Silent Mobius Part 7-The Motion Picture Part 1 & Part 2

It is the year 2024.  The city is Tokyo.  The enemy is a demon horde greater than imagination can comprehend: The Lucifer Hawks.  Standing against them: The AMP, a unit of brave women who use science and sorcery to defend humanity from these monsters.  Katsumi Liquer has come to Tokyo to be with her ailing mother.  However, she is about to be drawn into the AMP’s fight and her destiny is about to unfold.  A new battle has begun.  And this time, depending on Katsumi’s resolve, it could mean the salvation or the end of mankind.

After putting up with 26 episodes of nonsense from the TV series, I was prepared for anything going into the two Silent Mobius feature films from the early 90’s.  They couldn’t be any worse than what I had already seen right?  Well, color me surprised, I liked them a little bit more than the show.  Both films carry over several of the problems the TV Series had but also works to improve many things as well, especially in the first film.

The animation is amazing.  For films straight out of the early 90’s, the Silent Mobius films look just as good as The End of Evangelion or the X-1999 movie (which this feels kind of similar too in a way).  I also feel like this looks closer to the source manga than the TV show ever did.  The movie level budget gives this double feature a grander, more mature and scary feel to it.  The Lucifer Hawks look terrifying.  The AMP girls look more beautiful and confident (emphasis on look).  There’s blood, there’s nudity, there’s a shower scene straight out of a Hentai film…which isn’t nearly as bad as it sounds.  And thank freaking God, it’s consistent.  There’s no pesky 3D animation trying to muscle in on hand drawn work.  Nope, this is all 100% hand crafted and it feels all the better for it.  Even by todays standards, the look of these two films still holds up and reminds me of why Anime gained it’s audience in the early 90’s in the wake of Akira.

At first I wasn’t sure why this story was split into two films as it essential is the same story as a whole (granted they do work in their own way as stand alone films too).  The first film starts off in 2028 when the AMP are dealing with a Lucifer Hawk before flashing back to 2024 when Katsumi first joined their ranks.  The bulk of both films is very much a feature length pilot as we don’t go much beyond how the group first came together.  Though I will admit, I’m glad we got some future scenes with Katsumi being an unrivaled bad ass with Grosspoliner and her magic.  That’s because the Katsumi of the past is a handful.  Yes, yes, yes, she sees some incredibly freaky stuff in these films (the shower scene especially).  She sees monsters from Hell, the death of her mother and a glimpse of the destructive power magic can bring.  That should freak anyone out but Katsumi refuses to do anything else for the bulk of the films.  Worse yet, just when she seems to accept her destiny at the end of Part 1, she resets and we have to watch her go through the same process AGAIN in Part 2.  It does make you wonder why anyone would want to save Katsumi other than for her powers alone.  And listening to Yuki cry about how Katsumi is her best friend in the future doesn’t really help.  It would make Katsumi feel more one note if it weren’t for the knowledge that she does become a bad ass in the future.

As I mention Yuki above, I guess I should say that sadly, a lot of the problems I had with the TV Series do pop up in these two films.  Nami, Lebia and especially Yuki have next to nothing to do once again than just be there.  Lebia should have more of a role since she seems to stand in for an absent Isozaki as Rally’s second in command, but she doesn’t.  Yuki is there to whine and be a stalker.  Nami is…well the same as she is in the show, forgettable.  Only Rally and Kiddy seem to have gotten any upgrades here.  Besides her green hairdo (she had in the manga I guess?), Kiddy is the most bad ass member of AMP before Katsumi arrives and she looks like she can actually do damage with guns as well as her cyborg strength.  She even tackles a Lucifer Hawk with only one arm…I love her.  Rally seems a bit more forthcoming with information, necessary I guess since this is only a combined 2 hour film and not an extended series.  There is opportunity to see Rally in battle that is sadly wasted and we spend more time with Yuki following around Katsumi like a lost puppy desperate for attention.

So yeah, the film is essentially a two parter.  The first part shows Katsumi coming to Japan, meeting her mother and the AMP and being introduced to the secret war in Tokyo.  Part 2 is Katsumi trying to grapple with her destiny while Yuki strongarms her way into her life.  That bit about Part 2 is why I think Part 1 is the stronger half of this feature.  It has more of the scare factor with the Lucifer Hawks and does a pretty good job of introducing everyone, save for Yuki but she’s barely in Part 1 as Part 2 is clearly all about her.  Part 2 does have Lebia using her tech to the AMPs advantage and Kiddy’s battle with a Lucifer Hawk with only one arm.  But Part 1 has Katsumi unleashed and in full control of her abilities in the future scenes, something we never saw in the TV show cause of its animation limits.  Overall this whole thing feels like a “proof of concept” than a fully realized set of films. 

Flaws and all though, I’ve gotta say that I definitely prefer these two movies to the TV Series anyday.  The second part stalls thanks to Yuki and the slow build up to the final battle.  Lebia, Yuki and Nami are just as dull and annoying and uninteresting as their TV counterparts.  And Katsumi can be grating.  However, presentation wise, these films are mostly solid.  The animation is exactly how this kind of story should always be handled.  The enemies feel genuinely scary and the AMP feel a bit more useful as a whole, though Katsumi is left to deal with a threat all on her own, she does it as the sexy bad ass I know she was always meant to be.  Why this never went past two films I’ll never know.  More than likely I suspect that it was because the manga was far from finished, so they’d rather not rush with material they didn’t have.  I suppose that’s smart but I still wish we had seen more.  Cause, flaws and all, this is the Silent Mobius I expected to see weeks ago.  I guess I’m glad I waited to review these two films last.

