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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've watched further into Scrapped Princess.
This series is escalating quickly as of episode 15. Pacifica and the siblings get into more fights than I expected would be possible for people being hunted. I thought this was going to be a long trek on foot to another country, but as soon as we as much as see the next country, we just leave. It was disappointing.
Spoilers!
First: Is the sci-fi nature of the setting meant to be a mystery? The first shot of the TV series is already a give away IMO. Maybe it was a mystery for a while in the light novel.Second: So the Scrapped Princess is a plan for human liberation from a controlled world. What's weird is the only thing the ancients could help the imprisoned with was the right genetic stock. If only more people than one were to be immune to pacifier control. Also I imagine since the pacifiers were created by humans they would allow this genetic stock a power that exploited a vulnerability of theirs or something.
Third: I bet the explanations from everyone in the know sound like technobabble to our main characters, but they never question the specif content of their explanations very much.
I also rewatched the first episode of Log Horizon yesterday. The English dub is great, and Naotsugu's dudebro voice is so perfect.
Hate to hear it disappointed you! I was curious so I read your spoiler.
spoilers!
Would've really thought this a fantasy setting! Is it generally fantasy with some hints at a great sci-fi world?I'm kinda curious now lol, might give it a try for curiosity's sake. Are you gonna finish it?
Yes. I was disappointed with some points in the show, but I enjoy watching it and I like most of the characters. Actually I like them all at least some. It's a good series.
One series that never really clicked with me in the past was Gundam. I think a lot of it was simply I didn't have the experience to really understand it. I've decided to change that am now going through the entirety of the Universal Century (UC) timeline. I just finished all 43 episodes of the original 1979 Mobile Suit Gundam (MSG). From an animation standpoint it's pretty rough, sure the pacing is a bit weird, but damn if the feels don't hit hard.
Once I finally understood what the show was trying to say it really clicked with me. Even today, most media dealing with war will glorify it to no end. Gundam show does its best to drive home the costs of war on not only the cast, but all around them.
I've just begun watching the sequel series, 1985's Zeta Gundam. Man, the visuals got a huge upgrade, animation fluidity is astounding in comparison, and the grating sounds coming from the characters mouths has improved dramatically. I'm currently 8 episodes in but I have some thoughts...
Spoilers and Commentary!
Man, are the first few episodes rough though. Kamille Bidan is just one of the most insufferable characters I've ever met. He comes across as such an unlikable prick, seemingly making stupid decision after stupid decision. There's not much to root for. Then, the Titans start to show themselves as the villains and you almost have to like Kamille in comparison.I've made a small detour in the meantime though and have decided to watch some of the titles in the chronological timeline (the original show takes place in the year 0079 UC, while Zeta Gundam is 0087). Specifically, I've started watching Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team.
I've yet to complete the first episode but I'm already interested to see how they fit this into the timeline. As an aside, it's neat to see a Ball realized in a more modern style than was depicted in the original show!
I'll probably complete the remaining OVAs that fall between chronologically between MSG and Zeta Gundam before continuing on again. I really like seeing the in-universe progress.
Zeta gundam is rough. Like, really rough. It doesn't know what kind of show it really wants to be so it spends it's time being as edgy as possible and in the process it abuses every character in borderline nonsensical ways just so the show can say "Look how awful they have it!" My wife and I watched it last year in our quest to get through gundam stuff and it kinda stalled after Zeta because in modern eyes it's quite problematic. Maybe we can get to ZZ gundam soon?
That being said, I highly recommend "Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin" as it covers Char and why he is the way he is. He's a magnificent bastard, but also this prequel makes him an incredibly compelling character while also giving Sayla great screentime as well. (BTW, "Advent of the Red Comet" is the same thing, but cut up into 30min episodes to fit on TV which kinda messes with the pacing. Go for the one with 6 episodes and enjoy the show)
Others that are great are Witch from Mercury, a completely standalone title, and GQuuuuX, which I would watch a bit more UC to fully appreciate it, as it's an alternate timeline story to what you're currently watching now that asks what would happen if Char just stole the Gundam and captured White Base in Episode 1 of 0079
Although watching the main UC TV series is kind of unavoidable to get the context for the franchise, I always felt like the original Mobile Suit Gundam was the only one that still holds up. Z and ZZ do have some interesting parts, but they could be half the length and lose nothing of value.
If the UC setting appeals to you, there's a lot to check out! In addition to The Origin (great companion piece to the original series) and 08th MS Team, I also like:
Just finished the second season of Link Click. Which was pretty good. One thing I like about this show, particularly this season, is that it's not afraid to show some uncomfortable scenes. Part of the story arc involves domestic abuse. And it does not hold back. It almost feels like it shows it too much, but I think the point is so that the viewer feels the main characters' emotions, too. So that the viewer is just as mad and angry and disgusted and wanting to do something to stop said abuse as the main characters are.
