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What have you been watching / reading this month? (Anime/Manga)
What have you been watching and reading this month? You don't need to give us a whole essay if you don't want to, but please write something! Feel free to talk about something you saw that was cool, something that was bad, ask for recommendations, or anything else you can think of.
If you want to, feel free to find the thing you're talking about and link to its pages on Anilist, MAL, or any other database you use!
A Silent Voice is leaving Netflix US in just a few days, so I highly recommend watching this movie. I watched for the first time this week. A well done coming-of-age drama by Kyoto Animation, it got "realer" than I expected in some ways, and I was close to tearing up a few times. The beginning deals with bullying and the rest of the movie is about the bully and victim's rocky relationship as it evolves in a positive way. Not sure how realistic the scenario is, but it definitely touched some emotional nerves for me throughout.
Oh no, thanks for the prompt that it's leaving! Time to resume my search for a Blu-ray copy - it was surprisingly elusive when I last looked. When I watched it I actually felt a bit lost for a few days afterwards because I just didn't know how I was going to find something that would match up to it, and I was still processing all of the emotions it put me through. Absolute stunner of a movie.
I've been watching I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World, Too. It's trash, but it's fascinating trash. The production is kind of all over the place. the framing is all far too close with really detailed characters that usually look pretty well done but aren't terribly well animated. The plot is incredibly pandering and unrealistic even within the rules of it's own universe, but unique enough to keep you interested. Honestly the pandering is so extreme that it's probably the most interesting thing about it; the main character literally goes from an obese living target for bullying to a male model in the course of the first few episodes.
At first I was appreciating that it wasn't fill of cheesecake/fanservice, but in the last couple of episodes a female character is basically sexually assaulted twice by a 'friend' who is totally justkiddingguysitsreallynothingbadiswear and all the other witnesses basically just shrug it off. It's honestly super disappointing.
Also started watching the original Mobile Suit Gundam. For an anime of this time period the plot is surprisingly good. The animation is certainly a product of it's time but it's still better than it's contemporaries most of the time. I'm honestly kind of surprised (especially given they made Origin) that Bandai/Sunrise hasn't made a flat-out remake series at this point. There's two generations of people who would not have seen the original; it seems like a decent way to make money. But at the same time I wouldn't want them to take away from the newer projects.
Hell yeah. The animation is definitely really dated, but it's still a really really solid series, IMO. It's considered a classic for good reason.
BTW, the sequel, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, is also really good too (some say better than the original). So if you want to keep exploring the Gundam universe, that's definitely worth watching next. But if you want something a bit more modern (and darker in tone), MSG:Iron-Blooded Orphans is also really good too, IMO.
Yeah I absolutely loved Mobile Suit Gundam despite the animation. I think if you grant it charity based off of when it's made, it's a pretty good story, especially the way they depict how war impacts people. The one thing that I think it falls a little short on is that it still seems to glorify the violence in some ways, particularly the excitement that Amaro shows. I get that he is fighting for his life and is relieved to survive and do well, but there are so many parts where he gets very excited and it's shown as so cool that he can just wipe out so many other people.
A small critique overall, and I think it does a better job highlighting the realities behind war than most other mech shows. Definitely worth the watch, and I want to watch Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam at some point.
I started watching Orphans, but at the same time I started was when there was an absolute glut of really incredible shows coming out. I'll get back to it eventually; it's worth watching just for getting to listen to the ending theme after every episode.
Oh gawd what trash it is... I was watching the last episode after my wife fell asleep on the couch and OF COURSE she wakes up at the exact moment the one girl started fondling the other during the soccer match to create a distraction.
Anime:
Tengoku Daimakyou (Heavenly Delusion) - A boy, Maru, and his bodyguard, Kiruko, are trying to find a place called "Heaven", set in a post apocalyptic Japan where there are weird man-eating monsters. Also follows gifted children inside what appears to be "Heaven" one of the characters looks exactly like Maru (presumably this is his sister). This is an awesome show with a lot of twists and mysteries from episode to episode that doesn't feel forced, it is my favourite of this anime season.
