T5W#159-Top 5 Overwatch Animated Shorts

Overwatch has been a bit of a recurring guest here on my blog.  While it isn’t Anime per say, there’s Anime influence everywhere within it.  From the character designs to the special abilites to the way the action plays out on screen.  The in gameplay battles are chaotic and fun.  However, there’s a special kind of magic to be found in the numerous Animated Shorts that Blizzard puts out every few months.  These mini features usually highlight at least one character and tend to pour on the feels like no other.  Seeing as how we just got a brand new one a couple of weeks ago, I figured it was time I gave Overwatch another shoutout here on Top 5 Wednesday, this week looking at my Top 5 Overwatch Animated Shorts.  Be warned, I will be talking SPOILERS about what happens in these tales…cause really without revealing them I cant truly talk about how special they really are.

#5-Hero (Soldier 76)

In the main game, Soldier 76 is the easiest starter character since he plays a lot like someone from Call of Duty or Halo.  Like many others on this list, however, there’s a bit of depth we only glimpse at in his various bits on in game dialogue.  “Hero” shows the former commander of Overwatch out to deal with a gang in a way that even Frank Castle (The Punisher) would be proud of.  It’s definitely one of the more action packed shorts, with 76 taking out gang members left and right with a mix of Batman stealth and aforementioned Punisher gunplay.  However, beyond the battlehardened bad assery is a man who still wants to do the right thing, even if that means risking the mission and his life to save a girl who gets caught in the crossfire.  “I’m not a young man anymore,” Morrison says, but there’s still a hero behind that visor.

#4-Alive (Widowmaker)

One of the first Overwatch shorts I saw introduced me to two characters ive always had a soft spot for.  While this is a Widowmaker based story, there’s equal amounts screentime dedicated to Overwatch’s flagship speedster Tracer.  The tale follows the two battling it out in London: Widow after an Omni Peacemaker and Tracer trying to protect said Peacemaker.  The battle between the two is amazing, showcasing their equally unique skill sets and giving us some great back and forth that emphasizes why Widow and Tracer continue to be shipped by the community.  The ending is the part that really stands out.  Tracer loses the duel and her charge is killed.  If anything, Alive emphasized that while this is a fun and energetic universe, it isn’t afraid to let the bad guys win if things do play out that way.

#3-Shooting Star (D.Va)

The most recent of the Animated shorts, Shooting Star is a more straight forward action fest featuring Overwatch’s second most featured promo character, the sexy MEKA Pilot D.Va, battling a squadron of Sentinel like Omnics solo.  D.Va’s skill in the cockpit of her awesome mech is on full display along with all the glowing confidence, personality and genuine likeablity she has always been gifted with.  The short also proves to be a lesson for the cutie pilot, being forced to let her lone wolf attitude take a backseat to trusting that lucky guy who gets to hang out with her in her hanger.  While my main’s in recent months have become Sombra and Moira, I could always start training with a Tank character…and I think D.Va would be a good one to go with after this short.  Plus ahhhhh I wish a girl would look at me the way D.Va glimpses her handsome friend from time to time.

#2-Infiltration (Sombra)

Oh Sombra.  I never knew that from the moment this short ended, I would find the Overwatch character I would excel with in the main game…but also fall for super hard.  The first appearance of everyones favorite sultry Mexican hackeress follows her infiltrating Volskaya Industries with the help of Reaper and Widowmaker.  We get to see Sombra’s hacking and stealth on full display, God she is such a boss.  I love the climax though, showing that Sombra is really playing her own kind of game, not on the side of Talon but also far from the side of Overwatch.  What kind of favor would she ever reach out to Volskaya for?  What is Sombra’s ultimate objective?  I don’t know but I would love more adventures with her down the line (though I guess every character needs to get at least one feature first and we’ve barely gotten through a quarter of the cast list).  

#1-Rise and Shine (Mei)

Of all the shorts released so far, this one legit made me cry.  And if you’re not crying by the end, there’s something wrong with you.  You wouldn’t know it behind her shy and cute personality but Mei has one of the more tragic backstories of any character in Overwatch.  When Mei and her Antartica based science team decide to spend time in cryo stasis to preserve resources and await resupply, no one expects anything to go wrong.  But then Mei wakes up…in her cute Pajamei look no less…and slowly realizes that not only have 10 years gone by and Overwatch is no more…but she is also the only survivor of cryo sleep, her team perishing one after another throughout the years.  It’s such a sad fate to wake up to and Mei hugging her faithful robot Snowball only sells it more.  But then Mei decides to pull a Mark Watney and make her way back to civilization…and the recall message put out by Winston.  Goes to show you that even in the darkest of times, the strongest of hearts can always pull through.  Mei proves in this short more than anything that she belongs with the revitalized Overwatch…and dammit you just wanna hug her too.

