Gundam Evolve

Prepare to experience Mobile Suit Gundam like never before.  From Sunrise, the studio that brought the legendary Giant Robot into the world of Anime comes 15 animated shorts from all corners of the Gundam Multiverse.  Experience the return of many of Gundam’s most famous time periods and heroes through a mix of handrawn and 3D animation.  Amuro Ray and the RX-78-2 Gundam, Heero Yuy and the Wing Gundam, Domon Kasshu and the God Gundam and more appear in this, the ultimate celebration of all things Gundam, paving the way for the future while fondly paying tribute to the past.

 

It’s strange to think that there haven’t been more anthologies like Gundam Evolve in the history of the Gundam franchise.  By now, the world of Gundam is about to turn 40 (yikes).  Between the Universal Century where it all began and the half dozen plus alternate realities, there’s a lot to both explore and celebrate.  Gundam Evolve might not be the definitive celebration of the franchise but it does have some good eggs in this basket of shorts.

 

Contrary to how the description at the top sounds, there isn’t really a proper balance of 2D and 3D artstyles.  Gundam Evolve is about 10% 2D and 90% 3D and that’s kind of unfair.  Is it cool to see 3D Mobile Suits battling the heck out of each other, yes and no.  Yes because there are some stand outs and they absolutely rock or do something very right.  No because it does feel like your watching a bunch of tech demos for an upcoming Gundam video game more than half the time.  About half of the 15 collected shorts tend to follow the same pattern of establish the series you’re covering, insert Gundam or Mobile Suit into space and let them battle a small squadron, then wash, rinse and repeat.  There is added dialogue to focus on characters of certain shorts like Heero Yuy or Char Aznable.  But even those feel secondary compared to making the 3D animation look presentable.  It’s a double edged sword cause you have winners like the Strike Gundam short which has Kira putting the titular Gundam through some cool Matrix like maneuvers and the Domon vs. Rain match up.  Other times though, the Mobile Suits look clunky and move rather stiffly. 

 

My other main complaint is the lack of variety in a regard.  Every short focuses on one particular Mobile Suit from a Gundam to a Rick Dias and even a Ball.  No the variety lacking complaint stems from the fact that out of 15 shorts: 10 are set in the Universal Century and out of those 5 about half of them are Zeta Gundam centered.  Even though I haven’t seen it beyond the compilation films, I know Zeta Gundam is a very, VERY popular entry in the franchise.  But Gundam is more than just Zeta or the Universal Century really.  Even though these shorts came out between 2001 and 2007, there’s the fact that Gundam X and Turn A Gundam don’t have any time on screen and there are a couple of notable UC era Gundam titles that should’ve gotten some spotlight if you were going all out.  Truth be told, if I were doing this, every Gundam title from Mobile Suit Gundam to…I guess Gundam Seed, should have gotten an animated short…I think that tracks about evenly (maybe you could skip F91 and Victory idk).  Plus there’s the aforementioned lack of more hand drawn animation.  Only the first short, which is a clip show of the original Gundam series, is fully 2D and there’s barely anything else sprinkled throughout.  Gundam Evolve blows it on the 3D I’ll just say it and it needed to be toned down a bit.

 

I feel like ive complained a lot but did I like anything about Gundam Evolve?  Well…yeah.  Even with the problems I voiced above, the shorts did plenty I never expected.  Save for the aforementioned 0079 recap, there was some thought given as to what kind of stories should be told in these 5-10 episodes.  A lot of that time is spent expanding pre existing stories and even continuing some of them.  The Gundam 0083 short got to show us the GP03 Stamen in action minus the heavy armament containers Kou Uraki uses towards the end of the series, and its even piloted by a more competent pilot than he ever could be (not that hard though).  The Nu Gundam short even gave an alternate ending for pain in the ass character Quess from Char’s Counterattack, which was pretty sweet actually.  The Gundam Seed one I talked about was the most bad ass short but the best one by far…the SD Musha Gundam short if only because the kid Gundam characters he’s protecting are so damn adorable and the short itself is played fully for good laughs (unlike that BS CG SD Gundam Series from forever ago).  The ZZ continuation was a surprise and it’s always cool to see Char get a short all to himself, and is even forced to fight a simulation of his old Red Comet Zaku.  So…yeah id say I enjoyed about half of the shorts if I had to give a rough estimate.

