Anime/Manga Discussion

Lots of Surise anime were recently licensed/relicensed:
http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2013/08/10-1/video-funimation-rescue-licenses-cowboy-bebop-code-geass-and-more
http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2013/08/10-1/sentai-filmworks-announces-rescue-licenses-and-december-release-plans

Yet still no Gundam...

On the manga side of things, I read the first chapter of Barrage, and was reasonably impressed. Went and bought the first volume (there are only 2). I look forward to seeing how this progresses.

Anyone keeping up with anime series this fall? There's some really awesome series ongoing right now.

I'm watching:
Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio: Ars Nova (Epic)
Kyoukai no Kanata
Kill La Kill
BlazBlue Alter Memory
Little Busters! Refrain (Simply amazing)
Nagi no Asukara (Beautiful)
Sekai de Ichiban Tsuyoku Naritai! (Just Boobs)
Golden Time
Yuusha ni Narenakatta Ore wa Shibushibu Shuushoku wo Ketsui Shimashita.

I meant to, but then Pokemon happened. I might try to get caught up with a few shows by the end of next month.

I'll be watching Golden Time this season, and I might dive into (hehe) Nagi no Asukara as well. I'll watch Little Busters Refrain too, but after most of the episodes come out. I don't want to be stuck on a tragic cliffhanger for a week :L

I was thinking the same about Refrain, I might wait too. I highly recommend you Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio and Kyoukai no Kanata. Those two are my favorites right now.

I saw a picture of a robot whale that I thought was from a Brave series, but turned out to be from Bravest Warriors. Before I found that out, however, I decided to watch episode 37 of Brave Police J-Decker. I think I recall hearing that this one was supposed to be one of the better Brave series, so I wanted to see what I would be in for once I start watching more Braves.

...But apparently I went into the very worst episode I could've possibly have jumped into. I knew I was in for something a little pretentious when I saw this episode was titled "The Hunt for the God Whale", but I was not prepared for this. It was pretentious up the wazzoo, there was so much philosophical bullcrap going on that I couldn't believe it, and there was twist after freakin' twist! Seriously, here's how the whole episode went down:

Spoiler:

I think the best part was when one of the robots asks how a mindless automotan could go on a rampage, and the doctor went on about how it was rejected by nature, causing it to be "unable to rest", and the robot says, "That's....TOTAL NONSENSE!" I mean, I was thinking the exact same thing when I heard it, too.

I seriously hope the rest of this series isn't as pretentious and poorly written as this was, or I may be in for a rough ride if this really is one of the better Brave series. But I really doubt the rest is that bad. I dunno, it just doesn't seem possible to replicate that kind of stupidity on a regular basis. I'll still be giving the rest a go sometime later.

^Oh boy. I've heard precisely jack about Brave Police J-Decker but I'm almost tempted to watch the series based on your synopsis. I do get a kick out of that kind of writing when I'm in the mood.

Also, been watching a lot of Busou Renkin. It's a rather generic shounen series so far but seems short and charming enough. You're quickly beaten with the blunt end of the premise in the first two minutes and the characters, though entirely archetypal, are surprisingly easy to get behind. Throw in a rockin' theme and it has a very feel-good vibe.

I always wanted to try Buso Renkin despite its obvious genericness. Just something about it seems interesting to me.

Anyways, I was watching Brave of Gold Goldran, but I ran out of episodes. It was fun while it lasted, though. It was more a silly adventure story, and unlike J-Decker, it never really took itself that seriously. It had a sense of whimsy to it, too, since it has a way of making everything not quite be what it seems. The world, for instance, is not exactly our Earth (lots of made up countries that are similar to real ones, but with their own flair, so they're simultaneously insulting and avoiding insulting everyone all at once). It's still very episodic, but since they're on a new adventure every episode, it's much more tolerable than usual. I can't wait until I can find more episodes and watch more.

I also started watching Reborn, but it's been difficult to get into. It's fun and silly, but they've spent 6 episodes introducing characters, and they still have more to go. It's going to be a long time before they get to the plot, and I'm already tired of waiting...

