The Anime/Manga/Related Merchandise Thread

That's probably true based on the merchandise.  I do think the women are worse, though:

• The female characters do very little. So far we've had literally one actual fighter, who spends her only fight being sucker-punched. The rest are all there to marry the men, or be used by them in plans.
  
• While we've had plenty of sexy poses, there's only been one explicit example of a fanservice scene: it's a man, peeking through a keyhole, at the above-mentioned fighter.
  
• The latest episode I watched had a woman being taken over from the inside, which in itself is just another example of 'used by them in plans'. Her top is very quickly ripped open, and there are a fair few shots of her lying on the ground, bleeding out from the neck, that feature a disproportionate amount of breast. Because (apparently) dead women are sexy.

For what it's worth, I didn't really like Stardust Crusaders. I think it's huge in Japan, hence why it's as lauded as it is. But, yeah, I'm not a fan of Jotaro in the least. Polnareff and Kakyoin are my favourites from Part 3.

And as for the way JoJo handles its female characters, I do agree the first few parts really suck with how they handle women. I've not seen enough of Part 4 to comment there, and I've no knowledge about how women are portrayed in Part 5. I think they get better at it in later parts from what I've heard. Part 6 is supposedly set in a women's only prison with a mostly female cast.

Something to look forward to then, albeit a looooooong way in the future! We're considering other things to watch.  Is Re:Zero a really slow starter then?

On the films front, we're slowly working through Mamoru Hosoda's output, and watched Wolf Children last night. It's sweet in places, but I couldn't help feeling that the mum had a shoddy life, and that the wolf kid running off at age 10 or whatever felt like an ungrateful sod.

Balladeer wrote:

Is Re:Zero a really slow starter then?

Nooooo, it's anything but a slow starter! I was only a bit down on the first part of Series 2 which in retrospect was a little unfair considering the second half has been great thus far and likely wouldn't have landed as well without the slower pace of S2-1.

It's pretty violent at stages, but I like the characters a lot. Whilst it does fall into the isekai trap of having multiple girls fall for the protagonist, it doesn't feel as forced as it does in other shows as I think the writing and voice acting is pretty damn good. I'd say it's worth a shot!

I've only seen one clip from Re:Zero and well, think I'll pass

How so Mas? I think you'd enjoy it - it's effectively anime Groundhog Day, albeit with more suffering and violence, but it's still a good watch!

It's a scene with afternoon tea

I've got lots to watch like Demon Slayer on Netflix

I need to watch/ read more Demon Slayer. 9 out of every 10 students is obsessed with it and is covered in merch and is constantly asking me to draw the characters- even though it is 100% not appropriate for children.

That caught my attention.  Is it meant to be any good?  I'm guessing pretty gory from the trailer and from Buska's kids not being meant to watch it?

I've only watched very early episodes (I put together some English lessons using episodes of the dub) and so far, so Naruto - albeit with fantastic music and animation.

I've heard that it gits pretty gud later on, and I guess this insane popularity had to come from somewhere.

And aye, very gory.

What is culture around ratings etc like in Japan as over here you either see 12 years old playing GTA/COD or the strict my little timmy who's 14 & 3/4 years old can't possibly watch that 15.

That think a majority of westerners would go that's a cartoon it be fine.

I did also re-subbed to Funimation and watched the Slime OVA's, next on to AoT.

Yeah, it seems like parents don't pay the slightest bit of attention to ratings. They also seem much less strictly enforced; I don't even notice them on cases or posters, and I think they have the American system where anyone can go to a film as long as they're accompanied by someone old enough.

Buskalilly wrote:

I've only watched very early episodes (I put together some English lessons using episodes of the dub) and so far, so Naruto - albeit with fantastic music and animation.

I've heard that it gits pretty gud later on, and I guess this insane popularity had to come from somewhere.

And aye, very gory.

I've never actually seen Naruto, just one of the abridged series - but I'm guessing very shonen? Should probably get on that, but it goes on forever doesn't it? Also my attempt to get on 'the' other big series in Bleach fell flat when they put the best character on a bus.

Watched what's available so far in English of AoT and I was very tempted to continue with the sub.

I tried Naruto and One Piece but they're soooo long

Balladeer wrote:

I've never actually seen Naruto, just one of the abridged series - but I'm guessing very shonen?  Should probably get on that, but it goes on forever doesn't it?  

