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Gundam AGE Episode 21 Review

 Episode 21, "Phantoms in the Way"

      *****SPOILERS*****   Synopsis: Asemu tries to distract himself from thoughts of Zeheart. The Diva docks at the EFF command center, the Big Ring. Flit tells the crew that they’re to help defend Big Ring from a Veigan attack. Asemu decides to take advanced piloting training. His grade for X-Rounder potential is a "D" so Woolf decides to cheer him up by taking him to see Madorna’s Workshop. Asemu meets Madorna’s son Rody who created a battle simulation machine. Asemu gets in and holds out for a few minutes against simulations of his father and Zeheart. He requests to try again. Both the Veigans and Federation prepare for the upcoming battle.      Comments:   So Flit really outranks Milias. Really? I mean, he certainly had a lot to do with the initial victory over the UE/Veigans, but you don’t make him a commander just because he was a great pilot. What kind of leadership skills does Flit have? Milias makes sense because she probably worked her way through the ranks the normal way. At what point did Flit bypass her? If I were Milias, I would be absolutely humiliated. I can see Flit outranking Woolf, and even that’s a little stretch, but fuck, Milias was second-in-command on the Diva, not Flit. Maybe she didn’t get promoted that much because she was loyal to Grodek.    Speaking of Flit, he’s a bit of an asshole. When Asemu is down, Flit says, "As long as you have my blood you’ll be fine." Yeah, thanks a lot, Dad. "As long as you have my blood" is such an arrogant thing to say.    Wouldn’t it be cool if Asemu really isn’t a X-Rounder? I mean, we see his "D" grade in X-Rounder perception, but I’m sure the story is going to go to him being one after all, just in a way that makes it difficult to measure out of combat. But it would be neat if he just became a really badass normal like Woolf and yet still takes down Zeheart.    Speaking of Zeheart, what is with Romary being so jealous that Flit got to see him again? He’s the enemy and instead of being concerned for Asemu, Romary wishes she can see Zeheart again. I guess she wanted Zeheart more than Asemu. But nah, they probably won’t go in that direction. That would be too interesting.     

Overall Score:

3.5 out of 5

 
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Gundam AGE Episode 20 Review

 Episode 20, "The Red Mobile Suit"

*****SPOILERS*****   Synopsis: Zeheart tests the Veigan MS, Zedas-R, but is disappointed. He visits a grown up Desil. The Diva enters a shoal zone to avoid combat. The Veigans ambush the ship. Zeheart sorties in the X-Rounder MS, Zeydra. Asemu engages Zeheart is combat and has difficulty thinking of him as an enemy. Zeheart defeats Asemu and threatens to kill him should he see him again on the battlefield.    Comments:   So, Desil has made his return to the show. He barely looks like he did as a child, but I guess that’s growing up. Not only is he grown up, but he is seriously ripped, too. I bet he could take Flit on with his bare hands. Maybe he’s ripped for that very reason. Being defeated so utterly as a child has made him driven to defeat the Gundam pilot. He’s also got a serious entitlement thing going on and is not happy for Zeheart’s promotion. There’ll probably be some friction between the two.     I’ve got to say, for all the different reasons they could have given Zeheart to wear a mask in this show, they actually came up with a pretty decent one, with the mask enabling the pilot to better channel their X-Rounder abilities into the MS. He’s not hiding from his past or trying to fool anybody, he needs it for work. It’s probably one of the show’s better ideas, though I’m pretty sure it wasn’t necessary at all. It’s just a fun little thing. But the mask is upstaged by the absolutely ridiculous helmet he wears. That thing is way too bulky.    Is it just me, or is Woolf the best character in this show? What was a kind of arrogant swagger in the first part of the series has become learned confidence. He’s just that good. The only thing that could top this is Grodek showing up again.      Overall Score:   3.5 out of 5    
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Gundam AGE Episode 19 Review

 Episode 19, "Asemu’s Departure"

