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Dec 23, 2022
After the surprising depth and satisfying conclusion to the original "Mobile Suit Gundam," I was riding high on Mecha Fever, buying my first two Gunpla models and excited to consume more of this landmark anime franchise. Hearing good things about "Zeta Gundam" and eager to see how this universe could be even better fleshed out than the good yet quite flawed original series (which I practically binged from start to finish!) I went into "Zeta" expecting great things!
But it turns out that even in the eighties, people should have been wary when a company wanted to turn a popular series into a genuine franchise. "Mobile
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Suit Zeta Gundam" is bad. VERY bad.
While the first several episodes are easy enough to follow, adding new characters and bringing in the occasional fan-favorite from the original series to tie the two series' stories together, it was around episode ten that I began to realize that the plot is even more disjointed than the original series. No character, antagonist or protagonist, ever has a clear purpose for why they are fighting, and by the end the writers were clearly making things up and using as vague language as possible to try to appear philosophical. A slew of characters die near the end--as can happen in war--but it almost felt like it was done because the writers themselves knew how insufferable and outright moronic so many of them were. I literally watched them all die with a purely blank expression on my face because for as much screen time as every single one of them got, they got ZERO iotas of development.
Plot twists happen so often that you become numb to them. The same lunar colony is attacked again and again by the cartoonishly evil Titans who are supposed to be a corrupted anti-Zeon task force, but we get so little insight as to why they are constantly committing atrocities like gassing colonies again and again that you almost don't care if the equally one-dimensional Anti Earth Union Group ever stops them. Unlike the original series, which delved a little deeper into fascist mindsets and what can influence destitute nations and people to become so extreme, Zeta Gundam's way of showing the humanity of evildoers is for literally everyone to be a blank slate with nothing more than multiple female antagonists' out-of-the-blue romantic feelings for their enemy who they literally just met to make us empathize with them or for Jerid to constantly lose loved ones, cry about it, then go back to becoming a rampaging psychopath without explaining why he's fighting for the Titans in the first place. Sarah escapes from the clutches of her captors out of nowhere THREE TIMES. So many episodes retread the same ground that it didn't matter that I took such a long break from the series to keep from becoming utterly dulled to everything so I could properly gather my thoughts about it. Eventually, I could guess what "twists" the writers were going to go for during a particular setup.
Clearly, this series has been propped up by weeaboos and nostalgia junkies who close their mind off from other possibilities. "Dark" does not automatically mean "mature" or "deep" if there isn't any substance to back it up. If this series is held in such high regard by the Gundam community but only manages to fall completely flat on its face, I'm going to guess that the much-reviled "Double Zeta" must be a near masterpiece.
Please don't mess this next one up, Tomino. I don't want to believe that your legacy is only worth as much as the currently $28 billion you and Sunrise have been swimming in for more than forty years.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Apr 11, 2022
Gorou Taniguchi is singlehandedly the most frustrating Director in the entire anime industry. Propelled forward by his directorial debut in the original "One Piece" OVA, a series of small successes (albeit one of them being one of the few Gundam series that was technically canceled due to low ratings) eventually led him to his "Magnum Opus" Code Geass, after which it was all downhill from there as his old fans grew up and realized that a plot twist carries no true meaning without a logical leadup to it or proper payoff. Not to mention people just got tired of angsty, selfish protagonists who somehow always
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do the "right" thing with the power of all-encompassing vengeance and black-and-white worldviews tailored to be shallow enough for the average tween to comprehend. Add a series of embarrassing failures to this once-revered Director's repertoire (remember "Skate-Leading Stars"? No?) and a Code Geass OVA series and film that disillusioned a lot of nostalgic old Taniguchi fans, and he is now scraping the bottom of the barrel with the creation of a hilariously awful anime tied to a mobile game which is almost certain to fail due to its advertisement's confusing worldbuilding and nausea-inducingly bad animation.
"Gun x Sword" is all of Gorou Taniguchi's potential and problems smashed into an appealing-looking meatball. On the outside, you see a tasty Space Western that uses every trope in the book while mixing in various fun but one-offs that ultimately tie everything together for spice; but when you take a bite you realize that almost none of those flavors are remotely cohesive.
