Anime/Manga - Discuss Japanese cartoons and comics here; NO CULTURE WAR DOOMPOSTING!

[Abbadon's Gate]

Military sci-fi and stuff that's adjacent to that always attracts a fairly right-leaning crowd or at least centrist types. And that goes a long way to keeping things tolerant. The minute people with pronouns and shit get too wormed into a fandom is when shit gets weird.

And lord knows we could use more Mecha. I feel like we don't get much solid mecha anymore and what we do get is usually some bullshit gimmick that you can't take seriously like Darling and The Franxx

 

[Mississippi Motorboater]

I really rarely ever see anything for it these days. I go to anime cons pretty frequently, and there is hardly ever any art, merch or cosplayers of it. But if you bring it up around oldfags, they will all talk about how much they loved that show back in the day. So I'm glad that new people are watching it and old people are still speaking well of it.

That's kind of what happened to Lodoss War until recently. For a good long while, that series was just buried in obscurity, and it got virtually zero discourse or attention...especially as isekai and coomer alt-fantasy garbage started to bury the classic fantasy genre in anime.

Now, presumably because Freiren exploded in popularity and elves are back in vogue, Lodoss War has gotten a lot more traction--more than I think I've ever seen in my time online. I'm seeing videos related to Lodoss turn up on my feed, with new comments from people marveling at how good the animation is, how awesome non-isekai anime used to be, how cute Deedlit is, etc. I used to have to scour the internet just to find basic GIFs of middling quality for the more obscure media like Chronicles of the Heroic Knight, and now people are just uploading clips from it on YouTube and accumulating hundreds of thousands of views.

It's a really cool resurgence to see, and it's even nicer since the tireless fans over at the Lodoss Wiki have just finished translating the majority of the original novels, and there was a Metroidvania-style game released relatively recently, it's never been easier to get into the franchise.

Maybe it'll actually convince Kadokawa to actually DO something major with the IP, but I'm not holding my breath.

I'm curious what you thought about OVA 3 when they introduced Noike and other new characters. It was very jarring to older fans and got a bad rap because of it, but I liked a lot of the new characters, like Seto and Minaho.

I did some research on the later OVAs, and I didn't like what I saw. Not least of which because Ryoko's voice would be changed in OVA3, and the English dub would essentially be MIA for all future entries. And this is putting aside how the designs got subsequently worse, and the humor (from what I saw) seemed to be devoid of all the charm of the original.

The Tenchi series has been worked on by like 2-3 different guys, one of whom is responsible for the OVAs and GXP story (though a lot of GXP was changed from how he wanted it) and the others having a heavier hand in Universe, the movies, manga, and other stuff. The OVA continuity guy is the one who continues pumping out new lore and shows (Paradise Shido-hen) for the series decades later, but he's also a coomer responsible for all the harem and coomer shit in the series, while the other guys tried to make it more of a friendly space sitcom type thing. Although I don't like the coomer harem shit, I like a lot of the characters and backstory in the OVA continuity, even if it's mostly some guy making up new donut steel OCs over and over for 30 years, at least some of them are entertaining.

Ngl, after the first two OVAs and the Mihoshi Special, I was kind of done with the OVA continuity. After that, I just funneled my time into watching Tenchi Universe and their respective films, and that scratched the remainder of my Tenchi itch. I'll admit that some aspects of the TV continuity are lesser than the OVAs (the humor is a lot less risque for TV viewership, and the animation is significantly worse, not helped by AIC having a Slayers-esque mentality to preserving it in the shittiest video quality at present). But it did benefit from a lot of funny scenarios exclusive to the show, along with the full-time inclusion of Kiyone, who is one of THE best Tenchi characters of the franchise. Her episode with Mihoshi weathering the Japanese recession of all things was a particularly hilarious and touching episode.

Universe also benefitted from having those excellent films, which for my money are the best Tenchi media ever produced for the franchise. I think once the series reached Tenchi Forever, it had reached a natural endpoint and should have ended there. Which is just as well, because that's where I end my marathon of the franchise anyway.

There are so many anime from this era I never saw at the time that I really should because I think they aged well, or at least are better than most new stuff. Oh My Goddess is one of them.

