What are you reading/watching? AKA Anime/Manga General

[Deathhappens]

Spoiler:

Watched the 2001 Sakura Wars movie by production IG. The 2D character animation was absolutely and utterly gorgeous. Absolute treat. The TV anime rocked but this blew it out of the water. But then like 15 min into the movie... they sortied to fight monsters... and the 2001 CG... bruh... i almost cried. Oh no. Ohnononononononono. the stiff monster movements. The ugly CG smoke explosions. The goofy way the mechas kept puonding these stiff plastic toys. In the TV anime the creepy zombie like movements of the monsters, the way the flinched when shot, the way the were torn to shreds and splurted goo when cut was so satisfying but now theyre stiffly falling over. The mechas didnt look that bad because Sakura wars mechas are ugly-cute and weak looking steam powered trashcans, but damn the monsters were terrible. But then in the late movie climactic battle scene they were fighting mechanical enemies so the CG didnt pop out too bad and the high speed action and brilliant choreography overshadowed it. And the explosions that were CG earlier were now 2D. Wtf. Great stuff. All in all really good cash-in movie, if you forget that one awful battle scene at the start of the movie, dunno what kinda intern came up with that shit. But i will have to say that even though IG had even better 2D animation, i prefer Madhouse's more old school take on the chara designs. thats just my boomer taste speaking though.

and of course Ohgami had to fly in to have a big hero "sorry I kept you waiting" chad moment despite being stationed in freakin France.

For some unfathomable reason this post reminded me I wanted to watch Dog Days at some point, so I marathoned the first season. It's... something of an odd duck, all told. It adheres pretty tightly to a lot of isekai tropes, yet at the same time it refuses to take any of them seriously, so it ends up being lighthearted fun without taking the piss the way Konosuba did. You have your classic teenager summoned into alternate world to win war and be Hero (capitalized)... except the war is basically an athletic event for funsies where nobody dies or gets hurt. You have the prince sibling of the neighbour country being sinister and kidnapping the princess... only they're really friends and he's a goof who just wanted to have a go at the hero. They even have a skit in the middle of the fight (which chews up most of a corridor) when the hero gets a fountain of blood from his forehead and they both start panicking and flailing around. At the same time, you stil get your fair share of shonen laser fights and mild fanservice peppered here and there (of the nostalgic "accidental cloth destruction" kind). I can see why some people might be frustrated at the utter lack of stakes or tension (almost everyone is friendly with everyone else, with the majority of negative emotions coming from the tsundere abusing the Hero), save for one "main" plotline that gets resolved easily enough at the end, but I found it a relaxing, if silly, change of pace. (Did I mention everyone is cat and dog people and their names are food? They are and they are, and its used with great gusto by the animators).

On that point, the animation studio is Seven Arcs (of Nanoha fame; the entire thing was written by Masaki Tsuzuki sometime after StrikerS, which probably accounts for why ViViD turned out the way it did) who do their work well, if not really breaking ground. The voice cast in particular is enormous and star-studded; Nana Mizuki, Horie, HanaKana, Hikasa, Tange, OnoD, Kakihara, Koyasu, Sakurai, even Norio Wakamoto, and that's just part of it.

Also the protagonist is AGGRESSIVELY Mamoru Miyano trying really hard not to get into his Miyanoisms and it's hilarious

[Skull]

Took a break from Western Horror movies to try to watch some Animu again...

So I finally hunkered down and sat through "Princess Mononoke". It was really good, definitely one of the better fantasy oriented Ghibli films which anyone who knows me knows I think they tend to be much weaker than the grounded ones. The themes were as unsubtle as usual for a Miyazaki film, but I did like that the morality of characters was portrayed as more complex and that there needs to be some give and take between man and nature. Lady Eboshi was an especially interesting character, the grayness of her actions to save the outcast poor and lepers from the Empire by sacrificing the Nature spirits was quite compelling, as was Ashitaka's resolution to break the cycle of hatred at the end by not only saving her life during the climax but by staying with her to help the downtrodden townspeople find a compromise that will benefit all parties. Animation was gorgeous as usual and held up pretty well, my only real complaint was the usual Ghibli sameface making it hard to remember which secondary character is which. Soundtrack was also excellent as expected of Joe Hisaishi.

