Topic: Anime & Manga (NO SPOILERS PLEASE)

In my continued quest to try out anime for essentially the first time (my only exposure in the past has basically been Pokemon and YuGiOh), I watched the entirety of BNA: Brand New Animal at a hotel over the weekend!

This one's been on my potential watchlist for the longest time now as the premise of a human transforming into a half-human/animal hybrid always fascinated me (probably unsurprising given my adoration for Splatoon XD) and I was finally able to check it out thanks to the entire series being on Netflix here in Ireland and I gotta say: I really enjoyed it! I thought the characters were very likeable (Michiru and Shirou's dynamic especially was delightful to watch), the music was absolutely BANGING throughout (shoutout to the opening 'Ready To' especially, that song's been stuck in my head for hours XD), the animation, while unfortunately kind of stiff at points, absolutely rocked when it did, in typical Studio Trigger fashin, decide to go absolutely B O N K E R S (people who've seen the show know exactly what I'm talking about) and, what is easily my favourite aspect of the entire show, the worldbuilding/setting they created was absolutely enrapturing: from witnessing all the little facets of beastmen culture that had developed over the years to seeing these wildly different characters and imagining what animal they could possibly look like/be and vice versa, I was constantly engaged and enthralled by what was happening (especially with a particular scene in Episode 8 which....well, if you know you know).

For as much as I've gushed about what I enjoyed here though, I don't think it's a perfect show; there's a lot (and I mean a LOT) of unexplained stuff that happens throughout (delving into spoilers for a sec) such as how Michiru and Nazuna gain abilities that are almost never brought up again and how the deaths of the 1000 other wolves gave Shirou/Alan their immortality, there's the expected filler plots that feel a bit more pronounced given BNA's shorter than average length (why does anime have such an obsession with baseball) and it does feel like the show wraps up a bit too quickly near the end without much room to breathe and let things sink in.

Overall though, for as much as these gripes put a bit of dampener on things, it's more than balanced out by what BNA does so so SO damn well and I'm excited to give more series' a shot in the future thanks to it. Hopefully it manages to get a Season 2 at some point because I'd love to dive back into the wonderfully unique world of Anima-City! 🦝 🐺

@Fizza Ohhh, I love BNA.

Honestly, I thought BNA was pretty underwhelming until the 2nd half. Like very little about it stuck with me in any way until it focused on a plot of some sort. Which is hilarious because Little Witch Academia was the exact opposite by being far better in its first half without worrying so much on any long term story.

It also bugged me that they kept also using the ED as the only song that apparently exists in-universe, so multiple times it played more than once per episode.

Anyway I watched ZOM 100. The first episode is amazing, but I feel like I watched all I need to. I'm sure what happens next will be amazing but I'd be perfectly satisfied if I watched no other episode, I feel like the entire point of the series has already happened. But for that one episode, absolutely brilliant satire.

I just got back from "Castle in the Sky" as part of Ghibli Fest 2023.

Although the whole time I was watching the movie, my brain was split: half was paying attention to the story, the other half was looking at character faces and trying to figure out how to draw heads to be bean-shaped instead of egg-shaped.

@HenryKibble Nice. Ghibli Fest is also happening in the state of Michigan, but I don't feel like going

Think I forgot to post these here.

Project A-Ko 4: Final - Watched it a couple weekends ago. A decent watch if you liked the earlier ones, though I don't think it's as strong as the first two.

Cyber City Oedo 808 - This was pretty dope. I just love the sci-fi anime of the 80's & 90's, and don't think I'll ever tire of it no matter how much of it I watch. The style is just so cool, and I enjoyed the over the top edgy English dub.

Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid - Now, I like the occasional Ecchi anime as a guilty pleasure from time to time, but this was just a bit too much for me. It seems like something happened in the past decade that has caused these things to become a lot more risque than they used to be in the 90's, 00's, & early 10's (a transformation that you can see play out across the 4 seasons of To-Love-Ru, though I think this pushes even harder than that show's latter seasons).

Venus Wars - Haven't watched this yet, but am excited to get to it. It's another 80's sci-fi anime film, so I'll probably love it.

@EllaTheKawaiiNeko It has been a few (or a bit more maybe, haha) years since I left Middle-School (or whatever that is here in the Netherlands) and I don't know if you've seen these already, but a part of me is really nostalgic and melancholic to that period so I still like watching anime like: Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April), Hachimitsu to Clover (Honey and Clover), Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, Clannad, ToraDora! and Sangatsu no Lion (March comes in like a Lion) from time to time. Not sure, but maybe you will like these too?

@Definitely-Not-Leon I've heard of Toradora and Your Lie in April and both are on my watchlist, but I'll definitely check out the others too! Thanks!

I can confirm Toradora is very good. Or at least the main characters are so good that anything I was meh about in the series doesn't matter by comparison.

