FIF#10-Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV

After a time of war, the countries of Lucis and Neflheim have reached an uneasy truce.  As part of this cease fire, Prince Noctis is set to marry the Lady Lunafreya of Tenebrae.  As Noctis and his three best friends set out on one last roadtrip before his marriage, they find themselves pursued.  Nefelheim has invaded Lucis, breaking the peace and now Noctis is their number one target.  But Noctis intendeds to get to Luna no matter what.  And he’s got the best band of brothers ready to back him up. 

Final Fantasy XV was actually announced almost ten years as Final Fantasy Versus XIII, a game intended to be a tie in to the then current main entry Final Fantasy XIII.  But the game languished in development hell until a couple years back when it was announced under it’s new main number entry banner.  It’s been a ten year wait but Final Fantasy XV is due out at the end of September worldwide.  In anticipation of a huge release, two companion projects have been commissioned alongside it.  One is Kingsglave: Final Fantasy XV, a CGI feature film similar to Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, coming sometime this year.  The other is this little mini feature Anime series.

Brotherhood is set to be released periodically leading up to the release of the game on September 30 and will follow lead character Noctis and his band of bros-Gladiolus, Ignis and Prompto as they set out in their sick vehicle on a cross country trip to get Noc to his bride to be.  I should also note that these episodes are going to be short, in and around 12 minutes.  That’s going to be an even bigger pain considering the wait time between episodes could be months long (I think the next one is due out in June?).  But rambling aside, how is it?

Well, there’s a bit to say and then again not much.  Being so short, we get enough information about the lay of the land and enough about the main characters to get the ball rolling.  You don’t need to spend too much time with this boy band crew to know how tight they are.  Right away, the titular brotherhood is strong with these four.  They quarrel, they kid and they watch each others backs on the battlefield like pros.  You also get the sense that this really might be the last ride for them.  I sympathize with Prompto, the least mature but most fun loving member of the group.  He knows things are changing, especially with Noc getting married.  It could be a while before the band gets back together and theyre going to make this trip count, skirmishes with the military and all.  It’s so wild to see a Final Fantasy story where the main characters are chilling at an out in the middle of nowhere dinner having burgers and fries.  It’s so…refreshing.

The animation reminds me a lot of another Final Fantasy Anime, Last Order, which was a prequel to Final Fantasy VII.  It looks a bit better given that Last Order was part of the big FFVII sequel/prequel blitz almost a decade ago.  The action is a good taste of what we’re going to see in the actual Final Fantasy XV game.  The way Noc moves is incredibly like how a gamer would control a Devil May Cry/Kingdom Hearts designed fighter.  Plus the ability to summon all those weapons one after another.  It reminds me of Gilgamesh from Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works…but Noc could so kick his ass any day. 

I was impressed with this one and im more than ready to tackle Final Fantasy XV when it comes out.  The only downside is the obvious one.  I didn’t expect a lot of action in this intro but we got a lot and it was good.  And then it ended on a damn cliffhanger, with Noc charging to battle a monster that almost killed him as a child.  This months on end wait between episodes is going to be a huge pain.  BUT I’m going to stick with it and hope that by the time this prequel ends, I’ll be ready to try out those sword summoning skills with my Xbox One Controller. 

BTW how cool is it going to be when the AMV’s start rolling out with all kinds of boy band tracks like New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys, Nsync or One Direction?  It’s going to happen and it is going to be epicly amusing.

T5W#37-Top 5 Reasons Im Excited for the Death Note: Light Up The New World

Being a movie buff, there are always a ton of films im looking forward to every year.  Mostly, they’re action based and nowadays, they all revolve around comic books.  I am so set for Captain America Civil War next week and even more excited for X-Men and Doctor Strange.  Why bring this up?  Well I’ve covered live action flicks based on Anime here before.  My all time favorite live action adaptation of an Anime is the two part Death Note series.  It hit all the right beats, had amazing performances and, most importantly, ended the story better than the Anime or Manga (in my honest opinion).  So what if I told you one of the films im not most excited for in 2016 is a continuation of that story?  Yep, Death Note: Light Up the New World is coming this October in Japan and hopefully not so long after that for the States.  The first trailer was just released and it looks better than I expected.  And that’s just one of the five reasons im really hyped now.  Here are the others…plus the trailer, it’ll be here somewhere, maybe 1 or 2.

 

#5-Up to the Task

You don’t just announce a sequel to Death Note without a plan.  That’s kind of been tried already with one spin off film, L: Change the World.  The film took place alongside the final moments of Death Note II and was a more miss than hit film, even with L at the center of events.  Could it have just been too focused on giving L a solo outing that the film forgot to give us an engaging mystery to match the Kira case or a memorable supporting cast?  Light Up the New World isn’t afraid of following up a hugely successful adapation.  This one just feels more confident and ambitious than the L film.  It could crash just as well…but im optimistic.

 

#4-New Faces

Seeing as how (SPOILER ALERT), Light and L are no longer around, who will we be following in this new entry?  Well there’s Tsukuru Mishima, who looks like a guy who would follow Light.  And wow, Ryuzaki.  He isn’t just using L’s codename which kept L’s name off Light’s radar, he looks like a guy who might’ve been raised alongside the odd detective.  There’s always the possibility that this could be Near, who was a main character in L: Change the World, but im hoping for someone more original…and better (I did not like Near in the Anime).  Add in a couple of new detectives and a girl who is said to be a pretty scary Death Note user and I think we’ve got something special on our hands.

