Let's Talk About Anime

[Sharoth]

~LAUGHTER~ Awesome! My next life as a Villainess: all roads lead to DOOM!!! is being turned into an anime series!

[Sharoth]

Also, BOFURI: I don't want to get hurt, so I'll max out my defense. is a pretty cute series.

[Greylurker]

BOFURI has been my light and relaxing show this season. It's nice to see someone just, enjoying a game, no pressure, no stress.

Can't wait for Villainess. I've read 3 or 4 of the books and it is such a fun story

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

I couldn't get through the first episode of BOFURI. I gave episode two a try and couldn't get through that one either, even when I spent most of the time not paying attention to it. Strange, because I'm generally fond of (or at least tolerant of) CGDCT shows, but there is something about all the shows based around game mechanics that rubs me the wrong way, even when it's a legitimate game.

Another decent anime season. As usual I've discarded most without even giving them a shot, and many after only one episode. If previous seasons are anything to go by there is about a 50% chance that I will go back and finish something in those two categories.

Interspecies Reviewers is the sort of show that could easily have lost its luster after the first episode but the writers have put enough thought into the species and how they work that every episode is fun.

InSpectre is a story that I'm already familiar with, having read the manga, so I'm enjoying the anime. Some fun banter, some interesting ideas about how the supernatural works and an enjoyable MC (and a typically dull love interest).

Hands Off the Motion Picture Club is, despite my love for IR, the best show of the season. Funny and quirky without being too exaggerated, fun characters, informative, and a love for the medium that shines through in every scene. Everyone needs a Kanamori in their life.

ID: Invaded and Dorohedoro are just interesting enough that I'm watching it while doing the dishes or making dinner. The former for a slight mystery, the latter for marginally interesting world building and Ebisu.

Come to Seton Academy is fun, but I like this sort of story. Another no-brainer this season since I like the manga. Instructive and amusing.

Somali and the Forest Spirit is cute. Yet another one I was familiar with from the manga, yet another single dad & young daughter story. there are lots for those - few single mother and son, or father and son....does this say something about the target audience I don't want to know?

[Freehold DM]

IIRC, single dad(usually widower) with daughter is a common Japanese trope. Single dad with daughter is almost always a way of saying someone is a widower.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Yeah, ignoring the exceptions like Usagi Drop, Yotsuba&, Somali, etc. but why is that particular combination so popular?

[Phillip Gastone]

Usagi Drop is good pre-timeskip. Many(including me) dumped it because of the skeevy implications.

[Sharoth]

Sweet! Crunchyrool has Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody, but only in the non-dubbed form. I doubt it will be as good at the light novel series, but it should be enjoyable.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Phillip Gastone wrote:

Usagi Drop is good pre-timeskip. Many(including me) dumped it because of the skeevy implications.

There is no part two.

As if I needed another reason to love my girlfriend, she finally gave IR a try and binged the first four episodes. Looks like that's another show we'll be watching together.

[Greylurker]

I am all in favour of shows that include adorable munchkins.

If you are rummaging through the Crunchyroll catalogue You should try Alice and Zokuro and Hinamatsuri Little bit more action in those shows but they are both great Father/Daughter, found family, shows.

and for Manga try Spy x Family Anya Folger is a brilliant little trouble maker. Hasn't been animated yet, but I think it's only a matter of time

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Don't forget Sweetness and lightning, which is about the cutest of the lot. Alice and Zokuro is fun mostly because Zokuro is basically my favorite PC if he had been raised to be a florist instead of a borderline psychopathic demon killer.

[Sharoth]

How to Survive a Harem Anime ~Laughter~ Oh, NSFW

[Sharoth]

Isekai Anime Survival Guide

[Sharoth]

Is YOUR Daughter a Magical Girl?!

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Those are brilliant. Time for a rewatch.

On the topic of rewatches, the girl and I were so disgusted by the new GitS: SAC 2045 in all ways that we dropped it after two episodes and just decided to rewatch the original SAC. We remembered it was good but we have forgotten so much that in many ways it's almost like watching it for the first time.
It really is as good as we remembered. The characters, the banter, the plot, the intrigue, the animation: it would be look good if released today.

