Topic: Manga and Anime discussion

I'm thinking of buying the Claymore manga box set this summer.

My favourite manga of all time is Berserk and a good friend of mine who also a huge Berserk fan recommended it to me. I watched the first episodes of the anime to get a feel for the story without spoiling too much and it definitely gave me similar vibes.

I'm also looking for a good existing anime to watch as I've heard that this summers anime will be really weak.

@ZurapiiYohane, as a big Dragon Ball fan, it's a tough call, but I'd say start with GT, if only because it's already finished, while Super is still ongoing. Both aren't as good as DBZ or Dragon Ball, though.

Between the two, Super has the better arc concepts, while GT has the better animation (though Super is getting better in this regard), and executes it's arcs better, IMO.

On the canonical nature of the series', Toriyama (the mangaka who made Dragon Ball) had no part in the development of GT, which is why most fans don't consider it canon. As for Super, the first two arcs are reimaginings of the Battle of Gods & Resurrection F films, which Toriyama directly oversaw (and vouched for their canonical status). The later Super arcs are a bit more sketchy in this regard. Toriyama provides the basic plot for Super, but Toei (the studio behind the anime) & Toyotaro (the mangaka behind the manga) are both free to decide how to get from point A to B, so the events in Super's anime & manga play out differently, even though they cover the same stories. The anime is much further ahead, but has more inconsistencies, while the manga is further behind, but fixes the anime's plot holes (the best it can).

It should be noted that so far, all the events of Super actually take place DURING DBZ, not after (during the 10 year time skip after the defeat of Buu, but before Goku fought Uub in the Martial Arts Tournament), so they could find a way to wrap it up and keep GT relevant, but I'm not sure exactly how they'd go about that.

If you aren't playing it yet but want to, now is the best time to jump into Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle, as they're currently holding 2 celebrations that all players benefit from (one is for the game's second anniversary, and the other is because the game has 500,000 followers on Facebook).

All players get a Transcended UR Super Sayain 2 Goku, God Dragon Stone (can be traded for your choice of a really good SSR character, choices consisting of Super Sayain 3 Goku, Super Sayain 3 Gotenks, Ultimate Gohan, Gohan Absorbed Super Buu, Perfect Cell, Legendary Super Sayain Broly, and Full Power Frieza), and 40 Dragon Stones (you need 50 for a multi-summon) upon their first log-in during the celebration period.

Also, they're giving away more goodies every day over the next couple weeks (more Dragon Stones, Awakening Medals, Training Items, Support Items, Trading Post Points, and Anniversary Tokens. The Anniversary Tokens are a special item that can be saved up and traded for various items, including various SSR Characters, such as Super Sayain Goku, Super Sayain Youth Gohan, Android #18, Piccolo, & more).

There's also a big sale on Dragon Stones if you opt to purchase some, and each purchase comes with a Super God Dragon Stone as a bonus, and like the God Dragon Stone, you can trade them directly for a certain SSR character (a different character selection than the God Dragon Stone at that).

Furthermore, while they don't currently have anything going on, they usually hold special summon events during celebrations as well (multi-summons reduced to 30 Dragon Stones, SSR summon rates doubled, or one SSR guaranteed), so watch out for that. I do know their next summon event will introduce the game's first Super Sayain 4 characters. Oh, also, levels in the main quest usually give out 3X more experience during celebration periods as well, though I haven't checked to see if they're doing that.

Just found out that there are live-action movie adaptions of Tokyo Ghoul (Jul 2017) Fullmetal Alchemist (Dec 2017) as well.

Finished up Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet on Netflix this morning. Won't go into too much detail (as I did in the TV Show Thread), but if you like sci-fi/mecha anime, you should really check this one out. Cool setting, too.

@WanderingBullet Yeah I saw a trailer for FMA the other day. Looks ok I guess but I am wary on live action adaptions of anime series.

@Tasuki Not sure about Edward but at least Alphonse Elric's armor looked pretty cool.

There are so many live-action anime adaptions nowadays, even One Piece is getting a live-action tv series as well. I never could get into Death Note's anime, I wonder if the Netflix movie will be any good. I saw the trailer and I like Willem Defoe voicing Ryuk.

@WanderingBullet Yeah I wasn't a big fan of Death Note, my son is but I just couldn't get into it. Then again my tastes for anime are kinda odd.

@WanderingBullet, @Tasuki, Count me in as another who never really could get into Death Note. I may check out the Netflix film though.

