The Anime Thread

[=BK=]

I actually like a lot of the Baby Saga. Character designs were a bit shit though.

[Benji]

Super 17 Saga was okay, but a bit too brief, especially the Cell/Frieza stuff. Two of Goku's greatest enemies and they get a joke of a trio of episodes.

[Benji]

And I'm done. It was okay. Good enough that I didn't hate it, but bad enough that I'm glad it isn't canon any longer. Glad Vegeta finally got some proper screen time by the end, the supporting cast in general was absurdly missing for the bulk of it (and Trunks for all intents and purposes may as well have been another totally unrelated character). I know Goku is the star, but it'd be like writing Superman without including any of his allies - super or not. I did like their use of Pan though, I hope she is similar in Super. Para Brothers were great tho.

[=BK=]

Yeah, I really like Pan and hope they keep her the same when she grows up in Super.

[MalaCloudy Black]

Now that Food Wars is on break until April I need to find another anime to watch. What's the spring lineup looking like? @damshow I usually rely on you for this..

[Ruki]

4 hours ago, WOKEN Cloudy said:

Now that Food Wars is on break until April I need to find another anime to watch. What's the spring lineup looking like? @damshow I usually rely on you for this..

Yeah @damshow! I need a new anime to watch! I was only watching two this season....one is done and the other is Food Wars.

 

I COULD go through my Crunchyroll queue....but...ehh...

[gunnar hendershow]

So this past Fall season had a solid lineup of shows. Ancient Magus' Bride is still ongoing, beyond that Land of the Lustrous and Girls' Last Tour were both great (especially Land of the Lustrous). The latter 2 are both on Anime Strike and I'm not 100% sure if either are over on HiDive. For Crunchyroll shows there's Recovery of an MMO Junkie which looked like your rote light novel isekai but is far from it. There's not a huge lineup of new and good shows in January, but then once April hits there's a ton (More My Hero Academia! More Food Wars! More Full Metal Panic! New Legend of the Galactic Heroes! New Captain Tsubasa! An alternative ending to Steins;Gate! Golden Kamuy! And, of course, Butt Detective!). Of the January shows Violet Evergarden is the big "must watch" show based on early hype. It's been acquired by Netflix BUT it sounds like they might be experimenting with actually simulcasting it. Details are still sketchy. Darling in the Franxx is another show starting in 2 weeks that I have my eye on. And of course we're finally getting the Pop Team Epic anime which will batshit funny comedy.

Oh, speaking of Netflix if y'all haven't watched Little Witch Academia go do that. Also, wait eagerly with me for Kakegurui to show up on Netflix.

Also, @WOKEN Cloudy I haven't gotten around to watching either but I wager Tuskigakirei and Just Because would both be up your alley. 

Also if either of you guys haven't watch Umaru you could do that. Season 1 aired in 2015 and season 2 just finished last week.

Overall 2017 was a really good year for anime and I am woefully behind on a lot of it. In part because I've been reading so much manga this past year, and I recommend for manga reading Golden Kamuy and Delicious in Dungeon.

Most importantly I highly suggest checking out Anime News Network's year in review lists, a lot of people I follow on Twitter and get most of my recommendations and knowledge from will be contributing to that.

Sorry for the long post, but I was summoned.

[Ruki]

I watched the first few episodes of Umaru (fantastic opening theme), but I couldn't get into it. The main character was just too bratty for my liking.

[gunnar hendershow]

11 hours ago, Ruki said:

I watched the first few episodes of Umaru (fantastic opening theme), but I couldn't get into it. The main character was just too bratty for my liking.

Yeah she's basically like that throughout. If you didn't like the first ep you won't like the rest.

[=BK=]

 

[=BK=]

Elfen Lied(manga) is.... something. I like some of the idea but the driving logic behind the way the world works doesn't make sense untill the double twist at the end.

Spoiler

Through the entire thing we're told these Diclonius  are just violent and murderous by nature when we're shown that's not true by the girls we meet and how the violent ones have been fucking tortured into being that way. We're told that they'll replace humanity through infection but we're really not told why that's an issue until near the end either. They're basically humans themselves just with extra arms and some horns. It's not like Xenomorphs are taking human babies places. The  Diclonius are perfectly capable to participate in human society after a certain age if they're not treated like animals. The doctor near the start showing he has horns because of his family line interbreeding with humans and not revealing the full Diclonius breeding habits till later on makes the whole "They'll replace us!"  fear look stupid until the very end when Lucy reveals that the doctor and the organization leader aren't Diclonius but are just mutated humans and that all Diclonius are female and unable to breed themselves outside of Lucy. The entire manga gives you story that these characters motivations are just nonsense and completely unjustified until the very end where it dumps the needed two extra lines into your lap. It's not there were holes in the logic that were left open to be filled later, you were just presented with a world of dumb, nonsensical military people and doctors then "reasons" got crowbard in to retroactively AT THE END to make it logical. I spent nearly my entire time in this world being distracted by the nonsense logic and fixing it at the end doesn't go back and make me less distracted.

 

 

I'm finding it hard how exactly to put in words how this thing was handled by I think that's the best I could do.

 

[=BK=]

Rereading the Evangelion manga because I want to put my brain through hell. Two things so far.

"You lie like a mattress!" Is genius

Does this look fucked to anyone else? It's like Misato's bent her back a bit to pop her butt out and then her body just got twisted around under her boobs like some Silent Hill abomination.

