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recentanimenews · 5 years

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Isekai, Ranked

If Anime is escapism, there is no better way to escape than plunging Into Another World, where our niche skills and routine possessions may shake the fabric of reality! From MMO-inspired, to hard fantasy, there are many types of shows on this list but no movies nor series we haven’t seen recently. Bring all disagreements to the comments below!

1. Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World Re:Zero takes Isekai’s love for fish-out-of-water stories on step further: through brutal, expectation breaking blind sides, it makes the viewer a fish out of water too! Dripping with fantastic animation, Re:Zero true strength is the balance of its highly detailed world without over explaining its magic system, time loop mechanic and political systems. It also earns bonus points for limiting the application of its protagonist’s powerful magic and technological advantages.

2. Sword Art Online (1st season) In the narrowest of second places, SAO pairs top shelf animation with an approachable cast and easy to appreciate central conflict. Its lovingly constructed MMO setting aside, Kirito’s mistakes and occasional darkness elevate him above his potentially generic good-at-everything character type and Asuka plays the strongest heroine/love interest on the list.

3. Now and Then, Here and There Imagine if Digimon told a bleak about story sex trafficking child soldiers trapped on a waterless world with a maniac king? NTHT’s intense swerve from adorable into darkness is on par with Re:Zero and, much like Natsuki Subaru, HTHT’s Shu must rely on ‘durability’ and ‘heart’ to make it through. While some of it’s later tragic moments are predictable, this f’ed-up little anime scores major points for telling a complete story and having that story grow Shu from simpleton into a conflicted young adult.

4. Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet While Red’s post-earth scifi origin may stretch the common definition of Isekai, being trapped in a primitive culture that treats him (and his AI-driven mech Chamber) like a hero of old does not. Beautifully, Gargantia flips the script and makes Red’s overwhelming power, and killing in general, at odds with the local people.

5. Yōjo Senki / The Saga of Tanya the Evil Give us World War I with magic, a gender swapped villain as our protagonist, and God as our antagonist, and you’ve given us something pretty damn original. Like Gargantia, this reborn in another world captures thinking differently about the world can be as powerful and terrifying as unworldly strength. Without question, Yojo Senki’s cast is the most uniquely imagined on this list.

6. No Game No Life Like Tanya, the Blank twins piss off god and are sent to another world as punishment. However, their punishment is much more stylish and… harem. Underneath NGNL’s acid-soaked panties, over the top protagonists and the psychedelic color pallet, lives a show featuring thoughtful puzzles and imaginative spins on classic gamble to win story telling. Sadly, its story ends unfinished…

7. KonoSuba One part jab at Isekai and one part love letter to the starting town of every fantasy MMO, KonoSuba is all parts ruthlessly funny! While this reborn in another world (with a goddess!) show is not be as smartly written as NGNL, and it becomes repetitive after a time, the constant frenetic action more than makes up for it.

8. Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash Quiet, thoughtful, and full of sadness, this hard fantasy Isekai doesn’t care if its heroes are reborn in another world or trapped in a dungeon crawl afterlife. Building family bonds and connecting with people who would not normally be friends is all that matters… and it’s lovingly animated to boot!

9. ReCreators As a reverse Isekai, ReCreators distinguishes itself by bringing the other world to us. The experience is fantastically animated and packed with clever dialog that somehow breaths sincerity into a profoundly silly plot. The cast is quite diverse, both in design and personality, which keeps the action fresh, yet somehow cohesive throughout. It’s only major flaw is, the final act, which is way to drawn out.

10. The Devil is a Part Timer No I’m not kidding! This reverse Isekai’s premise that the Devil is trapped in our world and must work at McDonnald’s to get by is charming. While DiaPT’s humor isn’t particularly specific to the devil, the jokes are punchy, and the overall plot develops at a respectable pace. As an added treat, the opening gothic fantasy fight scenes are surprisingly well animated.

11. Log Horizon (1st season) Most exposition heavy, trapped in an MMO themed Isekai featuring ‘top ranked’ players crumble after a few episodes. More often than not, these shows try too hard to sell the coolness of their game worlds, user interfaces, and central characters. Miraculously, Log Horizon gets better mid season with a simple question: if former NPCs have personalities, can grow and learn, and even die, are they more human than the former players that dismiss them as background texture? Still, it takes Log Horizon six episodes to get going and good lord is it gray looking…

12. Overlord (3 Seasons) This transported into an MMO Isekai mirrors its main character: it is competent but not sure what it should be doing at any given moment. Sometimes the protagonists are villains and sometimes they are heroes. More often than not, characters are given lavish screen time to develop, only to be slaughtered whimsically. The resulting narrative is full of call backs and revealed foreshadowing… yet hasn’t gone very far in 3 seasons and hasn’t asked any interesting questions along the way.

