T5W#129-Top 5 Anime that Deserve a Best Animated Feature Award

Last week the nominations for this years Academy Awards were announced.  While im glad that Anime has been recognized in some years, and even managed to win one thanks to Spirited Away, I still feel like the Academy is way unfair when it comes to handing out awards to Anime that truly deserve it.  Example: Your Name lost to…hmmm…think it was Finding Dory last year?  Suffice to say that most times Pixar puts anything out its garunteed to win Best Animated Feature but there have been years before Pixar came around (granted I don’t think the Best Animated Feature category is a super old one yet).  And while yes, Pixar is a great animation power house (for good reason), I still think that there may come a year when one Anime comes out that might have a chance at being an Anime remembered properly, not just by the core fandom.  I guess that was a pretty passionate intro there, sorry about that.  So, let’s get to the list of Top 5 Anime that Deserve a Best Animated Feature Award.  Im going to omit a couple of obvious choices for this list to keep things a bit open: Akira cause it is legend and Your Name because everyone has vented about how badly that movie got shafted last year, even if it only got a wide release this past year. 

 

#5-The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

When youre thinking about a movie based on the bizarre and wacky world of Haruhi Suzumiya, are you really expecting to think of anything worthy of an Academy Award?  I’ll keep this one brief as ill be reviewing this one in depth later this year.  The sequel to The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya pulled off a win that I never expected, from stellar animation to one of the deepest stories in the entire saga.  Even if you’ve never seen the series, this film works just fine as a stand alone.  Again, I wont say more cause I want to save it for later but…wow…Haurhi Suzumiya and the Academy Awards…it really is a mad, mad Haruhi World.

 

#4-Galaxy Express 999

The oldest entry on this list, GX999 is an Anime fairy tale that still holds up decades after its release.  There’s an equal mix of imagination, wonder, danger, excitement, and just pure Anime magic on every frame from beginning to end.  Tetsuro and Maetel’s journey aboard the steam train across the cosmos appeals to all ages and all generations in a way even most modern day Anime cannot.  It’s a classic I don’t think should ever be forgotten…now the sequels, those are a different story.

 

#3-Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

When this came out in 2004 I was surprised it never got nominated in ’05.  Ghost in the Shell 2 is still an Anime film that I can say has things ive never seen before or since.  The updated designs from the previous film: characters, mecha, setting, are gorgeous, the story chalk full of head Psychology 101 dialogue and theres even some action to keep things interesting.  Add in Mamoru Oshii’s serene style of directing and a brilliantly elegant and at times creepy score from Kenji Kawaii and you’ll see why this might be a heady entry for sure on this list but is still an incredible feat of animation that, personally, I think trumps the first film sometimes.

 

#2-The End of Evangelion

If Neon Genesis Evangelion pushed the limits of the giant robot genre on Television, The End of Evangelion pushed the envelope of how far mature animation has come in Anime since the late 80’s.  It’s bloody, it’s thought provoking, it’s unforgiving and it is still talked about today as one of the pinnacles of Animation in general.  As a finale, it offered fans of the series better closure and more to chew on well afterwards.  As a stand alone film, it could make anyone want to go back and figure out how the hell things got the way they were by this onslaught of a film.  The End of Evangelion took chances and proved it wasn’t for the feint of heart and as far from “childrens entertainment” as Animation could get…I think id deserves some recognition for that.

 

#1-Pretty Much 90% of Studio Ghibli’s Film Resume

My Neighbor Totoro, Grave of the Fireflies, Princess Mononoke, The Wind Rises.  I’m not saying that every film Studio Ghibli does is pure gold (Tales of Earthsea anyone?).  But if one studio has managed to get more film at least nominated for Best Animated Feature, it’s these guys, which means theyre doing something very right.  Whether its high fantasy like Laputa: Castle in the Sky, childrens stories like The Cat Returns, or the hard hitting reality of Grave of the Fireflies (The Academy eats up movies like that so it might’ve had a better chance back in the day), Ghibli continues to be one of the biggest entertainers of Animation in the world.  They’ve managed one win with Spirited Away, they deserve more.

