The Anime/manga thread (+ recommendations!)

🌙

The Anime/manga thread (+ recommendations!)

Started by: Raptor | Replies: 6,742 | Views: 682,036

ustopable
2

Posts: 54
Joined: Nov 2015
Rep: 10

View Profile

Nov 19, 2015 3:51 AM #1416937

Anyone here have ever watch Chobits its was my first anime and watched it when im 5 years old

MasterKaito
2

Posts: 1,176
Joined: Nov 2014
Rep: 10

View Profile

Nov 19, 2015 4:01 AM #1416941

Quote from Mantha
I was tipsy when I posted, how could I say Despair Girls and AE are not the same orz

lmao okay but Fate series is pretty heavy with fanservice so stay out of certain parts of it if that bothers you

I know there's something called Fate/kaleid, as well as the early Fate Stay/night, are you referring to those? I was talking about Fate/Zero (prequel) and Fate Stay/Night [Unlimited Blade Works] (sequel).

Quote from Boltz
May some one plz tell me a site where I can watch some anime (for free?) Besides watchonlinecartoon.com I've been searching since but most of them paid accounts only.

Kissanime.com is the best IMO

Quote from ustopable
Anyone here have ever watch Chobits its was my first anime and watched it when im 5 years old

It seems like a loli anime o.o

Does anyone here have a MAL? Here's mine, I started watching anime around this time a year ago lol
http://myanimelist.net/animelist/KaitoMaster

Smile
2

Posts: 5,331
Joined: Jan 2012
Rep: 10

View Profile

Nov 21, 2015 3:22 PM #1417492

Yo Raptor I watched Ping Pong. It's pretty cool. I wasn't really bothered that much by the art style because it's actually pretty easy to get used to it, especially if you binge it.

That said, I don't know if I'm retarded but the whole hero thing flew way over my head.

"I really wanted to like Smile" (Click to Show)

Overall I found the show pretty neat. It had lots of metaphors that made sense giving it depth as it explored the different struggles of its own characters - from some guy who traveled to find himself, to a hard-worker who had to face the extent of his own ability, to a champion who had to lose to break free. It was very interesting to see the interaction between all the characters, especially with how complex they all are, but I really need someone to tell me about Smile and his "hero" deal because I was drawing blanks with that guy lmao.

Raptor
Moderator
2

Posts: 5,891
Joined: Aug 2010
Rep: 10

View Profile

Nov 21, 2015 4:16 PM #1417501

Quote from Smile

That said, I don't know if I'm retarded but the whole hero thing flew way over my head.

"I really wanted to like Smile" (Click to Show)
I seriously do not know what it's about. Is it about Smile stopping his "I don't smile hurr I wish I was Peco hurr"? I think this also has a lot to do with the fact that I do not understand Smile at all. I can't really think of what his struggles might be, why he wants a hero, and how this "hero" beating him in table tennis and basically damning him to a future of being an unknown coach with a dead-end career resolves the issue.

Peco, on the other hand, is a character that I like. His arrogance that stemmed from his talent, his frustration when his skills plateau, his realization of what he needs to do, and his hard work to reach his goal. That's something that I think was worth watching as opposed to Smile's development, which I felt was the complete opposite. He lacked confidence, then got an ego boost when he surpassed Peco, then does what he needed to do but still lost. He seemed like a character that was fucked over by the show. I mean, looking at the ending, it seems like they both eventually went to where they were supposed to be: Peco's happy with success and Smile's happy with self-content, but this just feels like a cheap ending. But, then again, I completely missed the whole point of the "my blood tastes like iron" thing so it's probably more of an issue with me than with the show.

Although I liked Peco, I'm kind of pissed at how his abuse of his injured knee eventually gave no consequences. The show wanted to make it a point that merely standing was probably hurting like hell, but then he proceeded to beat a world-class player and another worthy opponent who made it a point to target his injury. I mean, I guess it made sense with the whole metaphor of him being a bird when he was playing with the world-class player, but still it kind of disrupts my suspension of disbelief since, you know, that type of shit don't happen.

