General Anime/Manga Discussion 14: Second Cour

[Morph Bark]

Have they stopped the manga until the anime catches up or something I havent seen a new chapter in awhile.

I doubt it. Anime get stopped to let the manga produce more material before they continue (if they continue). Manga don't stop to let the anime catch up, because anime episodes usually cover more material than a single (weekly) manga chapter.

[DoctorFaust]

Been reading Sengoku Youko by Satoshi Mizukami as a way to recover from Higurashi, and I gotta say, it is at least as good, if not even better than Biscuit Hammer. And that is not something I say lightly.

But goddamnit if it didn't make me tear up in one line.

Spoiler: Ch. 76

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Yo... Long time no see.

[Prime32]

Been reading Sengoku Youko by Satoshi Mizukami as a way to recover from Higurashi, and I gotta say, it is at least as good, if not even better than Biscuit Hammer. And that is not something I say lightly.

It's definitely more accessible than Biscuit Hammer. Spirit Circle is his masterpiece though.

[DoctorFaust]

It's definitely more accessible than Biscuit Hammer. Spirit Circle is his masterpiece though.

I guess I'd agree with you in the sense that the concepts work better in a more overtly fantastic setting than Biscuit Hammer's. However, I really do think that Biscuit Hammer is better than Spirit Circle. he writing and art and stuff are all up to the standards of his usual work, but because of the nature of the story, we never get that much time with any one character. Which made it quite hard for me to actually care that Kouko wanted to kill Fuuta. And speaking of Kouko, actually, I really didn't like her. I found Samidare more sympathetic, and she wanted to destroy the friggin' world.

[Rysto]

I realize that I have brought this upon myself by watching typical shonen anime, but dear god is the "hit the villain with an attack that causes a sizable explosion, but when the smoke clears he's unscratched" trope tiresome.

[DoctorFaust]

Anybody else here watched Getter Robo Armageddon? Because now that I've seen the Stoner Sunshine, it's very obvious where Studio Gainax got their inspiration for the art style used during the Giga Drill Breaker, as well as a number of other things. It's also a pretty good show, despite the numerous animation problems in episodes 3-6 and the change of directors around the same time.

And a random thought I had about Biscuit Hammer and Sengoku Youko:

Spoiler: LatBH + SY

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I'll admit that I could be wrong about this, but since the color pages certainly make it look like it is the case, Anima, Animus, the Tribe of the Void, and Senka all have silver hair, right? Now, this might just be because the author likes silver hair or something else entirely mundane like that, but it does makes me wonder if they're all related, with Biscuit Hammer either taking place far in the past of Sengoku Youko, or a few hundred years in its future.

[Fri]

Well yes. Is there even the slightest doubt that Gurren Lagann took inspiration from Getter Robo, and more specifically, Getter Robo Armageddon?

Stoner Sunshine theme might be the awesomest pre-kickass mecha music out there (maaaybe slightly behind gunbuster march), and Ima Ga Sono Toki Da might be my favourite mecha op ever.

Have you read getter robo manga? If you're interested, and you haven't, you should read Getter Robo Go. Mind that it's very different than the anime. The Getter Robo Go anime is basically, literally, the saturday-morning-cartoon version of the manga. It's the pinnacle of Getter Robo in my opinion, and I'm sure at least some parts of Getter Robo Armageddon is inspired by it. By that I mean the feel and the general visual.

[BWR]

I guess I'd agree with you in the sense that the concepts work better in a more overtly fantastic setting than Biscuit Hammer's. However, I really do think that Biscuit Hammer is better than Spirit Circle. he writing and art and stuff are all up to the standards of his usual work, but because of the nature of the story, we never get that much time with any one character. Which made it quite hard for me to actually care that Kouko wanted to kill Fuuta. And speaking of Kouko, actually, I really didn't like her. I found Samidare more sympathetic, and she wanted to destroy the friggin' world.

So I gave SC and L&BH a try after thinking to myself "I have too much to read already, time to try even more stuff".
SC was pretty ok, but only in some of the past lives (Flors was very good). Fuuta/Kouko was pretty meh and the reincarnation gods (plus the associated Sleeping Tower stuff) was quite the let-down. Props for having a cool necromancer.
I've only gotten a few chapters into L&BH, and so far it isn't gripping me.

