Between this and the Gundam: The Origin series coming out, it’s a fine time to be an anime fan.
Author: Penguin Truth
Quake With Ennui: Yoroiden Samurai Troopers OVAs (PART ONE)
Quake With Ennui: Yoroiden Samurai Troopers OVAs (PART ONE)
In 1988, a television anime about five bishonen dressed in multi-colored armor, carrying weapons and elemental powers aired on Nagoya Television. This Sunrise-produced series was called Yoroiden Samurai Troopers ("Legendary Armor Samurai Troopers"). It was later localized as Ronin Warriors in the United States, aired in syndication and then on Cartoon Network’s Toonami block. Names were changed, as well as eyecatches and theme songs, but there were few, if any, cuts made to the bodies of the episodes. There were also three different OVAs produced to continue the adventures of the five heroes: Gaiden, Kikoutei Densetsu, and Message. They found their way to North America and were put in with the TV series on DVD, even dubbed with most of the Ronin Warriors cast reprising their roles. Ronin Warriors was a big deal to me back in the day. I watched them well before they were on CN. It was the first anime I watched in its entirety. When I found out there was more to be watched, I found some cheap VHS fansubs and bought them. The last OVA wasn’t even fully subtitled, but I watched it anyway. This was before the DVD boxset, mind you. None of the three OVAs are particularly great. In fact, only the second one can be considered "decent" and the last one is monumentally lackluster. But nobody ever seems to talk about them, and I’ve always told myself I’d review them some day, if only for some laughs. Ever since obtaining the DVD boxset of Ronin Warriors, I’ve been watching the flip sides of the discs, which have the original Samurai Troopers episodes in Japanese with subtitles. So often, in fact, that I’ve forgotten most of the English dub names. So in an effort to avert confusion, I suggest going to the Wikipedia page where you can convert the YST names into RW ones to follow my reviews. So let’s get started with the first OVA, a two-parter. OVA 1: GAIDEN Episode 01, "Once again! Samurai Troopers" Our story begins in a dark alley in New York City, where a familiar green armor (the Korin armor) brutally kills a bunch of street toughs who, by the look of things, aren’t so tough. The obviously posessed armor (nobody notices there’s nobody in it?) closes in on two of them and then there’s a pan up for a moment. Then a powerful ghost-like thing comes out of it. He’s very squat, has a big nose and pronounced earlobes. Hm. What kind of anti-Semitic show is this? Oh, because he’s in New York, he’s a Jew, right? That’s fucking racism, man. Not cool, Sunrise.Anywhoozle, the leader of the Samurai Troopers, Ryo, is given a surprised birthday party by his fellow troopers. Sans, of course, Seiji, who went to New York. Ryo notices a news report on Seiji’s Korin armor being spotted in NYC and decides to go there himself. But his friends all anticipated this. Touma goes there first with Nasuti and Jun (nice job taking civilians on a potentially dangerous mission) while Shu and Shin take the plane Ryo’s on. Apparently, Seiji was lured to America by a supposed find of a family artifact. As the plane flies over the city, it’s attacked by Fyvush Finkel and like Sully, the pilot makes a water landing.