  *****SPOILERS*****   Synopsis: While Asemu joins the military, Zeheart is put in charge of the Veigan’s occupation forces. Romary has also joined the Federation. Asemu and Romary are assigned to the Diva, along with Dique’s daughter, Arisa. Millias Alloy is now the captain of the ship. On the ship, Asemu discovers the Gundam AGE-2. Woolf Enneacle is put in charge of mobile suit forces. The Diva encounters Veigan mobile suits and mobilizes its MS force, except Asemu who has to wait on the configuration of the AGE-2. When it’s done, Asemu launches and supports the others. The Veigans go after the Diva, but he shoots them down. However, having disobeyed orders, Asemu is punished.    Comments:   So here we have another time skip to Asemu already being ordered to a ship. Time sure seems to move fast in the world of this show. They couldn’t at least have given us a montage of Asemu in military academy?    So Romary decided to join the military as a bridge bunny on the Diva. Interesting. I guess with her having an actual position on the ship makes her more useful than Emily was. Something I wonder about is if Flit outranks Milias? I mean, he was just a kid and a rookie pilot on the Diva but now he’s a commander and she’s just the ship’s captain? I don’t think it’s fair to put Flit in a commanding role just because he was the Gundam pilot. Amuro Ray only made lieutenant by the time CCA came around.    Another thing I wonder is why should Asemu be given the Gundam? In the first generation you can rationalize that he knew the Gundam better than anyone else, having developed it. I guess Asemu probably knows more about it than, say, Woolf, but he’s a brand new pilot, and it’s not like he’s been out in the Gundam a whole lot. Plus, that was the old Gundam. The new Gundam is the most powerful MS, shouldn’t it go to the most talented pilot? The guy who pilots it now disobeyed orders TWICE, first ignoring an order and then going down to the hanger when he was supposed to be confined to his quarters. And where are the soldiers to make sure he follows that? Milias sure sucks at her job. Grodek would have slapped his shit and thrown him in the brig. I think. Come to think of it, Grodek was pretty wonky, too.    Speaking of the new Gundam, is it just me or is it a thinly disguised Gundam 00?     

Overall Score:

3.5 out of 5

 
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Lupin III: A Woman Named Fujiko Mine PV

Woah, the style is overwhelming! Though I can see why some people referred to this trailer as being "just thrown together", because they’re using the character design sheets and little if any footage from the actual show. Still, I’m looking forward to seeing this show.

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Noboru Ishiguro (1938-2012)

 

 

Today I’m mourning the loss of one of my favorite anime directors, Noboru Ishiguro. He was one of the directors of Space Battleship Yamato and was the director of Super Dimensional Fortress Macross and Legend of the Galactic Heroes. He even directed an old childhood favorite of mine, Fushigi na Koala Blinky, or Noozles in the U.S., which aired on the Nick Jr. block in the eighties and early nineties. Ishiguro was a massive talent and the world of anime is sure to be somewhat less without him. He was 73. 
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ANIME TOP TEN (LIST #2) FOLLOW-UP

List #2 took a little more decision-making on my part. I had to evaluate my current list and make a few choice corrections to reflect my current tastes. But there are still plenty of movies or single-part OVAs to praise, so here’s ten more, in short. 

  #s 11-20:   11. Farewell Space Battleship Yamato – The most memorable Yamato film, and an early attempt at capping the franchise, this movie has action, drama, romance, and plenty of large scale operatics.  12. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind – Miyazaki does what he does best in this adventure film with an environmental message. He transports the viewer to a foreign world, filled with wonder and danger, but without alienating the audience.  13. Lupin III: Episode 0: First Contact – This is probably the quintessential Lupin adventure, the jewel in the crown of Lupin’s grand age of TV specials and embodiment of Lupindom. Not only does it provide the story of how the Lupin gang met, but it’s also an exciting, funny romp through New York City, Lupin style. 14. Final Yamato – The climactic (then) final chapter of the Yamato franchise, Yamato goes again on a large scale mission, it’s last, to save the Earth from a Noahic disaster. Emotions run high, as does melodrama, but all in all a fine conclusion to the Yamato story.  15. Princess Mononoke – Another gorgeous, sprawling, sweeping story about so many things, such as perserverence, mercy, the environment, and coming of age, Miyazaki again hits a home run as he teaches us all the importance of respecting natural forces.  16. Lupin III: The Fuma Conspiracy – A lot like Castle of Cagliostro, but maybe not quite as beautiful. It does have the advantage of being more Lupin-ish than Cagliostro, with the characters acting a bit more like their usual selves. But also like Cagliostro, it has quite a bit going for it as an adventure movie. 

