Anime, Comic, and Games

Comic (Manga)

My first manga was the Dragon Ball, and since then I have been very fond of this medium. I think it is an very intricate, rich yet difficult way to tell stories. Though not very successful, I tried to create my own manga during middle school days.

I usually choose manga based on both artistic styles and stories. It is sometimes very interesting to read long manga series and see how the artist's drawing techniques or understanding of his/her own characters evolves over time. Here are some mangas that I love.

  • Dragon Ball (龙珠): The classic by Akira Toriyama. I have been reading it since middle school days. My copy had a few pages missing at the end of the last volume, so for a long time I thought it was an open ending.
  • The Ravages of Time (火凤燎原): A manga series by Hong Kong comic artist Chan Mou. A fascinating reinterpretation of the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history.
  • Bakuman (爆漫王): A manga series written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. A very interesting manga depicting the life of Manga artists. The artistic style is also very beautiful and delicate.
  • 3x3 Eyes (三只眼): A manga by Yuzo Takada. I liked the artistic styles, the imaginative stories and the development of the characters.
  • Ruler of the Land (热血江湖): A manga by Korean artists Jae Hyun Yang Geuk-jin Jeon. I'm a big fan of Wuxia (武侠). Unfortunately there are not many wuxia-related manga that matches my taste. I started reading it in middle school, and since they are still slowly updating it today (2021), this is the manga that I have been following for the longest time.
  • Ranma ½ (乱马 ½): A classic by Rumiko Takahashi, and a perfect combination of comedy and martial arts. Takahashi is truly a master. I feel no matter how many times I revisit this manga, I will find new details on a corner of some page that will make me laugh.

Animes

Anime and manga are closely related but also very different media. Here is a sample of animes that I like.

  • Ghost in the Shell (攻殻機動隊): cyberpunk. A set of TV series and OVAs. The earlier ones are especially good. Great artwork and very interesting stories discussing AI, consciousness, social problems, etc.
  • Evangelion (新世纪福音战士): classical cyborg fighting anime series, with TVs and many OVAs, including the Evangelion: New Theatrical Edition (ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版) movie series.
  • xxxHolic: very stylistic illustrations + interesting and sometimes thought-provoking short stories.
  • Cowboy Bebop (星际牛仔): a classic, about men's romance.
  • The Twelve Kingdoms (十二国记): somewhat bad art illustration but very good story and music.
  • Last Exile (最终流放): a great dieselpunk / steampunk anime. The second season, Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing, however, is not very good.
  • Your Lie in April (四月是你的谎言): A love story with a mixture of joy, tragedy and music. I started learning piano after watching this.
  • Expelled from Paradise (楽園追放)：an interesting setting of the future world where humans are digitalized and live in a virtual world. You work to earn the computational power and memory, otherwise you will live in a slow and low resolution (pixelated) world or could even be archived.
  • Studio Ghibli: a Japanese animation film studio that produced countless many great anime films. Among them my favorite ones are Whisper of the Heart (侧耳倾听) and From Up on Poppy Hill (虞美人盛开的山坡).
  • Hyōka (冰菓): beautiful artwork. Genres is mystery yet it is more about school life (部活) than crimes.
  • Slam Dunk (灌篮高手): story about high school basketball players. Both manga and anime are very good, with very stylistic illustrations.
  • Kino's Journey (奇诺之旅): quiet but thought provoking.
  • Attack on Titan (进击的巨人): charming story, great music and fantastic animation of the fighting and flying scenes.
  • Inuyasha (犬夜叉): manga / anime series that I followed for 10 years since middle school until it ends.
  • RWBY (红白黑黄): an American anime-style web series. I don't really find its artwork or plots particularly outstanding, but I like the fighting animation a lot.

Games

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I bought my first TV, XBox and Playstation, and started exploring a wide variety of game genres. Before that, I mostly play RPGs. Here are some games that I like.

  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (BotW, 2017) » action RPG on Nitendo Switch. One of my favorite games. The related Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (2020) is also worth checking out — not as polished and has totally different gameplay. But it completes the BotW storyline, and is also fun for local co-op.
  • Persona 5 Royal (2019) » A masterpiece Japanese RPG by Atlus. A unique game design that seamlessly blend high school life and demon fighting.
  • Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019) » My introduction to Soulslike game. Challenging but rewarding. Innovative combat mechanism and great level design.
  • Nier: Automata (2017) » action RPG by PlatinumGames. The music is fantastic, the story is interesting and told from a unique multi-view perspective. I also like the combat animations a lot.
  • It Takes Two (2021) » the best local co-op game I played.
  • 幽城幻剑录 (2001) » my favorite Chinese RPG from the childhood.
  • The Legend of Heroes VI: Sora no Kiseki (2004-2007) » A series of games by Nihon Falcom Corporation. My introduction to Japanese RPGs.
  • Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (2016) » Action RPG by Falcom. The graphics is a bit previous-gen, but the story is good.