Recommended Anime/Manga?

[Ghegs]

How are the books? Now that they've received a physical release I've been tempted. Love the show, just apprehensive with all the characters and politics via text.

I've been pre-ordering the books as they become available. Seeing how they're translated sci-fi books, from the 80's, from a Japanese author, I have my doubts about how long they're easily available. I was honestly surprised Viz Media even bothered picking up the license, and I'm worried they'll stop the translations at any moment upon noticing the sales aren't that great.

It might be something lost in translation, but the language used in the books is very odd at times. It's all grammatically correct of course, but sometimes you come across these sentences that are structured in a way that reveals the writer's origin, there's just no way a native English speaker would say these things in this way. There's also this...I'm not quite sure how to express it, an aloof disconnect between the text and the events happening. It's like the text is from a machine, coldly, logically and all-knowingly telling these events. Again, maybe something is lost in translation or maybe this is how Japanese authors, or at least this particular author, writes, I don't really know, I haven't read any other Japanese novels, translated or otherwise.

But honestly, if the books were released in English in the 80's, in the exact same form they're available today, I'm not sure how popular they'd have been. Back then something like Dune was already ~20 years old and the use of language there is just on a totally different level, I think. As a fan of the anime it's interesting enough for me to see where it all began, and spot the small differences between the source material and the adaptation, but I find it a bit hard to believe someone could become a fan of LOGH from these books alone. I would be really curious to hear the opinion of someone who hasn't seen the anime but is reading the books, if such a person exists.

[drauch]

Thanks for the reply. Ah, didn't realize it was VIZ putting them out. Was thinking it was Seven Seas or someone else a little more 'daring'. That's a bit troubling; VIZ does have a tendency to drop things, but hopefully not. At least the timing's right to release these.

[GaijinPunch]

I've been pre-ordering the books as they become available. Seeing how they're translated sci-fi books, from the 80's, from a Japanese author, I have my doubts about how long they're easily available. I was honestly surprised Viz Media even bothered picking up the license, and I'm worried they'll stop the translations at any moment upon noticing the sales aren't that great.

They licensed one of Sakyo Komatsu's books as well (only 2 are available in English). Would definitely like to see more of these.

It might be something lost in translation, but the language used in the books is very odd at times. It's all grammatically correct of course, but sometimes you come across these sentences that are structured in a way that reveals the writer's origin, there's just no way a native English speaker would say these things in this way.

Can't say w/o reading the original text, but anything I've read that's been translated from Japanese just doesn't sound natural in English. You can either be accurate, or you can make it sound good: you can't do both. It's a balancing act, and which is better depends on what the person paying for the translation wants.

[BryanM]

I always get a laugh at how amateur translators who have english as a second or third language handle onomatopoeias. *SFX for a cat’s far less threatening growl – in fact, sounds more like it’s getting flustered.* is not a good localization!

It's always better once they understand translations are always a bit abstract. If you were to translate a sentence like "I present this present to you in the present" by the literal meaning of the words, it would be completely wrong, after all.

[Steamflogger Boss]

How are the books? Now that they've received a physical release I've been tempted. Love the show, just apprehensive with all the characters and politics via text.

After reading the Malazan Book of the Fallen series everything else becomes much easier.

[Jonny2x4]

Can't say w/o reading the original text, but anything I've read that's been translated from Japanese just doesn't sound natural in English. You can either be accurate, or you can make it sound good: you can't do both. It's a balancing act, and which is better depends on what the person paying for the translation wants.

That reminds how in the English localization of MGS1 they translated 奴はザンジバーランドで君に… as "You of all people know he died in Zanzibarland", which is a reasonable localization, only to changed it to the less natural-sounding "You yourself... in Zanzibarland" in Twin Snakes.

The fact that Japanese is an SOV language allow writers to cut off the verb at the end for dramatic purposes, but this doesn't work that well in English since it's SVO.

[BrianC]

Can't say w/o reading the original text, but anything I've read that's been translated from Japanese just doesn't sound natural in English. You can either be accurate, or you can make it sound good: you can't do both. It's a balancing act, and which is better depends on what the person paying for the translation wants.

That reminds how in the English localization of MGS1 they translated 奴はザンジバーランドで君に… as "You of all people know he died in Zanzibarland", which is a reasonable localization, only to changed it to the less natural-sounding "You yourself... in Zanzibarland" in Twin Snakes.

The fact that Japanese is an SOV language allow writers to cut off the verb at the end for dramatic purposes, but this doesn't work that well in English since it's SVO.

At least they didn't translate it as "He's a Zanzibarland and you..." or "You guys in Zanzibarland...", which is what I got with Bing and Google.

Twin Snakes was perplexing. That wasn't the only line that was less reasonable sounding in that game.