In the few works of this Director I have seen, I've come to realize that he has talent where it counts as a conceptualizer. Be it a Space Western with mechs or a political drama (with mechs!) he is able to conceive some truly fascinating worlds to potentially be immersed in. It's such a shame that he never uses those ideas to their full potential and prefers to go off on a tangent that was obviously never the intended destination--if there even was one to begin with.
The premise of "Gun x Sword" is simple enough--an angsty, brooding anti-hero (2000's anime patented!) is looking for revenge on the man who killed his wife at the altar just before the hero, Van, and his wife are to be married. Why did the villain kill her? Eh . . . we'll get there. It's yet another reason why I'm sure this series never had an original end goal. On the first episode, Van saves a town from the most interesting character in the entire series, and sets off on the final stretch of his revenge quest with a young teenage girl, Wendy, in tow.
This introduces the audience to the second main problem "Gun x Sword" has--the wholly underdeveloped harem who just so happen to fall for the lanky, grumpy hunk. Wendy is certainly a character who will make most viewers quite uncomfortable, if only for the way the script and camerawork portrays her. This is only the third true loli I have ever seen in an anime, and at least SAO had the decency to portray Silica's crush as a comical phase that all young girls will obviously go through at the inception of puberty, and Shiro from "No Game, No Life" completely flips any weird hopes some of the odder otaku would have on its head by making it clear that her brother would give the world for her simply because of natural familial love. But "Gun x Sword" makes it uncomfortably obvious that the script is trying to get Wendy and Van together at some point. Wendy's feelings are never addressed, and, like a lot of things by the end, it's all left loose, wasting a great opportunity to genuinely develop her character and make a commentary on the struggles of growing up in a world that expects kids to leap from their mold even before they are fully cast.
And there's the swimsuit wedgie butt shots. This is why I watch anime alone. -_-
From bust-o-rama Carmen 99 (the 99 is her bust measurement!) to the peppy Thigh Queen Priscilla, the idea of every most attractive girl (and Wendy) falling for the MC is eventually shoved into the plot as an afterthought just to check off another tired cliche. I mean . . . not that I would mind Priscilla falling for me since she's Best Girl, but a spirited personality and legs that could kill with a single kick aren't enough to make up for a complete lack of chemistry or development.
The animation for this series has made me absolutely certain that Taniguchi has an aversion to making mechs actually walk. Aside from Priscilla's fitting speedster Armor "Brownie," (whose main weapon is located on its butt, which she has to fire by thrusting forward with her own, real butt to fire; GOOD LAWD, I didn't need that view in this intense situation!) any mech that should walk rolls forward on wheels, or if it has legs, it is never shown WALKING, but jumping a few times before swinging a staff, shooting a gun, or exploding before the fight can really begin. It's a sad decade for anime when a lot of mechs have objectively worse animation than the original "Gundam." And some of these fights are over with so ludicrously that Ladies Dorothea Ernst and Monica Krushevsky from Code Geass are floating in the depths of C's World laughing at these poor fools' misfortune. One guy dies simply from having the right tube cut on the front of his Armor. No explosion, no damage to his body. HE JUST DIES. Another guy jumps around a bit before Van's love for his dead wife overpowers this nutcase's randomly psychotic Oedipus Complex and explodes despite receiving no major internal damage. Well, he fell through the roof of his castle, but why would the force of Van's sword have been enough to do that when he hit him in the shoulder?
The messy character relationships have been covered, as well as the shoddy animation and unfulfilling climaxes, but what about the overarching plot? From a series of random and completely disjointed encounters, a ragtag group comes together--one episode parodying the struggle for dominance of NGE and Gundam, an outcome I very much appreciated (it's the foundation of modern anime for a reason, folks!)--out of literally nowhere and finds the bad guys' base from some contrivance I still can't remember came to be. Did it just pass by too carelessly for me to see, or was there truly no leadup to it? I didn't want to bother backing the episode up so I could be over with it. The pacing of this series is so bad I was glad every time an episode ended around halfway through.
A complete lack of setup also seems to be one of Taniguchi's trademarks. "Gun x Sword" yet again pretends to have some kind of grand plan for its biggest climax, and then when it finally gets there, it turns out its just another rip off of Evangelion. You heard it straight from the horse's mouth! Twice in a row, Taniguchi-san didn't want to think of his own master plan for the main villain and opted to cash in on the most famous anime of the last decade, waxing a false dichotomy of "no one is wrong" naivety that talks down to the audience more than a condescending philosophy major. Once that grand climax is over, spouting vague ideals about how one dream must eclipse another for that dream to have success--thus why The Claw killed Van's wife, for some reason--the series is content to shrug off any impact it might have had and close it without care, as if it knows it truly isn't as deep as it wishes it could be.
