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Oct 15, 2024
"Don't cry, Al! Soon there'll be an even bigger war, with even cooler mobile suits than the last!"
0080 is one of my personal favourites of all the Gundam side stories, and as the first major OVA in the Gundam continuity, it's an experimental, and incredibly enjoyable encapsulation of the One Year War, with a focus on war's effect on children.
Returning again to provide mechanical design is the usual UC team, including Okawara. Due to 0080's return to the One Year War, many mobile suit designs were "updated" to have a more current look compared to their 1979 iterations. In-universe, this is explained as Zeon's last
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ditch United Maintenance Plan, where in the final phases of the war Zeon's mobile suits were overhauled. As a result, the mechanical designers can flex the skills and experience they have developed working on the sequel series, giving us amazing designs like the Hy-gogg and the Zaku II FZ, who remain reminiscent of the MS they are based on, but with that late 80s chunkyness that made the designs of ZZ and CCA so intimidating. On the Federation side, we see the beginning of a long tradition of GM variants, such as the super popular but comically underrepresented GM Sniper, a design so powerful that it spawned countless gunpla kits, despite being destroyed before even touching the ground in the series it was introduced.
Character design is handled by Haruhiko Mikimoto, whose round, friendly faces will be instantly recognisable to Macross fans. Al, Christina and Bernie look suitably youthful in contrast to the grizzly looking cyclops team members, and costume design all around is great, especially Bernie's cool jacket.
Being a short OVA, animation is a big selling point for 0080, taking the fluidity and readability of CCA's brilliant MS fights as a baseline and even pushing past it at times. Compared to series like Zeta, where oftentimes the MS animation can feel very human and expressive, there is a coldness in 0080 when they move, and especially when they kill. 0080 kicks the "robot gore" up a notch with some brutal fight scenes, like the opening scene at the polar base, and the fight involving the Gelgoog Jaeger, two near-perfectly choreagraphed battles with animation that no doubt blew minds when it was released. I know I was impressed over 30 years later, and it's in large part because of its clarity, there's a lot of dedication to longer cuts of animation, and the brightly coloured MS really stand out. Aside from MS, the characters are very expressive, and there's a lot of subtlety and detail in the body language of non-speakers in scenes, which I feel is fairly rare, even for projects on the level of 0080. Al is a very readable character, and that's much of what makes him enjoyable to watch. Also of note is the amazing scene of the failed infiltration of the Federation base, proving much of what makes robot gore effective is applicable for human gore!
I'm also a particular fan of the ending animation, war photography is something I've always found fascinating, and it makes me geniunely emotional with how believable it looks, to the point where I'm pretty sure some of the images are referenced from actual war photography.
Sound-wise(man,) both opening and ending are just ok, and in general not a whole lot of the score stands out to me, it's fairly low-key and doesn't accurately reflect the energy of the scenes it is played against in some cases. The track that plays during the Kampfer's rampage is very good and iconic for sure, but I feel that the score could have benefited from a change in instrumentation during action scenes to properly contrast from the more peaceful scenes. VA work is brilliant as expected from Sunrise, my favourite among the cast being Bernie, voiced by Kōji Tsujitani. Bernie has a youthful voice and appearance, but is on the cusp of adulthood, and the tone chosen definitely fits someone who comes across as mature to some, and immature to others.
I see 0080 as a distillation of 0079's early themes, which is made fairly obvious when looking at a synopsis for the story: Zeon infiltrates a neutral colony believed to house experimental Federation mobile suits, involving civillians in the One Year War. However, that's only part of the story; living on the colony is Al, a young boy with the comparatively smaller issues of having divorced parents, and no motivation to study. He's an only child, and despite having friends at school, he feels alienated and lonely because he thinks Zeon's mobile suits look cool. The story mostly revolves around Al's life, and while the perspective of a child on a neutral colony during the OYW isn't entirely unique, Al's particular experience is incredibly valuable for understanding the UC. Towards the start of the series, we see Al's friends discussing and speculating about federation mobile suits, and the legendary Gundam. The kids are far from any conflict below earth's surface, and in their eyes, the sight of a Mobile Suit, a deadly vehicle for many of the UC's recent atrocities, is more cool than horrifying. Al shares this enthusiasm, and is even treated to a glimpse of the Gundam, but soon enough, he'll see it push a beam saber through his friend. It's this core tragedy of the loss of innocence that marks the start of countless mecha protagonists, but it comes to Al far too soon, and he's left to live with all he's seen. After seeing the reality of war, his friends' giddy insistance that "soon there'll be an even bigger war!" is recontextualised to something entirely more sinister.
