Free! Take Your Marks

While High School might be ending for most of them, the journey to college is just beginning for the boys of Iwatobi and Sumezaka.  Before Haru, Makoto, Rin and Sousuke head their separate ways, there’s  plenty of unfinished business to attend to: debts to be repaid, personal projects to complete and the last adventures with their fellow teammates in High School.  Along the way, familiar faces from the past return and meet newer faces in the present.  All of this is leading to the next stage of competition.  Before the Dive to the Future, its time to Take Your Marks.

At its core, Free has always been about the bonds of brotherhood and how they can withstand the test of time and distance.  Yeah, it’s full of chiseled bishonen boys and larger than life swimming sequences, but this show has always had a big heart and has never been afraid to show it.  Because of this, even if youre watching something like Free! Take Your Marks, where nothing really happens, you can still have fun watching it because the writing is solid and the cast is amazing.

T5W#289-Top 5 Immortal Gundam Moments

As of this coming April, the Mobile Suit Gundam Franchise will be 42 years old.  That’s just over 4 decades of time to produces dozens of stories and features from TV Series to Movies, OVAs, Manga, Video Games and more.  Since it has become one of, if not THE, most definitive name in Mecha Anime of all time, you can be there are a few moments that have been immortalized in history, the ones most closely associated with the name “Gundam”.  So I did a bit of a deep dive to see if I could find 5 of those moments that I hopefully hadn’t touched on already in other Top 5 lists.  These are the moments that define the Gundam franchise, these are the Top 5 Immortal Gundam Moments. 

Free! Timeless Medley-The Promise

Rin Matsuouka has always wanted to swim as part of a team, ever since his father showed him the joy of doing do.  After spending years in Australia, Rin returns to Japan and now takes his place as Captain of the Sumezuka High School Swim Team.  Joining the ranks of his final year is his best friend, Sousuke Yamazaki.  Along with genius backstroker Momotaro Makoshiba and the eager Aiichiro Nitori, Sumezuka might have a relay team to rival the boys of Iwatobi.  However, Rin and Sousuke’s personal trials might threaten their chances.  But the two made a promise a long time ago…and Rin is determined to keep it.

Rin Matsuoka takes center stage alongside the boys of Sumezeka Academy in the second part of the Free! Timeless Medley Duology, The Promise, and I’ve gotta say, it’s about damn time.  While the First Season of Free focused on Rin finding his passion again after losing his way, Eternal Summer aka Season Two, saw him building his own team as Captain and they were such a great bunch.  The Promise not only gives about 90% of it’s runtime to Sumezeka but it also does a fantastic job expanding everyones character arc and gives us a lot more footage in a Compilation Film than The Bond.  Overall, The Promise is a great movie…save for one nitpick I cant ignore when it comes to the finale.

Free! Timeless Medley-The Bond

As he enters his Senior Year at Iwatobi High School, Haruka Nanase is focused on one thing and one thing only: swimming with his teammates once more in his final year.  But the real challenge for Haru lies beyond the waters.  What is his path after High School?  What future does Haru see for himself post Iwatobi High?  These questions and more begin to take their toll on the prodigy and his swimming begins to suffer.  It’s up to Rin, Mako, Nagisa and Rei to help Haru find the right direction and show him that no matter what the future holds, their bond is forever.

The Bond is the first of a two part Compilation Film Project for Free! Eternal Summer.  The purpose would be to split the story focus on both Haru and Rin and their respective teams before sending us into a transition film between Eternal Summer and Free! Dive to the Future, aka Season 3.  And while The Bond make focus on some of the greatest hits from the amazing Second Season of Free, it’s still a Compilation Movie and, therefore, has little to add that we didn’t already see in a 13 episode set of practically perfect episodes.

High Speed! Free! Starting Days

Long before their high school triumphs, Haruka Nanase and his childhood friend, Makoto Tachibana, arrived at Iwatobi Middle School.  Here they meet hyperactive Asahi Shiina and the reclusive Ikuya Kirishima,  Like Haru and Mako, these two are lifelong swimmers and Asahi is quick to recommend they join Iwatobi Middles Swim Club and form a relay team.  Haru wants nothing more than to swim free and alone but little does he know that by joining this little band of swimmers, he could find something more than that.  This is where the journey that would continue at Iwatobi High School, and beyond, begins.