Pilot Candidate Part 1 Episodes 0-3

It is the year 5030 AD.  In a distant corner of the universe, the last of humanities world, Zion, sits as the most precious treasure in existence.  Across the stars, humanity and Zion are threatened by monstrous aliens known as Victim.  The only defense against these monsters are the five powerful Ingrids known as the Goddesses.  Zero Enna and Hiead Gner are two hot headed youths with special powers who have come to the pilot training academy, GOA, to fight for the chance to become the next pilots to inherit these powerful machines.  If they don’t kill each other along the way, they could very well be humanities last hope to free itself from the threat of Victim.

 

Pilot Candidate (or The Candidate for Goddess as it’s called in Japan) popped up on my radar a long time ago.  It was one of the first show to be aired on Adult Swim as part of its late Saturday night Anime block back in 2002.  The show only aired for a short while and has seldom been seen (if ever again at all) in rotation since the blocks creation almost 20 years ago (jeez im old).  When it first aired, I only saw a couple of episodes in full but never the whole series but id heard nothing but bad things from other reviewers.  Well for the sake of the odd bit of nostalgia I’m taking my own swing at Pilot Candidate.  And already I can tell, I will regret it…a lot.

Pilot Candidates problems are clear by the end of Episode 0 and continue on without much need to correct or understand it has a lot of kinks to work out.  For starters, originality may appear on the surface with the visuals and the mechas.  But underneath, this is as generic a scifi epic as you could get, with a strong hint of Shonen Anime tropes.  Zero Enna is our Naruto of the series, a loud mouthed brat who is determined to repeat himself over and over again and declare (over and over again) that he’ll be the next big Hokage…sorry I mean Goddess pilot.  Hiead Gner is Zero’s Sasuke, quiet, brooding, could care less about anyone around him.  We’ve also got generic drill sergent with an obvious sad past (Hijikata), a nerdy sidekick who is the appendix for the series (Clay), the ace pilot (Teela), and the list goes on.  There’s even a cute Cat Girl with Kizna but we don’t see too much of her outside of one episode.  I haven’t gotten to the story elements yet but trust me when I say, if the characters don’t leave much of an impression, the main premise wont either.

Once again, we’re at the ass end of nowhere and there’s one shiny place of salvation left for humanity.  We don’t exactly know what happened to Earth or why Victim is dead set on killing humanity (besides the obvious they’re Kaiju and that’s what most Kaiju do).  There isn’t even any explanation as to how the Goddesses were created and why they seem to be the only ones capable of taking them on.  Oh and their pilots, what makes them qualified?  Special training aside, the five pilots of the Goddesses are more bland and boring than Zero and his classmates.  How are Pilots chosen from Candidates?  Why do we need replacements for Pilots so soon when the current roster looks fine as is?  What’s the deal with Zero and Hiead’s powers, are they Newtypes? For 4 short episodes, a lot of questions pop up and I know there are attempts made to answer at least one of them when Zero isn’t yammering about something and rudely yelling “WOMAN!!!” are a hot Doctor who just saved his life.  It’s a ton of mystery but its not good mystery.  Even Sherlock would shove it off and let the end of the world come swiftly for this less than qualified tale and its cast.

Let’s talk about the animation, shall we?  The CG Goddesses do look somewhat impressive, or at least different compared to the bland Victim or standard grunt Ingrids.  However, their animation is hardly flawless for Goddesses.  Sometimes the style reminded me of proto Beast Wars/Reboot and other times, the frame rate dropped so bad I thought I was watching a cutscene for a video game on Windows 95.  Granted the 2D and 3D animation gels better than you’d expect but it still feels half assed and with little heart given to it.  Much like Silent Mobius, it feels like the production lost interest before the first episode was completed and just did what they could to get out of the project as scot free as possible.  Even the Goddess’ move incredibly clunky and we don’t get to see them do too much fighting.  Nooo we need to cut back to Zero ogling from GOA about how awesome they look and how he desperately wants to pilot the white Goddess.  Indeed, the bad animation only helped fuel my thoughts that I was watching a poorly rendered video game tutorial cutscene rather than an Anime…and I wanted to sell this game back to Gamestop ASAP.