It's this sentiment that makes up the biggest part of 0080, being youth and childhood. Bernie and Christina, like Al, are extremely young to be risking (and losing) their lives for any ideology, and the tragedy is pushed as far as possible towards the end. 0080 is one of the shortest, and one of the most complete UC stories, it has an impeccable narrative arc, realistic characters, and more than any other Gundam series, it tugs on your heartstrings like nothing else. It's not terribly hard to come across, I've seen the Blu-ray in a few shops, but I'd highly recommend watching 0080 if it ever appears on streaming sites (or the Gundaminfo youtube channel, always worth checking!)
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Sep 30, 2024
Char's Counterattack is (mostly) the end of the main "Earth Federation vs Zeon" story arc as told by Tomino, featuring the return of Amuro Ray and Char Aznable for the first time since Zeta Gundam. Despite being the end of a larger story, I would say that both Zeta and ZZ are not required reading to understand and enjoy the story of CCA, although the jump from Mobile Suit Gundam to CCA in terms of visuals is pretty vast. The film began production midway through the airing and production of ZZ, and as a film, it's incredibly pretty.
The majority of mechanical design is handled by
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Yutaka Izubuchi, who iterates on the chunkier mobile suits of ZZ with designs like the Sazabi and Jagd Doga, with massive, intimidating silhouettes that feel like a new and evolved take on the Zeon of old. The Federation side also retains its general look, and the Nu Gundam is possibly the most Gundam-y Gundam since the Mk.II. All designs are memorable and unlike the previous series, all of them look purely functional, like machines genuinely equipped for war.
Character designs for the film were made by Hiroyuki Kitazume, a previous animation director for Z and ZZ, and is able to continue the basic design strategy of Yas's from previous series, but adds a more mature look that fits the serious tone of the film perfectly. Designing adult versions of Amuro and Char could not have been easy, but the result is very natural and distinct, while still being instantly recognisable.
Saegusa hits it out the park again for the soundtrack, amazing tracks all around, the theme of the Nu Gundam is incredibly iconic, and the main theme is incredible FULL STOP. TM Network contributes the ending song, Beyond the Time, and it's one of the best anime songs of the decade, managing to be relevant to the story lyrically and fitting for the scene it's placed over at the same time.
The story of Char's Counterattack progresses at a lightning fast pace, as expected for a film. Opening with the initial attack on Fifth Luna and its drop on Lhasa, the stakes and major players are set immediately. Fittingly shocking for a Gundam series, and sets the stage for the following conflicts and climax later on very well. The film is almost blatantly a sendoff for Char and Amuro, and as such they get a lot of screentime, besides some spotlight on the new characters. Speaking of which, I may be in the minority of people who enjoyed the new characters, especially Quess. Her archetype is done marginally better in later series (Katejina from Victory to some extent,) but I thought that the tradgedy was done well, you've got to be a pretty cold person not to feel some sympathy when a girl as young as Quess is groomed to become a supersoldier for a doomed extremist group. Hathaway, while not a new character, is interesting as a link to the previous series, and grounds the story somewhat by offering a more civillian perspective to a story near entirely populated by veterans of war.
Some other characters that stand out are:
Chan, who despite being a stand-in for Beltorchika still makes an impression,
Astonagie, ignoring his death, I'm just happy to see him again,
Gyunei and Nanai, managing to clear the low bar of being the most normal people in Neo Zeon,
Rezin, whose unambiguous evilness is always fun to watch.
