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.

 

Macross Delta Part 5 Episodes 21-26

Mikumo’s true identity is revealed and with it, Roid finds the final piece to complete his plans of galactic dominance.  With the UN Spacey powerless to stop Windermere, it’s up to the Macross Elysium, Walkure and Delta Flight to end the war once and for all.  But with Mikumo in enemy hands and Freya’s confidence shattered, the odds have never been this stacked against them.  That won’t stop Hayate and Mirage from fighting their hardest to protect their friends and free the galaxy from Roid.  It’s time for Walkure to step onto the ultimate stage and the galaxy is waiting for what could be their greatest (and possibly last) performance.

I’ll admit right here: maybe last week I was a bit hard on Macross Delta, especially after speaking with a friend who really enjoys it.  Honestly, a lot of frustrations I’d been having with the series second half boiled over by that sets end and while I don’t think every complaint was invalid, it seemed like I was almost willing to give up on Delta before the finale, thinking this was becoming Macross 7 all over again.  What a fool I was.  While it didn’t reach the heights of the Series Finale of Macross Frontier, Macross Delta managed to regain its altitude and blaze across the screen a pretty decent send off.  Characters got to shine (even those doing so super late in the game), the action was solid and the resolution to a great love triangle worked out perfectly.  Not everything was great but considering where I last left things with this show, it’s a good enough recovery to put a smile on my face.
 

T5W#567-Top 5 Anime Inspirations in My Adventures with Superman

It’s been a couple of weeks since the long awaited third season of My Adventures with Superman got started.  For those not in the know, this series focuses on the early days of Clark Kent as Superman, getting into those titular adventures alongside his best friends, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, and, as of Season Three, his cousin Kara aka Supergirl.  Whether the show is as good as the much beloved Timmverse of DC Animated shows is debatable but I love this show and it’s much needed lighthearted, optimistic and fun take on the Man of Steel and friends.  Plus, it’s pretty obvious the show has a huge amount of Anime love and influence in just about every frame of every episode.  Tbh it kind of sits on the same shelf as Avatar: The Last Airbender, clearly Anime inspired but not an Anime itself.  So to celebrate the show being back, and now that I think about it, to get a little pumped for the Supergirl movie coming out this weekend, we take to the skies in this weeks Top 5 Wednesday as we look at the Top 5 Anime Inspirations in My Adventures with Superman.