General Anime/Manga Discussion 14: Second Cour

[BWR]

Considering both mother and daughter love teasing Nishikata, it's a wonder he ever comes home. I shudder to think about what he went through before he actually got to the 'fathering' bit.

[Ibrinar]

It has the author's endorsement, and there's nothing that happens in the spinoff that you can't see coming crystal clear from reading the original series.

Ultimately it's just a different take on the Peanuts comic strips about Charlie Brown trying to kick the football. You know he never will, but every time you want to see how he's tricked into going for it another time. (Of course, Peanuts had more than just the one gag.)

The dramatic irony of the series is that Nishikata could get the better of Takagi-san anytime - all he'd have to do is actually make a move on her, because she's clearly, hopelessly, head over heels for him. (Of course, from reading the spinoff you get the impression that he somehow went through marrying Takagi and fathering a child with her without actually realizing this, ever.)

It is the first work of someone I consider it basically as author approved fanfiction. And for fanfiction that it is just the old formula despite changing circumstances is for me expected. But yeah in the original he is so easy to tease because he is rather childish and gets easily embarrassed or second guesses everything. Just copy pasting the formula on their adult life sounds a bit jarring.

[BiblioRook]

Question for you all. You know how some manga has like a zillion volumes? What's the series that you bothered collecting the most volumes for?

I remember as a kid managing to completing series such as Love Hina or that one series by the author of Ranma 1/2 about the guy in love with his apartment manager, but as many volumes that might have seemed back in the day for me I think they only were like around 15 volumes each which is hardly anything in hindsight.

[LaZodiac]

Question for you all. You know how some manga has like a zillion volumes? What's the series that you bothered collecting the most volumes for?

I remember as a kid managing to completing series such as Love Hina or that one series by the author of Ranma 1/2 about the guy in love with his apartment manager, but as many volumes that might have seemed back in the day for me I think they only were like around 15 volumes each which is hardly anything in hindsight.

I think I own all of the .hack Legend of Twilight manga. I don't...know why. I also got like five volumes of Case Closed/Detective Conan which um...mistake. Don't try to complete that series.

[Kato]

I also got like five volumes of Case Closed/Detective Conan which um...mistake. Don't try to complete that series.

I was going to emanate a hysterical laugh at your futile attempt to complete that. Then I checked and it has "only" 94 volumes, which is kind of tame, especially considering its been running for fourteen years, which puts it at only about six book a year. I'd expected way higher numbers.

[Fri]

Question for you all. You know how some manga has like a zillion volumes? What's the series that you bothered collecting the most volumes for?

I remember as a kid managing to completing series such as Love Hina or that one series by the author of Ranma 1/2 about the guy in love with his apartment manager, but as many volumes that might have seemed back in the day for me I think they only were like around 15 volumes each which is hardly anything in hindsight.

as a kid I used to have complete doraemon books (45+all of the adventure series), rave master, Eyeshield 21, Conan up to vol 50~ I think before we just got bored by it?, tekken chinmi, and many more that are not really known in the west (mostly children's manga). My family collect a lot of manga and comic books (we also collect disney comics and such), I guess the difference is that manga isn't expensive at all here compared to in the west, it's just more comic book to collect. I think it's roughly about two dollar per tankoubon (funny enough, it's the same now, it actually adjust for inflation. it's just that a dollar is about 5X more expensive now than in my childhood).

[Silfir]

I got to about 50 on Detective Conan, too. The longest complete series I own is Dragon Ball, with Ranma 1/2 hot on its heels.

[Chromascope3D]

Just watched the first episode of Darling in the Franxx. It was pretty alright, but unfortunately I also finished Devilman Crybaby this morning, so I've got some serious trust issues with anime weighing it down right now.

EDIT:

Spoiler

Show

Boy, I'm glad it was established early on that Dr. Franxx is a total perv because, BOY, that sure makes the pilot configuration make a lot more sense...

