Plethora of interesting things to discuss right <)
>I actually have a few friends who like anime but none really in the business of talking about it too much, so I really welcome new friends and you’re welcome to write comments in any length (:
I haven't spoken to friends of mine that watch anime for years (besides Mal "Friends" ofcourse, mainly True Logh Fans though since I mainly only hold high of their opinion). Tbh haven't been speaking to many friends at all period since breaking up with my Female close to a year ago. But sure it's interesting to chat with you about anime and stuff so with your acquiescence I won't hold back on the rambling!
>First, thanks for the praising, I get the “you’re a female!” quite a lot.
No problem, your taste in anime is awesome, I'd be thrilled if my best friends (guys) would have half your taste (although they don't watch anime). The fact that you're a female with those interests is really cool and quite unique. Fortunately there are a good amount of "otaku" females on Mal so you are not alone.
> I do feel my anime taste is more suited for males than females, but to be honest I enjoy braking prejudice about gender roles in entertainment (and in general).
No need to conform to societal perceptions of what anime you are "supposed" to like. A substantial number of females are interested in "shounen" anime and are not restricted to "shoujo" or "josei" genres. Hell even I make sure to watch some shoujo and josei to get the full experience of all the genres available and their best and most famous offerings. But yeh it's refreshing to see a female embracing things that are predominantly Guys territory.
>I actually got in to anime while facing a “reader block”
I'm pretty proficient at English, but I wouldn't have been familiar with the term if not for playing Pokemon Black/White a few years ago where one of the Gym Leaders was said to have had "Artist's Block".
>(I really enjoy books, though not as much since I discovered manga)
I have been an avid reader as well nearly all my life. Over the past 6 years since I've been back in the states I mainly only read my long Fantasy series novels on Shabbat, since I observe it and am not on my computer at all (I'm on for wayyy to long during weekdays anyway so it's good to have 1 day of respite and rest). I was initially skeptical of manga since I found it woefully inferior to anime (still do to an extent, if only due to losing out on experiencing awesome Seiyuu performances and ofourse things coming to life animated and in color), and in terms of "reading" relative to my novels i also found it lacking. However over the past 2-3 years I've slowly warmed up to it more, and don't mind it as much (in fact the titles I pick I usually end up enjoying) An added bonus on some sites like MangaHere are Tsukkomi by other readers, and often times those are hilarious or interesting and enhance the manga experience since you feel a sense of partaking in it with others, in "real time", more so than just reading comments in episode discussions on the Mal forums. But yeh an advantage of manga over books is pictures which helps make up for it's much less in depth story and content that a raw 500-1000 page novel will immerse you in.
>and my BF suggested to read death note,
He definitely knew how to seduce you into the world of manga and anime, so bravo to him.
>I do feel like I missed out on a lot because of the relatively old age I got into anime at.
You have missed out on nothing, no need to feel bad. Look at it from this perspective- You get to experience a boatload of potential treasures, since there are still alot of gems dating back to the 80's all the way up to the current anime season that you will get to experience. A good way of going about things is prioritize similar shows (such as from recommendation pages) by chronology, going with the first show produced. Also it's best to prioritize anime from the i would say top 100 from both ranked and popularity on Mal (500 range is even better for a more comprehensive experience, time permitting ofcourse). You will often see those mentioned and referenced, whether in comments, forums, episode discussions, reviews, recommendations, or even many anime themselves (i.e Gintama with it's horde of parodies and references. The more staples you watched beforehand the more likely you will enjoy the gags or homage, and as an anime fan you might feel proud that you get them. This also applies to say the 2nd time watching episodes of Gintama in the future, after having tackled some of the commonly referenced anime like DB/DBZ).
>I've been looking for a good excuse to watch DBZ
If I were you I'd make it your main "project" after Logh. Starting from Dragon Ball before DBZ ofcourse, since watching in the right order is always what you should strive for (if you ever have questions about watch order for any show or series you should always do some research on Mal/Google, or feel free to ask me or other mal users, or even create a topic in the respective anime, and you are likely to get a prompt and helpful response). The difference between the two is similar to Naruto and Naruto Shippuden, namely a time skip of a few years. The manga for both are under the respective names Dragon Ball and Naruto, with no distinction like the anime series have. Part of the reason is that anime's eat up alot of manga content and they catch up to quick, so they go on a little break, sometimes for months and potentially for years, and the continued series gets a "new" name. Actually Gintama makes fun of this phenomena, as can be witnessed by the 2nd Gintama anime - titled Gintama' , as well as in some of the later episodes, which is ofcourse the exact same show just returned after a haitus). However with DB and DBZ the first series is a bit more lighthearted and adventurous since it deals with most of the main characters teenage years, although it starts to have a few heavier arcs towards the end of DB. DBZ is generally much heavier and darker relative to dragon ball (albeit there is plenty of comedy and light hearted moments) and is more focused on battles and power level.
Note that anything you watch after Logh is gonna seem really poor by comparison. For the sake of Dragon Ball it may be best to watch a few shorter "fodder" shows before starting it, to let them look like absolute garbage relative to Logh. Then starting Dragon Ball will likely be a big improvement for you in terms of what you have been watching, and it will no longer have to war too much with Logh in your mind. DBZ has a high power level both literally (characters in the show will be very powerful relative to the much tamer naruto or bleach with their little tricks) and figuratively (in terms of being super popular and most considering it really good as well as the parent of the battle shounen genre, and debatably of anime period, atleast for the "West"), but it will still get ravaged by Logh if one has to compare them.
>for some reason I trust you recommendations (the fact that it's one the most popular anime also plays a role)
Even if you ended up not being a fan of it, it still is absolutely essential anime viewing. EVERY Shounen steals heavily from it, even the greatest ones Like HxH, so it's important to be familiar with the origins. Imagine not having watched or read Death Note. That would be a big disadvantage since it's such a universal series that it would be nearly criminal. DB/DBZ is similar (although objectively not as strong with its rating according to the masses due to being longer and more prone to dragging things a bit), except it's even more well known throughout the world and is responsible for getting more people into the anime world than even Death Note, or more recently Attack on Titan. Another huge advantage to watching it will be something called Dragon Ball Z Abridged by TeamFourStar, which is the most famous parody of an anime series ever. To give you an idea it' still ongoing at about 50 episodes covering right now about 2/3rd's of DBZ with a release every month or so, and each episode gets about 5 million views on Youtube. Even some of the famous English voice actors for DBZ are known fans of DBZ abridged. Even if you somehow end up disliking db/dbz you would still likely find the abridged series hilarious. I'll tell you about it more though when you get to DBZ after finishing the first 153 episodes from Dragon Ball, since the parody is only for the more famous DBZ, so you can't take a sneak peak at the 1st episode of it without seeing spoilers from DBZ itself which is not ideal.
