Poll of the Day > Anime, Manga, VN, JRPG, Related Things Discussion Topic LXXVI

(+) Yeah! (+)

Alright so I finally dived into last years and this years Berserk all at once and saw it all, my impressions were not good from the first few episodes, the pacing seemed to be jumbled, the CG animation was iffy, the camerawork was janky as hell and whatever "shading" they did ended up looking awful but I survived through it

Then the second part came, the CG was better, the camerawork wasn't quite as bad and the pacing seemed to be much more even, I found myself getting into it better and was more absorbed in the story. I think that Schierke's introduction was where it really started to pick up, I ended up really liking her by the end and even found Farnese to be (somewhat) tolerable too, the ending being "the story continues" gives me hope at another eventual season too.

Overall I'd give it a.. 7.5/10, my misgivings were mostly cleared up by the end but I must say this- if there is another season I REALLY want it to go back to normal 2D animation, the last episode actually had the last 2 minutes in 2D animation and it looked a whole lot better, I'd like to see that used in any future season/s of it
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I_Abibde posted...

Also playing Zodiac Age, and there's a lot about FFXII I apparently don't remember (e.g. if it looks like a T-Rex, it can probably one-shot you at the start of the game, so don't tease it).

yeah that thing was always a bastard

but there was something nice you could steal from it so i think speedrunners would do that
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And people in Rabanastre were afraid of a little tomato-thing when there are T-Rexes and the like wandering around out there. ... There is dumb, and there is Square Enix Dumb.

keyblader1985 posted...

Wait, what?

That was my reaction, too. It's not a direct sequel. It's supposed to be in the far future. And reactions to it have been pretty universally bad, but I'll likely end up watching it anyway.
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I don't actually believe that fairy tail is ending next week
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That's the end of the con. I had to leave early because my niece had an interview, so I didn't get to do some things I wanted to do. But it was great.

And now I think I'm just gonna rest, because I haven't had a real day off in two weeks.
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why does your niece having an interview effect you

it's not like you have a car to give her a ride or anything?

or were you there with her and she was your ride
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My sister was my ride, and thus she had to pick up her daughter from the con for the interview.
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And before I shave and put away the costume, I figured I'd let you guys see my Harima Kenji cosplay:









(And these pics just now made me realize I may have a receding hairline..)
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Nice job on the hair dude!

And honestly, the gakuran looks great!

It doesn't look small on you at all.
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Thanks. At the last minute I noticed you could let out the sleeves and the bottom of the jacket a little, so that's what I did. It was originally smaller than that.
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That cosplay is pretty good @keyblader1985 well done, but I think why people didn't recognize it, is because its too normal. They probably just thought you happened to dress like that. If you want to be recognized you should try cosplaying as a unique looking character, so you'll stand out. For example, cosplaying as Light (Death note) wouldn't really stand out as much as cosplaying as Ichigo (Bleach) with his orange hair & shinagami outfit.
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keyblader1985 posted...

And before I shave and put away the costume, I figured I'd let you guys see my Harima Kenji cosplay:









(And these pics just now made me realize I may have a receding hairline..)

Looking good dude, I think you could rock that as a normal outfit.
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boku no hero academia is getting super hype this week. definitely THE shonen to watch right now
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Well, that was some unexpected cliche fanservice in ep 2 of Welcome to the Ballroom, and I feel conflicted for liking it.

It got me thinking, why? Because it's super effective against the shounen demographic; Those without access to it; Those who would find it most fascinating out of any people and are willing to share it with their friends.

http://imgur.com/a/dtrTR


I'm guessing they won't be doing more of it.
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Does anyone know of manga that is based around gaming or otaku's?
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There's really not much fanservice in Ballroom, if you don't count the dancing in beautiful formal getups (and the guys are right there with them). I didn't even remember that scene with Shizuku. Also, Mako = best girl.

OlorinTheOtaku posted...

Does anyone know of manga that is based around gaming or otaku's?

Genshiken is a fantastic one about several geek interests: anime, manga, games, cosplay, and creating all of the above.
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i've been playing

7th dragon 3 code vfd

stupid name, but a decent dungeon crawler so far.
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Just read issue 1 of Genshiken, it seams pretty good, I liked the references to Gundam, Final fantasy, King of fighters & such. I think I'm gonna enjoy this one.
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acesxhigh posted...

boku no hero academia is getting super hype this week. definitely THE shonen to watch right now

ooh I havent seen the new episode, ill have to do it tomorrow, since its late
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quigonzel posted...