Overall I found the show pretty neat. It had lots of metaphors that made sense giving it depth as it explored the different struggles of its own characters - from some guy who traveled to find himself, to a hard-worker who had to face the extent of his own ability, to a champion who had to lose to break free. It was very interesting to see the interaction between all the characters, especially with how complex they all are, but I really need someone to tell me about Smile and his "hero" deal because I was drawing blanks with that guy lmao.

Yeah I don't blame you, it's probably one of the more subtle parts of the anime that could've been conveyed better.

Smile (Click to Show)

The immediate thing the anime highlights is that both Smile and Peco are essentially polar opposites. Smile is quiet, reserved, and modest, whereas Peco is energetic, cunning, and prideful. That being said, Smile has always worn his heart on his sleeve, even before he started playing Ping Pong, and he is arguably the most emotional player in the anime. Thus, I wouldn't necessarily say that Smile's progression was that of going from modesty to cockiness but more akin to going from "everyone has to win" to the "playing to win" mentality. In fact, I think a major point in the anime is that there are always winners and losers, and the losers will be the ones to suck up their pride while the winner are allowed to bask in its glory. His coach especially recognized his talent and wanted him to break this mental barrier so he could experience the emotions you get from winning. Its a cool development that Smile goes through: sports are not the place to put pity.

The hero metaphor also has to do more with Smile than just Smile's Ping Pong. It wasn't just about saving his Ping Pong but more of his personality. Smile doesn't smile, and that's the obvious irony. But like I said before, Smile is in fact one of the most emotional players in the anime, and this is no more apparent at the end when it's revealed how much passion he has for Ping Pong. And the only one who really facilitates his happiness is Peco, since he is the one that introduced him to Ping Pong. Their final bout is just as much of a build-up to Smile as it is for Peco because to an extent, this is why Smile started to play Ping Pong in the first place. Maybe you could interpret it as "He made me realize I love Ping Pong" or something, but I saw it more as "This person allowed me to express my passion and emotions." Smile was initially portrayed as expressionless in the beginning of the anime, but by the end both Smile and Peco proved how wrong that interpretation was.

I also didn't mind the ending that much, but it's really how you interpret it. I like that Smile ended as a coach because throughout the entire show, his old coach acted like the closest thing he had to a father. Smile went through a ton of development, but most of that wasn't possible at all if it wasn't for the coach. To me, I think him ending as a coach is nice nod of acknowledgement of how much help he received from him and wanting to do the same for others.

I probably ended up repeating some words cause its late, but my $0.02.

Smile
2

Posts: 5,331
Joined: Jan 2012
Rep: 10

View Profile

Nov 21, 2015 6:26 PM #1417517

"" (Click to Show)

Raptor
Moderator
2

Posts: 5,891
Joined: Aug 2010
Rep: 10

View Profile

Nov 22, 2015 2:19 AM #1417607

Quote from Smile
"" (Click to Show)
Yea that's a great point about there always being losers and winners. I guess I missed that one completely too, lol. I just remember thinking Smile turning arrogant because he was being contrasted to Peco, who was in the process of being humbled by the grandma's intense training regimen.

I mean, all throughout the show I thought he went through a traumatic experience that made him like he was, so it was kind of surprising that nothing of the sort was revealed. Bullied kids still smiled. Smile's biggest issue was Peco being sloppy with his technique, so Smile started not to have as much fun as he used to have so he never smiled. The final confrontation was just so Smile can have fun again. I'm not sure if I got what you said correctly, but I personally feel like what I described would be a shallow reason. I mean it's true, it makes Smile a sensitive character which adds to his character, but it seems a little immature. That, or I've been exposed to too much television that relied too much on traumatic experiences to explain certain quirks of characters. Either way, you definitely gave me a better interpretation than what I could have come up with.

And yeah I guess the ending does fall into personal interpretations. It didn't seem to me like he was put there to give back, but rather damned to the same fate as his mentor, who grew old with a forgotten name. He did seem content, which was definitely the best end for Smile, but how he obtained this contentment by living as something less that what he's really worth just doesn't sit right with me I guess.

