Recommended Anime/Manga?

[Durandal]

What pleasantly surprised me is how much of a fight some of the (friendly or not) grunt units put up. There was this one fight on a cruiser I think, where I noticed after a few minutes that there was this one unnamed pilot whose battle was given even more attention and care than the MC fights in the long-cour series, and that was pretty refreshing.

In the first six minutes of the show they show this grunt Stark Jegan pilot actually managing to own the Kshatriya in terms of skill, before getting done in for not having giant shoulder thrusters. Almost everyone cheered on for Stark Jeganguy.

[Randorama]

I have been reading the Kaiji manga...again. I dropped it at some point during part 3, since it feels like a re-hash of Akagi (Fukumoto's other famous work).

I liked the anime adaptations, but they have a relatively faster pace, since they adapt up to 8 issues per episode (5 issues, on average), and a great OST. I think that most voice actors are actually spot-on, and Fukumoto's drawings are not so horrendous, once colours are added.

The manga uses an extreme form of decompression: for instance, part 3 (mostly) covers a single Mahjong match taking place in a single room, for a total of 4 hours in-story...and 121 issues (2 years and a half?). It took me a few attempts to get used to it, so I am now reading through part 4.

I feel that this is a rather dark story, and I am terrified that the world it describes could actually be true. People spiralling into debt, becoming literal slaves to shark loans and being subject to horrendous abuse...well, less terrifying than moe or isekai shows, anyway (or "horror movies", eugh!).

[Steamflogger Boss]

Gundam Unicorn.
Cool fights. Starts off promising enough, other than Banana being a fucking lunatic who jumps into the fucking abyss in a construction robot right out the gate. He seemed okay enough, kinda like Kamille and Judau rolled up into one big ball of stupid. There's also really goofy shit like them talking about war kinda like it's a serial killer out chasing them rather than an event.

and then the more we find out about the plot, the dumber it gets
and it doesn't stop getting dumb
also, lol newtypes -- in a series where the whole Zeta->ZZ->CC shit does down, Unicorn [both the series and the machine] still manages to be completely stupid when it comes to newtype hax bullshit

But honestly, it's a bit shit. It spends ages building up Laplace's Box, but... well... fuck.
I don't like the Unicorn's design either, and Full Frontal kinda just faffs around. In fact, nothing really felt like it had anything approaching a real reason beyond "lol Zeon is at it again" -- which would have been okay, but there was more afoot than just Neo-Zeon bullshit.
It has its moments, but it never had a strong foundation, and when the final piece was revealed... it fell apart utterly. I would have been fucking pissed if I was watching this as it was coming out.

Puru Twelve's mobile suit was fucking dope. Love it.

Spoiler

and she neither deserved to suffer as she did, nor to be in this particular shitshow

Did you watch the oav or the...w/e the fuck the tv series is?

In any case I am still going through the Zeta meat grinder, but eventually I will get to the OAV. I've seen up to CC before, but it's been so long (many years, like 13+) that in rewatching everything so far (original, Zeta) that there was definitely stuff I forgot, so I don't want to rush it.

[Vludi]

I have been reading the Kaiji manga...again. I dropped it at some point during part 3, since it feels like a re-hash of Akagi (Fukumoto's other famous work).

I liked the anime adaptations, but they have a relatively faster pace, since they adapt up to 8 issues per episode (5 issues, on average), and a great OST. I think that most voice actors are actually spot-on, and Fukumoto's drawings are not so horrendous, once colours are added.

The manga uses an extreme form of decompression: for instance, part 3 (mostly) covers a single Mahjong match taking place in a single room, for a total of 4 hours in-story...and 121 issues (2 years and a half?). It took me a few attempts to get used to it, so I am now reading through part 4.

I feel that this is a rather dark story, and I am terrified that the world it describes could actually be true. People spiralling into debt, becoming literal slaves to shark loans and being subject to horrendous abuse...well, less terrifying than moe or isekai shows, anyway (or "horror movies", eugh!).

