[Maark Abbott]

D, on 03 September 2020 - 01:25 PM, said:

Hmm, well let me know if the ending is good or not but no spoilers. If it's good I may read it. I'm very happy with how the anime went and how it finished, though, and am always a bit wary of diving into a manga/LN if it might not live up to a great anime experience.

It was satisfying enough as a conclusion. Few moments that had me getting tense for sure. One bit in particular was extra stressful.

[LinearPhilosopher]

QuickTidal, on 03 September 2020 - 02:23 PM, said:

LinearPhilosopher, on 01 September 2020 - 09:37 PM, said:

So whats you're saying... is if you ever watched Hunter X Hunter your socks would literraly fly off their feet and burst through your ceiling.

I've heard this is good, so I might check it out. It's on Netflix too, yes?

Indeed it is on netflix, the 2011 version. I haven't seen the original version. 2011 was when the author finally finished the Chimera Ant arc so rather than continue the old one that had wrapped up a decade earlier,they just restarted it entirely (along with a much brighter color palette) and by the time it was finished they managed to include the arc that follows the chimera ant arc. The arc in question (chimera ant)is widely considered the best in the anime as a whole and the end of it actually had me in tears. Shounen isn't supposed to be able to do that. It did.


Its my favourite shounen and in my top 5 anime of all time.

This post has been edited by LinearPhilosopher: 08 September 2020 - 07:03 PM

[Maark Abbott]

New season has started. Here's what I've picked up so far.

Golden Kamuy season 3
OneRoom season 3
Higurashi
Assault Lily Bouquet
I'm Standing on a Million Lives
Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World
Tonikawa: To The Moon
Rail Romanesque
DanMachi season 3
Yashahime
Wandering Witch
Hang On! Climbing Girls
Talentless Nana
By the Grace of the Gods
Jujutsu Kaisen
Burn the Witch
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear
King's Raid
Sleepy Princess in Demon Castle

Possibly more to come.

So far highlights have been Talentless Nana (which elicited a JoJo style NANI from me near the end) and Wandering Witch - I am quite relieved at WW because in the light novel the MC comes off as a disinterested ass, which I assume is a translation issue, whereas the anime character feels more interesting. There may be more shows to come yet.

[D'rek]

Had to take a few consecutive breaks from pretty much any TV, including anime, so I totally missed the start of the season (and the end of last season).

Looking through the seasonals, they pretty much all sound very derivative... isekais, high schoolers, sherlock holmes, I dunno nothing's catching my eye. I'll get caught up on Haikyuu at some point, for sure, but other than that I think I'll just wait a few more weeks and see what's getting the best reviews 'cuz right now I have no idea and don't want to wade through a dozen first episodes to figure out what's good.


Binged the second batch of Great Pretender episodes over the long weekend. Lots of fun. Not as good as the first half, I think, but not so much that it detracted from the show's earlier greatness.

Spoiler

Overall, I don't really buy that Edamura could get so emotionally invested but then also so easily flip back... like as far as he's concerned his dad really did completely abandon him and his mom, and knowing his dad was conning people around the world shouldn't really change that at all.

And it's *really* glossed over how much they've all been abetting child trafficking... even if the kids are being bought by Laurent's plants and then passed on to foster homes, Edamura had to keep them locked up for months and act through auctioning them off. That's messed up, and shouldn't it scar them more? That plus seeing them working with the 3 earlier antagonists (none of whom seem to be all that worse off) really turns down any sense of Laurent's crew having any sort of good moral stance, and seem more just like all they care about is money.

First case was definitely the best of the 4, as it had the most grounded-but-still-shocking twists, while this last one was definitely the most "we could just call the police on them but we want a flashy explosion" of the bunch

[LinearPhilosopher]

Maark Abbott, on 06 October 2020 - 11:52 AM, said:

New season has started. Here's what I've picked up so far.

Golden Kamuy season 3
OneRoom season 3
Higurashi
Assault Lily Bouquet
I'm Standing on a Million Lives
Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World
Tonikawa: To The Moon
Rail Romanesque
DanMachi season 3
Yashahime
Wandering Witch
Hang On! Climbing Girls
Talentless Nana
By the Grace of the Gods
Jujutsu Kaisen
Burn the Witch
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear
King's Raid
Sleepy Princess in Demon Castle

Possibly more to come.

So far highlights have been Talentless Nana (which elicited a JoJo style NANI from me near the end) and Wandering Witch - I am quite relieved at WW because in the light novel the MC comes off as a disinterested ass, which I assume is a translation issue, whereas the anime character feels more interesting. There may be more shows to come yet.

