Topic: Manga and Anime discussion

Thankfully only a 2 episode delay for the dub. I'm sure Part 2 is worth the wait .

Miyazaki's new anime finally has a release date and will release in Japan theatres next July.

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-12-13/hayao-miyaza...

Also, a new movie by Studio Ponoc releasing next year as well.

Not sure if this totally fits in this thread, bet here we are. Think it releases in Japan next June.

City Hunter live-action Netflix movie slated for 2024 release.

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-12-14/city-hunter-...

Would be nice if Netflix also streams some of City Hunter's anime in 2024 as well. Just like they streamed Cowboy Bebop's anime weeks before the live action series was released.

A bit off-topic but, with all the isekai anime and manga about kingdom/base building (think for example, Overlord, and the dime in a thousand budget copies), Have any of you feel the need to play a base-building game "just in case"?
If I get isekai'ed now I would be screwed, not owning anything, not even built a single wall in Fallout 4.

@WanderingBullet, not sure which country you're in, but in the US all the City Hunter anime (including most/all of the specials/movies) are legally available to stream on Retro Crush, Pluto TV, & Tubi. They are ad supported services though.

@RR529 I'm from M'sia. Will check those services out later today, thanks!

@WanderingBullet, A bit about the services.

Retro Crush pretty much specializes in retro anime (though I think they've started carrying some things in a similar interest zone, like the 90's Sonic & Street Fighter cartoons as well as some Tokusatsu stuff). Most stuff is free with no strings attached (though you may need to make a free account to watch certain things), though last I used it they were starting to make a few things premium only (like maybe a dozen titles, don't know if it's gotten worse).

Pluto TV is a bit more general interest, and is like free "internet cable" in that on it's face it presents as linear tv (different channels to surf with a pre-set lineup), even if a lot of it is just one show (ex. they have a Happy Days channel that only shows Happy Days & it's various spin-offs like Mork & Mindy). For this topic in particular you'd probably be most interested in Anime All Day, which is what it says on the tin (they also have dedicated Naruto, One Piece, & Lupin III channels that just loop large parts of the series). More importantly though they do have an On-Demand section where you can browse their entire catalog and watch what you want just like any other streaming service. Oh, not anime related but it's owned by Paramount so one of the channels is "Paramount+ Picks" and sometimes it'll marathon P+ exclusive shows, usually before a new season starts on the more premier streaming service (I've caught some Star Trek Picard this way).

Tubi is Pluto TV's biggest competitor and seems to have even more stuff, especially in the anime department. I actually tend to use this one a bit more lately, and I think in terms of marketshare it's actually the largest.

Just for completionists sake there's also FreeVee, which is Amazon's foray into the free TV marketplace. Never really looked into how much (if any) anime it has, but I figured I'd mention it just to be safe. Oh, and it sometimes carries some Prime exclusives like how Pluto gets Paramount+ exclusives occasionally. I think some of the older Prime stuff might be on there permanently.

Also, some of the stuff that Retro Crush has locked behind it's paywall can be watched free on Pluto or Tubi. I think Retro Crush exclusively carries HD remasters of some ancient OVAs like Angel Cop (which is one of the paywalled titles), while the other mentioned services only have the SD original, which is probably why that's the case.

@RR529 Thanks again but it doesn’t seem like any of them are available for my country.

Sandland. Akira Toriyama's new anime.

Anime's Goodest Boy Arrives in Time for Christmas.

Street Fighter II: the Animated Movie - A certified classic that I haven't seen in awhile, and I'll be waiting a bit more as when I unwrapped it to take this picture it was somehow missing the damn disc. I ordered it a couple weeks ago now & I don't know how I'd get across that the disc was actually missing, so I don't know if I should fight for a refund/free replacement or just order a new one. This has never happened to me before, but I suppose it was bound to eventually.

InuYasha set 1 - Luckily this one seems to be complete. This is THE comfort food anime to me (practically being my life in middle & early high school), and whether anime or manga (through official or illicit means) I manage to go through it once every other year or so (just finished up buying/reading the entire manga on Kindle a few months ago), so I figured it was about time to start collecting it physically. I last watched it in 2020, when I binged it on Hulu in preparation for YashaHime (which kinda sucked, but let's not go there yet).