Final scores for this double feature are:

Silent Mobius: The Motion Picture-7/10

Silent Mobius 2: The Motion Picture-6/10

Well, that does it for Kia Asamiya’s Silent Mobius.  Next week we reunite with some old friends for more military maniac antics. Sousuke Sagara and Kaname Chidori are back in Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid.  See ya then.

Silent Mobius Part 6 Episodes 23-26

Katsumi is set to reopen the gates to Nemesis.  With the demon sword Medium at her side and the AMP in near shambles, Earth will feel her wrath and that of the Lucifer Hawks.  All is not lost.  Kiddy, Lebia, Yuki, Nami and Lum Cheng are far from defeated and will have to pull all of their remaining resources for one last, desperate counterattack against this unstoppable force.  How far is Kiddy willing to go to save the soul of her best friend Katsumi?  And even if Katsumi can be saved, will her power be enough to stop the oncoming apocalypse?  The last stand of the AMP has begun.

Five beautiful women, battling an army of demons from another dimension, using a mix of technology and magic, in a Tokyo of tomorrow.

How did a premise that sounds so cool end up going so horribly wrong?  How?  HOWWWWW?

On the Brightside, Silent Mobius is finally done and I cant say im not sorry to see it end.  The finale took all of the possible goodness built up from the previous week and decided to do nothing with it (well almost nothing, there was one decent story within).  And in the end, there was no end, only a poor executed “To be continued” for another season that we’ll never get…unless this is rebooted and done right.

The final episodes are, in general, a mess.  The writers were either scrambling to write themselves out of all of the plot holes or just said F it, let’s dig them to the center of the Earth and beyond.  There are attempts to wrap up everyones stories properly.  Rally faces Rosa, who has been whining for no real reason apparently cause Rally always loved her but Rosa refused to hear it.  Kiddy and Isozaki faced the Medium possessed Katsumi to try and bring her back.  Yuki had to get her head together with the help of that guy she met in the past and the rest of the AMP had to deal with a Lucifer Hawk replaced Nami…wait…what the heck?  WHEN DID NAMI GET SWITCHED OUT?!

There are so many curveballs thrown at us it’s hard to see them all and keep up with them.  It all feels as last minute as Lum Cheng’s Grandfather, who we’ve only seen once until now, suddenly showing up to bail out EVERYONE!!!  Rally and Rosa near death?  Granddad swoops in and saves them.  Katsumi needs her sword to save the day, GRANDDAD TO THE RESCUE!!!!  I’d say he’s a deus ex-machina but that falls to the ACTUAL Deus Ex Machina Rally and Isozaki have had in orbit all of this time.  But I guess you don’t pull out the giant satellite weapons controlled by R2 like units until a Lucifer Hawk disguised as Nami tries to fuse with your entire building…I cant take much more of this.

The only thing I liked about these last four episodes was Kiddy’s resolve to save Katsumi.  After hearing how to free her from Medium via a conversation between Rally and Isozaki (who was once possessed by the sword but that feels like it was just thrown in cause she’s had no purpose on this show at all besides looking in charge when she’s not) Kiddy was ready to make the ultimate sacrifice to save her best friend.  It worked in the end and it was a short but nonetheless effective payoff for one of the few storylines that worked in this shows entire run.  Kiddy was even there waiting for Katsumi after she said her goodbye to Roy.  I’ll miss the adventures those two have shared at least.

As much as I did admittedly enjoy Evil Katsumi (listening to her freak out Lum Cheng talking about how she had sex with Roy was so entertainingly wrong), I did like that Katsumi got to have a proper farewell with a vision of Roy.  Yeah her parents had to come in and ruin any chance of a last kiss.  But Katsumi did learn that she’s pregnant with Roy’s baby. So…was she six months pregnant while the whole battle with the giant building was going on?  You know what…ill let the show have this one.  I liked Katsumi, I really did.  Her story had issues but so did the rest of this tiresome show.  So if its anything having to do with her, Kiddy, Roy or Ralph, that gets a pass from me.

And if you think ive forgotten about the crummy animation, I haven’t.  I’ve stopped talking about it because it feels pointless to point out that glaring flaw week after week.  I only bring it up once again because…oh God it was so much worse in the finale.  The Lucifer Hawks fusing with AMP HQ clearly looked like something out of a mid 90’s PC video game and not in a good way.  The finale was already going badly enough without the animating staff needing to remind us one more time that they couldn’t decide how they really wanted this show to look.

That brings us to the very last episode, which spends more time setting up the non existent Season 2 than bringing things to a suitable conclusion.  Because it worked so well for Priss and the Knighsabers, Katsumi took on a literal building sized Lucifer Hawk…and killed it in about 5 seconds.  We then jumped forward a week.  Everyone’s alive (unfortunately) including Kiddy and Ralph (I’m happy about that), and Tokyo is being evacuated so that the AMP can fight the Lucifer Hawks without a risk of further civilian casualties.  Katsumi’s also going to fight them 6 months pregnant and we got to see how everyones getting along in the wake of a battle that only Kiddy did anything important during.  I’ll admit, by this point, my mind was shut off.  Except for Kiddy being at deaths door and Katsumi returning to normal, I could really care less about what happened to everyone else.  And why should I when the show itself didn’t seem to want to treat anyone other than Kiddy and Katsumi with respect and fleshed out character stories?  The truth is, I couldn’t wait for this show to be over and even with the “to be continued” thrown in at the end, I’m glad we never got a Season 2 of this incarnation of Silent Mobius.

