Anime Discussion Thread

[Etrurian emperor]

I'm still very vexed about the bizare and overly descriptive anime names such as ''I was once a teenage loser but then I got run over by a truck and reincarnated as a god but my mother is send to this world too and she hooked up with the truck that killed me'' 

I still remember a time where series were named Full Metal Alchemist and not ''We tried to save our mother but now my brother is permanently fused into a suit of armor and I'm hunted by a terrorist and a government conspiracy''

Even relatively recent series were just named My Hero Academia and not ''I'm the only one in the world without superpowers but after my childhood bully told me to kill myself I hate someone's hair and entered hero school to become the greatest hero'' 

Or heck. What if Fire Emblem's original title was ''I was once a prince but then an evil dragon and a mage who looked like a zombie took over my kingdom and kidnapped my sister but I then found a princess who gave me the fire emblem, but her bodyguard secretly got super jealous and tried taking over the world just after I saved it'' 

Edited December 27, 2023 by Etrurian emperor

[vanguard333]

1 hour ago, Etrurian emperor said:

I'm still very vexed about the bizarre and overly descriptive anime names such as ''I was once a teenage loser but then I got run over by a truck and reincarnated as a god but my mother is send to this world too and she hooked up with the truck that killed me'' 

I still remember a time where series were named Full Metal Alchemist and not ''We tried to save our mother but now my brother is permanently fused into a suit of armor and I'm hunted by a terrorist and a government conspiracy''

Even relatively recent series were just named My Hero Academia and not ''I'm the only one in the world without superpowers but after my childhood bully told me to kill myself I hate someone's hair and entered hero school to become the greatest hero'' 

Or heck. What if Fire Emblem's original title was ''I was once a prince but then an evil dragon and a mage who looked like a zombie took over my kingdom and kidnapped my sister but I then found a princess who gave me the fire emblem, but her bodyguard secretly got super jealous and tried taking over the world just after I saved it'' 

The explanation probably lies in the fact that all these recent anime with long, overly-descriptive names are Isekai, and the two things that have come with that:

1. There are so many new Isekai that each new one is desperate to make theirs sound unique and creative when they aren't, leading to the overly specific and overly descriptive titles that outright tell the audience the one specific thing the show does differently.

2. That lack of creativity probably means that not much thought is being put into the title, which means not much thought is put into making the title concise.

I think this is definitely the case because, if you look at recent shows that aren't Isekai, they all have normal titles. I just quickly looked at a list of ongoing shows and here's what non-Isekai names I found: Spy x Family, Fieren: Beyond Journey's End, The Apothecary Diaries, The Ancient Magus' Bride, Shy; the list of normal names goes on. Then there's the list of recent, ongoing, or upcoming Isekai: Chilling in Another World With Level 2 Super-Cheat Powers, A Playthrough of a Certain Dude's VRMMO Life (which I suppose technically isn't an Isekai, but these VRMMO anime are definitely part of the same boom as Isekai), Butareba: The Story of a Man Who Turned Into a Pig, etc. There are some concise names I didn't include, but I didn't leave out any long names from the non-Isekai list.

 

[Hrothgar777]

4 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

I'm still very vexed about the bizare and overly descriptive anime names such as ''I was once a teenage loser but then I got run over by a truck and reincarnated as a god but my mother is send to this world too and she hooked up with the truck that killed me'' 

I still remember a time where series were named Full Metal Alchemist and not ''We tried to save our mother but now my brother is permanently fused into a suit of armor and I'm hunted by a terrorist and a government conspiracy''

Even relatively recent series were just named My Hero Academia and not ''I'm the only one in the world without superpowers but after my childhood bully told me to kill myself I hate someone's hair and entered hero school to become the greatest hero'' 

Or heck. What if Fire Emblem's original title was ''I was once a prince but then an evil dragon and a mage who looked like a zombie took over my kingdom and kidnapped my sister but I then found a princess who gave me the fire emblem, but her bodyguard secretly got super jealous and tried taking over the world just after I saved it'' 

This is a product of most of those anime having originated as light novels on websites like Shosetsuka Ni Naro.

