#like. think of it as.... if most shonen shows are action with slice of life on top

[eshithepetty]

Hdgdhdg you're far from the first person to be surprised by that, believe it or not. But yes!! It has some Very kickass fight scenes actually, as per it having a cast of psychic powered teenagers. It's just that nobody really talks about them much because the show's actual themes are about neurodivergence, kindness, pacifism and the joy in the mundane lmao ^^

I think this is my #1 favorite Reigen moment of all time.

The exchange, albeit short, is so perfectly reminiscent of their characters. The way Mob was very clearly fleeing from a giant wall of explosive energy that’s approaching them extremely quickly screaming, “RUN!!!! RUN AWAY!!!!!!” but Reigen wasn’t even really listening to him until Mob used his angry teacher voice because he was too distracted by whether or not Mob was okay.

*voice cracking* “IT’S MOB!!!! LOOK!!!!”

“He ended up releasing too much energy and self-destructed—“

*very clearly not paying attention* “YOU’RE BLEEDING LIKE CRAZY!!!”

“MASTER. YOU NEED TO RUN.”

It’s very funny and also very cute. An entire explosion is about to go off a half-mile away in T-minus 9 seconds and Reigen is like “oh my fucjing god your arm. it’s bleeding.” Like YEAH. BUT MUCH MORE IMPORTANTLY:

[whoishotteranimepolls]

Fantasy Anime Recommendations

I love all kinds of fantasy, whether it be high fantasy, low fantasy, dark fantasy, or urban fantasy. So here are my recommendations for that genre.

Disclaimer: More will be added to this list as I slowly work through my to-be-watched list

Black Clover

4 seasons and a Canon movie ongoing

My favorite underrated Battle Shonen series is about an orphan boy who dreams of being the wizard King. However, there is a slight problem since he was born without the ability to use magic. This is for you if you like the classic battle Shonen. It takes that classic formula and executes it to perfection. Plus, the show has some of the best-written supporting cast and female characters in Shonen.

Mashle: Magic and Muscles:

2 seasons ongoing

Satirical parody of Harry Potter. Except it's a kid without magic who has to somehow survive at the universe equivalent of Hogwarts without anyone finding out he can't use magic

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

1 season ongoing

It's a beautiful story and one of the best shows I've ever watched. However, it is not for everyone. Some people cannot handle the slow pacing because sometimes it is just as much of a slice of Life as it is an action-adventure story.

Wistoria: Wand and Sword

1 season is ongoing

A kid without magic wants to be a great magician, but to gain that title, he picks up a sword to prove you don't need magic to become the greatest. Unfortunately, he still has to go to magic school. Black Clover mixed with Mashle is just as good as both.

Black Butler

4 seasons, a two-part special, and a Canon movie ongoing.

A young boy and his demon butler solve mysteries in Victorian England. I recommend researching what Canon and non-canon or OVA are before you start. Otherwise, you will be confused.

Dungeon Meshi

One season ongoing

There's a reason this took over Tumblr for months and is still trending

The Case Study of Vanitas

A human doctor for vampires and his vampire companion in Paris. This one was an emotional roller coaster. The fate of season 3 is unknown and it is a shame

Trese

It's a supernatural detective show set in the Philippines, and it's a shame it only got one season

Not anime, but still adult animation

Castlevania

Completed, but there is an ongoing spin-off series

Based on the Japanese game, Netflix did a fantastic job adapting it. I never played the games and I loved it. I rewatched it with someone who played the games, and they loved all the Easter eggs

The sequel Castlevania Nocturne is not as good as the original. Hopefully, they fix that with the second season. The trailer did look amazing

The Legend of Vox Machina

3 seasons ongoing

You like classic high fantasy. This is for you. It's based on the D&D live stream show Critical Role. A friend of mine jokingly calls it Middle Earth. If they were allowed to say fuck it's very adult and very gory. However, it is amazing and one of my favorite animated shows.

Blood of Zeus

2 seasons ongoing

If you like Greek mythology, this one's for you. The story of one of Zeus's bastards and the consequences of Hera finding out about them. It's a story that feels like it could be straight out of Greek mythology and they do a fantastic job

Maya and The Three

One season it's a Netflix exclusive

Think of it as a love story of Mesoamerican culture in animated form. It's probably the most out of my recommendations because it is 3D animation. But God I love this show. It's about an Aztec princess who has to fight the gods in order to save her Kingdom along with her companions, who are members of the Inca, the Maya, and the indigenous Caribbean culture. Again, it's a love story of the indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica made by actual Latinos. I love this show so much, and it is underrated.

[formulaorange]

2024 Spring Anime

Kaiju No. 8 This series started the same time as SpyxFamily and I've been waiting years for it to be animated. It's a series I was instantly hooked on. The animations in the teasers were incredibly sus but I'm glad to see it's pulled together. This is a must watch for this season. Noteworthy On-going Shows: Delicious in Dungeon - Episodes 13-24 A Character based comedic fantasy that honestly has me hooked. New Seasons:

Demon Slayer - Hashira Training Arc I can't believe we're already here. I think this will be one of the last 2 or 3 seasons of the show. This is one I'm not sure what to expect in terms of story but I'm looking forward to it regardless.

That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime - Season 3 One of the Og's is back baby. This is one of my all time favourite shows, one of the original fantasy/isekai series. This series gets better and better and I'm so hooked to each character. 100% biased opinion but if you haven't seen this, go check it out.

My Hero Academia - Season 7 This is one that I haven't caught up on the anime for so I'm not 100% where we are but I'm pretty sure it's about to get real dark. I think lots of people have put this show on the backburner or have dropped it entirely. But I really have to say we're starting to head into some of the peak of the series. It gets much darker and more serious and starts to shift from the original shonen high school style.

Additional New Seasons: Mushoku Tensei - Season 2 Cour 2 I won't lie, this arc honestly doesn't look very appealing to me. That said, I have faith in the writers and will be watching and updating if it picks up. Both of these shows from 2008 coming back were not on my bucket list but here we are: Spice and Wolf - Looks to be a re-make of the original series Black Butler - Public School Arc - New continuation of the og series Also: The Misfit of Demon King Academy II - Part 2 The Irregular at Magic High School - Season 3 Laid-Back Camp - Season 3 New Noteworthy Shows:

Wind Breaker A new series about a delinquent who moves to a school where it's all about being the strongest and beating each other up. Honestly it reminds me a little of Food wars but if it was actually about fighting instead of food lol. The animations look stellar, I'm actually pretty excited to check this one out. ( I'd also say it looks completely different to Tokyo Revengers so I wouldn't compare the two.)

Mission:Yozakura Family A newer shonen jump series about a kid who tries to integrate with a mismatched family of spies. Looks like a lot of fun and has a similar vibe to some old school SJ series.

Go! Go! Loser Ranger Why does this look so good. This series genuinely looks so cool, the animation look out of this world and the story looks killer. From what I can gather it's a guy who always plays the villain and is sick of his role. The story shows the heroes as villains and gives me a bit of Invincible vibes. (This is a Disney+ exclusive) The Fable I've heard that this is one of the most legendary comedies. I know there's a few live actions for it on Netflix but I haven't had a chance to check it out. I feel like the trailers don't seem to get anything across so this'll be one I'll follow up on.

