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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!
Currently making my way through Frieren, season 1. I really enjoy the track they’re taking with the story. It’s basically a look at what happens after the hero’s party defeats the demon king. While there are some high energy episodes, most of it is just the small things in life that the characters end up focusing on. A real palate cleanser from some of the more dramatic or over-the-top things happening in, say, Jujutsu Kaisen or One Piece.
I would usually ignore spelling mistakes, but Frieren as a name has important meaning that sets up her entire character arc. Ok, if you speak even a little German all of the names in the show are super on the nose so they're not super deep or anything, but they do actually say something about the character.
So for you, and @Akir, Frieren means "to freeze" or to "be cold". Which is essentially how she starts out. Cold and distant.
I might as well explain some others in case anyone is interested:
Stark = Strong.
Fern = Remote/Far.
Himmel = Heaven.
Heiter = Cheerful.
Eisen = Iron.
Denken = To Think or thinking.
Ubel = Evil.
Dang it! Thank you for catching that spelling error. I’ve corrected it in my original post.
Ironically, I do speak a little German, so egg on my face. -_-
Es tut mir leid!
The title, Sousou no Frieren, has a double meaning in Japanese too. I'm not super kanji-literate, but sousou is composed of two characters (葬送) that mean something along the lines of "to bury" or "to send off." So the English title is translated as "Frieren at the Funeral" or "Frieren: Beyond Journey's End," but it also can mean something a bit...different that is revealed later in the arc that deals more heavily with the demons.
Spoiler
Frieren the Slayer
I’ve been watching Frieren and enjoying it. Unfortunately, I just got to the second season and it’s giving Nazi vibes.
The way they treat demons is just plain weird. The demons are indistinguishable from humans. They have no redeeming features, and must be exterminated. Also, their pleading for mercy must be ignored? Swap out the word “demon” with any other ethnicity and it’s pretty blatant.
I was really enjoying the show until they got to the north and started focusing on ethnic cleansing.
That's certainly a reading. While there are definitely some issues with a villain that supposedly does not have any feelings, the author is clear that demons are no more than beasts. It's a recurring theme that a pleading demon will stop pleading as soon as they realize the jig is up. Their feelings are not real.
They are decidedly and specifically not human, to the point it's outright stated their human form is used to bait real humans into trusting them. One even takes the form of a crying child that immediately stops crying when it turns out to not work.
You can also see with the general in season 2 that he loses his humanoid features too, because they likely need less trickery at their level of power, but also because they're not actually human at all.
One of the arcs in season 1 even culminates with Frieren being proven right after being captured for trying to attack the demons.
While you could argue that this telling is the victor's description of the lowly "insert oppressed ethnicity here", I'm going to go out on a limb and say that we'd be reading too much into a fantasy story about magic and demons. I don't think the demons are an allegory for anything in our world and serve as an easy antagonist because they're supposed to be 100% evil.
Because I think the demons and their morality are worth discussing I'm going to drop this video as a discussion point that questions the portrayal of the demons while keeping it firmly within the realm of make belief.
Thank you, I was just thinking this. The arc where demons are introduced in Season 1 makes their treachery clear: as soon as Frieren calls them on their fake human bullshit, they drop the act immediately and complain it didn't work.
What is the benefit to having your main characters numb themselves to the cries of fellow humans? They could’ve made the demons anything else besides humans pleading for their lives. Especially in this political climate.
Even if there’s a in-story justification, it’s still a weird decision by the mangaka.
Respectfully, you're ascribing intentions to an author that are non-existent. This story debuted in 2020 in a very different political climate in an entirely different country.
Regardless, they're not humans pleading for their lives. They're demons taking human form and tricking humans in order to eat them. Their actual demonic appearance is decidedly inhuman.
Besides, do you truly think our heroes are indifferent to the cries of real humans? They seem to go above and beyond risking their lives for any request that helps people, from quaint clean up jobs to dangerous hunts requested by simple townsfolk and kings alike. They even made a point that any request requires payment of some form in order to not make people feel indebted to the help that would otherwise be freely given.
