Topic: Anime & Manga (NO SPOILERS PLEASE)

I've started reading Ryozanpaku History's Strongest Disciple!, and if that sounds familiar, it should.

It's an earlier version of History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi. It's made by the same guy, and the story overall has been generally the same (although events progress differently, or for different reasons), but you can tell it's sort of a "test run".

The art style isn't as refined, it's only 24 chapters (compared to HSDK, which is ongoing at 500+), character designs are slightly different for the main characters (and certain side characters are very generic in design, compared to their rebooted counterparts), and certain character personalities are slightly different (or don't have much of a personality at all). The most apparent difference that you'll notice from the start, is that the masters' muscles & certain aspects of the female characters aren't as exaggerated as they are in HSDK.

I've only finished up chapter 3 so far, so it'll be interesting to see how this "beta" of sorts turns out.

I finished FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. It was a great series. Definitely better than the first FMA. I liked most of the changes they made to it from the first FMA.

@Retro_on_theGo - Michiko & Hatchin

Well, Toonami's 3 weeks of movies starts next week, and according to our cable's info, next week is going to be Akira!

A little disappointed that it's something I've seen before, but at least it's a great watch, so I know I'll enjoy it. I also like the fact that this shows they're still willing to give older anime a look (although they're probably just getting it for it's status).

Finished up Ryozanpaku History's Strongest Disciple!

It was kind of neat seeing the origins of how HSDK came to be. You can tell he didn't quite have things completely thought through though, as character traits & ideas were kind of randomly shoe-horned in as time progressed.

Ultimately I'm glad he decided to just reboot the entire series, once he knew where he wanted to go with it, and rebuild it with that vision in mind.

Toonami Saturday night!

Bleach - Not paying much attention to bland filler story, but the fights have still been pretty good.

Naruto - Good to see a bit more of a lighthearted episode after all the heavy stuff. Don't know how I feel about Shippuden coming, as I've finally started to get into the current story arc, and it's a bit upsetting knowing it's going to be cut short.

One Piece - THIS, is one of those times where I feel like not starting at the beginning really hampers the experience. There were a couple moments here that were obviously supposed to be very emotionally enganging for the audience, but due to the short time I've spent with the series, it just didn't hit me. Still a good episode, though.

Soul Eater - A really great episode, as per usual. Not much more about this particular episode I can say, but one thing that kind of rubs me the wrong way with this series is that whenever there's a large crowd, everyone seems to be drawn in an un-detailed monotone look (it just seems really out of place, considering all the painstaking attention to detail every other part of the show has). Also, where the heck is Blair? I just realized I don't think I've seen her since Medusa's attack on Death City (did they write her out?).

Sword Art Online - Episode of the night! Again, I just love this show, wierd cousin crush aside. Man, that girl's party seems too serious. I could understand if this were SAO, and your life could very well depend on the dependability of your comrades, but here, it's just a game man. As for my love of the show in general, It creates such a beautiful world, and really makes me wonder if we'll ever get close to that sort of gaming technology in our lifetime. I know it sounds out there, but hey, as recently as the 90's, stuff like the iPad & Kinect (as flawed as it is) were purely the stuff of science fiction.

FLCL - And with that, it's over. This is one of those shows that no matter how much you've seen it, you'll always learn new stuff about it, and will probably never get everything 100%. A great ride everytime.

Also, we had Akira & Space Dandy promos tonight! What's more, if my cable's info is correct (which it was with regards to Akira), we'll be getting Summer Wars the week after next! That's one I've really been wanting to see.

Well, time to wait for InuYasha! See ya' later.

Well people have had years and years and years to catch up, if you didn't, that problem's on you. Same with Naruto Shippuden.

I think I'm going to take a break from One Piece with the second saga over, so that I can finish Soul Eater and try to finish the spring/fall anime I've started. (AoT, Kill la Kill, Samurai Flamenco, and Diamond no Ace) I'd like to try Toriko, Code Geass, Cowboy Bebop, and others in the future, but One Piece will call me back soon...

I got sick, and I've been using that as an excuse to stay in bed all day and catch up on my backlog. That, and I noticed that Crunchyroll had been charging to my account for all those months which I didn't even use it ^^;

So anyway, here's the results

Silver Spoon 8-11: Really, really fun slice of life. Actually made me laugh out loud at many points, which only made me sad because so few comedies so far have passed that test. I don't know if it's the language or cultural barrier, but most of the time I just crack a smile instead of actually laughing.

Golden Time 1-2: The OP and ED are both so cutesy and have the trademark J.C. Staff motif of circular things spinning. I actually like this show a lot though! There's not enough anime about university life and this one really hits the nail on the head.

I should start up Samurai Flamenco too, I read the synopsis and it seems like something I'd really enjoy.

Well, I have mentioned in the past that we don't exactly have the best online setup for watching these things online, but I suppose there's still some truth in your words, as I could always have been more tenacious (and hey, no need to be so snippy, it's not like I was badmouthing the quality of the shows, both of which I quite like).

