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**Warning: contains spoiler** (More so if you are unfamiliar with the UC Gundam stories.)

Mobile Suites Gundam: The Origin is first and foremost a powerful human story. It is also a war and politics epic. Of course, at the same time, it is a gundam show.

Char Aznable is a rich character. And Gundam: The Origin shows why. The Origin follows the trajectory of Char's life from his early youth to the establishment of his fame as the ace pilot of Zeon. Along that trajectory, Char's life started in one of the most privileged families, then thrown by external forces to the worst bottom, and later climbed ... back to moments of glory. In his childhood, Char saw his father murdered and had his family torn apart in midst of political intrigues. He had to fend off assassination attempts while in exile. Nevertheless, he grew up intelligent, strong, sensitive, but also bearing a sense of deep hatred. My English is not sufficient to depict the heart-wrenching and absorbing stories of Char's early life. But Gundam: The Origin is.

Gundam: The Origin takes the care to develop the personalities and growths of Char with as much care in moments of thrill as in mundane details -- how he consoles his sister Artesia upon the news of their father's death when he was barely elder; how he stays firm at the last sight of their mother, when he understood it was the last sight; how he became aggressive with a spy upon hearing his mother's death. Those moments make you relate and root for Char. And the experience is enhanced by solid voice casting. In that moment Char is angry with a spy, his voice is angry. In the moments Char is calm but also cold, his voice is gentle but aloof and also masculine.

Char is not the only one The Origin excels at depicting and voice casting. Dozle and the Black-Tri sound like the muscular men they are on screen with their coarse voice and swift intonation. Artesia's voice cast has a nice gradient of pitch change -- from childish to mature -- as she grew more confident and independent in the series. The Origin offers a cast of characters each with their convictions and vices, virtues and flaws. For example, the monologue of Dozle vowing to protect his wife Zenna, while seemingly lacking in intellectualism in his choice of words, strikes at the core of wars in metaphoric terms. I enjoyed how Kycilia is shown to have conflicting traits -- honorable at times, cruel and bloody at times; ruthless and efficient at times, soft and gentle at times. The Origin (and to an extent the original '79 Gundam series) does not shy away from having characters who are conflicted internally -- just as how in real life humans are. The Origin also does not shy away from showing nuances in politics: from Gilren's zeal to Degwin's moderation, from riots on the street level to backroom negotiations. From yet a different perspective, in anime terms, Char is shown to be extraordinarily talented yet he does not come off feeling OP in a contrived way. That showcases the strength of the series.

With strengths come relative weaknesses. The character pool of Gundam: The Origin is on the bloated side. Its ties to the seminal Mobile Suite Gundam in 79' blesses The Origin with an abundance of attention, and with it funding and production quality, but also curses it with unique restrictions. The Origin has to make connections to all major characters in the 79's Mobile Suite Gundam. The characters on the Federation side, however, are less connected to Char's early life. They are thus spared less time to develop, which only adds to the feel of disjointedness. The flaws in the 79's original haunt The Origin. The group of civilians fighting as well as professionals left so big of a plot hole that only proper developments for all of them can do justice. The same can be said of Ramba Ral and Black Tri-star on the Zeon side who in the original were only 2-dimensional mini-bosses for Amuro Ray to practice on. I love what is done. Still, with 13 episodes, The Origin does not have the time to develop them all. And if it did, the disconnect can still remain an issue. Having said all the above, it is a paragraph of equal length to critique the weakness in characters of The Origin as to praise its strength. In actuality, the strengths easily eclipse the weaknesses.

