Statistics
Manga Stats
Days: 55.7
Mean Score:
7.25
- Total Entries258
- Reread8
- Chapters8,693
- Volumes541
Last Manga Updates
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All Comments (20) Comments
I'm glad you enjoyed The Eminence in Shadow. I feel like people had very mixed feelings about it so I wasn't sure if it was worth checking out. How was Prague? That's so cool that you were able to go there for a concert. Which band was it?
My April has been good! It's nice that the weather is warming up, I've definitely been spending more time at the beach playing volleyball hehe. I have a trip lined up in May for my friend's graduation so that's something I've been looking forward to. I'm also going to a music festival in early June. I honestly can't wait, it's been so long since I've been to a concert or a festival, I'm kinda craving live music lately lol.
I hope you've been well since we last spoke :) I hope you have been able to deal with some of the habits/patterns you were mentioning in your last message. I'm also trying to change some stuff and be more productive in general, so we'll see how that goes.
I'm glad you enjoyed Perfect Blue! It's definitely a classic and one of my fav movies of all time (animated & non-animated). Here are my recommendations for you :3
Mononoke
I wrote a review for this anime so you can check that out if you'd like. But the TLDR version is here:
I’ve never seen an anime that completely uses itself as an art form more than Mononoke. The show consists of 5 disconnected arcs which revolve around mysteries relating to malevolent spirits called "mononoke”. The only recurring character is the main character: Kusuriuri, a medicine seller who can slay and exorcise the mononoke. At first, the story-telling might seem confusing and vague; however, almost every detail in the story’s execution is intentional in conveying a broader narrative and developing thematic elements. Mononoke is a very psychological anime that thoroughly examines the mindsets of its unique cast of characters. While some of the characters may seem odd and outlandish, once their truths are revealed it’s evident that they have clear ties to real-world attitudes and societal behaviors. Various plot points are left ambiguous allowing viewers to develop their own interpretations and takeaways. In this sense, Mononoke is a very personal anime whose enjoyment and understanding are guided by the viewers’ experiences and outlook on the world. As I watched the anime for the first time, I’d rewatch pieces of the episodes only to find more elements to analyze or symbolism that I missed. What strikes me about the types of stories Mononoke chooses to convey is that they’re all quite feminist. Mononoke showcases and dissects various facets of womanhood within society. Each of its arcs explore different injustices women have suffered as a result of their circumstances, which are usually linked to broader societal issues.
My score: 10/10
Serial Experiments Lain
This anime is quite similar to Perfect Blue. It's almost like the TV version of the movie, but instead of focusing on an upcoming starlet it focuses on a regular school girl, that towards the end of the anime becomes a digital God of sorts. Like Perfect Blue, as you delve deeper into SEL it becomes harder to differentiate between what's real and what isn't. I really like this anime because despite being vague and a bit confusing at times, it dissects interesting themes that are more relevant today than they were when the anime was released in 1998. These themes are similar to Perfect Blue's themes: how is our online identity different from our irl one? how do digital spaces affect reality? can we live separate lives online? just because something happens online does it make it any less real? are our online identities extensions of ourselves or are they separate entities? It's a very prescient anime, especially in today's context with the onset of AI.
My score: 9/10
The Tatami Galaxy
I saw this was on your PTW list so I figured I'd recommend it :) Like Mononoke and SEL it's quite puzzling at times, but for me it wasn't hard to follow. It's nice to have an anime that takes place in a university setting instead of high school. The anime uses parallel universes as a plot device to explore how the main character's life would have differed had he joined a particular student org. It's a bit similar to Everything Everywhere All at Once if you've seen that movie. Ultimately, it examines personal decisions and how you can reconcile all the "What ifs?" in your life when you make these decisions. The main issue with this anime is that the protagonist talks veryyyy fast, so I had to pause it a lot to read the subtitles.
My score: 9/10
Shinsekai Yori
This anime is more of a slow burn. I watched it in high school and I remember feeling a little bored by it during the middle, but the ending is sooooo worth it. This is a classic in the psychological/mystery genre. Like I mentioned it's a very slow burn, so if you don't like shows with slow pacing you might not like this one. When 0.3% of the population on Earth developed psychic abilities called "Cantus", society began to collapse. The conscious and unconscious use of these powers altered the world and led to a breakdown of modern society. The story takes places 1000 years after this happened in 3013 AD. Society as we know it has been completely reshaped. Our main characters are raised in a village that's considered to be a utopia. However, they soon learn about the true nature of their world, including the bloody history that brought humanity to this state.
My score: 9/10
Trigun
This is a 90s classic. It's compared to Cowboy Bebop a lot for its similarities as a space western and being another anime from the 90s that has psychological undertones. I think it's a pretty fun watch, the theme song is catchy and the production quality is great for the 90s. What I really like about this anime is that it examines the morality of the protagonist much more than the average action anime. Usually most action shows don't put the protagonist's violence into question. However, Trigun makes a point to question whether killing for survival or for a greater good is the right thing to do.
