Recommended Anime/Manga?

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scrilla4rella
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by scrilla4rella »

Steamflogger Boss wrote:Been delving into the Leiji-verse a bit more. Next week will be Yamato week, assuming my mail from Japan isn't interrupted by COVID19 madness.
I love me some Leij-verse. Too bad we don't have more of it on blue-ray in the West. Is there more in HD over in Japan?
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kitten
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by kitten »

castlevania season 3 is as at least as good as the previous seasons and nearly as long as the two of them put together. halfway through it and quite enjoying it!

there's a lot of warren ellis' usual smug, fedora-tipping atheism in his sometimes obnoxiously quippy dialogue, but the characters are so charmingly written and the dips into casual hyper-vulgarity so fun that i can't help but really enjoy myself. he doesn't take a lot of easy outs and there's a lot of good conversations so far, this season. wasn't expecting Lesbian Polycule Drama in castlevania, but whatever, i'm down for it.

animation is still what it is - bits of highly budgeted action with wild movement peppered amongst mostly stiff characters standing rigidly before each other. i think it frankly looks fine (and sometimes even *good*), but it's occasionally got some early 00's bad OVA vibes or feels a little unshakably western in a somewhat ugly way.
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by Steamflogger Boss »

scrilla4rella wrote:
Steamflogger Boss wrote:Been delving into the Leiji-verse a bit more. Next week will be Yamato week, assuming my mail from Japan isn't interrupted by COVID19 madness.
I love me some Leij-verse. Too bad we don't have more of it on blue-ray in the West. Is there more in HD over in Japan?
Not sure, I'm getting laserdiscs. I've been watching GE999 on BD and other than convenience and ease of use it doesn't particularly have much going for it over other formats. Newer stuff is probably a different story but made for tv 70s anime is a bit rough around the edges and likely wasn't stored great.

Stuff will be here tomorrow, huge package of 24 ld total.so hopefully undamaged.
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scrilla4rella
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by scrilla4rella »

fuck yeah! Anime on LaserDisc, that sounds awesome.
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

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Need to find subtitles for Love & Pop but Yamato is good to go.
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by Ji-L87 »

Steamflogger Boss wrote:Need to find subtitles for Love & Pop but Yamato is good to go.
Never heard of Love & Pop before so I had to look it up. I tried MyAnimelist first but got nothing but then it turns out it's a live action. With the cover being illustrated, I was thrown for a little loop.

What else is in the pile underneath? :o


Oh and, anyone else watching Eizoken, which is great, and finding the trial runs for their productions are more fun to watch than the finished products?
I'm watching it with friends so we're slightly behind as we only gather every so often but we just finished the mecha animation arc. Maybe it's just the handdrawn-ness of the sakuga compared to the much more digital look of the final product or a feeling of how all of the excited discussions about some specific detail "only amounted to so much". Or maybe it's just that thing that makes a sketch somehow more intriguing than a finished drawing.

Not dissing on Eizoken just a thing I've noticed.
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kitten
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by kitten »

Ji-L87 wrote:Never heard of Love & Pop before so I had to look it up. I tried MyAnimelist first but got nothing but then it turns out it's a live action. With the cover being illustrated, I was thrown for a little loop.
steamflogger picked it up after i recommended it in the movie thread - it's by anno, so it's like... anime adjacent? it's good.
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by chargrad »

Grand Blue is really good.

Also Death Note creators released new death note manga with new characters. Highly recommended!
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BIL
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by BIL »

Happened across a Jonathan Young, who does English-language covers of hotblooded animu OPs. They're really good! At least his JoJos. I didn't listen to the rest, most of which I don't know. Image

All JoYo covers set to DavidPro's openings

Surprisingly well done! I prefer subbed to dubbed, but I wouldn't complain at all if these were the official tracks. Guy has the right fiery panache for JJBA's inimitable dynastic melodrama.
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by FinalBaton »

Always love seeing your LD pickups Boss. You've got a Genlock for displaying subs?
BIL wrote:Happened across a Jonathan Young, who does English-language covers of hotblooded animu OPs. They're really good! At least his JoJos. I didn't listen to the rest, most of which I don't know. Image

All JoYo covers set to DavidPro's openings

Surprisingly well done! I prefer subbed to dubbed, but I wouldn't complain at all if these were the official tracks. Guy has the right fiery panache for JJBA's inimitable dynastic melodrama.
That looks pretty fun, I'll check it later after workday is done
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by GaijinPunch »

Steamflogger Boss wrote:Image

Need to find subtitles for Love & Pop but Yamato is good to go.
I remember wanting the fuck out of that Yamato LD set when I was in high school and just figured out how much anime was out there. Of course it was $450 or so at the time (1993) so that never happened.
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by Steamflogger Boss »

Yeah LD retail was insane.
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by it290 »