 

#3-Returning Characters

It’s been 10 years since the events of Death Note II: The Last Name.  While more characters could make appearances (and im not ruling out shadowy other worldly inclusions of Light or L or both), two characters confirmed to have big roles are Erika Toda back as Misa Amane and Shidou Nakamura back as Ryuk.  Seeing the new cast interact with these characters will no doubt help sell older fans on the films potential.  Seeing an image of the CGI Ryuk in the original films was enough to get me to watch them and he looks just as good as ever, even rocking some new threads.  I’ll be curious to see if anyone else like Chief Yagami or Sayu show up during the film.

 

#2-The Threat is Bigger

Just one Death Note was enough to make the world cower in fear.  Six, count them SIX, dropping to Earth is an epic raising of the stakes.  Who’s gonna get their hands on them and what use will they be put towards…you know besides killing but killing who?  The character of Sakura Aoi may end up being a more feared foe than Tsukuru when she lands her own Death Note.  I don’t think we’re going to hit extinction of humanity levels but still…the game has changed.  Six Death Notes are on the loose and it’s time to be very, VERY afraid.

 

#1-The Trailer

Just see for yourself and be the judge of whether or not you want to check this one out.  Me, this cant come soon enough.  I didn’t think id be more hyped for another film other than Captain America…I was wrong.

Rahxephon Part 2 Episodes 6-9

It hasn’t been the smoothest transition for Ayato Kamina.  Not too long ago, his life was pretty normal.  Now the world he knew is behind him and the real world needs his help.  Only Ayato is capable of piloting the Rahxephon he’s brought with him from Tokyo Jupiter.  Guided by a girl he cant help but feel connected to, dead or otherwise, Ayato heads to the frontlines of humanity’s war against the Mu.  As his friendships grow with the TERRA crew, other faces appear with their own agendas…and their own knowledge of Ayato’s true nature.

Mysteries deepen and the world continues to build this week.  We got some fun new additions to the cast while faces we’re getting to know are kind of a mixed bag.  Also, the Evangelion comparisons came out in a big way and I’m wondering if that will detract from some viewer who might see this series as a simple Eva clone.

Here is where the English Dub kind of becomes an issue.  The original dub of Rahxephon was done by the former ADV Films studios, which also did the original English dub of Neon Genesis Evangelion.  So when we hear the voice of Asuka, who is the voice of Kim in Rahxephon, berate Ayato for not wanting to pilot the Rahxephon, you cant help be feel like watching Asuka berate Shinji.  Actually, most of Kim’s episode feels like the fifth and sixth episodes of Eva, where Shinji and Rei had to battle the diamond Angel.  Kim and Ayato’s second talk along side the Rahxephon at sunset prior to battle was very similar to Shinji and Rei’s moonlit talk.  The difference is, Ayato seems done with complaining after his little “I don’t want to pilot” bit.  At least he’s more mature than Shinji.  Kim wasn’t bad but I hope they develop her a bit more rather than add her in so we can enjoy a bunch of swimsuit clad hotties at Narai Kanai.

Watari and Futagami are going to be fun additions to the cast.  Both offer a good dose of humor, especially Watari being so friendly with the TERRA staff, a definite difference between him and the sort of cold Kunigi.  Futagami feels like our Ryoji Kaji of this series, sans the Misato/Haruka love story.  He’s eager to delve into the truth of all things TERRA and Rahxephon and catches on quick.  Still, he’s sage like and laid back, never a jerk to anyone even when badgering them with questions.  We also got our first look at Ernst Babhem, who sees to be the head of our secret illuminati behind TERRA.  Naturally, Watari and Kunigi are both somewhat aware of his plans…there’s always a plan within a plan.

What isn’t so shrouded in mystery is the fact that Haruka knows Ayato and isn’t being subtle about it.  Every time theyre together you can see a distant sadness in her eyes.  And when Ayato is in danger or when he goes missing later on, she cant help but cry and scream his name.  If she is trying to not give too much away, she’s kind of failing.  Did Ayato know her in Tokyo Jupiter?  That’s probably the case but I know Haruka, and this series, are going to drag out this bombshell secret as long as they can. 

And speaking of Ayato being surrounded by nothing but hot women on the beach (TWICE!!!), Quon got to join in on the adventure, a little bit.  She got to meet the Reika image that’s been haunting/guiding/teasing (I really don’t know) Ayato since he escaped from Tokyo Jupiter.  Quon calls her Ixtli, and that means what?  And what exactly is that egg she gave to Quon?  Another Rahxephon?  The way this story might go, I wouldn’t be surprised if Quon becomes an unexpected rival for Ayato.  And yes, I still think Quon looks better than Rei Ayanami so we have a sexier potential Goddess of Death.

I’m continuing to enjoy this series and am always ready to cue up the next episode as soon as the other ends.  The mystery isn’t bad.  I’m loving the music, animation and atmosphere of the world.  Even most of the characters are making some progress (Megu was a lot less annoying than last week).  You didn’t even need a Rahxephon action scene to make an episode a win…though it did help the otherwise pointless Christmas episode, which felt a lot more like filler despite a not so obvious clue drop about Haruka’s true connection to Ayato.  Seriously, let him know you know him already or it could come back to bite you girl.  Who am I saying?  We’re only 9 episodes in and if you know your Anime, you know bits of story that big are seldom dropped so soon.

 Maybe next week?