 

In the end, it’s a pretty even round out for Gundam Evolve.  Half of the animated shorts are fun and respectable outings that shine lights on both Mobile Suits and pilots from the last few decades of Gundam.  The other half are either boring or unnecessary or make the CG animation overstay its welcome more than it already has.  Still, I think there should be more anthologies like this out there for Gundam.  There so much to appreciate about the franchise, especially since its grown much more since these shorts came out.  I think that the staff thought too highly of the CG and forgot that we still love the old school artwork of the 70s, 80s and 90s chapters and that should be rectified in the next attempt.  You’ll definitely find a couple of shorts you’ll love and a few you wont like.  Either way, this was an uneven project but there’s something for everyone if you love Gundam as much as I do.

 

6/10

 

FIF#80-In Another World With My Smartphone

Touya Mochizuki finds himself at a table with God in Heaven.  Turns out, God didn’t mean for Touya to get struck by lightning and wishes to make amends by restoring him into a new world.  Touya only asks one minor amendment: he wants to bring his Smartphone along with him.  God allows this and imbunes the device with magical power.  He also grants Touya augmented abilities to enable him to survive in this fantasy realm.  With a fresh start ahead of him, Touya begins his travels with a team of beautiful women, all with a different skill sent.  It’s not everyday one gets a second chance.  And Touya’s gonna use it, and his cellphone, to change the world and have a good time in the process.

 

Issekai (Another World) has been one of the most dominating genres in Anime in the last decade (id say its pretty close to rivaling Shonen or maybe its surpassed it idk).  Each year, any studio will try to churn out the next big light novel turned Anime hit that will strike that same kind of popular luck as eternal Issekai King, Sword Art Online.  In the process, the market becomes oversaturated and titles tend to blend together more often than not, so much so that it’s hard to stand out (I think I said something similar about Mecha Anime in the 80’s that weren’t Gundam or Macross).  Which brings us to In Another World With My Smartphone.  And despite the title promising just that…besides the opening scene (and a catchy opening tune), it’s pretty boring unless youre a huge fan of Issekai.

 

In Another World With My Smartphone begins with nothing more than a 25 minute tutorial of the world in which main character Touya Mochizuki has been reborn into.  There is a little bit of action, a whole lot of God granted luck (courtesy of the titular Smartphone) and a legion of girls who all would like to take Touya to their bedrooms.  Oh and Touya bears a striking resemblance to Issekai legend Kirito from Sword Art Online.  Absolutley nothing grabbed me as soon as he got to the new fantasy realm that might as well be another JRPG inspired setting.  The most fascinating part of the premiere was the very beginning.  It’s not everyday you kick off your show with your main character getting a personal apology from God for accidentally killing him with a bolt of lighting.  I’ll admit, it was a nifty idea.  I don’t get why God chose a fantasy realm, probably because it’s Issekai’s go to choice setting.  And I get that Touya needs to get accustomed to the new world and he does have some difficulties…but he is given a literal God Cheat that enables him to defeat enemies in battle and master magic in seconds.  God only knows (no pun intended) what’s going to happen once Touya starts using his Smartphone more frequently.

 

It’s hard not to watch the first episode of In Another World With My Smartphone and not think about That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (What the hell is up with these lengthy titles?).  Slime felt like a breath of fresh air for the genre courtesy of a fun lead, the adorable squishy form he found himself in and a fascinating mindset of exploration that didn’t feel like it was read straight out of a textbook.  Smartphone is the opposite.  Touya is pretty bland and everyone in the world is basically reading out an entire chapter of JRPG 101 to him in a way that isn’t exciting, doesn’t grab me and left me pretty bored by the end.  Needless to say, I don’t think ill be keeping up with this one.  Maybe it gets better down the line but right now, there isn’t enough uniqueness to make this show stand out in a genre that continues to churn out new titles every year (or month it feels like). 

 

The March to Year 6

Hey everyone.  Now that January and February are in the rear view (along with Slayers Next and a couple of other surprise reviews), it’s time to look ahead to the end of Year 5 and the beginning of Year 6 of the Gundam Anime Corner.  For a while I was thinking about what series I should cover for March and couldn’t make up my mind.  Then I realized, “Hey I have a backlog of films on my shelf and on my Netflix/Amazon cue I could review instead of a show…pick out 5 of them and have at it.”  So that’s going to be March.  It’ll be a bit of a roulette cause the films ive chosen are pretty random.  There’s no common theme, no connection of any kind.  They’re all Anime movies and that’s that.  I think ive chosen five good ones (well some of them aren’t that great, gotta mix it up a little).  Here’s what’s ahead for the month of March:

 

Gundam Evolve-March 4, 2019

15 CG Animated shorts from across the Gundam multiverse with appearances from every Gundam era from UC 0079 to Gundam Seed.