Char is possibly at his most transparent in this film, and again proves to be one of the greatest and most compelling personalities in the medium. He's at the end of his rope, and more than any idealistic change, he's hoping to orchestrate a grand suicide worthy of his own high expectations for himself. Though they haven't met in about a decade, Amuro rules his mind, as his greatest enemy, and still the only person besides Lalah to have caught a glimpse of himself below his surface. Char's narcissism would never allow himself to fade out of the world silently, so he'd rather have the world believe he's gone mad. Amuro in contrast, while not a pillar of mental stability himself, is mostly oblivious to the game Char has set for them both, and sees the task of putting Char down as his responsibility above anything else. In the climax, where all pretense is dropped, and Char reveals his far more personal and selfish reasons for his hatred, Amuro is left with the shortest of moments to process how baffling Char is before they both meet their end. It's a perfect ending for them both, they die having never truly understood each other at all. The irony of two powerful newtypes being so painfully incapable of understanding each other encapsulates many of the themes of UC Gundam, its hope, its hate, and the pathetic futility of idealists pitted against idealism.
While I do think that the film is an incredible experience for a Gundam fan, newcomers will be entirely lost for the entirety of this film, as exposition is, in true Tomino fashion, hardly ever conveyed directly to the audience. And even to the direst of Gundam fans will likely be disappointed by the lack of presence of other characters and references to Zeta and ZZ, and though I'm satisfied with this film being centered on Charmuro goodness, with Quess and Hathaway as secondaries, I've seen opinions from others that had hoped for some more development for the supporting cast, which I think the film would absolutely benefit from. It's hard to accept that ZZ was the end for Kamille and most of the Shangri-la kids, but where money and audiences are concerned, 0079 is where it's at.
Overall I think this film is a landmark, and worth watching for any mecha fan.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Sep 12, 2024
If you were expecting ZZ to be a straight sequel to Zeta, you've been mislead. Many people don't get over that initial subversion, and write this series off, or even call it skippable. But if you push past your (honestly, very understandable) surprise that following the intense and depressing final episode of Zeta the Argama and its crew get into slapstick adventures with street rats, the mood shifts back to something more expected. This is still Tomino Gundam, so to say Gundam took a "kid-friendly" turn with this series is entirely false.
The visual aspects remain mostly unchanged from Zeta, Yasuhiko returns for the new character
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designs, and mechanics are again handled by a jumble of mecha designers, most notably Kunio Okawara. Both look amazing as usual, and particularly among the new characters the costume design is very colourful and shows the youth of UC Gundam in casual wear for once instead of normal suits and military uniforms. Now that the Titans are gone, their brand of strange and complex mobile suits are gone, giving rise to more functional designs, with barely any transforming mobile suits, save for a few like the Gaza D, which is only really an upgraded Gaza C from Zeta. Among the new designs are standouts like the Queen Mansa (or Quin Mantha) the GM III and Zaku III, and the Capule. It's around this time that the UC Mobile suit look is solidified, each one seems to have these chunky proportions, huge chests and weapons all over. The ZZ Gundam is a brilliant design as well, and pays homage to super robot tropes like combining, and having a big laser right on the forehead, it gives major Getter-1 vibes, down to the beam sabers being on the shoulders like the Getter tomahawk.
Animation-wise, the same general level of quality that Zeta had is replicated here. The stock animation used for the ZZ combination is incredible, one of the only cases where I really missed seeing it if it was ever omitted. There is far more comedy in this series, mostly due to the new cast members, so during more interpersonal moments there tends to be a lot of abstraction and characters are often drawn off-model to sell a joke, which I'll accept as a stylistic choice, considering the mobile suit combat (ignoring the early episodes with the Zeta gundam) is very clean and often times better than Zeta. The cast take the story to some strange venues for mobile suit battles too, and the background artists really make it work.
Saegusa returns for the soundtrack, and while some Zeta tracks are reused, the new tracks made for this series are remarkably upbeat, and expand on the groovy synth sound present in Zeta.
