Recommended Anime/Manga?

[Randorama]

GP: There should be several compilations and web-pages suggesting which stories are the best ones.
The ones I read are great, but you need to like spy stories and politics.
I'd never read it in its entirety, for obvious reasons (read: extremely formulaic).

It is James Bond done well, I'd say, but precisely because of this it can get tedious very quickly.

SfB: LOGH is great, but it is indeed an adaption.

So, the studios had to "simply" adapt the books, rather than spending time creating the world itself (but that's tons of work anyway). I know that Artland had to use a fairly complex distribution system (basically, send the OVAs directly to buyers), to be sure that they operated without losses and adapted the whole series of books.

It is a masterpiece, but also a fairly niche work. I understand that the PC games made the franchise popular (of course).

Generally speaking, there is a good amount of seinen manga (and some josei, even) that are worth reading, because they are indeed for thinking adults [insert lengthy explanation here on why...too tired to ramble on this topic].

You should do yourself a favour and (re-?)read Monster, I'd add, or (re-?)watch the anime if you feel lazy (extremely faithful adaption).

(ONE MORE) EDIT: from a friend (Marco, the guy from the previous post): "good, thought-provoking SF manga? Warren Ellis' ones".

[soprano1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Connect ... %27s_Court
Does this count as isekai?

[BryanM]

Yes in a broad genre sense. No in a narrow "you have to be a clone of Slave Harem" sense. It's an aggravating thing, this "what the hell do the labels we use even mean." It always falls in The Problem of the Heap.

From a raw Basic Plot perspective, almost all dragon quest style isekai are Rags to Riches stories. The fad starter, Mushoku Tensei, once again also had an aspect of Rebirth in there. But that got lost in repetition and who the hell wants to change themselves anyway - to change one's terminal goal is to commit suicide.
__

This seems like a good time to rant a bit about the stereotypical isekai beastman. They almost always look something along the lines of this dude:



Animal ears on the top of the head. Where to even begin...

The obvious mechanical problem with this: Okay, they have animal ears on the top of their head. Do they have human ears on the side of their human head? Meaning, they have four ears? And if so, are both sets of ears functional?

They almost always sweep this problem under the rug by hiding the place where their human ears should be, by covering it with hair. You never, ever see a bald beastdude. Once you notice this, you can't unsee it. You'll always be looking for ears on the side of these things, like searching for a needle in a haystack. "Grow some balls and answer the question", you'll repeat obsessively.

Most of the time, when a gun is put to their head and they're forced to make a choice, of course there will be human ears under that rug. It'd look like a disfigurement otherwise. So most of these creatures are lovecraftian four-eared freaks. Abominations against elegant evolutionary design.

Why they're just humans wearing fake cat ears and such instead of being anthropomorphic seems of course simple: They want them to be conventionally attractive. Most people aren't furries, so having actual animal heads on them doesn't sell.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is a really freaky property that has it both ways. They have the maid cafe bunny girl race. And the furry bunny guy race. And both races are based on rabbits. It's very, very strange.

[null1024]

Animal ears on the top of the head. Where to even begin...

The obvious mechanical problem with this: Okay, they have animal ears on the top of their head. Do they have human ears on the side of their human head? Meaning, they have four ears? And if so, are both sets of ears functional?

They almost always sweep this problem under the rug by hiding the place where their human ears should be, by covering it with hair. You never, ever see a bald beastdude. Once you notice this, you can't unsee it. You'll always be looking for ears on the side of these things, like searching for a needle in a haystack. "Grow some balls and answer the question", you'll repeat obsessively.

Most of the time, when a gun is put to their head and they're forced to make a choice, of course there will be human ears under that rug. It'd look like a disfigurement otherwise. So most of these creatures are lovecraftian four-eared freaks. Abominations against elegant evolutionary design.

Four ears is cuter. This is undeniable fact.
and you get that sick quadraphonic hearing, ooh yeah
As an example, Kemono Friends doesn't even bother hiding the human ears... if mostly because they'd clip through the hair anyway.

[Randorama]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Connect ... %27s_Court
Does this count as isekai?

Possibly the original one!

[BryanM]

Alice in Wonderland was older, and I'm sure there's older than that..

If you want to be really pedantic about it, you can point out in a nasally nerd voice that Mark Twain's Yankee is in fact a time traveler, and not a slider.

At that point you could include every person who's ever gone to an afterlife world in myth (the Underworld, Asgard, etc). Which I guess that's what a lot of these stories are about - Truck-kun is transporting all these people to their personal version of heaven. He's like a valkyrie.

Kemono Friends doesn't even bother hiding the human ears

'Ought to be called Howard's Friends..

[Randorama]

Hmmm, at this point I believe that we should be able to find some archaic myth that was basically an isekai. Maybe Gilgamesh was a closet NEET and was wearing a tracksuit all the time...?

[soprano1]

I meant it as joke.