Pilot Candidate is off to a bad start and I cant really see it getting much better as I go forward.  I guess it’s a little bit of a blessing that the upcoming weeks will have shorter episode numbers (3 instead of 4), so watching them should go by quick.  However, some of you should be a little excited.  I can see Pilot Candidate coming to share a fate similar to Silent Mobius last year, where I tear it apart week after week for an incomprehensible plot and a cast that has potential that is never met (though in this case the cast has ZERO potential whatsoever…no pun intended). 

Sigh, at least the music isn’t terrible.  The opening theme is fun, the ending theme is pretty soothing and the score offers a better mystery than the story…that’s kind of sad when you think about it.

T5W#128-Top 5 Saitama Moments from One Punch Man

From out of nowhere, he arrives.  He stands, facing the foes no one hero can triumph against.  He hears out their evil ramblings and, well before they prepare to deliver unto him a death blow, he ends the battle with one single punch.  And just like that, he vanishes, off to make it in time for a special sale on food cause he has a particular dish in mind for dinner.  He is Saitama and even when One Punch Man wasn’t at its best, he always was the man you could count on to never let us down.  Either with a really bad ass action scene or the most simple of reactions to a crisis (a “shrug” or “oh…ok sure”),  Saitama delivered the goods with more than just One Punch.  So to close out my time with one of the biggest hits of the 2010’s, I’m counting down my Top 5 Saitama Moments from One Punch Man.  Man is Season 2 going to have to work hard to top these.

 

#5-Taking out a Meteor

This was one of the seasons biggest set pieces.  An asteroid the size of Texas was bearing down on City Z and there was no way anyone was going to be able to take it down.  Even Genos and Metal Knights ultimate attacks.  All hope seems lost.  Not even a team of oil drillers and a popular rock band could stand a chance against this thing.  Then Saitama comes along and does what he does.  Sure it ends up with massive damage to the city cause of all the collateral damage but still, it’s no less really freaking epic.  And yes, I hope there’s an AMV out there where Saitama pulls this off to Areosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” from Armageddon cause that is how that movie should have been done.  And now that I think about it, this is probably the most “standard heroic moment” I have for Saitama on this list.

 

#4-Covering for the Heroes

Sometimes being a hero isn’t about the strength in your punch, it’s about what’s in your heart (thanks Supergirl).  After Saitama easily beats the mess out of the Sea King, who’s laid waste to every single hero sent to fight him, everyone is wondering how the hell Saitama was able to pull off a win everyone thought was impossible.  Some say Saitama was faking it, others are convinced the win was legit.  Saitama, looking at his fallen friend Genos and series MVP Mumen Rider, decides to take the former route.  He tells everyone that he simply came in and claimed the victory, that everyone wore Sea King down enough for him to get in one good shot.  This puts some negative press on Saitama but it saves the reputation of the heroes who need to work more than twice as hard to pull of the victories that Saitama can in one punch.  Their legacy and hero rep is preserved and Saitama is perfectly ok with being the “bad guy” to make that happen, wow what a guy.

 

#3-Noodles with Mumen Rider

Well after what Saitama did above, you’d think the world would hate him.  But Genos isn’t the only one who knows what his “Master” did for him and the other heroes.  In what’s probably the most touching scene of the season, Saitama is found at a noodle shop by Mumen Rider, a C Class hero who is a good at peddling a bike and probably a decent fighter but has no actual superpowers of his own.  Mumen sits down a tells Saitama he’s buying his next drink or meal and thanks him for what he did, assuring the bald headed Superman that even if the world believes otherwise, Mumen will always think of him as a true hero.  It’s one of the few friends, maybe even true friends that Satiama meets all season aside from Genos.  It’s not a shout at the top of your lungs “F YEAH” moment but a quiet, continuous nodding “f yeah” kind of scene.