13. El Hazard – The Magnificent World (OAV/TV) Predestined paradox, trans-dimensional time jumping high school students (and their drunk gym teacher) are trapped in an Arabian Nights’like land besieged by sentient bugs, a secret tribe of assassins from another dimension, and a death star like eye of god orbiting nearby. If you watched anime in the 1990s it will all be familiar but it still manages to feel original yet cohesive production. The character abilities are wonderful, the tragedy is nice, and plenty is left up to your own imagination to fill in the blanks. A bland, fault free, protagonist and a boy-crazy harem vibe are the only reasons it isn’t higher on the list.

14. Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri This invading the other world Isekai flips the script to deliver political intrigue, clash of culture, and commentary on Japanese society. It loses points for being a overly harem, relying on super dumb/super evil antagonists, and a dull protagonist but it’s fun enough to watch.

15. Drifters Stylishly violent, strikingly ugly, historical character filled and utterly bonkers, this reborn in another world Isekai’s uniqueness will hold your attention. Even if you do not want it to.

16. Rise of the Shield Hero (2 Seasons) On paper, this transported to an MMO world Isekai’s “treat the hero like crap,” “watch him accept the role of a slave-buying villain” and ultimately “rise to become the true hero” concept is great. Revealing that the world he’s saving may be less redeemable than the world the invaders are trying to save is also great. Too bad its padded and many of the arbitrary delays and narrative dead ends feel like cop outs.

17. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime While it lacks the initial hardcore’ness of Shield Hero, this reborn in another world Isekai is pleasantly animated and full of heart. The idea that naming monsters grants them power is a pretty neat mechanic too. It just sort bounces from idea to idea without a sense of purpose of resolution. One minute it’s a story of unlikely friendship, then magic destiny, then town builder, then harem, and onto magic school and isn’t about anything in particular until a hastily thrown together plot ties it up at the end. It scores points for making its hero a slime… although the reborn aspect never feels played with or justified.

18. Angel Beats! If the gun fetish, kids fighting a loli-angel instead of attending school in the afterlife plot weren’t so dumb and drawn out, this rebirth story’s touching moments would push it much higher. There’s a really good tale of life cut short, reunion after death, and again after rebirth here and it gets major bonus points for finishing the story it had to tell. Totally squandered.

19. Death March / Kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukyoku Like Shield Hero, this reborn in an MMO Isekai is actually quite good looking. However, its Gary-Stue protagonist, harem and absurd narrative padding make it far less interesting. OMG how many episodes are about making lunch?! That’s too bad because the concept of code-like “copy and paste” magic system is pretty neat.

20. Wiseman’s Grandson / Kenja no Mago Despite opening with a modern day man being killed, this reborn into a fantasy world Isekai is more Magic School than Isekai. The only thread that connects the protagonist’s lives is that he can look at magic with an eye for process instead of outcome. The result is harmless easy watching but harem elements, a slow pace and lack of getting anywhere narratively hold it back.

21. How Not to Summon a Demon Lord This summoned into an MMO Isekai starts off as charming, but ecchi-heavy, before abruptly turning dark at the end of the season. We’re talking ‘make a child watch as her best friend is slowly tortured to death’ and creepo ‘finger-bang a loli cat girl in order to give birth to the demon inside her’ level dark. While those elements elevate HNtSaDL above niche appeal of its harm and MMO content, they aren’t so interesting to earn my recommendation.

22. Problem Children are coming from Another World, Aren’t They? The non-ecchi poor man’s No Game no Life features a talking cat that only some characters can understand and dreadful music. TFW smooth jazz? There’s some cuteness to be had, and the solutions to gambling games can be clever, but the overall vibe is low energy. It loses drama points because its protagonist is as smart as a god and physically stronger.

23. Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks? This poor man’s Konosuba is occasionally funny, satire of RPG conventions and family relationships. Mama’s skill that interrupts whatever her son is doing, no matter what it is or where he is in the game world, is particularly charming. Unfortunately, there’s no avoiding the creepo factor of sexualizing that family relationship.

