Ruin Explorers is not a great anime. There wasn’t a whole lot to say about it, either, so it’s not one of those “so bad it’s good” or “so bad it’s interestingly bad” kind of anime, it’s just a generic fantasy OVA that was thankfully, mercifully, short. The so-called main characters don’t even end up being that important in the long run, they’re just there to help the real hero get to where he needs to go. But these bland fantasy anime are a dime a dozen, anime is rife with this stuff, and I might as well cover at least one of them to represent titles like it.
Author: Penguin Truth
Lupin III Part VI Episode 01 Review
Episode 01, “Enter Sherlock Holmes”
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: In London, Lupin’s former rival, Albert d’Andrésy, is arrested for attempting to steal a movie poster, the treasure of a man connected to the mysterious Raven organization. Lupin assists in Albert’s escape in return for the half of the poster he got away with. The other half is in the custody of Scotland Yard, but before Lupin can get it, Inspector Zenigata from the ICPO steps in and gives chase. In the midst of all this, the great detective Sherlock Holmes and his charge Lily spot our sideburned swindler and there appears to be a shared past between them!
Otaku Evolution Episode 205 – Tomorrow’s Joe (Movie)
I’ve been covering a lot of Osamu Dezaki this year, haven’t I? This is the third title. I swear it’s not intentional, it just shook out that way in scheduling. But out of all the Dezaki anime I’ve ever covered here, this is probably the best one. Even though it’s just a compilation movie, it’s very engrossing and fun, a nice underdog story, like Rocky. The English dub of Tomorrow’s Joe pretty terrible, but at least I didn’t have to put up with it more than a couple of hours. If only somebody would dub the second movie.
Lupin III Part VI Episode 0 Review
Episode 0, “The Times”
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Daisuke Jigen finds himself at odds with the changing landscape of thievery and the world in general and wonders if he should quit. Plastic guns, drones, restricting foam, it all becomes too much for him. But the world’s gratest thief, his friend Lupin III, is confident that he still has value, and he wants to utilize it to escape from Inspector Zenigata. Has Jigen’s time run out, or does the gunslinger have a few more rounds?
Otaku Evolution Episode 204 – Patlabor: The TV Series
I have to confess: I didn’t go back and rewatch all 47 episodes of Patlabor TV for this review. I’d already seen this series plenty of times and knew it well enough that I only had to rewatch maybe a quarter of it. It’s pretty episodic, so there’s not a lot of continuity to keep up with. I do plan on getting to The New Files at some point.
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Otaku Evolution Episode 203 – Grave of the Fireflies
This is a pretty serious video (I mean, it’s on Grave of the Fireflies), so there’s not a whole lot to say about the process except to say I tried my best not to belittle the subject matter. I did end up getting a copyright claim for my use of that Chopin piece in the beginning, but at least the video wasn’t blocked. It’s not like my videos are able to be monetized, so it’s not a big deal.
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Otaku Evolution Episode 202 – Tokyo ESP
It’s time to get back to Otaku Evolution with this review, after taking a short break. Tokyo ESP is one of those anime I watched streaming on Funimation’s site (what a bad video player, by the way), like Michiko & Hatchin, and found it interesting enough to purchase the boxset. Although it’s nowhere near as good as Michiko & Hatchin, it’s still a decent show worth a view or two. Plus, it features one of the best anime penguins, Peggy (who is a male, despite the name). He can turn a flipper into a shark, like Alucard changing his arm into Cerberus. It’s neat.
Lupin the 3rd Part 6 PV
Looks pretty good. I hope Nyx of MI6 from Part 4 reappears, given this takes place in the UK.
Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon a Time
“Thrice Upon a Time”
(Spoiler-Free) Synopsis: Shinji, Asuka, and Rei are welcomed into a sleepy little village of survivors from the Near Third Impact, an event Shinji inadvertently caused. Having failed to redeem himself for his mistake, Shinji is at first unresponsive to the kindness given to him. But soon after settling in, it becomes clear that the world needs him once more in the fight between WILLE and Nerv, a fight to decide the outcome of the human race itself. Will the machinations of Gendo Ikari come to fruition? Will the Instrumentality Project be a success, or will it be stopped before it starts? It’s the final showdown and the final Evangelions are prepped for action!
Otaku Evolution Episode 201 – Mid Year English Dub Review VII
This video premieres the new Penguin Council, which is almost all-new, excluding Peggy (from Tokyo ESP, an anime I’m reviewing soon). There’s Mike from Penguin’s Memory, Nick from Adventures of the Little Koala (Koala Boy Kockey), DJ Grooves from the A Hat in Time game, and Esmeralda from Penguindrum. The Penguin Council is the Penguin Union’s central government. At one point, the assassin Ravex murdered a couple of members of the original Council.
We also get me complaining about the adaptation of The Long Halloween, which I didn’t like. Apparently, like with the Evangelion dub, I’m in the minority opinion, because people seem to really like the Part One movie, but I despised how it only broadly captured the plotline of the comic, whereas adaptations of The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One rarely deviated and were very good. I’m a huge Batman guy, so The Long Halloween is an important storyline to me and needed to be handled just right, and wasn’t. I’m sorry, I just can’t abide by the differences. But perhaps, like Peggy suggested, I should just stick to the comic if I want the comic’s storyline faithfully.