Topic: Manga and Anime discussion

Been awhile since my last post so this will be larger than usual.

Demon City Shinjuku - Demons have taken over Shinjuku and now a young man who knows some sort of spiritual swordsmanship must keep them from spreading worldwide. Kinda feels like a moodier take on something like Yu Yu Hakusho. Pretty fun stuff.

Iria: Zeiram the Animation - Animated OVA prequel to the live action Zeiram horror/action films. Pretty good 90's sci-fi action stuff.

Prison School - Raunchy comedy, a lot better than it has any right to be. A girl's only school goes co-ed and the few male students get thrown into an honest to goodness jail on campus after they spy on the girls' baths. A hilarious cat and mouse game soon ensues as the boys try to formulate an escape plan all the while the student council conspires to get the boys into even more trouble so they have an excuse to expell them.

Urusei Yatsura TV Collection 1 - Currently going through this. It's one of the oldest TV anime I've ever watched (though the first Lupin series probably has that honor of being the oldest), and it definitely shows in the animation quality, however it'll occasionally have an episode where the quality really jumps up. Episodic comedy, it can be pretty humorous.

Urusei Yatsura: Always My Darling - a 10th anniversary film. Pretty much felt like a long episode, but it was fun seeing this world animated with a more distinctly 90's style rather than 80's.

Urusei Yatsura: the Final Chapter - The conclusion of the manga in film form. Pretty decent, but I didn't think it was very strong/definitive for a finale.

Wicked City - A pair of secret agents (one human & one demon) must team up to protect an ancient dignitary who holds the key to prolonging a peace treaty between the human and demon worlds from a group of demon extremists who want war. This is good stuff with a lot of creative body horror on display, but it's not for the easily offended (this is one of those 80's OVAs that really likes to push the boundaries of gore & nudity).

BONUS: Alternate box arts.

Hadn't realised how long it had taken me to clear it, damn Baldur's Gate taking up all my time!

I am now up to Season 2 now, working my way through the opening flashback arc.

It has a subtle - yet somehow jarring - change in production staff on the back end, which changes what you see on the front end. It feels more akin to Mob Psycho now, with simplified visuals for a focus on fluidity. Not necessarily a huge departure on first glance, but especially watching them back to back, the first season is significantly more detailed and cinematic.

Personally I thought the choreography in the action for the first season was incredible as well, like one of the best in its genre, but I guess it was too labour intensive or expensive to keep up that level of detail and that level of animation all the time. And personally I'd rather they simplify the art and maintain focus on the things that matter, unlike things like One Punch Man season 2 which was just an insulting downgrade.

So gut check on One Piece Live Action?
When it was first announced I was expecting the worst, but the trailers & impressions seem fairly positive? Out tomorrow.

They sure are cramming a lot into 1 season though. Seems like 8 episodes going all the way past Arlong arc.

Also 2nd half of season 2 for Baki Hanma is up on Netflix.

New Jujutsu Kaisen arc tonight, I think! I really need to catch up as I've not watched the last few episodes yet!

Things I picked up since my last post.

• Appleseed - Based on an earlier work by the creator of Ghost in the Shell. Pretty good sci-fi movie.
• A Wind Named Amnesia - Another interesting sci-fi film. A young man & woman take a road trip across the US (being chased by a killer mech!) after a mysterious "wind" blew across the planet taking away humanity's knowledge returning us to stone age mentality.
• My First Girlfriend is a Gal - Pretty run of the mill harem show. Decent if you know what you're getting into.
• Re: Cutie Honey - A take on the classic fan-servicy "magical girl" series helmed by Hideaki Anno (Evangelion). Very crazy, but very fun.
• Very Private Lesson - Not pictured. Pretty average ecchi comedy from the late 90's. I get the feeling it was a 2 episode pilot for a TV series that never came out, so they released it as an OVA, as it doesn't really go anywhere.

The Devil May Cry anime that's been rumoured to be a thing for years is finally real and looks FANTASTIC

So I watched Gurren Lagann for the first time.

That was quite possibly the dumbest anime I think I've ever seen where all the mecha's have faces and run on "manly fighting spirit" (Or Spiral Power) with attack call outs and all that Shonen jazz... Ending up in space with mecha's so large they can throw Galaxies as bloody shruiken.

... And it was goddamn amazing. I loved every second

Special shout out to the score. I haven't usually noticed the music in an anime besides a killer opening/ending theme but Gurren Lagann had some great tracks throughout it... Including a piece that was opera mixed with some incredibly cheesy rap that... Somehow worked.

Also ... Viral is best boi

Did a little bit of catching up on Jujutsu Kaisen last night. I'm so far behind but slowly catching up. I just started the Premature Death arc and things are getting pretty interesting to say the least!

I still need to make a start on the new season of SPY x FAMILY too!

The latest Castlevania series is up to their usual high standard in my opinion. And I'm actually able to follow this and largely make sense of it all this time round! 😂

@JohnnyShoulder Is that the Netflix one? It's been on my watchlist for ages but I still haven't sat down to watch it yet. I really should because it's apparently very good!

@KAIRU It is! The latest is a spin off from the main series, which is the back story for one of the main characters.

The first season of the main series is very short, but the subsequent series have about 10 episodes each, so very bingable.

It is very violent and gory though, which I think is ace.

@JohnnyShoulder I'll have to give it a watch sometime soon. I've been meaning to watch Cyberpunk: Edgerunners for ages now too!

@KAIRU yeah that is on my watch list. I'm going to tie it in with playing the game with the latest updates. And maybe the dlc as I've heard good things about it. But I have a horrible history with playing games I've already finished, so I want to see how I get on with it first.

@JohnnyShoulder Completely forgot to reply to this yesterday. My bad!

Yeah, I'm wondering if I should play the game first before watching the anime, or watch the anime before playing the game. I have seen there is a bit of a tie-in with the new DLC for the game, so that would be worth checking out too.

New additions to the collection.

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence - I actually hadn't seen this one until now (which is kinda surprising since the first is one of my favorites). It wasn't as good as the original, but still worth the watch.

Giant Robo the Animation - 90's mecha OVA series. Haven't seen it before, but it looks right up my alley.

GinRei - Spinoff of the above. Neither is very long so I figured I'd just get both & watch them back to back.

Kiki's Delivery Service - Another one I haven't seen, but you can't go wrong with Ghibli.

Lupin the 3rd: A Woman Called Fujiko Mine - I'd seen this on streaming in the past & liked it (& like the Lupin stuff in general), so I decided it was time to get it for good.

Urusei Yatsura: TV Collection 2 - Almost have this set wrapped up. As a comedy it's kinda hit & miss, with episodes I love & some I can leave, but I do overall like it and how experimental it can feel at times.

@RR529 Your collection could probably fill my entire house at this point! I'm a tad envious! 😂

@KAIRU, lol thanks! I don't yet really have a shelf for any of it, so everything is mostly in a couple drawers (I have one almost completely filled up, and just recently started on another).

@RR529 I'm sure it'd be a much greater feeling displaying them on a shelf rather than stuck in a drawer somewhere though!

@RR529 Just seen you bought Wicked City! I remember watching it when I was younger. This would have been in the 90's as my neighbour used to get most of the Manga releases when they came out in the UK.

Also remember the Crying Freeman films which I also enjoyed. Shame the live action film I found a bit lacklustre.

@JohnnyShoulder, funny you mention Crying Freeman, given that it's HD remaster is releasing at the end of November.

I've never seen that one, but I liked the look of it so I decided to put in a pre-order.