Oh My Goddess is just great all around. Likeable protagonist, cute and loveable Main Girl, gorgeous character designs, slice-of-life that doesn't make me want to put a gun in my mouth, and just nice little diversions from the harem mold...like having the characters in college instead of high school, and having unique additions like motorway racing (which seems to be a recurring element of the series. Manga author must be a biketaku).

Also, the English dub in the OVA is very good for its time--especially Urd, who is Best Girl.

 

[NepNepuNep]

Anyone excited for Kimetsu no Yaiba Fourth Season - Hashira Training Arc?

 

[FatMebius]

And lord knows we could use more Mecha. I feel like we don't get much solid mecha anymore and what we do get is usually some bullshit gimmick that you can't take seriously like Darling and The Franxx

You're lucky if you get one, maybe two, mecha anime per season these days. Bravern ended last season and I don't think there's any new TV mecha series until Grendizer Um which I'm guessing is gonna be a summer or fall release. Oh. Wait. New Shinkalion. Sailor Otaku is subbing it too, so all's right in the world of train autism. At least there's also the Western release of SEED Freedom. That'll be fun. Trashy and probably bordering on a shitpost, but everything I've heard about the movie is pretty positve. Code Geass Roze is next month too. Western release should be pretty quick too, since it's getting dumped to Disney+ after it's theatrical run.

After that.. That recent Gundam livestream indicated that they've got stuff in store for 2025. Sunrise announced a new Wataru too, so that'll be neat. Aquarion MOE and the new Macross too.

 

[Abbadon's Gate]

You're lucky if you get one, maybe two, mecha anime per season these days. Bravern ended last season and I don't think there's any new TV mecha series until Grendizer Um which I'm guessing is gonna be a summer or fall release. Oh. Wait. New Shinkalion. Sailor Otaku is subbing it too, so all's right in the world of train autism. At least there's also the Western release of SEED Freedom. That'll be fun. Trashy and probably bordering on a shitpost, but everything I've heard about the movie is pretty positve. Code Geass Roze is next month too. Western release should be pretty quick too, since it's getting dumped to Disney+ after it's theatrical run.

After that.. That recent Gundam livestream indicated that they've got stuff in store for 2025. Sunrise announced a new Wataru too, so that'll be neat. Aquarion MOE and the new Macross too.

I'm looking forward to SEED Freedom because SEED was the first Mecha I think I ever watched as a kid and it brought me into anime in general.

Code Geass is also a guilty pleasure. When I was in high school this anime called Eureka 7 came out and I was the same age as the MC and my family had just moved to a retirement down in Colorado where it was cold for 9 months out of the year, so I really connected with Renton and his desire to get the fuck out of the shitty town he lived in. A few years later Code Geass came out and it really resonated with my best friend, and its always been really close to my heart too.

It'll be fun at any rate. Cheesy probably, but I'm not one to be too picky. And I'll not complain about Gundam except for I will spend more money on Gunpla stuff that I have no where to put in my house.

 

[Namekian George Floyd]

Oh My Goddess is just great all around. Likeable protagonist, cute and loveable Main Girl, gorgeous character designs, slice-of-life that doesn't make me want to put a gun in my mouth, and just nice little diversions from the harem mold...like having the characters in college instead of high school, and having unique additions like motorway racing (which seems to be a recurring element of the series. Manga author must be a biketaku).

I'm not trying to ruin it for you but the mangaka of Oh My Goddess has one of the most fucked up romantic lives I've heard any mangaka have. I remember Oh My Goddess being like the one wholesome and romantic harem anime in a sea of fanservice-heavy Love Hina clones so of course, the dude who made it had to break things off with his wife and impregnate a 20 year old while also having a child who is most likely in that age range. It's always the wholesome chungus who is up to no good while the raunchier and edgier people tend to keep a clean nose.

 

[DotDem]

Just watched the new Spice and wolf. Pretty good so far, I hope Passione doesn't fuck this up.

 

[Trollblade69]

/a/'s devolved into spouting the Gamergate word nonstop again. Apparently it's because Holo's revealed to have had sex with another wolf before later in Spice & Wolf.
They're also getting even worse with what counts as Gamergate now. Apparently looking at porn with women having sex is gay because you're enjoying someone besides (You) making it with a girl.

