Supernatural: The Anime Series Part 2 Episodes 5-8

From one end of the country to the next, Sam and Dean Winchester are on the hunt for things that go bump in the night.  But that isn’t their only mission.  John Winchester, their father, is still missing and his absence is starting to weigh on Dean.  Meanwhile, Sam reminisces about the love he lost that started him on the path of hunting again.  No matter the burdens of their pasts, Sam and Dean will have to put that to the side if theyre going to survive battles with Vampires, vengeful spirits…and the demon that’s haunted the Winchester Family for decades.

Supernatural’s trek through the realm of Anime continues this week.  While the season long foe is introduced, along with a couple of familiar faces (kind of), this weeks set of all original episodes did a good job to remind us that not all of the monsters The Winchesters hunt have fangs and glowing black eyes.  Sometimes the darkest evil can be humanity itself.

That point above is something the TV Series has touched on dozens of times.  Heck, even Sam and Dean have become some form of the monsters they hunt since they’ve chased after the darkness for so long.  It can blind anyone to the fact that, even in a world of Vampires, Werewolves and Bloody Mary (Man am I gonna have nightmares over her), things aren’t always black and white.  Two tales this week highlighted this.  The first was Dean bonding with a young boy who was the offspring of Vampires.  Turns out the kid and his dad were doing their best to continue not harming humans to feed, instead wrestling down cows and feeding on them (that image of a Vampire wrestling a cow is funnier than I think intended).  No the real monster of that story was the rabid Vampire hunter who killed the mother of the family cause he enjoys his work.  And Dean still convinced the Vampire father to spare the jerk after Sam took him down…humanity, even if it doesn’t look the same, can still find a way.  The second instance is one a bit more familiar: a Doctor trying to keep his long past dead wife alive by making her a Frankenstein style monster on the inside.  I’m all for love never dying but this was taking things wayyyyy too far and way too creepy.  It’s also one of the few instances where science and medicine were more the weapon of destruction than anything supernatural.

This week also saw us delving a bit into some Winchester history in order to set up the arrival of Yellow Eyes.  For the first time, we saw an event never really touched on in the TV Series: How Sam met his fiancée Jessica and fell in love.  It’s a clever story, bringing her into Sam’s world and also including Dean and Papa John Winchester without them actually interacting (since if events are similar to that of the TV Series, Dean never met Jessica until right before she died, when he came to tell Sam about their dad going MIA).  I liked Sam and Jess’ little romance, Jess herself had a cute character design too.  It was sweet and innocent enough.  So much so, im surprised Sam isn’t more angry all the time after losing her.  Granted that anger did surface when Yellow Eyes did appear, possessing the body of a mother trying to save her dying daughter.  Yellow Eyes’ character design is simple but effective and still scary, the light of his signature eyes pierces the soul more than his TV counterpart.  And while his presence was minimal, it was still felt and sets him up nicely for events to come.

What didn’t fare so well this week was the introduction of popular series character Bobby Singer.  In the TV Series, Bobby is a grizzled old hunter veteran who’s a jack of all trades, infinite knowledge bank and the closest thing the Winchesters have to family after all this time.  Bobby is the definitive cool father figure…and the Anime kind of ruins him by changing a lot of his personality and his terrible character design.  Bobby sounds like an ex-mob enforcer/gangster who happens to be a hunter rather than a bad ass who would’ve done well in the old west.  It also hurts that Jim Beaver, Bobby’s actor from the Series, isn’t doing his voice (in the same vein Jeffery Dean Morgan also isn’t voicing John Winchester).  I get that this is supposed to all be an alternate take on Supernatural but somethings should look about the same: Sam, Dean, The Impala.  Bobby should be on that list, it’s one of the shows major failings at this point.  Gotta say too, the seemingly singular musical track they play during the action scenes got old after Episode 2…why is there no music in this series besides “Carry on My Wayward Son”?  How could would it be to hear more classic rock tunes just like on the TV Series or even some JRock?