>so be honest It's really hard for me to watch shounens ever since I've finishes Hunter x Hunter, I feel like there's nothing that can compare to it, I even watched it twice (and also the older version).
Trust me I am very familiar with the feeling you are discussing. I thought the same with DBZ for many years, and I always thought it would be my favorite. Running into Logh, even with high relatively high expectations, just blew it out of the water as well as everything else I've seen. (Now I'm 100000000% sure that nothing will even be in the same Universe as Logh). Hunter X Hunter is debatably the best ever Shounen, I have also watched it multiple times (just the originals, been waiting for the right time to enter into the 2011 version, as well as needing the time to distance myself and my memory from the voices and Seiyuu of the original series. I'm very sensitive to the VA and am familiar with most of them and can spot voices instantly, and a fair amount of my enjoyment and the immersion of bonding with a character is through their voice. As such it's really hard to stomach getting used to new voices, and a fair amount of original HxH fans like myself were apprehensive about entering into the new series because of it. Luckily most of the new Seiyuu are pretty decent, and the show is considered the highest ranked release in many years, so i have been savoring and hoarding the 2011 show as my last "Elite" anime to watch, and potentially the strongest anime left for me to watch.)
>So DBZ will probably be a good thing for me. I even started one piece, and it's really nice, but for me it lacks the darkness that HxH has. Even bleach and Naruto felt darker.
It's sort of unfortunate that you watched HxH as one of your original anime, and are using it as the basis for what you like. The reason is since almost nothing is like it and its level and originality and darkness. That's why even a Power like One Piece might not grip you as much, since it's different and may seem to happy and slow paced and fluffy or whatever relative to HxH (note that One Piece does have arcs that get more serious, and certainly moments and scenes that can get quite intense. It's best for you to tackle One Piece after dealing with DB/DBZ and Yu Yu Hakusho though Imo). It will be hard to recondition your preferences at this point, but the goal is to try to be a bit more open to things that are not as Dark and serious and thrilling as HxH can be. The ability to adapt and immerse yourself in the world of a new long running show, even if it seems to be pretty different from your favorites, is the key to getting through them and not getting burned out or potentially dropping them, as well as ultimately enjoying them.
1 example I'll mention- You can't expect other shows to match Logh in terms of it's willingness to kill off it's characters and stay true to it's reality. Even something like Game Of Thrones, of which I'm an original reader from the 90's when it was released, can't really compare to Logh in that regard with the scope of death. In Game of Thrones, as good as it is, deaths are used to evoke emotion and garner hype and excitement. All perfectly valid and good things. With Logh though everything that happens is staying True to it's world, and it's not trying to pander to viewers. That partially explains the Narrator and some of his spoilers, as well as the dreadfully spoiler filled episode previews (which you should avoid, although the most dreadful one was the episode 81 preview for episode 82 which just straight up jumps into the terrible clips of Yang). But anyway it's important to realize that this approach is an exception to the norm (as you mentioned in your episode 82 of Logh forum post), and not to judge or expect other series to be able to replicate this. This is especially true for Dragon Ball though.. Tiny "spoiler", the Dragon Balls can grant ANY wish. So as you can see right from the start your entering a world with different "rules" than Logh's, which ofcourse most resembles the real world out of probably any anime ever. If you don't try to immerse yourself in the mindset and mode of the anime you are tackling, and if need be willfully suspend your sense of disbelief at times, than it will be hard to enjoy things as much as you could have otherwise.
>About bleach, it was my first shounen, and really the first long running anime I've watched. I was crazy about it at the time.
Right I figured as much. Also the fact that you now have it as an 8 rating but still have it on your favorites can be explained by that. Note I find it impressive that you can balance having something on your favorites, as well as tacitly admitting that it's not anywhere near perfect or amazing, and even give it your relatively objective and unbiased score. I won't even bash Bleach at all when mentioning it to you, since while I think it's woefully overrated and unjustly popular (although it is now finally meeting it's demise with rapidly dwindling sales for the manga, the anime ofcourse being canceled and with it's terrible tv ratings for years which led to it's cancellation etc etc) I don't have anything against those who like it but realize atleast some of it's shortcomings, and more importantly are able to enjoy the True powerhouses of the genre such as HxH. Actually it may be good that you like Bleach, since its battles and powers are considered by most to be woefully weak relative to DB/DBZ, so there is a good chance that you will be able to tolerate and possibly like (maybe alot) some of the battles and tournaments in db/dbz.
>Almost got an urahara tattoo (but decided to wait until it was finished)
I personally would never get a tattoo even if I wanted to since it's not permitted in Judaism, but I try to not begrudge others for their choices. Still I think it's a good idea that you didn't get an Urahara tattoo and think it was wise of you to postpone that (indefinitely).
>now, from a prospective of time and many other anime I've watched since, it doesn't have the strong impact it used to have on me, but will definitely always be one of my favorites. Kinda like your first love. Sometimes you look back and can't believe that you were crazy about that old skank, but she will always be your first <3
Yup i understand perfectly. That's why I won't judge your love of Bleach in a negative light. I understand that you found you first love to be attractive (who wouldn't after drinking a bottle of vodka), and didn't realize that they were using a ton of cosmetics and even a face transplant to fool you, as well as having multiple STD's that they only informed you of afterwords. You might feel a bit cheated and screwed over now, but at the time things seemed to be ideal (little did you know what they were doing behind your back..).
>And hisoka, I'm really obsessed with him. I love how he's not really evil or good but rather follows his own code (in that aspect he's like Yang), he does things that can be perceived as either good or evil (like helping gon in greed Island or how he didn't let then pass to the top floors of the heaven arena for their own good) . So In that sense he's probably one of the most complete villains in anime.
Yup i feel exactly the same. A multi-faceted and mysterious and unpredictable character like Hisoka is very rare and an incredible experience to watch. I fell in love with him at first sight, and he never let me down. I'm sure my English could fill in how you feel about him, since I am fully aware of why you love him and how you love him. Perfect examples you cited which show that his actions that can't be bound by simple moniker's like "good" or "evil". I don't agree so much about the similarity to Yang part for me, however Hisoka is similar to Logh itself in that you can't really characterize things in terms of good and evil (mainly in the war between FPA and Galactic Empire).
>Whenever I feel sad I always watch gintama, ain't nothing better to cheer up A broken spirit.
Totally legit, I can sympathize with that. For me it used to be One Piece when I was going through it ( before putting it on hold to let it build up a surplus of episodes) since it could elevate my mood and make me happy for a bit. These days though for me things are generally not great (in a consistent, perpetual fashion) so no anime makes a radical change in my mood. Logh can make me sad at will though and tear me up even over a year after my initial watch of it. Gintama usually has me laughing whenever I watch it as well, although that is different from really changing the mood or general atmosphere.
>Where did you live in Israel? Such a small world (:
Different places throughout Yerushalayim. My dad's family lives in Arnona next to Ramat Rachel (pretty close to Emek Refaim and Kever Rachel). I was mainly living though in a few different Yeshivot in places like Neve Yaakov, and right outside Yerushalayim in a place called Telstone (Kiryat Ye'arim). I did visit Tel Aviv, where it says you live according to Mal, probably atleast a half dozen times or so, although it's not my favorite place (it is similar in some ways to my hometown of Miami).
>If you want to practice your hebrew you're welcome to PM me!
3 months in Israel would have me near fluent again (forsure in terms of understanding of which even now I'm still quite competent). I hopefully one day will be back in Israel permanently. Chavel she shachachti ech lahagid "it was nice of you to offer to practice with me" since as i try to translate the words into hebrew in my mind they keep turning into japanese.. (could be partially since I've been up for a while and am tired so a bit mentally sluggish). Also sorry about the spelling, been ages since I've seen hebrew spelled with english words, and while I'd likely be able to type that in hebrew with few to no spelling errors, I don't have Hebrew letters on my keyboard and It's too much effort to hunt them down >)
>BTW, sorry for the late reply it takes me a while to write something so long in english.
No worries, you can take as long as you want to respond, if at all, I know that you read the message and as long as I entertained you even mildly with my ramblings that's good enough ("manzoku suru" is the word in japanese which means that I'm content/ it's satisfying/ it's sufficient. Hebrew all that comes to mind is "Kidai" and i guess the impossible to forget "samaech" for happy which is another of the translations for manzoku).
Oops i see you had already? watched Arata no Overture, which is great and I'm very happy you liked it.
We actually have very similar tastes, with very few differences. Hisoka is also my favorite HxH character, and I even had him on my favorite list for about 2 years, but of late I'm being pushed more and more to only have Logh characters as my favorites. Really do wish there were more than 10 spots for favorite characters..
Eventhough I'm not a fan of Bleach anymore I do also like Urahara (one of the few bleach characters i still like, maybe him the most), and Shikamaru was very likely my favorite Naruto character and it helped me make progress with the series when it felt too filler filled and occasionally boring or cliche, due to the hope of seeing more of him. Gintoki is also a great character with a great sense of humor. L is the vairant of Yang in the Deah Note battle, and while I'm quite fond of him I actually was sorta rooting for Light (albeit he is relatively evil and has wayy to much of a G-d Complex). All the above favorite characters of yours are relatively similar to Yang, so I can see why you like them (although none of them stand in the same Galaxy as Yang in my mind, not even combined). Hisoka is of course not similar to the above, but he is of the best villain characters in anime history Imo, debatably the best outright.
Once you watch DB/DBZ and finish YYH you will realize how they along with HxH are the best of the Battle Shounen genre, and some of the best anime ever according to many. You may also think that Bleach and Naruto are a bit overrated, and they might lose a bit of standing in your mind since you will see how much they stole from the original "Big 3" of Shounen anime. One Piece is also quite strong, especially if you like some adventure and exploring new cities, countries, oceans in a unique world, as well as close bonds of friendship and "Nakama" which One Piece excels at.
Ultimately I feel we have really close anime compability and tastes, so it's likely that most of my suggestions would be pretty onpoint.
>Yes we are pretty rare indeed, I don't even know any other Israeli Otaku who watched LotGH.
Apologize in advance for my rambling self introduction :)
I lived in Israel for a few years when I was 17-20 (as well as for a year and a half when i was a kid from 6-8) and my Dad is Israeli, so I do have citizenship as well. My Hebrew was fluent when I left Israel to come back to the States, but it has gotten a bit rustier since I've left due to disuse. My reading has always been strong though due to a religious upbringing. These days though my Japanese isn't that far behind my Hebrew due to watching alot of anime over the years (haven't taken lessons though so reading Kanji and Hiragana is a bit beyond me). I only really started to get into Anime my last few months in Israel, and my friends there that did watch anime were more casual about it, and unlikely to ever stumble upon or give Logh a proper chance.
I'm still very pleasantly surprised to have found a True Logh Fan from Israel. I must admit that I'm even more impressed that you are also Female, the combination is really cool. I'll cut short some of the praise roaming through my mind lest it would make you uncomfortable, but it's also interesting that we are the same age!
>And how can you not love Yang? He has a remarkable character, and apart from that brilliant brain of his, he's an idealist that doesn't ever bend his ideals for anything. And you have to respect that.
Yang is by far my favorite anime character ever. The episodes that you are watching now at the end of season 3 were the hardest ones to swallow I've ever watched. I agree with your point about how frustrating it is that the narrator spoils it to some extent, but I was hoping till the last moment that it wouldn't happen. Even when it started to seem hopeless I still held on to the wish that Yang would somehow be alright when Julian found him... Your comment about the narrator stating that Julian regretted letting Yang leave Iserlohn, as well as the comment from a few episode before that where the narrator said it was "the last time they spoke throughout the night" was ofcourse worrisome and a non ideal spoiler, but it leaves a fair amount of room for survival, although we know that something is going to go wrong to some extent. Narrator's are not always right in other shows, and often just tease out possibilities. Unfortunately that is usually not the case in Logh, although I'll explain to you the predominant theory about the Narrator once you are done with Logh.
