What Current Anime Are You Watching Version v4.0

[Chewie]

Watched the first (short) season of Ajin and it's pretty good.

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

Animation classic 'Millennium Actress' now available for free on YouTube (US only)

As part of the Paramount Vault:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqq0nVu29g8&feature=youtu.be

Edited May 18, 2016 by davidwhangchoi

[kajnrig]

Nice. That is such a damn good movie. RIP Satoshi Kon.

[Marzan]

Speaking of Kon, I've just finished reading the manga that he worked on together with Mamoru Oshii called Seraphim. They never got to finish it, but it's a fantastic, amazing read.

[ErikElvis]

Watching prison school. It's actually pretty funny.

[technoblue]

Phew! I'm caught up with the "final season" of Bakemonogatari, which I noticed does not include the last volume of Owarimonogatari or any of Zokuowarimonogatari. I did "read" ahead and spoil myself somewhat with Ougi. Mostly, after catching up with the anime, I wanted to confirm if my suspicions for this character were correct and they were. Now I can't wait to see it play out.

[GU-11]

I just watched GitS The New Movie. Not bad, but unnecessarily convoluted, and the "twist" at the very end was way too predictable. I do like the group dynamics, though, especially how everyone messes around with Togusa for being a rookie in the team.

Is it just me or has the GitS Arise series become even more jingoist than SAC 2nd Gig? I don't know if this was the case in the manga, but the Oshii movies were more focused on philosophy and cyberization. Then again, given Japan's current political situation, it's only natural that they'd write the story the way it is.

I also just finished the first season of Cross Ange, which is a surprise because I don't usually go for "fanservice-y" anime.

[JB0]

I wouldn't say the comics were jingoistic, but there is very little of them that matches Oshii's tone and focus. The movie does hit more or less the right tone for the puppetmaster arc, I admit.

But for the most part, there is much less introspective moping. The major is not in general prone to self-contemplation, more prone to brushing aside any attempt to encourage such behavior.

[GU-11]

I wouldn't say the comics were jingoistic, but there is very little of them that matches Oshii's tone and focus. The movie does hit more or less the right tone for the puppetmaster arc, I admit.

But for the most part, there is much less introspective moping. The major is not in general prone to self-contemplation, more prone to brushing aside any attempt to encourage such behavior.

In that case, Arise's Major is definitely manga-accurate. She's also the coldest in comparison with her SAC and Oshii incarnations. BTW, is the manga version of her more expressive and, dare I say, playful? I could have sworn I saw a pic of the manga Motoko sticking out her tongue at Aramaki.

[JB0]

In that case, Arise's Major is definitely manga-accurate. She's also the coldest in comparison with her SAC and Oshii incarnations. BTW, is the manga version of her more expressive and, dare I say, playful? I could have sworn I saw a pic of the manga Motoko sticking out her tongue at Aramaki.

I think playful is a fair word, actually.

Short version:

She behaves pretty casually when not engaged in business. When actively on the job, she's totally serious, and has been mistaken for a robot at least once(she flicked the guy off immediately afterwards).

And if it sounds like tone and characterization is a bit wobbly in the comics, well... I'm not gonna lie. Shirow has a lot of trouble deciding if he's writing drama or comedy at times.

[GU-11]

And if it sounds like tone and characterization is a bit wobbly in the comics, well... I'm not gonna lie. Shirow has a lot of trouble deciding if he's writing drama or comedy at times.

I've only read a few pages of the GitS manga (the infamous "lezbo three-way on a yacht" scene, to be specific) and I was totally caught off-guard by how comically Batou was depicted. I was so used to the stoic Oshii Batou. In any case, I think it would be a good idea to give the manga a try. It would probably seem like a completely different story, given how almost polar opposites the characters in the movies and manga behave.

Speaking of decisions, I wonder why he quit making scifi manga--IIRC, it was right after the Kobe earthquake over a decade ago. Last I heard, he's focusing on manga porn artbooks.

Edited June 5, 2016 by GU-11

[JB0]

I've only read a few pages of the GitS manga (the infamous "lezbo three-way on a yacht" scene, to be specific) and I was totally caught off-guard by how comically Batou was depicted. I was so used to the stoic Oshii Batou. In any case, I think it would be a good idea to give the manga a try. It would probably seem like a completely different story, given how almost polar opposites the characters in the movies and manga behave.

Ahhh, that scene. Still not present in the US editions, though the dialog around it makes reference to it in recent editions.

There's a lot of overlap between the comics and the movie. The movie adapts several stories from the comic into an overarcing story. It just adapts them to be much more serious and philosophical while it is at it.

And I won't lay the blame squarely on Oshii, because a Ghost movie that stitched several chapters together was going to either wobble a lot in tone or rework a lot of chapters to be far more serious. It doesn't have the time for both smart-mouthing pranksters AND deep introspection. It just happens to match the tone of my least favorite part of the comics.