24. Restaurant from Another World My mom is secretly from another world and my restaurant’s front door connects back to that world each day is certainly unique, but it’s structured more like a food-porn show than Isekai. While the linkages of each patron become clear over time, few characters are not aware of those connections themselves. The result never feels like it gets anywhere.

25. In Another World With My Smartphone Stories without risk are still watchable when they immerse us an interesting world, or delve into niche details like food or how magic works, or sleeze us with harems and sex appeal. Smartphone fails all of these things. Worse, it does nothing with it’s one idea: protagonist Touya is reborn in a fantasy world with smartphone. Except, GOD GIVES HIM GOD TIER MAGIC FROM THE GET-GO! Ironically, Re:Zero and No Game No Life both use of a cell phones in more interesting ways, and Tanya’s God isn’t even comparable. Unoriginal, unfunny, not dramatic, not sexy, not worth watching.

26. Maou-sama, Retry! This transported to an MMO Isekai’s trash production values, and bizarre characters are hard to take seriously. The results are sometimes so terrible they are funny, such as incompetent background music transitions and detailed horses hiding at the edges of the frame. Sadly, a bland harem and complete lack of narrative objective kill the mood.

27. Isekai Izakaya Imagine a low energy, public access style show, with a tourism theme, that featuring a modern Japanese restaurant that serves fantasy world patrons…

28. Isekai Cheat Magician A loveless summoned to a fantasy world Isekai who’s protagonists are the most powerful and purely good characters could deserve a niche rating. Not this one. The narrative sort of ‘skips the boring stuff’ and, in doing so, skips character development. Hilariously, what the narrative does show is poorly animated, always underwhelming magic battle scenes or people standing around talking.

29. Endride Without dialog, this stumbled into a magic world Isekai’s vibrant color and crisp art would be watchable. The fact that the world is somehow inside of Earth’s core and the sparse use of mythology are unique, but its dumb-as-bricks whiny teen protagonists have the maturity of a small children. There are many unintentionally funny moments like scientists using gigantic laptops or the king’s magic weapon looking like a safety pin. Ultimately, the cast is so unlikeable that the show itself is unwatchable.

By: oigakkosan

#Anime #News #RABUJOI – An Anime Blog

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budgetcamerafun · 7 years

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Reviewed: Nikon F5

My first photo instruction book from 2001 in the background

A few weeks ago I experienced a brief, sweeping feeling of sentimentality. I recalled memories of standing in a Borders in the Fall of 2001, perusing the magazines on an easy-going Sunday afternoon where I grew up outside of Chicago. As I paged through Popular Photography, Outdoor Photographer, etc. I was newly, thoroughly addicted to photography and wanted to read up on all the techniques. I also wanted to become acquainted with the epic amount of gear one could acquire to improve their skill, as well as keep their addiction fed. One particular professional SLR that always stuck out to me was the latest bomb-proof masterpiece sitting at the top of the hierarchy from Nikon: the F5.

The Nikon F5 had just debuted five years earlier in 1996 and was deep in circulation among professionals and serious enthusiasts. Seeing its bold, muscular body in the pages of magazines on display, whether in the rain capturing a football game or beautifully framed in a studio, made me lust after its epic specifications, renowned viewfinder and surgically-crisp shutter. I dreamed of owning such a fine piece of equipment and all of the amazing shoots it could accompany me on.

Fast-forward to present day and the trigger that shoved me down this quick stretch of memory lane: a bored Sunday evening on eBay. I had been shooting a ton lately, film and digital, and have been on a bulky SLR kick. I sold my Canon 6D to try out the slightly bulkier/heavier 5D Mark II and I picked up a PB-E1 grip for my OG 1989 Canon EOS-1. What better way to fulfill this little equipment addiction, as well as re-introduce myself to Nikon, than to look for a cheap Nikon F4 or F5 on eBay. F6s are out of the question as they’re still well out of my price range.

Sure enough after considering bidding on some cheaper, good condition F5s in the low 200s, I came across a really clean one for sale by my favorite equipment seller on eBay for only $244 shipped. Since I now live in Los Angeles and shipping would be expensive for a 3-4 pound SLR body, I went for it.

5 days later it showed up, I loaded up a roll of excellent nighttime film as quickly as I possibly could, and had a fresh pack of batteries and Nikkor 50mm 1.8 AF lens ready for it. I went out shooting on Hollywood Blvd and the Griffith Park Observatory.

