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The Summer 2022 Preview Guide


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L'Imperatore



Joined: 24 Mar 2014
Posts: 820
PostPosted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 8:07 am Reply with quote
Although it is VERY unlikely, if Netflix decides to continue Spriggan, they're gonna adapt the (in)famous spoiler[Hitler] arc...
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Lord Geo



Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 2526
Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey
PostPosted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 8:13 am Reply with quote
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Yet all these minor updates can't hide the fact that Spriggan doesn't feel like a modern-day anime in either style or execution. The complexity and nuance simply isn't there...The first episode unintentionally raises the question of where exactly the line between cliché and nostalgia lies? Perhaps there isn't one.


I feel like this is not a good mindset to use when going into a modern adaptation of an older manga, because OF COURSE THE STORYTELLING ISN'T GOING TO FEEL MODERN. To treat this as a negative is to essentially say that most older manga aren't worth reading or adapting into anime for newer audiences, because they're apparently inferior by default, since they don't have the "complexity" or "nuance" that modern titles have. That simultaneously diminishes the importance of those older works, while also making "complexity" or "nuance" feel just as tired & boring as simplicity, because now it comes off as being essential (i.e. required) for modern-day storytelling, which in turn makes its just as predictable as being simple & straightforward.

I can understand the logic to some extent (personal preferences, & all), but at the same time I think there's also an argument to be made that being as straightforward as Spriggan is with its characters & plot actually makes it feel (ironically) fresh today, because it's not trying to be "complex" or "nuanced" simply because everything seemingly needs to be that way today. Sometimes you just want something that's very blatantly "Good vs. Evil", where you know where everyone is (for the most part) from the start in terms of alignment & let it roll from there.

The preview itself from Richard I had no problems with, but I just don't agree with the quoted portion at all, as it flippantly dismisses anything older as "unessential" because it doesn't follow modern-day standards, which I don't agree with at all.
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Yu Ominae



Joined: 21 Sep 2008
Posts: 71
PostPosted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 8:27 am Reply with quote
L'Imperatore wrote:
Although it is VERY unlikely, if Netflix decides to continue Spriggan, they're gonna adapt the (in)famous spoiler[Hitler] arc...


Least we got pass the Crystal Skull arc on whether those swastikas would show up.
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Beatdigga



Joined: 26 Oct 2003
Posts: 4346
Location: New York
PostPosted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 8:37 am Reply with quote
Bastard!! is getting a lot of comparisons between its lead and InuYasha of all shows online, and a part of me feels like this is the show guys wish InuYasha was.

It’s ridiculous. It’s cheesy at points. But it also has its tongue firmly in its cheek and complete dedication to the bit, which you need. The soundtrack kicks ass and the designs are gorgeous. So if you like that, there is a lot of fun to be had.
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tywhoppity



Joined: 09 Sep 2019
Posts: 190
PostPosted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 9:03 am Reply with quote
As one who grew up in the 70s/80s, I can safely say that none of my peers or I drank Tab, just sayin'...... Laughing
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The Anime Binge-Watcher



Joined: 28 Jan 2020
Posts: 81
PostPosted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 9:29 am Reply with quote
While I enjoyed the first few episodes of Ice Queendom, I definitely get everyone else's issues with it. Especially those who haven't watched the original RWBY. Ice Queendom is just not a good introduction to the franchise; the way it rushes through Volume 1, it pretty much relies on you having already watched it so you can fill in the gaps yourself and notice the changes they're making. Not that the original Volume 1 was much better, because good LORD it was pretty bad (thankfully RWBY gets much better from then on). But this bullet-points-style retelling isn't really an effective substitute for those who don't already know what it's all about.

Regardless, now that IQ's done recapping Volume 1, it's going to move into its original story. Will to be good? Hard to say with Tow Ubukata in the writing chair. But if nothing else, it's bound to be interesting.
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dandon223



Joined: 08 May 2019
Posts: 32
PostPosted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 9:46 am Reply with quote
How could they have skipped gunchucks fight in RWBY? Poor Sun Wukong.
I was really looking forward to it.
A pity fighting choreography could not manage to be so dynamic and entertaining as in original.
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Kicksville



Joined: 20 Nov 2010
Posts: 1168
PostPosted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 9:58 am Reply with quote
Devilman, Baki...now Spriggan, Bastard...I keep expecting Netflix to announce a new Guyver any day now.
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beholder242



Joined: 26 Aug 2016
Posts: 33
PostPosted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 10:47 am Reply with quote
dandon223 wrote:
How could they have skipped gunchucks fight in RWBY? Poor Sun Wukong.
I was really looking forward to it.
A pity fighting choreography could not manage to be so dynamic and entertaining as in original.


