Anime Resurgence

My interest faded away once again previously.

5 years later however, during the Corona crisis, suddenly I had much more time left to do other stuff I normally could not do, and it also rejuvenated this dormant medium once more.

I thought that I had seen it all, and that my main argument of repetitiveness and redundancy applies, and it still does with familiar tropes, but fortunately I was able to still uncover older and newer series which impressed me.

 I will highlight several ones:

Samurai Champloo(2004)

Set in an alternate Edo Period of Japan, Samurai Champloo follows the journey of these three eccentric individuals in an epic quest full of action, comedy, and dynamic sword fighting, all set to the beat of a unique hip-hop infused soundtrack.

Samurai Champloo is stylish, has Holland references(and talking!), a jazzy/hip hop soundtrack, and it has episodic chapters; from undeads to baseball, and from assassins to eating delicious food. It’s a humorous action adventure that I have finally watched, I am way too late to this party! Western Hip-Hop and Eastern Samurai swordplay define it.

 

      My Hero Academia(2016)

Enduring many months of grueling training, Izuku enrolls in UA High, a prestigious high school famous for its excellent hero training program, and this year's freshmen look especially promising. With his bizarre but talented classmates and the looming threat of a villainous organization, Izuku will soon learn what it really means to be a hero.

My Hero Academia is a shounen anime inspired by American superhero comics, featuring your standard trope of a young nobody quickly turning into an inspiring hero. With a world full of superpowers to abuse, the battles were entertaining to watch and got better near the end. The humor is so-so, the art style and intro are good, and I actually binge watched it, meaning that it got most of my attention.

  Attack on Titan Season 2(2017) and 3(2018-2019)

Still threatened by the "Titans" that rob them of their freedom, mankind remains caged inside the two remaining walls. Efforts to eradicate these monsters continue; however, threats arise not only from the Titans beyond the walls, but from the humans within them as well.

The survival, gore, cliffhangers, action, animation, mystery, plot twists and exciting intro all helped to make this a very enjoyable and dramatic anime. It's easy to see for many how objectively, Attack on Titan stands out, and it arguably is also a good introduction towards the medium in general, if you can handle the mature themes.

 Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin(2010)

Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin follows the seven cellmates as they struggle together against the brutal suffering and humiliation inflicted upon them by Ishihara, a sadistic guard with a grudge on Rokurouta, and Gisuke Sasaki, a doctor who takes pleasure in violating boys. Facing such hellish conditions, the seven inmates must scrape together all the strength they have to survive until their sentences are up; but even if they do, just what kind of lives are waiting for them on the other side?

Rainbow: Nishan Rokubou no Scichinin is at first a prison drama with dark themes of violence, corruption, rape and later on business and prostitution, but the group’s bond, perserverance and hope eventually overcome this hell, and the 2nd half focuses on their lives after getting released. It’s a touching story, as it shows that friendship is one of the most powerful things to have.