[DoctorFaust]

Well yes. Is there even the slightest doubt that Gurren Lagann took inspiration from Getter Robo, and more specifically, Getter Robo Armageddon?

Stoner Sunshine theme might be the awesomest pre-kickass mecha music out there (maaaybe slightly behind gunbuster march), and Ima Ga Sono Toki Da might be my favourite mecha op ever.

Have you read getter robo manga? If you're interested, and you haven't, you should read Getter Robo Go. Mind that it's very different than the anime. The Getter Robo Go anime is basically, literally, the saturday-morning-cartoon version of the manga. It's the pinnacle of Getter Robo in my opinion, and I'm sure at least some parts of Getter Robo Armageddon is inspired by it.

I knew that Gurren Lagann took inspiration from a number of super robot shows, but since I haven't really seen that many, I didn't know which ones specifically or that it was to quite the extent that it apparently is.

It is a damn good song, and I really like that fact that it's a march, but I prefer Happily Ever After by an ever so slight margin.

And no, I have not, though I've been considering reading and watching through the rest of the franchise.

[Spacewolf]

So I gave SC and L&BH a try after thinking to myself "I have too much to read already, time to try even more stuff".
SC was pretty ok, but only in some of the past lives (Flors was very good). Fuuta/Kouko was pretty meh and the reincarnation gods (plus the associated Sleeping Tower stuff) was quite the let-down. Props for having a cool necromancer.
I've only gotten a few chapters into L&BH, and so far it isn't gripping me.

I read L&BH last week after seeing it on here and I'd say it was ok but nothing special, everything goes pretty much as you would expect and everything ends up pretty much as you would guess.

[Fri]

I knew that Gurren Lagann took inspiration from a number of super robot shows, but since I haven't really seen that many, I didn't know which ones specifically or that it was to quite the extent that it apparently is.

It is a damn good song, and I really like that fact that it's a march, but I prefer Happily Ever After by an ever so slight margin.

And no, I have not, though I've been considering reading and watching through the rest of the franchise.

The original Getter Robo and Getter Robo G are basically 70s mecha manga in the line of mazinger Z though (with somewhat more psycopathy and sci-fi and somewhat more interesting plot. Ken Ishikawa is much better 70s mecha mangaka than Go Nagai, in my opinion).

It only start growing its beard on Getter Robo Go, which is the next generation, and there is where Getter Robo start to get the complex mythology and setting.

[Prime32]

Anybody else here watched Getter Robo Armageddon? Because now that I've seen the Stoner Sunshine, it's very obvious where Studio Gainax got their inspiration for the art style used during the Giga Drill Breaker, as well as a number of other things. It's also a pretty good show, despite the numerous animation problems in episodes 3-6 and the change of directors around the same time.

And no, I have not, though I've been considering reading and watching through the rest of the franchise.

The manga order goes Getter Robo -> Getter Robo G -> Getter Robo Go -> Shin Getter Robo, with Shin being a prequel to Go.

The anime Getter Robo Go is very different from the manga, as mentioned. As for the OVAs:

Shin Getter Robo vs Neo Getter Robo is the most light-hearted of them, featuring a machine that's a mashup of the G and Go designs.

Shin Getter Robo (better known as New Getter Robo) is an actual reboot, rather than a sequel/"what if" like the other OVAs - while there are changes (e.g. different villains, and combining Musashi and Benkei into a single character) it hits a lot of the manga's major story points and setpieces.

And a random thought I had about Biscuit Hammer and Sengoku Youko:

Spoiler: LatBH + SY

Show

I'll admit that I could be wrong about this, but since the color pages certainly make it look like it is the case, Anima, Animus, the Tribe of the Void, and Senka all have silver hair, right? Now, this might just be because the author likes silver hair or something else entirely mundane like that, but it does makes me wonder if they're all related, with Biscuit Hammer either taking place far in the past of Sengoku Youko, or a few hundred years in its future.

Spoiler

Show

Read the last chapter of Spirit Circle again.

It is implied that Sengoku Youko takes place in the past of Sanjin Sadou though.

[Fri]

Shin Getter Robo (better known as New Getter Robo) is an actual reboot, rather than a sequel/"what if" like the other OVAs - while there are changes (e.g. different villains, and combining Musashi and Benkei into a single character) it hits a lot of the manga's major story points and setpieces.

