Anime and Manga v40: Repeated Thread Necromancy Edition

[JBSchroeds]

I only read a few manga before, despite having watched anime on and off since I was a kid, and having read American comics for several years, but I've been reading more recently.

5 out of 10 volumes into barefoot gen

2 out of 7 into nausicaa of the valley of the wind

16 volumes into berserk

1 volume into one Piece

There are several more I have my eye on, some of which have anime adaptations I was also interested in. I'm not sure if I want to start with the manga or anime, so I'd like to hear what any of you have to say about these:

monster

flowers of evil

one punch man

Meanwhile my anime viewing is a mess. It's going to take me forever just to finish all the shows I've already started.

15 episodes into when they cry

15 into fist of the north star

62 into rurouni kenshin

7 into space battleship yamato

56 into urusei yatsura

33 into dragon ball

1 into macross

3 into mobile suit zeta gundam

Series I completed recently are goblin slayer, attack on titan seasons 2 and 3, and made in abyss.

I'm also very slowly making my way through the films and series of some of the great directors of anime, so far including rintaro, kawajiri, otomo, miyazaki, takahata, oshii, yuasa, and hosoda.

Monster is very well reviewed (but it personally wasn't my cup of tea). One Punch Man is good fun, just make sure you give it until chapter ~10 or so to really got rolling. I've never tried The Flowers of Evil so can't give any feedback.

If you'd like another classic to add to your reading list check out Battle Angel Alita. The official english books from Kodansha are of excellent quality if you like collecting the physical books. The 35th Aniversary edition of Akira is similarly fantastic. Another excellent release from Kodansha is Vinland Saga.

 

[loyalyolayal]

Monster is very well reviewed (but it personally wasn't my cup of tea). One Punch Man is good fun, just make sure you give it until chapter ~10 or so to really got rolling. I've never tried The Flowers of Evil so can't give any feedback.

If you'd like another classic to add to your reading list check out Battle Angel Alita. The official english books from Kodansha are of excellent quality if you like collecting the physical books. The 35th Aniversary edition of Akira is similarly fantastic. Another excellent release from Kodansha is Vinland Saga.

I've always thought that Kodansha accepts Jump rejects but when I think about it, they're willing to take more risks than Jump based on their titles.

 

[JBSchroeds]

I've always thought that Kodansha accepts Jump rejects but when I think about it, they're willing to take more risks than Jump based on their titles.

Kodansha's offerings are super diverse. Just check out the series list on what they offer in english [LINK]. I own a number of their series and the quality of the books and translations are top-notch.

 

[Daverisimo]

I only read a few manga before, despite having watched anime on and off since I was a kid, and having read American comics for several years, but I've been reading more recently.

5 out of 10 volumes into barefoot gen

2 out of 7 into nausicaa of the valley of the wind

16 volumes into berserk

1 volume into one Piece

There are several more I have my eye on, some of which have anime adaptations I was also interested in. I'm not sure if I want to start with the manga or anime, so I'd like to hear what any of you have to say about these:

monster

flowers of evil

one punch man

Haven't read the manga for any of these, but I've watched the anime of Monster and OPM.

I loved Monster, and it's apparently a shot-for-shot adaptation of the manga, so you can't really go wrong either way IMO.

OPM is ok. I probably would've liked it more if I was more of a fan of shonen battle stuff. YMMV.

Meanwhile my anime viewing is a mess. It's going to take me forever just to finish all the shows I've already started.

15 episodes into when they cry

15 into fist of the north star

62 into rurouni kenshin

7 into space battleship yamato

56 into urusei yatsura

33 into dragon ball

1 into macross

3 into mobile suit zeta gundam

Series I completed recently are goblin slayer, attack on titan seasons 2 and 3, and made in abyss.

I'm also very slowly making my way through the films and series of some of the great directors of anime, so far including rintaro, kawajiri, otomo, miyazaki, takahata, oshii, yuasa, and hosoda.

Stop watching Kenshin after they finish fighting evil samurai mummy dude. It completely turns to shit after that.

 

[doomrider7]

I've always thought that Kodansha accepts Jump rejects but when I think about it, they're willing to take more risks than Jump based on their titles.

