Hi everybody! It’s Monday! I know you are all as excited as I am for the week’s new general thread. Like usual, feel free to use this thread for general discussion topics/questions/recommendations/etc. I often like to provide some jokey example prompts here, but, this week I wanted to do a bit of a public service and help all of you out with some hot tips on merch:
- Did your SO get you a hot new Penguindrum watch for Valentine’s Day and you are looking for something to get them for White Day?
- Well, I have just the thing for you. So, fire up that computer and make it run as fast as possible with this hot Initial D Mouse to place a pre-order for:
- Some chic Precure themed bags to hit the town with.
As always, remember to be mindful of spoilers. If you want to know more about how to handle spoilers in this community, check the guide here (also linked in the sidebar).
Meta updates sound good to me. Good compromise between the different responses you were getting. Hope the bots aren’t too much work to make and maintain.
Been a good couple weeks. Up to date with Frieren, Apothecary Diaries. Smidge behind on Dangers in my Heart and Delicious in Dungeon. All been really good though.
Saw The Boy and the Heron in theaters. It was good, but I don’t love it as much as some seem to. I personally prefer the more clear narrative and themes of Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited Away, and Howl’s Moving Castle. Too much happens in the movie that I felt like was included because it looks cool then hand waived into the plot or world, with zero explanation. Also, a lot of the meta themes and symbolism are too opaque to follow. I heard some interesting discussions afterward, which raised my opinion a few notches, but without that outside knowledge, the movie just doesn’t stand as well on its own. Too spoilery to discuss in detail. Personally, I enjoyed Suzume quite a lot more and would’ve preferred if it’d gotten the Best Animated nomination instead of Boy and Heron. A lot of general American audiences will think “oh this is the best anime of the year, I’ll check it out” and end up thinking “wtf did I just watch”, whereas Suzume would’ve been a better pick.
I haven’t seen Boy and the Heron, but I felt similarly about Suzume in that I came out of it feeling like I didn’t really get it. It wasn’t until reading other articles about the symbolism and context of the movie that I grew to appreciate it more. That being said, I still understood what was happening at a more surface level, and enjoyed that (along with gorgeous visuals and a great OST).