Discovered to my surprise last night that Project A-ko is available on Amazon Prime. I think it's a new dub—or at least it's not as good as the one I remember—and there's at least one scene that is inexplicably cut, but damn what a fine slice of mid-80s anime. So many great action sequences, perspective shots, and little hand-drawn FX frames that are a real homage to how spectacular anime used to be.
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by Steamflogger Boss »

it290 wrote:Discovered to my surprise last night that Project A-ko is available on Amazon Prime. I think it's a new dub—or at least it's not as good as the one I remember—and there's at least one scene that is inexplicably cut, but damn what a fine slice of mid-80s anime. So many great action sequences, perspective shots, and little hand-drawn FX frames that are a real homage to how spectacular anime used to be.
I'll drink to that.
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BIL
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by BIL »

I really hope David Production gets to animate Jojo Part 6. Skimming back over it, I was reminded of how dire and poignant it can get. I had to post this after being reminded of the sad tales of FOO FIGHTERS and WEATHER REPORT, and the less sad one of GORGEOUS IRENE Image

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Also, I wanna see (and HEAR) this onscreen. Image

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Part 7 could be a hoot, too, but holy fuck that'd be a lot of horsies to animate. I hope they keep truckin' along, they've a real passion I'd find infectious even without being a fan of the mangas.
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by Udderdude »

New season just started, Kakushigoto is getting an anime. It's pretty good so far, really liking the first episode.
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by Steamflogger Boss »

Got around to watching the first Yamato movie. Now that I feel comfortable with the subtitling set-up I hope to watch the next four films over the next week.

Nothing groundbreaking here. Classic Leiji. Manry men, nationalistic about Japan. Easy to watch sci-fi escape. 8/10

Oh and it looks damn good on LD on my hdcrt especially factoring in the source material. Guessing the other movies will look better.
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by FinalBaton »

WHat is your crt for watching LD again? maybe you've told me before but I forget. Is it a 1080i Sony set? Those are pretty good with 480i/480p signal
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by Steamflogger Boss »

FinalBaton wrote:WHat is your crt for watching LD again? maybe you've told me before but I forget. Is it a 1080i Sony set? Those are pretty good with 480i/480p signal
Yeah KV-34XBR800. I've got a PVM in amazing shape but it's smaller and I also have a 960 but the 800 was like new when I got it whereas the 960 was showing some age from big time use. The stuff it does processing wise is good with film content anyway. I went into the service menu and disabled a lot of stuff for inputs I have game consoles on.

I've tried LD on my plasma and lcd sets (admittedly nothing special in either case) and none can compete with teh tubes.
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by BIL »

Shingeki no Kyojin ch.128 Intense chapter, seems the pieces are finally in place. First sustained action after several months of buildup, and the first chapter in a while where I'm really looking forward to the next.
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by Steamflogger Boss »

Been watching some Kimagure Orange Road and Lupin Part 2. What better time than now with nothing to do.
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

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Udderdude wrote:New season just started, Kakushigoto is getting an anime. It's pretty good so far, really liking the first episode.
this and kaguya sama s2 which started yesterday, this is gonna be a good animu season, planning to watch that furry thing from trigger too.

Watched Euphonium's new movie last week. Damn good, loved the new characters, really hyped about a new season.
And oh wow! Violet Everganden's movie is already on netflix, that was fast.
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by BIL »

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HE WAS MISSING TWO BALLS (■`W´■)

Image

THE DICK IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT (■`W´■)

JOJOLION is good. Back to Part 4 slice of life + unspeakable lurking horror tricks. I love that they've given
Spoiler
Kira
his own little patch in the story. Usually I'll wait for a JoJo to end before starting, but eh. Maybe it'll be interesting to follow along for once.

Speaking of, sweet Jebus had I forgotten how beautiful Araki's SBR drawings got, especially the official coloured run.

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Been re-reading the earlier parts in colour too, recommended. Stone Ocean always looked a bit underfed to me, much more fleshed-out here.

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Yall mahfuckas gay for real doe :shock: Image (ngl it kills me that Pucci wears SHOES IN BED, AIEEE)
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by Steamflogger Boss »

Deliciously gay, BIL.

So this popped up on my radar: https://anidb.net/anime/14454

Not big on the whole isekai thing, Konosuba and this are really the only ones I could stand to finish. This was short which helps.

Have made notes to try Kakushigoto and Kaguya-sama based on recent posts in this thread.
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by BryanM »

Mushoku Tensei finally getting its animation this year bookends the trend, I guess.

It seems like the author was just waiting for a suitable studio - the established big names like Kyoto Animation don't do other people's IP anymore due to not wanting to share revenue and not having control over the IP. I'm sure he got a ton of half-assed offers over the years.

Apparently he finally found a partner in a hungry up-and-coming studio that could use a big IP to get themselves started on. Apparently they love parallax.

It still has very icky wish fulfillment stuff, but the MC doesn't have utter godlike control over his new world at all. He has parents, bad things happen, likable characters die, he eats shit sometimes. You know - like in a story.

