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The first time I saw it, I smirked and thought"Oh yeah? Then go on", lol. I knew my PC was far from the weirdly high minimum requirements needed to install Windows 11. Unsurprisingly, nothing happened except for the message informing me my PC wasn't good enough for Windows 11.

I think the concept itself was done well. It's just the main Bronze Saints team's fault for being so overpowered, meaning they could burn their Cosmo to the point of going through all Houses of the Zodiac. ;D

It's hard to power scale Saint Seiya characters when it comes to details. Simple comparisons can work out well, but there are problems when someone wants to include general rules for abnormalities explained by the plot or lore. That's why we had those Bronzies making a feat that had always been considered super hard to perform. Sure, they didn't fight with all 12 Gold Saints, but facing at least several of them going all out was already a theoretically impossible feat for Bronze-rank Saints.

The Hades arc was nice in how it showed Gold Saints' power without turning all of Hades' troops into fodder, with only several of them posing a real threat to any Goldie. With a creative approach and tactical mind, even a serious Gold Saint could not feel safe enough to drop their guard.

I mean, it could have been an inspiration to some degree (as well as it could not have been one), but I doubt it directly inspired the whole core of the power system used in Dragon Ball. Power progression in the manga is smoother than in the anime, where there's a clearer distinction between Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z. It's based more on "the next opponent is even stronger than the previous," with martial arts and later ki attacks playing the main role in how everything is shown.

Given how Goku vs. Frieza was originally planned to be the grand finale of the series, Super Saiyan ranks were added as the series continued its serialization from that point. So, Super Saiyan wasn't an equivalent of "rank advancement", but more like a natural power-up that's been present in many shonen works. It was similar to Cloths receiving another form, but there were older manga and anime using a similar model (with different presentation and execution, of course) of "character becoming stronger and having their design modified."

There also is the "power level" concept that was relevant mostly at the beginning of the story, which would later be adapted as the DBZ anime. It became less relevant during the Cell arc, and it pretty much ended up obsolete by the Buu arc.

I don't know much about Patlabor, but I also didn't like NGE that much. And yet, I enjoyed B't X, even though mecha is among my favorite genres. However, I dropped it quite fast and returned to it several years later. I was determined to finish it, and I approached it with more tolerance toward things I hadn't liked before (like weird pacing), trying to focus on stuff I actually enjoyed. I ended up liking this show (especially its OVA sequel; it's a really good one) and I even decided to read the manga, haha. I'm a fan of Masami Kurumada's storytelling, so it definitely helped in enhancing the whole experience.

As for your question, hmm... I don't know if you will like it. I guess you need to try it out and see for yourself. Perhaps you will find the beginning more entertaining than I did during my first approach to this anime; or you will drop B't X around the same episode I dropped it back in the day. I say it's worth watching and can be really fun if you approach it in a proper way. And after finishing the main series, you can pick up this awesome OVA sequel I mentioned earlier.

Yup, I heard it's popular as heck in the gacha world. And also very, very profitable. I liked to play it. Well, until the moment I got bored, that is. xD It was fun and now it has even more content (like TLC characters).

During the Spring 2025 anime season, I only watched that new Gundam anime — GQuuuuuuX. It was fun to some extent, to a specific moment, though in general it was mediocre. I will surely watch more stuff during the Summer 2025 season. A lot of very nice shows are going to air.

As for manga, several months ago I discovered Tower Dungeon. Really nice series. I recommend checking it out.

How about you?

Oh, by the way, about mods as big, solid, and critically acclaimed as official add-ons or even games, Skyrim might be one of the video games that are the richest in this aspect. First, Enderal was released, and now it seems that Skyblivion and Skywind will eventually be released one day. :P

For the Covid stack, chapter 10 of https://myanimelist.net/manga/61959/Kishibe_Rohan_wa_Ugokanai is related to it

Yeah. I heard how Windows 11 is far from perfect, and I'm perfectly fine with Windows 10, but it can't be helped. I plan to use Windows 10 as long as it is possible, though, haha.

Oh, I don't know this one.

Yeah, it's really unproductive and not fun at all to get into those kinds of discussions online. You just waste your time, maybe get annoyed by how obnoxious some people are, and in the end, you're not even a little bit satisfied after talking with supposedly fellow fans, lol. It's happened where you see a few actually interesting chats here and there get totally derailed by socially awkward folks who just jump in to throw random insults at random people for no reason; or chill conversations ruined by that one (or more) person who treats messing around about something like it's a university-level debate. xD It can be a little funny to read sometimes, but once you get used to these kinds of "fans," you start to wonder if spending your free time like that is even worth it.

I've heard that's the case, at least for manga creators. While it can offer less stress and a healthier working environment in some ways, it's still a pretty stressful job dealing with deadlines and audience perception.

I recall encountering that argument a long time ago, though I can't specify if it was in a video or an article. Anyway, this situation is kinda nuanced. While power-up systems existed before (as seen in Go Nagai's Mazinger Z series; I'm not familiar with it, but I once read about its power-up system), Saint Seiya refined and shaped the trope in a way that made this specific variant convenient for other authors to adopt.

The concept of inner power surging as a character concentrates their hidden, magical energy (Cosmo in Saint Seiya's case, naturally), often accompanied by significant dramatic flair during the power-up sequence (these days it's mostly just "muh power of friendship", huh), became a key element. Given Saint Seiya's widespread influence, it's not an overstatement to suggest it pioneered the modern version of the power-up trope by establishing and universalizing its core elements, and thus making them convenient to be used in various other works created by different authors. One could argue that the gradual increase in characters' strength is a natural narrative evolution, and that wouldn't be entirely wrong, so pinpointing the absolute originator of the modern shonen power-up trope is quite difficult. However, Saint Seiya stands as a strong contender, if not a definitive pioneer. This is largely due to its aforementioned refinement of the basic power-up concept, defining its essential components and implementing them within the manga. Furthermore, while rudimentary forms of power hierarchies or rankings might have existed in earlier manga, Saint Seiya was likely the first to present a comprehensive and integral power level system, offering consistent in-verse logic. This system, based on clear ranks (Bronze, Silver, Gold Saints) and spiritual energy progression (burning Cosmo, even to the point of miraculous feats), served as a foundational element of its narrative from beginning to end. As a pioneer (no matter if someone considers Saint Seiya as one of many pioneers or the absolute originator), its approach was highly influential and set a precedent for many battle shounen series released in the following years.