17. Patlabor: The Movie – read more

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ANIME TOP TEN (LIST #2) – #1: Royal Space Force: Wings of the Honneamise (1987)

 

 

Director(s): Hiroyuki Yamaga
Screenplay: Hiroyuki Yamaga
Music: Ryuichi Sakamoto
 
"Reach for the stars" is a cliche motivational phrase denoting a desire to go as far as you possibly can to obtain your goals in life. In this movie, you can actually imagine the people who worked on it as desiring just that, not just the characters. It was an ambitious project for the fledgling studio Gainax and it unfortunately didn’t really make too many waves in Japan. But it’s a criminally underrated film that expresses its themes with thoughtfulness and doesn’t try to sugar-coat or talk down to its audience. 
 
Royal Space Force is about a lost generation. Most of its main characters are a disillusioned, cynical bunch who don’t hold a lot of respect for their lots in life. The huge undertaking of a space program is something they don’t fully appreciate at first. In fact, it’s not until towards the end that these characters even come out of the fog of their stagnation and steel their determination to make the project work. 
 
I love the details in the film. The studio clearly poured enormous attention into the film. The backgrounds are lush, the detail of the machines and the expressions of the characters and their movement are all excellent. The explosions are even well-drawn and have seemingly realistic physics to it. If nothing else, the movie is surely a visual feast, taking us into a world much like our own, with some slight, but vital differences. 
 
Of course, one would be amiss if one didn’t mention a certain scene towards the end of the movie. It’s not a pleasant scene. If you’re any kind of decent person, you’ll probably feel disgust towards our "hero", Shiro. It even seems a bit too sudden and probably a bit too far to take the situation. The movie could have skipped that scene entirely and it probably would have been fine. Shiro is still a guy who needs to turn away from his life of decadence and sluggishness. However, in the scene’s defense, it creates a bigger need for Shiro to redeem himself, at the risk of his own life and well being. I also have an alternative view of the scene, if anyone’s interested. Not that it excuses Shiro’s behavior. 
 
Wings of the Honneamise is a triumph of Japanese animation about the triumph of a man looking for a purpose in his life as well as others.  It is as inspirational as much as it is well-crafted. It’s a must see. 
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ANIME TOP TEN (LIST #2) – #3: Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door (2001)

 

Director(s): Shinichiro Watanabe
Screenplay: Keiko Nobumoto
Music: Yoko Kanno
A great companion piece to the television series, this movie captures the flavor of Cowboy Bebop in a one-off that feels like a single episode type story but is on a grander scale that suits a movie. It has high production quality, to begin with. The art and animation are stunning. Everything is very detailed and the flow of animation is stunning, especially during the fight scenes, which are brilliantly coreographed. The music is yet another great accomplishment of Yoko Kanno and The Seatbelts, with each piece reflecting the atmosphere of the setting and situations given. The city (cities?) the movie takes place in are intricately drawn and have an active personality, as though it were a real place. There is a grittiness and activity that helps the city seem so real. The movie adds in slightly more insight into Spike’s personality and I personally couldn’t  help sitting at the edge of my seat, rooting for him. Fans of the series shouldn’t miss it. 
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ANIME TOP TEN (LIST #2) – #4: Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

 

 

Director(s): Isao Takahata
Screenplay: Isao Takahata
Music: Masahiko Satoh, Michio Mamiya
Original Novel: Akiyuki Nosaka
 
Grave of the Fireflies isn’t just a fantastic anime film. It’s not even just one of my favorites. It actually seems to be something important, something one can’t possibly ignore or miss out on. It’s a vital, mandatory watch, not just for anime fans, not just for animation fans, and not just for movie buffs. It’s a must see for everybody. The gravity of the film reaches across borders, that’s how well-crafted and emotionally realized the film is. It’s a harsh, heartbreaking movie about two children, an older brother and a younger sister, who suffer loss after loss during a difficult time in history. They suffer most of all from the older brother’s pride, mind you, but this is no love note to war either. Whatever your stance on in history for what was done at that time, it’s easy to reconcile with the pain of innocents caught in the middle of a horrible situation. In fact, the author of the original novel it’s based on suffers from survivor’s guilt, a fact which helps to further color this important movie. If you haven’t seen this movie yet, you owe it to yourself to do so. 
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