Category Archives: review

TWO roads converged in a yellow wood: Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Season 1

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The first half of Gundam 00 has concluded, and in the show’s desire to stand on its own two feet despite its Gundam name it embodies the spirit and messages behind the original Mobile Suit Gundam far more than any other alternate universe Gundam series. Every Gundam series involves war (or at least a substitute for war on an Earth surrounded by energy ropes), and every series shows how fighting affects various people, but none since the original Gundam and Zeta Gundam have put the emphasis on how it affects everyone. More importantly, it’s easy to care about how war affects everyone on both personal and universal levels, and this is really a testament to how effective Gundam 00 has been.

When I first saw Gundam 00, I was a little worried about it. It had all the right pieces, but it would be so, so very easy to play them wrong, to create the ugliest chess match in existence. But it didn’t. Gundam 00 has defied the odds, and it manages this by wielding the most powerful but most easily abused and corrupted piece of all: Death.

Watching the final episode and seeing roughly half of Celestial Being die in a battle they could not win, it was a bit of a shock. For one thing, with Nena Trinity still out there it would be natural to assume that something would come in and save the day. Turns out, nothing did, except for the power and resolve of the pilots and crew. This applies to not just Celestial Being but also the side of the allied nations as well. Looking even further back, with the death of Louise’s parents, the death of Graham Acre’s friends and co-pilots, and even the death of Lockon Stratos and so many others, death has immediate and long-lasting impacts on both the viewer and the characters. In other words, in Gundam 00 death is significant. Compare this to SEED, Wing, X, or even 08th MS Team, and the approach to death is drastically different. The deaths are not telegraphed from episodes away, nor are they quick changes to the plot in order to get a cheap pop or to try and produce drama. The characters are already dramatic, which is why their deaths inherently produce drama, not the other way around.

Gundam 00 is at its halfway point, and though I know better to jump the gun (I said that there was no way Gundam SEED Destiny could fail prior to it airing), I dare to call Gundam 00 the second best alternate universe series after Turn-A Gundam. I like SEED characters more, and I like pretty much all of Gundam, but 00 planned and executed so superbly, from its plot to its characters to even its mecha and fight scenes, that there’s no denying that it has just been a Good Series.

Surprising to me was how well the main pilots turned out, despite the risk of being generic angsty bishounen. The Gundam Meisters can be easily misconstrued as generic, but peeling back the layers shows a great deal of depth and personality. Setsuna F. Seiei is most surprising of all, as I like him as the protagonist quite a bit. He’s not an innocent kid who happened upon a Gundam, he’s a boy who grew up with war. He killed his own parents as part of a religious crusade. But despite being drenched in the blood of warfare of his own volition, of being a person who only knows how to fight and destroy, Setsuna is the most emotional of all. He is a blind boy desperately trying to find his way through the world with his own two hands because they are the only things he has ever truly known.

Unlike so many series in the Gundam franchise, Gundam 00 does not concern itself with homages or references or trying to maintain Continuity like it’s more important than the message itself. And that message? War affects everyone.

The fact that Gundam 00 is willing to kill and maim its comic relief says it all. Seeing Patrick Colasour (peace be with him) (edit: almost) dying in a violent flash of white, I can think of nothing closer to the excitement of watching a Gundam series. I expect everyone to die, and I expect no one to die, and this has left me in the best kind of suspense I could hope for.

Turn A = Science, Z Gundam = Liberal Arts, G Gundam = Athletics: Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Episode 5

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I normally don’t discuss just individual episodes here, but there’s enough content in this episode for about two or three posts, so I think this is totally warranted.

Wow.

Zetsubou Sensei is probably the finest SHAFT/Shinbo show to date on every level and episode 5 goes a long way in showing why exactly they’ve stepped up their game.

You want to know how to make a reference-based joke funny? Zetsubou Sensei shows you how to do it. The timing of each joke is superb. The references are explicit without being overt, and don’t dominate the joke itself. The references, be they the above screenshot, the above title of the post, or Goku and Vegeta sillhouettes fighting each other as Zetsubou Sensei refers to the harsh physical requirements of athletic events are used to support the humor rather than act as the entire joke itself (something certain otaku comedians, especially ones who refer to themselves as such, need to learn).

More importantly, Zetsubou Sensei doesn’t even rely on reference-based jokes the way, say, Pani Poni Dash does. The absurdity of a cultural athletic festival is topped by the even more absurd athletic culture festival. Prior notions of tsundere are twisted and shattered. This is anime! This is Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei! The land of wild fantasies and desires! (In the theme of Zetsubou Sensei, this is actually a reference that most of you will not get).

As always, the show is visually rich and a plain joy to watch with its strong use of color and composition, reinforced by delightfully comedic characters with strong personalities to keep it all grounded. I don’t care who your favorite Zetsubou Sensei girl is, this episode just presented all of them so well I’m sure you’re pleased.