For the western scene, we've long zoomed past the cookie cutter "In Dragon Quest, Collecting Women As Pokemon" template, if we ever even touched it to begin with. Japan's profit motive of that stuff made it non-viable, so we get meta stuff like Arrogant Young Master and Worth the Candle.
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by Steamflogger Boss »

BryanM wrote:bad things happen, likable characters die, he eats shit sometimes. You know - like in a story.
This is why Cowboy Bebop and Hana Yori Dango slap so much. Shit gets boring if there isn't any tension. Real characters with human flaws are nice too.
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by Steamflogger Boss »

Got around to watching City Hunter Shinjuku Private Eyes. It's fun and more importantly it's unabashed City Hunter. This is how you make a new entry in a classic franchise. Of course the animation is meh cgi but that is to be expected.
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by ED-057 »

Should I crosspost this in the fitness thread? such informative. so humor.
https://www.funimation.com/shows/how-he ... -training/

Also notable for being one of the few video sites that will show me more than a black rectangle. And it's not like I even try that hard to block ads, I only have the slimiest of slime heaps blocked in my hosts file.

Evangelion movies (Japanese) are on youtube BTW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0AeU-0_bHs
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by GaijinPunch »

Steamflogger Boss wrote:Got around to watching City Hunter Shinjuku Private Eyes. It's fun and more importantly it's unabashed City Hunter. This is how you make a new entry in a classic franchise. Of course the animation is meh cgi but that is to be expected.
THat's the new one? City Hunter is something I never watched but have debated giving a try. Rando in this very thread spoke highly of it.
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Re: Recommended Anime/Manga?

Post by Randorama »

City Hunter and Cat's Eye are possibly the most venerated series from Tsukasa Hojo, and by now the anime adaptations can be watched as time capsules from the '80s. I am very biased in favour of this author's works (his latter works are irrationally gorgeous, to my eyes), but what I can say on City Hunter is:

- Stories are often well-written and interesting, and can sometimes handle mature themes in an elegant manner. Most importantly, they always have a remarkably good balance of humour, action, drama and characterization;

- Ryo Saeba is an adult struggling with adult life, even if with a sprinkling of Mokkori-style. Ryo often goes through the "perv character" routines ("mokkori" is the way he describes boners and boner-inducing situations and women), but also needs to pay the rent, handle complex relationships with Kaori, Falcon and the others, and often make difficult choices and face the consequences;

- Action scenes are generally badass, very fast-paced and well-choreographed. Ryo is a bit of a Duke Togo/Golgo 13 marksman (he can hit anything at any distance), but he gets the job done in 5 minutes, not 4 episodes;

- '80s style with a vengeance, but in its best incarnation. Fluid animation (the true "Smooth Sunrise" style), hilariously bad haircuts, improbable dresses, a general optimistic attitude to life, a cosmopolitan setting (Ryo drives a Mini Cooper and a Fiat Panda, many stories involve international intrigues) and tons of love letters to Tokyo (I would say Kabuchi-cho, even) at the pinnacle of its beauty. The OST is pure "city pop", i.e. J-pop from the 80's (perfect examples: first season opening song, second season ending song);

- It works perfectly as the "unwind" type of series. I re-watched this a year ago or so with the waifu, at dinner time, one episode per meal. Life may disintegrate you on some days, but at least you know that you come back home, and Ryo is gonna get a new case and go all "Mokkori!", and Kaori is gonna hit him with a 10t hammer, and then Ryo is gonna handle the case, and everything and everyone will be fine. In the anime and in real life, because badassery will set you free (...or was it truth? I never remember, sorry).

Cat's eye, I don't recall much of it. I remember the premise (three sisters working as undercover thieves to recover some artifact stolen from their late father?), and I remember that it was hugely popular in Italy and France for the same reasons as City Hunter.

Maybe I should re-watch this, in fact!

EDIT: Maybe I should add that City Hunter *was* a manga originally serialised on Shonen Jump, so it is technically a shonen manga/anime.

As far as i understand, SJ started featuring more adult-themed serializations already in the late '70s, because by that time they had faithful readers who were in their 30's/40's but started reading the magazine as boys. The goal of these series seems to revolve around trying to keep adults on board by having serializations that could go beyond the usual SJ fare (OK, I am oversimplifying but still).

My 2 cents is that this specific sub-type of SJ series tends to really be seinen-style in disguise (adult-themed, mature, whatever term you prefer), with a few sillier aspects of standard shonen fare (e.g. toilet humour, recurring punch lines, etc.) in the mix, to appeal to the main younger base of the magazine.

Case in point, in City Hunter you get the recurring Mokkori gag (Ryo sporting mushroom-like boners and Kaori beating him with improbably huge hammers), and a few other silly bits (e.g. Falcon/Umebozu being afraid of cats). The rest is proper dramedy mixed with cop/P.I. shows, with a dash of rom-com (Ryo and Kaori, Ryo and his detective lady friend, etc.) and random shenanigans (...I recall that Ryo sometimes gets laid in the manga, but not in the anime. Oh well).

Once you get used to those silly bits, however, the rest of the series shines as the brilliant piece of entertainment that it is. Nostalgia is irrelevant in this case - some works are classics, and as such it is never too late to discover them and appreciate them. Though I must admit that watching them again brought tons of memories of my childhood, and the asymmetry between my childhood and my wife's were staggering (South Korea in the 80's was a *very* different place from the current "western-light" country).
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