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– Penguin Truth
(2024)
Akira is one of those obvious “must-review” anime classics that it feels like I should have gotten to a long, long time ago. But I didn’t just want to review everything everyone else was reviewing all the time, which is why I held off on it. But holding off for ten years is probably enough. I even read a huge swath of the manga (though not *all* of it) to prepare myself. I wanted to do my homework, as to avoid somebody making a “Penguin Truth Was Wrong About Akira” video. (Yeah, right, like anyone would even notice this video.)
Yikes… I’m running out of favorite anime to review! But I can’t worry about that, because Black Lagoon was calling to me, saying in a loud voice, “Review me!” And I cannot ignore the call of a classic, one of my favorite anime of all time. Still, of my, let’s say, top 30, I’ve got maybe five or six left to do? I might have to begin intentionally reviewing bad anime just to distance myself from the rest, as painful as that’d be. Not to mention, this anime also has one of my favorite English dubs, and I’m pretty sure I’m all out of those to cover after this. But more on the dub another time.
So, as usual, I’m covering the English versions of the anime I’ve reviewed so far this year. I’d say the strongest dubs I went over were the two Funimation ones. In the next half of the year, I’ll try not to even do Funimation dubbed anime, unless a spot opens up that I end up filling with one. I want to get in titles dubbed by other ADR outfits for variety.
There’s also (more than) a fair amount of “bookend” material in this video, where it looks like Pingu has finally kicked the bucket and the funeral is being held. Yeah, that’s Pingu in the pine box. Noot noot. I actually think my Chairpenguin speech is genuinely decent. Yeah, I know.
Area 88 is a fine show. It’s nothing special, no match for the original OVA, but it does have its good aspects and notable moments. There’s a lot of detail put into the aircraft and procedure and the dogfights are interesting, if brief. Much of the drama comes from what happens on the ground. But the show doesn’t look great and some of the characterization is anemic. It just doesn’t have the overwhelming personality and charm of the OVA. But it’s not a waste of time.
Akira Toriyama, creator of manga like Dr. Slump, Dragon Ball, and Sand Land, sadly passed away on March 1, 2024. He left behind a legacy of colorful work, worlds of wonder that continues to impact people the world over. Since I review anime, and not manga, I wanted to pay tribute to Toriyama in a way that reflected his own personal efforts, so I chose a Dragon Ball Z movie that he actually had influence over, Battle of Gods, whose story he constructed. Of course, I also mentioned his work in video games.
I reviewed Space Battleship Yamato 2199 partly because I wanted to discuss the original series (which I also rewatched for this video), but also because the remake is pretty damn good on its own. The Yamato franchise is almost iconic as Gundam, at least to me. I just recently discovered a whole 8-episode series, 2205 (The New Voyage) was released a few years ago as a sequel to 2202 and Crunchyroll still hasn’t licensed it! And there’s more Yamato coming out! What else am I missing out on?!
Ah, City Hunter. It reminds me a lot of Lupin III. Except, you know, not as good. Sure, the TV series is pretty fun and has a variety of different stories and situations for Ryo to get into, but when they try to extend it beyond that, it can be painful. Take this special, Secret Service, for instance: the movie-only characters are dull and the story drags unnecessarily. Could it be that City Hunter is better in small doses? Ryo certainly is.
Shinjuku Private Eyes, now that’s a worthwhile City Hunter feature! Maybe I should have reviewed that.