As I've alluded to a few times already, the story of ZZ is overall lighter and genuinely pretty funny. Unlike I've heard from many people, the story doesn't start silly and wacky and kid-friendly, and then become darker, it's more that it has a brief tone shift at Shangri-la, and the story is a mix of Gundam hell and tension-breaking moments. In my opinion, this is just what happens when the majority of the cast is very young kids, the comedy just seeps in. I do agree that the comedy doesn't completely add the the wider messages of the story, but I don't think most of it was unrealistic or anything like that. That conversation aside, ZZ provides us with some of the coolest moments in UC gundam, for example the first onscreen colony drop followed by the amazing battle with the damaged Psycho gundam mk.II, the pan up of the exposed machinery on the Psycho gundam is legendary. Some other highlights are the attempted rescue of Leina, which includes the scene of Judeau protecting his sister and actually making Haman fear for her life, and the heartbreaking scene Ple not understanding Judeau's grief at Leina's (apparent) death. The short arc in Africa was also a great bit of real-world conflict represented in Gundam, and despite the sharp tonal shift, the arc in Tigerbaum was very fun and being a big fan of amphibious MS, I was ecstatic. Excluding the Titans, ZZ is the one of the first explicit displays of the corruption of the EFSF, and general themes of the class divide, colonialism and imperialism, and exploitation of the poor, young and weak are present throughout, strongest during the colony drop on Dublin.
The main cast of new characters, the kids from Shangri-la, Roux and Ple are all unique, and I'm happy that there is a focus on their dynamic, and eventual teamwork over the course of the series. This is the first time there is a real "Gundam Team" and they do genuinely evolve to fill the shoes of the far more competent pilots who used their machines before them. Judeau is a refreshing protagonist, whose energy and willpower give stakes to situations, considering what sets him apart from Amuro and Kamille is that he has clear and genuine goals. The other kids are all interesting in their own right, Beecha stands out as a sort of antihero, who eventually makes up his mind and goes on to lead everyone as the captain of the Nahel Argama in Bright's stead. Ple is a very tragic (and uncomfortable) character who adds instability to the group dynamic, and brings with her the usual pain of a cyber-newtype. The villains are extremely colourful this time around, with Mashymre and Chara being near complete caricatures, but become very serious and sympathetic villains in the end, as particularly Mashymre is forced to become Haman's black knight. The main villains of ZZ, Haman and Glemy, reach peaks of Gundam villainy. Glemy is a foolish, fickle, lovesick, uptight monster who demands the viewer to hate him, and unlike many villains of his nature, he is unaware of how truly evil he is, even when he sends out a dozen clones of the same tortured 11 year old girl out to die for him. Haman's arc sees her unpenetrable cold facade be eroded by Judeau, as she comes to recognise his incredible power. Haman and Judeau come face-to-face multiple times in the series, and when it comes time to their final duel, it's clear he has worn her down to the point of near defeat before they'd ever clashed in mobile suits, and the duel is amazing. Worth mentioning is the return of many major characters, like Bright, Fa and Kamille, who are mostly stagnant to allow the others room to distinguish themselves, however Kamille, now mostly unable to fight, shows his strength as a newtype, and the true end to his character arc was very sweet.
In retrospective, ZZ is an incredibly dense series, and warrants a lot more attention that it has received. If you consider yourself a UC Gundam fan and you have not given ZZ a chance, I would beg you to try and push past your doubts and keep an open mind, you'll find 47 episodes of the universal century expanded and just as dynamic as ever. And if you're a fan of Unicorn, you'd know that Marida is the best part of that series, so do her legacy a service and watch ZZ.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Aug 2, 2023
Zeta Gundam is a sad, sad series, following a civil war between the shady AEUG and the brutal Titans, considered by many to be the best the UC series have to offer.
Art and animation have taken a huge step forward from the days of first Gundam, and while of course there are rough patches, there is so much more detail work in some scenes that looks incredible, and characters are far more consistently on model. The new Mobile Suits are brilliant, and while I'm not really a fan of transforming MS, on the whole the new MS are all interesting and serve a bit more
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narrative purpose than before, as the new designs for both Titans and AEUG all have distinctly Zeonic designs, implying the former Zeon engineers were taken in by Anaheim. My favorites are the Gundam Mk.II and the Methuss.