[BWR]

Even more shows

Kokkoku
Magic item that allows you to freeze time and move around in it. Interesting set up and something you always want to see: someone who immediately asks how this works, what about friction and light speed and more. Sure it's waved off but at least the writers acknowledged the problem. Unless this takes a nose dive I'll be following it.

Darling in the FRANXX
Pacific Rim only even more anime by putting the protagonists in high school and upping the skinship. Pretty meh and predictable so far. I'll probably drop it since there are plenty of better shows on this season.

Mitsuboshi Colors
Three young girls 'protect the peace' of their neighborhood. Slice of life comedy that manages to be just entertaining enough that I'll bother to keep watching it.

Slow start
A very appropriate name. I remember nothing about this except that I actually watched the first episode.

Takunomi
Girl moves into a house with other girls, and booze. Again, nothing that sticks with me.

Koi wa Amaegari no you ni
High school girl falls in love with an older guy, who barely notices her existence. It's a surprisingly sweet story that treats the set up as well as you could hope for, avoiding most of the icky elements that could so easily develop in a story about such a situation.

Ramen daisuki Koizumi-san
What it says on the tin - some girl likes ramen. A supposed SOL comedy about someone who likes ramen and someone who wants to get to know the first someone. Exactly as entertaining as that sounds: pass.

[Velaryon]

Hi everyone! I have a little favor to ask.

I'm starting a new anime club at my library, and I'm planning to stream off of Crunchyroll whenever possible. However, in my own anime watching I tend to stick to either what I can find on DVD or what's on Netflix, so I'm a couple years behind and not really up on current series. Even among older shows, there's a LOT I'm not familiar with, or know only by name or reputation.

I want to have my teens involved in the decision process to get them more invested, but I also need to make sure that we watch stuff that's age-appropriate. But of course, unless it has been televised or released in theaters in the US, it doesn't usually have ratings.

Can you all tell me what are some popular shows on Crunchyroll that you would feel comfortable showing to a group of middle schoolers? And for that matter, can you tell me some shows you wouldn't show to people that young? I'll appreciate whatever advice I can get here.

[Rynjin]

While ratings are iffy, you can usually look at target age group to determine what's middle school appropriate. Shonen and Shoujo are, Seinen generally isn't.

Of course, you also run into Japan's somewhat different ideas on what is appropriate for kids anyway, particularly in the fanservice and violence departments. While I'd say Naruto is middle school appropriate, for example, it's iffy on whether it's necessarily SCHOOL appropriate given the sometimes extreme levels of violence and dismemberment and near-nudity.

A good rule of thumb would be "Don't show them anything you haven't watched yourself" because everybody's going to have slightly different opinions on what's appropriate for age and setting.

Of the relatively new series' however, Boku no Hero Academia is a really popular (and really good) Shonen action series with a solid dub (though I prefer the sub on this one), I've heard excellent things about Haikyuu Kuroko no Basuke and plan to watch them at some point, Tiger Mask W is great cheesy wrestling fun, and Rakugo Shinju might give them an idea of the more mature (as in sophisticated) storytelling anime can get into, or possibly just bore them, I dunno.

Going a bit older I really like Hajime no Ippo (dub is great late 90's/early 2000's obscure but fun voice actors, but alas the two sequel series' were never dubbed), Yu Yu Hakusho (same dub suggestion as Ippo, but ALL of it is dubbed), History's Mightiest Disciple Kenichi, Space Dandy (I think its raunchiness is at the perfect point where it'll get a laugh from middle schoolers without getting parents up in arms -WATCH THE DUB HERE), Shingeki no Bahamut, and the Lupin the III movies (could never get into the old anime series though), among others.

Ippo and Hakusho are probably a bit long, but Ippo particularly is one they can get the gist of in the first few episodes and determine if it's something they like.

If they were high school I'd suggest JoJo's but I think it's a bit much for middle schoolers even though the gore in the anime is heavily censored. Maybe Part IV/Diamond is Unbreakable only, as the softer art style serves better to hide the censored gore and the slice of life portions are great contrast and give the series a younger feel until the true horror of its villain shows up. Plus it's largely self-contained unlike the other three.

