Board 8 > Anime and Manga Topic 180: Because you do a 180 and walk away

(+) Yeah! (+)

Hayami Saori is trash.
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Starting Devilman Crybaby.

I really liked the original manga and I have read a portion of other series set in the devilman universe.

Cmon netflix show me the investments that will save anime.
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Mahouka is great

Sister isn't the best, but she has some fun parts

and the girls' uniforms are like the best uniforms of any anime ever
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Place Further than the Universe - Inori Minase main character? sold. hanakana and inori minase yuri pair? sold even more

citrus - oh yeaaaaa
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Beatless first episode wasn't ground breaking, but there are plenty of threads and interesting twists on the setup that have me interested in continuing.

Signing the contract with the main robot girl seems standard, but them making a big deal about how he is now legally responsible for her actions, immediately followed by "this attack might knock out power to people on life support, may I proceed" is certainly a detail that has me wondering where they'll go with it, especially since I don't trust her.
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oh the last main of antarctica is hayamin woo
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overlord 2 - mmm myth&roid so good
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First episode+ of everything I'll be watching has been completed. Here are some brief initial thoughts on the shows I've checked out, minus my drops.

A Place Further Than the Universe
This is alright, though probably on my drops if it doesn't impress me with the third episode. I'd love to be less strict, but my queue this season is way too high already, and this just doesn't feel like a must watch. It certainly has a different tone from what I expected, and it can be fun at times, but it's kind of dull.

After the Rain
I was expecting something similar to Koi Kaze, which is the only show I've dropped out of sheer discomfort. But the tone is much less dramatic than it let on. It's actually even pretty funny at times! I am curious as to what route this will take though. OP suggests it will be a mutual romance, but that's weird and I hope this acts as more of a coming of age story. We'll see.

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card Arc
This is a direct sequel to an almost 20-year-old story. I wasn't really expecting it to be all that great to be honest, but it's not bad as is. It's still got a pretty big 90s vibe to it, and that carries with it the weak episode pacing. It looks to be a monster of the week formula again, without really establishing itself from the rest of the similarly written cartoons in both the east and west. It's also a show written for little girls, so I'm not expecting anything deep. Just hope it gets more fun later.

Citrus
This has a good start! Not necessarily as a romance, but it's already pushing forward some interesting melodrama. I haven't actually seen any shoujo ai, and I've never been abe to get into yuri, so this'll be a new experience for me.

Darling in the FranXX
Weak first episode with some brilliant animation. I feel like this is one of those shows that'll be better from now on though. Slow first episode to set up the characters and the world, but I think we'll see a much different tone from here on out. At least I hope.

Fairy Tale Girls
Badbadbadbadbad first episode. Worse than my drops. I am only still watching because I wanted another magic school-themed SoL. Main character is shy and submissive, which is my least favorite type of character, so having the archetype in the lead role is lame. It does show that she has the power to stand up for herself, but I'm pretty certain they're just going to sacrifice creativity for moe and this'll end up another generic cute girl show.
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Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san
This is a funny show. Not the laugh out loud type humor, but I watched the first episode with a constant grin on my face. I can see this getting formulaic, but for now, it's just a cute, easily palatable romcom. Also Rie Takahashi best seiyuu.

Mitsuboshi Colors
So far this show has been surprisingly funny. Not the most witty or refined jokes, but still manages to make me laugh. All three main characters play off each other pretty well, and it's great watching them create mischief, all the while claiming they're protecting the peace of the town. Plus, what other show has small children threatening to murder a police officer with a bazooka? I rest my case.

School Babysitters
This was a great first episode. The character designs for the kids are a lot less disgusting when animated, so that's a relief. This should be a fun show, and hopefully it leans more toward the Usagi Drop spectrum, rather than the S&L one.

Seven Deadly Sins: Revival of the Commandments
Not the best first episode, but this was pretty obviously made to catch the viewer back up. I just hope the slow pacing doesn't continue, as that's one area I feel I remember season one doing quite well with. I like how they've also introduced measurable power levels. I can already see the ridiculous ways they'll use this.

Violet Evergarden
Didn't get all the pre-hype surrounding this, and still I'm left not really getting the hype now that episode one has aired. The presentation stands out more than anything else. Felt like I was watching a film at times. But I get the feeling this'll be another Made in Abyss situation for me.

Devilman will get it's own write-up when I (hopefully) finish it tomorrow. Rankings though...

Devilman > Rain > Citrus > Babysitters > Colors > Takagi > Sins > Evergarden > FranXX > Cardcaptors > Universe > Fairy Tale
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I actually caught all the way up on the Takagi manga. I feel like it's vastly superior to the anime. Very easy read too.
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Well it's ongoing so that's gross
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hmm. I mean, that's kinda fair, but it's 100% episodic? Even has a sequel series, oddly enough (I caught up on that one too...)
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I don't like ongoing manga due to hiatus issues. Berserk has singlehandedly scared me off of reading another ongoing manga (Except One Piece, which I'll never catch up to anyway).
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I don't even want to count Devilman amongst Winter 2018 because that's just not fair.
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I watched through Nanana's Buried Treasure today and I thought it was alright. I would've preferred an ending with more closure but what can you do.

