Journal of an Anime Newcomer
By: RogueSymbiote
The Road So Far
If you've read any of my other articles, you'll know that I'm fairly new to anime. I grew up on Dragon Ball Z and caught some episodes of other shows on Toonami back in the day. It wasn't until earlier this year that I was offered the opportunity to write for Mithical Entertainment and expand my exposure to anime. So far I've been able to watch some fantastic shows... and some not so great. I feel like there are numerous commonalities throughout anime. I'll be going over my experience with anime up to this point and hope to hear from you about what shows I should watch next.As mentioned before, Dragon Ball Z was my main exposure to anime when I was younger. Other shows I would catch an episode every so often include Zoids, Ronin Warriors (Samurai Troopers), Yu Yu Hakusho and Sailor Moon. Tuxedo Mask was a beast, you know you liked this show too, don't even lie. With my limited experience with anime in general, I've decided to jump in head first.
The Misses
Luck & Logic was the first complete series I was given to review for the Mythical Entertainment. Even though it's not considered a popular series, it did have a lot going for it. It was visually impressive and did attempt to be more emotionally driven than other shows. The overly sexualized relationships between characters however felt unnecessary most of the time. I also realized that many of the shows I have watched so far focus on younger people who are normally attending school. This makes sense because education is so heavily influential in Japanese culture.
Next up was Divine Gate... oh boy... this series has so many things wrong with it I don't know where to begin. Divine Gate showed me just how quickly a series can implode on itself. So many characters are underdeveloped to the point where they are half-hazardly written out for no apparent reason. At times the animation seemed rushed and the finale was lackluster.Garo: Crimson Moon was the next series in my pile to review. The action and concept were very impressive. I loved Ronin Warriors so any show with mythical armor peaks my interest. The show however lacked a sense of finality. They defeat the main villain, but lack an epilogue to bring it all together. The best episode in that series is the final one that serves as a prequel. So much time and effort was put into the backstory, but was never fully realized on screen.
The Hits
One Punch Man was an absolute blast from start to finish. I love its over the top nature. It isn't afraid to put anime stereotypes on blast which is very meta. I tend to watch the dubbed version of shows, but I couldn't wait to finish the series. The humor, action and artistic style make One Punch Man a new classic.
Death Note is such a unique series. Light is just another young man going to school with ambitions of saving the world. He soon becomes corrupted by a newfound power and we witness his downward spiral into oblivion. This cat and mouse series keeps you on your toes while being conflicted in who to root for. Death Note is the embodiment of the old proverb, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Outlaw Star is space anime at its best. I could not get enough of this show while I binged it over 2 days. Much like One Punch Man, the humor is on point and the grappler ship action sequences blew me away. It also succeeds in developing fully flushed out female protagonists that display talents and abilities far superior than the main character. I found myself in awe multiple times at the feats these heroines were able to accomplish.This all leads to the show I am currently watching while I write this article. Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood is an absolute masterpiece in my opinion. The series is a political thriller filled with magic, weaponry, emotion and redemption. There are so many plot twists while remaining clear and direct. The cast is absolutely massive, but they were introduced in such a way that I understand all of their motivations and backstories. This series draws you in and never lets you go. If other shows are half as good as this one, I can't wait to continue down this anime rabbit hole.
Help Me Out!
I would love to hear from you about your opinions on the shows I have mentioned. There is so much anime to choose from, I would appreciate some suggestions on what I should watch next. What do you think of my breakdown of these shows? Was I too harsh on some and too lenient on others? Let me know down in the comments!
