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

[Deathhappens]

I'm also getting caught up on Demon Slayer, having just finished episode 24, and I've got to say Zenitsu ruins every scene he is in.

He's so shrill and obnoxious that he kills the humor he's meant to generate, and his cowardly lion/sleeping master schtick doesn't impress me. I would enjoy this series about a hundred times more if he was deleted from any given episode.

True, but he gets way less screentime as the series progresses (along with Inosuke) so at least he's not as annoying later on.

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Honestly, as the manga progresses towards its ending (at least I assume the end of this arc will be the ending) it suffers from the opposite of that; no downtime, no breathing room to actually get to know and care about the characters. The pillars get a perfunctory introduction and a bit of backstory each (and even then, it's all crammed in one chapter in the middle of a fight), and that's about it. The villains keep getting interesting backstories too, which is one of the things Kimetsu really does well, but all that room could've/should've really been used to develop the main cast a bit more.

[Solomos]

For all of the maiming and killing that Kimetsu no Yaiba does, the one character that I wished it would happen to doesnt suffer either. Truly we live in a godless world.

I’d probably be able to tolerate Zenritsu more if Hiro Shimono wasn’t a great actor. As it stands, he makes me wish Zenritsu would get his windpipe smashed.

[bassgs435]

Finished Katanagatari. What a great show. Great characters, great development, a great ending. I love it. Man, it's was a great ride.

[Imperial]

I hate Katanagatari for setting the bar so high.

Where am I supposed to go after a masterpiece like that?

[Pendant]

I hate Katanagatari for setting the bar so high.

Where am I supposed to go after a masterpiece like that?

It's like Yaiba but good

[Skull]

It's like Yaiba but good

Don't say that, as far as '80s manga goes Yaiba was a good series.



...I know no one is probably gonna get that reference, damn I feel old.

[LJ3]

It's okay, no one cares about Aoyama's previous work

When will Detective Conan end

[Mattias]

I never finished Katangatari. I've tried multiple times, but I only ever get to the fourth part.

[Deathhappens]

I never finished Katangatari. I've tried multiple times, but I only ever get to the fourth part.

But you gotta! That's when it starts dropping the episodic formula and gets even better!

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Though I suppose I gotta admit, hour long episodes aren't for everyone. Zokuto Yoroi has successfully blocked off my rewatch twice now.

[Skull]

I never finished Katangatari. I've tried multiple times, but I only ever get to the fourth part.

You can't stop at #4, it's got the greatest fight scene of all time in it!!!

[Laserman]

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Episode 26: I guess Muzan got tired of playing house and disguised himself as a woman now. Getting spotted by Tanjiro probably spooked him enough to do that.

So the numbers on the eyes of the 12 Kizuki show whether or not they belong to the upper 6 or the lower 6. The upper 6 have had their ranks for a century too. Rui was bad enough and he was ranked 11th overall. What are the top six like and how powerful are they?

I can't believe he really assembled the remaining lower 6 just to kill them. He could have demoted them like he did the one demon, but he just decided to get rid of them except one of them. He rules those demons and all demons by fear, and he won't hesitate to get lil even them if he feels like it.

And I, the viewer, still don't know what Muzan's master plan is either.

I also learned the the Demon Slayer Corps aren't recognized by the government which is strange to me. And now Tanjiro and his friends are going to go investigating disappearances on a train while being targeted by a member of one of the 12. But a Hashira is also on board with them, so that should be interesting.

And with this I've finally finished it. I didn't think I would end up liking it as much as I do. I didn't think that highly of it when it was airing in Japan, but I see why like people like it so much now. It has amazing action, fun, cool characters, and a nice story. I definitely recommend giving it a try.


I don't know why they chose to make a movie instead of making a second season though. With how popular this show is, you would think that would be an easy decision. Maybe, ufotable just really feels like making movies all of sudden, I don't know.

[Benderesco]

Does Midnight Gospel count as an anime? Because I am watching the hell out of that. The dialogue is not nearly as deep as I expected it to be, but the environments are absolutely wondrous. Plus, there is a lot of charm in seeing people's personal metaphysics, even if they're not saying anything particularly original.

Oh, and I am also watching Boogiepop Wa Waranai. I originally dropped it because, in trying to adapt the novels, it lost a LOT of the intelligence and atmosphere of Boogiepop Phantom, which was conceived as an anime from the start. Decided to pick it back up, because I REALLY want to see how they handled Imaginator.

[Skull]

Picked up the 20th Anniversary edition of The Big O and did a rewatch since I haven't seen it in like forever.

Yep, this is definitely a Chiaki Konaka show with mindscrews galore! I love it though as the show just oozes style from the characters to the mech design and the soundtrack. Knowing the ending ahead of time definitely helps makes sense of what's really going on and you can see all the subtle foreshadowing even in the first couple of episodes.

It does bother me though that the 20th Ani edition replaced the awesome original two OPs with a blander one (presumably to avoid copyright). That really makes me sad.

[Imperial]

Fire Force turned out way better than I expected. The studio really pulled out all of the stops on this one, and the writing isn't half-bad either. That last arc was a treat. Pretty much everyone in Company 8 gets to shine at some point or another, and there are some pretty good hooks here with Shinra's quest to discover the secrets of the fire that destroyed his family and the web of conspiracies surrounding the fire force, the empire, Joker, the Evangelist, etc. The goofballs at Company 8 are an endearing bunch. (My only major gripe so far is Tamaki. I wish she would go away, but I know that a catgirl-themed teenage girl who struts around in a bikini isn't going anywhere any time soon.)

