General Anime/Manga Discussion 16: In Another Thread With My Smartphone

[LaZodiac]

So Aotrs, I read that whole thing. I would like to note that beyond my own personal frustrations with keeping keyfabe with your lich thing, I have no ill will towards you. I'm sure you're a good person, I'm just also a tiny bit concerrned about some of the stuff you said, mostly at the end. I won't be addressing it in this post, just making a note o it.

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While you are correct that "surprise I'm a satan the whole time" Homura twist is something that really ****ing pisses me off, the first thing taht bothers me is this...

"So the little bleeders slapped an isolation field around Homura's soulgem, so when Homura formed a labyrinthe INTERNALLY inside the soulgem. And modified the field so that it was one-way, so things could get lured in (like the girls), but not get out. And the bunnycats could watch what happened. And they figures, if this "Law of Cycles" showed up, it had to pass through the barrier and enter Homura's labyrinthe and when it did, they could observe it. Because? Once they finally had some evidence of what this Law of Cycles was, they could then figure out how to control it and then, maybe they could harness all that power that was just vanishing when magical girls disappeared, because the phase change at the moment of despiar was a really nice energy source."

The incubators are not this smart. Homura literally brought up the old world, framed as a dream, to Kyubey and he says outright "it'd be real cool and good if that happened, shame it isn't possible". They would not in any way think "... actually lets try and **** things up to see what the real truth is" because, to them, everything is working proper and normal. They have no reason to assume things are actually not working the way they always had. So this entire bit with Homura is nonsense, so the premise of this is flawed from the beginning.

Anyway, cutting to the other point; I do agree that sometimes the villain winning is good and cool.

Homura is not the ****ing villain.

The happy ending of Madoka Magica proper is not a half-victory, it is 100% total success. Homura's sad because Madoka doesn't physically exist in the real world but she does accept and understand in the scope of the series that Madoka is now LITERALLY ****ING GOD and when she does eventually die, she will go to Madoka's heaven and be with her. This is unambiguously a good, happy ending, and I cannot for the life of me see how it could be taken in any other way.

"a curse born of love" **** off with this NONSENSE. That's not... that doesn't make any SENSE!! Who WROTE THIS?!

"To be quite honest, though, if Homura had done this in a slightly different way (with less mind-control and such), the outcome would not be considered wrong by so many, I feel. Homura's end goal is an objective net improvement over what was, and kicks the whole "heroic sacrifice" thing in the sins, as it rightfully should. Hope with the possibility of realisation is pointless. (That's going to upset some of you, isn't it?) An endless battle where the only result is death and the continuation is bad, and if you can stop that situation, you absolutely should, even if it means kicking over some anthills. If it means poking Reality in the eyes at the same time all the better. I think this is a place where I fundementally diverge from typical human thinking. Most people will just say "that's life," or "you have to accept it," where as I always go "but that's not good enough." Yes, Madoka sacrificing herself for the sake of the magical girls was selfless and all, but no matter how noble the sacrfice, at any point you have to make one SOMEONE DID SOMETHING WRONG. You, or someone, screwed up. A heroic sacrifice is not a wi, its at best a mititation. And it would neither I, nor Homura, think that an acceptable end-point."

By her own admission, Movie!Homura WILL DESTROY THE WORLD. She's... EVIL! This is not a net improvement to the ending Madoka created!

I have NO ****ing clue what you mean by "Hope with the possibility of realization is pointless" because that... that's not a THING?! What does this MEAN? Do you mean "hope is bad because it might not pull trough"? Because if you do... that seems utterly nonsensical. Hope is meant to inspire you to push forward in that hard headed way.

I 100% disagree with the idea that what Madoka did was a heroic sacrifice. She sacrificed NOTHING. She, again, BECAME LITERALLY GOD. Nothing bad happened except the minor pain of Homura having to wait, something she was OKAY WITH at the end of the series.

I'm glad the animation and fight scenes were good, because this movie sounds like G A R B A GE. Holy ****.

It also really REALLY doesn't help that Homura gets a super sexy devil girl outfit during it. Gross.

[Ibrinar]

Question to people who have finished bleach, how are the last arcs? I am considering finishing it after having dropped it long ago.