 

#2-The Secret of his Powers

This was it, the moment we’d all been waiting for since the first episode. Just how did Saitama gain his God like abilities.  The answer came…in one of the most epic…nonsensical…totally bogus…and yet totally hilarious moments.  Seriously, it’s so damn goofy in its execution from the scratch paper drawings of Saitama to his Rocky-esque montage to the way he sounds, just like an inspirational instructor, that this moment works so perfectly.  And the payoff…isn’t that we learn how he got his powers, it’s that we DON’T find out and have to settle in for one simple fact: we may never find out the real answer.  And you know what, that’s perfectly ok with me. 

 

#1-Mosquito Slayer

I laughed hard at the first episode but this moment for Episode 2 solidified for me just how special One Punch Man really was.  When the tiny minion of a (so freaking sexy) Mosquito Lady finds its way to Saitama’s apartment, the One Punch Man finds an opponent he cannot kill even with his great strength.  It irks him and irks him and irks him.  All the while, Genos is taking on the Mosquito Mistress single handidly and seems to have the upper hand…until Saitama comes barreling down the street with a can of bug spray screaming “GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BASTARD IM NOT DONE WITH YOU YET” at the same damn mosquito.  As much as I loved every hard hitting fight or dramatic announcement or heartfelt bonding moment…nothing and I mean nothing has yet to top just how hilarious this scene is for me, it could very well be in a Top 5 list of funniest moments I have ever seen in an Anime EVER.  Oh yeah Season 2, your work is cut out, now impress me.

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters

Millenia ago, the apocalypse came to Earth.  Monsters arose and spread across the planet before their King appeared and began to wipe out what was left.  The last of humanity fled to the stars for salvation.  To them, only 20 years have passed but their journey is growing more and more desperate.  With resources and hope dwindling, there is only one course of action: return to Earth.  Spearheaded by a hotblooded youth determined to win back the planet, humanity returns home to face the sole reason for their exodus.  But he has evolved, grown and is far more deadlier than he ever was before.  If Humanity is to see Earth restored, it must bring down the King of the Monsters, it must destroy Godzilla.

Godzilla has seen a bit of a resurgence in the last few years.  We’ve had a new American version which served as set up for a new monster inspired universe.  We’ve had his grander return in Japan (rightfully titled Godzilla: Resurgance or Shin Godzilla).  And while sequels are set for both of those iterations, it’s kind of surprising to think that, up until now, Godzilla’s presence in Anime hasn’t been what it should be.  Yeah you have shows like Neon Genesis Evangelion and Rahxephon with take cues and tropes from Godzilla movies and use them well.  But an actual Godzilla Anime feels like a no brainer. 

And so we get Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters…dear God why?

The premise holds the promise of a very different kind of Godzilla film.  The idea of Godzilla actually growing so powerful he kind of kicks humanity off world is scary.  Equally scary is seeing how bad things get once humanity is far enough in space.  Hope is a thing of the past and despair is everywhere.  So going back to take on the King of the Monsters is a desperate move but at the same time exciting, especially seeing the weaponry mankind is bringing with it.  But really, once “the Ark” (I’m calling it that cause it looks very much like The Ark from The 100) gets back to Earth, the movie begins to collapse on the weight of it’s premise and one very, very bad detail.

Haruo Sakaki is supposed to be the lead character we are all supposed to get behind.  He’s supposed to have drive, determination, a renewed sense of hope that will spark humanity to battle for it’s home.  Now take all of those qualities and throw them into a guy who is so obsessed with revenge on Godzilla as if the monster murdered his entire family line AND their ancestors from millions of years back.  The end result is…well a guy who is revenge and murder obsessed I think he’s pretty much forgotten what he’s supposed to be fighting for and is just obsessed with killing his white whale.  But where Ahab was complex and fascinating, Haruo is one note.  All lines he is scripted with are basically “KILL KILL KILL KILL” with a mix of “DAMN YOU” and “BASTARD” for good measure.  The rest of humankind and its alien allies aren’t much more memorable than he is.  In fact it’s astounding that they actually end up following Haruo on…hmmmmm how was it put in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou? Oh yeah, “I think it's criminal that Steve allowed this to happen, by which I mean illegal. We're being led on an illegal suicide mission by a selfish maniac.”  Yeah, I wanted the monsters to win…big time.

