General Anime/Manga Discussion 14: Second Cour

[Hiro Protagonest]

Okay, so trying to finally get into Mushishi. Should I watch Mushishi, Mushishi: The Next Passage, both, or just read the manga?

Also, is the re-edited version of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure better or worse?

[cobaltstarfire]

Both Mushishi anime are good, though I prefer the first one personally. I don't know much at all about the manga though.

[BWR]

The anime is pretty faithful to the manga. There may be some stories that didn't make it to the anime but I cannot recall if that is the case, and if so, which. I honestly can't say which I liked better of the two seasons since they seemed to blend seamlessly into one another, and it doesn't really matter much since it is episodic and very little by the way of information is needed from earlier episodes in later ones. There are a few characters and a few references but I think those mostly stay within a season.
You might as well start with the first season and go on as long as you wish from there.

[Mx.Silver]

There's no reason not to start from the beginning. There are a couple of episodes in The Next Passage that assume you've seen at least some the episodes in the first season, and even if there weren't I really can't see anyone liking one of the seasons but not the other.

If you're looking for links, the first season is one of the few things Funimation have up on their youtube channel that isn't region-locked (at least it's available here in the UK instead of being just North America, anyway). Playlist is here.
The Next Passage is up on Crunchyroll.

[cobaltstarfire]

If Hiro's location is to be believed both seasons of Mushishi are also available on Hulu.

[Hiro Protagonest]

If Hiro's location is to be believed both seasons of Mushishi are also available on Hulu.

No trouble finding it, yeah.

[Ibrinar]

…That just reminded me I forgot to finish the second series. I love Mushishi but probably because it has no main plot it's not something where I urgently need to watch the next one. Well since I have something I need to finish this week I will get to it next week.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Okay, so trying to finally get into Mushishi. Should I watch Mushishi, Mushishi: The Next Passage, both, or just read the manga?

Yes.

The episodic nature makes it very easy to get into. Although on the other hand, if you read the manga first, you'll already know the stories that are being adapted, so it'll be like seeing them again. I'd say just watch both series. Technically Mushishi comes before Next Passage, and there's some continuity callbacks, but you could watch the second first and not be lost. And it's literally like watching the same show.

Also, is the re-edited version of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure better or worse?

Re-edited as compared to the OVA movies that came out a long time ago, or is there another re-edited JJBA I'm not aware of? (I know that they did an abridged recap cut of the first two arcs, and honestly those two arcs are the ones least in need of editing.)

[Hiro Protagonest]

Re-edited as compared to the OVA movies that came out a long time ago, or is there another re-edited JJBA I'm not aware of? (I know that they did an abridged recap cut of the first two arcs, and honestly those two arcs are the ones least in need of editing.)

Um... Battle Tendency, I think.

[Fri]

Battle Tendency is the Best Jojo Arc so far. If there's anything that need abridging it'd be Stardust Crusader. I don't know how much abridging Battle Tendency got, but I suggest you watch it fully.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Battle Tendency is the Best Jojo Arc so far. If there's anything that need abridging it'd be Stardust Crusader. I don't know how much abridging Battle Tendency got, but I suggest you watch it fully.

Okay. Yeah, the re-edited version looks about half the length or something.

[Sith_Happens]

So I started Korezom with a friend last night. If anyone needs me I'll be looking for a necromancer to reanimate my sides.

[endoperez]

Hai to Gensou no Grimgar continues being very beautiful in stills, but also continues relying on panning over stills. For animation, it has ridiculously little movement. The story is interesting, though.

Has anyone looked into the light novel and/or manga versions? How do they compare to each other? I've been wanting to find an anime about a fantasy world that's better than the generic fare, and Grimgar is perhaps the best one I've found so far.

[Prime32]

Also, is the re-edited version of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure better or worse?

Okay. Yeah, the re-edited version looks about half the length or something.

I'm not sure what you're talking about.