While I haven’t quite gotten that first roll developed yet (my shot roll organization method is absolutely terrible), I have managed to shoot a total of 7 rolls with the F5 in a little over a week - thats a TON for me. Its a lot and its truly dangerous, because buying/developing film still adds up, and any shot that isn’t that great is a direct hit to my wallet. Though I can happily report that I’ve been very satisfied with what I’ve shot so far!

A few days after I shot that first roll I shot 4 rolls walking around shooting street in Venice Beach - I was trying to (and was actually pretty successful at) shooting inconspicuously with the most conspicuous camera ever.

If film companies want consumers to shoot more film they should just loan out Nikon F5s for folks to play with, because holy crap does it make you want to fly through a roll so fast. You’re not only motivated to experience the camera itself, but you’re motivated to get out and try and make some great shots!

This thing is truly a dream to shoot with. You completely forget about the fact that its really heavy, that its very large and menacing. I’m a taller dude so it doesn’t look quite as massive hung around my neck. What you will never forget about, though, is the incredibly fast autofocus, the suuuper intuitive meter and the buttery smooth shutter. One cannot also deny its seamless cycling, tough exterior, super comfortable grip and super bright viewfinder.

I don’t think I’ve dry-fired a camera as much in between un-loading/loading rolls as shooting with the F5. It makes the coolest noises that would please anyone with even just the slightest inclination for intuitive, precision engineering. Advancing to frame 1 on a fresh roll alone is so cool: load the roll, close the back (a solid feeling in itself), press the shutter button, and hear it quickly fire off 3 shots while the rewind lever spins to start the roll.

Another cool attribute that not everyone thinks about: you can shoot more than 24 or 36 frames on a roll! My Canon EOS-1V doesn’t do that; I the F5 stops advancing frames when it feels tension, whereas the 1V definitely goes by what the film canister’s DX coding tells it (if only there were a way to make it blind to DX coding…).

The precision nature of this camera makes it great for street photography in that the shutter isn’t very loud. It’s a very solid-yet-muffled snap that doesn’t arouse suspicion in an open area. I took a couple of snaps right near and sometimes in front of folks and between my stealth body language and the quiet shutter they were none the wiser.

The bulkiness really wasn’t any kind of an annoyance. I was schlepping around for nearly 3 hours and never did my wrist start to hurt, or neck get sore, etc. Perhaps the way I hold my cameras when I’m walking around helps (I like to press the bottom against my chest and hold it with my right hand from below, I like to think that helps with wrist fatigue, stealthiness as well as readiness). Having a body that’s quite comfortable in the hands and doesn’t make me scrunch my grip probably helps a bit too.

The big, bright viewfinder is such a huge plus: it makes framing quick shots super easy, its great for low-light, and can only imagine its absolutely ace for super dark night photography as well.

Speaking of low-light shooting, the mirror balancing system in this camera made it great for such lighting conditions. Its definitely a lot smoother at 1/40th, 1/25th, etc., than any other camera I’ve shot with. I’m confident that the first roll I shot, the roll of Fuji Natura 1600 at the Griffith Observatory, will turn out fairly crisp because of this. Examples to come (fingers crossed I’m not totally wrong).

My only real gripe is visibility of the shutter/aperture settings and the in-focus indicator in the viewfinder: on a bright day they are hard to read. Since I was shooting in sunny Venice it was a little bit of a hindrance. Though I put up with it just fine; all of the benefits of this mechanical piece of art far outweighed this little detail.

Its so cool to go out and shoot with the camera that was top of the line when I first got into photography around 15 years ago. The advent of digital and much lower demand for film equipment has been such a great thing for a budget-minded shooter like me; I can’t say I’m inclined or financially able to pick up a Nikon D4S, but man can I get a decent amount of the same experience by picking up a Nikon F5 and loading up a quality roll of film, such as Kodak Ektar 100 or Fuji Pro 400H. The stuff I lusted after when I was a teenager is so affordable now, and its dangerous! I also kind of feel like this situation is a watered-down version of a middle-aged dude buying an old muscle car or lightly used late-model Corvette.

Thanks very much for reading! Please feel free to follow and read more of my slightly esoteric ramblings, and please also check out more photos I shot with the Nikon F5 on my regularly-updated tumblr.

It had been a looong time since my last review - I’m confident in saying that I’m going to start writing more on here. Stay tuned!

#Nikon #F5 #Nikon F5 #camera #review #SLR #camera review #professional #film camera #film is not dead #analogue #believe in film #90s #35mm #budget camera fun #peter j nelson photography #shooter #photography

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