#Jeffu reads Ajin

[bainhardt]

I made it out to the bookstore in Concord this morning, and just like I expected, they had both of the series I wasn’t finding at B&N - Ajin and Mononoke Sharing, which I have been long overdue in picking up.

They also had this really pretty A Silent Voice collector’s box thing, but it comes with all the books... I already have those, I just want the box ;-;

[bainhardt]

[bainhardt]

Ajin volume 9 was fucking good and I could talk for hours about how much I love that series, it’s just endlessly blowing my mind

[bainhardt]

shitting on Eromanga sensei just made me think about the stuff I watched in 2016; for no good reason, and at 7:30am, in fucking May of 2017, why not rundown a quick scramble of my favorite anime I watched last year.... for memory’s sake:

Ajin - I really, really don’t do shonen, and I don’t often do action either, but Ajin is just way too fucking cool. If you make any kind of story intriguing through worldbuilding like Ajin’s got, I’m in. Such an awesome story because of the thoroughly fleshed out supernatural stuff, and it’s always a plus, for me, when the protagonist is someone who’s curious about the world of the story alongside the reader/viewer.

Also, Ajin is CG animation, which had every right to be terrible, but was honestly incredibly done. I don’t even mean in the “well, it’s not the worst, so I can at least watch it...” way - it genuinely looks fucking great. Lots of impressive detailing, like in subtle facial expressions, that you’d think would just be passed over in something CG.

Danganronpa 3 - I didn’t think it could be done after the underwhelming anime about DR1, but both DR3 shows told original stories loaded with Danganronpa vibe and style that made me feel the same excitement and despair as reading the fuckin SA threads way back when. Watching the new episodes every week with my friends will remain one of my all-time favorite “Live Experiences” you can’t really replicate if you get into media long after it’s new, if that makes sense.

Love Live Sunshine! - This show was so fun to watch I think I ran at least 10 of the episodes straight, and what’s funny is I can’t really remember what hooked me in. The characters are really spirited and endearing, and although all the conflicts (if you want to call them that) were relatively mundane, I still really wanted the Aquors girls to make it...! I don’t even remember any of the music, which is supposed to be the draw of idols content.... my bad...

Saiki Kusuo no Psi-nan - I’m pretty sure Saiki was the funniest anime I’ve watched in years. I don’t watch that much comedy, because if it doesn’t make you laugh pretty quickly, then it doesn’t seem worth your time, which can make it tough to judge as a genre. But Saiki was consistently funny in a way that’s rare between me and rapid paced gag-a-minute shows. Even though it’s downright stupid at times, the stories in this show were genuinely amusing to me, and all the more for the fucking protagonist, whom I love. Saiki’s absolute disdain and disinterest in everything could have been so repelling, but he tied the show together for me - a true straight-man in a world of fools.

Nobunaga no Shinobi - Amazingly, this show’s runtime is 4 minutes flat. I’ve watched over 30 episodes now and I can barely remember any of them, but somehow, that’s what I love about this one. It’s as effortless to watch as breathing, a nice 4 minute break every week. Its semi-historically-accurate telling of Nobunaga’s rise to power is a fun premise even though I don’t have a native’s familiarity with Japanese history, and it’s cute and appealing even if it didn’t elicit any laughs.

Sangatsu no Lion - This show became like fucking meditation for me. I would eagerly await Saturdays, making some time in the evening to disconnect, relax, and put it on. I love the weird slice-of-life/shogi focus of the show.... I don’t really know how to summarize it. It’s not “about Shogi” like a sports anime would be, but it’s “about Shogi players.” The art was gorgeous, just fucking incredible - I had like 5 separate posts on here that were basically “Look at this fucking show!!” Very pleasant, calming experience for me, even though Rei’s emotional state sometimes changed the mood of everything.

Luckily for me, Love Live, Saiki, and Sangatsu are all slated to continue, and Nobunaga already has been. These shows are my favorites from 2016, and I only hope that I can find some suitable shows to watch in their place this year in 2017. It has been.... rather dry, so far....

[bainhardt]

Ajin’s anime is, I’M PRETTY SURE?, officially over as of today, so I have to say:

Ajin is seriously fucking lit. If you’re in the mood for a 26 episode, fast-paced, exciting, and fucking awesome action show, you gotta check it out. I really can’t sell it enough. It’s not super convoluted, it’s not drawn out and doesn’t drag its feet, and the plot is creative enough and interesting enough that I think it’s well worth a watch.

[bainhardt]

oh FUCK Ajin s2 e6 was hype as hell

this show just won’t quit and I don’t want it to...!!

[bainhardt]

Ajin’s so fucking good guys..... holy shit please

I love a lot of different kinds of anime and I always want to recommend so much but it can be hard. Ajin, however, is not hard at all to recommend!! It’s so cool! Please watch it or read it and support the series!!

[bainhardt]

Hmmmm....

Something I’ve come to realize is one of the reasons I really enjoy Tenkuu Shinpan currently - and in hindsight, Ajin, too - is the presentation of a story as having several equally main characters. I guess what I mean by this is that in both stories, while it starts off with a certain character who might remain ever so slightly “the most significant,” there are alternately many other characters who are also very developed and have their own plotlines.

In both, there are what you could call “teams” of characters who have multiple storylines, which diverge and converge at different times and in different ways. Really cool stuff.

[bainhardt]

the Ajin anime is fucking good! holy shit

even though there seem to be changes from the manga, ranging from significant to minor, it’s still cool

[bainhardt]

There’s been a couple marked differences between the Ajin anime and the manga.... Sato’s IBM didn’t open its jaws when attacking the researcher at the facility... and Tosaki didn’t cut off Ogura’s fingers when interrogating him, breaking them instead...

I wonder if they had to tone it down? ‘^’

[bainhardt]

he really is fucking Togami......

[bainhardt]

AJIN’S SO FUCKING METAL ALL THE TIME

IF I COULD RIP MY SHIRT OFF I WOULD

[bainhardt]

the OP for Ajin is pretty cool

the animation looks really smooth too. I’m not typically into CG but this show’s pulled it off.

[bainhardt]

i : MN NSO  FUC ING BORED i “ MJ U ST GONNA GO WATCH EVERY EPUSIDE OF AJIN