Actually, that leads to another good point.  For a movie titled “Planet of the Monsters” we only see one other kind of “monster” once the humans return to Earth.  Sure we get a ton in a short prologue flashback (I think we even see Rhodan at one point).  But post “After Earth” era planet Earth only has skeletal dragons flying around besides the big guy himself.  Where’s everything else?  Where’s Rhodan?  King Gidorah?  Something else other than…skeletal dragons (which would sound cool in literally anything else).  And what of Godzilla?  He looks menacing enough but he doesn’t really do much.  Then again, being shot at by annoying mechas led by a military maniac, id ignore everything too and just keep walking.  He does get a couple of cool new attacks but for the most part, yeah Godzilla isn’t really allowed to cut loose like he did in Shin Godzilla or the 2014 US Godzilla movie (which the latter is saying a lot since he was barely in that film as it was). 

The more I kept watching Planet of the Monsters, the more frustrated and angry I became.  Spending almost an hour of a 90minute feature getting to Godzilla and focusing on less than likeable human characters is unacceptable.  I’ve said a ton about Haruo being the leader, I don’t want to say more.  Worse for me is that this film was written by Gen Urobuchi, the writer behind Fate/Zero, Madoka Magica and Psycho Pass.  Sure the film tries to sound existential and profound at times but when your cast lacks any common sense and possesses a ton of faulty logic…well let’s put it this way, you know your movies done wrong when Haruo tries to give an impassionate speech and I just mute the TV and put on the “dramatic” speech Jean Claude Van Damme’s Guile spouts out in the Street Fighter movie cause it’s just as dumb but way more entertaining. 

By the time the end credits rolled on Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters, I was at least happy that there was a good theme song to close out this rage fest.  I wasn’t a fan of the animation (even on Godzilla and the mecha) and I can see why this 3D Anime style has had a hard time catching on overall.  The story fell apart thanks to infuriating characters and beyond faulty logic (even at the end of the world, someone needs to have a working brain).  The action doesn’t excite and borders on tedious, especially when I don’t want any of the cast to survive.  And they expect this to be a trilogy of films?  It’s happening whether I like it or not but the King deserves far better than this. 

It’s funny, I just did a Top 5 on my list of worst titles ive reviewed here on the Anime Corner…well guess which title will be eligible for Part 2 of that list should it ever come to pass?  Do yourself a favor, skip Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters and check out Shin Godzilla instead.  I know I had to pop in the blu ray to wash the bad taste of this film out of my mouth.

3/10

One Punch Man Part 4 Episodes 10-12

Days after a fortune teller predicts a great calamity befalling the planet, a giant spaceship appears over Z-City.  Threat level “Dragon” is declared and the entire S Class roster is summoned to the Heroes Association HQ.  And because he’s got nothing better to do at the moment, Saitama comes along too at Genos’ request.  As an army of powerful heroes prepares to take on an Alien invasion, it’s Saitama who will stand as the chosen one for Boros, the Dominator of the Universe.  He’s long sought a foe to reignite his passion for battle and even Saitama’s one punch victory wont be enough to bring him down…and Saitama could not be happier about that.

You know, there are some points when watching a certain show, that you have to just take a breath, sit back, ignore logic, shut off your brain and say “Yep…that just happened.”  While it wasn’t a totally perfect finale, the end of One Punch Man had a lot of moments that fit that description.  I was hoping Saitama would knock it out of the park at the finish line.  When it comes to him and his character, FRAK YES he did just that.

With the end of the season (yes season, more on that in a bit) in sight, it was time to pull out all of the stops.  This meant an epic gathering of heroes, unstoppable henchmen and, most importantly, a villain even Saitama couldn’t beat in one punch.  The Class S heroes left a lot to be desired.  Like many other characters, they boast way too much and don’t seem as impressive as they should.  Martial Arts Master Bang was probably my favorite just because he’s cool with Saitama and Genos.  But thankfully, my girl Terrible Tornado got to finally show off her amazing powers and she left me wanting more.  I think I at last have found a new waifu who can stand with my infamous trio of Sailor Mars, Misato Katsuragi and Rin Tohsaka.  That being said, if Tornado can basically summon meteors and stop giant projecticles with her powers…how come she couldn’t end this all on her own?  She is the second highest ranked Class S hero after all.  Thankfully, the C class heroes, led by Mumen Rider, stood out once again.  They weren’t focused on showing off or glory like their higher ranked comrades.  They wanted to save lives pure and simple.  So…are the rankings kind of BS cause the ones with little power and in the lower classes feel more like real heroes here compared to the upper echelon (except for Genos, he’s a hero through and through, even if he doesn’t do anything in the finale).

