Official Anime/Manga Thread

[TrueBlue]

I know they've been subbed, but I just...I'm weird in the sense that I vastly prefer watching dubs. It helped that the Madoka dub was actually pretty good too. Nothing groundbreaking, but I enjoyed it.

[SuperLink]

I usually prefer dubs, but Madoka's sub kinda spoiled me because Madoka herself had a really amazing genuine sounding VA in it whereas I found her dub voice good but harder to get attached to and not quite as genuine.

 

So it's not a matter of the dub being bad but rather the sub being really really great.

I would recommend trying it out regardless!

[Silencer226]

It will be a while for the dub, knowing Aniplex. Though I wouldn't mind hearing Christina Vee as Homura again <3. Speaking of magical girl anime, Day Break Illusion just got grim as fuck... again.

[TrueBlue]

I usually prefer dubs, but Madoka's sub kinda spoiled me because Madoka herself had a really amazing genuine sounding VA in it whereas I found her dub voice good but harder to get attached to and not quite as genuine.

 

So it's not a matter of the dub being bad but rather the sub being really really great.

I would recommend trying it out regardless!

 

Oh, I didn't have any doubts that the sub was really good, all just a matter of preference. Madoka herself probably had the least impressive dub performance for me. It sitll was good though, even great at times. It was just eclipsed by, as Noel noted, Christina Vee as Homura and Cassandra Lee as Kyubey.

 

I always feel that reading subtitles kinda draws me out of the experience a little. That's a problem not inclusive to anime for me. However, I can watch them. And I probably will make an exception for the Madoka movies, because godamnit, that anime hooked into the universe me far harder than most. I even read all the available scanlated manga spin-offs because I enjoyed it so much.

 

Edit: It makes me laugh how Vee voices the lead in Nanoha, after seeing her performance as Homura.

Edited August 26, 2013 by Ringo ~

[Yoko/葉子]

http://animesols.com

Really cool retro anime site if anyone is interested, many of these have likely not been heard of here in the US very much (sadly, it's only open to North America )

[Silencer226]

Oh, I didn't have any doubts that the sub was really good, all just a matter of preference. Madoka herself probably had the least impressive dub performance for me. It sitll was good though, even great at times. It was just eclipsed by, as Noel noted, Christina Vee as Homura and Cassandra Lee as Kyubey.

 

I always feel that reading subtitles kinda draws me out of the experience a little. That's a problem not inclusive to anime for me. However, I can watch them. And I probably will make an exception for the Madoka movies, because godamnit, that anime hooked into the universe me far harder than most. I even read all the available scanlated manga spin-offs because I enjoyed it so much.

 

Edit: It makes me laugh how Vee voices the lead in Nanoha, after seeing her performance as Homura.

Vee voices so many of my favorite characters, Noel, Homura, Cecilia, etc. I want to meet her one day. They're releasing the madoka magna's Ringo if you want an official copy of it. I read scans but I feel more comfortable reading them in a physical book.

 

Edit: Plus I think the previous Madoka manga releases sold good so they're releasing the alternative story manga too.

Edited August 26, 2013 by Noel

[...]

http://youtu.be/PYmV8uwoynE

New Kill La Kill CM is up. Get even more hype.

Edited August 30, 2013 by Felix

[Yoko/葉子]

Boy, am I glad that a certain scene in the Rozen Maiden Tales manga got toned down for the 2013 anime reboot. *shiver* Kirakishou.... pretty, yet a chronic creeper.

[DGam'r]

Just highly curious right now, but has anyone watched Sword Art Online yet? I might be a little late but my friend has just gotten me into it and I think I'm on Ep. 5 as of late. I still need to catch up.

[Dizcrybe]

I plan to get to the first episode eventually.

[Kuzu]

Just highly curious right now, but has anyone watched Sword Art Online yet? I might be a little late but my friend has just gotten me into it and I think I'm on Ep. 5 as of late. I still need to catch up.

 

Where you last year in July?

[-Mark-]

Okay, I've not posted here in forever, so I'll try and keep things fairly succinct;

 

Naruto (manga): Obito is a douchebag whose motives don't really justify his actions, but oh well. It's kind of funny how Sasuke comes back, does one thing and then is sidelined completely for the Fourth Hokage who is basically eating up all the pagetime now. Whilst the manga's decent enough at the moment, it does bug me a little that the previous Hokage are playing such a huge role in this war now; considering a large theme of the series since Asuma and Jiraiya's deaths has been the new generation surpassing the previous one, it's a bit of a contradiction to have the previous generations show up and still being ridiculously overpowered compared to the majority of the current cast. 

 

Naruto (anime): Ugh. Just.... ugh. Okay, we got out of filler and had a couple of really good episodes. Well-animated and well-paced, good stuff. Then, this week, we get a double episode, with each part titled 'Kyuubi' and 'Kurama' respectively. Great! Going by the title, it looked like the double episode was going to end with Naruto befriending and releasing Kurama, right? Wrong. Instead we get a two-parter where almost the entirety of the first episode is a recap of everything Naruto's ever done involving the Kyuubi, and the second part covered a single chapter. Meaning they didn't even cover the material corresponding to the chapter that the episode was named after. Good god, I do like the Naruto manga, but between all the filler and atrocious pacing of canon material, the anime is a godawful adaptation of it most of the time. We might get the odd genuinely well-handled episode every so often, but that's about it.

 

One Piece (manga): Since Weekly Shonen Jump came to the UK a couple of months back, I've started reading Bleach and One Piece again (even though Bleach is currently on hiatus). Because hey, if I'm buying the magazine now then I may as well get my money's worth? (Although you could argue that I get better value for money by not reading things I don't enjoy...!).

 

I've made this sentiment many times before, but I'm just getting so bored of One Piece. Going back and watching the earlier stuff (since the DVDs just recently started releasing here) just makes it so painfully obvious at how far One Piece has fallen. The older stuff is absolute gold, but for the last 4-5 years now One Piece has just interested me less and less. I feel like Thriller Bark was the beginning of a downward spiral for the series for which it's still slipping further and further into. Oda just keeps throwing more and more characters into the already-bloated world, most of which who are of little to no significance yet get a lot of focus. He'll go months at a time with some of the Straw Hats barely even appearing (or even being mentioned) and everything just moves so slowly now. I just feel like the series is outstaying its welcome, as much as I once loved it (and wish I still could outside of the older stuff). 

 

Jaco the Galactic Patrolman: So, since Jump came to the UK, this is one I've been following. It only launched a few weeks ago (six chapters in now, out of what looks to be 11), but I'm really quite enjoying it. From what I can tell, it already seems to be set in the same universe as DragonBall (and may well even be a spiritual prequel of sorts, if certain nods and clues are anything to go by). It's fun and lighthearted, which is a nice change from what DragonBall became in the end. Since it'll probably only constitute a single volume once it gets a print release, I'll definitely pick this one up in hard copy.

Edited September 1, 2013 by -Mark-

[Soniman]

I honestly don't think OP has gotten nearly as bad as a lot of people say it has. really I find it enjoyable still.

 

Pretty much everything from Part 1 I liked, even the solo Luffy stuff (which again, a lot of people seem to have an issue with), Part 2 kinda tripped over itself with Fishman Island, but Punk Hazard redeemed it in my eyes, and the newfound alliance with Tralagdafar Law has me interested enough to see where, it goes. The whole plotline of finally kicking Doflamingo's ass and the fate of Ace's Mera Mera Fruit is interesting enough for me.

 

I do agree that they're adding way to many characters though, especially with recent additions like the colosseum warriors, where there's liek fucking 20 of them.

[MugiMikey]

I couldn't agree with you more, Mark.

 

I read both Naruto and One Piece weekly, and both of them are just really slow. I enjoy them both though, especially One Piece, but the quality has definitely fallen very far, especially in comparison to what they used to be.

 

The war in Naruto is seems to be barely progressing; for such a huge, final villain, Obito sure is dicking around too much. Seems as if we've shifted into witnessing Naruto and Minato bond (which isn't that bad), but nothing else is really happening. Even the fodder are just standing around asking themselves "What can we do?"

 

Ahh, One Piece... I've been a fan for nearly a decade, but within the last few years the series kind of lost its charm and it's really noticeable. I still love it, but it's just not the same. While the manga has some interesting things going on (such as the alliance with Law, what'll become of Ace's fruit, and Doflamingo's fate), sometimes Oda's way of storytelling is now just too slow to keep my attention the way it once did. How can he properly end the series if he keeps adding all these new characters and situations that will need to be addressed before the story ends? It wouldn't be as bad if it wasn't so slow; I sometimes wonder if Oda is now influenced by the way Toei handles the anime and prefers the dragged out pacing. However, chapter 719 was a charming surprise and I'm glad Oda didn't forget how to write stories like that.

 

Also, is it me, or does the story seem overly Luffy-eccentric even after Impel Down and Marineford? Before those arcs, there seemed to be more of a balance, but now the rest of the Straw Hats just seem to be there in the background without much development.

 

As for the anime adaptation of One Piece, I think it's shit. It used to be really enjoyable, but the quality has spiraled down so much farther than the manga ever has. I won't pick it up again until the pacing and art become at least decent.

 

I may be the the minority in this, but I don't like Oda's art style that much anymore. I still love his art, don't get me wrong... It's just I don't like certain aspects of it anymore; it feels downgraded. All of the women are starting to look more and more the same, with only their outfits and sometimes hair being the only distinguishable features. For example, in Punk Hazard, Robin looked exactly like Hancock in a few panels. What the hell, Oda? What happened to the way you had of making everyone look so unique? Hell, he even morphed Chopper into a cutesy-wutsey anime teddy bear whose purpose seems to be nothing more than a marketing device. Oh, yeah, and Oda has too much talent to keep overdoing it with the (somehow) steadily increasing fanservice. I miss Oda's older, more original art style.

Edited September 1, 2013 by MugiMikey

[-Mark-]

Yeah, it's funny, I never noticed the gradual shift in art style, but going back to the early stuff on the DVDs really makes it noticeable. Nami has just become fanservice lately and Luffy's face looks more round and stupid than it used to.

 

I do think most of the Straw Hats have become somewhat one-dimensional, too. I get that once their main character arc is out the way, they're obviously not going to get as much attention, but still. Most of them just seem like one-trick ponies. Although I've noticed that with Oda's writing in general, especially in recent years; in order to make a character 'memorable', he'll give them a single defining character trait and then run it into the ground through overuse. 

 

I think the plots are suffering a little now because Luffy's crew is pretty much fully kitted out, too. Looking back on it, most of the best/ most memorable stories in One Piece have been the arcs which introduced a new crew crew member and had the core plot focus around them. I guess without the ability to do that any more due to having enough crew already, there's going to be less investment in the characters and plots. 

 

That said, I just really don't like Brook very much either, but then I found Thriller Bark to be the first arc I didn't really enjoy (and I haven't genuinely enjoyed any since either). It feels like Brook adds nothing to the crew. He overlaps with Zoro (swordsman) and Sanji (perv) and recycles the same basic skeleton joke ad nauseum ("Oh but I don't have <insert body part here! YOHOHOHO"). 

 

Amazon Lily was the closest I've come to genuinely enjoying One Piece since CP9 ended, really. Boa was a really fun character and I did think it was kind of a shame that she didn't end up joining the crew. Impel down just felt like the biggest waste of time and the war was basically a huge group of absolute nobodies who were introduced on the spot fighting more absolute nobodies who were introduced on the spot/ very minor characters. 

 

As I said in the status updates before, the problem I have with Oda's writing is that he does a terrible job of developing a character's importance these days. Rather than make us as the readers/ viewers genuinely care/ respect/ fear a character, he'll just have a random crowd member explain how nice/ important/ powerful they are. "Oh my god, that's <NAME>! S/he's the person who did <SERIOUS CRIME> with a bounty of <NUMBER>!!".

 

Similarly for Ace, I didn't feel a thing at his death. Oda did absolutely nothing to make us care for Ace as a character in the 2-3 times he showed up before he died. Yes, I get that he's important to Luffy, but why should we care? If a friend of a friend who you'd never even met or spoken to died, you'd feel sad for your friend's sake but you wouldn't really feel personally affected by it since they're basically a stranger to you. Building on Ace's backstory after he died doesn't make the fact I didn't give a shit about him when he actually died any better. It was basically "Ace died, now let's show you why you should have cared". Oda expects the audience to rely too much on being fed secondhand emotion rather than actually building it up anymore. :/

[MugiMikey]

Yeah. You know, not all of the Straw Hats are that bad, it's just Sanji and Robin I have the most problems with. Sanji used to be the "cool dude" who loved the ladies and could be taken seriously at the same time. Now he's pretty much nothing more than a gag character with bad luck and no dignity. I can't remember the last time he actually did something serious, sans the brief fight he had with Vergo.

 

Robin used to be mysterious, but after Enies Lobby, she's... kind of just there. She doesn't stand out, nor does she really do much for the crew. Now that her mysteriousness is gone and her fears are pretty much locked away, she doesn't seem like she has much going for her anymore.

 

I like Brook, but mostly because of his backstory. It's his desire to see Laboon again which makes him belong with the Straw Hats, at least in my eyes. And yeah, Nami's nothing more but fanservice.

 

I actually loved Impel Down. At the time, Ivankov was my favorite character because I thought he was just too hilarious and quirky. I also loved seeing all the old characters again and their development was interesting too. It was so nice seeing all of the villains Luffy was responsible for locking up hold no grudges against him. It made me really happy to see Crocodile and Mr. 3 fight alongside Luffy, especially when Mr. 3 made a key to unlock Ace's cuffs for Luffy. The only bad part about this is that it kind of undid all of the things Luffy accomplished for the story in part 1. With all of those characters out on the loose, what is their purpose now?

 

I felt the impact of Ace's death; I know he didn't get much development, but I was just shocked because Oda's storytelling put me in a false comfort zone. I honestly believed Ace wouldn't die because of the old "nobody dies in One Piece" thing Oda had going since the beginning. Especially since the crew was separated, the whole story was dedicated to Luffy saving Ace. He broke into the world's largest prison, got nearly poisoned to death, nearly frozen to death, had ten years removed from his life, and was an ant in the storm that was the war — All just to save Ace. It really caught me by surprise that all of Luffy's actions were in vain and that Ace's death was foreshadowed all the way back in Alabasta. I really loved it. I also really loved Luffy's flashback with Ace and Sabo, despite seeming like a bit of a retcon. That flashback is still one of my favorites.

Edited September 1, 2013 by MugiMikey

[-Mark-]

I do think Impel Down had its moments, but again, like a lot of recent One Piece, it felt overly padded, slow, and ultimately accomplished nothing. They fight all the way down to the bottom to save Ace, only to find that he's been brought up and out on their way down. Then meaning they have to go all the way back up again. It just felt like Oda was timewasting with it when it could just have easily been skipped.

 

It just feels like the series is losing so much steam these last few years, and knowing that we're little over halfway just makes it pretty depressing to think how far the series stands to stagnate if it goes on for another decade.

 

Also, in regards to the art again, I swear Robin barely even looks like Robin anymore.

Edited September 1, 2013 by -Mark-

[Remy]

One Piece seems slow week to week but reads awesomely in Volume/tankobon format.

 

This is my opinion since forever. 

[-Mark-]

Personally, I marathoned Thriller Bark (I basically caught up toward the end of it) and still found it pretty meh. :/

[turbojet]

Code Geass has been revived

 

 

As well as Bebop and Outlaw Star... I'm so excited.

What? That is like my 3 favorite anime being brought back including the awesomeness of Blazblue and Attack on Titan? Shit, I haven't been this giddy for anime since the first incarnation of Adult Swim. 

[Kuzu]

We were talking about One Piece and I wasn't here? Fuck

Okay, I've not posted here in forever, so I'll try and keep things fairly succinct;

 

Naruto (manga): Obito is a douchebag whose motives don't really justify his actions, but oh well. It's kind of funny how Sasuke comes back, does one thing and then is sidelined completely for the Fourth Hokage who is basically eating up all the pagetime now. Whilst the manga's decent enough at the moment, it does bug me a little that the previous Hokage are playing such a huge role in this war now; considering a large theme of the series since Asuma and Jiraiya's deaths has been the new generation surpassing the previous one, it's a bit of a contradiction to have the previous generations show up and still being ridiculously overpowered compared to the majority of the current cast. 

 

 

Welcome to Naruto 101, throwing out Aesops and then subverting them left and right.

[Dizcrybe]

I've been thinking about getting to One Piece but I'm not really sure I want to anymore.

[Kuzu]

I've been thinking about getting to One Piece but I'm not really sure I want to anymore.

 

Its still a good, if extremely lengthy, series. If you do get into it, read the manga, avoid the anime at all costs.

[Dizcrybe]

Its still a good, if extremely lengthy, series. If you do get into it, read the manga, avoid the anime at all costs.

 

I've only ever read one manga, and that was only because of how bad people said it was which made me curious.

 

Other than that, I don't read manga, comic books or anything of the sort, so... eh.

[Kuzu]

One Piece isn't even bad, like all long running series its quality fluctuates.