So far the only standout of the new anime season, of what I've seen, is Kakegurui. Something about this show's style is pretty slick.

Have you watched made in abyss? It's the highest rated right now and looks interesting. I'm hoping its good. Kakegurui was the only other show that looked really interesting. Glad to hear it seems to be good so far.
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Genshiken is god-tier, and Madarame is the young version of me (except he has a harem).

helly posted...

stupid name, but a decent dungeon crawler so far.

I like that game, Helly, so, theoretically, you are supposed to hate it and think it is dumb.

quigonzel posted...

So far the only standout of the new anime season, of what I've seen, is Kakegurui.

You also have more New Game! this season, Quig. Do not forget to pay homage to the Hifumi.
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YoukaiSlayer posted...

Still, I feel like ghost hound in particular created an atmosphere that really was conducive to horror, they just went in a different direction. Sorta. Maybe I should rewatch ghost hound. Wish there were more things like it.

I agree, in that Ghost Hound had particular atmosphere. It worked well and you immediately could tell something was up, makes you uneasy about whats to come but in good way.

Muhyo & Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation manga has some good scary moments in it too, while also having plenty of good comedy, the build up is great and gives you a reason and plenty of time to get creeped out. The very first volume gives you a good scare right off the bat when Muhyo and Roji explore the subway looking to exorcise the soul of a girl who committed suicide.

I'd also recommend Wicked City. It is sufficiently creepy but more on the action side of scares. No dumb teenagers either, "The story takes place towards the end of the 20th century and explores the idea that the human world secretly coexists with the demon world with a secret police force known as the Black Guard protecting the boundary."-taken from Wikipedia
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Some random bits from the con:

- I overheard two people describing some random show, and one of them said it was ecchi, and the other one replied all matter-of-factly, "it's pronounced ecki (with a hard keyboard sound). Wanted to facepalm so hard.

- Later on I checked out the second half of a general anime trivia game, and most of the players knew practically nothing 'bout nothing. I kept thinking that I could run circles around them. When that round was over they asked for some new volunteers to play, and I got chosen. Our subject was... "that's not anime."

It was all about Gravity Falls, Adventure Time, Steven Universe, and some other cartoons. I don't watch any of those; needless to say I lost pretty hard, despite winning two points by just guessing. But I did get a Monokuma tie for participating. Which reminds me that I still have to upload pics of swag and cosplay.
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I_Abibde posted...

I like that game, Helly, so, theoretically, you are supposed to hate it and think it is dumb.

it does have a dumb name
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Finished up Malazan book 6.

Think I'm gonna watch the Kizumonogatari movies now and maybe a short show.
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I am 90 chapters into One Piece and it's way better than expected. Luffy is a boss
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FellWolf posted...

I am 90 chapters into One Piece and it's way better than expected. Luffy is a boss

One Piece is great. It does a decent job of keeping the humor in throughout the series as well.

Liked the Kizumonogatari movies, was nice to see how the saga starts. Gonna watch Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho next.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWaLxFIVX1s

Welp, Silver Spoon made 3 new chapters after suddenly coming out of hiatus, and now announced another hiatus. I've lost count on how many hiatuses there's been now.




Also, I loved this fight scene from Kizumonogatari. There's not many at all in the monogatari series, but look how fun it is. Minor spoilers btw for this gif.

https://sakugabooru.com/post/show/36326
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Oh, I just remembered. PM me your address, Toffee, and I'll send you that New Super Mario Bros. U. I'm gonna do another game giveaway so I'll send out the two games at the same time.
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keyblader1985 posted...

Oh, I just remembered. PM me your address, Toffee, and I'll send you that New Super Mario Bros. U. I'm gonna do another game giveaway so I'll send out the two games at the same time.

PM Sent!

And thanks again! This would be the first time anyone has ever gifted me a game.
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What are your favorite anime soundtracks? And what is your favorite full movie that was based on a anime?

For me, One punch man & Fairy tail had REALLY good music.

I have only seen some of the Pokemon movies, but thinking of watching some of the DBZ movies. In general I usually either read manga or watch anime, but some of these movies sound good.
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Despite watching a fair bit of fairy tail, i think the show is garbage and possibly the worst long running shonen. HOWEVER, that music is damn good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIwmrk7LoDk

I really liked some of the just regular OST tracks from black lagoon. This one may be my favorite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYaBEVKBoik

MHA's main theme that has been stolen by like 50 billion youtube videos is also fantastic as a single standout piece. (good part starts at like 2:00 although the whole song is good).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHakl2bMQYI

Ghost hound I mentioned before while not having great music per se had a unique and excellent use of background sound in general (that I read a whole thing on way back). No example on its own, watch the show.