That being said, Dragon Ball (or more specifically, Dragon Ball Z) is more widely associated with that trope. I don't believe Toriyama-sensei was directly and heavily inspired by Saint Seiya in this regard, though. While Dragon Ball incorporated similar elements later than Knights of the Zodiac, there were notable differences, largely stemming from the distinct tones and settings of both series. Although the execution of the power-up trope differed between DBZ and Saint Seiya, the fundamental concept of characters in a shonen manga achieving new power levels in a particular manner existed in both. The DBZ anime's greater popularity compared to the already highly popular Saint Seiya naturally leads people to think of it first when discussing certain tropes and their impact on animanga history.

This reminds me of the "flesh mecha" concept. You know, mecha works that feature not mechanical robots piloted by their pilots, but more like entities that are biological, living beings piloted by other living beings. For instance, the B't X manga featured this idea before Neon Genesis Evangelion, but the latter refined it significantly and became far more popular and iconic in the anime world, often being cited as the originator of the "flesh mecha trend.

True, but I'd prefer them to serve decorative roles. It'd be tough without those enclosed glass containers or anything meant to protect those figures from the outside world, lol.

Judging from the screens, the visuals look really nice. What's more, it does pretty much what the previous Assassin's Creed games did in terms of gameplay, without too much experimenting (some might like that, some might see it as a con; it all depends on what you prefer, I guess). I heard the numbers aren't high enough to call it a massive hit, but they're still relatively high, so the game should be successful. At least that's what the news says. But yeah, I also heard it could just be coping because the game didn't make enough money to really help the company out.

As for people who spend their free time grifting online, well... to each their own, but honestly, it's getting old. Complaining won't change a gaming trend if it sells well, no matter how much people complain. "Haters gonna hate" is so true here.

I remember when the Horse armor DLC for Oblivion got so much hate back in the day. Online grifting wasn't as big as it is now, but you could definitely see ferocious haters here or there (but they were rather minority disappearing under actual quality posts presenting sane arguments instead of ragebaiting). Those grifters who made fun of that DLC a lot (looking back at it now) and wrote about how DLC would never be a big thing must feel a bit silly today, since their predictions didn't age well at all. I belonged to the camp of people rather warning while discussing on forums and stuff that DLCs becoming a norm in the gaming industry, after Horse Armor DLC's succes followed by DLCs for other games following this trend, will inevitably lead to changes to the classic add-on model known from "big" expansions packs of the past (like The Frozen Throne for Warcraft III, in example). Too bad that many gamers made that vision happen and are sometimes happy for being able to pay several dollars for a mere visual item or poorly designed mission. Even smaller and pricier DLCs are available for tons of video games and sell well, and DLCs have become the norm in the industry.

I'm afraid it'll happen more and more often. More content, making as much money as possible, without really caring about passion or how good the products are, as long as they sell enough for the bosses. Some people might say it's always been like that, and they'd be right, but these faster and more consumer-focused times have made this whole thing even bigger.

She's addicted to gacha games? I didn't know that. I wonder how many gacha games she is actively playing.

Yes.

Regarding the GB game, no, I didn't play it, but I know about its existence. Speaking about Game Boy games, there is a more action-oriented GBC fanmade platform game called Knights of the Zodiac: The Phoenix Returns. The gameplay looks fun. I haven't played it yet, though.


Yeah, it felt like there were some communication issues, or at least different concepts clashing independently, across various episodes of the particular season. I also read about potential production problems, but I'm unsure if that's officially confirmed or just a rumor spread by fans.

I'm planning to upgrade my system in a few months. I'm not aiming for a top-of-the-line build, but since I upgrade infrequently, I prefer to make changes that provide a significant performance boost.
Ugh, I'll have to switch to Windows 11. I've heard very mixed reviews about it.

Apparently, it was a popular meme among Bleach fans, but maybe it wasn't actually.

Yeah, I know the feeling. Many fandoms, especially those of popular works, tend to be quite toxic. It's better to avoid them and just enjoy the material. I also don't like to waste my time on toxic people, which is why even though I really like, for example, Shingeki no Kyojin, I prefer to avoid its fanbase. Especially those who give off strong vibes of emotionally unstable, edgy individuals right away, before even starting a discussion, lol.

I felt like this arc was intended, in theory, to be "Dark Tournament v2.0", I mean bigger, more spectacular, better. But somewhere along the way it was rushed in the manga and the anime did its best to improve it, instead of desperately trying to make "bootleg Dark Tournament" look better than it could ever look like if someone wanted to follow the source material faithfully.

Personally, I don't consider the Cell Games a traditional tournament arc. While it certainly contained elements of that structure, it introduced a level of intensity and narrative innovation that went beyond the typical tournament arc format (while still preserving many of its elements).

Oh, there would be more than one Myth Cloth I'd be happy to have, but because of their price and the fact that I'm not really into collecting figures, I don't feel like buying any of them. It's just hard to justify, haha.

If the price is right and it's a character I really like, then I think yes. Bandai does have some more affordable figure lines, so I might explore those options sometime. Even if a figure just ends up collecting dust on a shelf, it would still be a nice decorative piece, lol.

I didn't know they were more or less the same in terms of land territory, but I remember seeing one comment complaining about "hollow Valhalla". The user pointed out that Origins, despite vast lands covered in sand (naturally, 'cause it's about Egypt), felt more vivid and organic than Valhalla's land territories in general, lol.

Yeah, it definitely felt like one of those attempts to draw in new viewers to a long-running series through wacky, unconventional means. You know, that kind of tactics that risk alienating longtime fans while potentially failing to resonate with a wider audience, so in the end it's a double fail situation. Another prime example of this (failed) approach to broadening a franchise's appeal would be Disney's handling of Star Wars and the Expanded Universe.

Toriko had only two games released on Sony PSP, if I remember correctly. I heard they were okay, but they didn't become huge hits or anything.

Speaking of Bleach, isn't that mobile game a gacha? I believe I recently heard something about it.

And I completely agree that Saint Seiya has consistently had strong video game adaptations. It's a shame that, in recent years, we've primarily seen gacha games. I used to play Saint Seiya Awakening, which was enjoyable, but I'd definitely prefer a larger, more intricate title from time to time. ;p

That's one of the things I dislike about many live-action series. Filler-like episodes, sidetracking to meet the episode count per season, and sluggish, uneven pacing to fulfill the minimum episode length requirements... It can work in comic books and animated series, but I feel live-action series should avoid that kind of content. Back when I was actively watching The Walking Dead, at some point each season, or even half-season, felt like it could have achieved the same level of story progression (including side characters and their stories) with fewer episodes.

