Anime/Manga Thread

Discussion in 'Geek Cave: Computers, Tablets, HT, Phones, Games' started by velvetx, Sep 27, 2015.

  1. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    Typically this is not my kind of things.. but I just happened to watch the Laid-back Camp via crunchyroll.

    Links below.
    Neither serious drama nor in-depth philosophies there, … but I was honestly kinda blown away largely in three aspects.

    1. The anime was ridiculously hardcore in providing real and practical tips for camping and outdoor activities (choice of devices, outdoor cooking recipes, etc etc -- some apply for Japanese/Fuji Mt only.. but so many generalizable considerations). Maybe to the point day to day useable for most novices -- myself included.

    2. LC nailed it in delivering what comfy and slice of life would look/feel like. Combined with the point above, it seriously motivates people (well.. myself lol) to spend the night camping in the field. For a very much indoor guy like me, the impact was nearly revolutionary.

    3. Very interestingly, unlike many other animes of this kind, LC does NOT push 'getting along' -- typical norm of Japan I guess. Don't get me wrong. I don't hate people, socialization, or team works. But many works of this genre (say, K-on) put too much emphasis on "building a closed circle and sticking to that". In LC, characters' socialization is presented bidirectionally.

    For example, Rin (quiet girl, poor at getting along, hardcore solo camper) learns how much enjoyable camping together could be. But she still focuses on camping alone with arguing solitude is still something to enjoy and not necessarily equal to loneliness, albeit she's no more afraid of hanging out together.

    On the contrary, Nadesiko (typical extroverted girl in Japanese animation; noob camper) thoroughly enjoy getting along with her new friends and spending night in fields together with them. She definitely prefer doing it as a group, but in later episodes, she showed interest in doing alone.

    The anime also emphasize indirect connection through messenger (which I believe is this). All things considered, the anime tried to deliver a lovely message "As long as you're not fully isolated, it's ok to take any form of having fun -- either yourself or with others". At least that's what I perceived.

    The whole anime is strongly supported by great music and fantastic visuals. I've been to Fuji Mt once, and what I saw in anime completely reminded me of the great moment. Now I want to visit there again.. but that Corona (sigh).
     
  2. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    Another Anime Streaming service, but aimed for folks like me and @DEATHxMACHINE.

    https://www.retrocrush.tv/

    Retro Crush is more/less is an anime streaming service for older anime. Heavy focus on 70s-90s stuff with other stuff from 2000s and 2010s as well. Some of my favorite stuff (Wicked City, The Professional Golgo 13, etc.) are all available for streaming up to I believe 720p quality. Even the four separate seasons of City Hunter is on Retro Crush.

    Monthly price is $4.99 a month or $49.99 for the year. Most of the stuff you can watch for free without ads if watching it on a computer. If getting the mobile app you will get ads. The membership is to avoid all ads and also get the stuff that isn't' available for free to stream. Since these guys have a close relationship with Discotek Media, expect new releases from them to also be on Retro Crush (including on Amazon Prime Video since Retro Crush Parent company also streams on that service as well). Since Discotek Media is releasing Genocyber and Cyber City Oedo 808 on BD shortly, I will expect both of them to be available for streaming soon via Retro Crush and most likely Prime Video.

    The mobile app is not perfect, and has minor bugs on weird aspect screen ratios like my Sony Xperia 1 smartphone. The service is not even a year old, and their selection is limited. But not everyday you can stream Bubblegum Crisis, Wicked City, Maddox-01, Violence Jack, and other classic stuff and pay only $50.00 a year to stream it.

    This is a much better value for me than something like Crunchyroll and other services since I really, really mostly deal with the golden anime era (since computer drawing animation turns me off hard).

    So yeah, if in Canada/US give it a shot.
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2021
  3. perogie

    perogie Facebook Friend

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    I have been intereseted in this one but havent viewed it yet. You’ve convinced me to give it a shot. I enjoy slice of life animes as they can be so much more due to the nature of the artistic medium. It sounds like there is enough complexity to make it worth more than just somethng to watch and chill out to.

    Im trying out a few different winter 2021 animes to see if anything sticks. Nothing standing out yet but only a few episodes in with some of them.

    ——

    Ive gotten back into the Magical Index/Railgun series. I started watching railgun before Magical as I didnt know they were mingled like they were. Apparenlty given the timing of the shows I havent ruined anything and may have watched it the better way just by fluke.

    Jujutsu Kaisen has really started to take off for me this second half and after rewatching the first half its actually more impressive than I gave it credit for. Might be a better binge watch than weekly episode it ianyone hasnt already started watching it.
     
  4. JoeyGun13

    JoeyGun13 New

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    Absolutely love A Silent Voice! Have you read her new manga, Fumetsu no Anata e (To Your Eternity)? It is quite the trip, an epic adventure of an immortal.
     