The Slayers Part 2 Episodes 6-9

For Lina Inverse, the ideal life involves mountains of treasures, taller mountains of food, and…well that’s it.  But that ideal life is moving further and further away as her true enemy reveals himself.  Rezo the Red Priest seeks the Philosopher’s Stone in order to resurrect the dark and powerful Shabranigdo, Lord of the Demons, and satisfy his own desires.  The end of the world is bad for everyone, so Lina’s gotta step up.  But she isn’t alone.  Not only is she reunited with the dim witted Gourry, but she’s also got Zelgadis and his men watching her back.  Facing a legion of Trolls, Monsters and Rezo himself, Lina Inverse: Dragon Slayer moves forward to save the world…and all the food she has yet to devour.

I’d say that we had a complete 180 from last week.  But bless Slayers, even when things got a bit more bleak and dire in this weeks set of episodes, it still had time to laugh in the face of the darkness.  And in the end, that’s gotta make you feel pretty good about things to come, even if it looked as if we’re building to a season finale so soon in this first season.

Ive gotta say, I love Lina and Zel’s short time together.  Zel’s more serious minded nature both clashed and meshed pretty well with Lina’s impulsive force of nature attitude.  I think they bounced well off of each other.  I’d dare say they’re “ship worthy” but much like the old Indiana Jones adage goes, “No time for love Doctor Jones.”  Cause it was finally time to bring the gang back together and Gourry was bringing more than just his lack of perception.  Nope, Gourry also brought a lightsaber…more or less.  His reveal of the Sword of Light hidden within the hilt of his blade was pretty cool and I doubt we’ve seen even a fraction of its true potential.  Given that Lina, Gourry and Zel have a Demon Lord to contend with next week, I think we’ll see that fraction pretty soon. 

Let’s talk about Rezo and the summoning of the Demon Lord Shabranigdo.  First off, Rezo’s plan: destroy the world using the Philosopher’s Stone (yes it shares the same name as that pesky maguffin from Fullmetal Alchemist) in order to get his sight back…even by the usual destroy the world scenarios even that end goal is a bit overkill.  Granted Rezo’s ultimate plan backfired as Shabranigdo was (somehow) sealed behind his eyes…will that ever be explained?  Logic aside, the Dark Lord of the Demon World was every bit fitting of his title based on his design alone.  Multiple arms, horns, blood red eyes and teeth the Alien Queen would be jealous of, clearly this is a foe not to be trifled with and it added an air of dread to the proceedings (also he’s animated nicely to boot).  No moment highlighted this than the (seemingly) unfortunate demise of Zel’s two servants…who have been on his side the whole time?  Yeah that also bothered me.  If they were loyal to Zelgadis the whole time, why didn’t they escape with him and Lina at the end of last week?  I shouldn’t complain too much since Lina and Zel’s team up alone worked just fine without them.  Still, RIP Zel’s men (Zolf the Mummy Man and Rodimus the Axe Man).

Needless to say, things took a much darker turn with more powerful enemies to face, the deaths of characters both good and evil and the promise of a big final confrontation to come.  Again, it feels like we’d be on the doorstep of a Season Finale with this setup.  But more on the mind at the moment is Slayers ability to crack a joke even under all this pressure.  Gourry’s inability to keep up with the story can be aggravating but still feels in line with the humor of Slayers.  Same with Lina facing a monstrous Troll only for the creature to cut the battle short because he spotted a pretty girl and decided to ignore Lina.  No way was Lina taking that…but seriously, Lina is pretty hot imho, no way was the waitress (cute as she was) hotter in anyway…but that’s just me.  Point is, things got serious for sure.  But Slayers still knew when to break the tension with both well timed and surprise, out of nowhere humor.  If you’re not laughing at it by this point, then clearly this isn’t the series for you.

So with Lina back at full strength, Zelgadis on her team and Gourry revealing a secret weapon, do the Slayers stand a chance against one of the most legendary foes of darkness?  I think playtime might be over for a little bit but ive also gotta wonder just what’s going to happen with the second half of this season after/if the big bad is destroyed?  No sense pondering over it now.  We’ll all find out together next week as The Slayers continues right here on the Gundam Anime Corner.

Fall 2018 Announcements

Otakon has come and gone and the last flames of summer are coming in for one last hurrah.  What does any of that have to do with the Gundam Anime Corner?  Well it means summers about done and its time to look ahead to the rest of the year.  Believe or not, ive mapped out a lot of the latter half of 2018 far in advance and now its time to implement those plans.  Here’s the breakdown of what’s coming:

Mondays-Reviews continue as scheduled with The Slayers all throughout September.  Come October, I wanted to do another horror themed Anime, after doing Hellsing in 2016 and Silent Mobius in 2017.  For 2018, im tackling the Anime adaptation of the long running series that isn’t dying anytime soon (going into Season 14 no less).  Yep, rev up the Impala’s boys and girls, we’ll be running around with Sam and Dean Winchester in Supernatual: The Anime Series.  That’ll cover Halloween and take us right into November where im super excited to announce that I’ll be reviewing Full Metal Panic: Invisible Victory…or rather finally posting those reviews since I was actually writing them as the series was airing this past spring/summer.  I’ll cap of the Thanksgiving holiday with (hopefully) a full season review of FLCL: Alternative.  I’ll save my announcement of Winter series reviews for a little while longer, though ill hint that December might be a little more busier than usual.

