Tag Archives: What Else Should You Watch

What Else Should You Watch: Doctor Stone

October 31, 2019 Jack Scheibelein 2 Comments

Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

It has been a while since the last time I did one of these, but since I have not had much time to write, I figured it would be a good time to bring it back. For those who have not seen this series before, What Else Should You Watch is simply where I take an anime and try my best to recommend other anime based on that show. For this one, since It has been become pretty popular, I thought I would give Doctor Stone a crack. So, without further adieu, here are some alternatives.

Steins;Gate

For those who are unaware, which is likely not many, Steins;Gate is a series about Rintaro Okabe, a scientist working out of a small lab in Akihabara with a few of his friends acting as lab assistants. One day, while working on figuring out how one of the devices he has created, he figures out the secret to time. Specifically, he discovers the ability to send emails back through time.

There are many ways that Doctor Stone approaches science that are fairly similar to Steins;Gate. For example, Doctor Stone takes a somewhat educational approach to its topics, especially when Senku is around to explain. Steins;Gate is like-minded in this regard, although much narrower in its topic selection. Time Travel still exists almost entirely in the theoretically, but the show still takes the time to explain the mechanics of time travel and how it could work.

However, for those who are looking for something a bit more serious in its portrayal of a science, Steins;Gate delivers that in a large way. While most of its science still does exist as purely theoretically, its does provide an interesting amount of detail for what could potentially happen if time travel were real.

It is also worth noting that the story is also just wonderfully written, aside from a bit of the middle which just kind of awkwardly shoves in stuff from the visual novel. Everything else about the story is so expertly crafted that it was honestly surprising to hear that it was a video game adaptation. I generally like to avoid giving credit to voters on MyAnimeList, but it is in the top 10 for a reason.

A Certain Scientific Railgun

There is also A Certain Scientific Railgun, a show which is tonally more in line with Doctor Stone. The show is a spinoff of A Certain Magical Index, but can be watched as a stand alone series without much confusion. It follows Mikoto Misaka, a powerful being known as an esper, who wields the ability to control lightning. In fact, Misaka is one of the most powerful in Academy City, which is full of espers, and she soon realizes that because of this her life will become much harder.

Railgun utilizes science as a way of explaining the characters powers, and arguably not much else. In that way it is quite different from Doctor Stone, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. The lack of explanation leaves more time for exploring the various situations Misaka, along with her other friends, finds herself in.

The show takes a lot of time to explore one character in particular, Accelerator, who becomes somewhat of an anti-hero as the story progresses. His power allows him to control the movement of things, including large objects like cars.

Railgun also has a lot more in the way of action, which is something that does not come up much in Doctor Stone. The show regularly features espers using their abilities to battle across academy city. In fact, many of the major arcs of the series feature fights between the most powerful espers, known as level fives.

In some respects the show can come across as a bit simplistic, but it more than makes up for that with more adventure based story that will leave you wanting to keep on watching.

Have you already seen these shows? How do you feel about them? Let me know in the comments below.

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Anime/Manga, Series, What Else Should You Watch

What Else Should You Watch: The Promised Neverland

March 6, 2019 Jack Scheibelein 3 Comments

Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations

Well, its been a while since I’ve done one of these, but since everyone seems to be really enjoying The Promised Neverland, I though I would help out by giving some alternate recommendations for when the show eventually ends.

Akame Ga Kill

Akame ga Kill is a show that’s become pretty famous for a number of reasons, but if you have yet to see it then do so. The show exists in a similar vein to The Promised Neverland, being a mix of horror and thriller elements, as well as having a lot of action thrown in just for good measure.

The story follows Tatsumi, a boy who’s mission to help his small, rural town leads him to join Night Raid, a group of assassins associated with the revolutionary army trying to take down the current government. During his quest he meets many interesting people, and finds those people carrying powerful weapons as well.

If your expecting this show to be some generic, happy go lucky shonen, then your going to be sorely mistaken. I often compare it to Game of Thrones, just for the sheer amount of death going on, but I’ll just let you guys find out how much for yourselves.

Terror in Resonance

If your looking something for something a bit more cerebral and are not as interesting in the horror/thriller elements, than I would highly recommend taking a look at Terror in Resonance.

