Topic: Manga and Anime discussion

Trying out some new mecha.

Full Metal Panic! - This has been pretty good so far. Set in a pretty contemporary Japan (for the 2000's) except that militaries have mechs. Pretty much an independent military group sends our protagonists undercover in a Japanese high school to protect a girl who is being targeted by terrorists & foreign government agencies (as she has some sort of secret ability/knowledge that hasn't been fully explained yet), and she sort of gets caught up in their world/battles.

Patlabor: the Mobile Police - 7 episode OVA series from the 80's. Wasn't really long enough for any deep narratives, but the cast grew on me, and it was cool getting a police procedural in anime form (we need more police anime!). I'll be looking up the other entries in the franchise eventually.

Just been watching the first season of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, I already finished about 20 of 26 episodes so I’m already nearing the end. I’m pretty new to watching JoJo, I had a bit of a small obsession with it a few years ago and watched clips of it on YouTube but never saw it or read the manga the anime is based on.

The show is so fantastic and so crazy. The concept of Ripple/Hamon is so cool and the battles are so unique, not to mention the way that some of the characters win the battles with the techniques they use are so unique. I should also say the presentation, art direction and art style is amazing, plus the color palettes that are used in the fight scenes are so appealing to the eye and funky, plus the opening intro for the episodes are so well-animated and have nice stylization. Although I don’t read the manga, I have seen some panels from it and the stunning artwork Hirohiko Araki (the creator of JoJo) has drawn and I can tell the anime replicated and honored his art style and manga very well. Araki seems very creative with the fight scenes he writes and makes for JoJo. I absolutely love his writing and the way he draws and colors his art. He also has some of the best and most unique manga character designs I have ever seen!

I did start watching this maybe a week or two ago and finished binge watching the episodes adapting Phantom Blood the same day I started it, but it’s been taking me forever to finish the episodes adapting Battle Tendency. Every night I choose to binge watch the episodes but I only get about one or two episodes in and then I accidentally get cozy in bed and fall asleep from how sleepy I am and then comes the next day and I have to get through work and patiently wait for the nighttime to watch it. I’m gonna see if I can binge watch the remaining episodes tonight, but I gotta make sure I don’t accidentally fall asleep with my phone in hand. I really can’t wait to get onto the next seasons, but the fifth season isn’t available on the service I’m watching JoJo on (curse you Netflix for getting streaming rights to Stone Ocean!)

Finally started reading Kagurabachi, dunno if its good bland or bad bland, to be honest. I get that all shounen borrow from each other, but at least so far around ten chapters in this has basically zero personality of its own. A little Jujutsu Kaisen here, a little Bleach there and maybe some sprinkling of Chainsaw Man in for good measure.

These are all ingredients I really enjoy, and I think they could make for a solid anime if the adaptation is good cause a lot of the powers and battles seem made for motion, effects, colour etc.

But as a manga I just feel kinda whatever about it so far. No real standout characters. World is interesting but it doesn't have me desperate to learn more. Some interesting powers / abilities, but it doesn't have the nicest art or the clearest panelling. I will say it has some great character designs and has moved at an excellent pace so far. I kinda worry the anime will slow this down a lot, but reading it its like wall to wall and I enjoy that.

Who knows maybe I'm like a chapter away from when all this changes and I look like an idiot but this is where I am.

@Pizzamorg how far are you so far?

About 12ish chapters I think.

Newest Additions:

Dallos - I've always liked 80's sci-fi OVAs, and apparently this is the first OVA ever (directed by the same guy who'd go on to direct Ghost in the Shell no less), so I'm looking forward to trying it.

Kite Integral Version - This comes with all 3 different versions (most censored to completely uncensored), and is another one I'm interested in trying out.

Monster Musume - Haven't seen. Expecting it to be nothing more than a guilty pleasure.

Nadia: Secret of Blue Water - This has been largely really good. Not quite up there with Gainax's best (Gunbuster, Evangelion, Gurren Lagaan), but that's a high bar to clear so I can't hold it against it. It was getting pretty slow in the second half, but it's hit the climax and has gotten really exciting so I'm looking forward to finishing it (two episodes left).

Riding Bean - Not amazing, but a really fun homage to classic American crime/cop action flicks in the vein of Dirty Harry & Lethal Weapon, but in OTT anime fashion. A brisk 45 minute long OVA film.

Tona-Gura! - Another harem show. Again, just expecting it to be a guilty pleasure.

I bought the second box set of Bleach covering the entire Arrancar arc. Annoyingly this box stands upright rather then the previous box which lies on it's side

Still can't complain. Got it for £90 and considering it has... 26 volumes in it I think that's pretty good. Especially considering the supposed retail price of 190 or so.

I'm also watching Hellsing: Ultimate and umm... Yeah Crispin Freeman could be reading the phone book for all I care

Latest Additions:

