T5W#169-Top 5 Gundam Opening Theme Songs

As a long time Gundam fan, the one thing ive come to associate more with more shows or films from the franchise…besides the mechs, the stories, the characters and other things…is the music.  Quite often Id find myself turning into new episodes just to hear the themes play on screen to get me amped for whatever came next, for better (Gundam Wing) or worse (Gundam Seed Destiny).  So for the next couple of weeks, ill be taking a look at the long history of Gundam theme music and choosing my five favorite opening and ending themes for two separate lists.  And we kick things off this week with my Top 5 Gundam Opening Theme Songs.  BTW rule of thumb here: most Gundam entries have anywhere from 2-4 themes per show (opening and ending).  So as much as I like every opening or ending for certain shows, only one entry per show per list.  Anyway, let’s get to it.

#5-The Winner (Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory)

Gundam 0083 has gained a bit of rep in the community as being the “Top Gun” of Gundam.  The initial setup would suggest that sure: a crew of training academy cadets competing with each other to see who will sit in the cockpit of the coveted Mobile Suit.  So it makes a little sense that the first opening theme, “The Winner” has an edge of your seat feel, matched to pictures of  gathering enemies and the action that unfolds when they meet.  Plus, the beat feels very remniscent of Top Gun’s main theme, “Danger Zone”.  And you better believe Kou Uraki and the crew of the Albion are heading right into it.


#4-Turn A Turn (Turn A Gundam)

Turn A Gundam is a strange but very beautiful entry in the Gundam franchise.  In many respects it feels more like Gundams answer to Escaflowne (same studio, and some talents from that show carried over as well).  With a setup as unique as Victorian Era biplanes battling War of the Worlds style Tripod Mobile Suits, you need a theme to match.  Turn A Turn is that theme and it feels like a Gundam theme (lots of rock guitars) but goes for more of a wondrous, mystical vibe (beautiful chants and flute play) rather than the call to arms you’d usually associate with Gundam.  


#3-Rhythm Emotion (Mobile Suit Gundam Wing)

While Just Communication kicked off the series right, Rhythm Emotion feels like a song that better defines Gundam Wing.  Theres an air of sad tragedy and romance to the whole tune, which fits the general change of mood for the story in the latter half when it appears (though imho it should have been used in the show at the halfway mark rather than the 7/8ths mark).  Still, Rhythm Emotion makes several appearances in the last act of Wing, especially when Epyon slices Space Fortress Barge in half in a single go.  What can I say, it’s just an awesome and super beautiful song that still manages to be action packed, like Gundam always is.


#2-Nibun no Ichi (Gundam Build Fighters)

I know there are some who call the Build Fighters/Divers entries half hour long toy commercials…and yeah they are that, a way to broadcast the ultimate Gunpla catalogue to the world.  But Build Fighters is still a super fun and excellent love letter to the Gundam franchise as a whole.  Nibun no Ichi is the perfect opening for this series, instilling a Pokemon/Yu-Gi-Oh kind of feel but in the best way.  It’s like schools out or Saturday morning is upon us and all you want to do is get out there and go build Gunpla with friends and ready them for shows, tournaments, shop displays.  Gundam has always been a pretty serious series.  So it’s nice to have a theme song that makes you feel like a little kid again discovering this amazing world for the first time.


#1-Rage of Dust (Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans)

While IBO might be a little hard for me to follow (or care in some instances), the theme songs all have that very hard rock edge that you’d associate with this entries title.  Rage of Dust was a good way to kick off Season 2 and, in my opinion, is one of the most blood pumping, energizing, get the crew together openings in all of Anime.  You even have your segments of the song where everyones just chilling out before its time to get right to the kick ass action.  I never finished Season Two of Iron Blooded Orphans but Rage of Dust was one of the main highlights of the show in general.  It’s the kind of theme every Gundam show should have at least once in its run.

Full Metal Panic: Invisible Victory Part 1 Episodes 1-3

At the gravesite of their parents, siblings Tessa and Leonard Testarossa meet.  Leonard offers his sister one simple warning: “Playtime is over.”  In one fell swoop, the peaceful life Sousuke Sagara thought he could have with his class rep, Kaname Chidori, is destroyed as Amalgam takes the gloves off.  Mithril finds itself on the brink of collapse and not even the students and staff of Jin Dai High School are safe from the wrath of an enemy that may have been holding back this whole time.  The game has changed and Sousuke will be forced to use tactics that might even frighten Kaname.  But he is a soldier and Sousuke will protect the woman he loves…no matter the cost.

