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

[Moguro Fukuzou]

Need some suggestions. What's a good anime like Dragon Ball Z, Yu Yu Hakusho, or Bleach? Mostly serious but strong comedy elements are fine.

I can't find many good ones. People usually suggest Naruto or One Piece but they suck, the character designs aren't cool at all. Couple examples of good ones I've come across are Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer.

Maybe Hunter X Hunter? Each arc is like it's own tournament arc yet manages to keep it fresh, greed island was my favorite arc. I know Chimera ant arc gets super serious and depressing, but I tapped out before finishing it because I was getting annoyed at how Gon was treating Killua. I also personally enjoyed Katekyo Hitman Reborn a lot, but that might be some nostalgia taking, had some really great tournament arcs + a pretty cool power system. Beginning is a bit slow with the major focus on comedy until the first major arc (Kokuyu) and I know Tsuna can be annoying at times, felt like he did get a lot better though as the series progressed. Also the case where the anime not fully adapting the manga was actually for the better since Future arc (last part adapted) had a nice ending that was immediately fucked in the next manga arc. Cast is also pretty fun besides some exceptions, Lambo is awful and the two main love interests for Tsuna suck, but the good characters make up for it.

I'd also recommend:
-Busou Renkin: Lots of fun
-Beelzebub: Can only speak for the manga being good as I haven't seen the anime
-Soul Eater: If you like this one you might also like Fire Force though personally I couldn't get into Fire Force even as a big fan of Soul Eater

Hokuto No Ken The Musical is now OFFICIALLY a thing

Spoiler

View attachment 2352389
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They will make a stage play musicals of anything it seems, like there's a new one made for Laughing Salesman which I kind of want to see the whole thing for:

There's also a Chargemen Ken one:

That's not even mentioning the Takarazuka side of things. Kind of sucks that a lot of those stage plays never get English subs since they're such a niche interest.

 

[Oddjob OTP]

Anyone here like HighSchool DxD?

I'm conflicted because I really like parts of the setting. Like the 3 way war between Yahweh+Angels, Demons, and Fallen Angels that results in Yahweh dying shortly after he releases a bunch of wildly overpowered not-mutant powers into the world. Or the favorite sport of demons being LARP Chess. Unfortunately in practice it's eechi gets infused into the plot too much like when Protagonist defeated Loki (or was it Odin?) after being powered up by god of breasts from another universe. Also suffers from the normal eechi problem where MCs cowardice in interacting with his waifus beggar's belief and you start to just feel contempt for the guy.

Ultimately, it's a kind of cool battle shonen that wastes 4/5ths of the screen time on jiggle physics.

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

Maybe Hunter X Hunter? Each arc is like it's own tournament arc yet manages to keep it fresh, greed island was my favorite arc. I know Chimera ant arc gets super serious and depressing, but I tapped out before finishing it because I was getting annoyed at how Gon was treating Killua. I also personally enjoyed Katekyo Hitman Reborn a lot, but that might be some nostalgia taking, had some really great tournament arcs + a pretty cool power system. Beginning is a bit slow with the major focus on comedy until the first major arc (Kokuyu) and I know Tsuna can be annoying at times, felt like he did get a lot better though as the series progressed. Also the case where the anime not fully adapting the manga was actually for the better since Future arc (last part adapted) had a nice ending that was immediately fucked in the next manga arc. Cast is also pretty fun besides some exceptions, Lambo is awful and the two main love interests for Tsuna suck, but the good characters make up for it.

I'd also recommend:
-Busou Renkin: Lots of fun
-Beelzebub: Can only speak for the manga being good as I haven't seen the anime
-Soul Eater: If you like this one you might also like Fire Force though personally I couldn't get into Fire Force even as a big fan of Soul Eater

They will make a stage play musicals of anything it seems, like there's a new one made for Laughing Salesman which I kind of want to see the whole thing for:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=pqYY8jprANA
There's also a Chargemen Ken one:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=EEi8eFHP72I
That's not even mentioning the Takarazuka side of things. Kind of sucks that a lot of those stage plays never get English subs since they're such a niche interest.

Hunter x Hunter is exactly what I'm looking for, but I'm a picky little bitch and don't like the character designs since the main characters are just a couple of goofy little kids. I should probably just watch it, I heard it's one of the best.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[Marissa Moira]

Girls und Panzer is basically Skanks in Tanks. There's no real substance to the series at all.