[Dragonus45]

A lot of interesting ideas, hampered by a mangaka who was clearly burned out on the entire process of the weekly manga industry and let things just drag in every aspect of things. I would certainly recommend reading it at some point but I wouldn't call it a priority.

[Durkoala]

Question to people who have finished bleach, how are the last arcs? I am considering finishing it after having dropped it long ago.

Where did you drop it? The plot quality varies, but mostly goes down, but the art quality gets pretty good after the point where the anime ended. There's a quite a few good bits, but also a lot of faffing around between those bits. I've heard it rumoured that the author was under a lot of editorial pressure and medical issues and I can believe it brom how schizophrenic the finished product was.

The short version of the arcs:

Early Arrancar Saga: character interactions in preparation for Aizen's invasion, interspersed with the odd arrancar attack.

Early-mid Arrancar arc ('Hueaco Mundo arc'): Ichigo and friends attack Aizen's base in Hueco Mundo. Lots of great enemy designs and decent to good fights, as well as some memorable characters. A lot of fans don't like Orihime's arc where she plays the damsel in distress and some of the plot details get a little wobbly.

Late Arrancar Arc: ('Fake Karakurra town arc'): Tons of fights, some great, some bad, but half of them are in-universe padding. Ichigo and Ulquiorra's final fight is considered one of the best in Bleach and takes place n this arc. The so-called main characters drop severely out of focus as this arc goes on though.

Spoiler: Final Arrancar Arc and Deicide Arc

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The finale to the Aizen Saga, and brings back some familiar faces, but is mostly underwhelming. Fans are undecided if the final confrontation is a letdown or carthartic after how long Aizen has been dragging the series around, but overall it didn't quite hit the mark. Still, you can laugh at Aizen's transformations.

Spoiler: Fullbring arc:

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A fairly short arc about Ichigo trying to regain his powers with the help of a new group of people. Opinion is split on whether it's bad or good, but I personally am in the 'good' camp. Most agree it has great villains, though.

Thousand Year Blood War Arc:The final arc. The art gets very detailed, the powers get pushed to new heights and things are geared up for a finale... that is quickly truncated due to the Author being given an ultimate deadline and the author not pacing himself well enough to finish in time.

Spoiler: More

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There's some great moments like the new set of villains brutally crushing Soul Society, Ichigo talking with his father, the introduction of the zero squad, Ichigo getting a new sword and a lot of plot threads get addressed, but the plot is alternately rushed and drawn out, and several other plot threads are either obviously dropped or thrown in haphazardly.

[Rynjin]

Question to people who have finished bleach, how are the last arcs? I am considering finishing it after having dropped it long ago.

Basically, Kubo goes through with a ballsy move in the Fullbring arc, actually sticking with Ichigo losing his powers and bringing the escalating power scale way down for an arc, with a villain that fights using strange and interesting abilities reminiscent of a Stand or Nen user from other series.

It's pretty neat.

Then Kubo chickens out, gives Ichigo his powers back through some asspull so he can beat the guy through brute force, and the remainder of the series is an incoherent mess so bad it got canceled and came to an abrupt end that satisfied pretty much nobody, PARTICULARLY the shippers.

[HandofShadows]

Kubo had been suffering major health issues for some years before Bleach ended. And the whole story from the man himself.

[LaZodiac]

Both of your can be right.

Kubo's health issues are super duper sad, and he's a really good guy.

He's also a terrible writer in a lot of ways.

[uncool]

Spoiler: Ascendance of a Bookworm Episode 24

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At 16:25, the Nobles' Gate opens and we get to see the nobles district. And...the picture feels off to me in so many ways. The scale of the manors seems off - they're almost the same width as the staircase, and maybe 8 times as long as the nearby benches. That puts them at less than 20 meters wide - which is tiny for the type of manor shown. Not only that, but the 50 or so in front are pretty transparently the same as each other, with none of the ornamentation or ostentatiousness you'd expect from nobles. Not even any color variation.

Also, is the Nobles' Gate the only way between the commoner district and the noble district? The division seems strongly walled off in ways that would prevent interaction that the nobles would depend on - for servants, food, etc.