The music is on another level. The new series composer, Saegusa creates the most foreboding pieces, that elevate the show and its drama beyond the average space mecha show, with exciting and iconic battle BGM, and incidental BMG that adds to the atmosphere of space, making the viewer feel small with loud brass that reverberates against the vacuum. Both OPs and EDs are brilliant, especially the 2nd OP.
The story is a heartbreaking tale of a child so disenfranchised no matter where he is, that he has to take comfort in fighting for a cause, and yet all it brings him is rage and sadness. Kamille, and the majority of the other characters are not likable most of the time, make many mistakes, say rude and hurtful things to each other, and cause everyone pain. But these characters are the series's absolute strength, showing them grow past their old flaws and grievances, and pick up new ones before they are plucked from the world before their time. A lot of these characters never wanted to be fighting another war, and never wanted to join AEUG or the Titans, because the ones who do want this war are monsters. The story is a pretty realistic continuation of first Gundam, and the decision to jump forward 7 years allows for the world and established characters to change meaningfully.
A highlight episode for me, one that encapsulates Zeta the best to me, is Episode 37: The Day of Dakar. Quattro's speech is just so impactful, and you can imagine how hard some of it is to hear for some of the Titans and Earth Federation. Seeing that a lot of the Titans don't really know what they're fighting for, the deconstruction of their propaganda, and the result of the speech leading to a shift in Federation support is a great moment to see unfold, it makes the viewer feel like they've just witnessed history, a major political event.
Zeta on the whole is a monumental series, that reflects the time, a history of civil unrest and freedom fighting, what defines things like brutality and terrorism, and the lives of ordinary people going through extraordinary circumstances. Zeta is a must watch, I can't say enough about it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Aug 1, 2023
This is a film compiling the events of Mobile Suit Gundam, from the aftermath of Jaburo up to the ending.
The film cuts quite a fair bit compared to the cuts from the previous two films, with the major cuts being the duel with M'quve at Texas colony, and the entire character of Challia Bull. It would be a fair argument to say these are inconsequential or even worthwhile cuts, but I think the decision to completely omit an ending to M'quve's character is pretty unsatisfying.
Not that the watcher really has time to lament any of that, as by far this film features the most exciting
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parts of the original series, Solomon and A Baoa Qu, and the spectacle is very well shown. The compilation films have gained a reputation for changing much of the original script to properly introduce and discuss the 'Newtype' theory that is placed at the forefront during the final parts of the series, which while in the first two films these changes made some scenes drag with philosophical nonsense, in this film, the viewer is given so much more visual reference for the abilities and realities of Newtypes, and makes for a pretty decent payoff, despite how explicitly Newtypes are foreshadowed.
The animation remains very distinct, as with the previous films, however on this occasion there have been far fewer touch-ups, as at around this stage of the original series, the art was actually pretty consistent. The new mecha introduced are absolute classics, with the Gelgoog being a standout, a really intimidating design that incorporates much of the designs of previous MS. The Gundam, however, stays the same, now at the end of its cutting-edge status.
The ending song, "Meguriai" is just so amazing, and makes the ending scene incredibly powerful, definitely evoking the feeling of reuniting with family after so much hardship. Music on a whole maintains the quality established in the first two films and the series, and is definitely a strength.
It's quite difficult to say whether I recommend the compilation films over the series in most cases, and I tend to side with the series despite its pretty obvious (and charming) flaws, but for the third film, I would say it is worth watching, and can even serve as a replacement for the final part of the series.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Nov 4, 2022
The second film in the adaption of the original Mobile Suit Gundam series, which covers the events of Amuro's Desertion to the Defence of Jaburo.
Animation quality remains mostly the same, I would say it is marginally better than the first film however. the second film introduces multiple new mobile suits such as the Z'gok and Gouf, and far more varied battlefields for them to fight within.