Gorou Taniguchi is a truly disappointing Director. Such potential is constantly wasted on projects which are only made to crank out as cheap of a product as possible. Oh well. At least he didn't insult the audience directly this time around.
Will I ever work up the nerve to watch another one of his largely-forgotten works? Only time and my compulsive need to analyze will tell.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Mar 25, 2022
In the brief years of my anime fandom, I've realized that the pursuit of finding good anime comes with its pitfalls: When you actively search for only the bare minimum of decent to the absolute best, you can forget what exactly makes a series GOOD to begin with, and by the same merit what makes one BAD. Sure, I've seen my share of self-insert harem series and mindless power fantasies, but even those usually had SOME sort of redeemable quality to them that elevated them above common schlock created only for quick consumption to keep its parent studio alive for another season, whether it be
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a genuinely funny gag here and there or a jaw-dropping moment that briefly showed what the creators could do if they put that much passion into the entire project. (I will always defend SAO to the absolute minimum! The MINIMUM!)
"Akame ga Kill!" manages to take any potential for those redeemable qualities and, on the rare occasion it can achieve them, completely erases them by doing something mind-numbingly stupid or drop the production quality so suddenly that it makes one forget he or she had been impressed even a few seconds before. A 1/10 might seem harsh if I'm mentioning the few impressive moments, but just bear with me and you'll understand why I couldn't even give it a single point for trying.
"Akame ga Kill!" takes place in a world that is ambiguously medieval and ambiguously . . . Steampunk? That's a clue as to the kind of weird dissonance the entire series has, where it can't even get its genre and setting right. I've dubbed this kind of mix between medieval and Steampunk technology as "Castlepunk," a cool concept that has been executed much more seamlessly in stories such as "Xenoblade Chronicles 2." Here, it feels like the manga's original author just wanted to put modern-looking guns and other more advanced technology in the world because it was convenient for certain weapons or it looked cool . . . despite all transportation being done on carriages and horseback. That's not confusing at all. We later even see soldiers wearing dapper suits into battle with their helmets and swords! What . . . ?
But a story isn't predicated on the cohesiveness of its world alone (ahem RWBY). We're here to watch a hero's grand journey as he struggles to bring down an oppressive regime! How does this varied cast of characters hold up to believable standards? Uhhhh . . .
The characterization in "Akame ga Kill!" is another checkmark for being some of the worst I have ever seen, the very thing that makes it so unbearably bad. It's one thing to make every character a flat trope, but the level of ineptitude in the writing on display--particularly among the antagonists--is as bad as a novice high schooler who is making his first draft of a story he doesn't yet know he will inevitably discard. There's the main MC who mysteriously has every girl in his group fall for him just for being the swell everyman that took literally no thought to create, the bratty tsundere who at one point even steps on him in a comical fashion, the cold-hearted kuudrere who is the main girl because . . . well, she's the title character. Despite having no personality besides being sad and having a cool sword, we're supposed to root for her to steal Tatsumi's heart because her tragic backstory automatically makes her the deepest of all of them--which is unfortunately true. Well . . . maybe Esdeath trumps her by a small fraction.
That's right, Ladies and Gentleman! The legendary Yandere Ice Queen herself! Busty and sadistic, this blue haired bombshell could make any sexually confused teenage boy scream for more pain as she caresses his ear with a sultry whisper that she is going to make him experience things he could never imagine.
Did I mention every character is just a flat trope, and the antagonists are even worse written? Esdeath is a sadist brought up to believe that the strong flourish while the weak deserve to die, meanwhile she is looking for love. Does her longing for the warm, hard, internal embrace of our . . . probably legal-age MC Tatsumi ever help her to become more compassionate and understanding? No, because that would be HARD . . . apparently. I know that the second half of this series was made before the original manga was able to conclude, but the fact that the writers never took the time to develop Tatsumi and Esdeath's forbidden and forced romance showed that they probably knew how bad its setup was. Tatsumi actually thinks he can change the most violent and murderous psychopath in the entire kingdom who is undyingly loyal to the minister's corrupt domination on a whim just because she fell for his pure smile. That's it. LITERALLY. (And she put him in a collar to drag him to her bedroom. Ara ara, the otaku will love that!)
