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applestar
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Manga/Anime recommendations

Does anyone here read manga or watch anime?

When I was a teenager, my parents used to tell me I was too old to enjoy reading manga, and I should be reading serious literature.

Well, here I am, dacades later, and I'm still enjoying some of the manga that are meant for teens. :>

Here's one:

Natsume's Book of Friends, Vol. 1 by Yuki Midorikawa Natsume's Book of Friends, Vol. 1 by Yuki Midorikawa
Link: https://amzn.com/B00FDZK5MK

You can watch subtitled anime series based on the manga here:
https://www.crunchyroll.com/natsume-yujin-cho

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I watched Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) over the summer and thought it was pretty darn good. Here's the the Wikipedia and the IMDB page for it. I couldn't tear myself away from it. The movie is not about fighting, there's actual political intrigue and drama in it.

Appleseed Ex-Machina is a cool sci-fi that takes on a future where some folks are augmented and not fully human. The soundtrack conveys a futuristic sense. The prequel (latest movie) is not as good, watchable but not as good.

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You are never too old for mange/anime - I have a co-worker in his sixties and we trade anime recs. :D He was disappointed in the ending of 'Attack of Titan' - I haven't had a chance yet to watch any of it and there are other shows higher on my manga watch list.

Like:
- Parasyte https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasyte - it is an old manga favorite of mine and, last month, I found out that it has been made into an anime & live-action.
- Taiyou no Mokushiroku (A Spirit of the Sun) https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclo ... hp?id=6842 hopefully all of it has been translated - the manga still has not been licensed and fans have only translated the first couple of volumes.
- They did a 'reboot' of the Sailor Moon anime https://www.crunchyroll.com/sailor-moon-crystal so it'll be interesting to watch that and re-watch the original anime.

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I LOVE anime. I sure didn't expect to find this thread in the forum, but how awesome!

If you haven't seen these, I think they're worth a look:

Hunter x Hunter (longish, but very good)
Fruits Basket
Psycho Pass (deep-thinker about society and whatnot)
Fate/Xero and Fate/Stay Night (latter is on hiatus until April)
Akame ga Kill (violent and sad, so beware)
Fairy Tale
Sword Art Online (but I haven't watched it after the 3rd arch because it got sucky then)
Full Metal Alchemist BROTHERHOOD (must see if you haven't)

...and about 30 others if you care to know more.

I aslo agree with Nightowls: Parasyte is one of my favorite anime right now. It's really dark, but it makes you question a lot of things that I find to be very important.

And Attack on Titan is also super good.

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Hey I recognize some of those! :D
...but others are new to me -- must go look 8)

Sure! let's hear more! :-()


...oh... Haha DD just said [she] watched Akame ga Kill and several others that MatthewK mentioned. Not mentioned in your list, but she liked D Gray-man enough to buy the manga.

I HAD to get the manga set for Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. They left so much out in the movie. :|

We both liked Kemononosoja (Beast Player) Erin, Hakkenden - Eight Dogs of the East, and Moribito (Guardian of the Spirit ...I think...). I bought the original novel for Moribito but haven't read it yet.

...an older anime I recently unearthed on YouTube is "They Were Eleven" -- but I prefer the manga and also "Poe no Ichizoku" (The Poe Clan) by the same author/artist.

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I like it and I even do some 3D animation my self.

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Kill la Kill is another I liked, but very different for an anime. And then there's also Hell Girl, No Game No Life, Another (best horror-genre anime I think I've ever seen. One of my tops.), Ghost Hunt, Anohana (very sad though), and 5 cm per second (also very sad). I also like a good Gundam episode now and then, too.

I'll have to check out some of the others you mentioned. :)

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Cool lots of them for me to check out.

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This is a short test I did, it take a bit of time to do this, so doing a whole movie takes an army of artists, this is done in 3D. I may do a rendering more cartoons like next. I am studying movie effects, 3D and 3D animation, and computer graphics. Maybe some day I will make a short movie.


Last edited by webmaster on Thu Feb 09, 2017 1:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Bug fix on the list, lol. Everything after and including "&feature" in that URL messes with the coding.

