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Anime/Manga Community

Nani?

  • WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

    Votes: 33 16.3%
  • Muda Muda Muda!

    Votes: 45 22.2%
  • B..baka!

    Votes: 77 37.9%
  • Why yes I like isekai!

    Votes: 8 3.9%
  • Anime Thor

    Votes: 3 1.5%
  • I'm here for the plot!

    Votes: 37 18.2%

  • Total voters
    203

Labolas

Member
Man, Rosen Garten Saga is really underrated. Legit laugh at more than a couple chapters. It's a shame that this and other female led manga/anime don't get as much as love their male counterparts. And not talking about fujoshi shit either.
 

sedg87

Banned
Anyone able to recommend some horror manga, please? Preferably something that isn't very expensive. Thank you.
 

Labolas

Member
img_20220606_220730-jpg.3360975

FUnyJ9gakAAVIB0

iu

Anyone able to recommend some horror manga, please? Preferably something that isn't very expensive. Thank you.
Junji Ito's work is probably the best thing you get into if you want strictly horror. Stuff like Uzumaki and Gyo's stories are contained in one book so I would consider those cheap. PTSD Radio is worth checking out as well. Outside of that, it's hard to recommend horror manga without having other elements blend into horror. Gantz, Parasyte, Battle Royale, Monster, Berserk, Hellsing and I am Hero have great horror elements but are more than just strictly horror. I would checking out and reading some stuff that aren't available to buy and are just online only. Monkey's Peak, Pumpkin Night and Island of Giant Insects are dumb fun. Shonen horror like BioMeat, Hakaijuu, Greed Worldz and Dolly Kill Kill are recommended as well and I reviewed as well.
 

sedg87

Banned
iu


Junji Ito's work is probably the best thing you get into if you want strictly horror. Stuff like Uzumaki and Gyo's stories are contained in one book so I would consider those cheap. PTSD Radio is worth checking out as well. Outside of that, it's hard to recommend horror manga without having other elements blend into horror. Gantz, Parasyte, Battle Royale, Monster, Berserk, Hellsing and I am Hero have great horror elements but are more than just strictly horror. I would checking out and reading some stuff that aren't available to buy and are just online only. Monkey's Peak, Pumpkin Night and Island of Giant Insects are dumb fun. Shonen horror like BioMeat, Hakaijuu, Greed Worldz and Dolly Kill Kill are recommended as well and I reviewed as well.

After a little bit of Googling, I think I'm gonna go ahead and grab some of Junji Ito's work; That's exactly what I was after. I'll pick up some of the others at a later date. Thank you!
 

Doom85

Member
In terms of horror manga, besides the obvious Junji Ito works which have already been mentioned: I‘ve only read volume one of the manga so far, but Meiruko-Chan was pretty solid. There is a bit of fan service here and there, but it mostly focuses on this girl who suddenly starts to see horrific ghosts and ghouls and does everything she can to pretend she can’t see them out of fear of what they might do to her if they think she is able to see them. Nothing insanely scary but still there’s some creepy ghost designs to be enjoyed.

There’s also the manga adaptation of Higurashi. While I did enjoy the anime, the manga went a bit more in depth on certain arcs though I did fall behind on collecting the volumes so not sure if the quality kept up (stopped around the arc focused on Shion).
 

Doom85

Member


Looking good. I’ll have to rewatch Season 1, I remember the first half really well but not so much the second half other than Lucifer showing up.

Different studio this time. I do prefer how White Fox animated S1 in comparison to what I saw in this teaser, but it’s not bad looking. But I don’t like how Maou looks now. The rest of the cast look fine, but Maou just looks younger than how he did in S1 so it’s throwing me off.

But regardless, still excited.

Schitts Creek Reaction GIF by CBC
 

Pejo

Member


Looking good. I’ll have to rewatch Season 1, I remember the first half really well but not so much the second half other than Lucifer showing up.

Different studio this time. I do prefer how White Fox animated S1 in comparison to what I saw in this teaser, but it’s not bad looking. But I don’t like how Maou looks now. The rest of the cast look fine, but Maou just looks younger than how he did in S1 so it’s throwing me off.

But regardless, still excited.

Schitts Creek Reaction GIF by CBC

Holy shit, I never thought we'd see a S2 of this show. Can't wait.

Speaking of older stuff, I just binged the entire Nagatoro series today. That was a charming, heartwarming story. I'm not generally one for slice of lfie stuff, but Nagatoro is great, particularly when she gets caught being honest. The one thing that slice of life series seem to have going for them is that since there's no over-arching plot, they can really delve into character details and development.
 

Labolas

Member


I guess Studio Wit isn't doing the second season. Holy shit, Mappa is doing too much. Chainsaw Man, JJK season 2, Hell's Paradise, AOT season 3, a fucking Yuri on Ice movie. Hopefully this doesn't break the studio.
 

Labolas

Member


Netflix is trying to make me keep my sub a little while longer. I've never seen the original.

As someone that didn't care too much for Bastard, this definitely doesn't look good as the manga. Has too clean of a look, Bastard always look like a hardcore metal album cover.


iu

iu


3.jpg

iu
 
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The prime issue with this new BASTARD!! anime is it seems to have little reason for existing. Hagiwara finishing the series is almost unthinkable, and there isn't any indication in Japan that they'll even reprint the current manga volumes. Feels like this is a situation of NETFLIX wanting anime content and the Japanese being willing to offer a franchise with no planned future.

The newest trailer does suggest decent-enough production values. Considering Hagiwara's later artwork pushed more towards clean, sold design, rather than abstracted drawings, it's disappointing character don't bare a tighter resemblance to their manga counterparts; I also expect the series will be sexy, while not pushing boundaries too far. Another potential concern in the two trailers is a perceived lack of the self-aware cheesiness that's absolutely part of the franchise. Especially if the show's content is overly positioned towards the serious, my feeling is it'll be acceptable, possibly legitimately entertaining at times, but ultimately forgettable. That said, I'd gladly be wrong, as I quite enjoyed the manga.
 
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Doom85

Member
The prime issue with this new BASTARD!! anime is it seems to have little reason for existing. Hagiwara finishing the series is almost unthinkable, and there isn't any indication in Japan that they'll even reprint the current manga volumes. Feels like this is a situation of NETFLIX wanting anime content and the Japanese being willing to offer a franchise with no planned future.

I mean, some people just enjoy seeing more of a manga adapted even if that manga is unfinished and may not even be completed. I mean, everyone loved the hell out of the 2011 Hunter x Hunter anime despite it also being a manga that fans are starting to suspect will never properly finish. And I guarantee you if a new season or reboot was announced for something like Black Lagoon, D. Gray-man, High School of the Dead, etc. most fans would be jumping for joy just to see more of the manga adapted regardless of it being incomplete.

Also, we don’t know the details of Netflix getting the license. Obviously manga are owned by many different magazines, not just “the Japanese”. And let’s not forget Netflix just did a reboot of Shaman Kong which is a completed manga (and at least in the US the volumes are being reprinted into omnibuses), so your final point feels off IMHO.
 
I mean, some people just enjoy seeing more of a manga adapted even if that manga is unfinished and may not even be completed. I mean, everyone loved the hell out of the 2011 Hunter x Hunter anime despite it also being a manga that fans are starting to suspect will never properly finish. And I guarantee you if a new season or reboot was announced for something like Black Lagoon, D. Gray-man, High School of the Dead, etc. most fans would be jumping for joy just to see more of the manga adapted regardless of it being incomplete.
Japanese rights holders largely have anime created to sell product, not to make fans happy. Hunter x Hunter may never be completed in comic form, but it currently remains an active manga series with active ancillary merchandise, such as the occasional anime. The HxH manga was receiving regular magazine chapters and compiled volumes, through most of the run for the 2011-2014 anime series.

Besides remaining unfinished, BASTARD!! has effectively been a dead franchise since the final manga volume in 2012 (and honestly, the last real compiled volume was in 2009)--the most it gets is a sexy-girl figurine every couple of years. As previously mentioned, there doesn't even seem to be an intent to create new printings of the manga (or at least some of the volumes) to coincide with this show. NETFLIX is hungry for content, while Japanese rights holders are starting to realize they don't want anime for living franchises overly tied to the platform, since--contracts dependent--it creates issues for them merchandising the production, especially outside Japan. Conversely, Japanese rights holders probably see no harm in offering dead series, such as BASTARD!!, and will gladly take an easy payday.