It’s been 13 years since The Second Raid but MAN IS IT GOOD TO HAVE FULL METAL PANIC BACK!!!  When I started on the journey to reviewing the first three seasons throughout 2017, I was a little nervous.  The first season, while a classic, started out on uneven footing trying to balance action and comedy.  The second season: FMP Fumoffu, and the third season: FMP: The Second Raid, were both major improvements because they decided to focus on one half of the equation each, comedy and drama respectively.  Which brings us to Season IV (haha get it cause it could also be shorthand for Invisible Victory).  Once again, Full Metal Panic is choosing one half of the comedy/drama spectrum and it’s taking things to the next freaking level. I never expected the goodness of The Second Raid could be followed up almost so easily.  It’s not without drawbacks but Invisible Victory is off to one helluva beginning.

The trailers for the new season promised us war and it has so far delivered.  Leonard Testarossa’s threat was real: the gloves are coming off.  And in doing so, the feel of Full Metal Panic changes all together.  The fun times are over, something both Kaname and Sousuke have both been dreading since they’ve met.  Amalgam is done being on the losing end and is doing what most bad guys should do from day one: send in every piece of destruction they have to wipe out their enemies. Mithril started off uneasy at the start of The Second Raid with their foes for that season.  Here, they’re not only caught off guard, they are pretty much in the middle of the “no win scenario” (or as we Star Trek fans know it better, “Kobayashi Maru”).  Sure theyre doing their best to play defense but it’s a desperate one and for the first time, I am truly terrified for everyones safety at Mithril HQ.

With the stakes raised so high, it’s good to see that all of the stellar character development from The Second Raid has not gone to waste.  Holy crap, Tessa is acting like a real Captain in a time of crisis, even threatening to shoot a would be deserter when he threatens to turn everyone in to save his own skin.  Sure Kurtz says she wouldn’t do it but I don’t know.  Were this Season One Tessa I’d believe him but this is a more mature and ready for battle Tessa, I gotta say, I dig it.  But of course, there’s Sousuke and Kaname, both going through their own personal turmoil in the middle of this.  After all their adventures, theyre closer than ever, pretty much dating.  But could their bond be their downfall?  Sousuke is willing to sacrifice everything to protect Kaname and her world that he has come to love (including her friends and Jin Dai High School).  But even Hayashimizu (a face from Full Metal Panic Fumoffu making a welcome return) has to point out that Sousuke should be looking to his own future and also if that means letting Kaname go to keep her safe.  Kaname has to contend with the reality of the harm her hidden powers are causing her world.  Most importantly, for a moment she’s scared when Sousuke has to go all out soldier to keep her safe and he isn’t using dummy rounds.  It plays to the power of the bond Sousuke and Kaname have built over three prior seasons to see them accept these fears and declare they’ll face the future together.  And I gotta say, from a guy who has followed this show since Season One Episode One, it was a big freaking deal to see Sousuke and Kaname hold hands while walking home before everything started going downhill.

The animation studio has changed once again for this season.  I’ll miss Kyoto Animation’s brilliant work but Stuido Xebec (Martian Successor Nadesico) is doing an adequate job so far.  The characters still look the same with a few slight touch ups.  It’s great to see everyone back again in action, especially my girl Melissa Mao, who looks just as good in Tessa’s uniform as she does in her pilots suit (apparently she got promoted, hence the uniform change).  The mecha designs and the CG used to bring them to life this time are solid…but not so solid is the CG Car Chase that takes up the bulk of Episode 2.  While I know that the wacky CG Races of Initial D hold some charm, it doesn’t work as well here in Full Metal Panic.  In fact despite the roll the show was on with its story, I was worried for a moment that this show was faltering in any area so early on.  There’s also the ongoing mystery of Kaladin acting…well unsure and unsettled.  Mardukis and Tessa both caught on that something was up with him and I cant help but wonder…is he going senile or has Sousuke’s mentor helped sell out Mithril?  Only time will tell I suppose.