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I am currently obsessed with another Anime/Manga -- Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler). Available at Crunchyroll website, but only watch Season 1 from episodes 1 to 15, then switch to The Book of Circus, then find some other place to watch The Book of Murder Part 1 and Part 2. They just had theater release of The Book of Atlantic in Japan last month, so probably quite a while wait for that to become available here. These in the order listed are the canon episodes that follow the Manga series story line.

The latter episodes of the Season 1 (actually a double season run) and most of the stories in the Season II (not available on Crunchyroll) are not part of the original manga, although the author has OK'd them. I think I heard that these belonged to an alternate storyline she had been contemplating.

I obsessed so much I came up with a recipe for Kuroshitsuji-inspired Curry Pain (curry rolls) -- dubbed 黒執事風カリーパン. I don't deep fry, but fortunately was just recently researching recipes for making oven-baked doughnuts in muffin pans :()

I made them with leftover chicken and carrots curry I made from scratch (with spices) yesterday --- ingredients cluded fresh ginger root dug and cut from overwintering ginger, citrus leaves -grapefruit or orange actually and not kaffir- and goatmilk kefir. :wink:

Image

I used the buttermilk dinner roll recipe I have been using by substituting with kefir whey and added cooked rice in the bread dough. Other mods include addition of Coconut oil and coconut sugar in the yeast proofing dough, Japanese toasted sesame oil and sunflower oil blend for greasing the pans as well as sprinkling white sesame seeds on the buttered top.

They were a hit with my parents today, and even my DD's who have steadfastly rejected curry until now gobbled up two each. Actually everybody ate two each. :D


...eta... I just remembered I also added a splash of Knudsen organic very veggie juice when making the bread dough.

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Thanks for the recommendations, always looking for new things to watch! :)

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Has anyone read Neil Gaiman's Sandman series?

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Hmm...I have not tried ANY comic books. Maybe I should start. Are your recommending this one?

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Recommend Sandman ..... You will either get it or you won't.... will make you ask a lot of questions about yourself and life if you do get it.

Start with book one and work forward, or you will be completely lost.

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Baking cookies :D

...started with this Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies Recipe | King Arthur Flour
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/ ... ies-recipe

Replaced brown sugar with coconut palm sugar, half of flour with what was left after straining out calcium and vitamin D fortified home made brown rice milk and dehydrated hazelnut meal from making hazelnut creamer and the other half with organic white whole wheat flour. Used chopped milk and bittersweet chocolate with almonds and 72% dark chocolate, added some chopped soft caramels and toasted sweetened coconut flake/chips, chopped walnuts and pecans.

Ah ha. I think first batch is out.... hmmm... looks like they flattened out considerably -- I'm guessing this is due to significant reduction in wheat flour and gluten. It looks like they might turn out to be crunchy.... will add pics and taste review later. ;)

---

...actually crispy and chewy and gooey ... and too sweet, according to DD1 ... and disappearing like hotcakes :lol:
Image

...since this recipe left me with a spare egg white, I made some meringue "cookies" with it which didn't whip up properly and ended up as a single flat sheet ... But it's OK because I wanted to make Eton Mess with them -- it will be crumbled. (Still being influenced by the Black Butler manga -- the sweet was served in the Weston Public School arc :() )

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Sometimes I wonder about myself. Full grown grown-up, and I can still get hooked on kids' shows.

Latest is Kamen Rider OOO (oh's). These shows have opening and ending theme songs, and sometimes I get hooked on those, too. But many of the lyrics that have been previously translated are hard to sing to because in order to make them singable in English, you have to consider how to change the syllabic cadence and try different words to fit the translation AND the music -- Then I HAVE to translate them to MY satisfaction so I could SING them :lol: . :oops: Yes, me singing these is a sight to see and hear. But I can't seem to get them out of my head until I can actually sing them, then translate and sing them. :>


I did one for Black Butler, too -- Lacrimosa -- and for Bleach, I translated Change!, but I can't seem to find that one. oh well.

Kuroshitsuji II -- Lacrimosa
By Kalafina

Kalafina - Lacrimosa - Live Japan Expo 2014 Paris

https://youtu.be/ArrhlsK2eLk

(Sing-able Translation from Japanese lyrics to English by Applestar)

Hiding in the depths, entwined in the dark
Are the Future and Despair.
Sadness will be exposed when the
Moon shines her cold light.