Even when I watched Logh my 2nd time a few months ago, this time with family, I was dreading the end of season 3 (I did skip over the narrator spoiler in the last Julian/Yang conversation, just wish I had someone doing the same for me my first time watching it. Luckily though besides the narrator spoilers I never got spoiled about anything from Logh otherwise since I was very careful to avoid potentially dangerous spoilers). I do consider them and episode 82 to be the strongest episodes ever though, and even as a Guy i'm not ashamed to admit that I've shed many tears while watching it. Honestly the full brunt of my emotions didn't kick in till the ensuing episodes, and initially I was very unhappy with episode 82 and couldn't even give it a rating (all other logh episodes got "5's" from me, and I am generally stingy with those) since it felt wrong. Over the course of the next few months though (this is over a year ago) i realized how strong of an episode it was, and it has haunted me ever since. The scenes from a few episodes before with Devilier and Fork and the Ominous music that portends tragedy always get me in tears and dread. Actually go back when you can and rewatch that scene where Fork is reintroduced after his 60 episode hiatus. Should be episode 77 from 17"45 minutes to the 19"30 mark, followed by episode 78 the 19" minute mark right where the narrator says that it would be the last day they talked throught the night which then transitions into the Fork/DeVillier scene, with the ominous music tragic starting at 20"30 minutes. It's pretty freaky, especially since you will now fully understand how sinister it is, as well as how fitting Deviliers quote is about how "From Antiquity, the one who is assassinated would have been remembered and left their name in history regardless, but the assassin will only be known due to having carried out the assassination." And then mentioning how the otherwise forgotten about Fork (although i never forgot him even with the 60 episode interlude between his appearances hehe) would now live on for posterity in infamy, and how it was charity of DeVillier to do this for Fork (some sickening "tzedakah" no??). It's actually partially because of this scene that I was hopeful things would work out with Yang once Fork's attack was seemingly stymied and stopped...
But anyways I can ramble on for days about how much I love Yang, he is the realest and most likeable character I've ever seen in Anime and he really transcends the Anime Medium as a whole. I've been fortunate to know a few people of his caliber in my life. Interesting that you mention how Yang doesn't bend his ideals for anything (eventhough i always sorta supported Schenkopp's take that Yang should have taken control once corruption was rampant and the FPA was out to get him with their witchhunt interrogations, as well as the absurd orders such as to not finish Reinhard off episode 53 and to surrender etc), it really is impressive and an admirable trait. I was just writing to another Logh viewer who just finished season 1 and really liked Jessica, where I strongly urged him to watch the 2 main Logh movies, namely My Conquest (http://myanimelist.net/anime/3014/Ginga_Eiyuu_Densetsu:_Waga_Yuku_wa_Hoshi_no_Taikai ) which takes place right before the start of the Ova, and more importantly Overture to a New World (http://myanimelist.net/anime/3016/Ginga_Eiyuu_Densetsu:_Arata_Naru_Tatakai_no_Overture ), which is an expanded retelling of the battle from the first 2 episodes of the Ova, with much more juicy backstory, especially as relates to the relationship between Yang, Jessica, and Lap. Sadly my first time watching Logh i didn't get to it till after season 3 or about right where you are, and it's best to watch it either before starting Logh, or within the first few episodes, or atleast before the end of season 1 and the tragic Stadium scene with Jessica. If you still haven't watched it I implore you to watch them before going on. Regarding Jessica I wrote about how she also didn't cave into pressure and fought for her ideals and beliefs and how "A part of me hoped that since Lap was gone, Jessica might be the female for Yang, especially since she strongly shares core principals with Yang and actively pursues defending the rights and liberties of others, as well as being bold and tenacious defending her ideas, and not caving in to pressure or bullying." This will make more sense though once you watch Arata no Overture and get the added backstory, especially about the relationship with Yang, Jessica, and Lap.
>I seriously have no idea what LotGH will look like now, I assume Julian would take the lead but it's really not gonna be the same. I hope I'm wrong and it gets even better.
I won't spoil anything at all for you, I'll just say that your sentiments and worries were shared by the vast majority of True Logh Fans, and especially Yang Fans.
>BTW, I couldn't agree more with your ten anime staples
Glad you agreed with that, the list is far from exact and hasn't been updated/modified for a while, but it's a general guideline of same of the main staples that any anime fan should tackle. And yes Death Note is a perfect and common "gateway" anime, I've used it to get numerous people into anime, such as my Old Female a few years ago, who was skeptical of anime initially but was enthralled with Death Note, which made it easier to get her to watch other anime with me like NHK and both Dragon Ball series in it's entirety. Sorry for my comment being so long, i actually started writing it some time ago but i see you are already adding to your plan to watch list some other worthwhile anime that I was gonna advise you to give a shot to. Since you liked Gintama you should definitely give Sket Dance a try, it may not be on the level of Gintama for you but you should still likely end up enjoying, potentially a lot. NHK is also really strong, although it might resonate a bit more with people that don't always fit into society and dealing with others, and are more secluded.
Regarding DBZ there is no such thing as too late. Although at 27 we may start feeling old, there is really no age limitation on any anime ("anime" cartoons is another story). Since you liked HxH there is a good chance you will like Dragon Ball, and possibly Dragon Ball Z. Regardless it is probably the most famous anime of all time, so I don't think it's something that could be passed on. You do wanna watch it before Yu Yu Hakusho though since it chronologically is before it and YYH is probably the most similar anime to DB/DBZ (YYH is by Togashi the same author as Hunter X Hunter so I'm sure you will like it alot as well. I see you are 15 episodes into it already, which is ironic since that's how far I got into it when watching it with my old female for her first time seeing it and my 3rd, but that is the last time I saw her. It is still early enough though that you can go on hiatus with it if you decide to tackle DB/DBZ which I do highly advise, and it won't be hard to pick it back up in a few months or wtvr if you just refresh yourself on the last episode or 2 since it's at that point that it's about to start a new arc anyways before then getting into the brunt of the story where it really picks up).
