Topic: Manga and Anime discussion

@Ralizah Add Perfect Blue, Paprika, Night is Short Walk on Girl, The Tatami Galaxy, Your Name, 5 Centimetres Per Second, My Neighbour Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle, Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Steins;Gate, Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood etc etc to that list and it would be perfect 😂

@nessisonett Perfect Blue is AMAZING, but the simulated rape scene makes me hesitate to recommend it to people.

@Ralizah Yeah, it’s a tough watch but eerily accurate in the way that it portrays the idol business. I also somehow managed to forget Ping Pong The Animation and Mind Game as well.

The only thing I'm watching is YashaHime, which is okay, though not surprisingly not living up to expectations.

I think it's biggest problem is that it wants to be a mystery (none of the core cast of the original, or Sesshomaru, were around to raise their kids, and where they are now is a big question mark), but it's not executed well (many of the supporting characters like Kaede, Kohaku, & Myoga are accounted for & it's clear they have their memories intact, but they don't seem to question at all that the various kids don't know their parents. Just basic conversation that's not happening not for believable plot reasons, but because the writers aren't ready to give answers). Also, despite the fact that the mystery of the parents is a topic they want the audience to care about (as they're constantly referencing or teasing them), it's made very clear that the kids themselves don't give two s**** about them.

Then there's the fact that they made the baffling decision to center the story around Sesshomaru's twin children (you know that series that was known for it's various romantic narratives? How 'bout we make a sequel to that & center the story around the kids of the one character who wasn't involved in one? Brilliant!).

At least the last episode reintroduced Miroku & Sango, so we could finally get some answers... or not. He's apparently in the middle of a years long training regimen in response to losing to some uber powerful demon (who is probably a relevant entity, but goes unnamed for no particular reason), and that's really about it. Of course they found a way to sideline Moroha (InuYasha & Kagome's daughter) from events so she wouldn't meet Miroku & Sango (this seems to be part of a longer running gag where she's been getting sidelined from events, or one-shotted, so the Sessho-twins can take center stage, much to the chargin of the fan base). The only thing we did learn is that Miroku put a spiritual seal on Setsuna (one of the Sessho-twins) at some point in the past, so her demon blood wouldn't overwhelm her.

Rant over.

@nessisonett Perfect Blue's examination of obsession, the role of modern communication technology in facilitating harassment, and the grosser, more misogynistic aspects of the idol industry is incredibly ahead of its time.

If we're tacking on classic anime: Serial Experiments Lain, Maison Ikkoku, Aim for the Top! Gunbuster, Rurouni Kenshin, Card Captor Sakura, Berserk, and Rose of Versailles are up there as well. Probably Monster, too.

@Ralizah Serial Experiments Lain is another classic, also pretty ahead of its time despite the whole 90s internet aesthetic. Also pretty bizarre that the theme tune was done by Boa, who were a band founded by the lead singer from Free and Bad Company’s children. So probably the only link between Middlesborough and anime.

I just found out that my local library has the first 5 Nichijou volumes! I'll probably go there tomorrow and see if they're not checked out yet. That'll be the first manga I ever read!

Never seen any of those.@Ralizah

Action sounds good.@Blooper987

@nessisonett Yeah, Lain really didn't foresee everything becoming wireless like it did (to the point where the internet is even called "the wired," lol). It did do something a lot more difficult, though: to a big degree, it anticipated a number of social and psychological issues that would crop up when the internet becomes all-encompassing. A bit sad that a show that amounts to a cosmic horror story about the internet was so on the nose about stuff, but there you go.

And yeah, the opening is a masterpiece to this day. Simply wonderful.

Thought I would recommend Wonder Egg Priority for anyone looking for something new to watch!

So I'm trying to plan out the next couple of anime I start, and I thought I could ask you guys what you thought of the ones I'm thinking of watching. For some context my favorite anime so far are Toradora, CLANNAD, Nichijou, Spice And Wolf, and Squid Girl. I also like psychological horror and somewhat disturbing things. I do not want ANY nudity or anything like that. Basically, if it's worse than SOA, I won't want to watch it.

Here's the list, I would appreciate any input!