If there were an anniversary, a major product, or just some manner of notable movement on the BASTARD!! franchise attached to this show, I may feel differently, but this seems like NETFLIX getting to create content for content's sake.

Also, we don’t know the details of Netflix getting the license. Obviously manga are owned by many different magazines, not just “the Japanese”. And let’s not forget Netflix just did a reboot of Shaman Kong which is a completed manga (and at least in the US the volumes are being reprinted into omnibuses), so your final point feels off IMHO.
To touch on your point about Shaman King, like Hunter x Hunter, the series has remained an active franchise to this day, with spin-offs and other media products. The 2021-2022 Shaman King anime was also announced in conjunction with Kondansha publishing new print editions of the manga in Japan. Additionally, NETFLIX only acquired rights to stream the series in certain international territories, whereas in Japan the show played on domestic networks--point being, movement on the show started from interested Japanese stakeholders, not the streaming platform. In the case of BASTARD!!, the series is exclusive to NETFLIX, including in Japan, potentially suggesting Japanese rights holders don't have much skin in the game, another indication they might not care about the franchise.

If the 24 episodes of this new BASTARD!! series do well and manage to sell tons of Blu-rays & DVDs, who knows, maybe more episodes will be produced and somehow Hagiwara could get enlisted to help script an anime-only ending. I'd have no qualms should that turn-out to be the case, but I'm more inclined to think this series is content for content's sake.
 
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Sub_Level

wants to fuck an Asian grill.
So I subbed to crunchyroll to rewatch some DBZ:

- The picture is zoomed in constantly.
- Its english language but with japanese soundtrack only. No japanese language or english soundtrack options.
- It doesn’t even have the vocal japanese tracks. No cha la head cha la or trunks flashback theme or gohan ssj2 theme. Nothing.

Wtf is this. I know im super late to the party but jesus.
 

Labolas

Member
Speaking of DB. I saw most of the new DBS Super Hero movie. Well, it was definitely fanservice for people that wanted the secondary characters get love. While I do have problems with it and obviously I'm not really a fan of the series, it does have nice callbacks that were appreciated. But it was superfluous movie that you can tell the franchise was running out of ideas since Z and really shows it throughout the movie.

Orange-Piccolo-geant-2.jpg

iu

iu
 

drganon

Member
I was bedridden for a week, so I ended up watching a shit ton of anime. I'm caught up on love is war and spy x family and halfway through lucky star and my dress up darling. Finally, I watched the demon slayer mugen train movie. Overall, it was pretty mediocre.
 

Doom85

Member
I was bedridden for a week, so I ended up watching a shit ton of anime. I'm caught up on love is war and spy x family and halfway through lucky star and my dress up darling. Finally, I watched the demon slayer mugen train movie. Overall, it was pretty mediocre.

What did you find mediocre? Everything you listed, or just the Demon Slayer movie? I thought the latter was good though I do feel it was carried by the final act particularly the last fight.

Curious on your thoughts on Lucky Star. I and others feel it’s one of those “you had to be there” sort of deals as a decent amount of its humor is referential to anime series and the fandom behavior and such of the time it came out. Hell, in both the Japanese and English versions, Konota’s VA is the same one who voiced Haruhi Suzumiya in their respective versions purely due to a joke at one point in the series.
 
What did you find mediocre? Everything you listed, or just the Demon Slayer movie? I thought the latter was good though I do feel it was carried by the final act particularly the last fight.

Curious on your thoughts on Lucky Star. I and others feel it’s one of those “you had to be there” sort of deals as a decent amount of its humor is referential to anime series and the fandom behavior and such of the time it came out. Hell, in both the Japanese and English versions, Konota’s VA is the same one who voiced Haruhi Suzumiya in their respective versions purely due to a joke at one point in the series.
The only good thing about Mugen Train was the last fight. That train fight was horrendous especially the CGI
 

NahaNago

Member
Ended up resubbing to crunchyroll. I'm shocked it had been only 7 years since I had last watched anything on there. Well, I did kind of quit watching most anime. Currently marathoning So I'm a Spider, so what?. I'm enjoying it for the most part. I thought I would have more issues with all of the 3d used but it was mostly okay since it is more of a comedy that has some action. I'm going to try and catch up on my massive backlog this week since I've taken some time off for my foot to heal.