[Sharoth]

Bjørn Røyrvik wrote:

Those are brilliant. Time for a rewatch.

On the topic of rewatches, the girl and I were so disgusted by the new GitS: SAC 2045 in all ways that we dropped it after two episodes and just decided to rewatch the original SAC. We remembered it was good but we have forgotten so much that in many ways it's almost like watching it for the first time.
It really is as good as we remembered. The characters, the banter, the plot, the intrigue, the animation: it would be look good if released today.

Give it another shot. It does get better. I had a hard time with the first 3 episodes but it picked up and became much closer to a SAC series. Just understand that it is part one of at least two and ends on a cliffhanger.

[Sharoth]

Phantom in the Twilight was a fun little anime series. It is on Crunchyroll.

[Greylurker]

Ok and new season begins.

Misfit at Demon Lord high school is about what I expected. Main character is brutally overpowered but it's got some nice comedy moments (his parents are great)

God of High School was actually a lot more fun than I was expecting. Our three main characters are a nice combo and it jumps into the action very quickly, plus there is clearly more going on beside High School Battle Tournament

out of last season I really enjoyed Princess Connect Re:Dive It was a light and fluffy show for the most part with some really good kids having fun adventures for good food. Hope it gets a season 2

[Blayde MacRonan]

I've been enjoying rewatching Saint Seiya on Netflix and it reminded me just how much I missed the music of MAKE-UP (Pegasus Fantasy and Blue Forever both are really good songs).

Rewatched Ouran Host Club, Card Captor Sakura and I started rewatching One Piece on Netflix.

Annoyed that Netflix wouldn't help fund another season of Wakfu, so if you're wanting that new season track down the Kickstarter for it and donate.

I also watched the new Stand Alone Complex on Netflix as well... well at least the first half of it. I enjoyed it (especially since they brought back the English dub voice actors from the original SAC), but it really didn't feel like SAC until about halfway through and it ended just as it was getting good. Looking forward to seeing where they go from here with it.

Watched the new Orphen series on Hulu. As a fan of the first season of the original series, I really liked this new one due to the overall seriousness of its tone. If they plan on doing another season, I'm down for it.

I'm trying to watch Terror in Resonance on Hulu, but my wife has been watching Scrubs as of late so there's that.

I watched Fire Force season 1 and am waiting for more episodes of season 2 to drop before I get back into that.

Also watched Kengan Ashura on Netflix and was pleasantly surprised by how much I got into that. And while I'm not into what passes for hip-hop nowadays, that closing theme slaps.

Also got around to watching Demon Slayer. Really looking forward to watching more episodes of that as well.

[Greylurker]

For all you Inu Yasha fans out there

Next Generation is looking fun

[Freehold DM]

Takahashi-o-sensei putting more stuff out? Hells yeah.

[Phillip Gastone]

I read some of Inu Yasha but just ran out of steam. Oh! The big nasty yet again runs off. So I just stopped getting it.

[Thomas Seitz]

Philip,

It got better. I thought. I mean it wasn't Fullmetal Alchemist, but it was...serviceable.

Still is.

So I'm looking forward to seeing what Inuyasha/Kagome's kid does with Sessh's daughters.

[Greylurker]

Yashahime episode 1 is out. Drops us a little in the middle of things, gives us a quick look at the three main girls (who have their own "running away demon" to chase after) and then flashes back to the original cast.

Sango and Miroku - 2 girls and 1 boy.
Everyone else still child free

Demons still looking for the jewel even though it's been destroyed.

Looks like EP2 will jump forward a few more years before we reach the present and series is confirmed at 24 episodes.

[Greylurker]

King's Raid

Oh man......This show feels like a High School DM, sitting down to do his first Homebrew campaign.

It is so by the numbers; The dying king, the evil noble, the edge lord dark elf.

I can't help but love it.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

"Talentless Nana" got an anime, it seems.
An entertaining little piece about a serial killer without superpowers who has to kill people with, using her brains and charm.