What, haha. I don't think I've read about that. xD But now I understand what those salty comments I saw in the past, the ones about her hair, were referring to. I thought they were just random comments about her wig, but it turns out there was a hidden meaning behind them.

Too bad that the writing was underwhelming. Bo-Katan deserved more. Especially after so good performances in Clone Wars and Rebels.

No worries! Ouch, that sounds bad. I had a similar situation years ago. Some of the parts basically fried, so I had no choice but to assemble a new PC. Luckily, I had already planned to do it before my previous PC broke, lol. Those technical problems just sped up the process a little. xD
I'm glad everything is okay now.

I remember seeing salty comments from Bleach fans who would joke about "ink shortage" when commenting on the abundance of blank backgrounds and rushed fight choreography in the final arc (or one of the final arcs). I'm not familiar with Bleach, so I don't know exactly which part of the story those comments referred to, except that it was near the final chapter ("near" by Bleach standards, so approximately 100 chapters before the final one, lol).

To me, it looked like an attempt to move the plot forward without using too many panels, especially if the same effect could be achieved with text. This would allow the chapter to be released faster and with less strain on Togashi-sensei's health. Most of the fans I encountered also seemed to believe this was the most likely reason.

The Three Kings arc seemed wacky at first (as did the idea of Yusuke being descended from a powerful demon), but I grew to like it. I wish there had been more content to flesh out characters like Mukuro, for example, though I generally enjoyed it. The Demon World Tournament could have benefited from more attention and episodes, but I liked it as it was. It could have been worse, especially considering how rushed it was in the manga. ;D

No, no, I don't have any Myth Cloth figures. They look gorgeous and stunning, but their price is, well... also gorgeous and stunningly high. xD Even the cheapest Myth Cloth figures cost a lot, especially after converting the currency and including shipping costs.

Hmm, so I'll say this: the story in Rerise of Poseidon feels like a refined version of Soul of Gold's concept, but with Mariners instead of Gold Saints, and Nemesis' invasion instead of the return to Asgard. It has a lot of references to the Saint Seiya manga and anime, as well as other works by Masami Kurumada.

It's a common problem in huge open-world games, isn't it? It's easy to turn even a promising game into something that feels hollow, with vast empty spaces lacking decent activities, or bloated with tedious, repetitive tasks that eventually stop being fun or rewarding, especially once your character becomes overpowered.

The concept itself (a false Athena possessing divine powers), while not my favorite, wasn't inherently bad. Its implementation in the show, however, was poor and unfortunate. Just when some viewers were getting used to the lore modifications, a false Athena appeared in the dullest way possible, further slowing the already sluggish pacing, lol.

Regarding Pallas, I recommend giving the second half of Omega a try sometime. It's not only better in terms of Saint Seiya anime, but also as a show in general, due to improved direction, storytelling, and overall dynamism.

Yeah, I also think that it is the most likely the main reason behind it. There might have been a less profitable period, with sales lower than during the series' peak. But given its huge popularity, I can't imagine any other reason for rushing Toriko's ending than investors being upset that, despite decent results, the manga wasn't as lucrative as they'd expected and thus didn't recoup their investment. Or simply flopped as a franchise. The manga could fare well, but anime and video games flopping could be crucial to the manga's rushed end.


About Star Wars and The Mandalorian, yes, I'm familiar with the Darksaber lore and Mandalorian customs surrounding it. From what you've said, it seems Disney has "creatively expanded" (read: bastardized) yet another old Star Wars concept in The Mandalorian, lol. Unnecessary drama with cheesy themes (even by Star Wars standards) is one thing, but from what I understand, that's more or less what happened throughout the whole season, right?

It sounds somewhat amusing and could even work in a single episode. However, the thought of an entire season of those kinds of "interactions" between Din and Bo-Katan, with the Darksaber reduced to a fancy prop for "no, you!" moments between two potential Mandalorian leaders, makes me think it's not just dull, but sometimes ridiculous.

Now I see that my decision not to even try that season wasn't a bad one. It surely had its moments (I've seen random clips; that Mandalorian gunner was badass, lol), but meh. I guess ending my Mandalorian journey with the second season was a good choice. I don't know if I'll ever give the later seasons a try.

At least it had a moderately happy ending, with Bo-Katan Kryze finally getting the Darksaber and becoming the leader. She has enough charisma, battle experience, and political savvy for the role. Din Djarin is cool and all, but I see him more as an adventurer or a loyal soldier, not a leader of any kind.

Not wanting to watch anime, old or new, because of too many episodes is normal imo, not everyone has that much spare time after all :)

While I have finished anime with 300+ episodes before, personally I think 200+ episodes is too long for me nowadays, I don't have as much spare time as before

Regarding that thread, if someone avoid watching all mainstream anime just because those anime are widely popular among masses, I think they have superiority complex or just want to be special snowflake.

But it's different if they avoid some mainstream anime because they just don't like the story/settings/plot/artstyle etc, it's normal thing to do :)

Not a problem at all. The car model could be made entirely of plastic, with minimal or no non-plastic parts, haha. ;D Jokes aside, I'd seriously consider visiting McDonald's for the first time in ages if they had some cool plastic car models like that

YYH's fate is a little bit tragic, due to all these circumstances. Once it peaked as a series, it started to go downhill really dramatically throughout the Chapter Black arc, all to end up with chapters that can serve as unfunny jokes at best (lazy art, rushed plot, weird storytelling). I heard that most of the time they were laughed at due to their visibly deteriorated quality, but to me it looks like "laughing through tears" moment, lol.

It reminds me that something similar had a chance of happening with HxH, no? I saw memes from one arc (I'm not sure if it has ever been adapted into the animated format) of whole panels devoid of any art, with only text explaining things in a way you wouldn't expect from reading an action manga. And definitely not from a manga created by an already experienced and famous author. There were even memes about it, or salty comments like "ah yes, HxH is my favorite light novel."