All Comments (7) Comments
Plethora of interesting things to discuss right <)
>I actually have a few friends who like anime but none really in the business of talking about it too much, so I really welcome new friends and you’re welcome to write comments in any length (:
I haven't spoken to friends of mine that watch anime for years (besides Mal "Friends" ofcourse, mainly True Logh Fans though since I mainly only hold high of their opinion). Tbh haven't been speaking to many friends at all period since breaking up with my Female close to a year ago. But sure it's interesting to chat with you about anime and stuff so with your acquiescence I won't hold back on the rambling!
>First, thanks for the praising, I get the “you’re a female!” quite a lot.
No problem, your taste in anime is awesome, I'd be thrilled if my best friends (guys) would have half your taste (although they don't watch anime). The fact that you're a female with those interests is really cool and quite unique. Fortunately there are a good amount of "otaku" females on Mal so you are not alone.
> I do feel my anime taste is more suited for males than females, but to be honest I enjoy braking prejudice about gender roles in entertainment (and in general).
No need to conform to societal perceptions of what anime you are "supposed" to like. A substantial number of females are interested in "shounen" anime and are not restricted to "shoujo" or "josei" genres. Hell even I make sure to watch some shoujo and josei to get the full experience of all the genres available and their best and most famous offerings. But yeh it's refreshing to see a female embracing things that are predominantly Guys territory.
>I actually got in to anime while facing a “reader block”
I'm pretty proficient at English, but I wouldn't have been familiar with the term if not for playing Pokemon Black/White a few years ago where one of the Gym Leaders was said to have had "Artist's Block".
>(I really enjoy books, though not as much since I discovered manga)
I have been an avid reader as well nearly all my life. Over the past 6 years since I've been back in the states I mainly only read my long Fantasy series novels on Shabbat, since I observe it and am not on my computer at all (I'm on for wayyy to long during weekdays anyway so it's good to have 1 day of respite and rest). I was initially skeptical of manga since I found it woefully inferior to anime (still do to an extent, if only due to losing out on experiencing awesome Seiyuu performances and ofourse things coming to life animated and in color), and in terms of "reading" relative to my novels i also found it lacking. However over the past 2-3 years I've slowly warmed up to it more, and don't mind it as much (in fact the titles I pick I usually end up enjoying) An added bonus on some sites like MangaHere are Tsukkomi by other readers, and often times those are hilarious or interesting and enhance the manga experience since you feel a sense of partaking in it with others, in "real time", more so than just reading comments in episode discussions on the Mal forums. But yeh an advantage of manga over books is pictures which helps make up for it's much less in depth story and content that a raw 500-1000 page novel will immerse you in.
>and my BF suggested to read death note,
He definitely knew how to seduce you into the world of manga and anime, so bravo to him.
>I do feel like I missed out on a lot because of the relatively old age I got into anime at.
You have missed out on nothing, no need to feel bad. Look at it from this perspective- You get to experience a boatload of potential treasures, since there are still alot of gems dating back to the 80's all the way up to the current anime season that you will get to experience. A good way of going about things is prioritize similar shows (such as from recommendation pages) by chronology, going with the first show produced. Also it's best to prioritize anime from the i would say top 100 from both ranked and popularity on Mal (500 range is even better for a more comprehensive experience, time permitting ofcourse). You will often see those mentioned and referenced, whether in comments, forums, episode discussions, reviews, recommendations, or even many anime themselves (i.e Gintama with it's horde of parodies and references. The more staples you watched beforehand the more likely you will enjoy the gags or homage, and as an anime fan you might feel proud that you get them. This also applies to say the 2nd time watching episodes of Gintama in the future, after having tackled some of the commonly referenced anime like DB/DBZ).
>I've been looking for a good excuse to watch DBZ
If I were you I'd make it your main "project" after Logh. Starting from Dragon Ball before DBZ ofcourse, since watching in the right order is always what you should strive for (if you ever have questions about watch order for any show or series you should always do some research on Mal/Google, or feel free to ask me or other mal users, or even create a topic in the respective anime, and you are likely to get a prompt and helpful response). The difference between the two is similar to Naruto and Naruto Shippuden, namely a time skip of a few years. The manga for both are under the respective names Dragon Ball and Naruto, with no distinction like the anime series have. Part of the reason is that anime's eat up alot of manga content and they catch up to quick, so they go on a little break, sometimes for months and potentially for years, and the continued series gets a "new" name. Actually Gintama makes fun of this phenomena, as can be witnessed by the 2nd Gintama anime - titled Gintama' , as well as in some of the later episodes, which is ofcourse the exact same show just returned after a haitus). However with DB and DBZ the first series is a bit more lighthearted and adventurous since it deals with most of the main characters teenage years, although it starts to have a few heavier arcs towards the end of DB. DBZ is generally much heavier and darker relative to dragon ball (albeit there is plenty of comedy and light hearted moments) and is more focused on battles and power level.
Note that anything you watch after Logh is gonna seem really poor by comparison. For the sake of Dragon Ball it may be best to watch a few shorter "fodder" shows before starting it, to let them look like absolute garbage relative to Logh. Then starting Dragon Ball will likely be a big improvement for you in terms of what you have been watching, and it will no longer have to war too much with Logh in your mind. DBZ has a high power level both literally (characters in the show will be very powerful relative to the much tamer naruto or bleach with their little tricks) and figuratively (in terms of being super popular and most considering it really good as well as the parent of the battle shounen genre, and debatably of anime period, atleast for the "West"), but it will still get ravaged by Logh if one has to compare them.
>for some reason I trust you recommendations (the fact that it's one the most popular anime also plays a role)
Even if you ended up not being a fan of it, it still is absolutely essential anime viewing. EVERY Shounen steals heavily from it, even the greatest ones Like HxH, so it's important to be familiar with the origins. Imagine not having watched or read Death Note. That would be a big disadvantage since it's such a universal series that it would be nearly criminal. DB/DBZ is similar (although objectively not as strong with its rating according to the masses due to being longer and more prone to dragging things a bit), except it's even more well known throughout the world and is responsible for getting more people into the anime world than even Death Note, or more recently Attack on Titan. Another huge advantage to watching it will be something called Dragon Ball Z Abridged by TeamFourStar, which is the most famous parody of an anime series ever. To give you an idea it' still ongoing at about 50 episodes covering right now about 2/3rd's of DBZ with a release every month or so, and each episode gets about 5 million views on Youtube. Even some of the famous English voice actors for DBZ are known fans of DBZ abridged. Even if you somehow end up disliking db/dbz you would still likely find the abridged series hilarious. I'll tell you about it more though when you get to DBZ after finishing the first 153 episodes from Dragon Ball, since the parody is only for the more famous DBZ, so you can't take a sneak peak at the 1st episode of it without seeing spoilers from DBZ itself which is not ideal.