[Randorama]

I remember that the first two books read like a dry "homage" to Asimov, in style.
I disliked Asimov and his prose, but I would say that most of early SF was written by terrible writers.
In 2018, an '80s Japanese exercise in plagiarism of a choppy writing style from the '50s may require strikes me as a though challenge.

I understand that Tanaka (or whatever his surname is) is a guy with a Ph.D. in literature who never developed an ability to portray interesting human beings, but created beautiful narrative and intellectually engaging worlds. I imagine that the original anime was able to add something in adapting the books: many characters were well-fleshed out (extremely so, at times: Yang Wen-Li being one example).

The new thesis (ack!) is OK, but I feel that the composer has an incommensurable shitty task: creating something as powerful and evocative as the "original" OST, i.e. a selection of the greatest classical works of the 18th-20th century. He is trying hard, but I admit that for this aspect, the first adaptation will be forever my favourite anime ever.

I understand that studio IG is committed to N cycles of 12-episodes series that will cover most of the books, so it might be premature to give further opinions.

[Jonny2x4]

At least they didn't translate it as "He's a Zanzibarland and you..." or "You guys in Zanzibarland...", which is what I got with Bing and Google.

Twin Snakes was perplexing. That wasn't the only line that was less reasonable sounding in that game.

Campbell was likely going to say 奴はザンジバーランドで君に殺されたはず or something to that effect, which translates "he was (supposedly killed) by you in Zanzibarland," but Naomi cuts him off before he can finish his sentence, leaving out the verb at the end. That dramatic cut-off doesn't really translate well literally in English, so in the PS1 version they just allow Campbell to finish his full thought. In the GameCube vrsion they tried to replicate this grammatic structure with "You yourself... In Zanzibarland", which doesn't sound natural in English no matter how they tried to replicate it.

There's a script comparison online between MGS1 and TTS, but I always want to do a more thorough version that adds the original Japanese lines for reference purposes.

[null1024]

Started reading Beastars, on chapter 24 now. An IRL buddy of mine recommended it to me.
It's... surprisingly good so far. He said it gets kinda stupid later on, but right now, it's interesting. Feels pretty down-to-earth, and I like the art.
Plot's about a wolf-guy student in a society of animal people that's somewhat split between herbivores and carnivores. The big deal is, carnivores still have their urge to eat meat... in a world of sapient animals. He's into this cute rabbit girl.
This causes some problems.

[Steamflogger Boss]

I remember that the first two books read like a dry "homage" to Asimov, in style.
I disliked Asimov and his prose, but I would say that most of early SF was written by terrible writers.
In 2018, an '80s Japanese exercise in plagiarism of a choppy writing style from the '50s may require strikes me as a though challenge.

I understand that Tanaka (or whatever his surname is) is a guy with a Ph.D. in literature who never developed an ability to portray interesting human beings, but created beautiful narrative and intellectually engaging worlds. I imagine that the original anime was able to add something in adapting the books: many characters were well-fleshed out (extremely so, at times: Yang Wen-Li being one example).

The new thesis (ack!) is OK, but I feel that the composer has an incommensurable shitty task: creating something as powerful and evocative as the "original" OST, i.e. a selection of the greatest classical works of the 18th-20th century. He is trying hard, but I admit that for this aspect, the first adaptation will be forever my favourite anime ever.

I understand that studio IG is committed to N cycles of 12-episodes series that will cover most of the books, so it might be premature to give further opinions.

Very true about old sci-fi. Way back when I was in school for a class I had to read a fair bit of old sci-fi and most of it was truly awful.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Lupin the 3rd From Siberia With Love

I've been going through a lot of these tv specials since they were released for the first time in the US just recently. Unfortunately this one is near the bottom of the list (of all the movies/tv specials/oavs that I've seen) for me. It's not the worst, that's probably Red vs Green or Mamo. It just drags too long. It feels like it should be maybe 45-60 minutes instead of 90. The whole finger in the mouth thing that the villain does is just weird af. At the end of the day it's still Lupin and I laughed a fair bit.

7/10

[Jameson Rook]

I'm not a fan of Japanese anime but the one that truly caught me was Blood+. I saw a promo on TV about 10 years back, decided to check it out and was hooked. Since then I've collected the out of print DVDs, soundtrack and toys. Anyone also a fan of the show?

[KAI]

The new thesis (ack!) is OK, but I feel that the composer has an incommensurable shitty task: creating something as powerful and evocative as the "original" OST, i.e. a selection of the greatest classical works of the 18th-20th century. He is trying hard, but I admit that for this aspect, the first adaptation will be forever my favourite anime ever.

I understand that studio IG is committed to N cycles of 12-episodes series that will cover most of the books, so it might be premature to give further opinions.

