Shining a Light on Anime: Big Three, Rising Stars and Personal Favorites

Ready to join a deep dive into the world of anime and manga? Prepare to engage with the "big three" - One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach, as I, your host DJ, share my personal ranking and observations on these legendary series. I will also be discussing their importance in bringing anime to the forefront in the western world. On top of that, we can't overlook the birth of the promising successors like Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, and Hell's Paradise. If you're intrigued by the contrast between the original big three and the emerging trio, or you're excited to learn about my anime predilections, then buckle up!

In the realms of Shonen genre, our personal favourites are up for a nostalgic chat. We throw the spotlight on our top five action/adventure anime recommendations such as the acclaimed One Piece and Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood. These series are renowned for their extraordinary world-building and character development. We'll also be discussing the One Piece live-action adaptation - its potential to attract new fans who might feel daunted by the anime's lengthy episode count. Furthermore, our admiration for Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, which often leads our list of recommendations for anime novices, is worth listening to.  We invite you to join this conversation and share your thoughts with us!

Transcript

DJ: 0:00

Hey there and welcome to Rival Reviews, a podcast for anime and manga recommendations and reviews. I'm your host, dj, and let's just get into it. My main focus for creating this podcast was to kind of just give my thoughts and opinions about different manga and anime that no one is asking for. But my hope for the future of this podcast is to kind of just give listeners like yourselves a place to just listen to a guy giving his opinion and maybe having conversations together along the way. I would love to be able to answer your questions or talk about your opinions, about my opinions, and I'm all for constructive argument or debate as well. I will start by saying I am no professional in any way, shape or form to this. This is my first time attempting anything like this and I'm hoping that this can just become a fun outlet for me for something to do With. That said, let's get into it. I thought a good introduction to myself, as well as my taste in anime and everything related, would be to talk about the quote, unquote, big three and shown as a whole, just so you can get an idea of like you know what my taste is and maybe it might jive with yours. Again, I do want to preface that I have read and watched several different series from all different kind of demographics, and you know future episodes will touch on that and everything like that. But I just want to preface that I'm not just a shonen fanboy, because I do know that there are a lot of those out there, though I do enjoy them. That being said, so, for those who don't know, or have lived under a rock or maybe are fairly new to anime, when I say the big three, I am referring to one piece, naruto and bleach, and I am fully aware that this definitely dates myself. Yeah, so just to give a little context, I am just over 30 years old. So you know, my anime voyage started with, you know, the old YTV Bionics after nine specials. So, like you know, dragon Ball Z, sailor Moon, windchunter, robin, inuyasha, you know all those really old classic ones, naruto, obviously. But yeah, that being said, talking about the big three, they're all obviously special in their own regard and obviously they are huge for basically making anime popular in the west.

DJ: 2:46

If I had to give them an order, as you can see from my logo, I would definitely first place would definitely be one piece. Though it is not my favorite anime. It is definitely probably in like my top ten great, great show, and then it would probably go by Naruto and then bleach. I know I'm going to get a lot of guff for this. It's just personal preference. I respect everybody's opinion on what they think is the natural order of things. Like that's just the way that I see it.

DJ: 3:18

Like I said, you can even talk about the order of the way that I watch these things. I watch Naruto all the way back from, like I said, the, the Bionics, ytv, kind of a lot of us Canadians probably how they first watched or got introduced to anime, and then I didn't actually start watching one piece until my late twenties. So it was actually kind of a late addition to, I guess, the way that I feel about certain certain animes and everything else like that. And then Bleach will always hold a special place in my heart because it was actually the first ever anime I watched subbed. All the other stuff, obviously, like I like I keep coming back to all the ones that we could watch in the West back when I was a kid, was either the you know, the dubbed versions of the stuff that came on, like YTV and stuff like that, or the bastardized for kids versions of like, you know, like. The best example I like to give is you know how card captors wasn't even the same show as card captors secure was supposed to be, but we all thought it was because it was in English. But that being said, yeah, so I would definitely give it to that credits. Who? Obviously all three of the shows.

DJ: 4:40

I like to just give one piece, obviously, the, the, the gold on the podium, just because, well, we'll get into it in this episode. But essentially there's there's a lot to say about it. But essentially, what I kind of did want to give is is Kind of aging myself. What I, what I thought about and what I thought was interesting when I was, when I was talking, when I was Kind of researching what I was going to talk about in this episode, was that was my generation of the old three and I was kind of curious as to what the new generation kind of, kind of what they think the big three is. And Full disclosure, because I know that everybody is going to make this argument and I 100% agree there never will be another big three, just like in the same context that the original big three.