 

[murdered meat bag]

It's ye olde case of smart person written by a dumb person:View attachment 2338180

I watched the first 10 minutes of Maoyuu Maou Yuusha and turned off, it might be just an awkward start but it felt way too much like the usual case of looking at the past as fucking idiots.

Modern economy/convenience of life is the result of technology enabling new markets and massive amount of deaths to get a political landscape that's good for the economy. It's not just "muh crop cycling", but the moving of power from inbred families towards middle class (usually by force) and giving people access to easy credit (not always to their betterment). And even with all the knowledge of the last centuries you'd still have places with 16th century living conditions, or places where the new technology created a perpetual war by denizens too stupid to use it for good.

this summarizes my complaint about sherlock pretty well.

in case anyone wanted to know, the closest show to asobe asobasi in feel and tone was chio's school road. but i watched the dub so ymmv. i think AA is just one of those one off's with its own personality that won't be found elsewhere.

 

[Meat Target]

Skanks

Are you trying to bait me? Baka!

 

[Tism the Return]

Girls und Panzer is basically Skanks in Tanks. There's no real substance to the series at all.

Well, duh? You're supposed to like it for the fantasy of cute waifus caring about your niche otaku interest and the tanks themselves rather than any substance.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Girls und Panzer is basically Skanks in Tanks. There's no real substance to the series at all.

Unpopular anime opinions is a different thread. Also no.

Anyways, Vanitas really give me a Blood Blockade Battlefront vibe.

 

[murdered meat bag]

Girls und Panzer is basically Skanks in Tanks. There's no real substance to the series at all.

you must not like tanks.

 

[Trombonista]

Beelzebub: Can only speak for the manga being good as I haven't seen the anime

The anime was great, though it didn't cover the whole manga.

 

[Zbk3VmLfujjzjxBd43tL]

there's also a new version (die neue these) that's criminally underwatched - or at least no one is talking about it.

Because it's 95% the same as the original OVA but everything besides the story and animation (I love the presentation of the battles ) just feels generic. There's not much to talk about other than "lol character designs" or "where's the classical music?" It sucks to be the people making it because if this were the only LOGH adaption it would be some god-tier anime and I could actually appreciate the character designs (good in their own right), the soundtrack (better than a lot of modern anime and intense at times, even if it can't beat the sheer majesty of "best of 19th century classical music"), or voice acting (I think a few voices fit better than the original even if some are terribly miscast to me).

It's an obviously inferior remake, but hits all the plot points almost exactly the same, has good production values, and has nothing egregious enough to make people complain (outside of nitpicking). It's just there, ergo there's not much reason to discuss it.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Hosoda: Japanese anime has problem with women and girls

Mamoru Hosoda has bones to pick with both Steven Spielberg and Hayao Miyazaki, the other great Japanese animator to whom he is often compared. Hosoda -- whose brilliantly humane "Mirai" got an Oscar nod three years ago -- has had enough of the way Hollywood treats the digital world and…

japantoday.com

Mamoru Hosoda has bones to pick with both Steven Spielberg and Hayao Miyazaki, the other great Japanese animator to whom he is often compared.

Hosoda -- whose brilliantly humane "Mirai" got an Oscar nod three years ago -- has had enough of the way Hollywood treats the digital world and Miyazaki depicts women.

The dystopian tropes about the net that run through so many movies, including Spielberg's "Ready Player One", are not doing anyone any favors, particularly women, Hosoda told AFP at the Cannes film festival, where his latest feature "Belle" is premiering.

Father of a young girl himself, the Japanese master wants to empower her generation to take control of their digital destinies rather than cower in fear.

"They have grown up with the net... yet are constantly told how malevolent and dangerous it is," he said.

"Belle" is his riposte, a spectacular dive into the rollercoaster emotional life of a shy adolescent girl called Suzu, in a 21st century take on "Beauty and the Beast".

To her surprise, and everyone else's, Suzu becomes a pop diva called Belle in the virtual universe of an app called U.

Rather than being burned by online abuse and harassment as she acquires billions of followers, Suzu uses her online avatar to overcome the haters and her own hang-ups.

"Human relations can be complex and extremely painful for young people. I wanted to show that this virtual world, which can be hard and horrible, can also be positive," said Hosoda.

Suzu and her computer geek friend are far from the women that usually populate Japanese anime -- which is where Hosoda takes issue with Miyazaki, the Oscar-winning legend behind classics such as "Spirited Away".

