What Are You Watching?

[Avaitor]

I've been watching Fist of the North Star, just doing an episode or two here or there. I feel like it works better this way, since it doesn't seem like a series meant to be binged.

Y'no, I tried this way back when, but dropped it since despite being fun, it didn't have much to grab me. Now that I'm older and more experienced in shonen and post-apocalyptic material. I really dig the Road Warrior-inspired baddies, and the general tone, even if it's no favorite yet. Hopefully it'll turn to something better soon.

[Spark Of Spirit]

FOTNS's biggest problem is the pacing. If you can get past it and get into the story proper, it's a good show.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, is anybody else watching Kado? This is like, the most interesting thing that Toei Animation has produced since....ever.

The cliffhanger to the last episode has my mind racing with no idea of what to expect next but I'm genuinely impatient to wait for it. I haven't felt this way about a currently airing anime in a long while.

I've been enjoying Bahamut's second season so far, personally. It's a lot of fun, though overall I prefer season one for having a stronger lead character. The lack of Favaro in the second season causes it to lose a lot of the wit and charm that he brought in season one, though I do give the writers credit for trying something new rather than just rehashing the first season again.

I've also been catching up with Re: Creators. I don't know about this one. It's been getting a lot of critical acclaim, and on paper, I should love it. The premise is right up my alley and I'm a fan of Rei Hiroe's writing for Black Lagoon as well as Ei Aoki's previous work on Fate/Zero, but the resulting product of this mix of great elements to me is pretty....ok. I like various scenes, find that there's some really clever subtext to some of the exchanges between characters, and it has a pretty sound commentary on the nature of being a creator of fictional media, but it also feels like it fails to take advantage of the fun aspects of this concept as well. I suppose for the type of premise that it has, the story is a little too self-serious for my tastes, even if it is generally well-written.

[Avaitor]

I finally ordered a Loot Anime box, since I saw that Blame! was in this box, so I was hoping that it would have an exclusive edition of the first manga volume, since it's too pricey for me to normally buy. Instead, I just got a shirt, which seems more based on the movie than the manga, which is fine. It also came with:

-A Knights of Sidonia phone stand
-A Sanrio-made mini Asuka plushie. It looks like they've also done Shinji, Rei, Kaworu, and Mari, but this comes with either Asuka or Rei. I'd rather have Misato and Ritsuko than Mari tbh.
-A Gurren Lagann art book
-A Kitty-Mecha keychain
-A Voltron pin

Not too bad, really. I don't think I'll continue to subscribe unless the next set has a lot of series I'm into.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I know that Dragon Ball themed products seem to be recurring inclusions in these boxes (maybe about two or three times a year), as well as other popular anime like Attack on Titan and Pokémon. Marvel properties also get a lot of representation here.

My main reason for not subscribing to Loot Crate is that while I'll definitely get some cool stuff, I'll inevitably get a stockpile of stuff that I don't want and that will like just collect dust.

[Avaitor]

Yeah, that's why I only keep an eye out for boxes with a majority of things that I want, as rare as those are.

For my next one, I'm ordering Funko's most recent DC box, but only since it's entirely B:TAS-themed. I normally wouldn't even look at this one otherwise.

[Avaitor]

Oh, I forgot to mention that I watched the Initial D's second and third stages last week. I don't really find myself having much to say about the series, other than the fact that I enjoy it. These were a strong follow-up series and movie, respectively. I'll get to Fourth Stage a bit later, though.

Right now, I'm a few episodes into Yuri!!! on Ice, and while I'm not sure if it's worth the massive hype, I'm really liking it so far. It has some fantastic animation and can be pretty funny and engaging. I have a general idea of what's coming next, and it's something that I'm down to finish.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Catching up on Dragon Ball Super. I thought it was funny so many people were getting mad at the writers for the stupid crap Goku pulled in causing the tournament. It's like they forgot this has been a core concept with his character since he let Vegeta live, and it's not even the first time his selfishness has caused unneeded problems for others. It's one of the reasons I don't like him very much. But it didn't surprise me that it happened.

On the other hand, having episodes where Buu wins a fight and Krillin gets heavy (and highly deserved) character development and focus have been great. Even Gohan has been getting back into it. I've even enjoyed seeing 17 again. The writers trying to give characters pushed out since the Cell Saga development has been one of my favorite parts of this series.

At this point I can't imagine anyone saying this is worse than GT. You'd have a tough case convincing me of it.

[gunswordfist]

Especially since Super is actually good.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Catching up on Dragon Ball Super. I thought it was funny so many people were getting mad at the writers for the stupid crap Goku pulled in causing the tournament. It's like they forgot this has been a core concept with his character since he let Vegeta live, and it's not even the first time his selfishness has caused unneeded problems for others. It's one of the reasons I don't like him very much. But it didn't surprise me that it happened.