DJ: 5:35

Are they, like I said, they were the first three to really popularize Anime in the West and you know they were. They were the ones that opened the doors and in terms of sales and popularity and and Length of runtime for not even the series and everything else like that I know, obviously you could talk about, one piece is still going on Naruto had ship it in and then shortly afterwards had Boruto, and Bleach has just recently come back on Disney Plus and everything else like that. But I I still don't think that, even with that being said that they're, they're hitting the same kind of popularity that they will and any of these Shows that I'm kind of kind of bring up or probably anywhere close to the big impact that these three had. That being said, when I was looking at Researching for this and everything else like that, one thing that really came up to me was the talk of this so-called new, the dark trio. So I guess the dark trio consists of Jujutsu, kaisen, chainsaw man and Hell's Paradise.

DJ: 6:43

What I found interesting about this was is that in my mind, I would think that maybe not so much. Well, no, I would. I would include bleach, but definitely Naruto on one piece. I Would definitely Consider them a lot more kid-friendly, then I would with for a Jujutsu Kaisen Chainsaw man and Hell's Paradise. I would think that they're more, like you know, maybe At least in my mind, more of like a setting than a shonen type of Situ-. Oh, full disclosure as well, because I know that I'm sure I butchered that pronunciation. I am in no way, shape or form, a specialist in Japanese, so I'm sure that as this series goes on and everything else like that, I will definitely butcher, whether it's a title that doesn't seem to have an English translation that I can use or or certain words I have to use. So you understand what I'm talking about. I do apologize beforehand, but yeah, no, I you know. I find it interesting in terms of the popularity in that sense, because in my mind, in looking at the big three, the big thing that hit me was you know how big and popular it would be and I would definitely give it to Jujutsu Kaisen Chainsaw man. They were huge when they got released and the reason they got releases because of how big they were. On shonen jump and everything else like that.

DJ: 8:06

I was a little Surprised about Hell's Paradise. Again, I enjoyed it and everything else like that, but and I know, at least when I was looking it up, you know the sales and everything were there. But when I was looking at, you know, I guess, the way the internet kind of talked about everything. So, like you know, reddit and all the other anime kind of like, like, if you look at my anime list or or any of those big kind of like anime blogs or boardrooms or Again, I'm probably aging myself with these words, but I didn't think that Hell's Paradise actually, you know, hit the same kind of popularity that the other two did. And, like I said, I also found it kind of interesting that there are a lot more dark and A lot more violent and gory in nature, which kind of surprised me that they would Be kind of reminiscent to the original big three, because I don't think that they have kind of anything really in common further from being action series. And this kind of made me think about like what my personal big three, what I would personally think would be the personal three. Again, I don't think that they come even close to the original.

DJ: 9:24

But if I had to pick three, I would probably pick my hero, academia, demon slayer and one piece. A Lot of people disagree with the one piece situation just because, I don't know, apparently people seem to think that it's not as popular as it used to be in my brain. If it's already on the throne and it's still going strong and it still has all the Popular like, it's still popular, it still has a very big following, so why would you take it away from from the throne? And Then, like I said, my hero, academia and demons layer. I would just count that as to the popularity that I see online. Full disclosure and you'll probably hear this from me more than once as this podcast goes on I am not a fan of demons layer.

DJ: 10:12

I've tried it several times, I've tried to get into it and I understand that it's popular and I appreciate it and everything else like that, but I I just I don't understand and again, everybody has their own thoughts and tastes and everything else like that. People love demons layer and everything else like that, while I would much rather just watch, watch the. You know the, the the trash is a guy of the of the season and I would enjoy it Ten times more than I would demons layer. I call me crazy, say my taste of trash. Fully aware, I just that's just how I feel about it and it's my podcast. So but yeah, and then my hero. Like I said, I just think credit where credit is due. It's a great series and everything else like that, and I just think that it would be. It has a big enough following In terms of like shown in everything else like that that I could be considered in the realm, I guess, of being a big three title in Guess you can call modern times as it is right now.

DJ: 11:22

But, that being said, I thought what would be a really nice tie-in. Like I said, I wanted this to be kind of an introduction of you know Finding out what my taste is and everything else like that. So I came up with like a top five list, kind of of my top shown recommendations and then a recommendation of Something that is currently playing, which kind of brings me to my next point, and I find I always find this really funny when I bring this up is For the longest time, embarrassingly amount of time. I I Thought shonen just meant action and adventure. I had no idea that shonen had anything to do with the demographic of like I think it. You know it was adolescent to 18 plus or whatever else. I was not aware that that is it at all what it meant. I was, I was fully just because of all the shows, I guess that I grew up with, and Every time on I looked up shonen and everything else like that, all of the like, you know, the generic kind of like action adventure stuff came up. So I just assumed that that is what that word meant. Um, like I said, it was a bear seeing amount of time that it took for me to realize that that was not the case.

