Category Archives: sunrise

Are We All Watching the Same Gundam 00?

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As I look at the praise and criticism Gundam 00 has received, I get the strange impression that everyone is watching a different show despite what the title screen says.

With a show like Code Geass, which has tons of people who love it, tons of people who hate it, and a whole lot of others in the middle who watch it for various reasons, I can look at all the comments and ratings it gets and believe that everyone was watching the same show. I cannot say the same of Gundam 00 and at times it baffles me just how much the contradicting opinions regarding Gundam 00 simply make no sense when you put them all together.

I know people’s preference in anime can differ tremendously, but that’s not the problem I’m having here. You can have two people eat the same food and one will like it and the other will hate it. But with Gundam 00, it’s like two get the same food, and then one person claims he ate an octopus while the other person claims he drank a firetruck.

What is it about Gundam 00 that causes this seeming dimensional rift in how people see it? Is it the character designs? Is it the bad taste Destiny left in people’s mouths (where everyone can agree they drank firetrucks)? Do people simply have different values for what they expect out of a Gundam series and our various biases warp the image of what’s there into something our brains can process?

俺はコンラン。

“Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion” or “Enpsychopedia Britannia”

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It’s a time when Social Darwinism was the overriding philosophy of the strongest empire in the world. It’s a world where the British never knew their limits and conquered many nations with the help of giant robots. It’s a show which you can undoubtedly call “anime,” and depending on who you are, those words can mean you love it or you hate it. This is Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion.

I originally got into Code Geass before the show even started, as the pedigree of the character designs had me very intrigued. As if to say that this show was meant to on some level be eye candy for both male and female fans, the character designs are an unholy alliance between Shoujo Manga Superstars CLAMP (Cardcaptor Sakura, X, Magic Knight Rayearth, XXXHolic, Tsubasa), and veteran artist of well-developed women Kimura Takahiro (Gaogaigar, Betterman, Godannar, certain Viper games, Gun x Sword). When episode 1 appeared on the scene I was quick to snatch it up.

What was presented to me was an interesting twist on the giant robot genre. The main character didn’t have unwavering courage. He had a traumatic past, but not the kind that leaves a character hating conflict. What we got was Lelouch Lamperouge, a tactician first and foremost, who sees battles beyond the one-on-ones between giant robots. He’s also secretly Lelouch Vi Britannia, exiled prince of the Britannian Empire. There was a character who filled the role of your more standard giant robot hero, but he was made into a supporting, if important, character in Kururugi Suzaku.

My favorite character turned out to be a beautiful immortal named C.C. (pronounced C-Two), who gives Lelouch a mysterious power, the titular “Geass.” A Geass, at least in the case of Lelouch, is a contract which gives him the power to exert his will over another person and have them do anything Lelouch wants, as long as it’s within the ability of that person (no telling a man with no arms to clap). C.C. is tied into every aspect of the plot, and this is hinted at from the start, which gives her an air of mystery more inviting than even her sweet ass, an ass powered by an insatiable love of pizza (Pizza Hut in particular). There’s a ton of characters in Code Geass, as is expected of a major Sunrise show, and combined with the designs it’s the kind of situation where you’re bound to find a favorite, no matter how minor they are. There’s the (not really) quiet girl Kallen, the optimistic Britannian princess Euphemia, the lovable eternal side character Rivalz, and many more. Most likely it’ll be the Britannian Emperor, voiced by Wakamoto Norio. If you don’t know who he is, you’ve probably listened him before anyway.

Code Geass may give the initial impression of being some combination of Gundam and Death Note, and I even describe Code Geass as what SEED Destiny should have been, but calling it Gun Note can be a bit misleading. While Code Geass does have a highly intelligent protagonist matching wits with opponents from afar and possessing an occult power which gives him a significant edge, the show never really bothers to show you every minute detail in strategy. Seeing the battle of wits isn’t nearly as important as knowing that a battle of the wits took place. Code Geass, at its core, is all about being theatrical. Lelouch gives passionate inner monologues, and his voice change between his innocent high school student personality and his rebellion leader guise of “Zero” has nothing to do with convincing realism and everything to do with upping the melodramatic nature of the show. When a plot hole presents itself in Code Geass, and there are a LOT of them, my first response is never to nitpick, but to allow myself to be swept up in whatever’s going on and the emotional responses of the characters.