  5. robot zombie

    robot zombie Friend

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    Interestingly enough, this inspired me to go back and watch Mushishi. Glad I did - it is the best and worst example of this. Not in that it's bad - it might be one of the most unique things I've seen in anime storytelling. It's just that it IS episodic and the delivery is so simple that the episodes themselves could be adequately described as fables or proverbs. But morally they are very complex and every single character and aspect of the world has this unspoken depth that leaves you with more questions than answers. I have a feeling that some may find this unsatisfying. In fact I would say the reason anime with stories like that tend not to be as popular.

    Mushishi was pretty big, though. You may be onto something with that episodic thing. Bite-sized delivery. Another shining example would be Cowboy Bebop, where the characters and actual story are quite deep, but much of it is more implied than depicted outright and it is superficially comprised of simple slice of life stories that are essentially variations on themes with a dash of creative charm.

    In the world of Mushishi there is this unspoken order above that of good and evil. Things indeed are not simply good or bad. They were as they were then. They are as they are now. And they will be as they will be when that time comes. In the west we tend to link order and chaos directly with good and evil, whereas I've noticed many stories from Asian cultures tend to disambiguate them to the point where good and evil are simply ways of confining the flow of chaos and order into something more digestible. They're not necessarily the point of the story, but transporters for a greater essence. Whether good or bad, all is sort of as it should be and it is merely serving grander ideas that come in different shades of gray.

    It's a bit of a different relationship between intent and outcome. The underlying causality and meaning meander more, never quite biting the bullet on a direction. It's all just part of this great exchange that can neither be wrong nor right. Everything is the the product of syntheses brought on by constant dialectics. And in a lot of good anime/manga stories, it's about the synthesis, not the dialectic components.

    I don't know if I'm describing this well. But I think we are seeing the same thing. What's interesting to note, especially now, is that more of the anime that gets real western recognition has more in common with our stereotypical 'hero's journey' style these days.

    I tend not to see it as a matter of simple/complex. That might be the main point where I differ. It's more a matter of presentation. You can build up depth with context - that's something I noticed was done a lot more in anime when I was in my honeymoon period with it, there's a lot more subtlety in the dialogue and events. More things are left ambiguous. But they also have techniques for making things make sense. All in all it means that things can be much more abstract than I'd be willing to accept in a western story, and yet be more meaningful than that more straightforward western approach.

    There's something to that density factor that I'm not smart enough to pin down. It's not so much about what is added that usually isn't in our more western-influenced stories, but what gets distilled down and how. If I could figure it out, you'd know me for my books and my movies instead of my rambling forum posts.

    Hmm... now that I think about it, I could say that oftentimes Japanese stories do not have the arrogance to believe that they have the capability to encapsulate all that they wish to convey, so they make a more concentrated effort at inspiring the audience to flow in that direction themselves. They're much more reflective of the person witnessing them. You have to look at yourself to understand what they're trying to tell you, whereas most of the stories I grew up with in movies and even classic books were more of one mind about how their ideas got explored. You hit that wall of like "This is it. This is what it is." and the story itself wants you to wind up exactly there because it has deemed that worthy. The only decision left for you as an interpreter is whether or not it actually is... which incidentally, is essentially the basis for all story criticism in our culture.... whether or not it 'delivered' on its premise.
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2021
  6. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    Glad you said that. I didn't read it on purpose... because I'm secretly waiting for its animation being streamed via crunchyroll. If I recall correctly, the anime will be on air from this April in Japan. Unsure when Crunchyroll will start streaming though.
     
  7. JoeyGun13

    JoeyGun13 New

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    Yeah I believe it will be on CrunchyRoll. I got to about chapter 25, so I'm restarting it now that I'm done with the fantastic Demon Slayer.

    Here's where you can read the manga:

    https://readm.org/manga/16265
     
  8. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    I don't think it's arrogance what makes some stories more encapsulated than some Japanese stories. It's just economics, risk, and public expectations.

    If the story teller deviates too much from public expectation and format, he/she risks failure and distribution/production media companies risk profit. And this is as much true any other country as it is in Japan.

    The expectation and format constrain the story. However, I feel that the current media globalization trend will offer a wider range of formats and formulas which may enrich future content delivery with further possibilities.

    Again, I'm a fan of complex character development, which may take a story to new levels. Although, such approach does not guarantee success, nor a good story. In which ever format, there are masters.

    Favorite anime so far:
    1) One Piece
    2) Naruto
    3) One Punch Man (I want moar)
    4) JoJo's Bizzarre Adventures (my son loves this one)
    5) Sandybell (when I was a kid)

    Currently watching and enjoying:
    1) One Piece (caught up)
    2) Black Clover (caught up)
    3) The Time I Got Reincarnated As Slime (caught up)
    4) Dr Stone (caught up)
    5) Gintama (in progress)
    6) Haykyu (caught up)
    7) Jujutsu Kaisen (in progress)
    8) Foodwars! (caught up)
    9) Fire Force (caught up)
    10) Demon Slayer (caught up and waiting)

    Liked:
    1) The God of High-school
    2) The Misfit of Demon King Academy (maybe there will be another season)
    3) Ghost in the Shell

    Didn't quite get it but finished:
    1) X Hunter X (Hunter x Hunter)
    2) Re: Zero...
    3) Evangelion

    I think I saw an interview with Masashi Kishimoto, where he was surprised that Naruto had any kind of success outside Japan. I laughed about it.

