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

[Red Dragon]

Seeing Apothecary Diaries at the top saddens me. People really are into Mary Sue power fantasies. AD is pratically an isekai with the op protag but without the isekai part.

 

[Namekian George Floyd]

Did anyone else come out of JJK with the thought that Sukuna never actually lost? Like, Yuji just happened to develop the one power that could take Sukuna out of the fight by separating him from his host's body but that's not actually defeating him or overpowering him, you just removed him from the fight. If he had his own body instead of needing to cling to a host then that wouldn't have worked and he'd be even stronger since his power wouldn't be proportional to how many fingers were ingested which not even all of them were in the final battle. I just think those details made the ending thoroughly unsatisfying, giving the main characters one of them most undeserved victories I've ever seen.

 

[Oddjob OTP]

Seeing Apothecary Diaries at the top saddens me. People really are into Mary Sue power fantasies. AD is pratically an isekai with the op protag but without the isekai part.

Are you saying female historical fiction Detective Conan with kissey faces is "practically" an isekai?

Well, we reached peak making the word isekai completely meaningless, pack it up boys thread's done.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Did anyone else come out of JJK with the thought that Sukuna never actually lost? Like, Yuji just happened to develop the one power that could take Sukuna out of the fight by separating him from his host's body but that's not actually defeating him or overpowering him, you just removed him from the fight. If he had his own body instead of needing to cling to a host then that wouldn't have worked and he'd be even stronger since his power wouldn't be proportional to how many fingers were ingested which not even all of them were in the final battle. I just think those details made the ending thoroughly unsatisfying, giving the main characters one of them most undeserved victories I've ever seen.

Kinda true to most modern horror, but why didn't anyone just launch the fingers into the void of space?

Are you saying female historical fiction Detective Conan with kissey faces is "practically" an isekai?

Well, we reached peak making the word isekai completely meaningless, pack it up boys thread's done.

Isekai is the Dark Souls of anime fiction.

 

[PS1gamenwatch]

It is the birthday of these two VA

 

[Red Dragon]

Are you saying female historical fiction Detective Conan with kissey faces is "practically" an isekai?

Kinda. Maomao being the only person capable of logical thinking and having an extensive knowledge in a ton of areas and professions - despite being a 15th century chinese peasant daughter of a whore - makes her feel like an alien trying to fit in 'unnoticed'.

Don't get me wrong, it is an entertaining story and maybe things get better in the second season that I'm reluctant to watch, but the girl is pratically a scientist wearing a peasant skin. It gets annoying how she is at least competent in anything she tries, her perceived weaknesses aren't weaknesses at all, and the only time she got defeated she didn't even knew she was playing the game.

I just expected more from such a praised show.

 

[Balr0g]

Seeing Kingdom up there makes me realize that the series will go on for a long time considering that in the recent chapter the smallest kingdom is about to fall and the rest is still there.

In the same vein as Kingdom there is a manga called Ad Astra: Scipio to Hannibal. It covers the 2nd Punic war from Hannibal's and Scipio's side and it is a good read imho (though of course it takes some liberties with the historical facts)

 

[Atatata]

being the only person capable of logical thinking and having an extensive knowledge in a ton of areas and professions

Isn't that pretty common in detective manga?

 

[God of Nothing]

Isn't that pretty common in detective manga?

death note becomes insufferable when you watch it as an adult and everyone but the main character and his direct antagonists are effectively blind and retarded when sharing a screen with any of them

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Kinda. Maomao being the only person capable of logical thinking and having an extensive knowledge in a ton of areas and professions - despite being a 15th century chinese peasant daughter of a whore - makes her feel like an alien trying to fit in 'unnoticed'.

Don't get me wrong, it is an entertaining story and maybe things get better in the second season that I'm reluctant to watch, but the girl is pratically a scientist wearing a peasant skin. It gets annoying how she is at least competent in anything she tries, her perceived weaknesses aren't weaknesses at all, and the only time she got defeated she didn't even knew she was playing the game.

I just expected more from such a praised show.

I'd say it's more power fantasy than isekai, Maomao is definitely a mary sue, but she is at least charming enough about it. I kinda wish they made her more clueless on court matters to get Tanya the Evil esque her screwing herself out of good position by not being good in politics.
To list fields that Mao Mao is proficient at by memory: Metal working, making medicine, poisoning, cooking, physics, infant diseases, inherited diseases and disabilities, making clothes. Plus she's pretty much all along and makes herself look ugly to not be raped.