With that, final thoughts on the series?  God this show was a chore to get through.  A set up with such promise crashed and burned really quickly.  The AMP was seriously underpowered, most of their staff were never given time to grow and became stale quick.  The enemies were never scary and their human personifications just liked to yell about everything.  The magic and technology fusion never got a proper execution (with both failing pretty regularly to take out a Lucifer Hawk unless it was Katsumi using her magic).  There was no satisfying backstory provided for how the Silent Crisis came about or how the beginning of its beginning…ugh this list could go on forever but I’ll add in the poor animation and leave it at that.  I will admit, of what little I did like, I did enjoy the opening and ending themes, which are just kick ass and beautiful tracks.  The second end theme especially, “Til the end of Time”, feels like the perfect theme for Katsumi and Roy (too bad it was introduced and overplayed and just wasted when it was introduced in Yuki’s time travel episode).  Plus if the show looked more like the intro, I could let Silent Mobius keep a number on its overall score.

I wanted to like this show.  Episode after episode I kept hoping it would get better.  It was almost sad to watch it all unfold and crumble week after week.  Just when you thought there was some saving grace in one episode, the one to follow would just smash it to bits.  There’s potential in the story, the cast is cute girls I want to like and see succeed.  When you have a cast of sexy bad asses fighting evil, there’s only so far that element alone will get your show.  Then you realize they might not be good at what they were chosen to do and are mostly just useless background noise for one main member to do all of the work.

Katsumi, Kiddy, Lebia, Nami, Yuki, Isozaki and Rally all deserved better than this…we all did.  Final score for Silent Mobius is a seriously sad…

4/10

Im not sure I want to say “Unfortunatley, that’s not quite the end of it”.  I’ve heard good things about the Silent Mobius movies, which were made long before the series.  Maybe my spending time in this universe can be salvaged by watching them.  Get ready for a special double feature as I wrap up Silent Mobius with Silent Mobius: The Motion Picture and Silent Mobius 2: The Motion Picture on a special day…tomorrow, Halloween.  Let’s hope these flicks provide the scares the series never offered.

 

FIF#38-Steins;Gate

Rintaro Okabe fancies himself the ultimate mad scientist, the one who will solve the mysteries no one else can and bring an end to a shadowy organization. His mind, will and mettle are put to the test when Okabe begins warping back and forth through time.  No one seems to believe him but that wont stop Okabe from getting to the bottom of this plot: a plot that involves microwave time machines, a beautiful scientific genius and, potentially, the end of the world.  Okabe fancies himself a hero.  By the time this is all over, he just might have to become one for real.

What happens when you try to give Anime a character who is a mix of Doctor Who and Sherlock and factor in time travel, murder, microwaves used as time machines, bananas and…well you know that’s a fun mix already so you can guess it all equals Steins;Gate.  Before Erased came along to give us a fun time travel mystery for the new age, there was this title.  Based on the popular visual novel (in the same vein as Fate/Stay Night), id seen the characters from Steins;Gate cosplayed many times at conventions, mostly Okabe and Kurisu.  Having seen bits and pieces here and there, plus a little of the recently stateside released movie back at Katsucon, I decided to give the first couple of episodes a watch.

Okabe might be the factor that makes of breaks peoples interest in this series.  As I said above, he’s a mix of Doctor Who and Sherlock.  He’s brilliant with a very paranoid and eccentric personality.  He claims to be the smartest man in the room and barely takes in any other opinions other than his own.  The line stops with Okabe when it comes to anything scientific…or anything in general.  It’s attitude like this that makes me want to punch Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory.  Okabe is about two steps away from that level of irritation on my end.  Thankfully, there are times when he can be more entertaining with his nonsense.  My favorite moment from the first couple of episodes is easily when Kurisu eloquently craps on all of Okabe’s notions of time travel (even making a Doctor Who reference herself).  Okabe’s mental breakdown is hilarious and offers proof that Kurisu could be more the breakout character of the show than he is (her choice of wardrobe helps too, very cute for a published physicist).

There are glimpses of a potential end game presented right away: a fallen Satallite, Kurisu murdered.  But other than that, the first two episodes are world building and getting to know Okabe and the company he keeps (God only knows how).  His repor with Daru and Mayuri often keeps him in check and they play off each other surprising well given Okabe’s penchant for ticking people off easily.  There are a couple more faces like a mystery girl who loves her mobile phone, the cute waitresses of a maid café, and a shrine maiden who Okabe has to constantly remind us is actually “a dude”.  It’s a fun bunch to be sure.  A lot of the show is dialogue heavy though, mostly Okabe narrarating every last little thing that he does.  Much of it did go over my head and it becomes clear, at least, that this is definitely an Anime you have to pay attention too otherwise you’ll miss an important detail.

As for the time traveling bananas…that hook plus Kurisu showing up just as Okabe and Daru accidentally pull that off might be enough to keep me on board.  Steins;Gate is a much beloved series and when I saw that little bit of the movie, the screening room was packed.  If youre tired of constant action and shouting of ultimate attacks, this is a step back in the action department though Okabe will be trying to scream his ideals and theories as loudly as Goku or Naruto.  If anything, I’d want to keep going to see if Kurisu can be saved (the Anime world can have at least one super intelligent hotchick…actually it could have a few million of them, SPARE HER!!!).

 

T5W#115-Top 5 Katsucon 2017 Cosplays

With one week to go until Halloween, it’s sometimes easy to forget that for a cosplayer, this little holiday lasts the whole year round.  Dozens, if not hundreds, of conventions from Anime to general nerd fandom pop up across the world every year.  That means an equal amount of amazing new cosplay can be seen on a weekly basis.  I nod in respect to all the hard work and dedication all cosplayers, rookie and veteran, throw into their craft.  And today im going to flashback to Katsucon 2017 to look at my Top 5 Cosplays from the event.  I was thinking about keeping it to just Anime themed ones but some of these, as you’ll see, were too damn good not to throw into this list.