I’ll admit, when I heard about a Free prequel movie, I was expecting it to follow the first meetings of Haru and Rin and the team they formed together with Makoto and Nagisa years before their rivalry in High School.  Instead, High Speed is a very welcome surprise focusing on a new team dynamic that would be unknown to anyone who hasn’t seen the third season, Free! Dive to the Future.  And while High Speed is a little too long of a movie and feels like it could have been a prequel TV Series rather than a movie, it’s still a Free story and that means if you love the show, you’re gonna enjoy this one too.

T5W#288-Top 5 Anime that borrow from or are inspired by other Anime

Now that we’ve watching the Kotetsujo ride off into the sunset, figured it was time to discuss a rather unique topic for todays Top 5 Wednesday.  I’ve written about this a little bit in other Top 5s but in going through Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress it really got me wondering: what other Anime are closely tied to one another through themes, stories or are outright clones of one another?  That’s not even to say that clones cant be original ideas, they just have a heavy hint of inspiration from a previously established work.  So, for today, I looked through several options and think I found a good 5 stack to work with.  These are my Top 5 Anime that borrow from or are inspired by other Anime 

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress: The Battle of Unato

Six months after the fall of Kogakukaku, the Kotetsujo arrives at the besieged city of Unato.  A five year long campaign to retake the city from the Kabane is coming to a close and the Kotetsujo and her crew are key to the final push.  But there’s something different about the Kabane in this city.  There’s a force controlling them, calling to them, a force so powerful it even effects Kabaneri Ikoma and Mumei.  Within the lost Unato Castle, a dark secret from five years ago awaits the Kotetsujo crew, one that will test their bonds and resolve unlike anything before.

Despite it’s brevity (and heavy borrowing from its far more successful cousin, Attack on Titan), Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress was a fun and entertaining action thrill ride with good production value, tons of zombie slaying gore and a fun cast.  The ending, naturally, left a ton of questions unanswered.  And as I should have expected, the movie continuation, The Battle of Unato, delivers ZERO answers.  It does, however, offer more of the usual Kabaneri fun even if it doesn’t live up to its potential as a feature film.

Katsucon: The Experience

My first Otakon was in 2010.  Two years prior, the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicked off with Iron Man.  More specifically, it truly began with a legendary post credits scene where Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, spoke this famous phrase, “I am Iron Man.  You think you’re the only superhero in the world?  Mr. Stark you’ve become part of a bigger universe.  You just don’t know it yet.”  Truly, Otakon was just that, the first step in a much larger world of Anime Conventions and the adventures that came with them.  I didn’t know it in 2010 but Otakon wasn’t going be the center of my universe for much longer…actually it still is, it would just share that space with another convention during another time, another place and still continues to this day.  

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress Part 3 Episodes 9-12

Biba shows his true colors as he tears a path of death and destruction across two stations in order to reach the Shogun’s stronghold of Kongokaku.  With the crew of the Kotetsujo as his hostages and Mumei now his loyal servant, Biba’s plans to slaughter his father and his people seem unstoppable, especially with a host of Kabane and Kabaneri at his call.  Having lost friends and his closest ally, Ikoma prepares himself for what might be his final battle in the burning city of Kongokaku.  One thing is certain: Biba must pay for his crimes and Ikoma is determined to stop him-not as a Human or a Kabane…but as a Kabaneri.

As it clocks in at a very brisk 12 episodes, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress’ pacing was always going to become an Achillies Heel at some point.  And yeah, that point just so happens to be the end of the road for the Kotetsujo, or at least this leg of their uncertain journey.  But man, oh man, what a ride it has been and the ending continued all the epicness that’s come before and saved some of the best for last.  It’s a flawed show but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t having fun watching it all unfold.

T5W#287-Top 10 Katsucon 2015-2020 Moments

Though we all knew about it well in advance and knew it was inevitable given the current state of the world, the fact that we wont have a Katsucon this weekend still stings like a bitch.  I often go back and forth over which convention I prefer more: Otakon or Katsucon and the answer varies from time to time as theyre both very different experiences.  Katsucon is like a non stop 3.5 day party where something is going on literally every second from the Thursday Pre-Reg day to the slow die down of the final Sunday.  Screenings, Dealers Room, Artist Alley, Video Game Room, endless photoshoots and everything you can get into around the Gazebo after dark, there’s hardly a dull moment and with no curfew a la Otakon it is, as I said, a non stop con.  2020 marked my 6^th Katsucon and I’ve always done a Top 5 or 10 after each one for the Gundam Anime Corner.  In lew of the lack of Katsu magic this weekend, I’m going back over those last 6 years and putting together a special Top 10 Edition of Top 5 Wednesday, dedicated to Katsucon.  It’s both a greatest hits list and might even have some moments I haven’t talked about yet on the blog.  These are my Top 10 Katsucon 2015-2020 Moments.  Here’s hoping I can add more to it in 2022. 