The ending is a bit bittersweet, but there is a slight tie to the prequel season, "Bridon Arc." Which I mistakenly watched before S1 and S2. Anyway, I think S3 comes out later this year sometime.
I'm also watching Gnosia, which is an ongoing show. And since it's ongoing, I'll kinda be vague. Anyway, the latest episode (ep. 16) had me staring at my TV, jaw dropped, though with an eyebrow raised. Not because it was bad, but just because it was totally unexpected. I never played the game; didn't even know it was based on a game until someone here said so. So I went in blind to this show. Regardless, the latest episode was a bit of a mindfuck. I'm really not sure I understand what was revealed and who or what is supposedly controlling poor Yuri (the MC). Hopefully the next episode this weekend gives more info.
My confusion aside, I do think the latest episode was visually well-done. I think it did capture the spirit and emotions of what Yuri was experiencing and feeling.
I finally got my copy of Veil Volume 1 - Temperature of Orange. It's been on back-order forever so I was thrilled when it came. It's such a beautiful book. The combined covers of volumes 1 & 2 make a beautiful piece of work. It's a romance manga that seems to focus on the smaller and more intimate moments of relationships. Some of my favorite pages just send my heart into a flutter, and I love it for that.
Also started "A Sign of Affection" which I'm only a couple chapters into, but it's very lovely as well. The protagonist is a very charming deaf girl who finds herself in a budding relationship with a boy that knows sign language. ( I think I'm remembering that correctly, it's been a couple weeks so I might reread the chapters lol)
I also bought but haven't started "Stop!! Hibari-kun!". I bought it from an independent publisher called peow.studio that I just recently became aware of. I ended up on their front page and fell in love immediately. Just a beautiful website. A lot of care went into the individual pages for each item they sell, and those items also all look incredible. I wanted to support them asap and it just so happened that they were putting out their first manga, 80s classic "Stop!! Hibari-kun!". I've already got it in the mail and it's a great quality print with a wonderful cover. I've not started it, but I'm know the premise and that many consider it a classic. I love gender non-conforming characters so I'm hopeful she's treated with respect and the book is a good time.
As far as anime, I'm watching 90s Sailor Moon's last season! My first time through the series over the past year, and I've had the best time. I usually watch anime subbed but decided to watch the dub this time, and I'm so glad I did!! I love the English voice cast. They give each of the guardians so much personality which just makes the show what it is. Once I finish the 90s anime, I'm going to read through the manga, including the Sailor V manga which I'm excited for. After I finish those, I'll watch the newer anime adaptations!
And das kinda it for now
Veil is pretty great. I sometimes feel like the written dialog is a little weird, so I don't really love the poetry/short story segments, but the "physical acting" segments really are phenomenal. Great use of color too. I hate the male MC's rat tail, but it's such a small detail that it's easy to ignore.
omg i hadn't noticed the rat tail, but i will 100% hate it too when i see it lol
have you been reading anything particular lately?
Mainly been reading the two new serials from Ōtake Masao who did Hinamatsuri, which I thought was quite good but ran for about 5 volumes longer than it needed to and really dragged towards the finale.
J⇔M
Comedy about a self-styled hard boiled hitman who is forced to take in a runaway girl after they switch bodies.
If you're picturing Leon the Professional, it's really nothing like that. Despite being by turns violent and heartwarming, the tone is always comedy first and foremost, with lots of dumb visual gags and characters digging themselves into holes through poor decisions.
Based on the volumes out so far, it feels like a solid improvement over Hinamatsuri while retaining the same tongue-in-cheek style of humour.
Joshi Kousei Joreishi Akane!
Comedy about a high school student who has to take on her father's job as a fake exorcist / confidence man after he disappears with the family's money.
Although this too is very much a comedy with a lot of silly characters and premises, there's also a bit of a mind game aspect to it as each arc focuses around a different target, their ghost problems (usually actually rooted in personal problems) and what trickery the protagonist can employ to deceive them into believing she's a real exorcist while solving their issue.
I came away impressed that the author can run both of these serials in parallel and still maintain this standard of quality.
Knights of Sidonia (manga)
I don't usually read a manga if I've watched the show (and vice versa), but in this case, the TV series doesn't cover the whole story, so following Blame!, I decided to just read the manga from the start.
What a difference 10 years between serials made. Despite being largely black and white with minimal screentone usage, the art is super clean and easy to parse without losing its complexity. You can tell from the small touches like having white outlines around a character when they'd otherwise be difficult to see against the background that the author is now giving conscious consideration to readability.
It's been a while since I saw the anime, but I feel like the story is much easier to follow in the manga. All the exposition is pretty much spoon fed to the reader via the narration, and the story itself ticks along at such a pace that the mysteries start to be explored right after they're introduced rather than just hanging in the background until the reader forgets the premise. Part of that might just be due to not waiting a week between each episode, though.
