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

[Oddjob OTP]

Friren gets the number 1 spot because:

1) it's new; newfags vote
2) it's really competent in a lot of different areas. It has good, well enough animated fights, it has some emotional schlock that mostly gets sidelined after the story really begins but it's there, it has a will they won't they romance thing, it has some good setting and world building, the art is pretty good most of the time, the VAs also really do a solid job (even the dub manages to have someone do a competent job with the MC; a rarity in 2025)
3) it contrasts really well against the tide of Isekai and Not Isekai but Fantasy Universe is Just Dragon Quest We Have At Home, and Not Isekai but Fantasy Universe is Just Dragon Quest We Have At Home and I Got Removed From Good Party Because I'm Bad But Actually I'm Good at One Thing And It's Broken But Everyone In This Setting is Retarded Except That One Underage Girl Giving Me Bedroom Eyes But I'm Cripplingly Autistic So She's Safe

But mostly; newfags vote

 

[Lone MacReady II]

Friren is also helped immensely by the fact that none of the stupid "Subversion" shit crops up.

From the moment the actual goal (Go back to the Demon King's castle because Frieren wants to see if Himmel's spirt will show up) they haven't done a bunch of bullshit with Himmel being a jerk in reality, or Stark and Fern being just friends.

The story is about Friren coming to understand her feelings because she is now watching what was going on in a third person perspective and that is what we are getting thus far.

Ruining Himmel would ruin the series, literally nothing would make sense if Himmel (sky) wasn't the paragon. They basically can't go the (((hollywood subversion))) route if they want things to work, which is refreshing to know. He's not the chosen one, he just chose to be the one, which is exactly why an old elf hag like Frieren fell for him in the first place.

People comparing Frieren to Dungeon "has a nigger elf so dark she's literally black" Meshi is fucking wild.

 

[Trollblade69]

The main reason Frieren was so enjoyable for many people (myself included) was specifically because it came out around a time when the only real fantasy anime available were Isekai or just straight-up garbage. It was a breath of fresh air, the characters were interesting, and the setting was fun.

Except I don't see any difference. The main cast are lifeless, the narrative spends an absurd amount of time railing against an argument nobody has been making since Drizz't clones became a thing, the powers are made up on the fly, and everyone has the same fucking expressions. This just feels like another Mushoku Tensei or Made In Abyss situation where people just latched onto the show that looked the prettiest and had the most sakuga irrespective of the actual substance of the work.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Gintama has a collab witha gacha and created a legit half episode of it. Highly recommend, very nostalgic.

Except I don't see any difference. The main cast are lifeless, the narrative spends an absurd amount of time railing against an argument nobody has been making since Drizz't clones became a thing, the powers are made up on the fly, and everyone has the same fucking expressions. This just feels like another Mushoku Tensei or Made In Abyss situation where people just latched onto the show that looked the prettiest and had the most sakuga irrespective of the actual substance of the work.

The show was really good until they got to the magic exam, and then it jumped over the shark.

 

[Trollblade69]

The show was really good until they got to the magic exam, and then it jumped over the shark.

the narrative spends an absurd amount of time railing against an argument nobody has been making since Drizz't clones became a thing

Also padding out an entire fucking episode to explain the arcane and extremely obscure battle shonen concept of "hiding your power level".

 

[Toji Suzuhara]

Considering Demon Slayer being a blockbuster, how far do you think Madoka Magica would fair in comparison?

It depends on when you compare the two. Madoka Magica was very big in its prime, with almost every single edgelord talking praises about how dark it was and tumblr girls writing yurislop fanfics about the characters. But nowadays the IP has fallen off rather hard, it has been almost 10 years since its peak and those same tumblristas have moved on to other gay edgy things like Hanako-kun and similar. The gacha that they had EoS'd globally last year, and their upcoming movie is gonna premiere on February which is, well, February, possibly the slowest time of the year when it comes to cinema.

Meanwhile Demon Slayer is just massive. People act like the Infinity Castle movie making $600 million+ was a big surprise (which it was, and it's a huge milestone), but their previous entry, Mugen Train, made $500 million in the middle of the pandemic. Demon Slayer is probably the most popular shonen (if not the most popular anime period) of the 2020s. It's just on another level when compared to Madoka, whose last movie, Rebellion, made like $20 million worldwide (granted it was over a decade ago, but still). They are just not comparable

 

[WelperHelper99]

No the action was completely schizophrenic, look at the Saber Alter vs Rider fight that has no choreography and overuses particle effects like crazy
https://youtube.com/watch?v=y64e9gZgQUMEven Fate Ilya did a Saber Alter fight better
https://youtube.com/watch?v=bwcnBTYTdoA

The Ufotable fight is far more hype. Bite me.

It depends on when you compare the two. Madoka Magica was very big in it's prime, with almost every single edgelord talking praises about how dark it was and tumblr girls writing yurislop fanfics about the characters. But nowadays the IP has fallen off rather hard, it has been almost 10 years since its peak and those same tumblristas have moved on to other gay edgy things like Hanako-kun and similar. The gacha that they had EoS'd globally last year, and their upcoming movie is gonna premiere on February which is, well, February, possibly the slowest time of the year when it comes to cinema.