[Silfir]

These are the ones on the Crunchyroll catalog that I've seen, liked, and I'm pretty sure are fine:

- Squid Girl (Straight-up gag anime about a girl who is technically a squid come from the sea to overthrow humanity, but gets stuck at a Japanese beach house for the entire summer, working)
- Tsuredure Children (The movie "Love... Actually", except instead of Christmas, it's a Japanese high school)
- Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san (About a middle school girl who keeps teasing a middle school boy, and his doomed attempts to return the favor)
- Recovery of an MMO Junkie (though part of why I like it as much as I do is that I'm almost 30 myself)
- Gamers! (Somewhat misnamed; the main characters are gamers, but they mostly engage in social inepitude and miscommunication. Romantic comedy.)
- Flying Witch (Super cozy and friendly. Think Kiki's Delivery Service, with a bit more time to devote to magical shenanigans.)
- Yona of the Dawn (Fantasy anime that's dramatic and funny in a very decent mixture. Main character starts out weak and grows tough and gathers a harem of opposite-gendered followers - except she's a girl and her "harem" is male. Quite wholesome.)
- MY love STORY!! (Another romantic anime. Extremely wholesome and quite funny.)
- Sound! Euphonium (I don't have a specific reason I didn't keep watching it. It seems absolutely fine.)
- Mob Psycho 100 (Category "looks ridiculous, is ridiculously good".)

Actually, it looks like they have A Place Further than the Universe, too. This one's currently running and absolutely a joy to watch.

[Rynjin]

Mob Psycho is great, yeah.

[Chromascope3D]

I'd start off with something recognizable like One Punch Man. They've probably heard of it and/or will have seen it already, and if there's anything I know about anime club kids, it's that they'll always flock to things they've seen before.

Once you have them hooked, then you can show them more obscure things like Mob Psycho.

[Pendulous]

First time I've ever watched non-dubs, so getting into the new season a bit more:

Yuru Camp - And this show might have been the reason why. Hearing people talk about it, I had to check it out. Loved Flying Witch, dug the cozy style anime (already into slice of life in general). This show is the coziest of cozy. It's so much fun to watch, as someone who, as Jim Gaffigan called it "is indoors-y". Also, did not expect a lot of food-related things, but also food. The art, the animation, both fantastic, and apparently, the locations are all real places. It's just so lovely.

Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san - Speaking of food, here we go. This show is...well it's...um...I don't remember. Kinda forgettable at this point. Actually has a similar theme in characterization with Yuru Camp, as the cast tries to hang out with lone-wolf type girl, and she's blowing them off. In this case though, it just hasn't been as entertaining.

A Place Further than the Universe - You know what? I don't care if they even make it to Antarctica. The character development mixed with them at least trying to loophole their way in has been entertaining enough. Good characters, a couple good tearful moments, and this has been number two just under Yuru Camp for me so far.

Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san - Uh, speaking of dubs. Watched an episode of this before I realized it was getting simuldubbed. So I'm gonna wait on that. But the opening is adorable, and the show itself is promising. The girl's expressions, her smile, really make this show. I am a bit worried. There is an underlying romance blooming, if the genre title and hints in the first episodes are to be believed. But I don't know if you can get twelve episodes of a girl trolling her school friend (and him failing at getting her back) without it getting stale. We'll see, but the first episodes was fun.

Pop Team Epic - Made it five minutes in. What is this garbage?

[Lord Raziere]

Pop Team Epic - Made it five minutes in. What is this garbage?

Garbage. Referential drug-fueled garbage that is Vine is anime form. I made it ten minutes in and its just not worth watching no matter what anyone says about it. its just not funny.

[Chromascope3D]

Pop Team Epic - Made it five minutes in. What is this garbage?

Anime of the season. Touched by the kamisama itself!

[Rynjin]

I'd start off with something recognizable like One Punch Man. They've probably heard of it and/or will have seen it already, and if there's anything I know about anime club kids, it's that they'll always flock to things they've seen before.

Once you have them hooked, then you can show them more obscure things like Mob Psycho.