[Rodin]

I've been really enjoying Tower of God so far. I'm a sucker for crazy tournaments and exams so it's right up my street.

However, there is one plot point that I appear to have missed. Please note that I have not seen the webtoon or any other form of media - I'm only familiar up to where the anime currently is (episode 11). And if the plot point is something yet to be revealed, please just say that instead.

Spoiler: Confusion

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Princesses of Jahad are not allowed in the testing area. This is why Yuri is sneaking around trying to get in. Anaak got in because she isn't a real princess, but rather the orphaned daughter of a former princess.

So how did Endorsi get in? Why is she allowed to take the test at all? If it's a crime for her to be there and she hasn't hidden her status, why are the examiners having to use such roundabout measures?

[LaZodiac]

I've been really enjoying Tower of God so far. I'm a sucker for crazy tournaments and exams so it's right up my street.

However, there is one plot point that I appear to have missed. Please note that I have not seen the webtoon or any other form of media - I'm only familiar up to where the anime currently is (episode 11). And if the plot point is something yet to be revealed, please just say that instead.

Spoiler: Confusion

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Princesses of Jahad are not allowed in the testing area. This is why Yuri is sneaking around trying to get in. Anaak got in because she isn't a real princess, but rather the orphaned daughter of a former princess.

So how did Endorsi get in? Why is she allowed to take the test at all? If it's a crime for her to be there and she hasn't hidden her status, why are the examiners having to use such roundabout measures?

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As near I can tell, nothing has been said about this.

Like, my best guess is that while no, Princesses aren't allowed to climb the tower... it's not like anyone can stop them. Politically, and in some cases physically/magically, they are stronger than anyone who would care enough to try and prevent it.

[PraetorDragoon]

I've been really enjoying Tower of God so far. I'm a sucker for crazy tournaments and exams so it's right up my street.

However, there is one plot point that I appear to have missed. Please note that I have not seen the webtoon or any other form of media - I'm only familiar up to where the anime currently is (episode 11). And if the plot point is something yet to be revealed, please just say that instead.

Spoiler: Confusion

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Princesses of Jahad are not allowed in the testing area. This is why Yuri is sneaking around trying to get in. Anaak got in because she isn't a real princess, but rather the orphaned daughter of a former princess.

So how did Endorsi get in? Why is she allowed to take the test at all? If it's a crime for her to be there and she hasn't hidden her status, why are the examiners having to use such roundabout measures?

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Not much of a spoiler, but the difference is that Yuri is a Ranker and the others are Regulars. Rankers are those who managed to get to the (current) top, while Regulars are those who are still climbing. Princesses can be Regulars (still climbing) or Rankers (finished climbing). The Tower Rules are that Rankers (that aren't test-takers) cannot interfere with tests, so they aren't really allowed in the testing grounds.

[Zalabim]

I've been really enjoying Tower of God so far. I'm a sucker for crazy tournaments and exams so it's right up my street.

However, there is one plot point that I appear to have missed. Please note that I have not seen the webtoon or any other form of media - I'm only familiar up to where the anime currently is (episode 11). And if the plot point is something yet to be revealed, please just say that instead.

Spoiler: Confusion

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Princesses of Jahad are not allowed in the testing area. This is why Yuri is sneaking around trying to get in. Anaak got in because she isn't a real princess, but rather the orphaned daughter of a former princess.

So how did Endorsi get in? Why is she allowed to take the test at all? If it's a crime for her to be there and she hasn't hidden her status, why are the examiners having to use such roundabout measures?

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It's touched on between episodes 1 and 2. Evan and Yuri aren't allowed to go to Evankhell's floor, and in episode 2 Lero Ro says the Inner Tower, where they are, can only be climbed by Regulars. Rankers have to use the middle area of the tower to travel between floors. It's not just Yuri, and it's not because she is a princess. Finally, Headon says Yuri can't interfere any more once Baam is taking the test on the first floor. That's also a general rule. Rankers are not to interfere with the Regular's tests. These aren't unbreakable laws of physics in the tower, but up to enforcement by floor guardians, rulers, or administrators. In other words, the rule is don't be seen interfering.