There was an old OVA based on Part 3 of JJBA (Stardust Crusaders).
More recently there was an anime which covered Part 1 (Phantom Blood) and Part 2 (Battle Tendency). It got a second season for Part 3 which was longer than the OVA, and Part 4 (Diamond is Unbreakable) should be coming out soon.

[Fri]

He's talking about the re-edited release of phantom blood and battle tendency, which is basically those season crunched into a couple of movie-length release.

[DoctorFaust]

*ahem*

Spoiler: Akagami ep.4

Show

Spoiler: The only appropriate reaction...

Show

[JCarter426]

I just encountered this ad:



So that's what started Civil War...

[Kato]

So... is anyone still following Ironblooded Orphans? Because to me it seems we might actually have a really good Gundam show going there with tons of potential to become a new generations singature installment... yet I seem to hear very little about it.

[BWR]

I have long since given up expecting people here to talk about the shows I'm watching and enjoying, at least on a regular basis. It's just the way things are.

I gave up on IBO after a few episodes. None of the characters appealed to me and the plot and action didn't interest me, just like the last time I tried watching a Gundam series (can't remember which that was). Heavy Object, on the other hand, is keeping me amused. I can't get over how MC looks like an anime sidekick and Sidekick looks like an MC.

[Kato]

I gave up on IBO after a few episodes. None of the characters appealed to me and the plot and action didn't interest me, just like the last time I tried watching a Gundam series (can't remember which that was). Heavy Object, on the other hand, is keeping me amused. I can't get over how MC looks like an anime sidekick and Sidekick looks like an MC.

Eh, at the beginning I wasn't really hooked. And I will say that there are just a bit too many characters for even the mains to stand out that much. But apart from that I have become attached to the cast as a whole and the general plot, predictable as the main events might be.

Hm... just read the Wikipedia entry on Heavy Objects. Might be interested when I find the time to catch up with it. The premise sounds like what Aldnoah promised to be and then failed, somewhat.

[kamikasei]

So... is anyone still following Ironblooded Orphans? Because to me it seems we might actually have a really good Gundam show going there with tons of potential to become a new generations singature installment... yet I seem to hear very little about it.

I'm watching it. It's interestingly distinctive compared to what I think of as usual Gundam, but it's been slow and rather laboured and they only now seem to have realized that Kudelia should probably actually do something. It has interesting aesthetics, and the setup has potential, but that potential is mostly being squandered.

[BWR]

HO is far more light-hearted and amusing than Aldnoah. Sure it has its serious moments, but there is a lot more fan-service (rather tame, but still fan-service) and the characters are far more likable than whatsiface Protagonist from Aldnoah.

[Mx.Silver]

I have long since given up expecting people here to talk about the shows I'm watching and enjoying, at least on a regular basis. It's just the way things are.

I can sympathise. Although it's also worth considering how many people might be refraining from talking about any given series because no one else is talking about it already. Potential for a self-sustaining problem there.


With that in mind, things I am currently watching.

Shiki
Somewhat refreshingly old-school 'vampire plague' story, which makes a fair effort of staying grounded. One the one-hand, it's fairly competent, and somewhat committed to portraying the human cast as being largely ordinary, flawed people which lends it a sense of being grounded that's not hugely common with vampire stories these days. Unfortunately, it still seems to be missing a sense of focus, dividing its attention between rather more characters than it can quite handle, which is a bit of a problem at the moment since I've hit the 'this is how the vampires work' series of exposition spiels.
It does manage to hold the tone together reasonably well though. Or at least, it would if its general character design philosophy wasn't best describe as 'unused Yugioh concept art'. Even the more restrained designs seem somewhat ill-fitting with what the rest of the series is going for, and the rest run to the point where it rivals Flowers of Evil's rotoscoping in terms of jarringly bad art decisions.


Eden of the East
Only gotten around to this one recently. Seems good so far, potentially very good but it's still a bit early to say, particularly given that there's two films after it before it properly concludes. Does have one of the best ending credits sequences I've seen though.


I've also been introducing Mushishi to a friend. Which is still Mushishi and as such still has that same almost transfixing effect that characterises its atmosphere.