My score: 8/10
Finally my last recommendaiton is a manga (technically a manhwa).
Tower of God
I know you've seen the first season of the anime but I really recommend reading the manga from the start. I guess you probably already know the premise since you've seen the anime, but the anime omits sooo much critical info that helps the viewer understand what's going on. The art at the beginning is not that great but it quickly improves. I really got hooked on this manhwa during lockdown and I couldn't put it down. It's very long but there is soooo much interesting world-building so it's a really great read.
My score: 8/10
Obviously the Chainsaw Man manga is ongoing, but it seems to be going in a different direction right now, more of a character study approach, which is also interesting. I guess my main issue is that there was so much being thrown our way in such a small number of chapters that I wish it would've been spread out more. The moment a strong character gets introduced they are brought to their knees by a stronger character in the next chapter. On one hand this demonstrated how ruthless and gritty the world of Devil Hunters is, but it felt like the entire power structure crumbled too quickly. After a while it wasn't even a shock anymore because you didn't have enough time to grow attached to the characters. I wish the hierarchy of the Public safety divisions was explored more, I also wish the geopolitical aspects of Devil contracts and Devil hunters was fleshed out with more detail. Devils are the equivalent to weapons of mass destruction in this world and that could've been a topic to develop with more depth rather than glossing over it. Overall it's a really promising plot it just feels like the approach and the risks that the author takes don't always pay off from a storytelling perspective. There is a lot of untapped potential. I haven't scored it officially yet but it's in the high 7 range for me.
I totally know what you mean about reevaluating shows and their scores. I've changed my mind about so many anime in hindsight. I think watching certain stuff during your formative years might have a big impact on you at the time, but then when you watch a second season or revisit the original work it pales in comparison to some other things you may have seen since then.
Yeah I totally know what you mean about the main character in Now and then, here and there being so psychologically resilient. Any well-adjusted adult would have a breakdown experiencing a fraction of the events that happen in that show, his conviction was almost too unshakeable. Like you mentioned it was a great concept with some fantastic social commentary, but the devil is in the details and when you take a closer look the anime has some coherence issues.
I've had a pretty good start to my year so far! thanks for asking :) I hope your 2023 has been good too! I haven't been watching much anime lately, mostly just MHA and Vinland Saga. I finished Mob Psycho recently and that was pretty good too. Other than that I'm catching up on Chainsaw Man like I mentioned.
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Yeah it looks like the HxH manga is going on hiatus again. Although this time the mangaka said they will continue to release chapters just not on a weekly basis, so this could mean monthly or just sporadically. They also said they plan on working towards the completion of the manga, so it seems like there is an end in sight which is somewhat sad but also reassuring.
Ahh gotcha, I didn't realize Summertime Render had parallels with Re:Zero. To be honest I didn't really enjoy Re:Zero very much, perhaps it's because I'm not the biggest fan of the isekai genre but I ended up dropping the anime after 10 episodes. Oh I also saw you completed Sonny Boy and Now and Then, Here and There! They're both anime I watched this year so they're kinda fresh in my mind. We both gave Sonny Boy a 7 so I'm interested to hear your thoughts. I enjoyed the fact that it takes a surrealist approach in telling coming of age stories, ultimately I found it to be too esoteric for its own good. I think Now and Then, Here kinda has the opposite problem, it's really interesting and the premise has a lot of potential, but it's slightly too simplistic at times.
Yeah with the HxH manga I actually only picked it up where the anime left off, I didn't go back and read it from the beginning because that would've been too much lol. But I'm really enjoying it, especially now that it's off hiatus, the chapters are so interesting. I also watched Cyberpunk Edgerunners and really enjoyed it, although I'd say I enjoyed the first half of the show more than the second half. Summertime Render has been on my radar for a while but I haven't really had the motivation to start it. Is it good? My main concern is that it's more of a slow burn and idk if I have the patience for that rn haha. I also watched about half of the episodes of Lycoris and I kinda gave up on it. I still wanna finish it at some point but like you said there's just too much bait and not enough substance in the plot.
At the moment I haven't had much time to read or watch anything. Since Hunter x Hunter is back I started reading that again. I'm also watching 3 seasonals at the moment: the new MHA season, Chainsaw Man, and Spy x Family. They're all pretty good but none of them stand out as amazing. All very enjoyable though. Wbu?
I see Shimanami Tasogare is one of your fav mangas, I really enjoyed it as well
btw, have you seen The Daily Life of the Immortal King? It's kinda random, but it made me laugh quite a few times. Check it out if you haven't.
And happy new year to you too :)
Any interesting new stuff in 2021?
And in the last panel, we see our MC not only working with the blond, but going off on a 2 day vacation with him, with their friends commenting that they've become closer.
So what I didn't understand was if they were only just friends by then, or did our MC accept his proposal?