I must admit this wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, the CG was well done, noel vermillion looks cute, and that opening is super catchy.


On the other side, FLCL Alternative is shit, trying to do a sequel without Enokido's writing was a huge mistake.

[Randorama]

I must admit this wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, the CG was well done, noel vermillion looks cute, and that opening is super catchy.


On the other side, FLCL Alternative is shit, trying to do a sequel without Enokido's writing was a huge mistake.

I agree. I actually think that it will only get better, even if it will not probably improve upon the original. The original has not so exciting animation, at times (some episodes felt like straight out of a G.I. Joe/Mask western-bound series), but everything else is sublime.

...on the other hand, and FLCL aside (...I may finish watching it, maybe), the great mystery is Golden Kamuy. They get this one right, I may ask nothing else to the world.

[Steamflogger Boss]

Lupin the 3rd Alcatraz Connection

Much better than the previous one I watched. All around fun.

8/10

Some people complain pretty hard about this period (2001-2010) of Lupin but I think it's fine. There are some below average ones in the mix but certainly the first few or so are as good as any, I'd say. Now if Discotek eventually puts out Princess of the Breeze (2013) that will test my loyalty.

[BryanM]

Looked at the newest releases on a manga site, and around 4 of the titles had "Isekai" in them. I think this might be even more pervasive than back when everything was Dragon Ball Z.

At least out of that cesspool of the internet, Goblin Slayer was conceived. Which at least gives everyone an excuse to talk about Dungeons and Dragons nonstop. (It's fun to follow forum threads where observations like the following are made: Background character designs being ripped off from all over the place makes sense because tons of players just lazily copy something they like. The setting is an inelegant mixture of high fantasy optimism and a horrible miserable hellworld because the players involved can't agree on the campaign's theme.)

It's a bit odd of a franchise, since it's inclusive of the audience in a manner. It isn't just 100% about an autistic man's love of goblin murder, but is also about people's own experience and folklore with the tabletop scene. You don't get to hear stories about a guy's half-orc luchador killing a dragon by pining down its wings while it was in flight all that often elsewhere.

It would be nice if some of the Japanese isekai stuff could follow the Korean trend a bit more, where characters are motivated by self interest (aka, are bastards) but without descending into 13 year old edgelord nonsense. (Though I do enjoy how awful the art in the manga adoptions of those tend to be. It makes what should be horrific scenes into goofy comedy - almost like the editors know it's crap.)

[soprano1]

Anyone watching Megalo Box? The boxing gear seems a useless feature, but this being made to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ashita no Joe, it might turn out OK.

[Durandal]

but without descending into 13 year old edgelord nonsense. (Though I do enjoy how awful the art in the manga adoptions of those tend to be. It makes what should be horrific scenes into goofy comedy - almost like the editors know it's crap.)

That makes me think of Mahou Shoujo Site, a show which just started airing about a girl down on her luck who is neglected by her family, used by her onii-chan as an outlet for his ryona fantasies, bullied at school to the point of almost being raped and having her cat killed, and frequently thinks about killing herself, until Frieza gives her a magic stick (gun) via a shady Magic Girl Sire which allows her to become a magic girl, which is shown by having vaginas open in their pupils. The ED consists of flying sperm cell birds everywhere. --
It's the kind of despair porn made for and perhaps made by bullying victims for deep dark fantasies, though I like to watch these kind of shows to see how stupid they end up becoming in the process of taking themselves way too seriously even though it's just so over the top and tactless. Some of the summaries I've read of the manga seem to be promising.

The protagonist in Site also has the same name in another similar manga called Fukushuu Kyoushitsu, which is about another bullying victim who gets pushed in front of a car and barely survives, only to swear revenge on her entire class because they bullied her or just stood by and let it happen. What starts off as Revenge-Batman then involves actual murder, lives being broken to the point of suicide, dark pasts, a yandere disciple/partner-in-crime, some guy reenacting the Texas Chainsaw Massacre after being locked in a basement for a week with the person he just killed, and convoluted-ass explanations for character motivations. I shit you not, this manga is so edgy that one character walks around quoting Ningen Shikkaku by Osamu Dazai with a copy in her hand. Suitably, the art is also kind of bad.

I wonder what Nevada-tan is up to nowadays?

Anyone watching Megalo Box? The boxing gear seems a useless feature, but this being made to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Ashita no Joe, it might turn out OK.

It's probably the best pilot episode I've seen since Kabaneri, which is especially impressive considering this is the director's debut work. Much like Kabaneri, the visual style is just right, it almost feels like a 90's OVA. Seeing line shading in character and background art again makes me happy. The MC even has the same kind of wild hair like the MC in Kabaneri. Even if the remainder of the series turns out to be dogshit despite a great pilot episode, like Kabaneri, we'll at least have the pilot episode to dream about how things could've been.