Spoiler: extra depth

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It's not explicit in the episode, but this is the argument Khun uses to persuade Lero Ro to help him find a way for Rachel to continue. That is, she was only injured because of a Ranker's interference, so her injury shouldn't be counted against her.

This is also why having Quant as part of the tag test was unusual. Because he's part of the test, he would be allowed to fight the Regulars, but if he severely injured any of them, he'd be a Ranker interfering with Regulars' (further) tests. The inner tower is supposed to be an area where Regulars are safe from Rankers, in contrast with Sarena or Hoh's flashbacks. Everywhere else in the tower, Rankers can do as they please.

Also, it's said that Irregulars don't follow the rules of the tower, but the rules of the tower still apply around them. Once Baam passed Headon's test, he got all the privileges and protections afforded to any Regular that Headon selected normally. Hence, the translation using Irregular, or sometimes non-chosen regular, instead of non-regular. They're different in some ways, but not in all ways. They're can be considered Regulars with some extra quirks.

It's not laid out in hard language like the rules for the crown game, just stuff you have to infer from the character's words and actions. I think Endorsi's specific criminal activity will be clarified in the next episode.

[Rodin]

Thanks for the responses, all. That lays out pretty clearly where my confusion lay.

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I thought Headon said Princesses couldn't climb the tower. Instead, I was conflating three things.

1) Even Princesses cannot support an Irregular without drawing the wrath of the King.

2) Rankers cannot enter the test area.

3) Yuri is a Princess.

The third is the most important - I did not realize that she was a Ranker. Without that, her only claim to special status was being a Princess, which was what meant she couldn't climb. If I'm not mistaken, it's implied that the navigator dude is also a Ranker?

All in all it's been a very cool show but it does throw quite a bit of terminology around early on without being super explicit about it.

[Lord Raziere]

Spoiler: Promare

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YES! This is the EXACT kind of over the top TTGL anime nonsense I watch this medium foooor!

Just charge recklessly into everything! JUST SMASH THINGS OPEN!!! destroy bad flames with good flames! for a giant ridiculous mech to just punch the problem with green good flames! I LOVE how they parody the usual tropes by not naming japan, but by saying "Far off eastern nation" to point out how ridiculous it is, I LOVE how the mech's name to help save all this is the DEUS EX MACHINA. They're not only over the top, they're self aware about it! the action is fast and furious, they made me root for the Burnish with the first few minutes, oh and a Kamina-like person named Galos finally got to be the main hero for once, about time, because thats what Galos basically is, he is Kamina if he was fire-fighter. Leon's just awesome ine very scene he is in, even if I'm kinda of disappointed he wasn't female because he looked like it from the pictures of it, but oh well, I had fun with this, the governor was a well done villain who would almost have a point if he wasn't in an anime nonsense movie where friendship and determination solve everything and wasn't a hypocrite.

the reveal that all the flame actually from a parallel universe of aliens made of plasma in a earth-counterpart star was awesome and tied together the warp drive tech they developed, and explains how they could make stuff with the flames- its all promare tech from that other earth being used to fight. also I like how the AI basically admits that if Leon and Galo hadn't fallen onto his base by pure luck the earth would be doomed. and having two manly anime protagonists kiss to save one's life is just icing on the cake of this movie of pure awesome.

Studio Trigger: telling a better nonsensical anime firefighter story than Fire Force 8 in less than two hours.

[Ibrinar]

Kakushigoto is done

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The jump to the present was rather sudden, I would have expected some more time in the past, like at least meet the car guy properly etc. some plot threads from there feel a bit cut off. I wonder if the manga is the same way or it is because it had to fit a season? Anyway still an enjoyable anime.

[Aotrs Commander]

So, Seven Deadly sins Season four[/three] is purportedly coming out in July... I have heard some derogatory comments towards the animation level for this season, indicating some sort of budget cut or something. Them as of you ho preumsbaly have already watched it in Japanese (I'm sure some of you must have) should I be excited or be ready so see yet one more thing I liked keel over and peter out...?

[Excession]

Spoiler: Promare

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YES! This is the EXACT kind of over the top TTGL anime nonsense I watch this medium foooor!