...

But I can blame Oshii for the lack of awesome Seburo SMGs! What's with this "using real-world guns" nonsense?!?!

Speaking of decisions, I wonder why he quit making scifi manga--IIRC, it was right after the Kobe earthquake over a decade ago. Last I heard, he's focusing on manga porn artbooks.

My guess? Combination of a fondness for the female form and porn being good money.

He's also done more than one sci-fi porn artbook. Best of both worlds, right?

And in fairness, he laid the groundwork for Pandora in the Crimson Shell, then handed it off to someone else for actual production. If I recall, he didn't think he could keep it lighthearted and fun like it is supposed to be.

[Marzan]

Anyone else watching Re:Zero? It's pretty good stuff, reminds me a bit of Steins Gate and ERASED mixed with some SAO.

[Major Focker]

Re:Zero is surprisingly good.

there's a predictable pattern, yet they use that to keep the audience guessing. clever.

[GU-11]

Ahhh, that scene. Still not present in the US editions, though the dialog around it makes reference to it in recent editions.

There's a lot of overlap between the comics and the movie. The movie adapts several stories from the comic into an overarcing story. It just adapts them to be much more serious and philosophical while it is at it.

And I won't lay the blame squarely on Oshii, because a Ghost movie that stitched several chapters together was going to either wobble a lot in tone or rework a lot of chapters to be far more serious. It doesn't have the time for both smart-mouthing pranksters AND deep introspection. It just happens to match the tone of my least favorite part of the comics.

...

But I can blame Oshii for the lack of awesome Seburo SMGs! What's with this "using real-world guns" nonsense?!?!

My guess? Combination of a fondness for the female form and porn being good money.

He's also done more than one sci-fi porn artbook. Best of both worlds, right?

And in fairness, he laid the groundwork for Pandora in the Crimson Shell, then handed it off to someone else for actual production. If I recall, he didn't think he could keep it lighthearted and fun like it is supposed to be.

True. The movie's tone would have become "bipolar" if Oshii had tried to inject the humor from the manga into it.

Real-world guns? I clearly remember that the assault rifle the Major was using was a Zastaba (which the dub mistakenly called a "Zastaber"). I mean, there were real-life firearms being featured, like Togusa's Mateba (erronously pronounced as "Matever" in the dub) and the Uzi the ghosk-hacked guy was using, but I think The Major's weapons were all Seburo.

I had to google Pandora in the Crimson Shell. The title sounds almost like a parody of GitS, but I'm intrigued enough to put it on my list of anime to watch.

[JB0]

Pandora is... ummm... it's a thing. I am distinctly NOT on record as having recommended it, even if it amused me. I shall accept neither blame nor praise.

Just sayin' that Shirow still writes sci-fi from time to time, in some capacity.

I remember the Major using much more level-headed guns in the movie, though it has been several years. I recall being distinctly disappointed she didn't have some crazy Seburo SMG.

[Major Focker]

the Girls und Panzer movie was ridiculously fun!

wish i'd seen it on the big screen.

i'll be re-watching this repeatedly for some time.

[frothymug]

Started watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes. I can tell this one is gonna be good, even without seeing the high ratings it's gotten.

[GU-11]

Pandora is... ummm... it's a thing. I am distinctly NOT on record as having recommended it, even if it amused me. I shall accept neither blame nor praise.

Just sayin' that Shirow still writes sci-fi from time to time, in some capacity.

I remember the Major using much more level-headed guns in the movie, though it has been several years. I recall being distinctly disappointed she didn't have some crazy Seburo SMG.

I just read Pandora's wiki page, and it's in no way similar for GITS, not that I was expecting it to, honestly. If anything, it shares more similarities with GUNNM.

Nice to see that Masamune hasn't completely given up on scifi. Can't say I blame him for going the porn route, though; who doesn't want to make a living drawing naked chicks?

You have a point about the choice of guns being less fancy. I actually thought she was using an FN P90 until she mentioned it by name in the armored truck, that it was a Zastaba.

[renegadeleader1]

If you guys are wondering why Masamune Shirow gave up on sci-fi, a lot of it had to do with what happened to the original version of the GiTS sequel. He spent months working on it and then his hard drive corrupted and crashed from a power surge. Nothing was recoverable and he had a breakdown while scrambling to piece together a new version that became man machine interface. That left him burnt out and cost him a bit of money for missing a deadline so he decided to blow off some steam by going back to the thing that made his name in the first place...

Smutty pinups.

After a while he realized his dirty art books where actually out selling his "regular" works like Appleseed, Black Magic, and GiTS so he never really looked back untill he decided to collaborate with another artist on Crimson Shell.