FIF#9-Sailor Moon Crystal Season 3

Usagi Tsukino’s life couldn’t be better.  Despite bickering with her daughter from the future, Chibi Usa, she enjoys her romantic life with Mamoru and she still has her four best friends, the Sailor Senshi.  But peace rarely lasts long.  A new threat has emerged, one whose energy surrounds a famous academy.  More than that, two mysterious new Senshi have appeared as well.  As Sailor Moon and her friends return to battle, many questions arise.  Who are the Death Busters?  Are these new Senshi friends or foes and why is an old ally siding with them?  And what about this mysterious, sickly girl Chibi Usa is befriending?  The world needs Sailor Moon more than ever.  But if it is to really survive, it’s going to need more than five guardians…it will need an entire galaxy of Senshi.

We’re three episodes into this new season of Sailor Moon Crystal and I have to say, I’m loving this more than I ever did during the whole of the first two seasons.  When Sailor Moon Crystal debuted a couple of years ago, there was a lot of understandable hype behind it.  Sailor Moon was finding new life with new animation for a new generation of Anime fans much like it’s beloved brother Dragon Ball Z.  However, the series was too serious, too CG in the transformation sequences, and lacking much of what made Sailor Moon great.  I still watched it all, it took a while, but even I had to admit something was out of place and I couldn’t figure out what.

Enter Season 3, where mistakes are rectified within minutes.  To see blown up and funny reactions on Usagi’s face again made me nod and go, “Yes.”  To see her bickering with Chibi Usa about Mamoru, “Yes.”  To see the Senshi actually hold their own just fine and even finish a monster off without Sailor Moon’s help, “YES!!!”  The studio has clearly heard all of the criticism surrounding the first two seasons and is working to make things better.  The Senshi all have personality and screen time again rather than everything being mostly Usagi centered.  The animation lacks any bit of CG.  The changes might seem minor, but you can tell it’s a far cry from the previous episodes in a very good way.

One major reason to make sure this season is amended is because we’re finally getting to two beloved characters.  Yes, Sailor Uranus and Neptune make their debuts in season three.  And no they are not kissing cousins this time (not that they ever were in the Japanese dub, that was just dumb American dubbing bs).  At this point, they haven’t done too much or joined any battles (which Im ok with cause we get to see the Senshi hold their own in battle).  Haruka and Michuru are enjoying being cryptic with their warnings to the Senshi.  Haruka in particular is having fun toying with Usagi.  I don’t think it’s any secret that Sailor Pluto will be arriving soon and I cant wait to see these two fan favorites come out of the shadows and get in on the action. 

The story is slow building (as I said, Uranus and Neptune haven’t done much besides hide in the shadows and smirk).  And, ugh, im a fan of the transformations…but really they take up three minutes of run time when you do full group transformations and then the episode is suddenly over…im not ok with that.  Otherwise, Season Three is off to a good start.  The most recent episode even had Sailor Mars and Jupiter at the forefront of things (and any attempt to give my Waifu, Mars, more center screentime is always ok with me).  This season is going to be all about going back to the roots of Sailor Moon and recapturing the love of the fans properly.  It’s almost enough to make a fan wish that the studio would just redo Season One and Two in this same fashion.  The Pretty Guardians in Sailor Suits are back…and they have never been better. 

Hell yes, I’m gonna keep watching.

T5W#36-Top 5 Ways Hollywood could Improve in Adapting Anime

Late last week, the first official promo image for next years live action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell began circulating the net.  A lot has already been said about the casting of Scarlet Johannson as Major Motoko Kusinagi, not all of it pretty.  Personally, it’s a role ScarJo can play in her sleep and play it well.  However, when it comes to Hollywood adapting Anime, i’m skeptical.  In the past, the US has tried it’s hand at bringing Anime to life and usually fails horribly.  Sometimes it’s a matter of casting (White actors in lew of Asian based characters), material (trying to cram 26-52 episodes of material into a 2 hour flick) or choice of director (while not technically Anime, the Avatar the Last Airbender movie was doomed to fail the moment we saw Shamylan’s name attached)…or even remotely thinking Dragon Ball Evoluton was ever a good idea.  Could Ghost in the Shell break this trend?  I honestly don’t know.  I am willing to share my thoughts on how they could improve and maybe earn some points with the Anime community again.

 

#5-Don’t be afraid to go all out with the rating

 

Sometimes dumbing down the violence and content can be a pretty big misstep.  There is the need to cater most movies to all audiences.  But that’s been tried before: The Expendables 3 sucked for it’s lack of hard violence and God only knows what might happen with Suicide Squad which deserves the R Rating.  Most Anime that are being chosen for adaptation are hyper violent and sexualized, like Ghost in the Shell.  Holding back on the rating just to get the 12 year old snuck in by his irresponsible parents, does no favors for anyone, especially if violence and action is what the Anime is best known for.  If Berserk or Ninja Scroll were getting the Hollywood treatment, their productions should not hold back and go all out on the violence, sex and gore factor.  It’ll probably freak a lot of people out but the fans will know they were being thought of.

 

#4-Don’t be afraid to fill out the cast with awesome Asian actors

One of the biggest criticisms of Scarlet Johannson’s casting as Motoko is the idea of casting a white actress in a generally seen Asian role as being a mortal sin.  While im not opposed to a big name being used to advertise a movie, Hollywood should not be afraid of bringing in talent from Japan to bolster the production of an Anime based live action flick.  Rinko Kikuchi proved she could more than hold her own alongside Charlie Hunham and Idris Elba in Pacific Rim.  Tatsuya Fujiwara from Death Note and Battle Royale popping up in a casting will definitely get some buzz going, especially if he’s playing the right character.  Who knows, these actors or actresses may be bigger fans of the Anime than anyone in the crew and their guidance could be the most valuable aspect of getting the project right.

