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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!
KonoSuba. Its a well made parody of RPG/Adventure games with strong characters. Finished first season last week. Looking for similar short anime for next week if there's any suggestion.
Did you already watch The Devil is a Part-Timer!?
It's also a parody. I thought it was so good. Same sort of feel as KonoSuba. btw, KonoSuba has a second season.
Well, I did not know about second season or the Devil is a part timer. Still an amateur anime watcher :)
Thanks, I'll check them both.
If you watch the devil one, give it a bit of time to start. The first 10 minutes are really weird.
Nah. I just like parodies, and short ones like KonoSuba are something I watch during lunch breaks. WFH allows loxuries like that :)
I've been watching a lot of One Piece lately. I'm almost up to date (started the Wano arc today), but I really don't want to be, binge watching it has been so fun, probably I'll start it again from the beginning to catch all the foreshadowings.
Awesome! I'm also watching One Piece. I caught up a few years ago. The Wano arc is amazing.
A couple weeks ago I restarted it from the beginning. Now I'm on the episode where they enter grand line. So far I'm noticing so many details I had forgotten. It's a really emotional story.
I've also read the manga, but I stopped when I reached zoo so that I don't get spoiled.
Finished up Record of Lodoss War TV series. I really like the first half of the show. A lot of different plot threads, characters feel fresh, and it is simply enjoyable to watch.
Nice character development and plot progression in the first 8-episode arc (Shiris and Orson), and then the new cast got some good scenes and interactions from episode 9 on (Leaf, Garrack, Ryna).
Then the second half of the show comes, with the main, serious, plotline. Unfortunately it drags.
Overall the TV show was alright but didn't have the impact of the OVA. I believe the OVA and TV series have opposite criticisms: later episodes of the OVA cram too much story into a few episodes and skip a lot of detail like character development; and the TV series' second half drags on and makes things feel predictable.
The battle scenes showed their age. There were moments of tension in the first half of the TV series, but later fights started to feel repetitive. The final battle brings some tension back with a lot at stake, but not executed as well as the final moments of the OVA.
Overall I'd recommend to people who liked Lodoss OVA and want more. But maybe wait until the OVA isn't fresh in your memory, because it may detract from the impact of the OVA which has an altered storyline. Watch and enjoy the first half of the TV show, and then you can fast forward the second half until the last 2-3 episodes to see the ending. (@ThyMrMan)
Oh yeah, and I learned there is a short manga side story about Deedlit the elf, so I'll be reading that.
Not much to add in the preamble this week, just that once again I'm rather late. Getting distracted with various projects and not getting around to watching stuff when I normally do during the week.
2020 Summer Week 7
Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Ep 7
Fairly good episode, just getting to see them hang out together and grow. These are the type of episodes that I really end up enjoying. Just a solid episode of pure character growth and getting closer.
My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax! Ep 7
This episode had what has been missing for most of this season, interactions between the main characters. It feels so odd that the main female lead, just isn’t a part of the show at all. It wouldn’t be bad if you saw her walking in the hall or meeting with somebody, showing she is busy working and try to get things done. But at the moment I know nothing about what she is doing. I still don’t honestly understand that much about what is going between the two groups and prom.
Overall, half-way through this season, the show just doesn’t do anything for me at all. It doesn’t feel special or interesting, and the characters don’t keep my attention at all. Instead I’m just sticking around in order to finish up a show I’ve technically been waiting for forever.
The Millionaire Detective - Balance: UNLIMITED Ep 2
I might stick around and keep watching this, but I’m still kinda on the fence. I’m not 100% sure that I love the show or not, will have to see where it keeps going from here. The characters are decently fun, but I don’t know anything about the world or if it is going to have an overarching plot or just roughly connected single episode one offs.
