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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!
The reason why Bubblegum Crash seems so odd is that the two studio entities that worked together on Crisi had split between Crisis and Crash, taking the talent in two directions.
I do remember liking the crisis reboot, 2040. It has been many years since I've seen it, but I do remember it leaving a good impression on me.
I just finished binging the Ossan Adventurer series. It's kind of amazing that anyone is making a "power fantasy" story and still managing to make it worthwhile at this point, but Ossan does is exceedingly well. The humor is surprisingly good most of the time, but the thing that makes it stand out is the positive messaging. In a field awash with chosen one narratives, it's refreshing to see a show where the secret to a character's overwhelming strength is simply that he tries much harder than anyone else does, and his "cheat" ability is triggered by trying to exceed his capabilities.
I also like the character design quite a lot; there's a certain rough quality in them that makes them appealing to me.
No spoilers, just compressed
Bubblegum Crisis and Crash
Bubblegum Crisis is so 80s and so stylish and I'm so here for it. I love clunky cyberpunk. The Iron Man suits are rad, the soundtrack kicks ass, and the dub is surprisingly good. Super impressed with the English music—they hired a band to re-record every song in English (and there's a new one every episode), so it sounds amazing.
Super fun watch, hard to find flaws in it. The only thing I really want is a more developing plot rather than 8 standalone stories. Easy 9/10, easy addition to the rewatch pile.
Speaking of a more developing plot, that's what we get in 1991's Bubblegum Crash. Unfortunately, that's about all we get. The music is still just as good, but everything else is a bit of a downgrade. It seems like they totally forgot that there are human-like boomers already, and that Priss specifically was friends with two of them. Because of the lower production quality and continuity issues, I'm giving it a 7/10. A downgrade from fantastic is still pretty good.
Honestly kinda sad to be done with this already. I really like the Knight Sabers, and I want so much more of them
AD Police Files and Parasite Dolls
Parasite Dolls takes place in the same universe, but is a very different show. Less bubblegum, more bleak. It's interesting to see a darker take on the interactions between humans and boomers, though it veers a bit too far into edgy territory at times. I really liked the animation and English voice acting. I'm gonna give it a 7/10.
AD Police Files was supposed to be a prequel, but being cancelled three episodes in leaves it as unrelated to the main series as Parasite Dolls is. It doesn't have the particularly good animation or voice acting that brought Parasite Dolls up to a 7, and the story leaves a lot to be desired. It's getting a 5/10, and it's only that high because I know it isn't the studio's fault that it never got an ending.
Three wildly different shows, despite ostensibly taking place in the same universe. If you're like me and you feel a need to see every sequel and spinoff when you watch something, there's no need to worry about them here. If you want to see a bunch of chicks in Iron Man suits blowing up robots to sick 80's beats, watch Bubblegum Crisis, and optionally Bubblegum Crash. If you want a gritty police drama with just a hint of Detroit: Become Human, watch Parasite Dolls. I don't recommend AD Police Files, as it was never actually finished, and what we have is kind of a mess.
I won't be watching Protect and Serve or Tokyo 2040, at least for a while. Not interested in reboots.