Anime & Toons: What Are You Watching?

[Maelstrom]

^^ I've only ever caught bits and pieces of the live-action Last Airbender movie, and damn. I think "mess" is too kind a word for it!

[Sandman87]

I didn't want to beat it to death. It's hilariously bad, almost bad enough to be an Uwe Boll movie. The script, the acting, the directing, the effects, the exposition, the pace, the WTF? moments, the...well, everything.

[Lantern7]

Funimation is putting out a DVD set for Yuri!!! on Ice next month. I think this is the first dubbed version, but I'm probably wrong. Here's the trailer. In case you were wondering . . . yes, "History Maker" is a big part of it, and it is the definition of "earworm."

[Lantern7]

Apparently, the Fullmetal Alchemist movie will be on Netflix in February. While I think it probably looks better on a large screen, I still think it was a good movie.

Edited January 23, 2018 by Lantern7

[tessathereaper]

I loved Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood the anime.  It was such an uplifting story in the end, great characters.  I have the movie saved in my queue, I haven't gotten around to watching it yet.

[Lantern7]

Honest Trailers Anime put this out. I don't watch Fairy Tail. How accurate is this video? Also: that weird snowman thing . . . isn't that Plue from Rave Master?

[under the el]

Any Aggretsuko fans?  Its a quick binge-watch.

[Lantern7]

Is that the one with the Hello Kitty-like red panda who releases tension by doing hardcore heavy metal karaoke? Naturally, I wonder if she's a fan of Lord Krauser II and/or Detroit Metal City.

[Lantern7]

Found this on Facebook: fan attempting to recreate last manga arc from Bleach.

[Lantern7]

From WatchMojo: Top 10 Most Popular Anime On The Planet. I think I've seen all of them in one form or another.

[Lantern7]

If you’re going to New York Comic Con in October, will you ready to jam? I’m not getting the commemorative edition just for a shot at hanging with those guys, though.

[SVNBob]

Relatedly, Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door is getting re-released to US theaters this August.

[Lantern7]

8 hours ago, SVNBob said:

Relatedly, Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door is getting re-released to US theaters this August.

My memories are really vague. I do recall a sequence with Ed and Ein, the Dynamic Duo of Bebop.

For those who haven't been following Toonami: Pop Team Epic is currently running, and the four iteration of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure ("Diamond is Unbreakable") will premiere next month. Oh, and a new season of The Venture Bros. is on the horizon. Good times.

Edited July 14, 2018 by Lantern7

[SVNBob]

3 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

My memories are really vague. I do recall a sequence with Ed and Ein, the Dynamic Duo of Bebop.

Yeah.  The movie takes place before the final episodes of the series, so the whole gang's there.

[SVNBob]

So I was at the screening of the Bebop movie (dubbed version) earlier tonight at my local Alamo.  After the pre-show goofiness and the previews, there was a short documentary that was an interview with the main American cast.  It was cute, having all 4 together and talking about how they connected with the characters and enjoyed the project and became family like the characters did.

It felt like this is a special feature on the recent 20th anniversary DVD release of Bebop, so if you have access to that, try to look for it.

[Lantern7]

CBR lists "forgotten" anime from when otaku were growing up. I think they checked most of the boxes, even the ones of anime that aired on G4.

ETA: Cowboy Bebop merchandise on sale in Japan. Ever want a plush Ein?

Edited November 5, 2018 by Lantern7

[Sandman87]

If they listed forgotten anime from when I was growing up, they'd have to include Speed Racer and Kimba the White Lion, which ran on Kaiser Broadcasting's stations back in the day.

 

On 11/4/2018 at 6:37 PM, Lantern7 said:

Ever want a plush Ein?

No, but I'd totally buy a Spike chia-head. If they made them, that is.

[Lantern7]

@Sandman87 . . . I think they were going for anime that premiered in the Nineties and Aughts. For me, that was stuff on Cartoon Network, syndication, and G4’s late night anime block.