"You only have to watch Japanese animation to see how young women are underestimated and not taken seriously in Japanese society," he said.

The director -- whose films are more grounded in social realities than Miyazaki's -- was brought up by a single mother, a rarity at the time.

His 2012 classic "Wolf Children" is a paean to the fierce independence with which she brought up her little pack alone.

"It really annoys me to see how young women are often seen in Japanese animation -- treated as sacred -- which has nothing to do with the reality of who they are," Hosoda said, with evident frustration.

Without naming Miyazaki, Hosoda was unsparing about the Studio Ghibli founder.

"I will not name him, but there is a great master of animation who always takes a young woman as his heroine. And to be frank I think he does it because he does not have confidence in himself as a man.

"This veneration of young women really disturbs me and I do not want to be part of it," he insisted.

He wants to free his heroines from being paragons of virtue and innocence and "this oppression of having to be like everyone else."

Hosoda and Miyazaki have history.

The 53-year-old was seen as the natural successor to Miyazaki after he was called in from the outside by Ghibli to direct the Oscar-nominated "Howl's Moving Castle".

But Hosoda walked out midway through to set up his own studio.

The director prefers stories that "show the good and the bad in people. This tension is what being human is all about."

Which is why he was also drawn to bringing "Beauty and the Beast" up to date.

"In the original story the Beast is the most interesting character. He is ugly and has this violence but he is sensitive and vulnerable inside too. Beauty is just a cipher. It is all about her looks. I wanted to make her as complex and rich."

That duality is also there in his fascination with the digital world that began with his first hit, "Digimon: The Movie".

"I keep returning to the internet. First with 'Digimon' and then with 'Summer Wars' in 2009 and now again."

And he is more convinced than ever that we cannot keep dismissing it as the source of all evil.

"Young people can never separate themselves from it. They grew up with it. We have to accept it and learn to use it better."

The guy isn't wrong to be honest. People shouted about him being an sjw for it but I'm not sure it applies.

 

[Kari Kamiya]

Think this quote sums it up:

"It really annoys me to see how young women are often seen in Japanese animation -- treated as sacred -- which has nothing to do with the reality of who they are."

And y'know what, think he has a point. Unlike Hollywood's "gurl power" approach, women are treated as so sacred that they're not allowed to make mistakes, even life-threatening ones (I've noticed this in One Piece in that over time, Oda seems to avoid really putting his female characters in peril like he did before, though they're still on equal-footing with the other characters for the most part). Miyazaki puts his heroines up on a golden pedestal and gets praised for it, but how human are his female characters, really? Think he stopped making action girls after Spirited Away, but Chihiro barely counts as an action girl since she's just a normal little girl having to learn humility and hard work.

But since then, Miyazaki hasn't made another female character who's down-to-earth and relatable, someone who experiences real-life problems that tackle the core elements of what it means to be female.

Makoto from The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is one of the more human protagonists in anime cinema if you ask me. While her femininity was never on full display and had more of a tomboy aspect to her than not, she was exactly what you'd expect a spunky go-getter girl like her to be, and how she reacts to the consequences of her own mistakes tears at you as a fellow human. Hana grew as a character because she was a mother going through the motions, while Yuki goes through what every girl her ages goes through, and learns to embrace who she is inside and out. And Mirai has to learn what it means to be a big sister, whose duties are different from what a big brother's duties would be.

Yeah, guess you can argue Hosoda has a leg-up on Miyazaki because he actually has a daughter he dotes on and Miyazaki just has sons whom he didn't really spend much time with, but there is a world of difference between how the two of them approach female protagonists.

I didn't know Hosoda's newest movie just came out in Japan, so I expect to see it on American store shelves by Christmas knowing GKIDS. Was gonna watch it anyway since I enjoy the guy's work (even if I think his latest films haven't resonated with me as much like Wolf Children and Girl Who Leapt Through Time), but if it deals with the female image in the digital age, should make for intriguing commentary.

EDIT: Shit, mixed up the wolf children in my sleepy late-night thoughts.

 

[Gar For Archer]

Well, duh? You're supposed to like it for the fantasy of cute waifus caring about your niche otaku interest and the tanks themselves rather than any substance.

