Topic: Anime & Manga (NO SPOILERS PLEASE)

First pickups of the year.

City Hunter season 1 - Not really planning on watching it anytime soon, as I just watched it early last year... right before I started to collect physically. As such it's the only season I didn't have physically yet & decided to use some Christmas money to round out the set.

Cowboy Bebop - I don't think this really needs any introduction (at least I hope not). Always a big part of my teenage years as Adult Swim used to have it on repeat practically all the time. So much so that I probably got a bit bored of it at the time, but it's been long enough since I last watched it to want to give it a revisit.

Project A-Ko - I've seen this online a couple times in the past. An action comedy film parodying the anime tropes of it's era, I've always found it amusing/entertaining enough.

Bonus: Alternate box art under the City Hunter slip case.

It's the year of the rabbit! That means it's finally the year that I decide to watch Bunny Girl Senpai!

@EaglyTheKawaiiShika your watching your waifu grow

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to get through the long runners I've been stuck with. Dragon Quest, Naruto: Shippuden, (pre-time skip) One Piece, I want to at least be close to done with by the end of the year. Dragon Quest is at least relatively new but I've been dragging my feet with the other two for a very long time now. Like between both of them I've watched maybe slightly above 300 new episodes in the past DECADE.

@EaglyTheKawaiiShika I've never seen Fate, I just love Astolfo.

Excuse my language, but Holy s***balls, that Witch from Mercury finale was ***** bonkers. One of the most wild shifts in tone I've seen from basically anything.

New anime season y'all. Based on the high quality research of a first episode sweep on a bunch of shows, I think I am going to pick up Revenger, High Card and Sugar Apple Fairy Tale.

Small addition to the collection.

InuYasha Set 2 - As THE anime for me in middle/high school, I'm continuing to slowly acquire it all. If you've seen it before, I'm at the point Kagura is being introduced.

Ghost in the Shell - A bit of a confession is that GitS media tends to elude me (Arise is said to be more "streamlined" compared to the other series, yet I kinda start losing the plot by OVA 3 for example), however the original film is the exception to the rule & I LOVE it. Super excited since it's my first 4K anime purchase as well.

@RR529 How many seasons of Inuyashaare there...
I think this show is older than me and I'm scared to even start it

@EllaTheKawaiiNeko

In the west it's split up into 8 seasons (7 of the original series, then the Final Act), and is just shy of 200 episodes total. Oh, there's also the 4 movies, but they're not necessary to follow the story.

Depending on how you get on with it, there's also the recent YashaHime sequel, which had 2 seasons and is around 50 episodes long (it's not nearly as good as the OG series though).

@RR529 Ok, yeah, I'm not watching that. I'll stick with my 12 episode slice of lifes.

@EllaTheKawaiiNeko, It's not even the worst series when it comes to episode count, lol, though I get your apprehension.

If you want to dip your toes into longer running fare, I'd suggest something like Code Geass or Eureka 7 (both of which are around 50 episodes long) before trying something like Yu Yu Hakusho or Rurouni Kenshin (both of which are around 100 episodes or so?)

12-13 episodes is simply not enough time to fully flesh out & get attached to a story IMO. To me a 24-26 episode series is the general bare minimum to have a fleshed out series, & ideally the sweet spot is anywhere between 25-50 episodes.

That said I do like some short anime.

@RR529 I can get VERY much attached to a short series. Tonikawa is 12 episodesand 2 OVA's, and it's been my favorite and probably most attached anime ever since I was 11. And I only keep growing more and more fond of it, considering me and my best friend met on a Tonikawa Discord server. Just 3 days ago marked an exact year we met. He's my best friend and probably the person (besides my brother) who I'm the closest with.

That's what happens when you take series that would need 25 or 50+ episodes to be adapted into a complete story and always put out 12 episodes that might never get a conclusion. I think Chainsaw Man especially made that apparent to me, when even an anime of that quality feels like it ends with a shrug of a nothing of a cliffhanger.

Latest additions.

Eureka Seven - Another anime that I really got into on Adult Swim back in the mid 00's. It's probably been about 4-5 years (maybe longer?) since I last watched it, so it's gripping me all over again. Always such a hopeful show, even when things get down.

InuYasha the Movie Collection - I've probably talked more about InuYasha than anyone cares to follow at this point, lol. Anyhow I'm at the point in the series (in my current rewatch) where it's generally agreed the first movie feels best to watch, so I bought this physically (I've watched them many times over the years, but digitally, official means & otherwise).