All in all, this week might have had some shortcomings but it succeeded when showing that the creative staff has the power to create its own stories in the Supernatural Universe and even expand on unknown eras of the Winchesters history.  I still like this series, I just wish Bobby felt more like Bobby.  We’ll be hitting the halfway mark next week and thankfully the Impala looks like it still has plenty of gas for the long trip.  See ya next week.

FIF#63-Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross

In the year 2120, humanity has left a devastated Earth behind and has begun to colonize other worlds.  One such planet is Glorie, a promising new world that is protected by the army of the Southern Cross.  But humans were not the first occupants of Glorie.  It’s former inhabitants, the Zor, have returned from deep space and they want their planet back.  Jeanne Fránçaix and her unorthodox unit within the Southern Cross take center stage as the march towards the ultimate battle for the survival of two warring species begins on Glorie.

In the 1980’s Giant Robot shows were a dime a dozen in Anime.  There were plenty of the traditional Giant Robots vs Aliens stories like Beast King Go Lion (or Voltron as we all know him) and Macross.  And there was the resurrection of the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise with two back to back sequels: Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ.  So you had to do something big to stand out in a large crowd.  Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross’s biggest claim to fame, unlike the other aforementioned titles, is that it is best known as the basis for the second arc of Robotech, The Masters Saga.  And really…besides that there really isn’t anything that makes this show very special.

From the animation to the mecha, Southern Cross kind of feels like standard fare for a Giant Robot Show.  Another planet for a battlefield, check.  Aggressive and mysterious alien species, check.  Transformable mecha, check.  I will say that the highlight of the first episode is the cast…but that’s not too much of a compliment.  Jeanne and her 15^th Squad of the Southern Cross feel like prototype characters for the eventual Patlabor series.  Jeanne treats her duties with very little regard for consequence and it kind of rubs off on the rest of her squad.  Heck, they end up picking a fight with another team and then run away on their hover bikes while being chased by military police…how the hell are these guys even a unit and not disbanded immedietly?  So yeah, to say the cast is the main point of discussion isn’t saying too much praise.

It makes me wonder why this series was used in Robotech.  The transformable hovertanks feel like a step back from transformable fighter jets for starters.  Plus, the title is a little misleading, at least the first bit.  Though Southern Cross and Macross share the “Super Dimension” title, they are in no way connected, unless you count transforming battle weapons.  In the end, there isn’t as much insentive to try and keep watching Southern Cross like I feel I should with Macross.  Without it’s connection to Robotech withstanding, the series feels forgettable, or at least lost in a sea of other vastly superior 80’s mecha classics.

And how does our third series stand up in this era of tough scifi competition?  Our look at the first episodes of the shows that made up Robotech concludes next week with my first impression of Genesis Climber Mospeda.

T5W#164-Top 5 Favorite Bakugo Moments from My Hero Academia Season 3 (and how they changed my view of his character)

Katsuki Bakugo has been a character I have absolutely hated since the start of My Hero Academia.  The way he belittles everyone and constantly abuses Deku…I had to wonder WTF anybody ever liked him (especially Deku who I really thought had some serious mental abuse problems that he’d put up with all of “Kaachan”’s crap).  I had even taken to calling him the “Poor Mans Vegeta”, similar tempers but Vegeta was effortlessly cool while Bakugo demanded he be seen as cool without the charm.  And then…the craziest thing happened.  It started towards the end of Season 2 but it definitely showed in Season 3.  Bakugo had actually begun to change.  Of the many characters in My Hero Academia, Bakugo has undergone the most growth and alot of it is the result of subtle developments ive refused to see…cause I just didn’t like him.  But now that Season 3 has wrapped up, I can talk about the 5 definitive moments of Season 3 that have changed my mind about this character.  No he isn’t my all time fav (he’s got legions of fans, he’s doing just fine in that department, still love Froppy and Todoroki more).  But these are my Top 5 Favorite Bakugo Moments from My Hero Academia Season 3 (and how they changed my view of his character) Wow longest Top 5 Title Ever.

