Heat Guy J Live Reacts
While watching Gungrave I remembered this show existed. Here are a compilation of discord messages I sent while watching the show over the course of ~2 weeks.
Key points:
- This just might be an escaflowne AU
- werewolves heck yes
- better women than gungrave
- surprise "tomatoes in anime" research
do I watch Heat Guy J (26 eps, similar to gungrave) or do I watch Black lagoon (29 eps, sexy guns starring a lady)
I'm leaning toward Heat Guy J for my grey haired man quota
I'm playing Heat Guy J ep 1 now
so far the music is good lol
kill bill inspired
or kill bill was inspired bythis?
I don't remember when either of those came out
wow the voices are so much cooler sounding in japanese
they just sound lame in english
but english uses less brain power so I'll deal
I'm gonna play all these at 1.5x speed because I'm on a strict schedule
wow the cgi in this anime did not age well
I think this show shares a character designer with escaflowne
… I might have to get this soundtrack
damn this ost is all over the place
but in a good way
I'm only 12min into the first ep this is crazy
ok alan schezar
hey look, it's Chid Freid all grown up
shut up, emo dildandau
also, they call the don of their mafia "vampire" (that's the title of the position)
That's pretty neat
I'm pretty sure that's just a simplified bra design but this is the 2nd time she's shown up and all I can think of when I see her is "furry boobs"
this dude [Claire] seriously is dilandau
straight up psychotic
werewolf or werecat? Hmmmmm
WHAT
prisoners have their dna altered so when/if they escape prison, their faces are altered to look like beasts
That is such an INSANE policy
who puts sunflowers on a grave wtf
I started Heat Guy J I'm just starting ep 3 Here's my thoughts so far:
Surprisingly way more interesting than I thought it would be
The OST is god tier imo
Character design is very similar to vision of escaflowne
the android design is unique and cool
bonus: at least one werewolf
ep4
it is a werewolf
hecc yeah
"Have you seen my bunny?"
I think I found Van
oh
If we take personality into account
This guy is actually folken
hot
this irish jig thing they have for the fight scenes is really entertaining
the russian roulette guy is the werewolf
And I'm going back on the folken thing
He's definitely Van
ep5
I think this will be the last one for me tonight
fun times
[someone else says:
Heat Guy J episode 1: October 1, 2002.
Kill Bill Vol 1 premiere: October 30, 2003
]
gonna try and get the next 5 eps of heat guy j done
starting with ep 6
alright what's with the tomato symbolism in anime
this didn't just come out of nowhere in new anime and now it's in heat guy j
[someone says: So Google has no idea why tomatoes
I thought there would be like some sort of analysis on tomatoes as a symbolic device in anime ]
No it's probably not that direct like maybe japan exports a ton of tomatoes or something?
like if potatoes show up in some irish show
There's a lot of history behind that (because of the potato famine) regardless of how they are actually used in the show
There is a reason
Just like how english is always saying "oh my god" or why they say "bless you" when you sneeze
That seems benign
but the reason for it is because english speakers are/were predominantly christian
Nobody's going to write an essay about why english speakers use "oh my god" or "bless you" in mass media
It's something ingrained in the culture, so you'd have to look in a different context (different from its connection to why it shows up in tv shows a lot) to find the answer you're looking for
I guess ep 6 is "the stock market episode"
oh boy they're really hamfisting the lessons in this one already
oh boy they just explained the difference between stocks and commodities
they also explained shorts (without calling them shorts)
J just caught a bullet with his BARE HANDS and it wasn't even a special scene or anything IT JUST HAPPENED
WHAT
dilandau is like "I don't want you around anymore" to his butler
so the butler is like "ok" AND THEN PUTS A GUN TO HIS HEAD FOR SUICIDE
that's fucking crazy
just leave the organization
It was a free pass
ep7
cool he's got a scar now
also it was just confirmed that THIS ONE is a cat
Back to tomatoes in anime:
https://tasteofculture.com/2023/07/17/tomatoes-in-japan/ not as in-depth as I was hoping for
but my armchair guess is it symbolizes a gaijin making a big change to the culture and succeeding
maybe an underdog story
that also happens to look pretty
I wonder if this is why the tomato is getting spotlight in new anime https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Science/Japan-approves-gene-edited-super-tomato.-But-will-anyone-eat-it
why do japanese love the tomato so much? :skeptical fry.jpg:
https://www.bbcspirits.com/gb/other-alcohols/729-liqueur-japan-la-tomato.html
ok so [person] might be onto something with the "it's just pretty" thing
https://www.ishs.org/ishs-article/100_10
this abstract makes it more clear that tomatoes were grown primarily because they were pretty. They didn't start eating them until the 1920s!