The secrets you gave me
are signs to guide the ways through
The indigo nights and the silent days

Lacrimosa
Far away, shattered, and disappeared.
I want to ... love that
... blinding world once again.

Bottom of my eyes hide
My dreams to wait for the tainted heart
On which the tears to ...
come falling down.

Fae lamps of the carriage glow
Pushing aside the darkness, to the light.
Dreams like traps tempt us all to
Join the burning lights.

To the pitiless gods in the
skies above will not reach
No matter how you shout or scream
Lacrimosa…

We will catch alight like pyre ablaze
Hot and wild and someday our flames will
Burn through the heavens

L'acrimosa
Here we're born and felled. I want to love
this blood soaked world -- without fear.
Not forgiven but by
forgiving and by believing,
On this tainted earth,
Counting the
tearfilled days.

---

[WMusic] Kamen Rider OOO - Time judged all(vietsub)

https://youtu.be/spZadRXqwHQ

-(Sing-able Translation from Japanese lyrics to English by Applestar Aug.11, 2017)-

Time judged all

Performed by: (Hino Eiji×Ankh ― Watanabe Shuu×Miura Ryousuke)
5th Ending Theme of: Kamen Rider OOO

Der Schnittpunkt von zwei Wünsche
-(The intersection of two desires)-
Eine Leistung von zwei Wünsche
(The power of two desires) 

Time judged all Ta・Ja・Dor Ta・Ja・Dor
Time judged all Ta・Ja・Dor Ta・Ja・Dor
Time judged all Ta・Ja・Dor Ta・Ja・Dor
Time judged all Ta・Ja・Dor Ta・Ja・Dor

-(Here and there desires are scattered everywhere)-
-(Gather them all so I can get what I am wishing for)-
-(Everybody's being pushed around, losing their freedom)-

-(My purpose to achieve it I'll do whatever's necessary)-
-(Why did our paths cross? Awakening from a long sleep?)-
-(There's no time to think, no time to wonder -- someone is calling)-

-(Time judged all: Destinies crossing at "THIS" moment)-
-(Time judged all: To the skies fl•y up on high)-

-(The flame held in my heart, burns through the darkness)-
-(A miraculous power manifests right here)-

Ta・Ja・Dor Ta・Ja・Dor
(Der Schnittpunkt von zwei Wünsche)
Time judged all

Ta・Ja・Dor Ta・Ja・Dor
(Der Schnittpunkt von zwei Wünsche)

-(Isn't it true? Everyone wants only what he wants for himself?)-
-(That's not true, I want know how to live without regret)-

-(Opposing wishes we have, but here in the same place)-
-(we fight off the same darkness, open the way for to•morrow)-

-(Time judged all: Destinies once they begin to spin)-
-(Time judged all: Nothing will sto•p them until the end)-

-(The 2 wishes, head-to-head, striking against each other)-
-(A miraculous power manifests right here)-

-(Ah, endless time has passed and now,
so that there will never be another regret)-
-(More endless than the great skies,
With this power stand and fight)-

Fly up TaJaDor! 

-(Time judged all: Destinies crossing at "THIS" moment)-
-(Time judged all: To the skies fly up o•n high)-

-(Time judged all: Destinies once they begin to spin)-
-(Time judged all: Nothing will sto•p them until the end)-

-(We got them back let our, medals take a-wing)-
-(A miraculous power manifests right here)-

Ta・Ja・Dor Ta・Ja・Dor
(Der Schnittpunkt von zwei Wünsche)
Time judged all

Ta・Ja・Dor Ta・Ja・Dor
(Der Schnittpunkt von zwei Wünsche)

Time judged all!

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Is Shonen Knife next?

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Oh whew! I had no idea what that was. Maybe there's hope for me yet.... :>

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applestar wrote:Oh whew! I had no idea what that was. Maybe there's hope for me yet.... :>
:lol: :lol: :lol:
Be careful, they are addictive.