Expelled From Paradise (Netflix)

• Story - Sci-fi/Mecha film in which, after a catastrophe has struck the Earth, most of humanity lives in a utopian virtual world known as DEVA. However, when an outside hacker seemingly endangers this paradise, agent Angela Balzac is sent out into the real world to find the perpetrator. Ultimately it's a story of what it means to be human, and while it's not revolutionary, I think it did enough to avoid being cliché.
• Art/Animation - It's one of those CGI anime, and while I was worried at first, I quickly grew accustomed to it. The human characters could be a bit stiff/doll like at times, but other than that it looked really good, especially the machinery (the final battle itself was fantastic, and well worth watching the film for). Everything is polished & clean looking, with a contrast between the slick/futuristic looking virtual world of DEVA, and the more gruff design of the real world.
• Soundtrack/Voice Acting - For whatever reason I've never really paid particular attention to music in film, tv, or games, and this holds true here. It sounded like it fit the film, but I'm not the best person to critique it either way. As for the VA, I watched it dubbed, and it used some of the same small pool of talent you usually get in American dubs. That's fine by me, but you may feel differently (I think Netflix lets you choose subbed as well, but don't quote me on that).

Overall, I really enjoyed it, and think you would too if you like Sci-Fi or Mecha anime.

Content Guide (None, Low, Mid, High, Extreme)

• Language (Mid) - It does feature occasional foul language, around the same level of your typical JRPG. No F-bombs.
• Violence (Low) - The most graphic it gets is some brightly colored goop from a giant centipede encounter early on. All other action features the twisted metal & oil of mechanical combat (Never shows what becomes of the humans inside mechs).
• Nudity/Sex (High) - The most graphic scene is very early on, which features some frontal nudity of Angela. Other than that, her outfits are designed to show off her figure (and the animators' jiggle physics, occasionally), but again, this is about the same level as a character of a similar build in a JRPG.

China won this year's World Cosplay Summit in Japan. I thought their performance was pretty creative.

https://cosplay.kotaku.com/china-wins-this-years-world-cospla...

Blood: The Last Vampire is also a really good anime movie if you guys haven't watched it, yet.

@RR529 Gargantia was amazing in the first 4 episodes, setting up the universe. Still good throughout though but there was something magical about the start. Had one of the best AI companions

@RR529 I stayed away from Arise because it looked like it would be nowhere near the complex themes explored in Standalone Complex. How does it hold up to the classic series?

@RR529 I thought both Standalone Complex and Solid State Society were good eventhough I didn't understood certain parts in them - too much sci-fi jibber jabber for me.haha

Anyone going to watch this?:

http://kotaku.com/anime-film-about-hiroshima-bombing-opens-in...

With Studio Ghibli closed (or in hiatus if the rumours are to be true), it's great to see Japan's still producing some great feature anime films like Your Name. and A Silent Voice over these past few years.

I've also read that people who went to watch the JoJo live-action movie in Japan thought it was suprisingly decent (better than expected).

Anyone familiar with Blade of the Immortal? Haven't read the manga but I've only watched a couple episodes of the anime on YouTube before.

I'd have to say the trailer for the Blade of the Immortal live-action movie looks pretty cool, though:

Finished up watching Aldnoah.Zero on Netflix a bit ago. Pretty good mecha series & definitely worth a watch if you like the genre. I liked how the protagonists had to win mostly through strategy rather than fighting spirit.

@ShadowofSparta, sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you. To your question, from the episodes I've seen Arise isn't nearly as complex as the two TV series. There is an overall narrative that branches across the series, but each part mainly focuses on it's own self contained narrative. However, while it is more action centric than previous series, I still think it's worth a watch if you know what you're getting yourself into.

@ZurapiiYohane you don't have to watch GT in order to watch Super, DB Super takes place after the fight with Buu but before the Z Epilogue

besides Super has changed so much that GT can't even fit as a side story anymore so you don't have to watch GT at all if you don't want to

Would RWBY be considered an anime? It is Australian, but is absolutely done in authentic Japanese style animation. Regardless I am a big fan, though I was disappointed that Volumes 4 & 5 are a single story arc since the original three Volumes were an entire arc each, also I'm not digging the lowered emphasis on fighting scenes. If Rooster Teeth isn't careful they might lose me and other longtime fans of the series...

@Reanfan7 depends on how you define anime, IS anime an animated show/film produced in Japan or is anime a style used for a show or film?

@Reanfan7 No, it's not anime, it's "animesque." Similarly, anime designed to look like Western animation, like Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt, still count as anime.

Some things, like Japanese/Western co-productions such as The Last Unicorn, are a bit harder to characterize, though.