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Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These Episode 05 Review

Episode 05, “Birth of the 13th Fleet”

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis:  On the Free Planet Alliance’s capital planet of Heinessen, Yang Wen-li attends a public memorial for the deaths in the Battle of Astarte. There, Secretary of Defense Job Trunicht gives a grandiose speech on the sacrifices for the homeland, but is interrupted and confronted by Jessica Edwards, who questions if he’s living what he speaks to. Sensing tension, Yang flees the service with her, where he is pursued, and narrowly avoids a car wreck. After escorting Edwards to the spaceport, the beleaguered officer returns home to his ward, Julian, but is followed there by reactionaries called the Patriotic Knight Corps who condemn him for his behavior. He repels the group, and is soon called in by his CO to discuss a mission he must undergo: to take a newly formed fleet and capture the Galactic Empire’s Iserlohn space fortress. Yang reluctantly accepts the assignment. read more

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Lupin III Part V Episode 05 Review

Episode 05, “A Crook’s Resolve”

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis:  Lupin is dead! Or is he? The proprietors of the dark web’s Marco Polo service believe themselves victorious, while Inspector Zenigata is reassigned to narcotics and shelters Ami at his apartment. Lupin’s gang seems to be moving towards some goal, though, and surprisingly, Ami interviews for a new, dangerous job. What happened to Lupin and will our teenaged techie talent take a deadly dive? It’s the conclusion of a five-part story as we see who really won the Lupin Game! read more

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Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These Episode 04 Review

Episode 04, “The Unbeatable Magician”

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis:  A younger Yang Wen-li attends Free Planets Alliance Fleet Academy, where he meets his future longtime friend Jean-Robert Lappe, as well as music school student Jessica Edwards. There, despite his middling grades in most subjects and preference for historical study over military, he proves to be a brilliant strategist. After graduation, he’s assigned to a post on the planet El Facil, which comes under attack by the Galactic Empire. Using the fleeing commander’s ships as a shield, Yang evacuates the citizens, earning notoriety, and a double rank promotion to rear admiral. He’s moved into a house and is presented with the opportunity to take a child in as apprentice, but is reluctant. On a snowy day, however, a boy arrives at Yang’s door, with a suitcase. read more

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Lupin III Part V Episode 04 Review

Episode 04, “Zenigata’s Pride and the Desert Dust”

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis:  Fujiko Mine joins the Lupin Game, but before she can shoot our monkey-like marauder, Inspector Zenigata arrives to save him and Ami. Although he provides a friendly ride to Lupin, he does plan to drive him somewhere he can legally arrest him, but Lupin takes it in stride. The three are forced to trek through a desert on foot, evading a warlord’s forces, before reaching the border. But can they make it across before their luck runs out and the Lupin Game is won? It’s a race to the edge with a shocking ending! read more

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Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These Episode 03 Review

Episode 03, “An Indomitable Prodigy”

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis:  Reinhard von Lohengramm returns to the planet Odin, the Imperial Capital, victorious from the battle in the Astarte Starzone. There, he receives a promotion to Fleet Admiral from Kaiser Friedrich IV, but he knows no admiration for the ruler. Many years ago, Reinhard’s sister was taken to be the Kaiser’s concubine, and he and his friend Siegfried Kircheis joined the military in order to one day return her home. In the present, the two officers visit Reinhard’s sister, Annerose, for pleasant conversation in the shadow of the last battle that overlaps with the next. read more

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Lupin III Part V Episode 03 Review

Episode 03, “The Killers Gather in the Wasteland”

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis:  Lupin III is the crosshairs of a calvacade of calamitous contract clipmen! The dark web masterminds send a parade of asassassins to rid themselves of Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon after being humiliated. After Ami is injured in the crossfire, Lupin concocts a plan to pit them against each other to take them all out at once. However, wave after wave of these horrors-for-hire keep appearing. Is their no end to them? Or is this the end for Lupin? It’s another exciting mess for Lupin to get unstuck from, if he can! read more

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Outlaw Star Episode 26 [Final] – Incomplete Legend

After the somewhat disappointing rote nature of the penultimate episode, the final one puts us right at the centre of the Leyline with all the surviving players. So I guess this is where the series puts us through the ringer of some revelations and an epic final battle that really gets the blood pumping, right?

In three one syllable words: Yes. Yes. Yes.

The revelation of the Leyline itself is probably the least impressive part of the final episode. We not only get an encapsulation of what had been said between Khan and the McDougals a few episodes back, but also a general description how the Leyline is kinda sorta one big data configuration; a computer Shenron if you will for whoever unlocks it with the Melfina-sized key. The fun part though comes after Gene gets his Caster magic in Tao magic and Hazanko gets his Tao magic in Caster magic. Apparently it causes the Leyline to deign giving ALL of them a wish while they stand between life and death, and they all picked the most obvious choices. I guess that’s fine all things considered. We’ve not the time to think or be wary of the logic of the Leyline, so mysteriousness is instead amplified. read more

Juu-kuchiby Juu-kuchi•
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Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These Episode 02 Review

Episode 02, “The Battle of Astarte”

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis:  The battle in the Astarte Starzone, between the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance, continues. After the loss of the 4th and 6th Alliance Fleets, and the injury of his superior officer, Yang Wen-li takes control of the 2nd Fleet. He forces a battle of attrition, allowing his forces time to pull away from the battlefield as the enemy does.

Comments:

Seriously, 800 fucking dollars!

Are you people not paying attention?! Are you so devoid of a moral compass that you would actually consider spending $800, all at once, on Sentai Filmworks’ colossal monument to how much they despise their consumer base? Why not just lube up for the wealthy corporate boardroom executives that insisted on that price tag? You’d be ruining the curve for everyone else by agreeing they can just charge whatever they feel like and we’ll keep buying their product. Don’t be that person. Stay strong. Don’t order. read more

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Lupin III Part V Episode 02 Review

Episode 02, “The Lupin Game”

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis:  Millions of people are after Lupin III, and he’s about to oblige them, big time! After narrowly escaping police custody, our favorite band of thieves travels to a country the ICPO can’t follow and makes a public name for themselves on social media, hoping to oversaturate their presence until public interest in ‘Lupin Game’ wanes. While it does work for a while, their pursuers from the dark web decide it’s a great way to target them with an all-star lineup of assassins! Can Lupin, Jigen, Goemon, and their new friend Ami evade the murderous monsters… and stay relevant? Let’s hope at least one of the two! read more

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Outlaw Star Episode 25 – Rift Trippers

Like the “prep work” episode, this episode seems all too familiar with an end goal rescue. Everybody of importance rushes toward the end, with every surviving enemy getting in the way. Supporting cast tell main guy to go ahead while they stay behind to distract them. Repeat until the protagonist is the only one left and then go ahead to finale.

…Then cut off at the end to save for the final episode.

It’s rote, but Outlaw Star makes it work. All the big revelations will be left for the finale it seems, with most of the run time directed towards very intense fight sequences. This is a very fluid episode than most, hearkening back to the climax of Episode 1 and Episode 15, so we’re bound for some fun. Suzuka and Harry McDougal get the most of it with Harry’s attempt to fell Hazanko and Suzuka’s fight with a familiar Anten Seven member. Aisha and Gene sadly don’t get that kind of sequence, with Aisha’s fight being rather short-lived even if she transformed and Gene mostly wasting his Caster shells on ONE Anten Seven member. Didn’t he have a dozen or so in the previous episode? This said it did make for a fairly grotesque sequence where he turned said member inside out as Caster magic sucked it into the void. So that works well. read more

Juu-kuchiby Juu-kuchi•