#5-Trying to Cheer Up his Teammates (Episode 51-Moving into Dorms)

The aftermath of All Might’s battle with All For One left everybody shaken as the second half of Season 3 got started.  All of Class 1-A had been through the ringer and Bakugo had plenty of his own baggage being the hostage that helped set the fight in motion.  When he and his classmates reunite to move into their new dorms, there’s an air of gloom that cant be ignored…and Bakugo sees this.  In two quick but equally memorable moves, he forces Kaminari to overload his electric powers so he can look goofy and then pays Kirishima back for the night vision goggles he had to buy to help with the rescue mission.  Personally, I didn’t think Bakugo cared that much about his classmates but this wouldn’t be the last time his time as a captive would affect things going forward.

#4-Trusting Kirishima (Episode 48-Symbol of Peace)

When the time came to rescue Bakugo without fighting the villains who captured him, Deku had to make a pretty big gamble…besides the whole operation being one as a whole.  He knew that when he and his team made a move to grab Bakugo, his childhood rival would never take his hand and his help.  Who he WOULD choose a bit less hesitantly…Kirishima.  The poor guy has tried his damndest to be Bakugo’s friend, even when people are fed up with Bakugo’s attitude. So imagine my surprise when Deku’s hunch turns out to be right.  Bakugo grabs the hand of the friend and his hoisted to safety.  It’s kind of heartwarming to see Kirishima’s trust paid off…even if it came with a thank you full of Bakugo snark.

#3-Helping Solve a Mystery (Episode 58- Special Episode: Save the World with Love)

This episode was a bit of a surprise.  It took a break from the current storyline and gave us a special prequel to the My Hero Academia: Two Heroes movie that came out this past summer.  Here, Deku, Uraraka, Ida, Tsu, Todoroki and Bakugo have to work together to solve a mystery when a training exercise turns into a murder mystery (all part of a test).  Whats funny here is that, despite taking place before Season 3, Bakugo is showing more signs of cooperation here as he did in recent present day episodes.  He’s still hot headed and ready to punch something but he’s also taking in the information his teammates are gathering and drawing reasonable conclusions. 

#2-Mouthing off to the Bad Guys (Episode 46-From Iida to Midoriya)

Given his general temper and general IDGAF attitude, I was absolutely in the camp of the possibility that Bakugo might become a villain.  His talk of surpassing Deku and All Might could be seen as villainous as well as how he treated his classmates with his lone wolf/rabid dog persona.  And then the time came when Bakugo was held captive by Tomura and the League of Villains and the pitch was made for him to join the Dark Side.  Now I wouldn’t expect Bakugo to wax philosophies with the overtalkative Tomura.  But he flat out slapped Tomura’s welcoming hand away to told him to F*** Off.  And you know what, that was perfect, that fit Bakugo perfectly.  It was definitely one of Hero Aca’s best F’ Yeah moments this season.

#1-Bakugo vs Deku Confession (Episode 61-Deku vs. Kacchan, Part 2)

"Why was I the one to end All Might?" I’ll admit, I did peak at this in the manga.  But it made me want to do this list cause it floored me, shocked the crap out of me and let me speechless.  Honestly, I didn’t think Bakugo had this much emotion to share other than anger.  In a scene that will live forever as part of this shows legend, Bakugo and Deku have a late night duel in the training ground.  The more intense the fight becomes, the more Bakugo opens up and eventually reveals he feels responsible for the loss of All Mights powers, he the person who wanted to be just like All Might if not better….HOLY SHIT.  To hear Bakugo say that, with tears in his eyes…it made me want to actually help cheer him up, show him that wasn’t the case.  But leave it to Deku to confess that, despite the beatings and verbal abuse, Kaachan was the closest person to All Might he ever knew, hence why he admired him.  This whole battle was the crowning moment of Season 3 and im glad it managed to make it in there.  How will Bakugo grow from this point and will things get more civil between him and Deku?  Idk…but for once I am very interested in the future of Katsuki “Kaachan” Bakugo…congratulations universe, you win.

