-
Welcome to Smogon! Take a moment to read the Introduction to Smogon for a run-down on everything Smogon, and make sure you take some time to read the global rules.
-
Congrats to the winners of the 2023 Smog Awards!
Media Anime and Manga Thread MK3 - Beware Spoilers
- Thread starter Martin
- Start date
I wrote a blog about 2017 anime Konohana Kitan, an iyashikei about foxgirls running inns, which probably flew under your radar! Check the entry here or in the spoiler tags below:
In Konohana Kitan we follow kindhearted foxgirl Yuzu; a klutzy maid at the suspiciously celestial Kokohana-tei (a bath house/hotel) where she befriends a lovely cast of colleagues and costumers that teach Yuzu about the world and humans by interacting and her listening to their wonderful stories in episodic format. Although such isolated stories often lead to inconsistency; Konohana Kitan never drops the ball. At worst it is a mere ‘fluffy’ endeavor, but it always keeps developing its characters and relationships. Its relative lows are easily forgiven when its peaks are tightly written, emotional narratives about the supernatural that all lead into its spectacular finale. It should be noted that the show relies heavily on knowledge of Japanese folklore and deities, but it does not stand in the way of its intelligent twists or the heartwarming synergy among its cast.
Its art direction, led by Atsushi Yokoyama, is captivating with its pleasing, floral aesthetic and tendency to linger on pretty shots with vibrant lighting. Episodes located around markets or festivals are filled with background characters and little details happening everywhere which is a surge of liveliness, which is then juxtaposed with its equally atmospheric nightly settings that are much more serene, reflected in its sound direction as well. However, what solidifies the homely world Konohana Kitan crafts are its characters that, with their abundance of facial expressions and tail waggling, feel very much alive. It’s impressive to nail the ambiance as well as director Hideki Okamoto does; stringing together a rather difficult collection of episodic set pieces that constantly set one step into the metaphysical without being confusing.
Look at the wonderful lighting, pretty rainbow, and genuine smile! It’s so bright and uplifting!
Pretty, pink cherry blossom backgrounds fill the entire show, amplifying its warmth, coziness, and vibrancy with its pleasing aesthetic.
Don’t let the bath house setting deceive you; even though there’s a mild amount of nudity, none of the shots have sexual intent — most of them actually further developing the organic yuri relationships that get further expanded upon in the manga.
Konohana Kitan is a brightly shining example of how to execute a cute girls doing cute things show, with its barrage of sweetness balanced out by its subdued dramatic moments. Relationships that develop naturally over time leading to a cast that bounces off each other both in a playful and serious manner. Konohana Kitan is a pure healing anime; one whose warmth could move even the coldest of viewers.
Its art direction, led by Atsushi Yokoyama, is captivating with its pleasing, floral aesthetic and tendency to linger on pretty shots with vibrant lighting. Episodes located around markets or festivals are filled with background characters and little details happening everywhere which is a surge of liveliness, which is then juxtaposed with its equally atmospheric nightly settings that are much more serene, reflected in its sound direction as well. However, what solidifies the homely world Konohana Kitan crafts are its characters that, with their abundance of facial expressions and tail waggling, feel very much alive. It’s impressive to nail the ambiance as well as director Hideki Okamoto does; stringing together a rather difficult collection of episodic set pieces that constantly set one step into the metaphysical without being confusing.
Look at the wonderful lighting, pretty rainbow, and genuine smile! It’s so bright and uplifting!
Pretty, pink cherry blossom backgrounds fill the entire show, amplifying its warmth, coziness, and vibrancy with its pleasing aesthetic.
Don’t let the bath house setting deceive you; even though there’s a mild amount of nudity, none of the shots have sexual intent — most of them actually further developing the organic yuri relationships that get further expanded upon in the manga.
Konohana Kitan is a brightly shining example of how to execute a cute girls doing cute things show, with its barrage of sweetness balanced out by its subdued dramatic moments. Relationships that develop naturally over time leading to a cast that bounces off each other both in a playful and serious manner. Konohana Kitan is a pure healing anime; one whose warmth could move even the coldest of viewers.
I read parasyte! Shits pretty awesome
The protagonist reminds me of Koyomi Araragi from Bakemonogatari.
Finally moe fox fucks gets the attention it deserves,
I should mention that Konohana Kitan for me is one of those rare shows that pulled a total bait and switch but I was still completely satisfied with both sides. The overwhelming majority of the show as a diabetes sweet slice of life looks absolutely gorgeous but when the show really wants to double down and tell a more serious story it does so extremely capably without hurting the general warm fuzzy feeling.
I feel like overwhelming cuteness nowadays is just used to make the depressing moments in melodrama bait shows even more depressing, so it was really refreshing to see a show that could be a little bit sombre to enhance the chill slice-of-life aesthetic rather than the other way around.