When an unknown author posts something on a website that's already oversaturated with submitted LNs, it's hard to stand out and get people to read your work. Hence, they make the title itself into a kind of "tag" that lets the reader know exactly what they're getting into. FMA had the opportunity to make it big because it was published as a manga in a magazine, but imagine if it wasn't. Imagine if FMA was published by some random dude as a LN on the aforementioned website. The title "Fullmetal Alchemist" is cool, don't get me wrong, but that is no guarantee people will read it. So if he was smart, the author would list what the series is about either in the title or in the description, assuming sites like Shosetsuka Ni Naro have descriptions below the title.

[vanguard333]

I recently watched all eight episodes of the live-action adaptation of One Piece. I have never read the One Piece manga or seen the One Piece anime; the idea of over 1,000 chapters and over 1,000 episodes in an ongoing series has been far too daunting for me, but I kept hearing about this being the only good Netflix live-action anime adaptation, so, since it was only eight episodes long, I decided to try it... and I really enjoyed it; it was really good.

I really should stress that, going in, I knew almost nothing about One Piece. Here's the sum total of what I knew:

1. Everyone's hunting a dead pirate's treasure
2. Luffy has rubber powers thanks to a fruit that, if you eat it, gives you powers at the cost of being weak when immersed in water.
3. There's a guy who dual-wields katanas while putting a third sword in his mouth.
4. There's one blond guy that's a massive pervert.

Anyway, here's some of what stood out to me with the live-action One Piece:

1. The acting is brilliant across the board; the actor who plays Luffy is especially impressive in constantly radiating shonen-protagonist energy and knowing exactly when to be serious and when to be a goofball. Other standouts include the antagonists: Garp is well-acted and I like the character's struggle to accept that Luffy's chosen to be a pirate, I'd list live-action Buggy the Clown among the good Joker portrayals, Kuro manages to come across almost as an effective horror villain in a normally-lighthearted pirate adventure story, and Mihawk is a fantastic indicator of what's to come.

2. The blonde guy isn't a pervert in this version; he is a shameless flirt, but he never does anything disrespectful or that would make the character annoying instead of funny.

3. One of my favourite scenes would have to be Zoro thinking about his past and the promise he's carrying while escaping a well Kuro's pirates placed him inside. In a lot of stories, it's often the case that a flashback of a character's past and motivation is just inserted when a character is isolated, but in this scene, his successful climb out of the well is intercut with the flashback of him choosing to carry his and his late friend's promise in a way that wordlessly tells the audience that he's actively thinking of that moment to spur him on; it's a really clever bit of editing that really enhances both scenes.

I know that, since I'm talking about a live-action adaptation, I'm technically not talking about anime, but I hope this still counts as an anime discussion as I am discussing an anime adaptation.

[Etrurian emperor]

The One Piece Live Action was of surprisingly high quality. 

I think among the standouts are Buggy and Mihawk compared to their original self. Buggy is still kind of the loser he always was but he's more threatening and less pathetic. As for Mihawk, I found him more enjoyable this time around. The original Mihawk has it as his trait that he's completely jaded and bored with his success which is a thematically interesting idea in a series all about following your dreams, but it doesn't make for an engaging character. This Mihawk seems more stiffy yet sardonic while still retaining his boredom about being the best The way he reacts in visible annoyance when meeting a fan, just sitting in bemusement when meeting Usupp in the bar or practically rolling his eyes while still agreeing to go drink with Shanks were quite enjoyable. He actually reminds me of Commodore Norrington a bit.  

Luffy's not quite like his original self but in a good way. Luffy's manga version isn't really adaptable for live action. He's just too much of a simpleton to come off well in live action. The Luffy we get retains the denseness, childishness and the idea of living inside his own little world without seeming....well kinda mentally challenged to be honest.  

Overall I think among the best traits of the series is that it embraces how goofy the source material is rather than being ashamed of it. Even Zoro's contempt for calling out your move is something he stands completely alone in rather than it being the writers winking at the camera about how stupid such a thing is. 

[vanguard333]

6 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

I think among the standouts are Buggy and Mihawk compared to their original self. Buggy is still kind of the loser he always was but he's more threatening and less pathetic. As for Mihawk, I found him more enjoyable this time around. The original Mihawk has it as his trait that he's completely jaded and bored with his success which is a thematically interesting idea in a series all about following your dreams, but it doesn't make for an engaging character. This Mihawk seems more stiffy yet sardonic while still retaining his boredom about being the best The way he reacts in visible annoyance when meeting a fan, just sitting in bemusement when meeting Usopp in the bar or practically rolling his eyes while still agreeing to go drink with Shanks were quite enjoyable. He actually reminds me of Commodore Norrington a bit.  