If it truly irks you to the point you don't want to watch the show I will not stop you, but I feel you're letting your personal convictions colour the show with unintended consequences.
Brother, I am not the first to notice this. Also, I like the show. I liked it enough to start the second season. But it’s hard to ignore the major theme of some races are just evil and if you let them appeal to your empathy they will destroy you.
The mangaka knowingly did this. The show has clear German influences from names, clothing and architecture. The author has a clear feel for German history and aesthetics.
Do you think he just skipped over the Naziism section of the history book, but somehow accidentally copied Nazi strategies of dehumanizing a subrace?
I’m not shitting on the show. I’m not yelling at anyone for watching it either. That said, the Nazi parallels are clear. Clear enough to the point that Nazis are co-opting the show.
You just reminded me that Crunchyroll randomly decided to serve me the finale of season 2 of Freiren last night. Thankfully it's not a super "consequential" show so it didn't ruin the experience for me, but the after credits sequence didn't make much sense.
Can’t recommend the manga enough. Especially if you like the anime but want more.
Updates on what I've been watching now that we're halfway through this season:
Witch Hat Atelier is really gorgeous to watch, there's always something in each episode that just makes you go "wow". Writing so far's been good but nothing amazing yet, still a good amount of lightheartedness and humor with an occasional brief and jarring interruption of darkness but if what I've heard is true, we'll be seeing a lot more of that in the future. Shoutout to that one scene in episode 5.
Yomi no Tsugai follows the shonen formula so tightly that I can't be surprised by anything that happens. It's still good, but I don't think I would have followed this one normally if the FMA author wasn't behind it. Problems of consuming too much anime I guess.
Re:Zero and Iruma-kun Season 4 are both more of what they are, which is good if you want more of that. I do and I'm happy with them, nothing's blown me away but I didn't really expect them to either.
I started MARRIAGETOXIN at the recommendation of a friend and it's good, dumb fun. A very silly plot, well-animated action sequences, cute and awkward romances. Very comfy show.
Also caught up on Jigokuraku Season 2 from the previous season, and it's just as intense as the first. Good if you want something still shonen but more serious in all aspects.
Last but definitely not least, Nippon Sangoku continues to be the best thing I'm watching this season, every single week too. The characters, plot development, and presentation are incredibly compelling and leaves me wanting more at the end of every episode.
Edit: Also, Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: The Sorcery of Nymph Circe releases in US theatres starting Friday. The first movie, Hathaway's Flash, was on Netflix only, so I'm looking forward to getting the full IMAX experience for this one.
In the off chance anyone is in this topic and not aware, this is THE easy sell of like...the last decade. Really well made, really gorgeous. Tight storytelling, no "okay look if you ignore the fan service...", not too dark, and sometimes ghibli level of animation or design.
Some of the popular anime of the last 3 years: Frieren: Journey to the End and Apothecary Diaries also don't have fan service.
I would hesitate to say Apothicary Diaries doesnt have fan service. There isnt any "Oops you saw my panties" fan service but a show about prostitutes and courtesans will have plenty of T&A from a relatively accurate standpoint. Let's be real, the girls from the pleasure district have huge tracts of land.
What i appreciate though is that it goes both ways. The men are absolutely shredded and the show has no problem showing them off as much as the girls. Equal opportunity eye candy is always a plus in my book.
Enough has been said about Witch Hat Atelier already that there's no need for me to say more than "go watch it if you haven't."
@Flashfall also wasn't wrong about Yomi no Tsugai. Unsurprisingly, character designs are a standout feature. Though I do like at least that protag-kun is competent and doesn't hesitate to take action. The stumbling MC that's about five chapters behind mentally is not as frequent as it used to be in general but even so, it's always good for the pacing if the MC doesn't have to figure things out the reader/viewer saw multiple story beats earlier.
Now the real standout for me this season is Akane-Banashi.
Anime is the vessel to make obscure and distant hobbies feel more hype than anything and Rakugo is no exception.