The elephant in the room is, of course, the gundam. Gundam: The Origin is somewhat focused on mechas just like the other gundam series. That is not a vice to me. I think it is ok to assume and accept some elements of fantasy as long as the fictional universe comes with a rule set: in which fantasy elements blend with real world physics and social interactions to create something believable. So I have criticisms in that regard. Since war and mecha make a focal topic, quality and precision is called for. Impractical as they are, I can ignore the (lack of) rationale on having arms, legs, sensors in a "head", etc on mobile suits. I can ignore the impracticality of directed energy weapons against armored targets (along with their inexplicable colors). I still need other believable elements of warfare in order to not laugh at what is supposed to be a politics and war epic. In other words, realism inspires immersion. There needs to be enough realism to support immersion. In some places, Gundam took particular care with realism in combat and succeeded. In others, not so much. For example, I appreciate the depiction of spaceship turret mechanisms and ammo racks based on battleships of WWII -- it later helped to explain why Char is able to take out warships quickly with precision shots. I appreciate the depiction on battle formation -- although scant, recon rotation, the effects of Minkowski particles -- although also scant, the normal suites, the actions of the auxiliary thrusters, etc. They all played a role in building up the intensity of battles and the sense of realism in operating in space, which is a theme of the series. Nevertheless, certain things are wrong: spaceships do not sink; there is no deflection shooting in space; HEAT warheads need to raise elevation in flight and then drop on to MBTs in order to kill them; accelerating with Zaku does not create airflow in the cockpit; particle cannons do not have recoils; Ortega's Zaku flies backward relative to thruster direction when killing Revil's flagship; etc. Most disappointing though is the way the revolutionary strengths of Zaku is foreshadowed. And that's done by one thing only: [pointing to guncannon, Tem Ray shakingly said] this is not the Mobile Suits of Dr Minkowski! "Boss A is super strong. Because A is 10x stronger than B!" Why? No why. How? No how. So there we are back to kindergarten. _Not_ the politics and war epic we can immerse in.

The real underlying reason is, supposedly, Zaku's Minovsky reactor has much higher output -- both in energy and in the quantities of Minovsky particles produced. (The series should clarify this for itself -- not through me.) The thrusters of mobile suits are supposed to use Minkowsky particles. Hence the enhanced mobility. Minovsky particles absorb/deflect radar and other electromagnetic waves. Thus guided weapons are useless in battles of the Gundam world. That explains the kind of warfare we see in Battle of Loum. Shying away from technical details creates serious plot holes. The Origin did spend time on technical aspects of warfare. It just all went to Tem Ray mumbling nothingness. So that is a failure of the series. Also, even after excusing the omission on Minovsky particles, it is not excusable how imprecise AA fires are without explanations and how fighters of the Federation fleet seemed to have done nothing. They resemble plot armor too much and thus hurt immersion. For full disclosure, actions of Federation fighters are cut away in the TV series from the original OVA series.

That brings to the next topic, which is editing. My above complaint with fighter scenes, among with a rare few others, are the only issues with the TV cut. In all other places, the TV cut adds to the fluidity of the series. For example, while Garma can certainly be meek, insecure and driven by emotions at times. He nevertheless was able to follow Char in military academy exams. Garma is shown by the series to have true abilities and he works hard for it. I am glad the TV version cut away the numerous flicking hair scenes of Garma. Being superficial and infantile to such an extent would undermine the narrative with Garma. So the TV version did away with them. Along with other edits, the cuts propelled the series to a different level.

A quick note on sound. I watched the series through Crunchyroll. And boi that site sucks in so many ways. (I pay a yearly subscription so I have the right to complain.) It completely butchers the audio track. For example, remember episode 10 when Char heads out with his Zaku? (Ignore his waving clothes, ofc. That's silly.) The drum beat sounds like a toddler's murmur with the Crunchyroll version. If you just came from Crunchyroll, you probably didn't know there are drum beats. With that in mind, I have found the BGM in Gundam: The Origin mediocre. By all means, I have no quarrel with Takayuki Hattori's compositions. To the contrary, I revere him as a composer. I particularly enjoy the use of brass in the series' compositions. Brass, along with other orchestral instruments, sound.. a bit old... but in a good way that adds to the feel of politics and war epic and it feels like a nod to the series' long and lasting history. What I do have complain with is that the soundtracks do not seem to organically interact with the scenes much. Without access to the alternative, I am really not sure if Crunchyroll is the only one to blame.

All in all, I loved the series. I loved the human stories. I enjoyed the sense of scale. I liked the subtleties that the series did not shy away from depicting -- be it in personalities, in politics or in warfare. Although it being a war focused series, I do wish for more attention to details in combat and warfare. If only The Origin can continue into an alternate version of the original Mobile Suit Gundam in '79.