Meanwhile Demon Slayer is just massive. People act like the Infinity Castle movie making $600 million+ was a big surprise (which it was, and it's a huge milestone), but their previous entry, Mugen Train, made $500 million in the middle of the pandemic. Demon Slayer is probably the most popular shonen (if not the most popular anime period) of the 2020s. It's just on another level when compared to Madoka, whose last movie, Rebellion, made like $20 million worldwide (granted it was over a decade ago, but still). They are just not comparable

Demon Slayer hasn't even hit China yet from what I've heard. We could be looking at 800 million. Maybe higher. Demon Slayer succedes because it is raw anime. Very little weirdness while still being very Japanese. Combine that with Ufotable animating it, and you have the biggest franchise in Anime history

 

[Kari Kamiya]

I know this isn't that big a revelation, but the average anime fan is genuinely retarded, looking through the MAL Top 100 confirmed this.

Dude, like everything Gintama-related is in the top 100 in some form or another. I haven't seen it yet so maybe it really is the unsung masterpiece people claim it to be, but it's absolutely retarded that it's dominated so much of it.

Top Popularity also drives me up the wall. Last I counted (it's been a few years), about 75% of MAL's top 100 most popular anime were from the 2010s, and I was about to lose my shit. I'm sure it's worse now.

 

[vern]

To add a little to the MAL shit talking, another the reason why you should take its score with a lot of salt is it's userbase is a fraction of its former self, if you short through most popular (i.e the amount of people who've rated and or followed a show) not a single show made before 2020 is in the top 10, and only 2 are in the top 50 (jjk and the final season of SnK).
The only people who use MAL are casual fans who use it as a tracker to get their "completed" number to go up and who rate whatever show they even vaguely like a 8, 9, or 10.
The users that where (in comparison) somewhat normal that would usally just list things as 6 or 7 probably grew out of it
The people who wanted to be a wanabe anime yatzhee and would never give anything higher then a 5 have fucked off
The schizo who would spam 1-2s on every series and would write page after page of text explaining why this show bad and I'm better then you if you like it aside from some weird niche ass shit they'd give a 10 (digi) have long been banned

Also correct me if I'm wrong but IMDb weights scores based on user stats, i.e the more movies you've rated the more you score factors in into the overall score,
MAL has this formula:

Weighted Score = (v / (v + m)) * S + (m / (v + m)) * C
S = Average score for the anime/manga
v = Number users giving a score for the anime/manga †
m = Minimum number of scored users required to get a calculated score
C = The mean score across the entire Anime/Manga database

† Note that v does not correspond to the "number of scored users" as seen on the database page. Scores from users who have not viewed 1/5 of the series upon its completion are not included. Scores given from illegitimate accounts created to sway votes are also not included in the scoring algorithm.

 

[Toji Suzuhara]

Demon Slayer hasn't even hit China yet from what I've heard. We could be looking at 800 million. Maybe higher.

If it releases within the next couple days it's gonna be massive. It's currently golden week in China (which is basically a 7-day vacation) and you just know that every single chink otaku is gonna go watch Demon Slayer like their lives depended on it.

Demon Slayer succedes because it is raw anime. Very little weirdness while still being very Japanese. Combine that with Ufotable animating it, and you have the biggest franchise in Anime history

I think that a lot of it is because of the setting. It being set in the 1900s helps it emphasize all the more subtle pre-US occupation aspects of Japanese culture (like the buildings, the clothes the characters wear and things like that), while at the same time not having to spend as much time in world-building or magic systems as other shonens. It's early-20th century Japan but with demons that act like vampires and people with superpowers who hunt them in secret, end of story. The setting is probably what makes it show a little more restraint when it comes to the more weird elements most shonens set in the present have (read, rampant fanservice and gooner shit)

 

[WelperHelper99]

If it releases within the next couple days it's gonna be massive. It's currently golden week in China (which is basically a 7-day vacation) and you just know that every single chink otaku is gonna go watch Demon Slayer like their lives depended on it.

October 8th. So it's going to be big.

I think that a lot of it is because of the setting. It being set in the 1900s helps it emphasize all the more subtle pre-US occupation aspects of Japanese culture (like the buildings, the clothes the characters wear and things like that), while at the same time not having to spend as much time in world-building or magic systems as other shonens. It's early-20th century Japan but with demons that act like vampires and people with superpowers who hunt them in secret, end of story. The setting is probably what makes it show a little more restraint when it comes to the more weird elements most shonens set in the present have (read, rampant fanservice and gooner shit)

They did choose a unique time period with the 1910's. You got trains and lights and sheet, but not much else for that time for Japan. It makes it very easy to jump into because it is closer to our time period than 1400 AD or whatever.

And yes, the restraint on fanservice sells this show. It is very much a starter. Something a parent even could get behind because it's just guys with swords fighting bad guys

 

[Kari Kamiya]

I'm honestly just shocked Demon Slayer hasn't been banned in China for its violence.

 

[WelperHelper99]

I'm honestly just shocked Demon Slayer hasn't been banned in China for its violence.