Last edited:
Disconnected tiredpost incoming.
I just watched the first three eps of Poco’s Udon World and I really like it. I watched the first ep back when it was airing but didn’t keep going for some reason (I didn’t even drop it—just didn’t keep going) and saw it in my queue and that I’d try it again. It’s one of the sweetest shows I’ve ever seen. It just makes me smile more than anything.
Poco is utterly adorable, but the tone is mature and subdued—there’s none of the loud crap that seems to define #cute shows, with the overall volume being roughly that of the Yuru Camp eps that only have Rin and Nadeshiko, and as such it feels very relaxing to watch. If you’ve watched Amanchu and/or its sequel you know the volume—perhaps that’s a part of why I like it so much. Honestly it doesn’t even really feel like a show that’s trying to be very cute in the way “cute” shows often are, but rather it’s a sorta mature mid-life SoL that happens to have a very cute premise+deuteragonist. Unlike Barakamon it doesn’t really have prolonged sketches, instead focusing on fleshing out side characters through reminiscing and normal conversations.
The art style it also very easy on the eyes—the way light reflects off of characters is very pleasant, and the characters feel like a part of the world they’re in. Overall, I find the show very relaxing. It’s the first show since Amachu Advance (<—10/10 show btw) that I feel like I’m genuinely able to unwind to.
I just watched the first three eps of Poco’s Udon World and I really like it. I watched the first ep back when it was airing but didn’t keep going for some reason (I didn’t even drop it—just didn’t keep going) and saw it in my queue and that I’d try it again. It’s one of the sweetest shows I’ve ever seen. It just makes me smile more than anything.
Poco is utterly adorable, but the tone is mature and subdued—there’s none of the loud crap that seems to define #cute shows, with the overall volume being roughly that of the Yuru Camp eps that only have Rin and Nadeshiko, and as such it feels very relaxing to watch. If you’ve watched Amanchu and/or its sequel you know the volume—perhaps that’s a part of why I like it so much. Honestly it doesn’t even really feel like a show that’s trying to be very cute in the way “cute” shows often are, but rather it’s a sorta mature mid-life SoL that happens to have a very cute premise+deuteragonist. Unlike Barakamon it doesn’t really have prolonged sketches, instead focusing on fleshing out side characters through reminiscing and normal conversations.
The art style it also very easy on the eyes—the way light reflects off of characters is very pleasant, and the characters feel like a part of the world they’re in. Overall, I find the show very relaxing. It’s the first show since Amachu Advance (<—10/10 show btw) that I feel like I’m genuinely able to unwind to.
I'm watching:
Murenase! Seton Gakuen
For a show produced by Studio Gokumi (of famously nine whole employees), this looks pretty great. Director Hiroshi Ikehata has a lot to live up to after 2017's Mahoujin GuruGuru but if anything could best it, it's this show's heartwarming blend of romance and animal-based gag comedy.
Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magic Gaiden: Magia Record
I'm mostly watching this one to catalogue who's still working at Shaft post-exodus (Oishi, where are you?) but it's also just good fun tuning into it every week. The visuals are stellar in no small part thanks to directors like Kenjiro Okada and animators like Yasuhiro Nakura and Kenta Yokoya and the story is decently gripping to boot. Definitely much better than I was expecting, though perhaps my low expectations set me up to be impressed. This show also marks the death of Shinbo being labeled "Chief Director" on every one of the studio's shows, a welcome change as it caused more confusion among viewers than anything else. Rest assured, though, he's still holding down the fort at Shaft and hopefully teaching a new generation of directors who will be more than happy to fill his shoes.
Eizouken ni wa Te wo Dasu na!
Yuasa's productions took a noticeable hit after his jump to using flash animation (not only because of his team's relative inexperience using the software but also because it caused a lot of his old collaborators to abandon him entirely). With this in mind, I'm happy to announce that Eizouken does not look like shit, a welcome change to be sure. The show does lack the visual flare that animators and directors like Nobutake Ito, Michio Mihara, and Shinya Ohira brought to Yuasa's previous works but hey, Norio Matsumoto's working on it, that's got to count for something.
Itai no wa Iya nano Bougyoryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai no Omoimasu.
Almost as if to acknowledge the fact that its title is more of a sentence, this one has a period at the end. This one is kind of like what you might get if you took Saitama from One Punch Man, made him a girl, and stripped him of any humanity or relatability by not only having him be ridiculously overpowered, but also making him a complete Mary Sue who at no point faces any emotional adversity. Now you may be wondering to yourself: "But Pilo, why is a practitioner and appreciator of fine illustrative arts such as yourself watching this shitty web novel adaptation?" Well that's quite simple, actually.
https://www.sakugabooru.com/data/a8414fb5250b77727991fc96ef2ccb38.mp4
This nearly two minute action sequence was brought to you entirely by animator Koji Ito (notice the variable line weight and beautifully drawn effects). Some of you may know Ito from the Digimon Tri film series or last year's Kenja no Mago and if you liked his work on either one of those then I encourage you to check this show out too as he'll be serving as the main animator for the show's 12 episode run.
