Episode 02, "Detective and Crook"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis:  Sherlock Holmes is not amused by the antics of Lupin III in London! While Lupin looks to uncover the mystery of the movie poster and its connection to the Raven organization, law enforcement investigates him. But Holmes takes it upon himself to narrow down where the Lupin gang's hideout is and confronts every member of them as they scramble to stop him. It's a confrontation between the greatest thief and the legendary detective!

Ruin Explorers is not a great anime. There wasn't a whole lot to say about it, either, so it's not one of those "so bad it's good" or "so bad it's interestingly bad" kind of anime, it's just a generic fantasy OVA that was thankfully, mercifully, short. The so-called main characters don't even end up being that important in the long run, they're just there to help the real hero get to where he needs to go. But these bland fantasy anime are a dime a dozen, anime is rife with this stuff, and I might as well cover at least one of them to represent titles like it.

Episode 01, "Enter Sherlock Holmes"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis:  In London, Lupin's former rival, Albert d'Andrésy, is arrested for attempting to steal a movie poster, the treasure of a man connected to the mysterious Raven organization. Lupin assists in Albert's escape in return for the half of the poster he got away with. The other half is in the custody of Scotland Yard, but before Lupin can get it, Inspector Zenigata from the ICPO steps in and gives chase. In the midst of all this, the great detective Sherlock Holmes and his charge Lily spot our sideburned swindler and there appears to be a shared past between them!

I've been covering a lot of Osamu Dezaki this year, haven't I? This is the third title. I swear it's not intentional, it just shook out that way in scheduling. But out of all the Dezaki anime I've ever covered here, this is probably the best one. Even though it's just a compilation movie, it's very engrossing and fun, a nice underdog story, like Rocky. The English dub of Tomorrow's Joe pretty terrible, but at least I didn't have to put up with it more than a couple of hours. If only somebody would dub the second movie.

The Lithos storyline kicks back in next time, so enjoy this bookend-less video.

Episode 0, "The Times"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis:  Daisuke Jigen finds himself at odds with the changing landscape of thievery and the world in general and wonders if he should quit. Plastic guns, drones, restricting foam, it all becomes too much for him. But the world's gratest thief, his friend Lupin III, is confident that he still has value, and he wants to utilize it to escape from Inspector Zenigata. Has Jigen's time run out, or does the gunslinger have a few more rounds?

Comments:

Alow me, to once and for all, answer this most burning of questions, 'I'm new to Gunpla, what should I build?"

Have you ever built a model kit before?

Seriously. Stop. Don't overthink this.

I have to confess: I didn't go back and rewatch all 47 episodes of Patlabor TV for this review. I'd already seen this series plenty of times and knew it well enough that I only had to rewatch maybe a quarter of it. It's pretty episodic, so there's not a lot of continuity to keep up with. I do plan on getting to The New Files at some point.

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This is a pretty serious video (I mean, it's on Grave of the Fireflies), so there's not a whole lot to say about the process except to say I tried my best not to belittle the subject matter. I did end up getting a copyright claim for my use of that Chopin piece in the beginning, but at least the video wasn't blocked. It's not like my videos are able to be monetized, so it's not a big deal.

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It's time to get back to Otaku Evolution with this review, after taking a short break. Tokyo ESP is one of those anime I watched streaming on Funimation's site (what a bad video player, by the way), like Michiko & Hatchin, and found it interesting enough to purchase the boxset. Although it's nowhere near as good as Michiko & Hatchin, it's still a decent show worth a view or two. Plus, it features one of the best anime penguins, Peggy (who is a male, despite the name). He can turn a flipper into a shark, like Alucard changing his arm into Cerberus. It's neat.

Looks pretty good. I hope Nyx of MI6 from Part 4 reappears, given this takes place in the UK.