 

 

Napping Princess-March 11, 2019

A fantasy adventure from Kenji Kamiyama, the director of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Eden of the East.  One girls dreams may seem fantasy but they might hold the key to unlocking the future.

 

 

Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie-March 18, 2019

The 90’s action classic based on one of the greatest video game franchises of all time, Street Fighters Ryu, Chun Li and Guile are all on separate quests but headed for the same collision course with the villainous M. Bison.

 

 

Arcadia of My Youth-March 25, 2019

The origin of one of Anime’s most bad ass scifi heroes is revealed.  Follow the journey of one Captain Harlock as he goes from soldier to fugitive to legend in his quest to free his people from a powerful empire.

 

 

Halo: The Fall of Reach-March 29, 2019

Before Requiem, before The Covenant, before Halo, there was Reach.  It’s not only one of the most heavily protected bases in the UNSC, it’s the birthplace of one of the galaxies greatest legends.  This is where the story of John 117, the Master Chief begins.

And a couple of days after that, we arrive at the Gundam Anime Corner’s 5^th Birthday (March 31) and the annual Special Review that comes with it.  This year my choice of film is…

Slayers: The Motion Picture-March 31, 2019

In a prequel to the TV Series, Lina Inverse and her on again/off again frenemy, Naga the Serpent, take a vacation to a distant island that may or may not be in need of an exorcism after an eternity of darkness.

 

Plus we’ve got the usual Top 5 Wednesday lists.  And First Impression Friday will be continuing on until the end of March before taking a break and returning later this summer (probably after Otakon).  Hope everyones looking forward to this slate and thanks for stopping by the Gundam Anime Corner.  See ya around.

T5W#185-Top 5 Reasons Alita: Battle Angel is Better Than Ghost in the Shell (2017)

Last week I got a chance to see Alita: Battle Angel and was surprised to see that it wasn’t the disappointment I thought it would be.  It wasn’t perfect but it was a much better live action Anime than many we’ve gotten in the last couple of years.  My opinion and hopes of good Live Action Anime were kind of dashed back in 2017 after Netflix’s Death Note and Ghost in the Shell dropped back to back.  The latter film hurt me more because, if you’ve read my blog a long time, you know I love Ghost in the Shell (besides the Stand Alone Complex compilation movies and Arise Alternate Architecture ive reviewed every single GitS title out there).  If the 2017 bomb starring Scarlet Johannson as Not Motoko Kusinagi was an example of all the wrong things to do with a Live Action Anime adaptation, Alita was the better example…by like a mile.  And today im gonna highlight five reasons why it does so in this Top 5 Wednesday cage match.  Agree with me or not, these are my Top 5 Reasons Alita: Battle Angel is better than Ghost in the Shell (2017)

 

#5-Fun Factor (Did I have a good time?)

For all the wrong live action adaptations can do, they can still be a little fun to watch.  Death Note 2017 is a terrible film but you cant help but cringe and laugh at how bad it is sometimes (its ripe for a good Rifftrax).  Ghost in the Shell 2017 is an absolute snoozefst.  It brings nothing new to the table.  In fact it borrows so much from 80’s scifi action films and does absolutely nothing with any of those classic elements.  It’s pretty paint by numbers and nothing thrills, nothing excites, me personally it only infuriates.  Alita: Battle Angel had just as much to prove and it brought its game face.  Even if you weren’t a fan of the story changes, there was still plenty of creative action and the heartfelt story of Alita herself to instill a feeling of fun while watching the film.  I was never bored to death by Alita and I was curious how it would all play out.  Ghost in the Shell…I couldn’t wait for it to end and was even more mad when they played the classic theme song from the Oshii films at the end…it didn’t deserve that greatness.

 

#4-Supporting Cast (who’s got who’s back better?)