2010 Summer Week 7
Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan Ep 6
Pretty interesting episode all together. We have the romance aspect on the human side, and the on-going clan conflict on the yokai side. In general, I am liking the characters much more than I was at the beginning. Everyone seems to be more confident and willing to try and get what they want. But still waiting for that final push for everything to be revealed and both sides to come together finally. Honestly I’m shocked that it has taken this long, was expecting the reveal to have occurred episodes ago.
Amagami SS Ep 6
While I do like how forward this guy can be at times, and rather incredibly smooth. He also acts like a total creep at random times. Overall, I do like the way this arc is progressing. It feels much more standard romance fare, and I’m perfectly okay with that. The ending also felt pretty standard, with the new guy dating the mom and how Tachibana will work to smooth things over in the family probably. Along the way of course gaining the girl.
Cat Planet Cuties Ep 6
This was actually a pretty decent episode; it is also one of those episodes that really makes me feel bad for the childhood friend. Because as we all know, the childhood friend has like a 10% chance of winning in an anime. It is disappointing, I always love the childhood friend character, but they never win. Feel bad for Eris as well this episode, poor girl just wanted to experience her first mating season and was shot down on multiple fronts. By both the person she wanted to mate with, but also by her superiors.
Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail Ep 3
This show always had such an odd conflict between hardcore realistic gun battles and tactics, and crazy superhuman moves and people. And I honestly have always loved the realistic battles far more than the superhuman stuff. I love watching the Cuban special forces or NSA soldiers slowly clear buildings and work towards a target, I love watching a group put together a plan to draw in the target to a specific location. That type of stuff always works so well.
But the superhuman stuff just feels really out of place in the world. And it shouldn’t since they created the world, but overall it just does. I think it would work better if every group had a couple superhuman forces in it, so the superhuman combat stuff doesn’t feel out of place in the wider world. And instead is just another tool that gets used and placed into the plans.
I’m watching One Piece. I wanted a super long half hour show to follow forever, saving me the trouble of deciding all the time and neatly occupying my mealtimes.
I don’t care if I never finish it.
I’m on episode 28 and it’s been pretty cool. There are no fillers per se, but they do reuse a lot of material as flashbacks. That’s the only thing that bothers me, but they don’t do that too much.
The other option was Detective Conan but it’s not available here.
One Piece doesn't have much filler, but they do stretch the episodes a lot. You will notice that on some arcs more than others, but yeah, it's still my favorite anime even with all that stretching.
Pay attention to small details because they always come back as the story goes on.
I have nothing against a good filler. Some of my favorite DragonBall episodes were fillers, especially after DragonBall Z that basically removed the comedy from the franchise.
One Piece has some really nice fillers. Sometimes they bring back some old characters.
Started watching Elfen Lied yesterday and got through about 7 episodes so far.
I'm watching a dub, which maybe why the whole show seems weird as hell, but I don't know. Sometimes its like its written by a 13 year old, but again, maybe that's because of the dub? I sort of like some elements of it, but it feels so weird how in one moment its very serious and dark, then in the next some dumb thing happens and you laugh at how ridiculous it is (presumably unintentionally).
It feels kind of exemplary for its time though, and I do enjoy these older shows.
I've been watching Parasyte (finished ep. 9). I personally like it.
Spoilers for episode 9 and before
It's interesting to see how to protagonist's personality changes. Even with the issues of Migi partially merging with him, I can't help but feel that part of it is caused by what he has been forced to go through. Having to kill something that is physically human and having something that looks like your mother attempt to kill you probably does harm to the psyche.
Also, with the incident of him throwing the dog's body in the trash, I have to agree with him? I can see why it might be considered disrespectful to throw the body away, but it's dead anyways. He wasn't emotionally attached to the dog either. I might have a different opinion if I was there though.
I finished reading Sailor Moon today. I'm going to start reading the short stories and Codename Sailor V soon.
I particularly enjoyed seeing old tech being used in everyday life, things like beepers and handheld PCs. It makes me want to get a Pyra and make it look like Mercury's super computer. A lot of the things in the manga make me feel very nostalgic.