20th Century Boys & 21st Century Boys

1. 20th Century Boys (22 volumes; 249 chapters)
2. 21st Century Boys (2 volumes; 16 chapters)
Japanese Title: 20 Seiki Shounen

Rating: 5/5

Description:
Kenji and his friends start to notice a series of odd occurences related to their childhood. A mysterious cult-leader named “friend” is out to destroy the world, and it has something to do with Kenji’s childhood memories.
Published from 1999-2007.

Genres: drama, mystery, science fiction, historical, seinen

Notes/Review:
I absolutely love this manga! The storytelling style was a bit confusing at first (it often jumps through time within the chapter, like one page they’re children and then the next they’re adults), but after a couple chapters, I got used to the names and appearances of the protagonists as children, adults and, later on, as elders. I don’t consider the time jumping to be a fault because it ended up being one of my favorite aspects of the manga. I liked that the manga didn’t take place in some squared off time in the protagonists’ lives, but throughout their entire lives (it takes place from late 1960’s to 2015). This manga is more so about the journey rather than the destination.
Also, 21st Century Boys just contains the ending of 20th Century Boys, so read them both!

Side Note: I read this manga for Operation: Enlightenment, a fun little project where I go through each anime and manga on their respective lists.

Silver Spoon

Silver Spoon (13 volumes)
Japanese Title: Gin no Saji

Rating: 5/5

Description:
Yugo Hachiken dreams of life separated from his family, so he takes the initiative by enrolling in an agriculture school. He thinks, with his talent in studying, no problems will arise no matter what kind of school he attends. He is proven wrong very quickly. Raised as a city boy, he is forced to uncover the inconvenient truth about agricultural life.
Published from 2011-ongoing.

Genres:  comedy, school, slice of life, shounen

Notes/Review:
I liked Silver Spoon a lot! But I’m also abnormally obsessed with agriculture. (I’ve never farmed before, but I like to know where food comes from and I tend to watch a lot of food documentaries haha.) I loved how much detail there was about all kinds of farming: cheese, milk, potatoes, etc. There’s also a lot about horses and racing. Overall, it’s a very charming slice of life, wherein I got to see the joy and struggle of farming.

Side Note: I’ve recently started reading manga at the beginning of this summer, but hadn’t made posts for them yet; the posts on Yowamushi Pedal until Angel Densetsu (plus Watamote which I posted earlier because I also watched the anime) are the ones that I’ve completed since.

Colorful

Colorful (127 min.)

Rating: 5/5

Description:
“I” died and was kicked out of the cycle of reincarnation because of the sin “I” committed. An angel told me that “I” won a lottery and he gave me a chance to remember the sin. My spirit possessed the body of the 14-year-old boy Makoto, who committed suicide and “I” tried to recollect my memory. “I” felt distressed by the terrible circumstances of Makoto and the fact that “I” was borrowing his body. “I” have started to realize that people are hurting each other because the world is too colorful to distinguish the true color of themselves from others.
Aired in 2010.

Genres: fantasy, drama, slice of life

Notes/Review:
As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m trying to watch more anime films. This movie has been on my list for months, but I always ignored it because the description didn’t sound like something that I’d enjoy watching. But this is a wonderful movie. It has a rather slow pace, which made me feel like I really got a chance to understand the main character more. It’s predictable at times, but the message is beautiful.

Summer Wars

Summer Wars (114 min.)

Rating: 5/5

Description:
A student tries to fix a problem he accidentally caused in OZ, a digital world, while pretending to be the fiancé of his friend at her grandmother’s 90th birthday.
Aired in 2009.

Genres: science fiction, comedy, drama

Notes/Review:
Lately I’ve been wanting to see/discover more anime films, which I tend to forget about when searching for anime, since I focus so much on series. Of course, I’ve seen many Studio Ghibli/Miyazaki films many times, which I won’t be making separate posts for: Kiki’s Delivery Service, Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Castle in the Sky, Whisper of the Heart, The Cat Returns, Ponyo, Arrietty, The Wind Rises (Ponyo is the only film that I didn’t like).
I thought that Summer Wars was a charming film. I didn’t look up the description before watching it, so I was a bit bored/skeptical in the beginning. However, my feelings changed with a change of setting for the main part of the film, with OZ still playing a large role. It’s an interesting view of what technology might become in the near-future.

Samurai Champloo

Samurai Champloo (26 episodes)

Rating: 5/5

Description:
Mugen is a ferocious, animalistic warrior with a fighting style inspired by break-dancing. Jin is a ronin samurai who wanders the countryside alone. They may not be friends, but their paths continually cross. And when waitress Fuu gets them out of hot water with the local magistrate, they agree to join her search for the samurai who smells like sunflowers.
Aired from 2004 to 2005.

Genres: comedy, adventure, action, samurai, shounen

Notes/Review:
I really like the setting of this anime; it takes place in the Edo period but mixes in modern elements. I haven’t seen many samurai anime, and I’m inspired to seek some more.
Usually, I find at least one of the characters somewhat annoying. It took a bit for me to warm up to the three main characters, but after a couple of episodes, I actually enjoyed how their different personalities enhanced their antics. By the end, I sympathized with all of them, especially during the major fight scenes.
The true focus of the show is their crazy journey. This truly is an “adventure,” meaning that there are random events pushing the anime forward in each episode as they search for the sunflower samurai. Character development is slow, but eventually their histories are revealed.
Also, it has the most entertaining recap episode that I’ve seen so far. I watched it from start to finish, but I usually jump through it or skip it entirely.
Overall, it has what I’ve been looking for in anime lately: great comedy, under-emphasized (or non-existent) romance, and no school setting.