Going through the extra shows is now the bane of my existence. I want to go back to before all the isekai light novels were being animated. After doing this I feel defeated that some of these look half-decent. Whisper Me a Love Song Wholesome girl's love series about figuring out what kind of love they feel for each other: 3 Episodes The Many Sides of Voice Actor Radio 2 girls who's offline personalities are total opposites, their rivalry in a brutal industry. Looks like it could be a fun slice of life series: 3 Episodes Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night Looks like a really well done series about a group of girls forming an anonymous idol group: 3 Episodes

I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability The animations actually look amazing from the trailer and this series could be cute: 1 Episode An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride I think this might be a guilty pleasure show. I like the idea of the awkward romance between these two. Likely wouldn't reccommend this for a normal watcher: 1 Episode Grandpa and Grandma Turn Young Again Animations and concept look fun: 1 Episode Notable OVA's: Code Geass: Roze of the Recapture A prequel to the original series. The animation looks just like the OG and I'm so stoked that this is coming out.

[kururu418]

🍢🍲🥘🍛

🥘 What category do most of your fics fall under?

I would say action/adventure generally. Obviously Tales of Mewni falls under fantasy/action and more of the others tend to fall under more superhero/slice of life-like categories. Although I've been told very often almost all my works have a shonen feel to them lol.

🍲 When did you start writing and why?

I think I started in middle school? When I came across fanfiction.net. I had a stupidly overactive imagination as a kid. Whenever I saw a cool movie or show I wanted to make up a story of my own and tell it to someone in my family, and my parents ended up suggesting I write them down one day. Was looking for a place to do that, came across fanfiction, and the rest was history!

🍛 Have any comments, tags or reactions to one of your fics every made you laugh or cry or both?

When I was talking about how cringe some of my early writing was, someone on fanfiction sent me a message telling me they really liked my old stuff and they'd hate to think I was embarrassed about. I had meant it in just a lighthearted sentiment since it wasn't like I was ashamed or anything, but the fact they sent me that message really hit me in the feels.

🍢 Have you ever gotten hate on a fic?

Yep! I got a little hate for the Mr. Stern fics (but with all the hits/support that gets that was like a drop in a bucket).

And this wasn't necessarily hate, but I got a anon message years back when I had the twist of Astro being King claiming that Nia hadn't been in the spotlight as much as him (even though her arc had just finished and I had revealed she'd takeover Oberon's position) and how the female Mewni characters hadn't gotten as much shine as the male ones (even though at that time the sitting had literally JUST moved to Mewni, so almost NONE of the characters were as fleshed out as they could have been. It really felt gave the vibes they just wanted me to push certain characters over others, and I politely just said 'sorry you feel that way, but I don't agree'.

[citrus-feline]

Dunmeshi characters and the types of shows they watch

Laios: Tokusatsu & kaiju type stuff. Falin can sometimes convince him to watch some generic isekai anime if it has cool monsters. He also really likes nature documentaries, but doesn't watch them much because he gets annoyed at the 'coolest' facts being left out that only someone who obsessively studies the subject would want to know.

Marcille: Romance / drama, especially those with an edgy yet handsome love interest. She also really enjoys things with very complicated world building. Will cry at the smallest bit of emotional writing no matter how cliche it is.

Chilchuck: Comedy that borders on more raunchy humor. He also has a lot of knowledge about cartoons from a few years ago because of his daughters.

Senshi: Cooking shows, the type that yells at his TV when watching cooking competitions as if it's sports.

Namari: Sports & How It's Made reruns.

Shuro: Classic action films, especially if there's swordplay involved. "Secretly" really likes romance (everyone knows).

Izutsumi: Any anime she thinks is cool. She loves Dragon Ball.

Falin: Anything, but tends to enjoy comedic slice of life anime the most. The type of person that will use the 'random' button on a shitty anime website and watch through it no matter what.

Kabru: The type to keep an eye on seasonal shows, even if he ends up hating a lot of it for being predictable. Runs a secret blog for critiquing everything he watches.

Mithrun: He watches whatever is left on the TV, which usually ends up being George Lopez Show reruns. Pattadol guards the remote to prevent the other Canaries from putting on something inappropriate since Mithrun would not stop them. When he was younger he really liked generic shonen anime.

[asheniza]

Okay it's been a really long while since I've been here on this app lol but heyyy I'm alive so imma start my first time being here in a long time by answering these interesting questions!

I began my writing journey since I was around maybe 5/6 (?). All ik it has been a really long time. Back then in intermediate class, we had these writing journals where we supposed to tell our stories in and that's presumably where my love of creativity and storytelling began!

Related to the point above, my very first story was told in that journal. Unfortunately I've vague memories of it but I think it entailed a boy trying to protect his city from a dangerous dinosaur or smth like that lmao.

Fantasy, action-adventure (my main genres), slice-of-life, comedy, horror, mystery, science fiction, coming-of-age and even romance (a genre that I'm not a big fan of and don't dabble in it much but one of my WIPs is one).

Fantasy. Especially if it's mixed with action, which is natural.

Anything related to childhood friends. Whether it be them becoming enemies or even lovers too. Just the thought of people knowing each other for a really long time and writers doing stuff with it just seems fun to me lol.

I'd love explore anything regarding human nature, philosophical and psychological topics. Pretty vague, but anything regarding them I'd love to explore!

The OCs closest to me in personality are named Liú Wadapiryoh and Junhwa Yuehoshi. Not entirely, but I mixed certain personal traits and put them into these lovely boys.

I've a fair amount to the point I'd rather not list lol.

Yes. Yes, I have. Biggest mistake as it had hurt the writing.

My main WIP, Yōtsuki Over Arkadia. World's vibrant, but is pretty dangerous.

Yup. The main WIP I'm currently progressing on has the most fanfics out of all other WIPs I've created.

I sadly (or gladly lmao) don't remember that word atm. I've been trying to avoid using that word too many times as much as possible.

My best friend reviewed the first chapter of my WIP. He was the one that inspired me to continue writing it and even gave me more confidence in my writing so it's really dear to me.

Any scene that has torture, abuse or any of that sort. Especially if it's done to children. As a kid, I'd avoid writing such scenes but now it's even more uncomfortable.

Well, I'd write at least hundreds of words a day based on the chapter I'd be currently working on. I'll admit tho, I don't follow this all the time as I can be very inconsistent lol.

Anime, some shows, books, mythology, folklore, videogames and to a lesser extent people.

It's heavily inspired by Shonen and Seinen and I take inspiration from Japanese folklore and...uh...yeah.

In summary, my fav dialogue is where Junhwa sees himself as a monster, but Liú assured him that he isn't and Junhwa thought what if people didn't believe he couldn't change, Liú replied, "Then I'm sorry they don't see what I see". That dialogue represents their friendship quite well I'd say.

Man, I can't think of one right now so I'd have to look back lol.

Yes I do! Guys, don't worry about being perfect and don't compare your story to others that are considered "masterpieces". Perfection doesn't exist and neither does the concept of "masterpieces" despite what people say. Just write your story how you'd want it and how you love it. Whether it is a masterpiece or not really just depends on who's reading it :)

Writer's Ask Game

When did you start writing?

What was the first story you've ever written?

What genres have you written for so far?

What is your favourite genre to write for?

What is your favourite trope to write for?

What topic would you love to explore in your writing?

Who is the OC that is most like you?

Which OC is nothing like you?

Have you ever brought an OC back from the dead?

In which of your stories would you like to live?

Have you ever written fanfiction about your own work?

Do you have a word/phrase that you overuse in your writing?

What feedback did you receive for your writing that stuck with you?

What is something that you feel weird/uncomfortable writing about?

What is your current writing habit?

Where do you find inspiration to write?

Tell us a fun fact about your current WIP.

Show us a piece of dialogue you really like.

Show us the line you want readers to remember from your story.

Do you have one piece of advice for your fellow writers?

[rei-caldombra]

2023 Anime Year Review!

Happy New Year! I'm gonna start by doing my best to list all the anime I watched this year. I felt like putting them in alphabetical order, so I did. 