ID: Invaded
What's this? A bizarrely high-concept original crime thriller written by Otarou Maijou? Sign me up. This show is really weird and could end up being either great or terrible but if I know Maijou, it will never be boring.
Somali to Mori no Kamisama
The "tell don't show" writing in this show is kind of offputting but goddamn are the backgrounds gorgeous. I'm not fully caught up on this show as of right now but I do think it's at its best when the serene visuals are just given some time to breathe.
Healin' Good Precure
Bones steals all their good animators from this series. Watch it already.
Murenase! Seton Gakuen
For a show produced by Studio Gokumi (of famously nine whole employees), this looks pretty great. Director Hiroshi Ikehata has a lot to live up to after 2017's Mahoujin GuruGuru but if anything could best it, it's this show's heartwarming blend of romance and animal-based gag comedy.
Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magic Gaiden: Magia Record
I'm mostly watching this one to catalogue who's still working at Shaft post-exodus (Oishi, where are you?) but it's also just good fun tuning into it every week. The visuals are stellar in no small part thanks to directors like Kenjiro Okada and animators like Yasuhiro Nakura and Kenta Yokoya and the story is decently gripping to boot. Definitely much better than I was expecting, though perhaps my low expectations set me up to be impressed. This show also marks the death of Shinbo being labeled "Chief Director" on every one of the studio's shows, a welcome change as it caused more confusion among viewers than anything else. Rest assured, though, he's still holding down the fort at Shaft and hopefully teaching a new generation of directors who will be more than happy to fill his shoes.
Eizouken ni wa Te wo Dasu na!
Yuasa's productions took a noticeable hit after his jump to using flash animation (not only because of his team's relative inexperience using the software but also because it caused a lot of his old collaborators to abandon him entirely). With this in mind, I'm happy to announce that Eizouken does not look like shit, a welcome change to be sure. The show does lack the visual flare that animators and directors like Nobutake Ito, Michio Mihara, and Shinya Ohira brought to Yuasa's previous works but hey, Norio Matsumoto's working on it, that's got to count for something.
Itai no wa Iya nano Bougyoryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai no Omoimasu.
Almost as if to acknowledge the fact that its title is more of a sentence, this one has a period at the end. This one is kind of like what you might get if you took Saitama from One Punch Man, made him a girl, and stripped him of any humanity or relatability by not only having him be ridiculously overpowered, but also making him a complete Mary Sue who at no point faces any emotional adversity. Now you may be wondering to yourself: "But Pilo, why is a practitioner and appreciator of fine illustrative arts such as yourself watching this shitty web novel adaptation?" Well that's quite simple, actually.
https://www.sakugabooru.com/data/a8414fb5250b77727991fc96ef2ccb38.mp4
This nearly two minute action sequence was brought to you entirely by animator Koji Ito (notice the variable line weight and beautifully drawn effects). Some of you may know Ito from the Digimon Tri film series or last year's Kenja no Mago and if you liked his work on either one of those then I encourage you to check this show out too as he'll be serving as the main animator for the show's 12 episode run.
ID: Invaded
What's this? A bizarrely high-concept original crime thriller written by Otarou Maijou? Sign me up. This show is really weird and could end up being either great or terrible but if I know Maijou, it will never be boring.
Somali to Mori no Kamisama
The "tell don't show" writing in this show is kind of offputting but goddamn are the backgrounds gorgeous. I'm not fully caught up on this show as of right now but I do think it's at its best when the serene visuals are just given some time to breathe.
Healin' Good Precure
Bones steals all their good animators from this series. Watch it already.
Magia Record is a mixed bag tbh. The visuals are consistently great, and eps 1+4 were both good (especially 4), but eps 2+3 were, frankly, really bad. I understand it’s kinda silly to say this considering that it *is* fanfiction, but it really does read like a mediocre fanfiction. Then again, idk what else I was expecting from a gatcha adaptation lol. I probably wouldn’t be watching it if it wasn’t an existing IP I like+helmed by Shaft.
https://tog-anime.com/
Tower of God is actually getting an anime in spring 2020 holy shit I am so hyped May is going to be fucking AWESOME
Tower of God is actually getting an anime in spring 2020 holy shit I am so hyped May is going to be fucking AWESOME
Fuck you Funimatuon for discontinuing Interspecies Reviewers, damn cowards! Oh well back to my regularly scheduled marathon of backlogged anime
seasonal thoughts in rough order
Interspecies Reviewers - Beautiful. You can probably tell just from reading the summary whether this is something that sounds fun or something you're not interested in.