Harkening back to my post in May about the new GitS, I did finally watch the rest of it, and it did get better. It still looked like shit and still didn't manage to reach the heights of SAC, and it wasn't finished, so still vastly inferior to either season of SAC. I am interested in seeing how the story progresses, however. Much though I like Togusa, I think a recurring problem with the GitS series' from SAC on is that they focus too much on him. I want to see the rest of the S9 get some love. I guess it's because he's the most human of them, and the 'rookie' of the team - an angle they exaggerated compared to the manga.

[Greylurker]

The sleeping Princess in the Demon Lord's castle.

It's just fun
not LOL funny but cute funny

that is really all I can say about it.
It's a nice sit back and enjoy it kind of show

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

I like the manga, but it's getting to the point where it needs to end.

[Greylurker]

Now that the backstory is out of the way Yashahime is getting pretty fun. Towa and Setsuna both have different aspects of their father's personality and are a pretty neat contrast but Moroha just steals the show. She is this ball of reckless and cleverness all tied together by a "Live for the moment" attitude. It's easy to see a lot of both her parents in her.

Spoiler:

Show is promising a lot of time travel between the two time periods and Sessomaru may be one of the villains, at the very least he seems to be up to something dramatically wrong in order to save Rin from some sort of magic coma.

[Here4daFreeSwag]

For fans of SSSS Gridman and the upcoming SSSS Dynazenon anime, Tsuburaya has put up the original Japanese live action version of Gridman, episode 1, on youtube for a limited time; as of this posting, the episode is set to expire in the next few days. Episode 2 of Japanese live action Gridman is also available for viewing; presumably to be removed in the future as well.

Here4daFreeSwag wrote:

And now we get to the part where the Fan-Servicey Hand Taketh Away. Ever wondered if something very much like a Hellsing's Alucard-like Entity could ever possibly be re-purposed for some more mundane, domestic pursuit? Kamen No Maid Guy, an unlicensed 12 episode anime comedy series plus an OVA episode, will give a definite answer to that burning question.

While the OVA seems to still be unlicensed, the 12 episodes of Kamen No Maid Guy did get licensed and can be found on Crunchyroll these days.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

It's a slow burn this season with only two and a half shows worth following, which means I can watch or rewatch older stuff. At the moment I'm plowing through Fist of the North Star 2. Not as good as part 1 but still immensely entertaining.

[Here4daFreeSwag]

Here4daFreeSwag wrote:

For fans of SSSS Gridman and the upcoming SSSS Dynazenon anime, Tsuburaya has put up the original Japanese live action version of Gridman, episode 1, on youtube for a limited time; as of this posting, the episode is set to expire in the next few days. Episode 2 of Japanese live action Gridman is also available for viewing; presumably to be removed in the future as well.

As expected, both episodes have already expired. On the plus side, Episodes 3 and Episodes 4 of live action Gridman are up; both will eventually expire though. Rather than constantly putting up links to the newer episodes as they come out, it might be best to check the Youtube Tsuburaya channel page for future further episodes. ;)

*****

Here4daFreeSwag wrote:

Of course, when folks think of tokusatsu, they tend to envision more along the lines of this and that.

The former "this" of the above quote makes an ultra-colossal return as this again. For those that don't mind having a truncated subtitled version, check here then.

P.S. For those preferring a more recent "new-gen" take on the whole thing, both a subtitled version and an english-dubbed version are available. ;)

Here4daFreeSwag wrote:

The latter of the above "that" was supposed to refer to this further (or more of this could be substituted instead as a brief audio-visual example).

Managed to find a much longer, subtitled version of the above.

P.S. Of course, there are those who might be a bit more appreciative of the combining Mecha/Zord aspect of Tokusatsu, in which case, something like this or that (from the Goseiger Gokaiger Super Sentai 199 Great Battle Legend War movie from a few years back) would be more up their alley. ;)

*****

Here4daFreeSwag wrote:

Here4daFreeSwag wrote:

The Non-Fanservicey Hand Giveth: The Daughter of 20 Faces; from Orphan to Action-Girl, Gentlemen Rogues and their Entourage, a lesser-known Bones production.

More of that obscure Bones anime with post-WW2 intrigue and capers, The Daughter of 20 Faces.

More Daughters and Pulp-styled mystery & action from Bones to be had now. ;)

[Freehold DM]

Why are Kamen rider and Space Sheriff slumming with sentai characters...?

