Anime/Manga Journal

[Dice]

Also, anyone ever heard of Attack on Titan?? It's becoming an anime too soon... I dunno, this series sounds like it warrants a checking-out. :D

Hey, I pointed out that show when the lineup for the Spring was first announced.  Believe I called it something like a "must see".  But nobody ever listens to me...if you did you would be watching Blast of Tempest by now ;)

Haha, sorry Kev, posts go pretty quick on this part, and I guess I'm so used to seeing such typical run-of-the-mill "average high school student" shows that I have trouble listening to an anime recommendation.  I'll keep an eye out for more of yours, I think you're a cool feller on the forums anyhow. 

[Starmongoose]

I just watch whatever Jesu Otaku tells me too cause she hasn't let me down thus far and some anime can really, truly be awful and I don't want to waste my time. :X

[Aeolus]

Also, anyone ever heard of Attack on Titan?? It's becoming an anime too soon... I dunno, this series sounds like it warrants a checking-out. :D

Hey, I pointed out that show when the lineup for the Spring was first announced.  Believe I called it something like a "must see".  But nobody ever listens to me...if you did you would be watching Blast of Tempest by now ;)

Haha, sorry Kev, posts go pretty quick on this part, and I guess I'm so used to seeing such typical run-of-the-mill "average high school student" shows that I have trouble listening to an anime recommendation.  I'll keep an eye out for more of yours, I think you're a cool feller on the forums anyhow. 

To be fair, I'm more familiar with the other translation of the title Advance of the Giants.

That said, I've been enjoying the first two episodes of Girls und Panzer as of late.

[Dice]

Read the first volume of Attack on Titans.  Holy crap, it's really good.  Been a while since I've been really tripped out by a manga.  It's morbid, strange, creepy, but still hopeful.  I love stories about "beating the odds", and the Titans are nothing short of frightening (from having twice the amount of teeth a normal person would have, to their bizarre yet still human anatomy). 

They are passed off as an extremely terrifying threat:
= Few weakness
= Very large, as agile as a human would be (countering the stereotype that large objects move slowly)
= Have quite the set of teeth
= Don't go after game/animals; they are on a strict human-only diet
= They technically don't need to eat (they devour for pleasure?)
= Humans are a dwindling number, kept  to very few safe havens that are constantly threatened by the giants
= Given their human appearance, people are essentially running from giant-sized cannibals... A prospect that's frightening even with normal-sized people

The art can be kind of derpy at times, but otherwise pulls a style that stands out beautifully for the nature of the story.  Refreshing too, I love when mangas dive into grotesque territory.  I'm looking forward to more~!

[Klyde Chroma]

being that I am super saturating myself with all things SMT at the moment, I thought I would give persona trinity souls a whirl after enjoying P4 the animation...

I actually am really liking TS so far.... although I have to say it really seems to slow down for the worse the further I get... it was off to a strong start in the first few episodes.... now I'm only a little under half-way but it really feels like its been crawling.

i'm still trying very hard to get used to subs though so maybe that is impacting things....

... I'm also trying to post with less ellipses that mirror my speech... I'm failing miserably... LoL

[Starmongoose]

I don't even see your elipsis-abuse any more, Klyde. :P Got used to you.

I can't comment much on Trinity Soul as I gave up on it pretty early for the reasons you said.

[Tooker]

At our own Taelus' recommendation, I started watching Eureka Seven.  Only a couple of episodes in, but it's pretty good so far!  Previous to that, I watched the first season of Yu Yu Hakusho, because I remembered seeing some episodes back in the day and enjoying them.  It didn't hold my interest, so I moved on.

[Bytor]

Hourou Musuko is...interesting....I honestly cannot pinpoint why exactly but after six episodes I am really enthralled by this show.

[Mickeymac92]

At our own Taelus' recommendation, I started watching Eureka Seven.  Only a couple of episodes in, but it's pretty good so far!  Previous to that, I watched the first season of Yu Yu Hakusho, because I remembered seeing some episodes back in the day and enjoying them.  It didn't hold my interest, so I moved on.

Eureka Seven's definitely good if you can handle a really slow show. If you like it now, you'll probably love it by the second half, where it supposedly picks up the pace. I wouldn't know, though, I could never make it that far. It's slow beyond my limits. Plus Renten anoys the heck out of me, and I'm used to annoying Mecha protagonists. He did get better as he went on, at least.