Wednesdays-The never ending chain of Top 5 lists continues with no interuptions.  I have a couple of written in advance lists for Top 5 Wednesday in the coming weeks but nothing months in advance, seeing as how a lot of these are written a few minutes before posting, sometimes…anyway, T5W lives…not much further to announce there.

Fridays-Starting in September, First Impression Friday returns for the second half of it’s 2018 run.  The plan is to keep them going through at least the end of October, maybe a little bit into November, it kind of depends.  I have all of the shows chosen for this new set, except maybe one vacancy, and they kick off September 14 with my first thoughts on FLCL: Alternative (although I may just post something earlier like I did back in the Spring…schedules can be unpredictable sometimes).  Expect a nice mix of classic (and I mean 80’s old school) Anime with some new, modern fan favorites and maybe even a fresh premiere from Japan too…besides FLCL 3. 

And that’s that, the initial plan for the next couple of months here on the Gundam Anime Corner.  I hope everyone is enjoying all of the content ive been putting out in 2018.  If im honest, I think this year has been one of my favorite so far when it comes to writing.  I feel on fire with a lot of intense opinions, both strong and aggravating if a show is terrible.  As always, ill keep ya posted on anything going forward and I hope, even you’re just around for a quick peek, that somehow a visit to my page has made your day a bit better.  See ya around.

T5W#158-Top 10 Gundam Entries

Three years ago, the very first Top 5 Wednesday I ever did was my Top 5 Gundam Entries.  Yeah, that was purely just because it had to do with the blogs namesake.  But three years is a long time.  Ive seen more Gundam and become reacquainted with other titles id seen but had forgotten how much I’d enjoyed them.  Id been wanting to do a Redux list, like the one I did for My Top 5 My Hero Academia Heroes a couple weeks back, for a while now but never knew when to do so.  Well…would have been last week but Otakon happened.  So I just decided to push it back another week.  Also, I wanted to do a double sized list to commemorate the update of my three year old list, though I know some people will still complain about a couple of notable absences…but that’s just because ive never seen those shows all the way through or I still want people to realize there’s more to Gundam than just Seed and Wing (though you can guess one of those titles is def on the list).  Anyway, enough yapping, enjoy this double sized Top 5 Wednesday of my Top 10 Gundam Entries.

 

#10-Gundam Build Divers

As of this post, Build Divers is still going on in Japan but it has won my heart.  This is the sequel Gundam Build Fighters Try never wanted to be and failed because of it.  Build Divers takes everything that made Gundam Build Fighters fun and puts it on a new, digital stage with a cast of enthusiastic (and hopeful) characters who have fun and learn important life lessons about loving Gunpla and team building.  Even when this show tries to go the Build Fighters Try route of trying to darken a fun hobby, Build Divers always bounces back with an inspiring message that will make anyone with a heart cry.  Like the original Build Fighters, this is more than just a 30 min ad for Gunpla, it’s a love letter to all Gundam fans out there.

 

#9-Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn

While I do have issues with many of its characters (Banagher and especially Riddhe), Gundam Unicorn is still a very important and well put together sequel in the Universal Century saga.  It is a well explained history lesson about the era with a few big and brilliant surprises and offers some interesting hints at the future to come (set between this series in UC 0096 and Gundam F91 set in UC0123…unless that gets jettisoned but who knows).  It’s also obvious that the time in between episode releases did wonders for the animation.  This is how Gundam was always meant to look.  Factor in the kick ass Unicorn Gundam (a worthy addition to the pantheon) and some great battles featuring new mobile suits and the return of some old favorites and a great soundtrack and you’ll see why Gundam Unicorn is considered required viewing for anyone who calls themselves a Gundam fan.

 

#8-Mobile Suit Gundam Wing

You know it had to be on here right?  Without this show, I wouldn’t know Gundam or love it as much as I do.  This was the one that started it all.  Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, Zechs Merquise, Wing Zero, Deathsythe.  This was the series that briefly replaced Dragon Ball Z as the show every kid had to talk about at lunch the next day.  Having just rewatched the series on Blu Ray recently, I can tell you the show does have faults both in animation and storytelling. Gundam Wing may not have aged as well as other entries on this list but the place it holds in my heart cannot be moved.  And, whether we want to admit it or not, without it’s huge presence on Toonami back in 2000, Gundam might not have caught on at all in the States as it did.  I for one choose to love it and always will.

 

#7-Mobile Suit Gundam 00

Having just finished another yearly watch of this series, I can honestly say that, similar to Wing above, 00 has problems but it’s a show I still like a great deal.  The story might teeter into absurdity but I like its ideas and its nods to previous Gundam stories.  Many of the characters irritate the crap out of me but I still really like the stories of several of the more central ones like Setsua and Tierria and both versions of Lockon Stratos.  In the end, it’s all about having fun with this one, even if it doesn’t make sense.  Oh and there’s the Gundam 00 Raiser, one of the best Gundam units ever made (especially if you’re using it in Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3…same goes for the Unicorn FYI).  In the end, 00 is a good successor to the legacy of Gundam Wing for me: it made a big splash in my life as an Anime fan and continues to be a title I will always return to for a watch every year.

