Ever since I started the Gundam Anime Corner, every year
when we come back around to March 31st, I always try to pick a title
that is special, something worthy of being reviewed for the Anniversary of the
day I started working on this epic project.
Sometimes…I choose poorly but hey it happens. Sometimes, I have chosen my personal
favorites that I know I’ll love and are worthy of a good score. And on one occasion…I said screw it, why not. Where exactly Free: The Final Stroke will
fall on that spectrum…you’ll find out on Friday. Today though, to celebrate the big
anniversary, I’m counting down my Top 5 Gundam Anime Corner Anniversary
Reviews.
Once upon a time, I did a Top 5 of the Titles I
(Probably) Wont Review on the Gundam Anime Corner (
http://gundamanimeblog.blogspot.com/2018/02/t5w130-top-5-titles-i-probably-wont.html). At the top of the list was a little known
Live Action Gundam feature that is best left forgotten…until I found a copy and
decided that if I was going to review it, why not make it an event. While I do think G-Saviour is a sin against
the franchise, it’s still a poignant chapter in Gundam history that has to be
seen at least once. I stand by my score
but do applaud the performance of Lady Une voice actress Erika Okuna and that
in the final act, the main rival gets a little hammy while piloting a crappy
Mobile Suit. And to think, this is the
only Gundam title that’s been an Anniversary title so far on my blog.
#4-Slayers: The Motion Picture
2019 was the “Year of the Slayers.” After reviewing the first series in 2018, I
dedicated the entire next year to the rest, spread out over a few months. I remember watching the Slayers Movie a lot
when I was younger and decided, since I owned it, to make it part of the event
and place it at a pivotal spot, the blogs birthday. Slayers: The Motion Picture isn’t perfect,
feeling like two mini movies crunched into one.
But it’s still a fun flick, owing a lot of its success to the great
banter between Lina Inverse and Naga the Serpent. I still haven’t been able to check out the
Slayers OVAs and sequel movies due to how rare they are to find but I hope to
get to them as well one day.
#3-Golden Boy
Honestly, after my First Anniversary review, I didn’t
think it would become a yearly thing.
Knowing the Second Anniversary was approaching in March 2016, I didn’t
even have a title in mind I could slot in.
But then I went to Katsucon and caught a screening of an OVA I had heard
about when I was younger and laughed my ass off at one single episode. It was enough for me to hit up the Dealers
Room on my last day at the con and procure a complete copy of Golden Boy. The hijinks of Kintaro Oae are still the
stuff of legends complete with Hentai esque visuals and body types, crude humor
and Kintaro being the most loveable (and strangely intelligent) oaf in
Anime. It wasn’t hard to give this title
a 10/10 and between this and my First Anniversary review, the bar was set
pretty high early on.
#2-Weathering with You
After multiple years of Anniversary Reviews proving to be
less than stellar, I was starting to think they were kind of cursed. The cycle had to be broken and I decided to
pin all of my hopes on the long awaited follow up to one of my all time
favorite Anime films. Thankfully, Makoto
Shinkai wasn’t a one hit wonder with Your Name.
Weathering with You might not have hit the same heights but it was still
a highly enjoyable and beautiful Anime film that cements Shinkai as a major
player in the industry now. It’s another
fantasy filled love story that stands out from Your Name in its own way while
also retaining the same quality and heart that made it a success. Finally, I had a win in the Anniversary
column. Hopefully Heavens Feel III will
continue the trend.
#1-FLCL
While I am a die hard Gundam fan, FLCL is my all time
favorite Anime (and I cant believe I have to preface that it’s just the First
Season I love…oh God did you hear we’re getting a Season 4 AND 5!!!???).
For me, FLCL isn’t just a coming of age story
for its main character, it felt like a graduation ceremony for me as an Anime
fan.
All the gags, references, animation
styles, this is what you show students for a final exam to see how much they
can identify from all the Anime they’ve seen in their lives.
Plus, FLCL is just a crap ton of fun from
start to finish.
The action, the whimsy,
the WTF and that legendary soundtrack, this is still a title I can pop in and
learn to love all over again.
No wonder
I made this my First Anniversary title.
Like I said, I set the benchmark pretty high from the get go.
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