Well the good stuff had to fall to Saitama and his long awaited battle with the space warrior Boros did not disappoint.  I haven’t given Studio Madhouse the credit it deserves for its astounding job animating One Punch Man, it truly is a good looking show.  Watching some of the final battle, especially when Boros powers up beyond and beyond all manners of reason, I felt like I was watching a Studio Gainax production like FLCL or Gurren Lagann.  Lots of sketches and colors flashing across a page at once in a wacky fashion, not that im complaining, it just felt like another animation studio.  But yeah im not knocking it.  The overall battle blew everything before it away.  For a while, I was worried Saitama would come out a little worse for wear.  But as the battle got more intense, the more One Punch Man stuck to its brand of humor.  Hell Saitama got knocked to the Moon and he spent a couple seconds testing the gravity like trying out a new mattress before going back to Earth.  It was a battle you could take seriously, especially when Boros didn’t die from one punch like everyone else, but one where you still cant stop laughing at the absurdity of it all.  And according to Boros, he could tell Saitama wasn’t even at full power…FREAKING WHAAAAT!???  That just makes your head spin from all the awesome.  This showdown is the stuff legends of Anime are made of.

Which leaves the fallout a bit…of a letdown.  The S Class heroes recover and wonder how the hell the alien spaceship fell and how the battle was simply over.  Amai Mask shows up to poster and show off a bit of why he might be the series greatest threat one day.  Genos, who does absolutely nothing in the finale, gets a hint of a traitor in the Heroes Association.  And Saitama emerges, with a bit of dirt but alive, only to be berated by Tornado, who boasts about how she could’ve settled this all on her own (so why didn’t she?).  That last part was probably the only bit I didn’t mind, back to business as usual…just with some cute Tornado action thrown in to make me happy.  Actually, it’s kind of a good thing OPM is getting a second season.  Because if the show was ending with so much mystery behind the scenes with the Heroes Association, id have to dock a point or two cause that group was easily one of the low points of the season, for me at least. 

I guess that brings me to my Final Thoughts.  If you’ve grown tired of the recent trend of superhero films (whether too formulaic like Marvel or too depressing like DC) One Punch Man is the series for you.  Every superhero trope is targeted and joked about from super serious heroes to the elaborate backstories of even the most minor of bad guys.   Saitama is one of the best Anime characters hands down in recent history.  He’s an average joe with the power of a God but he’s the most down to Earth guy you’ll ever meet.  While there were one or two “ok” episodes in the first season, Saitama always had a stand out moment in each, even if it was just a simple reaction to the danger around him.  Plus you’ve got a pretty diverse cast (youre sure to find a favorite like Genos, Mumen Rider, Tornado or Bang) and some of the most creative and overthetop battles in Anime period, some that even make DBZ drop its jaw.  Had the Heroes Association been a bit of a stronger element and the S Class heroes done a bit more to entertain, One Punch Man could very well have gotten a 10/10 (and if I had judged this based on the first 3 episodes alone, you bet this would have that number).  In the end, ill give it a 9/10.  If you want to laugh at the superhero genre in all the right ways, this show is for you.  And yes, this is only the first season (it is based on a Shonen Manga after all).  Which means that hopefully in 2018 we’ll see Saitama’s return to the screen…and hope that his second outing can measure up to, if not surpass, this stellar first season.

Whew, hard to believe it’s over.  But 2018’s just getting started.  Check back next week as I begin an Adult Swim Anime Classic that they say is pretty terrible.  Will I find something to like about Pilot Candidate?  Or is this the next Silent Mobius for me?  The journey to the answer begins next week.  See ya then everyone.