I award the second film one extra point over the first more for the content of the story, which further explores both sides of the conflict and the awfulness of the whole situation. Zeon is depicted as surprisingly sympathetic for
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a group of fascist zealots. This shows how subversive MSG is, avoiding a story where killing is done without guilt or thought. Although, a LOT of people die. One highlight is an early scene where Amuro finds himself in a bar in neutral territory with the commander of the Zeon forces the white base has been in combat with since they arrived in the area. MSG's absolute specialty is never resorting to making a completely despicable villainous force. Either that or I am already far gone and I think the spacenoid supremacists that dropped a giant space colony onto earth kind of had a point tbf.
The Gundam is cool.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Nov 4, 2022
This is the first in a trilogy of films adapting the original Mobile Suit Gundam series in a paced up yet still incredibly long format. This can very safely be watched in the place of the series, but you do trade some scenes for better overall animation quality. The first film covers the events of Amuro Ray's first flight in the Gundam all the way up to the fight with Garma Zabi.
The animation is passable, improving on the original in terms of avoiding stock animation (mostly) but still keeping the charm of the original's very saturated colours, large, blocky mobile suit designs and cute
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characters. I do prefer this approach to redoing the original, and I would say this means that the film generally gives the same experience as the series.
The films are edited a bit strangely, with very harsh cuts at times that don't give you much time to process what is happening. For example, in the early scenes a hole is blown in a colony and Amuro's father just gets sucked out into space, which happens insanely quickly and is barely brought up later. Characters die, jump between battle and being onboard, in and out of mobile suits and all around white base with very little warning from the score or dialogue. I have decided to optimistically take this as a way of showing how war does not allow people to take proper time to grieve or something, just make sure to not look away from the screen too long or you'll find yourself missing the whole battle.
Mobile Suit Gundam's greatest suit (lol) is by far its characters. Char particularly is THE character for most of MSG, and I am always glued to his presence and the incredible VA work. Amuro is a very interesting protagonist, subverting the expectation of a wide-eyed kid who wants to give his life in a cool robot to fight for justice, instead he is far more aware and sensitive, the first flight in the Gundam ends with him being visibly disturbed at his capability to kill. Amuro is often insubordinate to anyone he can be to, particularly Bright, the 19 year old captain of the white base who by far is the most relatable character, embodying the complaints of the viewer at Amuro and the other (child) soldiers aboard the white base by beating respect into them often.
The mobile suits are just cool. I like the Zaku II. Nothing more needs to be said without being unoriginal, big robots are cool and I very willingly assembled many gunpla after watching this film. They look cool, they sound cool, and they fight cool.
The original series and the film trilogy certainly hold up today. Maybe not as anybody's first anime, but I had plenty of fun experiencing an absolute classic in a faithful but revised form. Available on netflix brah.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Oct 11, 2021
Listen. Azumanga Daioh is what I watch to stay sane. I aggressively love this anime and how carefree and immature it can be, it's like a big bowl of mashed potatoes - warm, filling and incredibly monotonous, but I love it.
Azumanga Daioh is a very pleasant view of the lives of little funny characters that have their funny interactions and relationships in funny picturesque ways that often feel like listening in on a genuine conversation in school between longtime friends. There is never conflict any more dire than someone forgetting their lunch, characters never argue to the point of breaking apart and in general nothing
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changes save for the girls going from their first year of school to second and then third. This light approach to continuity means that no matter where you start, or how long it has been since you last watched an episode, you can always hop in and enjoy yourself. Highlights definitely are when events like the trip to Okinawa, or Christmas comes, and the typical school setting is broken up for a change. In these episodes, the art and animation can shine somewhat more than usual.
The animation is lovely! Character designs, while often very similar each have their distinct features that identify them. If it's a girl with medium brown hair it's Osaka, if it's a girl with long brown hair and glasses it's Yomi and so on! Ok I will be honest most of the characters look very much the same but it really does fit the theme of ordinary ass girls in their ordinary ass life at school, and anyways I was able able to tell them all apart within a few episodes. Backgrounds are nothing too special, again the monotony of school environments is broken up with the impressiveish Okinawan sights.
it has a nice opening, I like the cats, Osaka is the best character in both Japanese and English dubs and I have watched this too many times please someone help me forget this series
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Oct 8, 2021
I WILL defend Beastars no matter how hard I am ridiculed for rating furry stuff highly. Coming from an author whose relation to the author of the Grappler Baki series entirely threw me for a loop, is a really powerful crime drama that contains themes of racial and class divide and whether what is inherent to an animal can be ignored or unlearned, or embraced entirely in an ethical way.
