Journal of an Anime Newcomer Part 2
By: RogueSymbiote
In the past year I have been able to watch more anime than the rest of my life combined. It has been an absolute blast so far and I can't wait to continue discovering fantastic content that I wish the younger me had enjoyed long ago. If you haven't already, check out my first journal entry here to see where my journey began and then come back so you can check out my progress!
The Misses
Samurai Warriors shined during action sequences and use of military strategy, but thats about it. I'm not going to lie, I spent this entire series wishing it was Samurai Troopers (Ronin Warriors). The series centers around two brothers who find themselves on opposing sides during a struggle for power. The entire series leads to a final confrontation between the highly skilled brothers, but there is absolutely ZERO payoff. The series ends abruptly leaving the audience confused by the final actions of one of the brothers.I know many out there are going to disagree with me about this next miss, but hear me out. Seraph of the End is a miss because is has so much more potential then what was actualized. Click the link on the title and you'll see my full review where I actually gave the show a solid rating. From the multilayered functions of weapons, abilities and demons to the solid character development, this anime should have been so much better. The ideas were there, but was unable to expound on the core concepts that set this series apart. Oh and the finale... too many pointless twists that come out of nowhere.
The Hits
I've been fortunate enough to watch some fantastic content lately so lets jump in! How? How could I have forgotten to mention Attack on Titan in my first journal entry? That was one of the first series I started watching before I really dove into this Anime black hole. You all know this franchise. I don't need to say anything about it because you all already have your opinions. I will say that this was the series that made me realize how dark Anime could get... and then I found Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood... But we'll get to that in a bit. Slow at times, but the action and character development is bar none.Another major omission from my previous article was Sword Art Online. No Anime has made me so engaged and frustrated at the same time. The premise of being trapped in a virtual world and needing to become stronger in order to escape isn't anything new, but the way SAO presented it was fantastic. It really felt like they were inside a video game with real stakes. If you haven't finished the first season and don't want anything spoiled, skip ahead to the next paragraph... Final warning... Ok then... WHY did they cut the time in the game so short?!!! I could have watched that series forever if it stayed in that world! No, let's cut this amazing world short and jump to fairyland... I'm sure many of you like the next part of SAO, but for me the series ended at episode 14. There would have been no better way to end that franchise than to see Kirito wake up, with atrophied legs and stumble off to find Asuna. That was an unbelievably powerful scene that still stands as one of the greatest moments in any Anime I've seen so far. I love/hate this franchise... but mostly love.
Especially after having recently made my way into playing D&D, Grimgar was a fun discovery. Another group of young people find themselves in a land where they must level up and improve skills in order to survive. The series drops hints that the main characters' memories of the real world has been erased and they accept this new environment as reality. They don't directly address this plot point in season 1, but it's an exciting premise if they move forward with the franchise. The tropes come on strong in this series. One character goes on almost a 3 minute rant about another characters breasts... yet again another franchise that thought they needed to add boob jokes to entertain because they didn't realize how solid their content truly is.
The MEGA Hit
As the section heading might indicate, I kind of like this next Anime. I had mentioned in my previous article that I was currently watching Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood. I finished it. This show blew my MIND! There was not a single episode I did not enjoy. There were incredible abilities, vast character diversity, strong female characters, humor, thought provoking ideologies, incredibly emotional moments and of course the most depressingly messed up scene of all time. If you've seen the show you KNOW what I'm talking about. The music, the character designs, the voice acting... it was all flawless. This isn't just one of my favorite Anime of all time, this is one of my favorites shows I've ever seen period. And I've seen WAY too many shows... Curse you streaming services! If you haven't seen this series, do yourself a favor and just binge it. You'll thank me later.
Help Me Out!
So I have a few other shows to talk about next article, but I'm looking for some more suggestions. Let me know in the comments what I should check out next! I'm still working on the last list a reader left me, but I'll be done with that fairly soon. Let me know if you think I was too harsh on some titles or if I give some shows way too much credit. I'm eager to hear your thoughts!
