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Otaku Evolution Episode 104 – WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3

Action Channel bled into October this year, but that’s fine, because I’m taking a week or two off to work on the Halloween episode!

Patlabor 3 is a strange beast. It’s barely a Patlabor movie, it’s barely a mecha movie, it’s barely an adaptation of its source material, and it’s… well, it’s kind of all over the place. It’s a kaiju horror film, it’s a hardboiled detective noir, it’s a thriller, it’s a buddy cop film, a tragedy, etc. I’m surprised that Wasted 13 didn’t end up being an interdimensional alien. But all in all, still compelling enough to rewatch without trouble. read more

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Otaku Evolution Episode 103 – New Dominion Tank Police

Yikes, September was supposed to be Action Channel Month, but this is going to bleed into October! Ah well, I can move some things around.

Let’s take a look at New Dominion Tank Police!

I know this is a short video, but most of what I can say about this in terms of themes and such I basically already said when I reviewed the original OVA. Here I concentrated on some of the newer things happening to our favorite ragtag tank maniacs. Well, they do seem a tad less impulsive, but there’s plenty of collateral damage, nevertheless. But what I’ve done here is just a basic overview type of review without bells and whistles. read more

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Otaku Evolution Episode 102 – Vandread

 

It’s September, so naturally it’s time for another Action Channel Month (though I’ve fallen behind a bit, so expect some delays/bleeding into October). The Encore Action Channel provided me with a lot of anime to chew on in the early aughts, just when my anime fandom was kicking in highest gear, but they weren’t all Macross Plus and Metropolis. Some of them were just Vandread, a show that’s… well, somewhat memorable, at least, if just for the premise alone. read more

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Otaku Evolution Episode 101 – Key the Metal Idol

Sometimes anime titles slip through the cracks of my fandom, even titles that are fairly well known and appreciated. Back in the day, Key the Metal Idol was one of those titles that I’d always heard of and read about, but I never got around to actually watching it. Since it’s part of the zeitgeist of my formative years as an anime fan, I thought I’d watch to review here.

Teen girl Tokiko Mima is a peculiar sort. She’s quiet, withdrawn, and somewhat naive. Oh, also, she’s a robot created in a rural laboratory of her now-deceased “grandfather”. When she’s left his final wishes- for her to become human by making 30,000 friends- she moves to Tokyo to make it big. The only problem is, she doesn’t have any actual talents. Well, none that would make it big on the stage, unless you count her array of esp-based abilities. But is “Key”, as she’s called, less than human, or more than human? It’ll take a pop idol, a harsh taskmaster coordinator, a fanboy, a robot fetishist businessman, his indestructible right hand man, and a passive-aggressive best friend to bring out the song in this synthiod! read more

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Bandai 1/48 Mega Size Unicorn Gundam – Review
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Bandai 1/48 Mega Size Unicorn Gundam – Review

As a Unicorn aficionado I was pretty excited to hear about the 1/48 scale Mega Size Gundam Unicorn. My wallet not so much, because you just know there’s going to be half a dozen variants Bandai can release now. Anyhow, just wanted to spend some time reviewing this kit ’cause honestly, as a straight build, it’s sort of meh… but as a “beast of possibility” this kit has more going for it than any previous Unicorn release. PS. this kit is only Destroy mode, you cannot transform into Unicorn mode. read more

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BSC 1/35 Unicorn Gundam Bust
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BSC 1/35 Unicorn Gundam Bust

Did a quick, straight build, of my BSC 1/35 scale Unicorn Gundam bust. It went together over the course of three evenings with very little difficulty. There’s not too much I can say about the build that Great Lakes Gunpla hasn’t covered in two great video reviews. They’re highly recommended for anyone looking to build the kit.

For the most part the BSC Unicorn is essentially a sized up version of the Perfect Grade Unicorn with extra detail and some modifications. These modifications include external detail, additions to support an extensive LED network, more ways for the kit to flap open, and changes so that the kit is built from the ground up compared to the PG. A lot of the pieces are ripped right from the PG, you can even see vestigial connection points no longer used. Of course the mechanical looking stand is original (not sure if it’s pulled from any other busts) and has a lot of potential to look stunning with some added paint. read more

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CuteCube 1/100 Wondwart Review
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CuteCube 1/100 Wondwart Review

If you can’t tell by the opening photo, fuck this kit.

I was fairly excited to hear that CuteCube, yet another Chinese third-party/illegal Gunpla manufacturer, was going to release a 1/100 Wondwart, one of the magnificent Advance of Zeta designs that have thus far received very little love from Bandai. I knew when it was announced that it was going to have issues. Some pieces that don’t fit here and there, some flashing over there, etc. Given its provenance these sort of things are to be expected. And CubeCute’s kit doesn’t disappoint. There are some pieces that just don’t fit right, either too tight or too lose. There’s flashing issues… everywhere. Okay, no big deal. Like I said, it’s to be expected, right? So why the big stink? read more

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L/R Licensed by Royalty Episode 12 and 13 – Kingsmeh-n [FINAL]

SPOILERS

These final few episodes go out as you would expect them to if you’ve been paying attention to how I’ve been writing these. I’ll just laundry list some key points, make an additional comment, and get to the real meat of this article: looking back at the entire series and what happens moments after the crux of the finale.

Here we go:

  • Noelle goes through with the coronation ceremony.
  • DTI is outed.
  • It’s a fake assassination attempt by L/R because Mister already knew what to do.
  • DTI is stopped.
  • Lots of old characters from previous episodes make reappearances. A nice touch to bring things full circle.
  • Everything’s okay.

Alright let’s talk about the series now.

Overall: The fact I would give you some key points without much comment should be a clue on what I think of L/R. I praise some points, because the show gives some things a nice touch, but mostly I’m unimpressed. In fact it is not even worth raging about. It has a story it wanted to tell, it has a tone it wanted to sell, and characters that’d rather be laidback, but know how to entertainingly raise Hell. The foundations are right, so what went wrong? read more

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L/R: Licensed by Royalty Episode 11 – Vicious Masquerade

SPOILERS

We’re getting somewhere here. Going to a place where all series have gone before, the continued build up to series finale fraught with intensity and uncertainty.

The show nails it from start to finish with this episode. Without much muss or fuss, we know something is up when Rowe is assigned to guard Noelle and Jack is nowhere to be found. Seeing the dynamic of a solo operation with one of L/R is welcome, especially at this juncture. Rowe does the best he can, yet he is bested by a mysterious Jude McManus, a new DTI hire who for some reason kinda sounds like Jack (30 years down the line thanks to smoking) and also looks like him. There’s a nice scene where Rowe gets routed by his means to protect Noelle, and the show delivers a nice guessing game on the whereabouts of Jack. Sure he seems to be Jude, but two similar-looking individuals enliven things up a bit. read more

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L/R: Licensed by Royalty Episode 10 – Troubles

Now here’s an entry to the Profiling section of your brain: White men in white collared shirts wearing suspenders and speaking in Irish brogue. I suggest placing it a bit higher over “Bearded Brown Men in robes.”

Of course the people most critical of the English-accented Ishtar would sound like Irishmen. Of course.

This episode pleasantly proves me wrong when it comes to expectations. I was bored last week, yet here I am rather intrigued once again. There’re no L/R antics to be had in this episode, since the two parts of it go off on their own to figure out the Angel situation, never mind the shocking revelation about Mister. Jack goes off in that direction, seeking to corroborate Claire and Dez’s claims of the night vis-à-vis any new revelations. Nothing much to be said there, since this episode is not going to be the Hofner Half-Hour. read more

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