Reviews

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Attack on Titan Part IV (Episodes 14-22): Remember the Titans

 

It’s been a while since my last Attack on Titan post. I keep wanting to sit down and write something about it, but I found that I just didn’t have an awful lot to say.

In that sense it is a bit of a weird show. Most other shows I watch provide a certain amount of material to discuss each week, but Titan is a bit different. It’s almost universally agreed that the pacing of this show is glacial, and sometimes 2 or 3 weeks will pass before a certain even is resolved, which leaves very little to discuss in each individual episode. I hear the manga has this similar kind of pacing, which in my mind is like that of a soap opera (as I’ve mentioned before). However, recent episodes put me in mind of old time serials as well, where one storyline would be spread across many episodes so that each one would feel like a fragment of one storyline as opposed to a self-contained episode. "Join us again, same Titan hour, same Titan channel, kids!" read more

neontasterby neontaster•
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Attack on Titan Part III (Episodes 5-13): Attack on Tighten

Ironically, my previous Attack on Titan posts were long but dealt with short mini-arcs, while this post will probably be shorter but deals with the longest arc in the history of anime.

It’s just that I don’t have a ton of stuff to say about Defense of Trost. It had a couple of major plot twists and some terrific emotional moments, but it was really drawn out both in terms of plot and production values. By the time we hit episode 13 (which was the ninth episode of the Trost arc), the telltale signs of an unfinished product were readily apparent. 13 clearly went to air with several sequences unanimated and masked by cutting away to static scenery shots while still hearing the sounds of the battle (the audio post production is probably tracked to unfinished visuals so you could still hear the sounds of what they animated, but the animation itself was absent). On that front it feels a little weird to judge it now, because clearly the home release will be at least somewhat better. Strangely enough, this same sort of thing happened last year with Psycho Pass, even forcing the creators to issue a public apology for the quality of episode 18, but in the case of Titan, I didn’t really see that type of outrage. read more

neontasterby neontaster•
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OR Joint Review – Man of Steel

Falldog: Thanks for checking out Otaku Revolution’s review of The Man of Steel. Normally we don’t do movie reviews around here (not sure that we’ve done one ever, actually) but Neon and I felt that in light of the poor critical response that we take the time to write up our commentary on the film. We both liked it. I thought it was fantastic and way better than this year’s Iron Man 3. And I’m saying that as a long time Superman fan.

And guess what! This review is filled with a fuckload of spoilers! Stop reading here if you haven’t seen the movie or don’t care. read more

Falldogby Falldog•
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Gargantia, Majestic Prince, and Valvrave the Liberator – Who’s off to a better start?

Mecha fans have having fun this spring anime season with three new shows currently airing, Valvrave the Liberator, Majestic Prince, and Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet. Each have their own style, own theme, and own general feel. There’s something for every mecha fan and have their own positive merits. But the question arises, which is the best? Let’s take a quick look based on the first four-five episodes thus far…

Best Animation?

While this category is somehow more subjective than this very subjective article I think the winner is Valvrave. The vibrant background, consistent and well done characters, and impressive battle sequences make it stand out. Gargantia features fantastic backgrounds but pretty simplistic character animation. Outside of battles Majstic Prince is pretty boring looking. Backgrounds and character designs lack detail and just look very quickly done. read more

Falldogby Falldog•
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Attack on Titan Part II (Episodes 3 and 4): Class of the Titans

In part I of my series of posts about Attack on Titan I mainly addressed the hype surrounding the show and added some general first impressions about the art, design, animation, story, etc. This and future posts will deal a bit more with the actual plot, and will therefore include spoilers (I am assuming if you are reading this you’re already watching the show).

One of the ways I described this show in part I was that it was almost like an attack that grips you hard and doesn’t let go. Well, lo and behold – it let go, and with positive results. After the emotional onslaught of the first two episodes, we are treated to two slower, and often even lighthearted and funny, episodes; something I wasn’t expecting but was done well and didn’t clash with the general vibe. I didn’t set out to post something after every two episodes but rather when I felt like a certain mini arc or block of story was over, but so far this has happened twice. I almost feel like these four episodes could easily play out as two 45-minute episodes: Part I being the brutal exposition, and Part II being the training sequence. read more

neontasterby neontaster•
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Revisiting Gundam SEED – Part 2

 

Welcome to part two of my four part series on Gundam SEED! My goal with this series has been to rewatch Gundam SEED for the first time since it originally aired back in 2002. It’s a rewatch with open arms and an open mind after almost a decade of seemingly universal SEED hatred within the North American Gundam community.