The Chinese censors are way ahead of you

 

[Toji Suzuhara]

The Chinese censors are way ahead of you
View attachment 7995436

At least they didn't paint the blood white again

 

[Shart Attack]

I really liked Chaika, great "heroes are the villains" plot without making the heroes too villainous, also actually had a good ending.

Chaika is underrated. I loved how it allowed the protagonists to fight dirty, it made for some really interesting action set pieces. The ending was one of the few things I didn't like much. It felt rushed as hell. I read somewhere that it was originally supposed to be 13 episodes and got cut down to 10, and it definitely felt like that to me.

Frieren is a good adaptation. It's very clear that the author had some foggy idea about working on the theme of immortality/mortality and the importance of the moment etc etc but he simply lacks the skills to properly develop such an idea. Frieren isn't a well-made tale about the human condition or mortality and the like: it's a decent fantasy with good animation and likeable characters.

I could never get into Frieren, gave up after the first manga volume. I had similar thoughts. I thought it could've worked well as a one-shot about an elf realizing too late how ephemeral human life is. As a full-length story, its one and only idea wore thin pretty quickly. Didn't help that it leans on the Demon King and Hero cliché, which has been done to absolute death. Japanese fantasy writers desperately need a new idea.

For my money, Spice and Wolf handles the idea of a tragically long life much better. It's brought up after you have reasons to care about the characters affected by it, not at the start, and it's just one theme of many, so it doesn't wear as thin. I thought it was handled more skillfully overall. Also Spice and Wolf has an original and interesting fantasy setting that isn't enslaved to Tolkien and Dragon Quest.

 

[Chocolate Rain]

Except I don't see any difference. The main cast are lifeless, the narrative spends an absurd amount of time railing against an argument nobody has been making since Drizz't clones became a thing, the powers are made up on the fly, and everyone has the same fucking expressions. This just feels like another Mushoku Tensei or Made In Abyss situation where people just latched onto the show that looked the prettiest and had the most sakuga irrespective of the actual substance of the work.

Mushoku Tensei is complete fucking schlock and its only notoriety is that its the originator of every current isekai anime running now if not for normies constant seething over its content and rampant base of coomers it would generally be left to the waste side like Sword Art Online currently is also its last season had a huge drop in quality visually. Made in Abyss is not well known for its visuals or sakuga yeah its a good looking show but its not what people remember most for or the reason why its so highly prasied and I'm willing to see its reception as genuine because it came out in 2017 before the world collectively turned their brains off when it came to indulging in what they consume. You know it really shows how impactful Frieren as a product is when there's people here who vehemently disagree with its universal acclaim to make a conversation out of it whereas with Demon Slayer all anyone can do is go over how much money it making then the actual product itself reminds me back when the MCU was at its peak and the only discussion coming where were if whether it'll break a billion or not.

 

[BingBongDingDong]

"heroes are the villains" plot without making the heroes too villainous,

So jsut a suggestion for anybody who is looking for something like this Shamo kinda fist the bill. The MC is a real motherfucker though, and the first chapter is pretty rough but its tip of my top for mangas.

 

[Chocolate Rain]

So jsut a suggestion for anybody who is looking for something like this Shamo kinda fist the bill. The MC is a real motherfucker though, and the first chapter is pretty rough but its tip of my top for mangas.

That manga is a complete mess. The author should have never tried to tackle everything by himself when he got the rights back from the writer.

 

[Gog & Magog]

I read through the manga adaptation of the Japanese novel, Ringu by Koji Suzuki. I enjoyed it. Here are some of my thoughts.


* It excises a few awkward scenes from the novel, (the odd rape confession, the hermaphrodite lore), and rearranges the cast a a little, while retaining the general plot beats and characters. The protagonist is Ms. Asakawa, a journalist on the hunt for a mystery tape rumored to kill whoever watches it.

* Misao Inagaki's art is cute—too cute. Why'd they pick somebody with a cute artsyle? I got over it quick, but other readers might not.


* It's more a thriller than a straight horror story. The characters figuring out how the curse works is interesting stuff. The novel is stranger and the sequels fall into really strange sci-fi fantasy nonsense. The first book has got some of that but you won't find it in the 1998 film adaptation nor in this manga. The sequel manga expands on the science fantasy a little but I ignore it because that's got a different artist and a completely different artstyle.
It's neat. I recommend it.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Chaika is underrated. I loved how it allowed the protagonists to fight dirty, it made for some really interesting action set pieces. The ending was one of the few things I didn't like much. It felt rushed as hell. I read somewhere that it was originally supposed to be 13 episodes and got cut down to 10, and it definitely felt like that to me.

Yeah, but merely having a complete ending is already super rare for an anime like this. And I remember it did use a lot of the plot threads. The end of season 1 was also great with Chaika sleeper agents.

I like when fantasy stories goes into pretty out there technology. Magitek pretty much died with isekai.

So jsut a suggestion for anybody who is looking for something like this Shamo kinda fist the bill. The MC is a real motherfucker though, and the first chapter is pretty rough but its tip of my top for mangas.

I'd say for something closer it's more Sekai Seifuku. The main characters are more of a successful Team Rocket than legit villains.