I’ve Been Binge Reading || Loheezy Update

For a long time, I’ve been putting off watching anime that I know I want to catch up on or finally start. I kind of hate myself for it because I truly enjoy the conversations that I’m able to have about them. It’s like going to school the next day and your friends ask you “Hey, did you watch the newest episode of so and so?”. It’s almost like I’m abandoning that bonding experience, even though it’s nothing so dramatic. That being said I might bring myself to a bingeing spree soon. But as of right now, I’ve been enjoying reading so much as it takes less time and so easy for me to read as I get ready for bed. Being subscribed to Shonen Jump’s catalog is great but I do have limited choices in terms of genre to read.

The main reason I got it was to catch up on One Piece, in which I’ve been reading consistently every few months but have never actually been up to date. As I’m writing this, I can proudly say I’ve done it, I’m caught up with the manga and I am actually pretty excited to see it animated. I haven’t watched the series in a very long time, probably before the time skip since that’s about the time I decided to read the manga. I jumped back into the anime, after finishing reading, during “Whole Cake Island” because there was a fight I wanted to see. I know there’s been a major gap since I’ve last watched but it’s really apparent how much the art/animation and everything has evolved since then. Our very own Kenny aka Blackatron has started watching the anime, broadcasting some of the episodes for us on discord, and it’s crazy to think that the first season came out in 1999. Over two decades ago! One Piece is definitely scary to think about if you only know it by its accolades but you shouldn’t let that stop you from experiencing it. I assure you that the longtime fans are dedicated for a reason and even though I wasn’t constantly on top of the series, I always knew that I would get to this point.

The second series I wanted to read was definitely Kimetsu no Yaiba. After the anime finished its first season, I couldn’t wait for everything to come after. But what actually got me to read it was finding out that the manga actually ended. I picked up where the anime left off and just read every night until I got to end. I know there are some nitpickings that I’m sure a lot of people do for it. But for me, it was really satisfying to read it all. The anticipation of Ufotable’s production on it, after seeing the first season, makes expectations very high for all the manga readers. On that same vein of expectation, I HAVE to mention Haikyuu!!. A similar situation to KNY where I heard it was completed and had to catch up. I had already started reading by the time it ended but it was a series I took a while longer on because I wanted to savor it and I absolutely love the animation. I had rewatched all three seasons of the anime 6-7 times before I finally decided it was time to start reading.

Although it feels great to continue on from a series you’ve been watching, I believe it also feels awesome to discover a new series. I’ve talked about a couple of series that I seem to discover just as they get a license to be animated (Dr. Stone & JJK). Another series that I learned recently was getting an anime adaptation is Spy Family. A more lighthearted series when compared to others on Shonen Jump but it’s definitely a fun one. I almost don’t think it NEEDS an anime adaption but we’ll see how it turns out. Some other series I’ve recently jumped into are Sakamoto Days, Nine Dragons’ Ball Parade, and Mission: Yozakura Family. Two of them have just recently started so there aren’t many chapters as of yet but it feels nice to be on pace from the beginning.

I know that there are hordes of fans that exclusively enjoy one or the other when it comes to anime and manga. But I’m definitely in the middle and can say I enjoy both versions a lot, no matter which side I started out on. In fact, in the beginning when I first found out about reading manga online (RIP OneManga) I really enjoyed just hitting that surprise me button or picking something off the trending/just updated and starting a series like that. There was a lot of manga I had bookmarked that I’ve most definitely forgotten the title of by now.

My current binge read is The Promised Neverland especially after Kenny pressed the issue about how the anime ruined season two. On that note, I think it’s totally worth going to the source if an anime wasn’t doing it right. Of course that comes with some research into it, if you feel like there was some missed potential in the series. And come to think of it another series that has completely finished and I started reading before it was animated, Baby Steps. I need to remember where I left off and find the best place to read it. I think maybe after that, I wanted to either start BNHA or Tokyo Ghoul. Maybe you’re wondering why Attack on Titan isn’t on my plan to read list when it just finished. At first, it was because of the release schedule of the chapters but personally I’ll just stick to watching the anime for that one. I know how hype it is and how much spoilers seem to leak out because people get excited but that happens with a lot of series.

That’s my update about what I’ve been up to for like…the past year LOL I still have anime on my radar, still playing games, still working and studying. I don’t often forget about this space but I still love that it exists and Mindy does such an awesome job with it. Thanks for reading as always and I welcome any recommendations, I know most of what I read is shonen but I’m pretty open about genres. Stay safe every one!