Re:Zero
Cells At Work
Your Lie In April
Umaru-Chan
Blend-S
Anohana
The Promised Neverland
Gabriel Dropout
Lucky Star
If It's For My Daughter, I'd Even Defeat A Demon Lord
Love, Chunibyo, And Other Delusions
That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime
Nisekoi
K-ON!
Puella Magi Madoka Magika

@Blooper987
Serial Experiments Lain
Steins;Gate
Azumanga Daioh
Great Teacher Onizuka
School Rumble
Natsume Yuujinchou
OreGairu
Ping Pong the Animation
Haikyuu
The Tatami Galaxy
Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu
3-gatsu no Lion
Monthly Girls’ Nozaki Kun
Bakuman
Kaguya-sama: Love is War
Lovely Complex
Maid-Sama
Special A
Ao Haru Ride
My Love Story

Should be more than enough for you to investigate further! I would have recommended Devilman Crybaby as it’s a masterpiece but the graphic gay sex and ultra-violence may put you off, despite the fact it is entirely there for a reason and serves a deeper purpose.

@nessisonett Thank you so much! I will definitely look into those! There's a stinking Ping Pong anime!!! I love ping pong!!! I'll definitely have to watch that one.

@Blooper987 It sounds silly but Ping Pong is more of a deep dive into the psychology of being a champion than being strictly about the sport!

So, anyone in the US have Retro Crush? It's a free anime streaming service (ad supported, but there's also a paid option to remove ads) that specializes in vintage anime (mostly from the 80's & 90's, but they have some even older & newer stuff as well).

I've started watching Bubblegum Crisis & Medabots on it, and have watched Otaku no Video (an earlier film from Gainax, the studio behind Evangelion), and it's seemed like it's worked decently so far.

Not everything they have is an absolute classic of course, but they do have a few of the Lupin the 3rd series & films, the 90's Street Fighter, Fatal Fury, & Virtua Fighter movies, a Cardcaptor Sakura movie, etc., so it might be worth checking out if you have an interest in vintage anime (and some of it is in SD, since it hasn't had any sort of HD re-release).

Yu-Gi-Oh!
InuYasha
Berserk

Did anyone check out the crunchy roll awards. I know none of y’all prolly care, but I’ve never heard of Jujutsu Kaijen. Must be pretty good tho I guess.

Chika should’ve won over Kaguya tbh.

And Love Is War won best comedy. Which it completely deserved! Amazing show.

Bubblegum Crisis (Retro Crush)

1980's sci-fi OVA series comprised of 8 episodes that follows the exploits of the Knight Sabers, a (nearly) all female vigilante group that uses advanced power suits (think a more anime take on Iron Man) to take on Genon, an overly powerful robotics corporation that is illegally developing weapons grade "Boomers" (series terminology for humanoid androids).

While the first three episodes form a sort of connected story, overall there's no narrative end point, with each episode (most of which are 40-50 minutes long) feeling like a little self contained movie of sorts, each chronicling the events of a different case the group gets involved in. It's definitely from an interesting era of sci-fi anime (definitely the kind of series that influenced the vibe of Astral Chain) with an attention to detail to the sci-fi machinery & vehicles (unfortunately it looks like it hasn't had much if any of a visual upgrade, with a VHS like quality to the image. I think it'd look phenomenal restored in HD), and the impact of Blade Runner on the medium can definitely be felt. Worth a look if you have an interest in vintage anime, which can feel VERY different to the medium in it's current form.

Content Guide:

Language - Average (Mostly PG-13 level stuff, but I wouldn't rule out an F-Bomb or two that MAY have flown by me).

Violence - High (While it can get quite bloody when it needs to, I mean there's one episode that centers around a mysterious "vampire" draining people of the stuff, it's not constantly drenched with it, and a couple episodes don't feature any as far as I recall, unless you count this yellow fluid/oil that acts as a Boomer's "blood" when it gets ripped apart. Just be aware it can get high impact when it needs to).

Nudity/Sex - Average (really just for the few scenes of bare breasts it features during the occasional shower or changing scene. Like maybe four brief scenes total. Otherwise it's not really fanservicy in any way. The female characters don't have exaggerated body proportions, I don't recall any noticeable jiggle physics, and their outfits always seem appropriate for whatever situation they're currently in. The only other thing that would go here is a bit of a running gag where the brother of one of the girls seems oddly interested in seeing her specifically in a state of undress, but it's dropped after the first few episodes).

Pretty neat, if you are into theatre and stage production. And in Japan.