loser

When the parasite comes out sizzlin

so, this came in today

For those who don't know, this is the newest version of the manga. It's the original black and white artwork paired with the revised translation and lettering that was made for the full color collection.

Right off the bat, I gotta say I'm kinda disappointed with this release. While the newer translation is definitely the best one, I don't really think it justifies itself on that alone. Especially since these are 14.99 dollars compared to the 10.99 of the regular paperbacks (which are even usually cheaper than that). Of course I like that it's using the original Japanese cover art, but just like the translation, that only gets you so far.

And honestly, my biggest gripe with this whole release is the fact that the originally colored pages are grey scaled like the normal paperbacks despite the price hike. Like, I feel like including those color pages, alongside the b/w art, and the improved translation would totally justify the price. Hell, I'd fully be willing to even pay a bit more than that if that was what we got. But nope, instead we got the same content again with a new coat of paint, an admittedly better translation, and nothing else. Oh, actually, they are slightly bigger than the regular paperbacks! So that totally justifies it. Definitely.

I just finished it a few hours back and I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. For the most part it stayed accurate to the manga, and even then I actually quite liked the few things it did alter/change. For example, the Mugai-ryū are introduced in episode 2, way earlier than the manga (chapter 22). Which also means that Magatsu actually leaves considerably earlier than he does in the manga. And that's a pretty consistent thing, they add a decent amount of scenes in. In particular I enjoy how they actually introduce O-Ren early, and add one or two new scenes with her and Magatsu. Especially compared to the manga, where she's introduced and a chapter later she's dead.

It's definitely not perfect or anything tho, for one the animation isn't the most stellar out there. most of the time it's just kinda stiff, and it only really gets decent for the fights (which makes sense ig). and even then, those aren't all that great either. I'm also not a big fan of the color palette that was used for the show, just a little too muddy and dull imo. And while it's not a criticism, I definitely wanna say that it sucks it got cancelled before it could really get to the meat of the series.

And to end this long-winded tangent of a post on a high note, the soundtrack is genuinely so fuckin good. The op is great, i particularly like the unique vocals. And that ed... Chefs kiss, one of my favorite anime songs ever. And in general the music really fits the series.

Manji in chapter 2 vs chapter 207

Rin in chapter 2 vs chapter 192

Kagehisa in chapter 22 vs chapter 192

Makie in chapter 8 vs chapter 192

Kagimura in chapter 22 vs chapter 189

Some very quick and dirty modern day Manji doodles

the only thing that sparked this idea (besides the fact that he's immortal obv) is those random 'modern day' shots from the op and ed of the '08 anime. Not much of a writer but I've had this idea that in modern day (or at least the 90's) he's become some type of door to door salesman for some shitty company, and he lives in some dingy apartment by himself all while volunteering at a local homeless shelter. Cause you know he can't help but help people, at least in some way. Another idea I had was that he had some type of journal from way back, just a way to keep track of things he's done and people he's met. I even thought that maybe the idea for the journal itself would've been something Fuyu suggested during their time together. Not sure if he'd still be going by Manji or not, but I think he'd at least have that as a nickname of some sort

Awe, what a cutie! Thankfully nothing bad ever happens to her!!!

"Don't make me a murderer..."

Redrew my redraw from about 7 months back, definitely improved at least a little