[Steamflogger Boss]

I'm trying to think if there is a Japanese otherworld series that I like. There is probably something I am forgetting but nothing comes to mind. My favorite of this genre would have to be Narnia and not those cocked up Disney movies.

PS the Kemono Friends art looks awful.

Anyway I got around to pre-ordering Lupin Part IV, looking forward to watching it. I'm a cheapass though so I tossed in some other crap to get to free shipping and I'm guessing it all won't ship until the release date of the latest product which is June 26th. Really seems like a safe assumption too given that they haven't shipped or billed the in stock blurays I bought.

[null1024]

Good isekai/other world stories: certainly nothing Japanese, the only people bothering to write it do so mostly because it's popular and formulaic.

PS the Kemono Friends art looks awful.

Oh, it really does.

The whole series started out as some random mobile game...
...then it got a really fucking awful "nothing really happens" manga...
...then it got an anime with hilariously low production values but had actually decent writing, which is why anyone even cares. Plus, Serval a cute.

I will say that the actual rendering used isn't bad, stills look like awkwardly drawn frames rather than like 3D models, but it's really jank and immediately obvious in motion.
A really memorable scene to describe how bad it gets was seeing them drive up a hill and basically just glide over it, ignoring the very clearly drawn curves on it.

[Ji-L87]

So, got some more downtime thanks to another cold and finally sat down with Char's Counter attack.

It's well on the side of "good" and I can see how it got it's status as a classic, but once again I came away a bit conflicted.
The animation was good, really good at times (sometimes even when not at all necessary, like

Spoiler

when Gyunei tried to stop Quess from going to Char's side midway through

, his movements are super smooth when he sticks his head into the cockpit).
I also really loved the short scene early on when Quess is relaxing after having met Char and is just floating around in zero g, having a drink and bouncing up and down between the floor and ceiling nonchalantly. They really gave Quess some charming movements.

Sadly that doesn't remain true for her personality. This is early Z Kamille levels of space autism proudly on display. Or Elpeo Ple levels perhaps. At any rate, the unnatural way people often act in Gundam showed up again. It's like watching moths drawn to a flame, or rather to watch people that should know better fulfilling arbitrary plot points....I'm getting Z flashbacks at this point.

But that said, because it's just a movie it's still tolerable. Even if some actions

Spoiler

looking at you, mr. Hathaway

are just...stupid and there for the sake of unnecessary drama.
Also, without spoiling it, I just didn't get the ending, even after checking a wiki. It's way too vague and I wanted a more proper closure to the whole Amuro/Char-arc.

But the robots were cool and the music not bad so all in all it's a satisfying experience as far as Gundam goes? I DO think it's been hyped up a bit too much over the years.
The most enjoyable things for me was Quess's all cute little moments early on and finally getting to see the Nu Gundam and Sazabi in action - It's just some of those designs I've always liked and been waiting for them show up. I have images of those dating back from 2007 saved on my pc, so that was fun.

And in general everything was well very well drawn and constantly on model when animated. Both Z and ZZ had some great character close up drawings as well but as you'd expect from a movie, the use of color was better and shading was always applied.
There were also some CGI but it wasn't that bad (and probably super ambitious for the time) so I'll let that slip.

[KAI]

Duuuude, you shouldn't read any wiki about CCA's ending, you will spoil the plot of future animus in the same timeline (Unicorn to be more precise), also, not understanding shit is part of that movie's magic.

Hathaway is katz 2.0.

[Ji-L87]

Duuuude, you shouldn't read any wiki about CCA's ending, you will spoil the plot of future animus in the same timeline (Unicorn to be more precise), also, not understanding shit is part of that movie's magic.

Oops. Well, consider me spoiled for Unicorn then. Hopefully Unicorn will still have something else going for it because I'm intending on checking it out sometime down the line.

Hathaway is katz 2.0.

That's a really apt description actually. God, Gundam just loves going in circles sometimes, haha

[Steamflogger Boss]

Yeah the movie itself is a bit of a mess. And I completely agree about Kamille in Zeta Gundam LOL. There's just something about Gundam though, I can't help but watch.

[Udderdude]

Posting all the animu I'm watching this season, including shorts. Yeah, some of it is turbo-ultra-omega-weebshit. Deal with it.

Amanchu! Advance
Boku no Hero Academia 3rd Season
Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card-hen
Comic Girls
Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These - Kaikou
Golden Kamuy
Grancrest Senki
Hisone to Masotan
Last Period: Owarinaki Rasen no Monogatari
Lupin the Third: Part 5
Mahou Shoujo Ore
Saiki Kusuo no Psi-nan 2nd Season
Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online
Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai
Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii

Alice or Alice
Fumikiri Jikan
Nobunaga no Shinobi: Anegawa Ishiyama-hen
Tachibana-kan to Lie Angle
Uchuu Senkan Tiramisu
Wakaokami wa Shougakusei!

[BryanM]

No Steins;Gate. Low energy. Fake news.

[Udderdude]

More like Stale;Bait.