Rakugo, an art form I didn't know existed before this show, features a storyteller that will sit in front of a crowd and act out a story of centuries past. The Rakugoka, as they're called, is alone on stage and has to act out every character in the story and most of the time in order to make the audience laugh. So.. a
stand-upsit-down comedy show... Cabaret style.And in typical Japanese fashion, laden with symbolism and tradition. From small things to when the storyteller takes off their haori to the seemingly well defined setlist of stories you're allowed to tell.
Look, I'm a bit of a sucker for sports anime. It's not even the sport itself like this one just happens to be about storytelling. Just like in real life, when someone has passion for something, anything, that just launches me into a happy place. I'm probably never going to go to a Rakugo showing but damn if this anime doesn't get me to live what our protag Akane is feeling. With the anime style trying to get characters to be emotionally expressive and laser focused on making you follow her journey from A-Z they did a really good job creating an interesting show about learning how to express oneself through lived experiences. It oozes love for the art and I'm always happiest if I can get an intimate insider look into an obscure subculture.
If anime about rakugo is what you're into (I haven't seen Akane-banashi so I can't comment on that), definitely try Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu. This story is absolutely loaded with emotions. It's heavy but beautiful.
Not specifically, but thank you for the recommendation regardless. It looks like it was well received back then. I'll add it to the list!
I try to write something about every show I watch, but this year has been slow, and I don't have a lot to say. Here's a few micro reviews from the last couple months.
Kowloon Generic Romance
Kowloon Generic Romance was alright. I LOVED the animation. Big fan of colorful eyes. I thought I had called the twist, then learned a bit more and revised my hypothesis, then learned more and revised it again, and by the end, the actual reality of the story doesn't make a whole lot of sense. You don't get enough bread crumbs throughout the show to be able to predict the ending. I still liked it. 8/10.
Appleseed (1988–2015)
Appleseed was sick as hell. People hate on 3dcg, but I can get used to anything. Big fan, up until I finished with Appleseed XIII. It was OK, I just think watching it after Alpha hurt my rating of it a lot. And they ruined Briareos' face! Big downgrade in animation. XIII gets a 7, everything else gets an 8.
Onihei
Onihei was great. Hasegawa Heizo is my new favorite character. A cop who likes hiring thieves to work for him? Love him. Up there with Vash the Stampede. Show gets an 8. It's really good, but I prefer something with more of an overarching story.
Children of the Whales
Children of the Whales was... okay. I realize that many anime are more or less just advertisements for the manga they're adapting, but usually an anime at least has a complete self-contained story. It became clear around 8 episodes in that there was no way for the 12 episode cour to come to anything resembling a conclusion. It's effectively a prologue for the manga.
That isn't necessarily a bad thing. The same is true of Land of the Lustrous, and I consider that one of the better shows I've seen. But that's because it's very pretty, and it has a fantastic soundtrack, and it actually got me invested enough to read the manga.
6/10. Just watch Shinsekai Yori instead. Better show, more to think about, and it actually has an ending.
Next up: Slayers. One episode in, and I love it already. I'll be back to write about it here in a couple months, after I've watched the entire franchise
I feel Kowloon is a show that's best enjoyed as it is instead of trying to guess where it's going. It's a story about people who are struggling to find themselves, so the "reality" of the plot doesn't matter as much as their individual truths from moment to moment. I can see how trying to decode it would be frustrating.
For sure. I didn't really find it frustrating, I enjoyed it the whole way through, it just kind of felt like there was a mystery that could be solved. It is definitely best to just take it as it comes. Kind of like Sonny Boy, Penguindrum, Kyousougiga, or Utena in that regard. Trying to make sense of the world as it's portrayed isn't conducive to understanding the story itself.
I'm not really sure why I said 7 back there. It's definitely better than Appleseed XIII, but I'm not sure it breaks into the 9 club. New revised score: 8/10
I randomly binged I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire.
It was dumb as all hell. But it was so dumb it was strangely endearing. The jokes were very hit or miss but when they hit they hit hard. I particularly liked how there was an entire pointless scene about having a room of meat and alcohol that went entirely too long. It was pretty fantastic garbage
I binged Summer Time Rendering this past weekend. Man this was a great watch! I generally love thrillers and mysteries. This gave me both. The MC and the antagonist were really compelling. It was like chess. They both made smart moves, but weren't over the top geniuses.