 

#5-Faye, Junko, Motoko (Three Way Tie)

Yep, you’re looking at this right.  In looking through my hundreds of photos, I could not pick a winner between these three to kick off the list.  It’s been a while since I’ve seen a Faye as cute as this one.  Junko’s recently become a favorite of mine after finishing Danganronpa The Animation.  And it’s always great to see a Stand Alone Complex Motoko represented at an Anime convention.  Look at these three and tell me you’d be able to make an easier choice…chances are someone will say they can but theyre not me haha.

 

#4-Fem Trunks

This was a bit of an odd sight.  There were a few of these versions of Future Trunks roaming around the con.  Of the many characters in the Dragon Ball multiverse, Future Trunks has always been my favorite from his first appearance.  Seeing him in a genderbend version of him…makes me actually wonder why Trunks couldn’t be a girl to begin with.  Especially when she looks as cool and bad ass as this one here.  Pretty certain this is popular cosplayer Teresa Cosplays.  Which makes it even cooler that I got to meet her in person in such an awesome cosplay. 

 

You can check out her cosplay page here:

https://www.facebook.com/teresacosplays/

 

 

#3-Female Zora

It’s always a nice surprise to see a character from an Anime or Video Game you might think have been lost to most memories.  Sure enough, I found a Zora from the Legend of Zelda.  Im not sure if she’s a particular character from one of the games (my first thought went to the songstress Lulu from Majora’s Mask), or if she’s just a regular Zora you see in a town or water temple.  Either way, she looks real enough to me and quite lovely.

 

#2-Reinhardt

During the big Overwatch photoshoot on Saturday, the gathering was so large, they had to move all of the characters behind the fountain and call them down one group at a time.  One cosplayer was exempt from this…can you see why?  This Reinhardt was legit like no other.  He looks the size of the actual character and you can see how sleek that armor is.  God only knows how much time and effort went into this one.  There were ten times more Mercy’s and D.Vas.  But one Reinhardt stole the show from both.

 

#1-All the Voltron Cosplays

I honestly never saw this coming.  I knew Voltron: Legendary Defender was popular amongst some of my friends but WOW.  Keith, Shiro, Lance, Hunk, Pidge and Allura were all over the place at Katsucon this year.  And you know what, there wasn’t a weak link in any cosplay I saw, no matter the character, no matter their look.  I think Pidge dominated the most cosplayed of the main cast but there were, more or less, equal amounts of everyone else.  It’s amazing how Legendary Defender has managed to capture the spirt of the original Voltron and breathe new life into it for a new generation, thanks in no small part to the fact that the team behind Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra are behind it.  I don’t know if Voltron’s presence will be as strong next year.  If it is…that’s not a problem at all.  GO FORTH VOLTRON PALADINS!!!  FORM BLAZING SWORD!!!

Silent Mobius Part 5 Episodes 19-22

The measure of peace Katsumi has found in Tokyo, with Kiddy and the AMP and Roy, is about to be shattered.  Ganossa, emissary of Nemesis, attacks the AMP head on, dealing damage that pushes the team to the breaking point and drives Katsumi to vanish from sight.  When she does reappear, Katsumi is changed, different, but only Kiddy seems to notice that her friend might no longer be her friend.  Has the darkness truly taken hold of the AMP’s heart and soul and what danger does this mean for Tokyo?

As I start typing this review, I can say I have mixed feelings about this weeks set.  Silent Mobius started out with such promise and has squandred that promise week after week.  The stories have been rapid fire with no emotion, no energy and no real interest in commiting to telling a story.  The characters have predominantly no purpose other than to just stand around and pretend to look competent at their jobs.  Only Katsumi and Kiddy have shown any signs of being good at their jobs, and having a believable friendly bond built up over time.  In short, this series is frustrating as hell.  Why bring this up now?  I should save this kind of an intro for next week at the series finale.  Well I start with this because this week, the potential to tell a great story shined through…but faltered because this show has come so far with it’s many problems and will always be held back by them…and those problems are only getting worse.

We did get to see Katsumi in a sexy swimsuit though…of the many things that have made me dislike this show, I cant fault it for showing me that.

Oh Roy.  He pretty much had a 50/50 shot at getting out of this story alive.  He finally confessed his love for Katsumi, literally stood against the forces of hell and unlocked a power for Katsumi that could stand against the Lucifer Hawks (that’s the power of LOVE btw).  I’ve often spoken of how Roy and Ralph should have been made AMP members and replaced certain time wasters like Nami and Yuki and this time is no different.  Having Roy around made Katsumi stronger, same with Ralph for Kiddy.  And what’s more, Roy didn’t have any power other than his love for Katsumi and he still fought the monsters of the night.  If anything, that makes his demise all the more tragic, especially after he and Katsumi finally got to share a night together.  Katsumi’s power unleashing was terrifying and it looked like Ganoza and Rosa were finally going to get what was coming to them from the Super Sayian level Katsumi….

But then we got another time skip, man this show enjoys those. 

As hard as it is to believe, we’ve covered the span of 5 years according to this show (starting in 2024 and now we’re in 2029).  I’d say how time flies but I just say, wow this show is being so lazy with developing anything it’s no wonder it feels like we’ve slept through most of it.  I guess that explains why Lum Cheng was trying to be Katsumi’s voice of reason to keep her hooked up with Roy.  In the (apparent) two years she’s been with the group, Lum continues to avoid character growth, or if she is, her annoying attitude is making it hard to see.  Even Kiddy, who’s been the bull of the group, has shown a softer side around Katsumi and Ralph.  And yet they try to shove the growth in for Lum Cheng rather than ANYONE else on the show who has been here since the beginning and hasn’t changed at all.  Yuki’s still annoying.  Nami’s still…there.  Lebia isn’t doing much either.  And Isozaki and Rally just continue to look in charge while keeping secrets.  Nothing has changed with anyone besides Katsumi and Rally on the main team.  Even Ralph and Roy have gotten more on screen character development.  You know what, I’ve held this in long enough…ARRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Ok, let’s continue with the second half of our set.