[Here4daFreeSwag]

Freehold DM wrote:

Why are Kamen rider and Space Sheriff slumming with sentai characters...?

Other than all three tokusatsu franchises being owned by Toei, I think that it was a follow-up movie to the successful film presentation of Kamen Rider X Super Sentai Super Hero Taisen. ;)

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

FotNS is on hold while I get through Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure , a series by the creator of Tenchi Muyo! Very obviously made in the wake of NGE, with many similarities that can't be entirely coincidental.

The humor is less exaggerated than most of the creator's work, but it's still a harem comedy with big mechs. I'm enjoying it.

[Here4daFreeSwag]

Here4daFreeSwag wrote:

Here4daFreeSwag wrote:

For fans of SSSS Gridman and the upcoming SSSS Dynazenon anime, Tsuburaya has put up the original Japanese live action version of Gridman, episode 1, on youtube for a limited time; as of this posting, the episode is set to expire in the next few days. Episode 2 of Japanese live action Gridman is also available for viewing; presumably to be removed in the future as well.

As expected, both episodes have already expired. On the plus side, Episodes 3 and Episodes 4 of live action Gridman are up; both will eventually expire though. Rather than constantly putting up links to the newer episodes as they come out, it might be best to check the Youtube Tsuburaya channel page for future further episodes. ;)

As a side-note, for those who were wondering about what the deal was with Episodes Six and parts of Episodes Twelve (involving the remaining Kaiju) in the SSSS Gridman anime, then Episode Six of the Original Live-Action Gridman might hold some answers. As always, this episode will eventually expire as well. ;)

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Dullest season in quite some time. I'm sort of watching the spider-girl isekai, and I will probably give the girls in weird land a try when I remember its name, but other than that nothing has piqued my interest and I have run out of older things I want to watch. Right now I'm giving "Occult Academy" a try, but it's borderline. I could rewatch something, but I don't really feel like that.

This is just a roundabout way of saying I would like suggestions about what to watch. I'm willing to give pretty much anything a try, in an attempt to broaden my horizons. Generally I don't like the shounen battle stuff (with two exceptions) or sports anime so unless you have something in that you feel will change my mind on that, maybe leave those out of a list.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Wow, it's been a while since this thread was active. Do we not watch anime any more?

So, new season, new shows. So far I have tried:

Joran, princess of snow and blood is the stand-out this season. Heavily inspired by "Lady Snowblood", but set in an alt.u. Japan with monsters and government black-ops and conspiracies. The characters and the intrigue have been fascinating so far, with the action more of a punctuation to a set-up than the main event. I cannot quite decide if I really like or somewhat dislike the change in art style when our MC changes and fights, but it is definitely striking.

SSSS Dynazenon is entertaining enough to keep me watching, but its characters and set-up aren't as good as Gridman. Maybe it will improve.

Mars Red historical alt-u Japan, sorta like Joran, but with vampires. Not as good as Joran but I will probably watch a few more episodes to see if it gets better.

Godzilla: singularity point feels like they are trying to give big G the SSSS treatment with its cast of quirky characters and advanced tech and mechs and turning Rodan into a species. Not sure if I like it yet, but I will keep watching until Godzilla himself shows up before I render final judgement.

Cesturs: the Roman fighter fighting sport anime set in Imperial Rome. The characters were cardboard and I'm not entirely sure about the historicity of it (a couple things struck me as wrong, but I'm no expert on the period so I may be mistaken), primarily how all these gladiators seem to fight to the death all the time and how pankration was made with Eastern fighting techniques. Maybe that will clear up in future episodes, but for now this show is on the 'will probably drop' list.

Combatants will be dispatched Coming from the author of Konosuba this show has enough to live up to. Sadly, it seems like it will not do so. The same basic premise of people from our world going to generic JRPG pseudo-D&D world and get roped in to fighting the Demon King. Granted, this time they have actual competence and some super tech, and the MC is basically Kazuma with more balls and nothing of what little decency Kazuma had. I may keep watching it but I wouldn't be surprised if I forgot it at some point.