While I have not seen the entirety of the anime, I do believe that there are some very big tonal differences between the two. The anime seems to lay heavily into the noir and mystery genre
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tropes with a jazz and swing soundtrack and a visually darker atmosphere. The manga in comparison is much brighter and oftentimes lighthearted, due in part to the very airy and amateurish art style, which I think detracts from the serious tone of many scenes, but where some panels can look rushed, others carry a very distinctly primal look to them. And while it may be a stretch comparing his art to his father's, Paru shares the same hyper emphasis on strong poses and movement lines that can be seen in her father's work, which has incredible effect in fight scenes despite the multitude of issues that could appear when characters have inhuman anatomy. Itagaki is able to make the movements and poses of Legosi appear canine yet still possible to reproduce with the human body, and the same applies to characters that are bears, leopards, stags, horses etc, are believably animal and yet still humanoid all the same.
Environment-wise, the world Itagaki presents in Beastars is in a confusing but familiar state of civilisation, with some incredibly pleasing neoclassical and Georgian architecture in the early arcs of the manga where most of the story is contained within the Cherryton Highschool building, which expands to more art deco Metropolises, and brutalist slums and wet markets that reminded me of the seedier areas of Hong Kong. Everything combines to create a very western atmosphere that compliments the noir vibes and civil conflict present in the story.
Itagaki is able to create a very varied cast of characters, who although never being as unique emotionally as they are physically, give a good range of perspectives on the story and none feeling particularly undeveloped. Beastars is perfectly capable of giving the reader a clue of a character's backstory without sending them on a multiple chapter spanning flashback, which helps keep the story feeling focused on the more interesting events happening in the present. There is a fairly good attempt to tie characters to the real-life animals they are based on, the standout beings being the lead characters such as Legosi, a literal lone wolf, and Louis, a proud stag who stands his ground in the face of danger, sometimes like a deer in headlights. The trend is subverted on occasion to great effect, which I believe is meant to exemplify how carnivores and herbivores living in coexistence has enabled many to become exceptions to the rules of their species. Overall, the characters are very well done, although not particularly complex, which I will say is perfectly acceptable as the manga does not rely on many characters besides Legosi, Louis and maybe Melon to push the story.
I can't quite say what kind of reader I would recommend this manga to, as I struggle to compare it to many other manga. I suppose that says much for Beastars' uniqueness. I think I would recommend Beastars to anyone wanting a story and world with far less Japanese influence than the typical manga, and fans of crime and murder stories.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Oct 8, 2021
As the short epilogue to 20th Century Boys, most of what I have said about 20th Century Boys applies to 21st Century Boys.
Despite the time gap between the release of the final chapters of 20th Century Boys and the beginning of 21st Century Boys, there is virtually zero dissonance between the two series, and thus you can very easily get right into 21st Century Boys as soon as its predecessor is over.
The narrative this time around is far more heavily focused on one thread rather than multiple converging threads as you might be used to with the bulk of 20th Century Boys, however,
...
this could just be because all of the threads have converged already.
Although my problems with 20th Century Boys are kind of amplified here, with very questionable uses of ESP and other supernatural business like ghosts and people somehow being able to feel the emotions of a data clone of themselves in a VR attraction, at this point in the story I wasn't able to care so hard about my problems with the story as much as I was engrossed with seeing satisfying ends to nearly every character's arcs.
Despite the nature of 21st Century Boys as being written for the expressed purpose of providing an ending that fans wanted to the series, it never felt like fanservice or rushed to shut fans up, which I will admit makes me respect Urusawa's integrity as an author for not caving in fully to fan demand.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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