[BIL]

Revisited feudal atrocity exhibition Shigurui over the last week. Swordplay-driven tale of ambition and hatred in the shadow of immutable doom. Cast fair and foul alike are keenly observed, compellingly shaded by the cruelty of their exceptionally well-rendered age. Duels are economical, intense, and unsparingly catastrophic. Action and drama alike richly embellished with expertly-timed flourishes of dream and nightmare. A darkly absorbing manga from beginning to annihilating end - almost. A latter volume's detour into a knowingly near-farcical subplot feels superfluous, if thematically germane and deftly returned from. Highly recommended for elegantly drawn, exquisitely unhurried, unflinchingly dark samurai manga.

edit: Last time around I was balls to the wall at work and rushed the last couple volumes, so a few things I either missed or forgot were most appreciated this time around:

spoily spoily~

Spoiler

-the expertly done overlay of Gennosuke's hand restraining Mie's wrist in the present, with the tongs searing his fingers searing off in the past. I'd forgotten this sequencing, and had retained a more uncharitable view of him than I might've as a result.

-Seigen's almost regretful reaction to learning from Iku, far too late in the day, that Gennosuke had been an abandoned peasant child.

-Seigen's heartfelt repudiation of rank and status to the blind masseur.

-The reveal that Tadanaga was going to have Seigen executed anyway, had he won... which has excellent symmetry with Tadanaga himself's fate being unknowingly sealed by those above his station.

-The decapitated Seigen's open eye glaring at the officials, juxtaposed with an exhausted, broken Gennosuke.

-final image of the sea shell, "so white as to almost be translucent," dripping with blood. Related...

-most of all, I must've been really out of it last time, because I completely misread Mie's fate. The last, phantasmal frame of Fujiki's long-lost left hand in Mie's right, god damn. Elevated what I mis-remembered as a perfunctory, hasty ending into sublime tragedy.

[Udderdude]

I read that one years ago. Still see memes based on certain infamous scenes popping up occasionally ..

[Xyga]

Give me completed Kakugo no Susume completed translation already.

[evil_ash_xero]

I was wanting to ask some opinions on BERSERK.

I have seen some serious debate on if the book declines at quality or not. I know "The Golden Age" is good, and goes to volume 14. I haven't heard any complaints about the story arc after that (I think it's called Redemption or something). And that goes to volume 21.

OK, now after that, I hear somewhere it gets more "light hearted". So, what are your opinions on this? And do you guys like the arc after The Golden Age?
I've been reading them, and am...well, there was a big sex scene. lol.. I think it was volume 9.

I think the arc where it gets controversial is ...umm...the something Falcon. I think.

[drauch]

Sounds about right in my book. Once the new characters get introduced after Golden Age it just starts to go down hill. Up until the 20ish volumes it's still good stuff and plenty of dark fantasy slaughter, but Guts just picks up more kids along the way. Puck eventually just goes into full chibi form and never comes back. No exaggeration. I think I finally called it quits in the early thirties. I kept holding on, lying to myself that it was still worth reading, but at this point I don't see how it's any different than the rest of your run-of-the-mill shounen stuff. Jumping from book 9 to 29 is like reading an entirely different manga.

[Xyga]

7 years on that motherfucking boat.

[BryanM]

Nice boat.



I liked the part with the ghost pirates and pirate ghosts. Very Scooby Doo.

When it kicks into the nakama band of brothers RPG plot stuff (like you see in stuff like Final Fantasy, Fables, and Star Wars. It's supposed to tickle the tribal part of your brain) it really does fall apart. Not just from "why are these people not doing their own thing separately far far apart" but just the awful repetition: Guts put on the Berserk armor. Again. Oh no! He's gonna go crazy! Ah, nuthin' happened. Oh! A bunch of dudes are coming, the town NPCs gonna get messed up! Oh... the wizard girl killed all of them. Again. Wizard girl OP. Why do we even have Guts and these other fucks?

It went past the ending and overstayed its expiration date. Your time is better spent on Berserk Abridged or Goblin Slayer. At least Guts is doing a much better job with his life over there.

[BIL]

I still have a morbid interest in Miura actually finishing his fucking book, but I know what's actually going to happen is George RR Martin will waddle past him in the street one day and have a massive heart attack, sending both tumbling into the path of a speeding Greyhound.

So I've stopped dwelling on what might've been. ;[

[evil_ash_xero]

7 years on that motherfucking boat.

What story arc do they get on that boat? I keep hearing about this.

[Xyga]

hell if I remember, but drawing manga doesn't get much slower than this

[BrianC]

but Guts just picks up more kids along the way.

I liked the part with the ghost pirates and pirate ghosts. Very Scooby Doo.

Those meddling kids!

[drauch]

They get on the boat in the early thirties if I recall. When I jumped ship.

[evil_ash_xero]

That seems to be the "Fantasia" arc, from what I'm reading. It has "Ghost Ship" in it.

Anyone like the "Falcon of the Millennium Empire" arc at all?