Well rather than taking the fight right to Ganoza’s throat, Katsumi vanished for six months and then showed up again.  I like that Kiddy was the one to notice that something was off right away.  Everyone welcoming Katsumi back felt very much in line with how their characters have all be handled.  Kiddy’s different though, enough to ask the right questions and brace for the sad answers.  I liked that, of the five remaining teammembers, Katsumi’s disappearance weighted heavily on Kiddy.  They’ve been through a lot together: starting off on bad terms, protecting each other in the field, bonding over their not so human origins.  They’ve taken good time to bring these two together as friends and it paid off in this set of episodes.  It even lead to a moment where Kiddy doubted her theory and hated herself for suspecting her best friend might’ve been an enemy.  The hug she shared with Katsumi was genuine and easily a moment that shines in this series for me.  Sadly, her hunch was right.  But Katsumi hasn’t gone truly “Dark Phoenix”.  Her inner darkside hasn’t fully taken hold, she’s just been ensnared by a new enemy, a sword no less.  And now the AMP has an even bigger problem than getting shut down by the Police top brass…they now have to contend with an enemy possessing the person who did like 90-95% of their job for them.

Before I close out, I’ve gotta say: another comparison between this series and Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040 just occurred to me-the villains.  None of the one off Lucifer Hawks or their supposed commanders, Ganoza or Rosa, have seen all that interesting or that threatening.  There’s little difference in any of the main monster LH’s, even their respective designs are starting to feel recycled.  Meanwhile Ganoza’s motivations have never been fleshed out, especially in the flashback episode.  His sudden freak out over not being loved came out of nowhere.  Rosa should have more importance considering she’s Rally’s sister but that hasn’t been explored nor has it gone anywhere.  It’s like the villains are here to be as annoying, generic and unmemorable as the rest of the main cast. 

We got some good (Roy’s death, Kiddy handling Katsumi’s departure), we got some bad (the villains, the naiveite of most of the team), we got some things that drove me crazy (Lum Cheng and this shows general incompetence).  This show should have set things up nicely for a kick ass finale.  But right now, I’m just happy I can put this series behind me in one weeks time. 

FIF#37-Neo Yokio

Welcome to Neo Yokio.  Once a place filled with fear, the greatest exorcists of the 19^th Century came together to rid Neo Yokio of its and secure its standing as the greatest city in the world.  Kaz Kaan is a descendant of one of the famous families who saved the city and ushered in a new eschalon of Aristocratic standing.  Sadly, he’s just broken up with his girlfriend and has lost all faith in his duties, his hobbies, even his friends.  Unfortunately, Kaz’s talents are still needed as demons looking to possess poor souls still roam the streets.  It’s Kazs’ destiny to protect Neo Yokio.  But when the second most eligible bachelor in the city loses the one he loves…who will protect him from the darkness of melancholy.

Where the frak do I even begin with this one?  Barely five minutes into the first episode and im wondering why this show is even a thing?  Is it Anime, it looks like it.  Heck it looks like Ouran High School Host Club if the Host all had offspring that made up the population of a whole city…and they battled demons.  Why is there a robot butler who looks like a discarded Autobot design?  Is this the future or the present we’re looking at with this city that sounds like an Ice Cream flavor (is it an Ice Cream flavor?  It’s so strange to ask that).  All these questions and more ran through my head until the ten minute mark when it slapped me right in the face, the one thing that could destroy any future interest in this series new to Netflix…the revelation that I was hearing Jaden Smith voicing Kaz…well…crap.

Yeah.  Neo Yokio’s got a lot of problems in the first episode alone, from the confusing setting to the less than inspiring cast.  Top of the list, however, is Jaden Smith’s portrayal of the “Main Character”.  I throw quotes around that cause…well I guess he’s supposed to be but I feel like we’re just hearing Jaden in real life…were he an aristocrat…in which case he still isn’t that interesting.  Kaz  spends the whole first episode whinning over his life of luxury without a girlfriend, who dumped him to…lets face it she can do better, anyone can.  If the fate of a city, nay the world is left in the hands of a suicidal rich brat who spends time napping on a custom made grave stone he made well in advance of his death…wow, ive got nothing. 

I wasn’t sure what to make of Neo Yokio before I went into it.  I only had the sudden pop up on Netflix to go on and that was it.  Well I had that and a couple of youtube vids I will probably check out once im done writing this review.  Animation wise, it’s not terrible but the world it’s portraying is too confusing.  Besides Smith, there’s some interesting voice talents, in an Anime not being distributed by Disney.  Jude Law, Susan Sarandon and Jason Schwartzman all lend their acting skills to this piece of oddity.  Law stands out as the Optimus Prime like butler Charles, who is doing his best to class up the scene when Kaz just wants to mope.  I guess this is all supposed to be a next gen co production between the States and Japan.  Looking up some info now, it looks like Neo Yokio was worked on by Production I.G., which also pioneered co productions with Toonami’s IGPX.  And yet this still looks bad.  I want to give I.G. credit cause I.G. rarely does wrong but this animation is…just bad *shudders*.