Don't toy with me, Nagatoro-san Yet another show aimed at us nerdy loners where some cute girl mysteriously takes a liking to some rando MC and forces her way into his life, with extra humiliation and teasing/bullying (as if we need to see more of that). The manga works well enough but for some reason I'm not overly fond of the anime adaptation. I'm not sure if that has ever happened before. Not sure if I will keep up with this one.

Zombieland SAGA: Revenge More of everyone's favorite idol group. The first season started immensely strong but lost a bit of juice when it moved more into idol life and away from zombie humor. Season 2 builds on everything we've seen previously, so it looks like zombie humor will be more of an afterthought. I'm still going to watch the hell out of this show, if for no other reason than to see if Yugiri's Saga Jihen gets show. And for Tae.

Preparing us for the second season of Kobayashi-san's Maid dragon later this year (YAY!) we have a series of mini episodes of a couple minutes each. Gimme more!

I will probably give Shadow House and Way of the Househusband a try at some point. Possibly others.

[Greylurker]

I am still enjoying the heck out of "So I'm a Spider now" plus a new season of "Thunderbolt Fantasy"

I should actually be watching more stuff but new job is keeping me much busier than I thought and leaving me exhausted after.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Last season I also watched 86, which was OK, and Vivy: Flourite Eye's Song, which was surprisingly good. The former is a sad story about racism and dystopias, fortunately set in a fictional world with fictional people and divisions to make it a bit less real. The latter is time traveling robots trying to prevent the robot uprising that kills humanity. Sort of like Terminator with an idol droid. Vivy was not as good as Jouran, which really hit the feels, but still immensely entertaining.

I'm wondering if I should continue on Shadows House. It has some interesting elements and a lot of stuff we've seen done better before.

New season!

A new season of My life as a villainess: All routes lead to doom!. The first season could easily have been the end of the story but I'm happy to see more.

Girlfriend, girlfriend is my guilty pleasure this season. Say you're a decent, honest guy who is in a happy relationship with your wonderful childhood friend from next door, and some cute girl confesses to you: what do you do? Why, be moved by her earnestness and ask your first girlfriend if it's OK to two-time her! I'm generally not a big fan of exaggerated idiot type humor, but I like this author's work (previous stuff include The Manga-ka and his Assistants, and Aho Girl - more stories with idiots). So, a surprisingly honest and earnest protag and a succession of girls each who is stupider than the last, and it entertains me.

Finally, everyone's favorite dragons are back, and Iruru is finally introduced. If you liked the first seasons this one's a no-brainer.

I gave Scarlet Nexus one episode and left it at that. I have come across game-based anime that are actually entertaining, but this one seems to be of the majority which are not.

I will undoubtedly try some other stuff later on.

[Greylurker]

The Idaten Deities know only peace starts out pretty good. 800 years ago the gods appeared and destroyed the demons. Today the sole survivor of that war trains the new generation. Just in time because an evil empire is going around waking up Demons.

Show starts off fun, met these young gods and get to watch them fight a demon

then the last scene of the first episode slaps you hard across the face like a cold block of ice. This is not going to be a nice series of super kids fighting monsters, it's going to be going some unpleasant places.

Episode 2 follows it up with the basics that these Gods are born from humans praying for salvation, but the gods don't really do anything to help those who are praying. In fact they don't seem to give much of a damn about humans at all, so long as humans keep existing. They will protect people from demons sure, but that's because if left alone a Demon would keep killing people until there were none left. Humans killing Humans, doesn't really bother them much because it's just one group of humans replacing a different group. End of the day there will still be humans around. It's a philosophy that's going to bite them in the ass I think because turns out our evil empire is being run by Demons in human form.

We seem to be moving towards Gods vs. Demons war with humans just caught in the middle and suffering the fallout.

[Greylurker]

So kind of a tangent to anime talk - Netflix appears to have made a deal with a Chinese animation company and brought a few of their shows to Netflix. So far I've watched Heaven Official's Blessing and Legend of Exorcists and they have both been pretty good.
"Heaven Official's Blessing" i about a young man who has ascended to godhood three times, but because he keeps getting banished from heaven he has no worshippers, so he has to take odd jobs to gather merit.
Legends of Exorcists is a CGI series. Character designs are gorgeous and the animation is pretty good.