I'd describe Naruto as the shonen anime - there's so much of its DNA in all the other big Shonen Jump adaptations. If you were wanting to jump onto a big shonen show, I'd pick one of the currently airing shows instead - I'm a big fan of My Hero Academia.

So, I'm watching a ridiculous amount of anime this season - more than I've watched in a loooong time. Here's my current watchlist:

Attack on Titan - Naturally. The final season is living up to the hype, mercifully. I couldn't take another Game of Thrones disaster.

Re:Zero S2 Part 2 - I mentioned this earlier, but the second half of S2 of this show has been top notch and a return to form after a slightly weaker first half.

Cells at Work!! - The second series of this just came to Crunchyroll - it's still very cute and very lighthearted. It feels almost educational at points but I'm sure you'd potentally get more from this show with some knowledge of human biology prior to watching. It's still great fun without said knowledge.

Cells at Work! Code Black - This is the same premise as the main series but it takes place in a much unhealthier body. It's going to make me feel very guilty about eating poorly and being generally unhealthy by murdering all these anime cells. The first episode showed the effect of smoking on the body, which isn't an issue for me, but the second episode is going to show how alcohol impact the cells which I'm sure will make me hate myself.

Jujutsu Kaisen - I'm really enjoying this one! It's another Shonen anime. This one is about exorcists using spirit magic and crazy techniques to exorcise cursed spirits. The powers and battling reminds me of Mob Psycho 100, which is no bad thing, and I'm really digging the cast - one of the characters is a panda who is also not a panda - and the show's sense of humour. Strong recommendation. Also, the first ending is a masterpiece.



So I'm a Spider, So What? - It's yet another reincarnated in another world stories, but this time the protagonist is reincarnated as a lowly spider. This show lives solely thanks to the absolutely manic performance of its lead VA, Aoi Yuuki. It's such a high energy bit of voice acting and it's a delight to hear. The show itself is cute enough, but nothing mindblowing if you've seen other isekai shows.

The Quintessential Quintuplets S2 - The idea of five girls all pining after their tutor might seem eye-roll worthy, but I think it's handled pretty darn well in this show. I really like the cast and it's again a much needed lighthearted show considering how heavy some of my other shows this season are.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime S2 - I stopped digging this show towards the end of S1 and it definitely pales in comparison to other isekai shows I've seen, but S2 has been picking up the pace and seems to be building towards some actual stakes. It's taking its sweet ass time, mind you.

EX-ARM - Easily the worst anime I've ever seen but it's deep in "so bad it's good" territory. The animation is woeful but by god, it really makes me laugh. It's a shame as the VA isn't bad or anything, but I feel so sorry for the actors considering their performances will be totally overlooked thanks to the terrible CGI. This should sum things up:



And I've still to start The Promised Neverland S2 as well!

I'm a bit behind because dub not sub, but I'm watching

Horimiya, which has some stat like the most rated slice of life in the 1st month on myanimelist

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, episode 1 just come out dubbed

Attack on Titan, watching episode 65 in a minute

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime and The Quintessential Quintuplets, Season 2's yet to start on Funimation

SK8 the Infinity, I'm only two episodes in and seem good but mainly watching as sort wanted to watch a sports anime however I think this will take a turn and won't be about the sport

Then things like WONDER EGG PRIORITY I've heard good things but no dub yet

I've actually consumed some Anime and Manga recently for once!

First, I watched the first seasn of MHA so I could talk about it with a couple of students who were watching it for a school project. I've heard it gets even better after the first season, but I liked it. A fun new take on superhero stuff.

I checked out the first episode of Jujutsu Kaisen for work purposes. It seems like pretty cool giant monster stuff with a twist, and it has a panda, so I might go back.

The anime overtook where I'd read to, so I've gone back to Attack on Titan. I can easily watch it on Netflix - in Japanese. So I'm re-reading the manga and watching the anime after I read just to see the cool action. I always dug AoT and I'm addicted all over again. It's probably overtaken Death Note as my fasvourite manga.

Also, after watching it bit by bit for the past six months or so, I finished Evangelion a little while back, both the series and the frankly essential End of Evangelion. Man, that series is genuinely a masterpiece. Gorgeously animated, introspective and bombastic in equal measure, fantastically and unapologetically weird . . . great stuff.

