T5W#569-Top 5 Ghost in the Shell Movies

It’s been two long years since the announcement but the wait is over: The Ghost in the Shell has finally dropped.  While It has been a couple years long wait for most, for day one fans of the original Manga, it’s a dream come true to see Shirow Masamune’s true artistic vision brought to life.  It’ll definitely be a bit of a jarring change for viewers who have only experience the adventures of Motoko Kusinagi in her long library of Anime centric adventures dating back to 1995.  So to celebrate the return of Section 9 to the Anime scene, Top 5 Wednesday is looking back at the theatrical outings of the lovely Major and her crew of stalwart, trigger happy mercs with the Top 5 Ghost in the Shell Movies.  And yes, I will be looking at the first couple of episodes of The Ghost in the Shell when First Impression Fridays returns in August after Otakon.  Trust me, as a long time GitS fan I’m never missing the chance to cover my second favorite Anime franchise after Gundam.

 

The Rose of Versailles Part 2 Episodes 6-10

It’s been three years since Marie Antoinette came to Versailles and married Louis XVI.  Now is the time when their destines arrive faster than ever expected.  With the King on his deathbed, their ascension to the throne seems inevitable.  As the young couple brace for a role they’re unprepared for, Oscar deals with a long standing threat while witnessing the potential birth of a new one.  But no lady of court could do as much damage to the reputation of the beautiful Queen of France than Hans Axel von Fersen, a handsome aristocrat who has caught Marie’s eyes. 

I’m honestly gob smacked by how much I am enjoying The Rose of Versailles.  It’s been a long time since episodes of a series have left me instantly wanting to jump to the next one to see what happens next (until I get stopped by that pesky self imposed barrier where I need to review a set before I proceed…kind of like right now).  But between assassinations and conspiracies, gossip and tests of loyalty and just the sheer awesomness of seeing history unfold in a beautiful artistic way, yeah the Premiere as no fluke.  The Rose of Versailles is the real deal and if I wasn’t already sold after the first five episodes, you better believe I’m sold now, especially after Episode 9.
 

The Rose of Versailles Part 1 Episodes 1-5

Born a girl to a Father desperate for a son, Oscar François de Jarjayes is not like any of the ladies in court in France.  At age 14, she becomes Commander of the Royal Guard, charged with protecting a young heiress from Austria named Marie Antoinette.  In an era where power is everything and gossip is the ultimate fodder for downfalls, the meeting of Oscar and Marie begins a tragedy of lies, deceit, love and delusion as France begins its march to one of its darkest and bloodiest conflicts in history.

We’re back for our annual Extended Summer Series Review and this year we’re changing things up a little bit.  Instead of focusing on sci-fi, mecha and Gundams, we’re switching to a whole different genre (ngl it might end up being a nice change of pace after the disastrous experience I had with Macross 7 last year).  The Rose of Versailles comes highly recommended from several friends and a rare chance to purchase it last year got me thinking it could slot into an ESSR nicely.  While historical dramas aren’t my first choice of genre, I’ve got to admit, I think The Rose of Versailles may have my attention right away.  So much so I’m hoping I don’t short change this review just because I want to start the next set of episodes ASAP. 
 

Avatar: The Last Airbender (Season 2)

Ba Sing Sae, the heart of the Earth Kingdom.  Some say it’s the greatest city in the world and most don’t know a war is on it’s doorstep.  Seeking allies and assistance, Aang, Katara and Sokka find themselves drawn into a sprawling web of lies, deceit and conspiracy around every corner.  And while they have the blind but powerful Toph Beifong teaching Aang the ways of Earthbending, their most deadliest enemies, Zuko and Azula, are close behind with plans of their own for the Avatar and Ba Sing Sae.  As a stealth takeover begins, Team Avatar will have to remain more united than ever or risk losing it all when the war comes to Ba Sing Sae.

While it was pretty far from the perfection of its source material, Season One of Netflix’s Avatar adaptation showed much promise as it went along, enough for me to keep interested in what was to come.  Netflix certainly seems to have a lot of faith in the project as it greenlit the other two seasons pretty much right after Season One dropped.  And it looks like that faith has been rewarded as Avatar: The Last Airbender Season Two sits right there with One Piece: Into the Grand Line as a marked improvement over its first season.  It’s still not perfect but it’s proof that the showrunners have paid attention to notes and feedback, especially knowing all of the major new players and story beats the original Book 2: Earth contains.  Thank God that aside from a few iffy visual effects, they haven’t mucked it up.
 

T5W#568-Top 5 Macross Love Triangles

Ah the love triangle, a tale as old as time and one that can get pretty annoying in any medium when handled incorrectly.  One particular series that has a pretty decent track record with it? Macross.  Yes, the Love Triangle is just as much a quintessential element of any Macross project as the transforming Mecha, epic space battles and head bopping music.  Now I’m not saying it gets it right 100% of the time (COUGHCOUGHMACROSS 7COUGH), but you can hardly call it Macross without two people pining for the same guy or lady and someone has to make the toughest call imaginable between them (again most of the time, some choices are more obvious than others).  Since we’ve wrapped up Macross Delta this week and I’ve seen/reviewed mostly everything Macross related I can, today on Top 5 Wednesday, we can finally talk about love amongst the stars and who comes out the lucky winner.  These are my picks for the Top 5 Macross Love Triangles.