T5W#129-Top 5 Anime that Deserve a Best Animated Feature Award

Last week the nominations for this years Academy Awards were announced.  While im glad that Anime has been recognized in some years, and even managed to win one thanks to Spirited Away, I still feel like the Academy is way unfair when it comes to handing out awards to Anime that truly deserve it.  Example: Your Name lost to…hmmm…think it was Finding Dory last year?  Suffice to say that most times Pixar puts anything out its garunteed to win Best Animated Feature but there have been years before Pixar came around (granted I don’t think the Best Animated Feature category is a super old one yet).  And while yes, Pixar is a great animation power house (for good reason), I still think that there may come a year when one Anime comes out that might have a chance at being an Anime remembered properly, not just by the core fandom.  I guess that was a pretty passionate intro there, sorry about that.  So, let’s get to the list of Top 5 Anime that Deserve a Best Animated Feature Award.  Im going to omit a couple of obvious choices for this list to keep things a bit open: Akira cause it is legend and Your Name because everyone has vented about how badly that movie got shafted last year, even if it only got a wide release this past year. 

 

#5-The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

When youre thinking about a movie based on the bizarre and wacky world of Haruhi Suzumiya, are you really expecting to think of anything worthy of an Academy Award?  I’ll keep this one brief as ill be reviewing this one in depth later this year.  The sequel to The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya pulled off a win that I never expected, from stellar animation to one of the deepest stories in the entire saga.  Even if you’ve never seen the series, this film works just fine as a stand alone.  Again, I wont say more cause I want to save it for later but…wow…Haurhi Suzumiya and the Academy Awards…it really is a mad, mad Haruhi World.

 

#4-Galaxy Express 999

The oldest entry on this list, GX999 is an Anime fairy tale that still holds up decades after its release.  There’s an equal mix of imagination, wonder, danger, excitement, and just pure Anime magic on every frame from beginning to end.  Tetsuro and Maetel’s journey aboard the steam train across the cosmos appeals to all ages and all generations in a way even most modern day Anime cannot.  It’s a classic I don’t think should ever be forgotten…now the sequels, those are a different story.

 

#3-Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

When this came out in 2004 I was surprised it never got nominated in ’05.  Ghost in the Shell 2 is still an Anime film that I can say has things ive never seen before or since.  The updated designs from the previous film: characters, mecha, setting, are gorgeous, the story chalk full of head Psychology 101 dialogue and theres even some action to keep things interesting.  Add in Mamoru Oshii’s serene style of directing and a brilliantly elegant and at times creepy score from Kenji Kawaii and you’ll see why this might be a heady entry for sure on this list but is still an incredible feat of animation that, personally, I think trumps the first film sometimes.

 

#2-The End of Evangelion

If Neon Genesis Evangelion pushed the limits of the giant robot genre on Television, The End of Evangelion pushed the envelope of how far mature animation has come in Anime since the late 80’s.  It’s bloody, it’s thought provoking, it’s unforgiving and it is still talked about today as one of the pinnacles of Animation in general.  As a finale, it offered fans of the series better closure and more to chew on well afterwards.  As a stand alone film, it could make anyone want to go back and figure out how the hell things got the way they were by this onslaught of a film.  The End of Evangelion took chances and proved it wasn’t for the feint of heart and as far from “childrens entertainment” as Animation could get…I think id deserves some recognition for that.

 

#1-Pretty Much 90% of Studio Ghibli’s Film Resume

My Neighbor Totoro, Grave of the Fireflies, Princess Mononoke, The Wind Rises.  I’m not saying that every film Studio Ghibli does is pure gold (Tales of Earthsea anyone?).  But if one studio has managed to get more film at least nominated for Best Animated Feature, it’s these guys, which means theyre doing something very right.  Whether its high fantasy like Laputa: Castle in the Sky, childrens stories like The Cat Returns, or the hard hitting reality of Grave of the Fireflies (The Academy eats up movies like that so it might’ve had a better chance back in the day), Ghibli continues to be one of the biggest entertainers of Animation in the world.  They’ve managed one win with Spirited Away, they deserve more.