>so be honest It's really hard for me to watch shounens ever since I've finishes Hunter x Hunter, I feel like there's nothing that can compare to it, I even watched it twice (and also the older version).
Trust me I am very familiar with the feeling you are discussing. I thought the same with DBZ for many years, and I always thought it would be my favorite. Running into Logh, even with high relatively high expectations, just blew it out of the water as well as everything else I've seen. (Now I'm 100000000% sure that nothing will even be in the same Universe as Logh). Hunter X Hunter is debatably the best ever Shounen, I have also watched it multiple times (just the originals, been waiting for the right time to enter into the 2011 version, as well as needing the time to distance myself and my memory from the voices and Seiyuu of the original series. I'm very sensitive to the VA and am familiar with most of them and can spot voices instantly, and a fair amount of my enjoyment and the immersion of bonding with a character is through their voice. As such it's really hard to stomach getting used to new voices, and a fair amount of original HxH fans like myself were apprehensive about entering into the new series because of it. Luckily most of the new Seiyuu are pretty decent, and the show is considered the highest ranked release in many years, so i have been savoring and hoarding the 2011 show as my last "Elite" anime to watch, and potentially the strongest anime left for me to watch.)
>So DBZ will probably be a good thing for me. I even started one piece, and it's really nice, but for me it lacks the darkness that HxH has. Even bleach and Naruto felt darker.
It's sort of unfortunate that you watched HxH as one of your original anime, and are using it as the basis for what you like. The reason is since almost nothing is like it and its level and originality and darkness. That's why even a Power like One Piece might not grip you as much, since it's different and may seem to happy and slow paced and fluffy or whatever relative to HxH (note that One Piece does have arcs that get more serious, and certainly moments and scenes that can get quite intense. It's best for you to tackle One Piece after dealing with DB/DBZ and Yu Yu Hakusho though Imo). It will be hard to recondition your preferences at this point, but the goal is to try to be a bit more open to things that are not as Dark and serious and thrilling as HxH can be. The ability to adapt and immerse yourself in the world of a new long running show, even if it seems to be pretty different from your favorites, is the key to getting through them and not getting burned out or potentially dropping them, as well as ultimately enjoying them.
1 example I'll mention- You can't expect other shows to match Logh in terms of it's willingness to kill off it's characters and stay true to it's reality. Even something like Game Of Thrones, of which I'm an original reader from the 90's when it was released, can't really compare to Logh in that regard with the scope of death. In Game of Thrones, as good as it is, deaths are used to evoke emotion and garner hype and excitement. All perfectly valid and good things. With Logh though everything that happens is staying True to it's world, and it's not trying to pander to viewers. That partially explains the Narrator and some of his spoilers, as well as the dreadfully spoiler filled episode previews (which you should avoid, although the most dreadful one was the episode 81 preview for episode 82 which just straight up jumps into the terrible clips of Yang). But anyway it's important to realize that this approach is an exception to the norm (as you mentioned in your episode 82 of Logh forum post), and not to judge or expect other series to be able to replicate this. This is especially true for Dragon Ball though.. Tiny "spoiler", the Dragon Balls can grant ANY wish. So as you can see right from the start your entering a world with different "rules" than Logh's, which ofcourse most resembles the real world out of probably any anime ever. If you don't try to immerse yourself in the mindset and mode of the anime you are tackling, and if need be willfully suspend your sense of disbelief at times, than it will be hard to enjoy things as much as you could have otherwise.
>About bleach, it was my first shounen, and really the first long running anime I've watched. I was crazy about it at the time.
Right I figured as much. Also the fact that you now have it as an 8 rating but still have it on your favorites can be explained by that. Note I find it impressive that you can balance having something on your favorites, as well as tacitly admitting that it's not anywhere near perfect or amazing, and even give it your relatively objective and unbiased score. I won't even bash Bleach at all when mentioning it to you, since while I think it's woefully overrated and unjustly popular (although it is now finally meeting it's demise with rapidly dwindling sales for the manga, the anime ofcourse being canceled and with it's terrible tv ratings for years which led to it's cancellation etc etc) I don't have anything against those who like it but realize atleast some of it's shortcomings, and more importantly are able to enjoy the True powerhouses of the genre such as HxH. Actually it may be good that you like Bleach, since its battles and powers are considered by most to be woefully weak relative to DB/DBZ, so there is a good chance that you will be able to tolerate and possibly like (maybe alot) some of the battles and tournaments in db/dbz.
>Almost got an urahara tattoo (but decided to wait until it was finished)
I personally would never get a tattoo even if I wanted to since it's not permitted in Judaism, but I try to not begrudge others for their choices. Still I think it's a good idea that you didn't get an Urahara tattoo and think it was wise of you to postpone that (indefinitely).
>now, from a prospective of time and many other anime I've watched since, it doesn't have the strong impact it used to have on me, but will definitely always be one of my favorites. Kinda like your first love. Sometimes you look back and can't believe that you were crazy about that old skank, but she will always be your first <3
Yup i understand perfectly. That's why I won't judge your love of Bleach in a negative light. I understand that you found you first love to be attractive (who wouldn't after drinking a bottle of vodka), and didn't realize that they were using a ton of cosmetics and even a face transplant to fool you, as well as having multiple STD's that they only informed you of afterwords. You might feel a bit cheated and screwed over now, but at the time things seemed to be ideal (little did you know what they were doing behind your back..).
>And hisoka, I'm really obsessed with him. I love how he's not really evil or good but rather follows his own code (in that aspect he's like Yang), he does things that can be perceived as either good or evil (like helping gon in greed Island or how he didn't let then pass to the top floors of the heaven arena for their own good) . So In that sense he's probably one of the most complete villains in anime.