The idea that entertainment must have “substance” to have value is exactly what’s killing Western media. It’s like some people can’t just turn their brains off and have fun anymore without a veneer of substance to trick you into thinking you’re watching an actual movie with actual themes and not braindead Hollywood drivel.

Like while I enjoy shows that DO have some deeper themes/ideas every once in a while, you really have to be a pretentious dick to demand that every show you watch be super srs and have deep meaning and social commentary. Sometimes girls in tanks is just fucking girls in tanks, lol.

 

[Marissa Moira]

Think this quote sums it up:

And y'know what, think he has a point. Unlike Hollywood's "gurl power" approach, women are treated as so sacred that they're not allowed to make mistakes, even life-threatening ones (I've noticed this in One Piece in that over time, Oda seems to avoid really putting his female characters in peril like he did before, though they're still on equal-footing with the other characters for the most part). Miyazaki puts his heroines up on a golden pedestal and gets praised for it, but how human are his female characters, really? Think he stopped making action girls after Spirited Away, but Chihiro barely counts as an action girl since she's just a normal little girl having to learn humility and hard work.

But since then, Miyazaki hasn't made another female character who's down-to-earth and relatable, someone who experiences real-life problems that tackle the core elements of what it means to be female.

Makoto from The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is one of the more human protagonists in anime cinema if you ask me. While her femininity was never on full display and had more of a tomboy aspect to her than not, she was exactly what you'd expect a spunky go-getter girl like her to be, and how she reacts to the consequences of her own mistakes tears at you as a fellow human. Hana grew as a character because she was a mother going through the motions, while Ame goes through what every girl her ages goes through, and learns to embrace who she is inside and out. And Mirai has to learn what it means to be a big sister, whose duties are different from what a big brother's duties would be.

Yeah, guess you can argue Hosoda has a leg-up on Miyazaki because he actually has a daughter he dotes on and Miyazaki just has sons whom he didn't really spend much time with, but there is a world of difference between how the two of them approach female protagonists.

I didn't know Hosoda's newest movie just came out in Japan, so I expect to see it on American store shelves by Christmas knowing GKIDS. Was gonna watch it anyway since I enjoy the guy's work (even if I think his latest films haven't resonated with me as much like Wolf Children and Girl Who Leapt Through Time), but if it deals with the female image in the digital age, should make for intriguing commentary.

Women traditionally are written as men minus the agency or facing the consequences. It's not a new thing or something that's exclusive to anime. But if you're trying to aim for the great average, you're not going to write a woman to act like a fool for example.

A movie like Dumb and Dumber would not work with two female leads, it's very unpopular to depict women acting like Jim Carrey would, with the bizarre self depreciating humor and everything. That's why garbage like Ghostbusters used Snark and other bullshit "Humor" to try and pad jokes. Women cannot be shown to intentionally act like genuine retards they always have to use "QUIRKY" as a fucking buffer and that's SHE'S REALLY SMART BUT MISUNDERSTOOD. She cannot be an authentic fool.

I mean it can stem all the way back to women not being funny because there's usually some kind of corporate or social activist machine in the background prodding you and telling you when it's ok to laugh, it's not viewed as authentic. Men when they bomb on stage when they're not funny and the audience calls them a slew of profanities and boos them. People will not do the same to a lady.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

Women traditionally are written as men minus the agency or facing the consequences. It's not a new thing or something that's exclusive to anime. But if you're trying to aim for the great average, you're not going to write a woman to act like a fool for example.

A movie like Dumb and Dumber would not work with two female leads, it's very unpopular to depict women acting like Jim Carrey would, with the bizarre self depreciating humor and everything. That's why garbage like Ghostbusters used Snark and other bullshit "Humor" to try and pad jokes. Women cannot be shown to intentionally act like genuine retards they always have to use "QUIRKY" as a fucking buffer and that's SHE'S REALLY SMART BUT MISUNDERSTOOD. She cannot be an authentic fool.

I mean it can stem all the way back to women not being funny because there's usually some kind of corporate or social activist machine in the background prodding you and telling you when it's ok to laugh, it's not viewed as authentic. Men when they bomb on stage when they're not funny and the audience calls them a slew of profanities and boos them. People will not do the same to a lady.

You can write women like fool, Konosuba and Asobi Asobase are great example of that. Old time comedies also did it:

The problem is that modern comedies are written by unfunny hacks who only got to their position by fucking everyone around them.