Convincing emotional responses are the work of a stellar voice cast. I mentioned Wakamoto Norio, but I think the stand-out role is probably C.C. as voiced by Yukana. Normally known for a more polite, feminine voice as seen in Tessa from Full Metal Panic and Cure White from Pretty Cure, Yukana’s C.C. voice is significantly deeper and more powerful. C.C. sounds like she has so much knowledge and experience that you the viewer should be honored that you even get to hear her speak. I liked Yukana already, this made me like her more.

It’s possible you’ve heard some of the controversy over the second season of Code Geass, Code Geass R2, and it has entirely to do with time slots. Originally Code Geass’s first season was set to air in Japanese prime time, but then was bumped to a late-night time slot. This resulted in a retooling and the adding of elements more favorable towards late-night viewers, e.g. fanservice. The show was a surprising success and when its second season got greenlit it got moved to the prime time slot that it originally had, but in doing so it was expected to draw in new viewers and had to backtrack a little to teach the prime time fledgling viewers all about Code Geass. This set back production and altered the plot in ways unknown, but the team in charge of Code Geass fought valiantly to keep it under control.

Code Geass’s strengths and weaknesses lie entirely in the fact that it’s a show which tries to please everybody. I wouldn’t say that the result is that it ends up pleasing nobody, far from it in fact. Just don’t get the wrong impression as to the kind of show it is. It is not Gundam, it is not Death Note, it is not Kingdom Hearts. You still might not like it in the end, and may think some of the plot points irreconciliable, but it’s as good a ride as any. Don’t call it a train wreck, call it a runaway train which managed to get to safety.

There are two Setsunas

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Setsuna F. Seiei

Setsuna Seiei (A)

Oh Man I Hope No One Notices It Shrunk in the Wash

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I Love Character Lineart

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There’s the front view and the back view, and then some 3/4 views. Accompanying these shots will usually be facial expressions, different poses, possibly different outfits. Whenever I buy an artbook I look for character lineart and design images, prioritizing them over even full posters. They’re one of the main reasons I bought issues of Newtype and Newtype USA. The odd thing is, I’m not sure exactly why I like them so much.

It could be that I like seeing the creator-side of any sort of production or work. Hell, I’m not afraid to admit that years ago I bought the first volume of Megatokyo just because I was curious what Fred Gallagher had to say about his own stuff. I’m always eager to read interviews by creators, and it’s also the reason I go to their panels at conventions. I try to pick their brains and ask questions to get a better understanding of their process and themselves.

These images are the basis from which everything is animated. They serve as guides for animators to go back to whenever they’re unsure of how a character should look or feel. Character design images are the bridge between still and moving image.

I see through your plot, GUNDAM 00!!!

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Oh, you are one clever series, Gundam 00, almost too clever.

Season 1 was all set-up, wasn’t it? “Oh,” you might say, “but shouldn’t the first season be set-up for the second season?” And you’d be right. But this isn’t just set-up, it’s a set-up.

Much like Celestial Being, Gundam 00’s first season had an ulterior motive, one that is given away by the fact that the first season takes place five years before the second season.

Yes, the true goal of Gundam 00 is to trick its younger audience into watching a Gundam series with a cast composed not of teenagers but fully-grown 20-something year olds.

The end-times are upon us. Let us welcome our well-past-puberty saviors.

The Active Pursuit of Anime and the Effects Thereof

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Anime fans in the west have had a long history of actively seeking out their anime. Be it trading tapes, taking time out of your day specifically to go to anime clubs, figuring out the arcane secrets required to get shows off of irc, learning how to use bittorrent, or even searching on Youtube, there has always been the push to find more anime. There is a sort of mental devotion, however small, to finding new shows or finding more of a particular show, and I believe that just as much as it is a reflection of the hardcore fan’s mindset, it can also influence that mindset as well. It is both cause and effect.

When one downloads or otherwise looks for episodes of Pretty Cure, there’s some sort of labor involved, and from that labor it makes sense to want sufficient value in return, to (misappropriately) use some of Karl Marx’s terminology.  Thus, when that episode of Pretty Cure has no progress, when it feels like the last episode, disappointment occurs. Then you might think, “This show isn’t worth my time.” And it might not be. However, keep in mind that most anime in Japan is shown on TV, and the TV acts as a passive medium for most mainstream shows. Anime like Pretty Cure air on weekend mornings, so there’s no need for staying up late or setting a VCR or Tivo. It, like so many other shows, becomes simply a part of a weekly routine, something that can be enjoyed in addition to other activities by the viewer, such as eating breakfast.