starting ep 10 now
alright
Let's see if I can get to ep 15
I want to start a different series
ep11 was about mind control
You know, it's been awhile since we saw the werewolf guy
I wonder if he'll be in ep12
Heat Guy J is way more entertaining than the trailer made it seem
but there's no real over-arching plot so I'm kind of bored of it now
But not bored enough of it that I am ok abandoning it without finishing
HELL YEAH WEREWOLF GUY IS IN THIS ONE
oh lame
they reused the animation from the other episode 😔
ep13 (yay)
if I could finish this series today, that would be cool
idk if I can keep focused on it much longer though
I actually kind of want to go to bed… :reigensweat: (it's only 6pm here)
Starting ep15
The last one for today
oh damn
they legit destroyed heat guy j
they just gave the main character super lsd
… j will make a full recovery
damn plot armor
damn MC's (Daisuke) got plot armor from the super lsd too
what a letdown
well ep15 is over and nothing has fundamentally changed
I'm going to bed I guess
And by "Bed" i mean laying down and browsing reddit on my phone til I fall asleep
ok let's see if I can get through 16 - 20 of heat guy j tonight
ep16
MC's brother, alan with glasses, was shot and is in the hospital. I guess he doesn't have plot armor.
Meanwhile, dildandau's organization tries to overthrow him because he's too psychotic
I wasn't paying much attention, I'm not sure if it succeeded or not
ep17 continues this plot
MC & J leave the city and MC smells clean air and grass for the first time
He doesn't like nature smells
one random side character is the voice of those toonami music video narrator's (outlaw star narrator?) and it's sooo weird
hell yeah werewolf is back
werewolf guy aka van is actually just a deus ex
He only appeared for 5 seconds to make plot armor for MC 😩
ep18
MC got fired from the special unit. So he and J are now no longer partners
alan is out of the hospital
I think MC is going after the gang organization that dildandau used to be head of. is currently head of? It's still confusing
ok looks like dildandau is uhhh not present mentally and is maybe on the run
So I guess the coup succeeded
lol dildandau's character name is claire
rival crime gangs are all after claire because they need his eyes to defeat some retinal scanner to access a ton of gold
J has been re-activated to be the plot armor for MC, who happens to be in the same room as clair currently while this gang war is going on
yadda yadda somehow MC got the special unit formed again
ep19
MC trying to recruit werewolf to the new special unit
oh
werewolf history episode
yay
werewolf joined them
yay
ep20
Probably the last one before bed tonight
There's 26 eps total, so maybe I can finish it tomorrow
ep20
today we learn lightsabers just casually exist in this universe
oh
There's also an evil clone of J apparently
the evil J is trying to kill the MCs but normal J is nowhere to be found
I wonder why that is
oh
there he is
finally
J vs J battle has commenced
J is so OP
evil J is dead now
ehhhh let's watch ep 21, then call it
some random side character has lost his black cat, named juliet
aaaand now he's dead
juliet sees it
And with his dying breath, he reaches for the cat "I have to make sure that you get home"
Sad
surprisingly powerful for random side character who has never shown up before
oh wait
He has shown up before
lmao his name is romeo
of course he'd name his cat juliet
poor juliet
ok ep21 done bed now finish heat guy j tomorrow hopefully
alright
let's see if we can watch the last 5 eps of heat guy j today
beginning ep 22
this time the killer machine is A WOMAN!