 

[Oddjob OTP]

Kinda. Maomao being the only person capable of logical thinking and having an extensive knowledge in a ton of areas and professions - despite being a 15th century chinese peasant daughter of a whore - makes her feel like an alien trying to fit in 'unnoticed'.

Don't get me wrong, it is an entertaining story and maybe things get better in the second season that I'm reluctant to watch, but the girl is pratically a scientist wearing a peasant skin. It gets annoying how she is at least competent in anything she tries, her perceived weaknesses aren't weaknesses at all, and the only time she got defeated she didn't even knew she was playing the game.

I just expected more from such a praised show.

I'm not arguing she isn't a Mary Sue just that being a Mary Stu/Sue isn't an isekai because that word already means something else or else literally 90% of anime is isekai and there's no point in ever using it as a pejorative because it's fucking meaningless when Dragon Ball Z, Berserk, and Sailor Moon are all the same genre somehow.

Does Apothecary Diaries involve a person being reincarnated/transferred to another another world.
No
Even if we stretch and say her being kidnapped an moved across town into the rear palace it immediately argues that courtesans and high class prostitutes are nearly the same thing and her job as an apothecary is nearly the same

If we use the confused and silly definition of Isekai being any light fantasy with MMO/Dragon Quest mechanics it's even less an isekai because it's historical fiction.

Not an isekai.

 

[PS1gamenwatch]

It is the birthday of this manga artist that was an influence to another popular mangaka

 

[Red Dragon]

Not an isekai.

AD is pratically an isekai with the op protag but WITHOUT the isekai part.

Let me rephrase it: it gives the VIBES of an isekai WITH AN OP PROTAG WITHOUT THE REINCARNATION BULLSHIT.

I'm saying she is too good at everything she tries - akin to 'I have a useless ability but in reality it's an op ability that solves everything", a staple in isekai anime. I'm not talking about the genre of the anime, I'm talking about how the character feels like. Maomao mogs anyone in knowledge, no one comes even close, to the point of making her look like an outsider from that world.

Maybe I just don't know how to say it, english is not my first language. But I find really funny how the word 'isekai' triggers people so much you can't even make an analogy using it.

I kinda wish they made her more clueless on court matters to get Tanya the Evil esque her screwing herself out of good position by not being good in politics.

This is exactly what I expected. Being a cold girl, apparently traumatized by how she grew/who her parents are, and having an extreme interest only in poisons and exotic ingredients would make a cool character bumbling her way inside the court. But for that, we need other capable characters around...

 

[RSU 1741]

Let me rephrase it: it gives the VIBES of an isekai WITH AN OP PROTAG WITHOUT THE REINCARNATION BULLSHIT.

You are considering it from the wrong perspective: AD is more akin to a Harlequin novel with a trace of Detective Conan Hyper-competency.
The basics of the "outsider" with great skill managing to lodge itself in The Nobility discovering her heritage is a Great Deal while having a Romance with Important People is almost pure Harlequin.

The anime characteristics of Mao Mao being an autistic cat helps selling it to a male audience, but it's such a typical female narrative. "Oh no I'm almost purposefully ugly but I'm the daughter of the Greatest Escort Ever and I'm truly beautiful when I put my mind to it" it's such a classic.

Still enjoying it though. It's a bit trashy and soap operish, but it kinda sorta works.

 

[vern]

I'd say it's more power fantasy than isekai, Maomao is definitely a mary sue, but she is at least charming enough about it. I kinda wish they made her more clueless on court matters to get Tanya the Evil esque her screwing herself out of good position by not being good in politics.
To list fields that Mao Mao is proficient at by memory: Metal working, making medicine, poisoning, cooking, physics, infant diseases, inherited diseases and disabilities, making clothes. Plus she's pretty much all along and makes herself look ugly to not be raped.