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress Part 2 Episodes 5-8

The survivors from Aragane Station press on towards Kongokaku, stronghold of the Shogun, aboard the Kotetsujo.  Even with the Kabane around them at all times, more dangers await the untested crew.  Their greatest assets, Kabaneri Ikoma and Mumei, struggle with their own transformations and ideals that will either bring them closer or threaten to tear them apart.  And then The Hunters arrive, a legion of Kabaneri led by Mumei’s mysterious brother, Lord Biba.  Could they be the salvation the world is waiting for?  Or is Biba’s own endgame a threat even worse than every Kabane in the world?

Like the bullet train the Kotetsujo can be sometimes, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress is plowing through at a breakneck pace.  I get that is has to do this given how short of a series it is.  And while I fear it’s moving a little too quickly, there’s no denying that Kabaneri isn’t boring.  It’s a lot of fun and still has a little bit of heart to spare while ramping things up for an inevitable showdown in Friday’s finale.

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress Part 1 Episodes 1-4

They are called Kabane: human like monsters who feed on flesh.  Their widespread appearance cause Humanity to retreat behind heavily fortified stations that can only be accessed by trains, but even they cant keep the Kabane out forever.  One of these stations is Aragane, where a young man feverishly works on weapons to even the fight against the monsters.  When the Kabane invade the station, the young man, Ikoma, meets the beautiful Mumei, a girl with no fear of the Kabane…because she is something else entirely.  Together, these two become the main fighting force for the survivors aboard the Kotetsujo, one of the last of the might Iron Fotresses racing to stay one step ahead of the darkness slowly swallowing the land.

What happens when you take the claustrophobic train plot of Snowpeircer and pair it with The Walking Dead with a visual style akin to Attack on Titan?  Well you’re one epic theme song short of what many thought could have been Attack on Titan Season 2.  No, this is Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress.  Done by the same studio that did Attack on Titan during that shows infamously ridiculous 4 year hiatus, Kabaneri bears more than a passing resemblance to one of the biggest Anime of the 2010’s.  Yet it does its fair share to stand out, not all completely perfect but its debut is passable.

T5W#286-Top 5 Longer/Future Titles I’m Considering for the Gundam Anime Corner

Normally when choosing what to review here at the Gundam Anime Corner, I tend to stick to a standard 13-26 episode series or an OVA in and around the same length (if not shorter).  I usually only tend to do much longer titles (50 episodes or more) during the summer for my Extended Summer Series.  With my new two review a week schedule though, I’m now open to potentially doing more with those longer shows if I can review them fast enough, Macross back in January was kind of a test of the waters.  I’m always looking ahead to what I want to watch and share my thoughts with here on the blog and there are much longer titles I have been dying to get to for years and today I’m gonna share some ideas on the Top 5 Longer/Future Titles I’m Considering for the Gundam Anime Corner.  Since 2021’s schedule is pretty much full and about 80% complete, the earliest we’ll see some of these options is in 2022…but we will get to them, trust me. 

Vandread Part 3 Episodes 9-13

Just when things were starting to settle down, normal goes out the window.  Upset by the new peace between Men and Women, Paiway starts a mutiny aboard the Nirvana that threatens to tear the crew apart.  And it couldn’t have come at a worst time.  The Aliens have launched their biggest offensive yet and this time, the Nirvana might not survive.  The crew has come a long way and will have to remember the lessons learned and the bonds formed to win their most desperate battle.  Should they lose, the fate of two worlds dies along with them.

It seems like we blew through Vandread pretty quickly, especially with this new review schedule that ive been on.  But it’s been an eventful ride so far and despite some pretty nasty hiccups…actually really bad, like infuriatingly bad ones, the First Season ends with a massive showdown, some new clues as to the true extent of the Aliens reach and some little crumbs to get people excited for Season Two, which I’ll be covering later this year.  But first things first, the finale.