you know, this show has more women than the last one (Gungrave), which is good, but so far every single "evil" woman has been mind controlled
meaning apparently women don't have the power to be bad of their own accord
So that's kind of weird that it's happened twice now
the mechanic for J is very obviously in love with him
I mean it was obvious from the first ep she was introduced but now it's even more obvious
This looks like it's going to turn into "the beach episode"
oh shit, the island's owned by sephiroth! 😂
ep 23
There's a reoccuring small girl photographer character. She sells photos from a carriage on the street with a mule.
So we start this ep with her carriage (which is also her house) burning to the ground
girl is stoic, mom is crying and sobbing
Girl says "Darn. I forgot my camera. I bet I could've sold a photo of this to the news for some money"
monica (the girl) now lives with the special squad
and she is spitting some straight facts
J has agreed to pretend to be monica's dad
She is using him as a stage performer so she can get money LOL
Now she's using him to gamble haha
so you're telling me that in all the years MC has been carrying this bullet pendant around his neck, he never once tried to open it?
give me a break
Monica opened it and found a memory card inside which is a thing MC needed to solve a crime
anyway, ep24 time
woman assassin!
is she acting of her own accord though? Let's find out
Turns out MC's brother, Alan (actually named Shun) was the evil one all along!
Oh
Female assassin is actually J's technician! womp womp
and shun just killed her
sad trombone.mp3
and now he's controlling J!
oh no.jpg
ep25 begins (second to last episode)
claire/dildandau makes a triumphant return, to tell MC his brother is the one behind this!
Because MC was too dumb to figure it out himself for some reason
rather than MC fighting J, beautiful werewolf deus ex appears out of nowhere and forces J into sleep mode
something weird is happening with alan's voice
I'm predicting he is actually an android as well
Let's see if this bet pays off
dildandau got his organization back
same face syndrome killed me
the assassin was shun/alan's assistant, not J's technician
time to start the final ep, ep26
this is dumb
the anime is too episodic
now what do I want to watch next? (even though ep26 is still going on in the background)
- High Card
- Link Click season 2
- Blood Blockade Battlefront
- Grenadier
- Noein
- Black Lagoon
Currently I am interested in lots of guns and gray haired men
idk which is more important so maybe a good 50/50 ratio is perfect 🤔
well if we go in download date order, I should do Black Lagoon next…
MC to evil brother: "The only think I'm here to kill… Is your anger" 😂
plot armor is in full effect in this episode
now there's fireworks because some random deus ex kills everyone that mattered to the coup
evil brother tries to kill himself
nothing matters
evil brother is not an android
sad
evil brother does not die and decides to not be evil anymore
they gave him amnesty
This has less stakes than an MCU movie
MC goes on a kino's journey without J
series ends
super lame
I am going to make a very nonsensical decision and start High Card next
oh no its japanese with subs only! 😩
I don't want to deal with that right now
Guess I'll go with Black Lagoon
I finished Heat Guy J
It's too episodic for my tastes
Also the plot armor was super thick
I have started Black Lagoon
I'm on ep9 currently
It's much better
(Heat Guy J OST was still amazing though)
the only thing black lagoon is missing is a silver haired guy
well there's 29 eps... More than enough time for one to show up
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Black Lagoon Live Reacts
A compilation of discord messages as I watched the entirety of Black Lagoon over the course of ~1 week.