WAIT GOLDEN KAMUY IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH YEAH BABY!


@ D'rek i find myself agreeing with your points. Cases 2 and 3 were still very enjoyable watches and it was nice getting some backstory... but yes case 4 just went off the rails. Shame because it was such a good show.

https://youtu.be/mLRjFWDGs1g

That being said, it still allowed me to discover this gem.

This post has been edited by LinearPhilosopher: 14 October 2020 - 01:28 AM

[Maark Abbott]

This season is mad.

I have thirty two shows now. Thirty two.

[D'rek]

Quantity AND quality?!

[Maark Abbott]

D, on 24 October 2020 - 01:12 AM, said:

Quantity AND quality?!

Help it went up to 33 ;-;

[D'rek]

That's like 16 hours of watching a week. That's a full time weekend job on top of the M-F 9-5

[Maark Abbott]

D, on 26 October 2020 - 10:31 PM, said:

That's like 16 hours of watching a week. That's a full time weekend job on top of the M-F 9-5

On a related note have you seen Wandering Witch yet? It seems to be THE divisive show this season.

The premise: Kino's Journey, but with a witch instead of a special-forces trained traveller.

The issues come from Elaina and how she approaches situations. This is an issue I had in the LN too. Ostensibly she is a very rare and powerful type of mage, respected for it etc. Primarily she is there as an observer, but she has a tendency to just outright ignore situations she could resolve easily and to the benefit of all, i.e. encountering a flower field that consumes nearby townspeople, or a mistreated slave whose owner's son is misguidedly trying to improve the life of. She comes over as a sociopath as she only assists when it's of benefit to her or when a whimsy takes her, otherwise she is quite comfortable watching folk suffer because resolving that suffering carries no benefit to her.

Gallingly it's the most visually gorgeous show of the season to boot...

[LinearPhilosopher]

Maark Abbott, on 28 October 2020 - 08:27 AM, said:

D, on 26 October 2020 - 10:31 PM, said:

That's like 16 hours of watching a week. That's a full time weekend job on top of the M-F 9-5

On a related note have you seen Wandering Witch yet? It seems to be THE divisive show this season.

The premise: Kino's Journey, but with a witch instead of a special-forces trained traveller.

The issues come from Elaina and how she approaches situations. This is an issue I had in the LN too. Ostensibly she is a very rare and powerful type of mage, respected for it etc. Primarily she is there as an observer, but she has a tendency to just outright ignore situations she could resolve easily and to the benefit of all, i.e. encountering a flower field that consumes nearby townspeople, or a mistreated slave whose owner's son is misguidedly trying to improve the life of. She comes over as a sociopath as she only assists when it's of benefit to her or when a whimsy takes her, otherwise she is quite comfortable watching folk suffer because resolving that suffering carries no benefit to her.

Gallingly it's the most visually gorgeous show of the season to boot...

That is anathema to the original kinos journey. Theres an episode in which she takes care of 3 trades in the snow. I wont spoil what happens as this episode is a masterpiece in show don't tell as well as asking the viewer questions, but kino had compassion for her fellow man.

[Maark Abbott]

LinearPhilosopher, on 29 October 2020 - 01:59 PM, said:

Maark Abbott, on 28 October 2020 - 08:27 AM, said:

D, on 26 October 2020 - 10:31 PM, said:

That's like 16 hours of watching a week. That's a full time weekend job on top of the M-F 9-5

On a related note have you seen Wandering Witch yet? It seems to be THE divisive show this season.

The premise: Kino's Journey, but with a witch instead of a special-forces trained traveller.

The issues come from Elaina and how she approaches situations. This is an issue I had in the LN too. Ostensibly she is a very rare and powerful type of mage, respected for it etc. Primarily she is there as an observer, but she has a tendency to just outright ignore situations she could resolve easily and to the benefit of all, i.e. encountering a flower field that consumes nearby townspeople, or a mistreated slave whose owner's son is misguidedly trying to improve the life of. She comes over as a sociopath as she only assists when it's of benefit to her or when a whimsy takes her, otherwise she is quite comfortable watching folk suffer because resolving that suffering carries no benefit to her.

Gallingly it's the most visually gorgeous show of the season to boot...

That is anathema to the original kinos journey. Theres an episode in which she takes care of 3 trades in the snow. I wont spoil what happens as this episode is a masterpiece in show don't tell as well as asking the viewer questions, but kino had compassion for her fellow man.