Luffy's not quite like his original self but in a good way. Luffy's manga version isn't really adaptable for live action. He's just too much of a simpleton to come off well in live action. The Luffy we get retains the denseness, childishness and the idea of living inside his own little world without seeming....well kinda mentally challenged to be honest.  

Overall I think among the best traits of the series is that it embraces how goofy the source material is rather than being ashamed of it. Even Zoro's contempt for calling out your move is something he stands completely alone in rather than it being the writers winking at the camera about how stupid such a thing is. 

I see. Interesting to hear how the characters are different from their manga/anime versions.

I did like Zoro being the only one disagreeing with the idea of calling one's attacks; I thought it was a funny reflection of how he's always serious when it comes to combat while while Luffy and Sanji, both raised by friendly-&-bombastic-yet-fearsome pirate captains, would naturally both have the same love of calling their attacks. Plus, Zoro's main swordfighting technique involving putting a sword in his mouth, so it makes even more sense that he wouldn't like the idea of calling his attacks. Does he call his attacks in the manga/anime?

[Etrurian emperor]

As for Garp. I have some mixed feelings. I think his inclusion is good since it increased the emotional stake and its an improvement over the original where Garp just one day barges into Luffy's hotel and announces to the crew he's Luffy's granddad.  On the more negative end Garp doesn't entirely fit in East Blue since he's supposed to be among the very, very strongest people there ever was so his mere presence should already kill all of Luffy's success in the crib. 

The biggest beneficiary of Garp is his protege Koby. Koby's always been intended as the Marine counterpart to Luffy who's rise in fame and status mirrors Luffy. He's also endearing and easy to root for. However in the Manga Koby is also kind of a non entity who often disappears for about a decade or so before getting development and promotions off screen which makes both seem unearned. 

And yes. Originally Zoro does call out his attacks, even when having a Katana in his mouth. Especially when having a Katana in his mouth. 

[vanguard333]

On 12/29/2023 at 8:09 AM, Etrurian emperor said:

As for Garp. I have some mixed feelings. I think his inclusion is good since it increased the emotional stake and its an improvement over the original where Garp just one day barges into Luffy's hotel and announces to the crew he's Luffy's granddad.  On the more negative end Garp doesn't entirely fit in East Blue since he's supposed to be among the very, very strongest people there ever was so his mere presence should already kill all of Luffy's success in the crib. 

The biggest beneficiary of Garp is his protege Koby. Koby's always been intended as the Marine counterpart to Luffy whose rise in fame and status mirrors Luffy. He's also endearing and easy to root for. However in the Manga Koby is also kind of a non entity who often disappears for about a decade or so before getting development and promotions off screen which makes both seem unearned. 

And yes. Originally Zoro does call out his attacks, even when having a Katana in his mouth. Especially when having a Katana in his mouth. 

Interesting. To be fair, I think part of the idea is that Garp is being held back by his internal conflict in regards to Luffy: he likes that Luffy is pursuing his dream but hates that said dream is becoming king of the pirates, with his main fear seeming to be that one day Luffy will come to regret becoming a pirate & enemy of the world government that will inevitably hunt him. Speaking of which, I like that it's ambiguous as to whether or not Garp is telling the truth about having been just testing Luffy's resolve the whole time, or if he originally was genuinely trying to stop Luffy and only changed his mind at some point during the show.

It was cool to see Koby throughout the show. When he was first introduced, I figured he'd be a character that would only appear in the first episode and maybe reappear a lot later, and I was surprised that he wasn't. Interesting to hear that manga/anime Koby did what I figured live-action Koby would be. I was also surprised to see the axe-hand captain's son stick around; I thought he was only going to be in the first episode as well. I do like the character development he received, and Zoro calling him "haircut" in episode 4 was hilarious.

That's hilarious. I can see why they chose not to do that in the live-action version; it would've been hard for the actor to call his attacks with a sword in his mouth.

 

EDIT: I just watched the Studio Ghibli film Castle in the Sky for the first time. It was my first time watching a Studio Ghibli film, so I figured I'd start with the very first Studio Ghibli film, much like how someone watching the Monty Python films for the first time might start with Holy Grail. But also, out of all the Studio Ghibli films that I've heard of, it was the one I was most interested in watching: I like stories with sky islands, I like adventure stories, and I kept seeing commercials for the 2003 English dub of the movie when I was a kid.