CW: racism(?), spend a lot of time talking about nazis and swastikas, also mentions of child trafficking and sexual violence
Bonus: learn a little bit about my time in the US Navy
wow black lagoon's OP's lyrics are… something
Somehow, Revy is not at all how I pictured her being based on AMVs
…. is this SBMA
they did mention subic bay…. 🤔
ok I'm just going with my headcanon of this being the philippines
it feels right
Also it's kinda weird this is a place I have been to
this anime would hit a lot harder had I seen it closer to the time I got out of the navy
weird word choice
I mean I'd probably like it a lot more back then
ep1 of black lagoon is over
The ED is curious 👀
I will continue more eps later
[someone asked for clarification about what I meant about the "when I got out of the navy" thing]
It was super exciting to see shows that took place in places I've been
I have a feeling that outlaw bar is based on SBMA in the philippines https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subic_Bay_Metropolitan_Authority
(I guess technically the location is subic bay freeport zone, but we just called it "the sbma" )
We stopped there every deployment to stock up on supplies and it was so dirty that eventually I just stopped getting off the ship because it wasn't worth it
I also really was into any anime that had anything to do with Kyushu, which is where the home port was (Sasebo specifically)
I was stationed on an LHD (amphibious assault ship) and our base was shared with JSDF ships
We didn't interact with them much, but I went to their cafeteria once
Anyway, it was just cool to be like "Hey I recognize XYZ" in anime
Same as anyone noticing their local areas, I assume
It just got extra cool points because "my places" were more "exotic" in relation to my american peers, I guess
Nowadays I have so few emotions it's like "Oh, cool…. anyway"
Also it's now 10+ years ago. So it feels kind of dumb to keep holding on to those memories.
Especially when it was barely 3 years of my life
ep3 of black lagoon
cambodia
Another place I've been :heh:
just wear the shirt, Rock, you fool
ep4 is about nazis
I wonder if this was intentional.
I just got back from my neighbors
They talked for an hour 😩
I am back to ep4 of black lagoon
Idk how many eps I will watch today
It seems like a good show but it is again, episodic
ok
these are clearly nazis
They call themselves nazis
they heil hitler
but their armbands have some symbol other than the swastika
… why bother?
this story continues to ep5
So guess I'll watch that one too
ok they specifically mention hitler but they don't actually do the hand motion
they use the iron eagle
eh….
If you want to censor the most offensive parts, then why not use something that is based on nazis instead of actually nazis but with weird symbols?
or maybe this is a real symbol I'm unfamiliar with?
oh
They just did the hitler salute for real
now they're singing some nazi marching song
idk if it's real or not but why go through all of this
and still not show the swastika?
oop there it is
Revy is supposed to be chinese? wtf
doesn't look that at all
At least Rock looks japanese-ish
starting ep6
ok this is not as episodic as I thought
ep6 is the "die nazi scum" episode
ep7
some lady is editing porn videos lol
yeah you fucking go, Rock!
Love this character shift
[someone says: "Black lagoon is weird. Surprisingly philosophical given that it's advertised as dumb action"]
That's surprisingly accurate.
ep 8 of black lagoon
Making good time here
we've entered the child trafficking episode
[someone mentions having to drop "The Great Pretender" due to a child trafficking arc]
eh it's just one kid and it's not sexual
I wonder if the great pretender is worth watching (for me) though
wow revy cleans up good
oh
this isn't revy?
:skeptical:
ep9 of black lagoon has been started
ep12
I love how multi-cultural this show is
This ep is pretty racist though 😂
lmao boob sweat
man I'm flying through these eps
I guess that means I like the series
I was going to start ep 13 but actually 12 was a good stopping point so guess I'll go to bed instead
Bed being mindlessly scrolling through reddit til sleep comes, that is
I'm watching black lagoon ep 13 now
grey haired twin kids who might be incestuous?
Oh hey
Thailand
yet another place I've been
ep14
they shot the dogs 😔
we've reached the sexual child trafficking plot
One of the random side characters sounds like bender from futurama and that's a bit weird
ep15
wow
2 grown women who are bounty hunters / mercs and super strong split up and one of them flips out about how she can't walk to her car alone lmao what
alright so Black Lagoon actually mostly takes place in Thailand near the border of Cambodia and not SBMA at all.
