Wickett

I used to occasionally write reviews and then CR decided to make their site less fun and remove the ability to do that.

Adapting a manga, which is generally created by a single mangaka, and not sticking to the source material is ludicrous in my opinion and I'd say that sentiment is shared by most anime enjoyers. When you adapt a book into a movie and you have to cut parts out to fit a story into the 2 hour timeframe or something of that nature it's one thing, but when you can animate an entire story and you choose to butcher the creator's vision it's just disrespectful. Also you can take Berserk for example, by episode 1 every fan of the manga knew it was going to be trash because of the CGI. I'm blanking as to whether or not you can rate things on the PS5 but on CR's website you can rate 1 - 5 stars.

Strong opinions of a first episode would indicate a prior knowledge of the series, so as you mentioned, people who have read the manga and have a certain level of expectations. For people going in blind it would have to be a CGI wreck to rate it so low, I didn't even rate Ahiru No Sora that low.

I watched the first two episodes and didn't like the story well enough to justify the overly dark and gory themes.

The first episode was definitely mid though I realize it would be difficult to make it very interesting with as many flashbacks as they tried to include. I will say that the recap they provided was in fact some of the more crucial and recent information learned in season 2 which was good, but as you say, there's just too much ground to cover. I rewatched the series through the winter in preparation and I'm glad I did, because even as big of a fan as I became of this anime there was a lot that I had forgotten. Also for anyone who has watched the first episode, question below.

*insert howling wolf here*

If you're enjoying the second season so far, then it's only going to get better for you from here on out.

Finished the second season of Solo Leveling last night. Exceptional anime for the genre that it is, in my opinion. The signs are there for the direction the plot will take in season 3 and I'm definitely here for it. Now Fire Force season 3 is right around the corner.

What is this sudden taste for popcorn I'm getting...?

This is certainly not to downplay either of your situations as I've had friends and colleagues in similar places in life as you both have described and it sounds doubly frustrating, however, the dating world (if you can even call it that) at this point in time is such a tragic mess that it really doesn't matter who you are it's going to be a frustrating and trying time. I have friends who are smart, attractive, successful in their fields, thoughtful, and all-around ideal potential mates, but the dating "culture" if you will has been trashed. Dating apps have sold you convenience but in reality it's an emotionless swiping nightmare of "finding your perfect someone", which has literally turned a potential mate into a product that matches your "needs and wants". Solid, happy, healthy relationships do not start like that. I could sit here and type out several paragraphs as to why I feel this way about the dating scene but to spare anyone I will simply say that I feel like @Animedragon has the right idea here. I would tell this to anyone regardless of their circumstances to slow down and relax as much as they possibly can. It's a hellish mess for everyone out there, and please don't get hung up by the people who can get a new boyfriend/girlfriend whenever they please, because odds are there are underlying extenuating circumstances as to why they can do that, and that's not the sort of thing you want to pursue. Also as Animedragon pointed out, there are, believe it or not, several perks to being single that can absolutely be embraced, and to try and be at least a little helpful I would suggest a personal type of exposure therapy. Maybe try finding a way to practice talking to people in general instead of going straight for a cute someone you like and turning the difficulty of the situation all the way to Expert. Start small and gain confidence in general every day conversations and then attempt the more challenging situations.

I thought Ubisoft had already spoken to their "Japanese scholars" and confirmed this to be a historically and culturally accurate game? Sadly, thousands of uneducated and/or shameless young Americans believed their "authentic" marketing campaign, putting Japan in a situation where they have to address this to set straight what is actual Japanese culture and not a false depiction. It also was discussed that tourists are climbing on and painting graffiti on their Torii's (gates). Do your homework before you visit another country and show some respect. It's not that hard.

Vinland Saga is nothing short of a masterpiece. Season 2 could not have surprised me more in how they approached and yet still delivered on everything.

You're not wrong, but, back in my day we would have just produced a 24-episode season.

Psycho-Pass, for darker neo-noire themes. Ron Kamanohashi's Forbidden Deductions, funny and well thought out. ID: INVADED, a fun and trippy ride with a cool protagonist. No Guns Life, dystopian themed adventures more or less. Special 7: Special Crime Investigation Unit, good science fiction twist on a detective agency. A couple of honorable mentions would be Cop Craft, though kind of mid, and Bungo Stray Dogs, which started out great but in my opinion quickly deteriorated into a mess of a plot and confusing characters.

No, what? Please no. Stop with these parts.

Not a Detective Conan fan personally so anything detective wise that I would recommend would be different in overall theme but I'm happy to give you a list of detective/investigation anime that I've watched and enjoyed.

Hearing Toonami come on TV meant Zoids: Chaotic Century, and I was a very happy 10-year-old.

Libraries are catching on that manga and anime are more popular and mainstream than they used to be but unfortunately our library doesn't offer much that I'm interested in yet.

Death Parade was a solid short story but the end, in my opinion, didn't do the build-up justice. Still can recommend as a casual watch.

I'm sorry, but is this for real? Did you choose this survey or were you assigned this? A primarily fictional genre of entertainment which has every kind of content you can imagine and a qualifying person only has to have seen one episode of anime in their life? This would be like saying that the person who didn't get cancer ate an apple when they were 11 and trying to find a correlation between the two.

There isn't much I can say that wouldn't spoil certain aspects of the story but I felt like season 2 raised the bar across all points a few notches.

Agreed, it's the only video game mechanic anime I've been able to hang with because it's mostly a background theme and not overused. Second season is far better than I expected by the way so have fun with that.

Good to have another normal member on board. Welcome.

Much higher here recently. Parts were failing almost on a weekly basis.