If I recall, Kino's Journey often had Kino mulling over non-involvement and deciding it was worse to abstain from action than it was to just do nothing? It's been a few years

[Maark Abbott]

MAGA no Tabi thoughts:

Elaina simps: no you don't understand you don't see she can't do anything about the slave she's an impartial observer
Elaina: orchestrates a coup, probably because the country is socialist
Elaina simps: I'm gonna pretend I didn't see that

Anyway my top picks this season are a tossup between Adachi to Shimamura, Tonikaku and Talentless Nana.

[LinearPhilosopher]

Maark Abbott, on 30 October 2020 - 08:55 AM, said:

LinearPhilosopher, on 29 October 2020 - 01:59 PM, said:

Maark Abbott, on 28 October 2020 - 08:27 AM, said:

D, on 26 October 2020 - 10:31 PM, said:

That's like 16 hours of watching a week. That's a full time weekend job on top of the M-F 9-5

On a related note have you seen Wandering Witch yet? It seems to be THE divisive show this season.

The premise: Kino's Journey, but with a witch instead of a special-forces trained traveller.

The issues come from Elaina and how she approaches situations. This is an issue I had in the LN too. Ostensibly she is a very rare and powerful type of mage, respected for it etc. Primarily she is there as an observer, but she has a tendency to just outright ignore situations she could resolve easily and to the benefit of all, i.e. encountering a flower field that consumes nearby townspeople, or a mistreated slave whose owner's son is misguidedly trying to improve the life of. She comes over as a sociopath as she only assists when it's of benefit to her or when a whimsy takes her, otherwise she is quite comfortable watching folk suffer because resolving that suffering carries no benefit to her.

Gallingly it's the most visually gorgeous show of the season to boot...

That is anathema to the original kinos journey. Theres an episode in which she takes care of 3 trades in the snow. I wont spoil what happens as this episode is a masterpiece in show don't tell as well as asking the viewer questions, but kino had compassion for her fellow man.

If I recall, Kino's Journey often had Kino mulling over non-involvement and deciding it was worse to abstain from action than it was to just do nothing? It's been a few years

Correct, if you rewatch episode 2 and the two parter on the arena duelist kingdom. you will find that she does indeed take action when the circumstance calls for it.

[Maark Abbott]

LinearPhilosopher, on 10 November 2020 - 07:45 PM, said:

Maark Abbott, on 30 October 2020 - 08:55 AM, said:

LinearPhilosopher, on 29 October 2020 - 01:59 PM, said:

Maark Abbott, on 28 October 2020 - 08:27 AM, said:

D, on 26 October 2020 - 10:31 PM, said:

That's like 16 hours of watching a week. That's a full time weekend job on top of the M-F 9-5

On a related note have you seen Wandering Witch yet? It seems to be THE divisive show this season.

The premise: Kino's Journey, but with a witch instead of a special-forces trained traveller.

The issues come from Elaina and how she approaches situations. This is an issue I had in the LN too. Ostensibly she is a very rare and powerful type of mage, respected for it etc. Primarily she is there as an observer, but she has a tendency to just outright ignore situations she could resolve easily and to the benefit of all, i.e. encountering a flower field that consumes nearby townspeople, or a mistreated slave whose owner's son is misguidedly trying to improve the life of. She comes over as a sociopath as she only assists when it's of benefit to her or when a whimsy takes her, otherwise she is quite comfortable watching folk suffer because resolving that suffering carries no benefit to her.

Gallingly it's the most visually gorgeous show of the season to boot...

That is anathema to the original kinos journey. Theres an episode in which she takes care of 3 trades in the snow. I wont spoil what happens as this episode is a masterpiece in show don't tell as well as asking the viewer questions, but kino had compassion for her fellow man.

If I recall, Kino's Journey often had Kino mulling over non-involvement and deciding it was worse to abstain from action than it was to just do nothing? It's been a few years

Correct, if you rewatch episode 2 and the two parter on the arena duelist kingdom. you will find that she does indeed take action when the circumstance calls for it.

I thought that was the case.

But yes the Maga no Tabi fandom has rapidly risen to become one of the most outright stupid I've ever seen. It's almost Trump cult level mental gymnastics.

[D'rek]

Been so busy the last few weeks I've hardly had any watching time, but did finally start up 3 shows this week. My impressions so far:

Elaina is one and it's... fine? I dunno, nothing really feels all that inspired about it. The dialogue, the way scenes play out, etc, just feels very "default" in it's creative choices, I suppose, and visually it's fairly generic.