I find it funny that you type this when Black Clover(Shueisha) feels like cheap attempt at aping Fairy Tail or Seven Deadly Sins(both Kodansha). I read somewhere that Shueisha also passed on AoT for their weekly Shonen Jump and Kodansha picked it up for their monthly series.

It's so incredibly fucking weird, but I've actually been wanting to start the anime and manga for Fairy Tail after years of putting it off partly laziness and partly it being so...Well everything's been said on here already so no point repeating it. Yet I REALLY want to start it since it looks...pleasant. It's hard to put into words, but I guess it's this new wave of fantasy anime coming out that look so...underwhelming, dreary, and grody. For all of it's flaws, Fairy Tail looked and felt alright and not something that made me involuntarily cringe at being an anime and manga fan. It's REALLY hard for me to explain but yeah. Seven Deadly Sins is another series like this.

 

[loyalyolayal]

I find it funny that you type this when Black Clover(Shueisha) feels like cheap attempt at aping Fairy Tail or Seven Deadly Sins(both Kodansha). I read somewhere that Shueisha also passed on AoT for their weekly Shonen Jump and Kodansha picked it up for their monthly series.

It's so incredibly fucking weird, but I've actually been wanting to start the anime and manga for Fairy Tail after years of putting it off partly laziness and partly it being so...Well everything's been said on here already so no point repeating it. Yet I REALLY want to start it since it looks...pleasant. It's hard to put into words, but I guess it's this new wave of fantasy anime coming out that look so...underwhelming, dreary, and grody. For all of it's flaws, Fairy Tail looked and felt alright and not something that made me involuntarily cringe at being an anime and manga fan. It's REALLY hard for me to explain but yeah. Seven Deadly Sins is another series like this.

Casuals would connect Shueisha with the old big 3 of Naruto, Bleach and One Piece, older fans with DB and DBZ. Something Kodansha doesn't really have. And I'm casual af.

And I kinda agree with Fairy Tail. I'm loving the shit out of the current Zeref/Alvarez arc. That series is formulaic af but it's hitting the right notes for battle, drama, fan service, silly mascots, op mc. Nothing really stands out but it's like chicken soup, you don't really want it, but you need it.

 

[doomrider7]

Casuals would connect Shueisha with the old big 3 of Naruto, Bleach and One Piece, older fans with DB and DBZ. Something Kodansha doesn't really have. And I'm casual af.

And I kinda agree with Fairy Tail. I'm loving the shit out of the current Zeref/Alvarez arc. That series is formulaic af but it's hitting the right notes for battle, drama, fan service, silly mascots, op mc. Nothing really stands out but it's like chicken soup, you don't really want it, but you need it.

That pretty much nails it in a way. Will probably stop being a lazy fuck and watch Seven Deadly Sins as well.

Haven't read the manga for any of these, but I've watched the anime of Monster and OPM.

I loved Monster, and it's apparently a shot-for-shot adaptation of the manga, so you can't really go wrong either way IMO.

OPM is ok. I probably would've liked it more if I was more of a fan of shonen battle stuff. YMMV.



Stop watching Kenshin after they finish fighting evil samurai mummy dude. It completely turns to shit after that.

I stopped after Shishio since they never did do the rest of the anime. As an aside, thoughts on Slime which I saw on your list?

 

[JBSchroeds]

It's the Blazing Saddles or Spaceballs of the isekai genre. It's like DnD with the dumbest fucking idiots who pettily fuck each other over or are just so bad that it's HILARIOUS to watch the fumble their way to...SOMETHING.

Main series here: https://mangadex.org/title/13720/kono-subarashii-sekai-ni-shukufuku-wo

Normally I'd say it's fine to just do the LN or manga, but no. Not here. This you need to anime as well. As an aside, Bakarina is getting an anime soon as well and the other two are good solid manga and LN's.

So my thoughts:
Bakarina - I wasn't big on the tone of this (we'll see that repeated later on). The whole other-world-is-really-a-game-I'm-familar-with trope is threadworn and this wasn't bringing anything new.
Duke's Daughter - A volume in and this one felt...pointless? There was no real drive here and the other-world aspect felt tacked on. I didn't connect with the characters and the plot (which was barely-there) didn't nab me.
Undead Adventurer - I enjoyed this one. It reminds me of a bunch of other series, but this one stands out as feeling like it was written by an actual adult instead of an edgelord manbaby *cough*Dungeon Seeker*cough*. So not all that original but a well executed take on the tropes.
Konosuba - Woof, this is just not for me. Remember me mentioning tone (of course you did, it was like five lines ago)? Well, this is a great example of what I don't like about Japanese humor: it's almost entirely slapstick and buffoonery. Something can be funny without the need for crazy faces and borderline retarded behavior. Hard pass on this one.

