The Anime Thread

[jimmy olsen]

Oh my God! Live action adaption of Cowboy Bebop by Netflix!

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/cowboy-bebop-remake-netflix-live-action-anime-spike-spiegel-a8656351.html

[viper37]

Now, I'm having a case of déjà-vu...

[Valmy]

Oh my God! Live action adaption of Cowboy Bebop by Netflix!

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/cowboy-bebop-remake-netflix-live-action-anime-spike-spiegel-a8656351.html

This combined with the Detective Pikachu film tells me the Millennials have arrived to dominate our culture. Well...have fun 30-something nerds. So now instead of my generation throwing 80s references everywhere the next one will be tossing 90s weeb references everywhere.

[Josquius]

I've been watching Overlord for some reason.
I know it isn't very good and that it keeps doing the same thing of looking like it's leading somewhere and Mary Sue will have something interesting happen.... But no.

[Monoriu]

I've been watching Overlord for some reason.
I know it isn't very good and that it keeps doing the same thing of looking like it's leading somewhere and Mary Sue will have something interesting happen.... But no.

I like Overlord.  The overall plot isn't that interesting and it suffers from the fact that the protagonists face almost no challenge at all.  But I like it because -

1. It is a good attempt to see the "evil side" as the protagonists;

2. One of the highlights of the story is the internal struggle of the Overlord himself.  Very often, he has no clue and he doesn't really know what his underlings are up to.  But his underlings practically worship him, assume that he knows everything and has a grand plan for everything that happens in this world.  They all assume that he wants to take over the world when he really only wants to reunite with his friends.   The only people who can potentially hurt him are his underlings.  His real challenge is to keep his underlings in line by faking to be the supreme being that they think he is when in fact he is not; and 

3. Good world building.  Lots of interesting characters, a few interesting nations with complex relationships, lots of things happen on the political side. 

I give it an 8 out of 10. 

[viper37]

This combined with the Detective Pikachu film tells me the Millennials have arrived to dominate our culture.

Resistance is not futile!

I want my GI Joe movie!  I mean, the good one.   

[Monoriu]

Yuru Camp.  Or Laid Back Camp.  The latest addition to the endlessly sprawling slice of life animes about cute girls doing cute things.  Only this time, it is about outdoor camping.  That's it.  There is no main plot, no antagonist, no romance, no fights, no magic.  Just five mundane school girls going camping and having fun. 

But it is a very good and solid show.  The five main characters have good chemistry, and they are all likable characters.  I knew absolutely nothing about outdoor camping prior to watching this show, and I feel that I have really learned a little bit about camping now.  The show is peaceful, the jokes work.  Nothing happens in the show, but the desire to watch the next episode is always strong.  I just want to know if they reach their camping sites without incident, which of the girls will be going and staying next time, what equipment they'll use, what will they cook next time, etc.  Everything is grounded in reality.  There are discussions about the costs of the gear, the need to stay within budgets and the sacrifices the girls need to make to maintain their hobby, like the part time work they need to do. 

The places they visit are real.  In fact I am quite sure that the show got many commercial sponsors to showcase the various locations.  That helps to make sure that the scenery is beautifully animated, meticulously detailed, and believable. 

The show is so successful, that the powers that be already announced a sequel and a movie. 

[Monoriu]

Tatami Galaxy.  The narrator is a university student.  He is very unhappy with student life.  One day he bumps into a self-proclaimed Japanese god who is about to decide if the girl of his dreams should love him, or Ozu, his rival/friend/partner in crime.  The pair of them spent the last two years of university life goofing around and trying to ruin everybody else's romantic life. 

In my opinion, Tatami Galaxy is one of the best anime shows that I have seen.  But it is impossible for me to explain why you should watch it unless I dip a bit into spoiler territory.  You have been warned. 