I also have an appreciation for concise, well told stories. The first half builds the world and story well. Then the second half goes right into the rising action. The ending is beautiful and earned.
This is another that randomly came up as a short on social media, so I'm glad my algorithm brought this to my attention lol
I watched this with some friends and one of them said it was like the Higurashi etc. franchise, aka When the Cicadas Cry (he loves Higurashi). I wasn't a big fan when I watched Higurashi back in the day, but maybe you would enjoy it?
Starting reading Oshi No Ko manga. I really loved the author Aka Akasaka's other series Kaguya-Sama: Love is War (thanks again @Trobador for that rec), and this seems to be the only other officially-english-available series of his. I'm halfway through Vol 3 so far, and while I was expecting it to be unhinged (which I enjoy), it has exceeded those expectations ha.
Hard to describe it without too much spoilers, but essentially a 40-something gynecologist is a huge fan of a 16-year-old pop idol (yes it's strange, and the other characters give him a hard time about it, but he at least seems to be as least weird as an adult idol fan can be). But then, scandal, said Idol shows up secretly to his office, pregnant! He works to help her as a doctor wrt to her pregnancy. The story quickly goes in crazy direction from there, so strap in.
I watch the anime but almost didn't because I hated the first (super long) episode so much. In fact I dropped it for a good amount of time and picked it back up later after seeing a lot of praise for it (it does get better).
While I haven't yet had the time to watch season 3, based on what I know so far I really think they could have set up the exact same story without the weird vibes from the beginning.
Spoilers only for the beginning of Oshi no Ko
In fact, it's a common issue with reincarnation premises. Why did they have to reincarnate at all? I wish authors stopped shoehorning reincarnation into everything. I'm a notorious enjoyer of some reincarnation stories, but ffs. Have the idol, have the kids. If you need the doctor, make him a different character? Why not?
Response to spoilers above
I'm still only partway through Vol 3 (of 12), but so far it seems like reincarnation made a bunch of sense, even if it was weird as hell. They needed MC to be connected to Ai by more than just idol-obsession, but also just having him be a normal, non-reincarnate child would've meant he couldn't have (realistically) had the drive and determination to dedicate himself to revenge at 3 years old. Plus, "Child avenging parent" is a different vibe than "Idol Stan avenging Idol". He could've just avenged her as an adult doctor, but I feel like that would've been a more straightforward revenge story, whereas this is giving an almost Death-Note-esque "undercover" planned and information gathering plot.
Again, I won't be surprised to be surprised if the story takes another hard genre pivot, but based on my current evidence reincarnation makes sense imo
Click to expand spoiler.
How about the child and the stan work together to avenge idol? :)
I don't want to spoil anything for you so maybe we can talk some more after you catch up with the anime.
The wife and I have been going through Ascendance of a Bookworm. She's on part 2, I'm still back on book 2. We started with the anime, got a few episodes in, and she pushed for the light novel instead. Honestly? Very good light novel series. Even on book 2, the story has gone in a direction that was unexpected for me, particularly for isekai stories in general.
I've been watching Sentenced to be a Hero and rewatching Overlord on CR.
I finished my first anime for the year just last week, Oshi no Ko Season 2. Completing this season has been a long time coming, and I finally get to start season 3 that just finished airing a couple of months ago. The story has been quite the roller coaster, and that's what I like the most about this show. The author really knew how to build a lot of tension and anticipation for the plot, so there hasn't been a dull moment so far. Also, Arima and Kurokawa are some of my favourite female heroines, so it's exciting to see how they cooperate and compete with each other throughout the series. I'll look forward to seeing how the story progresses. I may end up reading the manga in the near future as well.
Oshi no Ko has been my main series of interest as of late, but I've also dabbled in some other shows that are airing right now: Kill Blue and Akane-banashi. I stumbled upon both of these on YouTube, and I was quite surprised to see free official uploads of the full episodes with subtitles and all.
