It's been ages since I've blogged. As a mid-year welcome back post, I'll keep everyone up to date on my anime watching progress. No matter how busy work can get, there's always a bit of time to squeeze in some anime. Not to mention Netflix has debuted the Rilakkuma and Kaoru series on April 19th which I have yet to see. For all you Rilakkuma fans, enjoy our favorite lazy bear in 12 ten minute episodes.
For this spring, I saw some promising titles. Some on this list were already on my anticipated list so here it goes.
1. Dororo
Episodes watched: 14/24
Created by Osamu Tezuka, the grandfather of Japanese manga, Dororo is a manga from 50 years ago. It was one of the most talked about adaptations many people were waiting for and highly suggested. Dororo centers around Hyakkimaru, a ronin, and Dororo, an orphaned thief in the Sengoku period of Japan. Hyakkimaru was born cursed without limbs or a face as a result of his father, Daigo Kagemitsu, the lord of Kaga province creating a pact with the demons for prosperity. In exchange for peace, the demons are allowed to run rampant. Hyakkimaru was set in the river by the request of his mother to avoid being killed by his father and was found and raised by Jukai. He would then grow up to harbor hatred towards his family and vowing to kill every demon that took his body parts thus earning him his name Hyakkimaru meaning "A Hundred Demons." On his way of defeating each demon, he meets Dororo who joins him on his journey.
As of what I watched, it appears we are finally touching upon the significance of Dororo's story as the anime is named after him, not Hyakkimaru. The first few episodes go with the villain-of-the-week strategy to build the Hyakkimaru. He is very expressionless due to the fact he has grown up without limbs made of flesh and the five senses. In a sense he's wild relying only on survival instinct to protect himself. As he gains his senses and Dororo as a companion, he's slowly gaining new emotions instead of hatred.
2. Mob Psycho 100 Season 2
Episodes watched: 13/13
A continuation from season 1, Mob Psycho 100 focuses more on Mob growing as person with psychic abilities and how he views them as part of his identity. Being the gentle soul he is, he is susceptible to bullying and targeting from the series' many antagonists. While it is also a humorous anime, it does have a fair share of drama like the episode where Mob is unsure of his identity and his place in society as someone with psychic abilities. Characters that appeared in season 1 don't have much screen time in season 2 unless it is Reigen or Dimple. I was hoping for more Teruki, but I guess not. Characters that appeared briefly in season 1 have more spotlight due to their importance in season 2.
3. Kimetsu no Yaiba
Episodes watched: 2/26
From the trailer and synopsis, it reminded me of Ao no Exorcist in some aspects, but deviates in the mythology. Tanjiro comes home to see his family killed and realizes it's a human eating demon. Out of all the family members, he sees that his sister, Nezuko, is the one with a slim chance of survival so he carries her down the mountain. The catch is that she wakes up as a demon which Tanjiro deduces is that she was infected by demon blood triggering a transformation. While he is aware Nezuko is a demon hungry for human flesh, he is unable to kill her due to seeing her as his only family left. However even as Nezuko is now transformed, she still retains emotions like a human being. Thus Tanjiro decides that he will train to become stronger in order to kill demons and turn his sister back to normal.
There is some CGI and 3d modeling used, but it doesn't bother me as much as Souten no Ken: Regenesis did. The art style is pretty unique. I don't remember who else did it, but it reminded me of another manga artists that drew like that. Episode 2 was a bit of a drag since they compressed a whole year of training in 20 minutes. I'm looking forward to meeting new characters and we'll see where this series will take us.
4. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Vento Aureo
Episodes watched: 27/39
Part 5 of the JoJo franchise. Giorno Giovanna is a thug of sorts with the dream of being a "Gang-Star". Listen here, not a gangster, but a "gang-star". He has a the Stand, Golden Experience, that has the ability to create life from objects which makes his life as a small time thief much easier. This changes when he meets Bucciaratti, another Stand user who happens to be part of a powerful gang named Passione. They see that they share similar ideals mainly on the harm that the distribution of drugs has done and decide to overthrow the boss of the organization.
Knowing Araki, all weird things are bound to happen and they are all related. While there are always different villains pursuing Giorno and his team, he way Araki portrays fights is always interesting. It is always something innovative and witty, not violence upon violence though JoJo is not short on violence.
5. Mayonaka no Occult Kokumin
Episodes watched: 2/12
I came prepared knowing Mayonaka no Occult Kokumin is not some deep series. That it was most likely one of those series where they hired seiyuu to voice a bishonen cast. Well ... it doesn't take a genius to figure it out. you can off the bat that this is a light series meant for ... light watching. Arata applies for a civil servant job that takes place at night. He thinks it's an ordinary job, until he sees that he will be dealing with supernatural entities in Tokyo and keeping the peace at night. However, one night things get a little out of hand and it is discovered that not only does Arata possess the ability to understand non-human speech, he is also related to the legendary Abe no Seimei.
6. Fairy Gone
Episodes watched: 2/24
The series has huge resemblance to JoJo. Humans wielding Fairies? Sounds like a Stand user. In this Europe-like setting, there are remnants of Fairy soldiers, humans with Fairy transplants, trying to reintegrate back into society after the war has ended. Some resort to crime and an organization by the name of Dorothea investigates Fairy-related crimes. Marlya joins Dorothea as a new recruit when she gains a Fairy ability through sudden possession instead of transplant like former Fairy soldier, Free. Both have their motives of tracking down someone they know and the story starts from there.
I can't help yelling out "Look it's a Stand!" every time they summon their Fairy. It's too similar to the many familiar summoning stories out there. Everyone wants a supernatural sidekick. That aside, there is some intrigue into the story that I like.
7. One Punch Man S2
Episodes watched: 1/?
If you know One Punch Man from before, you know it's a parody of the shonen genre. No need to explain further than that. I'm here for Saitama's jokes.
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