The point of Kaiji is that despite being a miserable pariah with barely any noteworthy trait he manages to rise above and find purpose in these disgraceful situations, this is a recurrent theme in Fukumoto manga especially Kurosawa, where his dissatisfaction is more in his state of mind rather than external situations. Fukumoto antiheroes usually have this mindset of "living" instead of "staying alive".

[Randorama]

The point of Kaiji is that despite being a miserable pariah with barely any noteworthy trait he manages to rise above and find purpose in these disgraceful situations, this is a recurrent theme in Fukumoto manga especially Kurosawa, where his dissatisfaction is more in his state of mind rather than external situations. Fukumoto antiheroes usually have this mindset of "living" instead of "staying alive".

Agreed, but I needed a few attempts to get used to the extremely slow pacing of part 3 (not as slow as Akagi, but still). Reading it while listening to the anime's soundtrack helps a lot, I must admit.

[M.Knight]

In the first six minutes of the show they show this grunt Stark Jegan pilot actually managing to own the Kshatriya in terms of skill, before getting done in for not having giant shoulder thrusters. Almost everyone cheered on for Stark Jeganguy.

Thanks for the reminder, that was such a great fight too! I appreciate how competent the Stark Jegan pilot is, as well as how little dialogue there was. No endless "Moratta!" or "ano PURESHAAAA", just two skilled pilots giving it their all, and with an attention to visual detail that makes the fight a lot more dynamic than the stock footage you are usually fed. That should be the gold standard for every single Gundam battle, most of which are unfortunately as exciting as watching paint dry.

It's that kind of well-crafted battles that make me regret even more that

Spoiler

the final battle against the Neo Zeong ended up being so anticlimatic and piss-poor with the newtype nonsense

In any case I am still going through the Zeta meat grinder, but eventually I will get to the OAV. I've seen up to CC before, but it's been so long (many years, like 13+) that in rewatching everything so far (original, Zeta) that there was definitely stuff I forgot, so I don't want to rush it.

Good luck for the Zeta rewatch! You'll need it lol.
I've seen it two years ago and just can't get the good reputation that show has. It's as if the people praising it have seen an entirely different show than me lol. Zeta Gundam is the worst Gundam show I've ever seen (though I admit I haven't watched Seed+Destiny nor AGE), with terrible pacing, extremely repetitive episodes (seriously, the last half's episodes might just all be copy-pasted), ridiculous and artificial drama only made possible due to to stupid characters, and boring fights with no tension whatsoever. It started out rather promising but man did it take a nosedive, especially after episode 30.

Then again, I often have a different opinion from the consensus when it comes to the series : I find Zeta awful, I love ZZ Gundam's goofiness and humor, Victory Gundam is extremely funny to me and not depressing or sad at all as it's got that B-movie charm and has so many hilarous WTF moments, the Gundam 00 movie was more entertaining than both seasons, MS IGLOO is really great and I didn't mind the 3D at all.

[null1024]

Did you watch the oav or the...w/e the fuck the tv series is?

In any case I am still going through the Zeta meat grinder, but eventually I will get to the OAV. I've seen up to CC before, but it's been so long (many years, like 13+) that in rewatching everything so far (original, Zeta) that there was definitely stuff I forgot, so I don't want to rush it.

I watched the OVA.
as far as I can tell, the TV release changes fuck-all beyond chopping each episode into TV-length chunks
Someone somewhere said there was supposed to be an altered ending on the TV release -- there wasn't.

And man, I still like Zeta from what I remember... but I've been meaning to give it a go again.

In the first six minutes of the show they show this grunt Stark Jegan pilot actually managing to own the Kshatriya in terms of skill, before getting done in for not having giant shoulder thrusters. Almost everyone cheered on for Stark Jeganguy.

Fucking I-fields, man.
And yeah, that bit was cool as fuck.

I'm still never not going to be pissed about the final fight after how good the other fights in Unicorn were.

[Udderdude]

Tesagure! Bukatsumono - This one is entirely CG, but it's definitely unique, especially if you like improv. The VAs are given an anime trope/genre topic and have to come up with new ideas for it on the fly. Pretty much everything they come up with is ridiculous, and it's fun just to listen to them react. It's more like a live radio show during the improv part.