To Gundam haters: this series is worth your time. With a bit of open mind and willingness judge a series by its content, you won't find the feature of mechas a burden. To Gundam fans: re-joice, Gundam: The Origin is a treat. More likely than not you will find it the best Gundam series -- and I say that with classics like 08th in mind. Gundam: The Origin brings new depths to the whole UC universe. Enjoy the show.

Mahoujin Guru Guru is quirky, adorable and at times smart. Most of all, Mahoujin Guru Guru is criminally funny.

* minor spoilers *

The series starts with the setup of classic early RPGs: hero (勇者) Nike sets off a journey with guru guru magic user Kukuri -- a girl admires the hero -- to challenge the evil master Giri Giri who is awakening to take over the world. Right away, the series makes it very clear that it intends not to take such a setup seriously. Our hero does not care for adventuring as the hero -- if anything, being a magic user is cooler (and it ... is of course all about being cool.) Instead, it is Nike's father who bears all the passion about being a hero but couldn't himself because the evil master Giri Giri was not yet awaken during his own youth. Through the unorthodox setup, it is as if the show carries a message in its first episode: the urgency to remove the evil's threat to the world is never the reason to start a journey -- the romantic yearning for a heroic adventure away from boredom in the "Boering Village" is the why. And thus, from the get go, the gags are fun and, if there is an underlying message, the message is very true.

The driving forces of the story are quite simple. Nike (nee-ke) and Kukuri adventure to acquire the knowledge of magic and ways to defeat Giri Giri. Kukuri is in love with Nike at first sight, although Nike's feelings in return will only develop gradually. Nike is all about being cool. So is his archrival and 'villain' Keido. The simple elements are put together to make great comedy. In RPGs, the villains and heroes gotta look cool right? Indeed, Keido would make hard effort to climb the tree and appear from an exalted position. The series then proceeds to show how impractical it is. Remember how boss fights in our beloved RPGs all had cinematic sound effect? The series shows how the demon's minions have to sing in a choir in order to produce the boss music. The series makes fun of the RPG canons, character stereotypes and the various ways of being cool in 80s/90s show bis (in Japan/East Asia). From the belly-dancing Old Man North North, to the rebellious flower goddess, culminating in the group of four super cool old dudes G-Fantasy (G for Oji-chan, ie. grandpa), all of the supporting characters are unique and fun. Viewers can be baffled with new cast, new magic and new places from episode to episode but the uniqueness saves them from being disjunct and confusing.

The series is good at its comedic touch. Whenever the story is about to grow serious (and thus off-track for a comedy), the show always dashes the moment with some bizarre action from its bizarre trope of characters. The love dialogue between Kukuri and Nike become too embarrassing and too much of a love story? Wind Fairy Gipple will be there to cleanse both with fart gas -- yes, fart gas -- because any loving/embarrassing lines are stench to be cleansed. The wind fairly is not a tiny winged angel, by the way. He takes the form of a weather doll and wears a loincloth. Battle gets intense? Old Man North North is there to belly-dance super hard. (His 'hard' work is often awarded instead of the hero himself.) When the strategy meeting to storm castle gets too serious, the series points out how itself is not meant to be serious and our hero Nike starts to dance and sing. The four gods of nature -- who would necessarily be very cool characters in classic RPGs -- are mid-age dudes that look like mid-age freaks: the fire god is the "minister of chefs" (fire for cooking fire), the water god has a masculine body yet wears female bathing suit and the wind god only wears loincloth in his lower half. Only the earth god is an average, unmotivated mid-age dude who raised a money loving daughter, although being average is hardly average for one of the four gods of nature. A recurring feature of the series is how it perverts pervertness. Nike fantasizes about the underwear and the naked body of Kukuri. Said underwear takes the form of a child's dampon -- very inocent and non-sexy. The sexy belly dancer role is taken up by old man North North because no young girls would do such embarassing things......

Oh now is a good time to mention that Mahoujin Guru Guru is drawn in the style of children's cartoons. Nike is a grade-school aged boy and Kukuri is a grade-school aged girl. They are 14. To accompany, many characters and items have names of repeated syllables -- giving many what-would-be serious and majestic characters and magical items a cute and childish feel. (As in many other languages, repeating syllables in Japanese tend to trivialize a concept and not the other way around. That is a bit like the 'y' in horsy and doggy. ) The style probably puts off many viewers -- as grown adults, we are not here to watch a children's show, just like how we are not ever in cinema to watch Pixar's WallE or Up unless we are with smaller children, (or are we?) I actually think the cartoonish style fits quite well with the premise of the series -- classic RPG adventure story made un-serious. Much of the comedy wouldn't work without the art style. The style also gives license for Nike and Kukuri to be adorable. The cartoonish art helps to accentuate the free spirited nature of Nike and the romantic mind of Kukuri.

