T5W#457-Top 5 Favorite Anime Swords

Incase you haven’t noticed from my first two reviews of it, Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu is falling woefully short of expectations.  Ufotable handling your action and animation can only get a show so far and Katsugeki isnt really giving compelling characters or a story to care about.  Which is a shame cause the concept is pretty unique.  Like Fate/Stay Night, Katsugeki finds items from history and gives them new life and form for fighting off powerful supernatural threats.  Instead of important figures from history though, it’s swords that were used by some of the greatest fighters in history.  Whether or not theyre doing a good job…well we’re not gonna focus on that cause we still have half a series to cover.  Today, on Top 5 Wednesday, on the subjects of the coolest choices of weapons in Anime, I’m looking at my favorite blades which would probably do a better job fighting the TRA than anything Saniwa thinks is effective.  These are my Top 5 Favorite Anime Swords.

 

Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu Part 2 Episodes 4-6

Japan, 1868.  Kanesada and his Second Unit have been assigned to protect an important meeting over the span of three days that could bring an end to a long running conflict in the country.  The Time Retrograde Army is here as well, looking to disrupt history to the point where nothing can be repaired. And this time, theyre coming in force.  Outnumbered, outgunned and outmatched, can Kanesada and his men fend off an endless invasion, or is it time for another team to step in and do their job for them?

Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu has all the hallmarks of an instant classic.  It’s got the powerhouse Anime studio that is Ufotable doing the animation.  The premise of spirits protecting the history of Japan from Demons sounds fun.  And the action, well this is Ufotable, they’ve practically taken action scenes in Anime to a whole other level (see Fate/Stay Night UBW or Demon Slayer for that).  So why am I not enjoying myself at the midpoint of this series?  Is it because the story doesn’t feel like it exists so much as is just sprinkled in to get characters from one action scene to the next?  Is it that while some do stand out for their quirks and designs, I don’t really know much about the characters and thus don’t really care about their circumstances?  Or is it that the world on which this show is based on hasn’t been explained in any way shape or form beyond bare basics and I kind of want to slap Saniwa because he thinks simplicity is all that’s needed to do a job or tell a proper story…guess what it’s not.
 

T5W#456-Top 5 FLCL Seasons

I still cant believe that I cant talk about FLCL without specifying which season.  I mean how did we go from one incredibly unique and special OVA of 6 episodes to five with four of those seasons showing immense diminishing returns?  Ok so one theory behind that is this is the same thing that happened with The Big O.  While FLCL was probably meant to be a stand alone series, it’s popularity here in the States convinced Cartoon Network to commission and cofinance more seasons from Gainax.  And like their continuation of The Big O with The Big O II, the results are…mixed at best.  Well since I’ve finished the two more recent (and please God let them be the final) entries, it’s time to rank these suckers from Worst to the obvious best.  Cue up your Pillows Playlist and lets break down the Top 5 FLCL Seasons. 

Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu Part 1 Episodes 1-3

Japan, 1863.  At a critical time in the nations history, a secret war is being waged, not between Pro and Anti Shogunate factions, but by other powers entirely.  The Time Retrograde Army begins to slip into the time period, determined to alter the course of Japan’s destiny by any means necessary.  Standing in their way are an elite group of warriors born from histories greatest weapons.  For some this is their first assignment.  For others, this mission is nothing new.  Together, they’re the only thing standing in the way of the Time Retrograde Army and their elusive true objective.

Many of my good friends have been cosplaying historical characters who appear in Anime such as Rurouni Kenshin and Fate/Stay Night.  They’ve also done some cosplay from the Anime we’re starting today, Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu.  Apparently this is an adaptation of a hugely popular web based Video Game and this isnt even the first Anime adaptation either.  However, while the other one might fall under the radar, Katsugeki has the added edge of being a gorgeous looking new entry into the long list of similarly gorgeous projects from powerhouse Anime Studio Ufotable.  So it’s no wonder these intro episodes not only feel like a random extension of a Fate/Stay Night story but more specifically one from Fate/Grand Order (which Ufotable hasn’t touched but theyre so synonymous with Fate at this point).  That means some amazing action while also leaving viewers with a bunch of head scratching questions the show isnt in a hurry to answer.
 

T5W#455-Top 5 Stories from Star Wars Visions 2

Jedi, Sith, Smugglers, Pilots and Bounty Hunters.  May the 4^th is almost upon us once again, the time when the world comes together to celebrate another anniversary for one of the greatest scifi sagas of all time: Star Wars.  Whether you love it to your core or feel like it’s lost its way in recent years, Star Wars is still a cornerstone of scifi storytelling and is still used by pretty much everyone for inspiration in various way.  Back in 2021, the Anime Community got to unleash its inner Jedi with Star Wars Vison.  Last year, a second volume of 9 Animated Shorts was released with the rest of the animation world getting in on the action.  It somehow blew away Volume One with its incredible imagination and willingness to look beyond the Jedi vs. Sith conflict, so much so it found a spot onto my list of the Best Titles I Reviewed in 2023.  Well since I did a best of list for Volume One, for this forthcoming May the 4^th it’s only right that todays Top 5 Wednesday looks at the Top 5 Stories from Star Wars Visions 2