Despite the fear and intensity it brings with it, Full Metal Panic: Invisible Victory feels like an old friend coming back after a long time away and its one you want to hug tight.  The gangs all here and the long time villains are ready to bring the heavy fight this time.  Im as excited for whats to come as I am scared as hell for every single character on this show.  Will we have to say goodbye to some beloved faces when the final episode of the season airs?  I’m buckling in for the long haul…Full Metal Panic is back and it is about damn time.

Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection

Kenshin Himura has vanished.  While on a mission overseas, the legendary warrior was swept into the ocean during a storm.  Some search for him but many believe the man once known as the Hitokiri Battosai might actually be gone forever.  Back in Tokyo, those closest to Kenshin deal with his absence in their own way.  His son, Kenji, seeks out his fathers old master to understand his fathers strength.  His protegee, Yahiko, tries to uphold Kenshin’s ideals in his own way.  And his beloved wife, Kaoru, reminisces about the trials that brought Kenshin into her heart, all the while patiently waiting for the man she loves to come home.

 

God this was a depressing train wreck of a film to watch.  I know I should start this review a bit more…professionally.  But I cant help it.  As a fan of the Rurouni Kenshin Anime (and more so the Manga), RuroKen: Reflection feels like the ultimate insult.  As a Anime watcher, I feel like my time has been wasted.  As a fan, I feel a rage that will forever be associated with this film.  It’s uneseccary, it’s depressing, it’s the “finale” Rurouni Kenshin doesn’t deserve.

 

Basically, Reflection is an exercise in “how can you take a story about a man who is trying to make up for terrible deeds from his past and actually finds happiness and just destroy any and all progress he’s made even after he’s found that happiness?”.  To shorten that up a bit, the feel good ending of the Kenshin Manga is given a dark epilogue that says all of Kenshins hard work as a Rurouni has been for not and all of his misery in life has been heading in one direction towards an inevitable conclusion.  Come on, it’s like watching the beginning of Alien 3 and getting that gut punch that all the caring you came to have for Ripley and her crew didn’t mean squat because Hicks and Newt are unceremoniously killed off before the opening credits even end (despite that I actually don’t mind Alien 3 like most people but that’s neither here nor there).  Kenshin is a lot like the Elric Brothers of Fullmetal Alchemist.  After all the crap they both went through in their separate stories, you wanted them to get their happy ending.  In the Manga at least, Kenshin got that ending, why couldn’t it be left at that?

 

The answer to that last question might lie with the success of Trust and Betrayal, which was great, hands down, never disputing that.  However, the fault lies in thinking that what made Trust and Betrayal work would also succeed by bringing that same mature artstyle and darker storytelling to an already established timeline of events (the main Kenshin series).  It doesn’t and it hurts to watch such an uplifting story made grim and devoid of any of the warmth and heart that everyone loves about Rurouni Kenshin.  The optimistic and bumbling Rurouni is replaced with a somber, uninspired shamble of his former self and he just looks more and more tired as the movie goes on, even in the action scenes.  Karou’s spunk and spark is made equally as dull as the man she loves.  What makes this mess complete: Most of the movie has both of these lifeless soulmates onscreen together sharing the same conversation multiple times.  No “oro”, no “KENSHIN!!!!” angry cries, no nothing.  In the Manga Kenshin and Kaoru were a couple to root for, even if they never kissed.  Here, God you just want to wish this travesty of an Anime didn’t exist.

 

To what little credit I wish to give, Studio Deen is trying to make this OVA look pretty and it is…but not as good as Trust and Betrayal.  As I said above, the more real life and mature look Kenshin worked for TnB because it was Kenshin of the past, a darker and deadlier man than the one we knew in the main story and it set the perfect environment that would’ve crafted such a warrior.  Here, the backgrounds and settings and the sunsets look pretty damn good but the characters don’t feel like themselves because they don’t look like themselves.  It sucks to say but as bad as it was, at least Requiem for the Meiji Restoration Patroits still kept the characters looking like their Anime/Manga counterparts.  Even some callbacks to Trust and Betrayal itself cant mask that this artstyle just isn’t working here.  Though we do get to see Yukishiro Enishi in Anime form though…does that count for something? 