Pilot Candidate Part 1 Episodes 0-3

It is the year 5030 AD.  In a distant corner of the universe, the last of humanities world, Zion, sits as the most precious treasure in existence.  Across the stars, humanity and Zion are threatened by monstrous aliens known as Victim.  The only defense against these monsters are the five powerful Ingrids known as the Goddesses.  Zero Enna and Hiead Gner are two hot headed youths with special powers who have come to the pilot training academy, GOA, to fight for the chance to become the next pilots to inherit these powerful machines.  If they don’t kill each other along the way, they could very well be humanities last hope to free itself from the threat of Victim.

 

Pilot Candidate (or The Candidate for Goddess as it’s called in Japan) popped up on my radar a long time ago.  It was one of the first show to be aired on Adult Swim as part of its late Saturday night Anime block back in 2002.  The show only aired for a short while and has seldom been seen (if ever again at all) in rotation since the blocks creation almost 20 years ago (jeez im old).  When it first aired, I only saw a couple of episodes in full but never the whole series but id heard nothing but bad things from other reviewers.  Well for the sake of the odd bit of nostalgia I’m taking my own swing at Pilot Candidate.  And already I can tell, I will regret it…a lot.

Pilot Candidates problems are clear by the end of Episode 0 and continue on without much need to correct or understand it has a lot of kinks to work out.  For starters, originality may appear on the surface with the visuals and the mechas.  But underneath, this is as generic a scifi epic as you could get, with a strong hint of Shonen Anime tropes.  Zero Enna is our Naruto of the series, a loud mouthed brat who is determined to repeat himself over and over again and declare (over and over again) that he’ll be the next big Hokage…sorry I mean Goddess pilot.  Hiead Gner is Zero’s Sasuke, quiet, brooding, could care less about anyone around him.  We’ve also got generic drill sergent with an obvious sad past (Hijikata), a nerdy sidekick who is the appendix for the series (Clay), the ace pilot (Teela), and the list goes on.  There’s even a cute Cat Girl with Kizna but we don’t see too much of her outside of one episode.  I haven’t gotten to the story elements yet but trust me when I say, if the characters don’t leave much of an impression, the main premise wont either.

Once again, we’re at the ass end of nowhere and there’s one shiny place of salvation left for humanity.  We don’t exactly know what happened to Earth or why Victim is dead set on killing humanity (besides the obvious they’re Kaiju and that’s what most Kaiju do).  There isn’t even any explanation as to how the Goddesses were created and why they seem to be the only ones capable of taking them on.  Oh and their pilots, what makes them qualified?  Special training aside, the five pilots of the Goddesses are more bland and boring than Zero and his classmates.  How are Pilots chosen from Candidates?  Why do we need replacements for Pilots so soon when the current roster looks fine as is?  What’s the deal with Zero and Hiead’s powers, are they Newtypes? For 4 short episodes, a lot of questions pop up and I know there are attempts made to answer at least one of them when Zero isn’t yammering about something and rudely yelling “WOMAN!!!” are a hot Doctor who just saved his life.  It’s a ton of mystery but its not good mystery.  Even Sherlock would shove it off and let the end of the world come swiftly for this less than qualified tale and its cast.

Let’s talk about the animation, shall we?  The CG Goddesses do look somewhat impressive, or at least different compared to the bland Victim or standard grunt Ingrids.  However, their animation is hardly flawless for Goddesses.  Sometimes the style reminded me of proto Beast Wars/Reboot and other times, the frame rate dropped so bad I thought I was watching a cutscene for a video game on Windows 95.  Granted the 2D and 3D animation gels better than you’d expect but it still feels half assed and with little heart given to it.  Much like Silent Mobius, it feels like the production lost interest before the first episode was completed and just did what they could to get out of the project as scot free as possible.  Even the Goddess’ move incredibly clunky and we don’t get to see them do too much fighting.  Nooo we need to cut back to Zero ogling from GOA about how awesome they look and how he desperately wants to pilot the white Goddess.  Indeed, the bad animation only helped fuel my thoughts that I was watching a poorly rendered video game tutorial cutscene rather than an Anime…and I wanted to sell this game back to Gamestop ASAP.