So recently I found out that there are two different upcoming anime based off of different Tamiki Wakaki manga. He created The World God Only Knows, which is one of the best manga/anime series I've ever seen, so if these are even close to as good, I'm excited.

Forgot to upload these here.

InuYasha: the Final Act - Definitely feels rushed (especially the first 6 or so episodes), but it's probably the best animated bit of the series & it always feels good to see the long running narrative threads get tied up (certain parts make me tear up no matter how many times I watch it).

Urusei Yatsura: Lum the Forever - Maybe I just need to give it a rewatch, but this has been the most confusing of these movies yet. Feels like they were trying really hard to emulate Beautiful Dreamer but it just doesn't work as well on any level.

Alternate box arts (under the slip covers):

@RR529 If I had a dollar for every Inuyasha dvd/blu-ray you had, I would be rich

So happy to have found Fist of the North Star on Crunchyroll. Great stuff and also watching Steins Gate. And Tiger Mask W.

Been awhile since my last post so this will be larger than usual.

Demon City Shinjuku - Demons have taken over Shinjuku and now a young man who knows some sort of spiritual swordsmanship must keep them from spreading worldwide. Kinda feels like a moodier take on something like Yu Yu Hakusho. Pretty fun stuff.

Iria: Zeiram the Animation - Animated OVA prequel to the live action Zeiram horror/action films. Pretty good 90's sci-fi action stuff.

Prison School - Raunchy comedy, a lot better than it has any right to be. A girl's only school goes co-ed and the few male students get thrown into an honest to goodness jail on campus after they spy on the girls' baths. A hilarious cat and mouse game soon ensues as the boys try to formulate an escape plan all the while the student council conspires to get the boys into even more trouble so they have an excuse to expell them.

Urusei Yatsura TV Collection 1 - Currently going through this. It's one of the oldest TV anime I've ever watched (though the first Lupin series probably has that honor of being the oldest), and it definitely shows in the animation quality, however it'll occasionally have an episode where the quality really jumps up. Episodic comedy, it can be pretty humorous.

Urusei Yatsura: Always My Darling - a 10th anniversary film. Pretty much felt like a long episode, but it was fun seeing this world animated with a more distinctly 90's style rather than 80's.

Urusei Yatsura: the Final Chapter - The conclusion of the manga in film form. Pretty decent, but I didn't think it was very strong/definitive for a finale.

Wicked City - A pair of secret agents (one human & one demon) must team up to protect an ancient dignitary who holds the key to prolonging a peace treaty between the human and demon worlds from a group of demon extremists who want war. This is good stuff with a lot of creative body horror on display, but it's not for the easily offended (this is one of those 80's OVAs that really likes to push the boundaries of gore & nudity).

BONUS: Alternate box arts.

@RR529 I heard about Prison School in a anime magazine I got a half a year or so back, and all I have to say is you're the last person I thought I'd see with a copy of it

Finished watching Little Women II: Jo's Boys and I love it. A great sequel. This series motivates me to be strong and become a better person. Plum Field feels like home. Seeing how the characters grew, especially Dan really warmed my heart.

The lineup on Ghibli Fest 2023 is as follows, and I've been seeing all of them up to the penultimate movie:

March: My Neighbor Totoro
April: Spirited Away (Live on stage)
May: Ponyo
June: Kiki's Delivery Service
July: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind/Castle in the Sky
August: Princess Mononoke/Porco Rosso/The Wind Rises (10th anniversary)
September: Howl's Moving Castle
October: Spirited Away

Things I picked up since my last post.

• Appleseed - Based on an earlier work by the creator of Ghost in the Shell. Pretty good sci-fi movie.
• A Wind Named Amnesia - Another interesting sci-fi film. A young man & woman take a road trip across the US (being chased by a killer mech!) after a mysterious "wind" blew across the planet taking away humanity's knowledge returning us to stone age mentality.
• My First Girlfriend is a Gal - Pretty run of the mill harem show. Decent if you know what you're getting into.
• Re: Cutie Honey - A take on the classic fan-servicy "magical girl" series helmed by Hideaki Anno (Evangelion). Very crazy, but very fun.

EDIT: Also picked up Very Private Lesson (another ecchi comedy), but didn't picture it as the cover may be considered a bit saucy & I wanted to tread safely.

I sure hope Boy and the Heron releases soon in theatres here in the UK. Would make my day and then some.

@TheJGG you near London? It’s showing as part of the BFI festival in London next week before it’s theatrical release next year.

It’s a good line up this year. They are also showing Chicken Run 2, The Killer (David Fincher’s new film), Saltburn (the director worked on Killing Eve and Promising Young Women), Killers Of The Moon (new Scorsese film) and Poor Things which is getting good buzz about a Victorian era women who is brought back from the dead and wants to run away from uppity society. I also want to see Tiger Stripes after it freaked people out when it was shown at Cannes.

I'm hoping the Spy x Family movie comes in a theatre near me