 

#3-Take cues from Japan

Death Note, Rurouni Kenshin, Space Battleship Yamato.  What do all of these titles have in common?  They are all, in my opinion, some of the very best examples of Anime come to life.  Each one is incredibly faithful to the source material while adding their own little spins to make them their own entities.  The characters are true to form, the story runs at a smooth pace, the visuals are straight out of the Anime or Manga.  This kind of attention to detail is a recipie for win and Hollywood should be all over this aspect of the production.  It shows authenticity and proves Hollywood gives a damn about pleasing the fans while trying to make a good looking film in the process.

 

#2-Don’t try to cram so much into one movie

Most series that are ripe for the adaptation process tend to range between 13 and 52 episodes long.  That’s a lot to jam into a 2-2.5 hour flick.  Hell even most Anime compilation films run into this problem.  Important character development is brushed aside and events are rushed for the sake of getting to the finale.  As much as I liked Pacific Rim, I have to admit, it felt like we got the first three episodes of an Anime before jumping right to episode 25 and 26.  Single films may not be the best approach.  Have faith that enough of a tale can be told in one movie before planning sequels to smoothly continue the overall arc.  There are a lot of fun single stories that could be the basis for a film, like Gundam 0079’s Operation Odessa.  Throw too much in, and you run the risk of a jumbled mess that not even the fans could get behind.

 

#1-The fans are the greatest weapon

 

One of Hollywood’s most recent success stories is Deadpool.  The movie made a huge amount of money but really, it’s the praise from the fans that was the real reward.  Regardless of box office returns (though it garuntees a sequel), the fact that Ryan Reynolds and the filmmakers were able to stay so faithful to the character and never compromise his quirks for the sake of safety says a lot.  Hollywood could apply the same care to an Anime adaptation.  If the fans enjoy it and say it’s the greatest US take on a franchise they’ve ever seen, that is the true reward for all the hard work.  The director shouldn’t be worried about

 

 

 

Rahxephon Part 1 Episodes 1-5

What if everything you knew about your life was actually a façade?  For Ayato Kamina, he’s grown up believing most of the world is gone save for Japan and that there are only 23 million people living in the world today.  An “alien” invasion and the appearance of a beautiful woman change his life forever.  Suddenly, Ayato is thrown beyond his reality and into the truth.  Tokyo has been trapped within a Jupiter style dome for over 12 years.  On the outside, it is the year 2027 and humanity is at war with an other dimensional species known as the Mu.  The military organization TERRA is the only line of defense the world has and they spent a lot of effort to break Kamina out.  Kamina’s path to the truth of the world and his life lies within the weapon that broke out of Tokyo Jupiter along with him: the singing giant known as the Rahxephon.

Man have I been waiting to return to this one.  Rahxephon surprised me when I saw it…god knows how long ago…wow feels like im starting my final thoughts weeks in advance on this one, gotta pace myself.  It’s been a long time since ive watched it and ill be curious to see if it holds up.  And I’m more than ready to share my thoughts on this much overlook Anime gem. 

Giant robots clashing in a city.  An alien race that has secretly invaded the planet.  A lone boy who is an apparent chosen on to pilot the titular giant robot.  This all sounds pretty familiar if not a little generic.  So what makes Rahxephon stand out?  Well in this starting set of episodes, we get a great sense of atmosphere, mystery and a likeable cast.  More importantly, the giant robots aren’t exactly giant robots.  No the Rahxephon and it’s fellow Dolems seem to be more like movable statues than actual mecha.  The use of sound as their main weapons (so far anyway) is pretty unique too, giving the series a little bit of a Macross vibe.

There is the one itty bitty elephant in the room when it comes to Rahxephon.  It has a reputation as being seen as Evangelion lite or just a straight clone of Evangelion.  Well the comparisons are there for sure.  From the opening attack on Tokyo to the characterizations of Ayato as the chosen one and Haruka as his older protector.  Even Captain Kunigi has shades of Gendo Ikari…but only a little.  If anything Kunigi was probably the chief inspiration for Idris Elba’s commanding officer in Pacific Rim.  I can just see him staring down Kamina and saying, “One, don’t you ever touch me again.  Two, don’t you ever touch me again.”  Given what I just said about the Rahxephon not seeming like your typical giant robot adds fuel to the Evangelion comparisons given that the Evas themselves weren’t really mechas either.  There’s even a military organization called TERRA which isn’t unlike NERV.  But trust me, these similarities may play to Rahxephon’s strength more than weighing it down.

While I do think Misato is a bit cooler (and hotter) than Haruka, Ayato is a much more likeable lead than Shinji.  He’s a smart ass, he’s a bit more open with people and he acts like any average human would being thrown into this new situation.  And it is a doozy, knowing the world around you is a lie and that aliens are involved…not to mention something I’m sure Ayato has thought about which is, does he have the same blue blood as his mother?  Food for thought for sure.  There are more mysteries to be found in the real world too: from the totally sketchy scientist Itsuki to the way more attractive than Rei Ayanami Quon.  Just the way people talk around Ayato practically says something bigger is going on in the real world and Ayato might just be a pawn in it all.  And what about that look in Haruka’s eyes whenever she sees Ayato…there’s something there for sure.  The only character who I still find grating is Megumi, who just whined and nagged Ayato during their whole first meeting. 