    We are human beings as well.
     
    Last edited: Feb 14, 2021
  9. Walderstorn

    Walderstorn Friend

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  10. ultrabike

    ultrabike Measurbator - Admin

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    Yeah. That one.

    It's like, dude, make up your mind about the story.
     
  11. Walderstorn

    Walderstorn Friend

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    I really enjoyed it but the original story. I think the bugs arc seems totally "out".
    Have you tried Golden Kamuy?
     
  12. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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  13. perogie

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    Im saving this one for when I have time to just sit down and take it in. I want to be able to watch a few episodes at once to get into the story.

    I agree with this, there does seem to be a trend in the anime I have watched to convey ideas in a more subtle way allowing more broad interpretation,. Western media can accomplish the same thing but its less of accepted over here. Not sure if its cultural, due to the digital age of short attention spans or what have you.

    I had to stop reading the mange cause it just started to drag on with a story line that I just couldnt see any meaningful end or payoff too. The story lines have diverged in a disjointed manner IMO.

    I have started this one myself, better than I thought. Its got some grit to it.

    My problem is I got so many shows on the go that I end up leaving some behind for a bit. I need to remind myself that these shows arent going anywhere. Im also worried about the current production releases being spoiled for me so I try to keep up with them as a viewing priority. I just got into anime over the last couple of years so there is just so much to take in. One of the reason why I havent tried One Piece yet, too many episodes; although, a friend of mine started it a few months ago and he is in the 500's now. Its one of the few series he watches though. He's also partway through Your Lie in April so Im waiting to see his response to that.

    Im keeping my eye out for the demon slayer movie. They might pull that only available for 3 days crap they sometime sdo with movies. I hear funimation has first dibs with it but since Sony owns it and crunchyroll now who knows.
     
  14. Walderstorn

    Walderstorn Friend

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    @perogie do as i do, wait until the season is over and then you can watch at your own pace.
     
  15. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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    Glad you discovered this gem. I already love camping, and have been fortunate to hike to the summit of Mt. Fuji before, but this anime solidified plans for a 2 week camping trip in Japan with my GF (who adores the anime as well). It was supposed to happen last November and would have included most of the sites in the first season, but alas, pandemic. Currently going to try again in fall of 2022. Like you said, this hits the perfect sweet spot of useful information, comfy slice of life, no forced relationships or agendas (outside of maybe Japanese tourism), and thankfully no annoying characters. The second season is currently airing and has maintained the great flow of the first season (not always a given). There is a live action version, which is fun to watch if you like the anime and want to see the real locations, but the line delivery/acting is several steps down from the anime.
     
  16. robot zombie

    robot zombie Friend

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    For some reason I got in a mood where I needed to watch Sword of the Stranger again. I don't know why. I've seen it so many times. But I have no regrets, every time. The only problem is now I gotta go and watch that Kenshin OVA.
     
  17. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

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    If you're taking about the Kenshin OVA that the mangaka himself disowned then... jeebus might as well watch Now and Then, Here and There or Saikano!

    ... Immediate mental scarring.

    That said, Sword of the Stranger is a beautiful film. Only seen it a couple times but the fight scenes are just so fluid I'm tempted to rewatch it. Need more of that kind of fluidity in anime.
     
  18. Phantaminum

    Phantaminum Friend

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    Wait, the mangaka disowned which OVA? Trust and Betrayal? Because to me that was one of the most beautiful and well done OVAs that I've seen.

    Also another vote for Sword of the Stranger. Fantastic sword fighting and beautifully done animation.
     
  19. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

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    I'm operating on hearsay from when I was in primary/middle school so decided to fact check before responding haha (SPOILER for the Reflections OVA):

    https://web.archive.org/web/20041215165012/http://www.animeondvd.com/conitem.php?item=190

    TL;DR it's more that the mangaka felt Kenshin deserved a happy ending after all he went through— he checked in on the script from time to time but it was mostly the director who had... direction. A happy ending wouldn't have been likely given the setting and, uh, PTSD, but I'm inclined to agree with him here.

    P.S.
    Trust & Betrayal is a masterwork.
     
  20. robot zombie

    robot zombie Friend

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    Trust & Betrayal, yep. That's "That one Kenshin OVA" that's just wayyyy heavier and grittier than usual Kenshin material. I remember seeing that for the first time having only seen what ran on Cartoon Network back in the day... the generally normal shounen stuff. Granted, it's a SOLID shounen. I enjoy the franchise as a whole. But that friggin OVA is so far and away from anything else I've seen from the franchise, I almost class it as its own thing in my mind. Like, there's sitting down to watch some Kenshin... and then, there's sitting down to watch Trust & Betrayal. Very different experience.
     
    Last edited: Apr 11, 2021

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