If Oscar Awards is any clue, it is not easy to do comedy well. A good comedy makes one laugh. But what makes a great comedy? Like many things in life, a great comedy probably takes many forms. Perhaps a comedy is great because it reflects and distills the emotions and stories of real life and that it is thought provoking. Perhaps a comedy is great because it paces itself well and it has a way to continue to produce fun from repeated gags. Or perhaps a comedy is great for other reasons. I think Mahoujin Guru Guru tends towards the latter. It is indeed great at its comedic pacing. It is good at placing gags amid stories -- sometimes bizarre stories -- at the right time and frequently. On top of that, as an avid gamer, I am quite happy to see game elements parodied. One probably wouldn't consider making fun of TV show stereotypes or game stereotypes as something deep. It is nevertheless enjoyable and relatable for a gamer like me. Relatability is quite necessary for a great comedy.

What score should Mahoujin Guru Guru get? Looking around, there aren't actually many comedy series that have managed to maintain a constant level of hilarity, tell the stories of an interesting adventure, and please the eyes with good artwork episode-after-episode. The clever timing of gags and constant level of fun put Mahoujin Guru Guru as a candidate for a great comedy. On top of that, the artwork and depths of the adventure world puts Mahoujin Guru Guru above even the more successful mainstream comedy TV shows, at least in my eyes. Mahoujin Guru Guru is going to be an epitome of anime comedy -- although sadly only for the hardcore viewers -- for many years to come. Still I am not giving 10/10 to Mahoujin Guru Guru (2017). The main reason being the ending. (Minor reason is there are one or two episodes that feel mundane and not funny enough. The 25-episode format for what-used-to-be a 43-episode run might've made episode to episode pacing a little more difficult for the series' producers.) The ending feels underwhelming. For a show of this level of eccentricity, I feel the ending could use a bit of 'firework'. A bit more dazzling art fare. A bit more awe. If I understand correctly, at the end, Nike and Kukuri moved on to 'heaven' Anastasia, which means they probably died in sealing away Giri Giri. My complaint here is that this 'Anastasia' place has no foreshadowing whatsoever in previous episodes -- as viewers we are not invested in the concept. So the passing on to heaven is more confusing than touching. What became of the prior story where the previous hero was sealed away too by the previous guru guru user? How is the resolution of love between Nike and Kukuri different? I feel more can be done here. Along with the minor reason, 9/10 it is.

Mahoujin Guru Guru has been a weekly treat. I really wouldn't mind the epilogue become real. (The world is really weak. So Giri Giri comes out again in two years...)

Why should you watch this series? Because it is FUN!

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The series (Mondaiji for short) starts with 3 teens with unique abilities summoned to an usual world. They are to play games and earn awards to surive. They will join 共同体 or union/community and grow with their friends together.
-- In short, life will be about playing games!
And that is when the fun starts.

There are more about the Mondaiji world:
- A bunny girl, with real bunny ears.
... She possesses a seductive body but the heart of a pure shoujo. She is easy to tease.
- One man lead and 3 main female casts and many other supporting female character

Synopsis: countries pose as real persons to enact pre-modern historical events and interact.

One line remark: OMG, funny and brilliant!
Also, the series makes a good presentation on the differences between the West and the East with clever exploits on the stereotypes of each culture.
WARNING: however, the show is actually NOT very historical. (Italy wasn't softie as such. Axis Power did not unite purely for more excellence. etc) DO NOT take its parody as facts.

A few moments from the show that are still clear in my mind:

S.P.O.I.L.E.R

* Canada tries to put on the Maple Leaf on his fore-head, then America quickly bullies him and forces on ... the Stars and Stripes, while Canada's teddy bear keeps on asking its owner Canada "dare?" (a non-formal way of asking "who are you?")