I've also been watching A Certain Magical Index. I'm not very far in yet but I'm enjoying it. Index is a fun character and Touma has a unique power that seems incredibly situational so I'm excited to see how he uses it to tackle various obstacles.
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Robazoid posted...

Index is a fun character and Touma has a unique power that seems incredibly situational

there's so much wrong with this I don't even know where to start
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Well I'm only four episodes in so I guess I can talk openly without worrying too much about spoilers. As I understand it, his ability only counteracts special powers and even then he's already faced someone who found a workaround that required a creative solution. As the second battle showed, his ability also isn't worth much against someone who doesn't need to use their special power to begin with. I dunno, I thought they were using it in a neat way so far.
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Index being a fun character is a major point of contention.

Even railgun fans don't really like her.
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I'll admit I'm still near the beginning so she might go downhill later but I think Index is great so far. I love characters who can stay positive and full of energy. Index has also displayed a level of depth beyond that, too, especially through her background (which is super intriguing).
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Robazoid posted...

Index is a fun character

http://i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/018/489/nick-young-confused-face-300x256_nqlyaa.jpg
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You know i like the index series and all but... Index herself is like I don't even remember what her gimmick even is.
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Index is probably the least popular part of Index. If you enjoy her, you'll probably love the show. ^_^
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Mac Arrowny posted...

Mahouka is great

Sister isn't the best, but she has some fun parts

and the girls' uniforms are like the best uniforms of any anime ever

The guys have pretty swag uniforms as well
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Bozebeats not a bad start
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Beatless was finally been added to Amazon in the US. Still scheduled for Friday releases, so seems it was just a mistake.
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So what are the big digital manga subscription services?
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There are ones aside from Jumps? Ive never heard of any others

Crunchyroll has a manga subscription service as well
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Viz's manga subscription service is also just for their digital Jump magazine.

It doesn't let you browse series and stuff. It doesn't even buy you the tanks of stuff in there! It's pretty cheap though.
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Beated Devilman

Oof, talk about not being able to stick the landing...

I'll provide a full write-up later. Probably tomorrow so I can try to understand what that was.
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One Piece will be on break this week

on break this week

on break

on break every 3 chapters

soon there will be breaks every 2 chapters as Oda's body breaks down

after that One Piece will be on a monthly schedule as Oda dies right before the final arc
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what the

Devilman's ending was incredible
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Mac Arrowny posted...

what the

Devilman's ending was incredible

I don't really get how it ties into the overall story thematically. I looked at other people's thoughts, both those who liked it and those who didn't, and I don't think I really missed anything. Just feels like it was done for the sake of being dark.
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Mac Arrowny posted...

what the

Devilman's ending was incredible

Agreed. I understand the opposing viewpoint as well, I think it's just going to vary person to person.

tazzyboyishere posted...

Just feels like it was done for the sake of being dark.

This I cannot agree with, though.
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Great explanation tho
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Devilman spoilers

I thought the ending was more about futility than darkness. Ryo destroyed humanity for nothing because he was always going to lose to God's wrath. That final revelation he had after losing his only friend was the message the audience was supposed to take away from it all so that we won't give into hatred in our own lives because it's ultimately destructive and meaningless

There's a chance I'm wrong about all of that, Devilman didn't really jive with me so I haven't been thinking too hard about it, but that was my interpretation.
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Mobilezoid posted...

Devilman spoilers

I thought the ending was more about futility than darkness. Ryo destroyed humanity for nothing because he was always going to lose to God's wrath. That final revelation he had after losing his only friend was the message the audience was supposed to take away from it all so that we won't give into hatred in our own lives because it's ultimately destructive and meaningless

There's a chance I'm wrong about all of that, Devilman didn't really jive with me so I haven't been thinking too hard about it, but that was my interpretation.

This actually makes a lot of sense on initial thought, so I appreciate this post.

I gave it a 10, so it's not like I didn't love it, but I may need to rewatch the ending again with this frame of mind going in.
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I'm at work so I couldn't get into it (thanks taz), but that's about right in my eyes.
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Sorry, it's extremely frustrating when you feel like you've missed something, then go to figure out what it meant, only to be met with people, who apparently understood things perfectly, stating that the people who didn't like the ending are dumb casuals without offering up an explanation.

It still doesn't fix the whole issue of "humans being the real demons" falling apart, knowing that they're being directly manipulated by Satan himself, but Roba's explanation definitely brings a new, sensible light to the final moments.
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All good, I understand the frustration, just don't wanna have to add "I'm at work, but..." to the 20 posts I make from work a day.

As for researching the ending, you kind if have to consider earlier stuff as well. A lot of the stuff Robs mentioned was laid out by Mill's father in am earlier scene, for example, and is something that almost every primary character experiences in one way or another.
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Man and I once thought people were exaggerating how overpowered Tatsuya Shiba is.
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I thought more names from Hero Academia would have been taken by now, surprising. Nabbed the best character aw yea
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pyresword posted...

