What Else Should You Watch | Animated Observations

Welcome to another What Else Should You Watch, the series where I take a show and give you some alternate recommendations based similarities that the shows share, or just that X factor that the shows both have. This week I’ll be covering Juni Taisen. Ready, Set, Recommend!

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works

As many before me have pointed out, Juni Taisen shares a very similar setup with its battle tournament style to show’s like Fate/Stay Night and Mirai Nikki, and if you like this setup, you will certainly enjoy Fate/Stay Night.

The show focuses on high school student Shiro Emiya. One day, Shiro finds out that he is to participate in the Holy Grail War, a battle fought by Masters, who summon ancient heroes of time called servants. The winner of the Holy Grail War, like in Juni Taisen, gets one wish, but this wish can be anything because the power of the grail is enormous.

The show has a lot of great action and at the same time does a great job at exploring character motivations through the fights that they have. And in case your wondering if you’ve heard of Fate and you remember its a series, this is probably your best jumping off point other than the original Fate/Stay Night, which isn’t really much to look at. Unlimited Blade Works, meanwhile, was animated by Ufotable and looks amazing. So there’s that.

Magi: The Labrinth of Magic

A personal favorite of mine, Magi will scratch that action itch while also bringing you on a magical adventure filled with loveable doofuses and one of the best final fights of any anime of I’ve seen.

Magi focuses Alibaba, a poor servant who lives out his day serving the wealthy in society. One night after coming home, he finds a small kid in his house eating his food. The kid is named Aladin and reveals that he is actually Magi, a being that is able to control all of the magical energy in the world, known as Ruhk. Aladin tells Alibaba that he is a King’s Candidate, a person who is destined to rule.

The story follows Alibaba and Aladin as they meet new people and see the world. Aladin learns more about his role as a Magi and what that means for the world, and Alibaba learns how to use Ruhk and becomes more qualified as a King’s Candidate. If you haven’t had the pleasure of watching this show already, you should fix that.

Mirai Nikki

I mentioned it in the section about Fate, and I did so with good reason. Mirai Nikki, or Future Diary for those who prefer the English title, has a similar battle tournament set up as Juni Taisen but adds a bit of Horror twist.

12 candidates, including the main characters Yukiteru Amano and Yuno Gasai, are involved in a battle royale to see who makes it alive, but in this battle, each of the contestants has a Future Diary, a device that allows them to see some aspect of the future up to 90 days in advance.

The show holds no punches when it comes to its more violent elements. In fact, the gore is probably one of the show’s main appeals, as Yuno shows no mercy to her and Yuki’s opponents in this battle for survival where the winner gets to become God.

What do you guys think? Did I leave something really important out? Let me know in the comments below. Anyway, bye for now Friendos!

Spice and Wolf

Source: Funimation

I’ve mentioned Spice and Wolf a few times on this blog because it is one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. The animation is nothing impressive, but everything about its writing is brilliant. From Lawrence and Holo to the Journeys they take, the show is filled with enjoyable moments and, best of all, ECONOMICS!

Both Spice and Wolf and March share a distinct level of character development that makes their leads feel like real people. Even though meeting came about through fantastical circumstances, by the end of the show, we feel Holo and Lawrence’s connection. Their journeys together and their deep understanding of each other as people make them feel like you know them. Rei meanwhile is a loveable but understandably troubled seventeen-year-old who is just trying to find who he is. that need to take a journey through self-discovery is a strong feeling indeed.

Honey and Clover

Source: Nefarious Reviews

This is admittedly something of a shot in the dark because I haven’t actually seen it. The show’s original manga was written by the same person who wrote the manga for March Comes in Like a Lion and was adapted into an anime series in 2005, with a sequel in 2008 both by J.C. Staff. I thought I would give it a shoutout here is because I have heard a lot of goods things about the show. It also seems to have pretty high praise across the board, so if you check it out before I get to, let me know how it is.

Chihayafuru

A lot of March Comes in Like a Lion’s appeal comes from its characters and their development, but that development usually revolves around Shogi. Shogi is admittedly very entertaining in March, because the show knows how to build tension between two characters who are facing off, especially when one of those characters is Rei.

If that sort of intense game environment is something you want more of than look no further than Chihayafuru. It centers around the competitive card game Karuta, where players have to knocks cards off the mat as they are called out. It has a lot of the same game and visual appeal that march does while throwing in a love triangle for good measure.

What would you recommend based on March Comes in Like a Lion? How do you feel about some of these shows? Let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading. See ya, friendos!

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