Anime

[Snake]

I've read the manga and it's got quite a few flaws (mainly that the plot can wander around so much that it's hard to tell what's meant to be going on), but I really enjoyed it, and not just for the rampant fanservice. The characters were fun and likeable, the art starts off shaky, but is just gorgeous as it progresses, and there's some enjoyable twists on familiar shonen stuff, like the endless quest to become stronger, or the rival who can never quite catch up to the hero.

Who is the main character?  That's one thing I cant nail down.

[Sain]

Watching Dororo Kinda liked the first episode. The concept of a main character that royally screwed from birth is pretty interesting.

[Azuresun]

Who is the main character?  That's one thing I cant nail down.

One of the things I liked about TT is that it does feel very much like an ensemble piece, and the question of who the hero actually is, or what being "the hero" or "the strongest" even means comes under a lot of scrutiny through the story. One of my favourite moments comes near the final arc, when (spoilers)

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Soichiro flat-out acknowledges that Masataka, who's been cast as the 'luckless rival and occasional comic relief' up till that point, is the strongest one of all, because he's come as far as he has without the supernatual shortcuts that most of the other major characters have benefited from.

[Kunoichi]

Watching Dororo Kinda liked the first episode. The concept of a main character that royally screwed from birth is pretty interesting.

There's an adaptation of Dororo releasing this season?  I wasn't aware of it, but it looks good, based on the first episode.  Dororo and Hyakkimaru are going to get up to some fun adventures together.

[Zadaris]

Still torn on things like Toaru Majutsu no Index; there's some genuinely interesting ideas at play and I love the dichotomy of science and religion but they really sometimes focus too much on the fan-servicey/harem stuff. But hey it's colourful!

Love anything by Nisio Isin too; I'm a sucker for anything that has a focus on dialogue oriented interactions with Katanagatari still being my favourite to this day. Charming visuals, funny characters and a great story.

[Sain]

There's an adaptation of Dororo releasing this season?  I wasn't aware of it, but it looks good, based on the first episode.  Dororo and Hyakkimaru are going to get up to some fun adventures together.

Great to hear that the source material is good beyond just first episode ;D Looking forward to this a lot more now.

[Mirrah]

I'll still vouch for the OAVs and movie to this franchise.  Very nicely animated and plotted stuff there.  The TV series feels 'unfinished'.  I'll be honest, I'd love to see a re-boot of Ah My Goddess, as the manga is finally completed and thus they can do a complete animated story, ala what Fruits Basket is finally getting.

Going back to my bit about Reincarnated As A Slime, someone had mentioned they "wouldn't place it in their Top 10, but it's enjoyable."  Hear-hear.  Maybe I came off a bit 'raving' about it, but it's certainly not the worst this last season, nor the worst out of my 22+ years of being an anime viewing hobbyist.  I've yet to check out Konosuba.

Wait, there's more Fruits Basket to come?

I found Konosuba to be funny and enjoyable; I also am liking Slime so far. :-)

[Haruki]

Wait, there's more Fruits Basket to come?

I found Konosuba to be funny and enjoyable; I also am liking Slime so far. :-)

Yep.  This year in fact.  Already was a fan of the old 2001 anime, but it will now just be an 'alternate universe' sort of thing.  This 2019 edition is going to tell the whole - freaking - STORY!  I can't wait!  The manga's author is going to have a lot more say in this project and a whole new team & studio (TMS) have been hired on for the project.

With Konosuba finally getting the English dub treatment (but for some reason i can't find it on CR), I'll be looking into that one as well.  Will be following that Slime up to its conclusion as well which will happen shortly before the Spring '19 season gets underway.

[Kunoichi]

Great to hear that the source material is good beyond just first episode ;D Looking forward to this a lot more now.

The original manga series was written by the great Osamu Tezuka, so there's definitely some excellent writing to look forward to. ^^ There were some minor changes to the source material in the first episode, but checking the previews for the series, it looks like it's going to be faithful to the plot of the series overall.

[Haruki]

The original manga series was written by the great Osamu Tezuka, so there's definitely some excellent writing to look forward to. ^^ There were some minor changes to the source material in the first episode, but checking the previews for the series, it looks like it's going to be faithful to the plot of the series overall.

Woa!  That's amazing!  The gand-daddy of manga & anime (at least how we know it since the 1960s), despite having been gone for a few decades now, is STILL having his works as a source for anime projects.

I just watched Your Name, that movie which won critics and the anime community many times over.  Count me in that group.  If you've not seen it yet, do so!...it's a nice mix of lightherted comedy and also has its poingnent moments, and it's a real feast for the eyes; beautifully animated.  (Animators, take note, THIS is how you use CG within your backrops and panning shots...some scenes in that film almost looked downright realistic).  Solid film IMHO.  I just hope the Western adaption (which was okay'ed by the Japanese side) follows a similar path, albeit, they're going to strip the blasted thing of any Eastern influences and symbolism (Shintoism plays into the plot) for something else.  Oof, Toho & Funimation should just re-screen the original.  Alas, it is what it is.

