Anime/Manga Journal

[Bytor]

Finished Scrapped Princess, fun but I felt the ending was a tad rushed, wasn't sure what to watch next so I started Great Teacher Onizuka which reminds me a bit of Captain Tylor so far and Hakkenden: Touhou Hakken Ibun which so far as somewhat caught my attention.

[Mickeymac92]

I always hear good things about GTO. If its anything like Captain Tylor, I'll definitely have to check it out some time.

Anyways, I had started watching Reborn, but I got tired of the constant character introduction episodes by episode 7 and had to put it on hold.

Now I'm rewatching Yu Yu Hakusho and having a blast. I'm 8 episodes in and there hasn't been a dull moment despite the major fights not starting until episode 6. The writer just does a good job of keeping things interesting and intense even without fight scenes or major villains. Hell, the premise for the first 5 episodes could've made for an interesting show all on its own, but I like how its been tying into the main story so well so far. I was gonna put it down to watch some Yamato, but that's gonna be easier said than done.

[Kevadu]

There's a funny scene in Outbreak Company ep. 7 where Shinichi is badmouthing a show that's very obviously a parody of Minami-ke Okaeri, being particularly critical of the director.  This is funny for two reasons: Okaeri was a pretty hit-or-miss show with a lot of the fans and it just so happens that the directory of Outbreak Company is the very person who directed Okaeri.

And now you know.

[Annubis]

Thx, I was going to google that but forgot. I figured it was the same director since you just can't badmouth someone else on public TV in Japan like that.

Although, there might be a jab in there when he says that the animation was fine. Okaeri (3rd) did have fine animation, but okawari's (2nd) animation was abysmal.

[Ranadiel]

Okay going to try something new here. Going to post my thoughts on all of the manga in this week's issue of Shonen Jump. And we'll see how long I keep this up.

One-Punch Man:

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This was good enough. The story was enjoyable. I really want to get back to the main story though. I appreciate them giving us old one-shots to fill in weeks that we have missed, but I was really looking forward to where the series was going last time we saw it.

Naruto 655:

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Is it over yet? I'm really not interested in whatever this discussion between Tobi and Kakashi is about. I read it once and I don't remember anymore. Looks like there is a good chance though that the fight with Madara might be the final arc from some stuff I have heard. So hurray on moving on to the final arc. And that would be a great segue way into Bleach, but we have quality first.

One Piece 728:

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Oh One Piece, you almost never fail to be awesome. Good chapter. Flashback was shorter than I was expecting, but I guess we still have one left for who the Toy Soldier was and his precise role in all this (for example is he Viola's brother or husband). Interesting to note that there are 12 crew members of the villain's team (not counting Monet who is presumably dead). So we have some extras for the fights to come. Although I suppose Buffalo and Baby 5 might be worthy of solo fights since they have already been beaten before. Toy transformation scenes are still terrifying, even more when we see what I believe are two brothers who are unaware each other even exists at this point.

Seraph of the End (?):

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I guess this chapter is marginally better than the first few. Which leads me to believe that the biggest problem with this series might be the lead character being uninteresting. Side note: I really like the way this artist draws girls. I don't know why, but I like the style. A shame the story still sucks.

World Trigger 39:

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Meh chapter. It is alright, but not as good as the past few. Works for a breather though. Hopefully the fight net week will help it pick back up.

Bleach 557:

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Oh hey Bleach.......yeah I don't get this one at all. Bambietta should just engulf him in explosions and destroy all of them. Really doesn't matter if you are immortal if you have no form. Or maybe the art is supposed to be showing that he isn't getting any damage at all? In which case why? Although either way the easy solution either way is to just run away because he just admitted that he will die on his own.

Nisekoi 99:

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Eh chapter. Nothing great, nothing horrible. Probably going to say that a lot with this series.

DBZ 40:
Yeah I am not spoiler tagging this one. I preferred DBZ Abridged take on this scene (which pointed out the obvious of how Goku should have hidden himself before preparing the spirit bomb).

[Kevadu]

This...this is too bizarre not to share...

Honestly I didn't even know what thread to post it under, but it's certainly related to the anime so here we go.

[Ranadiel]

Huh nearly killed the thread for a week.....time to do it again!

Toriko 258:
Not a whole lot to say about this one. Honestly Toriko has been in a slump for me for a while.

One Piece 729:

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Always nice to see our protagonists deciding they are going to whale on the villain for the arc. Things are being put into motion and that is always a good thing. Side note: I was rereading old chapters of One Piece on my phone during some recent travelling, and I figured out who the Toy Soldier is! And I don't mean that he is Rebecca's father. I mean he is, but that isn't what I mean. The Toy Soldier is Kyros, the Greatest Gladiator to Ever Fight in Corrida Coliseum who was mentioned in chapter 704! At first I was expecting Ricky to be Kyros, but that has been shown to be wrong and based on what we know, Kyros must of been turned into a toy. We haven't seen any other prominent toys and Rebecca seems to have an affinity for Kyros. Therefore, Kyros=Toy Soldier. I am calling it. Now show your hand Oda!

Bleach 558:

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I don't care anymore. Bambietta made a tactical mistake in not just running away. I'm not moved by anything in the chapter. It wasn't offensively stupid. I just don't care about the characters, the battles, or really much of anything else in the series.

Nisekoi 100:

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Didn't even realize that this was the 100th chapter till I was typing this up. Sweet chapter I guess, but it went no where so I give it a giant meh.