The action is little but exciting in these opening episodes.  Mostly it’s a lot of world exploration and character introductions.  But I’m expecting great things from the Rahxephon, or as I affectionately call it The Moose Gundam.  Plus it looks like Maverick Ace Elvy might bring some bad assery of her own with her piloting skills with a fighter jet.  No matter what though, it all looks gorgeous.  This Anime was done by Studio Bones, which produced feature films for Escaflowne and Cowboy Bebop and even the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood TV Series.  So quality animation is going to be there, even if this is one of their earlier attempts and isn’t as polished as the other projects I mentioned.  Also fun fact, the opening theme, Hemisphere, while performed by Mayaa Sakamoto, was composed by Anime music legend, Yoko Kanno.  Kanno doesn’t do the score for this series but I can only imagine how the soundtrack, already great as is, would sound under her care.

A couple of annoyances aside, Rahxephon followed all of the introductory Anime rules: the world (or worlds) have been established, the characters smoothly introduced, the action top notch, and the mystery seeds sown and ready to grow.  We’ll see how Ayato continues to adjust to the new world next week on the Anime Corner.

FIF#8-Ace Attorney

Phoenix Wright has been waiting for this his whole life: the day he becomes an attorney in the courtroom.  Under the tutelage of his mentor, the beautiful Mia Fey, Phoenix has come a long way and is ready to stand side by side with Mia.  But when a terrible tragedy overshadows his first victory, Phoenix is on his own in a world that seeks to swallow him whole.  That isn’t going to stop him from doing his job.  People need defending and criminals must be brought to justice.  This is Phoenix Wright’s thing.  And he’s gonna prove he’s the best damn ace attorney there is.

Ace Attorney has been on for a couple of episodes now and I’ve been wanting to give it a watch since it was announced.  For those who don’t know, Ace Attorney is based on the video game of the same name, featuring court room mysteries that you can navigate and work out like a real case.  The game itself already looked Anime enough in its design (but then again a lot of games from Japan look Anime in many respects).  So an actual TV adaptation is kind of a no brainer, especially after we got a live action movie from Takahashi Miike a couple years back.  So after such a wait, how was the series debut?

It was fine for what it was.  This is probably as close to an exact replica of a video game to Anime adaptation as you’re going to get.  The characters look ripped directly from the tiny Nintendo DS or Mobile Screens you play the games on depending.  Really, I don’t think there was any other way for the series to proceed animation wise.  Even the courtroom and office settings are dead ringers for the video game.  In short, those who love the video game franchise will feel right at home instantly.  Though that does lead me to maybe my biggest gripe…

The series is a bit tooooo faithful to the game.  Apparently this series will be based on the first two entries of the franchise, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney-Justice For All.  And after the first episode I was sure they meant that literally.  The first case is beat for beat the first case of the game and as I expected later, the second case had the same treatment.  In my opinion, this kind of takes away from any real excitement or expectations if youre a fan.  For non fans, some of the twists, especially the one that opens episode 2 will be huge.  Otherwise, you know it’s coming much like the first couple seasons of Game of Thrones when knowing what happened in the books put you at an advantage.  Even more so, the way the series is drawn from the interrogation of witnesses to the mannerisms behind the stands, it’s ALL from the game.  It almost pains me to say that watching Ace Attorney might as well be a giant cheat guide to the video games and vice versa. 

HOWEVER, a good friend of mine who got me into the game assured me that the best cases do come after the first two that I played (I only played a demo on my phone really).  So for me, I have plenty to look forward to (I do trust this friend a lot so Im willing to move forward).  For fans of the series already, I’m curious what the consensus will be.  Will everyone embrace it’s faithfulness to the games that inspired it or will it backfire on them for offering very little that’s new.  For those curious, yes there are some flashbacks to Phoenix’s childhood but they’re very few and far between the main story…

I’m harping a little bit…not a little bit, a lot.  But with Durarara X2 finished and Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans not returning til fall, I’m willing to add Ace Attorney to my list of recent, must watch Anime along with the third season of Sailor Moon Crystal (might do the next FiF on that next week).  If anything, it was pretty fun to finally see and full Anime cinematic of Phoenix screaming his trademark “OBJECTION!!!” at a witness.  Let’s see where things go from here.

 

 

Bamboo Blade-Part 8 Episodes 24-26

Tama’s lost a match for the first time in her life.  And with this loss, she’s lost the will to take up the sword again.  What good is practicing Kendo if you cant always win?  Everyone’s at their lowest point and they’ve got one final shot to make things better.  This team has been through a lot together, but they’ve never been through this kind of badness before.  The future is at stake for several members and they’ll need each other more than ever before to pull off the biggest miracle their club has ever known.  One chapter in the history of the Muroe High Kendo Team is about to end, and another is about to begin.

Im just gonna come out and say it, this is easily one of my favorite finales of any Anime EVER!!!

Everything got resolved, everyone found a solution, everyone found their groove again.  I’m actually a pretty big fan of stories where the heroes hit a low point in their journey’s. Yeah it sucks to seem them in such despair.  But I know that’s just going to make the come back all the more exciting and worth it.  Seeing Muroe come together as a team on all fronts was excellent: Tama went to Ishibashi and Kojiro for help; Azuma stepped up to Miya and told her to get her act together; Saya declared her eternal friendship to Kirino (a shipper fans dream) and Donnie proved himself against one of the douche Kendo bullies that nearly got the club disbanded.  It was such a good feeling to see the team back together after the turmoil of the last few episodes.  The family was reunited.

