Anime/manga megathread

[blckrnblckt]

Tokyo Crazy Paradise and Red River are my favorite manga of all time. Glass Mask is probably one of the best anime.

 

[Redoubt9000]

I keep forgetting there's a rep system or something on this site... Thanks all!

 

[Alberto7]

Aw man, I just finished Mekakucity Actors. What a nice anime, albeit weird as all f*ck. I don't know why people complain so much about it. They keep saying it's super confusing. It kind of is, but it is understandable. I don't think they've seen, say, Serial Experiments Lain, or Paranoia Agent even though those are in a completely different vein. Finishing it feels like saying goodbye to a bunch of good friends.

Super weird anime, but ultimately and consequentially a super cool one.

7.3/10, although my personal enjoyment of it must have been around an 8-8.2.


Now I just have Brynhildr in the Darkness left to finish from the Spring season. I'm pretty sure I'll give it about a 5/10, but I've enjoyed it on a 7/10 kind of way. Let's see what that finale has in store once it comes out in a few hours.

 

[Don Vito]

I thought Toonami was going to show the newest dubbed episode of Titans tonight, but it was one I had already seen

Mekaku is something I still need to pick back up, since I had already invested 7 or 8 episodes into it.

And I don't think I'll finish Blazblue. It's so boring.

 

[Pedantic]

I really don't get why everyone says Mekaku is so confusing. It seems mostly straigthtforward which is really unfortunate. Does anyone have any recommendations for a show similar to Yoshitoshi Abe's works (Lain specifically), Boogiepop Phantom, and Paranoia Agent?

 

[Alberto7]

Don, I've heard the name BlazBlue before regarding an anime, and it has always been associated with the term "shit" somehow. I don't even know what it's about, but I don't think I'm about to watch it, given what I've heard of it.

Pedantic, I take it you've seen Haibane Renmei? It's an original by Mr. ABe; from the writing, to the drawing. One of my favorite animes of all time. I assume you're looking for something more cerebral and intense than that though, based on what you mentioned. I'd give Ergo Proxy a shot.

Again, agreed on Mekaku. It is quite straightforward, it's just that the storytelling isn't exactly linear, and it has its fair share of frame narrative. Other than that, it's simple to piece everything together. I think it's mainly its weird visual style that can make things confusing and slightly overwhelming. The art alone is like 70% of the show, as it seems to affect the viewer's perception of everything else. If you don't like the visuals, chances are you won't like the anime as a whole either.

EDIT: I finally caved and I'm watching Death Note with my sister. She pushed enough buttons to get me to watch it. We're on episode 9, and it's pretty awesome so far. I just can't stop laughing at everything though; so many tropes came out of this one anime and they're all so popular that it's impossible not to be extremely conscious about them. Still, really well made anime.

 

[Don Vito]

Don, I've heard the name BlazBlue before regarding an anime, and it has always been associated with the term "shit" somehow. I don't even know what it's about, but I don't think I'm about to watch it, given what I've heard of it.

It's actually a rather good fighting game from Arc System Works, but the plot is just so stupid.


But of course, you don't buy a fighting game for the complex story. Ever watch that awful Street Fighter movie?

 

[habicore_5150]

Well, after getting a bit of free time from doing things at home, playing music and video games, I decided to catch up...well, finish up Mekakucity Actors. It was really good, albeit a bit short, but it was still good nonetheless

And now, after having a friend of mine send me a few episodes to an abridged series on YouTube over the course of a few nights, I need to make some time to watch Code Geass from start to finish

 

[Pedantic]

Pedantic, I take it you've seen Haibane Renmei? It's an original by Mr. ABe; from the writing, to the drawing. One of my favorite animes of all time. I assume you're looking for something more cerebral and intense than that though, based on what you mentioned. I'd give Ergo Proxy a shot.

I have watched some of Haibane. I should definitely finish that up soon, and I'll check out Ergo Proxy too. Have you seen Kuuchuu Buranko? It probably has the strangest art style I've ever seen and it is really great.

 

[tm20]

Over the weekend my friend invited me to his house, said he was going to watch a movie. I get over there and the movie is Akira. I'd never seen it before but had read many things about it so I thought this should be good. It was beyond good, it was amazing. Visually brilliant, mind ....ing and creepy and just an amazing film overall. Haven't stopped thinking about ever since.

 

[Alberto7]

God no I've always avoided that SF movie like the plague haha. I don't know much about the SF other than they are awesome fighting games though. I just avoid it because I feel it'd be a waste of time.

@habi, YES watch Code Geass. It's been a couple years since I last watched it, but good God is it glorious. Even the parts that *might* be a little so-so are worth going through just for that ending.