Twilight Q - This was originally meant to be an OVA series of stand-alone seperate stories highlighting up and coming animators, directors, writers, etc. Unfortunately, only two episodes were ever produced. However, they're still pretty unique and worth checking out. Definitely has a different feel to it, and the second episode is really experimental and out there.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Did you watch the oav or the...w/e the fuck the tv series is?

In any case I am still going through the Zeta meat grinder, but eventually I will get to the OAV. I've seen up to CC before, but it's been so long (many years, like 13+) that in rewatching everything so far (original, Zeta) that there was definitely stuff I forgot, so I don't want to rush it.

I watched the OVA.
as far as I can tell, the TV release changes fuck-all beyond chopping each episode into TV-length chunks
Someone somewhere said there was supposed to be an altered ending on the TV release -- there wasn't.

And man, I still like Zeta from what I remember... but I've been meaning to give it a go again.

In the first six minutes of the show they show this grunt Stark Jegan pilot actually managing to own the Kshatriya in terms of skill, before getting done in for not having giant shoulder thrusters. Almost everyone cheered on for Stark Jeganguy.

Fucking I-fields, man.
And yeah, that bit was cool as fuck.

I'm still never not going to be pissed about the final fight after how good the other fights in Unicorn were.

Ah okay, I've never seen the tv series.

[Frenetic]

Haipoji HIGH POSITION by Takashi Kira

Good manga in the vein of Jiro Taniguchi's A Distant Neighborhood. Lots of 80's nostalgia, really enjoyed the love and detail into Showa-era mediums and media.

"A 46-year-old man who has been divorced by his wife, has a financial problem in his company and a remarkable thing just happened when he was caught in a fire in a building, Realized that he back in time on his 16-year-old youth. Memories that were sepia colors start to move colorfully."

I also recommend Takashi Kira's Sekitou Elergy, another first romance/bildungsroman manga which is in the same vein as Minoru Furuya's Ciguatera, another good manga...

Happy reading,
--the F-man

[drauch]

Haipoji HIGH POSITION by Takashi Kira

Good manga in the vein of Jiro Taniguchi's A Distant Neighborhood.

Ooooooooooh, color me intrigued! I'll be checkin' this out tonight hopefully.

[grappi8973]

Astro Boy

[drauch]

I, uh... started scanlating Rapeman. Rancor helped me make sure I understood "i'm cumming!", so you can partially blame him.

https://gesuyarou.blogspot.com/

For practice, because I'm a scumlord, and because nobody else was gonna do it. And there's already a scan group called Rapeman, even!

[mycophobia]

uhhh

[drauch]

You don't like reading anyway, so don't worry.

[BryanM]

And there's already a scan group called Rapeman, even!

It's pretty surreal his primary project was the cute highschool thing with animal people thing. So now I have this association between it and Trump memes and shekels hardwired into my brain.

Also I'm deeply skeptical that he ever actually scanned anything. : hrm :

[Obiwanshinobi]

Reading the word "Rapeman" made me read a bit about the Old Days™ and I'm so glad the rumours of a beef The Jesus Lizard were supposed to have with Steve Albini prior to recording Shot got sort of officially denied by both sides. My relief is all the greater for: a) Shot being a terrific album and b) me actually getting to hear them thanks to that one being properly distributed over here when it was new.

[soprano1]

And there's already a scan group called Rapeman, even!

There was a group some years ago scanlating the awesome Kamen Rider Spirits manga called Nevada Child Rapist:
https://www.mangaupdates.com/groups.html?id=2490

[RiderKick]

Rip Kamen Rider Spirits, i still keep hoping someone will pick up that series again.

Anyways, it hasn't come out yet, but can i retroactively recommend the Transformers VS Mazinger Z manga?

Yes, it's going to be an actual thing, the Transformers versus the very first super robot series(well, first with a pilot) and that should be interesting.