Oshi No Ko - Oh boy this is a weird one, first episode is a 90 minute feature where an Idol is pregnant and gives birth to twins, whom are reincarnated people with memories of their former life. Don't wanna give anything away but if you don't watch the entire series I'd suggest just watching the first episode, it is great.
Hell's Paradise - Shonen action anime. Group of criminals and their executioners sent to magical island filled with gods and monsters to find the mcguffin of immortality. But it still feels fresh and is a lot of fun. Made by Yuji Kaku, the former assistant of Tatsuki Fujimoto of Chainsaw Man fame.
Dr. Stone - Late to the game with this one as it came out in 2019. Everyone one earth was turned into stone, the scientific , somewhat megalomaniac, genius is revived and sets on restoring humanity and speed run civilization. It's goofy and a lot of fun
Kubo won't let me be invisible - Wholesome and cute High School RomCom. Boy that is basically invisible to to everyone except the cutest girl in school. I dig the art style and the vibes. The awkward moments are made goofy with the facial expressions rather than trying to make you feel the cringe of the MC and I like that. Did not love the older adult sister drunkenly hitting on the MC, but seems par for the course in Anime.
I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World, Too. - As mentioned above, absolute garbage but I love it.
Manga:
Mieruko-chan - girl is able to see ghosts, does her best to not let on she can see them lest they attack her. The anime was super disappointing as they really leaned into the ecchi scenes which just didn't go well with the scared teenager vibe, the manga is much better and a lot scarier.
Dandadan - Boy believes sci-fi aliens, girl believes in the occult, they fight over which is real, turns out it is both. Boy is possessed by dick robbing granny ghost. Lots of fun
Komi - still working through all the volumes, bought the first 15 after I watched the series with with my wife as we both want to know how it goes.
A Story About Smoking at the Back of the Supermarket - Mostly wholesome slice of life that isn't set in high school for once. A salary man befriends a supermarket employee and they share cigarettes behind the supermarket he doesn't realize the sarcastic laid back woman is also the peppy upbeat woman he goes to the market to see just to give himself some brightness at the end of the work day. Though the age differential is riding the line it manages it without being too creepy (it helps they are both adults, and not just barely/technically legal).
Chainsaw man - This new arc is starting to get wild, after the conclusion of the control devil arc, it kind of switched gears from shonen action to high school romcom, but the pace is now picking up. At the same times it kind of feels like Fujimoto is trying to recapture the lightning in the bottle, we'll see if he can stick the landing.
Love Agency - from the creator of kaguya-sama: love is war. About a girl that appears outgoing but absolutely cannot talk to boys and a boy that wants to get with her. They both use an agency to help them achieve their goals. The agents, while coworkers, hate each other but don't know yet they are helping their clients on either side, I think it's going to devolve into a fight but it's only a few chapters in so far and I dunno about it.. Will give it a few more chapters before I drop it.
Don't Toy with Me Nagatoro - Man this was a rough start but it's quickly evolved into a super wholesome romcom, it feels like they are nearing the end and I'm invested. But I swear if they do a reset I'm dropping it.
This sounds interesting. I've been hearing the theme song pop up on Spotify ("Idol" by Yoasobi) and might watch in large part because of the catchy song. I generally like Yoasobi's songs and this one is kind of in the style of Hatsune Miku which is a bit different.
Edit: Okay the English version of "Idol" popped up on my Spotify; didn't know that existed. Sorry to say I don't particularly like Yoasobi's English versions of their songs—the lyrics are kind of sloppy and the performance isn't great when the vocalist stumbles over pronunciation. Same issue with "Monster" / kaibutsu. Maybe I'm harsh.
I really like the original song, never heard it in English, but I feel like there are very few songs that can survive a language translation.
Astra Lost In Space
Just watched this series completely and it was a really good. I liked how a few mysteries were presented at the beginning of the anime and they were fully explained in the end. All the characters were great and they grew over the duration of the anime as well.
Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato
I am currently watching this.