IMHO, the fight choreography of the original RWBY was at its peak in the first episode of season 2 with the food fight scene. Ever since then, it's gone kinda downhill, and then went over the cliff with season 4. I haven't watched the most recent couple of seasons, so can't say anything about those. Kinda have lost interest, TBH.
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prime_pm



Joined: 06 Feb 2004
Posts: 2332
Location: Your Mother's Bedroom
PostPosted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 10:56 am Reply with quote
Can't seem to pin down the English voice for Dark Schneider. Could be wrong but I'm fairly certain they didn't bring back Daran Norris for the role, even if it would be surreally wild to have Cosmo doing the voice again.
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RockSplash



Joined: 28 Oct 2019
Posts: 494
PostPosted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 12:23 pm Reply with quote
prime_pm wrote:
Can't seem to pin down the English voice for Dark Schneider. Could be wrong but I'm fairly certain they didn't bring back Daran Norris for the role, even if it would be surreally wild to have Cosmo doing the voice again.


Unfortunately he has not been revealed. I almost want to say it sounds like Yuri Lowenthal, but when was the last anime with him? Has he been in a netflix dub? I know he was in the Kevin Smith He man sequel.
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residentgrigo



Joined: 23 Dec 2007
Posts: 2402
Location: Germany
PostPosted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 12:41 pm Reply with quote
The schedule: https://myanimelist.net/anime/season
Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun will be alight, I guess. Let´s pretend that last season´s Netflix latecomers are part of this season as I have nothing else to talk about otherwise and don´t bother with Vampire in the Garden.

Bastard!! The production values are only ok but hell has finally frozen over. LIDEN FILMS produced a presentable adaptation that doesn´t skip any plot beats on top of that! Many viewers will be confused why the promised “boundary-pushing” edge fest lacks gore, nudity or sex and has this much levity. Nudity and gore are rare until Vol 18 in the. That volume introduced Porno Dianno -she looks just like one would think- and throws the already splintering plot in the trash. The manga then fully gave up, moved over into a Seinen magazine and unwounded into a hard-to-follow comedy porno without real continuity. There is even a time jump to fully weed out the previous audience. Aka. me. The first 60% of the manga pushed Shounen Jump boundaries but not Shounen demographic boundaries. The Devilman was published 12 years earlier and went way further. So did Jump´s very own Fist of the North Star 4 years before Bastard. The Netanime on the other hand skipped gnarly executions that would have been in ep 1&2, ep 6 didn´t feature the pornographic sex scene the fully redrawn Kanzenban version of Vol 2 has, ep 8 lacks a head explosion and so on. Even the 90s OVAs added nudity and settled on a grittier tone but the 2022 version remains committed to staying presentable to 13-year-old-boys. That was the manga´s demographic for a decade so fresh viewers can only stay for the plot. The bonkers later stages of the manga will simply never be reached due to the faithful and thus slow pacing. I prefer the 6 much faster-moving OVAs from the 90s due to better designs, animation, colors and all the skipped fluff but those only reached 2/3rd into Vol 5. S1E13 ends 1/5th into Vol 5. I wouldn´t mind an adaptation till Vol 12 and then transition into an original ending leading to a 3 season show. The manga starts ripping of Evangelion a few volumes after Vol 12 and one thing is not like the other. In summary: Don´t expect a Hard-R Dark Fantasy near-hentai and set your expectation for a horny yet flaccid 80s-themed teen action/comedy/fantasy hybrid instead. For that, the anime works fine and it´s not an isekai! 6.5/10

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners airs in September and the trailer looks rubbish so I don´t know if I will watch more than 5 minutes. The Cyberpunk 2077 comics weren´t good either. The setting has tons of potential but even CD Project Red is failing to utilize it.

Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer Planet With was a bust but this manga is long finished and quite good. Mizukami´s 2nd best work even. I am not jazzed about the team doing this and the manga is 10 volumes long. It’s too early to panic but the trailer looks rather cheap… I have nothing to watch this season if the studio misses the mark.

Spriggan cut Yoshino out of the cold open that is based on the manga´s pilot and made it almost incomprehensible due to how much was cut from that mission. Everything else on the other hand is one of the most accurate adaptations in recent memory. The story is simply transplanted from the early 90s into 2022 and the Legend of the Mask arc that stretches from Chap 5 to 16 is MIA as of now as it is too long to fit into 45 minutes. Also missing is the 2nd half of Vol 4 and all of 5 and 6 as ep 6 is based on the first half of Vol 7. Its post-credit stinger sets up the rest of Vol 4 so David Production is clearly committed to adapting the whole series if we get lucky. The ONA is gorier than the other versions and every cent of the production budget that was missing from JoJo Part 6 ended up here. The audiovisual presentation is top-notch! The show has the same issues the Shounen original has but this is the best Metal Gear “adaptation” we will ever see so I won´t bother complaining. I wonder if Kojima´s team ever talked about how much they borrowed from the manga? 2 more seasons pls. 7/10