Beyond Scarlet Johannson, there aren’t a lot of truly recognizable faces in Ghost in the Shell.  One or two might stand out in some circles like legendary Japanese actor “Beat” Takeshi as Aramaki and Pilou Asbeak from Game of Thrones as Batou.  Other than those two, I couldn’t identify any other actors nor did their characters have much to do in terms of anything in Ghost in the Shell.  To be fair, Alita has the same issue but the supporting cast is a far greater caliber.  Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connely and Mahershala Ali all have some of their best scenes bouncing off of Alita herself and do get one or two good moments to shine in their own right.  I cant really say the same of any actor who interacting with ScarJo’s NOT MOTOKO throughout the entirety of Ghost in the Shell.

 

#3-Visual Effects (Which is prettier?)

To the credit of both, Alita: Battle Angel and Ghost in the Shell are very nice to look at.  Both of their respective environments are very colorful and highly detailed.  While both visual effects teams should be proud of their work, Alita takes this one simply for how nearly flawless the fusion of real actor with heavy duty CG cyborg bodies looks.  Looking at Ed Skrein’s Zapan stands out in particular.  You’d be hard pressed to believe that only his face is the real deal when his characters body looks that good.  Then again, I expect nothing less but the best from WETA Digital, the wizards who gave us Avatar and The Lord of the Rings.

 

#2-Action Sequences (Who actually knows Kung Fu?)

Alita wins this category hands down for embracing its Anime roots and going full on nuts with its cyborg combat.  The Motorball sequence and Alita’s first battle with Grewishka stand out the most for their intensity and pushing the envelope of how much violence you can get away with in a PG13 rated action film.  Ghost in the Shell is so by the numbers it isn’t even amusing.  Even the intro scene that tries to mirror the 1995’s famous intro falls flat.  Everything else after that never takes advantage of the fact that the Major is a combat cyborg who can do some seriously amazing feats besides some simple kicks and punches.  Put 2017’s Major against Alita and there is no contest in who would kick who’s ass in a fight…and since we’re on the subject.

 

#1-Lead Characters (MORTAL KOMBAT!!!)

In my review of Ghost in the Shell 2017, I cited Scarlet Johannson’s portrayal of The Major as one of the worst parts of the movie.  I get that each iteration of Motoko is supposed to be different, personality wise as we see in the Oshii Films, Stand Alone Complex and Arise.  Johannson being a white girl aside, her “Motoko” is bland, boring and more like the Terminator than her more emotive Anime counterparts (from the angsty to the super serious to the hot head with something to prove).  Alita, on the other hand, is full of so much heart (literally) and wonder from her very first moments and we get to see her grow as a person throughout the entire movie.  I could care less what happened to The Major at the end of Ghost in the Shell.  But I cared a great deal about Alita’s future, especially when she literally gets cut up in battle and still manages to come out on top.  Alita: Battle Angel gave us a lead we could give a damn about.  Ghost in the Shell just further tarnished the good name of one of the best Anime franchises in history with the worst portrayal of its signature heroine.

Death Note: Light Up the New World

Ten years have passed since the end of Kira’s reign of terror.  Inspired by Light Yagami’s use of the Death Note, the King of Death orders his Shinigami to search for a successor by depositing six Death Note’s across the Earth.  As a new wave of chaos and madness spreads, three players come to the forefront of the game: Mishima, a member of a next generation Kira Taskforce; Ryuzaki, the successor to the famous detective L; and Shien, a cyberterrorist zealot who believes he has been chosen by Light himself to carry on his work.  Which of these three will claim the six Death Notes…and which of them will claim the mantle of “Neo Kira”? 

Before I saw Rurouni Kenshin in 2013, the two part adaptation of Death Note (Death Note and Death Note II: The Last Name) was my gold standard in live action Anime adaptations.  The movies got so much right from the fun of Death Note’s mystery, cool and memorable characters, intense pacing, some nice visual work on Ryuk and the perfect casting of Tatsuya Fujiwara as Light and Kenichi Matsuyama as L. The films ended on a pretty definitive note (no pun intended) much like the Anime and the Manga.  So when I heard that a third film was coming, set 10 years after the 2006 films, I was worried…but also intrigued, especially by the premise.  And the previews looked like something fun could come out of the whole affair.  Needless to say, I was pretty pumped to check this film out.