 

#6-Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket

Few Anime can do in 26-50 episodes what War in the Pocket manages to do in just six.  Set nice and snug towards the end of the original series, Gundam 0080 is a heartbreaking side story about the horrors of war seen through the eyes of a child.  Al Izuruma fantasizes about the action but could never imagine how dire the consequences of war really are.  And yet, Gundam 0080 makes you feel and hurt for every single character from Al to the Zeon Cyclops Team to eternally doomed lovers Bernie and Chris.  This OVA is about characters first…but it’s Mobile Suit Gundam so theres still plenty of action and Mobile Suits to go around.  This is almost as close to truly perfect Gundam has come in a total package and was worthy to be created for the 10^th Anniversary of the franchise…frak it’s almost 30 years old.

 

#5-Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08^th MS Team

08^th MS Team made a bold move to return to the One Year War and elect to focus on an Earth based Federation Unit with no Newtypes and no appearances from any of the original series cast (though Ghirren Zabi’s speech is heard briefly at one point).  And it works.  Much like Gundam 0080, 08^th MS Team prioritizes the titular squad first and foremost, molding them from a rag tag bunch into a closely knit unit.  The love story at the heart of this tale is pretty touching too, Shiro and Aina make a cute couple.  However, the action is one of the reasons this show rocks.  The emphasis on ground combat gives a very dirty and realistic vibe to the action scenes.  The showdown between Shiro Amada and Norris Packard towards the end of the series is the absolute high point of the show and also stands as one of the greatest duels in Gundam History.

 

#4-Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack

How do you close out the first (and arguably) most important chapter of the Gundam legacy?  By going as big as possible that’s how.  Char’s Counterattack had a lot of work to do when released, mainly concluding a saga spanning 14 years of the Universal Century and 3 Television Series.  To say it does it’s job with a bang is an understatement…it does so with a great many bangs.  Everything about Char’s Counterattack feels epic.  The space battles were the largest to date and on a scale few Gundams have yet to match (though Gundam 0083 managed to do so).  And, of course, the titular bad ass himself and Amuro Ray are back for one last tussle.  Who will win in the end, who is on who’s side, who will live, who will die?  So many questions keep you guessing until the shocking final moments.  The first chapter of Gundam History ends on an incredibly strong note here.

 

#3-Mobile Suit Gundam

Universal Century 0079.  The fictional year that would live in infamy.  While we can all see the popularity of Gundam Wing, Gundam Seed and many others, said popularity would not have been possible if this show had not succeeded, and it still holds up today.  The animation? Classic.  The characters? Timeless.  The story? Still one of the most important in Anime history.  Just how would humanity fight a civil war with giant robots and what costs would come with it?  Mobile Suit Gundam doesn’t hold back at the harsh realities of war time but still maintains an air of fantasy and infinite possibility.  This is where the legacy began and I still think that, of all the entries on this list, Mobile Suit Gundam remains one of the most important titles in the world of Anime that should be watched at least once.  It blazed a trail for most of the Giant Robot Genre to follow.

 

#2-Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin

Years of questions have finally been answered with this Godsend of a title.  While the main focus is on the rise of Char Aznable (one of Gundam’s most legendary bad asses), The Origin does just what the title implies: explores pretty much every nook and cranny of the road to The One Year War.  We get stories dedicated to several other Gundam legends like Ramba Ral, Garma Zabi, the Black Tri Stars.  Heck even later episodes give us glimpses into the lives of Amuro Ray and his future White Base comrades before they entered the greatest conflict in human history.  Who would’ve thought that the original series had all of this gold that came before it?  That’s exactly what Gundam: The Origin is, a goldmine.  If you loved the original series and had a ton of lingering questions or theories about characters and events, this is the title you have been waiting for.

 

#1-Gundam Build Fighters

I was never sure what to expect checking out a Gundam series about building Gunpla and making them battle each other on a specialized digital arena.  Low and behold, I ended up discovering, what I feel is, the ultimate love letter to one of Anime’s most endearing franchises.  Gundam Build Fighters opens the mecha toybox filled with Gunpla, dumps it on the floor and tells the fans to have fun.  And fun is what you get.  From spectacular battles to an amazing central duo of protagonists to literally hundreds of blink and you’ll miss Easter Eggs from literally every corner of the Gundam Universe, Gundam Build Fighters has it all.  The show spoke to the 7^th grader in me who first gazed upon that 15 second teaser trailer for Gundam Wing and reminded me of the kid I was back then and how I first fell in love with this universe.  Gundam Build Fighters wasn’t an Anime made for me…it was made for all of us Gundam fans who have loved this franchise forever…and always will.

The Slayers Part 1 Episodes 1-5

Meet Lina Inverse.  Slayer of dragons, scourge of thieves and bandits, monster of the countryside, Lina has many names…and not all of them are nice ones.  True she tends to bring more destruction with her acts of salvation but there’s no denying her power.  And Lina’s going to need all the power she can get when a mysterious foe comes after her for a statue she acquired during her recent plunder.  Pursued by a shadowy force, Lina and her dimwitted “bodyguard”, the swordsman Gourry, certainly have their work cut out for them.  But no job, no battle, no table of food is too big or small for Lina the Dragon Slayer.