The anime I watched in 2023 are: Attack on Titan Final Season, Buddy Daddies, Crash Course in Naughtness, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc, Don't Toy with Me Miss Nagatoro 2nd Attack, Dr. Stone: New World, Frieren Beyond Journey’s End, Helck, Hell's Paradise, Jigokuraku, Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2, Mashle: Magic and Muscles, My New Boss Is Goofy, My Hero Academy, Ranking of Kings: The Treasure Chest of Courage, Reborn as a Vending Machine I Now Wander the Dungeon, Spy x Family Season 2, Tomo-chan Is a Girl!, Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead.

For manga I have been keeping up with Bocchi the Rock, Bocchi the Rock Hiroi’s story, Call of the Night, Chainsaw Man, Demon Girl Next Door, Don’t Mess With Me Nagatoro, Mieruko-san, and Shimeji Simulation. 

Now I'll be giving some thoughts on the year as a whole and mentioning specific ones in categories. There will be no spoilers. 

It definitely looks like a lot, but I know I have watched more in the past. It's tougher finding as much time for anime now, but I desire to give more new shows a shot in 2024 like I usually would. There are a lot of sequels that I watched this year! The new shows were pretty good, with most of them fitting into the realm of being pretty good but not extraordinary. While the continuations on the other end had a lot more extremes, with most of the mainstream shows fitting into the realm of having moments I really liked in between stuff that was lukewarm or frustrating. 

My single favorite is Dr. Stone: New World. Dr Stone continues to be very consistent and have a bit of everything, providing good visuals, fun characters, and interesting applications of science. This season really stepped it up when it came to the story. The climax of this season is the best I've seen this year. It really keeps up the intensity and leaves you guessing what happens next. It got me very excited for what’s next. It’s great on all fronts. 

Most underrated I would give to Reborn as a Vending Machine. I think it's very solid and on the better end of isekai shows. It’s truly a unique premise and worth checking out if you like fantasy and slice of life shows. 

Biggest surprise hit I would go with Mashle. I had not heard of it before this and went into it just thinking it was going to make fun of Harry Potter over and feel like a rehash of One Punch. I figured I’d enjoy a few episodes then drop it when the schtick got old. But it's genuinely funny outside of its magic parody, and does do some genuinely cool magic stuff at the same time. I liked it a lot more than I expected to. 

Biggest disappointment I will give to both Demon Slayer Swordsmith Village Arc and Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2, specifically the Shibuya Incident Arc (yes they are the same season but they are fundamentally separated in the story and in release). Reason being that their issues are very similar. They both have some really cool moments that are surrounded by boring and frustrating shonen action style tropes. Such as dragging fights out dialogue and flashbacks, emotion baiting, and convenient power ups that don’t feel satisfying or earned. Both of the primary villains in these arcs are not very interesting to me. Neither of these shows are terrible, as they still had the core aspects that made me like them initially. But for me they have many disappointing and frustrating aspects. 

What new shows I’m looking forward to in 2024 as of now: Mashle season 2, Dungeon Meshi, Konosuba season 3, My Hero Academia Season 7, Yuru Camp season 3, Sound! Euphonium 3, Solo Leveling, and the new Spice and Wolf. I do want to watch some anime in 2024 that have been on my list, which are the following: Baki, Honey and Clover, and Chihayafuru at least. Baki I know is super fun and super up my alley. Honey and Clover is by the same author as March Comes in Like a Lion (one of my favorite anime), which is enough for me to watch. Chihayafuru comes highly recommended, and from what I know I am confident I will enjoy it. I've wanted to watch these for a while but with following the seasonals it's hard to get to them.

One anime I’m still holding out hope for is Dorohedoro season 2. I do still think we will eventually get it, but I really hope it's soon. An announcement in 2024 would be SHOCKINGly lovely. Another announcement I'd love would be an anime adaptation of Shimeji Simulation. The manga just recently ended and is very good (a post on that is coming soon). 

I really enjoyed this year of anime and manga! I hope you did as well and are looking forward to next year as much as me! I'd also like to mention that I started blogging about anime this year and have really enjoyed doing it! I plan to continue to please stick around! Thank you for reading!

[amethystsoda]

your personal top (10?) manga? :))

Hello!!!

I am going to preface this with the fact that I only got into anime around 2014/2015 (Fullmetal Alchemist + Brotherhood) and then read the manga around 2016.

I only started avidly reading around 2019 with digital copies of JoJo and fell into loving manga from there and genuinely becoming a reader/keeping up with new releases and starting to learn Japanese (basic hiragana, etc) in 2021.

My other qualifications for these picks are that I am an irl artist (illustration and stained glass), taught an art history course for 1 year, and I read/write as much as possible outside of work.

I will also say that I may not have finished reading all these series yet, but they are the ones near and dear to my art-loving heart.

Also sorry it’s a few more than 10 *sweats*

Fullmetal Alchemist — Hiromu Arakawa

My very first manga.

Knowing that Arakawa taught herself art while still working on her parents’ farm and used her nights/time off to write it made me so in awe of her drive and skills. The ways the story deals with humanity, war, power, and love make it a timeless classic.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure — Hirohiko Araki

It’s bonkers. It’s off the wall. It’s been going since the 80’s and Araki is still working. There’s so much to love. There’s so much to hate. But no matter how you feel about JJBA, it’s undeniably a masterpiece.

Araki’s dedication to the art is one of the biggest draws, with his fashion and art history references and use of bright colors. You can feel his love for the medium shine through his full color pieces!

My personal favorite parts are Phantom Blood, Diamond Is Unbreakable, Stone Ocean, and Jojolion (ikik all the “boring” parts, but I think that’s where the characters are most interesting)

Jujutsu Kaisen -- Gege Akutami

My next big read after JoJo. After watching season 1 of the anime, I knew I needed more. The way that Gege uses the classic shonen tropes combined with explorations of life and death is very strong storytelling.

We learn from the start about curses, cursed energy, we witness a major death in the protagonist’s life and he’s given a goal:

“You’re a strong kid, so help others. Even if it’s only those closest to you, just save the people you can. It’s okay if you lose your way, and don’t worry about whether they’ll thank you or not. Just save as many people as you can, even if it’s only one.”

The series often shows us what it means to save even one and the self sacrifice that comes from protecting others, even if it’s painful or difficult. Throw iconic characters into the mix and you have the basis for an already notable classic shonen manga.

Spy x Family — Tatsuya Endo

Found family slice of life with a big dose of action and fluff?? Literally the perfect comfort manga. I saw enough promos on tumblr that I finally caved and started it in 2020 and I LOVED it.

More people are familiar now bc of the anime’s popularity, but I definitely recommend reading it as well! The art is consistently high quality, the face expressions are hilarious, and the main concept of fighting for peace is re-stated throughout the storyline.

Loid took on this mission and his spy position to bring peace. He never wants to see the horrors of war again. He never wants to see another child cry. The family may be “fake” but the feelings are real.

Witch Hat Atelier — Kamome Shirahama

I cannot stop giving high praises for this series!!!! It’s like if you mixed Ghibli’s nature and art with Narnia or LOTR’s fantasy vibes. The magic system is based on drawing and it’s such a treat for artists to read.

Shirahama also uses a lot of traditional art references for her work, like rococo, art nouveau, classic illustration, etc. She’s won awards for the series and every one is deserved.

Also the two main witches, Qifrey and Olruggio, are definitely in love and take the best care of their witch students (cough daughters) in the atelier. Qifrey is like if you mixed Howl Pendragon with Gojo Satoru. Olruggio is the traditional tsundere with a heart of gold.

