Black Jack is glorious bullshit. It’s like watching the medical version of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure sometimes. You think you have a good grasp of the real life medical information being relayed, everything seems pretty grounded, if not always believable (just look at Pinoko), but then some wild nonsense like a talking thousands year old tree and a leaf boy are thrown at you and you’re left wondering what Osamu Tezuka, or Osamu Dezaki, were smoking that lead them to these plot beats. This is why I watch two episodes at a time, to get a decent sampling of both the realistic and fanciful, and still have episodes left for later.
Otaku Evolution Episode 190 – Silent Möbius 2
In case you were wondering, my review of the first movie is here
You know, the premise of Silent Möbius– a police force using a mix of magic and technology battles interdimensional monsters- lends itself to interesting story possibilities. But the Silent Möbius movies just don’t live up to the potential. Perhaps because it’s too busy being an origin story. But they could have done so much better at getting me interested in whether or not (and how) Katsumi joins the AMP, an already forgone conclusion given the bookends in the first movie. This movie, like the first, just feels like completely empty calories. But at least this one was a minor improvement on the first, because it wasn’t quite as dull.
Otaku Evolution Episode 189 – Trigun
While not holding up entirely, Trigun is, overall, a pretty fun television series that can proudly stand apart from the manga. There are definitely episodes that are significantly better than others, but you can find that in even the best anime. What I think I like the most about Trigun is that it’s a unique experience. I mean, name another anime that’s even somewhat like it. I mean, aside from (vaguely) Kenshin, but Trigun is more than just “Kenshin with guns” or “space western Kenshin“. I was happy to revisit it.
Otaku Evolution Episode 188 – Cyborg 009 (Part 2)
Part two of my look at 2001’s Cyborg 009: The Cyborg Soldier involves looking at some of the non-Black Ghost related storylines in the series. There’s the mythology arc with the cyborgs fashioned after Greek gods, the two parter with the extraterrestrials/otherdimensionals, and there’s the unfinished final arc where the cyborgs get an upgrade. But there are also one-off episodes that I thought were worth highlighting here, like the one where 009 experiences time different because his Accelerator Mode is stuck (that might be my favorite episode).
Otaku Evolution Episode 187 – Cyborg 009 (Part 1)
It’s been a while, huh? We’re all still feeling the hurt from last year, aren’t we, and yet here we are? As usual, I took January off to cool my jets, but I’m back for another year of the plucky little anime review show that can… well, can’t, really, but tries anyway.
First up? A look at the 2001 anime TV series Cyborg 009: The Cyborg Soldier. It’s a 51 episode series about cyborgs with different abilities fighting… well, mostly other cyborgs with different abilities. It’s like Kakaider, but a little less up its own ass.
Otaku Evolution Episode 186 – Year End English Dub Review VII
2020 was a horrific year. The year saw a pandemic, social strife, and an election that seems to still linger (for some reason). We lost Kobe Bryant and Alex Trebek, and many of us lost people even closer. So it feels a bit frivolous to care so much about a silly little anime review show that few people even watch to begin with. The weight of this year is heavy. But maybe that’s why we need some lighthearted frivolity now and then.
I’m moving along in the Lithos storyline, which will carry over into the new year, with some more bits about the Penguinopolis Mk. II. I have a general idea where I want the story to go, but don’t get hung up on direction, because there are elements where I’m just winging it.
Perfect Grade Unleashed RX-78-2 Gundam – Review
Alright, let me get this out of the way. The marketing surrounding this kit is pure bullshit. Take everything you’ve heard about this being the ‘next evolution of Perfect Grade kits’ and toss it out the window. What it really is a nice PG RX-78-2 2.0 release. It’s will built, well designed, and very accessible for folks who haven’t built a Perfect Grade kit yet.
I’m also going to get a bit of a tl;dr at the top of this article which I’ll detail out in a bit…
The Good
- Good looking take on the classic design
- Phased construction (really 3 phases, not 5) make for an approachable and fun to build kit
- Good overlapping frame design
- Strong amount of detail both on the inner frame and the outer armor
- Photo etched metal details with a pre-applied adhesive backing
- Coated silver and chrome elements of the frame look great
- Snap-off runners
- ‘Bout time we got some magnetic hard points up in this bitch
The Bad
Otaku Evolution Episode 185 – Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz
Merry Christmas! Well, this is coming out shortly before THE day, but you’d all be too busy on December 25 watching Alex Trebek’s final episode of Jeopardy! to watch my dumb little show. Or opening and enjoying your presents, or whatever. Maybe just getting properly wasted? I know I will. (The present thing, not the getting wasted thing… maybe.) Point is, dumb little show, you no watchy. Have a good day that day, regardless of what you do or do not celebrate. I celebrate, and I’m not even the celebrating type.
Otaku Evolution Episode 184 – Porco Rosso
Porco Rosso is basically about the titular pig man’s three main relationships: his relationship with Fio, his relationship with Gina, and his rivalry with Curtis. So I broke up the review into those parts, with an emphasis on feminism and Fio. I think Fio is actually the catalyst for a lot of what occurs in the movie, and she changes Porco a little. Anyway, this is the structure of the video.
It’s always great to cover a Hayao Miyazaki movie, because there is always something you can zero in on, like my video on Princess Mononoke being about Lady Eboshi. I wonder what I’ll get to look at in future reviews of his works.
Otaku Evolution Episode 183 – Lupin III: Missed by a Dollar
So, yeah, this is a pretty short one, isn’t it? Well, some of it is my usual laziness, but mostly, it’s because I want the viewer to actually watch this one with some freshness (even though I basically show the ending, lol). It’s a particularly good Lupin III TV special, one of my favorites, in fact. It has all the hallmarks of a good Lupin joint: a compelling main narrative, some good heisting, and Lupin just utterly demoralizing somebody into defeat. I mean, wow, he just wrecks this lady. It’s a work of art, what he does.