@Pedantic, you should totally finish Haibane Renmei man! There's really very little point in not watching it whole, unless it's really not your thing. The point of the show is just the message and all of the interpretations behind it, and none of those are fully conveyed until the very end. Kuuchu Buranko definitely sounds and looks interesting; I'll put it on my to-watch list. Seeing how you don't mind weird art, I'll go out on a limb and say that you would probably like Aku no Hana (a.k.a. Flowers of Evil). It's all rotoscoped (and kinda shittily done), but it's such an amazing trip down the main characters' psyches. Oh, and that friggin' ED could not be more perfect.

Aaahh Akira... the legend I have yet to watch. I don't know why I keep putting it off. Maybe after I finish Death Note, which is the other legend I still need to finish (even though I pretty much know the entire story already).

 

[Alberto7]

I thought this merited its own post rather than just an edit to my previous post, so here goes.

Brynhildr in the Darkness, the last one I had yet to finish from this season. Ugh. It's one of THOSE shows. Sooooo baad but soooooo engaging. Plot holes, ass-pulls, and shitty pseudo-scientific talk galore, not to mention the horrible pacing and the terribly underdeveloped characters (and Murakami's cringe-worthy wailing), but the hooks are SO GOOD. I can't put my finger on how they do it, but they manage to get the viewers' interest. The ending, however, just when I thought it might kind of ever so slightly redeem itself, was so completely unoriginal, yet strangely satisfying in a mild way. It was also slightly infuriating, and I promptly felt like hurting a puppy, but alas, puppies are cute, and this anime is not. In fact, it's unnecessarily bloody and violent. I'm glad they ended it when they did though; it was already pushing the scale of ridiculousness up to Dragon Ball levels, and we all know that only Dragon Ball is allowed to do that. It tried hard to be like its older sibling, Elfen Lied (same creator), but didn't quite get there, even though the similarities are uncanny and the stories are almost identical.

To put it into perspective for those of you who have seen EF (and for those who haven't also), the story, without spoilers (nothing that isn't revealed in the first two episodes), is as thus:
Guy meets strange girls (one of which wants to legitimately, unashamedly, and blatantly fuck him) with superpowers (witches is what they call them) who turn out to be the result of human experimentation who escaped from a lab and now the lab is looking to recover them to fill their secret agenda of pure evilness and world domination, but also the protagonist falls in love with the main girl who may or may not be his best buddy from elementary school on whom he had a crush who, after she falls down a precipice because he accidentally let go of her hand while trying to rescue her and now he blames himself (obvs), was then taken in by the lab to be experimented on and had all of her childhood memories somehow wiped so she could not remember him at all. The only way he'd be able to tell if she is really his childhood friend is by visually confirming if she has three moles on her left tit. For real.

Now that I re-read that paragraph, it might be so cheesy so as to actually go full circle and be interesting again. If they had made it into a proper, well-developed anime then it might not have been quite as good. It might, after all, be close to perfect the way it is. I wouldn't have it any other way, I don't think.

EDIT: also, my theory stands: 90% of high school kids in anime seemingly have no parents. What's up with that?

In any case,
"Objective" score: 5.5/10
Personal enjoyment score: 7.3/10

PS: sorry for lack of punctuation in that paragraph. I couldn't bother.

EDIT 2: ok, I'm tired of editing this for grammar mistakes and structure improvement. It stays shitty like this.

 

[habicore_5150]

Over the weekend my friend invited me to his house, said he was going to watch a movie. I get over there and the movie is Akira. I'd never seen it before but had read many things about it so I thought this should be good. It was beyond good, it was amazing. Visually brilliant, mind ....ing and creepy and just an amazing film overall. Haven't stopped thinking about ever since.

I'm probably gonna get shunned for saying this. But the only time I got a chance to watch Akira last time when I was attending YamaCon 2013, but I only caught the ending parts. So I'm gonna have to rewatch it

That, and WaffleTheEpic suggested that I go check out Heaven's Lost Property and Sekirei

If anyone was curious about the Code Geass abridged videos that I've been watching lately

 

[Alberto7]

That abridged series is so dumb, but so hilarious

Also, not exactly anime, but I just discovered this:



I listened to it like 6 times in a row after my first listen. Soooo caatcchyyy I'm so making a guitar cover of this song. I also love how many different versions of it the internet has come up with.

 

[Don Vito]

Once you go Touhou, you never come back...

Oddly enough, the games aren't nearly as popular as the fanmade music and hentai

I watched the first episode of that No Game No Life show this morning. I'm not sure what to think of it yet, but it has given me a loli playing computer games with her feet while eating ramen. I also made it halfway through Blazblue Alter Memory, and I'm torturing myself in the process.

In non anime news, I tried watching some Japanese TV.
Crunchyroll - No Dropping Out -Back to School at 35- - Episode 1 - Crunchyroll

A little feel-sy and dramatic, but there is some humor and good stuff squeezed in there. And the way it's shot is so different from American TV. Seems more "real' somehow. I think I'm going to keep up with it.

