Mugen Monday - Sixteenth Edition

For far too long humans have dared to manifest that which they envision and dream into the physical reality. There is something about manifesting, or transforming the unseen, the abstract, the mental, into a physical form.

I too once dared to dream, I dreamed of finishing 1,000 Anime. Inspired by a regional club I was a part of, I knew people who claimed to get near to that number. I never got to know if they were lying, or if they were truly that veteran.

Today I stand at the epitome of such manifestation. With well over two Anime events conducted in the physical vicinity of the place I live in. As I speak, I have been heavily invested in operating a similar venture in the next week coming.

I introduce you to Hikari - which literally translates to light. With passivities such as stalls, food, Animanga Art exhibits, games, workshops, and Japanese-themed decoration.

This is actually in tie-up with Freebird Music Festival, which is ought to host a few of the finest Artist lineups from all around the nation of India.

Well, anyway. As the hype for putting MAPPA through hell post-their-staff controversy has subsided, we can discuss more things Jujutsu Kaisen.

Such as if all good characters are destined to be swayed away in a wave of death tolls that range as per the Manga, which again ranges as per the author’s need for a dramatic, well, drama.

Why Jujutsu Kaisen is a perfectly crafted Shonen

I mean, think about it. Much of Jujutsu Kaisen is like a beautifully crafted shonen, that fits all the typical tropes of what a shonen is supposed to be. It’s like Gege was sure of all the typicalities that appease the Mainstream, including a bit of Gore, a dark and deep story, with well-laid tragedies of death.

This may interest you: All the cast of One Piece you could meet in SAC Anime 2024

Such a thing was not part of mainstream shonen - shows like One Piece, Naruto and Bleach, despite touching sensitive content barely, always avoided full-on confrontation.

Things obviously changed when Attack on Titan was categorised as a shonen, a show that showed the protagonists’ mother being crushed and eaten alive by a giant humanoid figure with Valak-like laughing smiley.

You get the point, add this to the fact that Chainsaw Man another popular shonen has also embarked on similar ventures. All of this probably lays it well for Gege on what to write a story on.

It’s simple really, take a unique power (such as curse energy, chakra, nen, devils, demons) and make an academy where the most overpowered good support character lives.

Create a curse that lives within the protagonist (Naruto much?) and add him to this student trio that revolves around quite important characters. Play around the plot with seniors and classmates until the major villain organization starts appearing. Buah! the perfect recipe for a Shonen.

What makes a shonen - a shonen? Something to ponder about once again. But until then, do check out what we have to offer.

- From the Editor’s Desk

Rhytham Das, Editor-in-Chief, Spiel Anime

Fullmetal Alchemist Brother’s New Rival - Frieren dethrones the King

^{I asked our editor Rishiraj to once again note the rising trend of Frieren, which as well over surpassed Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood in MAL Rating.}

Frieren Beyond Journey's End has taken the anime community by storm, ranking number 1 in not only member's hierarchy but also in many of the website's hierarchies of top anime of the season. Well, it did not stop at that. It has dethroned the seemingly impossible-to-defeat King of MyAnimeList popularity rankings, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

What seemed impossible for many of the renowned franchises in the community has been done by a newbie in the anime industry, when it is yet to get over serializing. However, this did not last long. The King had its subjects, and the review bombed the heck out of the series to get FMAB back on the number 1 spot.

But surprisingly, instead of negatively reviewing bombing Frieren, they had to positively review bombing FMAB to bring it back to its throne. Even they could not deny the absolutely mind-blowing and brilliant series. But what makes it so great?

• It has perfectly executed philosophical themes and portrays a wonderful human understanding.

• Its action scenes could rival even those of Action-focused series such as Jujutsu Kaisen and One Punch Man.

If two reasons feel like it's not enough to consider the anime great, you have gravely underestimated this series. The combination of these two elements in each and every moment of the story will have you going from a hype train to a sobbing baby in seconds, something that I only had experienced once before, during Violet Evergarden. Personally, it is somewhat of Violet Evergarden itself.

Conclusion

That’s what Rishiraj had to say, but well I would remind everyone that FMAB has been surpassed multiple times in the history of MAL ratings. Although such a surpassing has often been quite, short-staying. Attack on Titan Season 4 did it the moment it came out, only to drop a few days later. So did Your Name, and a lot many.

Although at the end of the day, all of them were amazing, none were too flabbergastingly overshadowing FMAB. As such, it is quite difficult to say whether Frieren’s journey to the top is a short-sighted extravaganza or a long-term ship sail. The only way to find out? Is to stick with Spiel Anime as we venture further with more Mugen Monday Newsletters.

For Those Who Dare Dream.