On to the other antagonists: These bad guys (or apparently "bad guys") have such incongruent personalities that they might as well be schizoids. One of them, an otherwise pure girl with a strong sense of duty and justice, will automatically turn into a rampaging psychopath with a vampiric smile just so it is clear that we should be rooting for the trope MC's. Could this kawaii redhead have been used to show that there were good if naive people in the military who might have been able to make a difference in the current system with a shuffling of higher-ups or some bureaucratic nudging?
The author didn't want us to think about that, evidently. Except, it is later revealed (by the anime authors, so likely not part of the official manga) that one of the antagonists had actually wanted to help change things from the inside but conveniently forgot about his goal so there could be more gory killings for the "mature" teens who eat up this kind of content. Because when you know your audience isn't smart enough to understand true moral greyness, just glaze over a potentially earth-shaking plot point and get to the next fight whose animation is going to start out crisp and riveting but get cheaper and cheaper with each shot and will rely more and more on stock sound effects. (Why am I always hearing the Star Wars blaster bolt sound whenever people leap at each other?!)
Therein is probably AgK's worst problem: It wants us to desperately think the revolution is morally grey by putting in lighthearted slice-of-life moments in both the protags' and antags' scenes, but then it moves to the antagonists committing horrendous war crimes and later accepting their deaths knowing that they deserve what they got. VERY subtle, guys.
Aside from at least one noticeable plot hole, I can't really say much else about "Akame ga Kill!" It's a terribly written, lazily conceptualized work designed to appeal to the most common denominator of teens who think that seeing some breasts bounce and a severed arm fly away to the sound of agonized screaming while hardly scratching the surface of ambiguous morality makes them more mature than their peers. It's one-dimensional, with annoying characters and more shock value than anyone with a brain can bear.
Oh, and the ending is yet another absurd Dues ex Machina for the annals of ridiculous endings. But it isn't as if this anime was built on logic. Popularity is its foundation. Unfortunately, that's enough for far too many young weebs who will probably either not watch more than 100 anime in their lifetime or bother going back to see if the beloved shows of their youth are as good as they remember.
Well, thanks for the reeducation of what kind of anime to avoid, "Akame ga Kill!" Now please remain buried in my vague memory.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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Mar 12, 2022
The original "Tenchi Muyo!" OVA series and extended television shows are known as something of a cult classic nowadays. Pioneering the infamous harem genre, they did a surprisingly good job at balancing science fiction elements and off-the-wall romantic comedy.
Therein lies what made the original series so memorable: They were actually FUNNY!
"Tenchi Muyo: War on Geminar" suffers from a painful identity crises. It wants to be a VERY heavy political drama while primarily focusing on uncomfortably awkward comedy that never measures up to the sharp wit of the originals, usually opting for fetish fuel (massages that give all women constant orgasms for several days straight!) or
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idiotic dialogue ("I heard that boys from other worlds like being called 'baby boy' by their female teacher." . . .🤨) that makes me wonder how these particular writers ever got hired for this project which apparently cost the equivalent of 35 million euros to produce.
The MC Kenchi is nothing like the original Tenchi--who is apparently his cousin, yet he's revealed to be an artificial lifeform??? While Tenchi was just your average, relatable everyman who was thrust into a role he had no other choice but to be a part of, Kenchi reeks of the musk of a modern self-insert protagonist, specifically of the genuine otaku variety. He's simultaneously an addleheaded moron who is infuriatingly gullible and will cry comical moe tears over the smallest insult while being unbelievably fit and agile and smart enough to come up with a genuinely clever war strategy at the drop of a hat. He's the kind of protagonist that makes you realize that virtually no planning went into any of the series, as his polarized personality is as dissonant as the series' tone and plot.