I read somewhere that Togashi-sensei already had plans for HxH while working on YYH, and that many YYH fans were frustrated after seeing concepts that would have worked perfectly in YYH (but they appeared in a different manga taking place in a different world instead). I can't blame them. A lot of people must have been frustrated because of how YYH concluded, so seeing the next work presenting better quality than, say, the Three Kings arc, and being awkwardly similar in terms of tones to YYH, must have been a really annoying thing.

Yes, I agree that could be the main reason. I've read that the initial stories with Yusuke as a ghost weren't very well-received. I'm not sure about the manga, but the anime adaptation of that arc, despite skipping some content and accelerating the pace, was apparently considered quite slow, sluggish even, by many fans, particularly those outside Japan. I'm curious how Japanese viewers felt about it when YYH aired for the first time in Japan..

Those OVAs were mostly recaps, weren't they? From what I've seen, the YYH anime was primarily extended through special episodes and movies. I think I have one movie left to watch. ;p

It was the Solid State Society movie. I was aware that there were two seasons of the Stand Alone Complex TV series before it, and that both of them consisted of 52 episodes. Still, I thought I would be fine. I read some basic info about S.A.C.'s setting, plot, general atmosphere. From technical point of view, that movie special was mostly enjoyable. Sadly, I felt the plot was too stretched out and dull, and the movie itself felt like a slog. It didn't deliver the satisfying payoff I was hoping for. By the end, I couldn't help but think: "damn, why wasn't it actually shorter...?".

Hmm... I was wondering if maybe not watching the previous episodes was the reason I felt that way, but I found several posts online saying that if you don't like S.A.C.'s storytelling style, the Solid State Society movie probably won't change your mind. They described it as essentially another arc, but condensed and presented in a non-episodic way. Knowing that, I doubt I would have chosen this movie, let alone decided to watch the second S.A.C. season, if I knew the first season was a series of episodic-style arcs across 26 episodes. I would not have wtched season one at all in the first place, lol.

I tried the CGI show, but I dropped it. xD It was similar to Solid State Society – enjoyable to watch, but with a dull and sluggish pace. I got the impression that, like the movie, the CGI series wouldn't offer a satisfying conclusion as a viewer.

Yeah, while I have music preferences (as I mentioned earlier, I'm not a huge fan of jazz) and there are bands or artists I like more than others, it's not like I'm totally obsessed with, say, listening to a certain band so zealously that I refuse to check out something new or hits I used to enjoy listening to in the past, just because they didn't come from said band. Same with being loyal to one genre, as some people apparently tend to do, heh.

Hmm... Good question. If the price was okay, then I'd at least think about buying it. Good price can make shipping and other fees less of a deal, same with waiting several weeks to get the package.

Knowing that older merch's prices usually rise instead of go down, especially if a specific item (no matter what kind of) is no longer produced and is rare to see on the market, then the price of the original release of unique merch would be probably high. So would be shipping and taxes and all.

I think it's better to look for cheaper stuff that can make a fan happy in a similar way to the more expensive stuff. For example, my friend once ordered a physical copy of Champion RED magazine issue with that old Saint Seiya doujinshi that was made a part of the franchise officially several years ago. I'm talking about Phoenix Ikki x Black Swan one. ;p What's easy to get in Japan isn't easy to get in many other countries, so it was surely a nice feeling to own the issue with this unique, official story.

If I remember correctly, Kurumada-sensei mentioned in one interview from the 1990s that after defeating Hades, the next opponent would have been Zeus. But it was long ago. Throughout the years new ideas appeared, old ideas were either modified or discarded... At some point we had Heaven arc planned, in example. ;p

Speaking of the Heaven arc, during the Tenkai-hen movie period, if we may call it as such (lol), there was also a press conference with Touru Furuya in which he mentioned some of Kurumada-sensei's wishes for the new anime project. Long story short, he wanted Seiya to eventually meet and defeat Zeus, and afterwards, to face Chronos. Apparently, Chronos was planned to be the final villain of the series.

From what I remember and from what I understood back when I read about it for the first time, the Heaven arc was intended to be a movie trilogy.

Rerise of Poseidon is a spin-off taking place right after the Greatest Eclipse was stopped and Hades was defeated, but before Athena and the Bronzies returned from Elysion. It tells a story about Nemesis' invasion that took place during that period of time, and how it was dealt with by those who could do something at that time (in before, very early on we see Hades' soul communicating with Poseidon and reviving fallen Mariners in order to fight Nemesis). I might say more if you don't mind very general spoilers.

I ended my journey with Star Wars several years ago. As of today, I'm honestly unamused by anything that is getting released. I rarely check out news about any project at all, and almost never check out any project at all. I guess I've gotten bored of this franchise after so many years, heh. ;p But I'm happy for people who still find joy in it. There's a lot of Star Wars stuff getting released these days, so surely newer generations of Star Wars fans can't complain about the lack of products to consume.

And no, I don't mind spoilers about Mando S3. Which scene annoyed you? I'd appreciate adding some context to it, because I didn't watch The Book of Boba Fett series, so my knowledge about it is almost non-existant. xD

Oh yeah, I heard that maxing out AC: Valballa can be really unamusing and exhausting, mostly because the map is huge and there are a lot of places to visit or gather in order to get all achievements.

Yeah, she was cool. Pallas, another villain, was also cool. Both of them were far better than Aria, kekw. Episodes with her were the most boring in the entire series, in my opinion.

It was once strongly advertised as another "big thing" in the world of shounen, but it didn't reach the heights of, say, Dragon Ball or One Piece popularity. Its anime adaptation flopped, from what I read. Despite all that effort (active promotion, collabs with DB and OP that you mentioned). Even though the manga sold well (30 million copies if I remember correctly), the anime's failure seems to have been the reason to rush up the manga towards the ending. Whatever was the reason, it can't be denied that the last several arcs were rushed. They were classic examples of rushed content in a manga format. It's a shame, because so many cool stories had to happen offscreen.

Here, it was quite well-advertised, compared to many other series. There were TV ads and articles on various websites. Many of my friends, even those who are not interested in streaming services that much, at least were aware of this show's existence. Perhaps this was due in part to Anthony Hopkins' involvement. I recommend watching one or two episodes to see if you enjoy the show's atmosphere. Oh, and speaking of Anthony Hopkins, he portrays Emperor Vespasian in the series. ;p

Happy New Year 2025!!! :D May the coming year bring you an abundance of joy and happiness in every way.