I couldn't really get in to watching the older Space Battleship Yamato anime since I had issues with "suspension of disbelief" where I couldn't see how the setting made any sort of science fiction sense. A few episodes in and I couldn't really do any more of that series.
The Star Blazers anime is far newer and seems to be a remake and I find it to be a far better anime. I'm about 8 episodes in the first season and I want see what comes next. This show has a stylized naval approach to space travel which makes reasonable sense and my "suspension of disbelief" is intact. I think this show will work out and I will be able to complete it.
Well, for manga readers, I guess I can take the opportunity to plug a fan translation that I'm working on. The series is Alice-san chi no Iroribata and I've been the translator since Chapter 10. Cozy setting, cozy artwork, nice romance without a whole lot of drama. I don't know about linking right to fan translations so I'll assume that you know how to find it if you read those.
Alice-san chi no Iroribata sounds like a nice manga. Neat to have the fan translator here. The review on that page sells it pretty well:
This week, went through a comfy slice of life binge (mostly catching up on series I haven't read in a while). Here are the standouts:
Blue Box
A high school sports romance manga about a badminton player and volleyball girl cheering each other on as they motivate each other to strive higher in their respective sport as they navigate their growing feelings with each other.
Now I was an early reader of this, having kept up weekly since release until around the
Spoilers
whole school festival arc, since at that point I wasn't really feeling the whole tension between Hina and Taiki when it was fairly clear that Chinatsu was Taiki's choice all along (even if he did feel somethings).But binging it now makes it much smoother, and all the small cute/wholesome/encouraging moments that Chinatsu and Taiki share really make the series shine for me. It really brings out that youthful love kind of feeling, and all the tension is worth it, with the mangaka taking special care to make sure that some feeling of progress is made in their relationship without going too fast. It is a real slow burner, which might not be to people's tastes but binging it definitely lessens the frustration that the slow burns create.
Skip x Loafer
This manga is about a country bumpkin highschooler going to high school in the city, meeting all sorts of people in the city and making the most out of her time in high school. (wow I am terrible with plot synopses but take my word for it).
I found this manga about a year or two ago and fell in love with it right away, with the realistic character dynamics, the earnestness of the main character Mitsumi and general comfy vibe making it a lovely thing to read. Not to mention the art feels fresh: being cute, simple and comfy. I ended up rereading it this week due to realizing its anime adaptation was already out and seeing the OP and ed.
I'm just coming up on the end of my rewatch of Fruits Basket, which spent far too long on my to-watch list. I only managed to wait a week after finishing my first watch through before starting again, it's been great catching little hints of foreshadowing but also honestly I just wasn't ready to leave the characters behind yet. I can see myself watching it reading this again and again.
Two of the newer manga I'm reading are:
Ichinose Family's Deadly Sins, which is very very engaging and managing to pull off the 'wait what' plot twists without them seeming gratuitous, the very basic summary is that a whole family has amnesia after a car accident, and they have to figure out who they were before the accident happened. It is...a lot more than that! The art style was a little odd to me at first as I've not read anything from this mangaka before, but it grew on me very quickly and is actually quite refreshing in its difference.
The other is Cypher Academy, our main character is the only boy at a code breaking/intelligence agency high school but it's not got any harem themes at all which was a worry for me going in. Some of the earlier chapters were very heavy on word and alphabet based puzzles, which is a massive brain strain when you consider they're translated from Japanese so also have to include an explanation for how the puzzles work, however you don't actually have to solve the puzzles yourself and after the first bundle of character establishment chapters the plot really gets going and is very enjoyable.
Both of these series are very new to Weekly Shonen Jump so there's an underlying worry that they'll fall victim to an early axe, however IchiFam at least seems popular enough to be safe, and Cypher is more popular than a couple of the other new series so hopefully they'll both stick around.
Fruits Basket was quite a surprise! I did not expect to like it as much as I did, and I really appreciated the way it approached trauma and how people can heal from it.
Kaiju No. 8
Started reading this series not too long ago, and something about its art and characters draw me to it. From what I've read so far, it has many elements of shonen manga, but I find its humor refreshing and I think this series has potential.