Aside from their unique designs, not many of the Big Brained Buckethead's potential consorts really stand out all that much. Some of them have some genuinely funny personality traits, but since these stereotypes are pretty much the only thing that define them aside from their obsession with the underage stud, I had little reason to root for any of them to breed with him. And yes, that's a curt way of putting it, but that's how male Sacred Mecha Masters are seen in this alternate world. A male with the ability to pilot a Mechanoid using the "magical" energy (which is known as "aho," a reference to the word which means "idiot" in "Photon: The Idiot Adventures"--so are they fighting with the power of stupidity? Apparently so.) that is actually science is so rare that their semen is sold on the black market, and they are basically sex slaves, thus literally every girl at least secretly wants to get in front of the altar with him to make some legal (?) Mechamasters with him. The only two that really stood out to me were Mexiah (edgy bisexual who apparently sleeps with her student girls! O_o) mainly for how great she looks in her teacher's uniform with her hair tied in that beautiful, curly ponytail; and Aura, mostly just because she's a Dark Elf--a particularly gorgeous one at that, and she has an extremely noble but gentle personality that makes her less irritating than most of the over-the-top tsundere, goudere, and himedere personalities of the rest of the girls. It's easy to see why she's the one character people know from the show: She actually feels like a real person! And her design is goddess-tier. That's the one thing people care about. . . .
For a harem comedy, the political plot is obviously shoehorned in in an attempt to give a reason for someone as unremarkably bland as Kenchi to have been transported to another planet. The animation quality takes a significant plunge during the stilted aerial mech fights, distracting me from the marvelous vistas of the fantasy landscape. The villains' motivations are all confusingly vague, and when the plot flips on its head midway through, there's a weird tonal dissonance where the awful comedy-focused soundtrack doesn't match the intensity of the situation (i.e.: a young woman in a leotard getting burned alive to show how dangerous the situation is to the sound of whimsical trumpets).
By the time the forcibly drawn-out last five episodes wrapped up the plot, I didn't care what new plot points which only added new holes had set up for a potential second season. I didn't care if any villains whose deaths were left ambiguous returned. The entire package was a confusing, boring mess that tested my patience until the very end. It's no surprise why the Director who helmed this disaster has never worked on another anime since. "Tenchi Muyo: War on Geminar" is a poorly written, unenjoyable failure that never knew how to integrate any of its themes or characters into the significantly more fascinating world. Aside from Aura's radiant beauty and the potential worldbuilding in a science-fantasy setting which has been done significantly better in other media, this is a dud that deserves to be forgotten with some of the worst schlock of the late 2000's.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Feb 28, 2022
A true forgotten gem on the 2000's, Heroic Age had the unfortunate fate of being a cerebral anime made during a time when not just the Space Opera genre had mostly died out, but also the majority of Mecha. Inspired by classical literature, it probably waxes poetic a bit more often than it should, yet the rather stuffy dialogue fits its grand presentation and awe-inspiring scope to a tee.
Heroic Age is a series made for the old school sci-fi fan, filled with massive space battles, devious political intrigue, absolutely jaw-dropping visuals, a GORGEOUS soundtrack, and plenty of thoughtful ethical and philosophical discussions that would probably
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bore the average viewer to tears. This series is VERY slow-paced, and despite only being a fraction of the length of the immortal "Legend of the Galactic Heroes," it takes a little bit of patience to get through certain episodes which will mostly feature a lot of people standing around talking.
But as with any Space Opera and by extension any anime, there is going to be a plethora of--you guessed it--TROPES. Naturally for this genre, they all worked fairly well, and even the flatter characters usually held some kind of significant meaning to the story and its themes. Well, minus the overly kawaii twins with the unrealistic hairstyle and waifus whose clothes can barely contain their chests. Anime will be anime.
My one caution for the series is that to understand the true intent of the series, the subbed version is probably preferrable since the English version evidently lost some of it in translation. Besides that, what are you waiting for?! Dive into this lost sci-fi epic and prepare to be awed!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Dec 24, 2021
Sakugan is an example that shows that no matter how good a story's worldbuilding mixed with top-tier production values is, good characterization is the absolute base necessity for it all to mesh together. After all, stories are supposed to be about PEOPLE; but Sakugan seems more concerned with smashing together as many cool elements as possible while doing the absolute bare minimum with character writing.