Pilot Candidate is off to a bad start and I cant really see it getting much better as I go forward.  I guess it’s a little bit of a blessing that the upcoming weeks will have shorter episode numbers (3 instead of 4), so watching them should go by quick.  However, some of you should be a little excited.  I can see Pilot Candidate coming to share a fate similar to Silent Mobius last year, where I tear it apart week after week for an incomprehensible plot and a cast that has potential that is never met (though in this case the cast has ZERO potential whatsoever…no pun intended). 

Sigh, at least the music isn’t terrible.  The opening theme is fun, the ending theme is pretty soothing and the score offers a better mystery than the story…that’s kind of sad when you think about it.

T5W#128-Top 5 Saitama Moments from One Punch Man

From out of nowhere, he arrives.  He stands, facing the foes no one hero can triumph against.  He hears out their evil ramblings and, well before they prepare to deliver unto him a death blow, he ends the battle with one single punch.  And just like that, he vanishes, off to make it in time for a special sale on food cause he has a particular dish in mind for dinner.  He is Saitama and even when One Punch Man wasn’t at its best, he always was the man you could count on to never let us down.  Either with a really bad ass action scene or the most simple of reactions to a crisis (a “shrug” or “oh…ok sure”),  Saitama delivered the goods with more than just One Punch.  So to close out my time with one of the biggest hits of the 2010’s, I’m counting down my Top 5 Saitama Moments from One Punch Man.  Man is Season 2 going to have to work hard to top these.

 

#5-Taking out a Meteor

This was one of the seasons biggest set pieces.  An asteroid the size of Texas was bearing down on City Z and there was no way anyone was going to be able to take it down.  Even Genos and Metal Knights ultimate attacks.  All hope seems lost.  Not even a team of oil drillers and a popular rock band could stand a chance against this thing.  Then Saitama comes along and does what he does.  Sure it ends up with massive damage to the city cause of all the collateral damage but still, it’s no less really freaking epic.  And yes, I hope there’s an AMV out there where Saitama pulls this off to Areosmith’s “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” from Armageddon cause that is how that movie should have been done.  And now that I think about it, this is probably the most “standard heroic moment” I have for Saitama on this list.

 

#4-Covering for the Heroes

Sometimes being a hero isn’t about the strength in your punch, it’s about what’s in your heart (thanks Supergirl).  After Saitama easily beats the mess out of the Sea King, who’s laid waste to every single hero sent to fight him, everyone is wondering how the hell Saitama was able to pull off a win everyone thought was impossible.  Some say Saitama was faking it, others are convinced the win was legit.  Saitama, looking at his fallen friend Genos and series MVP Mumen Rider, decides to take the former route.  He tells everyone that he simply came in and claimed the victory, that everyone wore Sea King down enough for him to get in one good shot.  This puts some negative press on Saitama but it saves the reputation of the heroes who need to work more than twice as hard to pull of the victories that Saitama can in one punch.  Their legacy and hero rep is preserved and Saitama is perfectly ok with being the “bad guy” to make that happen, wow what a guy.

 

#3-Noodles with Mumen Rider

Well after what Saitama did above, you’d think the world would hate him.  But Genos isn’t the only one who knows what his “Master” did for him and the other heroes.  In what’s probably the most touching scene of the season, Saitama is found at a noodle shop by Mumen Rider, a C Class hero who is a good at peddling a bike and probably a decent fighter but has no actual superpowers of his own.  Mumen sits down a tells Saitama he’s buying his next drink or meal and thanks him for what he did, assuring the bald headed Superman that even if the world believes otherwise, Mumen will always think of him as a true hero.  It’s one of the few friends, maybe even true friends that Satiama meets all season aside from Genos.  It’s not a shout at the top of your lungs “F YEAH” moment but a quiet, continuous nodding “f yeah” kind of scene.

 

#2-The Secret of his Powers

This was it, the moment we’d all been waiting for since the first episode. Just how did Saitama gain his God like abilities.  The answer came…in one of the most epic…nonsensical…totally bogus…and yet totally hilarious moments.  Seriously, it’s so damn goofy in its execution from the scratch paper drawings of Saitama to his Rocky-esque montage to the way he sounds, just like an inspirational instructor, that this moment works so perfectly.  And the payoff…isn’t that we learn how he got his powers, it’s that we DON’T find out and have to settle in for one simple fact: we may never find out the real answer.  And you know what, that’s perfectly ok with me. 