Maybe it was a hint of a possibility of a Happy Meal featuring a McLaren car figurine, or something, haha. ;D

So kinda a character that's relatively strong, with a cool design, but mostly just watches the other characters, especially the main one, instead of getting directly involved, right?

And yeah, L's Shinigami was named Ryuuk. I liked him, even though he often felt like just a stylish background character in many scenes. Not that it was out of character for him. He was supposed to just stand back and observe. Or wait for his next apple. xD

Agreed. It's better to take a break than to exhaust oneself or deliver half-baked content, which might feel upsetting in the future to look at for the artist who has created it.

From what I remember, I read about Togashi-sensei giving signs of being burnt up somewhere around the Three Kings arc, with the whole finale of that arc being a model example of a burnt up artist just rushing his work to finish it. His health problems also had a huge influence on ending YYH in a so weird way.

As for me, while I don't know a lot of peculiarities about the YYH manga and I've only just skimmed over it (I'm an anime only fan ;p), I noticed that something changed in YYH anime with the beginning of the Chapter Black arc. Awkward pacing, weird tonal shift from the previous arc. I didn't expect a kino right after a kino has ended (Dark Tournament), but the Chapter Black arc felt neither as one of detective stories from the beginning of the show, nor a natural continuation of post-Dark Tournament stuff (except older Toguro brother having a role to play).

The manga, from what I saw myself, had the Chapter Black arc pretty rushed, while the Three Kings arc... Damn, that was just sad to go through while skimming the manga, so I can only imagine how disappointed YYH fans were while reading it. At least anime managed to fix that story arc and add a lot of improvements, even though it omitted a few scenes or had gore toned down (same goes with that one scene with Sensui, although toned down gore and violence in some scenes never felt negative to me; the tone and drama was conveyed properly, so it's not like they were ruined by the lack of controversial elements).

Speaking about omitted content in the anime, it's a shame there was not even one episode showing more of Yusuke's adventures as a ghost. I know that there were people complaining about sluggish pacing coming from them, as "nothing happens, just Yusuke doing dumb stuff as a ghost", but some of the omitted ones could've been great in an animated format. If not as regular episodes, then perhaps specials.

I didn't bother to watch the main series because of its episodic nature. I prefer the original movies. The only longer-form content I saw from Stand Alone Complex was a compilation movie. The first one, I think. It was decent. The plot was somewhat mediocre, but the art and animation were impressive. I've heard the main TV series is generally of high quality, especially compared to other anime from that era. However, that's not enough to entice me. I hoped that the movie might motivate me to watch the series, but it didn't. It was decent, but not compelling enough to make me want to watch numerous separate story arcs or episodes spread throughout the entire series, all following the episodic format.

Everything that sounds good to my ears and I'm in mood to listen, to be frank. :P How about you?

No, no, I only listened to it (it features the original voice actors) after reading a fairly informative synopsis and a few lines translated by fans. Haha. I don't speak Japanese well enough to understand a Drama CD. My Japanese is very basic, even though I can understand some simple phrases and individual words, or read a few katakana characters. That's why I don't even dare to say "yeah, I speak Japanese a little, frfr", lol.

Thanks! Haha. Yeah, I know a lot of interesting things about Saint Seiya. :D

Heh, on the contrary, I actually enjoyed Soul of Gold, both the first time and upon re-watching it. I wonder if there will be an anime adaptation of the Rerise of Poseidon spin-off manga. It might be a similar experience, maybe even better, since I've been reading Rerise from the start.

As for Episode G, I stopped reading it at some point, but I haven't given up on it completely. I'll get back to it eventually, but I don't plan on starting Assassin or going back to Requiem.

I enjoyed watching it, yes. I only watched the first two seasons, though. Later I lost motivation to continue. When I wanted to give it another try and picked up Season 3, I disliked the opening episodes. I mean, they weren't technically bad. I just felt like I wasn't watching Mando's third season, but, just like you mentioned, a different show of some sort. Maybe my break was too long, or I simply got tired of the show's core formula of "the Mandalorian and Grogu's adventures in space".

Whut, Jack Black? xD I don't have anything against him too, but woah, I didn't expect to hear about him having a role in a Star Wars project like the Mandalorian, haha.

I see. Perhaps I'll give the sequel a try one day. Like I said, the recent Tomb Raider game I played was a fun ride. :D

Oh, so you're a completionist? Nice! I usually aim for 100% completion in games I really enjoy, unless the achievements are a pain to get. I'm not a fan of achievements that rely heavily on luck, frustrating RNG stuff, or excessive grinding without any sense of accomplishment that takes way too much time.

Yeah, they are somewhat outdated. There are general elements that each target demographic has (obviously), so it's fully understandable that Saintia Shou was referred to in a way I had mentioned earlier be it by anime journalists or fans themselves. Even so, I generally tend to use them mostly that way, I mean to mention the magazine's profile, or to simply refer to target audience based on said magazine's profile, with having in mind said demographic's typical and characteristic element.

However, many anime fans apparently also don't know how to use them properly, so they can mean literally whatever the person who's talking wants them to mean, lmao. That's why I am aware of having to be flexible in how I'm using those words. Aware also of the fact that they have become awkward buzzwords that can refer to, indeed, the target demographics and/or magazines' main profile, but also, as a lot of anime fans tend to do (consciously or not), sometimes even zealously, a genre, a particular trope, or heck, even "what's more mature and what's less mature". The last one is especially ridicilous, given how one can find examples of both dumb and basic seinen stories, and mature and well-written shounen stories.

Definitely! Saintia Shou manga is truly something worth of recommending. One of the best and the most entertaining Saint Seiya spin-offs, if you ask me. :)

There's a series of mini figurines featuring Gold Cloths (static figures from what I remember, just the Cloths themselves), appearing alongside their respective Pandora Boxes. Bandai recently released the third wave of this series.

True. It makes them special. This way they are not just disposable objects that are mere boxes to contain armors to drag 'em around.

Yeah, we will find out how the setting's gonna be pretty soon, as Saint Maria will start its serialization on 6 January 2025.

Gemini Paradox was cool. Wicked, but in a way you'd expect from someone protecting the House of Gemini. My favorite female character from that arc was Hornet Sonia.

