Tuned in to Retro Anime / Manga!

>>3223
Thanks anon,i know i may sound like a retard but the last time i watched anime, i would just go to animetake and it pretty much had everything.

>>3170
>City Hunter 3's OP has her doing shit I'd LOVE to see her do in the show
Yeah, that great intro really set up something that never happened. Kind of odd how different it is from the other intros, with its narrative.

Although I don't agree that Kaori should've been using her hammer in actual fights. It belongs to the comedic sections of City Hunter, which are sharply, and loveably, divided from the serious ones. I think I can vaguely remember her trying to use it once and immediately gets dommed by a criminal, as a kind of meta joke about the hammer not actually being real. It also fits in with the hyper-masculinised men and hyper-feminised women of the 80s aesthetic. Kaori is the frail, innocent woman that needs to be saved by the strong, heroic man. In commercial American tv and film from the era this may have been vulgar and shallow, but it works in City Hunter.

>the less said about the amount of children/teens that fall for him the better. While those were some pretty funny jokes of desperately trying to not seem like a pedo, it felt like it happened WAYYYYY too often.
I think the same reason City Hunter could happily include gay people and transvestites was the same reason it could show Ryo lusting after teenage girls. It is completely without an agenda and is simply motivated by Hojo's objectivity and desire to create an entertaining world. Sometimes he uses the ridiculously masculine traits of transvestites for comic relief, another times he uses the passableness of a transvestite for comedic relief. I didn't see anything wrong with the many teen romance subplots; it is typical of Japanese culture and Ryo always ends up running away from them anyway.

>>3377
Yeah that's fair about Kaori. I was just trying to spitball some ideas here to make her more than what she is. She's a terrible shot with a gun from what I recall and the few times she does try and do things by herself other people have to help her and it's a real shame she can't have some moments to shine. Even a bit of luck could take her a long way with a few clients and that's pretty much all I wanted for her where she can handle herself but obviously gets overwhelmed and requires Ryo's help in the end especially near the end of the series.

As for the lolicon angle, I actually quite enjoyed those jokes. They were always pretty funny since everyone can understand *not* wanting to seem like a pedo and it's made even worse by the fact it's always the kids/teens initiating it and Ryo desperately trying to remedy the situation.

I also did find the use of gay and trans people to be surprising as well. Ryo frequents gay bars, dresses as a woman in a few episodes and jokingly convinces other people Kaori is a man much to her displeasure. It feels both progressive and mocking but I honestly liked that aspect of it. You never really knew what kind of angle each episode would take and it was always pretty funny.

I just finished watching the fourth series. City Hunter '91. I think it took a while to grow on me because my expectations were that Ryo would be a badass with a goofy side rather than a goofball with a badass side. I think the first series drags a bit compared to the follow up three, which I much preferred. Although it's episodic, they do show other sides to Ryo's character as it goes along and some of his backstory is fleshed out which is good. Kaori also takes quite a while to realise she's in love with him. There's also some soft continuity with occasional episode material and characters reoccurring.

The basic gag of Ryo reacting to mokkori babes and then getting the hammer never got old for me. I like the style of how women are drawn in this show. It's a bit odd that Kaori is mistaken for a boy in some episodes and then characters will call her pretty in others. Tomboyish sure, but she always comes across as cute and obviously a girl to me, and her seething over Ryo never gets annoying because her voice actress is very endearing (Kazue Ikura). I guess the "looks like a boy" thing is a bit of comedic exaggeration at her expense.

Ryo being played by Akira Kamiya is also interesting because for a character who looks so much like Kenshiro from Hokuto no Ken, it's fun for him to have the same voice actor yet give such a drastically different performance as befits such a drastically different personality. It shows his talent.