 

#1-Mosquito Slayer

I laughed hard at the first episode but this moment for Episode 2 solidified for me just how special One Punch Man really was.  When the tiny minion of a (so freaking sexy) Mosquito Lady finds its way to Saitama’s apartment, the One Punch Man finds an opponent he cannot kill even with his great strength.  It irks him and irks him and irks him.  All the while, Genos is taking on the Mosquito Mistress single handidly and seems to have the upper hand…until Saitama comes barreling down the street with a can of bug spray screaming “GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE BASTARD IM NOT DONE WITH YOU YET” at the same damn mosquito.  As much as I loved every hard hitting fight or dramatic announcement or heartfelt bonding moment…nothing and I mean nothing has yet to top just how hilarious this scene is for me, it could very well be in a Top 5 list of funniest moments I have ever seen in an Anime EVER.  Oh yeah Season 2, your work is cut out, now impress me.

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters

Millenia ago, the apocalypse came to Earth.  Monsters arose and spread across the planet before their King appeared and began to wipe out what was left.  The last of humanity fled to the stars for salvation.  To them, only 20 years have passed but their journey is growing more and more desperate.  With resources and hope dwindling, there is only one course of action: return to Earth.  Spearheaded by a hotblooded youth determined to win back the planet, humanity returns home to face the sole reason for their exodus.  But he has evolved, grown and is far more deadlier than he ever was before.  If Humanity is to see Earth restored, it must bring down the King of the Monsters, it must destroy Godzilla.

Godzilla has seen a bit of a resurgence in the last few years.  We’ve had a new American version which served as set up for a new monster inspired universe.  We’ve had his grander return in Japan (rightfully titled Godzilla: Resurgance or Shin Godzilla).  And while sequels are set for both of those iterations, it’s kind of surprising to think that, up until now, Godzilla’s presence in Anime hasn’t been what it should be.  Yeah you have shows like Neon Genesis Evangelion and Rahxephon with take cues and tropes from Godzilla movies and use them well.  But an actual Godzilla Anime feels like a no brainer. 

And so we get Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters…dear God why?

The premise holds the promise of a very different kind of Godzilla film.  The idea of Godzilla actually growing so powerful he kind of kicks humanity off world is scary.  Equally scary is seeing how bad things get once humanity is far enough in space.  Hope is a thing of the past and despair is everywhere.  So going back to take on the King of the Monsters is a desperate move but at the same time exciting, especially seeing the weaponry mankind is bringing with it.  But really, once “the Ark” (I’m calling it that cause it looks very much like The Ark from The 100) gets back to Earth, the movie begins to collapse on the weight of it’s premise and one very, very bad detail.

Haruo Sakaki is supposed to be the lead character we are all supposed to get behind.  He’s supposed to have drive, determination, a renewed sense of hope that will spark humanity to battle for it’s home.  Now take all of those qualities and throw them into a guy who is so obsessed with revenge on Godzilla as if the monster murdered his entire family line AND their ancestors from millions of years back.  The end result is…well a guy who is revenge and murder obsessed I think he’s pretty much forgotten what he’s supposed to be fighting for and is just obsessed with killing his white whale.  But where Ahab was complex and fascinating, Haruo is one note.  All lines he is scripted with are basically “KILL KILL KILL KILL” with a mix of “DAMN YOU” and “BASTARD” for good measure.  The rest of humankind and its alien allies aren’t much more memorable than he is.  In fact it’s astounding that they actually end up following Haruo on…hmmmmm how was it put in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou? Oh yeah, “I think it's criminal that Steve allowed this to happen, by which I mean illegal. We're being led on an illegal suicide mission by a selfish maniac.”  Yeah, I wanted the monsters to win…big time.

Actually, that leads to another good point.  For a movie titled “Planet of the Monsters” we only see one other kind of “monster” once the humans return to Earth.  Sure we get a ton in a short prologue flashback (I think we even see Rhodan at one point).  But post “After Earth” era planet Earth only has skeletal dragons flying around besides the big guy himself.  Where’s everything else?  Where’s Rhodan?  King Gidorah?  Something else other than…skeletal dragons (which would sound cool in literally anything else).  And what of Godzilla?  He looks menacing enough but he doesn’t really do much.  Then again, being shot at by annoying mechas led by a military maniac, id ignore everything too and just keep walking.  He does get a couple of cool new attacks but for the most part, yeah Godzilla isn’t really allowed to cut loose like he did in Shin Godzilla or the 2014 US Godzilla movie (which the latter is saying a lot since he was barely in that film as it was). 