Not that long ago I gave Toriko manga a try, and I finished reading it a few days ago. It's truly a marvelous shounen series. Great and unique setting, awesome characters and plot, a lot of creativity, dynamic fights, very good art... I was initially hesitant to pick it up, as the concept of "a man who hunts monsters for food and eats them" sounded kinda too awkward and dull for me. I also remembered how lukewarm, to put it lightly, the reception was for the anime adaptation. At least according to random comments I stumbled upon several years ago, back when the Toriko anime was still airing.
Luckily, one of my friends shared a few random panels from the manga. I loved them, so I decided to at least read a couple of chapters. Toriko manga hooked me up from the very beginning, haha.

From other stuff, I finished watching MF Ghost Season 2. I didn't like it and I was about to drop it. Twice, lol.

As for non-animanga things, several weeks ago I gave "Those About to Die" a try. It's that Amazon show set in ancient Rome that's about gladiators and chariot riders. I liked it. Sure, there were some historical inaccuracies here and there, but I enjoyed watching it. I hope there's gonna be a second season, but I read on one website that the chances are rather low. Whether it's true of false, the fact is that the second season has not been greenlighted yet.

I don't lose my reply progress often. It occurs rarely, mostly (or rather only) when I'm typing something on a mobile device. When it happens, though, I just start anew. Losing a reply I have been writing before sending it doesn't discourage me from writing it once more and sending it properly. :P

Ayo, a whole episode dedicated to a specific fast food company? XD I've yet to see something like that, haha. In some shows (mostly series) I've seen fragments with product placement, but they were usually harmless, blending naturally into the whole picture, even though they were rather easy to detect. They were often about simple things, like a coffee brand being mentioned, but could also involve more expensive items, like cars or mobile phones of specific brands. In both cases, I don't recall any of these product placement scenes lasting more than a few seconds. But a whole episode being a product placement? Now that's something... spectacular, haha.

Ah, perhaps I misunderstood something about this aspect of Code Geass (if it indeed is one).

I believe I know who CC is. At least, I've seen her image. Beyond that, I don't know much about her, except that she a significant character in that show.

Ouch, my friend's just told me that another hiatus was announced not that long ago, lol.

Same. I sort of understand his choice, but I would've preferred to see him focused more, even if a little, on all that supernatural stuff. His rivalry with Yosuke, the source of his serious involvement in paranormal activities, was no more; but he had proven himself to be a formidable warrior during the Dark Tournament. Seeing him essentially abandon his potential, rather than continuing to improve, felt like a missed opportunity. Like wasting a good character quite early on.

I feel the same. While I understand the nostalgia many feel for Cowboy Bebop, even through rose-tinted glasses, I believe it's objectively just decent. As you mentioned, the pacing is often sluggish due to its episodic nature, and the characters are clichéd and underdeveloped. If Spike is considered a well-written character simply because of his cool and stylish persona, then generic isekai or battle shounen are filled with similar "peak" characters, kekw.

I'm not a fan of episodic series, so many episodes were simply dull. Having only completed half, I lack the motivation to continue knowing the second half follows the same pattern, except for the final episodes.

When I remember this anime's soundtrack, I lose all my motivation, lol. I'm not into jazz, but I can listen to it without problem if the track is good or if tracks aren't repetitive. Sadly, Cowboy Bebop didn't meet both of these subjective criteria of mine. xD

I think Gold Saints from either the 20th or 18th century won't appear in a hypothetical Next Dimension sequel, regardless of whether it's a direct continuation or a side story. I wouldn't mind seeing Seiya and his friends regain their memories and become Gold Saints, similar to the "Do Cvidanija - Time of Promise" concept. Or perhaps a Gaiden series dedicated to ND's Gold Saints.

I've read a fan theory about Odysseus reviving them, but I think that would be a cheap and lazy solution. Let's focus on the Bronze Saints and other characters. The Gold Saints can shine, but I don't see any reason to make them shine at the moment on which the ND's story concluded.

They died for good after completing their mission. I don't think there will ever be any brand new anime like Soul of Gold, dedicated to Gold Saints after they sacrificed themselves. We might see Episode G anime one day, though. I mean, I would love to see it, haha. Even more than ND anime, in fact.

Hehe, that famous Gear 5 clip felt more Looney Toones than actual Looney Toones for me. xD

Sure thing!

About Skeleton Crew, yeah, I read it's a show targeted at a younger audience, resembling more of the old Ewoks series than any other live-action Disney has produced so far. I was moderately intrigued by Jude Law's involvement, but my interest waned, as it did for other new Star Wars shows. The last Star Wars thing I actively followed was the second season of The Mandalorian.

Speaking of games, I never liked the original Tomb Raider games, haha. I played them long ago, but they felt too clunky for me. They had their charm, of course, but I preferred different types of games back then. I didn't play all the newer Tomb Raider games, but I enjoyed the 2013 game.

From what has been revealed so far, it seems like a series targeted at a female audience. It appears to be something completely different from Saintia Shou, but we'll see. Technically, Saintia Sho is a seinen, but thematically, it leans heavily into "typical shounen" tropes with a touch of mahou shojo elements.

I don't think Saintia Shou needs any fixing, to be honest. The manga is great as it is. The anime, on the other hand, was awful. ;p It's unfortunate that its anime adaptation turned out to be perhaps not a disaster, but something not giving the source material enough justice.

As for the card, I'm not sure if it's just a visual element or if it will have a functional role in that new manga. I hope they won't use cards for transformations. That would be awkward, especially considering the cards have already been used in the series before (during the Silver Saints arc). Their role was merely to be messages left by Bronze Saints. If anything, I'd prefer to have "cards lore" expanded this way, instead of omitting the established lore and turning them into fancy "transformation devices".

About the necklaces, I got used to the Cloth necklaces, or whatever they are called, relatively fast. They felt alright as a design choice to attract new people (younger fans) who might not have liked the classic Pandora boxes. But more importantly, they had potential to be a nice piece of merchandise. Who wouldn't want to have their favorite Saint's necklace used in the anime? ;D

When talking about "something that is used to put a Cloth inside of it it", I'm a traditionalist. I've been a fan of Pandora boxes since the very first time I saw them in the original anime. I think they are not only iconic, but also Pandora boxes are definitely something peculiar to Saint Seiya. Not to forget they are, in my opinion, the best and the most original way to depict a way of carrying a heavy armor by a single person. Way better than necklaces, jewels, or whatever. It's also quite realistic, even if realism might not be the best thing to bring up when talking about Saint Seiya, where teenagers battle gods with supernatural, crazy techniques, hehe.

Here's the synopsis of Saint Maria (translated via Google Translate; source: cavzodiaco.com.br):

Ayo, have you heard that there's gonna be a new Saint Seiya spin-off series?

You're welcome!
Yes, there were two games, actually. The old one's Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, and the newer one's called just Call of Cthulhu. I never played the latter, but I played the former. It was alright. It offered great atmosphere and adventure, but bugs, glitches, and optimization problems made it far from an overall enjoyable gaming experience.

Yes, it's definitely convenient to write longer replies in a text editor. Not only can you write your long reply section by section whenever you want, instead of writing the whole thing on the same day, but, as you mentioned, you won't risk your reply getting lost due to, for example, a search engine malfunction or something similar.

That's a shame. It's always disappointing to see good shows go unnoticed, lost in the sea of other series simply because they weren't advertised enough to reach the average viewer. A good budget and solid production quality may not be enough without effective advertising.

Ugh, then I definitely wouldn't enjoy it either. In general, except for a very small number of series (i.e. Death Note), I don't like it when the main character is a genius with insane superpowers and charisma feeling more like an asspull than an actual character trait. It seems to also have elements like a "harem in disguise" and waifubait, two things I'm definitely not a fan of, haha.

I heard about it. I read once several posts written by YYH fans who, even though they enjoyed HxH in general, expressed their disappointment on how there were many ideas or concepts looking as if they were dedicated foremost to be used in YYH.

Togashi-sensei overcame his mangaka burnout, but he is suffering from back pains, from what I heard. It makes HxH manga have a lot of breaks, no?

Same. Even if it was just one solid spin-off telling a nice story. Something like Kuwabara going on a solo mission could be fun to read, haha.

I see. Hmm... So it's not as bad as some folks whose posts I read claimed it to be. Sure, it's stretched in places, but it doesn't feel off when looking at the show as a whole and considering how it adapts the source material in general.

Iyashikei anime isn't my cup of tea, unfortunately. Mushishi, from what you've said, also seems to be quite episodic, and I'm not a fan of episodic anime, heh. That's one of the reasons I still haven't finished Cowboy Bebop (and I don't even feel motivated to return to it). I guess my tolerance for that kind of plot structure was higher in the past. ;D

That was one of my guesses some time ago. Titans have appeared in multiple Saint Seiya works. Perhaps now it's time to introduce them to the main, original storyline? We will see, although I can also imagine the hypothetical Heaven arc following the well-known formula of Bronze Saints advancing through temples of some sort and fighting their overpowered guardians who'd be Olympian gods, with Zeus standing on the top as the final boss (perhaps deceived by Chronos if Chronos is meant to be the main baddie, lol).

I can only judge him by looking at his character design and basic info about his superpowers, so my knowledge about Chopper is very limited. As the series' mascot, I think he's alright. xD


Whut. Not gonna lie, this sounds kinda bizarre, haha.

The power of fanboyism is incredible, lol. My friend once explained to me how fanatical One Piece fans can be both at overthinking every small element of the manga, or act like obnoxious, toxic crybabies once someone says something negative about One Piece or Oda-sensei's writing. It doesn't have to be a trolling or remotely rude comment. Just expressing one's opinion in a polite way. xD

Brunhilde is great, indeed. I like her as a character and the leader of the humans during the tournament. Göll, on the other hand, is annoying as heck when she talks so much that you can't see the end of her screaming unnecessary stuff, lol.

Going back to the animation, it could have been worse. At least the stills look good, and the animation, even if it doesn't do justice to the source material's dynamic art style, is at least okayish for me as an anime-only viewer who has enjoyed the two seasons released so far. I'm more tolerant towards even underwhelming aspects of shows I enjoy watching, hehe. ;D

I think it was more about mixing classic shounen tropes with mahou shoujo, but without making the latter dominate the former.

Speaking about Magic Knight Rayearth, have you heard the news about this anime getting most likely a remake? Or well, it seems like one. Or perhaps it will be a reboot? Anyway, the new Magic Knight Rayearth anime project is under development. I'm curious to see how they'll approach the story and visuals in this new iteration.
https://myanimelist.net/anime/59204/Magic_Knight_Rayearth_Shin_Anime

I think I'll check out that Tomb Raider show out of pure curiosity. I'm not a huge fan of Lara Croft and her adventures (I like some Tomb Raider video games, but I wouldn't call myself a fan), but perhaps the animated series will be fun to watch.

He primarily wrote short stories. Some of them were about Cthulhu, 'cause while H.P. Lovecraft is most famous for his contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos, he wrote many other stories that don't directly involve cosmic horrors or ancient gods.

Going back to the Cthulhu stuff, long story short, Lovecraft created the Cthulhu Mythos, and his literary successors expanded it even further.

If you'd like to give it a try, then for starters I recommend picking up "The Call of Cthulhu" short story. :P

Ayy, I'm terribly sorry... When I'm writing a longer reply, I just write it in a text editor. I find it more comfortable to do it that way. At the moment I was writing that reply, my friend sent me one of his early 3D models and asked for an honest opinion. So I wrote the reply in the text editor, copied it, and sent it to him. Unfortunately, I forgot to delete it from the file that was dedicated for the reply. xD I apologize for causing confusion, haha. It surely must've looked random as heck.

It was supposed to look like this:


It's already been many years since I applied such "doctrine". Years ago I had more free time to spend on checking out shows that didn't look that much interesting to me, out of rather timid curiosity, or continuing watching shows that didn't feel fun to watch in the slightest. These days I'm just either not giving such shows a try, or drop them early on. I don't buy "it gets better after episode 200 bro"; if something feels dull from the start, then I'm not willing to waste my time on finding out whether it's gonna improve, remain the same, or get worse later on, lol.

Hmm... I think I might've heard about this one around the year you've mentioned, but that's it. I forgot about its existence pretty early on, after reading about it for the first time. I had no idea its production quality was high enough to be a show rivaling famous HBO series.

It seems that Netflix really failed at advertising it, at least in my country. I don't remember any friend of mine ever mentioning watching that series when we talked about more and less popular stuff we had been watching. Too bad it got axed in such way (I hate when a series ends with a cliffhanger and is not continued later, from one reason or another), but like you said, they did a terrible job promoting it if it was to be one of potential hits rivaling such a giant as HBO.

