Good anime

[CJones]

So today I heard about, and proceeded to binge watch, the entire first season of Houseki no Kuni aka Land of the Lustrous.

It's got to be one of the most original anime I've seen in a long time. It's hard to describe, but the short version is that it's about anthropomorphized gemstones and minerals. Not only is it very engaging, but I also learned about a lot of gems that I've never even heard of. Ever heard of Cinnabar? It's crystallized Mercury Sulfide, one of the most toxic minerals in the world. So of course I immediately wikipedia'ed all of them, and it's ingenious how well the show incorporates actual properties of the stones into their respective characters.

There's currently only one 12 episode season available, but it's currently on Youtube. Watch it before it gets taken down. Here's a link to the first episode:

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/rQHP2eE0xG8" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/rQHP2eE0xG8</a>

[Johnny Unusual]

Haven't seen it yet, but I've heard good things.  Started the first three episodes of Terror in Resonance and fell off pretty quick.  It starts off potentially interesting with a girl more or less shanghaied into being an accessory to a group of terrorists, but the following two episodes seem to be all about the terrorists giving clues related to the story of Oedipus.  A good mystery should make you feel like you have the parts to solve the mystery, but here it feels like interested in making the clues compelling and more about telling you about Oedipus.  Perhaps it gets better later, but it's not the show I want it to be.  Pretty intro and outro though.

[CJones]

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/Ro-aBh07fNI" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/Ro-aBh07fNI</a>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/Hw9hjZ1sOcU" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/Hw9hjZ1sOcU</a>

So, Legend of the Galactic Heroes is getting a full on remake. The first two episodes are on Crunchyroll, and the new series is being simulcast here and in Japan. If you've never seen the original LotGH, do so. It's really REALLY good. Time will tell if this new series can do it justice.

[Johnny Unusual]

I've never seen it but I know people who have seen it are over the moon about it.  No pun intended.

On the other end of the "remake" spectrum is the wonderfully bizarre re-imagining of Ashita no Joe called Megalo Box.  It's kind of ludicrous in that it is about boxing with super-powered limbs.  It is ridiculous considering even without hydraulic crushing power, boxing is a pretty devastating sport.  But despite that, it's kind of wonderful.  The relationship between the lead and his "trainer" is much different than the original in a way I like.  Visually, it seems to be trying to invoke late 80's/early 90's anime, particularly with it's backgrounds and the fact that despite the beautiful animation, things become harder to parse out in the background.  It really is a lot of fun and I hope it keeps up what I am enjoying about it.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/AjsMFv9K60Y" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/AjsMFv9K60Y</a>

[Pak-Man]

Been watching FLCL: Progressive and it's as intriguing and bamboozling as the original. I'm pretty sure I like it.

[Johnny Unusual]

Just finished watching Your Lie in April, a romantic series about a pianist who quits after his abusive mother dies.  It's pretty great stuff and avoids being a slog with a lot of humour and likable characters.  I think it's on netflix now, so it's a pretty good choice if you are in the mood for YA-style romance and tragedy (and the scenes of piano playing are pretty amazing).

[The Lurker]

[Russoguru]

I'm glad I got Soul Eater, because that show is SO damn good. It probably also helps that the opening theme "Resonance" by TM Revolution is really good.

[The Lurker]

So Akira is finally getting a full anime run by Sunrise.

https://twitter.com/Crunchyroll/status/1146958265856561152

[Johnny Unusual]

Interesting that this is happening as Taika Waititi is working on a movie also following the threads of the comic that the movie did not (also, he's not trying to whitewash it, making it the first Akira live action adaptation attempt I think might actually be good).

BTW, anyone looking for a good new show for the upcoming season, I read some Dr. Stone and it is good and the anime looks to be a REALLY handsome adaptation.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/7YZzYeBartM" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/7YZzYeBartM</a>

[CJones]

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/hu44k_LJEsw" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/hu44k_LJEsw</a>

So I just started "Saga of Tanya the Evil". In which a cruel Japanese salary man is murdered and reincarnated in an alternate universe version of 1914 Germany where magic exists. So typical anime fare I haven't seen enough of it to determine whether it's good, but it's certainly original

[The Lurker]

Think darker Zootopia, but murder mystery...
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/pJ3wd6u4zlQ" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/pJ3wd6u4zlQ</a>

[The Lurker]

So Junji Ito's Uzumaki is coming to Cartoon Network...
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/VDEQyK5ZH-E" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/VDEQyK5ZH-E</a>

[Johnny Unusual]

I know, right?  Already looks more promising than the Junji Ito Collection series, which was apparently a mess.  It does have the director of Mushishi, which is promising.  If this works out, hopefully they can adapt some of his other works.

[CJones]

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/DiUKh_MjsI0" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/DiUKh_MjsI0</a>

At first glance this seems like a kiddie show. By the end of the first season, you'll known better. Voted best of 2017. It's available on Amazon Prime, in Japanese or English.