Anime and Manga disscussion

[SonOfGorgo]

New trailer for Digimon Tri part 5: Symbiosis is out!

[SUPERTOHOREMIX]

LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

[Inferno Rodan]

Hey, is Akame Ga Kill! any good?

I was thinking of reading the manga first because i know that the anime is a bit lackluster when compared to the manga.

I enjoyed the anime. Haven't read the manga so no comment there, though to my understanding the anime is pretty faithful to it up until the last 4 or so eps.


Anyway, now that I'm all caught up after being without a computer for 2 weeks, seasonal episode 3+ thoughts time.

Battle Girl High School - Eh. It's not BAD or anything, just thoroughly unremarkable. The girls are cute and that's about the best I can say about it.

Fate/Apocrypha - I'm digging it. The setup for the Holy Grail War being different from the standard is making things interesting. Also, Frankenstein's Monster a cute. A CUTE. I'm pretty sure she's going to die horribly and it's going to make me cry, though.

Gamers! - It's silly and fun. There are times I want to violently shake characters and tell them to get their shit together, but that's kinda the whole point.

Hajimete no Gal - This is actually a lot cuter than I was expecting. Went into it expecting blatant fanservice and little else. I'm still getting that, but with the added bonus of a fun romcom on top of it.

Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomo ni - The MC is like the biggest and most blatant Gary Stu I've ever seen. The whole show doesn't seem to take itself too seriously though, so it doesn't end up being annoying.

Jikan no Shihaisha - Pretty generic shounen series. Again, it's not bad or anything. It's just kinda there. Nice music, though.

Kinght's & Magic - Good god I'm loving this. The MC's mecha fanaticism is glorious, and the mechs themselves look freaking awesome.

Princess Principal - Cute spy girls performing espionage shenanigans in an amazingly stylish alternate Victorian-era-esque London. There's literally nothing to not like here. Oh, and the OP is god-tier.

[G-Matt]

Violet Evergarden will be on Netflix next year! YES!!

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/20 ... de/.119801

[SickleFeather]

Hey, is there any anime that exist in the same connected 'verse?
Like i know that there's the Naritaverse (Baccano!, Durarara, Vamp, Etsuwa Bridge) & the Nasuverse (Tsukihime, Fate, Kara no Kyoukai)

But are there any other anime shows that exist in the same verse?

[Inferno Rodan]

Hey, is there any anime that exist in the same connected 'verse?
Like i know that there's the Naritaverse (Baccano!, Durarara, Vamp, Etsuwa Bridge) & the Nasuverse (Tsukihime, Fate, Kara no Kyoukai)

But are there any other anime shows that exist in the same verse?

All of the Gundam series set in the Universal Century. Pretty obvious, but I feel it's worth mentioning because at this point there's as many series that are unconnected/set in alternate universes as there are in the "main" UC timeline.

As for things more in line with what you're asking for...

Betterman/GaoGaiGar
Tenchi Muyo/Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure
The Science Adventure series (Steins;Gate, Chaos;Head, Chaos;Child, Robotics;Notes)

Those are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head.

[Jomei]

LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!

From the Ping Pong people. Probably going to be amazing.

[Rody]

Sound! Euphonium was, in a word, excellent. In other words, KyoAni at their A-game is a force to be reckoned with in the medium - their nuance in character acting, their precision in comedic timing, and their skill at selling a story's biggest moments with perfect form. I was never in band, but the tension, the drama, the drive of the characters in Sound! Euphonium feels incredibly real; and that such a beautiful, heartfelt story was conveyed through two-dimensional drawings is truly awesome. I said this before, but shows like these are what really hooked me when I started watching anime, and they're what invigorate me the most about the medium still.

In more current show news, I almost completely forgot about The Reflection - a Japanese/Chinese/Stan Lee collaboration show about a world of awakening super-powered individuals (kind of like X-Men). Although the show's actual animation is somewhat limited, I enjoy the pulp comic aesthetic of the show, and I don't mind the somewhat slow pace of the plot; there's a steady world-building story developing. It's pretty neat; I say it's worth checking out for something more unique.
I was also recommended to start watching Tsuredure Children - a short vignette series about, essentially, all the rom-com couples you can imagine actually confessing (or trying their hardest) and exploiting the different couple dynamics from there. It's quite funny and cute; a pleasant watch overall.

