Topic: Anime & Manga (NO SPOILERS PLEASE)

Re:Zero The Frozen Bond was really good, but it was also mildly awkward. Like its good as a small part of Re:Zero, but it doesn't quite work as a stand-alone movie (even as a fan tbh). It's a 3 episode flashback sequence of a series presented as a movie, and it feels like a 4th part was taken out to keep things secret to be revealed later. I think especially because it builds towards some things that are barely talked about or not even revealed.

Super Dimension Fortress Macross (Amazon Prime Video) - Early 80's Sci-Fi/Mecha anime. A massive alien craft (dubbed the Macross by the people of Earth) crashes on Earth, and after a 10 year long project to restore it, it's ready to launch on it's maiden voyage. However, things don't pan out as expected when an alien race known as the Zentradi arrive in the solar system in response to it's activation, and after the Macross attacks them of it's own accord the crew must activate it's untested "Fold" system (pretty much Warp Speed) to escape their powerful new adversary, and wind up on Pluto. With an entire city's worth of civilians in tow (the most notable being hotshot pilot Hikaru Ichijyo, invited to the launch by Squadron Leader Roy Focker who serves aboard the Macross, and Lynn Minmay, a teenage girl rescued by Hikaru during the chaos who ends up being more important than you could guess) who were caught up in the warp, the Macross must make a long and arduous journey back to Earth while being hunted by the Zentradi.

It turned out to be an excellent watch. You'll have to get used to the dated animation (and the fact that it clearly hasn't been remastered in any way), but once you do you're in for a treat. While it does feature some of the typical "power of friendship/love" trope you see in anime a lot, it's also one of the most hard sci-fi anime I've ever seen (even if aspects of it are naturally dated), and even kind of gives me Star Trek vibes, especially in the first story arc. It has an excellent balance of action (are fighter jets that transform into mechs ever not cool?), down time/humor (the Zentradi reactions to the Earthling way of life never get old), and of course romance (the relationship between Hikaru & Minmay had me on the edge of my seat, and I was gutted that they seemingly couldn't be together). It is dated in spots (a few action scenes seem to be running at 5 frames of animation, while others are quite good), but it makes me more interested in trying out the other old sci-fi anime they have on the service.

Content Guide:

Sex/Nudity (Mild) - You see Minmay's butt during a shower scene early on (this is replayed during a later pseudo-recap episode), and there is a vaguely detailed topless pinup poster briefly seen in Roy Focker's quarters.

Violence/Gore (Medium) - I'd say it's mild in intensity as there's not a lot of blood, but there is tons of battle (it's just 95% mechs, planes, and other war machinery blowing up without showing what happens to the people inside), so keep that in mind. The few times there is blood it's at the very low end in terms of gore (things like the single sliver of blood coming from the lip/forehead, or a stain on a piece of clothing).

Language (Mild) - Some PG/PG-13 type stuff, as usual.

NOTE: the Americanized version (Robotech) is also available on Prime Video, and does come in a remastered format, however given that it's an 80's localization I'm not sure how true it is in terms of story & content so I didn't watch it (the only things I can confirm are that they Americanized some of the names, as Hikaru became Rex Hunter, and that they linked Macross with two other anime, Calvary Southern Cross & Genesis Climber Mosphaeda, in order to make Robotech, though I'm not sure how invasive this was to each of their core narratives, as the three shows seem to be treated as different seasons just set generations apart within Robotech & may not necessarily have their events jumbled up). That, and Macross & Calvary Southern Cross may actually be related, as both carry the Super Dimension moniker in their original forms.

@Knighty_IX, I think I watched Do You Remember Love a number of years ago (probably on that defunct YouTube channel I mentioned in my recent Project A-Ko write up), only remembering it a few episodes in and noticing the similarities. May need to rewatch it someday if I get the chance.

The HikaruXHayase relationship felt like an odd turn to me. Granted, Hikaru wasn't quite as young at the show's start (I imagine 16-18), but it felt like having Shinji or Renton (both 14) ending up with Misato or Talho (along with Hikaru's new love interest, they all feel like they're pushing 30) after turning 18.