Supernatural: The Anime Series Part 1 Episodes 1-4

Brothers Sam and Dean Winchester are wanderers with a very particular skillset: theyre Hunters.  But they don’t track down Animals or such, they hunt more dangerous game: monsters, ghosts, spirits, even demons.  They’ve been raised by their father to combat the forces of the night in all manner of ways from guns to exorcisms.  After a long time apart, fate and the disappearance of their father has reunited the Winchesters to find him and continue what they do best: Saving people, hunting things…the family business.

A few years back, Supernatural came up in conversation between me and my sister.  When I told her there was an Anime version of it (I think it had come out maybe a year prior to this), she said that, based on what little she’d seen, the show was a good fit for an Anime.  That conversation stuck with me and, eventually, I jumped right into the world of the Winchesters, binging 6 seasons straight, and then grabbing the Anime series to check out…and now im gonna review it for the horror filled month of October.

Now, for those who might not know, here’s some background.  Supernatural is a US TV Series that has been on the air for 13 years now, and about to start it’s 14^th season soon.  The series centers on the adventures of Sam and Dean Winchester, brothers who hunt pretty much every source of evil in the world.  They started with simple monsters like Vampires and Werewolves and Ghosts but soon graduated to all out Demons and the forces of both Heaven and Hell.  My sister was right.  There is a huge amount of lore in this series that an Anime could tackle with nearly endless possibilities.  This Anime adaptation, however, only covers the first two seasons (which is a shame cause this is well before the arrival of fan favorites Castiel, Crowley, and all the Heaven and Hell battles).  I should note this as well.  While I am a fan of the show, it has been a long time since ive watched the first few seasons.  As such, while reviewing this series, im going to focus on the episodes as Anime alone and try (emphasis on TRY) not to draw too many comparisons to the episodes they were based on (apparently roughly half of this series is based on episodes from Seasons 1 and 2 and the rest are original ideas).  A couple of series tidbits might pop up from time to time.  But honestly if I were going to do a beat by beat analysis of certain episodes, we’d probably be here for a bit…and this intro’s gone on longer than I wanted so let’s dive right in already.

By the time the teaser of the first episode is over, it’s clear Anime is a good fit for Supernatural.  Don’t get me wrong, the TV show isn’t shy about its gore but with Anime, you can go as overblown and over the top with the gruesome kills.  And across the first four episodes, there are all manner of scares, chills and terrifying imagery to spare that I think sometimes surpasses the TV Series visual abilities.  Im not too surprised by this since all three of those entertaining qualities are things Studio Madhouse (the group handling this series) is best at, for more proof just go watch Ninja Scroll.  Most of the aforementioned bloodiness is mostly seen in the premiere episode, which sees Sam and Dean dealing with a Shapeshifter.  The three episodes that follow all feature a ghost or spirit as the main foe…not as diverse a supernatural foe as you’d maybe want to get things rolling.  But Supernatural: The Anime does make up for it by giving each spirit it’s own uniqueness, the winner of the trio being the evil Impala the boys have to face…cause nobody uses a car like Deans “Baby” and gets away with it.

What about Sam and Dean?  The Anime does a pretty good job of reminding us why these siblings have been so endearing to fans for more than a decade now.  Their banter is on par with Edward and Alphonse Elric and the quirks and eccentricities you can draw in an Anime style (the over exaggerations and what not) only make them more amusing to watch.  Their personalities are intact too: Sam the more logical heart while Dean is the hard headed but loveable brawn.  There is, however, one glaring bit.  Ask any true fan and they’ll tell you: Jared Padelecki and Jensen Ackles are Sam and Dean…nuff said.  While the pair do reprise their roles for the Anime, only Jared Padelecki voices Sam for the entirety.  For reasons im not sure of, Jensen Ackles could only voice Dean for a couple of episodes and we’ll get to them eventually.  Now, that’s not to say that Andrew Farrar, who steps into the role of the elder Winchester bro, does a bad job.  He’s got Dean’s tone and personality down…it’s just weird hearing Dean voiced by someone else.  I didn’t let that stop me from enjoying the first set of episodes and neither should you, I think Dean is in good hands.

