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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'm currently rewatching Gurren Lagann (for the 20+ time) in anticipation for the redubbed movie release in January.
It really is, to me, the epitome of a shonen mecha anime that doesn't have a ruleset. Pretty much every obstacle is overcome with the power of friendship and emotional willpower, in a spectacularly animated fashion.
The show for all its zaniness and presentation has a certain maturity to it, and a message that really resonates with people who have struggled with difficult mental health times in their life. It also does a lot of little connections you may miss the first watch through.
Episode 4 sucks though.
EP 4 is when they
It's probably one of the biggest losses of his life.....until Nia.
It's a very hot blooded young person's show, but it's very very mature in how it deals with nihilism vs hope. My all time favorite for sure. Roh Roh Fight Dan Powah.
No, episode 4. The art style is awful because of the guest director they had. The final fight is pretty lame. They reuse animations. The whole plot with hunger is just...weird.
The only two reasons I don't skip the episode is
the introduction of the black siblings and Simon and Kamina learning how to combine.
Ahhhh got it! Not that it's emotionally hard to watch but just not your cup of tea stylistically. Got it got it
:) such a magnificent series though, can be forgiven.
As usual, no spoilers, just compressing text.
Witch Hunter Robin
This will come as no surprise to anyone who's seen my other comments in these scheduled threads. I'm giving Witch Hunter Robin a 10/10. A couple weeks ago, I guessed that this would be the first show I watched in a while that I didn't have strong feelings about, and I was super duper wrong! I actually absolutely adore the show.
There's something I find so cool about the "fight" scenes involving witches. Like, they're largely just standing there staring at each other, but the camera work and effects make it look fantastic.
That, and the aesthetic. The show has as strong a sense of its own aesthetic and vibe as the first season of Last Exile. It's such a nice show to look at, even at 720p in 4:3 aspect. The sound design and visuals work together to set an atmosphere that on the surface looks drab, but is actually dripping with character.
It's going on my rapidly growing rewatch pile. I need to find something mid to watch soon, like a saltine at a wine tasting.
Noir
Just like Witch Hunter Robin, an early 2000's anime that I have no memory of adding to my list, which the dice landed on after I finished the last show. I'm only two episodes in, and I already know this ain't the saltine I was looking for. I can't speak to the story as I have no idea what's actually going on yet, but it's definitely not going to bore me. I assume it's going to be a 9/10, as I'll be singing many of the same praises I sang about WHR but not quite as well executed.
Six episodes in, I already love the show. Early 2000's was the peak of anime voice acting. The accents! And I really like the slow pace. Modern animes so rarely take their time. This show is up there with Mushishi in the ratio of silence to speech. I love it. Just watched an entire minute pass by while a character silently decided whether they were going to shoot someone.
Blue Eye Samurai
One of my cousins put the first episode of Blue Eye Samurai on at our Christmas get-together. The first few minutes of the show look incredibly promising. I would say the pacing seems on par with Mushishi. The show makes perfect use of every frame. We did not finish the first episode, though, as we scrambled to switch it to Kung Fu Panda as soon as there was nudity on the screen. Still, it's probably going to be the next anime I watch.
Whether it's technically anime is debatable, because it is French 3DCG, but that's a prescriptivist argument, and I don't associate with prescriptivists. This is as much anime as Code Lyoko or Wakfu were.
Just finished The 100 Girlfriends That Really Really Really REALLY Love Me and it overall super happy with the series and glad to hear it was renewed for a second season. I don't know how they are going to keep the quality up because at the pace they are going they will need 15+ seasons to get through all the girlfriends. But that said I really appreciate the fact they gave each character enough time to have their development beyond their obvious tropes. The show was very witty and wholesome given the premise as an ecchi harem parody. I genuinely laughed out loud at least once an episode.
Also finished The Eminence in The Shadows which finished just as strong as season 1 imo, great series and looking forward to more.
Cannot wait to get home from vacation so my wife and I can catch up on/finish Frieren, Spy x Family and The Apothecary Diaries
Just wanna say I'm super stoked to hear that Chainsaw Man movie for the Reze arc has been confirmed, I figured they'd go movie route on that as it has fewer volumes than the other two main arcs. I hope it's not a signal we won't get a season to complete the Gun Devil arc
Frieren.
What a feast. What a grand treat to be alive when a series of this quality is being made. Both and anime and the manga
Manga fans, we got to see a beautiful dream didn't we? Oh boy.
Probably the best slow burn love series I've ever encountered. Extremely slow burn ❤️🔥
Just finished my rewatch of fate:unlimited blade works. Honestly it was pretty good, especially when knowing the plot twists that were coming and foreshadowed by other routes.
Other than that I’m up to date on Freiren (which is awesome) and catching up on tearmoon (which is also awesome for different reasons)