 

[Marissa Moira]

You can write women like fool, Konosuba and Asobi Asobase are great example of that. Old time comedies also did it:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=i0GW0Vnr9YcThe problem is that modern comedies are written by unfunny hacks who only got to their position by fucking everyone around them.

I don't think many people are aware of Asobase. Like there's more people who are aware of cromartie high and that doesn't even have a blu-ray release.

 

[Moguro Fukuzou]

Think this quote sums it up:

And y'know what, think he has a point. Unlike Hollywood's "gurl power" approach, women are treated as so sacred that they're not allowed to make mistakes, even life-threatening ones (I've noticed this in One Piece in that over time, Oda seems to avoid really putting his female characters in peril like he did before, though they're still on equal-footing with the other characters for the most part). Miyazaki puts his heroines up on a golden pedestal and gets praised for it, but how human are his female characters, really? Think he stopped making action girls after Spirited Away, but Chihiro barely counts as an action girl since she's just a normal little girl having to learn humility and hard work.

But since then, Miyazaki hasn't made another female character who's down-to-earth and relatable, someone who experiences real-life problems that tackle the core elements of what it means to be female.

Makoto from The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is one of the more human protagonists in anime cinema if you ask me. While her femininity was never on full display and had more of a tomboy aspect to her than not, she was exactly what you'd expect a spunky go-getter girl like her to be, and how she reacts to the consequences of her own mistakes tears at you as a fellow human. Hana grew as a character because she was a mother going through the motions, while Ame goes through what every girl her ages goes through, and learns to embrace who she is inside and out. And Mirai has to learn what it means to be a big sister, whose duties are different from what a big brother's duties would be.

Yeah, guess you can argue Hosoda has a leg-up on Miyazaki because he actually has a daughter he dotes on and Miyazaki just has sons whom he didn't really spend much time with, but there is a world of difference between how the two of them approach female protagonists.

I didn't know Hosoda's newest movie just came out in Japan, so I expect to see it on American store shelves by Christmas knowing GKIDS.

I think of the Ghibli films I've seen the only ones that really had stand out girls of their recent works (so not including Princess Mononeke, Nausicaa, Whispers of the Heart) was When Marnie Was There which wasn't even directed by Miyazaki.

Was gonna watch it anyway since I enjoy the guy's work (even if I think his latest films haven't resonated with me as much like Wolf Children and Girl Who Leapt Through Time), but if it deals with the female image in the digital age, should make for intriguing commentary.

See I could never get into Wolf Children just due to the ending leaving a bad taste. That and Mirai didn't do much for me, but at least in the case for Mirai I think it's due to me not being the target audience for that film.

 

[Kari Kamiya]

I think of the Ghibli films I've seen the only ones that really had stand out girls of their recent works (so not including Princess Mononeke, Nausicaa, Whispers of the Heart) was When Marnie Was There which wasn't even directed by Miyazaki.

Yeah, despite the supernatural elements, the girls were being actual girls in When Marnie Was There (which is why Tumblr and other hacks saying they were mad it wasn't a lesbian romance is disgusting), but I otherwise don't remember much else of the movie.

That and Mirai didn't do much for me, but at least in the case for Mirai I think it's due to me not being the target audience for that film.

Mirai didn't do it for me, either, but I at least understood what it was going for being a big sister myself who did have thoughts of wanting to ditch my little brothers in the past. It did seem like it was channeling more Labyrinth than anything else in those themes, if I remember right.

Women traditionally are written as men minus the agency or facing the consequences. It's not a new thing or something that's exclusive to anime. But if you're trying to aim for the great average, you're not going to write a woman to act like a fool for example.

Yeah, I'm well aware of that, as that's a common advice to give to writers when writing female protagonists. I don't know when that trend exactly started, though, since we've now seen what's become of female protagonists in Hollywood and how you can't criticize "strong women" anymore. While there's nothing wrong with escapism and having a role-model to look up to, dumbing everything down around her isn't the way to do it.

Seems like at this point, the only way you make a "dumb" female character anymore is if she's blonde and a high school/college cheerleader or one of the mean girls in school--in teen sex comedies.

 

[Doctor of Autism]

Man it's really disappointing how the fucking MHA movies negatively impact the anime series since this is the third time they had a filler episode that was just a movie advertisement that basically took time away from the interesting stuff that could be happening. After the current season, I am definitely going to read the manga because between the anime having these janky movie advertisement episodes and making weird decisions, it might as well be better to read the source material