Rate the last Anime/Manga you finished out of 10

[Captain Cadaver]

Vinland Saga (Anime) - 8/10

The best anime of 2019 by far, and one of the best anime to appear in years. It does a great job at portraying the many aspects of Ancient Norse/"Viking" lifestyle as well as having one of the most substantive and balanced introspections of Christianity in modern media. Its biggest strength is in its character writing, with those such as Canute having excellent development and Askeladd being one of the most complex and layered characters in the medium of anime in general. It also gets extra points as an adaption for how it handled telling the story chronologically rather than relying on flashbacks like the manga.
It's not without some minor flaws. Thorfinn's character arc is fairly unfulfilling, though this is excusable as even if you haven't read the manga, the anime makes it clear with its finale that this is just the prologue. Thorfinn being so accomplished at a young age is an understandable gripe many may have, though it isn't something without real-life accounts of very young and exceptional warriors in history to validate it. Beyond that, the only problems lie in terms of historical accuracy in relation to things such as attire or Sweyn's fate, though the description of the series as a Saga (ie. a romanticised epic account) somewhat excuses this.

Hope it gets a 2nd season next year. Farmland could really benefit from an anime adaption improving the pacing.

 

[SSJ2]

[mention]Captain Cadaver[/mention] how did you finish it if it isn't done airing???

 

[Captain Cadaver]

It finished airing about an hour ago.

 

[SSJ2]

So you live in Japan now?? You’ve been exposed pal. I can’t trust a single word you say from now on.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

It's streamed at the same time worldwide.

Nah. I got nothing against that bulletproof argument. I'm #FakeNews.

 

[SSJ2]

Tfw you make CC concede

Spoiler

 

[Kyo]

Vinland Saga (Anime) - 2/10

The worst anime of 2019 by far, and one of the worst anime to appear in years. It does a terrible job at portraying the many aspects of Ancient Norse/"Viking" lifestyle as well as having one of the most incoherent and nonsensical introspections of Christianity in modern media. Its biggest weakness is in its character writing, with those such as Canute having nonexistent development and Askeladd being one of the most inconsistent and one-dimensional characters in the medium of anime in general. It also gets extra points deducted as an adaption for how it butchered telling the story chronologically rather than relying on flashbacks like the manga.
It's not without some minor saving graces. Thorfinn's character arc is fairly unfulfilling, but this is okay as even if you haven't read the manga, the anime makes it clear with its finale that this is just the prologue. Thorfinn being so accomplished at a young age is an understandable gripe many may have, though it isn't something without real-life accounts of very young and exceptional warriors in history to validate it. Beyond that, some may question the historical accuracy in relation to things such as attire or Sweyn's fate, though the description of the series as a Saga (ie. a romanticised epic account) somewhat excuses this, so it’s fine.

Hope it gets a 2nd season next year. Farmland could really benefit from being subject to a flamethrower and then having its ashes tossed into a joint.

 

[SSJ2]

[mention]Kyo[/mention] you must have a lot of time on your hands. Maybe you should try being productive and get a job.

 

[Kyo]

Imagine not taking paid time off work for holidays

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Chirin no Suzu - 7/10

Despite being a very typically cartoonish-looking short film intended for children, it manages to be a dark tale exploring such themes as the classical "he who fights monsters" philosophy along with ideas about the pros and cons of independence/non-conformity from society. Along with some well done narrative parallels and not chickening out with a forced happy ending, this is a film that both respects its target audience's intelligence and has enough content to draw in an older audience, which is more than can be said of most films for any demographic today.
Chirin's durability was a bit questionable, though in a cartoon world where all animals can understand each other and a wolf is pretty much treat as some superpowered creature, I can suspend my disbelief just enough to accept Chirin surviving all those falls. There are some scenes where the narration was unnecessary, though it never becomes as abundant in its lack of necessity as some of the Hunter X Hunter narration moments. It would've been nice to have a few extra scenes for character growth rather than having timeskips and exposition to excuse it, though we're at least given enough material to make inferences to changes in character motivation that make good use of the visual medium.

Proof once again that Disney are creatively bankrupt hacks and looking elsewhere is where you'll find solid movies that can appeal to all ages.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Dragon Ball (Anime) - 7/10

For more details on it, view this thread where I have placed my thoughts on each episode after rewatching the series yet again: http://www.dbzeta.net/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=17236

To sum it up, the original DB anime does a good job at being a simplistic action/adventure with comedic elements with endearing characters that has stood the test of time compared to some that came before it and many that came after it, with a good use of character chemistry, coming of age elements, varied adventures and well done martial arts philosophies that are sorely missed in modern iterations of the franchise. Most of the anime filler manages to improve on these elements and enhance the work and whilst some additions would damage it, those are at least few and far between.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Dragon Ball Z Special: A Solitary, Final Battle ~ The Z-Warrior Son Goku's Father Challenges Freeza ~ - 7.5/10

A detailed analysis of it here: http://www.dbzeta.net/viewtopic.php?f=6&p=411836#p411836
Tl;dr, the Bardock Special does an excellent job being a story of far different tone from other Dragon Ball stories, as well as doing a masterful job managing the struggles that naturally come with a prequel and executing what would seem like a bad premise in a manner that is anything but bad. There are still some aspects towards its epilogue that could've been done better and some management of time that could've been better utilised (trimming the vision scenes somewhat and using it to flesh out Bardock's group more, for instance) and it isn't exactly essential to the wider story, though these flaws are far outweighed by the positives and its irrelevancy fits with Bardock's character arc; not to mention providing some interesting details towards things such as Vegeta's character and ties in very well to the main themes of the Freeza Arc.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Dragon Ball Z Special: Defiance In The Face Of Despair! The Remaining Super Warriors Gohan and Trunks - 7/10

