What have you been watching / reading this month? (Anime/Manga)

I just got back from vacation, and I've been reading the manga version of The Promised Neverland.

I have seen the Anime and the second season was famously disappointing even haven not read the manga, so I figured it would be fun to revisit the source material and see how much better it is. And everything about it has completely blown me away. The art is incredible, and the amount of planning they put into it is impressive because of how much foreshadowing there is. Upon finishing the escape from Grace Field I'm actually impressed at how good of an adaptation the first season of the anime was.

But everything after that point just makes you wonder how it was even possible for that second season to drop the ball so hard. How on earth did they just completely skip Goldy Pond!?

I'm seriously glad that I started reading this manga because it's one of the most exciting and interesting things I've come across. If you saw the anime you really owe it to yourself to pick up the manga because you really are missing out.

Oh shoot, I forgot to post an update after watching the Suzume movie, so here we go.

Firstly I was wrong, it's apparently still playing in US theaters beyond that first week in April.

I do recommend seeing it if you like Shinkai's movies. It's entertaining and has a message that still resonates with me weeks later, but I don't want to oversell it as it's not necessarily my #1 favorite of his movies. Can never stop comparing his films to Your Name.

It's a bit of a departure from my expectations going in. It has a video-gamey feel, emphasizing action and fantasy more than Shinkai's last couple films. A lot of the tidbits they throw in certainly appeal to a younger audience, while still having enough nods to adults, making me think it's a movie that would be perfect for a family with children.

Not much feels really "deep" in this film, aside from the overall theme and message which you surprisingly need to dig a bit to uncover. That was a little bit disappointing to me that they focus so much on action scenes and the main cast running back and forth, but on the other hand, I can see how if they did too much preaching then that would hurt the film's reception and its artistic value.

It could have been me being exposed to enough anime that I thought they'd spend a whole lot of time talking and over-explaining everything. Indeed in some sense it's good they reduced the dialogue and focused on anime's visual strengths. However, the fact that they repeatedly hint and wink at "do you get the point of this story yet?" kind of dampened that aspect, and if they're going to keep up with those winks then the payoff better be amazing.

The ending was alright, very anime, but like I said it did keep me thinking about the movie for a bit after it ended, so I can't complain.

I mentioned on Tildes that I recently finished moving house and downsizing and getting rid of a lot of things. The timing of Suzume was perfect because its message has a lot to do with what I was going through earlier this year. It worked out perfectly that I was able to get the message, but I heard other moviegoers afterward trying to figure out the point of the movie, and they might not have necessarily come to the same conclusions as me.

So, check it out if you're in the mood for some family friendly, video gamey anime. Don't expect to be blown away and do try to appreciate the overall message.

Going to start watching one piece this week :3