I'd argue that if they did make her someone that was actively trying to get a good political position she'd be more of a mary sue even if she was shown to be bad at it
What makes or breaks characters that are borderline mary sue's like Maomao isn't that there good at/are interested in lot of things, but are so for things that are completely unrelated and have little to no reason for.
You can argue things like medicine, poisoning, and diseases all somewhat overlap with each other and are all things Maomao would be interested in and are topics her adopted father Louman probably taught her given the fact that in story he is considered by far the best at anything medicinal as well as figuring out any mystery behind it and is the only character said to have mastered both eastern and western practices (things like physics and metal workings where the biggest stretches for me but you could maybe argue he taught her that too)

It be another thing if she per say managed to beat Lakin in chess without tricking him when he has been establish as the best character at it when she has little interest in it beyond placating hey half vegetable mother, or fighting of attackers when she is shown to have almost no physical abilities what so ever. Same goes if Maomao suddenly showed interest/skill at court politics when for the most part she treats the inner palace like just another brothel albeit a brothel with only one wealthy customer and only ends noticing obvious political moves when someone else spoonfeeds her the answer like a very simple way to screw over the guys who sold her by the head lady in waiting or the easy way to get favor from mid to high ranking concubines pointed out by Shisui.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

What makes or breaks characters that are borderline mary sue's like Maomao isn't that there good at/are interested in lot of things, but are so for things that are completely unrelated and have little to no reason for.

I think it's more that Maomao isn't the center of the world like usual mary sue characters, so it's easy to justify her borderline anachronistic knowledge of medicine as necessary for the mystery part of the plot.

 

[Kari Kamiya]

AD is more akin to a Harlequin novel

So it's just smut is what you're saying.

 

[Oddjob OTP]

Let me rephrase it: it gives the VIBES of an isekai WITH AN OP PROTAG WITHOUT THE REINCARNATION BULLSHIT.

I'm saying she is too good at everything she tries - akin to 'I have a useless ability but in reality it's an op ability that solves everything", a staple in isekai anime. I'm not talking about the genre of the anime, I'm talking about how the character feels like. Maomao mogs anyone in knowledge, no one comes even close, to the point of making her look like an outsider from that world.

Maybe I just don't know how to say it, english is not my first language. But I find really funny how the word 'isekai' triggers people so much you can't even make an analogy using it.


This is exactly what I expected. Being a cold girl, apparently traumatized by how she grew/who her parents are, and having an extreme interest only in poisons and exotic ingredients would make a cool character bumbling her way inside the court. But for that, we need other capable characters around...

I don't even know that it functions as an analogy because the story establishes that her skill as an apothecary isn't because of luck making her useless knowledge relevant, she's a genius with two genius parents raised by a third genius as a help mate in his job with a bunch of older sisters at the brothel who she would also help at their job. Within those boundaries (medicine, the business side of running a brothel) she has established reasons to be skilled. And she generally flounders outside of the places she has established skill in but the plot keeps throwing mysteries that can be solved with native intelligence and knowledge of medicine.

Frankly the story is pretty good at keeping her sue status under control, I feel like it almost makes her too retarded when it comes to Jinshi's parentage/status because she has way too many clues by the end of Season 1 and intelligent people can't really "turn it off" when it comes to a mystery like that.

 

[The Token Ethnic]

So it's just smut is what you're saying.

Not really? They force the Jinshi stuff in there, but I do not care for him or his "poor little rich boy" nonsense. Then again, I'm not a fujo. I like it when she is investigating the happenings of the palace that is totally not China and I find the guys forced to be eunuchs interesting and messed up. Then again, Mao Mao was sold into slavery and she shouldn't be happy about having indentured servitude thrown upon her. I wonder how the ex-eunuch old man that took care of her and her actual father will pay off, but I'm not holding my breath. It's a show I enjoy, but do not care for the forced (one sided) romance elements in it at all. It does get dark at times, but it's an interesting show. I like it more than My Happy Marriage.

 

[Atatata]

Not really? They force the Jinshi stuff in there, but I do not care for him or his "poor little rich boy" nonsense. Then again, I'm not a fujo. I like it when she is investigating the happenings of the palace that is totally not China and I find the guys forced to be eunuchs interesting and messed up. Then again, Mao Mao was sold into slavery and she shouldn't be happy about having indentured servitude thrown upon her. I wonder how the ex-eunuch old man that took care of her and her actual father will pay off, but I'm not holding my breath. It's a show I enjoy, but do not care for the forced (one sided) romance elements in it at all. It does get dark at times, but it's an interesting show. I like it more than My Happy Marriage.

Pretty sure Jinshi was kept in due to popularity and the author's mother liking him. That being said, fujo is the wrong term to use in this as there's nothing gay going on. It'd be like saying Evangelion is yuri (lesbian) because there's more than one girl in a love triangle.