[Kevadu]

You think Eureka Seven is slow?  I wouldn't even consider it a slow show.

[Mickeymac92]

You think Eureka Seven is slow?  I wouldn't even consider it a slow show.

IIRC, nothing important happens for the half the episodes, at least in the first half. So a quarter of the episodes, I guess. That's still pretty bad in my opinion.

[Aeolus]

You think Eureka Seven is slow?  I wouldn't even consider it a slow show.

IIRC, nothing important happens for the half the episodes, at least in the first half. So a quarter of the episodes, I guess. That's still pretty bad in my opinion.

Until you rewatch the show after seeing all the big plot twists from your first run, then realize what the hell was going on in those boring/empty episodes early on. E7 is practically made for rewatching.

[Dice]

Attack on Titan

Jesus Christ this comic is intense.  Are you reading it?  Why aren't you reading it???
The terribly grotesque nature of the story and plot features what is nothing short of psychologically frail human beings that make the plot and characters of Neon-Gen: Evangelion look like a bunch of pussies.  The action is really fantastic (involving interesting developments, limbs flying or people getting crushed, or sometimes just sheer brutality -- one chapter barely relied on any words and just showed a good damn fight).  But amongst all that and all the "shitty things" that happen to the humans in the story, we get really strong characters whether they're main or secondary figures to the plot.  Every so often the story dips into other players in the story to help tell the other parts going on outside of the main three characters (sometimes going a few chapters without them even being really involved).

The art style is wonderful, although it can sometimes look a bit strange and awkward, but it still jives and works well within the story.  The Titans themselves can often be anywhere from perfectly fit to...incredibly misshapen and anatomically incorrect.  But this can add to the overall frightening character of the titans, especially with respect to when some open of their elongated arms or larger-than-normal mouths to pursue human flesh in a strange act of "giant-people" [i.e. Titans] engaging in what is basically cannibalism.  Quite often the horror is so up front and personal with characters you may have gotten to know to some extent and really feel their pain.  I can that of how NieR was similarly unafraid to wreck its characters or at least put them through hell.

I'm writing now because I'm sadly almost done what's available (iirc, it's 11 volumes so far).  I highly recommend it if you're bored with the slice-of-life or comedy types (you'll find little of that genre here), some good action, and a sense of macabre and fantasy.  I'm also writing in reaction to three bizarre and almost frightening plot twists that left me all "O"-faced.

If you don't like it you can come and find me and slap me.  There is a great atmosphere in this story, and I don't really feel like I'm reading the "typical" manga at all.

[Raze]

 Caught up on JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. It is ridiculous and awesome, particularly when it gets to part 2. Joseph is pretty much what you get when you combine a hotblooded punk with Doctor Who. It's got it's share of still shots which a lot of people could view as the animators being cheap, but it's stylishly done enough that the 'watching a manga' style really works for me. Though for some reason I get more of a comic rather than manga vibe....maybe because everyone's built like they were drawn by Liefeld.

 Also, I can't stop listening to Roundabout now.

[Klyde Chroma]

I don't even see your elipsis-abuse any more, Klyde. :P Got used to you.

I can't comment much on Trinity Soul as I gave up on it pretty early for the reasons you said.

Star, I find that extremely kind and comforting for some reason. I thank you :)

I did 3 more eps of trinity soul yesterday... its a mixed bag of predictable plot points I can see from a mile away (which I typically can stand) and a really/cool spooky tone   (which I like) however the real problem I'm having is this is all overshadowed by the "mysterious whale feather"...... clearly the role and signifigance of the "feather" in question will be revealed (hopefully).... but for the first 10 episodes it just seems like a real lame set-up for a revelation that they keep dragging on. In other words, I've been seeing this "feather" since episode 1 and I still don't know why.... finally an episode last night that looked promising (seemed to really be focusing on characters pasts and the feather) only to end leaving me more lost then when I started....

... the feather trick worked... not so much by intriguing me, but I am now sufficiently bothered enough to follow through with the series to see where the hell they are going with this....

Attack on Titan

Jesus Christ this comic is intense.  Are you reading it?  Why aren't you reading it???
The terribly grotesque nature of the story and plot features what is nothing short of psychologically frail human beings that make the plot and characters of Neon-Gen: Evangelion look like a bunch of pussies. 

That is a bold and enticing statement! Certainly enough to grab my attention. I will go and look into this "titans" and report back... and I'll do so with even LESS ellipses next time!! progress my friends.... progress...  :)