Then it was time to settle all scores.  Miya won against Carrie, TWICE (and Rami finally came in handy for once.  Oh and Little Carrie with two swords is too adorable).  Donnie managed to score a point on Yuji, its almost hard to forget how much progress Donnie himself has made this series. He was such a shy dude back in the beginning and he never wanted to practice Kendo.  Low and behold, he’s become more than just the comic relief/support system.  But of course, the one match everyone was looking forward to was the rematch between Tama and Rin.  It was a whole new match this time.  No longer scared off by the high stance, Tama was pretty evenly matched with Rin.  What I liked best about this match wasn’t really the fighting but the realization Tama had during it.  Everyone at the tournament, besides her sensei and teammates, loves Kendo and it fueled her love for it as well.  It was a beautiful feeling that I think I understand pretty well from a convention goers point of view.  It was a good fight and easily the most feel good moment of the series.  It’s why I hold the finale in such high regard.

Though if I did have to sound a little negative, the final episode could have been merged in with Episode 25.  I don’t think we needed to see Iwasa and Toyama’s younger siblings, especially Shinobou who was kind of a brat.  This could have been a post credits sequence really, showing the start of the next chapter for Muroe High’s team.  As far as I know there is no second season of Bamboo Blade.  So the tease of new blood and Yoshikawa taking over as advisor is kind of unfair (btw when did she and Ishibashi hook up?  That’s gonna be one good looking kid).  Still, the team is continuing on and Tama’s friendship with Rin is stronger than ever.  The two of them witnessing their roles in the Blade Braver movie was cute.  Ok so maybe the last episode had a lot of merit to it after all.  I couldn’t ask for more from this finale.

So, my final thoughts?  Bamboo Blade is a great mix of slice of life with action added in for fun.  The cast is diverse and fun, the lessons are ones that will stick with you, the comedy is really freaking funny.  And Tama, well what haven’t I said about her I haven’t said already.  If I made up a set of Anime Expendables, Tama would be on board for sure…God only knows how many guys she could cut down with a real sword.  Some of the supporting cast was hit and miss, especially those who had no real purpose until the end like Rami.  Rin Suzuki and the Machido Girls were fun and friendly rivals I wish we’d seen more of throughout the series.  And there were a couple of story arcs I think lasted too long (the search for Azuma).  At the end of the day, I love this series and it’s fun to pop in every once in a while for relaxation and background noise.  Kendo is a sport anyone who’s an Anime fan can fall for.  And these girls make it look so awesome.

The final score is an

8.5/10

Well that series is done.  Next week we head back into the mecha realm.  Brace yourself for the second coming of Evangelion…or rather the series I think is actually a little better than Eva.  The much overlooked mecha classic, Rahxephon, starts next week on the Anime Corner.

T5W#35-Top 5 Video Game Based Anime

Spoiler Alert: This kind of has something to do with this weeks upcoming First Impression Friday feature…so that’s a good tie in.

Video Games and Anime pretty much go hand in hand don’t they?  I mean many time you want to just pop in a video game just to feel like you’re playing an Anime itself.  But occasionally a game is so beloved by many that it gets some form of Animated treatment. And that’s what im looking at today.  These are 5 titles ive seen and…relatively enjoyed.  I’ll admit some of these are on here for nostalgia factor alone and not cause they’re anything really good.  So, without further ado, onto this tiny list of Anime based on Video Games…the good, the bad and the meh

 

#5-Fatal Fury

I find it a stroke of luck I ever found this title on Scifi Channel one night a long time ago.  Before I even knew what King of the Fighters was, I was curious where Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui came from…and if Mai was single (she wasn’t, she was hooked up with Terry’s brother, Andy).  The Motion Picture is pretty standard fare, it’s definitely not Street Fighter.  But I know some fans of 90’s Anime enjoy it and for me, it was a fun little venture.  So it makes the list.

 

#4-Resident Evil Degeneration and Damnation

I almost forgot about these two to be honest.  When thinking about favorite Video Game franchises and thinking about whether or not they have Anime adaptations, several titles come to mind…like Metal Gear Solid.  But this is Resident Evil we’re talking about here.  Both Degeneration and Damnation are essentially prequels to Resident Evil 5 and 6.   Both feature tales involving Leon S. Kennedy, the hero from Resident Evil 2 and 4 and a host of other familiar faces.  Some of those faces include the lovely femme fatales of the franchise, including red head beauty Claire Redfield and everyone’s favorite lady in the red dress Ada Wong.  These films are more in line with the action adventure direction that the series later took (to varied effect) but theyre still a fun watch, especially Damnation if only cause it has a really sexy Ada fight scene.

 

#3- Halo Legends

Much in the tradition of The Animatrix and Batman: Gotham Knight, Halo Legends is a collection of short stories from across the Halo mythos all done by different directors and animation studios.  Except for a comically themed entry with a Spartan trying to go hand to hand with a brute in DBZ style combat, the rest of the entries are pretty in line with the Halo Universe.  Highlights include Cortana’s two part recap of the history of the Haloverse, from the Forerunners to the end of Halo 3; and a CG glam fest from the director of Appleseed.  I really like that one since we see the Master Chief with two of his closest friends mowing down Covenant.  We also get to see their hud displays as they run through…just like the game.  It’s pretty awesome.