Dragon Ball Kai – Episode 96 Review
Episode 96, "Combine Our Power! The Mightiest, Final Kamehameha"
*****SPOILERS***** Synopsis: Gohan resigns himself to death as Cell powers a Kamehameha which will destroy the planet. However, from the afterlife, Goku encourages him to strike back. Gohan fires a one-handed Kamehameha and the two beams meet. Gohan struggles to overpower Cell. Piccolo, Kuririn, Tenshinhan, and Yamucha all attack Cell, but it does little to stop him. Suddenly, when all seems lost, Vegeta attacks, giving Gohan an opening to finish Cell off. Gohan’s beam finally overtakes Cell and he dissolves in the blast. Gohan has won the fight and saved the world. Comments: Ah, the long Kamehameha duel. I’m actually fond of this part. I know that it takes up a lot of time, but I don’t feel like it drags on. I feel like it gets the time it needs, given the gravity of the situation. It gets the right build up and ends with the proper catharsis. By the time it ends, the viewer is ready to pass out from the intensity, same as Gohan. You get a real sense of victory from what happens. I seem to remember Z proper overextending the bit where Goku’s allies all chip in to try to wear Cell down. Whatever the case is, I was dreading having to see Piccolo et al thrown back for a half hour. But it’s all very compact. Their loyalty to Goku, and Gohan by extension, is really touching. They know they can’t defeat Cell, but they owe Goku so much, they can’t just stand by. Vegeta delivering the last blast before Gohan overcame Cell was a good part as well. Vegeta must’ve had to overcome his pride to help out. Naturally, Piccolo was the first to jump to Gohan’s aid. I really liked what Yamucha and Tenshinhan’s thoughts on the matter, their lives having been touched by Goku to a great extent. Gohan finally overcomes Cell and destroys him. My favorite character will probably always be Goku, but I have a great affection for Gohan, too, and was glad to see him as the hero here. One of my favorite parts is right after he collapses, when the fight is finished, and we see Gohan breathing hard on the ground as the Earth and Goku are also shown and Gohan and Goku are thanked by the narrator. It gives a real sense of passing the torch. (Though with the Buu arc, it didn’t turn out quite that way.) What I was really impressed with, besides some of the reworked art shots, was Shunsuke Kikuchi’s score. Sometimes its placement in Kai makes it awkward. Too few pieces are used, and the ones that are used are used too often. But here there’s the perfect economy and each piece suits the scene it’s in perfectly. I especially liked the use of movie 9’s music, it being my favorite musical suite in the franchise. This episode has the perfect use of every piece. It’s a fantastic episode. Overall Score: 4.5 out of 5Dragon Ball Kai – Episode 95 Review
Episode 95, "Bye Bye, Everyone! This is the Only Way to Save Earth"
*****SPOILERS***** Synopsis: Cell declares his plans to self-destruct and take the Earth out with him. He gloats over his apparent victory. Gohan regrets not finishing Cell when he had the chance. Goku thinks hard, then finally says goodbye to his friends, teleporting over where Gohan and Cell are. Goku places his hand on Cell and teleports away with him to Kaio’s planet. He apologizes to Kaio as Cell begins to explode. The explosion destroys Kaio’s planet and takes Goku with it. Back on Earth, Gohan dispairs over his father’s demise. In the afterlife realm, a dead Goku apologizes to the dead Kaio. But they notice that Cell isn’t there. On Earth, a beam cuts through an enormous cloud of smoke, piercing Trunks. When the cloud breaks, Cell appeaers, in his Perfect Form again. Cell reasons this is because of the Saiyan cells in his system, which cause him to be stronger whenever he returns from near death. He also knows Goku’s teleportation technique. Gohan powers up, happy that he can repay Cell back for his father’s death, and vowing to kill him. Vegeta is so enraged by Trunks’ death that he attacks Cell, but it’s of no use and Cell injures him. Gohan takes a beam for Vegeta which damages the left side of his body. Cell decides he’s had enough of the fight, and prepares to charge up a Kamehameha to finish Gohan off. Comments: Okay, so, wait. Wait. Why didn’t Goku teach any of the others how to use Instantaneous Movement? I mean, there was all that time training and he didn’t think that it could be useful if somebody else besides him could use it? Somebody who was a little more expendable? Imagine if the person who sacrificed themself was Oolong. Yeah, I went there. Teaching Oolong to teleport. Well, that might not be the best idea, since he’d