 

[doomrider7]

So my thoughts:
Bakarina - I wasn't big on the tone of this (we'll see that repeated later on). The whole other-world-is-really-a-game-I'm-familar-with trope is threadworn and this wasn't bringing anything new.
Duke's Daughter - A volume in and this one felt...pointless? There was no real drive here and the other-world aspect felt tacked on. I didn't connect with the characters and the plot (which was barely-there) didn't nab me.
Undead Adventurer - I enjoyed this one. It reminds me of a bunch of other series, but this one stands out as feeling like it was written by an actual adult instead of an edgelord manbaby *cough*Dungeon Seeker*cough*. So not all that original but a well executed take on the tropes.
Konosuba - Woof, this is just not for me. Remember me mentioning tone (of course you did, it was like five lines ago)? Well, this is a great example of what I don't like about Japanese humor: it's almost entirely slapstick and buffoonery. Something can be funny without the need for crazy faces and borderline retarded behavior. Hard pass on this one.

How DARE YOU speak ill of Bakarina, Duke's Daughter, and Konosuba!!! I kid, I kid.

Bakarina is something of a deconstruction in that she's still going on the premise that things are going to go tits up for her when cursory view shows that yeah no, things will be fine. That and she's dimwitted as hell.

Duke's Daughter is more about the world building and political intrigue of the stuff going on around her, but I agree about the otherworlder thing. It's more there to show how she applies her modern worlds concepts and products to her new fantasy setting, but yeah it's kind of phased out.

I'm glad you liked Undead Adventurer. Not much to add since you basically said everything already.

Konosuba is REALLY hard to explain to anyone. You just have to watch/read it, but yeah it's DnD with OP dumbasses. Like stats wise, Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness are stupid OP, but Aqua is a lazy idiot with delusions of grandeur, Megumin ONLY uses big flashy Explosion magic that completely empties her MP in one shot, and Darkness is masochist Crusader knight.

Not all of these are everyone's cup of tea.

 

[JBSchroeds]

A couple new All Rounder Meguru chapters are out. I'm surprised the scanlators are continuing to bother now that Kodansha is releasing official english chapters.

How DARE YOU speak ill of Bakarina, Duke's Daughter, and Konosuba!!! I kid, I kid.

Bakarina is something of a deconstruction in that she's still going on the premise that things are going to go tits up for her when cursory view shows that yeah no, things will be fine. That and she's dimwitted as hell.

Duke's Daughter is more about the world building and political intrigue of the stuff going on around her, but I agree about the otherworlder thing. It's more there to show how she applies her modern worlds concepts and products to her new fantasy setting, but yeah it's kind of phased out.

I'm glad you liked Undead Adventurer. Not much to add since you basically said everything already.

Konosuba is REALLY hard to explain to anyone. You just have to watch/read it, but yeah it's DnD with OP dumbasses. Like stats wise, Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness are stupid OP, but Aqua is a lazy idiot with delusions of grandeur, Megumin ONLY uses big flashy Explosion magic that completely empties her MP in one shot, and Darkness is masochist Crusader knight.

Not all of these are everyone's cup of tea.

Have you tried Dungeon Nursery? It's pretty cute.

 

[Cole train]

Da fuck all rounder meguru is still going?

Though it ended lol

 

[JBSchroeds]

Da fuck all rounder meguru is still going?

Though it ended lol

It's been done in Japan for a good while now but there's still five volumes left to be translated into English.

 

[doomrider7]

A couple new All Rounder Meguru chapters are out. I'm surprised the scanlators are continuing to bother now that Kodansha is releasing official english chapters.


Have you tried Dungeon Nursery? It's pretty cute.

I have yes. It really was so fucking cute, but I heard it got axed.

 

[offshore33]

I'm also very slowly making my way through the films and series of some of the great directors of anime, so far including rintaro, kawajiri, otomo, miyazaki, takahata, oshii, yuasa, and hosoda.

You should add Satoshi Kon to that list.