What's most disappointing about this series is that it had the potential to be the next mecha icon along with landmarks like Gundam and Gurren Lagann. The art and animation mixed with the jazzy, catchy soundtrack offer hours of splendor to
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drink in, and the mech designs are some of the most distinct and visually pleasing I've ever seen--particularly the series' unofficial face Big Tony. But all of that gorgeous attention to detail is constantly interrupted by the series' grating main protagonist, Memempu, and a slew of plot points that zip around all over the place if it will create some kind of conflict. Character motivations and attitudes will shift to absurd degrees even to the point of getting deadly, but then the character that character was after somehow manages to survive such a horrible injury and they both forgive each other like there was never any bad blood just because the target admitted that he had been in the wrong.
Then there's the problem of the dynamic between Memempu and her father, Gugumber. There's a quote by Jesse Ventura that says, "I'd rather my kids have an average intelligence and common sense instead of being geniuses who have no common sense." Memempu is the embodiment of that phrase. For as knowledgeable as she is about physics and the like, she may be one of the stupidest anime protagonists ever written. Her father is supposed to be the logical foil to her. He's a drunk and a bit of a failure when it comes to his own life, but he's got the common sense where it counts to care for his daughter and get everyone through the Labyrinth safely.
Too bad he's constantly lambasted by every other character for his shortcomings even when he is so obviously in the right, while Memempu is simultaneously praised for being so smart and driven despite her actions sometimes landing them all in hot water. The last few episodes are actually surprisingly good, at least, with a profound message in episode 11 and actual character development for Memempu, which naturally leads to a huge climax and revelation in episode 12 and the true depth of Memempu's and Gugumber's familial love shown in earnest.
I'm not going to lie that I'm actually interested in seeing a second season, because there are hints that things could get better provided the author of the novel recognizes his own narrative shortcomings later on, not to mention this underground dystopia is one of the most fascinating anime worlds I've ever seen. But unless that necessity becomes so, this has just been another crapped-out light novel adaptation from a steadily stagnating industry that is more concerned with making money off of the current disposable season of anime rather than making a modern classic that will be remembered decades from now--no matter how sexy Zackletu's abs and legs are.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Dec 8, 2021
Gurren Lagann is a big, dumb sci-fi epic about big, dumb, epic sci-fi robots that eventually grow to be as big as entire galaxies.
Yep, you heard me. It's ludicrous AND IT'S AWESOME!
Gurren Lagann is a quintessential product of the sometimes cringy but mostly awesome 2000's. It's loud, it's proud, it's edgy, and it KNOWS it. The 2000's were a time of societal change when markets were trying to desperately cater to young teens' looming sense of nihilism and misunderstood sense of "maturity. " This led to quite the mixed bag of media. Anime featured concepts as creatively bizarre as mechs on hoverboards in "Eureka Seven"
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to the twisted ping-pong mind games of "Death Note" to the reflective yet dark philosophizing of "Ergo Proxy" to the now-infamous false pretense of being intelligent yet only achieving insufferably arrogant stupidity in "Code Geass."
Enter "Gurren Lagann," which is neither badly written nor particularly clever. With some admittedly great worldbuilding and a ton of quirky characters, it's all about that high-octane action and those bombastic speeches that have in part made this genre of animation so famous. The solution to most of the problems is just "shoot it until it explodes" or to inspire the entire gang with a manly show of courage and laugh the Grim Reaper in the face until he blushes.
Of course, there are a few reasons why I only gave it a 7/10. Sometimes this show is too "manly" for its own good, and its pomp can get a little grating. As it went on, though, I was able to appreciate the goofy tone and just smile at the well-animated transformation sequences and funky soundtrack. Also, there's a very, VERY stereotypical overly effeminate gay character who will offend quite a few people on either side of the matter. He's the type of gag character you wish wasn't on the screen almost every time he speaks. Stay away from that underage boy, Leeron! No, your salivating over him is NOT funny! 🤢 And the fan service . . . well, I can generally appreciate it if it's in there for a gag, which this full-on Shonen has in spades. There's a reason (make that six reasons, thighs included--unless her beautiful face counts, too? 😍) why Yoko is known as such a legendary waifu. (She's also good with kids! The perfect tomboy, red-headed wife!) Even both of these points only added to the series' self-aware, goofy tone and worked in some regard.
Gurren Lagann is like a young man who, on his 21st birthday, goes out and buys three bottles of bourbon barrel-aged stout and downs them while cranking the volume on some Finger Eleven music. Then he pukes but has the decorum and respect for the party's host to bring his own bucket and is able to enjoy the rest of the night without feeling too embarrassed. The next day, he opens a book by Asimov and thinks, "Yeah, I was stupid. But we did have fun, didn't we?"