* Japan can always come up with at least three different ways of saying no without mentioning the word "no". And then he would always explain at the end "by the way, they all mean 'no'".

* China shows up at the UN meeting late but insists the delay is justified because he was trying the newest mud crab of the season.

* China opens up a chinatown in the middle of a deserted pacific island and sells rice crust to Italy, who along with Japan and Germany is supposedly stranded on the island. (China was at war with them!)

* Italy's war preparation is mass-producing white flags.


After reading these, (however bad the writing has been), is the show not a good idea?



For those who like the show, I also recommend the comic Scandinavia and the World. Here is the link.
http://satwcomic.com/

I can't help but write comments on this epilogue.

For synopsis, the epilogue gives an alternative ending to the existing one, substituting the encounter between what appear to be reincarnated Yuruzu and Kanade with Yuzuru staying behind in the world forever, helping newcomers to find their peace and pass on.

But.. that is saddddd. The scene ends with Yuzuru sitting in the student council office, alone, with background chitchat about the "rumor" that the cool student council president is said to be waiting for someone, while we all know, the someone means Kanade, and that the waiting is forever. The separation does not even ... end with lifetime - longer than lifetime! - literally the longest separation. Just thinking it hurts the tear glands around my eyes. (I am shamefully vulnerable to all exploits that use the theme of "seperation".) Yuzuru was granted a second life, with the new-found friendship and the new-found love, who now all have passed on, yet he stays behind to live again solely for others, determined, alone and, this time, with no end. What could be more sorrowful than that?
I am just glad that this epilogue was published as an alternative ending (yet still published), for it hurts the a fan's feeling by not giving a blissful ending to a festive, yet touching comedy.

Some people use the term cartoon to differentiate certain animated works from the more mature arts. If such arrangement is to be held, Panty and Stocking is a cartoon.

It deploys abusive language, violence, sexual vulgar and disgust, apparently a play on North American culture, for comedic effect. At the same time, it does not present a readable storyline, contains no conflicts, stage characters with no characters. The fun (in an alternative sense) thus comes hollow. This all is perhaps allowable, but does not raise its artistic value in my opinion.

Compared to some other perhaps of-the-same-genre cartoons, for example, Family Guy and South Park, Panty and ... Stocking is more outright with sexuality and violence, while containing less satire with depth. Not at fault at all, but not particularly interesting either.

EDIT:

I just saw some comparisons between Panty & Stocking and The Simpsons as a justification to the excellence of P&S, and then some praises to the lack of story in P&S as its strength in story-telling.

But, really?

Sure P&S serves just right for some people as entertainment. Its defiance against mainstream culture standard is probably quite able to create some echoes too. (well, not mainstream anymore, judging from P&S's reception.) But no story means a score of 0 on story. No character development means a score of 0 on character. A series may not have to have those. Yet lacking such depth for a story-telling art form is just like lacking intelligence in a person - nothing exemplary.

And the comparison against The Simpsons. The comment claims Simpsons is purposeless and therefore the excellence of P&S, which is somehow connected, is justified. Again, REALLY?? How innocent one has to be to dismiss the socio-political satire Simpsons pranks on? Or are sarcasm and humour ONLY supposed to be shallow and sexual nowadays?

Some comments praise the series' energy and unserious fun. Sure. And it's very logical and sufficient to use these to exalt the series as "masterpiece", because there had been no comedies in Japanese anime history, absolutely no series that were upbeat and airy.

I do not have the wish to proceed any further. It's not like P&S has never been done before. It's not like outright sexuality is a novelty. Just like smoking pot in public is not any symbol of defiance. Disgust is not for the first time used in cartoons, nor is randomness.

I appreciate how some people are enjoying the series, but feel straight offended by comments like "some people who has trouble liking the series should learn to ENJOY themselves once after a while". If you are smart enough to come up with a grammatic structure complicated as such, then you shouldn't be as idiotic as to being unable to understand that your standard of fun is insured to apply to yourself only.

This review is attributed to the prologue ONLY.

I watched the prologue after the whole series (1st season). And I am glad I did not do it any earlier. The prologue (besides offering a good music video) is not required for understanding the anime. All "mysteries" about the characters will unwind as the series progresses.
The prologue is presented as a brief quarrel between the two female main characters over the person they both like - a main conflict of one of the two stories in the series. However, it is, in my opinion, much more interesting to watch the series without the conflict already revealed. After ... all, the series is created such that viewers have to resonate and grasp the emotional turmoil of the characters and so gradually appreciate the conflicts.

