Episode 16, “Let’s Talk About First Loves”
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Martial law descends on Padar, where the High Priest plans to marry Princess Dolma to become the legitimate ruler, but is fought by the king’s loyalists. While the king, with the help of Shake Hands, rallies support, a disguised Lupin and Ami catch up to the underhanded usurper. Will they be able to stop the wedding? And what last move does the CIA have in this? It’s more palace politics in Padar in this story’s conclusion!
Ah, the middle of the year (was over a month ago!). A great time to go over the English dubs of anime I’ve covered thus far in 2018, so I don’t have to cover a year’s worth at the end of the year. This is also an opportunity to talk about the myriad of different ADR studios, specific dubs, and voice actors encountered in these videos.
And hey, only a pre-title bit, no after-credits bit! I’m actually going to retire those things until late October. It’s been taking me two or three weeks to do videos that should only take a single week, maybe a week and half, to finish, these days. I do love my leftover detritus from my old sprite comic, but I need to concentrate on the actual REVIEW part of each review video.
Episode 15, “Her Relationship With Lupin”
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: A badly injured Lupin is rescued by Fujiko, who wisks him and Ami away from the palace, pursued by the High Priest’s forces. Dolma has been working with the CIA and the High Priest to overthrow Padar’s government and take the throne as a puppet in exchange for the sparing of her father, the king’s, life. Her father, in the meantime, has cozied up to the Shake Hands tech corporation, run by a man with ambigious intentions. After removing the arrow from Lupin’s abdomen and running a ways with him and Ami, Fujiko seemingly abandons the two to draw the fire of the High Priest’s men, but Lupin springs back into action to help her. Will he get her out of danger in time? Fujiko’s fiercer than ever in this dash to safety as martial law is declared!
JP:
ENG:
Just know that I personally think less of anyone who’s excited to give BROLY another chance after three shitty movies. People getting hyped for the return of this black hole of a character concept strips away much of the regard I had left for humanity.
– Penguin Truth
(2018)
(Prove me wrong, Toei. And also remove your claim from my Dead Zone video.)
Episode 14, “How to Steal a Kingdom”
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: After Dolma is taken back to Padar via CIA escort, Lupin and the gang make their way to her country to pursue their interests. Ami strikes an unsteady alliance with Fujiko to gain access to the palace Dolma is held in. The American government is assisting a conservative faction of Dolma’s government in a coup that will overthrow the reformers and taking possession of Dolma is part of that plan. Lupin infiltrates the palace disguised as Inspector Zenigata, and encounters Ami, the CIA agent who extracted the princess, and Dolma herself. But a lot of fancy footwork can’t prepare Lupin for the startling reaction of his target! Lupin takes on the half-modern utopia with a dark secret in his continuing efforts to obtain the Bloody Teardrop!
Episode 13, “The Bow, the Princess, and the Terrorist”
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Lupin and the gang are after The Bloody Teardrop, a gem possessed by Princess Dolma of the kingdom of Padar. Coincidentally, Dolma attends the same private school as Ami, and they make fast friends. When a group of terrorists occupy the school to ransom its wealthy clientele to their families, Ami teams up with Fujiko, under cover as a teacher, to throw a wrench in their plans. Will Fujiko snag the jewel before Lupin, or will it turn into a bloody mess? The bustiest burglar has a lot of skin in this game!
My final entry in this year’s Dragon Ball Month is the eighth Dragon Ball Z movie, that one with the mountain of muscles who dumb people seem to enjoy. Seriously, Broly is a complete waste, because he’s not even really a character. He’s such a two(at best)-dimensional villain, and yet they give him this back story to try to get us to sympathize, or at least understand. Sorry, but that only works for characters with personalities. With Broly, it’s just a lot of wasted potential. Granted, at least they tried, but maybe they should have shifted that effort into giving him something that defines his role, aside from a lot of screaming, and cry-induced insanity. Sure, most DBZ movie villains are shallow, even in the better movies, but this is a case of aiming high and falling low.
Episode 12, “The Verge of Death (Part 2)”
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: As Siegfried Kircheis leads his forces to attack their forces’ supply contingent, the FPA’s fleets fall into disarray as they take on damage from a very aggressive Reinhard and his other admirals. Three fleets are destroyed and four have taken damage, but Yang Wen-li’s 13th Fleet has taken minimal infliction from the Empire. The Hyperion’s fighter squadron launches and engages the enemy’s Valkyrie crafts and there are casualties. Yang can barely make pull his forces away from the frontlines when Fleet Admiral Lobos orders the remaining ships to gather at the Amritsar Starzone to make a last effort before retreating.
Episode 11, “The Verge of Death (Part 1)”
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: The Free Planets Alliance forces enter Imperial territory, expecting to be greeted as liberators, but the citizens are more concerned about receiving food. This causes them to overextend their supplies to fulfill the needs of the masses, but when the expectations cannot be met, riots break out. The Alliance fleets become desperate for supplies of their own, and Yang surmises it was an intentional stroke to get them to run out of resources, breaking promises to the people (which earns them ill will) and leaving them vulnerable to an all-out attack in the meantime. He suggests to the other admirals that they should withdraw from the area. Admiral Bewcock attempts to inform Supreme Commander Lobos, but is forced to engage with Commodore Falk. Bewcock berates Falk’s casual attitude about the concerns on the front line, causing him to pass out from stress. While Kircheis goes to sortie against the FPA’s supply line, Reinhard assembles the rest of his admiralty to strike at the main forces.
Episode 12, “The Etravagance of Goemon Ishikawa XIII”
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Goemon finds himself in a quaint village looking for the owner of a jewel Lupin wants. The jewel’s owner, Chloé, runs a struggling bistro and Goemon keeps surveillance on her, saving her from others wanting the treasure. But the more he gets to know the town and its people, especially Chloé, the harder it gets for him to snatch the item. Can Goemon overcome his feelings and pull the job off or will Lupin have to finish it for him? It’s con vs con during a con, as our favorite modern samurai walks among the cosplay crowd!