The more I kept watching Planet of the Monsters, the more frustrated and angry I became.  Spending almost an hour of a 90minute feature getting to Godzilla and focusing on less than likeable human characters is unacceptable.  I’ve said a ton about Haruo being the leader, I don’t want to say more.  Worse for me is that this film was written by Gen Urobuchi, the writer behind Fate/Zero, Madoka Magica and Psycho Pass.  Sure the film tries to sound existential and profound at times but when your cast lacks any common sense and possesses a ton of faulty logic…well let’s put it this way, you know your movies done wrong when Haruo tries to give an impassionate speech and I just mute the TV and put on the “dramatic” speech Jean Claude Van Damme’s Guile spouts out in the Street Fighter movie cause it’s just as dumb but way more entertaining. 

By the time the end credits rolled on Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters, I was at least happy that there was a good theme song to close out this rage fest.  I wasn’t a fan of the animation (even on Godzilla and the mecha) and I can see why this 3D Anime style has had a hard time catching on overall.  The story fell apart thanks to infuriating characters and beyond faulty logic (even at the end of the world, someone needs to have a working brain).  The action doesn’t excite and borders on tedious, especially when I don’t want any of the cast to survive.  And they expect this to be a trilogy of films?  It’s happening whether I like it or not but the King deserves far better than this. 

It’s funny, I just did a Top 5 on my list of worst titles ive reviewed here on the Anime Corner…well guess which title will be eligible for Part 2 of that list should it ever come to pass?  Do yourself a favor, skip Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters and check out Shin Godzilla instead.  I know I had to pop in the blu ray to wash the bad taste of this film out of my mouth.

3/10

One Punch Man Part 4 Episodes 10-12

Days after a fortune teller predicts a great calamity befalling the planet, a giant spaceship appears over Z-City.  Threat level “Dragon” is declared and the entire S Class roster is summoned to the Heroes Association HQ.  And because he’s got nothing better to do at the moment, Saitama comes along too at Genos’ request.  As an army of powerful heroes prepares to take on an Alien invasion, it’s Saitama who will stand as the chosen one for Boros, the Dominator of the Universe.  He’s long sought a foe to reignite his passion for battle and even Saitama’s one punch victory wont be enough to bring him down…and Saitama could not be happier about that.

You know, there are some points when watching a certain show, that you have to just take a breath, sit back, ignore logic, shut off your brain and say “Yep…that just happened.”  While it wasn’t a totally perfect finale, the end of One Punch Man had a lot of moments that fit that description.  I was hoping Saitama would knock it out of the park at the finish line.  When it comes to him and his character, FRAK YES he did just that.

With the end of the season (yes season, more on that in a bit) in sight, it was time to pull out all of the stops.  This meant an epic gathering of heroes, unstoppable henchmen and, most importantly, a villain even Saitama couldn’t beat in one punch.  The Class S heroes left a lot to be desired.  Like many other characters, they boast way too much and don’t seem as impressive as they should.  Martial Arts Master Bang was probably my favorite just because he’s cool with Saitama and Genos.  But thankfully, my girl Terrible Tornado got to finally show off her amazing powers and she left me wanting more.  I think I at last have found a new waifu who can stand with my infamous trio of Sailor Mars, Misato Katsuragi and Rin Tohsaka.  That being said, if Tornado can basically summon meteors and stop giant projecticles with her powers…how come she couldn’t end this all on her own?  She is the second highest ranked Class S hero after all.  Thankfully, the C class heroes, led by Mumen Rider, stood out once again.  They weren’t focused on showing off or glory like their higher ranked comrades.  They wanted to save lives pure and simple.  So…are the rankings kind of BS cause the ones with little power and in the lower classes feel more like real heroes here compared to the upper echelon (except for Genos, he’s a hero through and through, even if he doesn’t do anything in the finale).