Confusingly, Shin Getter Robo is also the name of a mecha in the franchise, and a midquel manga in the original timeline about the titular mecha, set between Getter Robo G and Getter Robo Go but published after Go.

Edit: Derp, I didn't see you already mentioned it.

Also it got Getter Robo Arc, which is the third generation (after Go), and is really cool and might actually be as good as Go at least, but for some reason it got cancelled, and now Ishikawa is dead so I'm not sure if it'll ever be finished :/

Yeah, I'm a huge fan of the series.

[DoctorFaust]

Spoiler

Show

Read the last chapter of Spirit Circle again.

It is implied that Sengoku Youko takes place in the past of Sanjin Sadou though.

Spoiler

Show

I had forgotten about those lines. I guess if the planet crushing esper is referring to who I think it is, Biscuit Hammer, Sengoku Youko, and Spirit Circle all take place in the same cosmology, at the very least. Though that does blow a 47 trillion universe wide hole in my theory.

And I know that a character in one of the author's one-shots has the same last name and duties as Shinsuke takes up during the epilogue of SC.

[Kato]

As I'm not following many new anime I don't have much to say here (except catching up on Assassination classroom right now) but... I keep being impressed at how Shokugeki manages to make cooking as awesome as they do. And they even turned down the fanservice. Now I just wish we wouldn't soon get a huge break until they got to season three...

[Kris Strife]

Does anyone happen to remember which episode of Big O had Dastun try to carry Dorothy, but she was too heavy?

[Marlowe]

Spoiler: Finally say Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin: Episode II and III!

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(I didn't like them very much.)

[BiblioRook]

So for whatever reason I recently felt inclined to rewatch Rurouni Kenshin. So I load up the first episode and.. oh my god, right away I'm hit with so much nostalgia that I actually had to pause it and take a moment to recover from the weight of it. That first opening song, Freckles. It's so corny and barely has anything to do with the show much less the scenes being shown while it's playing, why do I find it so catchy and sentimental?!

It really made me think of other opening (and ending) songs that just for some reason stuck with me and that even now nearly decades since I last saw them I find myself sometimes looking up and listening to. Not necessarily the best ones half the time, but I don't know just for some reason struck a cord. The Openings to Outlaw Star and Black Lagoon come to mind and for endings Witchcraft Works. Honestly there are probably tons that I'm just not thinking about right now that I know will just blindside me like a ton of bricks if I'm reminded of them. But probably my favorites, for both openings and endings together even, are from an obscure anime with the annoyingly long name of 'Problem children are coming from another world aren't they?". It's not even what I would call anything that special but man do I really love the opening and ending from that.

[DoctorFaust]

Since the current season is wrapping up in the next few weeks, what all are people looking forward to watching during the next one? For me, aside from a few sequels like Tiger Mask W or Iron-Blooded Orphans S2, the only ones that really looks interesting are March Comes In Like a Lion and Shuumatsu no Izetta.

Best list I could find of the Fall 2016 shows.

[kamikasei]

Since the current season is wrapping up in the next few weeks, what all are people looking forward to watching during the next one?

/checks Oh my god, there's a show called Bloodivores.

Ahem. I'll certainly be watching Sound! Euphonium S2, and continuing with Diamond is Unbreakable (which I don't see listed there...?). I'll definitely give Drifters a try, and maybe also Occultic;Nine, Watashi ga Motete Dousunda, and (since it's a short) Nyanbo. I'll watch the Majestic Prince and Patlabor movies, though not necessarily this season. And I'll be selective about picking up new shows, because I've at least three from this season I've heard good things about and want to try out once they've ended - in ascending order of exclamation marks, they're Thunderbolt Fantasy, Amanchu!, and Love Live! Sunshine!!.

[BWR]

Amanchu is by the same author as Aria the animation and it shows. If you liked Aria, the chances are very high you'll like Amanchu.
There isn't anything new that piques my curiosity right now. I'll probably try and handful of them and end up watching a couple, if the last year or two is anything to go by.
Sakamoto desu ga? and Bikini Warriors are getting specials, so that's good.
The one thing that really has me giddy with anticipation is Tenchi Muyo: Ryo-ohki 4.