just be using it to get into women’s changing rooms. Then again, I guess it would ultimately result in the same thing. Somebody sacrifices themself, Cell explodes, Cell comes back. But maybe they could have teleported him out sooner or something. It seemed like Goku was thinking awfully hard about what to do before he decided. In that same time, he could have teleported Cell away and returned, too, but he wasted time saying goodbye. I know that this sort of takes the air out of the sacrifice, but Cell coming back did that on its own. Speaking of Cell coming back, what’s the deal with that? He says that because he’s a Saiyan he grew stronger from being near death, thus his return in Perfect Form. Okay, I guess I can buy that, but wasn’t his whole being blown up? Before it was said as long as he has a single cell in his brain he can come back, but his entire body blew up. Then there was that time earlier when Goku blew off his head. Maybe it’s that there has to be AT LEAST that cell in his brain. It all seems a bit convenient for Cell to come back his his Perfect Form, but there’ve been more convenient things in the show before. I guess. I remember when I first saw Goku’s sacrifice, back in the Toonami days. I must’ve been real emotional around that time, because I was actually tearing up. And this was when Sean Schemmel’s Goku sucked and the Bruce Faulconer music was being used. So even with the impediments it made me sad. In fact, I think it was around this time of year, too. Wow. This episode marks where Kenji Yamamoto’s music is first replaced by Shunsuke Kikuchi’s. It feels a little weird hearing Kikuchi’s music in Kai after so many episodes with Yamamoto. Apparently, though, Toei aired on the side of caution when it came to the big plagairism kerfuffle. Instead of just not using the offending tracks, they didn’t use any of them, and went to Kikuchi’s stuff. It’s good music, mind you, but the placement isn’t always great. Overall Score: 4 out of 5Dragon Ball Kai – Episode 94 Review
Episode 94, "The Perfect Form Breaks Down! The Super Iron Fists of Rage Explode"
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Everyone is impressed by Gohan’s power except Cell. Cell powers up to his full power, but Gohan is unmoved. Gohan takes a punch from Cell but is unharmed. He delivers a sharp blow to Cell’s mid-section, then one to his chin, knocking Cell down. Cell is angered by this. He tries hitting Gohan, but Gohan blocks and delivers a kick that sends Cell flying and crashing into the ground. Cell uses various techniques, but to no avail. Cell can’t believe he’s actually feeling fear and retreats into the sky. He fires a powerful Kamehameha, intending to destroy the Earth, but Gohan fires his own, overpowering it and sending the beams hurdling towards Cell, hitting him. Cell is greviously injured. Goku urges Gohan to finish Cell off, but Gohan disagrees, wanting to make Cell suffer. Cell once again regenerates. Angry, he amps up his body, but is too slow to keep up with Gohan. Gohan kicks Cell so hard that he throws up Artificial Human 18 and his Perfect Form breaks down. Cell transforms back into his Semi-Perfect form. Enraged and devestated at losing his perfect form, Cell tries to strike Gohan, but can’t. Completely outmatched, Cell puffs up his body to enormous proportions, telling Gohan it’s the end.
Comments:
Gohan continues to be totally badass in this episode. Cell is completely overwhelmed by his power and speed. Especially the speed. The key difference between Cell and the rest of the fighters is that he’s extremely fast, so even if they had enough raw power, they’d be too slow. Trunks learned that a while back when he found his ascended Super Saiyan form was no match for Cell. But Cell makes the same mistake Trunks did in his fury and loses his Perfect Form because of it.
The art is a bit inconsistent in this episode. There are times it’s decent, even pretty good, but then you get moments where the characters seem a little off. I do especially like all the shots of Gohan glaring at Cell. My favorite shot, though, is Gohan smirking, taking pleasure in Cell’s plight. It’s a pretty scary sight when you think about it. I always liked the sparks the Super Saiyan 2 form makes, the effect is really good.
Another scene I really liked is Cell’s Kamehameha being destroyed by Gohan’s own. We all know that they’re getting into a duel with Kamehamehas in a bit, and a lot of people overlook this. Gohan easily counters Cell. Cell is just completely outclassed. Returning to Semi-Perfect form, he’s actually no longer a match for several of the others. Cell’s pride is smashed.
An excellent episode, despite the art flaws.