The difference between the two is Mob Psycho is way more school friendly, since to my remembrance nobody dies in the whole series, and certainly not in the ultra-bloody fashion of OPM.

It also has a good moral/motivational message for kids of that age.

[Metahuman1]

So, just to work out if I can watch it or not,

Is the new Godzilla Anime Nudity/sex free?





As an unrelated matter, is it any good?

[Spacewolf]

So, just to work out if I can watch it or not,

Is the new Godzilla Anime Nudity/sex free?





As an unrelated matter, is it any good?

The planet of the monsters one? Yea it's nudity free, nah it's pretty bad. The MC suffers from a bad case of stupid ass hole syndrome.

[Chromascope3D]

The difference between the two is Mob Psycho is way more school friendly, since to my remembrance nobody dies in the whole series, and certainly not in the ultra-bloody fashion of OPM.

It also has a good moral/motivational message for kids of that age.

True, but I also know from experience that middle schoolers also watch Adult Swim. Hence why everyone around my age range knows about Cowboy Bebop, FLCL, and the like. Granted, I understand that that isn't really a reason to go out of your way to show it to them in an official setting, but, even if we aren't supposed to acknowledge it, it is something that a great deal of them are aware of and actively consume on their own. But that's just me recalling my own elementary/middle school experience.

[Velaryon]

A good rule of thumb would be "Don't show them anything you haven't watched yourself" because everybody's going to have slightly different opinions on what's appropriate for age and setting.

That's what I did when I showed anime at my last library job, but these days I don't have the time to preview everything myself. I also want to have the kids involved in the decision-making process in order to increase their investment in the club, which means there's a good chance I'll be asked about shows I'm not familiar with. When possible I definitely want to have at least a basic idea of which shows are and aren't safe, but I only have so much free time and I only want to spend so much of that on anime (I'm a casual otaku at best).

I'd start off with something recognizable like One Punch Man. They've probably heard of it and/or will have seen it already, and if there's anything I know about anime club kids, it's that they'll always flock to things they've seen before.

Once you have them hooked, then you can show them more obscure things like Mob Psycho.

If it turns out that the best way to run the club is for me to select the titles myself, then I will probably end up doing this. But my plan at the moment is to try and get the kids involved in picking the titles so that they'll feel more invested in coming to the program every month. Getting teens and tweens to attend programs at my library has proven to be difficult, so I don't even know how many to expect yet, or what their likes are. I've written up a short survey I plan to distribute to everyone who shows up tomorrow and see how that goes.


Thanks for the recommendations so far, everyone! Please keep them coming. Also, one girl I talked to at the middle school while I was promoting this program is a huge Aquarion Evol fan. Based on the half episode I saw while testing how well the library's wi-fi can handle streaming, it looks okay for this age bracket, but I'd like some more feedback. Is that show something you'd be comfortable showing to 6th graders?

[mallorean_thug]

Thanks for the recommendations so far, everyone! Please keep them coming. Also, one girl I talked to at the middle school while I was promoting this program is a huge Aquarion Evol fan. Based on the half episode I saw while testing how well the library's wi-fi can handle streaming, it looks okay for this age bracket, but I'd like some more feedback. Is that show something you'd be comfortable showing to 6th graders?

Hmm, maybe? Thinking back on it, its actually a pretty chaste show for having the primary hook of the show be "characters have to participate in a threesome to form the larger robot necessary to fight the monster of the week".

Honestly, with middle schoolers, I'd just kind of go off of Crunchyroll's popular tab? A lot of anime discourse online kind of skips past stuff that's hot with the younger kids. Like, there's a currently airing show called Black Clover that's also a newer title in Weekly Shonen Jump. The consensus among older fans seems to be "been there, done that", but its pretty consistently pulling in basically the highest viewer numbers for any currently airing show.

The other thing that would probably make a difference is knowing what kind of gender mix your group is. A mostly male group is probably going to want to watch a bunch of WSJ titles like Black Clover, but a more female mix might want stuff more like Orange, or Ancient Magus's Bride, or Black Butler.