More detailed breakdown here: http://www.dbzeta.net/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=17357&p=413959#p413959
Overall, a Special that helps explore the differences in character created through the far darker experiences of the future timeline, coupled with some interesting choices in scenery and has some extra points in being far superior to its manga counterpart Trunks The Story.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (TV) - 6.5/10

Part 1: Phantom Blood

Despite often being called the most generic part of JoJo, Phantom Blood does have its merits. The duality in Jonathan and Dio's bond is presented very well with each aspect of their design and character clashing with each other and it has a strong ending that was somewhat unconventional for a lot of Shonen. Still, it is a story that does a lot of aspects fine but not outstanding and doesn't really stray away from the formula or stand out fully aside from Dio being a good villain, its biggest flaws being how melodramatic and unrealistic the portrayals of death can be and how heavily it copies many aspects of Hokuto no Ken. The anime also adds a small plot hole of how Dio found out about Hamon by omitting the Wang Chun fight. There is also a heavy amount of characters delivering exposition on their feelings rather than showing characterisation through their actions, though it's somewhat acceptable here with how the story has a Shakespearean tone when it comes to its core character dynamic of JoJo and Dio. Despite that though, it is acceptable as the start to a very long saga that lays a lot of groundwork for later events. 5.5/10

Part 2: Battle Tendency

Part 2 improves almost every aspect of Part 1; a more interesting and unconventional protagonist, a support cast with more personality and presence, more strategy and creativity to each fight and more realism in the depiction of death. Alongside that, it functions as a good adventure story with the varied locations the journey takes Joseph on and the wild scenarios that have a unique 80s flair to them. It didn't improve every aspect, however. A lot of exposition and narration is used throughout without it fitting with the tone of this part's storytelling and the ties between Joseph and the Pillar Men as both narrative opposites and a general bond between characters has nowhere near the investment that Jonathan and Dio's conflict did. That's not to say the conflict between Joseph and Wamuu/Kars was weak or lacked any duality, but it was the weakest of the main protagonist/antagonist dualities within the series. Moreover, the strategies within the story can often seem more like asspulls without much planning, the only real exceptions being Joseph VS Esidisi, Caesar VS Wamuu and Joseph VS Wamuu. Still, it has some good character writing with Joseph's arc and Kars' characterisation, as well as a good support cast and many of the scenes being enhanced by the anime's ost. 6.5/10

 

[ahill1]

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

8/10

A good full-lenght animation tha promotes pretty good and true reflections that permeates the modern life. I think it maybe could lean a little more on the negativity of a simple and poor life, showing with how true happiness can't be achieved, but still pretty good for the length of the animated movie.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Dragon Ball Z - 5.5/10

For the detailed breakdown, there's this whole thread: http://www.dbzeta.net/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=17357

Overall, DBZ is more of a mixed bag than the original Dragon Ball, caught between some good character arcs, creativity in scenarios and good ideas, yet is limited by power creep, some notable plot holes, decreasing character relevancy and the anime damaging the pacing for several areas (most notably Goku VS Freeza and some parts of the Boo Arc). In a way, it can be judged as a baseline for Battle Shonen in embodying some of the sub-genre's biggest strengths and weaknesses, though has been validated somewhat by even its worse parts not reaching quite the level of the low points of many of the Shonen to come after it.

 

[Papasmurf]

Blade of the Immortal (ONA) - 5.5/10

While this anime adapts the manga more closely than the previous version (which I couldn't stomach for more than 2 episodes), the fact that they only took 24 full episodes to adapt the 30-volume manga speaks volumes to its rushing. The final episode encapsulates the cutting of content quite well. While this anime follows the manga's events more closely than other rushed anime such as FMA Brotherhood's first 12 episodes or the first half of Inuyasha Final Act, it's as if they went to every step to ensure they could meet the 24-episode limit they set on adapting Samura's work; they entirely removed the dialogue for both the final fights between Habaki and Anotsu and even the final fight between Anotsu and Manji! Even if the cutting of dialogue and focusing more on BGM and visual presentation can add to the drama of the situation (particularly in final episodes), in this case it was overly obvious they only did it so they could squeeze in the events of the final volume into one episode.

Overall, a disappointing adaptation that could have just gone on for twice its length and might have adapted the manga more faithfully. It's still okay as a way to retread on the manga's events without having to sit through over a hundred monthly chapters, but there's nothing really to gain from it if you're a new fan to the series because of the plain rushing.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

JoJo's Bizarre Adventures: Stardust Crusaders (Anime) - 6.5/10

Upon rewatching it again, there are some good, subtle details in characterisation that make the chemistry amongst the main cast very good and better than that in previous parts. The structure of the plot is very loose and formulaic due to the "villain of the week" structure, though it's somewhat excused here as the journey holding more importance than the destination is an important part of Part 3 and each encounter feels unique in its own right with how most of the Stand abilities clash with each other. Most of the common "Araki forgot" moments of the part are easily explainable, though some moments still come off as a tad contrived (eg. the Avdol twist) and the anime adds its own problems such as the framing of Jotaro and DIO's elevation into the air.

 

[ahill1]

Howl's Moving Castle

7/10

It's a nice animated full-length film that shows very nicely through metaphors the issues and problems faced when beginning a new relationship and like Miyazaki's movies, stands out in this department.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

[mention]ahill1[/mention] Reminder that anime films go in the anime/manga rate thread.