In the end, being both bored and infuriated by a character voiced by an equally bored and infuriating actor probably wont keep me invested in even a series as short as Neo Yokio.  The premise feels like it belongs in some other title and needs to be spiffed up and reorganized (not sure if that makes sense but neither does this project as a whole).  The cast has amazing talent behind it (mostly) but there’s really no reason for something so low on the totem pole to have their vocal powers behind it (kind of like Sean Bean and Lena Heady in Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV).  Why does this show exist?  I don’t know.  Should it continue past six episodes?  Definitely not.  Do I want a Transformers knock off robot butler with the voice of Jude Law?  You know what…yes, yes I would…if it was actual Optimus M*********G Prime.  As I said Neo Yokio sounds like an Ice Cream flavor...but I doubt this bad taste is what any of us expected, even with the lowest of expectations.

Seriously, we get this poor excuse for a college fan film production but aren’t getting Kakegurui on Netflix until 2018?

T5W#114-Top 5 Overwatch Halloween Costumes

It’s that time of year again…though some would argue that for cosplayers, Halloween is technically an all year round event since they dress up for several conventions and other various occasions.  It’s fun when everyone can get into the spirit of spooky and since its creation, Overwatch continues to wow with occasional new skins for various occasions.  So yeah, no way it’s sitting out another Halloween with a brand new event, Junkenstiens Revenge, and a slew of new looks for our favorite warriors of the future.  So for this weeks Top 5, I’m looking at the new Halloween skins from this year AND last year to choose my Top 5 Overwatch Halloween Costumes.  Many cosplayers have pulled off one or two of these very nicely and I cant wait to see how they pull off some of the newer ones.

 

#5-Cuthulu Zenyatta

A monk of peace sports the creepiest headpiece imaginable.  Zen looks more likely to swallow your head whole rather than heal your wounds in battle wearing this get up.  Still, this is one of the more imaginative looks and is pretty unique.  Im guessing this is a skin many will be aiming to get before the new event is over at the end of the month.  Im wondering though, how cool would it be if Zen went Darkside and THIS was his final boss mode?  Unlikely but still a cool what if.

 

#4-Summoner Symmetra

Symmetra is hot enough already: pretty voice, sexy outfit, come hither eyes.  Turning into a summoner with “fire based powers” even hotter.  But…ok hear me out.  I get that this skin is supposed to be modeled after a Dragon…but before I knew that was I the only one who thought Symmetra looked like Sil from the 90s scifi/horror flick Species?  Was I really the only one?  Not a knock against this look in the slightest, it’s still really cool.  Just thought someone was really reaching with the design inspiration that’s all.  Of all the skins, this is probably the one I want the second most and I don’t even play as Sym.  (BTW if youre curious about what Sil from Species looks like, just google it, any image of her is NSFW, especially for here)

 

#3-Immortal 76 aka Thriller 76

Dear Blizzard,

You’ve made a crap ton of money off of Overwatch as is.  Is there any particular way you could somehow slip in Michael Jackson’s Thriller into a future Halloween event AND give Soldier 76 a Thriller Dance Emote that can only be used with this skin?  Yeah I know it’s called “Immortal” but come on.  Do you not see the King of Pop (RIP) when you look at 76 in this red and black leather look?  Just saying, there might be some missed opprotunities you should be looking into here. 

Thanks for listening,

Arschel aka Gundam

 

#2-Scarecrow Junkrat

A common theme with some of my choices on this list, they have specific names obviously but I always think they look like something else.  Junkrat’s Scarecrow look is probably the last exception.  The moment I saw this, I immedietly thought of the Skull Kid from The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask-the poor Imp who gets his hands on the titular mask and makes Links life a living hell by colliding the moon with the planet and forcing Link to time travel continuously to get things right.  Honestly…it’s a role I could see Junkrat in.  He loves explosions, what better one than a killer moon crashing to Earth with his scary as hell face smiling at you?

 

#1-Witch Mercy

This one is cosplayed to no end and with good reason.  Mercy has had some of the best skins in all of Overwatch but this is a whole other level.  It screams mysterious, sexy and very, very wicked.  It’s no wonder she’s one of the main enemies for the Junkenstiens Revenge event, causing trouble by resurrecting enemies and healing them continuously.  Also, her dialogue gets noticeably darker and even a bit naughty when this skin is equipped.  I want it and am saving my points to maybe get it at its reduced price before it goes into lockdown when the event ends.  Who would’ve though Overwatch’s heavenly angel of healing would make such a devilishly sexy witch of darkness?  No complaints about that whatsoever.

Silent Mobius Part 4 Episodes 15-18

It seems as if the Lucifer Hawks have backed off…for now.  Which is a good thing because the AMP has a whole slew of other problems to deal with.  A new recruit, Lum Cheng, joins the AMP.  But this young upstarts hotheaded attitude isn’t earning her any favors with her teammates, especially Katsumi and Kiddy.  Meanwhile, Lebia finds herself assigned to a case with Ralph and Roy and Yuki ends up trapped in the future.  And Kiddy’s love for Ralph is put to the test when she is framed for murder.  Sometimes, it’s the threats too close to home that are even more dangerous than the Lucifer Hawks themselves.

Anytime a production reaches the halfway mark on a show, it’s good to take a step back, reflect on what’s come before and think about how to proceed going forward.  Sometimes it’s good to start with a fresh slate, put up a fresh canvas and start anew.  Maybe you do a time skip, maybe you just reset the status quo with a new conflict.  Or you introduce a poor mans Chun Li who’s an obnoxious brat molded in with a cast that’s already too large and tough to handle…it’s moves like this that make me think this show isn’t going to get any better.

The first half of this weeks set had some of the worst moments in Silent Mobius thus far.  Bringing in Lum Cheng is extremely pointless.  She comes in like a lone wolf and immedietly pisses everyone off, nevermind the viewers.  Oh and she wants Roy all to herself…cause why not give Katsumi more on her plate than she needs.  Her introduction to this show changes nothing and if you ignore her presence in every episode, nothing is lost but a few precious moments of time that could be better spent developing everyone else who is in extremely dire need of character growth.  Nami and Lebia have both been left out in the cold, do they even have a point on this series anymore?  Rally is all but missing save for a nice heart to heart she has with Katsumi.  Of the core cast of women, only Katsumi and Kiddy have any really good story or depth to them.  Watching the two of them bond over their shared inner demons: Kiddy being a cyborg and Katsumi being part Lucifer Hawk, was touching and proof that this show can make some of these core friendships work.