Well break time’s over, time to get back to the grind.  And after thinking about it quite a bit, ive decided to head back to a pretty big nostalgia title, another one I feel has lost some of its presence in later years.  Welcome to the world of The Slayers.

Long before the days of Gate and the digital fantasy realms of Sword Art Online and Log Horizon…there was an age undreamed of…ok the Conan bit is a little much but still.  In the early to mid 90’s fantasy was finally starting to make more headway in the world of Anime after the mecha influx of the 80’s.  While Record of Lodoss War was more traditional Dungeons and Dragons style romp, Slayers is something else all together, even if it has some shades of its more serious fantasy brethren (the animation of the 90’s and some of the music does sound Lodoss like).  Lodoss was played for full serious fantasy storytelling, Slayers is here for the laughs and entertainment.  While it might divert from that path a couple of times in this intro set, the course is set and it looks like we’ll have little deviation…which isn’t a bad thing.

So what sets this series apart from most other fantasy titles?  One name, Lina Inverse.  If you think about it, this cute little sorceress is the template for several anime characters to come down the line (the short stature of Edward Elric (and the same temper when called short); the Haruhi Suzumiya levels of extortion and admiration for her own legend; and the unintentional destructive reputation of Vash the Stampede).  Lina is a hit from the get go.  While she is prone to leaving scorched Earth wherever she goes, theres no denying Lina is good at what she does: beating up bad guys, slaying monsters and stealing their treasure.  Lina isn’t without her own sensitive side as we see with her interactions with fellow main cast members Gourry and Zelgadis (we’ll get to them in a second).  It shows that for all her arrogance, she can be nice and give credit where credit is due.  Lina also gives Slayers most of its humorous edge at her own expense.  My favorite joke (wrong as it may be) has to be when she loses her powers for…particular reasons she doesn’t want to discuss and it’s hilarious that Gourry doesn’t get it and Zel is actually shy about bringing it up matter of factly.  Point is, with Lina at the helm, Slayers is off to a good start right away.

Along for the ride, at the moment anyway, are Gourry and Zel.  Gourry is a bad ass with a sword with the intelligence of a kindergartener.  His humorous moments of dumb can be hit or miss, since most of his schtick is poorly repeating exposition and obvious facts.  But his heart is always in the right place, especially when it comes to Lina…eventually after he quits calling her a little girl (just wrong).  Zel is an instant cool character that I want to see more of.  His cloaked bandit look, his skill with a sword and magic, his tragic backstory (it seems), it’s almost a basic template for a bad boy Shonen character…except Zel isn’t brooding too much.  He can even sort of match Lina in magic and hand to hand combat, making him a welcome addition to the cast, a bit of serious mindedness to balance Lina’s impulsiveness and Gourry’s…well dumb.

The first few episodes of Slayers provides a surprisingly equal amount of laughs and action.  The humor takes the front of the pack but never feels too forced (that much, there are admittedly some moments and bits that went on for far too long) and isn’t afraid to step back and let the swords clash and magic fly with a little less levity.  It’s not bloody like Lodoss and not as rapid fire as Dragon Ball Z but it’s fun enough (it does have the destructive level of DBZ with Lina’s ultimate Dragon Slave attack though).  I will wonder if the series will ever take a more serious, darker turn like Martian Successor Nadesico did.  Granted, Nadesico was a parody of the scifi/mecha genre and still stayed true to itself, even with the change in direction.  I hope Slayers will do the same when/if that time comes, though I think it will eventually.  After all, there’s also the aforementioned sad backstory to Zel and his encounter with Rezo, the red priest.  While Zel was first introduced as a baddy but his motives began to change, Rezo immediately screamed “bad guy” maybe even “big bad”.  Just the way he talked and his look (im wondering if his blindness is him playing dumb for Lina and everyone else), I felt he could be trusted.  So it was odd to see Lina so welcoming of him during their initial encounter.  Granted, Rezo is a big deal and she would fanboy over him a little.  But Lina questions everyone she meets, or tries to swindle them.  It seemed out of place early on for her to be even a little trusting (it took her about three episodes to warm up to Gourry).  Im probably nitpicking a bit as she does theorize about Rezo being a fake later on.

So, we close out Week 1 of The Slayers on a pretty good note.  The humor is likeable and legitimately funny.  Lina Inverse rocks and her companions have their strong points too.  There’s a little dark overcast for those who want a more serious central plot.  And there’s plenty of 90’s nostalgia Anime in the presentation from the art style to the extremely catchy opening and ending themes (side note: it’s cute that the main lyrics of the opening theme are “Get along, try again,” as the third season of Slayers is Slayers Try and before Slayers Revolution, the proposed fourth season of Slayers was dubbed Slayers Again…yeah coincidence but it makes me chuckle).  Well we’ve spent a summer dealing with Holy Grail Wars, unbearable sacrifices and Shiro Emiya’s head to wall slamming logic…yeah The Slayers will be a welcome change of pace.  And the laughs will continue (along with a continuing story im sure), next week.