The series also talks a lot about disability and how we can improve others’ lives to make them more comfortable and accessible! It’s a very unique world and story that draws you in and makes you feel at home.

Chainsaw Man — Tatsuki Fujimoto

Yes, the series everyone is currently talking about. And I’m not going to call it peak or goat, but I think the concept is very strong and well-executed.

Fujimoto pulls you in from the intro (esp Pochita, how can you not love a cute little chainsaw dog!?), he makes you care about the characters, and slowly rips your heart out chapter by chapter. It’s won awards for good reason.

Not everyone is morally black and white. There’s giant battles and dynamic art. The main character just wants to touch some boobs. The other main guy is basically a househusband after work hours. Add in a pretty girl blood devil who doesn’t like vegetables. An Angel Devil who can kill someone through a touch and loves ice cream. A sopping wet kitten of a girl who works at her family’s burger place and hunts devils on the side. etc etc.

The characters are one of the strongest aspects of Chainsaw Man and their dynamics with each other. Hate, love, control, fear… The series talks about our basest desires and anxieties and explores them in a fictional playing field with all the flare you expect from a Shonen Jump title.

Toilet Bound Hanako Kun - AidaIro

THE ART STYLE THE ART STYLE THE ART STLYE. This series is done by a two person team (AidaIro - one for art, one for writing) and I appreciate that each brings their strength to this manga.

The coloring and art are so dreamy and whimsical, while still using strong jewel tone colors (instead of only pastels or earth colors as you might expect in a western fantasy series).

The work uses the “seven school wonders” as its base and Nene Yashiro as the protagonist who just wanted to get a date with her crush and called on Hanako’s help. Through her impulsivity, she ends up under a mermaid’s curse and makes a pact with Hakano to make it more bearable, getting pulled into the carryings-on of spirits around the school.

The art/story combo is engaging, dynamic, and emotional. There’s a lot of hilarious face expressions in this manga as well and little visual gags/jokes that make it fun to read. The series started in 2014 and is still ongoing!

The Way of the Househusband — Kosuke Oono

a former yakuza member marries a designer and becomes a stay at home househusband. Hijinks ensue. Add in his former gang friend Masa and their cat Gin and you have a recipe for domestic comedy.

I’ve genuinely laughed out loud so many times reading this manga. The chapters are pretty short and are good when you need a little break to not stare at a screen. It’s another good comfort manga when you need something low intensity.

Dorohedoro -- Q Hayashida

I have to admit I found this one because of the anime MAPPA did, but I immediately explored the manga and mud and sludge art book. Q Hayashida trained in fine arts before becoming a mangaka and it shows through the quality of her work.

From the heavily detailed manga panels, to the mixed media covers, and bonus comics done in color, the world is rendered in a blend of gritty realism and surreal fantasy.

Dorohedoro is one of the most unique pieces of worldbuilding I’ve encountered, with the smoke magic system, use of doors for traveling between Hole and the sorcerers world, as well as including devils in the lore.

Again, characters are a big draw of the series, but the art is just mind blowing to me as an artist, knowing the level of craft she put into them. I still flip through the artbook for inspiration when I’m feeling drained.

I haven’t finished all of the manga, but I’m slowly collecting the volumes (some are out of print). But I believe all the pdfs are up on archive.org (also please keep in mind there is an Adult Only/18+ content warning on this manga as there is gore and some nudity)

Blue Period — Tsubasa Yamaguchi

I started collecting this when they released volume 1 and just kept collecting. If you’re an artist at all or appreciate art, this is a series for you. It describes the struggles of finding your voice as an artist so deeply and you will feel understood and seen.

There are quite a few characters in the series, so I suggest looking at the wiki for this one to keep everyone straight. I also recommend watching the anime, as the colors and voices help distinguish the characters further.

The art history references in the chapter art makes this a scavenger hunt for art nerds and the messages of self searching, acceptance, and discovery are something anyone can relate to. (edit: I looked up the series more and it's another woman author!! :D )

The Case Study of Vanitas — Jun Mochizuki

Another I started collecting because of the anime, but it’s SO so beautiful (Arakawa sensei even gave a recommendation inside the front cover of volume 1!)

Also!!! Another woman author!! I’m so happy to give lots of women author recs. If you like gothic romantic vampire dramas set in alt history steampunk Paris with a dash of horror, then this is for you.

Bisexual vibes from literally all of the main 4 (Noe, Vanitas, Dominique, Jeanne). Some moments of sensuality, but it never goes into overtly sexual, making it more accessible for teen readers.

Her watercolors are instantly recognizable and stunningly gorgeous. Noe’s delight in the world is balanced by Vanitas’ grumpier realism. Also, the concept of a vampire that can read memories through blood blew my mind. Definitely recommend.

Special mentions:

Yotsuba&! (a classic first manga for kids. Heartwarming. Funny. Adorable)

Skull Face Bookseller Honda-san (also a good anime. Only 4 volumes. All the crazy things that happen in a bookstore/publishing. Funny and a great autobiography by the author Honda)

Kaiju No. 8 (an up and coming Shonen Jump that’s already slated for an anime!!!! Kaiju battle action + a 32 year old protag that had an accident while working and can now turn into a Kaiju >:D Monster lovers rejoice)

I also have a few singles of older shojo manga that I’m getting into recently like Cardcaptor Sakura, Sailor Moon, Kitchen Princess, Host Club!

[evas-apartment]

Yknow what? I wanna try and start watching TV. I've been feeling really good lately, and I think I can handle watching a show (I could talk at length about how/why I don't watch any TV or movies or anything, but this isn't about that right now.)

Could one of you lovelies recommend a cute anime for me to get into? I really like slice of life shows about cute girls and whatnot. I've never seen an anime in full, in full (Kia has showed me most of Haikyuu, and I really like Nichijou and K-on!, if that helps). I'm not opposed to horror, or action, or shonen, but I wanna watch a slice of life thing. Would you guys recommend anything low stakes that I can get into?

[doorbloggr]

Thursday 21/4/22 - Media Recommendations #32

Tasteful(?) Fanservice

Content:

Keijo!!!!!!!! (Quick revisit)

My Dress-Up Darling

Highschool of the Dead

As I've most likely discussed at length in previous media recommendations, fan service is a contentious topic these days. Not just in anime and manga, but fictional entertainment in general. There's a question on if we really need fanservice.

Now fanservice is wide encompassing term, in the broadest sense it is content in a piece of media which is there to mainly please fans. It doesn't make the story better, just a crumb to please parts of the audience that know the reference. When I brought up this topic to my friend, he referred to this as "I clapped when I saw it" fanservice. Think Marvel movie credit stingers.

But what I mean by fanservice in this article is shameless eyecandy. What that same friend referred to as "Hey there's a butt on screen" fanservice. Since a lot of anime is aimed for older teens and young adults, there is commonly a healthy helping of unnecessary flashing, form fitting clothing, and convenient clumsiness in a variety of series.

As someone who has tried to explore a lot different anime genres, I have come across fanservice in many forms, and today I want to discuss where it is and is not appropriate. Using examples, I want to talk about 3 different types of fanservicey anime:

Fanservice is the draw of the anime, other aspects of the series are secondary to the fanservice.

Fanservice is not the focus, and while there is technically more fanservice than the story requires, it does not hurt the atmosphere.

Fanservice is out of place in the story and setting, it's inclusion is jarring and unnecessary, and actively ruins the mood of the story.

Hip Whip Girl: Keijo!!!!!!!

Keijo is a Sports/Shonen anime about girls fighting in bikini watersports. The series' draw is the fanservice and honestly, there wouldn't be much holding it together without it.

