What Anime and Animation are you currently watching?

[Swank]

I have received the impression that Japanese is relatively difficult to use for very concrete concepts, like maybe science. Topics are talked around more than directly about.

 

[Jeffbert]

While searching CR for something else, I came upon SPACE DANDY, which I 1st saw on ADULT SWIM, which must have censored it thoroughly, because CR rates it MATURE 18+. After watching 5 episodes, I have seen a few things that likely got it that rating, but no nudity (yet) and no sexual activity. I did think it was funny.

 

[alexvss]

Ninja Kamui. An ex-ninja (or shinobi, as they call themselves) is hunted by his former organization, and swears revenge on them.

Amazing Adult Swim anime. It’s got a lot of cyberpunk in it. The animation is top-notch, especially for the fight scenes. The plot doesn’t seem to be anything special at first, but it gets better with a conspiracy involving a cyberpunk-ish megacorporation who builds technology for the ninjas.

The series director is a Japan-based Korean who directed the first season of Jujutsu Kaisen. That explains the animation and all the blood in the fight scenes.

 

[alexvss]

Finally found the time for Invincible Season 2 Part 2. Things are escalating!

 

[alexvss]

Demon Slayer: Hashira Training Arc. The Hashira decide to conduct a training with all the demon slayers because they’re too weak.

A double episode. It kicks off with a great fight with two hashiras (that we had never seen fighting before), with great animation. The rest is just introduction. It will be a very short season (8 episodes), but Demon Slayer is always a must-watch.

 

[Jeffbert]

Delicious in a Dungeon on NF. Very entertaining, some comedy, most drama. A mixed group of hungry dungeon explorers dine together on monsters.

Finished DOUBLE DECKER! DOUG & KIRILL, 2 seasons. similar mix of comedy & drama. A special Police organization is called into action only when body-altering drugs are involved. on CR.

 

[Jeffbert]

INVINCIBLE s2. Another SCi-fi program reminds me on TTZ's In His Image, where the guy discovers he is a robot by cutting his forearm open. That makes more than I can recall. So, anyway finished s2, & wish I had waited for the series to be complete before even beginning to watch. Just cannot get enough.

 

[alexvss]

The Grimm Variations. Each episode is a reimagining of a Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale.

A Netflix original anime, with character designs by CLAMP (Sakura Card Captors, Code Geass).

I started with the first episode, Cinderella, and was disappointed. The “reimagining” is a useless twist. It takes place in Meiji Japan, and the “Cinderella” (with another name) is the one who mistreats the sisters instead. Yeah, so?

It was well directed, with good sequences and some tension. It was well-structured. But I wasn’t going to watch five more 40-minute episodes of it.

I was ready to drop it, but I went on to watch the Little Riding Hood episode, as this is one of my favorite tales. To my surprise, it was science-fiction.

It’s extremely violent. Shockingly violent. There’s a very violent scene right at the introduction, and that was when it hit me: CLAMP also created Blood-C, one of the most violent anime there is, and Chobits, a very naughty sci-fi. It all seemed so obvious that I felt a little dumb.

Now that was a decent retelling. Not as nearly as impactful as Wolf Brigade (1999), for instance, but at least it was a nice try.

I’m not going to watch the other ones because I simply haven’t got the time, but I recommend at least that episode.

 

[alexvss]

X-Men ‘97. Continuing where the classic 90’s animated series left off.

Hell, just listening to that legendary theme song is reason enough to watch it (the opening is the same btw; they just remastered it).

The episodes are 30 minutes long, and they do not waste any minutes. It’s always interesting; there is no tedious time. But it also means it can be a little rushed sometimes.

It’s also my first time watching it in English dub. Four quick considerations about that: 1) I didn’t know rogue sounded like a hillbilly, 2) Roberto da Costa’s voice actor clearly speaks Brazilian Portuguese, 3) I had no idea Nightcrawler was German until I heard his stereotyped accent, and 4) The way they pronounce “Xavier” is the best!

Recommended.

 

[alexvss]

Dead Dead Demon's De De De De Destruction. A man wakes up eight years after an alien invasion, in which time an alien was living with his body.

Based on the manga by Inio Asano, creator of the legendary Goodnight Punpun.

It’s kinda crazy, and I only watched “episode zero”, but the synopsis (and the plot twist at the end of the episode) is making me crave for more!

 

[Toby Frost]

The first three episodes of Delicious In Dungeon (a rubbish and yet appropriately clunky title). This is about a group of stereotypical D&D adventurers who proceed through a dungeon complex, not just killing but eating various monsters. It's not the finest work of animation I've ever seen but it is quite funny at points. I don't know if the meals they create are meant to be appealing - after all, Japanese cuisine is different from English - but the food looks comically inedible. Quite a mad concept.

 

[Jeffbert]

The Grimm Variations. Each episode is a reimagining of a Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale.

A Netflix original anime, with character designs by CLAMP (Sakura Card Captors, Code Geass).

I started with the first episode, Cinderella, and was disappointed. The “reimagining” is a useless twist. It takes place in Meiji Japan, and the “Cinderella” (with another name) is the one who mistreats the sisters instead. Yeah, so?

It was well directed, with good sequences and some tension. It was well-structured. But I wasn’t going to watch five more 40-minute episodes of it.

I was ready to drop it, but I went on to watch the Little Riding Hood episode, as this is one of my favorite tales. To my surprise, it was science-fiction.

It’s extremely violent. Shockingly violent. There’s a very violent scene right at the introduction, and that was when it hit me: CLAMP also created Blood-C, one of the most violent anime there is, and Chobits, a very naughty sci-fi. It all seemed so obvious that I felt a little dumb.

Now that was a decent retelling. Not as nearly as impactful as Wolf Brigade (1999), for instance, but at least it was a nice try.

I’m not going to watch the other ones because I simply haven’t got the time, but I recommend at least that episode.

I really enjoyed RED HOT RIDING HOOD, Tex Avery was the best!

 

[Jeffbert]

X-Men ‘97. Continuing where the classic 90’s animated series left off.

Hell, just listening to that legendary theme song is reason enough to watch it (the opening is the same btw; they just remastered it).

The episodes are 30 minutes long, and they do not waste any minutes. It’s always interesting; there is no tedious time. But it also means it can be a little rushed sometimes.

It’s also my first time watching it in English dub. Four quick considerations about that: 1) I didn’t know rogue sounded like a hillbilly, 2) Roberto da Costa’s voice actor clearly speaks Brazilian Portuguese, 3) I had no idea Nightcrawler was German until I heard his stereotyped accent, and 4) The way they pronounce “Xavier” is the best!

Recommended.

I was into Marvel comics in the early 1980s, and X-Men was among them. Those voice characterizations are accurate. Though I for one dislike the "Ex-zavier" pronunciation, I do remember reading Xerxes as 'Axertaxies' long ago, when I first began reading the Bible.

Pantsu, pantsu, pantsu. I really enjoyed Chobits, & did not think it was all that naughty.

 

[Jeffbert]

The first three episodes of Delicious In Dungeon (a rubbish and yet appropriately clunky title). This is about a group of stereotypical D&D adventurers who proceed through a dungeon complex, not just killing but eating various monsters. It's not the finest work of animation I've ever seen but it is quite funny at points. I don't know if the meals they create are meant to be appealing - after all, Japanese cuisine is different from English - but the food looks comically inedible. Quite a mad concept.

I am still waiting for more episodes.

 

[alexvss]

Baki Hanma vs Kengan Ashura. In this crossover between two original Netflix crazy action anime, six of the strongest characters fight in an underground championship.

Yeah, it’s that simple. The source material was all about fighting, and the crossover is also all about fighting.

The fights are bloody and insane. The characters barely block the strikes. They just punch and kick each other like crazy, blood splashing everywhere.

The two protagonists face off at the main-event in a toe-to-toe bout that ends in a draw, and that’s no spoiler. It was pretty obvious.

Not a masterpiece, and it never aimed to be, but a good distraction.

 

[Jeffbert]

Finally finished Zom 100: Bucketlist of the Dead. 12 episodes, fun, drama, silliness.

 

[alexvss]

Decided to give Delicious in Dungeon a second chance. I had dropped it back when it came out months ago because I just didn’t like the premise. However, the internet is full of videos about how great it is, and I have watched some scenes on Youtube Shorts that enticed me.

Let’s hope I’m not wrong!

 

[Jeffbert]

So, I was picking up Misfit of Demon King Academy, after about 6 months, and had to start over, because I was lost. No big deal, & rather enjoyable, at that.

 

[alexvss]

Elf can't be on a diet. An Elf can’t return to her original world because the portal she came from only works if she’s the exact same weight when she came in, but she’s addicted to French fries.

This is an ecchi comedy, and a darn good one. I’ve read the manga. I didn’t think it would become an anime because it got canceled.

The episodes are only 12 minutes long, which is half of the normal length.

I’ll keep watching.


Suicide Squad Isekai. The team commanded by Amanda Waller is ordered to travel to a Tolkien-like Fantasy world for a mission.

This anime is not bad, but it disappointed me because I expected more, coming from Japan. Apart from the anime style, it doesn’t really feel new. They’re the same characters from the movies, the same bombs on their necks, cracking the same jokes (I noticed at least one joke that was straight-up copied from one of the movies). The only new thing (to me) was Clayface: a villain that looks like the Monster in the Closet that went after lil’ Fergie back in ‘86 (I googled and it seems that he’s going to be the villain for Matt Reeves’ The Batman 2). There’s a 2018 animated movie called Batman Ninja, where they are transported to Feudal Japan; that one really feels different.

It’s a limited, 10-episode series, so I’ll keep watching. But I wouldn’t if it weren’t.


Yami Shibai Season 13. Yet another season of Theater of Darkness.

The first episode wasn’t scary at all, just a little sad. Yami Shibai stopped being scary many seasons ago, actually. I just keep watching because the episodes are less than 5 minutes long.


My Deer Friend Nokotan. The best student of a high school becomes friends with a girl with deer horns that no one else seems to notice.

It’s an absurdist comedy. The school setting reminded me of Asobi Asobase, The Normal Lives of High School Boys and Nichijou. But My Deer Friend Nokotan is way more absurd than them. It kinda is half-way from those and GAINAX/Trigger anime.

I won’t keep watching, but it was nice checking out the first episode.

 

[alexvss]