the series holds up personally. BaconCatBug and Overread nailed my thoughts on the series, and honestly I think the Manga is even worse cause it meanders more than the Anime does.
I think the anime for once does the story better justice because action and "humanity feth yeah" are the story's only real redeeming virtues.