Just charge recklessly into everything! JUST SMASH THINGS OPEN!!! destroy bad flames with good flames! for a giant ridiculous mech to just punch the problem with green good flames! I LOVE how they parody the usual tropes by not naming japan, but by saying "Far off eastern nation" to point out how ridiculous it is, I LOVE how the mech's name to help save all this is the DEUS EX MACHINA. They're not only over the top, they're self aware about it! the action is fast and furious, they made me root for the Burnish with the first few minutes, oh and a Kamina-like person named Galos finally got to be the main hero for once, about time, because thats what Galos basically is, he is Kamina if he was fire-fighter. Leon's just awesome ine very scene he is in, even if I'm kinda of disappointed he wasn't female because he looked like it from the pictures of it, but oh well, I had fun with this, the governor was a well done villain who would almost have a point if he wasn't in an anime nonsense movie where friendship and determination solve everything and wasn't a hypocrite.

the reveal that all the flame actually from a parallel universe of aliens made of plasma in a earth-counterpart star was awesome and tied together the warp drive tech they developed, and explains how they could make stuff with the flames- its all promare tech from that other earth being used to fight. also I like how the AI basically admits that if Leon and Galo hadn't fallen onto his base by pure luck the earth would be doomed. and having two manly anime protagonists kiss to save one's life is just icing on the cake of this movie of pure awesome.

Studio Trigger: telling a better nonsensical anime firefighter story than Fire Force 8 in less than two hours.

I agree with all of this. Plus it was just so pretty all of the time.

Spoiler

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Full animated 3D backgrounds was a bold choice, but adding that to Trigger's signature character animation style just worked so well somehow. I liked all the character references to their older work too, like Akko as a mouse, and the AI was basically Dr Franxx.

Promare is a masterpiece.

[Lethologica]

Spoiler: ToG episode 13 and later chapters

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Better setup for season 2 than the webtoon IMO. Later ToG struggles haaaard with two things: villains becoming friends at the drop of a hat, and Bam lacking internal motivation. And this starts with the whole "FUG will kill everyone you care about unless you go along with letting us train you" business that kicks off the next season. The way this season ends suggests a different direction where Bam has his own reasons for letting FUG use him. That said, it's a bit more convenient for the writers to do this because they don't know if there will be a next season adapted, so they have the luxury of ending it however they want.

[Dragonus45]

Spoiler: ToG episode 13 and later chapters

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Better setup for season 2 than the webtoon IMO. Later ToG struggles haaaard with two things: villains becoming friends at the drop of a hat, and Bam lacking internal motivation. And this starts with the whole "FUG will kill everyone you care about unless you go along with letting us train you" business that kicks off the next season. The way this season ends suggests a different direction where Bam has his own reasons for letting FUG use him. That said, it's a bit more convenient for the writers to do this because they don't know if there will be a next season adapted, so they have the luxury of ending it however they want.

I imagine a second season will be forthcoming, if only because this show got a ton of views and free buzz from being one of the few shows to go on through the quarantine.

Spoiler: long term ToG spoilers

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The one thing I dislike about the episode is how soft it is on Rachel. The more that gets revealed about her and Bam's backstory the more clear it is that she sought him out in his cave because she knew who or what he was and deliberately kept him isolated in his hole so she could keep him dependent on her, and that she is the kind of person who would never think twice about killing him, or murdering whoever else is in her way. Well, not true. She would think twice if she instead had the chance to be even more of a petty !@#$ and cripple them instead.

[Lethologica]

I imagine a second season will be forthcoming, if only because this show got a ton of views and free buzz from being one of the few shows to go on through the quarantine.

Spoiler: long term ToG spoilers

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The one thing I dislike about the episode is how soft it is on Rachel. The more that gets revealed about her and Bam's backstory the more clear it is that she sought him out in his cave because she knew who or what he was and deliberately kept him isolated in his hole so she could keep him dependent on her, and that she is the kind of person who would never think twice about killing him, or murdering whoever else is in her way. Well, not true. She would think twice if she instead had the chance to be even more of a petty !@#$ and cripple them instead.