Well the good stuff had to fall to Saitama and his long awaited battle with the space warrior Boros did not disappoint.  I haven’t given Studio Madhouse the credit it deserves for its astounding job animating One Punch Man, it truly is a good looking show.  Watching some of the final battle, especially when Boros powers up beyond and beyond all manners of reason, I felt like I was watching a Studio Gainax production like FLCL or Gurren Lagann.  Lots of sketches and colors flashing across a page at once in a wacky fashion, not that im complaining, it just felt like another animation studio.  But yeah im not knocking it.  The overall battle blew everything before it away.  For a while, I was worried Saitama would come out a little worse for wear.  But as the battle got more intense, the more One Punch Man stuck to its brand of humor.  Hell Saitama got knocked to the Moon and he spent a couple seconds testing the gravity like trying out a new mattress before going back to Earth.  It was a battle you could take seriously, especially when Boros didn’t die from one punch like everyone else, but one where you still cant stop laughing at the absurdity of it all.  And according to Boros, he could tell Saitama wasn’t even at full power…FREAKING WHAAAAT!???  That just makes your head spin from all the awesome.  This showdown is the stuff legends of Anime are made of.

Which leaves the fallout a bit…of a letdown.  The S Class heroes recover and wonder how the hell the alien spaceship fell and how the battle was simply over.  Amai Mask shows up to poster and show off a bit of why he might be the series greatest threat one day.  Genos, who does absolutely nothing in the finale, gets a hint of a traitor in the Heroes Association.  And Saitama emerges, with a bit of dirt but alive, only to be berated by Tornado, who boasts about how she could’ve settled this all on her own (so why didn’t she?).  That last part was probably the only bit I didn’t mind, back to business as usual…just with some cute Tornado action thrown in to make me happy.  Actually, it’s kind of a good thing OPM is getting a second season.  Because if the show was ending with so much mystery behind the scenes with the Heroes Association, id have to dock a point or two cause that group was easily one of the low points of the season, for me at least. 

I guess that brings me to my Final Thoughts.  If you’ve grown tired of the recent trend of superhero films (whether too formulaic like Marvel or too depressing like DC) One Punch Man is the series for you.  Every superhero trope is targeted and joked about from super serious heroes to the elaborate backstories of even the most minor of bad guys.   Saitama is one of the best Anime characters hands down in recent history.  He’s an average joe with the power of a God but he’s the most down to Earth guy you’ll ever meet.  While there were one or two “ok” episodes in the first season, Saitama always had a stand out moment in each, even if it was just a simple reaction to the danger around him.  Plus you’ve got a pretty diverse cast (youre sure to find a favorite like Genos, Mumen Rider, Tornado or Bang) and some of the most creative and overthetop battles in Anime period, some that even make DBZ drop its jaw.  Had the Heroes Association been a bit of a stronger element and the S Class heroes done a bit more to entertain, One Punch Man could very well have gotten a 10/10 (and if I had judged this based on the first 3 episodes alone, you bet this would have that number).  In the end, ill give it a 9/10.  If you want to laugh at the superhero genre in all the right ways, this show is for you.  And yes, this is only the first season (it is based on a Shonen Manga after all).  Which means that hopefully in 2018 we’ll see Saitama’s return to the screen…and hope that his second outing can measure up to, if not surpass, this stellar first season.

Whew, hard to believe it’s over.  But 2018’s just getting started.  Check back next week as I begin an Adult Swim Anime Classic that they say is pretty terrible.  Will I find something to like about Pilot Candidate?  Or is this the next Silent Mobius for me?  The journey to the answer begins next week.  See ya then everyone.

T5W#127-Top 5 Worst Titles Ive Reviewed on the Anime Corner

Not all Anime is perfect.  For every five amazing titles one might watch, there will always be just as many that just plain suck or worse.  Here on the Anime Corner, ive been a bit lucky that the amount of decent to great Anime ive reviewed has far outweighed the stinkers.  Still, that doesn’t mean I haven’t stumbled across a title that’s one of the worst of the worst, or at the very least incredibly disappointing.  So for this weeks Top 5, bracing for the possibility that another title might join this roster one day this year, I’m looking at the Top 5 Worst Titles Ive Reviewed on the Anime Corner.  To qualify for this list, each title has to have earned at least below a 5/10, though maybe if I do a future list I might up that to a 6/10 cause even some 5/10’s are pretty bad.  Eh that’s a sequel list for another time.  Onto the current Top 5.