Yup i feel exactly the same. A multi-faceted and mysterious and unpredictable character like Hisoka is very rare and an incredible experience to watch. I fell in love with him at first sight, and he never let me down. I'm sure my English could fill in how you feel about him, since I am fully aware of why you love him and how you love him. Perfect examples you cited which show that his actions that can't be bound by simple moniker's like "good" or "evil". I don't agree so much about the similarity to Yang part for me, however Hisoka is similar to Logh itself in that you can't really characterize things in terms of good and evil (mainly in the war between FPA and Galactic Empire).
>Whenever I feel sad I always watch gintama, ain't nothing better to cheer up A broken spirit.
Totally legit, I can sympathize with that. For me it used to be One Piece when I was going through it ( before putting it on hold to let it build up a surplus of episodes) since it could elevate my mood and make me happy for a bit. These days though for me things are generally not great (in a consistent, perpetual fashion) so no anime makes a radical change in my mood. Logh can make me sad at will though and tear me up even over a year after my initial watch of it. Gintama usually has me laughing whenever I watch it as well, although that is different from really changing the mood or general atmosphere.
>Where did you live in Israel? Such a small world (:
Different places throughout Yerushalayim. My dad's family lives in Arnona next to Ramat Rachel (pretty close to Emek Refaim and Kever Rachel). I was mainly living though in a few different Yeshivot in places like Neve Yaakov, and right outside Yerushalayim in a place called Telstone (Kiryat Ye'arim). I did visit Tel Aviv, where it says you live according to Mal, probably atleast a half dozen times or so, although it's not my favorite place (it is similar in some ways to my hometown of Miami).
>If you want to practice your hebrew you're welcome to PM me!
3 months in Israel would have me near fluent again (forsure in terms of understanding of which even now I'm still quite competent). I hopefully one day will be back in Israel permanently. Chavel she shachachti ech lahagid "it was nice of you to offer to practice with me" since as i try to translate the words into hebrew in my mind they keep turning into japanese.. (could be partially since I've been up for a while and am tired so a bit mentally sluggish). Also sorry about the spelling, been ages since I've seen hebrew spelled with english words, and while I'd likely be able to type that in hebrew with few to no spelling errors, I don't have Hebrew letters on my keyboard and It's too much effort to hunt them down >)
>BTW, sorry for the late reply it takes me a while to write something so long in english.
No worries, you can take as long as you want to respond, if at all, I know that you read the message and as long as I entertained you even mildly with my ramblings that's good enough ("manzoku suru" is the word in japanese which means that I'm content/ it's satisfying/ it's sufficient. Hebrew all that comes to mind is "Kidai" and i guess the impossible to forget "samaech" for happy which is another of the translations for manzoku).
We actually have very similar tastes, with very few differences. Hisoka is also my favorite HxH character, and I even had him on my favorite list for about 2 years, but of late I'm being pushed more and more to only have Logh characters as my favorites. Really do wish there were more than 10 spots for favorite characters..
Eventhough I'm not a fan of Bleach anymore I do also like Urahara (one of the few bleach characters i still like, maybe him the most), and Shikamaru was very likely my favorite Naruto character and it helped me make progress with the series when it felt too filler filled and occasionally boring or cliche, due to the hope of seeing more of him. Gintoki is also a great character with a great sense of humor. L is the vairant of Yang in the Deah Note battle, and while I'm quite fond of him I actually was sorta rooting for Light (albeit he is relatively evil and has wayy to much of a G-d Complex). All the above favorite characters of yours are relatively similar to Yang, so I can see why you like them (although none of them stand in the same Galaxy as Yang in my mind, not even combined). Hisoka is of course not similar to the above, but he is of the best villain characters in anime history Imo, debatably the best outright.
Once you watch DB/DBZ and finish YYH you will realize how they along with HxH are the best of the Battle Shounen genre, and some of the best anime ever according to many. You may also think that Bleach and Naruto are a bit overrated, and they might lose a bit of standing in your mind since you will see how much they stole from the original "Big 3" of Shounen anime. One Piece is also quite strong, especially if you like some adventure and exploring new cities, countries, oceans in a unique world, as well as close bonds of friendship and "Nakama" which One Piece excels at.
Ultimately I feel we have really close anime compability and tastes, so it's likely that most of my suggestions would be pretty onpoint.
Apologize in advance for my rambling self introduction :)
I lived in Israel for a few years when I was 17-20 (as well as for a year and a half when i was a kid from 6-8) and my Dad is Israeli, so I do have citizenship as well. My Hebrew was fluent when I left Israel to come back to the States, but it has gotten a bit rustier since I've left due to disuse. My reading has always been strong though due to a religious upbringing. These days though my Japanese isn't that far behind my Hebrew due to watching alot of anime over the years (haven't taken lessons though so reading Kanji and Hiragana is a bit beyond me). I only really started to get into Anime my last few months in Israel, and my friends there that did watch anime were more casual about it, and unlikely to ever stumble upon or give Logh a proper chance.
I'm still very pleasantly surprised to have found a True Logh Fan from Israel. I must admit that I'm even more impressed that you are also Female, the combination is really cool. I'll cut short some of the praise roaming through my mind lest it would make you uncomfortable, but it's also interesting that we are the same age!
>And how can you not love Yang? He has a remarkable character, and apart from that brilliant brain of his, he's an idealist that doesn't ever bend his ideals for anything. And you have to respect that.
Yang is by far my favorite anime character ever. The episodes that you are watching now at the end of season 3 were the hardest ones to swallow I've ever watched. I agree with your point about how frustrating it is that the narrator spoils it to some extent, but I was hoping till the last moment that it wouldn't happen. Even when it started to seem hopeless I still held on to the wish that Yang would somehow be alright when Julian found him... Your comment about the narrator stating that Julian regretted letting Yang leave Iserlohn, as well as the comment from a few episode before that where the narrator said it was "the last time they spoke throughout the night" was ofcourse worrisome and a non ideal spoiler, but it leaves a fair amount of room for survival, although we know that something is going to go wrong to some extent. Narrator's are not always right in other shows, and often just tease out possibilities. Unfortunately that is usually not the case in Logh, although I'll explain to you the predominant theory about the Narrator once you are done with Logh.
