Reviews

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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

neontasterby neontaster•
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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

neontasterby neontaster•
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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•
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Three Episodes In – Vividred Operation

Naked Impact!!!

(Note: Contains some spoilers, but it doesn’t matter. You’ll understand what I mean if you read this)

So, as mentioned in my Sasami-san@Ganbaranai review, having been disappointed with the Winter 2013 crop of anime, I decided to step outside my comfort zone and watch a couple of shows that I would normally skip because they had caught my eye for various reasons. The second show I took a gamble on was A-1’s new original show Vividred Operation. It piqued my curiosity for two reasons: read more

neontasterby neontaster•
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Three Episodes In – Sasami-san@Ganbaranai

Yes, Sasami-san!

(Note: Contains spoilers, but they are confined to a clearly marked section)

The Winter 2013 anime season did not exactly bring with it a plethora of content that I would consider appealing to me, so instead I opted for something a bit different – I picked a couple of shows that I normally wouldn’t have watched, but that caught my eye for various reasons. The first of those shows was Studio Shaft’s new project, Sasami-san@Ganbaranai, based on the light novel series by Akira. The only thing I knew about this show going in was that it was in the romantic comedy genre (according to the tags on Myanimelist) and what I read in the official synopsis, which described Sasami-san as a show about a hikikomori (compulsive shut-in) who experiences the world vicariously through her brother by using a special surveillance system. The synopsis has since been expanded, but that was the gist of it before the show aired, and that was the general idea I had about the plot. However, something about the previews for the show seemed a bit… off. There were little flashes of scenes that seemed to involve science fiction, action, and fantasy elements. Now, I am well aware that plenty of "regular" romantic comedies and school shows that have those elements incorporated as day dreams and the like (such as I am told is the case for Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! or, to a lesser extent, in Hyouka), but my Spidey sense was tingling, so I figured I would give it a shot. read more

neontasterby neontaster•
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The Anime I Watched Before I Watched Anime – Akira

 

In some form or another, I’ve been around anime my entire life. A bunch of the cartoons I watched as a kid were anime, and I also had a chance to watch various anime movies that crossed over into the mainstream throughout the 90’s and early 2000’s. In the early 2000’s I dipped my feet a bit deeper into that world (including watching my first proper show as an adult – Cowboy Bebop), but I quickly lost interest due mainly to lack of availability, and spent the next ten years or so watching the occasional big time movie that came to my attention as I did in the 90’s. read more

neontasterby neontaster•
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Thoughts On The Eureka Seven: AO Finale

I agree, Ao. I felt the same way after watching it.

(Note: Contains E7 and E7AO spoilers)

If you haven’t read my review of Eureka Seven: AO, here it is in a nutshell: First half was great, second half was a mess with too much plot and not enough clear motivations. The final two episodes, which have finally aired after an annoyingly long hiatus, are actually fine, but make me angrier at the creators than I was before watching them. Not only did this show have a good idea to begin with – the idea was apparently good overall (including all the reveals and ultimate finale concept), but they felt the need to fuck around for about 8-10 episodes in the middle, and then were forced to cram in the entire explanation and pseudo resolution of everything into the last two episodes. In fact, it’s mostly in the last episode, since the one before it is basically more setup (in that sense it reminded me a bit of Trinity Blood – another show that tries to explain everything in the last 5 minutes). read more

neontasterby neontaster•
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Another Review

 

Always uphold the class rules…

(Note: Contains extremely minor spoilers, mostly with regards to the exposition of the story.)

 

Another is a 12 episode adaptation of the mystery horror novel by Yukito Ayatsuji produced by P.A. Works. In 1998, Kouichi Sakakibara moves from Tokyo to the town of Yomiyama. His mother died shortly after his birth and his father is a college professor doing research in India, so Kouichi is sent to live with his maternal grandparents and attend the ninth grade at his mother’s old junior high. Kouichi is assigned to class 9-3, which turns out to be quite unfortunate. read more

neontasterby neontaster•