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pennydreadful 07-04-2014 04:29 PM

Anime and manga appreciation and discussion thread
 
Like it says, kids - this thread is for discussion of any and all topics related to manga and anime. If you like anime or manga, or want to connect with other fans of your favorite series - this is the thread for you!

And let's try to keep it friendly and non-bashy. :) :) :)

Peanut 07-04-2014 05:45 PM

This thread exists.

Cure 07-04-2014 06:35 PM

Sure does.

http://forums.thetechnodrome.com/showthread.php?t=35581

pennydreadful 07-04-2014 11:48 PM

Yeah, but it's kind of old... like, 2013 old. I didn't know whether it would be more annoying to start a new thread, or necro-post the old one. I thought maybe a new thread would be a good jumping-off point for recent members to join in.

Sorry guys, dunno if it was the right decision but I made the call. *shrugs*

JamieH 07-05-2014 03:04 AM



I still think it's the most gar anime series. Sure, the animation shows it's age, and it has some slumps here and there along the way in the story. Yet, it's the grandfather of the shounen genre, and badasses are proper badasses. It's cheesy and over the top and gory and violent and filled with testosterone. But there's no flying monkeys or brightly dressed ninjas or pirates that can't swim. It's completely unapologetic about what it is, and what it is is a man on a mission of vengeance traveling the wasteland exploding the heads of those that get in his way with punches. It's Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star), and you don't want to **** with Kenshiro.

pennydreadful 07-05-2014 12:44 PM

So what do you feel was the best age for anime? I'm getting the feeling you're an 80's man...

Also, what does everyone here think of Neon Genesis Evangelion? I know it was a gateway anime for a lot of people starting out (myself included)... but I kind of feel like I've outgrown it, or maybe I'm just having trouble connecting with it in the same way that I used to.

I heard that Hideaki Anno (the director of the anime) used his own experiences with clinical depression as inspiration for a lot of the more psychological moments. That was one of the things I enjoyed most about the show, but by the same token, these days I have a lot of trouble tolerating Shinji as a character for those same reasons - I find him overly emo.

Anyone else got any thoughts or opinions?

JamieH 07-05-2014 06:35 PM

I prefer the 80's and 90's era of anime, but I know the 00's had some of the best anime bar none. I mean,
I honestly feel that Cowboy Bebop is the best anime ever currently. It's not my favorite, but I recognize it's quality.

As for NGE, ugh, not a fan. It did do some revolutionary things for the mecha genre, but the characters kill it for me. I could really get into it but rather not since people's opinion of NGE tends he strong on both sides.

pennydreadful 07-05-2014 08:12 PM

Hey, by all means, get into it - that's what the thread's for! :) Also, what do you feel are the best mecha anime?

Zulithe 07-05-2014 08:16 PM

Hunter x Hunter is my favorite :) Been watching religiously, it's so good. I'm talking about the 2011 series of course. I've only watched bits of the 1999 series, and I'm mostly confident that this version is better (for me)

I'm all caught up on the manga, too. Including the new chapters that just started up again this year after a very long hiatus.

Hoping it goes on for a long, long time to come.

It's on crunchyroll so check it out!

arkangel 07-05-2014 10:47 PM

I'm a complete anime / manga noob. My last roomate laughed hard when I picked up his copy of Claymore and attempted to read it from the front cover.
His anime advice for me was to start off with Ghost in a Shell and Akira so I'm guessing these are two of the better known ones in the western world?

I'm not much for franchises that resemble robotech, zelda, pokeman, sailor moon. Excuse my ignorance, but did I just eliminate everything or is there a lot more manga/anime that someone could recommend ? :)

JamieH 07-05-2014 11:21 PM

My favorite mecha is Patlabor. The OVA and TV series are more comedy oriented, but the movies (1 & 2) are more serious. I really like that it's about as realistic as a mecha could probably be (aside from a few gags). Basically, it centers around Division 2 of the labor (what mechs are called in Patlabor) police, which is like the B team, sort of, lead by a wise Captain. It's sort of a McHale's Navy kind of show. But like I said, the 1st 2 movies are serious, very serious really. They are incredibly dialogue heavy and slow paced, but quite intellectual.

The best is likely Gundam 0079. I keep meaning to watch Gundam Unicorn as I've heard a lot of good about it. Oh, well SDF Macross is a strong contender for best. Oddly enough the best mecha series are the ones were the mecha are just a means to an end, they're just the tools that get the job done. While the people are really what matters.

TTGL is likely the most entertaining. It's basically youR typical Super Robot show but on a mix of steroids, PCP, and LSD. It as if it's not only trying to out do all other mecha series before or after, but itself as well.