It is new anime season, but I've really been slacking. I think I am one episode away from being up to date with new show Revenger. Has kinda mixed production values, and is a little bland in concept, but I dunno, it is a nice junk food anime I toss on in an evening. I am all up to date with MHA again, still working my way through the Blood War adaptation for Bleach. I've seen one episode each of some other new shows, but out of them I think I will only bother to get around to catching up with High Card and maybe Sugar Apple Fairy Tale.

I would strongly recommend watching One Punch Man, I recently finished watching it, it was Amazing series. Very good animation too for those who love anima artwork and movement!!!

In terms of manga I've recently finished reading all 3 volumes of Senran Kagura: Skirting Shadows, which is an adaptation of the first game, & pretty "meh" all things considered.

The original game actually put some effort into it's narrative all things considered, and it's very truncated here. The entire subplot surrounding Rin is completely omitted (she doesn't appear at all), while it spends a good chunk of time exploring Yagyu & Hibari's plots (& even a decent job with Ikaruga's), Katsuragi gets the short end of the stick (it completely omits the part of her looking for & finding her parents, but deciding not to make contact). In the end it seems like they just ran out of time too, as despite building up most of the girls' rivalries the final fights all happen off page with the exception of Asuka vs Homura (& it doesn't feature the big demon/monster that you fight at the end of the game).

Even in terms of the aspect the series is more well known for (over the top fan service), the manga comes up short. Sure there's still some innuendo & the like, but the art very much gives off a "this is a job, not a passion" vibe from the mangaka & it largely lacks the kind of "energy" you'd expect from the property. It does finally get there by the later half of volume 3, but by then it's too little too late.

It's all a bit of a shame, as for what it's worth I thought the anime adaptation did a pretty good job (at least the first season, which likewise adapted the first game).

Otherwise I read volume 24 of Triage X since that released last month. The series is pretty much everything the SK manga wasn't. Clearly a passion for the artist, gripping narratively, and doesn't hold back on the fan service if you like that sorta thing.

Got these in over the weekend.

Bubblegum Crisis - A bit over halfway through this now. Man, the aesthetics of it all (especially the tech) are just soooo much cooler than what we have in anime today (even if many of the bad guys are just Terminator knock-offs). That said, I thought the animation felt a bit rough & spotty at times in the first episode, but since then it's gone from strength to strength.

Kandagawa Jet Girls - A bit of a guilty pleasure buy. I remember thinking it was pretty cute the last time I watched it, & I just finished a playthrough of the game which put me in the mood for it.

City Hunter Movie & TV Special Collection - Halfway through this as well. Magnum of Love & Fate was fun in an "extended TV episode" kinda way, but Bay City Wars & Million Dollar Conspiracy were absolutely awesome. Think I now own all the City Hunter stuff.

Bonus: Alternate art under the City Hunter slip case.

Been a bit since my last update.

Angel Cop Steelbook - Last watched this last year I think on Tubi, but it was the old SD version (I think the remastered version is limited to a premium Retro Crush subscription in terms of streaming options). Looking forward to giving it another go all cleaned up.

Cat Planet Cuties - It's been a decade or so since I last watched this. Probably nothing special, but it'll be a nice guilty pleasure. Just started it yesterday

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero - Watched it a few days ago, it was actually super fun. I was a tad worried about the CG animation going in, and although there are a few wonky moments it actually worked a lot better than I thought. Really exciting action.

InuYasha Set 3 - Have had this the longest & just finished it up over the weekend. Just working my way through an old favorite.

Lupin the 3rd: Bye Bye Lady Liberty - I had collected the "must have" Lupin films last year (Mamo, Cagliostro, the Koike trilogy, & the First), but am now looking to expand with some of the other stuff.

Robot Carnival - Watched it on Saturday morning. Absolutely stunningly animated (gorgeous in 4K), with "the Presence" segment being the standout. A lot of good stuff that ranged from fun ("the mechanized culture of the Meiji era") to artful "the Cloud"). Also some very 80's stuff like "Star Light Angel", which isn't a bad thing at all.

the Professional: Golgo 13 - A bit rough around the edges, but worth a look if you like very edgy 80's fare (very gory & lots of sex).

Project A-Ko 2 & 3 - Pretty much more A-ko, if you liked the first one you'll like these. Bright, cheery, fun 80's vibes.

Alternate box arts: