Afro Samurai Resurrection

Afro avenged his father and obtained the Number One headband.  Now he has retired, trying his best to leave his life of violence behind him.  But Afro has wrong many in his quest for revenge and now some are coming to collect on that pain.  When Afro is ambushed by an old friend and a beautiful woman, they not only steal his headband but also the skull of his long dead father: Rokutaro, the former owner of the Number One Headband.  Once more, Afro Samurai takes up his sword.  But can this deadly bad ass survive the greatest ordeals his past has to offer…especially when one of those is a fully resurrected version of his father?  

The original Afro Samurai might’ve had a simple story but it was a tour deforce: a call back to the glory days of bloody 90s action Anime with a dash of hip hop culture.  Within the first ten minutes or so of watching it, I knew I was watching something unique and special.  That same amount of time into the feature film sequel, Afro Samurai: Resurrection, I felt the opposite.  I felt that I was watching something familiar and lacking the same kick and wow factor that made the original so great.  While there are spots of greatness, Resurrection feels like a follow up that needed more work or didn’t have to happen at all.

FIF#113-Cells at Work

We might not think about it, but our bodies are a world all their own.  Inhabiting them are blood cells of various types and they all have the same job: Keep the body going 27/4, not matter what.  It’s a pretty exciting life, depending on your job.  You’ve got your Red Blood Cells delivering supplies to various corners of the metropolis.  Meanwhile, the valiant and trigger happy White Blood Cells police the city, fending off infections, diseases and all varying bacteria at any cost.  So…what happens when a rookie Red Blood Cell ends up partnered up with one of the best White Blood Cell warriors around?  Who knows but it’s sure to be most amazing adventure taking place directly inside your body.

The Tale of Princess Kaguya

In the mountains, a humble Bamboo Cutter discovers a little girl house in a shoot of Bamboo.  He brings her to live with him and his wife, neither knowing what is about to unfold before them.  In no time at all, the little girl ages from infant to toddler to teenager with a need to experience everything the world has to offer.  When the chance of a more prosperous life presents itself, the Cutter and his wife take their “Princess” to the capital, where she trains to become a true Princess of the land.  But is a life of luxury and glamour the true wish of the newly minted “Princess Kaguya”?  This is the tale of a girl who came from the Moon to live with humans…and changed the world forever.

I like Disney films.  That’s a weird way to start off an Anime review but I say that because there are some things in life I don’t understand.  Yes, Disney is the Ultimate Domination King of the Animation World and has given us hundreds of classic films that shaped many childhoods.  Ok, why am I bringing this up?  Because as much as I love Big Hero 6…how the hell did it beat The Tale of Princess Kaguya for Best Animated Movie of 2013?  I…I just…I cant even…I mean just watch five minutes of this movie alone and you’d see a mistake had been made giving BH6 that award.  Princess Kaguya might not be a totally perfect film but at the very least I do believe it is beyond the shadow of a doubt the most beautiful movie I have ever seen in my life.

T5W#237-Top 5 Black Characters in Anime

While Anime tends to steer its stories and character designs towards its native populace, several projects expand to include nationalities from all over the world at large with shows like Cowboy Bebop, Black Lagoon and Mobile Suit Gundam.  Since I’m taking on the Afro Samurai saga this week as my shout out to Black History Month, it only seemed right I should look beyond the bloodsoaked revenge tale of Samuel L. Jacksons bad ass and spotlight other African American inspired and designed characters in Anime for this weeks Top 5 Wednesday: my Top 5 Black Characters in Anime.

Afro Samurai

His name is Afro.  As a child, his father, the #1 warrior in the land, was killed by a multiarmed gunman named Justice, the #2 warrior.  Now Justice sits at the top of the mountain and can only be challenged by he who bears the #2 headband.  After years of training, Afro has come into possession of that headband and how his path to payback is set.  Legions will challenge, his past will haunt him, but nothing will deter this man from his end goal: kill the man who killed his father.  God help whoever crosses the path of this famous killer of killers, the Afro Samurai.