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I found a funny video clip from a Black Butler musical. In the musical version of the Noah’s Ark Circus, the detectives play the comedic relief, and this is from a scene when they are interviewing Snake, and trying to get him to identify himself.

Snake is quiet, reserved, timid, and disinclined to speaking, but when he does speak, it is usually to relay information from one of his snakes. Snake is capable of understanding snakes and allows them to speak through him. He has at least nine snakes: Wordsworth, Emily, Goethe, Oscar, Wilde, Webster, Bronte, Donne, and Keats.[3]
(Snake | Kuroshitsuji Wiki | FANDOM powered by Wikia https://kuroshitsuji.fandom.com/wiki/Snake)


My name is Snake....says Oscar


Here’s a clip of his performance
Kuromyu~ Musical Noah's Ark Circus "Snake's Song"

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スケスケなバケツとねこ。-Transparent bucket and Maru.-

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I have been addicted to watching chinese historical dramas. I especially like the xanxia and wuxia ones. Many of the web series and tv series are either based on novels which are loosely based on the lives past emperors, generals, consorts and legendary beings. Some of the stories are based on legends like the tale of the mountain and the sea or white snake. Others are actually based on games and some of the novels were written for adaptation into a series like Nirvana in Fire 2. Many of the series are based on popular novels. Some of the stories are kind of ripoffs of other stories like game of thrones or Lord of the rings. One that recently finished that was not promoted much but gained a wide following was called the Untamed. It is based on a BL Xanxia novel called Mo Dao Zu Shi, translates to Master of Demonic Cultivation.

Mo Dao Zu Shi has multiple anime versions and fan made episodes. It is a BL (boys love ) novel. Gay themes do not fly with Chinese sensors so they changed the premise to a bromance or lifelong friendship instead of a BL love story. The anime version is more like the novel and is more explicit. Some classic scenes were kept in the live action series. The stars of Chinese series are often very young or idols. ( Usually singers and dancers) Untamed stars Xiao Zhan , a singer from XNine and Wang Yibo, primarily a dancer but also a singer from the Korean boy group UNIQ. Xiao Zhan had to do most of the heavy lifting since he had most of the dialogue and Yibo lines were usually "behave ", "Wei Ying" , and "no".

I am binging episodes. The Chinese sensors have placed a ban on the number of historical dramas they are allowing to air, and I am not into most of the silly modern ones with time travel, aliens, mistaken identies, and virtual game themes. So, right now I am re watching the ones I liked and looking at older ones that are available. There are a lot of bad ones out there too, so finding ones that have spent the time to produce a quality production (with less foam and unrealistic props, bad dubbing), good story telling, and actors who don't look so bored all the time is sometimes a challenge.

K dramas are also good. But I like the Chinese cinematography better. I am also trying to learn Chinese through the songs and the series. Mandarin is very hard to learn. English sentence structure is actually very different from most languages and the rules are very different. Mandarin does not have an alphabet like Korean or Japanese. It is a tonal language and the same word romanized can have different pronunciations and meanings. Good thing some words like ai, has the same character and meaning in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. I finally understood a whole sentence in Mandarin "Zhuhe xiao xiong di" without needing to look at the translation. I still have to work on what I am hearing in terms of the tones and the pronunciation. I can count up to 1000. The number characters are easier for me to remember since they are the same in Japanese which I did take in high school, but I don't remember most of the Kanji I learned. I have learned a few words that are used frequently and can recognize some of the Kanji, but I cannot always write them with all of the strokes in the right order.

It is kinda fun to learn a different language. Although I don't have a real talent for it, and I doubt I will learn enough to be useful, it does keep my mind active. At my age, I need to exercise my brain so to keep it from turning to mush.

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Do you remember this?
applestar wrote:
Sun Oct 20, 2019 2:37 pm
スケスケなバケツとねこ。-Transparent bucket and Maru.-

https://youtu.be/JlkY_sLDZo4
Latest feat —
ついに”猫は液体”を完全に証明してしまったねこ。-Maru finally completely proved that "cats are liquid".-
https://youtu.be/K3TgLNnJwjY

…I wish I had a video of my first cat doing something similar as a kitten … :lol:

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This isn't anime but it is Japanese. They're called Wagakki Band and their music is a lot fun. 😃




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