Jungle De Ikou! - Oh god, this is the most shamelessly degenerate anime I've seen, lol. Now, I enjoy a blatantly ecchi anime from time to time as a guilty pleasure (and I vaguely remember seeing at least part of this online somewhere years ago) so I decided to give this a shot, but now I know why I probably never finished it back then. It's a parody of the magical girl genre (young girl gets the ability to transform into a powerful adult form) where almost all the comedy comes from blatant sexualization & innuendo. I wouldn't have a problem with this if it was just focused on the transformed state, but they make sure to get in a lot of "loli" stuff too. Sad thing is I can't even really bring myself to really dislike it either. The humor (and fan service) can hit when the target is more palatable, and it has that quintessential 90's anime aesthetic that I absolutely love to look at. Think I'll just bury it at the bottom of the pile, lol.

Bonus: Alternate Box Art Under the SFII slip case:

Finished up Akira Toriyama's Manga Theatre this morning. A collection of one shots & mini series he'd released over his career.

The most fascinating story (though not the best) was Dragon Boy, which was clearly a Dragon Ball prototype (which had proto versions of Goku, named Tangtong with dragon wings instead of a tail, Master Roshi, same name & still had nimbus but wasn't a pervert, and Puar, can't remember it's name but it was a cat creature that could transform into different things).

While that one seemed to have influenced DB the most, some elements of the Adventures of Tongpoo (which was the next story in the collection) made their way in to. It's female lead was much more of a Bulma-like, and it introduced the idea of capsules.

Really interesting collection overall though. While they weren't all hits, I liked stories like the Elder, Cashman: Hero of Savings, & Mamejiro.

Got around to reading volume 2 of the YashaHime manga over the weekend.

There are still some issues I have with the overall premise, but this continues to be much better realized than the anime version (they really should have made the manga first, then made an anime adaptation, rather than the other way around).

The OG characters that are still around seem much more active both in terms of being interested in the girls' quest and actually inserting themselves into it as much as they're able (plus, it actually includes Koga, whom the anime completely snubbed), compared to the anime where Miroku & Sango seemed completely apathetic about the fact InuYasha & Kagome (& daughter) have been missing for over a decade (and the anime seemed to go out of it's way to make sure Moroha never met them, always excluding her from the party whenever Towa & Setsuna met Miroku & Sango).

First pickups of the year.

City Hunter season 1 - Not really planning on watching it anytime soon, as I just watched it early last year... right before I started to collect physically. As such it's the only season I didn't have physically yet & decided to use some Christmas money to round out the set.

Cowboy Bebop - I don't think this really needs any introduction (at least I hope not). Always a big part of my teenage years as Adult Swim used to have it on repeat practically all the time. So much so that I probably got a bit bored of it at the time, but it's been long enough since I last watched it to want to give it a revisit.

Project A-Ko - I've seen this online a couple times in the past. An action comedy film parodying the anime tropes of it's era, I've always found it amusing/entertaining enough.

Bonus: Alternate box art under the City Hunter slip case.

Berserk Deluxe volume 12 arrived today. Looking forward to reading the whole lot later this year!

Small addition to the collection.

InuYasha Set 2 - As THE anime for me in middle/high school, I'm continuing to slowly acquire it all. If you've seen it before, I'm at the point Kagura is being introduced.

Ghost in the Shell - A bit of a confession is that GitS media tends to elude me (Arise is said to be more "streamlined" compared to the other series, yet I kinda start losing the plot by OVA 3 for example), however the original film is the exception to the rule & I LOVE it. Super excited since it's my first 4K anime purchase as well.

Latest additions.

Eureka Seven - Another anime that I really got into on Adult Swim back in the mid 00's. It's probably been about 4-5 years (maybe longer?) since I last watched it, so it's gripping me all over again. Always such a hopeful show, even when things get down.

