The year has flown by. With the 40 h work week, you’re speedrunning getting old!

Manga

I’m still only reading Great Teacher Onizuka and Shibuya Near Family - both of which are good.

Anime

Gundam SEED Destiny was a mess, and feels like a waste of time for what is 100 episodes of Gundam. And yet, there’s still the movie to go through. Fun. D+

Eureka Seven is a show I’ve started recently, and is quite competently made. Not much is original, it feels like, with the show’s themes (so far) being kinda obvious - a coming of age story. But I don’t dislike it, and studio Bones is pretty reliably good. B

Dragon Ball Z - The Frieza saga ended - 200-ish more episodes to go. But DBZ is reliably good, even if slow. A

Vision of Escaflowne is good, even if imo somewhat harmed by the comparisons to Evangelion. I liked it A-

Wasteful Days of High School Girls is something I picked up on a whim and surprised me. Another show from the Azumanga / Nichijou genre, it’s a fun one. I haven’t had out-loud laughs at an anime in a while, but maybe it speaks of me I enjoy the kind of silly nonsense this show is about. A

  • iridaniotter [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
    7·
    17 days ago

    Bakemonogatari — The experimental cinematography, great soundtrack, abstract environments, and the deeply personal stories… 9/10. Hexbear won’t like it though. The Hitagi Crab arc was my favorite.

    Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight — It had a strong opening but I’m not really sure how I feel about the series overall… A lot of episodes introduced an interpersonal issue between characters and then resolved it in a single episode. But that’s what you get when you have twelve episodes, deuteragonists, and seven other girls you’re trying to tell a story about, too.

    Chainsaw Man the Movie: Reze Arc — It was good, but it’s definitely overrated. #2 on MAL and 4.4 on Letterboxd? Yeah right…

    And then I’m also watching This Monster Wants to Eat Me and A Mangaka’s Weirdly Wonderful Workplace.

    • Erika3sis [she/her, xe/xem]@hexbear.netEnglish
      5·
      17 days ago

      Hexbear won’t like it though.

      Wherefore dost thou say this? Art thou not alswa a typical specimen of the humble hexbear?

      Shoujo☆Kageki Revue Starlight

      I might like to find another stage acting anime, now that I’ve finished Sakura Wars and also dropped Hinako Note due to its libertarianism. It’s a shame that you can’t strictly recommend Revue Starlight, but I guess there’s bound to be plenty of others…

      But that’s what you get when you have twelve episodes, deuteragonists, and seven other girls you’re trying to tell a story about, too.

      I’m reminded of Love Live: I was kind of disappointed with that show because they had so many characters and so little time to actually flesh them out. Then again they did make a second season of Love Live, so maybe I should see that before passing judgment.

      But the point still stands that there are honestly so many anime that get 12 episodes when they really deserve 24, sometimes even more than that. The reverse also happens sometimes, but it’s a lot rarer.

      This Monster Wants to Eat Me

      Ooh, a mermaid thing? That sounds like it could be nice. I’m looking forward to SayoLara next year.

      A Mangaka’s Weirdly Wonderful Workplace.

      What, a slice-of-life comedy anime where the protagonist is a grown ass woman instead of a high school girl?! Ma sha Allah!

      • iridaniotter [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
        3·
        16 days ago

        Bakemonogatari is libidinal and takes place in high school. That’s why.

        If you’re looking for a stage acting anime then I would recommend Revue Starlight and I’d like to hear your thoughts after you finish it (and the movie).

        • Erika3sis [she/her, xe/xem]@hexbear.netEnglish
          3·
          16 days ago

          Yeah, but I’m just saying, if you’ve seen and enjoyed libidinal high school anime, and I’ve seen and enjoyed libidinal high school anime, and I can name other users here who have seen and enjoyed libidinal high school anime… Then maybe people would be more open to Bakemonogatari than you’d think.

    • ChestRockwell [comrade/them, any]@hexbear.netEnglish
      4·
      15 days ago

      Hexbear won’t like it though

      Comrade, I’m SHAFT’s number one fedaykin here. Though obviously you gotta CW the fact that their work is almost always unapologetically horny, Shinbo Style (though the best example is Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei) is always a visual treat. The Hitagi Crab arc is great, though the final of the original broadcast (the one with the “date” to the field) is my favorite stand out episode.