I hope I didn't jinx it.

[BryanM]

Mister, you haven't seen bad art or edge until you've experienced the Nidome no Yuusha manga. Magical Girl Site and Magical Girls of the End are like high art in comparison.

Dungeon Seeker is also the bleeding edge of the edge. Some backstory is necessary:

Dungeon Seeker is written by a man who uses the pen name Sakamoto666. (Yes. Really.) I know the chair you're sitting in is covered in blood already, but there's more.

One of his earlier web novels was this thing called Liquid Metal Slime. Which was an isekai where the protagonist's status screen is like the metal slimes from dragon quest - enormous AGI and DEF, nonexistent HP and attack power. The way the story is structured is like a freaking sketch show - each chapter is a self contained interaction that doesn't matter after it's done. The "joke" is that the protagonist is terrified of getting a scratch and dying instantly, but in reality his numbers just rolled over and he's basically a god "lol".

Naturally, it was terrible and everyone hated it. Perhaps the internet bullying pushed him over the Edge. So he basically remade the concept with Dungeon Seeker, which preserves the AGI protagonist and sketch structure. Except it's a completely retarded world where everyone is The Absolute Worst to one another. It's a much better comedy novel than his attempt at a comedy novel.

It bothers me that perhaps there can perhaps be an even deeper level of edge than this, but for now

[soprano1]

Another Cutie Honey reboot? Oh well, maybe it will make more money for a new Go Nagai mecha show (I wish. )

[Durandal]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJFrTSLHxOs
fssssssssssddnghghgrrrghhHHHHHHHHH

[soprano1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJFrTSLHxOs
fssssssssssddnghghgrrrghhHHHHHHHHH

And here I thought the CG Digimon battles in Adventure tri looked weird...

[Xyga]

Maybe you guys expected a massive budget for a fully animated production, but that only rarely happens anymore.
Seeing how long Golden Kamui is it was predictable.
At least we're guaranteed a good story and setup.

[soprano1]

Maybe you guys expected a massive budget for a fully animated production, but that only rarely happens anymore.

I wasn't expecting anything, but you must admit the visual clash is there.

[pandaphantasm]

Looks like there was at least one mention of Shirokuma Cafe (Polar Bear Cafe) on here before but I believe it's worth recommending once more :) If you like happy, lighthearted slice of life stuff then it should be right up your alley!

[Durandal]

After watching the first episode it was mostly what I expected, that being ok-ish animation with more detailed close-ups and bland directing, though the CGI bears are just weird. There seems to be this ongoing trend where storyboarders want this detailed important object which is just too much for the inexperienced animation staff to handle, so they end up using CGI as a handicap which often looks incongruent with the rest of the episode, even if said CGI looks fine on its own. I'd rather prefer a traditional QUALITY bear then some weird CGI abomination which looks out of place, as if I am watching a tokusatsu show or something. The wolf actually looked fine in comparison because its model somewhat resembles the original manga art, whereas not even the bears in the manga have as much fine detail as the bears in the anime. Consistency über alles.

I am however more disappointed in the sound design. Golden Kamuy is a very /an/ manga (alongside /ck/, /his/, /k/, ... and /cm/), but the sound design does not properly convey the atmosphere of nature, even though this episode isn't that focused on nature. Then take something like Mushishi, or rather just LISTEN to it, the subtle sounds of nature will draw you in. Also, there's way more frenzied growling going on when a wolf gets into a fight, or any kind of dog.

Someone's going to get scalped if they use fucking CG bears again for the bear rape scene.

[KAI]

FFS, they can't draws cars anymore, they can't draw animals anymore, I remember when people dreamed about being animators to draw giant robots and FXs.

[soprano1]

FFS, they can't draws cars anymore, they can't draw animals anymore, I remember when people dreamed about being animators to draw giant robots and FXs.

Quite true. Itano circus love.

[BryanM]

Shiiiit, at least a video game fight sequence is a fight sequence.

I'm still in disbelief to what they did to the climatic battle scene in the Brynhildr in the Darkness animoo.

Manga: Epic battle between two psykers zooming around, throwing black holes and antimatter at each other. Tons of spreads of the city getting completely wrecked in the crossfire.

Animoo: A girl flies up into the air and a bright light fills the screen. That's fucking it. Two 5 second shots. A flat blue sky as a background. Was this shit done in MS Paint? I'm not joking here, this is how they adopted the scene. (Today I suspect the original author was actually okay with this and signed off on it. Because he's an enormous pervert who probably doesn't care about fight scenes. The entire prospect of which I find rather... dark.)

Everyone thinks One Punch Man had a big budget because of all the kinetic motion they use throughout it, but it actually didn't. It just had people who had some skill and who gave a damn about what they were doing.