[Lantern7]

I went to Anime NYC last weekend. Here are my pictures from all three days. Can you find your favorite manga/anime cosplayed? I know there’s not much manga of it out, but Cells at Work! might be the next big thing. I saw a lot of White Blood Cells. No cheerful little girls as Platets, but they were represented well.

[xaxat]

Netflix will be streaming Neon Genesis Evangelion. I love the series, but is so damn emotionally exhausting. But I can't resist. 

 

(Newcomers to the show will have no idea what they are in for after viewing that trailer.)

Oh, and there's that live action remake of Cowboy Bepop they are making. (Not sure how I feel about that.)

[Lantern7]

3 hours ago, xaxat said:

Oh, and there's that live action remake of Cowboy Bepop they are making. (Not sure how I feel about that.)

I have a concerned. Live-action versions of anime are dicey at best, and American takes are . . . disastrous. Didn't the United Nations convene after Ghost In The Shell was released?

From ScrewAttack: Death Battle between Roshi and Jiriyah. Which pervy old bastard do you root for?

[Sandman87]

18 hours ago, xaxat said:

(Newcomers to the show will have no idea what they are in for after viewing that trailer.)

Low bandwidth prevents me from watching the trailer, but I'd be amused if it's anywhere close to being as misleading as the show's opening credits.

[Lantern7]

“Do you like giant mechas? Have you ever wanted to watch that while being fed a philosophy major’s course load, as you slowly lose the will to live? If so, then how the heck have you missed this?!?”

At least throw in the first bars from the theme song. 😜

[SVNBob]

2 hours ago, Sandman87 said:

Low bandwidth prevents me from watching the trailer, but I'd be amused if it's anywhere close to being as misleading as the show's opening credits.

Considering they pretty much only show the Evas and the pilots, mostly in fight scenes, along with out of context character shots for everyone (including Pen-Pen)...well, it's a fairly close call.

In other toon news, Nerdist.com presents the Grandest Unified Cartoon Uni-/Multiverse Theory. Ever.  This is the animated equivalent of the Tommy Westphall Universe (which could also be linked to this...)

[Lantern7]

“A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” is top anime song used in karaoke in Japan. Really?? It’s catchy, but I can’t imagine that being in the top spot.

[Lantern7]

List of popular anime characters that “literally no one hates.” I know, click-baity, but some of them do fit that profile. What do you think?

Edited December 28, 2018 by Lantern7

[Lantern7]

Just wondering if anybody out there remembers Mega Man: NT Warrior. I used to post about that when it originally aired (in the U.S., of course). I don't remember much. I knew I was snarky AF about it. Also, the main character's English VA would go on to voice Light Yagami in Death Note. Anyway, Death Battle did a Mega Man battle royale, and EXE was in it.

[Lantern7]

Dropping in to see if anyone else has watched or is watching Gemusetto Machu Picchu. Adult Swim played the whole thing on April Fool's Day (starting at midnight), and it's been broken up into half-hour episodes over the past few weeks. It's a basic homage and.or spoof of anime, where a sportsman plays tennis against the gods of Inca. I don't think it's a half-hearted parody, the format changes a lot, and the five sets of anime opening songs sound on point. Here, take a look:

[swanpride]

I recently watched Assassination Classroom and Food Wars on Netflix.

Assassination Classroom had such an off the wall premise that it drew me in immediately, but overall, I felt that the show was disappointing. I would have preferred it if the show had spend more time on the students and their various attempts instead of constantly introducing outside assassins.

Food Wars on the other hand was a lot of fun. I mean, it is kind of strange how the show keeps equating food with sex, but the story of a young man discovering that there is so much more outside of his own pocket of knowledge kind of resonated with me. I also like that this time around the "hidden talent" is not an actual talent, but a drive to never give up and try and try again.

[prelanov]

I just binge watching my fav rick and morty season 3 ,2, 1 all of them and excited on the new season coming this year eager to find on the return of evil morty.

[Sandman87]

Today I checked out a new-ish thrift shop in town, and stumbled across a VHS tape with two episodes of Super Dimension Century Orguss. I remember it as being one of the worst anime I've ever seen (I only saw about three episodes), so I had to get it. It set me back an entire dollar!