Mary and the Witch’s Flower

For the young, ever eager Mary Smith, the last thing she ever expected to discover after moving to the English Countryside…was a sparkling blue flower with magical properties.  Now she can ride a broom and enter a world where those who want to learn magic go to Endor College.  Little does Mary know, this is all just the beginning of the ultimate adventure.  Soon she’ll be chased by wizards after her source of power, looking to change the world.  But these magical pros have underestimated the girl with red hair and just as Mary’s world has been changed by magic, Mary is about to show the magical world just what she’s capable of too.

As the debut film from Studio Ponoc, Mary and the Witch’s Flower puts to the test the skills of a group of animators who honed said skills in one of Anime’s most legendary houses: Studio Ghibli.  The end result is a film that is littered with elements from many of Ghibli’s most memorable films but still manages to stand strong on its own thanks to a strong story of courage, great animation and an endearing lead girl. 

I’ll admit, the Ghibli nods made me a little uncertain about the film at times.  There are shades of Naussica, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle just to name a few within the opening act of the movie.  It’s already hard enough trying to distinguish Mary from any of those films mostly cause the gorgeous artwork feels very Ghibli.  However, the more you look at it, the more you see that the movie never tries to get by on those references.  It’s almost a message in a way, Ponoc letting you know they love the films they helped bring to life before they moved on to make their own.  As such, I looked at the nods and refs as friendly waves, letting me know that the studio is starting off on a good foot and even if it feels familiar, it can still be a joy to watch.

Besides the great animation, the strongest element of the film for me was the titular Mary herself.  I was tuned in almost from minute one.  I enjoyed her energy, her determination to do something exciting and helpful only to mess up accidentally.  It told me she was going to have a bit of a blast once the story really got going.  Discovering a world of magic and the ability to use said magic would freak anyone out at first.  Mary is no exception but I always had a feeling that her will to work out a problem and always give things her all would keep her alright in the end.  I never got bored with or lost faith in this girl.  If Naussica was Ghibli’s flagship heroine to kick off its legacy, I really hope the world comes to see Mary as the same for Ponoc.

By the end of the movie and trying to think of things to cover in this review, I found myself not really wanting to focus on things I didn’t like about the movie.  Or rather, it was hard to think of what I didn’t like.  Maybe I could have asked for more from Endor College, or maybe a spin off set within it (a prequel maybe?).  I could admit that the college title did make me shake my head with a smirk…if you’re a nerd you cant hear “Endor” and not think that Ewoks are going to show up at some point doing a parade or something.  Maybe we could have sped up the introduction of the magical elements which led to Mary’s first flight to Endor itself.  Or perhaps a little more focus on the blossoming friendship between Mary and Peter.  In the end, anything I have to say beyond the earlier initial reactions to all the Ghibli shoutouts is really just a bunch of nitpicks.  I really liked this movie.

Stepping out from the shadow of a legendary Anime studio can be tough, but it can be done.  Like Studio Trigger emerging from Gainax to create Little Witch Academia and Kill La Kill, Studio Ponoc has proved solely with Mary and the Witch’s Flower alone that theyre ready to make their mark.  Their film is infused with the same magic and wonder and heart of any Miyazaki or Takahata directed feature.  The art, the brilliantly painted sequences and a really likeable and strong heroine are a solid start for Ponoc.  It sets the bar high for them to make a follow up.  But if the studio is anything like Mary herself, I think they’re gonna be just fine.

9/10

 

Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle

Humanity’s mission was to return to Earth and rid it of the menace that drove it away in the first place: Godzilla.  The mission was a failure, with Godzilla wiping out most of the human attack force.  Now, the survivors are desperate but are still determined to fight to the death if it means destroying the King of the Monsters.  To this end, Haruno and his squad discover an ancient city with the help of the last of humanity living on Earth.  Here, they will find the tools to launch a second attack, weapons born from Godzilla’s mechanical counterpart, MechaGodzilla.  The battle begins again but Haruno and company will find more than Godzilla waiting to test their resolve.  To destroy The King of the Monsters, Haruno might have to face the possibility that he has become a monster himself.

At the end of Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters, there were a mountain of problems and very few positives…actually I don’t think there were any outside of a good end theme song.  At the top of that impressive mountain of disaster stood one lingering fact: there were still two more of these films to go.  And knowing that this Godzilla Anime Trilogy was made back to back to back, there was no way the producers and staff could do the smart thing, wait and see what the audience reaction to the previous film was, and work to correct and amend any and all complaints…or just cancel the project all together.  Sadly, that last bit has no chance of happening because Part 2 of this bad idea has arrived.  And as hard as it is to fathom, City on the Edge of Battle somehow manages to be WORSE than Planet of the Monsters…and for the same exact reasons as that film.