I'd watch a SOL about a middle aged mom for some reason. MILF wars.

And it simultaneously fulfills my need for this

 

[Alberto7]

It's odd how I've known about the Touhou games for the longest time, but I've never played one. I also really suck at those kinds of games. When I first got my Wii when I was about 16-17, I bought it as part of a deal that included three games: two were chosen by the dealer, and the other I could choose. I chose Super Mario Galaxy, and the two other games were a Monopoly game and none other than Castle of Shikigami III. At the time I had no idea - I didn't even know where the hell that game had come from - but, in retrospect, I understand why I have a kind of phobia towards those kinds of games; CoS III is f*cking IMPOSSIBLE and it frustrated me enough to rage-quit it forever, and Touhou is like 10x worse. Great music and character design though, that's for sure.

Give NGNL a chance. I was hesitant about it in the beginning, too. It eventually clicks though.

 

[bouVIP]

Oh god this forum is finally back lol

New SAO!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't watch until I'm home tonight though

 

[Don Vito]

OMG, I'm back in the forum. It kicked me out once, but I'm here.

Had no idea the new SAO episode was already here. Stoked.

It's odd how I've known about the Touhou games for the longest time, but I've never played one. I also really suck at those kinds of games. When I first got my Wii when I was about 16-17, I bought it as part of a deal that included three games: two were chosen by the dealer, and the other I could choose. I chose Super Mario Galaxy, and the two other games were a Monopoly game and none other than Castle of Shikigami III. At the time I had no idea - I didn't even know where the hell that game had come from - but, in retrospect, I understand why I have a kind of phobia towards those kinds of games; CoS III is f*cking IMPOSSIBLE and it frustrated me enough to rage-quit it forever, and Touhou is like 10x worse. Great music and character design though, that's for sure.

Give NGNL a chance. I was hesitant about it in the beginning, too. It eventually clicks though.

I've only ever played Touhou 6, but I kept getting stuck on Patchy(and that was on easy mode). I've never heard of Castle of Shikigami, but it sounds right down my ally. Unfortunately, I don't have a TV to play my Wii on right now I'll pick NGNL back up once I'm finished watching this other show. I downloaded episode 2 yesterday, but something is wrong with the file. Need to find a bundle download for the whole series.

 

[TRENCHLORD]

Oh god this forum is finally back lol

New SAO!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't watch until I'm home tonight though

And you got the first new post !!!

 

[Alberto7]

Jesus, I was beginning to display the same withdrawals symptoms that Ryuk does in Death Note.

So, I've watched a few of the new shows.

I first watched Glasslip, which was kinda boring and uninteresting, but the art and character design were super pretty. I guess I'll give the second episode a chance to see if I like it better. 2.5/5

Tokyo Ghoul had an incredibly well made first episode. It's I am super excited for that one. I posted a short review of the first episode on the ANN forum:

"What a delightfully gruesome way to start a series! I was looking forward to this one based solely on the trailers (I am not familiar with its source material), and it was better than I was expecting. Very straight-to-the-point first episode. It didn't meander through the story with unnecessary plot points/devices, yet it was slow and thoughtful enough to let the viewer take in every plot detail and to make every emotion it wanted to convey sink in deep into the psyche.

I particularly liked the way

Spoiler

they portrayed Kaneki's terror of finding that he's been half-turned into this abominable human-eating monster. It somewhat reminded me of how well Attack on Titan conveyed the horror of the situation during the first few episodes.

If there was one thing I didn't like was how they held back on showing the details of that one fight scene near the end (by doing the typical move of having two characters approach each other at full speed, clash with a bang, and then the delayed wounds and blood out of thin air), and how some of the more gory stuff was sort of left out of frame or shaded black. I'm not sure if it's just censorship that might be removed in future DVD/Bluray releases or if it's meant to be that way. In either case, it was quite a minor drawback during this first episode, and I didn't even consciously think about it until after the episode ended. Nothing to worry about here for now.

Can't wait for more!"

4.5/5

I also watched Rail Wars!, and it looks AND sounds fantastic. Beautiful art and animation. The pacing is fast and kinda odd, but it's entertaining. Big flailing tits. 3/5

I just finished the first Sword Art Online II... it was as interesting as I expected it to be, but it had a different vibe from what I expected. It had its interesting bits, but for the most part it was Kirito being his usual self and trying to make a difference (and being bribed with cake) while Asuna was all "I jzt want 2 b 4evr wid mah boifr3nd." A lot of fanservice for fans of the first season, for sure. The plot seems to have potential to develop into something interesting, and it definitely did have its small hooks that were cool. However, like I said, I sense the presence of the negative traits from the first season. Also, the new game doesn't look as interesting as Sword Art Online or Alfheim Online. I also disliked that villain design. Then again, this is just the first episode. 3.5/5

I still have to watch the new Sailor Moon and the first Aldnoah.Zero episode. I am excite!