[gunnar hendershow]

As someone who spent a large portion of middle school with Misato on his binder I can tell you that a lot of drawings of her look close to that. But that one takes it to the EXTREME~!

[LittleDaniel]

We got crunchyroll because Joey used to be really into anime.  So far I love Yuri on Ice and Recovery of an MMO Junkie.  What else y'all recommend?  Especially along those lines, I don't really care for actiony things.

[MalaCloudy Black]

41 minutes ago, LittleDaniel said:

We got crunchyroll because Joey used to be really into anime.  So far I love Yuri on Ice and Recovery of an MMO Junkie.  What else y'all recommend?  Especially along those lines, I don't really care for actiony things.

Food Wars.

[LittleDaniel]

1 hour ago, WOKEN Cloudy said:

Food Wars.

That was one I meant to check out after a friend recommended it, now I'll put it on the top of the list!

[LittleDaniel]

meh like a minute in and it's probably too fan servicey for me

[Monkey D. Lars]

I'm two thirds into my Dragon Ball watch and Krillin looks great against Goku at the tournament. Really enjoying this arc!

Also, that last Super episode was like amazing! I also read a theory on the Dragon Ball Reddit:

A huge post and along the lines it is said that Jiren is looking for fighters to take on the Angels and Gods. If that theory is anywhere near what is gonna happen it can be an epic storyline

[Hellraiser]

Why the hell was there never a 2nd season of The Devil is a parttimer? So much wasted potential.

Edited January 26, 2018 by Hellraiser

[=BK=]

Evangelion musings. Manga and anime. Spoilers duh.

Shinji and Asuka are the last two people that should have ever met. They're completely incapable of having any kind of relationship even though it's clear they come to like each other on some level.

Shinji is desperate to be loved deeply by somebody. The only people he's ever truly loved were his parents and one of them is "dead" and the other completely abandoned him to strangers. The people that raised him were nice but they didn't love him. As a result he thinks giving his love will hurt him so while he wants it, he can't give it. He's a coward but it's understandable why.

Asuka is in dire need of someone to love her as a person and put her first in their life. She never met her father because he was a sperm donor and she was only born to show up her mother's rival that stole her love and had a plain daughter with him. When her mother loses part of herself Asuka feels completely alone and builds up her shell to be strong and tough so no one can ever hurt her again.

In a typical anime they could magically fall in love and fix each other but in Eva their problems are such that they can't help each other, only hurt one another when they try.

Asuka needs someone to break her shell and care for her and Shinji needs someone to love him but Shinji's timid nature keeps him from breaking through and that only serves to make Asuka angry because she gives him chances to flirt and be more. Showing off her body to him at the pool, the kiss challenge and lying with him in bed. When she later sees Shinji in her mind after all this stuff these are her thoughts:

Quote

Why are you there?! You won't do anything! You never help me! You won't even hold me!

That specifically reminds me of her getting into his bedding. After she falls asleep and mutters for her mom, a sign she clearly needs comfort, Shinji won't even put his arm over her, he just moves completely to the other side of the room and leaves her alone.

Later during instumentality in the kitchen it's pointed out that Shinji doesn't really care for Asuka because she's Asuka. He just wants her to care about him to fill his void. She could be anyone. He's selfish in a way expecting from her what he can't or won't give back. It's why he got on with Kaworu better despite being straight. Kaworu's love isn't hard earned like Asuka's, it's unconditional and given freely for none from Shinji.

Neither of them are bad in this situation. Shinji is afraid of Asuka and as much as that sucks for her it's not without reason. She's abrasive and mean a lot. Can you blame a broken 14 year old boy for being severely intimidated by an attractive girl who's partly a bully? He'd have a hard enough time if she were a total sweetheart. You can't really blame her though because her wall is there for a really good reason and she gives Shinji easy chances to breach it but he just sits on his hands and does nothing to help her.

After Shinji and Asuka emerge from the sea of LCL alone Shinji goes back to trying to choke her like he did in the kitchen when she completely rejected him. She touches him to show that something is different now. I don't know if you can say she understands him now because she clearly didn't in instumentality but there is a change because for once in that moment Asuka is tender and kind to him. These two broken people were the only two so shut off that they rejected universal oneness of humanity and they are wholly incompatible and unable to live together happily . Asuka is disgusted at everyone besides them for staying together. Asuka and Shinji are together but they're still alone.

 

 

I find myself being able to relate to Shinji a little. I've talked about my "Dream girl" on this board before. The one I knew since 13 and had a major chance with that married the guy she got with after. My key point in those postings was that I was a coward that couldn't make a real move or make something official even though she gave me chance after chance. I was so close to what I wanted more than anything and what I still find myself wanting sometimes and I couldn't do what I needed to to have it.

 

You know who I feel real bad for? Misato. She's Shinji's stand in mother and she's great at it. Shinji isn't just a job to her, she wants him to be happy and loved and she makes great progress until things go bad. I think it's all after Kaji dies. She seems to lose her confidence in her ability to care for Shinji and falls onto her own personal crutch of using sex to connect and motivate.  The world beat her and Shinji to the point that her motherly efforts weren't enough. It's even worse in the manga because we get shown what Shinji really feels for Misato earlier. When Shinji gets absorbed by Unit 01 and becomes afraid of what the melding of the Eva's mind and his mother's soul has created he screams for his mother and out of the thing to grab him and pull him back to reality isn't a form of Yui or even Rei, it's of Misato. She was a great woman who did her damndest to love and fix this little boy and the word crapped on her efforts and the both of them.