I've talked about Keijo before when discussing problematic recommendations, but as a basic rehash; the series follows Nozomi, a young girl who left a promising gymnast career to attend a women-only academy for athletes of the highly televisable sport: Keijo. In this sport, contestants stand on floating platforms in the centre of a pool and try to knock their opponent into the water without using their arms or legs. So of course, the butt and boobs become the main weapons of the series.

...I'm an ass-man

Keijo exists to show off the female body in action. The character designs are fun, but their personalities and story arcs are very basic. The action is flashy and fun, but again, it's just butts and boobs, but with special effects lol. Keijo is a fun watch, but don't expect anything deep.

My Dress-Up Darling

In the last week or so, I finished watching a newer series called My Dress-Up Darling. The series is a Slice of Life about the struggles of amateur cosplay. Given that the subject matter of the series involves dressing up and modelling, it makes sense that there's fanservice here and there, but in my opinion, it doesn't overstay its welcome.

Basic plot summation: we follow Gojo, a social outcast with a one-track mind obsession on making ornamental Hina Dolls at his grandfather's shop. This hobby has made him quite skilled at making custom clothing for the dolls, and this attracts the attention of popular classmate Marin, who reveals to him that she is a wannabe cosplayer but is hopeless at making costumes. He helps her put together cosplay outfits and through their interactions, they become very close friends, much to Gojo's surprise.

While many Slice of Life's tend to be stiff in terms of the actual animation, and linger on stills for that sweet fanservice, My Dress-Up Darling is surprisingly fluid. Characters movements are fun and dynamic, and even low energy moments have subtle cute little movements.

You just don't see movement this fluid in slice of life very often

As discussed above, the subject matter does warrant fanservice. Marin dresses down to lingerie for measurements and to try on fairly revealing outfits, and while the series does tend to linger a bit more than it needs to on these awooga moments, I never felt they ruined the atmosphere. The seeds of a romance are planted in this first season, so some flustered embarrassent doesn't hurt, but I feel this season was more about friendship than romance, and I like that.

If you're not a huge fan of fanservice, but the set up and concept appeal to you, it was a good watch, and the fanservice probably won't ruin it for you. If you do like fanservice, you'll like this.

Highschool of the Dead

Highschool of the Dead seems to be suffering from a conflicting personality problem. The setting and characters are being pulled into two opposing directions, and while some series can pull off the "blank story but with a unique twist" concept, I feel that fanservicey highschooler romcom and bloody zombie apocalypse action thriller is a combo that doesn't work.

Quick plot synopsis: a group of highschoolers and a school nurse are at school right as a zombie outbreak occurs. We follow the group as they escape the school and move from location to location through a mostly fallen city to find safe haven from the zombie threat.

This set up by itself works in concept, but for some reason, Highschool of the Dead is one of the horniest anime I've seen yet. There's lots of that goofy unintentional groping, and face full of boob when the male characters trip into their female classmates. There's a bath/sauna episode, where the girls lounge around teasingly in their towels. And every fanservice moment like this is minutes before or after a gruesome zombie attack where an unnamed crowd character gets mauled, or zombies are mowed down with powerful firearms, boobs jiggling all the while. It is so jarring.

The boob tripod is infamous

As someone who admittingly sought out the series for the fanservice, I feel the bloody violence and constant threat of a vicious death ruined any enjoyment of the lewdness. Conversely, if you sought out this series because it is a thriller, I feel like the unnecessary fanservice ruins the pacing and atmosphere of the action. Too gorey for a lewd romcom, too lewd for a gorey action thriller.

I know I'm discussing this anime in what it is usually a recommendation article series, but I feel this one is really hard to recommend. It is definitely a fanservicey anime but in my opinion, it doesn't work.

Thanks for Reading

If you have other examples of good or bad inclusion of fanservice you think are worth discussing, let me know. If you have series you think I'd enjoy based on past recommendations, I'd love to hear your recommendations.

Access my past recommendations on the Pinned Post on this blog. And to read what I said about Keijo last time, here's a link to Media (Maybe) Recommendations #6.

[ukaiknowsbest]

Review: Tamayomi

[will contain spoilers]

Lately I have been pretty bored with the recent developments in Daiya no A and Oofuri. New Shonen anime stuff just don't appeal to me, so I bit the bullet and watched Tamayomi for at least one episode a day.

Like me, people would normally think "HOW TF ARE THEY GOING TO PLAY BASEBALL? AREN'T THEY WEARING SHORTS??? IS THIS JUST FANSERVICE?? OMYGOD"

But I did it. I watched the whole thing. 12 episodes.

And I enjoyed it.

THE SETUP/PLOT

pretty standard fare

Pitcher Yomi Takeda accidentally reunites with her childhood friend who's actually a nationals-level in middle school catcher when they both end up in the same highschool.

School: former powerhouse located in Saitama, now baseball club is almost non-existent. Yomi and a few other will try to revive the team from scratch.

Basically Shin Koshigaya is a brand new team where they struggle to look for new members and majority are first years.

They have to face other stronger teams even when they have a few members and some decent players.

Demographic is SEINEN (like oofuri, last inning, one outs, etc.)

CHARACTERS

Yomi Takeda as Main character and pitcher- skilled, resilient, funny, hardworking, does a lot of research which enabled her to perfect her form and hone her breaking ball. She keeps improving in a good pace too.

Tamaki Yamazaki former childhood friend of Yomi. Is a decent catcher in middle school. A bit well known. Good communicator.

Yoshino - team manager and coach. srsly she is a boss. She's not infallible but she tries her best.

and other decent players with adequate skill

For a sports anime they have decent cast. This is probably the closest we can currently get of a story where the girls are just focused on the sport, do their own strategizing/planning/training. All of them are cute but also serious about what they do.

There's no boys here so there's no talk about het-crushes and other distractions. It's a clamfest babyyyy.

I've seen a little of Major 2 (the one abt the son and his coed team) and I couldn't stand it because it was just slice of life in sportsy undertones.

There is also decent communication among all the players. It's pretty refreshing to watch. The catcher is well rounded and the pitcher is good. Everyone talk things out and there is not a lot of drama.

FANSERVICE

Wearing shorts to a sport that involves a lot of making contact with the ground is just illogical lmao.

Their school uniform skirt is pretty short

A little bit of their manager prodding the thighs of each person she meets but with good reason (she can tell how much muscle/exercise a person does just by a little prodding). It's a trope thing.

That's all. There are no panty shots, unnecessary locker room nudity, boob action, see through sweaty shirts. Most of the cringy things I've seen in other girls sports anime aren't present.

Eventually I even forget that they're wearing shorts or that it impedes their performance. It seems like it doesn't matter much to the characters so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I don't know if like the hugging or holding hands is considered fanservice. In my experiece we ladies just act like that irl. What they do is nothing out of the ordinary.

REALISM

3/5. They wear shorts and dont tie their hair up. The baseball part seem pretty decent though. The pacing of the story and matches was like watching IRL Koshien. It's all very clinical and straightforward.

Plus they include a lot of interesting baseball stuff which I haven't seen happen in early stages of other shonen anime like: specifically training the pitcher in other positions, showing what fielders yell to each other, letting other relievers start to reserve their ace (ppl can yell DnA did this but remember Tanba was injury boy throughout Act 1).

COMPARISON TO OTHER BASEBALL MANGA

based on technicality Tamayomi is prolly one of the top among baseball anime/manga I have seen.