• DevilMan Lady - Not big into supernatural horror stuff, but grabbed this for spooky season. It was okay at best. At times that 90's vibe & charm shone through, and at times an individual episode's story could be kinda interesting, but it absolutely falls apart at the seams during most action/fight scenes. I'm not sure if it's budget was hit hard by the bubble burst or what, but this has some of the worst animated action I've seen in an anime.
• Full Metal Panic! Fumoffu - I knew this was a spinoff going in, just not a completely comedic centered affair that would totally sideline the mechs. It ended up being pretty hilarious though & I'm glad I watched.
• Macross Plus - The directorial debut of the guy behind Cowboy Bebop & Samurai Champloo, and it's absolutely essential 90's sci-fi anime. Animated gorgeously with some stunning dogfights & imaginative concert sequences, and a personal story between a group of estranged friends that's really gripping. Part of the larger Macross mythos, but outside of a minor bit of lore here & there it's easily able to be followed as a stand alone. It's just a shame that the US licensor has apparently done jack all with anything beyond the original Macross (which they reworked into "Robotech"), as I had to grab this expensive UK collector's set (worth it though).
• My Neighbors the Yamadas - Haven't watched this one yet, but Ghibli is always a safe bet for at least a good movie.
• Patlabor: the Movie - Speaking of essential 90's sci-fi anime (though this one may be late 80's), here's another good watch. I don't think I'd rate it quite as high as Macross Plus, but still very much worth your time. Very interesting police investigation film set in a world where labor is being revolutionized by mechs (appropriately called Labors), following a special unit specifically tasked with solving Labor crimes, and they're out to find out why the machines are going berserk after a new software update. Can be a bit of a slow burn, but the action's fun to when it gets to it.
• the Tale of the Princess Kaguya - Absolutely gorgeously animated, and although I recognized the fable from a few other sources that referenced it (Okami, the second InuYasha movie, etc.), it just didn't really resonate with me the way I'm sure it did with those who grew up on the original fairy tale. I have a pretty odd taste in Ghibli films & this is just another case that confirms I'm more into their realistically grounded dramas (Ocean Waves, Only Yesterday, From Up on Poppy Hill, etc.) than I am their fantasy/fairy tail fair. It's still a good watch at a minimum though, and I would say the studio doesn't really put out any duds from what I've seen.

I am now on the last couple of episodes of season 1 of Solo Leveling, and its such a reminder to me that no matter how much people may downplay it, in a visual medium visuals matter. Solo Leveling has insane hype around it and I just do not believe it is due to the story, or characterisation, or pathos, or world building, or any of that stuff, cause you could fit all of that onto a postage stamp.

Every episode is basically the same. Sung goes to the same grey cave interior, waxes some monologue about how life is unfair or whatever boohoowahwah, extreme, bloody, violence happens and then his OP streamdeck gives him some YuGiOh asspull thing so he can win at the end. See you next episode for the same thing.

If that extreme, bloody, violence looked like One Punch Man Season 2, the conversation on this show would be completely different, I truly believe that. But instead it has these almost cinematic, high budget, looking set piece moments and suddenly its one of the most hyped shows of the season.

And that isn't even me saying this show is bad, I just think its the most average six out of ten, fine to watch to have something on while you eat your tea, forget all about it the moment it has finished anime I've seen in a while. But the way people are hyping this is like its one of the best anime of the decade.

Watched the first episode of Hitori No Shita. It is a ten year old anime I probably would have gone my whole life never knowing existed, but for some reason it is getting a new game this year, and this anime appears to be backed by Tencent? So I guess it must be some big franchise in like the mobile gaming space or something which is just a complete blindspot for me. First episode was very slow, and had pretty mediocre production values, it also wasn't what I expected at all. The game appears to be a martial arts based 3D arena fighter but this show saw a girl with a meat cleaver fighting zombies or something. Kinda interested to see where it goes, but first episode didn't leave a great impression.

It's been a long while, but here's everything I've picked up over the past few months.

the Boy & the Heron - I'm usually not huge on Ghibli's more fantastical fare (maybe I'm an odd duck, but I prefer stuff like From Up on Poppy Hill, Ocean Waves, & Only Yesterday to Ponyo, Princess Mononoke, & even Spirited Away), but I actually really got into this one. Maybe it's because they spent so much time setting things up in the real world. Never thought anyone could manage to make parakeets so unsettling, lol.

Bubblegum Crash - the first & third episodes aren't updated the best (they didn't have access to the original film, so tried upscaling previous a previous SD master. They did get the film for the second episode & it looks fantastic), but at the end of the day it's more Bubblegum Crisis, and that's not a bad thing.

Cutie Honey (+ the Live) - Just started the OG series so I can't say much on it yet. As for the Live, I'm usually not big on Tokusatsu stuff, but this managed to hold my attention the way through so I'm calling it a success. It does do it's own thing with the background lore though & adds two extra transforming girls (& doesn't feature the series usual big bad, even though her organization is still the main antagonizing force).

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex ( + Second Gig) - Haven't watched this since it used to air on Adult Swim back in the day when I was in high school. I wasn't sure if I wanted to add it or not since I wasn't huge on it back then (probably a bit too "deep" for me back then, especially since I wasn't guaranteed to keep up with it every week), but I'm glad I went for it. It's absolutely fantastic (though I slightly prefer the first season), and I had more nostalgia for it than I thought.

Macross: Do You Remember Love? - When I learned that the new Japanese 4K release had English subtitles I knew I had to import it (especially given the rights shenanigans that will probably keep it from getting an official US release). Given that it's a rework of a 50 episode TV series into a single film, it moves at a brisk pace & is probably best watched if you have prior experience with the OG TV series, but it's an absolutely beautiful film & a classic.

Megazone 23 - This has all three OVAs (the third of which is split into two parts). Part of the long tradition of 80's fare of bike riding delinquents getting caught up in sci-fi shenanigans. They're not a patch on Akira or Venus Wars, but worth a look if you like the genre/era. The first two were my favorite.

Patlabor - My new retro obsession. I've managed to collect everything except set 2 of the TV series (can't find the Blu-Ray for a decent price). The TV series is equal parts cozy workplace slice of life & mecha action, and the movies (what I've seen so far) go for deep political/criminal intrigue with a completely different vibe so there's something here for any mood.

Photon: the Idiot Adventures - Watched this on Amazon Prime a number of years ago & thought it was pretty amusing (and apparently it's a loosely connected Tenchi Muyo! spinoff), so when I heard that it was getting an HD remaster I had to get it.