Kingdom
This series has been my bedrock for the past couple months (along with One Piece of course). The series is set in Ancient China in the Warring States Era, and I'm a sucker for historical stories. I love Yasuhisa Hara's art style and characters. The actions and grandeur of his characters remind me of Baki.
Kaiji
Just finished watching this. The series revolves around Kaiji who resorts to high-stakes gambling to climb out of debt. I frankly love how crazy the plot gets, and I think it's a must watch/read if you're a fan of Akagi and/or Kakegurui.
I was surprised with a new Made in Abyss chapter that is just beautiful.
Just watched Chainsawman, I really liked it.
I've been rewatching the Disastrous Life of Saiki K. and now that's I've finished it, I'm reading the manga for the first time. It's my absolute favorite anime and I frequently revisit it whenever I realize I've gone a while without watching it.
This is one of the few animes I prefer the dub over the sub, the English VAs deadpan delivery is so perfect for Saiki.
YES! I was so sad to learn the second season didn't have an english dub.
Oh man, I tried to watch the dub for a while with my husband but I found the voices to be really annoying. It's not that the voices or even the voice direction is bad, but the jokes are timed for the understanding of the Japanese language, and changing it to English makes it not work quite as well.
That show is really funny; the only problem is that there are a lot of jokes that go over your head if you're not really familliar with Japanese ideosyncracies and wordplay. The guys who localized it did a pretty good job at 'translating' them, but it's still not quite right.
If you haven't tried it before, coffee jelly really is that good.
I usually watch the first episode of any new anime in both the sub and dub and go from there. I get I'm likely missing a few jokes here and there that are lost in translation but also I feel like you also miss some stuff as a non-native speaker trying to read the subtitles and missing/not knowing vocal clues, especially with how fast the dialogue can come at you in that series.
Kaoru Hana wa Rin to Saku (The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity)
It's a really wholesome romcom manga I've just started reading. It's about a guy from the bad school and a girl from the good school and the relationship they start to form despite the challenges of their positions. Both the schools happen to be physically right next to each other and there is an some sort of blood fude between the schools, as they absolutely hate each other. Naturally, it creates a lot of challenges for the two of them just even being near each other.
Only about 16 chapters in and am really enjoying it so far. The art is nice and the story is enjoyable to follow along. I recommend it to anyone wanting a good romance manga!
I just finished Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day. I've been searching for more short form series that have a very well though-out story with an end close in sight, and this one was great. It's also one of the few animes that made me cry in a while. I think next on my list is the Ghost in the Shell series.
Anohana is next on my list, I'm glad to see a positive review! If you haven't watched them already, Erased is an excellent short series, as is Violet Evergarden. Violet also has a couple of movies and OVAs, they're canon but not plot-essential so are a nice bonus but not crucial to the main series.
Thanks for the recommendations! I just started Code Geass last night but I will pick up those two next.
Kanata no Astra is a pretty good short anime. One cour and complete. One or two episodes are longer than 24 minutes, if I recall correctly cause it's been a while, but the rest are regular length.
I also love ReLife, which is also one cour, but it also has 4 OVAs that end the story. Smantie's suggestion of Erased is also good. Won't comment on their other recommendation, cause I haven't seen Violet Evergarden.
I started reading Hajime no Ippo since it’s been published for so long. The first chapters flew by and I quickly found myself rooting for Ippo to become more confident!
But after a couple of boxing matches I found it to get formulaic, and I’ve put it down. I can 100% see why it’s best digested as a weekly.
Huh, it's funny you say that because when I binged it I loved it. It definitely has a low-point in the writing where it feels like each opponent starts getting more and more unrealistic with gimmicks, but it does pick back up. I know the current arc has divided readers, but I think it's the best the series has been in years.
If we speak about this season then I'm watching…
Kimi wa Houkago Insomnia. I've even read the manga which I like very much: good chemistry and some realistic, sometimes very stanning pictures. For compare, I didn't feel this during reading Skip & Loafer which, I may notice, have a cute anime opening. Anime adaptation is fine too.
