Posted in

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans Episode 14 – The Revolting Colony Affair

Are you guys alright? Had a nice week off not thinking about Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans? Ready to get back to watching this show that’s been filled with a lot of great things but you feel like it’s taking too much of its sweet time getting to Earth?

Well good, cuz it looks like it is all downhill from here.

One would not be wrong to think the proximity of the colonies to Earth means they are just as affluent as the very planet they orbit. Yes, to some extent. Turns out even if you’re within eyeshot of Earth (and the show thankfully lets our heroes see it for the first time here), you might be just as marginalized as a Martian citizen. The conversation between Orga and the dock workers initially starts off as somewhat pleasant. Yeah something’s wrong but there is empathy between those who have a bad lot in life. Then to our surprise (and Tekkadan’s), the dock workers think of them as knights and Kudelia as their savior. Turns out Nobliss’s plans are more sinister than thought. It is not enough to make Kudelia a martyr on her home turf, but a martyr to every marginalized group aside from Earth. It’s a striking divide between how Tekkadan and the dock workers operate. Despite their similar upbringings, Tekkadan does not seek revolutionary change, but just a place in the cosmos for them. These guys want to bring the revolution home and take up arms for it. Guess when the haves are within eye and earshot, resentment can probably be a bit more pronounced than if you’re in the boonies and don’t know anything else. read more

Posted in

Lupin III (2015) Episode JP 06 (Italy 07) Review

“Until the Full Moon Sets”

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: When Lupin targets a wealthy widow believed to have inherited a secret treasure, Inspector Zenigata vows to protect her until the master thief backs off. Zenigata is as obsessive and single-minded as ever, determined to ward off Lupin, despite Elena’s initial distrust of him. Lupin is as persistent as ever, employing fake-outs and decoys, but Pops doesn’t quit easily, either! And yet, Elena may have secrets to uncover after all. Who will win the struggle for a possibly fictional payoff? It’s a battle of wits with twist after twist! read more

Posted in

Batman & Robin Eternal #13 Review

 

The problem is that Cass had to start stealing from the Red Cross to keep up with the mask blood.

 

 

A loving embrace, a father disgrace, and a blood mask on a face in this thirteenth issue of DC’s weekly Batman bildungsroman. As usual, much of it is in a flashback, which is where we get the best material in this, but what we have in the present is good stuff, too, with Cassandra confronting her killer father. We see that whatever happened between Batman and Mother in the past, Cass’ memory shows his compassion. But somebody without such mercy is David Cain, who’s been cleaning house… er, messily. read more

Posted in

Batman & Robin Eternal #12 Review

Ooooh aah, mother, should I build the wall?

A dark revelation shakes the foundation of Grayson and he must chasten as the plot hastens without Tim or Jason. It’s the twelfth issue of DC’s weekly Batman chronicle, and my much delayed review covers an issue where we see the Sculptor’s origin story and Batman make a decision that shocks Dick to his core. Could it be that Batman really agreed to Mother’s idea, and what’s more, to carry it out himself? Well, probably not, but it will look like it for a while, I think. read more

Posted in

Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt Episode 01 Review

Episode  01

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: It’s the year 0079 of the Universal Century era and a unit of the Earth Federation engages an amputee unit of the Principality Zeon in the remains of space colony section Side 4. The backdrop is a dangerous debris field that gives off electric discharges as if in a lightning storm. Devil-may-care ace Fed pilot Io Flemming is more than happy to throw away his life in combat, finding himself a new enemy in the enemy sniper Daryl Lorenz.
  read more

Posted in

After the Cel Shading – One Punch Man – Trim Engaging Spectacle [REVIEW]

Imagine if you will that you’re the strongest person in the world. You got there by rigorous training regimens that pushed you to your limits. The raw power of your attacks against the forces of evil put everybody into shock and awe, and you even have the magisterial JAM Project singing your opening theme before each big adventure. You should be somebody who’s living on Cloud 9…

…But then again you’re so bald as a result of the training and every enemy you fight can be ended with a well-placed fist. Worse, that really REALLY irks you. Even worse, nobody don’t give you no respect. C’est le One Punch Man, the latest anime adaptation of a popular manga that hits its stride without missing any beats before it stumbles at the finish line. Even so, it brings in enough to enjoy that one can briskly watch all twelve episodes and be endeared the way through. read more

Posted in

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans Episode 13 – Gundam Bar-Pathos

If the shocking ending from last episode isn’t enough to elicit emotions, this show goes out of its way to make sure Masahiro is only crushed enough to live and say goodbye to Akihiro. Then it puts on top an allusion to the conversation the Brewers’s Human Debris had about life after death. What a big one-two punch follow-up after that turnabout ending when it seemed like Akihiro would die. Then the deal is sweetened by having Kudel finally killed off by Mika, but not before he pulls a “You enjoy this killing!?” card on him, and the deaths of Tekkadan members who were part of the infiltration force. This show… read more

Posted in

Batman & Robin Eternal #11 Review

I have to admit, this is the best comic cover I’ve seen in a while. It’s the perfect pyschedelic for this issue.

No time to unwind, there’s a trip into the mind, and once you’re there you’ll find, Harp and Cass are entwined, but for now, nevermind, the past is so unkind, and before the truth’s defined, Bluebird’s trip is resigned and Dick’s next, as he’s inclined. Scrambled brains and dozens slain in the eleventh entry in DC’s current weekly Batman chronicle. The new continuity’s Cassandra origin is told (and it seems mostly the same, but taken up a few levels in horror), we get some not-so-subtle clues that she ties into Harper’s backstory, and Dick is desperate to know what Batman did all those years ago (as am I). So let’s take this mind trip, because it’s a huge step up from that last stinking issue. read more

Posted in

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans Episode 12 – Dropping Emotional Ballast

 

Before we get to the meat of this episode, I want to dedicate a part of the analsis to more fawning of Atra and Kudelia’s friendship. Near the midpoint of the episode, Mika heads off to take part in another daring assault. Kudelia sits with Atra and Merribit at the cafeteria, beside herself with worry about the next battle. Her hands are on the table, clasped together. Then without any visual cue that she was going to do that, Atra reaches out and comforts Kudelia to not worry, all the while smiling that sincere smile of hers. It’s such an exceptional subversion of the usual rivalries that vie for another’s affection. Atra can tell Kudelia has a thing for Mika, but she never lets her uncertainty and jealousy alter the way she treats the latter. Always nice, always supportive, always there for a soul lost in a world she’s trying to come to terms with; that’s Atra for ya. read more

Posted in

Batman & Robin Eternal #10 Review

This issue wounds me, too, Batman.

Tim has a bad trip, in the past Dick flips, Harper drips, and the quality slips in this tenth episode of DC’s weekly Batman catastrophe. There’s a lot of combat in the St. Dumas cathedral, Jean-Paul Valley has terrible hair, Jason uses shark repellent, we meet that lady we saw with Mother some issues ago, and Bruce does his patented “You’re a loose cannon, Robin!” speech. The artwork may be decent, but this issue might be the first truly bad entry into this series, because with all that’s going on, a lot of it is just paint-by-numbers filler. I think I’ve had more fun in actual churches. read more