And if you think ive forgotten about Yuki, trust me, I wish I could.  This week, she gets sent back in time 30 years just before the Silent Crisis.  Here she meets a boy Toru, falls in love with him, and decides to just forget trying to figure out how she got to the past and just stay there for good.  SO MUCH WRONG INSTANTLY!!!! Firstly, how the hell did Yuki get sent back in time to begin with?  Second, why isn’t she trying to return to her time period?  Thirdly, why the Disney esque romance in a show where Katsumi asks her boyfriend to kill her if she goes full on dark side?  See, if Yuki had been shown as a character who hates the present and the world she lives in, only to be shown a world of peace (even with disaster on the horizon), I could see that as her motivation to stay in the past with Toru.  But no, Yuki has been background noise up until now and everything about this episode seemed so forced.  Hell, we even see Katsumi’s parents in a news report in the past (naturally Yuki doesn’t spot them).  That would have been so cool to see one of the AMP members interacting with two individuals at the forefront of the disaster that brought them together.  Silent Mobius has made a lot of missteps, most of them resulting in boring character episodes.  “Labyrinth” however, takes the cake as the worst episode of the series so far. 

The latter two episodes this week did manage to bring things back a little bit.  Kiddy got another strong episode, facing a new Megadyne who has been taken over by a Lucifer Hawk (more on that in a minute).  Seeing Ralph and Katsumi immedietly come to her aid while Isozaki and Lum Cheng pretty much wrote her off, was great.  For all their bickering, Kiddy and Ralph have been as strong, if not a stronger, couple than Katsumi and Roy.  Speaking of, Katsumi and Roy reached a very important crossroads.  Whereas Kiddy and Ralph are in a good place now, Katsumi forced Roy to decide what he would do if she went to the dark side of the Lucifer Hawks.  Roy’s reply is a strong one and a respectable one.  However, thanks to Rally sucking at romantic advice, Katsumi ended things with him.  Why do I get the feeling Rally went to the Sam Raimi Spider Man school of dealing with Superheroes in Relationships?  I doubt things will stay cold between Katsumi and Roy for very long.  Theirs is one of the shows better pillars and fracturing that when the show could really use the support is not the smartest move.

One thing of note from this week is the concept of the Lucifer Hawks sneaking their way into human society, indicating a larger endgame in play.  We saw Ganoza brokering a deal with the President of the company behind the Megadyne Cyborgs and also saw a Lucifer Hawk taking control of one of Tokyo’s most dangerous gangs, the Ghouls.  If we had an episode dedicated to the bad guys to explore this new set up, that would be so beneficial.  We even got a really good Roy/Ralph story focusing on their investigation of their own department and discovering the Police are trying to make new bio monsters to combat the Lucifer Hawks just to keep up with the AMP.  It’s a stupid plan, stupidest of the stupid.  It does show the pressure the Lucifer Hawk threat is putting on the city now, even if the AMP are in fairly decent shape.  If anything, it also tells me that the AMP need to just kick out Nami, Yuki, and Lum Cheng and bring on Ralph and Roy as their permanent teammembers just because they seem more competent at their job than the people tasked with bringing down the Lucifer Hawks.  Lebia can stay…I don’t know why she just can.

Right now, Katsumi, Kiddy, Roy and Ralph are the only reasons im still caring about this show (that and I have two volumes to go, I cant back out now).  Silent Mobius had a chance to start correcting a lot of things with the beginning of it’s second half.  Instead, it piles on the BS storytelling and introduces another character who is the most useless yet (that’s saying a lot with Nami and Yuki in your cast).  I want to like this show, I want to like these characters.  But what’s the point in doing so when the show itself feels like it could care less about everything going on in it?  Halfway through the show and already I want there to be a reboot with a cut down cast, better animation and a better focused story.  Cause right now, this show is driving me crazy and Silent Mobius is a story I want to succeed…somehow.

FIF#36-Pilot Candidate (aka Candidate for Goddess)

4084 AD.  Humanity finds itself facing a lethal alien race known as Victim.  The war with this monstrous force has decimated Humanity’s planets and only a single solitary world remains, Zion.  Tasked with protecting the last refuge of mankind are five pilots and their elite fighting machines, The Goddesses.  GOA is the training hall for young men with the potential destiny to take up the mantle of Pilot for the Goddesses.  Five new recruits have been chosen, each with their own skills and quirks.  If they can survive GOA’s rigorous training, they could be the key to ending the war with Victim once and for all.

Candidate for Goddess, or Pilot Candidate, is a show that I first found out through its brief tenure during the early days of Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim Saturday Anime Night.  Just recently, I found the complete series re released for the first time in over a decade on DVD and decided to give into my nostalgia earnings and check it out.  So after one episode, how was this return to Mechas Past and does it seem to shape up right away to be the disappointment it’s known to be?  For me, the answers are ok and sort of.