[soprano1]

Saw Cyber City Oedo 808, was pretty decent and had nice animation. Then I saw it again with the Manga UK dub and oh boy, did it get amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2Q6AwrGUkQ
NOPE, best line ever!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo1gm4pC1ck
FUCKITY FUCK!!

[FinalBaton]

Saw Cyber City Oedo 808, was pretty decent and had nice animation. Then I saw it again with the Manga UK dub and oh boy, did it get amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2Q6AwrGUkQ
NOPE, best line ever!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo1gm4pC1ck
FUCKITY FUCK!!

You are sure to summon BIL now with this comment

[Vludi]

Watched Boogiepop Phantom recently, I liked it but it definitely expects you to know about the Boogiepop universe beforehand as it doesn't get much into the main characters and it's placed after the events of the first light novel, but the staple theme is still nicely developed. The sound design and OST are pretty cool as well, definitely fit for the psychological thriller tone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uwrDqYhufM

[Steamflogger Boss]

Saw Cyber City Oedo 808, was pretty decent and had nice animation. Then I saw it again with the Manga UK dub and oh boy, did it get amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2Q6AwrGUkQ
NOPE, best line ever!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo1gm4pC1ck
FUCKITY FUCK!!

Yeah there is way more swearing in the dub.

[soprano1]

Yeah there is way more swearing in the dub.

Hell, for Street Fighter II I prefer the dub, at least the one I heard from my own VHS version from 1995 or so: the score is more interesting and vibrant, the licensed tracks were nicely used in their scenes, and the dialogue, despite the swearing, is just gold compared to the the original JP dialogue, which is kinda boring.
"There's always something with that Fei Long. He's an asshole!"

[bottino]

Hell, for Street Fighter II I prefer the dub, at least the one I heard from my own VHS version from 1995 or so: the score is more interesting and vibrant, the licensed tracks were nicely used in their scenes, and the dialogue, despite the swearing, is just gold compared to the the original JP dialogue, which is kinda boring.
"There's always something with that Fei Long. He's an asshole!"

Yes, same here; the dubbing for Street Fighter II was ace as well (although there's no swearing) and the voice actors chosen for the characters were pretty much perfect.

[kaicooper]

Yeah there is way more swearing in the dub.

Hell, for Street Fighter II I prefer the dub, at least the one I heard from my own VHS version from 1995 or so: the score is more interesting and vibrant, the licensed tracks were nicely used in their scenes, and the dialogue, despite the swearing, is just gold compared to the the original JP dialogue, which is kinda boring.
"There's always something with that Fei Long. He's an asshole!"

the only anime i prefer the dub man..welcome to the club..the score here is the best

[Ji-L87]

So uh, for some reason I sat down to watch through the El-Hazard:The Magnificent World OVA this weekend. Not sure what brought this on.

It was perfectly adequate, I guess? Fine as a weekend anime snack, but can we talk about those gorgeous backgrounds and scenery shots? Oh man oh man.

[GaijinPunch]

Saw Cyber City Oedo 808, was pretty decent and had nice animation. Then I saw it again with the Manga UK dub and oh boy, did it get amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2Q6AwrGUkQ
NOPE, best line ever!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo1gm4pC1ck
FUCKITY FUCK!!

BIL had a pretty good take on that a few pages ago in this thread.

[KAI]

Rewatched Boogiepop Phantom after watching the ep 13 of Boogiepop and Others, and phantom's plot makes A LOT of sense now.
Awesome series, i remember loving it like crazy 19 years ago, it was a great experience to get into it once again after all this years.
I still think Phantom is far superior that Lain in a lot of aspects, and that opening <3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvW1w1zftqI

[Steamflogger Boss]

So uh, for some reason I sat down to watch through the El-Hazard:The Magnificent World OVA this weekend. Not sure what brought this on.

It was perfectly adequate, I guess? Fine as a weekend anime snack, but can we talk about those gorgeous backgrounds and scenery shots? Oh man oh man.

El Hazard isn't nearly as trashy as some of the stuff I have coming in on LD. I will report back here after watching...heh...