Afro Samurai is the kind of collaboration I wish we’d see more often in Anime.  You’ve not only got Studio Gonzo at the helm (producing probably their best looking work to date…seriously EVERY Gonzo show should look this good) but you’ve also got the blessing and personal involvement of one of the most bad ass human beings on the planet: SAMUEL L JACKSON!!!  Add in a hip hop and rap infused score from The RZA of the Wu Tang Clan and you’ve got a cross cultural work of art that almost seamlessly blends 70’s Blaxploitation and Spaghetti Westerns with the ultra violent action of 90’s Anime.  It isn’t perfect but it’s still a helluva good time.

Sonic the Hedgehog

 

His name is Sonic and he’s a Hedgehog with super speed and a fun loving attitude.  Sent to Earth for protection, the speed demon has lived in secret just outside the boundaries of Green Hills, Montana.  When his powers accidentally trigger an incident, Sonic finds himself hunted by the Government’s top scientific genius, Doctor Robotnik, who will stop at nothing to attain the secret of Sonic’s abilities.  When Green Hills gets caught in the crossfire, Sonic will have to step up to defend the town that has become his home in the feature film debut of one of the most legendary faces in Video Game history.

About midway through my watching Sonic the Hedgehog, I knew…this was going to be one of (if not the) biggest examples of irony in nerd culture.  From the start, we assumed the movie would be terrible because…well most Live Action Video Game films tend to be (Detective Pikachu being a very rare counter example).  Then there was the original design of Sonic for the film…the horror…the horror.  However, fan outrage was enough to sway the studio to push the movie back from it’s November 2019 release date to February 2020.  And yet we all worried and wondered just how bad it was all going to turn out.

Again…irony has been redefined and it’s name is Sonic the Hedgehog.  Not only is Sonic one of the better Live Action Video Game movies ever made, it might be one of the best things to happen to Sega’s mega mascot since his original heyday on the Sega Genesis.

FIF#112-Haikyu! To The Top

The Flying Crows of Karasuno High have done the impossible.  The greatest and most powerful team in their division, Shiratorizawa, has been defeated and now the way is clear for a straight shot to Spring Nationals.  There isn’t time to rest as the boys prepare for a new wave of training and some are being sent off to work with the best young players in all of Japan.  However, star spiker Shoyo Hinata isn’t among those students.  But don’t expect that to stop him.  Hinata will do whatever it takes to keep up with his best friend and rival, Tobio Kageyama and stand at the top as the new Mighty Giant.

T5W#236-Top 5 Katsucon 2020 Moments

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m still feeling a hefty dose of post con depression from this past weekend, greater than I have had in a while.  Tiredness aside, Katsucon 2020 was a convention that blew past all of my expectations and solidified itself as probably my third favorite convention of all time (Behind Katsu 2018 and Otakon 2011).  Between an ocean of incredible cosplays, catching up with friends and reuniting with some I hadn’t seen in years, to outdoor photoshoots and meeting people I hold in high regard in the Anime community, Katsucon 2020 was a return to basics that reminded me why I love coming back out to National Harbor in the dead of winter every Valentines Day weekend.  Naturally, it’s the Wednesday after the con, so it’s time to count down my Top 5 Katsucon 2020 Moments.  I’m curious what everyone elses were so feel free to shout them out in the comments below.

T5W#235-Top 5 Songs from K-ON!! (Season 2)

 

One of the most nervous aspects of going into K-ON!! was the idea of having to judge the next wave of musical numbers against the stellar setlist of Season One.  Those songs might’ve been few in number but they helped make the first season the legend that it is…you know along with the every infectious fun loving adventures of Yui, Mio, Ritsu, Mugi and Azusa.  Hoping a Sophomore Album lives up to the debut is never easy but it’s so worth it if you have a little faith.  And K-ON has never been one to let me down.  Sure enough, Season Two definitely delivered music worthy of standing toe to toe, if not above, the successes of Season One’s tunes and I have five songs to submit as evidence.  As we close out the series (and The Movie, wow it’s a busy Wednesday), let’s look back at the musical triumphs of K-ON’s sequel season.  These are my Top 5 Songs from K-ON!! (Season 2)

K-ON! The Movie!

Having successfully passed their University Entrance Exams, Yui Hirasawa, Mio Akiyama, Ritsu Tainaka, and Tsumugi “Mugi” Kotobuki are on a direct course for graduation.  That means it’s time to celebrate with a Graduation Trip.  That’s right, After School Tea Time is going international.  Their destination, London-The Birthplace of Rock and Roll.  It’s the trip of a lifetime and Yui, Mio, Ritsu and Mugi are determined to live it up and spend time with their beloved underclassman, Azusa Nanako.  Their time as members of the Light Music Club might be coming to an end…but the adventure isn’t over just yet.

K-ON ended on a pretty definitive note at the end of its second season.  In fact, I thought the ending was just about perfect.  Was there any story left to be told besides maybe doing a flash forward, maybe a year later, to see how everyone was doing?  Turns out, there was one more little tale to squeeze in.  Hence, we have K-ON! The Movie!  Is it a necessary chapter in one of the greatest feel good Anime sagas of all time or a simple victory lap?

K-ON!! Part 7 Episodes 25-27

Yui Hirasawa, Mio Akiyama, Ritsu Tainaka and Mugi Kotobuki have graduated from High School.  As they head off to college, time returns to the days before their momentous exit.  Just what other silly adventures did these four get up to along with their beloved younger sister Azusa Nanako, their perfect ally Nadoka Manabe and their beautiful teacher and mentor Sawako Yamanaka?  And has the next generation of the Light Music Club begun to take form with Ui Hirasawa and Jun Suzuki working side by side with Azusa?  While these are important tales…there might be one more adventure waiting in the wings that will take place far from home.

Huh, I cant believe for a while I thought about just skipping over these and just going straight to the movie.  Then again, these three bonus episodes of K-ON!! are strange in that they both feel like prolonging the inevitable, aka the end, but the end came and it was beautiful.  And I feel like they all could have easily been slotted into Season 2 at various points and taken the place of some of the not so great episodes I watched.  However you look at it, these bonus chapters are the last of the TV Series adventures and they reinforce what has always been fact: you never want this journey with Yui, Mio, Ritsu, Mugi and Azusa to end.

FIF#111-Ranma ½

During a training journey in China, Ranma Saotome falls into a spring, cursed by the spirit of a drowned girl.  As a result, whenever he is hit with cold water, Ranma changes into a girl and only by being doused in hot water can he return to normal.  Returning to Japan with his father (who has fallen in a cursed spring of his own), Ranma finds all manner of chaos waiting for him.  Every girl seems poised to marry him and every guy who’s jealous of him wants to kill him.  There may not be a way to lift Ranma’s curse…but his life is hardly boring anymore.

FIF#110-Urusei Yatsura

Ataru Moroboshi is an unlucky student content on chasing every girl he lays his eyes on.  His luck changes, not necessarily for the better, when a Alien invasion force come to Earth and declares he must face their champion in a game of tag for the fate of the planet.  Ataru wins but soon finds himself hopelessly engaged to the beautiful Oni Alien Girl Lum Invader.   The invasion has opened Earths doors and now Aliens and Demons are all coming to have a little fun with the blue planet. It seems the whole galaxy wants a piece of Ataru, if Lum or half of planet Earth doesn’t find a way to kill him first.

T5W#234-Top 5 Worst Video Game Film Adaptations

If you thought coming up with a list of good Video Game Film Adaptations was tough…the Worst is arguably tougher for the opposite reason: there’s too many choices.  From a lack of understanding of the source material to massive studio interference to Uwe Boll, bad Video Game movies are a dime a dozen it seems.  While Sonic the Hedgehog might have a slim chance at not making this list, his original, nightmare inducing design was enough for many to condemn the movie right there and then.  Still, I reserve judgement but it’s going to have to be indrecibly bad to find its way onto todays list one day.  Here are my choices for the Top 5 Worst Video Game Film Adaptations.

K-ON!! Part 6 Episodes 21-24

Three years ago, Yui Hirasawa stumbled into the Light Music Club as a gifted amateur.  Now she stands tall with four incredible young girls as one of the greatest bands in the clubs history.  As Yui, Mio, Ritsu and Mugi prepare for one of the most important days of their lives, Azusa finally breaks down at the prospect of never being able to play with her best friends ever again.  The girls gather in their club room one more time for celebration and remembrance.  No matter how far they travel in different directions, this is far from the end for the Light Music Club, whose music will last forever.