Helping longtime fans and newcomers into this new realm of Supernatural storytelling are a couple of familiar elements.  Firstly, you have “Carry on My Wayward Son” by Kansas as the shows end theme.  This song is forever tied to the Supernatural legend as it usually plays during the end season recap at Season Finale Time.  If Supernatural does have a theme song, that’s it.  Next up are the introductions to each episode.  They’re brief but they do allow Jared and Jensen to appear on screen together, or solo depending, and setup the episode.  They add in their own little bits, whether it’s their fondness for an episode or just a small jab at one another.  Either way, it’s good to see the actors in live action to play guides for all fans.

I cant really complain about this first set of episodes.  The half hour runtime (compared to the one hour TV air time) means that the pacing is cranked up and let loose immediately.  For all of the heart pounding action sequences and terror filled sights, there’s still time to give to the brothers and the people they have to help.  The wandering spirit, Molly, and effeminate cop Michael are both standouts.  Molly’s story is simply tragic, a spirit unaware of what has truly happened to herself, trapped in a loop that has inadvertedly gotten other people hurt.  Michael has to deal with his desire to save his town from a mistake he and his cop brother were both part of, even if it means alienating himself from his family.  There were moments where both of these characters, and others, sometimes stole the show from Sam and Dean.  That’s a definite win for the writers of the Anime, who do a great job adapting TV Series episodes or creating their own tales (in this intro set, 3 episodes were from the TV Series and one was original).

All in all, this was a great debut week for Supernatural: The Anime Series.  Each episode had its moments of intensity, terror and utter Winchester bad assery in droves.  As far as titles go for a horror themed Anime for the month of October, I think I chose wisely.  Let’s see if the series can keep up the good work next week.  See ya then.

My Hero Academia: Two Heroes

Izuku “Deku” Midoriya and his mentor, All Might, travel to I-Island for the opening of a popular superhero expo.  Here, Deku meets David Shield, All Might’s best friend from his glory days, and his protegee daughter, Melissa Shield.  It looks like a nice little vacation for Deku and the rest of UA Class 1-A.  That is until terrorists crash the expos opening ceremonies and gain control of the entire islands security.  With the heroes imprisoned, including All Might himself, it’s up to Deku and Melissa and a small team of students to break the terrorists stranglehold on I-Island.  Waiting for them is an onslaught of powerful opponents…and a heartbreaking truth that might break Deku and All Might’s resolve to fight.

In a relatively short span of time, My Hero Academia has become a juggernaut of an Anime title.  It’s popularity is on par with the greatest of Shonen Jump legends like One Piece, Naruto and even Dragon Ball Z.  With three seasons now under it’s belt for the TV Series, the time feels right that we’d get to see Deku, Bakugo and their classmates take to the big screen for a larger than life adventure.  While I wouldn’t say Two Heroes is any larger than a normal story arc from the TV Series, it still brings with it everything that makes My Hero Academia so special in the first place…and that’s definitely enough for a win.