The story revolves around two teens with the nicknames Nine and Twelve, who decide enacting their revenge on the world by blowing up large buildings. Meanwhile, a high school girl whose life has been miserable by those around her have a run in with the two. Things only get weirder from their.

Terror in Resonance is a show that got me thinking. A lot. It is a show that at its core asks the question “what does fairness even mean?” It takes the time to answer that question from the perspective of multiple characters, each trying to advance their own plans and do what they think is right, and at the end of it all, you might not know what is. But, if you don’t care about that stuff, at the very least you should watch it for how good the music is and how absolutely gorgeous the animation from studio MAPPA sounds.

What else would be good to watch? Let me know in the comments below. Also, if you would like to support The Aniwriter or are just feeling generous, consider donating on Ko-fi or using one of my affiliate links below:

If you can’t, or just don’t feel like it, no worries. Thank you all for reading, and goodbye, for now, friends!

Anime/Manga, What Else Should You Watch

What Else Should You?: Citrus

January 27, 2018 Jack Scheibelein 7 Comments

These Season’s Citrus has attracted a lot of attention, both positive and negative, for its focus on the fairly abusive relationship between Mei and Yuzu, but that does not mean that it does not have any good qualities. Aside from that though, there are a few other anime you should watch if you are enjoying Citrus. Welcome, again, to What else should you watch, where I give you recommendations based on a show each week.

Black Butler

A bit more fantastical and a bit less abusive, Black Butler serves as a great gateway into what anime is. That is not necessarily saying that Black Butler is super good, but it is to say that there is a lot to appreciate about it, especially if you are going to Citrus specifically for the female relationship.

Sure, Ciel and Sebastion might not be in a romantic relationship, but the show has no problem playing into more gay undertones. Even one of the show’s other recurring, Grell, appears to be more feminine when it comes to Sebastion.

Not exactly one of the best anime ever made, but if you want something a little less dark in the way Citrus is then definitely worth a watch if you haven’t already.

Sakura Trick

Something much more light-hearted than Citrus will probably ever be, Sakura Trick is a slice of life Yuri romance about best friends Haruka and Yuu, who have been with each other since middle school. Haruka begins to feel some distance between the two of them when high school begins. One thing leads to another, and the two find their relationship has changed forever.

Bubbly would be one word that describes this show well. There is not a lot of emotional stakes in the “challenges” their relationship faces, and often times the characters do not seem that interesting, but man is it still charming.

Haruka and Yuu definitely feel like people, with the two of them paying special attention to each other’s details, and it really feels like a relationship by the end. Something fun to watch in spare time, for sure.

What else would you add to this list of recommendations? Let me know in the comments below. Also, if you like what your reading, consider supporting my Patreon, and helping out the blog.

Anime/Manga, What Else Should You Watch

What Else Should You Watch?: Yu-Gi-Oh

December 30, 2017 Jack Scheibelein Leave a comment

Yugioh is a franchise that, whether it be through the anime or through the card game of which I have dedicated a significant portion of my life, I will always be connected to in one way or another. Of course, we are talking about the anime in this post, and for a good reason. As well as for its nostalgic value, Yugioh remains entertaining anime for the idea of settling conflict with a card game. It is definitely still as stupid as it sounds, but in the end becomes a worthwhile way of developing the loveable goofballs of the series and its further incarnations, although some are better than others. *cough cough* Zexal *cough cough* For a bit of a change of pace, I thought it would be fun to recommend other card game anime because there are actually a few good ones out there.

Cardfight Vanguard

Vanguard is a show I discovered while watching illegal uploads on YouTube, and have loved it ever since. The show’s first few seasons center around Aichi Sendou, a middle schooler who hasn’t had the easiest time fitting in. One day, after being bullied by a dude named Morikawa, Aichi ends up in a local card shop where he rediscovers the game of Vanguard, and plays his first game ever against one of the best players around, Kai.

The show has a really good first few episode, with each of the first five explaining a different part of the game. This makes it so that the viewer knows everything they need to to get invested in the matches.

One of the things worth mentioning that I suddenly remembered while writing this is the music, which is actually surprisingly good considering the audience the show is supposed to be aimed at.