The tape is in nearly perfect condition; clear video with nary a dropout to be found. Everything else about it sucks as much as I remember. It's hilarious. The animation quality isn't so hot even for the time period when it was released, with "action" scenes largely consisting of people or mecha standing stock still while the background moves past. The plot is silly. The dialog stinks. But the real selling point for it is the abysmal, rancid, awful, no-good English dub. If you remember the episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force where the hypno-germs put on a play, the acting is that bad. Even when it's Steve Blum.

A show worthy of MST3K.

[SVNBob]

4 hours ago, Sandman87 said:

Super Dimension Century Orguss. I remember it as being one of the worst anime I've ever seen

Which sounds odd, since it was apparently originally supposed to be the 3rd season of Robotech back in the day.

[Sandman87]

On 6/21/2019 at 11:37 PM, SVNBob said:

Which sounds odd, since it was apparently originally supposed to be the 3rd season of Robotech back in the day.

The bad dub may be magnifying the other flaws. Also, I forgot to mention that the translation could have been handled better. My favorite line in the two episodes was a pilot trying unsuccessfully to fly his ship higher and yelling in frustration "I can't get it up!"

[Lantern7]

Death Battle between Johnny Cage and Captain Falcon. I'm posting because of the battle teased at the very end.

Spoiler

Aang the Airbender vs. Edward Elric. I know who I'll be rooting for in three weeks.

[Sandman87]

Kyoto Animation fire: Arson attack at Japan anime studio kills 33.

Kyto Animation are the folks who put out Full Metal Panic, Lucky Star, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, K-On!!, and others.

[swanpride]

Whut? What is is current in Japan with people committing those kind of attack for no obvious reason.

I hope the survivors will recover fully.

[SVNBob]

A GoFundMe was started by Sentai Filmworks (a US-based distribution company that has licensed and released several offerings in Kyoto Animation's catalog) shortly after the news broke, to help the survivors in any way possible.  Initial asking goal was $750,000.  In one day, it's already over $1.25 million.

Edited July 19, 2019 by SVNBob

[SVNBob]

A recommendation:

Transformable Shinkansen Robot Shinkalion.

It's a fairly typical shonen mecha series.  The lead character is a bullet train (Shinkansen) otaku.  And it turns out there are giant monsters attacking the railways that can only be defeated by special trains that transform into giant robots, the Shinkalions.  Naturally, the lead character becomes a driver for the main Shinkalion.  Several other boys become drivers for other mechs, as does one girl named Miku Hatsune (who is a dead ringer for the Vocaloid of the same name.)

Even if this doesn't sound all that interesting or new, all anime fans owe it to themselves to see episode 31 of this series.  Preferably unspoiled if possible.  But for those that really want to know why:

Spoiler

Episode 31 is a Neon Genesis Evangelion crossover/tribute.  Which makes a lot of sense, because the whole show deals with similar themes of using children to pilot the giant robots used to fight a giant threat.  (Although apparently in Shinkalion, the adults are thoroughly aware that it's not the best idea for the kids, even if it is the best for the nation, and try to take great care in finding drivers.)

Much of the episode is directed to look and feel like an old Eva episode, with several references and nods throughout the epsiode.  The Eva-01 is now a special Shinkansen/Shinkalion (which apparently first appeared in episode 17), the Type 500 EVA, but still driven by Shinji.  Rei and Asuka also make a couple of cameos, and all three are voiced by the original performers from Eva, as is a brief voice-only cameo from Misato.  And the giant monster looks like combination of pretty much every Angel.

The best part is the Type 500 EVA's transformation sequence.  Not the sequence itself, but the fact that it is set to "Cruel Angel's Thesis."

Admittedly, this is the only episode of the series I have seen.  But as an Eva fan, I enjoyed it even without understanding the story of the series itself.