Seeing as how this sequel picks up exactly where the last film ended, the same lackluster tone and atompsphere, the terrible animation and the human cannon fodder who cant seem to die no matter how hard we want them to, are all still around.  Nothing’s changed, nothings evolved.  Hell even Godzilla himself decides to sleep off the movie until the last 20 minutes because even he doesn’t want to be in this travesty bearing his name.  In fact, Godzilla moves as slow as the movie itself…why does he even appear at all?  Why would we want our amazing monster overlord when we can listen to protagonist Haruno give an apology speech to his surviving squad about how he put their lives at risk…but he’s still going to kill Godzilla so everyone should just stay and help even though he told people they could head back to their mothership?  As far as bad leads go, Haruno continues to be one of the worst and I feel bad for his voice actors.  Haruno refuses to be anything less than a powder keg ready to explode and thus all of his lines are delivered with grizzly attitude.  He is not a hero.  In fact it is stated point blank, much to Haruno’s shock (sarcasm) that he is more the monster of this movie than Godzilla himself…that isn’t incorrect.  But for every time Haruno is forced to question his choices, I kid you not he is back to his old “KILL GODZILLA NO MATTER WHAT THE COST” self like five minutes later (at one point I did count and was correct).  Don’t look for any other stand outs.  Not only does everyone look the same in this movie but they behave the same too, teetering back and forth between questioning Haruno’s insane command and just going along with it cause…well theyre stuck on planet Earth and don’t have anything better to do. 

Oh and don’t get too hyped at the potential of a Monster vs. Monster showdown.  Despite the constant teases at MechaGodzilla, Godzilla’s metal counterpart is only repeatedly mentioned and never seen.  In it’s place we have…God I do not kidd…“Mecha Godzilla City”…yes you read that right (it’s either the worst title ever produced or the greatest idea for a rock band ever).  It’s a city that was made from MechaGodzilla’s remaining living metal components and is basically around to be a fortress from which Haruno can forcibly continue his suicidal campaign against the King of the Monsters.  Mecha G City could have been the Transformers Metroplex of this story: a city that could transform and take on Godzilla one on one…nope.  In the place of giving Godzilla something to try and shoot at, we have the Vulture Mecha Suits.  In truth, the designs and movements of these mechs are the sole good point of the film.  They’re still being used by idiots trying to kill Godzilla but they do look cool.  Besides that, Mecha Godzilla City is just there to be a plot device, the source of a philosophical debate about man, machine and monster…and for Godzilla to eventually blow up cause its what he does best.

If you even paid remotely close attention to a story that’s trying to be deeper than it actually is, then you’ll be more confused by the plot of City on the Edge of Battle.  There’s human descendants who vanish from the movie and don’t contribute much besides references to a Godzilla foe who probably wont be popping up in this crappy saga (two of them are twins, which should indicate which Monster im talking about).  There’s apparently a sub class of humans in this Godzilla Revenge Squad that I totally missed who can merge with Mecha Godzilla City to boost its building and attack power…ok.  And of course, more and more debates about life, the universe and everything and the slow dawning that, it isn’t until the last 20 minutes of the movie that Godzilla decides to wake up and shuffle himself over to the final act.  At some point, this stops being a Godzilla movie and just an exercise in extreme patience.  Nothing makes sense, there’s no one to root for cause you don’t care about anybody.  And I haven’t even gotten to the animation, which still looks horrible.  The humans are just as stiff in their movement as Godzilla.  The Mechas show promise but they don’t really do much in the end besides buzz around Godzilla while Haruno screams his damn head off again.  Story?  There is no story, which is more mind boggling that this came from one of Anime’s tour de force writers, Gen Urobuchi (Fate/Zero, Psycho Pass).

In the post credits scene of the movie, a big name is dropped, directly setting up the final chapter of the trilogy.  It is a name that brings excitement and an image of a battle that could be epic.  However, even if it can somehow be great, it will not be enough to save this failing trilogy.  Everything bad about Planet of the Monsters was made worse in Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle.  It might be better to just mute the audio and do your own Rifftrack of the whole flick because it will make more sense and be more enjoyable than anything youre watching on screen.  But hey at least there’s another good theme song, right?  Guys, just Google that.  The only reason I’ll review the last chapter of this stinker is so none of you will have to watch it unless you really want to have fun tearing something apart that someone believed was a revolutionary Godzilla project…and even then, you should just watch Shin Godzilla instead…or the Comic Con Trailer for Godzilla: King of the Monsters…anything but this mess.

2/10

T5W#157-Top 5 Otakon 2018 Moments

With the way life has been going lately, Otakon was the last place I ever expected to end up this year.  But, I relearned that over the last few years I have developed some very strong friendships that have carried me through the roughest patches.  This time would be no different.  So when a group of friends offered me to tag along with them to Otakon 2018…there wasn’t any hesitation.  I had no idea what to expect, especially considering this was my first visit to the NEW Otakon located in Washington DC.  What I found when I did arrive was a frak ton of reminders: it’s still a fun convention, there’s always lots to be seen, and the time spent with friends there is the greatest gift you could ever come away from it with.  Well, as you might expect, cant go to a convention and not come back with a few favorite moments.  These are my Top 5 Otakon 2018 Moments.   Special thanks to the friends who made these memories possible (you all know who you are and I love you all for them).