As much as I ragged on Demon Slayer recently, I am looking forward to the DS movie and the FF second season later this year. If nothing else, they should be pretty, and I'm a sucker for emotional family moments we get from characters like Tanjiro and Shinra.

For every Fairy Tail or Black Clover or HunterxHunter that disappoints me, there's a Fire Force or Demon Slayer or My Hero Academia to pull me back in. I pissed and moaned about the final Bleach arc while it was running, but I am beyond jazzed to see it animated.

I really am shounen trash at heart.

Picked up the 20th Anniversary edition of The Big O and did a rewatch since I haven't seen it in like forever.

Yep, this is definitely a Chiaki Konaka show with mindscrews galore! I love it though as the show just oozes style from the characters to the mech design and the soundtrack. Knowing the ending ahead of time definitely helps makes sense of what's really going on and you can see all the subtle foreshadowing even in the first couple of episodes.

It does bother me though that the 20th Ani edition replaced the awesome original two OPs with a blander one (presumably to avoid copyright). That really makes me sad.

That is a travesty. Those OPs were amazing.

The only thing I dislike about Big O is that it never got that third season.

[RoydGolden]

Been watching Magi- The Labryinth Of Magic on Netflix lately. It's a pretty fun show. Not every day you see a fantasy anime set in a loosely middle eastern/Arabic-inspired world, instead of another generic European "Dungeons And Dragons with serial numbers filed off" setting. Definitely gives the show a refreshing vibe. Aladdin and Alibaba are likeable leads whose antics bounce off each other well. Morgiana hasn't had as much time in the limelight so far (just finished episode 6 now) but her withdrawn yet sincere personality and struggle over her past as a slave makes her an immediately fascinating character.

One thing that caught me off-guard a little is the show's pronunciation of "Magi". The characters say it as "Mahgi" whereas I've always heard it pronounced "Ma-jee" or "Maj-eye" in the past. I wonder if that's just a case where the writers altered the word to make it more easily spoken in Japanese, or if that's really a legit alternative pronounciation.

[Skull]

That is a travesty. Those OPs were amazing.
The only thing I dislike about Big O is that it never got that third season.

Hmm... I actually don't mind as I like how the show ends open ended and all.

This is the changed OP by the way...


As much as I like a throwback to The Kinks, nothing will beat the original OPs.

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One thing that caught me off-guard a little is the show's pronunciation of "Magi". The characters say it as "Mahgi" whereas I've always heard it pronounced "Ma-jee" or "Maj-eye" in the past. I wonder if that's just a case where the writers altered the word to make it more easily spoken in Japanese, or if that's really a legit alternative pronounciation.

That's not the show's doing, it's the way "Magi" is pronounced in general in Japanese. As for why it's like that...well, I can't be bothered to research but seeing as Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch Christians all made it to Japan before the English did, it would not surprise me if the JPN pronunciation of Magi is of non-English origin or something.

[Laserman]

I started reading the Kimetsu No Yaiba: Demon Slayer manga and I finished the first volume yesterday. The manga art reminds of me sketches rather than completed art and I hope it gets better as I read more. It just looks like that to me compared to the anime which looks amazing in comparison. Just looking at the cover of the first volume, I could kind of tell the art would be like that.

Maybe I didn't realize this, but normal people don't really believe in demons which is just funny to me. How are you not aware of flesh-eating monsters roaming around like that? I also like how the author draws himself as a alligator or a crocodile with glasses too.

[aldeayeah]

One thing that caught me off-guard a little is the show's pronunciation of "Magi". The characters say it as "Mahgi" whereas I've always heard it pronounced "Ma-jee" or "Maj-eye" in the past. I wonder if that's just a case where the writers altered the word to make it more easily spoken in Japanese, or if that's really a legit alternative pronounciation.

Dunno the particulars of how the word got into Japanese, but

"mahgi" (/g/) is Classical Latin pronunctiation (the Gilgamesh-approved original one)
"mahjee" (/dʒ/) is Church Latin pronunctiation (probably the default for religious vocabulary such as this)
"maj-eye" sounds like an ultra-Englishism and I want nothing to do with it

[Solomos]

Finished the last 5 episodes of SAO: Alicization part 1. It was pretty dry all things considered except when the Looney Toons sex offender was on screen. The sheer absurdity of his every word and action made him infinitely more entertaining than Quinella.

I also couldn't help but feel that the entire exchange between Quinella and Cardinal was really fucking stupid full of exposition and redundantly repeating the fact that Quinella is indeed a monster, like she didn't fucking know already.

Also, begs the question as to why Cardinal believed for a moment that Quinella wouldn't just renege on their agreement the moment she was dead? Shit, she's not even fully dead before a new fight begins making it feel pointless. The worst part was that no one seemed to try to think of an alternative beforehand.

[the god of world-0]

Gonna start a Marathon of the Top wo Narae! series (Gunbuster + Diebuster) with my girlfriend. Another step into my longterm plan to turn her into Mecha/Gainax trash like me. So far she liked Gurren Laggan and loved FLCL, but got too weirded out by Eva (she admitted that it's a good show, but couldn't bring herself to enjoy it), so I am hoping this goes good since Diebuster is like, one of my favorites shows of all time and it's ending is most definitely my favorite moment in any anime ever, so I will be pretty sad if she hates it or something.