I've always found Code Geass's synopsis a bit off-putting, to be honest. It just didn't spark my interest enough. Or rather at all. Reading random comments about the plot and characters only confirmed my initial impression. I doubt I'd enjoy it, especially considering its 25-episode length. While it may not seem like much, it's too long for a show that doesn't immediately captivate me.

As for Hunter x Hunter from 2011, the bright art style was a major turn-off. I'm not a fan of chibi-looking protagonists. My friend suggested trying the older version with its darker, grittier aesthetic, but naah, it did not convince me too. HxH from 2011 adapts more from the manga than the older version, no? I heard it's a more complete adaptation, even if the manga is still ongoing.

Anyway, I guess I'm just quite picky when it comes to anime, heh.

I heard that the anime is very faithful to the manga, so yes, I think I wouldn't like it. I saw people recommending the anime over the manga due to brilliant voice acting, music, overall atmosphere, etc., but I also heard complaints about how the anime messed up the pacing in several moments, which those who complained about it saw as something completely unnecessary. This manga isn't a dynamic one, but woah, is that true that one short chapter about Tenma and that kid (I forgot his name) looking for fuel was stretched to one full episode? ;p

Is Mushishi good? I'm not planning to watch it, but truth be told, I don't know much about this anime.

I think we will see Athena and Bronzies regaining their memories first, and what will happen later? Hard to tell. Same goes with Apollo. He surely is a potential villain candidate, but at this point I can't imagine ND's Apollo to be someone like that. He is pretty neutral, his judgement was fair, Athena and Bronzies complied and accepted it. Rebeling against him would be a dumb move from Athena, proving that she and her elite warriors have always been selfish troublemakers. Unless a significant threat emerges to befall on humanity and put the whole planet in danger, Athena's rebellion against Apollo's judgement seems unlikely. That is, if we assume Athena being wide, responsible and judicious. ;p

About the threat itself, maybe Chronos will make a move? I remember he was mentioned years ago in Hypermyth. More, he was originally presented as the series' final villain. But it was just one of original ideas, a mere concept that hasn't made it to the main storyline's manga. Yet, perhaps, hahaha. However, hard to tell if it will be ever implemented. It's uncertain if Kurumada-sensei hasn't changed his mind over all those years and still intends to use him in this way. It's been years since Hypermyth got released, after all. We'll just have to wait and see. I wouldn't mind seeing him like that. The next story arc will be the perfect opportunity to return to that said original idea. And perhaps finalize Saint Seiya's main storyline with a definite ending.


Oh, it was not a big deal. Just basic info about who was the dude screaming that line, what is the One Piece, and some information about other stuff I found interesting (mostly characters and their abilities). I liked Chopper the most. Cute and original character design, variety of transformations, impressive powers. ;D

So it wasn't known by the crew from the start?

I saw people joking about poor animation quality in The Fable.

I also heard how the Record of Ragnarok manga has a brilliant art style, full of dynamic and detailed sequences. I can confirm it looked good on random panels that a friend of mine showed me. As an anime-only viewer, I enjoyed Record of Ragnarok anime. But yes, it would've benefited from more sakuga moments trying to translate the art level during action scenes known from the manga into the animated format.

Hmmmm... "Saintia Shou" comes to my mind first each time I think of such disappointing adaptations. Bad animation, comical-looking character designs (too big heads, weird proportions) appearing way too often (even in the opening, lol), and the story that was not given enough justice. Heck, even half of it was not adapted. xD What a shame. It could've been a good show if it had received a decent anime adaptation. Saintia Shou mixes well classic shounen tropes with shoujo themes. As someone familiar with the manga, it was simply sad to watch the story that could've attracted new people to the franchise and satisfied Saint Seiya veterans, ending up with such an atrocious anime adaptation.

Interesting. I didn't know that. Nice that such a grassroots project was noticed and was turned into a regular show.

As for the original Castlevania show (the one with Trevor), I say the dialogue has remained pretty much the same quality in all four seasons, perhaps improving with each season a little, but not to the point of saying "A-ha! Now that's a change!". Nocturne (it's about Richter) presents rather similar quality, but I found it similar to the last seasons of the original Castlevania show in terms of dialogue lines' quality. Perhaps they improved; at least that was my impression.

honestly, i haven't seen any of Guillermo's show either- i remember watching his movies and THEY ARE SO WELL CRAFTED, SO BEAUTIFUL AND SUCH HEAVY MESSAGE !!!!

ONE PIECE LIVE ACTION ??? lmao i might finally watch it if its under 100 eps then...let's see


not really, atleast not so far- he is definitely a sociopath? psychopath? like he is not a normal human to me and i cannot empathise with him like at all.

i see the religious fanaticism - lol interesting and cliche i think, watched too many media with similar trope... trying to "make a statement"

Tenma is a likeable character despite my personal disdain against people who suffer from dilemma where one choice can literally SAVE PEOPLE but well i can understand why it is so difficult for him, doctors' oath is literally the first thing a doctor takes so i empathise with him but Johan (i know people like him so much, he is the like top 10 manipulators of all time) i just find him...shallow i dont know- im in ep 38 and i literally dont find 1 SINGLE THING ABOUT HIM MEMORABLE maybe thats why i am getting pissed like "KILL HIM ALREADY LIKE WHAT?" ...Nina is good....she is proactive despite her own trauma.

im yet to meet this famous Grimmer so let's see..

same cuz they have so much more untapped potential that i would pay to see

in the end i think, i have already consumed a lot of media dealing major themes that we see in Monster and i kind of find it okay...like im watching just so i can say yeah IVE WATCHED MONSTER...i like getting into the psyche of psychos and criminals, MINDHUNTER does a great job, the killing dilemma of the good guy over the bad guy has been very cliche to me (cliche, not bad) - well, im still optimistic about Monster...hope by the next half tables turn for me or not- its a good show just not the one for me.

thanks!!

HOLY COW ?? fr ?? omg just checked it out - i was unaware of that....lol i really thought it has so much more potential as an HBO show, i kind of love the human facial expression, the acting...in this kind of dark themed shows...it just makes everything so appealing also I LOVE GUILLERMO..he is a goat i truly hope he picks it up someday...someday i wish

99% people are...its a cult classic but the cult is 99& audience..i am not like "NOT LIKING IT" it just isnt gripping me...like i get it... hes a bad guy youre doc you cant kill...idk im not connecting with characters...moreover may i need to give more time...