Everything about this show is unique.  The art style, the structure, and viewpoint.  It is seen from a very personal viewpoint of the narrator, and everything is seen from his perspective, which is obviously not objective.  Part of the fun is for the audience to figure out which part of the narrative is real and which part is heavily tainted.  He is obviously very unhappy with student life, and he blames his choice of student hobby club at the beginning of university for his misery.  So, at the end of each episode, he rewinds time, goes back to the first days of university, picks a different club, and hopes he gets a better shot this time.  Some things change, but others remain constant.  Another draw of the show is to watch out for these differences in different cycles, and these can be very subtle. 

Yet another reason why is show is so good is because of the way it is structured.  The first few episodes lay out what is on the surface.  These are only slowly revealed and explained in subsequent cycles.  Until the end when everything is explained, and I go back to the first episodes, rewatch them and go "ARRHHHHH, so that's why."  It is beautifully done.  I marathoned all 11 episodes and couldn't put this down, even after I have finished watching it. 

This is 10/10 and a masterpiece. 

[Monoriu]

Tokyo Ghoul Re:.  This is a very popular and long manga series about ghouls.  Re: is the third season of the anime adaptation.  I am a big fan of big productions and sequels, but I have to say this is one of the worst sequels and adaptations ever. 

The first season started off great.  Strong characters, great story, memorable scenes, good fights.  By the time I reach the third season, it is almost unwatchable.  The plot seems to move at light speed, with no time given for the audience to digest anything.  The cast is vast, yet the show assumes that the audience is familiar with each and every one of them.  When someone pops up, my usual reaction is "who is this now?"  I think I know maybe 30-40% of the characters.  The allegiances change and flip so rapidly that I just don't know which side half of the characters fight on any more.  Yet another fundamental difficulty I have with this show is that, so ghouls cannot eat normal human food.  They can only eat human flesh, and coffee.  It is also made clear early in the show that they cannot survive indefinitely on coffee alone.  Yes, some of the noble ghouls can survive on say human corpses and suicide victims etc without resorting to murder.  But given all these constraints, I just see no way for humans and ghouls to co-exist, which the show make a huge point about.  You can't make cats and fish co-exist.

By the time I reached the end, I began to admire the animators.  Re: has 24 episodes.  My estimate is that they need double that number to have a proper show.  But given that they need to tell a story within 24 episodes, they probably did everything humanly possible to tell a story that has as much coherence as possible.  Yet this means little for anime only watchers like me.  The show is, sorry to say, crap.  It doesn't have to be this way as there obviously is a rich story underneath all that.  But even Lord of the Rings will look crazy if you limit total movie screen time to one hour and insist in keeping all the characters. 

[Monoriu]

Goblin Slayer.  In this fantasy world, goblins are some of the most evil creatures around.  All they do is raid settlements, kidnap women, rape and torture them so that they produce hordes of goblins to repeat the process endlessly.  What is worse is that most people, including governments, think that goblins are lowly creatures that are only a nuisance.  Low level adventurers tend to think goblins are easy prey, when in fact goblins are cunning and dangerous in groups.  Most of the high level adventurers do not want to deal with the goblin threat, and the villages couldn't pay much as a reward to do so.  Enter the Goblin Slayer, who is on a personal vendetta to kill every last goblin in the universe.  He does nothing but kill goblins, he does it with or without help, and uses creative ways to exterminate the goblins.   

This is likely one of the most controversial anime shows of 2018.  Like some other anime, it is widely known for one episode for the shock factor, in this case the first.  Goblins gang rape a newbie adventuring party that thinks it is an easy hunt.  Goblin slayer confronts the question of what to do with goblin children in the most straightforward and pragmatic way possible.  I think pragmatism is the biggest draw for this show.  Not every show should be about killing the demon lord and saving the world.  Somebody has to protect the villages while the heroes save the world.  Goblin slayer kills goblins in pragmatic and efficient ways, like setting up a goblin cave on fire and casting a magic wall at the only entrance.  It is most refreshing to see small scale, down to earth conflicts.  I don't know about the manga, but as far as the anime goes, there is nothing graphically explicit.  Everything is implied, and aside from the notorious first episode, there isn't too much in the rest of the series.   