 

Man, I feel like ive given this one more time and attention than it deserves, so ill wrap things up with the biggest crime of the OVA…besides the God awful ending that is a giant middle finger to fans of Kenshin finding true happiness.  Reflection is, as of right now, the only attempt to bring some of the Manga’s third and final arc, the Jinchu Arc, into Anime form.  That should be exciting.  As much as I like the Kyoto Arc like everyone else, I think the Jinchu Arc is a very solid follow up and a great closing epic for the Rurouni Kenshin story…and it only takes up about 20 minutes of this OVA’s runtime.  And we don’t even get the full scope of the arc either (which features a lot of spotlighting Kenshins support team and family and some of the best fights of the series).  We get to see Enishi interact with Kaoru a little before jumping right to him fighting Kenshin to quickly resolving that for more introspective romance with the main couple of the film.  Something tells me Reflection is more or less meant to be a sequel to Trust and Betrayal but in that regard it fails.  If you’re going to tell the story of the Jinchu Arc, DO THE WHOLE THING.  Don’t just make it part of some poorly conceived cliffnotes of Kenshins greatest hits.  God, if anything watching how poorly this all unfolds does make me want to go back and reread the Manga so I can see it all done right.

 

Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection is right in title only.  It is a Reflection of the life of Kenshin Himura, wandering swordsman who seeks atonement…except it’s done by people who clearly don’t know a thing about Kenshin and just decide to trample all over his legacy.  Reflection is boring.  Reflection is lifeless.  Reflection lacks any heart, soul or passion that made fans fall in love with Rurouni Kenshin in the first place.  And no amount of pretty pictures or decent music or high energy fight scenes can mask its stink on Kenshin’s name. This OVA makes me angry.  And if you love Rurouni Kenshin like I do…it would make you angry too.

 

1/10

FIF#67-Darling in the Franxx

In the distant future, mankind is under siege by giant creatures known as Klaxosaurs.  As the last of the human race struggles to survives in mobile cities known as Plantations, the organization, APE, has taken steps to ensure mankinds continued survival.  They have raised children to pilot the Franxx, a next generation giant robot capable of fighting the Klaxosaurs on their own terms.  Hiro is one of these potential pilots who nearly washes out of the program.  That is, until he meets the beautiful Zero Two, a girl with horns who claims Hiro as her “Darling”.  Though Hiro can finally live his dream, what is the secret behind the Klaxosaurs and this girl who only has eyes for him?  The answers to both of these questions might lead the way to Humanitys survival…or final annihilation.

When it comes to Studio Trigger, you should expect the unexpected. This studio is very unpredictable when it comes to their productions and that’s what makes them so much fun.  Kill La Kill was over the top when it came to action and sex appeal and Little Witch Academia soared when it came having fun with it’s magical fantasy setting and characters.  And now we come to their latest offering to the Anime world, the title that, earlier this year, took the community by storm: Darling in the Franxx.  The question is, a couple of episodes in, does it live up to the insurmountable hype it gained?

This is…an odd one to say the least and yet that says a lot.  As I said above, this is Studio Trigger, there is no such thing as normal.  So why does Darling in the Franxx feel so different?  It might be the tone of the first couple of episodes bouncing around so erratically.  There was an instant sense of fun and excitement from the first episodes of both Kill La Kill and Little Witch Academia that now stand out compared to Franxx.  There’s a dark air to these intro episodes, which I guess is fitting considering this is a postapocalyptic setting where kids bred for battle and don’t know what kissing is square off in giant robots that look like girls with human faces against an unknown enemy…like I said, there is no such thing as normal but what the frak did I just type there?

 

Yeah Darling in the Franxx hits you with a lot in the first couple of episodes.  There’s the overall look which reminds me of a fusion of Eureka Seven, Evangelion and Rahxephon (those human faces on the mechs freak me the frak out).  The character designs especially feel Eureka Seven esque.  This goes double for Franxx’s resident femme fatale Zero Two, who when I first saw the images of this show made me think this was an Eureka Seven Spin Off.  Oh and there’s also the mecha piloting system which…ok let me get this in order…is a two pilot system (not unlike Pacific Rim) which has the men piloting in a normal chair while the girls hook into a system at the front of the cockpit hunched over in a very peculiar looking sexual position….ok again, I just typed that and im still wondering WTF?