Smile (Click to Show)

Mental
2

Posts: 2,806
Joined: Mar 2012
Rep: 10

View Profile

Nov 22, 2015 6:40 AM #1417658

Masaaki Yuasa's projects are really awesome, The Tatami Galaxy is the best one he ever directed.

Also, Kaiji anyone? I just watched it and I fucking love it.

EDIT: Speaking of sports animes, I think one of the best is Ashita no Joe, A boxing anime but for real a cool story that it's not always about boxing as Real with Basketball, I started watching it and it's actually really cool the plot and very smooth the progress. Although this is a 70's anime, so might be not interested in watch that with low-budget animation and low SFX, the story is still cool.

Drone
2

Posts: 11,650
Joined: Mar 2012
Rep: 10

View Profile

Nov 22, 2015 2:08 PM #1417710

Quote from MasterKaito
I know there's something called Fate/kaleid, as well as the early Fate Stay/night, are you referring to those? I was talking about Fate/Zero (prequel) and Fate Stay/Night [Unlimited Blade Works] (sequel).

Kissanime.com is the best IMO

It seems like a loli anime o.o

Does anyone here have a MAL? Here's mine, I started watching anime around this time a year ago lol
http://myanimelist.net/animelist/KaitoMaster

I have one yeah, http://myanimelist.net/animelist/BroTaku-dono

guramecon
2

Posts: 225
Joined: Aug 2015
Rep: 10

View Profile

Nov 23, 2015 4:21 AM #1417843

I've found something interesting anyway

source : more-moe-moe-more-problems

Drone
2

Posts: 11,650
Joined: Mar 2012
Rep: 10

View Profile

Nov 23, 2015 12:59 PM #1417932

Pretty good cosplay if we disregard the fact that Saber isn't Asian

Mantha
2

Posts: 8,267
Joined: Sep 2005
Rep: 10

View Profile

Nov 23, 2015 1:12 PM #1417934

lmfao @ Drone who thinks race should be considered when it comes to cosplay

Okay I'll make a Fate masterpost for anyone who wants to check it out, since I'm being asked a lot.

the list (Click to Show)

Raptor
Moderator
2

Posts: 5,891
Joined: Aug 2010
Rep: 10

View Profile

Nov 23, 2015 1:17 PM #1417938

I got a quarter way through the light novel of Fate/Stay Night and dropped it. The main character is actually infuriating and I hated following him, and the story wasn't interesting enough to make it worth it. Normally I don't drop things until half way, but I actually couldn't stand the characters, especially the main character. He constantly made me want to break my screen.

Drone
2

Posts: 11,650
Joined: Mar 2012
Rep: 10

View Profile

Nov 23, 2015 1:18 PM #1417939

Cosplay is no joke yo, people just don't take it seriously :^(
Also, I like Fate, Fate is good~

Mantha
2

Posts: 8,267
Joined: Sep 2005
Rep: 10

View Profile

Nov 23, 2015 1:19 PM #1417940

Quote from Raptor
I got a quarter way through the light novel of Fate/Stay Night and dropped it. The main character is actually infuriating and I hated following him, and the story wasn't interesting enough to make it worth it.

I'm guessing you were doing the Fate route (the one where you romance Saber). Nasu himself said he wanted to rewrite it because it's so bad, lol.

If you still feel like giving it a shot, I recommend you watch Fate/Zero.

Quote from Drone
Cosplay is no joke yo, people just don't take it seriously :^(

then why is it called cosPLAY

Raptor
Moderator
2

Posts: 5,891
Joined: Aug 2010
Rep: 10

View Profile

Nov 23, 2015 1:22 PM #1417941

Quote from Mantha
I'm guessing you were doing the Fate route (the one where you romance Saber). Nasu himself said he wanted to rewrite it because it's so bad, lol.

If you still feel like giving it a shot, I recommend you watch Fate/Zero.

Yeah, Fate/Zero is definitely on my list. Jellyfish sort of shared the same opinion as me stating that he didn't like any iteration of the Stay Night versions but greatly enjoyed Zero, so hopefully I'll have some fun with it. Based on what I've heard about Zero, it seems more up my alley compared to Stay Night.

< Previous 1 ... 407 408 409 410 411 ... 450 Next >