Overall Score:
4 out of 5
Gundam AGE Episode 04 Review
Episode 04, "The White Wolf"
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Mobile suit ace Woolf Enneacle awakens on the Diva and is assigned as the head of mobile suit forces on the crew. He desires to pilot Flit’s Gundam, but Flit objects. The two decide to have a duel contest to see who’s a more fit pilot. The two are attacked by the UE and team up to escape. The UE’s cloaking technology leads Grodek Aiona to the knowledge of who they really are.
Comments:
The episode introduces mobile suit racer (?) star, Woolf Enneacle, who ends up being a rival of Flit’s. He’s arrogant and likes to hit on women. He challenges Flit to a contest whose winner will decide who pilots the Gundam. Who does this remind you of? If Woolf were also a heavy drinker, he’d be Bernard Monsha from Gundam 0083. In fact, this episode reminds me of episode 3 of that less than stellar OVA. Only Monsha isn’t a kitten eared pretty boy, so I guess he’s a totally different character? Well, actually, Woolf doesn’t come across quite as bad as Monsha, but at the same time, isn’t as fun a character.
I wonder what the "grand prix" spoken of is indeed a speed race between mobile suits, maybe something like IGPX. I’m already more interested in Woolf’s past than his present. As head of the mobile suit forces, you’d think the most powerful suit would go right to him, contest or not. You’d want to get the most out of your best weapon, so giving him to the best soldier is a smart move. But I guess Flit knows Gundam better than anyone. Really, though, it’s because he’s the main character that he’ll get to keep using the Gundam. It might have been different to see Woolf get it for a little while and end up not using it as well, or something along those lines. The "rivals working together dissolving their differences" route is a little played out.
The Unknown Enemy’s big ship (more ugly CG) uses cloaking technology. You don’t see a lot of this in Gundam. For some reason the captain gets an idea about who they really are, so maybe we’ll know by the end of the next episode. I haven’t really thought about it. I just figured they were a secretive group, but are human. I’m still hoping the spoilers I read about this show are wrong.
I’m still not impressed.
Overall Score: 3.5 out of 5
Gundam AGE Episode 03 Review
Episode 03, "The Twisted Colony"
*****SPOILERS***** Synopsis: The crew of the Diva begin to tow the colony core filled with evacuated citizens while Flit takes on more UE mobile suits. While taking on the enemy, Flit notices Yurin’s strange abilities. When the core is pinned down, with no options left, Command Bruzar sacrifices himself to save the colonists. The final UE MS retreats. While the ship tows the colony core, a mysterious figure wakes up on board from cold sleep. Comments: As expected, the Nora colony is a goner, much in the same way Side 7 and Heliopolis. Well, they were creative in the saving of colonists, using the colony core. I had thought they would be doomed before the end of the episode, but it looks like they’re out of danger for the time being. The colony still exploded, though. I’m sure this has come up before, but Yurin seems very similar to Tiffa in Gundam X. Sort of shy and a little detached seeming, and has special intuition. Tiffa is a Newtype, so maybe Yurin is one, too. The way he seems unafraid to take on the UE mobile suit, Flit seems to be taking after Garrod or Judau Ashta. The captain already dresses like Jamil Neate. Im guessing Yurin will be Flit’s love interest, but it’s a little early to call it. I still think Emily will be in the Friend Zone, or else end up with the chubby kid. Flit has a history of looking to the Gundam as being a savior, and he was determined to protect the colonists. I think a bit more of his personality is emerging, but he still hasn’t quite stepped out of the shadows of the truly iconic Gundam characters. It feels like we’re only getting development as flashbacks, so instead of forward development, we’re given his past to add dimension to him. It’s working right now, but they’ll have to follow it up in the present situation, or he’ll remain just "okay" as a lead. I liked the core towing idea used here. It was certainly the first of its kind in a Gundam show. Just when I was thinking there wouldn’t be much new. However, based on some rumored spoilers, I may end up disliking developments that are a little too creative for their own good. Overall Score: 3.5 out of 5