 
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Labolas

Member
Read the new 2 chapters of Berserk. While the art isn't as godtier as some of Muira's previous art, it's still some damn great art. I'm just glad Berserk's not going away.

And I wouldn't give a beloved and well known japanese IP like Berserk to Netflix. We already had a shitty adaptation already.
 

drganon

Member
What did you find mediocre? Everything you listed, or just the Demon Slayer movie? I thought the latter was good though I do feel it was carried by the final act particularly the last fight.

Curious on your thoughts on Lucky Star. I and others feel it’s one of those “you had to be there” sort of deals as a decent amount of its humor is referential to anime series and the fandom behavior and such of the time it came out. Hell, in both the Japanese and English versions, Konota’s VA is the same one who voiced Haruhi Suzumiya in their respective versions purely due to a joke at one point in the series.
I thought mugen train was mediocre, the rest of the stuff I watched I enjoyed. Mugen wasn't bad, it was just mediocre. The last fight was probably the highlight for me. As for lucky star, I enjoy it. I get most of the references since I was into anime at the time of its original release, I just didn't get around to watching it back then. I ended up losing interest in anime after high-school and only recently have gotten back into it.
 
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The_hunter

Member
I watched Record of Lodoss war OVA. Very inspired by DnD, with classic depictions of dragons, wizards and knights. They absolutely nailed western fantasy.

I thought the storytelling was very different, as most anime tend to focus on individual character stories, while Lodoss War focuses more on the island of Lodoss and the overall battle of good vs evil. In this way it's much more of a western story style then a Japanese story.

You can see some influences this OVA has had on Berserk, as well as Fire Emblem.

Art was amazing, great backgrounds that are painted.

Animation was stunning in episodes 1, 8. While some episodes are lower budget in the animation department, the story, art and atmosphere make up for it.
Really awesome series if you like fantasy.

Ci1c1G8.jpg
 
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The_hunter

Member
Read the new 2 chapters of Berserk. While the art isn't as godtier as some of Muira's previous art, it's still some damn great art. I'm just glad Berserk's not going away.

And I wouldn't give a beloved and well known japanese IP like Berserk to Netflix. We already had a shitty adaptation already.
I finished reading them too. Not sure why they're 2 chapters, as most Berserk chapters are usually 30-40 pages, and these chapters were 15 pages each.

I thought the art was well drawn, on a technical level.

Not disrespecting Miura's work, as I'm a big fan, but it's clear studio Gaga was doing the bulk of the art over the last few years, and that's why the art style changed drastically to a more Moe style.

There was one panel with Griffith's face in profile view that wasn't up to the quality of what I would expect from Berserk. Also that page on chapter 396 (page 6) where it's just a bunch of panels of the Dragonslayer hitting the ground, very messy and hard to understand.

But the characters were well drawn, the action was promising, Zodd was well drawn. I think they can pull off the rest of the manga. Next issue is on July 9th.

Also, Griffith looking a bit too anorexic. I can't believe we got regular puck back in this chapter.

How can they even kill Griffith? I'm looking forward to the Skullknight joining the fight. Do you think the Skullknight will join Gut's party?
 
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Doom85

Member
I watched Record of Lodoss war OVA. Very inspired by DnD, with classic depictions of dragons, wizards and knights. They absolutely nailed western fantasy.

I thought the storytelling was very different, as most anime tend to focus on individual character stories, while Lodoss War focuses more on the island of Lodoss and the overall battle of good vs evil. In this way it's much more of a western story style then a Japanese story.

You can see some influences this OVA has had on Berserk, as well as Fire Emblem.

Art was amazing, great backgrounds that are painted.

Animation was stunning in episodes 1, 8. While some episodes are lower budget in the animation department, the story, art and atmosphere make up for it.
Really awesome series if you like fantasy.

Ci1c1G8.jpg

shocked jurassic park GIF


Okay, I knew about this anime, but there’s a sexy dark elf lady in it?!