Spoiler: Later ToG

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I don't think it's at all clear just what Rachel was doing with Bam. We know Rachel was friends with Arlene Grace at some point and therefore likely knew who Bam was, but we don't know why Bam was down the hole, who put him there, whether Rachel was free to bring him out or bring anyone else in, or anything else along those lines. And it is definitely possible both to use/abuse someone and to feel guilty/conflicted about betraying them. Even the webtoon has her both laughing and crying after betraying Bam.

[Zalabim]

I imagine a second season will be forthcoming, if only because this show got a ton of views and free buzz from being one of the few shows to go on through the quarantine.

Spoiler: long term ToG spoilers

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The one thing I dislike about the episode is how soft it is on Rachel. The more that gets revealed about her and Bam's backstory the more clear it is that she sought him out in his cave because she knew who or what he was and deliberately kept him isolated in his hole so she could keep him dependent on her, and that she is the kind of person who would never think twice about killing him, or murdering whoever else is in her way. Well, not true. She would think twice if she instead had the chance to be even more of a petty !@#$ and cripple them instead.

Spoiler: Hell train spoilers

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She clearly knows something about the tower. She seems to know about Bam's origin and the prophecy and that the Tower hasn't really been beaten, from knowing Arlene. I could believe she found Bam while looking for a way into the tower because she longed to escape her old life. She might know who/what Bam is right there. She might keep coming back to the cave to try to get into the tower, and not just to visit Bam. She clearly doesn't realize how important Bam is there. Once she finally gets into the tower, she seems utterly surprised that she is so not the Chosen One. That sets her on a downward spiral, but she starts out clearly uncomfortable with killing. The anime shows her uncomfortably allowing Endorsi to kill in the Crown Game. She only pushes Bam. She works up the nerve to stab Dan, but manages to not kill him. She only finally kills someone for herself for seemingly the first time on the Hell Train, and it seems to be a turning point. As much as possible, Rachel avoids taking responsibility for anything. Getting blood on her hands probably offends that part of her.

[Aotrs Commander]

Ended up binging the new series of Saiki K today. Watched the first three episodes while cleaning the room, then was so short of stuff to watch for dinner telly I ended up watching it again, as as there's only six episodes...

(The klast epsidoe in particular felt very rushed, like they could have done it double-length as it sort of felt like it was missing half of it.)



Als, as I needed SOMETHING to fill out the Amazon postage, I order both seasons of Scientic Railgun, so we'll see how I get on with that...

(Possible Bleakbane Watches candidate, though not at the same time I'm doing Bleakbane Plays BATTLETECH...)

[Julian84]

So if no one has picked up "Undead+Unluck" in SJ, I'd highly recommend that you do. It's incredibly fast-paced but has a remarkably deep world with interesting plot threads. The mangaka has been going at a blistering pace in order to stay up in the rankings, I think, so I'm hoping that the pace will tone it down a notch or two to explore some of the ideas present in the story.

[LaZodiac]

Undead Unluck is FASCINATING in that it starts pretty bad, to the point where I kinda ranted about it here, then I ignored it once my three chapter limit for bothering with a series was over.

It almost immediately took a swing upwards into fascinating as it did some world building that made it PRETTY damn compelling, and genuinely makes me want to actually read what I didn't read. They dropped mooost of the aspects that made me uncomfortable, and instead focused on the cooler parts of the series, as well as introducing sense to everything.

[Ibrinar]

Huh with how weak the beginning is (it has much of the more annoying anime stuff) I had it written of. Guess I should try a few more chapters whether it really gets better.

Side note the MCs remind me of some other MCs where a girl with luck powers (luck for her but misfortune for others and she can't control it) meets some guy that is super hard to kill (though not a regenerator)

[Aotrs Commander]

Can Bleakbane Stand more Than Two Episodes Theatre:

Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon?

(Actually started this last week, but didn't wanna double-post).

Spoiler: Episodes 1 to 4, which kinda of gives the game away, but whatever

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Less fanservice than I was expecting, honestly. (Yes, I thought it was going to be much worse.)

It's... odd. It... Watches like some of the odd Naruto fanfic I've read, concentrating more on the characters with the actual fighting stuff being very much on the back burner (despite being the driving thing) to the point of nearly irrelevance. Also not a huge fan of the "stats are real" approach, though it's maybe less so than some... I guess I was expecting the "dungeon" part to be... more prominent. And not... Like... A day-job or something.