Granted, I could be off on the ages, but Hayase was already a senior officer and I imagine closer in age to Roy (whom, thanks to a flashback, we know was a teen/adult when Hikaru was a kid), as she was similar in age to Claudia.

@RR529 Actually, Misa Hayase and the other girls aboard the ship were all in their late teens at the start of the series. In fact, she's only 3 years older than Lynn Minmay, and only 2 years older than Hikaru. She just seems older because she acts more mature. I think it was even joked about in the first episode.

@CanisWolfred, @Knighty_IX, oh wow, I would have never guessed, lol. Even her father kind of acted like she was on the verge of becoming a spinster when she said she didn't have a man in her life yet.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is a series that I never doubted. I loved it when it was new, and revisited it once about 7 years ago while in university. But I actually heard so much good about it that I started to tire of it and it kind of warped my opinion of it.

But with the stay at home that I had over the last two weeks I revisited it and you know what? It deserves every last drop of praise and then some! It's a show that I think really does everything right to a degree that we see, maybe, once in an entire decade! It hits every note right and is really a must see for anyone who enjoys anime and I am really glad I revisited it.

FMA: Brotherhood is one of those series I also get annoyed at how much praise it gets. But that's because while I do think its mostly great, it didn't connect with me as much as a good chunk of other anime I've seen, unfortunately. Objectively, its pretty top tier, but there's just plenty of anime I personally enjoy more.

Personal preference is always a factor to be sure. Take food, you could have the most delicious spicy food in the world, but give it to someone who just doesn't like spicy food and they likely still wont like it.

FMAB is amazing. I feel it does everything right and love it. But it's still not my favorite. I can list off flaws in my personal favorite series that just aren't there in FMAB. Though my own preferences are the reason I like other shows better. For example I love Gundam, it's my favorite anime... franchise. But I fully will call them out on doing things they don't need to, to sell more model kits. Or for having some poorly written characters - especially female characters. But I love the themes it covers, the action it portrays, the setting, world building and ideas so much, that the flaws with the show don't matter much to me. Even though I can't possibly argue that any season of Gundam is even written as well, let alone better, than FMAB.

Has anyone here watched much of Silver Spoon? It’s from the same stable as Fullmetal Alchemist. By which I mean, it’s... err, completely different, but was written by the same author and I was trying to make a horse pun. Anyway, I was very fond of it back in the day, and sad it didn’t get a third season (I believe the manga extends a lot further than the anime ever got).

I've been watching Lupin the 3rd Part 1 on Amazon and it's mostly been a good time, but for some odd reason episodes 4 & 10 have had some sort of commentary turned on (I thought I may have accidentally messed with some setting, but the only settings available are the subtitles & audio language, and no other episodes so far have had this issue), and it's distracting hearing a couple of dudes talking about manga/anime differences or how good Castle of Cagliostro was when you're just trying to watch the show.

Also, I know the original series doesn't have many fans here, but what are everyone's thoughts on the announced InuYasha sequel? I'm both excited because it's something I never thought would happen, but worried too because the concept sounds a little fan fiction-ish (it largely focuses on the half demon twin daughters of Sesshomaru, who were split up at a young age during a forest fire, with one of them being sent to the modern era where she was raised by the family of Sota, Kagome's little brother), and it appears that InuYasha & Kagome weren't around to raise their own daughter (the third main character, who is described as not knowing much about her parents, as she's lived by herself since childhood), which threatens the happy ending of the original.

@Maxz "I believe the manga[light novel] extends a lot further than the anime ever got"

That's about 70% of anime sadly. Frankly I wish they'd turn less overall Manga and light novels into anime and instead finish more stories.

@RR529 I had no idea that was a thing. I liked InuYasha as a kid a good bit. I'll have to look into this.