World Trigger 40:

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I really do like this chapter. I wish it showed the battle a little more, but for some reason it works for me without the full battles. I guess it is because you se the end results of so many of them and they are each unique, so you can sort of get a feel for how they went without seeing the entire thing. Side note, rereading through the chapters has really made me appreciate the friendship between Yuma and Osamu a bit better.

Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal 36:
.....Why do I keep reading this series? Oh right I read everything in Shonen Jump....really don't care about this series though.

Dragonball Z 41:
I sort of feel like this chapter is something of a cop out. Also it just occurred to me, why would the Saiyans not put armor on their tails considering that they have size changing armor, I'm sure they could make it semi flexible or something.

[Mickeymac92]

Dragonball Z 41:
I sort of feel like this chapter is something of a cop out. Also it just occurred to me, why would the Saiyans not put armor on their tails considering that they have size changing armor, I'm sure they could make it semi flexible or something.

Because it would make it a pain in the ass to sit...literally.

Also, I tried watching more Reborn, but it's getting incredibly frustrating. 14 episodes in and there's still no plot. I just checked, and I have 6 more episodes to go before anything important happens, and then after 6 episodes I'll have 7 more episodes of this episodic crap...guess I should've left it on hold and stuck to Yu Yu Hakusho...I'm almost up to the Dark Tournament now.

[Annubis]

That and saiyan tails grow back after a while.
It's not like they normally use them so much that they can't wait a month or so for it to heal.

Reborn is OK but it needs a DBZ kay treatment. If you remove 80% of the episodes, it would be good.

[Ranadiel]

Because it would make it a pain in the ass to sit...literally.

If they made it flexible enough though they could just wrap it around their waists though like they already do. Or better yet, just put your tail under the armor. Weak point removed (for elites at least).

That and saiyan tails grow back after a while.
It's not like they normally use them so much that they can't wait a month or so for it to heal.

That fact doesn't help much when a fat guy with a sword cuts your tail off in the middle of a rampage....

[Annubis]

Saiyans are also not the brightest people in the galaxy.
Their scouters, armors and ships were made by other races too.

[Mickeymac92]

I watched Summer Wars just the other day. I am still in awe by it, even as I type this. Like, I went into it for the action, but a lot of it was more about the people in the real world, all of whom were really interesting. I know they were kind of a standard TV family, but I really liked Jinnouchi family. They were all distict from one another, and were relatable and interesting. From the sports mom rooting for her son in the High School play-offs, to the pationate and excentric fisherman, to the blacksheep who seems to do everything wrong despite his best intentions, I felt like the movie did a great job of letting you get to know and care about each of them in less than 2 hours.

The rest was great, too, though. I loved the twists in the story, the animation was amazingly beautiful and fluid, the music was top notch, and what few action scenes there were were really well done. Definitely a top-class movie.

[Ranadiel]

So don't feel like doing a full recap of yesterday's Shonen Jump because it was kind of short on good manga this week. World Trigger was good. Toriko was decent. Nisekoi was alright......and everything else sucked.

Saiyans are also not the brightest people in the galaxy.
Their scouters, armors and ships were made by other races too.

Yeah I guess Saiyans are fairly stupid. I mean they are fully aware of the fact that they get a powerup every time they are beaten to near death, but the ones in the series spend their time training rather than blowing holes in their chests and then eating sensu beans/getting healed other than that one time Vegeta tried to do it on Namek.

[Mickeymac92]

Shouldn't it be hard to eat a sensu bean with a hole in your chest? How does that work?

Anyways, I finally finished up the Tower of Heaven arc in Fairy Tail after putting it off for so long, and man, what a terrible arc, especially since it followed two great ones. I mean, I liked that we got to see Erza's backstory and see her old friends, but her story felt almost too cliche and unfitting for her character. Almost. They barely made it work to an acceptable degree. But the fights! Oh my god the fights! Just one dues ex machina after another! Just when I thought they were establishing some limits to their powers and actually establishing rules in the Phantom Arc, all of that was just casually tossed aside. They're not even following common elemental limits now - Gray can freeze fire now! Natsu can just breath fire all day and never need a recharge! What the hell is happening here? This is like the worst of Dragon Ball Z all over again, where everything's just a freakin' light show with no concievable limits whatsoever, and it really is frustrating to watch.

Hopefully things will get better from here. The next arc at least looks like it should be pretty good.

Oh yeah, btw, I've been watching a little Gintama here and there, too. It's been very good. I should really watch it more often, but my patience with comedies is always low, no matter how good they are.

Speaking of which, I finally broke down last night and watched a full episode of My Ordinary Life. And it was confusing. Mildly amusing, but mostly confusing. I'll probably just stick to watching clips of it, since there doesn't seem to be any benefit to watching them in sequential order.

[Aeolus]

Shouldn't it be hard to eat a sensu bean with a hole in your chest? How does that work?

Really!? That's what gave you pause? Not the fact that the evil intergalactic invaders are conquering planets with nothing  more than a handful of mooks and a bunch of martial artists, or the fact that Vegeeta's grand plan was to become immortal despite said immortality not helping him actually gain the strength to kick the crap out of Freeza, or even the fact that Vegeeta had Dende healbot him back to full instead of popping a Senzu Bean (and then proceeded to kick the crap out of him after his brilliant plan nearly backfired due to Dende not exactly wanting to cooperate with him).

Speaking of which, I finally broke down last night and watched a full episode of My Ordinary Life. And it was confusing. Mildly amusing, but mostly confusing. I'll probably just stick to watching clips of it, since there doesn't seem to be any benefit to watching them in sequential order.

There are a couple of in jokes that build upon earlier sketches, but yeah, this is totally a 4-koma series.