 

[sasazuka]

/a/'s devolved into spouting the Gamergate word nonstop again. Apparently it's because Holo's revealed to have had sex with another wolf before later in Spice & Wolf.

Sounds like a redux of the stupid Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maiden controversy where the manga revealed, while the anime was still airing in autumn 2008, that the previous time that local sacred tree goddess Kannagi/Nagi had a body (I think it was in the 1950s or 1960s), she also had a boyfriend.

The backlash probably was a major factor in torpedoing any chance of a Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens season 2.

 

[Trollblade69]

Sounds like a redux of the stupid Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maiden controversy where the manga revealed, while the anime was still airing in autumn 2008, that the previous time that local sacred tree goddess Kannagi/Nagi had a body (I think it was in the 1950s or 1960s), she also had a boyfriend.

The backlash probably was a major factor in torpedoing any chance of a Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maidens season 2.

That sounds nuts.
I was reminded of the chimpout people had when Emi from Katawa Shoujo said she had a boyfriend before Hisao in the final release of the VN.

 

[God of Nothing]

That sounds nuts.
I was reminded of the chimpout people had when Emi from Katawa Shoujo said she had a boyfriend before Hisao in the final release of the VN.

no one wants realism in their escapism

 

[Registration]

Anna Konmena will end in the sixth volume.

Still no translations but wondering what kind of work will she do in the future.

 

[WelperHelper99]

/a/'s devolved into spouting the Gamergate word nonstop again. Apparently it's because Holo's revealed to have had sex with another wolf before later in Spice & Wolf

Wasn't that in the original adaption too? These niggas retarded.

 

[DotDem]

I saw the dumbest explanations for nu-/a/ not liking Holo. Younger anime fans and nerds are super puritanical now. Doesn't help that social media digs into peoples insecurities too. A women being more open sexually isn't the counter culture anymore like it was for the last generation. Otakus seething over characters not being virgins isn't anything new tho.

 

[Betonhaus]

I saw the dumbest explanations for nu-/a/ not liking Holo. Younger anime fans and nerds are super puritanical now. Doesn't help that social media digs into peoples insecurities too. A women being more open sexually isn't the counter culture anymore like it was for the last generation. Otakus seething over characters not being virgins isn't anything new tho.

I feel like I'm seeing a glimpse of what the younger generations are going to be and it includes lynching trannies and not having sex until marriage.

 

[Lone MacReady II]

Anna Konmena will end in the sixth volume.

Still no translations but wondering what kind of work will she do in the future.

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Call me when the Beautiful John II arc begins, that one has a great barbarian waifu in it.

Just watched the new Spice and wolf. Pretty good so far, I hope Passione doesn't fuck this up.

It was at least refreshing to see an animated Holo again. The OP ain't as good as the old one though.

@MississippiMotorboater What other animu pays tribute to the painter Alfons Mucha? Their art department deserved awards.

 

[WelperHelper99]

I saw the dumbest explanations for nu-/a/ not liking Holo. Younger anime fans and nerds are super puritanical now. Doesn't help that social media digs into peoples insecurities too. A women being more open sexually isn't the counter culture anymore like it was for the last generation. Otakus seething over characters not being virgins isn't anything new tho.

Holo is also a God/spirit mythological being. Look I've read me some Greek myths. Zeus gets around lol. Like chill.

 

[Betonhaus]

I suppose a good metric if a manga is good or not is if I'll watch the anime after reading ahead in the manga. Apothecary Diaries? Fkn yeah. Re:Monster? Eh, no.

 

[Abbadon's Gate]

I was reminded of the chimpout people had when Emi from Katawa Shoujo said she had a boyfriend before Hisao in the final release of the VN.

Philosophically speaking, are you really Emi's boyfriend if you didn't get to put it in her ass in a storage shed?

 

[Red Dragon]

Sounds like a redux of the stupid Kannagi: Crazy Shrine Maiden controversy where the manga revealed, while the anime was still airing in autumn 2008, that the previous time that local sacred tree goddess Kannagi/Nagi had a body (I think it was in the 1950s or 1960s), she also had a boyfriend.

That shit pissed me off at the time. Kannagi was a funny and harmless anime, but the fanbase turned into rabid dogs over something so mundane. If I'm not mistaken, the manga entered a hiatus because of that. I need to go back and read it again, see if the author finished it.