Lupin the 3rd Part 1 (Amazon Prime Video) - The first anime adaptation of the Lupin the 3rd franchise, all the way back from 1972! Known as the "Green Jacket" run, as that's the color jacket he wears here (it's a different color in each series). It's an episodic series that follows the exploits of thief Lupin the 3rd (grandson of famed thief Arsene Lupin) and his gang, with a mostly comedic bend.

I don't have as much nostalgia for Lupin as I do other anime I watched when I was younger, but this particular series was new to me so it was a fun watch. The first half of the series was generally a tad more serious than I was expecting at times, but that gave it a bit of a unique vibe (the manga was more graphic, and while toned down, the early episodes pulled closer to it). The animation was actually quite good considering it's from the early 70's too (and it looked remastered). My only main gripe is that 4 or so random episodes had commentary enabled (there were no settings regarding this, so that's just how they're uploaded to Amazon's streaming service for whatever reason).

Content Guide:

Sex/Nudity (Medium) - Femme Fatal Fujiko Mine appears in various states of undress in some of the earlier episodes (the most graphic being a shower scene where you can see her butt), and a pretty "blink & you'll miss it" moment where the police commissioner can be seen reading a nudie mag (you can fully see one of the pictures) whenever inspector Zenigata barges into his office.

Violence/Gore (Mild) - Most violence is pretty cartoony (like Looney Tunes type stuff when caught in an explosion), however there is some blood, though nothing particularly graphic (the most graphic that comes to mind is a scene where Goemon cuts someone down the middle, though the wound is only bloody during that initial slash).

Language (Mild) - Typical PG/PG-13 stuff.

Just tagging @Spanjard because I knew they were asking about Lupin awhile ago.

@RR529 Thanks, we appreciate it 😉

Sometimes being wrong can be a good thing! I originally ignored The Devil is a Part-timer because I assumed it was about the actual biblical devil and I found the idea to be both stupid and uncomfortable.

In reality however it's just the common Japanese trend of taking any random mythological names they can find for fictional characters that are nothing like it. And the show itself is positively hilarious!

I had an utter blast watching it and I really hope it gets another season some day!

The hero is best girl. Fight me! Emi <3

I recently subbed to Hulu to rewatch all the InuYasha stuff in anticipation of the sequel, and am absolutely floored by the selection.

Whether it be Bleach, Cowboy Bebop, Dragon Ball, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, FLCL, Gundam Wing, InuYasha (plus the Final Act), Lupin the 3rd Part 2, Outlaw Star, Rurouni Kenshin, Trigun, or Yu Yu Hakusho, it seems like they have almost everything I grew up watching on Toonami & Adult Swim (haven't seen Ghost in the Shell, Eureka 7, or Tenchi Muyo! though, and of course Netflix has dibs on Evangelion).

Outside of InuYasha they also have Ranma 1/2 & Kyokai no Rinne in terms of Takahashi stuff, which is cool.

@RR529 That is a pretty good selection of classics. I watch about 90% of anime I like on Crunchyroll and a little bit on Funimation. But I might check out Hulu at some point if I ever make an account on a site that carries western TV again.

Hey folks, I'm still alive out there heh. Recently rewatched Madoka Magica - on Netflix - for the first time in like, 6 years. Was a highly nostalgic experience and made me feel all kinds of feelings again. Not quite a decade old but almost, definitely has gone down as a classic and definitive series of the 2010's.

Also been watching Slayers recently, one a more aesthetic level I really love the characters, designs, voices, music of that show a ton. IMO A peak 90's aesthetic

I'm glad to see people watching Slayers for the first time. I absolutely love the series, and I actually rewatched some of it recently. It still holds up really well.

Looks like we got our first look at YashaHime's English logo (looks a lot like how I imagined).

Funnily enough, even though they're expecting people to vote for their favorite Inuyasha/Kagome centric episodes to re-air (to the point that there's going to be live commentary from their Japanese VA's), as of right now people (particularly English language voters) are flooding it with Sesshomaru/Rin centric episode requests (it's technically open to all 167 episodes of the original series).