Future Card Buddyfight

Buddyfight, while being somewhat similar to Cardfight in terms of how its game is played, has a much different atmosphere. Whereas Cardfight leans into relatively darker territory, Buddyfight largely remains kid-friendly, but even that can be fun.

Centered around Gao Mikado, Buddyfight centers around a world where players of the card game Buddyfight often find themselves choosing a buddy, or a companion from another world to serve as their most powerful monster. Gao meets Drum, a dragon who eventually becomes his buddy, and although the two get off to a rocky start, they eventually start working together to rise to the top.

The show does something similar to Cardfight in that it introduces the game in its opening episodes, although not as quickly. The game of Buddyfight, as it is used in the show, is actually a lot more interesting. The idea that monsters come from other worlds and form bonds with humans creates an interesting setup and leads to a lot of fascinating side plots, as well as fairly decent antagonists.

What other anime remind you of Yugioh? Are they better? Worse? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading and bye for now, Friendos!

Anime/Manga, What Else Should You Watch

What Else Should You Watch?: Durarara!!

December 2, 2017 Jack Scheibelein 1 Comment

I wanted to challenge myself this week, so I decided to pick a show that’s much harder to recommend other shows for, and Durara is certainly one of those shows. It’s a lot of genre’s all at once, and that’s why people like it: because it’s noticeably unique. Sure, you have to have a huge level of suspension of disbelief, but after you’ve jumped that hurdle there’s so much uniqueness to appreciate, which is why this week’s post is hard. But regardless, here’s my best attempt to recommend shows based on Durarara.

Fooly Cooly

If you loved the always busy, always wild feel of Durarara than this is certainly the show for you. Already being infamous throughout the community, FLCL is a show known for not making any sense whatsoever.

The story centers around Naoto, a boy who’s been left behind by his brother in their small town where nothing ever happens. Then, one day, Haruko, a bass-playing, Vespa-riding, pink-haired girl comes and changes his life forever. The two now have to fight to protect the earth. Also, Naoto now has a horn on his head.

In fact, crazy might not even be a strong word for this show. I’ll be honest, I haven’t seen this show in a long time, but the only thing that seems to appear in my mind when I think about it is the scene from the first episode where Naoto’s horn turns into a mech. Truly, I don’t think you could pack more random into six episodes.

Also, season two and three are coming soon, so there’s that.

Psycho-Pass

This might be a stretch, but also think the urban setting in both plays a huge role in their stories.

Psycho-pass is a sci-fi cop show where traditional means of evaluating a criminal have been thrown out in favor of the Sibyl system, where each person get’s a number that changes in real time based on the system’s evaluation of their threat to society. Officers can read these number by pointing their weapons at them.

Both Psycho-pass and Durara take advantage of different aspects of their Urban setting. Whereas Durarara focuses heavily on the large amount of diversity that is present in sprawling Urban centers, Psycho-pass focuses more on the large pockets of crime that exist in cities, largely due to the overwhelming amount of poverty that is generally present.

The question of whether or not someone is truly guilty when judged by a questionable system is at the heart of Psycho-pass, and the show works much better in the heart of the city than it would in the rural outskirts.

Sakurako-san’s Bones

Based on what I’ve seen on MAL, there are a lot of people who didn’t like this show or just found it generic. I, however, largely disagree. Sakurako-san brings an interesting, mystery detective story about a teenage boy and his favorite scientist

The story centers around Shoutarou and the title character Sakurako. Shoutarou is a high schooler who one day on his way home meets Sakurako while walking through the woods. Immediately, Shoutarou became interested in her and later learns that she is an Osteologist who helps police in solving crimes based on human remains.

There are a few things I’ll admit right off the bat. Shoutarou is not a ground-breaking, dynamic character, and nothing about the animation or music is especially high-quality. That being said, Sakurako-san’s Bones is still a wonderfully-interesting and worthwhile show. It uses the past as a way to tell the story of the present, and because of that, you get a lot of side characters who get considerably well developed for most of the time only being in one episode.

It is definitely reminiscent of the mystery elements of the first half of Durarara, so if that’s something you like, you’ll definitely enjoy this.

What did you guys think of these recommendations? What have you already seen? Is Sakurako-san’s Bones actually the worst anime ever, as I’ve heard some say? Let me know in the comments. I hope you all enjoyed. Thanks for Reading and bye for now, Friendos!