[Fri]

I'm going to try to watch, at least one of two ep

-Drifters (been waiting for it for a while)
- Classicaloid (Would at least check it. Series about classical composers reborn in modern time, come on)
- Flip Flappers (the trailer is the exact kind of weird and colourful adventure I'd like)
- Fune no Amu (This kind of mundane but serious business, for example, a bunch of people making a dictionary, is my catnip)
- All Out (rugby mite be fun)
- Iron blooded orphans? (just need to finish first season first)
- Nanbaka (looks like prison set in jojo universe)
- Occultic Nine (urban fantasy steins gate, duh)
- Shuumetsu no Izetta (witch fighting with gun in fantasy world war 2, eff yeah)

**** that's too much already, and there's still more stuffs I'm interested, like macross delta and kiss him not me and of course finishing jojo

[BWR]

**** that's too much already, and there's still more stuffs I'm interested, like macross delta and kiss him not me and of course finishing jojo

Delta has been kinda meh. It's nice to get back to a humanish enemy with recognizable motives and emotions (even if they are incredibly hypocritical and dickish), but the male MC is an unlikable prick. Not as bad as Basara, of course, but still. His one saving grace is that he gets stomped in the face a few times. The girl and I are watching the original Macross and it may be nostalgia speaking but Hikaru just seems like such nicer guy and is easier to relate to and root for than any of the ones in later shows.

[kamikasei]

Delta has been kinda meh. It's nice to get back to a humanish enemy with recognizable motives and emotions (even if they are incredibly hypocritical and dickish), but the male MC is an unlikable prick. Not as bad as Basara, of course, but still. His one saving grace is that he gets stomped in the face a few times. The girl and I are watching the original Macross and it may be nostalgia speaking but Hikaru just seems like such nicer guy and is easier to relate to and root for than any of the ones in later shows.

I haven't found Hikaru Hayate to be that bad, but he's possibly the least interesting or likeable of the main good guys. Mostly I just want Mirage to get more screentime and respect. Maybe she can run away with Makina and Reina and they can start a different, better show.

The Windermereans represent a whole class of anime antagonist that I'm really, really tired of, though, and I'd love if they'd just... go away.

[VariSami]

For me, personally, Fall 2016 seems quite bleak although Drifters and Natsume Yujin Cho Go are great things to have. Luckily, there are more than a few series I missed earlier so not having too many interesting new series should help me get to stuff like Re:Zero and Food Wars which have been receiving very high praise from my best friend.

[cobaltstarfire]

Yeah, I'm looking forward to Natsume's Book of Friends. I'm glad that it keeps getting new seasons, even if the time between is kind of long.

[Fri]

Man, Shokugeki no Soma S2 ended.

It's really one of the best "sport" anime I've seen. I wonder if there'll be season 3. I want more.

Also, for people who got weirded out by the early first season, it's really some sort of first installation weirdness I think. I assume when the author first make the manga he's planning it to be some sort of "fanservice cooking manga" but later on they decided that the battle cooking is actually strong enough to stand on its own.

[Morph Bark]

Also, for people who got weirded out by the early first season, it's really some sort of first installation weirdness I think. I assume when the author first make the manga he's planning it to be some sort of "fanservice cooking manga" but later on they decided that the battle cooking is actually strong enough to stand on its own.

Definitely. It's not even like the foodgasms stopped, that's still plenty part of it. The nudity just got removed and the imagery of mentally finding yourself on a tropical island with a gentle breeze upon eating that delicious light crab soup remains.

[BWR]

So that was it for Macross Delta. I was frankly disappointed after the good job they did with Frontier. They killed off the two likable characters and left us with a bunch dross. The music, with the exception of Freya's song they used for the ED in the first half, was as bland and unimpressive j-pop as you could get. None of it registered as memorable in any way.
I suppose getting to know a bit more about the Protoculture was fine and all, but the characters, the cookie-cutter baddies and their astounding hypocrisy, the obvious plot 'twists', etc. just left me annoyed most of the time. I wish they hadn't gone with 'music is magic' but in all fairness they had been leading up to it for several series and it seems like a logical, or at least not an illogical, conclusion to arrive at.

In sadder news, no more Sweetness and Lightning, which was a welcome weekly dose of cuteness and heartwarmth.

[Ravian]

Feel like I'm in a bit of an anime withdrawal now that Berserk, RE:Zero and Mob Psycho 100 have all ended nearly simultaneously. Is there any other good anime in that vein that I missed this season?