Man and I once thought people were exaggerating how overpowered Tatsuya Shiba is.

How far are you?
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I just finished episode 10 now. When I made that post I just finished whatever part where he literally invents flying.

And I have a feeling he's going to become more overpowered as the series goes on rather than less. (By which I mostly mean that I don't think he's revealed his entire playbook yet--not necessarily that he'll become more skilled as the series goes on, though that might happen as well)

Of course, I also suspect there's other overpowered characters in the series we just haven't seen in action yet, but yeah.
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Yeah, he's awesome.
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THoughts about the second weeks shows.

Death March
-I liked the game type stuff and the way they incorporated UI and design elements. Overall it still seems like something wanting to cash in on the SAO craze rather than try to be a good show. However, it does seem to be up front on that it's like a harem or something so there's that. Not expecting much, but SAO was ruined by direction not concept.

Mrchen Mdchen
-So it seems like the running naked with the book is going to be a thing. Not sold on this yet but I'm not going to write it off just yet. Like honestly not a lot happened but the whole thing where the girl just wants to be friends with some story book character for the entire episode was pretty great.

Dagashi Kashi 2
-A half length series now which probably fits the format a bit better than in season 1. Nothing really impressive but Hotaru is still going to be the main draw of the show. The "your dad is a youtuber" line made me laugh.

Hakyuu Houshin Engi
-Soul Hunter was a semi-popular show back around the turn of the millennium. I saw some of it and never thought it was like that great but serviceable overall. Now, the remake. The animation is awful and the designs are just not good. I mean they fit the source material but it's still... not good. This is a title though that if you've watched a lot of anime that you can probably tell its a remake of an old work even if you've never heard of the original.

Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens
-So like after a few minutes of watching this I'm like "this is like DRRR only all the characters are boring as fuck." Not sure if it's bad enough to be an episode 1 drop though.

Miira no Kaikata
-Nothing really special but I did thing the little mummy was really cute. Reminds me some what of the Morose Mononokean.

Hakumei to Mikochi
-Okay concept but not really cute enough and doesn't play the touching card either.

Takunomi.
-Not really sure what this is about. Seems to be about a bunch of post 20 somethings who live together and the shoe revolves around them eating a drinking. I did learn something about pouring beer. It's okay?

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni
-This was alright but I'm not sure I'm into the beats the scene pacing seems to take. Like I understand them (for the most part) but they do draw attention to themselves. Man, do I feel bad for the friendzoned dude though.

Darling in the FranXX
-Really enjoyed it. They did a good job at building a mini mythos for main girl during the episode with a few scenes. Kind of standard in where the show went but there's a lot of future potential. I didn't even know who was doing this but it was pretty obvious after a couple of minutes that Trigger was involved. I think more than almost any title (like except for Violet Evergarden) this has the most to live up to.

Killing Bites
-Okay, so. When I heard of the descriptions I was like "ehh.. not sure. I mean beast wars was cool and all but...". I watched it though and... I don't know. Like I compare it to say zodiac warm Terraformars... or something and I think one thing this really has over it is well two things... two very large... okay the fan service is really top notch here. The action scene was also pretty good to watch. The only real downer is the main male character but I mean maybe things will change. The show also reminds me some what of Sekirei in like the whole not quite human girl thing. I also started laughing when during the fight a narrator just started to spout out facts about the animals. I'd say though too I really like the main girls design overall and in this case that's a big bonus for me keeping this around for another episode.

Beatless
-Not really sure how much I really got from this. I mean basically we met a MC who thinks that robots who look human should be treated as such and he got a robot girlfriend now.
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WINTER 2018 Rankings

Violet Evergarden
Citrus
Mitsuboshi Colors
Darling in the FranXX
Slow Start
Gakuen Babysitters
Skilled Teaser Takagi-san
Ryuuou no Oshigoto!
Killing Bites
Grancrest Senki
Dagashi Kashi 2
A Place Further Than The Universe
Koi wa Ameagari no You ni
How to keep a mummy
Yuru Camp
Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card-hen
Death March
Mrchen Mdchen
Takunomi.
Kokkoku
Beatless
Sanrio Danshi
Hakumei to Mikochi
Toji no Miko
Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens

DROP LINE
Hakyuu Houshin Engi
Dame x Prince Anime Caravan
Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles
Pop Team Epic
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I am just really amazed by how repugnant Killing Bites was to me in every way shape and form. I went in thinking "eh, just some trashy fansevice to get through, no big deal", but I was like...fucking shocked by how low for my tolerance for it was, every factor seemd like it was scientifically designed to make me hate it, even though I'm fully aware that it isn't close to the worst anime ever or even the worst this season. An anime made from the ground up to be LtM's most loathed anime.
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Why did Hoshin Engi get another go at an adaptation of all things.
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pjbasis posted...

Why did Hoshin Engi get another go at an adaptation of all things.

for the same reason there are babies born with cancer
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