Before watching it, I had to decide: original Japanese, or English dub. Normally, I would choose the original Japanese with subtitles in a heartbeat, but I knew that, for this film, Mark Hamill does the voice of the villain in the English dub, and he always does a brilliant job when voicing an animated villain: The Joker, Fire Lord Ozai, Captain Stickybeard, etc., so I was seriously considering watching the English dub. Ultimately, I went with the original Japanese audio with subtitles.

I can definitely say that it's a classic for a reason; it's a good story that's beautifully animated. I especially like how it's a story of a fallen civilization that fell for a reason and that it's the villain that wants to revive said civilization; I'm going to guess that it inspired Wind Waker in that regard. It's also easy to see the ways it inspired Tears of the Kingdom: a sky island with both guardian robots and gardener robots, the main heroine having a necklace with a magic crystal, a sky island surrounded by a perpetual storm, etc.

One question I have: is the movie supposed to take place in a fantasy world or our world? I would've guessed from all the craters, steampunk flying machines that wouldn't work in real life, fantasy minerals, etc., that it's a fantasy steampunk world (and, when Miska unleashes the castle's main weapon, I figured that the craters were the result of said weapon being used on the land long ago), but characters reference things from real life multiple times in the film: Pazu mentions the book Gulliver's Travels, Miska mentions the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah as described in the Bible when talking about the castle's main weapon, etc.

Edited January 3 by vanguard333

[Etrurian emperor]

Like usual Bakugo wins the official My Hero popularity poll. I don't dislike the guy but I've always been really confused about his consistent popularity. What's the guy's draw?

Most people would say his character development but his issues always felt really...small. At the end of the day all Bakugo had to redeem himself from was ''just'' being a childhood bully. And while Bakugo seems a pretty vile case of a childhood bully it still feels small when you compare the deeds he needs redemption for to those of Endeavor who did far more damage and has far more to atone for. 

Some say its because his personality is amusing. To an extend I would agree that Bakugo can be such an ass that he ends up being more funny than horrid, but even then I often find his antics to be kinda repetitive, especially with Shoto.

In short he's not as lovable as Deku, doesn't get the prettyboy vote like Shoto, doesn't have the depths of Hawks and certainly doesn't have the development of Endeavor, so I find it curious he consistently beats them all. 

[vanguard333]

@Etrurian emperor Yeah, I never understood Bakugo's appeal either. He's not a badly-written character by any means; his protagonist-complex was amusing whenever it crashed into reality and him having to be chained to the first place podium in the sports festival arc is still one of the funniest moments in the series, but he's largely just another antagonistic talented shonen rival.

Also, as a former victim of bullying, I really wasn't a fan of how long it took Bakugo to apologize for how he had treated Deku, especially when remembering that the first episode had him tell Deku to jump off the roof of the school. It felt like the story had just brushed it aside for a long time.

 

Incidentally, I really have not been following along with the My Hero Academia manga or anime for quite some time; I really just have not liked almost anything after the paranormal liberation war arc, and the more I learn about what's been going on, the less interested I am in learning more.

 

EDIT: Today, I decided to try The Ancient Magus' Bride. I had known about this show for a while because I enjoy researching Celtic Folklore and I had heard that this show incorporates some Celtic Folklore into its worldbuilding, but while I thought the show's premise was intriguing, I didn't really consider watching it.

Then, a while ago, I saw a clip of the show that was about a Leanan Sidhe: a faerie from Celtic Folklore that, in the folklore, takes an artist as their lover and causes the artist to have a brief, but thoroughly inspired life (it was an explanation for why a lot of artists die young). One thing I always see shows and movies get wrong about the Leanan Sidhe is that they always portray it as vampiric; it is not vampiric, it is the tragic muse. This show, however, got it right: in the clip, the Leanan Sidhe is exactly that: the tragic muse. I was very impressed.

So, today, I decided to watch the show... and I ended up watching the first six episodes back-to-back. I'm really enjoying it so far: I like what I've seen so far of the magic system, and I like that the story, while definitely taking a number of liberties when it comes to folklore, has clearly done a lot of research. I also like that there's a pastor that's a major character who is kind and friendly towards the main cast of magical characters; as a Christian, I found that very refreshing to see.

Edited 15 hours ago by vanguard333