The Anime Thread

[Josquius]

I don't get it.

Incidentally it is bizzare how anime fandom seems to attract such a large number of fascists.

[Monoriu]

I don't get it.

Incidentally it is bizzare how anime fandom seems to attract such a large number of fascists.

That's not my impression.  Anime in general stays away from politics.  The most famous anime studio, Ghibli, promotes anti-war messages. 

[Josquius]

Which is why it's bizzare the fandom has such a hugeoony right contingent.

[Monoriu]

So, the Spring 2020 anime season (April - July 2020).  This season is heavily impacted by the coronavirus, and lots of titles have been delayed, including several of the biggest productions.  Some titles even announced the delay just a few days before they were supposed to be broadcast. 



My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!  This is yet another transported to a game world anime.  The female protagonist wakes up in a game world that she is very familiar with.  The game has several routes, and each route is about trying to romance a different guy while overcoming the schemes and opposition of a villainess.  The twist is, she doesn't become the game protagonist.  She wakes up as the villainess.  If she does nothing, she is destined to be killed or exiled.  Determined to change her fate, she sets out to do things differently. 



Mashin Hero Wataru: the Seven Spirits of Ryūjinmaru.  This is 100% about nostalgia.  This is probably the most famous children's mecha show, first produced in the 80s.  The protagonist is a 9 year old child named Wataru summoned to a fantasy world to save it while piloting a mecha.  Ryujinmaru is the title mecha.  There are lots of RPg elements - he formed a party, solved puzzles, defeated enemies on a mountain that was divided into seven levels, utilised items and found treasures, etc.  There is comedy, interesting character interactions, and mecha battles.  That was quite novel in the 80s.  Due to the show's popularity, a few sequels were produced in the 90s, but in my opinion they all sucked.  It is therefore absolutely amazing that, after more than 20 years since the last sequel was produced, the powers that be decided to revive this long dead title.  Even more amazing is that most of the voice actors will return.  Wataru's seiyuu is in her mid 60s now.  I can't imagine anybody who hasn't seen the original 80s show will be interested in this. 



Kaguya-sama: Love is War Season 2.  Originally I wasn't interested in this, but because all my favourite shows have been delayed, I decided to marathon Season 1 to watch this.  This is a romantic comedy.  Kaguya is the insanely rich daughter of a Japanese mega-corporation, and she is studying in an aristocratic high school.  She is good at everything, and is the deputy chairman of the student council.  Her crush is the chairman of the student council, a commoner but also a genius.  These two can't take their eyes off each other, but neither of them want to confess their love.  Each of them set out to make the other confess first.  I am in the middle of season 1 and this actually made me laugh out loud many times. 

[Josquius]

Not anime, but manga.
I recently read Mari no Naka/ Inside Mari.
It is very very very good. Totally recommend people give it a read.
On the surface its your standard Freaky Friday body swapper. But there's a lot more going on there. Don't spoil what it is. Just read it. Excellent genre subversion ala Madoka.

There's a live action drama apparently, but it doesn't complete the whole story so seems quite pointless.

[viper37]

I don't get it.

Incidentally it is bizzare how anime fandom seems to attract such a large number of fascists.

That's not my impression.  Anime in general stays away from politics.  The most famous anime studio, Ghibli, promotes anti-war messages. 

My little pony attracts a larga fascist crowd, apparently.  And I'm serious.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/06/my-little-pony-nazi-4chan-black-lives-matter/613348/

[Monoriu]

I hope people would stop politicising anime. 

[jimmy olsen]

I hope people would stop politicising anime.

A lot of anime deals directly and explicitly with political themes however.

Anti-war messages for example and political by definition.

[Monoriu]

Last season was a disaster for anime due to the coronavirus.  A whole bunch of shows were delayed.  Even many of the shows that started broadcasting were suspended mid-season. 

Let's hope for better luck in Summer 2020 (July to October). 



Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu Season 2 (Re: Starting Life in Another World from Zero).  Or Re: Zero for short.  Possibly the best "transported to another world" anime I have watched.  Every time Subaru dies, he is brought back to a "save point" and repeats the same cycle until he solves whatever problem he faces.  He can't tell anybody about it, or a devil-like being would lovingly massage his heart with a hand from another dimension. 



Sword Art Online Season 3 Part 2.  The show that popularised the "transported to another world genre", with a significant international following.  Basically, the Japanese military is using a game world to train AI for warfare.  When they encounter a problem, Kirito, the best gamer, is sent into the world to fix it.  An even bigger problem emerges when an unknown organisation attacks the server room in the real world, and these guys log into the game with god accounts to harvest the AI.



Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru Season 3 (My Teen Romantic Comedy is Wrong, as I Expected).  This show takes place in an ordinary school setting.  The selling point is the very detailed and realistic portrayals of the personal thoughts and feelings of the characters.  Has elements of romance, comedy, and drama.  As the show progresses, it gets more serious and the focus is increasingly on the protagonists themselves rather than the side characters they try to help.



Deca Dence.  This is anime original, rather than an adaptation of a manga, novel or game.  Story takes place in a world where mysterious beast like monsters have taken over most of the world.  The surviving humans live in a giant moving castle.  They are divided into a warrior caste, and a supporting caste.  The protagonist is a teenage supporter girl who dreams of becoming a warrior.  Sound familiar?  This sounds like a rip-off of popular, big budget zombie apocalypse shows like Attack on Titan and Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress.  That's why I am watching this.

[Josquius]

I am excited for re zero series 2. Trying to wait a few weeks to watch in case there's a particularly annoying cliff hanger.

[jimmy olsen]

The author of Berserk died on the 20th 

[Eddie Teach]

I don't know if I mentioned it here but I really enjoyed Death Note. 

[Monoriu]

The author of Berserk died on the 20th 

I hope he left notes on how to finish his story 

Say a series like One Piece has been ongoing for more than 20 years.  I think responsible editors and authors should make leaving notes behind a mandatory requirement.  Manga authors have a troubling tendency to die early 

[Eddie Teach]

A series like that, they're clearly making it up as they go...

[Monoriu]

A series like that, they're clearly making it up as they go...

One reason for the huge popularity of One Piece is that the story is very well planned in advance.  The amount of foreshadowing in that show is insane. 

BTW, it is very likely that the ultimate Big Bad of the epic story is Edward Teach