It becomes a custom, like saying hi to your neighbor every morning (feel free to substitute neighbor with anyone else). Anyone who woke up for Saturday Morning Cartoons is probably familiar with this feeling. Sure, there are shows you like more than others, or would have to sacrifice one for the other if they aired at the same time on different channels, but the familiarity makes it less of a new shirt and more of a warm blanket.

Having started to watch Eureka Seven in Japan, I originally thought it was going to be a warm blanket, that Eureka Seven would be mostly episodic and carried on the characters’ strong personalities and their interactions. When I noticed those interactions causing permanent changes in those characters, I became more involved, and before long it started to become an active pursuit, where I would purposely go to sleep early on Saturdays to catch Eureka Seven early Sunday morning. I think this gradual shift from blanket to shirt is part of what made me so fond of the show.

I think some of the success (or lack thereof) of anime aired on TV in the US has very much to do with being situated in a way that makes them accessible to passive viewers. Dragon Ball Z and Gundam Wing aired at convenient, after-school time slots. Cowboy Bebop was on around midnight, when it’s late but not too late. Gundam SEED was saddled by a poor time slot that got progressively worse. Adult Swim seems to be pushing Code Geass off a cliff with a 5am time slot, and I think they are well aware of the active/passive fandom dichotomy that occurs. I mean, you could say that viewers should just set their vcr’s to record, but then that involves labor, and the viewer then pretty much has to be a fan.

And while it’s great to be an anime fan, not everyone who is a potential viewer or a potential fan starts off this way.

The Stigma of Giant Robots

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First, no Kaze no Stigma jokes.

Okay? Okay.

Mecha is one of the main stereotypes of japanese animation, along with martial arts, sci-fi, and not being for kids. But despite being one of the first things many people think of when they see the word “anime” it somehow has gotten a negative reputation among many fans in the United States. People will turn away from a title if giant robots are involved, and the only Gundam series to ever truly be successful is Wing.

I have no issue with people not preferring giant robot anime, but what is bothering me is the idea that robots, be they real or super, are an automatic red flag for a lot of anime viewers.

What happened? I know that the large female otaku population tends not to be fond of titanium titans, but why do so many guys also brush these titles aside? Could it be that giant robots are no longer considered a staple of anime, that in the eyes of this newer generation of anime fandom it is something to be ignored? Are there certain tropes of robot animation, different from say, shounen fighting, which detracts from the viewing experience?

The Ending I Want for Code Geass

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Odysseus u Britannia, eldest son of Emperor Charles di Britannia, is the Hitou Nami of Code Geass. He is a man who did not find anything odd about being married to a tiny little girl. Had the marriage gone through, he probably would’ve spent their honeymoon making hot cocoa and playing board games with Tianzi. He is the master of milquetoast, the avatar of average, the sultan of sterile. Somehow, in a family of conniving psychos, Odysseus remains completely sane and, more importantly, completely alive.

As such, he is easily my favorite male character in Code Geass. And with that said, I can think of no better conclusion that for Odysseus to become the new Britannian Emperor while the rest of the royal family dies.

And the moral of this story would be…

Lena Sayers, Lena Sayers, Lena Sayers: My-Otome 0 ~S.ifr~ OVA 2

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Sifr Fran, future mother of Nina Wáng, is still kidnapped. Lena, future mother of Arika Yumemiya, is iinjured in the last battle with Miyu-9, has been picked up by an unassuming researcher named Shirou. Her Otome gem has been shattered leaving her powerless, and much of the episode focuses on Lena and Shirou getting to know each other, though it all starts off with exactly the kind of misunderstanding one would expect out of the Otome series. Meanwhile, we’re treated to the appearance of a young Maria Graceburt, and the original Miyu who apparently has been around for a very long time.

Oh yeah, and Shirou is totally Not Arika’s Future Dad. You know, despite looking like her, having similar overall personalities, and becoming enamored with Lena very shortly after meeting her.

Totally.

Hot women, fun characters, good fight scenes, implied lesbianism, the second OVA prequel of My-Otome has pretty much everything the Otome series is known for, only because it focuses on Otome character designer Hisayuki Hirokazu’s beloved mascot Lena Sayers, the entire production just screams effort.

Because we know Lena’s inevitable fate, S.ifr really isn’t about watching what happens. It’s about being in the moment, and that moment consists of enjoying and savoring every moment Lena Sayers is on-screen. I won’t deny that much of the appeal of this OVA is Lena Sayers, and not in completely noble ways. She is hot, downright hot, hot in that she’s a mix of caring woman, powerful fighter, confident yet kind (see also: Vega from Dendoh), and hot because Hisayuki has put so much love and attention into the character that this could have only been the possible end result.