For me, the biggest draw of the movie wasn’t just about seeing Class 1-A kick ass.  I was eager to see some of All Might’s backstory and early days as a hero.  Indeed, the opening sequence gives us that and shows All Might and David Shield making a great team.  However, the movie kind of moves away from that once Deku is in the picture.  It’s touched upon once or twice and there are plenty of emotional moments between All Might and his best friend (among a slew of others…cause it’s Hero Aca).  But I wanted more time with these two, both in the past and present.  In a way, I almost wish that we one day get a true All Might prequel movie or arc to build more on this friendship.  Actually, All Might and David are both kind of out of the action for most of the film until the last act.  Though I suppose it seems fitting that some form of their friendship is seen blossoming between Deku and newcomer Melissa.  They were cute together and, more than that All Might Prequel, I hope we see Melissa appear in the TV Series going forward (though this being a sort of stand alone flick, im not holding my breath).

Speaking of “stand alone”, Two Heroes is meant to be just that, taking place in the short interim between Seasons 2 and 3 of the TV Series.  And yeah, it is a story you can watch without having watched an episode, the movie spends plenty of time getting you up to speed on the world and Deku’s backstory right away.  However, two places where the stand alone approach gets lost popped up.  First, there are direct references to events in the TV Series, specifically ones that will pop up in Season 3.  I didn’t think it was necessary for everything about the plot to be connected to the TV Series.  I guess it would stir up curiosity to check out the TV Show (which you should do anyway cause its awesome).  Well that and there’s one of my biggest Shonen Movie nitpicks: everyone is here.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love watching Class 1-A interact with each other, it’s easily the heart of the show besides Deku and All Might’s bond.  Still, I wish the central group was a smaller and more focused bunch.  Like if it had been Deku, Bakugo, Todoroki, Uraraka and Ida as the main group plus Melissa, that would be fine.  But there’s a group of about ten heroes on the main board and we get glimpses of the rest of the cast (which will surely upset some fans that their favorites might get left out of the action).  A Shonen movie can work with a smaller cast and not everyone getting involved, something I admired about some of the Dragon Ball Z movies and definitely Bleach: Hell Verse.  Maybe My Hero Academia will experiment with that more in the future (this wont be the last movie, im sure).

Ok, im done making complaints cause it’s time to talk about how awesome the movie is as a whole.  Despite what I said above about everyone being in this movie, each character from the show does get a moment to shine, no matter how small or large their role.  And really, My Hero Academia has always worked best for me when Class 1-A is working together to form a plan after Deku or someone gives a passionate speech.  From then on, you get to the action and it is great.  With heavy hitters like eternal fan favorites Bakugo and Todoroki riding shotgun, you know the fights are going to dazzle.  That basically makes up the entire second half of the film, a non stop slug fest between students and terrorists leading to one helluva final battle that will make an audience cheer.  There’s special moves, there’s heartbreaking moments of discovery and there are “all hope is lost” moments followed up by the most inspiring mix of music, heart and good character writing.  In short, everything you love about the TV Series is here despite Two Heroes’ faults and they do a good job of negating them most of the time.  Plus, while the villains are really standard fare, I liked the additions of David and Melissa Shield to the Hero Aca World.  They leave a great impression, plus I secretly long for a bit more between Deku and Melissa.  Yeah they weren’t really romantically setup but it could happen (Sorry Uraraka).  And again, we need that All Might prequel cause he and David had some of the films best and most powerful scenes together.

My Hero Academia: Two Heroes isn’t a perfect first outing.  But where it stumbles, it makes up for by doing what it does best week after week on TV.  While every class member is present, the ones you know will kick the most ass get their moment to shine, both in battle and in quieter moments.  The new characters open doors of storytelling possibility I hope we walk through again down the line.  And all the inspirational feels and emotions that have made My Hero Academia so damn loveable are on display.  My heart was pounding and I was crying during so many moments.  Normally id complain about a movie doing something that a TV show does on a regular basis, most definitely the story.  But My Hero Academia is basically a series of thirty minute mini movies airing on TV every week, dazzling us with spectacle, humor and a beautiful examination of what it means to be a hero.  How would that not work in a movie, even if the story isn’t as strong as it could be?  At the end of the day, if you love this show, you’ll love this movie…cause it does go PLUS ULTRA…and comes out with a passing grade in the end.

8/10