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Capital Confusion – A Guide to Kyousougiga

(Note: This post contains spoilers from the 2011 and 2012 ONAs, as well as the current run of episodes 0, 1, and 2)

Kyousougiga (Capital Craze)started its life as a single ONA in 2011, followed by a series of five shorts in 2012. It was confusing and unclear, but had some terrific visual storytelling and art, and left people wanting more. Finally, Kyousougiga comes back as a full TV show, and incorporates parts of those previous ONAs to tell the story more coherently. However, there still seems to be a lot of confusion regarding the story and characters, especially since things are told very nonlinearly, and because there are many characters who share the same name (there is a reason for this). In my attempts to figure everything out I came up with a pretty good explanation of where things stand thus far, using those previous ONAs and the currently aired episodes – Episode 0, which is a slight rework of the original 2011 ONA, and episodes 1 and 2 of the new TV show. read more

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Attack on Titan Part V (Episodes 23-25): Wrap Up

 

Titan, but since these posts were less about describing and commenting on the actual plot and more about my personal impressions, I figured I would attempt some sort of wrap up and general thoughts  on the show.

First off, the final arc was actually pretty damned good (aside from containing one of the least surprising reveals in recent memory), and in most aspects it harkened back to the show’s first several episodes, which were probably the strongest. The level of drama and action really reached a crescendo at the end, which is a positive thing. You never want a show like this to peak too soon and then meander its way to the finish line. It started strong and ended strong, and I think that left a good final impression on people (myself included) and began the painstaking countdown to season 2, which, as manga readers have informed me, could take quite a while. Isayama’s manga doesn’t rush the story – which is also clearly evident by the pacing of the anime – so there simply isn’t enough source material at this point. The only problem is that the show’s massive popularity could lead to an anime that departs from the manga plot and proceeds down its own path. While this tactic could work, it often doesn’t, and the show has been so faithful to the original story that taking a different path could really change it in a fundamental way. read more

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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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