Akudama Drive is another, and it's like the opposite of how default Elaina is. Not that unusual of a premise - innocent bystander gets caught up in the shenanigans of a gang of criminals. But the execution is amazing - right from the first scene it's very in-your-face with it's unique, somewhat Blade Runner-esque, setting, and the editing is awesome - tons of fancy angles, cool scene transitions, etc.

Last is Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle. It's cute, and it's kinda funny (in a smile way, not an actual laugh way). Mostly just been putting it on in the background.

[Maark Abbott]

D, on 03 December 2020 - 04:38 AM, said:

Been so busy the last few weeks I've hardly had any watching time, but did finally start up 3 shows this week. My impressions so far:

Elaina is one and it's... fine? I dunno, nothing really feels all that inspired about it. The dialogue, the way scenes play out, etc, just feels very "default" in it's creative choices, I suppose, and visually it's fairly generic.

Akudama Drive is another, and it's like the opposite of how default Elaina is. Not that unusual of a premise - innocent bystander gets caught up in the shenanigans of a gang of criminals. But the execution is amazing - right from the first scene it's very in-your-face with it's unique, somewhat Blade Runner-esque, setting, and the editing is awesome - tons of fancy angles, cool scene transitions, etc.

Last is Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle. It's cute, and it's kinda funny (in a smile way, not an actual laugh way). Mostly just been putting it on in the background.

The primary issue with Elaina is the constant tonal whiplash and that the reactions she gives aren't really believable. The most recent episode is a good example where the story tried to go full grimderp after last week's very lighthearted tone. The fact her reaction to most situations that she has the power and apparently the moral understanding to see as wrong is "wow that sucks" but that she constantly breaks her promise of non-involvement over slights to her person or money and nothing else based on whimsy means the show ends up being frustrating. Perhaps after the most recent episode the character has learned but I expect not. Someone over at Malazcord described it as Kino's Journey but with a MAGA protag.

Sleepy princess is fun. It doesn't change overly much and really it's a vehicle for Sya's shenanigans, but they're entertaining enough.

I didn't actually pick up Akudama. One of the few shows that I didn't like the look of this season.

[D'rek]

Maark Abbott, on 03 December 2020 - 08:46 AM, said:

D, on 03 December 2020 - 04:38 AM, said:

Been so busy the last few weeks I've hardly had any watching time, but did finally start up 3 shows this week. My impressions so far:

Elaina is one and it's... fine? I dunno, nothing really feels all that inspired about it. The dialogue, the way scenes play out, etc, just feels very "default" in it's creative choices, I suppose, and visually it's fairly generic.

Akudama Drive is another, and it's like the opposite of how default Elaina is. Not that unusual of a premise - innocent bystander gets caught up in the shenanigans of a gang of criminals. But the execution is amazing - right from the first scene it's very in-your-face with it's unique, somewhat Blade Runner-esque, setting, and the editing is awesome - tons of fancy angles, cool scene transitions, etc.

Last is Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle. It's cute, and it's kinda funny (in a smile way, not an actual laugh way). Mostly just been putting it on in the background.

The primary issue with Elaina is the constant tonal whiplash and that the reactions she gives aren't really believable. The most recent episode is a good example where the story tried to go full grimderp after last week's very lighthearted tone. The fact her reaction to most situations that she has the power and apparently the moral understanding to see as wrong is "wow that sucks" but that she constantly breaks her promise of non-involvement over slights to her person or money and nothing else based on whimsy means the show ends up being frustrating. Perhaps after the most recent episode the character has learned but I expect not. Someone over at Malazcord described it as Kino's Journey but with a MAGA protag.

Sleepy princess is fun. It doesn't change overly much and really it's a vehicle for Sya's shenanigans, but they're entertaining enough.

I didn't actually pick up Akudama. One of the few shows that I didn't like the look of this season.

Yeah, I'm sure I'll get to the tonal whiplash and weird narrative stuff soon, but even just the first couple episodes the dialogue and scenes are just, well, boring. A lot of it seems like they picked the most obvious ways to write/depict everything.

[Cyphon]

So my fourteen year old cousin has got into Anime/Manga. Any recommendations on which books to get?

Shes a fairly typical 14 year old I think living in a Christian household.

There ends my knowledge. Any suggestions please?

[D'rek]

Cyphon, on 05 December 2020 - 09:25 AM, said:

So my fourteen year old cousin has got into Anime/Manga. Any recommendations on which books to get?

Shes a fairly typical 14 year old I think living in a Christian household.

There ends my knowledge. Any suggestions please?

Give more detail. "typical 14-year old" can mean a lot of things.