Overall a very good anime movie that actually lived up to its hype.

[LJ3]

Which Ghibli ones did you say before you haven't experienced yet?

[Laserman]

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Episode 19: Okay, I understand why this episode was talked about so much, that fight at the end was amazing. Nezuko used a Blood Demon Art and Tanjiro just changed his breathing to make his attacks change from flowing like water to raging like flames, it was so awesome.

[bassgs435]

Finished Overman King Gainer
Very fun show with great fights and characters. Cynthia best girl. I would have liked the ending to be more conclusive, but it was fine. I like how Gainer is hardly the sole heroic winner (even with the titular King Gainer) and the experienced Gain remains key and important to winning the day. Definitely a great show. Love it

[Imperial]

Tomino is wildly hit and miss, but I feel he is at his best when he can wander off the beaten path and do his own thing. Dunbine and OKG are two of the best examples of that.

It's pretty telling that his last two returns to Gundam, Turn A and G-Reco, were so weird and offbeat. I think he's tired of making the typical robot series and wants to experiment with the formula. Given that Gundam usually is better when the latest installment takes risks (G Gundam is best Gundam), I'm all for it.

But while we are on the G trains, I just started Iron-Blooded Orphans. Super edgy. Not sure if I'm going to finish it.

[Laserman]

But while we are on the G trains, I just started Iron-Blooded Orphans. Super edgy. Not sure if I'm going to finish it.

I still think about Gundam Iron-Blooded Orphans a lot. That show really got to me.

[Skull]

Watched "The Irresponsible Captain Tylor". The not so subtle spoofing of LotGH was not lost on me, and I adored every bit of the show. I went in expecting Konosuba levels of slapstick but surprisingly the show's humour was a lot more restrained without ever overplaying the whole "is Tylor a genius or just an lucky idiot" joke. The ensemble cast was pretty great, the relationship between Tylor and Harumi was (imo) fantastic and overshadowed the canonical Tylor/Yuriko pairing.

Would definitely recommend for anyone who likes Sci-Fi that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Tomino is wildly hit and miss, but I feel he is at his best when he can wander off the beaten path and do his own thing. Dunbine and OKG are two of the best examples of that.

Dunbine was written by Sukehiro Tomita not Tomino, by the by.

[Imperial]

Dunbine was written by Sukehiro Tomita not Tomino, by the by.

My entire life is a lie.

[Rafflesiac]

NTR Man approaches Hayasaka.

[Reign]

Started rewatching Oregairu last night. I forgot how funny it was.

[Deathhappens]

That it was. It's a shame it had to be a "rom"com instead of just comedy, alas.
I'm just waiting for the novel ending to come out so I can drink the tears of the losing side.

[Reign]

I thought the final volume was already out?

Spoiler:

And Yukino won? Even though it should have been Yui I will fight the author on this

[Strange_One]

I should be glad that I'm relatively immune to spoilers.

Also.

\o/

And somewhat relevant - been running a lot of youtube whilst working on things. Seiyuu are funny ppl.

[Skull]

Watched "Penguin Highway", the anime film from a few years back by Studio Colorido and adapted from a novel by Tomihiko Morimi (Tatami Galaxy, Night is Short Walk on Girl).

A pretty good movie. I probably would've enjoyed the whimsical plot more if I was a wee bit younger but it was fun nonetheless. Would recommend if you just want a relaxing, fun two hours to pass. Might not be one to watch with kids around though, as the MC is a young boy going through puberty so "boobs" gets mentioned from time to time.

[DrinkBeer]

I'm currently watching an old classic anime called Fushigi Yuugi
Watch Hentai Online

[Deathhappens]

I thought the final volume was already out?

Spoiler:

And Yukino won? Even though it should have been Yui I will fight the author on this

I honestly haven't been following it too closely. Be a shame if I missed that, but as an Irohafan I knew best girl was never gonna win anyway.

[weeblord]

Yui bro for life

Spoiler:

smh it keep happening mane😔

[Reign]

Best girls can never prosper in this industry smh

[weeblord]

Smh this is so sad Alexa play Reflectia by eufonius🤘😔