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?!
Otaku Evolution
Otaku Evolution Episode 252 – City Hunter: Secret Service
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.
Otaku Evolution Episode 251 – Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
Otaku Evolution is back, baby! 2024 starts with me finally getting to a particular anime bête noire of mine, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED. I just do not understand the popularity of this fizzless, lifeless drudge of a show. The “characters” are bland, the plot is largely recycled, the production values are average at best, and there’s just no joy or magic to it. It’s frankly one of the most soulless anime I’ve ever watched in my life. But it’s so popular! Why?!
Well, anyway, I’m back, and it looks like I got into a little trouble over the Putin thing. Ah well.
Otaku Evolution Episode 250 – Year End English Dub Review X
One final video for 2023, folks! As usual with my last video of the year, I go over the various English dubs of the anime I’ve covered in roughly the second half of the year. The strongest dubs were probably Gundam Unicorn and One Piece: Episode of East Blue, though I think most of the dubs I covered in this half of the year were at least decent. ADV’s dub of Macross notwithstanding. (Yikes.)
My bookend material for this year ends with kind of a surprise, but I was building up to it the entire year. If only it was so easy to take out political strongman in real life. But there’ll be consequences in the next stage of the story (though I’m taking it easy next year with the story bits). Anyway, enjoy!
Otaku Evolution Episode 249 – (Top 10) Favorite Anime Fights
I can only imagine the deviant debauchery you disgusting, rotting, booze-bloated wastrels are participating in this holiday season. You’re making the headless statue of Baphomet weep with joy and anguish as you drip the hot candle wax on the genitals of your willing, but bound, sacrifice to the dark ones, sneering with contempt for human life as you spit in the milk of human kindness and charity with your godless rituals. Long have you stripped these holy days of their reverent luster, replacing it with the cheap, gaudy sexual thrill of breads and circuses, with their fala-lala and ring-a-ding-ding. You’re on Santa’s naughty list. You haven’t contributed a single fucking penny to my Patreon, either. For shame.
Otaku Evolution Episode 248 – Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine
I’ve got to say, The Woman Called Fujiko Mine is probably my favorite piece of Lupin III media, at least outside of Castle of Cagliostro (which is mostly because of the pure craftsmanship of the film). You’d think that if somebody tried to make a Lupin series a commentary on sexual politics and feminism (which I don’t go that much into in the video, mind you), they would fail miserably and the show would be a laughing stock of the franchise. But no, it’s very formidable. It may take a couple of viewings to really drive home how good it is, but when it does, it does it hard. I was glad I took this opportunity to talk about it.
Otaku Evolution Episode 247 – Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie
Much like the previous two Sailor Moon movies, there’s not a whole lot to Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie. It’s a short trifle of a feature, only about an hour long, with no room for development for its characters. But that’s no different than a lot of anime movies based on long-running franchises. The problem with this one is that, while charming, it doesn’t quite have the charm of the previous two, just like the second one didn’t have the charm of the first. So I guess SM movies are diminishing returns, whereas, say, the first 13 DBZ movies were all over the place, in terms of quality (and yet also never quite made it out of “charming but pointless”). Still, you have to love that “Three O’ Clock Fairy” song.
Otaku Evolution Episode 246 – The Irresponsible Captain Tylor
I’ve been meaning to get to The Irresponsible Captain Tylor for a while now and it seems like kind of a tragedy that I’m only getting to it when The Right Stuf is going away. This is a show Rob really likes, and I can see the charm. It’s not as much a biting satire as, say, Patlabor, but it does have a similar spirit of comedy, where you have a fun ensemble cast and comedy-of-error hijinks. It’s more of a parody of space operas, but with enough of its own character to not just be a collage of references. It’s a really fun show!
Otaku Evolution Episode 245 – One Piece: Episode of East Blue
I’ve been meaning to get to the One Piece in some form for quite a while, and Episode of East Blue seems like as good as any a place to start, or maybe even better, since it encapsulates a lot of the early One Piece adventures and character backgrounds. And fortunately, this also coincides with the Netflix live-action TV series, which, as I say, is miraculously good. Well, maybe it’s less a miracle and more really hard work from the cast, writers, set designers, and others. It’s really, really good. Go watch it!
Otaku Evolution Episode 244 – Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn
My Anime News Network review of Gundam UC Episode 1
Gundam Unicorn is full of flashy Newtype nonsense that I love. A lot of the OVAs try to stay away from Newtypes to maintain some sense of groundedness, but this one feels more like a proper mainline entry when compared to titles like Stardust Memory or 08th MS Team, so it’s no surprise that it addresses things Tomino typified. I really enjoy how it questions the validity of the very fabric of the UC timeline and its goals. Now, it does this imperfectly, sure, but that it even attempts to is worth noting. But it also has a lot of sparkly Newtype “understanding” that you have to be in a certain frame of mind to appreciate. I think you’ll find that while this entry is generally fairly well liked, it can be rather divisive. Personally, it’s one of my favorites.