Having said that, the show does have issues.  The first episode is outstanding; the rest a bit less so.  The question is how to sustain the show with a narrow premise like a guy single-mindedly killing goblins.  The answer is not easy even if there are increasingly creative ways to slaughter evil creatures.  There is also the fundamental question of, if the goblins are really such a threat, it is difficult to believe that the Goblin slayer is for all purposes the only person who does anything about it. 

[Monoriu]

My favourite anime of 2018 are -

1. Attack on Titan Season 3

2. My Hero Academia Season 3

3. Overlord Seasons 2 and 3

4. Steins Gate Zero

5. Yuru Camp

[Josquius]

I didn't think goblin slayer was half as dark as is presented.
In this post game of thrones World... Meh.

It is good though.

I however question your assessment of the slayer wanting to kill all the gobbos in the universe. Were that true wouldn't he have kept the mirror to try something against the green moon?

I like that it's a side story to some big events unfolding elsewhere.

I'm also enjoying the reincarnated as a slime one quite randomly. A bit better done than overlord.


And yes. Tatami Galaxy is awesome. A long standing favourite of mine. I really should watch the sequel soon.

[Monoriu]

I didn't think goblin slayer was half as dark as is presented.
In this post game of thrones World... Meh.

It is good though.

I however question your assessment of the slayer wanting to kill all the gobbos in the universe. Were that true wouldn't he have kept the mirror to try something against the green moon?

I like that it's a side story to some big events unfolding elsewhere.

I'm also enjoying the reincarnated as a slime one quite randomly. A bit better done than overlord.


And yes. Tatami Galaxy is awesome. A long standing favourite of mine. I really should watch the sequel soon.

I think Goblin slayer is pragmatic.  He wants to kill all the goblins in the world, but he also knows he has limits, as he largely operates by himself or in small groups.  Given his limitations, he'll prioritise the protection of the people and areas he knows. 

I also like the Reincarnated as Slime show, and Overlord.  Both are great at world building.  Slime is usually light-hearted, and I like the slow build up of alliances and capabilities.  Both have protagonists that are overpowered.  Perhaps more so in the case of Overlord.  What I like about Overlord is the internal struggle of the protagonist - the need to maintain the overlord facade in front of his subordinates, who worship him but (wrongly) assume that he knows it all and has a master plan for world conquest.

I didn't know Tatami Galaxy has a sequel, as there is a proper ending.  I looked it up and wiki says there is a spiritual sequel, with a different story told in the same style. 

[Monoriu]

New shows that I intend to watch in the Winter 2019 (Jan - Apr) season.  Not much new stuff, but there is already a large number of continuing shows that I am watching.



The Promised Neverland.  The protagonists are children living happily in an orphanage.  The adults in charge take good care of them, and they are all adopted by the age of 12.  One day however, they discover the horrible truth.  The place is in reality a livestock farm, and they are being raised as food for a demon race.  Thus begins their plan to escape.   



Rise of the Shield Hero.  If you haven't figured out already, I am a sucker for trapped in a fantasy world shows.  Apparently, four guys are summoned to another world, and each is given a legendary item.  While the others are given powerful weapons, our protagonist is given the lowly shield.  Despised, betrayed, and overlooked, the hero must rise up with his shield. 

[Monoriu]

Today's Menu of the Emiya Family.  This is a spin-off based on Fate Stay Night, one of the most well-known anime about a magical battle royale among seven pairs of masters and servants. 

And yes, this is a cooking show.  Nothing less, nothing more.  It is as crazy as it sounds.  ufo table is one of the most famous anime studios specialising in flashy fights.  Fate Stay Night is known for its violence and cruel treatment of its characters.  In Today's Menu however, all are living peaceful lives.  The detailed instructions on how to cook family-friendly and everyday Japanese food are animated in lavish detail. 

This is the anime equivalent of a big budget Hollywood studio doing a cooking show out of the Game of Thrones world.  All the Starks, Lannisters, Dragons and Wall characters etc return to life, are ultra friendly neighbours to each other, and in every episode, Jon Snow showcases his mad cooking skillz.   

It is refreshing, interesting, heartwarming and visually satisfying.  The cooking is treated extremely seriously.  One can really learn a thing or two about cooking here.