I last discussed the topic of “tragedy porn” during my Kikaider 01 video. Essentially, it’s a melodrama so rife with manipulative and transparent tragedy wanking that it becomes increasingly difficult to take it seriously as you watch it. Now, granted, every drama intends to get you to feel for its characters and plot, but tragedy porn is just an endless parade of misfortunes for little rhyme or reason except to get you to tear up. With that reiterated, the title looked at here is Now and Then, Here and There, an anime favorite of mine. It does take a serious, no-holds, unglamorous look at war in a way few other anime do. But it does wear a bit thin when the main character tries to project a sense of positive thinking on people suffering endlessly. I can understand wanting them to hold onto life somehow, but Shu’s smiles and assurances can come off annoying and empty, even if he’s ultimately proven right. So the question is, is NTHT a real tragedy? A melodrama? Or something else? And if it is tragedy porn, why do I still like it so much? Well, join me for an analysis of this fine work. My Dailymotion page My BitChute page My Vimeo My DTube page My DeviantArt page My Patreon (please support my videos!) My Ask.fm page (ask me questions!) Like, Subscribe, Link, Share, etc.
BSC 1/35 Zeta Gundam Bust – Short Review
Welcome to my short review of the 1/35 scale Zeta Gundam bust from BSC. This is the third kit from BSC I’ve built and reviewed, starting with the 1/35 Unicorn Bust and the 1/35 Sinanju. The latter being one of the best third party kits out there and easily the best bust kit available.
In comparison, the Zeta Gundam bust is disappointing. But before I become a Negative Nancy, let’s start with the good. FIrst off, it’s a fantastic design and looks great. It’s a smart take on the Zeta with just enough colour separation and a lot of external and internal detail. More so than the previous busts – this one is a detailers dream. There are are a few panels that open up to reveal detail or make the kit look like it’s being worked on. Would’ve been nice to have had some 1/35 scale figures and wires to hold them up over some of the other gimmicks. In addition the cockpit opens up to reveal the pilot. BSC, if you’re reading this, maybe have an optional head piece without the helmet so we can detail paint up Kamille’s face for display. The wings and the rear nose piece also fold up, though there are no lights on the extended wings which would’ve been nice.
Otaku Evolution Episode 135 – Black Jack (OVA) 3-4
It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed episodes from Osamu Dezaki’s Black Jack OVA, and these two episodes see the sagacious sawbones in tow of an ill-fated Latin American rebel force and try to find a hidden threat in the body of a promising young actress. Our favorite stitched up surgeon, our enigmatic expert, our heroic healer faces off against the military-industrial complex, biological weapons, and a rival who’s enthusiastic about euthanasia in two interesting, if not always brilliant, entries into his many adventures.
Otaku Evolution Episode 134 – Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit
I’ve been trying to get a review of Moribito done for a while, but every test video I did had difficulty with the copyright dragons (as this may still). You know, there’s a lot of anime I have in my personal collection that I would love to review, but I don’t think I’d be able to get away with using my usual methods. I try to shave down clips and edit tighter, and I’ve probably gotten a little better at it over time, but you never really know when some overzealous European licensor or strict music company is going to clamp down on your videos. I mean, I get it, you want to protect your IP and/or streaming rights, but I’m not exactly posting whole movies or episodes here, these are reviews that fall under Fair Use.
Otaku Evolution Episode 133 – Ninku: The Movie
What happens when an anime studio, desperate to cash in on its properties, creates a so-called movie that’s about the length of a single TV episode? What happens when an anime licensor snags a 20-something minute “movie” in a franchise completely alien to the North American public, dubs it, and that becomes the first and only representation of the whole thing? Well, you get Ninku: The Movie, a completely superfluous and brainlessly silly feature for a show based on a really, really poorly drawn manga. I mean, really. Just go look it up.
Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative (MOVIE) Review
(Basic) Synopsis (Spoiler Free): It’s Universal Century year 0097. A year after the “Laplace Incident”, there are once again calls for autonomy for Spacenoids, but little being done about it. As if to break the stagnation, the third Gundam Unicorn model, the Phenex, thought to have been lost years previous, reappears. Both the Earth Federation and the Neo-Zeon remnants are determined to capture it for its Newtype capabilities, but they seem to be chasing a literal ghost in the form of its pilot, Rita Bernal. What did she, a Miracle Child, see so many years before that brought these events in alignment? And can either side prevent the bizarre Zoltan Akkenan from igniting a tragedy worse than anything seen before? The Pheonix Hunt will test the limits of all parties!
Otaku Evolution Episode 132 – Ronin Warriors (Part 2)
In the final part of my look at Ronin Warriors (well, at least until I cover the OVAs, but let’s give it a break for a while), I take a look at Lady Kayura, the excellent opening themes, shameless toy marketing, several episodes of just Ryo and Rowen, and one of my favorite concluding episodes in an anime.
But why stop there? Why not a lot of unasked-for drama to pad this sucker out that’s just me screwing around with sprite characters? Nothing fancy, just me wasting your time and mine, for the sake of fulfilling some weird desire to do more comic strip storylines.
Otaku Evolution Episode 131 – Ronin Warriors (Part 1)
The 2019 season of Otaku Evolution has started! I’m sure all four of you who watch these videos are jazzed about it. Just as I’m sure you’re psyched to see one of my patented long introduction sequences wherein I’m just screwing around with the sprites. Nevermind the blatantly stupid perspective on that meeting room (it’s worse if you look at the whole thing), I had this idea of a grief counseling scene where I would stumble in and just be really oblivious to everyone there in favor of the snacks. And yes, that was a dodgy attempt at a German accent for Herr Doktor.
Steel Legend Metal Build 1/100 Kshatriya Review
The Steel Legend Metal Build Kshatriya is a third party/bootleg figure. At 1/100 scale it’ll look fantastic with all your MG kits (MG or RE Kshatriya when?!). Who would’ve known that a Metal Build kit out of China would be, not only the best third party piece of Gundam merchandise, but better than any Unicorn official merchandise from Bandai/Banpresto?
As you should already know by now, I’m a sucker for all things Gundam Unicorn (even though the Jesta Schezarr Type Team B & C is stupid is fuck – why the fuck are you using your mechanical eyes to look at a flip down mechanical eye which is pointed at an even larger mechanical eye?). When I see a 1/100 Kshatriya, I jump. Even if it’s a bucket of mess like the Elyn Hobby version. When I saw that someone was making a MG sized figure I had to have it, even if getting a pre built metal frame toy from third party folks in China is a questionable concept. Shout out to my crack dealer Samuel Decal where I picked this up for roughly $200 plus shipping.
Nillson Works – PG Astray Grayscale Review
The Nillson Works “PG Astray with Backpack” isn’t exactly the fanciest name, but it’s clear someone wants to avoid the International Bandai Banhammer (IBB for short). I’m going to refer to it as the Astray Grayscale on account that the kit is 99% gray and white, with only a bit of silver and clear green accent pieces. I picked mine up from Sameul Decal for roughly $90 plus shipping.
The Astray is 1/60 scale, and called PG by Nillson, but a lot of the build is more like an upscaled MG than a direct copy of the official PG. It’s an interesting mix from both builds, along with a good helping of new design elements that help set it apart. As mentioned the kit is pretty much all shades of gray, and surprisingly, it works really well. Despite the lack of pizzazz it looks really nicely and there’s just enough shad separation to make it look nifty out of the box. The gray and general simplicity of the build will make it an easy go-to for folks looking to paint it up in custom colours. Personally I think it’ll look stellar with just some gold accents here and there.