I do miss the mech action scenes from the anime. That's the sort of thing which a visual / audio medium just excels at delivering.
I only picked up on this when reading the manga, but there's a company in this series that also exists in Blame!. I don't think the timeline quite matches up, but it's fun to consider whether they could take place in the same universe.
Aldnoah Zero OAV
Aldnoah Zero is great. Earth vs spacer politics, cool giant mecha and romance, rivalry and revenge to tie it together. If they'd let Urobuchi Gen write Gundam, I imagine it would look like this.
The OAV, on the other hand, comes 10 years after the show concluded and offers none of the above compelling content. Instead, it's an epilogue which reopens the impactful ending of the original to tack on additional closure that no one asked for.
The tagline from the original show was 'Though the heavens fall, let justice be done' (from the Latin maxim about following through on principle regardless of the consequences), which was perfectly encapsulated in the final shot and the fate of that character. This meandering new coda does little more than water that finale down, as if it were anxious about the original ending being too grim.
Last night I started watching Shiboyugi / Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table on Netflix. The concept is some kind of messed-up future or something where girls participate in death games to earn money. The main character is a veteran (first episode is her 28th game) and has a goal to win 99 death games.
And... my word, this is the prettiest death game anime I've ever seen.
The art is genuinely some of the prettiest I've seen. It feels genuinely ethereal at times. There are also many shots where they zoom out and are featureless with no outlines. The aesthetic of those distinctly reminds me of some shots from the game Your Turn to Die.
It's also not gorey. That's probably my biggest complaint about death game series, they're more focused on gore and shock value, but Shiboyugi bypasses that.
Minor Spoiler about how Blood is Handled
Somehow, participants' blood is replaced with stuffing as part of a "Preservation System" meant to both prolong their lives, and avoid squicking the people watching it in-universe. We find out when one girl dies in a gruesome trap but doesn't bleed, there's just stuffing everywhere. The Preservation System also means that (most?) damage can be fixed after the game ends. Blood loss isn't really a concern, one character loses a hand to a trap but doesn't really need first aid or anything special to avoid bleeding out.
Heck, even stuff that SHOULD be fatal doesn't seem to be as instantly lethal. One girl gets carried around after having her body blown up and losing her legs. She's a bit out of it when she wakes up, but she doesn't have any of the usual symptoms from blood loss.
So uh... Dismemberment is a fairly casual option to veteran players. This adds a whole new dimension to players' potential choices in death games.
Because of this lack of blood, the series doesn't focus on shock or gore like most death games, but more on the characters and games themselves. And it makes it stand out in the genre.
So far I've seen two games, and both are fairly creative. The first episode is about an escape room-type game from a mansion with some traps and puzzles that can require some sacrifice. The second game is in a dark, abandoned building that they need to descend to the bottom floor. Can't say more without spoiling it, but the game's design was definitely leaning more into the psychological aspect than constant physical peril.
Both those games involved teamwork to reach the end, while leaving room for betrayal only at the last moment. So far it's largely avoided the typical "hope spots" a lot of death game series have where they think they've survived only to get cruelly blindsided by a sudden twist as someone unexpectedly dies. It doesn't linger on the angst or brutality of each death, while also not just completely brushing them aside, if that makes sense?
Besides that, the protagonist is refreshing. She states her play style is altruistic and she'll try her best to ensure as many people survive as possible, and she means it, but she's not the overly optimistic hero trying to defy impossible odds to save everyone. She's incredibly realistic: she knows people will die, and is willing to sacrifice people as needed. She helps people survive, gives newbies guidance, and keeps them from freaking out because it raises her chance of survival (and also her ratings with the viewers). She has rules for herself, and pointedly doesn't get hung up over people who die. Her primary goal is ultimately survival.
She's not bad or evil or callous, and her morality definitely leans more into good, but she's not naively optimistic and cheerful. She approaches the games as a job (and to her, it is).
Just, a pretty refreshing take on the death game genre. (And seriously, so PRETTY. The aesthetic makes me think of Sailor Moon Crystal, except the art and anatomy is actually good xD)
I've been watching Yoroi Shin Den Samurai Troopers. It's a sequel to Ronin Warriors. So like a lot of millennials, I watched this back in the day on Toonami. Several years later, I tried to rewatch it in college, but dropped it because I found it boring.
I decided to give the sequel a chance. It's action packed right from the start. You don't need to watch the first series. Five episode in, they give you the info you need. I did rewatch the final couple episode of the original series though. There is a connection, but you're good without knowing it.
It definitely feels more modern and has interesting characters. They also make some bold choices in the first episode to really set the stakes. The plot doesn't feel like it's going to do anything you wouldn't expect, but it's a fun ride so far.
I feel like this could be a good show if it ran for a season or two like the original.