DJ: 12:37

So, however, in looking at my top five, I will say, because I'm fully aware that you know, shonens can include, like the really big sports titles and everything else like that, like a haiku and everything else, and again, I love those episodes, but in In my mind what shonen is. So maybe we'll not call this the top five shonen recommendation. We'll top, we'll call this the top five Action slash adventure, but they are also shonen recommendations, all right, anyway, I'm so, first and foremost I've kind of already brought it up, but I I cannot, I Can't not not have one piece on this list the world building, the character development, the way that it can, you know, bring something back into the fold. That answers the question that I had 400 episodes ago that I totally forgot. I was even questioning, but I was the entire time and then answering it and bringing it up as as as if it was nothing, as if it was smooth as butter and everything else like that. I have yet to find another anime that can do it as well as one piece, which is why that it is a guaranteed top five for me for sure, or probably on any kind of list that I could give.

DJ: 13:58

I know a lot of people stray away from this series, especially due to episode count, what it's it. Trust me when I say that it is worth it and the one thing that I will say is anybody that I've gotten into it successfully has not regretted it. But I will say what is actually kind of interesting to say for the first time ever, my buddy's wife actually got into the anime one piece by watching the live action one off of Netflix For the first time ever. I will say that the live action, in my opinion, actually does the source material justice and doesn't make us anime fans cringe or feel embarrassed. So I would honestly say that if you keep looking at the episode count and it's just too much and it puts you off. I would honestly try the live action first and if you truly feel that you really liked the live action, then I would give the one piece. Like I said, I think it does a really good job at showcasing what the story could be about, and I think it will, and has brought a lot of new fans to the fan base for sure. So that would be my advice for that.

DJ: 15:24

Second would be my personal favorite anime of all time, which is Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood. I know that I'm not original in saying this. I know that this is fully a lot of people's favorites and I know that there are those people that are quite toxic in the fan base. If you're a follower of the MyAnime All Time Greats list, any time a different anime pops up and becomes number one because of a lot of 10 votes and everything else like that and whatever reason, this fan base decides to then basically nuke that anime with a whole bunch of ones so that Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood comes back on top. I am not one of those people. I find it a little crazy, but I guess it just goes to show how much people can love this series and I'll leave that comment on that. But yeah, this is also the one anime I always choose.

DJ: 16:28

If a friend comes up to me and says hey, I know you're an anime fan. I've always wanted to try it, what is the one title that you would give me to try first? It would be Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood 100%. I've watched this. I introduced my wife to anime through this show. I've had several friends watch this with me and the nice part about it is, too, is that I've watched it through with them probably over a dozen times and I still love it just as much as I did the first time I watched it.

DJ: 16:59

The one expert piece of advice that I would give if you are going to watch the Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood series if you truly want to and you want to watch the regular Full Metal Alchemist series that came up before Brotherhood was done I would watch that first. I made the mistake of doing it backwards and I had a really hard time getting through the other one. Not to say that it isn't good, it's just that, in comparison to Brotherhood, it's bad, if that makes sense. So if you are going to watch it, I would try to do it first. If you're only wanting to watch it just to see what all the fuss is about, then just watch Brotherhood. Brotherhood is obviously the better of the two. It will always hold a special place in my heart. Back in high school I kind of fell out of watching anime, whether it was social life or not, having time with part-time work or anything else like that. Then I moved away from college and it was a lonely and you're away from your family and friends. For the first time I found this series and watched it and it pulled me out of the funk that I was in. I think for that it will always hold a special place in my heart. Yeah no, I can't speak anything else to that. It's just a phenomenal series.

DJ: 18:23

Third, the main reason I added this one to the list was due to the fact that I just truly don't think that it gets the credit it deserves. It's called World Trigger Again. I'm sure some of you have heard of it. Some of you have maybe seen it and decided against it. Personally, I think it's one of those different shounens that I really enjoy the premise and I really enjoy the mysteries and the cliffhangers that it's left us on currently in the series and I'm actually like thoroughly excited to see where it goes. I find the whole premise of basically how the whole world works in, the politics of it and everything else it really reminds me of the politics of Gundam, without it being a full mecha situation, because that's a whole other kind of genre. I've never really been a huge fan, but World Trigger hits a niche and it just hits an itch. That just feels good. I would recommend it as well.