(quickly checks Amazon; okay the Blu Ray of the series is still available for a good deal)

Err, I mean, I’d check out the series for the other elements you listed, totally, ah heh heh…..

don't judge me terrell GIF
 

The_hunter

Member
shocked jurassic park GIF


Okay, I knew about this anime, but there’s a sexy dark elf lady in it?!

(quickly checks Amazon; okay the Blu Ray of the series is still available for a good deal)

Err, I mean, I’d check out the series for the other elements you listed, totally, ah heh heh…..

don't judge me terrell GIF't judge me terrell GIF
I think this is the most forgotten anime that deserves more love. There's an ova (1990) and a tv series(1998). I watched the OVA version.
 

Labolas

Member
I finished reading them too. Not sure why they're 2 chapters, as most Berserk chapters are usually 30-40 pages, and these chapters were 15 pages each.

I thought the art was well drawn, on a technical level.

Not disrespecting Miura's work, as I'm a big fan, but it's clear studio Gaga was doing the bulk of the art over the last few years, and that's why the art style changed drastically to a more Moe style.

There was one panel with Griffith's face in profile view that wasn't up to the quality of what I would expect from Berserk. Also that page on chapter 396 (page 6) where it's just a bunch of panels of the Dragonslayer hitting the ground, very messy and hard to understand.

But the characters were well drawn, the action was promising, Zodd was well drawn. I think they can pull off the rest of the manga. Next issue is on July 9th.

Also, Griffith looking a bit too anorexic. I can't believe we got regular puck back in this chapter.

How can they even kill Griffith? I'm looking forward to the Skullknight joining the fight. Do you think the Skullknight will join Gut's party?
Oh yeah, it's known handle the majority of the art duties for Berserk. The stuff from Lost Children and the Black Swordsman arc are some of my favorite art of it. But yeah, the art in the two new chapter is fine for me for the most part.

I'm guessing Griffith will some sort of achilles' heel, don't know how it's going to be pull off but will forward to it.
 

Labolas

Member
Man, SpyXFamily was a super fun time. Season 1 just finished. Easily in the running for AOTY. Loid is great. Yor is great. But Anya is the best character of the show. How can you hate this character? She is the embodiment of adorable. The way she speaks and carry herself as a character, you would want nothing more than to see her happy. The voice actress did a phenomenal job as Anya. Not only that, YOU can believe and convince yourself that Loid, Yor, and Anya come off as a real family. SpyXFamily really nails the family aspect. Studio Wit did a great job as well, for the most part. The action heavy scenes look fluid and smooth. Loid, Yor, Anya and other characters look great as they do in the manga. But the background and the characters in them look bad in spots. Also the dog storyline that seemed to be plotline that was leading into the next episode was dropped which was weird and left me a bit sad that they didn't follow through with it. But beyond that, it's a fantastic anime that I fully recommend on checking it as soon as possible. (8.5/10)
spy-x-family-spy-family.gif


Also part 2 got announce as well, lol
 
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The_hunter

Member
Man, SpyXFamily was a super fun time. Season 1 just finished. Easily in the running for AOTY. Loid is great. Yor is great. But Anya is the best character of the show. How can you hate this character? She is the embodiment of adorable. The way she speaks and carry herself as a character, you would want nothing more than to see her happy. The voice actress did a phenomenal job as Anya. Not only that, YOU can believe and convince yourself that Loid, Yor, and Anya come off as a real family. SpyXFamily really nails the family aspect. Studio Wit did a great job as well, for the most part. The action heavy scenes look fluid and smooth. Loid, Yor, Anya and other characters look great as they do in the manga. But the background and the characters in them look bad in spots. Also the dog storyline that seemed to be plotline that was leading into the next episode was dropped which was weird and left me a bit sad that they didn't follow through with it. But beyond that, it's a fantastic anime that I fully recommend on checking it as soon as possible. (8.5/10)
spy-x-family-spy-family.gif


Also part 2 got announce as well, lol

What genre is this, comedy/action? I'll put it on my list to watch.
 

