Crest of the Stars is a show that was sold to me as this big political space epic, and maybe when paired with Banner of the Stars, its sequel, it is. But on its own, it’s kind of lacking. In characterization, in plot development, in charm, and in general. It’s by no means awful, it just lacks the greatness of, say, Gundam, or Legend of the Galactic Heroes. It’s kind of like watching .hack//SIGN. It’s LoGH by way of Dot Hack: a lot of talking, not a lot actually going on. And by the end, the characters aren’t that different than when they started out like. I guess that’s realistic? I mean, people in real life don’t develop like fictional characters, in some grand linear fashion. But I guess I was just expecting a little more from what I’d been told.
Videos
Otaku Evolution Episode 275 – Gunbuster
Honestly, I’m not sure how this one turned out. I did a few quality checks, and while there are some little details I could probably edit and tracks I could re-record, I think I did what I could. I just hope I did Gunbuster, an anime I enjoyed, some kind of justice, and sparked some interest in those of you who’ve ever seen it, but it’s definitely an imperfect video with a couple of pretty noticable mistakes (see if you can spot them!).
The pre-opening scene and post-credit scene were kind of fun to do (even though one of the mistakes was in the opening bit), with the latter being a lot of venting I wanted to do about the current political environment in the US. That’s all I’ll say about that (for now).
Otaku Evolution Episode 274 – Lupin III Part II
Lupin III Part II may not technically be one of my favorite anime, but it is one of the more enjoyable Lupin TV shows, and that should count for something. It’s great just how many international locations the Lupin gang find themselves in with their endless heisting. While the first series took place mostly in Japan, Part II has the gang spreading its wings and making the entire world Lupin’s back yard.
Of course, I’m accentuating the positive in this video, skipping weak episodes like “Curse Case Scenario”, “Now Museum, Now You Don’t”, “Twins Pique”, “Khan Job”, “Pretty Cluckin’ Insane”, and “Heroes and Vixens”. I only wanted to talk about four and five star episodes, and naturally, among the English-dubbed ones.
Otaku Evolution Episode 273 – Space Pirate Mito
I have to be honest, folks. I was baffled as to what to do with this one. Space Pirate Mito is far from an optimal choice for a video. It’s such an annoying experience. And not even a really bombastically terrible experience I can have fun with. It’s just a desperately irritating, disappointing series that exudes obnoxiousness.
I usually like neat space pirate antics, but there’s so little of that here it’s not worth rewatching after this. I will never revisit this. No, not even to review the second season, even if it’s somehow dubbed down the road some day. Well, I don’t know, maybe if I’m out of ideas for videos.
Otaku Evolution Episode 272 – Carole & Tuesday
Shinchiro Watanabe is one of my favorite anime directors. He is a true talent. Or, at least, he used to be, right? Hasn’t he kind of lost the sauce a bit over time? Carole & Tuesday is fun, but it sure isn’t a Cowboy Bebop or a Samurai Champloo. I think if the music weren’t as good as it is and the other production values weren’t as well done, the show might’ve been just a small footnote in Watanabe’s career.
But damn is the music good. It’s sooooo good, people. If you get anything from this video, it’s that you need to download the soundtrack (or look it up on Spotify, or whatever you crazy kids are up to these days). The show itself isn’t half bad, either.
Otaku Evolution Episode 271 – Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F
Hiya! Been a while, hasn’t it?
I just wanted to start this “half” of the year with something really simple and dumb. And few things are simpler than Dragon Ball movies. This one in particular is kind of just, as I say, “action figures crashing into each other”. But that’s fine, Resurrection F is still kind of fun!
No fuss, no bookend material, just a short video about DBZ, which is somehow blocked in a few countries because Toei is a dick.
Ah well. Enjoy!
Otaku Evolution Episode 270 – Mid Year English Dub Review XI
I was pretty lucky this half of the year to cover anime with pretty good dubs, except a couple. I tried to get a variety of them and succeeded beautifully. Now if only I can keep that up for the rest of the year.
Man, that Zeta Gundam dub is rough. But a few weeks ago, I saw people defend it on the Gundam subreddit. I don’t really understand how anyone could find it good. It’s so stiff-sounding and disinterested.
If I had to decide which is worse, underacting (Zeta Gundam) or overacting (Nadesico), I guess I’d choose overacting, because at least it sounds like actors are interested in the material. Nadesico‘s dub still sucks, but it sucks less than Zeta Gundam‘s.
Otaku Evolution Episode 269 – Berserk
Look, I just think putting on a suit and flying around calling yourself Batman doesn’t necessarily make you qualified to be Batman!
Oh, I mean, hey, that Berserk is a pretty neat show, right? It’s kind of like LoGH in a medieval setting. And with demons. Okay, so it’s not that much like LoGH, except that Griffith would make an interesting counterpart to guys like Oskar von Ruenthal and Reinhard von Lohengramm. Guts certainly isn’t Yang or Julian, that’s for sure.
How did I get sidetracked? Oh, right, I was talking about LoGH instead of Berserk. Which is stupid, because Berserk deserves its own conversation. It’s a damn good manga and the TV show, despite some of its flaws, may prove to be a favorite of mine in the future.
Otaku Evolution Episode 268 – Lupin III: Blood Seal of the Eternal Mermaid
Had to move this fucking thing to Dailymotion for now. Why? TMS hates me.
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– Penguin Truth
(2025)