I know I am.

I would eat her curry anytime.

Shugo Chara!: No, Seriously, I Really Do Like It

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I’ve talked about Shugo Chara! here in the past, but I feel that I haven’t done a proper job of conveying how highly I think of the series, so I’m here to correct that. I’ve already summarized the basic premise Shugo Chara! in my first post on it, so I won’t really elaborate on that point.

Honestly, I’m almost surprised at how well Shugo Chara! has held up. It’s simply a joy to watch every episode, to see the interactions between the characters, to cheer for Hinamori Amu as she falls in love and teaches herself and others to never give up on their dreams. I mean, who doesn’t want to support a girl who more than anything wants to be herself, only to realize that the “herself” she wants to be has limitless potential? A person can never be too old to reach for the stars, especially when those stars are deep within one’s own heart.

The show is simply very strong on a variety of technical notes. It has a very bright and refreshing artwork with a heavy pink and plaid motif. The humor brings a smile to my face with its charming innocence. The theme songs are catchy and match the opening visuals quite well. The overarching plot is something to watch out for, but on a purely episodic level and everywhere in between Shugo Chara! keeps my attention.

And the characters! I won’t go too much into them, but I will say that it would have been so very, very easy to make a lot of the characters annoying and unbearable. Amu’s sister, fellow Shugo Chara owner Yaya, and especially the Shugo Charas themselves all had the potential to be deal breakers, but they are all very enjoyable characters. Especially Yaya.

Though I do find it odd that the person Yaya wishes to be is a baby. I wonder if she’s maybe an older sister who has to take care of her younger siblings, and she wishes she could live a more normal life at home. I’m probably reading too much into it.

I can safely say that Shugo Chara! is the best Peach Pit series I’ve seen. Yes, more than Rozen Maiden. And yes, especially more than DearS. Shugo Chara! is perhaps the finest modern mahou shoujo series I’ve seen since Cardcaptor Sakura.

Oh, and the best Shugo Chara? Miki, by far. I’m just saying.

My Kind of Moe: Ballad of a Shinigami

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A Mysterious Ancient Force dropped a book into my lap last week. It’s the first volume of “Ballad of a Shinigami,” possibly better known as Shinigami no Ballad, one of the premiere titles in Seven Seas Entertainment’s new line of light novels.

Ballad of a Shinigami is many small stories with one common theme: the arrival of an unusual shinigami named Momo. Unlike her dark and gloomy peers, Momo is a young girl clad in all white, save for a pair of red shoes. Accompanied by her servant, a talking winged cat named Daniel, Momo fulfills her duty of bringing souls into the afterlife, but not without bending the rules here and there along the way.

I have to admit that I was a little worried that it would be a little too cutesy. The dialogue, either by original script or translation or possibly both, is a little stilted and awkward. However, Ballad of a Shinigami turns out to be a very pleasant surprise. The central theme of the novel is change. The characters, no matter their afflictions, possess incredible heart and inner strength. If they don’t, then they have friends and certain other worldly white-clad individuals helping them to change, to accept their pasts while moving towards their ever uncertain futures with heads held high. By the end, I hardly noticed the writing’s awkwardness, as the emotion of it all took over.

It would be so easy for this to be a sweet, cathartic tale, but it isn’t and we’re all the better for it. Momo inspires the people she meets to grow and mature. As a shinigami she teaches people to accept death and pain, a small price to pay for growth and maturity.

When characters suffer and change and progress, it is my kind of moe.

Sexy Voice and Robo

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Ah, Kuroda Iou’s Sexy Voice and Robo. I must say, I love this manga. Not because of the characters, though they’re all really engaging and interesting to watch, and not because of the story, though it is very entertaining and its premise is unique. No, I love Sexy Voice and Robo because of the art.

It is so damn good that it makes me cry.

Before I get into all that, at least a basic introduction is in order. Sexy Voice and Robo is the tale of two unlikely partners. Hayashi Nico, codename: Sexy Voice, is a quick-witted junior high girl who makes money on the side as a telephone dating girl. Men call her up to talk to her about anything and everything, and she charges them for it. Nico has an uncanny talent with voices. Not only can she manipulate her own voice to sound like myriad individuals so as to fool her clients, but she can also figure out what a person looks like just by hearing them talk. She aspires to be either a detective or a fortuneteller, but she’s not really sure.

The other member of this duo is Sudo Iichiro, a hopeless loser of a man who is actually one of Nico’s most frequent unwitting clients. Often times, when he thinks he’s talking to a busty 20-something (he’s quite a breast man), it’s actually just Nico in disguise. Iichiro earns his nickname of Robo from his large toy collection featuring some of the most beloved non-copyright-infringing giant robots Japanese youth has ever known. He basically provides the muscle, though he doesn’t have all that much muscle to speak of.