 

[lordsai]

If you wanna read good fighting manga I'd recommend kengan ashua. The fights were really good at least for me. It currently only has one chapter left. It also had good backstories on most of the fighters for me anyway

 

[loyalyolayal]

Konosuba is REALLY hard to explain to anyone. You just have to watch/read it, but yeah it's DnD with OP dumbasses. Like stats wise, Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness are stupid OP, but Aqua is a lazy idiot with delusions of grandeur, Megumin ONLY uses big flashy Explosion magic that completely empties her MP in one shot, and Darkness is masochist Crusader knight.

Not all of these are everyone's cup of tea.

Konosuba was GREAT!

Aqua's voice actor, Sora Amamiya, really impressed me.

 

[Schoolboy Q]

SSSS Gridman was pretty good.

 

[chickenluver]

If you'd like another classic to add to your reading list check out Battle Angel Alita. The official english books from Kodansha are of excellent quality if you like collecting the physical books. The 35th Aniversary edition of Akira is similarly fantastic. Another excellent release from Kodansha is Vinland Saga.

Just finished the first volume of Alita, the deluxe edition, so the second of the original nine volumes. Really like it so far. You read the sequels?

Also reading the first volume of Vinland Saga. Pretty sure I'm going to like this one a lot.

Is the Akira 35th anniversary edition hardcover? I already read that series (excellent) but would like to own it someday.

Stop watching Kenshin after they finish fighting evil samurai mummy dude. It completely turns to shit after that.

That's what I keep hearing. I'm just past that part, and so far the first few episodes following that arc don't seem very inspired. What exactly went so wrong?

Did anybody see the 4-episode Kenshin OVA prequel called Trust and Betrayal? I thought it was one of the best short series I've seen, quite different from the main series with basically no humor or other lighthearted moments.

I've heard there's also a 2-episode sequel that shows the ultimate conclusion to the series, since I guess the original anime didn't have a real ending, it just sort of stopped? That's what I've heard anyway. That OVA doesn't seem as well received, plus I still have the finish the main series first.

I also picked up the kenshin manga, maybe I will just stick to that and drop the adaptations.

You should add Satoshi Kon to that list.

My guy, I love Kon's work. He's the only major anime director whose entire body of work I've seen. Perfect Blue is one of my favorite movies.

 

[JBSchroeds]

Just finished the first volume of Alita, the deluxe edition, so the second of the original nine volumes. Really like it so far. You read the sequels?

Also reading the first volume of Vinland Saga. Pretty sure I'm going to like this one a lot.

Is the Akira 35th anniversary edition hardcover? I already read that series (excellent) but would like to own it someday.

I have read the sequels. They are also good, but not quite as iconic as the original series (the author had a lot of personal issues and changed publishers between the first run and Last Order). The Omnibus releases for Last Order are good value but are soft cover, flat pages, and smaller size (though no smaller than typical manga) than the deluxe edition. And FYI, the Deluxe Edition includes multiple original volumes per book so there are just five plus an extra side-stories collection.

Akira 35th is also hardcover. It comes in a nice folding box set and has a bonus book that includes all the original chapter cover art that was removed when the series was collected into the volumes. Totally worth the purchase IMO.

 

[doomrider7]

Just finished the first volume of Alita, the deluxe edition, so the second of the original nine volumes. Really like it so far. You read the sequels?

Also reading the first volume of Vinland Saga. Pretty sure I'm going to like this one a lot.

Is the Akira 35th anniversary edition hardcover? I already read that series (excellent) but would like to own it someday.

That's what I keep hearing. I'm just past that part, and so far the first few episodes following that arc don't seem very inspired. What exactly went so wrong?

Did anybody see the 4-episode Kenshin OVA prequel called Trust and Betrayal? I thought it was one of the best short series I've seen, quite different from the main series with basically no humor or other lighthearted moments.

I've heard there's also a 2-episode sequel that shows the ultimate conclusion to the series, since I guess the original anime didn't have a real ending, it just sort of stopped? That's what I've heard anyway. That OVA doesn't seem as well received, plus I still have the finish the main series first.

I also picked up the kenshin manga, maybe I will just stick to that and drop the adaptations.

My guy, I love Kon's work. He's the only major anime director whose entire body of work I've seen. Perfect Blue is one of my favorite movies.

It's all filler.