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Nov 28, 2021
It is an oft-repeated rule among storytellers that a story is only as good as its villain.
So, despite having some truly complex villains, why was this season so bad? Because, for the most part, this was a much-dreaded filler season, plain and simple. That, and even the good parts rarely measured up to their full potential.
I've never been one to jump on the MHA Hate Train. Personally, I've felt that any problems that the show has had is because it's a Shonen, whether it be a grating stereotype personality or having far too many inspirational internal monologues. But for the most part, it was good,
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featuring some fantastically buttery animation and steady character growth that made us root for the heroes and sympathize with the villains.
But it has now become apparent that not only has the author of the manga hit a Writer's Wall, but even the critically acclaimed animation studio Bones are only concerned with cranking out as standard of a product as possible--and they don't even measure up to THAT middle ground half the time, resulting in a few agonizing animation errors here and there and cheap still-frame "slo-mo" moments in fights that make it evident how much the budget was cut so the third non-canon movie could look as good as possible.
New characters are introduced and tossed aside to be totally forgotten about, whether they be all of Class 1-B (who were probably just made to sell more figurines) in the horrible first training arc which at least had the decency to develop three characters the smallest fraction possible over the entire 13-episode saga; or a particularly well-designed and saucy villain who ultimately gets virtually no screen time and turned to blue-red tomato paste by the yandere who I can't figure out why the fandom loves so much, Toga (another mark against her, but as long as she is alive, at least Twice is sane).
And I have heard of the controversy around the second half of the season. It starts off strong with a growing mystery which switches to following the League of Villains as they prove themselves to All-for-One that they are his worthy successors. The biggest problem is the pacing--WHICH IS HORRENDOUS!!!! I've read that the original My Villain Academia arc in the manga is far slower paced to properly flesh out the villains and their tentative friendship, but the episode which introduces this gigantic arc can't seem to wait to be finished, with dialogue almost literally piled up on top of another line. And of course many of those new villains who would have been excellent additions to the cast are totally wasted, whether it be the aforementioned Blue Journalist Waifu or the others who ultimately are veritable jokes as they're basically XP Boosters for the League of Villains to "level up" (the actual term used) because of psychological trauma causing them to panic-develop.
You'll notice I hardly mentioned any of the heroes in this review, because they're almost non-existent. Bakugou had been relegated to Tsundere Brofriend and Ochako is Deku's "cheerleader" crush. The only hero I found compelling this season was Todoroki, who is finally starting to get over his hatred for his dad Endeavor as the man comes to the realization of how his desire to be the best ruined his family.
There is very little good to say about this season. As time goes on, I'm seeing more and more of the bad that the complainers are talking about. I'll be going into season 6 quite a bit more jaded. Hopefully the writers and by extension the animators and the original author won't manage to screw everything up again.
And hopefully Deku will one day be able to cave in Toga's gross face in at long last. :-D You don't need her, Twice! You're the Best Boi who just went down the wrong path.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Nov 6, 2021
Okay, it's time to be honest: "86" isn't a perfect series. Every character is well-written and it's a legitimate emotional roller coaster, but it has some massive flaws that become apparent once you get over the tears from all the deaths.
My only true problem with "86" is the sheer amount of contrivances. A vague superpower? Check. Multiple characters having some kind of key connection to each other's past? Check. While I believe the characterization and the comparison of beliefs is what makes this series good (yes, even the so-called filler actually helps to make these characters feel like real people, which is hard to get
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right) once you get past all of the likable faces, "86" suffers from a case of "plot twist syndrome." It isn't overly bad since the problem isn't popping up literally all the time like a certain popular anime that utterly fails to understand the root cause of dehumanization or even make one want its characters to survive for more than a few episodes and uses its vague super power more as a plot convenience rather than a legitimate part of the story, but once you notice it, it weighs pretty heavily on the complete product.