[LaZodiac]

I mean Black Clover's gotta lotta hot boys too. Girls can like WSJ type series (and for more reasons than just that, obviously).

[BWR]

In a fit of madness I gave Pop Team Epic another shot. The fans raved about how awesome episode two was, so I thought maybe I just wasn't in the mood. That has been the case for a number of other shows I disliked on the first viewing but adored when I gave it a second try. I generally enjoy absurd and meta humor, so maybe the problem was me.

Nope! It's the show that's the problem.

Still ****, still entirely self-absorbed and not really even trying to be good. Thing is, I could see how some of the elements in it could, in hands willing and able to put actual good effort into it, be amusing. But it isn't amusing. It's the absurdist equivalent of potty humor by a 5 year old. And unlike so many other shows I dislike where I can, if I squint a bit and remind myself of all the crappy stuff I enjoy, understand why someone might like it, I literally cannot see how anyone can like PTE.

Well, enough about that. More about Kokkoku.
This is the surprise hit for me this season. It remains to be seen if they can pull the season off without making it stupid, but the first three episode have been fascinating, tense and oddly funny. Story is interesting and information is doled out at a decent rate so far, making us feel we are actually learning stuff but without the info dump some series have. The episodes have ended on gripping cliffhangers and the characters are actually engaging. They seem less like stereotypes than most shows manage, and out main protagonist is turning out to be quite badass in a short amount of time.

[Pendulous]

Picked up Mitsuboshi Colors. Despite the show being about nine-ish year old girls "keeping the peace" and getting into shenanigans, I'm pretty sure the writers know who's reading/watching it. The girl who brings everything back to poop. The girl with morbid solutions (we can't clean the pond?

Spoiler

Show

Time to kill all of humanity

) who's also always playing a 3DS (best girl). This show is legitimately funny so far.

So many simulcasts to keep up with, I'm still waiting on three simuldubs (Death March, Citrus, and Karakai Jouzu), I watched the first episode of Katana Maidens (not bad), and now I'm halfway through Toradora for the first time. Holy crap this show is good. Legitimately funny for the first half, while it sets up the characters. Started getting deep recently. While I kinda wish it would stay fairly comedic and light-hearted, I know it's not gonna, but it's a great show. Taiga is best tsundere.

[Chromascope3D]

I mean Black Clover's gotta lotta hot boys too. Girls can like WSJ type series (and for more reasons than just that, obviously).

I didn't realize the Wall Street Journal had so much sex appeal.

[tensai_oni]

Thanks for the recommendations so far, everyone! Please keep them coming. Also, one girl I talked to at the middle school while I was promoting this program is a huge Aquarion Evol fan. Based on the half episode I saw while testing how well the library's wi-fi can handle streaming, it looks okay for this age bracket, but I'd like some more feedback. Is that show something you'd be comfortable showing to 6th graders?

I wouldn't be comfortable showing Aquarion Evol to anyone.

It's trash that makes the first Aquarion look like a masterpiece - and Genesis of Aquarion was pretty bad to begin with.

Also the Aquarion shows have some pretty suggestive themes, what with a heavy focus on (mostly badly written) romance and the Element Gattai having some rather orgasm-like imagery. At least the first two are like that - dunno about Logos, didn't watch that one. Anyway it's nothing new to sixth graders, but the usual caveat applies of adults being more embarassed showing suggestive things to kids than the kids are themselves, etc.

I really wouldn't want them to get the idea romantic relationships work like anything portrayed in Evol, though.


EDIT: Oh yeah, and about Pop Team Epic - the more I watch it, the more I like it. By ep 3, it's definitely in the "deliberately so bad it's good" territory. You know, like the 4koma it's based on.

[LaZodiac]

I didn't realize the Wall Street Journal had so much sex appeal.

I can't tell you how many times I've made this error mentally. Damn yooou.

[Pendulous]

Welp, finished Toradora. I loved it, and could use some suggestions of other shows that can make you laugh and cry at the same time (also, Taiga best tsundere), but also I might need to stick with some straight comedies for awhile to mentally recover.