Perfect Blue

Perfect Blue (81 minutes)

Rating: 5/5

Description:
Mima Kirigoe, a member of a pop-idol group called “CHAM!”, decides to quit singing to pursue a career as an actress. Some of her fans are displeased with this decision though, particularly a stalker named Me-Mania. As Mima progresses into her new career, those close to her are violently murdered one by one, and Mima begins to lose the ability to distinguish reality from fantasy.
Aired in 1998.

Genres: drama, thriller, psychological

Notes/Review:
I love films and series like this! It was a bit slow in the beginning (mainly due to exposition), but definitely picked up the pace once the murders began. The way that the plot unfolded made me question each event until the very end, making it difficult for me to figure out who the murderer was. Maybe I’m just oblivious, but I didn’t figure it out until it was revealed!
The film has some mild nudity; I thought that these scenes enhanced Mima’s struggle to be taken seriously as an actress, as well as her fans’ disappointment in her career change.

50% Off

50% Off (11 episodes, ongoing)
Episode duration ranges from 2-5 minutes

Rating: 5/5

Description:
50% of is an abridged parody of FREE! Iwatobi Swim Club (which I haven’t seen, but it is mostly about swimming) by Octopimp and the series is available on their YouTube channel.
Airing from 2013-present.

Genres: comedy

Notes/Review:
From what I’ve heard, Free is basically a fan service show for girls. I never considered watching it before (sounds very boring), but I might give it a shot in order to understand the humor in the parody a bit more and I may also end up finding some unintentional humor in it.
I marathoned this after Trigun because I felt like watching pure comedy and this delivers! In the actual show, Nagisa is a shota type of character (the female equivalent is loli), which means that he’s childlike (shota and loli can have other connotations but that’s the basic idea). In the parody, he’s a thug and often the highlight of the show. There are a lot of gay jokes so beware of that. Just about every character in the parody has a crush on someone and most of the characters in the show are male.
I almost never watch dubbed anime but this parody is English dubbed and the voice acting is very well-done.

Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo

Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo (24 episodes)

Rating: 5/5

Description:
(Loosely based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas.)
Albert’s boredom with his privileged life leads him to encounter the Count of Monte Cristo. Albert invites the odd nobleman into the upper echelons of society, but as he charms Albert’s family and friends, he also plots to destroy their lives.
Aired from 2004-2005

Genres: science fiction, drama, mystery, seinen

Notes/Review:
I saw this a couple months ago and forgot to make a post for it (usually it takes me a while to get around to these but not this long haha).
I absolutely loved this! The Count of Monte Cristo is my favorite classic novel so far. I also love science fiction and found that the two meshed together quite well. I’m not picky about drawing style, but I did find that the one in this anime is noteworthy. Hair and clothes are very textured and patterned (see photo above), which really just seems to be distracting, but the unnecessary and extravagant attention to detail enhances the sophistication of the characters.

Psycho-Pass

1. Psycho-Pass (22 episodes)
2. Psycho-Pass 2 (11 episodes)

Rating: 5/5

Description:
In the future, even just thinking about a crime is enough to make you guilty – and justice is dispensed from the barrel of a gun. Detectives work in teams made up of Enforcers and Inspectors. Enforcers take out the bad guys, and Inspectors make sure their partners don’t cross the fine line between good and evil. The great equalizer in the war against thugs is the Dominator, a futuristic weapon that can read minds and assess the probability that a citizen will turn criminal. There are no trials. Only Enforcers, Inspectors, and the Dominator. Commit a crime in your mind – and the Dominator will make sure you pay the ultimate price.
Airing from 2012 – present.

Genres: science fiction, action, police, mystery, shounen

Notes/Review:
I really like futuristic, dystopian settings so naturally this one pleased me. It raises questions about justice systems, how criminals are defined and treated, and what role authority plays in people’s lives.
Season 2 Update: Season 2 didn’t quite measure up to the first, but I still enjoyed it. The ending was a bit anticlimactic for me. There was so much focus on certain characters that others were left in the shadows, which is fine, I suppose, for the old characters, but I wish that there was more character development for the new recruits, especially Hinakawa. But overall, what I initially enjoyed the most about season one is how thought-provoking it is, and season two delves further into the ways of the justice system.

Baccano!

Baccano! (16 episodes)

Rating: 5/5

Description:
During the early 1930s in Chicago, the transcontinental train, Flying Pussyfoot, is starting its legendary journey that will leave a trail of blood all over the country. At the same time in New York, the ambitious scientist Szilard and his unwilling aide Ennis, are looking for missing bottles of the immortality elixir. In addition, a war between the mafia groups is getting worse.
Aired in 2007.

Genres: fantasy, action, comedy, historical, seinen

Notes/Review:
Baccano and Durarara were both created by Ryohgo Narita, so the storytelling style is similar in both. Baccano is the better one of the two (according to my friends, me and perhaps others); my friends recommended that if you want to watch them both, you should watch Durarara first and then Baccano, and I pass on that suggestion. The characters have more interesting personalities in Baccano. This one is more gory (so not for the faint of heart). Also pay close attention to the dates! The story jumps all over the place and keeping track of which plot line is happening when will make it less confusing. The only problem that I have with this show is that the last three episodes are quite random and add to the overall plot only a little.