Ive gotta say right off the bat, Zero Enna’s character is the easiest character to write in Anime history.  Just give him five lines, have him repeat those lines for about a minute each and boom, instant annoying Naruto Type in space.  Personally, his cool sounding name aside, I don’t see how we’re supposed to get super invested in Zero and that’s also where the infamous faults of the series come through.  There’s a lot of setup in the premiere: establishing Victim, the Goddesses, their pilots, GOA, Zion, the spirits within the Goddesses.  This was clearly meant to be a series much longer than 13 episodes, probably closer to 26, hell I’d say it feels like it would need 50.  And yet the premiere tells us very little and expects us to roll with it, leaving viewers lost and totally confused as to why an advanced piece of mecha is accepting a hyperactive fan boy into its cockpit.  There’s a crap tone of questions presented and I can feel that, even if the overall ride is possibly enjoyable, we’re not going to get many answers, if any at all.  And that’s a frustrating thought.  Another complaint I need to make, if we’re going to be focusing on the candidates themselves, what about the real pilots, how often will they be around, especially the cute girl leading the team?  I get the feeling the huge cast will weigh down the story more than the short length of it.

Trying to balance out the mile a minute plot line are the visuals and they’re not all bad.  The Goddesses are gorgeous mechs, almost in the same vein as Zone of the Enders (which I think around the time of this Anime’s production was a popular game as well).  We only get to see them briefly in action (and even then only one of them really does anything).  Had we seen the Goddesses and their pilots take on more than one Victim, they might’ve left a bigger impression beyond their fantastic designs.  The character art, and animation in general, feel standard fare and sometimes the CG art on the mecha and space ships feels a bit dated.  Unlike handrawn Anime of the 70’s and 80’s, the animation here hasn’t aged all that well and almost feel generic in a way (need I mention Zero’s Naruto looking hairdo in addition to his high caffeinated personality?).

Pilot Candidate is a short series and it’s now sitting on my shelf and, given it’s brief length, feels like something I could probably get through in less than a day.  However, I don’t know if I want to wade through waters that have no depth.  This series is notorious for its short length and plot holes a mile deep.  Some would tell me im crazy for wasting my time.  Eh, I’ve watched worse things for the same reason.  The opening and end themes are pretty good though.  Now if you’ll excuse me…I suddenly feel the urge to play Zone of the Enders again.

T5W#113-Top 5 Things I Want to See in RWBY Vol.5

This week, the quirky and adorkable heroines of Team RWBY return to the internet (if youre subscribed to Rooster Teeths premiere programs, otherwise they return next week for the public).  RWBY has come a long way from its humble beginnings.  It’s hit high points and some very tragic lows (the loss of it’s irreplaceable creator Monty Oum).  Through it all, RWBY has become a classic, a legend beloved by fans and it is ready to return and kick more ass than ever before.  In light of this, I do have my own mini wish list of things I’d like to see happen with Vol.5.  So that’s today’s Top 5.  Here’s what I want to see when Ruby Rose swings her gun sythe once again. 

BTW chances are I will review Vol.5 but ill likely wait until the entire season has aired like ive done with every volume in the past.  So keep an eye out around mid February-early March 2018 (just after Katsucon) for my full season review.

 

#5-Push the Endgame

The reason I hold Volume 3 as the best of RWBY so far is that it took two seasons of build up and gave us the best and yet most horrifying payoff.  Volume 4 was good but I felt like it returned to Volume 1&2’s slow wait and build approach.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in a hurry to see RWBY end any time soon.  Still, we’ve been given a lot of puzzle pieces and it’s time to start fitting them all together, set us up for the inevitable final battle…or not inevitable as they could pad this out for a long time (especially if Team RWBY itself doesn’t reunite during Volume 5 or worse at its end).  The path is there…so where is it all heading.

 

#4-Blake retaking the White Fang

One of the most exciting developments im looking forward to is Blakes new mission to bring the White Fang back to the side of good.  How awesome would it be to see everyones cat eared Faunus leading an army of Faunus ninjas into battle, maybe with a new costume (not that im complaining about her Volume 4 look at all).  Blake’s story was my favorite of the separate Volume 4 quests, from her bonding with her parents to her deepening relationship with Sun.  I’m hoping it only gets better when Blake comes full circle and retakes the organization she once served.

 

#3-A Healthy Dose of Humor

Volume 3 was a turning point for RWBY.  Suddenly all the Anime style humor just stopped and it was time for the series to start getting serious.  In my review of Volume 3, I did praise this as it gave me more sense of urgency or stakes that I never really got from Volume 1 or 2.  I do feel like this move came at a bit of a cost.  No matter how good the individual travels of Team RWBY were in Volume 4, I did miss the humor that came from wide eyed Ruby going all chibi over something.  Blake had some fun moments courtesy of Sun tagging along to meet her parents.  But this show has been dark for a while.  It’s not a fully bad thing…but it would be nice to see the old RWBY humor poke it’s head back in, even if it’s just for one episode.

 

#2-The Bad Guys Need to take a Hit

Ever since things got serious at the mid point of Volume 3, the bad guys seem to be winning far more than the good guys.  There’s only so much of this Game of Thrones approach a guy can take before enough is enough.  The bad guy need to take a loss and a big one.  Im not saying Cinder or Salem need to bite it right away.  But someone like that maniac Tyrian needs to get his ass kicked so bad he doesn’t get back up.  We’ve lost Pyrrah and Penny, it’s time the bad guys knew what that felt like (wow that sounded more personal than I intended but man I’m still hurting over a few things).

 

#1-Team RWBY Reunites

My number 1 is an obvious one.  Vol.4 did the right thing by splitting the girls up.  After Vol.3, everyone was hurt or broken (literally in Yangs case).  Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang are strong but they needed time to sort through their own tragedies in their own way.  But the time for reflection and healing has passed.  It’s time for our girls to come home, by which they need to come back together again.  The dynamic is definitely going to be different but it will be stronger than ever before.  And man, if my #2 is going to happen, then Cinder and her masters are in for a galaxy of hurt.  Let’s just hope we don’t have to wait all season for the big four to come together again…that would kind of suck no matter how strong the story is.