Happosai

Hold onto your panties
Nah they would force SJW/Feminazi politics into it

BTW I'm a HUGE fan of Eternal Darkness. Just noticed your PFP
Makes me wonder how/what Netflix did with this "new" Bastard!! series. The OVA had some great animation and they made the most of the few OVA episodes. Certain material in it would have never made it to a platform like Netflix today and anyone who's seen it knows what I mean. How do they expect to bring back a character like Dark Schneider? Netflix should stick to what they're good at (cheap dime-a-dozen original series') and stay out of anime.
 

MayauMiao

Member


Netflix is trying to make me keep my sub a little while longer. I've never seen the original.

What is the prerequisite shows I need to watch before I start binge on this? I am unfamiliar with this character, and he sounds like Jean Kirstein from Attack on Titan.
 

Doom85

Member
Studio Trigger just announced a sequel to Panty and Stocking. I admit I never got around to the original so I’ll need to get on that.

Also Shonen Jump’s Mashle: Magic and Muscles just got confirmed for an anime adaptation in 2023. I only have read the first volume so far but it was actually really funny. I was worried it would just feel like discount One Punch Man but I felt it had its own brand of humor. Since apparently the manga will be wrapping up soon at around 12 volumes I hope we get either two or three cour to adapt it all.
 

The_hunter

Member
'Tomo-chan wa onna no ko' is getting an anime.

Solo leveling is also getting an anime, never read it but I know it's super popular.
 

Doom85

Member
'Tomo-chan wa onna no ko' is getting an anime.

Ah, didn’t recognize the title at first, the English manga has it as “Tomo-chan is a Girl!”. I actually got all 8 volumes but never got around to finishing it but I liked what I read. Hopefully this will be a full adaptation.
 

Labolas

Member
Studio Trigger just announced a sequel to Panty and Stocking. I admit I never got around to the original so I’ll need to get on that.

Also Shonen Jump’s Mashle: Magic and Muscles just got confirmed for an anime adaptation in 2023. I only have read the first volume so far but it was actually really funny. I was worried it would just feel like discount One Punch Man but I felt it had its own brand of humor. Since apparently the manga will be wrapping up soon at around 12 volumes I hope we get either two or three cour to adapt it all.
Well, good because Panty and Stocking left off a cliffhanger. I don't know if Gainax sold the rights to Trigger but I glad we'll at least get a follow up.

I'll say this much I've been liking a lot more Shonen Jump's material than I ever have in the past. Chained Soldier or Mato Seihei no Slave another Shonen Jump manga is getting an adaptation as well and I was a little fun read.

'Tomo-chan wa onna no ko' is getting an anime.

Solo leveling is also getting an anime, never read it but I know it's super popular.
Yeah, I found Solo Leveling to be overrated. And I think it's going to have subpar animation for the anime.
 

KielCasto

Member
A Mashle anime?! I can’t wait to watch it. The manga’s art can get really good. Speaking of which, the buildup this arc has been slow, but still good. Better hide your cream puffs unless you want Mash to eat them!

Solo Leveling was interesting for the first chapters. It reminds me of God of High School. Cool scenes but bland plot and characters.
 

The_hunter

Member
Ah, didn’t recognize the title at first, the English manga has it as “Tomo-chan is a Girl!”. I actually got all 8 volumes but never got around to finishing it but I liked what I read. Hopefully this will be a full adaptation.
I never finished it either. Back then, the manga had a page release daily, so it was really fun to read it with everyone on forums. The art is quite nice, but the story drags on some times. The female characters were interesting.
 
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The prime issue with this new BASTARD!! anime is it seems to have little reason for existing. Hagiwara finishing the series is almost unthinkable, and there isn't any indication in Japan that they'll even reprint the current manga volumes. Feels like this is a situation of NETFLIX wanting anime content and the Japanese being willing to offer a franchise with no planned future.