So far my experience has been mostly positive. There are some rough parts, not really with the characters, but the weak plot and setting. Certainly nothing to justify the vehement hate. read more

Falldogby Falldog•
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Attack on Titan Part I (Episodes 1 and 2): Eren the Giant Slayer

(Note: This review is spoiler-free)

Hype, hype, hype, hype, hype, hype, hype. It will be utterly impossible for anyone to discuss Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) this season without at least addressing the frenzied excitement leading up to, and following, its premier last week. The only missing piece in the puzzle was that it hadn’t been licensed for simulcast yet, but that issue was recently resolved when it was announced that it would be airing… on both Crunchyroll and FUNImation. Did I mention this show has a lot of hype? read more

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Shin Sekai Yori Review

(Note: This review is spoiler-free and only contains a few small details about the plot)

Along with watching about 12 new shows from Spring 2013, I am slowly going through a bunch of stuff I missed last year. After watching (and loving) Zetsuen no Tempest, I went against my own instincts and popped on Shin Sekai Yori (From the New World). Smart decision.

Produced by A-1 and currently streaming on Crunchyroll, Shin Sekai Yori is based on the novel by Yusuke Kishi and tells the story of Japan 1,000 years in the future. It’s a serene utopian world where Buddhist humans who have developed psychokinesis which they call "Cantus" (the Japanese word used is "Juryoku" and written with the Kanji for "curse" and "force," which I am only mentioning because it makes a lot of sense in retrospect and if you were a Japanese viewer you would have known this bit of information upfront), live a peaceful spiritual existence in harmony with their surroundings. read more

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Valvrave the Liberator – Episode 01 Quick Review

The 2013 spring anime season is here and it’s a great one for mecha fans. Majestic Prince started things off followed by the promising Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet. Now it’s time for Sunrise’s entry, Valrave the Liberator, and things are looking good.

Synopsis

"Shinreki 71, 70% of all human beings have finally migrated to space due to the development of space cities. Between two organizations called the Dorushia Military Pact Federation and the Atlantic Ring United States (ARUS), there is a small neutral nation called Jiōru that has prospered economically. In the same year, Haruto Tokishima, a high school student living in Jiōru discovered a mysterious mecha called Valvrave during the Dorushia’s attack in the nation." via Wikipedia read more

Falldogby Falldog•
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Revisiting Gundam SEED – Part 1

If you asked me my thoughts on Gundam SEED I would quickly tell you I don’t like it. If you asked why I would respond with, "the characters were awful," then proceed to give some vague remembrances from years past before mumbling off. Chances are I’d also mention how much I loath Hisashi Hirai’s character art while I was at it. The short of it is, I don’t quite remember much about Gundam SEED.

I can tell you that I watched it when it first aired almost a decade ago. I watched it for a long time, just how far into the series I don’t remember. My memory tells me that the characters were pretty unlikable even as the story pretty much took its plot points straight from Mobile Suit Gundam. The suits I remember a bit more, especially the Strike Gundam, which I consider to be one of the best all time Gundam designs (I have two PG Strike kits). There was also the four legged suit which I liked the design of until I saw how poorly it was used in the series. The enemy grunt units though, man how I hated them (and still do). Where the Strike was a classy remake the want-to-be Zaku’s and like looked as though they were styled by a child. "Eh, here ya go. We just messed with the shapes and added some spikes here and there. Oh, you want more? Well here it is with a horrible mohawk contraption." With such fragmented memories I thought it appropriate to reintroduce myself to the series and rewatch Gundam SEED. Is it as bad as I recall? Was I looking at it too much through rosy UC glasses? Will I discover anyone in Northern America who actually likes the program? read more

Falldogby Falldog•