Conclusion: DO NOT WATCH this prologue before viewing the actual anime!

(The rating scores are intended towards the actual series.)

Pros: everything, but only up to about the first 50 episodes (plus the clashes between the 3 legendary shinobidos later on)
Cons: everything since then

The anime is well viewed and understood. It thus does not require synoptic reviews. I'll just share some personal experience with the anime.

I started watching the series a lot later than most people, but once I started, I had no trouble comprehending the frenzies my friends would have about the series -- a tale of ninja and their mysterious techniques (grown up in China, I love all things elemental-related when it comes to magics and fantasies), a depiction of the hierarchy and ... conflicts in the Japanese Warring era, and a ballard of growing-up with tears, efforts and friendship. It was an awesome escape from the real world, with either new shinobido techniques or new character stories to reveal every episode-- there is always mystery, suspension, and action.

However, (as with all things, there has to be a "however"), that's only up to about 60 episodes, if I recall right. After that, the series is reduced to episodic missions that do not further the storyline or introduce any new techniques. The motifs of each small story are boring and blank at best. The whole series simply turned into a repetitive, dungeon-ish, adventure anime probably only geared for grade-schoolers.

Just to name one of its vice, it occurs in every single episode that some character, in a super intensive, emergent and often life-threatening situation (as depicted by the character's monologue anyway), would somehow freeze and take ages to make the simplest decision or the most obvious tactical observation -- as if the viewers all have IQ of none when viewing this series. What does the anime itself do during all these pauses? About 7 seconds zooming in on the same frame. And then? Another 7 seconds zooming out! If not longer!!
It's almost sever to the point that I can barely enjoy the episodes as animations but instead voiced CG drama.
I gave up after a few episodes of those, obviously. I would revisit the series occasionally and only receive disappointment - not to anybody's surprise.

Hence, my overall rating -> 3/10, in a protest against the inattention of the producer to the later part of the series, while the partial ratings remain high, in a tribute to the series' quickly-diminished potential.

EDIT:

Unlike normal rating, the word clause remains neutral/positive until the score is lower to as bad as 3 when writing a comment -> partly the reasons for the low score.

Pros: very epic and detailed battle scenes.
Cons: everything else...

I was first attracted to this series purely by its title really. Yukikaze was the name of an eerily auspicious destroyer back in WW2.

The series stages intensive battle action with futuristic fighter planes as well as epic background CGs. (As a guy, it's hard to not love those..) The action is well presented, as I recall, with few or none repetitive missile firing/dodging clips, or stupid zooming in/out freezes, which tend to be prevalent in some other action animes.

However, beyond the eye candies of the impressive battle scenes, I find the series having little else to ... offer. There is an alien dimension that has a portal to our planet earth, in which human exploration starts off defensive in nature to expansionary later. The alien dimension is later revealed to be some sort of collective entity (similar to AI) that only wishes to trap human inside and so to study them. The series is further enriched with its exploration on human-computer interaction, featured by the personified relationship gradually developed between the protagonist and his comrade AI Yukikaze as well as some additional touches on human greed, lack of mutual trust, etc.

I must say, though, having promising ideas, nothing novel nonetheless, is far from enough to justify a good series. Developing the ideas thoroughly, perhaps on the way deploying some mind shockers, would do. Yet the series, while considerably lengthy altogether, is not quite there. There is much connection amongst the characters. Of the few interactions, the affection of the protagonist's big-brother-style superior towards the protagonist comes from completely nowhere. The obsession of the protagonist towards the AI Yukikaze remains a mere presumption of the series throughout the series without back up stories. And there is a whole sub-storyline of a news reporter that doesn't really assist the main storyline or create any shock factor. The series is good at mobilizing viewers' imagination by good visuals, but that's it. All the potential good stuffs really have to be imagined, as oppose to actually shown in the films. (Incidentally, I had trouble getting good quality copies of the series, which unfortunately further worsens my experience with the series.)
Hence, overall, I gave the series 6/10, which I hope I have reasoned properly.