The newest trailer does suggest decent-enough production values. Considering Hagiwara's later artwork pushed more towards clean, sold design, rather than abstracted drawings, it's disappointing character don't bare a tighter resemblance to their manga counterparts; I also expect the series will be sexy, while not pushing boundaries too far. Another potential concern in the two trailers is a perceived lack of the self-aware cheesiness that's absolutely part of the franchise. Especially if the show's content is overly positioned towards the serious, my feeling is it'll be acceptable, possibly legitimately entertaining at times, but ultimately forgettable. That said, I'd gladly be wrong, as I quite enjoyed the manga.
Makes me wonder how/what Netflix did with this "new" Bastard!! series. The OVA had some great animation and they made the most of the few OVA episodes. Certain material in it would have never made it to a platform like Netflix today and anyone who's seen it knows what I mean. How do they expect to bring back a character like Dark Schneider? Netflix should stick to what they're good at (cheap dime-a-dozen original series') and stay out of anime.
On one hand it is clear that just like many other reboots in the past, they want to introduce the series to a new audience, but I feel it's going to suffer from a similar fate that Ushio to Tora suffered through but worse. Netflix will release the toned down reboot to appeal to mainstream audiences, fans of the original will hate it because it's toned down, while most of the new crowd will dismiss it as something "lame and old"

Difference is that atleast to me, U&T was (almost) always light enough to be enjoyed by the tween-teenage crowd, even in the OVA's or in the manga the little actual gore there was, is far inbetween and not very graphic most of the time. Even when comparing it to something like JoJo's Bizzare Adventure, that show's identity is more on the weirdness and extravagance of it all rather than it's gore, and any sex is almost non-existant in either property outside of some nudity, meanwhile, Bastard!! is one of those anime that prides itself on its over-the-top sex and gore.

This is coming from an outsider's perspective by the way as someone who's never read the manga or watched the OVA's (nor is planning to any time soon) by the way. This is also coming from someone who isn't opposed to reboots, in facts, there's plenty of anime I want to see rebooted just because I want to see the manga being done justice or because I want to see all of the manga animated completely or simply have these neiche IP's being introduced to new audiences. It's just that maybe Bastard!! wasn't a good choice for it's nature.
 
On one hand it is clear that just like many other reboots in the past, they want to introduce the series to a new audience...
The problem with Bastard!! is nothing really suggest this is an attempt to reintroduce the franchise. My previous post on the matter (the one subsequent to what you quoted) lays out my feelings, but this new series is content for contents sake, primarily funded and exclusive to Netflix. The Japanese rights holders are merely taking an easy payday on a dead franchise. If the idea was to reintroduce Bastard!!, a deal would have been struck, where the show broadcasts both on Netflix and some of the domestic satellite networks, as they're the primary source for most enthusiast-grade anime. To give an example, Komi Can't Communicate is currently a popular franchise; Netflix has some stake in the anime, but in Japan episodes for both seasons of the show released weekly on Netflix and concurrently broadcasted on several domestic stations. Bastard!! was the usual day-one drop of all 13 episodes, even in Japan; the series has essentially already come and gone. Given its manga roots, you'd also have expected the publication of some new edition of the comic; or in the specific case of Bastard!!, even if the original creator wasn't involved, possibly the completion of the large-trim kanzenban editions, which sputtered-out at volume 9.

Going to your Ushio & Tora comparison, the television series broadcasted on several networks in Japan and the manga received a new complete edition. Bastard!! got a pop-up exhibition at the Tower Records in Shibuya and copies of the original Shonen Jump tankoubon, featuring an obi advertising the Netflix series, were made ready for bookstores. Nothing suggests there's any attempt to push Bastard!! beyond those who are already fans or at least somewhat familiar with the franchise.

To your point about needing to tone down the content in Bastard!! for mainstream audiences, the manga isn't nearly as gory or inappropriate as some may come to think based on a quick Google search. Most of the more explicit moments are from either the kanzenban editions or doujinshi & art books published by the original creator. Given other late-night anime being broadcast in Japan, Bastard!! could exist with no problem, besides some stations choosing to hide female breasts and (maybe) dim some gore.

Staying on the topic of content fears, I mainlined these new 13 episodes, and other than the choice (or Netflix stipulation?) to go with Barbie-doll anatomy (likely to be fixed for the home-video release), the series does not eschew its violent, cheesy, raunchy nature. The series is, however, a boring and completely workman-like creation. Regardless of whether anyone on the project had passion for the franchise, to their credit, they clearly did their homework in terms of keeping faithful to the source, but from an overall production standpoint, Bastard!! could be any other quasi-serious, fantasy-themed anime, which isn't what anyone would want from a modern adaptation of material from roughly 1988 to 1996. Netflix is running around foreign markets buying content for their platform and oftentimes fails to result in people asking, whether what's being funded does the property justice. In the case of Bastard!!, is the first half of the comic really best suited for a 26-episode, TV format or would several long-form features be the better option? But again, this series is content for contents sake, so it doesn't really matter.