Last Inning

Oofuri

Tamayomi

Daiya no A

Now don't chase me with pitchforks because of this ranking just yet. The fact that Shin Koshigaya coach's decisions and reasonings for plays and lineups are discussed makes the show at par with Last Inning and Oofuri. (we dont see DnA kataoka talk abt this sht like..ever)

Moreover Tamayomi has similar vibes to Oofuri/Big Windup but less dramatic. I do not think it's good for beginners too (especially with just 12 episodes). You need to have prior baseball knowledge to understand what the characters were doing.

However, this show is probably the most no-fuss baseball anime/manga I have watched. It does not rely on hype like DnA and it also don't have heavy topics like Oofuri and Last Inning. It's not wacky like One Outs and it's not uber slice of life like Cross Game. It's just baseball.

My minor complaint is that they don't give numbers when talking about things like pitching speed tho. It would've been more realistic if actual numbers were dropped XD

ART/ DESIGN/ANIMATION

A.k.a the thing most viewers complain about.

Character design is subpar. Everyone's faces are almost the same. You can tell who's the character not by face but by hair and height. Personally I don't mind this. I don't really look for realism in most things I watch. And I think the hair designs are cool.

Lots of people drop this show because of bad animation. There are shots/scenes where it's like I'm watching fanmade AMV's in nicovideo/youtube from the early 2000's. Pitching motions and Batting motions look like character movements in rpg games.

It's not really a problem for me though. I think it's charming for some reason. I don't mind it. A lot of people do but I'm not them.

CONCLUSION

NGL I wanted more. 12 episodes is too short. I hope a better animation company picks this up. I'm rewatching the whole thing because I enjoyed it a lot. I'll even check out the manga if I have time.

If anyone's interested here's my tamayomi livetweet thread

This is one of the closest thing I could get to what a decent girl sports anime looks like. If the character designs, art, animation and the uniforms were just better this show would have gone pretty far.

Compared to Shonen types of manga this was relaxing to watch, especially before bed. I'd honestly recommend it you wanna watch smth that doesnt involve a lot of feelings and drama but still feel like watching an actual sport.

Girls are fun. Finally.

[personal notes under the cut]

I get that people reading this would think I'm being too optimistic about a show they considered shtty but I kid you not, I dropped Bakuten (boys gymnastic's anime) coz even with it's wonderful animation i thought it was boring af.

I have dropped so many prettily animated shows coz i just cant get into the characters nor the story.

I've also said before in my Two Car review that I am actively avoiding shows with popular VA's. Idk much abt female VA's in anime, therefore watching Tamayomi was the perfect solution for me.

The reason I like tamayomi so much is that it gave me the same feeling of watching Summer Koshien 2021. I just think an anime that made me remember that kind of feeling was cool.

I'll rewatch hanebado next. wish me luck.

[cool-the-binge-eater]

Manhwa Recomendation- A Step Mother Marchen

A Step Mother marchen is a time traveling plot/ reincarnation about Shuli the marquess of the Neuwanstein family. The title of marquess came with a lot of responsibilities and judgments nicknamed as the “iron widow”,”spider widow” etc . She raised her “children” till they came of age even though she was more like siblings until the wedding. On the day of Jeremy wedding she is killed by bandits in an “accident” and awakens to the day her husband’s funeral 7 years ago.

The Plot

So The plot is more political intrigue between the nobles , royal family and church in the country of (not) Germany. Shuli in her 2nd life is super experienced with political infighting but she isn’t OP because her past has gaps in her memory. That leads to a lot of mysteries in the plot that have yet to resolved and the problems she does remember are still being worked on. There’s the obvious mystery of who killed her?, why did her husband (45) marry a 16 year old girl?, Why do the children dislike her so much? What’s this mysterious riot that happened in her 1st life? Etc.

The slice of life elements of the Neuwanstein family is very adorable. I’d say 60% cute family moments/drama and 40% political stuff and mystery. Also romance but there’s a love triangle going on but hasent really started \(-_-)/. When Shuli gets reinacaranted she feels older than the other kids around her mentally which I think it’s a good thing. Sometimes these plots make it feel like the reincarnated FL is OP yet remaining really childish. The step children I think are great at being children they’re all distinct and have goals, backstories and interests diffrent from one another. Jermey (the oldest) has an interesting arc of district towards becoming a really filial and appreciative son to Shuli.

Keep in mind her 1st life shows up time to time and that’s the starting point of her emotional journey for her. I say that because the past sometimes looks like the present and it’s hard to differentiate. Her 1st life ended with her feeling unloved and filled with regret (wasn’t invited to the wedding). Misunderstandings with the children happened in her first life because she was 16 and was immature back than and forced herself to act more grownup.

The Art

So the art can get getting used to because the panels are chibi and kinda wacky. Shuli and the kids have a lot of expressions which help convey their annoyance at each other and the bantering/bickering. It’s comedic for a lot of the panels which can be a turn off i guess if you don’t find it funny. When ORKA art hits... it hits when adding dramatic tension or relief. One of the biggest things manhwa has over manga is color because we are all dumb babies who like color. Sometimes color can be a crutch depending on the artist but ORKA uses it so well to set a mood that I don’t mind that there isn’t any backgrounds usually. (I hate drawing backgrounds too) Shoujo as a genre isn’t action packed like Shonen or scary like horror so color really adds to the art.

Last minute thoughts

Church gives alms to the poor and are in charge of Christmas but are also kinda scummy also sexist and one of them says this “A woman should learn quietness and submit to their husbands” (paraphrasing)

I’m only mentioning it because woman in this world go to war and some are disabled because of it but can’t be in charge of their families (maybe cuz Shuli is new idk)

Some people might find the premise icky that Yohan married Shuli but he gets criticized in the story a lot. It’s the premise starter and we don’t see the marriage that well. People find that it’s so weird Shuli cares so much about the children since most nobles are emotionally distant from their own children.

Alternate title is a Stepmother’s fairy tale and sometime the art changes to black and look more storybook like but I don’t really see the fairytale elemets. Other than the usual hatred of stepmother in fairytales (I doubt in the 18th century people would have liked a new stepmother in a important noble family).🤔

Also good chance to tell you the love story might end up MILF......yyy 😂 !!! Not 100% sure!..... cuz love triangle but keep that in mind (but also i don’t actually mind Shuli is 2 years older than both Male leads.)

[natsspammityspamspamham]

Why You Should Watch SKET Dance

Why You Should Watch SKET Dance

If I were to tell you what I took away from SKET Dance from old lessons to new, I would say that it said something along the lines of this:

“You are not the mistakes you made in the past. You are not defined the person you were before. If anything, the past is something that you cannot change, but you can surpass those regrets and try to change for the better. Trauma is something that cannot be left behind, but it can get better, especially when you are surrounded by the right people and support. Helping people doesn’t always change the world, but it can change the world of that person and maybe even yours.”

That cheesy quote took a while to write (so did this whole post), but that’s because I wanted to get it right. I wasn’t even sure where to start with this post of sorts.

I will warn ahead of time that if you aren’t familiar with anime, SKET Dance might be an overreach. It does have some references that are niche, and it has a lot of “manzai” (tsukkomi/boke) jokes with tons of mentions. There is fanservice, but no more than you’d see in some of the other series that were released under Shonen Jump. Sometimes the humour and everything can be a little cringy, but I think that’s a given with the fact that you are watching anime.

(This is spoiler-free, gluten-free, no trans fat, and took me too much time.)

Story

I get that it’s like Gintama, but I wouldn’t say it’s a “poor man’s Gintama”. Instead, take it for what it is. It’s like comparing a younger sibling to the older sibling. You’re not letting SketDan shine on its own, and it deserves to.