I just started watching a third series "The Daily life of the immortal king" which is kind of a mix between SaikiK and Kung Fu cultivation Dramas. Lot of fun so far

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Chinese anime? Isn't that blasphemy?
Jokes aside, I've enjoyed Fox Spirit Matchmaker.

[Freehold DM]

I love Zombieland Saga!

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

A man of culture. I was so happy to see an entire episode dedicated to Tae.

[Greylurker]

of the new shows
Peach Boy Riverside is all over the place. They can't seem to decide what order they want to show the episodes at so they seem to be doing it at random. At the moment I am pretty much watching it for the Rabbit girl Frau, who is both adorable and has a mysterious dark side to her.

Tsukimochi is pretty fun isekai. Summoned to be a champion for the goddess against the Demon Lord our hero arrives from Earth ready to do his duty. Only to be told he's far too ugly to be a hero so he gets banished to the monster filled wastelands. Now accompanied by Orcs, Dragons and giant spider monsters he is set on just tourism.

Idaten deities know only peace This one is a bit messy and should come with viewer advisories. It's colourful, bit silly and looks like a Super-kids vs. monsters kind of show. But it is also graphically violent and the first episode includes a rape scene (heavily stylized but it's pretty clear what is happening).
It's a Gods vs. Demons story and despite the messy start the series is interesting. It's not often you see the badguys scared of the heroes right out the gate. The Demons know they are outmatched by the gods and they are looking for some kind of advantage, which includes taking human form and hiding among humans.
Problem is they have a fundamental misunderstanding of what the gods are. They think that just because the Gods wiped out he demons 800 years ago as a respond to the prayers of humanity, that they are protecting humanity. This is not the case, at least the gods don't seem to care so long as there will still be some humans around. One of them has already proposed destroying an entire nation of humans just to get the demons hiding there, she could probably do it too.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

I started watching IDKOP and it's been good enough to keep my attention.
I tried Peach Boy Riverside because it's written by Cool Kyoushinsha (though not drawn by him), author of less serious stuff like Kobayashi's Maid Dragon, I don't Understand What My Husband is Saying, Komori-san Can't Refuse, and more.
I gave up after two episodes. Maybe I'll give it another try in a few weeks.

I tried watching Aura Battler Dunbine and Legend of the Heavenly Sphere Shurato for the influence on Spelljammer, but neither have caught my interest.

[ShinHakkaider]

Bjørn Røyrvik wrote:

I tried watching Aura Battler Dunbine and Legend of the Heavenly Sphere Shurato for the influence on Spelljammer, but neither have caught my interest.

Is there a service that is streaming these? I actually have AURA BATTLER DUNBINE on DVD but I haven't seen SHURATO since it came out. I've always considered it a bit of a Saint Seiya rip off but maybe I'm misremembering.

[Greylurker]

ShinHakkaider wrote:

Bjørn Røyrvik wrote:

I tried watching Aura Battler Dunbine and Legend of the Heavenly Sphere Shurato for the influence on Spelljammer, but neither have caught my interest.

Is there a service that is streaming these? I actually have AURA BATTLER DUNBINE on DVD but I haven't seen SHURATO since it came out. I've always considered it a bit of a Saint Seiya rip off but maybe I'm misremembering.

Might be on Retro Crush, they have a lot of older shows

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

ShinHakkaider wrote:

Bjørn Røyrvik wrote:

I tried watching Aura Battler Dunbine and Legend of the Heavenly Sphere Shurato for the influence on Spelljammer, but neither have caught my interest.

Is there a service that is streaming these? I actually have AURA BATTLER DUNBINE on DVD but I haven't seen SHURATO since it came out. I've always considered it a bit of a Saint Seiya rip off but maybe I'm misremembering.

Don't know if there's a legitimate streaming service that has them, but I know people (who also know people) who have an eclectic collection of DVDs.

Since this season seems a bit minimal for me (only 3 1/2 shows I'm watching) and I've recently rewatched all I feel like rewatching at the moment, I'd appreciate any recommendations. I'll give anything a shot even if I normally wouldn't touch it. New, old, famous or obscure, I'll give it a shot. Heck, I'll even try to finish it if it isn't overly long.