Pandora hearts has one of the best OSTs IMO. .hack//sign and uh...that one other anime i forget have a very similar sounding soundtrack but I felt pandora hearts is the best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk6OR27j1JM

Gunslinger girls has a few amazing pieces.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g00N1CqdpU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_DJdd53VcQ

Feel it would be unfair not to mention your lie in april as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WvgfULw4A8

That's all i can think of off the top of my head. Gunslinger girl and pandora hearts are probably less known than most of the others but I highly recommend both shows (although pandora hearts has a pretty meh anime original ending but it wasn't as ruinous as claymore or yami to boushi the latter of which is the worst ending of anything ever past present or future. may its writer find unhappiness in all things)

i don't really watch movies so I don't have much of interest to say on that topic.
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@YoukaiSlayer said: "Despite watching a fair bit of fairy tail, i think the
show is garbage and possibly the worst long
running shonen."

What don't you like about it? I watched till episode 211 (& read some of the manga) & its easily 1 of my fav Shonen anime. Though there are some parts that are meh, but generally I think its an amazing anime.

Check this AMV out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hhwy9xRGZ0

I wanted to link another but apparently GameFAQ is limited to 80 letter words. Just YouTube " Fairy Tail AMV TRIBUTE - Never Stop Believing in Fairy Tail" its good.

Im sorry but you've gotta have no soul to call that "Garbage."
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It's actually good for a short while but after a point there is just no progress, the characters are mostly basic, and the fights are some of my biggest problems. They have no consistency in terms of power or ability, the characters routinely make poor combat decisions at the beginning of the arc because they "need" to lose to set up the villain, and each arc is just exactly the same as the previous.

It was a shame too because the world of fairy tail is actually pretty interesting, the visuals and music help bring it to life, and outside of picking up the idiot ball frequently for plot convenience the characters have decent chemistry.

It should be noted however that I do not like shonen anime generally. They have poor pacing, every character just states their emotions constantly, the fights are style over substance, and my god the pacing. Like, when a fight goes through the whole cast and shows each characters inner thoughts about the particular move being used I just want to scream. Most shonen fights have about 2 minutes of actual action but get dragged out into like 5+ episodes. If I were less lazy I'd make a video of several fight scenes cutting out all the non fighting parts. These annoying internal thoughts are also so formulaic and generally give away whats going to happen just because the same thing always happens. Like for instance if suddenly we are hearing the enemies internal thoughts guess what? He is getting tricked and the main guy is pretending to lose only to turn it around at the last second. Shonen are just full of these little mini spoilers that make them painfully predictable.

HxH is the only (long running) shonen that actually managed to address most of the issues and thats why its the only good shonen. Honorable mention to one piece that despite having all the issues I listed above, just managed to emphasize the good parts of shonen so much that its still enjoyable despite those other annoyances, although a lot less so than if it were to fix those issues.

Samurai champloo is a good example of what fight scenes should be. Well choreographed, to the point, and able to be understood simply by watching rather than narration. Shonen fights give the viewer no credit by explaining everything tediously and do the opposite of show don't tell.
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OlorinTheOtaku posted...

Im sorry but you've gotta have no soul to call that "Garbage."

people have different tastes."One man's trash is another man's treasure" in this case
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There are plenty of shounen that don't fall into those traps. Like some series that are rooted in actual martial arts would have good reason to explain some of the more complicated actions or fighting styles. And other genre tropes can be predicted just as well as shounen for anyone who's knowledgeable enough about the genre.
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Well to a certain degree yes. In fact I've actually enjoyed tons of shonen anime, but its almost exclusively the shorter ones (aside from again hunter x hunter). Its the combination of the simplicity shonen implies combined with the infinite weekly format that results in the insane amounts filler, quality drops, power creep, and predictability.

I feel of the long running shonens, naruto started off fine, good even, but couldn't manage the pace and the quality dropped, power crept, and filler became more and more frequent. Bleach had a fantastic first arc (well the soul society, i guess there was some mini stuff before then) and then fell off a cliff becoming noticeably worse, hitting stupid power creep levels, and having some of the worst filler arcs out there.

One piece sorta stands above the other 3 from that generation as actually fitting a long form narrative very nicely, managing to continuously keep the stakes personal and grounded, very slow power creep, and a much larger focus on self contained adventures and stories. Unfortunately its fight choreography is not very good. The other strong points and the story focus lessen the impact somewhat. It also has some poor pacing and can really drag things out sometimes.