Then last weekend my friend Matty and I watched the three movies in English, followed by the fourth movie in theatres. The visuals in the movie are PHENOMENAL, but overall I think the original series is a perfect work of art and I don't think the movies are quite as good overall.

Here's a picture of my shelf of Mosnter Hunting Ladies, with best girls Asuka and Mikasa taking pride of place.

I immediately looked up Jujutsu Kaisen.  The Lady goes a bundle on anything with pandas in.  Only it's... apparently a corpse?  So, okay?

I watched Evangelion when I was too immature to appreciate it, I think.  I just remember the film being absolutely batshit, in a way that at the time was neither good nor bad but... interesting.

Oh, and we're still ploughing through Jojo. We've got to the point where they're running out of ideas for Stands.

One day last week I thought about playing Bravely Default II but actually watched 9 episodes of anime instead over about 7 different shows.

I never got around to watching anything beyond the series of Evangelion, I would like to but cancelled my Netflix sub. I hope they do like Ghost in Shell and put everything in one cool boxset.

JayMoyles wrote:

I'd describe Naruto as the shonen anime - there's so much of its DNA in all the other big Shonen Jump adaptations. If you were wanting to jump onto a big shonen show, I'd pick one of the currently airing shows instead - I'm a big fan of My Hero Academia.

It's a bit late, but - here we are! Season 1 appeared on Netflix, so we watched the first few episodes, then jumped over to Crunchyroll after bingeing it. We've just started Season 2.

I like it! It's very cheery, with a nice creepy villain. All Might is much more bearable than I thought he'd be. Aizawa best teacher, Tsu best student, little pervert worst student. I don't know why they felt it made any sense to make the straight-laced class VP into The Fanservice Character, but I don't like that much either. Otherwise it's good.

Season 2 does seem to have kicked Bakugo rather ignobly out of the spotlight though. Not sure Hotncold is quite as good as a rival.

Balladeer wrote:

 All Might is much more bearable than I thought he'd be.  

All Might is the fucking BOY!
That is probably not a surprising opinion from me, huh?

I watched the Netflix Anime, Records of Ragnarok, which is effectively a battle for survival between mankind and the gods. It's shite.

The trailer promises a high-octane, silly romp, featuring a heavy dose of Lu Bu vs Thor. But in reality, the show is a poorly paced mess that's more like a slideshow with lore cutaways between every punch, kick, swipe, and slash, making this best of 7 series between mankind and the Gods much more tedious than it should be. The show ought to be all the action from One Punch Man, with a bit of humour mixed in, but it's just dreadfully serious and full of completely pointless protagonist characters. Each episode is 20 minutes, and each fight lasts 3 episodes due to the number of cutaways between each move. It's ridiculous how little happens in a show like this. It's like watching 5 frames from a Dragon Ball Z fight, before being subjected to monologues about as interesting as Rufus Hound reading the dictionary.

It's also uncomfortable to watch. It's one thing to take the Norse and Greek pantheons, as this show does, (the show begins with all the Gods agreeing to exterminate mankind before a Valkyrie offers a ragnarok instead), that seems harmless enough...

But it's not just dead pantheons. We've got Hinduism in there, Buddhism, and we even get an appearance from Adam... as in Adam and Eve Adam. This opens up a huge can of worms. Like, monotheistic Gods are literally all powerful, so why is Zeus the head God in this universe? Why is Shiva less important than Zeus? (Shiva doesn't fight in season 1, instead getting booted from one of the matches in favour of Zeus because Zeus decided he wanted to fight...). That Netflix have blocked showing this in India probably tells you all you need to know about the level of taste in this. It's stupid too because it's not like there aren't enough dead religions to fill out a roster of 14 Gods...

Obviously there's a manga that this is all taken from, and maybe that handles that stuff better. But on the basis of the show, I wouldn't bother. This show's shite and you should save yourself from any morbid curiosity and just read the wiki instead if you want to know more.

I've watched this trailer 3 times now and I still don't know what to make of it.



I have certain attachment because it's about the Ace hunters from MH4U which is my favourite MH game but it has an air of cheapness to it's visuals. Thoughts?

Looks terrible

Also I was watching loads of anime then stopped, meaning when I renew my sub for something I'll have about 90 episodes of things to watch