Boy, the Tenchi Muyo! franchise sure is exhausting, isn’t it? We had the OVAs, Tenchi Universe, the movies, Tenchi in Tokyo, GXP, War on Geminar, Ai Tenchi Muyo, the Pretty Sammy subfranchise, and related stuff like Photon and Dual. It’s a lot to deal with. And much like with Lupin III, a lot of it is trash. But Lupin has several entries that hold up really well, which is more than I can say about Tenchi, which at its best is decent at the most. So, I think I’m probably going to wrap up my Tenchi coverage with the three movies: Tenchi in Love, Daughter of Darkness, and Tenchi Forever. They’re not great, but they’re not terrible either. Well, Daughter of Darkness is terrible.
Author: Penguin Truth
Otaku Evolution Episode 236 – Casshern Sins
Ahhh, tragedy porn. A lot of my favorite anime has tons of melodrama, but when an anime really overdoes it in an annoying, nihilistic (in a negative sense) way, it ceases to be tragedy and starts to be tragedy porn. Casshern Sins is, at the very least, borderline tragedy porn, the way that Now and Then, Here and There was. But unlike NTHT, it doesn’t have a lot of redeeming qualities that pushes it out of the mire of wallowing. It’s just this endless march into hopelessness. But don’t get me wrong, tragedy porn can still be somewhat good. It’s just that Casshern Sins is just kind of “eh”/okay, at best.
Otaku Evolution Episode 235 – Lupin III: Tokyo Crisis
What, me, reviewing a Lupin III feature? Couldn’t be! It’s only been about a half hour since the last time I did one. This one, Tokyo Crisis, is kind of complicated, quality-wise. It’s got plenty of good elements, but it doesn’t quite come together all that well. What I mostly appreciated was the relationship between Inspector Zenigata and Maria. Though I have a hard time defining it. Was it meant to be a romantic relationship or more of a father-daughter like thing? Whatever it was, it led to some great moments. But there’s really nothing this feature excels at beyond that.
Otaku Evolution Episode 234 – Patlabor: The New Files (OVA)
Besides talking about the dub in the Mid Year English Dub Review, this will probably be the last time I make a dedicated video to the Patlabor franchise. After all, I’ve pretty much reviewed all of animated Patlabor at this point. Well, there’s supposed to be a new Patlabor show coming out in the near future, but that would be too new to review for Otaku Evolution, so this video on Patlabor: The New Files will kind of be the final word on the subject. Hey, maybe I’ll go crazy and review the live-action series! I, uh, wouldn’t hold out too much hope for that, though.
Otaku Evolution Episode 233 – Fist of the North Star (Movie)
The 1986 animated movie version of Fist of the North Star is an interesting beast. It’s not quite a compilation of the TV series. It’s a retelling with entirely new animation. At times softened for violent content animation, but new animation nevertheless. I wanted to review this because I wanted to cover the franchise, but wasn’t about to watch the 36 episodes of the TV series that were dubbed. I wanted to show everything that I like and dislike about this franchise and I think I accomplished that.
Otaku Evolution Episode 232 – Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Part 2)
This video sees me wrap up my review of the 2009 Studio Bones series, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, based on the manga by Hiromu Arakawa. I take a look at the themes of the show, like the cycle of revenge, redemption, and the value of human life. I also curate moments of the show that I consider highlights. And I also compare the two FMA shows, which everyone already does (I love both). I hope I covered enough topics to inform and entertain.
The bit at the end with me talking to Pen Pen at the casino bar? Well, the world’s become an increasingly dangerous place, with a potential to explode into world war. Imagine if we could just solve the issue with a few well-placed… removals. Pen Pen disagrees, though, so I have to bow to his wisdom. For now.
Otaku Evolution Episode 231 – Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Part 1)
Another year of Otaku Evolution begins with a look at the 2009 64-episode TV series, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the longest title I’ve covered thus far in these videos. It’s a series that is near and dear to my heart, so I’m happy to get the chance to talk about it. I’m actually somewhat surprised that it took me this long to get to it. But then again, I’ve already reviewed most of my favorite anime, and maybe it was a good idea not to review this one too soon. After this, I don’t know if there are any favorites left! Black Lagoon, I guess. I’ll get to that later.
Otaku Evolution Episode 230 – Year End English Dub Review IX
One final video for 2022, folks! As usual with my last video of the year, I go over the various English dubs of the anime I’ve covered in roughly the second half of the year. I think the best dub was Solid State Society‘s and the weakest Babel II – Beyond Infinity‘s which is amusing, because I covered those anime originally in that order. But even the weakest anime dub of the bunch still had solid talents, just a lack of commitment to the characters. Most of the dubs I covered were at least decent.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These Episode 48 Review (SEASON FINALE)
Episode 48, “The Occupation of Fezzan”
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Wolfgang Mittermeyer’s fleet arrives at Phezzan, quickly taking control of its key facilities. Julian and Maschungo escape the commissioner’s office, having erased key data beforehand. At the Landesherr’s residence, Rupert Kesserling points his gun at his father, Adrian Rubinsky, with the intent to supplant him. However, his plans had already been found out and things are reversed. Rubinsky then decides to go underground to wait for an opportunity to return to his position. Mittermeyer has soldiers who committed sexual assault executed. When Reinhard von Lohengramm arrives on Phezzan, the rank-and-file are quick to declare him their new emperor. Using a three dimensional star map, Reinhard plots his course to Heinessen.
Otaku Evolution Episode 229 – (Top 10) Favorite Anime Characters
Listen here, you fucking degenerates. I know what you’re doing, indulging in every act of debauchery and overindulgence this holiday season. So maybe you can take the time, while you’re not boozing it up with your good time gang or drowning your sorrows in a full store-bought pie, to watch my little (half hour) video about my top 10 favorite anime characters. I can already feel the bile rising in my throat as I picture all the amazing fun you’re having NOT contributing to my Patreon or subscribing to my channel and it sickens me to the core. So sit down, shake off that eggnog high, and watch this video, damn it, I worked really hard on it!