FINALLY GOT AROUND TO GETTING PERSONA 4 ANIME

HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOO RISE.

MattS wrote:FINALLY GOT AROUND TO GETTING PERSONA 4 ANIME

HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOO RISE.

I've heard mostly good things about that one. I'd watch it, but I still gotta finish the game. D= Hope you enjoy it!

Anyways, I've recently started rewatching Yu Yu Hakusho. It's fantastic stuff, one of the rare cases where it's every bit as good as I remember, if not moreso. I haven't been this thrilled to rewatch a show since I first rewatched Mobile Suit Gundam!  

CanisWolfred wrote:Ouch, major bummer, dude.

Also, I just feel like mentioning this:

I haven't really been watching new anime since Fall 2012, and it doesn't seem like I've missed much. I think there's only 3, maybe 4 shows that seem like they'd appeal to my tastes, and even then I doubt most of them would be that good. Granted, that's just out of the Simulcast ones, but still...

I'm only a couple of episodes in, but go watch Persona 4 Anime. Even if you haven't finished the game. It's excellent. Might be my favourite anime this side of Bleach.

CanisWolfred wrote:...I've recently started rewatching Yu Yu Hakusho. It's fantastic stuff, one of the rare cases where it's every bit as good as I remember, if not moreso. I haven't been this thrilled to rewatch a show since I first rewatched Mobile Suit Gundam!  

Heh, I just finished watching the series for the first time a couple months back. I'm curious, when did you first see it? I enjoyed it but also left feeling no real attachment. The Dark Tournament Arc in particular seemed bland and repetitive even though many characters and events ended up being relevant later on. That could well be because I rushed through the series fairly quickly as opposed to being a kid and hyped to see the progression each week though. Not too big on the character designs either (the type of "monster" aesthetics often used bored me).

Still, hard to complain since it was a very clearly an inspiration for Bleach (and filler or not, whoever wrote the Bount arc knew what they were doing).

Matt: I saw that anime right after playing the game on the Vita. It is really good. My favorite thing about it is how they manege to make Yu so awesome.

I recommend you Devil Survivor 2 The Animation. Is from the same people that did the P4 anime and I'm sure you know that Devil Survivor is also from the Shin Megami Tensei series. I never played the game but the anime is really good.

Persona 3 is also getting a movie and it looks awesome. Here is a video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ixRMU9e3cg

Midori wrote:

CanisWolfred wrote:...I've recently started rewatching Yu Yu Hakusho. It's fantastic stuff, one of the rare cases where it's every bit as good as I remember, if not moreso. I haven't been this thrilled to rewatch a show since I first rewatched Mobile Suit Gundam!  

Heh, I just finished watching the series for the first time a couple months back. I'm curious, when did you first see it? I enjoyed it but also left feeling no real attachment. The Dark Tournament Arc in particular seemed bland and repetitive even though many characters and events ended up being relevant later on. That could well be because I rushed through the series fairly quickly as opposed to being a kid and hyped to see the progression each week though. Not too big on the character designs either (the type of "monster" aesthetics often used bored me).

Still, hard to complain since it was a very clearly an inspiration for Bleach (and filler or not, whoever wrote the Bount arc knew what they were doing).

I first saw it when I was a kid. That said, I've always loved tournament arcs. Considering nearly every shounen anime since DBZ has been one big tournament anyways, it's cool to actually seem them boil the show down to its essence and just have a straight tournament with set rules and everything. So the Dark Tournament has always been one of my favorite anime arcs ever, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it holds up.

So. Persona 4 Anime is my new favourite ever. Bye bye Bleach, hello Persona. Hope they do the same for Persona 5.

Mind you there's an Atelier anime in the way too, and I can't realistically see anything beating that for me.

So...I'm almost done with Space Battleship Yamato 2199, and so far I'm ready to consider it one of the best anime I've ever seen. I'll have a full report once I've finished the last few episodes.