Starring a protagonist so clueless that ASH KETCHUM is hissing "uh, dude, I think she's into you," in an undertone.

Seriously, Bell, mate, come on. Your goddess takes you on dates (which she explcitly calls dates), she says she loves you right to your face (and not in a platonic way), dotes on you endlessly; seriously, you're into girls how are you missing this? I'm honeslty not sure how much more obvious she can make it.

But apparently all the ladies like him (except the red headed lady from the Sword Princesses' group, she seems to prefer other ladies or at least Sword Princesses' butt...) So this IS sort of a tacit harem-anime, kinda?

Also, Kiba-wannabe from Sword Princess' group (he is such a Kiba I wouldn't be surprised if he was actually from the Inuzuka clan...), let's just point out, that in terms of success with the ladies, Bell does have you beat despite "being weak", and, at the end of the day, he will be stronger than you, uh yeah. And yes, it does seem that Sword Pricness DOES prefer him to you.

(Though, I mean, I DO have to question the underlying gender assumption that the paladin-lady is going to be interested in alpha-males and not the equivilent of the princess in the tower. Male knights steriotypically get their damsels, why why do female knights have to have male knights and not male damsels on occasion? Kinda seems wrong to me, personally.)



During the goddess party, when Loki showed up, I'll cop to it having a little snicker at the "and all the male gods are girls now," because of course they are, becaue It's That Kind Of Anime (although if ANYONE has a claim to be genderfluid, it's Loki). I also, shameful to admit, actually genuinely laugh at when Loki was making rude comments about Hestia being short when she responded with "oh, but Loki, you forgot to wear boobs," (sic), because it was well-delivered and kinda deserved.

(It went a bit too far afterwards, but that too, was not unexpected.)

And, while we're on the subject... Hestia, duck. Look, I know I'm the VERY last authority on clothes, but isn't that band that goes around you arms and under you boobs REALLY restrictive and uncomfortable? Surely there's a better approach?



Aphrodite as Apparently The Obvious Villain is kind of bizzarre and not very inspiring (also, shouldn't she, like, be and order of magnitude about the average aethetics compared to the other ladies in the show as were told she is and yet be and not... Kinda banal? Again, the least authoritative voice on these issues, but if I notice it, suggests you've fracked up somewhere? Is it just me?)



The chap with the elephant mask might look stupid, but he does at least seem to have his head on straight. (Also, second snicker when he's like "by the way, I'm whathisname," which seems directed at the forth wall, and then there's on of his minions in a tired voice going "yes, sir, we know," implied he randomly just introduced himself to thin air ALL THE TIME, which is hilarious.)



Overall, thus far, it is... Odd and not earth-shattering, but it's not boring yet and not cliché enough I was immediately tuning out. Sure, it's no Girls und Panzer or Seven Deadly Sins (though I fear whether the latter will degenerate, we'll see), but thus far, it's perfectly entertaining enough, (relatively) inoffensive fluff.

Conclusion: Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon?: Pass.

[Julian84]

Undead Unluck is FASCINATING in that it starts pretty bad, to the point where I kinda ranted about it here, then I ignored it once my three chapter limit for bothering with a series was over.

It almost immediately took a swing upwards into fascinating as it did some world building that made it PRETTY damn compelling, and genuinely makes me want to actually read what I didn't read. They dropped mooost of the aspects that made me uncomfortable, and instead focused on the cooler parts of the series, as well as introducing sense to everything.

Oh yeah I can see how it'd be pretty squicky for some people. I hate ecchi and the stereotypical male anime protagonist who is obsessed with practically molesting women personally, but I kind of appreciated that there was some semblance of a reason for the skin to skin contact and it's Andy who is inexplicably losing his clothes all the time, lol.

But I actually liked how it starts off. Seemed like Black Clover (and I can't stand Black Clover) to me in being straightforward and fast-paced about its tropes, but presented them well with characters I found interesting enough to keep going. By the time we get into the swing of things, it turns a lot of concepts on their head and actually seems like it sort of deconstructs some standard anime tropes.