[Lantern7]

Edited August 12, 2019 by Lantern7

[Lantern7]

Shonen Jump authors take on the MCU in special shorts. First up: Kazuki Takahashi of Yu-Gi-Oh! fame. I don't see an English translation, but Iron Man is attacked by a monster that reminded me of Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. It seems to only have two heads, but the coloring is what got to me first. 🤓

[Lantern7]

From WatchMojo: Top 10 Anime That Will Ruin Your Life

Eleven anime are listed. Of those, I've seen seven . . . eight if you count me reading the first few volumes of Cells at Work!. I haven't been near the top pick . . . and that might be a good thing.

[swanpride]

???....strange list. I mean, Akira was ground-breaking, but it is hardly perfect.

I also have apparently a very different taste from most anime fans. I have seen only some on the list, but what I have seen never managed to enthral me THAT much.

My poison is Detective Conan/Case Closed. Which is a hellish addiction to have considering that the series has now be going on for over 20 years an counting….

[Lantern7]

@swanpride . . . the reason given was that a live-action movie is forever on the horizon, and it feels more "threat" than "promise."

Anybody else follow Death Battle? The next match was announced . . . a battle of anime's greatest mental powerhouses . . .

Spoiler

Tatsumaki (One Punch Man) vs. Mob (Mob Psycho 100). Both are creates of the manga artist known as ONE. They were also pitted against each other in "One Minute Melee," but I can't find that on YouTube.

[swanpride]

So what? A live action movie could be interesting, though I would go for a TV show instead...

[Lantern7]

On 10/16/2019 at 5:06 AM, swanpride said:

???....strange list. I mean, Akira was ground-breaking, but it is hardly perfect.

I also have apparently a very different taste from most anime fans. I have seen only some on the list, but what I have seen never managed to enthral me THAT much.

Here's the list from WatchMojo:

10. Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise; a gateway to an addictive and expensive card battle game

9. Parasyte the Maxim: gives you paranoia about aliens possibly being around you, waiting to kill at a moment's notice

8. Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?: embarrassment of being with your mother as she excels in an Isekai setting

7. Naruto franchise: started trend of otaku running with their arms flailling behind them , looking like dorks in the process

6. Cells at Work!: "Hey, here's a bunch of waifu girls! But they lives inside you, so you're never gonna meet her! Also, your bad health choices endanger them!"

5. Akira: Hollywood wants to adapt it, leading to a movie that will pale to the original product, and the rumors keep coming on once you think any adaptation is dead in the water

4. Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: You wind up thinking everything is a Jojo reference. EVERYTHING.

3. Neon Genesis Evangelion series: endless philosophical theories and debate fodder. Also, way too much angst for a regular fan.

2. Berserk and Hunter x Hunter: both based on manga whose creators take frequently breaks.

1. Fate franchise: way too many timelines, side stories, and sequels to keep track of. Video ends with an otaku that constantly games on a "Fate" video game.

[SVNBob]

1 hour ago, Lantern7 said:

Naruto franchise: started trend of otaku running with their arms flailling behind them , looking like dorks in the process

And it's not even that good a technique.

[Lantern7]

WatchMojo picks the top twenty anime of the 2010's. How many did you watch?

[Lantern7]

Another list, this time for the best anime moments:

 

[Sandman87]

Hey everyone, I'm back. Been offline for a couple of months.

I haven't had access to Toonami for a few weeks, but I've been watching an all-anime channel on a Smart TV that's been showing marathons of Bleach every weekday afternoon for 2 hours. Been reliving the glory days of seasons 2 and 3, and they're just as good now as I remember them being. So many "best" moments back when the characters were all fresh and the story wasn't getting bogged down. The first time Ichigo yells "Ban Kai!" while "Number One" starts up in the background still makes me bounce up and down in my chair. So good. Unfortunately it's moved on to the Bount arc so...still watching, but not bouncing up and down.

The same channel also showed Robot Carnival one night last week. Good stuff.

[Lantern7]

Clicked the link from @Sandman87. I’ll try not to complain about anything ever again. No promises. Seriously, I’m glad you’re recovering.

On a lighter note, here’s an AMV covering the last decade of anime.