"86" is nowhere near as bad as some people who call it overrated say it is . . . but it is overrated, at least to a small degree. Watch it more for the characters themselves and the interesting world they inhabit, as well as the intelligent exploration of mutual racism and how ignorance can create an even larger problem, which is represented by the Legion. Just don't expect to not be scratching your head over a few key plot points.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Nov 5, 2021
Steampunk has to be my absolute favorite genre of science fiction. It's aesthetic is just so pleasing--those muted browns and grays intermixed with soft yellows and oranges that remind me of drinking a hot cup of earl gray tea on a cold but colorful autumn day. Candidly, I'm a bit of a soft Steampunk NUT. If I wasn't so lazy I would probably deck out my room which is painted that soft and relaxing muted brown and orange with tons of useless steam- and gear-related décor.
Frankly, I'm amazed that there hasn't been an explosion of Steampunk media as nerd culture has gripped society--particularly among anime,
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since Princess Principal has shown the respective art style and genre are an absolutely beautiful pairing! One thing is for sure, this series has only helped my love for Steampunk to grow even more, and I am now going to search fervently for more steam- and top hat-related media made in the Land of the Rising Sun! And of course I will be sipping an expertly crafted stout beer while I traverse those beautiful alternate worlds of little-means but resourceful Cockney protagonists and exciting Imperialist political intrigue full of princesses and barons. You've gotta get into the right mood, ya know? And I just love stouts. Mmmm . . . bitter oatmeal sliding down your throat. 🤤
Right from the start, you know it's going to be a fun ride. The soundtrack is as jazzy and suave as a series of this particular genre should be, and the OP sent my eardrums onto a straight-up cosmic journey once I caught how every instrument and note meshes so well together along with the singer's smoky singing voice and harmonized backup singers. I didn't like the ED as much, though. It's a bit too cutesy for a series that has so much murder and deception. Like, someone will tragically die at the end of an episode and everyone will be mourning and telling themselves they need to keep carrying on, then this absolutely adorable and snappy tune comes on and my brain is like, "Oh, please stop! I'm a fraction away from crying yet now you're showing cute paper cutouts of the girls driving through London! Have a heart!"
Speaking of the girls, I actually don't mind that these agents are high school age because there isn't a whole lot of time spent on their daily activities. Realistically, I don't know if these minor (aside from the busty 20-year-old passing as one; hoo yeah, Dorothy is legal!) agents should be in a public school since their work would likely conflict with their cover, but you know anime--gotta stick with the tropes . . . to a point. Thankfully, "Princess Principal" almost entirely lacks the standard tropes that drag some significantly worse series down. The only time when their daily high school lives are involved is when they directly affect character relationships or to provide some genuinely funny (and sparing) comedy. I should mention that there is a VERY close Yuri bait friendship that makes it ambiguous whether or not two characters have romantic feelings for each other, and that gets a little distracting, but it's easy enough to just accept that they see each other as sisters, especially since they haven't seen each other in YEARS and . . . well, I'm not going to spoil one of the big plot twists, but it's something that I never would have expected; and it's utterly brilliant!
While all of the episodic plots are solid and well-written and several of them help to expand on the growing conspiracy involving a class war that would be expected of such an era as Imperial Britain--I'm sorry, Albion!--I was really confused for a while with the way the episodes are structured. It's more of an anthology in some ways, but with how the series has a legitimate beginning, middle, and end, it's really weird how it gives key plot points an entire episode after when it should have because it happened in the past. Let's see, who was the one who structured this oddly cobbled-together producti--ICHIROU OOKOUCHI??? Must the shadow of Code Geass muddle an actually well-made production by doing something predictably nonsensical?!
Oh well, that's quite a comeback for one who was key in creating . . . well, THAT. And I hear "Sk8 the Infinity" is excellent and "Guilty Crown" is good until the controversial ending. If it adds more high marks to your repertoire, Ichirou, you're welcome to help with more of the movies that are being made for "Princess Principal." Just stay away from "Z of the Recapture" and beyond. Let the poor overrated franchise have its redemption.
The characters themselves are all a joy to watch interact and grow and how their specific skill sets help with each mission (especially Dorothy for . . . reasons. Specifically plural. 😐). Every one of them has her own distinct personality and flaws which are explored throughout, but of course the main focus is on the two BFF's Ange and Princess Charlotte and how their connection is so important to the entire conspiracy plot. By the end, you're thoroughly invested in where this group of kawaii oddball spies is going to go from there, and I look forward to the coming years as more Princess Principal films are released to expand their story!
Now to finally dive into the Steampunk rabbit hole!
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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