Even when I watched Logh my 2nd time a few months ago, this time with family, I was dreading the end of season 3 (I did skip over the narrator spoiler in the last Julian/Yang conversation, just wish I had someone doing the same for me my first time watching it. Luckily though besides the narrator spoilers I never got spoiled about anything from Logh otherwise since I was very careful to avoid potentially dangerous spoilers). I do consider them and episode 82 to be the strongest episodes ever though, and even as a Guy i'm not ashamed to admit that I've shed many tears while watching it. Honestly the full brunt of my emotions didn't kick in till the ensuing episodes, and initially I was very unhappy with episode 82 and couldn't even give it a rating (all other logh episodes got "5's" from me, and I am generally stingy with those) since it felt wrong. Over the course of the next few months though (this is over a year ago) i realized how strong of an episode it was, and it has haunted me ever since. The scenes from a few episodes before with Devilier and Fork and the Ominous music that portends tragedy always get me in tears and dread. Actually go back when you can and rewatch that scene where Fork is reintroduced after his 60 episode hiatus. Should be episode 77 from 17"45 minutes to the 19"30 mark, followed by episode 78 the 19" minute mark right where the narrator says that it would be the last day they talked throught the night which then transitions into the Fork/DeVillier scene, with the ominous music tragic starting at 20"30 minutes. It's pretty freaky, especially since you will now fully understand how sinister it is, as well as how fitting Deviliers quote is about how "From Antiquity, the one who is assassinated would have been remembered and left their name in history regardless, but the assassin will only be known due to having carried out the assassination." And then mentioning how the otherwise forgotten about Fork (although i never forgot him even with the 60 episode interlude between his appearances hehe) would now live on for posterity in infamy, and how it was charity of DeVillier to do this for Fork (some sickening "tzedakah" no??). It's actually partially because of this scene that I was hopeful things would work out with Yang once Fork's attack was seemingly stymied and stopped...
But anyways I can ramble on for days about how much I love Yang, he is the realest and most likeable character I've ever seen in Anime and he really transcends the Anime Medium as a whole. I've been fortunate to know a few people of his caliber in my life. Interesting that you mention how Yang doesn't bend his ideals for anything (eventhough i always sorta supported Schenkopp's take that Yang should have taken control once corruption was rampant and the FPA was out to get him with their witchhunt interrogations, as well as the absurd orders such as to not finish Reinhard off episode 53 and to surrender etc), it really is impressive and an admirable trait. I was just writing to another Logh viewer who just finished season 1 and really liked Jessica, where I strongly urged him to watch the 2 main Logh movies, namely My Conquest (http://myanimelist.net/anime/3014/Ginga_Eiyuu_Densetsu:_Waga_Yuku_wa_Hoshi_no_Taikai ) which takes place right before the start of the Ova, and more importantly Overture to a New World (http://myanimelist.net/anime/3016/Ginga_Eiyuu_Densetsu:_Arata_Naru_Tatakai_no_Overture ), which is an expanded retelling of the battle from the first 2 episodes of the Ova, with much more juicy backstory, especially as relates to the relationship between Yang, Jessica, and Lap. Sadly my first time watching Logh i didn't get to it till after season 3 or about right where you are, and it's best to watch it either before starting Logh, or within the first few episodes, or atleast before the end of season 1 and the tragic Stadium scene with Jessica. If you still haven't watched it I implore you to watch them before going on. Regarding Jessica I wrote about how she also didn't cave into pressure and fought for her ideals and beliefs and how "A part of me hoped that since Lap was gone, Jessica might be the female for Yang, especially since she strongly shares core principals with Yang and actively pursues defending the rights and liberties of others, as well as being bold and tenacious defending her ideas, and not caving in to pressure or bullying." This will make more sense though once you watch Arata no Overture and get the added backstory, especially about the relationship with Yang, Jessica, and Lap.
>I seriously have no idea what LotGH will look like now, I assume Julian would take the lead but it's really not gonna be the same. I hope I'm wrong and it gets even better.
I won't spoil anything at all for you, I'll just say that your sentiments and worries were shared by the vast majority of True Logh Fans, and especially Yang Fans.
>BTW, I couldn't agree more with your ten anime staples
Glad you agreed with that, the list is far from exact and hasn't been updated/modified for a while, but it's a general guideline of same of the main staples that any anime fan should tackle. And yes Death Note is a perfect and common "gateway" anime, I've used it to get numerous people into anime, such as my Old Female a few years ago, who was skeptical of anime initially but was enthralled with Death Note, which made it easier to get her to watch other anime with me like NHK and both Dragon Ball series in it's entirety. Sorry for my comment being so long, i actually started writing it some time ago but i see you are already adding to your plan to watch list some other worthwhile anime that I was gonna advise you to give a shot to. Since you liked Gintama you should definitely give Sket Dance a try, it may not be on the level of Gintama for you but you should still likely end up enjoying, potentially a lot. NHK is also really strong, although it might resonate a bit more with people that don't always fit into society and dealing with others, and are more secluded.
Regarding DBZ there is no such thing as too late. Although at 27 we may start feeling old, there is really no age limitation on any anime ("anime" cartoons is another story). Since you liked HxH there is a good chance you will like Dragon Ball, and possibly Dragon Ball Z. Regardless it is probably the most famous anime of all time, so I don't think it's something that could be passed on. You do wanna watch it before Yu Yu Hakusho though since it chronologically is before it and YYH is probably the most similar anime to DB/DBZ (YYH is by Togashi the same author as Hunter X Hunter so I'm sure you will like it alot as well. I see you are 15 episodes into it already, which is ironic since that's how far I got into it when watching it with my old female for her first time seeing it and my 3rd, but that is the last time I saw her. It is still early enough though that you can go on hiatus with it if you decide to tackle DB/DBZ which I do highly advise, and it won't be hard to pick it back up in a few months or wtvr if you just refresh yourself on the last episode or 2 since it's at that point that it's about to start a new arc anyways before then getting into the brunt of the story where it really picks up).
Also here are some good AMVs for you to check out, maybe it will help somehwat :P
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiRtWEpt5N8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jxRcGQM5Qo&list=PL0F9DFC49ACB2C5D6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9W1k3tl3xU&list=LLB2aXo4PvB0fdsxxx5UkP2g