So of course I immediately assumed Pattaya just because that's where I've been lmao
and basic google searching says I'm not far off.
Black Lagoon takes place in a fictional city named Roanapur and it has a big buddha statue.
Reddit claims the main theories of the location this is based on is Chanthaburi or Trat. One reddit user says that buddha statue is probably Hua Laem Pagoda, which is about 2 hours from Pattaya :wheeze:
Man I really wish I watched this anime closer to my Navy time
What would Navy me say about this show?
this ep really is… a lot
a bit too real with the horrors of child trauma :(
Oh the ED changed
instead of Revy leaving her boots behind
It's a girl in a nightgown
oh it's the twins
how sad :(
ep16
time to counterfeit USD
"What is it witht his city? Everyone looks so damn shady"
haha
Oh, sweet summer child.
That's just Southeast asia
lmao "Mister elvis"
oh hey
the blonde nun with the sunglasses is voiced by the owl witch VA in owl house
LOTTON THE WIZARD
:wheeze:
(and of course he's got gray hair)
ep17
the nun's name is eda
how coincidental with owl house 😂
"That room's worked the last 4 times out of 7!"
Ah ha A perfect 4/7 score heh
this show has a ton of strong ladies and no obvious fan service
Except this episode
This side character has had so many random panty shots
ep 18
the localization in this is great 😂
lmao lotton the wizard is just as stupid as the name implies
Love how that joke paid off
WHAT A TWIST
bullet proof jacket
stupid american damaging the engine of the boat he's on in the middle of the goddamn ocean
ep20
lmao, of course its Roppongi
ok I think I'm done with black lagoon for the night
idk if I want to go to bed yet but I'm kinda over black lagoon for now
I really don't feel like watching anything right now but I realized tomorrow is my last day of freedom before my parents come back for a month so I kind of have to finish the show now or else I most likely won't finish it at all
so here we go with ep 21 of black lagoon
oh this is scarred lady's flashback/backstory ep
ep22
dumb girl who's never seen danger is convinced she's strong enough to lead a band of yakuza
unsurprisingly, she gets captured and starts to realize how out of her depth she is when they argue about how they're gonna rape her
Hell yeah Revy shows idiot man how much of a weak bitch he is
YuGiOh's Tristan uses katana to slice bitch ass's gun IN HALF
More news at 11
schoolgirl calling Rock OUT
she decides to stay in the dark world and stick with the yakuza boss thing
I wonder if she'll show up later
ep23
scarred lady has been trying to take over japan
It seems to be working
looks like schoolgirl is going to stay in the picture for the next few episodes at least
really don't know what to think about Rock's whole identity crisis thing
part of me wants to say he's a fool but the other part wants to say "he's 14 and this is deep"
we're on ep 24 now
out of 29
…. I've decided rock is an idiot
ok rock is an idiot but at least he's not completely delusional like Yukio/schoolgirl
damn
she killed herself
the ED changed to rock music lol
I have 4 eps of black lagoon left but I am absolutely not feeling it
There's just no urge to finish, no specific thing I am waiting to learn about or see happen
Unless I force myself to finish today, I am 99% sure I will never pick it up again
finally starting ep25 of black lagoon
Let's see if I finish this today
they should make some kind of gun maid anime
they really honed in on a niche here
ep 27
grey haired wizard dude is back and he is absolutely stupid and I love him
oh no
she's gonna kill the boy 😭
roberta's story is the most captivating of this series
ep28
oh he got saved…
lmao the wolf sounds for her
LOL just kick grey haired guy right in the balls like nothing and continue on
ep29! the last one
wow a revy flashback
That was… something
this play is falling apart
I distinctly remember the major taking the gun back from the kid in the previous episode
I don't know what's going to happen here but I assume it's going to be a horrifying blood bath of all parties
ewwwwww her finger
…. alright I might be too dumb to get the ending
so I am just left disappointed and confused
buuut I finished it
So there's that, I guess
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