The fight scenes and how powers work particularly fascinate me, it makes for some really cool battle manga that has a lot of story potential.

Edit: Has anyone checked out Ghost Reaper Girl? It just showed up today on Viz in the Jump section. It's from the mangaka of Rosario + Vampire, which is a little odd to me to see in a shonen print. I've only read a couple pages but it looks like a really shoujo version of Soul Eater so far. It's also stupid long at 89 pages, so not sure if that means it's a long one-shot or what.

Edit 2: Never mind, it's awful.

[gomipile]

2 episodes into Deca-Dence and I'm really enjoying it. It's tons of fun so far.

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It seems a lot like a Trigger anime but with the Trigger twist revealed in episode 2 and heavily teased in episode 1. That isn't a complaint.

Also, it seems like It's building to a heavy anti-colonialist message? Possibly anti-late-stage-capitalism + anti-imperialism? Not sure yet since it's only 2 episodes in.


Anyway, it's been fun for the first two episdes that have aired. The personalities and animation are both vibrant, and the fight scenes and the intimate character moments invoke strong feelings in me.

I like it so far. I hope it ends better than Darling in the Franxx. If it has only a mediocre ending or better, I'll call that a win.

[LaZodiac]

2 episodes into Deca-Dence and I'm really enjoying it. It's tons of fun so far.

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It seems a lot like a Trigger anime but with the Trigger twist revealed in episode 2 and heavily teased in episode 1. That isn't a complaint.

Also, it seems like It's building to a heavy anti-colonialist message? Possibly anti-late-stage-capitalism + anti-imperialism? Not sure yet since it's only 2 episodes in.


Anyway, it's been fun for the first two episdes that have aired. The personalities and animation are both vibrant, and the fight scenes and the intimate character moments invoke strong feelings in me.

I like it so far. I hope it ends better than Darling in the Franxx. If it has only a mediocre ending or better, I'll call that a win.

I'll be honest, Deca-dence's first episode was only really "decent" for me... up until

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the end with the robot people making me go "okay you deserve at least an episode 2 so I can find out what the **** this is"

And then we found out what the **** this is, and it turns out the answer is; capitalism is a plague on society that forces people to kill themselves physically or mentally for zero reason and we are going to demolish it, and also this cute girl wants to punch monsters with her robot fist.

My only hope is that... the Deca-dence battle fortress is overtly a giant robot hand, so I want to know WHERE THE REST OF THE GIANT ROBOT IS, and I want them to punch Stone Quake Corp. in the space robot junk.

[Aotrs Commander]

Watched next three episodes of Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon?

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It is a it thick on the Generic Thug Bad Person (but perhaps not as totally over the top with it as Angel Beats was...), but to be fair, the character stuff is quite well executed.

Bell is the most clueless numpty though. I mean, how much more obvious can it get? He clearly does get when girls are into him (and apparently, they ALL ARE, seriously), but what baffles me is why, when Hestia is more and more overt with her possessiveness, why he doesn't either, y'know, just tell her he doesn't feel that wabout her (if he doesn't, since he is crushing so hard on Mrs Paladin), because stringing her along that that is kind of... Not good. I mean, like, her feelings are SO CLEARLY not platonic, even Ash Ketchum would be getting the hint. Even NARUTO got it (might not have been able to DEAL with it, there, but he GOT IT) when Hinata Did The Thing, Lichemaster.

It took me until episode five to realise the grabby redhead in the Sword Princesses' group was actually Loki, their goddess; I totally missed that, not putting her appearance in the party together with her regular appearance. Apparently I Did A Baldrick.

("Who? What? Where? Why?"

Baldrick, two people you know well have exhancged clothes.")



Also, show, if you want to convince me the grey-haired barmaid lass is Clearly Not Aphrodite in A Cunning Disguise, maybe don't have the same hair colour and be so blindingly obvious about it. (And why grey anyway...?)



But, still quite watchable, and I think unless the back half of the season fails hard, it would be one I'd watch more of if, a subsequent season was to happen.

*checks* so there is a second season (and a delayed third) it's just as usual in limbo (especially in the UK), because of course it is. *eyeglow roll*