See, I don't entirely agree with this, though. Yes, Goku has a selfish nature to want to do battle and his desire to do so has occasionally put other people in harm's way (though it should be noted that none of this is actually intentional on his part). The key thing to keep in mind in Goku's character in the original Dragon Ball is that he is naive, not intentionally reckless.

Goku in Super IS characterized differently from in the original manga, even if the changes may seem more subtle to some. For one thing, Goku might not be known for being too bright, but he wouldn't have done something like forget the Mafuba inscription to seal Zamas and Goku Black and then have an "oops, silly me" reaction. Goku in the manga would actually take the situation much more seriously. The Goku in Super seems to be geared towards making him further fit the stereotypes that people have labeled him with over the years, since the writers are clearly conscious of these things. That said, some of these traits are noticeably exaggerated from the original work, which is why there is some justification in people being upset with his characterization in Super. Since you don't like him it may not matter to you, but I've always felt that some sub watcher and manga readers only seem to remember the worst aspects of his character and hardly give him any credit for his better moments. Toriyama himself admitted that he didn't write Goku to be a "good guy," so he intentionally had unlikable qualities to his character (he's not entirely unlike Yabuki Joe in how that's arguably part of his appeal), but he wasn't written to be a complete dick or moron either. Had Goku actually known that the Zen-Ohs' would erase the Universes that lose the Tournament of Power as a consequence for bringing it up, I don't think that he would have pursued the matter (at least the version of him in the manga definitely wouldn't). Even his selfishness has limits. Although, the implication in this arc is that weather he brought it up or not, the twin Zen-Ohs' would have decided to erase some of the "lesser" Universes regardless.

On the other hand, having episodes where Buu wins a fight and Krillin gets heavy (and highly deserved) character development and focus have been great. Even Gohan has been getting back into it. I've even enjoyed seeing 17 again. The writers trying to give characters pushed out since the Cell Saga development has been one of my favorite parts of this series.

At this point I can't imagine anyone saying this is worse than GT. You'd have a tough case convincing me of it.

One thing that people are bitching about is how this arc has completely thrown power-scaling out the window. On the one hand, no, it doesn't make much sense. On the other hand, I don't care. I'm willing to accept the writers having to take a huge liberty with one aspect of the series' logic in order to vastly improve the diversity of the cast, rather than only having Saiyans be useful for anything. I'm glad that Android 17 can take on Super Saiyan Blue Goku, and that Krilling can repel his Kamehameha with his own, even if Goku wasn't completely going all out and Krillin only barely managed to hold on at that. If it allows these supporting character to be more useful again, then I'm all for throwing that power-up stuff out the window.

And I really like how Jiren's skill and level of intimidation have been built up so far. He hasn't shown even the slightest bit of power yet. Instead we see very early Dragon Ball-esque concepts of him managing to slip behind Goku without Goku being able to detect his presence, or where he can correctly predict the path of those moving tiles and doesn't have to waste any movement dodging them since he knew that they wouldn't hit him. I kind of hope that by fighting him, the lesson to Goku will be that those old martial arts concepts that he was raised on is the key to overcoming his current limits as opposed to just powering up more, though sadly I don't think that's what the writers are going for.

[Avaitor]

I finished Yuri on Ice yesterday, and was pretty happy with it overall. I especially liked ow you could hear inside everyone's minds as they performed. It helps bring you into the character's worlds. I don't know if it's one of the best series ever, but it's another solid sports series that I've found.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I enjoyed Yuri on Ice. It's not nearly as great as it's hyped up to be, but it's certainly a well-made show for what it is.

[VLordGTZ]

I enjoyed Yuri on Ice. It's not nearly as great as it's hyped up to be, but it's certainly a well-made show for what it is.

This is essentially my opinion on Yuri on Ice.  As a fan of Sayo Yamamoto, YoI is nowhere near the quality of The Woman Called Fujiko Mine or even Michiko & Hatchin, but on its own merit, it's still an entertaining sports anime.  It does bother me though that a lot of people praise YoI for things (such as its handling of sexuality) that were portrayed far better in Yamamoto's previous works, yet neglect to give those series any regard.

[Avaitor]

Both of those are on my to-watch list, so I'll let you guys know how I feel about those, particularly in comparison to YoI.

[Dreamer2]

Both of those are on my to-watch list, so I'll let you guys know how I feel about those, particularly in comparison to YoI.

I would've thought you already watched M&H, since it was on Toonami. Unless you weren't really watching Toonami back then. I'd definitely be interested in hearing your opinions of it. It was one of those showed that turned me off right from the first episode.

Speaking of Toonami, they've aired three episodes of Lupin. And I got to say, I'm a bit disappointed. I was expecting something super fun and interesting, but for the most part I'm pretty bored. The first episode was good, but the last two have not been. I was kind of hoping this show would be my gateway into Lupin, since it's always been something on my radar, but so far I might have difficulty just finishing this show let alone diving into the many other things Lupin related.

I'll continue to watch for now, but I hope it gets much better soon.