Together, Sexy Voice and Robo solve crimes and mysteries, though neither is particularly altruistic. Nico is in it for the thrill, and Iichiro often has no idea what’s going on even at the very end.

Now then. The art.

Based on the image I posted above, I think you can tell that this is quite different from a lot of manga around. There’s a complete lack of screen tones. The brush strokes do not try to conform to some standard of organization. There is considerable skill behind the brush, but more importantly there is considerable freedom in it as well. It knows the rules but chooses not to follow them, and the result is one of the most visually engaging comics I have ever seen. Things that seem like mistakes and may very well count as mistakes don’t feel that way on the page.

Due to this heavy brush style, the characters and backgrounds blend together while remaining distinct. They are not actors on a stage. They are not figures in a story. They are a part of the comic.

Truth be told, one of the big reasons why I like this so much is that it resembles my own drawing style but much much better. Just looking at the pages inspires me to be something more than I already am, as daunting a task as that may be.

Sexy Voice and Robo. Not only is the work beautiful from an aesthetic standpoint, but every page makes me feel the flow of energy and creativity from person to paper. I can’t recommend this enough, if only for the eye candy, though eye candy may not be the right word for it.

How about this:

Sexy Voice and Robo: Eye Full Course Meal with Balanced Nutrition and Tons of Exquisite Flavor.

Oh, Exia! You had it in you all along!

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Step aside, Lacus Clyne. Your ridiculously powerful basement Gundams that you just happened to have lying around don’t belong here. It’s time for Gundam Exia to show how it’s done.

That is, by turning into Gundam F-91.

But in all seriousness, Gundam 00 continues to be remarkably clever and fresh. Rather than replacing a now inferior unit with a superior one, which usually ignores the fact that four to six months is certainly not enough time for any sort of significant research and development, or discovering yet another earlier prototype, Gundam 00 pulls a unique twist on an old hat of the giant robot genre: the mid-series upgrade. As of episode 22, the Gundams of Celestial Being have had their limiters removed, allowing them full access to the GN Drives’ true power. This only happens at the climax of episode 22, so it’s impossible to see the full extent of their potential, but it’s not a difficult guess that this will give Celestial Being a fighting chance against the hordes of counterfeit GN Drive-powered mobile suits being fielded by the world’s governments.

I have a lot of respect for Gundam 00 because of this development. The show presented what is probably a worst case scenario for Gundam pilots, to have their technological edge completely neutralized by giving everyone else a Gundam. Suddenly, mass-produced units are no longer the typical cannon fodder we all know and love, but a substantial threat. Nor do they have weaknesses such as a lack of human pilots in the case of the Mobile Dolls of Gundam W. To turn the standard armies into such significant threats, and to breathe life into them through introducing the viewer to just a handful of characters like Patrick and Soma, it gives the impression that maybe, just maybe, that every pilot has a story worth telling.

UNLOCKING FULL POTENTIAL is almost as old a concept as the mid-series upgrade in giant robot series. I can think as far back as Daimos as an example. But Gundam 00 is different, not necessarily in concept but in the fact that the air of conspiracy surrounds this development. We now have not one, not two, but THREE independent figures working towards the goals of celestial being from behind the scenes. Wang Liu-Mei, Alejandro Corner, and now Aeolia Schenberg have positioned themselves as complete wild cards, and so the upgrade simply for the sake of increasing power to fight the enemy is not so cut and dry. If Aeolia Schenberg’s true goal isn’t to eradicate war, if this is all a deception disguised as a charade masquerading as an untruth, then Schenberg’s objective I can only begin to imagine. Maybe some kind of survival of the fittest mentality, but determining it by whoever doesn’t blow themselves up.

Oh, and Aeolia Schenberg is one smooth bastard. Aeolia would perform a mental and strategic Tiger Driver on Lelouch and Light at the same time, from what I can tell.

All of this, and it isn’t even the season finale yet! Damn, Gundam Ooooh.

Summer Days with Coo: The Actual Review

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A feature-length children’s animation, Summer Days with Coo follows the titular Kappa who finds himself orphaned and displaced 200 years from his time. His father, shortly before dying at the hands of a samurai in the Edo period, warned him to never become friends with humans, so when Coo is found by a young boy and adopted into his family, the transition is difficult for everyone. Human development for the past two centuries has replaced the traditional Kappa habitat of swamps and rivers with concrete and buildings. The hardship of realizing that he may very well be the last of his kind pushes Coo and his human family to change each other for the better, and despite the bitter sadness leaves everyone better off in the end. After the starkly depressing nature of 5cm per Second last week, Summer Days with Coo is a remarkably uplifting tale of a young child who, despite the difficulties presented to him, is able to make strides that his ancestors never did.