 

#2-Fate/Stay Night

Yes.  Believe it or not, this one originated as a Japanese Visual Novel on Windows and Playstation 2.  Wow that’s kind of a mind blower.  Over the course of last year, I delved head first into Fate/Zero, the FSN Prequel, and immediately wanted to know what happened next with Shiro and Rin’s quest.  That led to watching Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works as it aired it’s second half in Japan and eventually watching the main FSN pathway this past winter on DVD.  This series got me immersed big time.  The story is epic, the characters memorable, the action beyond belief.  Oh and it gave me Rin Toshaka, who’s fast become one of my top Anime heroines.

 

#1-Street Fighter II V and Street Fighter II: The Motion Picture

If ever there is a blueprint most Anime video game adaptations should follow, it’s this one.  Ken and Ryu reunite after a period apart for a round the world training trip.  Pretty much the entire roster from the first couple of games (yes there was a Street Fighter 1: Guile, Chun-Li, Dalshim, Vega and even M.Bison as the big bad.  The action keeps in pace with the games and many of the characters signature moves have been perfectly recreated.  If you need a cliffnotes version of this series, I also hear that the SFII Motion Picture is pretty good.  The most ive seen is bits and pieces of the final battle between Ken and Ryu against Bison.  I CAN say that the fight between Chun Li and Vega is pretty freaking awesome.

Bamboo Blade-Part 7 Episodes 21-23

Muroe High couldn’t be in a better position in their time together.  Miyako’s training with Azuma is going great.  Kirino’s making strides to boosts morale even higher.  And Tama’s made a new friend in Rin Suzuki, an avid fan of Red Braver’s rival Shinaider.  But everythings going to change with the Kanto Tournament.  Here, Muroe will face it’s greatest challenge…and everyones got a bad feeling.  And when Rin and Tama cross swords and the outcome doesn’t go in Tama’s favor, will Muroe, and Tama be able to recover?

So yeah…that happened.  We’ve finally come to the start of the final chapter for Muroe High’s Kendo Team.  And what a way to kick things off. 

Things had been going so good for the team that it was only a matter of time before the rug got pulled out from under their feet.  That also meant that the inevitable was about to happen too.  And man, when Tama lost a match, things went pretty much the way I expected.  She’s not sulking right away but it’s clear Tama’s lost the desire to continue Kendo.  If she cant win, what’s the point?  I talked about this possibly happening way back when Ishibashi first told Kojiro, “She has to learn to lose.”  For Tama to go so far as to quit the club outright felt like a gut punch.  This show got serious quick.

Worse yet, Tama lost to the same new friend she just made.  Rin is basically Tama’s clone with a few alterations: taller, longer hair and a love for Red Braver’s rival Shinaider.  And she could even go toe to toe with Tama, as we saw not just in the match but in their impromptu duel during the filming of the Blade Braver movie.  The fact that Tama couldn’t win with a single blow as per most of the matches was proof enough, Rin had become the big one to beat.  And Rin’s not evil either, I never got that from any time we saw her on screen.  She’s just a bit more mature and wiser than Tama, particularly when it comes to winners and losers.  I kind of wish we had seen Rin a lot sooner than now.

Tama wasn’t the only one taking the brunt of the negative this week.  Miyako lost to Carrie.  Kojiro’s disillusioned by Tama’s loss.  And Kirino and Saya have to deal with Iawasa and Toyama screwing everything up in an arcade fight.  It’s hard not to side with Saya’s wishes to see them thrown under the bus to save the Kendo team.  Those two are bullies and just mean hearted people.  Kirino, however, is a bit more conflicted.  She’s always seen the Kendo team as more than just a team.  She’s seen it as an extension of her family and, good or tempered nature, she’d always welcome anyone in with open arms.  I admire Kirino for thinking beyond just simply lying about their involvement with the team to save the others.  Still, I get the feeling any outcome wont be an easy decision.   Kirino also had the most heartbreaking reaction when she saw Tama’s resignation letter on the bench, like the world was spiraling.  If anyone needed a hug, it was Kirino.  This is one of the few instances where I have to say I did not like Tama at all.

As they say though, the darkest always comes before the dawn.  Can Muroe recover from all this sadness and despair?  You’ll know soon enough.  I’ll be posting my review of the final episodes on Wednesday.  See ya then.

FIF#7-Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans

The year is Post Disaster 323.  More than 300 years have passed since the Great Calamity War between Earth and the Colonies.  As a result, Mars has been successful terraformed and colonized.  However, even in the future, independence is a thing of the past as Mars lives under the thumb of the Earth.  Kudelia Aina Bernstein, a Martian Princess, is determined to gain Mars its independence.  At the same time, the youth of the private military organization, CGS, rise up against their adult overseers and declare themselves Tekkadan.  Their first official mission is to ensure Kudelia’s safe passage to Earth.  Though comprised of children raised since birth for combat, Tekkadan has three elements that give it hope to stand against Earth’s Gjallarhorn military organization: Orga, their leader who will never stop until Tekkadan sees it’s victory; Mikazuki, Orga’s best friend and a deadly pilot, and their long buried but nonetheless most dangerous weapon-The Gundam Barbatos.