SketDan has a really simplistic story. It’s about a school club that wants to help people. There is no big war, massive battles, or over-the-top villain that needs to be crushed. I can’t say that it’s episodic, but it definitely leans towards the more “slice-of-life” approach. It has its own arcs that come one after another in good bits and pieces. This series balances itself so well with its drama and comedy. The backstories were done so well, and they didn’t even get to all of them! In fact, one of the best ones was left just in the manga.

The story is made by the characters. It doesn’t rely on the environment or the world around them. Instead, the world to them are the people they are surrounded by. No aliens, samurai, ninjas, or great big event, it’s just them, their high school, and their unconventional club.

Characters

This has got to go down as one of the best ensemble trios in anime. All of them do get their time to develop, and they balance each other out so well. You’d think these characters were friends for their entire lives. I can’t even say who’s the best because I think they’re all the best!

Bossun is a sensitive guy who’s insecure about being the main character of this series (yes, he does mention that). He doesn’t have any spectacular “Shonen Jump” skills. He has no “bankai”, “rasengan”, or “Kamehameha”. He has a hat and goggles. His power is concentration. These are completely valid reasons to be worried about your character status because, on the surface, Bossun sounds downright pathetic (and he knows it). But through the story, you get to see why he’s actually one of the best main characters out there (even if the cast doesn’t want to acknowledge it).

Himeko is one of the coolest characters in this series. I haven’t seen a weapon of that kind… ever. She isn’t afraid to slap the stuff out of anyone and will do anything for a friend. I don’t want to get into her character too much due to spoilers, but it’s revealed early on that she is quite legendary. She’s quite important for the humour of this story. It’s often brought up that she’s the “tsukkomi” (the one who responds to the “boke” stupid).

Last but not least of the great trio, we have Switch. This is probably the character I was most blindsided by. Even though I knew his backstory beforehand (nobody stops me from clicking from “show spoiler” button, it’s quite a problem). He’s the local otaku and database. And he’s probably the most observant. Even though he never “talks”, he’s one of the funniest characters in the series even when he isn’t in the limelight. I legally cannot dig into more about his character due to spoilers. You really need to see it for yourself.

The supporting cast is nothing to put aside either. A lot of them become more and more important as time passes, and the roles they play soon play right into the main plot of the story. We’ve got someone who speaks in “yabasu”, a ghostly occult member, a samurai, a captain, a tsundere, a visual kei star who doesn’t speak in any actual language, a 1.8m tall woman who can literally murder you with a slap, a voice actress idol movie star, and a teacher who makes drugs and bombs. That doesn’t even touch on the student counsel. Anyways, discovering these characters is part of the charm.

Art

There are too many good faces in this anime. While the art isn’t always consistent, it’s never “bad”.

The faces in this anime are on-par with other comedy anime. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Music

*downloads all the music*

I’m going to pretend like I haven’t listened to some of these on repeat since I finished the anime. Not all anime will literally have a designated band that are made after the characters. That was a really nice touch. There are a ton of special insert songs that go with certain arcs too.

SKET Dance is like any other anime in a way. It benefits from having a good OST. A good OST will add to the story. It will add to the anime, and it will convey all the right feelings. It helps with the comedy, the drama, and the random “what am I watching” moments.

Seiyuu

I wanted to save this category for last. This anime actually changed the way that I look at all the main seiyuu of this anime. It’s not that often that the Vomics (voice acted comics) have the same cast as the anime. They fit their characters so well, and I really can’t express that enough. I associate their voices with their character. It’s like how you can look at a picture of your favourite character and remember exactly what they sound like (or maybe that’s just me).

I haven’t actually heard a lot of lead roles by Hiroyuki Yoshino because he has such a uniquely odd voice. I think the last anime I watched where he actually played the protagonist was Kekkaishi which was quite a while ago. He did well for that role too. Another anime where he played one of the main characters was in Hai to Gensou no Grimgar which didn’t have a very enjoyable cast compared to other anime including SKET Dance (but still worth checking out if you like tamer isekai). I’ve also seen him play a suave character, but I actually skipped most of his lines going, “Not this again.” Present Mic is a character that he seems to be popular for, but those specific niche characters didn’t give him nearly the range that Bossun did. From the moments we were laughing with him and at him to the serious moments that really made me go quiet, it felt like he was truly the character.

Ryouko Shiraishi is such an underrated seiyuu. She admits that she doesn’t have a very cutesy voice, and due to that, the number of female characters she can play goes down, but I wouldn’t dismiss how great she is. For one, she’s really good at the Kansai dialect. Second, she plays a lot of younger male characters. She makes Himeko really cute but also really tough and spunky. She carries a lot of the humour as the reactor “tsukkomi”. And if you’ve watched Demon Slayer, she plays one of the demons and is so good at it. I really like her unique voice because it deviates from the norm just like Himeko’s character.

Gintoki—I mean Tomokazu Sugita is great as Switch, and even though sometimes we forget that he’s a legitimate voice actor who can actually voice act and not just scream on command. Of course, he’s funny. That goes without saying. Almost all of his well-known characters are known for being funny. Even the guy in real life is really funny. I’m not sure how much explanation would be needed for him.

Summary

Overall, I had such a good time with this anime. It made me laugh, feel the feels, and really smile (I mean the type that people really ask you what the heck you’re watching because you’re smiling like you just watched someone you hate fall down the stairs). It reminded me of what I liked from comedy anime, but it also reminded me what I like about anime that take it to basics with just its characters. Actions and battles are good once in a while, but the characters are the heart, soul, and being of this anime. If you’re looking for a good laugh or smile with a ton of gags and jokes with a great ensemble cast, look no further! SKET Dance is here!

I’m going to recommend this anime to anyone who has read this, @azroazizah​, @brettyblease​, @tsukiomoon​, and anyone else who likes those Shonen Jump shenanigans.

P.S. It is totally worth picking up the manga after watching the anime.

[hunterxhell]

Hey there! Looking for recommendations. What less popular series are you reading in jump?

hey there! in terms of less popular/newish series in jump, here’s what i’m currently reading:

undead unluck i was put off initially because one of the first promo images for this series was a dude groping a girl’s tits but if you can overlook that in the first chapter it’s genuinely a wonderful series with a lot of cool worldbuilding and extremely likable characters. maybe one of the most unique series in jump right now. also the author is a self-professed togashi fanboy and was highly inspired by hxh so hxh fans would probably enjoy it.

agravity boys a gag series about four stupid boys stuck in space who are a source of amusement for a mysterious all-powerful being (and then later four more stupid boys show up). i think the comedy is very much your-mileage-may-vary and perhaps my taste is just trashy but i’ve genuinely laughed out loud at this series on multiple occasions and will be devastated if jump axes it. (at times it can also be unexpectedly wholesome.)

magu-chan: god of destruction magu-chan is a wholesome gag/slice of life series about a girl who accidentally unseals a tiny cthulhu-like creature named magu and the hijinks that follow as they live together. i really cannot stress how wholesome this series is, i love it so much.

chainsaw man technically this series is extremely popular for something running in jump that doesn’t have an anime yet so maybe it doesn’t belong in this list but wanted to mention it anyway. it’s a dark action series with a lot of gore and generally gross things but i’ve found it really compelling. some people describe it as a “spectacle” more than anything else and honestly that’s accurate. anyway it seems to be ending very soon and people think an anime announcement is inevitable so you might be seeing more about this series in the near future.

sakamoto days this literally just debuted in jump and only has two chapters but i think it’s very promising. it’s about an ex-hitman who runs a convenience store with his wife. seems like it’ll be action/comedy and i’m excited to read more.

bonus: spy x family technically this isn’t run in weekly shonen jump but instead on jump+ but it’s also become a big success despite not having an anime yet either (it’s still pretty new so probably not enough material to cover right now). it’s a comedy series about a fake family unit composed of a spy, an assassin, and an esper. genuinely hilarious, i just wish this one minor character in it wasn’t in love with his sister. oh well, we can’t have it all.

