Wickett

Sure what's up?

As @Ohayotaku already pointed out there are a few places in the story where action picks up a bit, but it'll still be a chore to get through if action is what you're going for. It's not an overly interesting anime so far in my opinion and I'm especially surprised that one article I saw was even suggesting it could be the greatest anime of all time. Don't make me laugh. I'm a few episodes into Deadman Wonderland right now, it's fairly interesting and curious to see where the story goes.

It cracks me up that a single post account brought this thread back from the dead and then has been kept alive over a year past that. I would say I love Japanese food, but that wouldn't technically be accurate. I like certain meals until they start veering off into sushi (actual raw fish, not the cooked stuff), squid, and other such sea food. About a year ago I started making my own hibachi at home with a wok, usually with chicken, onions, egg, water chestnuts, and sometimes baby corns. I also learned how to make good Tamago gohan (egg and rice) for breakfast, which was a fun experiment. A Japanese steakhouse recently opened up near where I live and it's a really great place, stocked with the best Japanese beer and hopefully sake soon as well.

I don't know why we'd single out manga and anime. Any media or literature that glorifies lifestyle choices will increase the potential for people of all ages to try something new.

Finished Frieren: Beyond Journey's End season 1, and I have to say, it was meh all the way through. It's chill and feel good, which is fine. It's done well for what it is, but if you're looking for twisty and exciting you won't find it here. I really hope the next season is longer like this one and actually finally puts these characters that they have taken forever to only partially establish and place them in some decent action. If it insists on sticking with "magic is fun" as the theme then I may bail.

If I hadn't rewatched seasons 1 and 2 before starting 3 I would have been hopelessly lost.

I am almost finished with its first season and must agree on basically everything you said. It's just okay enough for me to keep watching and not try a new anime that is a roll of the dice of being more enjoyable. It's well written, nice animation, and I have no qualms with the story at all, but I can only think of one particular instance where there was an audible "wow". I'd like to think at some point it will all come together, and maybe the manga readers are giving it high scores and know something that I don't, but at the moment, the high praise isn't completely justified to me. Season 3 got worse as it went along in terms of overall enjoyment, but I am glad that some story details were finally revealed. I agree that whatever is currently going on is a bit strange but I think I have a decent idea as to where it's going to go from here. Also a question for you below @Ohayotaku

This. 100% this. Drives me up the wall.

Anime is a genre and is not a cartoon. This is something that previous generations didn't understand but is changing fast. I feel like if I was going to lose the interest in anime it would have already happened years ago.

Kaiju No. 8 can't come soon enough.

Maomao might just be the greatest female character ever written in manga in my personal opinion. She is extremely interesting and believable at the same time.

Bleach Fire Force

Most of the reasons I watch anime have already been laid out pretty well, but there also has always been this subtle touch of wholesomeness with most anime. When a good manga is animated well you can feel the passion of the mangaka and it gives it a far more genuine feel than the average TV show in my opinion. As mentioned previously by @Kari is that I've discovered new hobbies and interests by watching anime over the many years that I have. It's entertaining, obviously, I don't think anyone would watch it if it wasn't, but there are definitely other reasons I've stuck with it so long, despite only having one other person in my close inner circle who also watches it.

Psycho Pass Providence Attack on Titan Kuroko's Basketball Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

You're a tough guy even trying it. It's banner at the top of CR was enough to turn me away from it.

How have you enjoyed season 2 compared to season 1 of Solo Leveling? I felt like it got way better, especially towards the end of season 2. Still keeping up with Fire Force and Apothecary Diaries while also catching up with Frieren.

@Ohayotaku how are you feeling about Fire Force at this point? Watched the new episode last night and I'm still happy with it's delivery so far.

I wasn't trying to grill you either, mind you, I guess I just saw an opening for a debate and went at it. I tried to watch Alderamin but didn't care for it enough to hang on. Considering it's reviews on CR though, I'm surprised it didn't get a second season. I'm working my through Frieren and am fairly surprised as to how much I'm enjoying it. It has a nice unfolding story, great use of flashbacks without being obnoxious, and three great supporting characters so far.

Dimension W was a fun watch with an incredible opening that, as far as I know, never made it very big with the masses.

I've been here for right at a year now and I was taking note earlier that I definitely feel like this forum is more active than it was back then. Does anyone else feel this way or am I the only one?

This Eren.

I like male protagonists that always know more than they let on. Urahara Kisuke, Kogami Shinya, and more recently Sung Jin-woo. They're collected, competent, sometimes funny, and have a strong sense of justice. For female protagonists I think it's best when they're just clumsy enough to be cute without being annoying. Take Maki and Tamaki from Fire Force as an example. Maki is awesome, Tamaki is not. Maomao from Apothecary Diaries is an exceptional female character. Very smart and competent but also very aware of her shortcomings.

I realize this is simply a short blast of subjective frustration, which we're all entitled to indulge in occasionally, but I have to say I don't really agree with the takeaway here. You claim that nerds around the world are boosting the ratings of certain kinds of anime but, why exactly is that a bad thing, and, what exactly is a nerd? You're an IT manager. I would think that to some degree we're all nerds in a way. Also, a lot of Japanese women watch anime as well. Whether or not they're rating the anime on CR as much as the male viewership is I have no idea, but calling out two groups of people like that as deciding all of CR's rating system doesn't seem accurate to me. There are also large breast sizes in Japan, maybe not as many, but no one is out here actually looking like Rangiku and not experiencing some back pain. Manga/anime embellish this because large breasts are appealing, and not just to Japanese men. Solo Leveling won CR's anime of the year, Frieren got a lot of attention, Demon Slayer, Ninja Kamui, Apothecary Diaries, none of which have anything anywhere near extreme (at least so far) in terms of strong sexual innuendo or busty character designs outside of perhaps certain women in Apothecary Diaries but that's for historical accuracy, and a couple of characters in Demon Slayer. Re:ZERO won best Isekai anime and compared to other Isekai it's quite tame on the sexual front. I think it's more likely that you tend to enjoy anime that doesn't usually resonate with other people, which is all good, but doesn't mean that everyone is just interested in weird stuff. And to keep this somewhat on topic, I watched the new episodes of Fire Force and Apothecary Diaries last night. Big things happening for both anime right now and I'm really enjoying both.

Do you still hate the shape of Spain?

With the recent season of Bleach it's now a little over 200 episodes that aren't filler I believe, so you might want to either pair it with another anime for a slow burn or lock in for awhile.