It did it.  It really did it.  I shouldn’t be shocked, there was no way the finale was going to fall flat on its face.  What I didn’t expect was for it to be this powerful, this moving.  And it was all done in “The K-ON Way”.  What does that mean?  Scatterbrained, carefree and in the moment.  K-ON did it right, so, so right.

The final four episodes of K-ON had two distinct paths to follow: The last days of Yui, Mio, Ritsu and Mugi’s time in high school and Azusa coming to terms with this change.  The latter has been built up to for a very long time, especially in the back half of this second season.  The only question remained was: When was Azusa finally going to break down and hear what we all wanted to say too…please don’t go.  The answer to that question was one of K-ON’s crowning moments.  In tears, the cute little Junior let it all out and was showered with love, gifts and possibly the best song After School Tea Time has ever produced.  I’ll admit, I’ve only paid attention to the lyrics of a couple of songs but I definitely looking at them for “Tenshi ni Fureta yo!”.  This song, along with Fuwa Fuwa Time, I think best defines After School Tea Time’s members and the love they have for one another.  It’s a love that is immortalized and forever.  And even though the adventure continues for Yui, Mio, Ritsu and Mugi as they head off to the same college, their Azusa will never be far from their thoughts and always with them in their hearts and vice versa.  There really was no better song or scene to end this amazing series on.

Wow, hard to believe I just jumped right to the end.  What about everything leading up to it?  Everything was great, really it was.  Azusa got one more episode with Ui and Jun to make Valentines Day goodies for Yui and the others, while Ui and Jun began to help Azusa suss out her feelings over the girls eventual departure.  The second to last episode was pretty magical too and it was just the girls wandering around the school the day before graduation.  It was a great way for Yui, Mio, Ritsu and Mugi to reflect on everything and get some private time with this place of memories one more time before their big day.  They got to hang out with the every awesome Nadoka (possibly the unsung heroine of this series with all she’s done with the power at her disposal) and naturally spend some time with Sawako, the teacher who deserves all the love and adoration possible.  Crap, it was hard not to start tearing up well before the last episode even started.  Bonds and character writing as sharp, witty and fun as the ones found in K-ON aren’t ones you find in any other Anime.  This was all about saying goodbye and yet, for the most part, the girls just treated it all like any other day filled with tea drinking and goofing off.  Like I said, “The K-ON Way”.

Now, there are three bonus episodes that followed the finale, little side stories that I think might help set up the transition into The Movie.  But I’m going to do something different and offer my final thoughts here and now.  Why?  Because…we’ll honestly I wasn’t sure I was going to watch or review those episodes before The Movie.  The final episode is one of the most perfect in all of Anime and it would feel wrong to say anything else about K-ON!! past that point.  But…alright, Final Thoughts first.  It might have had a couple of odd stumbles and kind of worked too hard to fill out its extended episode run.  But K-ON!! managed to continue to stellar adventures of Yui, Mio, Ritsu, Mugi and Azusa in bigger and sometimes better ways.  Extending the Senior Year made it more special when the final graduation did arrive and everyone got their moments to shine, reflect and make a beautiful memory throughout the season.  I liked the expanded roles for Sawano and Nadoka and giving Azusa a storyline of her own to help her on the path to continuing the LMC legacy once her Seniors departed for college.  I like most of the music, though the Season One tracks hold a special place in my heart.  But U&I and Tenshi ni Fureta yo more than matched Fuwa Fuwa Time and Fudapen Ball Pen excellently.  At the end of the day, even if an episode wasn’t great (sad to say I do think one or two could’ve been jettisoned all together), getting to spend time with Yui, Mio, Ritsu, Mugi and Azusa is the best kind of day no matter what they end up doing.  Real life could only be this amazing and it’s the kind of Real Life only Kyoto Animation and the Light Music Club are capable of showing us.

I’m awarding K-ON!! a 9/10…and K-ON the series as a whole a special 9.5/10 award…this is one of my all time favorite Anime series now that ive seen it all the way through (almost kind of) and I think it deserves a score to reflect that kind of praise.

But, the journey isn’t over yet.  I’m going to do a special bonus review of the three bonus episodes next Monday, followed by the final chapter, K-ON! The Movie!, on the same day.  Will this extra material bolster what has come before?  Or will I just love spending time with these girls to care about such things?  Whatever happens, find out next Monday right here at the Gundam Anime Corner.