Not trying to be rude, just stating some truth. I get AS lives for reruns of Fox shows everyone's already seen but I do think if they want to keep the interest of anime fans, it'd be better to focus on at least new-er content. Especially these 2 shows. When Naruto was on tv, the original series was without a doubt the most popular anime around, tons of people watched it. Naruto Shippuden was on Disney XD and then eventually cancelled on Disney XD (which after a while was given a terrible time IIRC), so I think there's a lot of Toonami fans who know Naruto but not Shippuden. Likewise One Piece went to the Funi dub for Jaya/Skypiea on Toonami and while in America it was cancelled way too soon, elsewhere it ended basically right before where it started again on AS Toonami. I mean if a weekday Toonami still existed, I'd say the original series should be on there so I understand. It sucks if you can't but I do think it was for the best is all I'm saying, especially considering the series are already so long regardless. The dvds are so worth getting for One Piece if you can btw. But I am glad One Piece started with Foxy, as that arc's sense of fun with the characters makes for a GREAT contrast to help make this arc so much more important.

Oh yeah, it's undoubtedly the right move for the sake of the block (not to mention exciting, that they're able to afford all this newer stuff). In my weekly block overview I was just explaning my personal thoughts, is all.

A small anime update;

• Outbreak Company (Episode 7): Okay, this series is starting to piss me off. This show is constantly flirting with heavy issues and the end result is slightly entertaining otaku smut. Can the animation company please decide to either go all-in with the heavy issues or go all in with the otaku pleasing/pandering? Because this flip-flopping is annoying me to no end.
• Kill la Kill (Episode 9): OH WOW. THOSE UNSUBTLE METAPHORS...JUST...WOW...
• Samurai Flamenco (Episode 7): After having some time to think since my spur-of-the-moment post, I'm curios as to the direction Manglobe is taking this series. While there wasn't a suitable amount of events/information in episode 7 to predict the future of this show, it's going to be hard to go back to the pre-twist days. Regardless, I'll still be watching the show.

I think Outbreak Company works just fine with its balance between drama and humor. I'm really enjoying the series myself actually. If you a more extreme example of a series that switches between comedy and seriousness (without warning), it would have to be Sora no Otoshimono.

I don't think that's his problem, so much as they're just taking what could lead to a reasonable outcome to a place that just renders it as fan pandering. That's the gist I've been getting from his posts, at least.

Anyways, I finally finished up the Heaven's Tower arc in Fairy Tail after putting it off for so long, and man, what a terrible arc, especially since it followed two great ones. I mean, I liked that we got to see Erza's backstory and see her old friends, but her story felt almost too cliche and unfitting for her character. Almost. They barely made it work to an acceptable degree. But the fights! Oh my god the fights! Just one dues ex machina after another! Just when I thought they were establishing some limits to their powers and actually establishing rules in the Phantom Arc, all of that was just casually tossed aside. They're not even following common elemental limits now - Gray can freeze fire now! Natsu can just breath fire all day and never need a recharge! What the hell is happening here? This is like the worst of Dragon Ball Z all over again, where everything's just a freakin' light show with no concievable limits whatsoever, and it really is frustrating to watch.

Eh, you kind-of got it. There are several issues that arise between characters/groups that (at least to me) seem like legitimate problems, but all of them are resolved/whisked away with mostly unrelated comedy bits or fan pandering. I understand that Outbreak Company wasn't created to be a drama about resolving personal/cultural issues, but having those conflicts present to only facilitate the comedy and pandering aggrevate me.

Just finished up reading a short manga called Yuutai Nova, and it sure was... different.

The story revolves around Haru (a 20 year old college student), who has recently developed the ability to seperate his spirit from his body during sleep. Of course, he at first uses this ability for mischievous purposes, but soon witnessess the dark side of people he once knew, and the dark side of human nature itself. Now, he has to cope with his innocent, idyllic world view being shattered, while the cold reality of life sets in. How will he cope with witnessing the darkest side of human nature (being unable to intervine, as a spirit), and can he hold on to his own innocent ideals with his darkest desires presented in front of him?

BE WARNED: This is an adult series, and I recommend it for the older among us only. There's no blood, but there's a lot of nudity, and not in the goofy fanservicy way either. The situations here are very deliberately uncomfortable, with the intent of making you just as uneasy as Haru, with the events transpiring before your eyes. The only thing pulling you through, is your desire to see Haru endure these events, hoping he's able to hold on to his innocence through it all.

I wouldn't necessarily "enjoyed" it (I much prefer the more innocent hopeful approach to human desire/romance found in stuff like Rurouni Kenshin, InuYasha, Kagetora, and the like), but it sure is something different, and if you're up to it (and old enough), it might be worth a look.

Now excuse me while I look for something a bit (okay, a lot) more upbeat.

@RR529 That manga sounds quite interesting! Perhaps when I'm in the mood for something darker I'll check it out - I've been running out of manga to follow anyways

Also, is it just me or did Golden Time completely nosedive? The excellently paced humour and characterisation completely went out the window, getting replaced by strange comedy subplots which broke into 10 minute long exposition segments. They also opened up a bunch of crazy plot threads about amnesia and hidden relationships and I wasn't paying full attention while it was being explained so now I'm totally lost :/

Yeah, the Tower of Heaven is pretty weak. Thankfully, just about every arc after that is much better. Although I think Edolas is kind of dumb too. Additionally, if you're watching the fillers, the Daphne arc is amazingly stupid. (Although surprisingly good for filler) The best one so far is the Tenrou Island arc, I'd say.

Yeah, I had a feeling it would at least get better with the next arc, and I'm skipping filler when I can, so hopefully I won't have to go through something like that again, at least not for a while.