My one real complaint about this show is similar to my one real complaint about the Space Adventure Cobra TV show; it's that although there are characters who are near equals and times when he seems seriously in danger, there isn't really anyone who gives enough doubt about whether Ryo will prevail. No one ever really gets hyped up even when there's a two parter either. I get that it's not that sort of show, because it's episodic and more light hearted, but the moments when it gets serious are very good precisely because of the contrast. I liked the face off with Robert Harrison, and the one with Umibozu in the cemetary. I really feel like the show could have used a consistent rival, in a soft continuity way. Umibozu occasionally dips into that role but overall he's on too good terms with Ryo and Kaori. A character like Kenshiro from Hokuto no Ken may be overpowered on paper, but because it was serialized, his villains got to have some build up and although he usually dispatched them easily, the few times he Post too long. Click here to view the full text.

>>4212
That's an interesting take, I always liked the laid back nature of it and how every new case was someone new for Ryo to go up against.

They do somewhat play with the idea of there being people better than Ryo in the show, Umibozu is his obvious equal and I vaguely remember that american but you are right in there being no real antagonist in the earlier parts (they do reveal one later on that's implied to have a connection to Ryo and Kaori iirc) but beyond that there's nothing.

Personally, I never minded because most episodes were entertaining enough. They do a good job of making plot points that have weak characters thrown into the mix that makes Ryo's job harder by them existing. Like I always have a soft spot for that two parter with the girl in the wheelchair since it's both sweet and also a VERY difficult person to try and protect but Ryo does it flawlessly (it also has a hilarious ending).

As for the movies, they're alright. None of them ever reach the heights of City Hunter 2 imo.

>I guess the "looks like a boy" thing is a bit of comedic exaggeration at her expense.
I still laugh at the amount of times Ryo just annoys her by telling everyone around them she's a guy and then her finding out and getting mad. It's so hilariously childish.

>>4219

Endless waltz was never in theaters so how is it returning?

I haven't seen any old anime in theaters but I did get to see a whole bunch of old Hong Kong films when they came to the IFC here in new york last year. I think they're bringing back Hard Boiled again this year too, very much worth seeing on the big screen

I am due for End of Evangelion for the 3rd consecutive year
which may sound like a lot, but I also celebrate easter every year and I definitely like eva more than I like easter

one of my biggest regrets is not seeing the recent end of eva re-release (early 2024?) because my ex was working at the theater at the time

>>4102

Is doremi a /cel/ anime or a /digi/ one, i dont actually know.

>>4105
would be /cel/ since it started airing in 1999 and it was originally done on cels

I need to rewatch the first series.
>>4108
I don't think any Doremi stuff was cels. Toei was already doing digital stuff in 1999 and there's quite a lot of sloppy digital animation errors in the first season you can see if you're paying attention.

>>4112
>I don't think any Doremi stuff was cels
all 4 seasons were cel

Forehead

I've never understood the target demographic for these. Film novelizations make sense because there are a good number of people who only read novels and hate cinema, but even those of us who prefer manga to anime would rather see the film than read a bunch of screenshots.

At first I thought that was an illustration book until I noticed the text bubbles. I really can't imagine buying one of these…

>>4149
These are called コミックス・アニメ版 (anime version comics) and seem to be largely targeted towards young children. Tokyopop brought the style over to the west in the mid 2000s and called it "Cine-Manga" but it never really caught on.

>>4159

Oh, I remember seeing some Pokemon-based ones in Nintendo Power! Great way of catching up on something if you didn't see the episode on TV and didn't have a VCR.

>>448
Well, Flash 3 was fun. I say that for all of Dirty Pair but I really did just find myself chuckling or smiling at whatever stupid plot the girls have found themselves in this episode. Didn't really care for the OP and ED this time around, really liked 1 and 2's though.