Yuusha ga Shinda! It's anime of fetishes, especially tights. A catchy opening is included.
Mahou Shoujo Magical Destroyers. It's anime of otakus.
Tengoku Daimakyou. The best anime in this season for me. If not the last episode where style suddenly changes… because, as I get, of one director. So I hope, it's only one episode. Anyway, it's still good.
Oshi no Ko.
Also animes with new seasons:
Vinland Saga, which also is the best.
Dr. Stone
Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Bakuen o!
Ousama Ranking, it more like OVA compilation season.
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Katanakaji no Sato Hen which is more shōnen which is I don't like so much as previous season.
I actually just finished watching Dragon Ball Z Kai last week. I've watching a decent amount of anime series, but I realized that honestly my only exposure to Dragon Ball was whatever episode came on TV when I was a child. So after finishing up Dragon Ball in January, I decided to watch all of Kai. I'll move on to Dragon Ball Super next (using the movies to replace the first several episodes as I see recommended frequently).
The thing that surprised me most about both Dragon Ball and Z/Kai was how actually decent they were. Besides the occasional miss, the comedy in both series was pretty good. The fights (especially before the last part of Dragon Ball) were actually interesting. The designs tended to be good. Additionally, watching Dragon Ball after only being exposed to random Z episodes made me appreciate Z/Kai so much more.
Other than currently airing shows, I just finished Record of Grancrest War. The first half felt incredibly rushed and I had trouble keeping up with what was going on, but I felt the second half slowed things down enough and I enjoyed it.
I'm about to start The Future Diary, I'm excited to give it a shot.
Also, I'm very new here so I'm not sure if it's something that would be accepted on this site, but would anyone be interested in maybe doing a community watch of a relatively short, completed show? Could be a fun way to get some more discussion and interactions going.
So far, this month I haven't seen much anime cause I've been getting more into manga compared to the past. I'm theoretically watching the following seasonal anime, but I'm not up to date with any: Vinland Saga Season 2, Oshi no Ko, Witch from Mercury, Skip to Loafer, My Clueless First Friend, Insomniacs After School, Pokemon Horizons and Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisible. There's also Jigokuraku and Tengoku Daimakyou, but I've only seen 1 episode of each of those two, so not sure if I'll be continuing them.
Now manga, however, this is where it goes past theoretically, as I'm actually reading.
Manga I've completed in June (as of the 6th):
I Had The Same Dream Again
Really short (12 chapters) but amazing manga. I don't want to spoil the story, and since it's so short, there's not a lot for me to say without... well, spoiling. I gave it a 9.5.
O/A
Decent manga about an idol that's also working at a radio. It's fun and I enjoyed reading it but I wouldn't say it's a favorite of mine. I gave it a 6.5, which is still an alright score with how I consider them.
Currently reading:
Liar Game:
After reading about 20-30 chapters years ago, I decided to pick it back up from the beginning. Currently 14 chapters in.
House of the Sun:
Probabily my favorite of the three I'm currently reading, at least for now. Love the characters in this one. 24 chapters in.
Sometimes Even Reality is a Lie
Hilarious manga, but the chapters are unfortunately short. There's like 160 of them and it's stil releasing, but one chapter tends to be about 4-5 pages long.
This is all for now. I guess I'll be updating this as a reply to myself once enough changes take place (finishing and/or starting new stuff). Of course, I'll go over to the July post when the time comes, but it's still early June, so this comment will essentially be outdated in a couple weeks.
Lately have been reading Solo Leveling. I do like it so far! It is beautifully drawn and the whole power fantasy is pretty sick haha. Nothing seems to have gone wrong for Jinwoo so far (on Volume 4).
Have been catching up on Demon Slayer within the past week and am on the Swordsmith Village arc (Episode 3). I have been loving it so far, it is a beautifully crafted show that is a treat to watch.
@asterisk, @DrStone and @SleepyGary
You guys looking forward to tomorrow's episode of Dr Stone? : ) Are you manga readers or anime only? Treasure Island is my favourite arc and I'm very excited about tomorrow.