For what it's worth, I don't purposefully want to maintain a negative outlook on this Bastard!! project, it just doesn't bare the conventional markings of an attempt at reviving and pushing a franchise, which would usually start with the Japanese rights holders (not Netflix) and possibly result in some anime-only ending to the franchise.
 
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The problem with Bastard!! is nothing really suggest this is an attempt to reintroduce the franchise. My previous post on the matter (the one subsequent to what you quoted) lays out my feelings, but this new series is content for contents sake, primarily funded and exclusive to Netflix. The Japanese rights holders are merely taking an easy payday on a dead franchise. If the idea was to reintroduce Bastard!!, a deal would have been struck, where the show broadcasts both on Netflix and some of the domestic satellite networks, as they're the primary source for most enthusiast-grade anime. To give an example, Komi Can't Communicate is currently a popular franchise; Netflix has some stake in the anime, but in Japan episodes for both seasons of the show released weekly on Netflix and concurrently broadcasted on several domestic stations. Bastard!! was the usual day-one drop of all 13 episodes, even in Japan; the series has essentially already come and gone. Given its manga roots, you'd also have expected the publication of some new edition of the comic; or in the specific case of Bastard!!, even if the original creator wasn't involved, possibly the completion of the large-trim kanzenban editions, which sputtered-out at volume 9.

Going to your Ushio & Tora comparison, the television series broadcasted on several networks in Japan and the manga received a new complete edition. Bastard!! got a pop-up exhibition at the Tower Records in Shibuya and copies of the original Shonen Jump tankoubon, featuring an obi advertising the Netflix series, were made ready for bookstores. Nothing suggests there's any attempt to push Bastard!! beyond those who are already fans or at least somewhat familiar with the franchise.

To your point about needing to tone down the content in Bastard!! for mainstream audiences, the manga isn't nearly as gory or inappropriate as some may come to think based on a quick Google search. Most of the more explicit moments are from either the kanzenban editions or doujinshi & art books published by the original creator. Given other late-night anime being broadcast in Japan, Bastard!! could exist with no problem, besides some stations choosing to hide female breasts and (maybe) dim some gore.

Staying on the topic of content fears, I mainlined these new 13 episodes, and other than the choice (or Netflix stipulation?) to go with Barbie-doll anatomy (likely to be fixed for the home-video release), the series does not eschew its violent, cheesy, raunchy nature. The series is, however, a boring and completely workman-like creation. Regardless of whether anyone on the project had passion for the franchise, to their credit, they clearly did their homework in terms of keeping faithful to the source, but from an overall production standpoint, Bastard!! could be any other quasi-serious, fantasy-themed anime, which isn't what anyone would want from a modern adaptation of material from roughly 1988 to 1996. Netflix is running around foreign markets buying content for their platform and oftentimes fails to result in people asking, whether what's being funded does the property justice. In the case of Bastard!!, is the first half of the comic really best suited for a 26-episode, TV format or would several long-form features be the better option? But again, this series is content for contents sake, so it doesn't really matter.

For what it's worth, I don't purposefully want to maintain a negative outlook on this Bastard!! project, it just doesn't bare the conventional markings of an attempt at reviving and pushing a franchise, which would usually start with the Japanese rights holders (not Netflix) and possibly result in some anime-only ending to the franchise.
I'm not trying to defend it, I'm simply trying to add more to the conversation by giving some of my viewpoints, (mainly, with Netflix simply being tonedeaf on what they are adapting) other than that, those are very fair points, thanks for some of the extra context too.
 
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VN1X

Banned
Man how fucking overrated is Spy X Family? I struggled to get through the first two episodes and I doubt I'll even bother with the third one. The tone is all over the place and even when I suspend my disbelief the situations the characters find themselves in just don't land for me.

I will continue Ranking of Kings but are there any other good shows people recommend? I've yet to watch the latest season of Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai so maybe I should give that a go as well.
 
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