As for NGE, the biggest problem is Shinji. No wonder they can't get their **** together when their so called ace pilot whines about every damn thing. And then there's the emotionless stone that is Rei. Not to forget one of the biggest ****s in all of anime, Asuka. Argue that they all have mental illness to some degree, but it doesn't completely absolve them of their actions, or inaction. There not a single character on the show that isn't ****ed in the head some how or another. Eventually you find out each one of them has some sort of hang up. Yet, these are the people put in charge and expected to save humanity? There had to be one hell of a curve on the psych evaluation tests.

Then there's the religious overtones people say NGE has. To some degree, yeah, but not every cross in NGE has meaning. It just seems like more shock and awe put there to grab your attention. And the way they "built" the mechs is so ****ing nuts you'd think it was the Russian government that made the decisions at Nerv. Which, considering how Gendo acts and runs things he might as well be a crooked Russian polititician.

People take NGE way too seriously too. I mean really, those skin tight plug suits are the uniforms for piloting the units? They even had Shinji wear the girls' plug suit before his was made. There's no grey area with the two leading young ladies either. It's either a raging, dominating **** or a soulless, submissive doll.

It's been a long while since I've watched NGE. Every time I've tried going back to watch it again I end up dropping it from annoyance. I first watched it on VHS as each tape came out from the now defunct ADV. That's some 15 or so years ago. I did watch it a few time on tape just to make sure I saw what I saw. Then again when it was released on DVD. But it has been some time since I watched it. Yet Shinji's moaning and crying like a little bitch can't be forgotten, unfortunately.

JamieH 07-05-2014 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arkangel (Post 1297877)
I'm a complete anime / manga noob. My last roomate laughed hard when I picked up his copy of Claymore and attempted to read it from the front cover.
His anime advice for me was to start off with Ghost in a Shell and Akira so I'm guessing these are two of the better known ones in the western world?

I'm not much for franchises that resemble robotech, zelda, pokeman, sailor moon. Excuse my ignorance, but did I just eliminate everything or is there a lot more manga/anime that someone could recommend ? :)

My 1st suggestion is to check out the Studio Ghibli movies. They are sort of kid/family focused but easily enjoyable for adults. If you ever wondered just how emotional and depressing anime can be, watch Grave of the Fireflies.

One thing I want to say about the Akira movie. It's not bad, just a bit messy as it was created and released while the manga was only half way through, yet at the height of it's popularity. At the very least Akira is worth watching as a visual and audible treat. It's a proper testament of hand drawn animation quality.

If you watch the movie, read the manga of Akira. Far more detailed and much more story and plot than could ever fit into 90-120 minutes of film.

Peanut 07-06-2014 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zulithe (Post 1297820)
Hunter x Hunter is my favorite :) Been watching religiously, it's so good. I'm talking about the 2011 series of course. I've only watched bits of the 1999 series, and I'm mostly confident that this version is better (for me)

I'm all caught up on the manga, too. Including the new chapters that just started up again this year after a very long hiatus.

Hoping it goes on for a long, long time to come.

It's on crunchyroll so check it out!

Does it ever get...I dunno...more interesting, or faster paced? I probably watched 20 or more episodes before giving up. The last thing I remember watching, and I may have actually watched further but I'm not sure, is something with Gon and Killua (?) training with some old guy on a boat or something?

Leofan26 07-06-2014 01:00 AM

Big fan of Anime, I love the action / comedy type the best with bits of romance. Right now I'm really into the Gintama Anime, the action and drama are really good when that happens and the comedy is pure gold, not to mention love all the characters even the villains :D

pennydreadful 07-06-2014 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arkangel (Post 1297877)
I'm a complete anime / manga noob. My last roomate laughed hard when I picked up his copy of Claymore and attempted to read it from the front cover.
His anime advice for me was to start off with Ghost in a Shell and Akira so I'm guessing these are two of the better known ones in the western world?

I'm not much for franchises that resemble robotech, zelda, pokeman, sailor moon. Excuse my ignorance, but did I just eliminate everything or is there a lot more manga/anime that someone could recommend ? :)

Hey, nothing wrong with being a noob; we all start out as noobs at some point! There's definitely a lot out there; particularly when you're first starting, as you don't know at that stage which genres you're into - so it's basically a process of trying some of the more well-known stuff and going from there.

If you think there's any chance at all that you'd like horror anime, I can't recommend Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust enough. There are two VHD flicks, but I feel that Bloodlust is the best film.