DJ: 19:26

Number four this isn't going to be a surprise to anybody, but the reason I put this on the list is because I also felt it was another good introductory series, my Hero Academia. Again, the way that I like to describe this series to people that maybe aren't accustomed to anime is if you have a friend that will go to the movie theaters to see every Marvel movie, I am a firm believer that my Hero Academia would fit the bill for them, because it's essentially what it is. It's superheroes meet kind of the mutant aspect of things, but in a good way, because everybody has it, instead of mutants being the minority, like in a situation like X-Men type of thing. What else I like about my Hero Academia is that it's one of the better dubs that I've watched. I know that for again, full disclosure.

DJ: 20:28

I am the type of person that I like to watch myself subbed for more than one reason, further from, I think, it being closest to the source material and everything else like that. You just get to watch more that way. But I think in terms of dubbed it's definitely one of the more stronger ones. I like the voice acting. I watched the last season with my wife that way because we also find that maybe I'm not the only one, but I feel like a lot of people, especially if you're one of those people that likes to do other things and stuff like that while looking on your phone or, in our case, watching our daughter, because you have to be able to sit there and read everything that's happening or you're going to miss something where dubbed, if you're not looking for five seconds, you're not going to miss a major piece of information or something like that. But anyway, I find that the voice acting and everything else in my hero academia is very strong and I liked it just as much as I did this sub originally when I watched the original first three or four seasons. I would say that it's a very good introductory and a really good dubbed series. Fifth and final one that I will kind of bring up personally one of my favorites Fairy Tale Again.

DJ: 22:01

Good segue into this, probably one of the first ones that I actually preferred to watch dubbed, then subbed. This was actually kind of the original. Reason I actually ended up getting a Funimation subscription was so I could watch this series and I just I thought the dub was phenomenal and, like I think by the time that I had decided to watch this series, there was maybe over like 100 episodes already out. So I watched the first 100 episodes dubbed and I realized that there was, like you know, two more seasons already out that were subbed and I attempted to watch them and I just I couldn't get into it. I was just I was way too used to the dubbed version that I couldn't even do the sub version anymore. So I actually ended up waiting until, like, the series had already been over for like a couple months and everything else like that. And you know, I avoided all the spoilers and I avoided everything else, just so I could watch it dubbed, because that was just how I preferred it. I loved the, the voice talent and just the way that it was done. I just I preferred it that way and, again, further from being a fun story great art, really fun characters, everything else like that.

DJ: 23:15

And I would also argue that this is another really good introductory series. For somebody if you know you don't want to give them full metal alchemist or my hero, I would say fairy tale is also what there is, a really good introductory series. And then if I had to recommend one for the current season I know that we're already kind of fully into it, but maybe you know you've been waiting and you've been waiting for the Christmas season to get kind of caught up on all this stuff and everything else like that. I know a lot of people. If you talk to them, they're probably gonna talk to you. And again, I'm probably gonna butcher the name of this, but Freerun I know a lot of people are saying that that's great. It's actually.

DJ: 23:51

I believe that one is the one that is currently beating full metal alchemist brotherhood in the in the top spot on my anime list, but who I truly want to give my shout out to is someone that I think got overlooked, or it's not. Someone, like a series that got overlooked, that I think deserves recognition and that would be the faraway paladin. I know that it's technically a sequel series. But I was really excited with the second season when the second season did get announced, because I really do enjoy the manga as well and I don't think it gets the credit that it deserves. So if I want to get my recommendation to the current season, I'm gonna give it to the faraway paladin and I think that's that's it for my introductory episode. I hope you guys enjoyed.

DJ: 24:39

I know that there was a lot of information, like I said at the beginning, of the kind of the beginning of the episode. I'm on every social, so I'm on Twitter, instagram, I have a Facebook page. I even have an email setup and everything else like that, so it's at rival X reviews and then if you want to email me, it's rival X reviews at gmailcom. What I'll probably do in the future is that I'll come up with a certain question and everything else like that, or you know, any kind of looking for for comments or opinions or anything like that. But for for my first episode, I think what I kind of want to leave it to is just very open-ended. What do you guys think Is there's other stuff that you'd like me to talk about? What do you think about my my opinions on the, on the old big three versus the new, versus the talk with Dark Trio, how you feel about the recommendations that I gave, or you know any other kind of opinions, or you know questions about other type of situations.

DJ: 25:44

Like I said, I think my next episode I might go into the world of shojo and I don't know. Surprise shocker. It's not just for for girls. Men like it too, it's true. So yeah, like I said, reach out. I would love to have the conversation with you guys and I hope you guys enjoyed. Alright, see you in the next one. Bye, bye.