Anime-only here. I’m still a bit behind, so I’m not specifically excited for a new episode release. Having a kid last year cut my ability to watch new anime episodes immediately for a bunch of series down to a few episodes here and there with an increasing backlog. The little one somehow doesn’t understand the importance!
Haha no worries, your kiddo will learn to love anime eventually :D mine really loved Guru Guru Magic Circle, and this year we're watching Dr Stone together. I make it clear it's "science themed", not scientific 😂
Haha, yeah. My friend was able to get his kid into it as he grew up. I’m keeping a mental list of the more (semi-)educational but still fun shows like Yuru Camp (outdoorsmanship), Yakitate!! Japan (baking… and less raunchy than Shokugeki), Cells at Work (human body and immune system), and of course Dr Stone (science and technology progress, abridged).
Oh man I do wished cells at work was an option for us. Not yet lol it's uh, "there's a lot of ketchup" as we say here. Regular human sexuality is less of a problem for us than scary (albeit idiotic) monsters slaughtered in tons of red by smiling macrophages :) but soon. We're getting there.
Yuri camp is amazing! Haven't seen yakitate yet, thank you for mentioning!
Some of our favorites: Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken (the appreciation and creation of animation) - Totoro and Wolf Children (rural living and elders appreciation) - Haikyuu! (Volleyball and the spirit of cooperation and perseverance)
Yakitate!! Ja-Pan has some very child-friendly humour, but at the same time there's going to be a whole lot of references that they will probably not get (like the time they ripped off Detective Conan, for instance).
I'm anime only in this case. Do I wait the episode? If there'll no problem with internet then, of course, yes; because of current provider's problem I write from mobile internet now, :P.
I'm only on the first season so far, trying to catch up ;)
I haven't read the manga yet but I imagine it's a riot with the various facial expressions it uses.
Spy X Family. Yes, I'm late lol.
I've long awaited my opportunity to shine in the anime community for my extensive ability to binge tons of shows, but weirdly enough, I just haven't had a ton of stuff I've been wanting to watch every week recently. For the current season, I'm only sticking with a handful so far:
I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World - this is definitely anime junk food. It's silly in pretty much any regard, but I've enjoyed having a hostess cupcake or two in my time, so I'm no stranger to enjoying a little of the junk.
Konosuba: an Explosion on this Wonderful World - I just think Megumin is really cute, alright?
The Cafe Terrace and Its Goddesses - this isn't really good or anything, I just really feel like watching something by Fridays and this airs on Friday. It's like a less interesting Quintessential Quintuplets.
Hell's Paradise - this is pretty neat and it definitely has held my attention. The opening is cool as hell to begin with, but it's also just bombastic and crazy. Definitely a good watch.
A Galaxy Next Door - there's always gotta be a heartwarming romance anime in the mix and this one definitely meets the brief. It's just wholesome and pleasant to watch.
The Aristocrat's Otherwordly Adventure - dumpster trash anime but I can't stop watching it and I don't know why
Demon Slayer: Swordsmith Village Arc - this wasn't necessarily my favorite arc in the manga, but holy shit if it isn't amazing to watch in the anime. I consistently enjoy this anime every season it comes, and I have yet to be disappointed.
Outside of all of this, I'm looking for something fun to watch that just fills some time for me, but more than anything I think I'm just looking forward to season 2 of Eminence in Shadow, because that was a sleeper hit for me.
On parental leave right now so I don't have lots of time for myself, but I've been watching Skip and Loafer. Kinda started watching it just for the catchy and beautifully animated opening, but it's just so wholesome.
Jujutsu Kaisen has been building up to an impressive final arc fight lately. It's great to see the series getting back on track after some convoluted plotlines in the past year of its run.
I've been reading these series for YEARS:
One Piece
HunterXHunter (always on hiatus)
Hajime No Ippo
I could not recommend these any higher, especially one piece. It's been boggling my mind since I was ~20 and I'm still in love with the manga and anime at 37.