One Piece Film: Red will be about an idol who is advertised as the daughter of Shanks. Clearly a fake-out and I dislike the premise. Osomatsu-san: Hipipo-Zoku to Kagayaku Kajitsu will be the first of 2 new films and the last 2 Gundam G no Reconguista summary films also come out this season. There is a notable slide in quality during the 3rd film due to the anime becoming incompressible halfway through so I don´t expect too much from the touch-ups.
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Triltaison



Joined: 03 Jul 2011
Posts: 715
PostPosted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 1:24 pm Reply with quote
tywhoppity wrote:
As one who grew up in the 70s/80s, I can safely say that none of my peers or I drank Tab, just sayin'...... Laughing


That also cracked me up. One of the funnier demographic mismatches I've seen lumped together. I don't know what the metalheads were drinking since I didn't know any, but I'd guess they'd want Pepsi or Jolt Cola over their mom's Tab any day if the week.
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LightningCount



Joined: 04 Mar 2018
Posts: 228
PostPosted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 2:10 pm Reply with quote
Regarding Spriggan, it's one of the most enjoyable anime I've seen in a while because of how many genres and topics from the real world it blends into its globetrotting scifi adventure. And it has a clear aesthetic and cohesiveness to its tech that makes it feel lived in. spoiler[(The glowing parts are an update on the suit, but not on the hands; they just carried that idea of psychic energy into the whole thing, and I think that makes sense. It was a smart update that fits with the spirit of the source material.)] Those details stand out, especially in this day and age. It is a great adaptation of the manga, based on the three volumes I read from Viz back in the day. Looking forward to more.

I think the comments on whether or not "Spriggan" is an appropriate title may be objectively true, but subjectively, this series is all about recontextualizing information in thought-provoking ways. In this case, calling agents who protect things buried Spriggans is an inspired decision in how it ties together the themes of this show mixing mythology with reality in the present day (or Cold War era in the source material). Viz's decision to change Spriggan to "Striker" for a while sort of betrayed the themes and aesthetic of the franchise. I have seen comments elsewhere, though, where people felt upset this wasn't a swords-and-sorcery fantasy series based on the title, and I find that view a little inflexible in terms of what is possible or implied with creative license.

And I think it's unfair to say it's not "modern." Is that said about things like Dragon Ball Z? An anime is allowed to march to its own drumbeat. And frankly, I do not believe this has any less depth than some popular "modern" stories like My Hero Academia, which I've watched up to the current season. The fact that it is scifi/military-themed with Indiana Jones trappings is part of what's throwing some people off. Spriggan is essentially Shonen at the end of the day, and maybe people are expecting it to be Ghost in the Shell. To elaborate on that, I'm going to quote what I wrote in another thread:

Quote:
The storytelling is not stand-alone or uninvolved, as every episode continues to develop the world and its players in some fashion--ARCAM, Trident, the Orichalcum-based technology, Yu's past and convictions... This franchise may have a formula to move it along, much like Cowboy Bebop or Witch Hunter Robin, but there's a lot more than meets the eye just below the action-packed surface that's mixing and bubbling together. It's not the deepest thing ever, but it is not one-note and it raises a lot of creative, intriguing "what if" scenarios related to mythology, history, etc., as well as questions about the military industrial complex and whether organizations are defined by their leaders or their members.

I don't agree that it is ONLY about action. If you're someone who's interested in history, the narratives of mythology, and political science, and are not married to the idea of everything having to be one-to-one with reality, there is a fair amount to chew on. That subtext and the detail put into the technology and feel of the globetrotting world are what make this stand out from other action-heavy old-school anime or even most anime today.

Plus, the thing the movie missed out on was how Yu leads the double life as a student...and while it's perhaps cliche, it adds genuine "heart" to the series. Without spoiling too much specifically, Yu's been through more than spoiler[just losing his parents, which makes his line about Rie saving him first when he went to her when she was crying as a kid all the more poignant in Episode 1. And it speaks to why he wants to embrace his school life but is always pulled away and has a reputation that isn't accurate that he has to deal with.]

I think some of the criticisms being given to Spriggan, a 30-year-old franchise, could also be leveled at a lot of Shonen Jump titles. Granted, it may not be the best thing ever, but on the whole the Netflix series is a stand-out anime release, especially in this day and age.


Last edited by LightningCount on Fri Jul 01, 2022 2:52 pm; edited 1 time in total
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James_Beckett
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 23 Nov 2015
Posts: 274
Location: USA
PostPosted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 2:29 pm Reply with quote
Triltaison wrote:
tywhoppity wrote:
As one who grew up in the 70s/80s, I can safely say that none of my peers or I drank Tab, just sayin'...... Laughing


That also cracked me up. One of the funnier demographic mismatches I've seen lumped together. I don't know what the metalheads were drinking since I didn't know any, but I'd guess they'd want Pepsi or Jolt Cola over their mom's Tab any day if the week.


I'm one of those sickos that loves the taste of saccharine and aspartaine in sodas, so Tab would have undoubtedly been my drink of choice (and I'm still mad that they discontinued it)
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