This ones been a long time coming (I think longer than Digimon Tri), when it comes to features I wanted to cover here on First Impression Friday.  Problem was, I didn’t know how far into the season I wanted to get through before voicing an opinion on the latest entry in the Gundam franchise.  Well, for me anyway, the first season wrapped last week and the series is on a lengthy hiatus until the fall.  So now’s as good a time as any.  What did I think of the first half of Iron Blooded Orphans?

It was…ok.  I know that there are a lot of people who really love this series and say it is the best thing to happen to Gundam in a really long time.  For me, it took a couple of episodes to get into and even when I was knee deep in the series, a lot of stuff was flying over my head.  Politics has never been my thing, even if Gundam it can be a little frustrating.  IBO is no different in this regard.  Like every other series, many characters have hidden agendas that either don’t make sense to me, or I just don’t care about.  Some of the more personal conflicts of the ginormous cast were more entertaining thankfully.  If I do have anything bad to say about IBO’s first season, it’s that sometimes the cast wasn’t too large, I just don’t think it was diverse as it wanted to be.  Honestly, by the midpoint, I still couldn’t tell Eugene, Shino and a couple other characters apart.  When Orga barks orders to them, I just scratched my head, “Who’s he giving orders too?”  Of the many Tekkadan members, the only ones I ever cared about (more or less) were Orga, Mika and Biscut (oh God that name.  Such an endearing character but come on…).  Everyone else, im really surprised doesn’t get wacked by mid finale…and ill get to that in a second.

As for the two big leads: Orga and Mika are an interesting pair.  I still cant wait to see Orga’s cool façade totally backfire and bit Tekkadan hard in the ass.  It does in a big way towards the end when we lose a major character.  I’m just curious how far he’ll go before he realizes, all of Tekkadan might die before they find their place in history.  As for Mika…Mikazuki is the scariest Gundam protagonist of all time.  He’s like a loaded gun with the safety off at all times and he will not think twice about killing you in any manner.  Matters of honor and procedure never fly with him.  When one Gjallarhorngeneral tries to make a speech before he dies…Mika just shoots him, like words were a waste of time.  It’s scary but when certain moments arise and it’s necessary for Mika’s unhinged state to do some damage…ill admit I was excited.  That big character loss I mentioned a moment ago hits Mika pretty hard.  So hard that when the commander that kills the character challenges Tekkadan to a duel and gives them 30min to prepare…Mika just says “F*** It” and annihilates them all.   I have no doubt that Orga cares a lot about his best friend.  Still cant help but feel he a bastard exploiting Mika’s lack of humanity at times.  Mika does grow though, opening up to several characters, especially Kudelia, who is more or less his love interest.  Kudelia was pretty frustrating up until the last few episodes.  She’s cute but I couldn’t think of an episode that went by where she didn’t complain about how useless and powerless she was.  All these guys are doing everything in their power to protect her, the least she could do is cheer them on and support them rather than mope.

What about the Barbatos?  It’s one of the most interesting Gundam designs since the Turn A Gundam.  It may not have the “white mustache” but it’s run down look is pretty noteworthy.  I sometimes equated a lot of the action on Mars to that of Mad Max and Barbatos definitely reminded me of a Mobile Suit that would exist in a post apocalyptic world, and a lot less shiny that any mechs in Gundam X (which was a post apocalyptic story).  I also like how there was an emphasis on CQC with this Gundam.  The last few iterations of Gundam have seen a lot of beam spamming, which I know irritates a lot of fans.  But here, we have a return to the down and dirty, old school ways before cannons gave the edge.  Though I never got why Mika always used that heavy, if not effective hammer when he has a kick ass samurai sword.  Mika is a stubborn kid but using that sword would have saved him a lot of time in the long run at times.  All in all, the Barbatos is a welcome addition to the Mobile Suit Gundam line up.

As for Gjallarhorn…I found them to be one of the most annoying aspect of the series.  Many times I felt they were trying too hard to be Treize Kushrenada from Gundam Wing…well for a few characters anyway.  McGillis is way too complex for me to comprehend.  Galileo was just his pretty boy sidekick.  Catra…oh man did she pick the wrong team of kids to try and talk about style, honor and legacy with, I was just waiting for her to get what was coming to her.  As the supposed villains of the series, they were pretty easy to stand against.  Especially by the last few episodes when they should have realized that no matter how much they screamed about Tekkadan’s lack of honor and respect…it was never going to be heard.  One character, Ein, is around solely to avenge the death of his LT killed by Mika early on.   His final battle with the Barbatos was exactly what I wanted it to be.  In the tradition of Black Lagoon’s Revy, Mika pretty much mutes the mouthy maniac and asks if he’s just going to talk him to death or fight?  Gjallarhorn might be headed in another direction in Season 2 and hopefully they’ll improve as villains. 

Oh and I cant wrap this up without a shout out to my man Naze: the Teiwaz member who has his own harem ship of female Mobile Suit Pilots…I want a spin off series with this man and his ladies, hell a prequel would be awesome.  Maybe in Season Two?

Iron Blooded Orphans tried me at times, but I’m glad I stuck with it.  As far as Gundam shows go, it definitely feels different compared to 00, AGE and Build Fighters.  Gundam has always had a penchant for throwing children into war but this just seems grittier, more darker and therefore more interesting from the get go.  The characters are a cast of dozens but most are well rounded.  The action is as intense as you’d expect from the setting.  And it always came with that sense of wanting to know what came next when the awesome end credits rolled.  Oh and btw Raise Your Flag is the best Gundam Intro ever…deal with it.

I’ll def be back on board with Tekkadan when Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans returns Fall 2016.