 

I don’t think it would bother me so much if Trigger was going full comedy with this kind of setup like Kill La Kill and the first half of Little Witch Academia.  However, there’s too much seriousness in every subtle scene, even the humor.  I just get the real eerie feeling that something really, REALLY bad is going to happen to each and every character in this show, not unlike Evangelion, and it is not going to be the least bit pretty.  At the same time though, I get the feeling that Trigger is aware of how everything looks and while it isn’t trying to play for laughs, there’s a subtle hope that such unexpected imagery tied to the giant robot genre will generate that kind of response from the audience without causing laughter Kill La Kill style…yeah that sounded confusing but im also trying to sum up my thoughts about a show that kicks off with a pink haired, horned beauty who introduces teen pilots to the concept of kissing inside a giant robot to make it run…I CANT MAKE THIS UP PEOPLE!!!

 

Ugh, there’s plenty of curiosity brought out in two episodes that might convince me to carry on with this title.  The ending is apparently the source of a lot of controversy in the community (not unlike Evangelion perhaps?).  But that’s still another 24 episodes of WTF imagery and questions to sift through to get there.  Who knows, maybe it might even be worth a full series review down the line if I can manage it.  This is just…wow I never knew what I was getting into.  I’ll say this for Darling in the Franxx, it is continuing Studio Triggers rapid maverick style of Anime productions.  Expect the unexpected…but what could even define “unexpected” with this series?  I guess ill have to check it out to find out.

 

With such a reaction, i guess im glad I saved this FIF for last.  Yep, this marks the end of First Impression Friday once again, this time for the year.  Don’t worry, this series will return in early 2019 with a slew of new shows begging for my initial thoughts.  Will they be as entertaining as the initial reactions I just posted?  Will I be digging into some older titles again like I did with this set?  I really have no clue.  I will say that I did enjoy doing some first thoughts on shows that were immediately airing in Japan, like the shows I covered back in April like Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Full Metal Panic IV.  I’ll definitely aim to do some more of those next year for sure.  Til then, new reviews and Top 5 Wednesdays will roll on and First Impression Fridays will rejoin them next year.  See ya next week for a new review.

 

Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal

Kenshin Himura was once known as the Hitokiri Battosai, the Manslayer.  During the Bakumatsu, he was a swordsman with no equal and no emotion.  He killed in order to topple the Tokugawa Shogunate and usher in a new age for the people.  But then he met a woman: Tomoe Yukishiro…and his world changed forever.  At last, the tale of the Battosai will finally be told.  How deadly was Kenshin in his prime?  How did he first encounter Hajime Saito and the Shinsengumi?  Just how deep did Tomoe reach into his soul and how did it give Kenshin his legendary scar?  This isn’t the Rurouni Kenshin you know and love.  This is the tale of the deadliest man in Japanese history.

 

So will someone explain to me why THIS wasn’t the Kenshin movie?  Well there are a couple of reasons for that but I will say that they aren’t negatives.  Though it is very different from the Kenshin we know, Trust and Betrayal is still a very well told, well crafted and emotionally charged telling of the history of Battosai the Manslayer, and all the cool and heartache that came with his legend.

 

Barely a minute in, Trust and Betrayal establishes what kind of a movie its going to be, and it isn’t your Dad’s RuroKen either.  It is bloody and relentless in its action.  The character models all look grown and mature, a vast difference from the big eyed, spikey haired designs of the Shonen Jump Manga and Anime.  And there are no laughs to be found, even Kenshins trademark “oro” is absent from the film.  You’d think this would hurt the movie a lot.  Nope.  Just because it doesn’t have the hallmarks of the Rurouni Kenshin we all know and love doesn’t mean Trust and Betrayal should be written off.