Alright, the first episode was surprisingly good. I like concepts like this and this episode was surprisingly good at keeping everything suspenseful. Once again though, here's a very KEI CENTERED EPISODE which again reinforces her as the main character in my eyes. Did find it funny seeing her change a diaper then get embarrassed over the lil baby penis (pure tbh) and ending it with having to "breastfeed" the baby to avoid capture which is both dumb and somewhat smart for a person in her extreme situation. That second episode though....what an interesting one, Monica was a CCS reference, right? The entire episode was stupid but I didn't really hate it or anything, just laughed at how odd it was. The dub (which I decided to do for this episode) also made the insults a lot more funny too. That third episode was a lot of fun too, always enjoy sports anime and having a generic "HARD WORK AND GUTS" coach is quite fun, I do wish we saw some actual Volleyball instead of the training part, that episode also felt very "Flash" since I couldn't imagine the originals doing an episode like this. I liked the 4th episode as well, the kid was quite unique, can't think of another character that tried to copy a girl as a robot and love the robotic version when the real one was there the entire time, was quite humourous to see actually and I didn't expect Yuri to wear the original costume in this episode, what a nice surprise. Also, very nice to have a Yuri centered episode as well, feels like we're always with Kei. I wonder if the kid was meant to represent the fans in some way, felt like a message to them to not focus on a fake girl you've made pure in your head (Yuri) and instead go out and find a real girl. As for the final episode, it reminded me slightly of the last episode of Bubblegum Crisis which was nice, plus having a chief centered episode was nice. Always enjoy when there's some aspect like a child hostage the good guys need to deal with, although I do wish there was a bit more action.

Overall, I'd rate Flash as inferior Post too long. Click here to view the full text.

I actually get a few of the episodes of Flash 2 and 3 mixed up order wise but I did enjoy them both. The volley ball episode being a prominent stand out, for a few reasons, but there's some good ones in there. It's a bit of a shame we didn't get anymore because I feel like they were really starting to develop their stride as they went on. Maybe see a movie or something.

>>404
Kei!

>>432
Man, I really wish I was one of those 2 dudes.

>>404
Kei.
Also I really hope I'm not inadvertently samefrenging by forgetting I responded to this thread already a year or two ago.

>>4147
Cute

God. And gods.

But anime and manga, and other media, I have many waifus.

Most of my waifus were based off of me, because I'm destined to win Armageddon.

Armageddon actually started because I asked Satan to help me get with my waifu Johan Liebert.

Not kidding or lying.

>>4122
Turns out I was Johan all along.

>>475
Best girl woman.

>>479
Watched the entirely of this and I hard agree she was best girl overall, she was too good for ranma and had he reunited with her before meeting akane after returning to Japan, she would’ve 100% won

Bar none. Forever thankful for EVA for allowing her to exist.

>>3613
I just started watching this after finishing harlock, have watched the previous two Mazinger installments but I really do like this one, also saw the crossover movie where Great Mazinger gets stolen

>>3614
OH and additionally I’ve also started watching the original space battleship Yamato series, only twelve episodes in and it’s pretty amazing, especially for the time it came out

>>3617
Finished 1974 Yamato, that was probably one of the best space adventure saga’s I’ve seen in a long time. Very beautiful and awe astonishing storytelling for its time, I am somewhat skeptical on how it supposedly inspired George Lucas since pre production of Star Wars started around the same year but goddamn if the similarities are just that coincidental I’d be more surprised if nothing of it was used as a source of influence at all. Regardless I think this is my new favorite anime from the decade

>>3614
Finished grendizer, and with that I’ve seen the entirety of the Mazinger trilogy, actually I’ve seen most of the 70s dynamic pro shows now that I’m thinking about it, the only one’s I haven’t seen yet now is the getter robo shows, enma kun, and that one magical girl show where they got the design of Maria fleed from(including voice actress). Although that show isn’t my cup of tea.

Resurrecting this thread but yeah finished both classic getter installments about 2 months ago. G was a weaker show than the first but still pretty solid and I love its design. With that I’ve completed pretty much almost all of the famous dynamic pro shows, there’s still Enma-kun and arguably Meg-Chan even though that show isn’t exactly from either dynamic pro creator despite having the same staff as cutey honey and influenced production on Grendizer

>>2771
Yeah but Hajime no Ippo gets boring fast. Talking - fight scene - talking. Is pretty much the structure of that show. It feels like groundhog day except it never ends.