[GU-11]

If you guys are wondering why Masamune Shirow gave up on sci-fi, a lot of it had to do with what happened to the original version of the GiTS sequel. He spent months working on it and then his hard drive corrupted and crashed from a power surge. Nothing was recoverable and he had a breakdown while scrambling to piece together a new version that became man machine interface. That left him burnt out and cost him a bit of money for missing a deadline so he decided to blow off some steam by going back to the thing that made his name in the first place...

Smutty pinups.

After a while he realized his dirty art books where actually out selling his "regular" works like Appleseed, Black Magic, and GiTS so he never really looked back untill he decided to collaborate with another artist on Crimson Shell.

Wow, I had no idea. It makes perfect sense now, why he'd go back to porn. For the longest time, I kept wondering why he'd actually do the opposite of a manga artist's career, which is to start out doing "ecchi" stuff before going "mainstream."

[JB0]

That explains quite a bit, actually. I hadn't realized the whole story was that complex. I thought it was just "smutty pinups are making me more money than narrative works".

I do remember reading an interview back at the turn of the century where he mentioned his comics sold better in America than Japan, which pretty much guaranteed that overall sales were low(especially for the era, where the manga market was much smaller than it is today), so I am not SURPRISED that smutty pinups made him more money than "proper manga".

It kinda blew my mind at the time because Ghost was A. friggin' awesome and B. kind of foundational anime fan content in the US for quite a while. In hindsight, it would be far from the only time that America has liked wildly different anime and manga than Japan. It is almost like they are two different countries!

[pfunk]

Ajin, Ghost in the Shell Arise, and this little number called Macross Delta. Really enjoying all of them!

[Graham]

Macross Delta.

What, you mean there is other anime??????????

[Graham]

Ajin, Ghost in the Shell Arise, and this little number called Macross Delta. Really enjoying all of them!

I may have to give Ghost in the Shell Arise and Ajin a try.

[frothymug]

My gf was watching Ajin over the weekend. Cool idea, but she quickly gave it up. The animation is kind of stiff; reminds me of Knights of Sidonia... probably the same company. I guess it was a little too dark for her.

[pfunk]

Macross Delta.

What, you mean there is other anime??????????

lol, I'm really digging Ajin, like Frothy said, it's pretty dark. I actually liked Knights O's Sidonia, I will say the animation is a new style and takes a bit of getting used too. For me it was like Clone Wars and once you're immersed in the story, you don't even notice and you enjoy it.

[JB0]

Latest episode of Jojo was the best thing ever.

The evil villain's cunning master plan was

to feed people good food and make their lives genuinely better for no ulterior motive or future payoff whatsoever.

[kalvasflam]

Oh man, I just saw Gundam the Origin. It's actually pretty good. Sure, they had to pay lip service and do some retconn, but damn, this is one of the first gundams without a mobile suit (or much of one) that I really enjoyed.

[chyll2]

Latest episode of Jojo was the best thing ever.

The evil villain's cunning master plan was

to feed people good food and make their lives genuinely better for no ulterior motive or future payoff whatsoever.

Jojo so far has been consistently good.

I was waiting for something bad to really happen lol

Edited June 8, 2016 by chyll2

[Marzan]

I must say that I'm not enjoying this season of Jojo as much as previous ones. I'm kinda missing the exotic, international settings and characters and the over the top humour the previous ones had. Diamond is Unbreakable is a lot closer to a conventional shounen IMO.

[JB0]

Yeah. I am watching Josuke mostly because a friend is. But the most recent episode is one of my favorites. Up there with the time Joseph decided to sneak into a nazi base by crossdressing.

[chyll2]

I am enjoying Joker Game as well.

[realdeal]

I must say that I'm not enjoying this season of Jojo as much as previous ones. I'm kinda missing the exotic, international settings and characters and the over the top humour the previous ones had. Diamond is Unbreakable is a lot closer to a conventional shounen IMO.

I agree. Its missing a main villain and the manliness of the previous series. Maybe itll pick up when Joseph shows up.

[Big s]

Bought some sale items mostly classics.

Part way through Cashaan and it gives me a smile. The animamation is almost Hanna Barbera with robots meant for a kids show, with action that is sometimes absolutely brutal with overkill that seems common. like robot rats that steal food then incinerate everything from people to the poor alleycat or goofy looking robots stabbing people in the back with giant spikes and then electrocuting them.

Finished Space Adventure Cobra and loved it. Some of the storylines were a bit too silly, but it's a great combo of 007 and outlaw star.

Also finished Turn A gundam and liked it enough to finish it. I haven't seen every gundam show, but I have seen quite a few and this one is a bit lower on my nonexisting list than ZZ. The designs and backgrounds and animation quality are high and the story needed far better writers. The decisions characters made were all chaotically stupid even knowing the odd situation they are in. The bonus interviews with Syd Mead were very interesting.

Also finished the episodes of Ajin on Netflix. The cgi animation is as bad as the Knights of Sidonia animation, but even with some slow episodes I found that I just couldn't stop watching. I hope more episodes are on the way.