Fairy tail I've already gone over and Hunter X Hunter I could talk about for days but ultimately it simply shakes up genre conventions which breaks the painful predictability of other long running shonens. A key aspect is that many fights are not to the death which allows main characters to lose and not just in round 1 to set up the arc but really truly be defeated. The fact that each arc has a different style as well is significant too.

I'd argue the long form nature of shonen makes its tropes that much more pronounced but the truth is there just aren't many good examples of long form shonen anime out there, IMO. I should make sure to reiterate that last point though, its all my opinion, different strokes for different folks and all that. I know I may come off as especially harsh but the truth is I'm just jaded and frustrated at not finding what I really want in the genre. It's like a craving for something I just can't satisfy because no one will make the series that I want which I guess would be some kinda mix between one piece, samurai champloo, and kino no tabi. I will apologize for calling fairy tail garbage. I did not enjoy it, I had many problems with it, I found its low points to overshadow its high points but it did have high points and if you enjoyed it, its not my aim to take that away from you or make you feel worse for it.
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OlorinTheOtaku posted...

said: "Despite watching a fair bit of fairy tail, i think the
show is garbage and possibly the worst long
running shonen."

Why don't you just click the quote button? It looks a lot better.
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@YoukaiSlayer so you just don't really like Shonen anime in general? That's ok, to each his own & all that. I just thought you were hating on Fairy tail for no reason or something, my bad ^_^;

I agree with what you said about Shonen having alot of needless talking & narration during fights. Naruto did this alot, so many times when it felt like they were not fighting, but having a conversation.

I still love Shonen anime though. In fact I think I like all kinds of anime, its like that with video games too, I don't really have a preferred genre. As long as its a good game or anime or whatever in its respective genre, I like it.
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@AllstarSniper32 LOL, I was waiting for someone to ask that. I tried using the "Quote" button but if I click it, it just reloads the same web page, it doesn't seem to work for me. I use my old android 2.3 Samsung galaxy pocket with the Opera mini browser, somewhere along the line the "Quote" button isn't compatible for me. That's why I copy & paste posts to make my own make shift "Quote".
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I mean, I do feel fairy tail is worse than one peice, hunter x hunter. Maybe even with naruto. Probably better than bleach as a whole but nothing matching the soul society arc.

It frustrates me that the only long form shows we get are shonen (aside from the best anime, LotGH). What I wouldn't give for 300 episodes of kino no tabi or samurai champloo which both had the traveling to new places and having new adventures set up and easily could have gone on for that long but just didn't and ended basically arbitrarily. Black lagoon as well could have easily been endless. There just isn't enough adventure anime as a whole and good adventure is probably my favorite thing. Frustrating that its tethered to some of my least favorite things 99% of the time.
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@YoukaiSlayer have you read Berserk? I've only read the first 5 issues or so but I think maybe that's what you would be looking for?? Its kinda like a Shonen, but (much) more mature. Seemed to have most Shonen tropes like traveling & new adventures & what not. It also had 100's of issues if I remember correctly. I don't think it would have any power creeping or what not.
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The problem is I just really don't like manga. I've tried several times to get into them but just can't seem to manage. The active aspects of anime seem to be key in my enjoyment and removing them just doesn't feel the same to me. I have watched the original berserk adaptation of the golden age arc and loved it. I would love to be able to watch more except not that abomination of an adaptation going on currently. However, its a bit darker (both visually and tonally) than what I would prefer from my adventure.
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Yeah, Berserk definitely isn't for everyone, LOL.
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BTW, has anyone played the PSP Naruto games? I'm getting Naruto ultimate ninja heroes 3, but all of them sound very cool.

I also heard of 3 Japanese only Hitman Reborn PSP games, anyone played them?
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I consider shows that are 50+ ep to be long running.. The only shows I've seen that fit that criteria are the monogatari series, and Jojo, and most likely 2 arcs worth of dragon ball Z back in the day.

I think a lot of long running shounens suffer from being written via play-by-ear. The manga artists always have their nose to the grindstone for years on end when they reach that level of success, which I'm sure hurts their creativity, especially because their editors meddle with direction also.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ExecutiveMeddling/Anime



Nagi no Asukara has a neat OST, a lot of calming acoustic guitar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x97QUpNzYuo
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Panty and Stocking's soundtrack is incredibly cool, and a mainstay in my collection. And Noir has an amazing soundtrack, because everything Yuki Kajiura touches is gold.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xb2wh_noir-ending_news
(YouTube seems to have taken down all versions of the song)
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