Seton Academy - Really dumb and cheezy but pretty legitimately funny.
Railgun - this one is still kind of up in the air but the previous season was great so
Dorohedoro - Not a nice show to look at, but it has a strange appeal with how the characters and world are grim and yet incredibly goofy.
Show by Rock - guilty pleasure
In/Spectre - Tempest was a neat sleeper hit that not many people watched so it's nice to see something else by the same author. Normally "detective show involving youkai" is something that would turn me off immediately but the character dynamics carry it.
Bofuri - Online MMO about an overpowered protagonists are a dime a dozen, the spin on this one is that the main character has no clue what she's doing and constantly stumbles into success.
Eizouken - Fun and has a good character setup, but the overly indulgent fantasy segments bring it down sometimes
Interspecies Reviewers - Beautiful. You can probably tell just from reading the summary whether this is something that sounds fun or something you're not interested in.
Seton Academy - Really dumb and cheezy but pretty legitimately funny.
Railgun - this one is still kind of up in the air but the previous season was great so
Dorohedoro - Not a nice show to look at, but it has a strange appeal with how the characters and world are grim and yet incredibly goofy.
Show by Rock - guilty pleasure
In/Spectre - Tempest was a neat sleeper hit that not many people watched so it's nice to see something else by the same author. Normally "detective show involving youkai" is something that would turn me off immediately but the character dynamics carry it.
Bofuri - Online MMO about an overpowered protagonists are a dime a dozen, the spin on this one is that the main character has no clue what she's doing and constantly stumbles into success.
Eizouken - Fun and has a good character setup, but the overly indulgent fantasy segments bring it down sometimes
I can't find any good anime to get into anymore guys, I tried hero academia but it just felt so bland - it's like shonen keeps shoving the same crap down my throat and I'm tired of the cringe hero that wins through the power of friendship nonsense.
I'm really just waiting for Demon Slayer s2 & One punch man s3 at this point
(oh and DBS adaptation of moro arc, but not because I think it's good - but because Akira Toriyama is the reason I love anime & art)
I'm really just waiting for Demon Slayer s2 & One punch man s3 at this point
(oh and DBS adaptation of moro arc, but not because I think it's good - but because Akira Toriyama is the reason I love anime & art)
If you're bored with the homogeny of battle shounen then why not try exploring other genres?
i'm almost done with demon slayer S1 and this is exactly how i feel about that
Demon Slayer is stupid simple, it's just really beautiful to look at in motion.
My Hero Academia was pretty strong in seasons 2 and 3 but I'm so dreadfully bored with it at the moment.
But yeah no one needs to watch Shonen. It's a genre for children. I'm not at all saying it's wrong for an adult to enjoy it, I just really don't get why we obsess over it so much. I really don't know why even people trying to hold up anime as an artform fixate so heavily on it. Just read One Piece and then ignore everything else and look for more interesting shows.
My Hero Academia was pretty strong in seasons 2 and 3 but I'm so dreadfully bored with it at the moment.
But yeah no one needs to watch Shonen. It's a genre for children. I'm not at all saying it's wrong for an adult to enjoy it, I just really don't get why we obsess over it so much. I really don't know why even people trying to hold up anime as an artform fixate so heavily on it. Just read One Piece and then ignore everything else and look for more interesting shows.
I really liked the Shie Hassaikai arc personally. If anything, I think MHA has just come out of its highest point since the outstanding top 8 segment of its tournament arc. But yeah—it sorta comes in waves, and it’s not exactly revolutionary coming from any other major battle shounen.
I find "no one needs to watch Shonen" stereotypically bad advice. Some are good, some are bad. Promised Neverland is pretty great and unique, last I read it anyway. Second season is coming out and it's pretty good if you want Shonen with a different spin.
And since the Vinland Saga and Dorehedoro anime adaptations were mentioned, everyone should read those too. Dorehedoro's art is fantastic.
And as for Tower of God, Rak will be the best character of the year.
And since the Vinland Saga and Dorehedoro anime adaptations were mentioned, everyone should read those too. Dorehedoro's art is fantastic.
And as for Tower of God, Rak will be the best character of the year.
Hi my wonderful people, I have a question for all of you. What anime would be in your top 5 anime of ALL TIME? Since I am not wait until I give an answer, I will give you my five right away. I am curious because I have not gotten into anime until just recently and these ones are the reason why I now adore anime as a medium, and why it has such an appeal to people, so with that being said lets gets started with it.
1. Hunter x Hunter
2. Made in Abyss
3. The Promised Neverland
4. Madoka Magica
5. Demon Slayer
Oh and ps Eizouken is my favourite of the season >.>
1. Hunter x Hunter
2. Made in Abyss
3. The Promised Neverland
4. Madoka Magica
5. Demon Slayer
Oh and ps Eizouken is my favourite of the season >.>