(also jujutsu kaisen just got an anime and i guess qualifies as “popular” now but i would feel weird excluding it so shoutout to jjk)

[guiltybystanders]

Beastars has ended! Two days ago, but I didn’t realize until today... And that ending... I have thoughts about it. Mostly that Beastars was a great story that completely lost its way in the last arc.

Warning for spoilers for the whole series, though this is focused more on a few big picture problems instead of individual characters and plotlines that got shafted.

I still really like Beastars, even if I'm no longer as gung-ho about recommending it to people after the last arc. The characters (when being paid adequate attention) were complex people with compelling flaws and fascinating worldviews. The worldbuilding (apart from a few bits of weirdness and the end) was some of the most interesting and thought-out I've read this past year, especially for something that starts as a slice of life story. And the commentary on gender (because this is definitely a story about gender) was nuanced and explored from many angles, and honestly a very thoughtful take on (non-toxic but still distinctly masculine) masculinity. Tho, for a story about gender and forbidden love, the fact there was next to no acknowledgment of LGBT themes was strange and actually made it a weaker story. Louis should have been gay tbh. Overall, there's a lot there to recommend.

Unfortunately, the best parts of the series (the complicated worldbuilding and how that society affected the characters, and the psychology of those characters) were less focused on than external forces and fighting towards the end, as the pacing rocketed up and many subplots were dropped to speed to the ending as soon as possible. Beastars was never super realistic in its drama (Haru was captured by the fucking mafia back when it was still mostly slice of life) but before the last arc, it still mostly felt internally-focused—it was a character-focused drama despite crazy action subplots. For instance, Legosi's training arc was undeniably an anime training arc, but more so it was about him struggling to be strong without eating meat, culminating in the scene where he does take a life by eating a bug. Even when shit got shonen, it was still a story of masculinity and finding your place in society, and I didn't mind the crazier aspects of that because it still felt mostly dedicated to the characters' emotional states (and the crazy shit was often sick as hell tbh.) I didn't feel the same way later on—Legosi still thought about what he was feeling, but almost always through dramatic monologues (often during fights) instead of moments of true self-reflection, and many of the supporting characters were sidelined with their potential wasted (such as Haru, who not only was never given her own storyline like she deserved, but also was still treated as Legosi's main motivation and yet was barely shown in his life.) The plot wasn't what drew me to Beastars—the characters and world were—but the plot is what got the focus in the end. And with the ending and the worldbuilding; the complete destruction of the Back Alley Market after one single moment felt pretty antithetical to a lot of other parts of the series—the Back Alley Market was challenged throughout the whole series as something to change and overcome, but we were also shown it was not so simple to completely end carnivore urges. To wrap it up in one big dramatic moment kind of destroys a lot of the best aspects of the worldbuilding, which was so horribly morally complicated.

There are parts of the last arc I did like, or at least think had potential if done differently, but none are enough to justify the last part of the manga. I liked Melon, at first. I think he brought some fascinating ideas to the story, ones that would have really shined had his arc been better written and paced. As it was, he became less compelling to me as time went on and the story became about defeating him instead of who the characters were as people, and his own character became more melodramatic. I liked the story of Legosi's mom, which only came after Melon's introduction. But then the part with Gosha's wife's suicide didn't really make much sense and felt shoehorned in to me. I liked Yahya’s introduction and his dynamic with Gosha. But I feel like his character was never fully unpacked, and his past with Gosha (while fun) sometimes overshadowed learning about his ideals or what it meant to actually be the Beastar. I loved seeing the "world of adults" in the city, and all of Legosi's neighbors. But they were largely written out as well, just as surely as most of the Cherryton students were. And the Cherryton characters were written out, even ones that seemed important, like Juno and Bill. The most egregious example of a character being written out was Haru: she started out as one of the three main characters with her own complex problems and worldview—and it was Legosi's feelings about her that motivated him throughout the entire story—but by the end, she was barely even a character, her own problems inconsistently addressed and glossed over, mostly showing up just for Legosi to Feel A Thing He Needs To For Plot. As it is... I can't help but think that it would have been best to end the story when Legosi caught the killer and left school, when things were relatively tied up, even if that would have come at the expense of some parts I really did like.

The ending dropped the ball on a lot of accounts—forgetting subplots, sidelining characters, oversimplifying the worldbuilding, bizarre pacing—and that really is a damn shame. However, I still like the beginning and the middle enough that I like this series overall, and in the end I'm glad I read it.

[helbramstrauma]

Updated Top 10 Anime

Of course these are all my personal opinions and are definitely influenced by my preferences. This is by no means by quality of show, this is simply my opinion you are welcome to disagree with me.

10. Haikyu

It is embarrassing how many times I have watched this, personally I prefer the dub because I think it is funnier and I simply watch this for the serotonin it provides. Although the story is also captivating.

9. Assassination Classroom

Another comfort anime for me! I just want to be loved and cared for the way Koro sensei loves his class. It is also incredibly funny and the action sequences and story is amazing!

8. Attack on Titan

This anime is full of all sorts of conflicts and ideologies, it demands your attention and makes you question your own philosophies. The story line is amazing and the character's are loveable, for the most part. Frankly it is a must watch in my opinion.

7. Bungo Stray Dogs

I am a literature nerd so I read most of the authors books and I think that is why I enjoyed it so much. Although the characters storyline and humor makes this enjoyable for everyone- you will definitely form a bond with some of the character and is something you can easily get invested into

6. The Promised Neverland

This is my second favorite phycological thriller in anime of all time. The characters are complex and the story has so many twists it is incredible, you never truly know who to side with. This may be controversial but I think it does what Attack on Titan does but better because it doesn't rely on death, destruction and war crimes. But they are both incredible shows and are a must watch.

5. Madoka Magica

This is an amazing deconstruction of the magical girl genre and it is done so well. I might be biased because my first anime was Sailor Moon and being familiar with the magical girl genre definitely made this more enjoyable. Also, I love the characters so much and even though the plot is a little convoluted it is still incredible and mind boggling.

4. Devil is a Part Timer

What if satan worked at McDonald's? This show balances classic shonen with slice of life incredibly well and is super rewatchable! The characters are loveable and the action is captivating- frankly it has a little bit of everything for everyone to enjoy.

3. Hunter x Hunter

The way this show progresses and you see the philosophies and mental state of the characters shift is unparalleled. Of course it is hilarious at times but it definitely gets dark, but it is a slow change. This is a character driven story and it is done so well. Even if you don't like character driven stories as much as I do you will still love this show.

2. Sk8 the Infinity

Gay skateboarding that may or may not be devastating. Unlike all the other shows on this list, this one is not finished yet and I'm not sure if it is going to be a happy ending or one that I cry about for weeks on end. The animation in this show is beautiful and the characters are loveable and relatable. This is so much more than a sports anime as you look more into the backstories of each characters. Even though I'm not sure where it is going I know it deserves this spot.

1. Higurashi When They Cry

This is, in my personal opinion, the best horror/thriller anime. It is in my favorite genre and the plot is incredibly complex and has so many hidden details. The pacing in this show is beautiful and the sound track is one of my favorites. Usually I don't have a preference between sub and dub however I think the sub is better with dialogue and telling the story that the dub just doesn't capture as well. However I cannot express to you enough how good this mystery is, the suspense is also incredible. Also when you rewatch the show it becomes even more gut wrenching because you know why everything is happening. All in all this show is written incredibly and is a must watch if you are into the horror genre.