[Ivo-goji]

Hey, is there any anime that exist in the same connected 'verse?
Like i know that there's the Naritaverse (Baccano!, Durarara, Vamp, Etsuwa Bridge) & the Nasuverse (Tsukihime, Fate, Kara no Kyoukai)

But are there any other anime shows that exist in the same verse?

Ken Akamatsu's manga (Love Hina, Mahou Sensei Negima!, UQ Holder) are all set in the same world.

Technically Dragon Ball has Dr. Slump and Jaco the Galactic Patrolman as part of its background, and some Toriyama's other stuff sort of interacts with it like Neko Majin Z (but Neko Majin Z's non canon).

Also there was a Detective Conan/Lupin III cross over a while back, and Detective Conan is part of the same universe as Magic Kaito. There are also a number of anime that make reference to Lupin III and the French novels it was inspired by, so there's a kind of loose 'phantom thief shared universe' running through a lot of series.

[HayesAJones]

Just got done watching the Netflix Death Note movie. It wasn't very good. It had a lot of problems and I struggle to point out which is biggest, but the easiest one to grasp is obvious at least: compression. A 100+ chapter manga/30+ episode anime was adapted to a 100 minute movie. That had a lot of effects. It moved really fast at parts, failed to capture the scope of the things it rushed to, lots of things had to be made more obvious to the point of being blunt, and almost every character felt like 150% more of an idiot at some point (or constantly in Light's case).

But all those problems can also be attributed to it not knowing what it wanted to be. It felt like three different projects in one.

One was a faithful adaptation. A few things like Ryuk, the Kira worship culture, and the idea of Light being a mastermind were more or less well adapted. They would have been okay if the rest of the series was similar in tone (it wasn't). This was one of the lesser portions of the film admittedly, but it still hurts it by the end, as I'll go over later.

It also seemed to want to be a looser adaptation that changes Light from someone with an enormous superiority complex to a weak-willed dunce who wants to do good, but is pushed around from different directions by L, Mia, and Ryuk. Light was seriously just an enormous dork the whole time and they did everything they could to keep innocent blood directly off his hands. His high school was absurd. Half its students seemed to be sociopaths and its administration punished cheating (which was also really out-of-character for the original Light by the way) over physical assault. Ryuk went from an observer to an active participant. They even gave him his own personal Lady Macbeth in the form of Mia (was she supposed to be a Misa counterpart by the way?). I'm a bit torn on this actually. On one hand, having the title Death Note comes with expectations and this take on things meets very few of them. On the other, it could have been interesting if it wasn't sandwiched into everything else. If it had been longer and been able to take a closer look at things like if Kira is actually helping or if he's just another force afflicting the weak-willed, or if Kira's ideals are actually Light's or just the result of those around him imposing their wills on him, it could have been interesting.

The third story mixed in there wasn't even an adaptation, it was a dark comedy inspired by Death Note. This is where things like the absurd gore it began with, some of the music choices, and most of Light's early characterization came from. Not a bad idea, but, again, the title brings a lot of expectations with it. If it had been an unrelated project or parody starring a bloodthirsty egotist that only thinks he's as clever as Light? Could have been good.

So you have these three projects swimming around in the melting pot of this movie and they all hurt each other. They hide or hurt the merits another may have. The dark comedy elements took a goddamn sledgehammer to the parts that wanted to be faithful. The larger characterization of Light as a feeble Macbeth are contrasted by his occasional moments of actual masterminding and manipulation. And things that would have been played for laughs had it been a straight dark comedy are weakened by all the 'woe is me' excuses it gave Light to move him away from the egotistical sociopath he is in the series proper.

All in all... yeah, it's bad, but I think it's still an interesting watch. It's an intriguing, multifaceted failure.

[Ivo-goji]

You remember that movie they just made re-telling the events of Ash's first adventure in Kanto, but replacing Misty and Brock with new characters? Well-

Can you smell what the Brock is cooking!?

[G-Matt]

^This hit me right in the nostalgia feels when I saw it yesterday. I'm still finding it a bit hard to believe that it's actually happening!