As one might expect, Summer Days with Coo has a strong environmental message concerning human interaction with nature. The movie’s stance on environmentalism can be summed up in the following quote from the movie: “Humans control the land, and they control the sea, and they will some day control the sky as well, but in exchange they will lose their souls.” Coo’s transition into our modern era, combined with his pursuit of other Kappa who may still be alive, is a reminder that we as humans must take careful considerations about our actions towards not just the environment but each other.

That’s not to say that Summer Days with Coo is entirely a tale of the environment. Each of the family members have their own distinct wants, needs, and ways of interacting with others. The father is a salaryman working for a television company, but is a child at heart who is even more excited than his son who found Coo in the first place. The mother is a housewife who runs her home with both humor and dignity, knowing all of her family members better than perhaps they know her. The daughter, only a few years old, is a bratty girl whose genuine approach to life and endearing immature selfishness are expected and yet still easily accepted. Finally, the boy finds himself having a crush on a quiet classmate who is being picked on by other girls. His inability to handle his own feelings leads him to make fun of her as well. One of the side-plots of this movie concerns their interactions and the progress they make as friends.

Overall, this movie was simply very pleasant to watch. The only flaws I’ve seen is that occasionally the acting and dialogue seemed very stilted, and there were moments where the artwork had a somewhat noticeable drop in quality, though nothing that really detracts from the movie all too much. As a children’s movie and more, it is a very engaging piece of fiction, as its roughly 150 minute run time did not phase me at all. More importantly, it did not bother the children watching the movie either, which I think is the best seal of approval for it.

Lena Sayers Love Fest: My-Otome 0 ~S.ifr~ OVA 1

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It is no small secret that the character designer of the HiME series, Hisayuki Hirokazu, loves loves loves the character of Lena Sayers. She is like his personal mascot, equivalent to how the creator of Shaman King feels about Kyouyama Anna.

So watching S.ifr OVA 1 and seeing just how much detail and emphasis has been put on making her as awesome as possible leads me to believe that he’s having a lot of influence on this particular series.

My-Otome 0 ~S.ifr~ is a prequel to My-Otome detailing the adventures of Lena Sayers Yumemiya, mother of Otome heroine Arika. There’s a few surprises, mainly that Lena is using an activation gem completely different from the one we’re familiar with. We also get to see the previous owner of the gem that Sara Gallagher uses in Otome proper. The animation is quite good, the character designs are strong and sexy, and it’s pretty much everything you’d expect from the HiME series at this point, only with tons of Lena love being poured in.

The other adjective I would use to describe it is “Boobariffic.” Lena has quite a pair of assistants, and it’s easy to see why Arika herself developed so much between Otome and Otome Zwei.

Genetics.

Persepolis and Japanese Animation

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I saw the french animated film Persepolis today. Based off a comic book of the same name, Persepolis is the tale of a young girl named Marjane living in war-torn Iran and its religious transformation during the 1980s. We as the audience get to see Marjane grow from girl into woman, making mistakes along the way, and constantly re-evaluating what’s important in her life. It’s a really powerful film and I recommend anyone who has the opportunity to watch it to do so.

I came out of Persepolis with one prominent thought in my mind: It’s been a long long time since I’ve seen a Japanese animation like it.

Stylistically, there’s no anime like Persepolis, but that’s not what I’m focusing on (though I might in a later time. It’s really quite powerful visually). What I’m talking about is how Persepolis addresses the small scale issues regarding relationships and emotions, as well the large scale issues with the backdrop of warfare. Recent anime, when it’s good, tends to be very good at one or the other, but not both. On the occasions that it does manage to address both, it tends to add a certain fantastic element to it which pushes the whole animation slightly to the left of reality, as in the case of Gundam 00.

Now this is hardly the case for the history of anime. Japanese animation and manga rose out of World War II, and many people have tackled and re-tackled the setting. Grave of the Fireflies, Barefoot Gen, even more romantic series such as Rose of Versailles all manage to portray the large and small stuff with a great deal of poignancy.

So what’s happened? Has anime become too much of a comfort zone, perhaps?

Now, I realize that I’m comparing a ton of Japanese animation to just one French animation, and that Persepolis may very well be an exception to the rule even in French animation, but this is the feeling I got from seeing this movie as it pertains to the thing I love called anime.

What the Fu: Fujoshi Deka

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This show is weird.

It’s about fujoshi detectives who solve crimes by using their fujoshi logic and going to a butler cafe.   The fujoshi are simply caricatures, characters whose only purposes are dropping fujoshi-centric words and gasping a whole lot.  It is far stranger than any anime I’ve ever seen.

For the sake of my Fujoshi Files, I may watch more of it, just to get a more accurate profile, but I don’t know man.