 

That’s because this is Kenshin’s dark and regretful past, the one he thinks of and we seldom heard about in the TV Series.  He’s grittier, deadlier, well into his prime as Battosai The Manslayer.  He’s a far cry from the bumbling Rurouni, he’s a cold and efficient Terminator.  It’s an existence that numbs him to any sort of joy or happiness…that is until he meets Tomoe, the woman who will play a large role in defining his past and shaping his future.  Kenshin and Tomoe have a tragic romance (hardly a spoiler) but it’s also a beautiful one.  From Tomoe’s first encounter with Kenshin following a bloody kill to Kenshin living life as a farmer in the country side with Tomoe (posing) as his wife, nothing about this relationship is ever really forced.  True Tomoe isn’t as emotionally expressive as Kaoru but she does have a gentle aspect that awakens Kenshin’s heart and helps him learn to love again…even if both realize that love is bound to doom them in one way or another.  Short version: it’s a beautiful romance and you can see why Kenshin was influenced by Tomoe, even if it’s not outright shown in the TV Series (mostly cause the TV Series never reached this point).

 

Kenshin and Tomoe’s doomed love story takes place against the backdrop of the Bakumatsu and man does the animation help it live up to the hype around it in the show.  Every duel is brutal, every sword slice can be felt.  On top of that Trust and Betrayal manages to insert several historic Japanese figureheads into the tale with their own story arcs, like Rebellion leader Kogoro Katsura, as well as show us Kenshin’s first runins with fan favorite Hajime Saito and his elite comrades, the Shinsengumi.  All of these are presented through some of the most gorgeous artwork in Anime history.  In many ways, the production values make Trust and Betrayal feel like an olden day Akira Kurosawa Samurai Film, and I think that’s a pretty big compliment.  Naturally, if you’re here for the samurai action, you aren’t going to be disappointed as Kenshin and his comrades and rivals make it rain blood relentlessly whenever a sword is drawn (all soooo much better than the relatively tame movie I last reviewed)  Again, it costs the film the presence of familiar, lighthearted RuroKen staples, but I think it all works out for the best.  I wont say it wouldn’t work at all without them, mind you.  The manga does explore the Trust and Betrayal storyline across a couple of volumes, keeping the Manga’s same artstyle and humor in certain places.  It’s good, but I do think the OVA films approach is more cinematic and fitting of the story as a whole.  There are a couple of moments where some CG animation is slipped in for random reasons I don’t understand.  It never took me out of the moment but I couldn’t just ignore it (though I wanted to).

 

Trust and Betrayal’s pacing is something I went back and forth on.  Overall, it flows great but it does feel like I was watching two different films at one point.  The first half plants seeds of the Kenshin/Tomoe romance against the backdrop of one of the Bakumatsu’s most infamous battle: The Ikedaya Raid (spoken of heavily in both Rurouni Kenshin and the Peacemaker Kurogane Anime I reviewed last year).  So the first half of the film is very action heavy and suspenseful throughout.  Not to say the second half doesn’t still retain those qualities, but the focus shifts directly onto Kenshin and Tomoe for a while and it slows things down considerably.  I say I go back and forth because the first half is such a rush that everything feels like it can grind to a halt in the latter half.  However, the slow build and development of Kenshin and Tomoe’s true romance feels appropriate.  It presents a genuine level of serenity and comfort before everything inevitably heads down the path of tragedy.  If I had to choose whether or not the pacing is a positive or a negative in the end…id go with positive.  There’s purpose to every scene, frame, and silent facial exchange between every character, not just Kenshin and Tomoe.  

 

Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal is the movie every Kenshin fan deserves to see and should very much enjoy, regardless of the change in artstyle and the darker tone.  This is the story of how Kenshin became the man he is when he arrived at the Kamiya Dojo and met Kaoru, Sanoauke and Yahiko.  But more than that, this is a film that strives to go beyond just being a Rurouni Kenshin film.  It wants to be an epic Japanese Samurai Historical Romance and it succeeds on just about every front of that mission.  If you like Samurai action, this movie is for you.  If you like Historical Dramas, this one is for you.  If you like any kind of romance (fairy tale or tragedy), this one is for you.  If you have a deep admiration for the legendary Rurouni Kenshin Himura…then this is the film you really need to see to have a complete understanding of his character.  Short version: watch this movie in general and revel in its awesome glory.

 

10/10

 

Well now that we’ve taken a good look at Kenshin’s past, what about his future prospects?  I mean after such a life of tragedy and atonement, he mustve found some measure of happiness somewhere, right…right?  Well we’ll find that out tomorrow during the conclusion of this trilogy of reviews with Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection.  See ya then.