For more recent stuff, you could check out the Cowboy Bebop movie - you don't need to know anything about the series to enjoy it and if you do like it, you can could get into the Cowboy Bebop series from there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamieH (Post 1297887)
As for NGE, the biggest problem is Shinji. No wonder they can't get their **** together when their so called ace pilot whines about every damn thing. And then there's the emotionless stone that is Rei. Not to forget one of the biggest ****s in all of anime, Asuka. Argue that they all have mental illness to some degree, but it doesn't completely absolve them of their actions, or inaction. There not a single character on the show that isn't ****ed in the head some how or another. Eventually you find out each one of them has some sort of hang up. Yet, these are the people put in charge and expected to save humanity? There had to be one hell of a curve on the psych evaluation tests.

Then there's the religious overtones people say NGE has. To some degree, yeah, but not every cross in NGE has meaning. It just seems like more shock and awe put there to grab your attention. And the way they "built" the mechs is so ****ing nuts you'd think it was the Russian government that made the decisions at Nerv. Which, considering how Gendo acts and runs things he might as well be a crooked Russian polititician.

People take NGE way too seriously too. I mean really, those skin tight plug suits are the uniforms for piloting the units? They even had Shinji wear the girls' plug suit before his was made. There's no grey area with the two leading young ladies either. It's either a raging, dominating **** or a soulless, submissive doll.

It's been a long while since I've watched NGE. Every time I've tried going back to watch it again I end up dropping it from annoyance. I first watched it on VHS as each tape came out from the now defunct ADV. That's some 15 or so years ago. I did watch it a few time on tape just to make sure I saw what I saw. Then again when it was released on DVD. But it has been some time since I watched it. Yet Shinji's moaning and crying like a little bitch can't be forgotten, unfortunately.

Yeah look, Shinji was a watchable character when I was 16 and in love with my own angst, but as an adult I just want to slap him. Asuka I don't mind - I've actually got a fair bit of time for her since she at least gives Shinji a serve every now and then, but I don't see the appeal of Rei at all. Then you add in the scene with Shinji over the hospital bed, and the movie that they did for the ending... nygh.

Despite all that, I feel like maybe I should give Rebuild Of Evangelion a chance... if for no other reason than the idea of Asuka with an eye-patch intrigues me!

Oh and hey, I should clarify, when I said keep it non-bashy, I just meant non-bashy of anime culture (as we already have a thread for that, haha j/k). It's totes ok to talk about what we don't like about certain series. :)

I really like anime, but if I had to pick one thing I wish they'd do less of, it'd be that so many series have such completely soul-crushingly depressing endings. It's kind of a love/hate thing with me; they do such a great job with emotionally dark scenes, but at the same time there's some series where I deliberately avoid watching the endings because of it being such a downer.

JamieH 07-06-2014 02:20 AM

Watch Grave of the Fireflies. All other sad ending anime will seem like a walk in the park.

arkangel 07-07-2014 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pennydreadful (Post 1297922)

If you think there's any chance at all that you'd like horror anime, I can't recommend Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust enough. There are two VHD flicks, but I feel that Bloodlust is the best film.

For more recent stuff, you could check out the Cowboy Bebop movie - you don't need to know anything about the series to enjoy it and if you do like it, you can could get into the Cowboy Bebop series from there.

Thanks PennyDreadful ! Vampire Hunter D looks like something I'd enjoy. I'll definitely check that one out. I tried to educate myself a bit and was blown away by just how much anime is out there and how varied the themes. Every movie genre imaginable. Since I love sci-fi and cyberpunk related themes and not much for gratuitous fan service (just learned the term), I'm guessing that Seinen would be the category I should look into more. I made the following list as a starting point based on your recommendations and net reviewers.
- Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust - many have said the story and art style is prefered over the original.
- Ghost in a Shell - on everyones' starter list
- Psycho-Pass - cyberfuture crime procedural
- Steins;Gate - time travel drama
- Cowboy Bebop - this seems to be highly recommended by everyone and I'm guessing it has a bit of a Firefly feel to it?
- Mardok Scramble - has a cool cyberpunk look to it and something about a prostitute left for dead that gets revenge on the bad guys in a bladerunner-esq setting. A little fanservice is fine as long as it isn't over the top like hentai / harem? Looking for dark, gritty, engrossing sci-fi with a flavor for cyberpunks high tech and low society, but not cartoon porn. :)

JamieH- is Grave of the Fireflies as sad as Watership Down? I was quite young when I watched it but the vision of hurt bunnies still haunts me. :( Poor f'n bunnies.. What's wrong with people !! (starts bawling..)

Ninjinister 07-07-2014 03:00 PM

I don't really watch anime anymore but I caught the first three episodes of the new JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Good stuff.

JamieH 07-07-2014 03:58 PM

Grave of the Fireflies is about two young siblings who are on their own trying to survive in Japan in the final days of WWII.

Hurt bunnies have nothing on the soul crushing story of these 2 children.

snake 07-07-2014 07:12 PM

I'm watching One Piece. I'm 16 episodes in.


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