#5-Gundam Wing Retrospective

The theme of this years Otakon was mecha.  Naturally, this meant there would be dozens of panels dedicated to most things giant robots…but damn, Gundam was everywhere on the schedule.  Don’t get me wrong, there was plenty of love given to other classics like Macross and Patlabor.  But I think there was at least one Gundam panel every couple of hours across the three day event.  One of the first was a well narrarated retrospective on the Gundam that got it all started for us in the United States: Mobile Suit Gundam Wing.  There were analysis of the characters, a close look at the mechs and production history, and plenty of footage to show off, including the legendary Toonami promo narrarated by Optimus Prime himself, Peter Cullen.  This panel was all about nostalgia and I was right at home remembering why I ever got into Gundam to begin with (more on that next week actually, hint hint).

#4-The Dwarven City Dealers Room of Otakon

So, funny thing.  When Otakon went to work prepping the Walter E. Washington Convention Center to be their new home, they unearthed something unbelievable in the lower levels…a vast kingdom of cosplay materials, decorative pieces, beautiful clothes, libraries of manga and Blu-Ray/DVD’s…and it was triple the size of the same find in the Baltimore Convention Center…it was as if Dwaves buried it to keep it secret and safe from the world…

Ok in all seriousness, the new Dealers Room made the move from Baltimore to DC worth it.  Overcrowding wasn’t a problem.  You could fit the same amount of people who would clog up the BCC Dealers Room into this place…and still have room for double the amount of people.  Nice open spaces allowed for larger venues, including the crowning winner: a large exhibit from Toei Animation dedicated solely to Dragon Ball: from statues to displays of history and action figures to a replica of the Tenkaichi Budokai arena and, the piece d’resistance, A LIFE SIZE SHENRON HOVERING OVER IT ALL!!! (ok not life size but pretty damn big).  You could get lost in this place, tire yourself out, and realize there’s still so much to see and explore in this new vast kingdom.  I cant want to explore it more in later years.

#3-The Return of Many Familiar Faces

I already knew id be seeing some friends this year coming back.  I did keep my return a secret for a bit though, to surprise a couple of people.  Little did I know, id be the one getting more surprises myself.  I could think of at least three people I never intended to see coming back to Otakon and seeing them just out of the blue filled me with so much joy in my heart.  A couple of these friends I hadn’t seen in two years.  So it was pretty pleasing to know that we could just jump back into conversation as if no time had really passed at all.  Turns out I have a pretty good sized Otaku family and I wish I could’ve spent more time with some of them.  I don’t regret any time spent, however, long or short, seeing them again in general helped make the weekend what it was…a heartfelt gift.

#2-Lunch with Lisa Ortiz/Hanging with Rizuki

It was kind of an unexpected Saturday twofer.  The first was running into Lisa Ortiz, the voice of Lina Inverse from Slayers, at lunch with a couple of my friends.  I was welcomed to join and I did my hardest not to nerd out getting to chat with the voice of one of my favorite heroines in Anime (should I just reveal now Slayers might be the next series im reviewing?).  I even got to thank her for signing my old copy of Slayers: The Motion Picture back at Otakon 2011.  Lunch was great and then it was onto a couple of photoshoots.  Cosplayer Rizuki and I had kept in touch since before Katsucon and getting to see her reveal her updated Sailor Neptune cosplay was amazing.  Even better, I got to help her a bit with the Sailor Moon Photoshoot (just a couple of countdowns when needed really), afterwards, we got to hang out heading to the same destination.  Rizuki is a fun loving nerd and that same fun is infectious and capable of making any day brighter, or even brighter than it already is.  I hope I see her again in the future.

#1-Giving Captain Kirk Wisdom to Dejavudea

Those of you who have kept up with my blog know that Dejavuda, the amazing Cosplay enthusiast, blogger and leader of the Convention Dance Group Dansu to Pantsu, is no stranger to my Top 5’s.  Since I met her back in 2014, she’s always had one spot on my list because while she’s a joy to watch on youtube, she’s even better to talk with in person.  Well this year was the first time id seen her in person since 2016 and, like all of my other meet ups with old friends, the spark hadn’t dulled in the slightest.  Though, I did try something a bit more…risky dorky this year (that’s a thing right?).  I did something I normally wouldn’t do for risk of extreme embarassement. Before leaving the DTP Dance Gathering, I said goodbye to Dejavudea and gave her some advice, a personal favorite quote of mine from the one of the worst Star Trek films: Generations. It’s when Kirk is talking to Picard about captaining the Enterprise and retirement. Using DTP in place of the Enterprise, I told her (after a moments hesitation) “don’t let them promote you, don’t let them transfer you, don’t let them do ANYTHING that takes you off the bridge of that ship because while you’re there...you can make a difference”. And seeing how this girl bring such joy to the convention scene with her energetic spirit and equally amazing dance group, better believe I know she makes a difference every damn day. Oh and apparently my wisdom almost made her cry...tears of happiness I mean.  To know such a corny piece of Star Trek wisdom actually made someone feel better about themselves…how can I not feel accomplished after that and how can that NOT be my #1 favorite moment from Otakon 2018?