I’m only like 8 episodes into the new season of MHA and this arc is not doing it for me. Too many new but uninteresting side characters I could barely give a shit about.
Went old school and finally blew through Record Of Lodoss War. Tasty designs and epileptic shock-inducing strobe effects… they don’t make 'em like that anymore. sigh
I should really get around to Vinland Saga.
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken has been fantastic so far. The characters are all incredibly likable, and it’s legitimately a pretty good look at how animation is made, with the show itself showing a ton of sincere love for animation. Sakugablog has been doing a really good series of articles about the show’s production also.
It feels like the show’s not just going to end up being my favorite anime of this season, but also one of my favorite anime in general.
Just like everyone else, I’ve been enjoying Eizouken. I know next to nothing about animation but that show is just such a fun joy to watch.
Episode 4 of Room Camp just came out this morning and it was a pleasant surprise after I hadn’t really enjoyed the first three episodes. I was planning on keeping up with it regardless since it’s so short but I really hope the rest of it keeps up the chill comfy vibes of episode 4.
The only other show from this season that I checked out was Magia Record but the first two episodes didn’t really grab me so I decided that I’ll wait until the end of the season and see if other people say it’s worth going back to.
0 voters
Okay, I need a ruling from the Intergalactic Anime Council on what show I start watching next.
I need to go back and watch SAC, I was the exact wrong age to enjoy a futuristic police procedural when it was airing on US TV.
Trigun is a perfectly fine one of those “90s cyber western” anime. It’s right there with Outlaw Star as far as shows that are great if you grew up with them, but probably won’t do much for you as a new viewer. We were still pretty starved for anime content in the west back then.
I think the original Dragon Ball is a fun case study in how a Journey to the West parody slowly became a genre-defining magic martial arts series, but some parts of it have aged horrendously. Possibly some of the grossest Roshi moments in the whole series.
By the way, if y’all liked the “seeing it all come together despite the crushing production process” part of Eizouken, watch Shirobako because it’s all about that, and one of the best shows in recent years.
SAC is interesting. My memory of it is that the first season is better? But also everything that seems to have stuck with me was from the second, even though I don’t think I could tell you a thing about what the overarching plot was. Some extremely good moments/episodes/set pieces. Like when the Major wrestles an attack helicopter.
Every subsequent Jojo series has me going “Oh, no, THIS is the gay one”, and I love it. I love this show, so much.
I’m also taking recommendations. I just rattled off these four because I have easy access to them.
I think SAC is overrated. It’s more of a cop procedural than anything and lacks the mysticism and moodiness present in the GITS film (though 2nd Gig is better at retaining that). Iron Blooded Orphans is ass and presents the lack of storytelling and flaccid directional problems that have plagued all alternate universe Gundam series post-Turn A.
Go with Trigun or OG Dragonball (but then again I have a thing for the classic 4:3 cel painted stuff, so YMMV).
I’ll take that into account.
I do have to say, I might put all my anime-watching decisions up as a poll in this thread. Y’all are super helpful.
I have a reccomendation, with some caveats. I just finished Zeta Gundam and a good subtitle for this series might be Punchy Slappy Gundam, it was so unexpectedly and weirdly brawley that it made me happy. Might be my favorite Gundam series right now. As expected, people have made compilation videos of what I’m talking about:
It’s been a while since I watched SAC on adult swim, but I remember liking it, and I remember the Major wearing more and more pant as the series progressed, and that being kind of wierd.
I’ve been watching SAC lately myself and have really been enjoying it. It’s not much like Oshii’s movies (which from what I’ve heard aren’t actually much like the source material), but it is a great procedural. Also the Tachikoma are the best.
As incredibly over the top, ham fisted, cyberpunk noir stories about the parasitic nature of capitalism that star a guy with a gun for a head, go, No Guns Life is pretty great
I wasn’t expecting to join in with the “Give Dorohedoro!” chorus, but this ED is a bop
If Dorodohero somehow has a new ED bop each couple of episodes I can see myself putting together a whole playlist, the full OP is already on there, it’s very good 
if/when the Dorohedoro anime gets a soundtrack release there’s gonna be at least one person that confuses it with the manga’s soundtrack, and that person will be in For An Experience.
also, there’s a browser game based on the Living Dead Day available until the first of February, with prizes if you live in Japan.
I started watching GITS: SAC and I’m digging it so far.
I also started watching OG Dragon Ball and hoo boy. Do I need to suffer through this to watch DBZ?
Not at all. This is by no means something you have to put yourself through.
The more I watch Eizouken!, the more I think on the inevitable comparisons folks will make to Shirobako. To me, whereas the latter tackles the question of what goes into making an anime from the primary perspective of the producer’s role, Eizouken seems to almost be a response (or at least another part of a shared dialogue) that represents the position of the animator/creative role primarily. Take that cold open in Shirobako: the five girls graduate highschool shouting “Don Don DONUTS!!!” as a cheers to following their dreams, only to smash cut to the protagonist being sleep-deprived a couple years later, getting mentally prepared to do everything she learned from Initial D in order to get her key art order in before the competition. With Eizouken though, our introduction to Asakusa shows her finding creative inspiration in the intricacies of the world around her, only to then find an outlet to process all that in the art and creation of animation, which she then carries with her throughout the rest of the show.
I don’t know, I find it kind of fascinating how both series have a lot to say about why and how people make anime. Neither necessarily negates the other (after all, Shirobako features moments of artists igniting their passions and remembering why they love their jobs, and Eizouken has scenes where the two artists are struck with the reality that they can’t shoot everything on one’s and two’s – not to mention coming to terms that digital animation techniques aren’t the end of the world). Rather, I’m left with the impression that both – so far at least – are necessary viewing for anyone interested in the labor process of creating anime. One is definitely more cynical than the other, yet neither omits necessary details in favor of what they might respectively want to convey.
This has been a long way of saying: Hey! If you like Eizouken, be sure to also check out Shirobako!
I don’t think it’s so much that Shirobako is more cynical than Eizouken, and more that they focus on different parts of anime production. Eizouken specifically focuses on the creator’s perspective, showing what goes on in designing and animating an anime. Shirobako meanwhile focuses more on the anime industry as a whole, and what it’s like to work in it. It’s also not even really cynical, it’s pretty positive about most of the people working in it. It just also doesn’t hide the reality of what the industry is like. Eizouken doesn’t either, but it’s just not what it focuses on.
