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What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga)
What have you been watching and reading this week? 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!
I read Skyhigh and its sequels by Takahashi Tsutomu. It's a collection of stories about the souls of people who were murdered or killed in accidents, who were given the choice to reincarnate, haunt the earth as a spirit, or to kill someone and go to hell forever. While the premise makes it seem like a revenge fantasy series, there is a lot of moments about choosing life and forgiveness. It was quite sentimental and beautiful a lot of the time. The main series and the sequels are all only a volume or two long, so it isn't a particularly long read. I would definitely recommend it to people who like anthology style content.
I read them years ago and can second this suggestion. I remember being surprised at how few went with the revenge or murder routes overall. And of the ones who did... Well, one woman's face before going to hell really stuck in my memory. Gave me chills, she truly looked like a demon.
I just discovered this horror series last night called Ura Baito: Toubou Kinshi, or "Gray Part-Time Jobs: No Escape". A series about two women working a bunch of shady part-time jobs with supernatural dangers. I'm 19 chapters in, and there have been some interesting scenes so far. There aren't always full explanations behind what was going on, which makes them a bit more haunting. There also seems to be some overarching mystery about their pasts.
Just finished Blue Eye Samurai. Really enjoyed it. Actually thought it was better than Onimusha.
These are Netflix shows, right? Without spoiling too much, what do you think Blue Eye Samurai does well to make it stand out? Is the action really good, are there well written characters, interesting plot twists?
I ask because I'd heard of Onimusha from the old video game, and was thinking of watching it, but I'm not exactly familiar with either one.
BES has a good story line that has some historical backing about foreign influence in feudal Japan. It builds the world well and sets a realistic environment that compliments the protagonist's story arc. The protagonist's arc is somewhat dark, but there are small flares of levity that act as a pressure relief valve to the darkness. There are some interesting inclusivity themes that are organically worked into the plot as well which is a rarity. Most inclusivity is ham fisted into most anime these days so this feels more natural. The animation is good as well. I think it's kind of a mid point between Arcane and more obvious CGI anime.
Both Onimusha and BES are great IMHO. The time investment for both is a standard single season anime so it's not that bad. I recommend both.
I'm catching up on SPY x FAMILY season 2 and it's getting exciting! I can't believe they put "shit" in the subtitles, I thought this was a kid-friendly show! What is the world coming to! I appreciate the focus on the Yor side of things which were lacking in season 1.
Bocchi the Rock is so funny and cute. Social anxiety girl is so likable, and I think this show can definitely be recommended to people without any reservations, in other words no fanservice. I'm pretty sure the manga author and anime lead writer are women, if that's an indicator of anything. The voice actresses did a real good job on this one, bringing out the characters' personalities and making them feel quirky, non-generic. I like it!
I've been rewatching Attack on Titan. Felt like the right time after the end finally came out to get the full view of all the foreshadowing and what led things to where they ended up.
Just finished watching Vinland Saga. I've been reading the manga for a while, so when I saw it was available to watch already knew I liked the story and wanted to see how the animation would be handled.
Despite a studio change between S1 and S2, enjoyed watching both. I'll be very interested to see how they handle the current manga plot/characters when they get to it, but don't think that'll be until S4. So quite a few years away yet.