Considering Joe is THE boxing manga yea I would say he ripped it off or at least capitalized off its popularity. The other guy mentioned the different artstyles, but they don't mention the similarities. The muscle tone is clearly taken from Joe. It's like taking the Mcdonalds arch, turning it upside down, changing the color, and making a new burger chain. The details don't really matter, especially since Ippo is the crappier narrative, when it's obviously a ripoff, by that if it weren't for Joe it wouldn't exist.

I remember when George Murikawa drew a cover for Ring magazine and all the boxing degenerates were complaining about wapaneses.

All boxing fiction fixates on the underdog because it reflects the reality of the "sport" (really just legalized assault) and its what makes boxing appealing. You don't become a human punching bag if you don't have to. When was the last upper class rich kid from the suburbs to become a legit boxing champion? They are all poor kids, refugees, homeless people, ethnic minorities, proles from working families, and kids who were bullied at school. Now a lot of boxing fiction has this "pull yourself up by the bootstraps and be the self made man" theme which is bourgeois capitalist propaganda, as if individual effort can overcome hard societal obstacles.

Ashita no Joe subverts this theme because its heavily implied Joe dies in the end, slumping over in his corner so you can work your ass off, but you can never quite escape or it just kills you. So did boxing save Joe or did it kill him? If he's really dead, aren't we in someway complicit for cheering on a bloodsport where young men are beaten and severely injured? By comparison, Hajime no Ippo feels like a more sanitized depiction of the fight game with all the moral ambiguity stripped away.

Ippo references or cribs from Joe quite a lot, other than the stuff already mentioned. Like Takamura eating a tomato a day to diet like Rikiishi, one of the characters being essentially Joe with a kansai accent, the world champion being a pretty blatant expy of the world champ from Joe.

But if we're really to compare them generally then Joe just has much more substance. At the end of the day Ippo is for the most part a feel-good sports manga that tends to settle into a status quo and repeatedly reset to it for hundreds of chapters at a time, and most of it consists of throwing a kid with no personality in a boxing ring to win over and over again. Ashita no Joe is a study of a very complex character whose circumstances and psychology are constantly changing and evolving, gets into things like philosophy of life, and for as much as Joe finds meaning through picking up boxing it's much more upfront about him having to grapple with the destruction and even death that boxing can bring into people's lives. It's also a social commentary born from the social inequality that was lying underneath the perceived prosperity of Japan in the 1960s, where boxing doubles as a mirror against this (Joe feeling like he can get somewhere by embracing the rules of boxing whereas society remains unfair to Joe even if he conforms better to its rules and customs). Ippo is decidedly not this thoughtful.
Joe by the end has transformed from a brash juvenile delinquent to a quieter, more empathetic and more thoughtful man harboring a lot of guilt and alienation. Ippo's biggest problems are being upset about not winning a fight, and later quitting boxing and being worried about punch-drunk syndrome, both of which are things Joe did too, but with more nuanced context and a less one-note character, and without spending hundreds of chapters at a time teasing and blueballing the audience on the story going anywhere and endlessly repeating the same handful of scenes that never lead anywhere.

If we're looking at the art, just because Ippo's art has more detailed rendering doesn't inherently make it better. Chiba Tetsuya's art is clean, efficient, panels are well-blocked and composed, very readable. Ippo's action is notorious for how unreadable it becomes as the manga goes on; it's hard to believe but it was more than a decade ago that people started meming on the french fries flying around the ring all the time.
And if we're talking about the anime adaptations, bPost too long. Click here to view the full text.

>>4079
That episode with Sakura's grandfather really got me for some reason.

>>4080
Just watched that episode. When she was saying that his granddaughter must have been like her mother was really bittersweet. She's so pure and innocent.

Ancient memories of really liking Meiling have been awakened. Apparently a lot of people online really dislike her character, but I'm not sure how many of those people have only watched what I'm told is a very bad American version of the show and whether that has influenced their opinions.

>>4091
I didn't get the Meiling hate. Had a huge crush on her when I was a kid.

>>4092
Glad to hear it wasn't just me!