InuYasha the Movie Collection - I've probably talked more about InuYasha than anyone cares to follow at this point, lol. Anyhow I'm at the point in the series (in my current rewatch) where it's generally agreed the first movie feels best to watch, so I bought this physically (I've watched them many times over the years, but digitally, official means & otherwise).

In terms of manga I've recently finished reading all 3 volumes of Senran Kagura: Skirting Shadows, which is an adaptation of the first game, & pretty "meh" all things considered.

The original game actually put some effort into it's narrative all things considered, and it's very truncated here. The entire subplot surrounding Rin is completely omitted (she doesn't appear at all), while it spends a good chunk of time exploring Yagyu & Hibari's plots (& even a decent job with Ikaruga's), Katsuragi gets the short end of the stick (it completely omits the part of her looking for & finding her parents, but deciding not to make contact). In the end it seems like they just ran out of time too, as despite building up most of the girls' rivalries the final fights all happen off page with the exception of Asuka vs Homura (& it doesn't feature the big demon/monster that you fight at the end of the game).

Even in terms of the aspect the series is more well known for (over the top fan service), the manga comes up short. Sure there's still some innuendo & the like, but the art very much gives off a "this is a job, not a passion" vibe from the mangaka & it largely lacks the kind of "energy" you'd expect from the property. It does finally get there by the later half of volume 3, but by then it's too little too late.

It's all a bit of a shame, as for what it's worth I thought the anime adaptation did a pretty good job (at least the first season, which likewise adapted the first game).

Otherwise I read volume 24 of Triage X since that released last month. The series is pretty much everything the SK manga wasn't. Clearly a passion for the artist, gripping narratively, and doesn't hold back on the fan service if you like that sorta thing.

Got these in over the weekend.

Bubblegum Crisis - A bit over halfway through this now. Man, the aesthetics of it all (especially the tech) are just soooo much cooler than what we have in anime today (even if many of the bad guys are just Terminator knock-offs). That said, I thought the animation felt a bit rough & spotty at times in the first episode, but since then it's gone from strength to strength.

Kandagawa Jet Girls - A bit of a guilty pleasure buy. I remember thinking it was pretty cute the last time I watched it, & I just finished a playthrough of the game which put me in the mood for it.

City Hunter Movie & TV Special Collection - Halfway through this as well. Magnum of Love & Fate was fun in an "extended TV episode" kinda way, but Bay City Wars & Million Dollar Conspiracy were absolutely awesome. Think I now own all the City Hunter stuff.

Bonus: Alternate art under the City Hunter slip case.

Been a bit since my last update.

Angel Cop Steelbook - Last watched this last year I think on Tubi, but it was the old SD version (I think the remastered version is limited to a premium Retro Crush subscription in terms of streaming options). Looking forward to giving it another go all cleaned up.

Cat Planet Cuties - It's been a decade or so since I last watched this. Probably nothing special, but it'll be a nice guilty pleasure. Just started it yesterday

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero - Watched it a few days ago, it was actually super fun. I was a tad worried about the CG animation going in, and although there are a few wonky moments it actually worked a lot better than I thought. Really exciting action.

InuYasha Set 3 - Have had this the longest & just finished it up over the weekend. Just working my way through an old favorite.

Lupin the 3rd: Bye Bye Lady Liberty - I had collected the "must have" Lupin films last year (Mamo, Cagliostro, the Koike trilogy, & the First), but am now looking to expand with some of the other stuff.

Robot Carnival - Watched it on Saturday morning. Absolutely stunningly animated (gorgeous in 4K), with "the Presence" segment being the standout. A lot of good stuff that ranged from fun ("the mechanized culture of the Meiji era") to artful "the Cloud"). Also some very 80's stuff like "Star Light Angel", which isn't a bad thing at all.

the Professional: Golgo 13 - A bit rough around the edges, but worth a look if you like very edgy 80's fare (very gory & lots of sex).

Project A-Ko 2 & 3 - Pretty much more A-ko, if you liked the first one you'll like these. Bright, cheery, fun 80's vibes.

Alternate box arts: