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Anime Thread (It's just like, a mini Japan)
- Thread starter Rugi
- Start date
Apocalypse hotel was a really good show from last season that I feel like is being slept on.
Largely an absurdist dramedy about a team of robots running a hotel at the end of the world, it stands out with a bunch of really pretty backgrounds and character designs.
But what interests me even more is how closely it resembles an anime from 2024 called "Train To The End Of The World" which is also an absurdist dramedy set at the end of the world.
This very specific genre of 'apocalypses played for hijinks or slice of life with a hint of melancholy' is very unique to anime IMO. If you've got any other shows in this style please let me know.
Largely an absurdist dramedy about a team of robots running a hotel at the end of the world, it stands out with a bunch of really pretty backgrounds and character designs.
But what interests me even more is how closely it resembles an anime from 2024 called "Train To The End Of The World" which is also an absurdist dramedy set at the end of the world.
This very specific genre of 'apocalypses played for hijinks or slice of life with a hint of melancholy' is very unique to anime IMO. If you've got any other shows in this style please let me know.
Arguably not anime bc it's a Chinese production, but I'm really enjoying To Be Hero X atm. Honestly the narrative structure is really interesting- jumping around the different hero's backstories should work against it, doubly so because it feels like a prequel to something, but it's cohesive enough that I'm really enjoying it nonetheless, and they've dangled the mystery of how the current X rose to power despite being completely unknown as something to build towards.
I also like the kinda meta post-superhero spin it brings. I'm also watching The Boys atm lol, so I'm consuming a fair bit of that stuff I guess
I also like the kinda meta post-superhero spin it brings. I'm also watching The Boys atm lol, so I'm consuming a fair bit of that stuff I guess
I have some friends that want to have a Demon Slayer marathon this weekend so they’re caught up with the English dub and while I’m probably still going to go hang out Saturday night, I don’t know yet if I care enough about this show or watching any TV in general enough to be interested in picking it back up. Personally I prefer the subbed version of most series because it feels more authentic in a way, but the problem I’m running I to with TV and movies across the board is that I just cannot be bothered for that long?
It can’t just be me, right? Admittedly this isn’t an anime specific issue, but especially if it was a series I unironically really enjoyed for a while, I feel like the overall stress of daily life makes it hard for me to want to focus my attention on any specific topic for more than an hour at a time if I’m lucky. Yeah, yeah, social media isn’t helping, I know that, but even in the best case scenario where Japanese writing can be and often is better than storytelling here in the States where I live, I don’t want to start watching any new shows if I know in advance… basically anything struggles to keep my attention and interest me beyond the surface level charm.
It can’t just be me, right? Admittedly this isn’t an anime specific issue, but especially if it was a series I unironically really enjoyed for a while, I feel like the overall stress of daily life makes it hard for me to want to focus my attention on any specific topic for more than an hour at a time if I’m lucky. Yeah, yeah, social media isn’t helping, I know that, but even in the best case scenario where Japanese writing can be and often is better than storytelling here in the States where I live, I don’t want to start watching any new shows if I know in advance… basically anything struggles to keep my attention and interest me beyond the surface level charm.
Oh yeah. If anyone was wondering where I dropped the series at, it was just before the spa scene in the Swordsmith Village arc. Just figured I’d clarify since I think it might have just been that arc I didn’t care for as much as the previous two.
Honestly relatable. For me this isn't too big an issue for anime, since episodes are usually 25ish minutes, but for western shows that run for like an hour each, I'll typically be pausing for a little bit at some point for no reason in particular. Come to think of it, I feel like this might be related to why I don't read anything anymore. Maybe my brain has rotted too much lol
Anyway, Demon Slayer for me is a good show in that the action is hype, and the incredible production supports it well. It's a deeply flawed story though, in that it seems to be fond of introducing new characters and showcasing their backstory, then doing nothing with them, leaving the show with a cast full of characters with the depth of a puddle. Like, Zenitsu and Inosuke should've been good characters to develop, given that they're present for much of the story, but instead they're just jokes with arms and legs. They're not even terribly funny.
Anyway, Demon Slayer for me is a good show in that the action is hype, and the incredible production supports it well. It's a deeply flawed story though, in that it seems to be fond of introducing new characters and showcasing their backstory, then doing nothing with them, leaving the show with a cast full of characters with the depth of a puddle. Like, Zenitsu and Inosuke should've been good characters to develop, given that they're present for much of the story, but instead they're just jokes with arms and legs. They're not even terribly funny.
From what I’ve gathered the Kamado siblings were quite popular in Japan at the peak of the series’ popularity but yeah, the rest of the main cast feels a bit shallow on rewatch. They bring a nice degree of contrast to the siblings, I’ll give them that, but any developments that do happen with the others generally take a while to get to and ultimately don’t feel as rewarding as it could be. I wouldn’t call either Zenitsu or Inosuke “insufferable” like I’ve heard some people call them, but throughout the middle of the story the attempts to start meshing the humor and the action together into one sequence don’t quite stick the landing with the variable pacing that the first handful of arcs were trying to go for beforehand.
The supporting cast I think is noticeably stronger. It does take a bit for viewers or manga readers to learn more about the Hashira, and I still don’t quite know how much I care for Muzan as a lead antagonist, but the contrast between the Hashira and the 12 Moons (or whatever you prefer to call them) is welcome and I think ties in generally nicely to the series’ themes of exploring personal growth and calling back to traditional Japanese culture. I honestly think I like the Twelve as characters more than Muzan, if anything. They just feel more expressive and creative to me. As for the good guys, it’s that variable pacing again that I think holds back the rewarding factor of whether or not they’ll succeed on their endeavors. It worked for me in the Infinity Train movie (and subsequent episodic version) because that arc feels a good representation of everything that worked for the series up to that point while still providing enough, but not too much expansion of the world building all at once to feel overwhelming and take away from the arc’s themes of mentorship and finding the motivation to move on during hard times. Definitely my favorite arc as far in as I’ve watched.
Today I went to the town of Washinomiya, about 2 and a half hours out of Tokyo.
Although there is absolutely nothing of note here, the local shrine was used in the Lucky Star Opening and some scenes in a couple of episodes.
The locals are surprisingly proud of this and theres lucky star fanart scattered all over the town.
I asked around and the locals say that otaku tourism to see the shrine was very common about a decade ago, but nowadays it has mostly faded. They do all fondly recall their little town's five minutes of fame though.
Also none of them had actually watched Lucky Star.
Heres the picture I took compared to the anime
Heres a little statue outside of the local post office
And some of the lucky star fanart around town
Although there is absolutely nothing of note here, the local shrine was used in the Lucky Star Opening and some scenes in a couple of episodes.
The locals are surprisingly proud of this and theres lucky star fanart scattered all over the town.
I asked around and the locals say that otaku tourism to see the shrine was very common about a decade ago, but nowadays it has mostly faded. They do all fondly recall their little town's five minutes of fame though.
Also none of them had actually watched Lucky Star.
Heres the picture I took compared to the anime
Heres a little statue outside of the local post office
And some of the lucky star fanart around town
Attachments
Im all caught up on the uma musume animes and its got very high production value and is just a good entertaining romp that knows when to take itself comically seriously. A major flaw is that its clearly made for a certain subsect of nerds that have absorbed everything about these characters through cultural osmosis. Every two minutes there will be a scene where like five random girls show up on screen and do a completely unfunny nonsense gag, and then when I check online someone lets me know that "Actually this is a reference to the real life beloved race horse Banging Your Mumther who tragically died of rabies on the day before his big race"
Nonetheless if you like sports anime this is better than most of them because horse girls racing each other is conceptually incredibly funny.
Nonetheless if you like sports anime this is better than most of them because horse girls racing each other is conceptually incredibly funny.
see i didnt know shit abt horse racing but this didnt bother me because i always saw it as "wahoo time to learn about goo goo gaa gaa the epic horse". but maybe i think i just like learning shit in general for no reason
You should watch The Brave Of Legend Da-Garn NOW
curious if you'd ever be willing to go to gunma prefecture to visit the location that inspired many well-known anime such as the definitely legal touge street racing series "initial d" and the surrealist comedy series "nichijou"
Gunmas a little too far away for a day trip so Id have to do it alongside a few other things, not to mention that I dont have a car so a lot of the famous spots in Initial D are pretty inaccesible to me. Also is Nichijou set in Gunma? The whole thing looks very non-descript to me
Yep, the town in nichijou is based off the town where Keiichi Arawi grew up which is... somewhere in that prefecture. A lot of nichijou characters happen to be named after towns and landmarks in the area too.
Ok yeah I just looked it up most of Nichijou is set in the town of Isesaki in Gunma, theres a surprising amount of attractions there but it is nearly 3 and a half hours away from Tokyo, for the foreseeable future Id like to keep things limited to day trips meaning no more than two hours from Tokyo
Arawi himself grew up in Maebashi, a city that's like another 30 minute train ride away from Isesaki, so I dont know why Nichihjou specifically has so many scenes set in Isesaki
Maybe you'd like something a bit shorter? Demon slayer is a pretty long show all things considered and honestly the story is really uninteresting. The animation is really good but if I wanted to watch ufotable's animation i'd just rewatch a portion of the fate franchise because shirou is the GOAT.
Speaking of which; here's a list of relatively short shows that I think you may or may not like
- Neon Genesis Evangelion (including EOE but possibly not including the rebuilds)
- something something shinji get in the robot something something hospital scene but it's still a good show and you should give it a fair shot
- Serial Experiments: Lain
- This one has a fanbase like 100 times the size of its viewerbase for some reason. I really don't know how to explain it and you prolly won't even know what's going on like half the time
- Gurren Lagann
- This one isn't exactly "writingslop" as the kids say these days but it's still a really well-written show with a lot of "hype moments and aura"
- Nichijou
- Surrealist nonsensical comedy anime. Features 24 episodes with basically zero cohesive plot but a sufficient amount of assorted bullshit and tomfoolery to keep you interested.
- City the Animation
- Same author as nichijou, ran this year and is a pretty similar show albeit significantly more grounded in reality (which is an incredibly low bar tbf)
- Kino's journey
- The original 2004 anime is significantly slower paced. It's one of those shows that tries to be deep and philosophical and winds up coming off as more of a rant about modern issues loosely disguised as something else entirely. The 2016 remake is a highlight reel of fan-favorite chapters from the light novel which has exactly the issues you would expect
- Kara no Kyoukai
- A set of 7 films placed out of chronological order for some reason. It's a really strange David Lynch-esque storyline about two people who get looped into magical experiments to uncover the "root of alaya", a place containing all the knowledge of the universe.
- I am going to put out a fair warning that these movies cover some very sensitive topics but it does handle them with incredible care.
- Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works
- This one's also like 26 episodes but every episode moves the plot forward quite a bit, especially after that whole caster stuff gets dealt with ~1/3rd through s2. My opinion on the highly contested "fate watch order" is of course to read the visual novel but most people don't want to do that. As such I tend to just recommend people start with UBW and if they like it they can go watch basically any other part of the franchise in any order.
- Takopi's Original Sin
- This one is really good and it's only 6 episodes but it's really depressing and honestly kinda hard to watch. I don't think I'd ever consider rewatching it. I would go into this one completely blind but please do heed the content warning at the start.