[Noble Saber]

To the Ghost in the Shell fans out there: What is the best physical release for seasons 1+2 of Stand Alone Complex? Heard the newest Blu-Ray release was terrible and all the info I can dig up about The Laughing Man blu-ray is kind of contradicting.

[JAGzilla]

^ Oh, that reminds me: My Neighbor Totoro. I still need to see that, but I've heard that the Disney releases butcher it. Is that true, and if so, what (cheap, preferably) release is the best?

[Dawsbfiremind]

^ Oh, that reminds me: My Neighbor Totoro. I still need to see that, but I've heard that the Disney releases butcher it. Is that true, and if so, what (cheap, preferably) release is the best?

The Disney release isn't as bad as most people say (Ghibli's been strict since the dreaded "Warriors of the Wind" incident). I'd go for the multi format edition, which you can find at books a million or Amazon (like below).

https://www.amazon.com/Neighbor-Totoro- ... 2650305011

Remember- watch the subtitled version, dubs still aren't good.

[Noble Saber]

To the Ghost in the Shell fans out there: What is the best physical release for seasons 1+2 of Stand Alone Complex? Heard the newest Blu-Ray release was terrible and all the info I can dig up about The Laughing Man blu-ray is kind of contradicting.

So, uh... anyone?

[SonOfGorgo]

Digimon Tri Part 5: Symbiosis is finally out!

[Rody]

To the Ghost in the Shell fans out there: What is the best physical release for seasons 1+2 of Stand Alone Complex? Heard the newest Blu-Ray release was terrible and all the info I can dig up about The Laughing Man blu-ray is kind of contradicting.

I haven't seen the show at all yet, but I believe I've heard good things about the old Manga Entertainment DVDs. I think there was a more recent release in Australia or the UK that was good, too; but I haven't researched it myself.

...SO...
The summer season is over. My Hero Academia ended on a strong note, ready to kick into high gear again when season 3 arrives (hopefully fairly soon). The Reflection isn't quite over yet; it's been an interesting show, but unfortunately the 12-episode constraint looks like it might hurt the show in the final stretch. Tsuredure Children was very cute and heartfelt; I hope another season happens, because these kids could easily go for another cour.
Several new shows I'm interested in are starting now, but before I start on those I'll be trying to finish a couple others I'm still working on - I've still been watching Lupin the IIIrd Part 2 pretty regularly, and I'm halfway through the first season of Mushi-Shi as well. I also really want to start Made in Abyss. I've heard high praise for that one.
Crunchyroll surprised me recently by adding The Tatami Galaxy to their queue - Apparently Funimation had it licensed all this time?? - so I've been watching that too, and just finished it tonight. The Tatami Galaxy is a great show, with rather brilliant structure to its story and a creative set of art/animation styles. I can't recommend this quirky show enough.

[miguelnuva]

Gamers! Am currently in the middle of this one and so far I am loving it. All the assumptions the characters make have me LOL every could of minuets.

Hajimete no Gal was also a funny one with surprisingly less fan service then I thought it was going to be, and had good characters. Hope to see a season 2 for both of these animes(unless Gamers's less 2 episodes some how just drop the ball).

[JAGzilla]

I started Death Parade earlier today. It's a heck of a concept, that's for sure. The first episode was an interesting, intense "what the hell am I watching?" ride, but then the second switched gears, slowing down a lot for some explanation. So I don't really know what to expect, going forward, but it seems like it should be fun to find out. No Name Girl is worth the price of admission thus far; I'm looking forward to seeing where her story goes.

Otherwise, I'm up to episode nine or so on Sound!, and it's still holding my attention quite adequately.

Spoiler:

I'm interested in seeing how Reina and Kumiko's romance is going to turn out. As my interpretation so far has gone, Kumiko is tired of being dragged along with what other people want/think they want, and struggling with her inclination to put everyone else first. And Reina is obviously taking charge of their relationship, so I'm thinking there's an awkward confrontation coming.

Still chipping away at Non Non Biyori Repeat, too, and it's continuing to do what it does. I think I generally liked the first season better, but the teru teru bōzu episode was a contender for my favorite of the show.