 

The premise of the film is what grabbed me right away: six Death Notes placed across the globe; the prospect of a worldwide race to reclaim them; an emphasis on a more digital approach to investigations; and three potentially interesting new leads working alongside returning favorites.  For the most part, the movie does hold onto a lot of that promise throughout…though it is a little disappointing we see so little of the world wide action other Death Note users take in their parts of the world before everything returns to Japan.  Of the three main leads, Ryuzaki is the big winner of best character.  Sousuke Ikamatsu didn’t attempt to recreate L in any way.  He’s more eccentric, whimsical, a bit cocky and way more active than his sit back and think everything out predecessor.  His back and forth with lead Kira Taskforce detective, Mishima isn’t bad either.  They butt heads often though it does lead to them working well together despite their different approaches to the Kira case.  Mishima himself is alright.  He’s proclaimed “Death Note Otaku” who wants to solve the case for sure but is also eagerly collecting info on the Death Note lore like an obsessed fan.  Sitting in the back of the race, sadly, is Shien.  Touted in the previews as the ultimate Kira successor, we hardly spend any time with him and what time he is on screen, he never measures up to Light in any way.  In effect, Light Up the New World loses the one thing that made the first two films so memorable: the intellectual battle and on screen acting spars between Light and L.  Ryuzaki has more of that in common with Mishima than Shien, who eventually feels like he doesn’t really matter in the long run despite the skillset he brings to the table.

 

We do get to see several returning characters and they aren’t just in cameos (not everyone that is).  The big two are Misa and Ryuk.  Ryuk is still a hit.  Plus he gets to be more part of the action this time around and he looks better than ever after ten years.  The visual effects department actually does such a great job with Ryuk and a couple of his Shinigami buddies that you wish we could see more of them and other Shinigami as well.  As for Misa, it was an interesting choice to bring her back considering how her story was concluded in the previous films.  Even with the massive tease of a plot twist thrown her way, it feels like Misa does serve a role…but that role perhaps could have gone to someone else?  Maybe if id seen Misa interact with other characters besides Shien and her criminally all to brief reunion with Ryuk, id feel stronger about her being around.  I did like how her character had changed over the years.  No longer is she the ditzy TV idol but a seasoned model who feels the wear of years despite her good looks, that was a good route to go with her.  Regardless, Erika Toda is a very welcome face to connect these two eras together (same with Ryuk).  We also see the return of Detective Matsuda from the original Kira Taskforce, and he’s just as gullible and lovable as ever, though he does bring Death Note expertise with him too.

 

There’s a lot going on in Light Up the New World and not all of it ends up being positive.  For all my like of the new cast, there’s something missing from their battle for the Death Notes…mostly the Light and L rivalry like I said.  But to make up for that, the movie tends to toss out a couple of very, very, very out there twist reveals that are hard to swallow or comprehend.  Just what kind of contingencies could Light have had in place before his demise?  Is Ryuzaki playing a game intending to double cross the Taskforce?  Why is Shien so convinced Light somehow survived getting Death Note’d ten years ago?  All of these questions and more are asked and are given answers and I couldn’t accept a lot of them.  While I was shaky about a few things by the halfway mark, it’s the finale where things get truly crazy.  I lightened up (again no pun intended) about a couple of reveals but one in particular makes just ask “How was that ever an idea?”  I feel like the writers were hoping these twists and turns could make up for some underdeveloped storylines, mostly revolving around Shien’s lack of interesting story or Misa’s involvement.  Like I said, I could accept some things, just not everything like did with the first two movies.

 

A third film to make a “Death Note Trilogy” was unnecessary.  Heck they even tried an L spin off film, “L: Change the World” and it didn’t work for the same reasons Light Up the New World doesn’t fully succeed: you set the bar to high with L battling Light.  Take one or both out of the equation and your film just isn’t going to have the same magic.  Light Up the New World tries to compensate for this with mostly fun new characters and a bold new premise.  But the premise never meets its potential, some of the characters aren’t memorable and the lack of a solid dynamic like Fujiwara and Matsuyama’s Light and L all work against the films chances at standing on the same pedestal I hold its predecessors.  I didn’t dislike Light Up the New World as a whole, it is way, way, WAYYYYYY better than that trash Netflix film from 2017.  But you have to bring your A-Game to try and match the success of a pair of legends that translated one of Animes greatest stories into a live action format.  Light Up the New World tries to bring the same game…but more or less ends up with a B.  Seriously, if a couple of the big twists made more sense and Shien had more to do than play Kira poser, this could have really worked and I wish it had.  It aint Kira worthy but it doesn’t deserve an entry in the Death Note either.

7/10