I also already have Voices of a Distant Star, but nothing else from Shinkai's filmography yet.  From what I know, his films tend to be more atmospheric in nature and usually have a more downbeat plot.  More on the 'sad' side, to be blunt.
I'll also have to pick up Mamoru Hosoda's latest, Mirai when it is released on BluRay.  I have all his other works.

It's odd.  I usually throw feature-length anime into its own group, like the films I mentioned above and stuff from Studio Ghibli (Miyazaki, Takahata, etc); being they're not anime made to sell an established manga, light novel, or video game series, and seem to generally be of the highest quality production-wise, with more relatable / realistic stories with touches of fantasy elements.  If I were introducing anime newbies to anime, I'd be starting with all these films.

(Edit:  Watched something I wanted to comment about).

[Sain]

Dororo continues to be awesome :-) Hopefully there's a good ending.

[Kunoichi]

They're taking enough liberties with the story on Dororo that I think I'd call it a remake, rather than an adaptation, but it's definitely not bad so far.  One particularly important thing to note about this week's episode is that Hyakkimaru got his nervous system back after killing Lady Bandai.  He didn't even feel any of the stab wounds she gave him earlier in the episode, but starting from this point onwards, getting injured is going to hurt.

This is an illustration of another interesting aspect of the series: The more demons Hyakkimaru kills and the more pieces of himself he gets back from them, the weaker he's going to be in a fight.  Each demon killed is another piece of his humanity restored, but with it comes human frailty.

Edit: I found a fun little comparison video that helps to show some of the differences between the 1969 Dororo adaptation and the 2019 one. The 1969 adaptation was more faithful to the source material, but the differences in the 2019 remake do make for an interesting new direction, so I'm looking forward to seeing how they'll handle upcoming story arcs.

Dororo: 1969 vs 2019 | scene comparisons

[Mirrah]

Dororo continues to be awesome :-) Hopefully there's a good ending.

Agreed. I'm looking forward to more of it as well.

Also, thank you for the video, Kunoichi! It was interesting to see some of the differences. ^^

I'm also enjoying My Roommate is a Cat so far. :D

[yugi006]

I'm loving this opening song and it's the best of the season in my opinion.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=9Q1rTavZBJo

[Mirrah]

I like the music from Dororo. ^^

[yugi006]

The second season of Piano no Mori is finally here and I'm so excited.

[Sain]

This season makes me really love Mondays ;D

[Kunoichi]

There certainly do seem to be several good shows grouped together on Monday this season. ^^ I don’t think there’s been much discussion on it in this thread, but is anyone watching Mob Psycho 100?

[Sain]

There certainly do seem to be several good shows grouped together on Monday this season. ^^ I don’t think there’s been much discussion on it in this thread, but is anyone watching Mob Psycho 100?

Yes. Really liked the manga so have to watch this anime too. It's a great adaptation.

[Andol]

Is anyone watching the Promised Neverland anime... I think it is going rather well so far when holding to the source material. At least I am enjoying it anyway.

[Kunoichi]

I’m not watching it, but I’ve heard a lot of good things about the manga.  I’m glad to hear it’s being faithful to the source material.

Yes. Really liked the manga so have to watch this anime too. It's a great adaptation.

True, it definitely is.  Studio Bones is really putting in the work to get some gorgeous animation each episode, too. ^^

[Mirrah]

The second season of Piano no Mori is finally here and I'm so excited.

Looking forward to it! ^^

There certainly do seem to be several good shows grouped together on Monday this season. ^^ I don’t think there’s been much discussion on it in this thread, but is anyone watching Mob Psycho 100?

I plan to marathon Mob Psycho 100 at some point. ^^

Is anyone watching the Promised Neverland anime... I think it is going rather well so far when holding to the source material. At least I am enjoying it anyway.

I've been catching Promised Neverland as I'm able. ^^ It's been enjoyable for me so far. The last episode I saw made me exclaim, "Oh, daaaaamn!" XD But I'm a bit behind at the moment.

[Sain]

I know this isn't an anime, but manga is kinda related. Anyone reading Orient by the same people who made Magi? It has some brilliant new takes on old shonen tropes. Not quite Hero Academia level ground breaking, but awesome nonetheless.

[Kunoichi]

The only weekly manga I'm currently reading is Black Clover, but the description for Orient does make it sound interesting.  What are some of the awesome things it does?

[Sain]

The only weekly manga I'm currently reading is Black Clover, but the description for Orient does make it sound interesting.  What are some of the awesome things it does?

It has interesting flips to character dynamics in different situations. Also rather nice dysfunctional cast that you can easily cheer for. For weaknesses, maybe it does not have the most unique world building or main plot, but it is only 20ish chapters so far so who knows how things will end.