On a general note, I've put the 'bad list' to the side, mainly for the same reasons I'd already stopped posting them in general. Any series I'd consider bad would be one that I wouldn't consider watching it to be time well spent, so it's a bit difficult to justify spending additional time writing about them that I could otherwise spend watching things that would be worth spending time on. That and there's honestly a surfeit of 'this thing is the worst' type stuff online, particularly in more nerd circles.

There is also the point that about 1/2 of it is likely to just bring the fanboys running in guns blazing, since indulging the nerd habit of treating every difference of opinion as a call for debate/argument rather than discussion/conversation is something I lost interest in years ago, so again it's the question of whether it's worth the effort over things I'm not sure I'd consider having been worth watching

[ex cathedra]

i've been meaning to start mushishi for a long time for a multitude of reasons. given its reputation, i'll probably start it once i finish the slow-paced, thoughtful, episodic anime i'm currently working on, the aria franchise. i'm almost done with natural, but i'm getting through it at a very relaxed pace. i typically just take in a couple episodes whenever i need to recover off of the protagonist's joie de vivre.

i have a question about mushishi; while looking for additional sawashiro miyuki va roles i noticed that she's one of two people that voice mushishi's protagonist. i assume her role is him in his youth?

humanity has declined is the only other particularly enjoyable thing i've seen recently. i'm just looking forward to catching up on boku machi, kono suba, shouwa genroku rakugo shinjuu, shirayuki-hime, IBO, and koyomimongatari once they finish airing this season.

[Mx.Silver]

i have a question about mushishi; while looking for additional sawashiro miyuki va roles i noticed that she's one of two people that voice mushishi's protagonist. i assume her role is him in his youth?

It is, in the small handful of episodes that feature Ginko's past.

[Hiro Protagonest]

So... is anyone still following Ironblooded Orphans? Because to me it seems we might actually have a really good Gundam show going there with tons of potential to become a new generations singature installment... yet I seem to hear very little about it.

Since I haven't watched any Gundam shows, I'll try it just to say I've watched a Gundam show.

[Sith_Happens]

When you're watching Korezom and get to episode 4:

Spoiler: Image

Show

[Kato]

I'm watching it. It's interestingly distinctive compared to what I think of as usual Gundam, but it's been slow and rather laboured and they only now seem to have realized that Kudelia should probably actually do something. It has interesting aesthetics, and the setup has potential, but that potential is mostly being squandered.

I think they pretty intentionally kept Kudelia useless for so long... While I also expected her to be more active and less oblivious in her role as from the start I guess it kind of fits with her being that pampered, shielded princess character.
Yes, it is slow but while I usually really have a problem with that I'm more willing to accept it here. There is still stuff happening every episode it just sometimes happens to be... well, not so much.

Since I haven't watched any Gundam shows, I'll try it just to say I've watched a Gundam show.

Congratulations on a good life choice Though, I'm not entirely sure if Orphans is the best for new comers, it is a bit slow and very un-Gundam in other regards. (i.e. child soldiering) Also because you can't binge watch it yet.

[Sallera]

Hm... just read the Wikipedia entry on Heavy Objects. Might be interested when I find the time to catch up with it. The premise sounds like what Aldnoah promised to be and then failed, somewhat.

That was my initial thought on the premise as well, and that part was passably executed, but the excessive amounts of blatant fanservice that didn't even manage to be amusing drove me away after a few episodes.

Though, I'm not entirely sure if Orphans is the best for new comers, it is a bit slow and very un-Gundam in other regards. (i.e. child soldiering)

Really? I mean, I've only watched a couple others (Wing, 00, 08th MS), but IBO has been so Gundam it hurts a few times.

[BWR]

i i'm currently working on, the aria franchise. i'm almost done with natural, but i'm getting through it at a very relaxed pace. i typically just take in a couple episodes whenever i need to recover off of the protagonist's joie de vivre.

I'm about halfway through Natural so far, mixing it up with Azumanga Daioh.