I first discovered Akane-banashi's manga a couple of years ago. It has a rather unique story with its setting around rakugokas, performers who practice traditional storytelling (think stand-up comedians from hundreds of years ago). I feel the voice acting and direction is very tasteful, and it's definitely the first anime of its kind that I've ever come across. If you're looking for something refreshing, check this one out! Just look it up on YouTube, and you'll find full length episodes on the official channel. This is the playlist for the episodes with english subtitles, but you can find other languages on their page as well: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwfE82x42voBU9yH8QafeHXu8Pqw7UVLx.
Kill Blue is another one that I started on a whim after discovering it was on YouTube as well. It's about a spy that got bit by a special wasp while on a mission, somehow turning him into a teenager. Despite his condition, he actually gets assigned a job to act as a middle schooler to take advantage of his new form. The main character is faced with the challenge of completing his missions and uncovering what's behind his transformation, all while keeping up the guise of being a harmless middle schooler. The setting of this story reminds me of ReLIFE, Koroshiya no Oshi (manga), and The Fable.
I wonder if YouTube as a platform for anime is becoming more popular. I do hope to see more of it in the future. At least for me, having high quality episodes with multi-subs on an accessible platform like YouTube makes a big difference for exposure. However, I also wonder how that affects the business model.
Daemons of the Shadow Realm:
Its same lady who made full metal alchemist with the same studio that made full metal alchemist. I'm enjoying the hell out of it and sad the dub is now 2 weeks behind.
Tower of God:
Been on the list forever.....auugh. Feels bleachesque? Clearly a great idea that they then have no idea how to really deliver or explore so here's another random thing to burn time and setup the next cool scene without really answering anything. A shame because they have so much they could do, but I can already see the signs in s2 that this is unlikely to ever go anywhere. Still fun enough but just a shame.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes:
Been told I should watch it. Tried before and just never found the time. Trying again. Maybe should try the remake as I think it has a dub and that might help? I dunno, love what i've seen of it but it's long, attention demanding, and if sub only I can't do what I often do for things like this and poke at other projects for lulls.
Also already mentioned but watching:
Witch Hat
JJK
Re:zero
This is up to you, do what works for you and all, but personally, I think the remake loses a great deal of the original's charm in every way. Even if the old animation is crappy, the art style has a lot of character. The original also has a legendary voice cast with a lot of big names from that time having worked on it.
Been reading a bunch of seinen manga lately.
Touken Ankokuden Cestvs
Combat sport / historical drama about a Roman slave who fights as a pugilist during the reign of emperor Nero. Nero himself, his power-grubbing mother Agrippina and his bodyguards also appear as prominent characters.
The first series is an excellent blend of political intrigue, drama and tragedy and boxing manga. The action spans everything from mixed martial arts to gladiatorial fights, but there are also long lacunas focusing entirely on character development and Roman culture. Each volume is thoroughly researched and often even contains commentary at the end about Roman society.
The second series is a real contrast, being 100+ chapters covering a single boxing tournament. It's not bad per se, but definitely not up to the quality of the first series which feels easily as good as better known historical drama like Historie.
Suminigori
I've heard this classified as horror, but it's probably more accurate to call it an extremely dark drama. Focuses on a young man who returns to his family home in the countryside after burning out in Tokyo, only to see everything slowly fall apart.
On one hand, it's very readable and there was no point at which my interest in the story and the weird cast of characters flagged. On the other, it's kind of misery porn in the sense that every possible thing that could go wrong does, and pretty much everyone in the story is a horrible human being barely holding together a facade of normality, which is definitely going to turn some people off. Kind of like the polar opposite of a happy slice of life series.
Mii-chan to Yamada-san
Cute but hyper-bleak drama about two hostesses in Shinjuku in the 2010s, one of which is at the borderline of intellectual disability and struggles to get by in normal society. Abandon hope all ye who enter.
If you can stomach how dark and cruel the story (supposedly inspired by the author's real life experience as a hostess during the same period) is almost right off the bat, it does go to some interesting places with how it contrasts the protagonist's own unhappy life with that of her friend.
Also quite well paced at a compact 7 volumes, the last of which comes out shortly.