 

#5-Inuyasha: The Movie 4-Fire on the Mystic Island (4/10)

Of the four Inuyasha movies, this one is the least memorable for the fact that it is both confusing and boring as hell.  At least the first two films had some good Inuyasha/Kagome moments and the third actually had merit to be a lore expanding Inuyasha entry.  Fire on the Mystic Island is as generic a Shonen Action film as you can get: forgettable quest, forgettable villains, annoying side characters.  This pretty much represents how bad the filler in the show was getting, which eventually drew me away from it, sadly.  I don’t remember needing to write much about this one.  Because if you’re going to throw crappy effort into an Inuyasha film, why should I give more effort to review something that I could do in two simple words: it sucks.

 

#4-Robotech II: The Sentinels (3/10)

Watching this film, I can see why this Robotech sequel didn’t get off the ground.  The Sentinels, comprised of the only three episodes every produced, is a ton of build up to one momentous occasion.  And while the long awaited Rick Hunter/Lisa Hayes wedding is heartwarming, it doesn’t change the fact that there is a ton of focus on characters we don’t know or care about.  Any action involves zero Veritechs and takes place all off world.  The mechs don’t look good but then again the animation feels subpar compared to Macross, then again The Sentinels wasn’t based on an existing Anime this time either.  This is where “The Sentinels Curse” began for Robotech, as no other project created for the fondly remembered franchise has ever made it past one teeny feature every once in a while.

 

#3-X: An Omen (0/10)

One of the most pointless Anime in existence, the only reason I reviewed this Episode 0 OVA was to just complete the series and that’s all.  There’s nothing new added to this extended look inside the heads of one of the most criminally underwritten characters, Kaykyo...unless you wanted to see him get pestered by the overly obnoxious Hokuto.  Honestly, the only reason to watch “An Omen” is if you don’t have time to watch all 24 episodes of the X TV Series and just want to check out a 30 minute abridged version that spoils the entire plot in bullet point mode.  It was so pointless, it got a 0/10, but trust me, even with that there are worse on this list

 

#2-Silent Mobius: The Series (4/10)

Every week I think I mentioned the sheer potential of this concept at least once and each week I wept at how the show squandered it.  Five women, all beautiful, all with their own unique skills in tech or magic, teaming up to battle demons in the future.  How could it all go so wrong?  Well the faults like with below half assed animation that cant make up its mind if it wants to be handdrawn or cell shaded; terrible writing; a forgettable cast; and just making me pissed that this Anime was inspired by Blade Runner.  And yet with all that said, the “finale” is still one big setup for a Season Two that (thankfully) never came about.  But then again, how the hell did the producers think that was going to happen when barely any heart was put into the “first season” to begin with.  While the movies were just the beginning of the story, at least they were better overall compared to this disappointment…and suddenly 4/10 seems overly generous.

 

#1-Dragon Ball Z: The Movie-Bio Brolly (0/10)

They said this was the worst of the DBZ movies and I just had to tempt fate.  One of the best villains in Dragon Ball Z history is reduced to a five minute glob of goo who is easily defeated by two of the worst characters in the entire show.  Bio Brolly is a cocktail of everything that was wrong with Z at the time: Goten and Trunks, piss jokes, potty humor, Trunks mooning a villain, undervaluing its powerful female characters (twice in this case, with Android 18 here and Videl in the prior movie).  Even most of the better characters are nowhere to be found, which may be a good thing considering how bad this one turned out to be.  In fact, Bio Brolly is a movie I despise so much that it was the first, very first feature covered on this blog to receive a 0/10 score.  If someone gives this to you as a gift, give them a hug and thank them for trying…then burn the DVD with fire (preferably in an oven).

One Punch Man Part 3 Episodes 7-9

An enormous meteor speeds towards Earth.  The vicious Sea King and his minions rise to claim the surface for their own.  As the mighty heroes fall one after another, all hope seems lost.  That is until he comes in.  His name is Saitama and he’s…well he’s just kind of passing through and has nothing of importance on his plate at the moment.  He’s looking for good, strong opponents but might find one in maintaining his rep within the Heroes Association.  All the eyes of the city are looking to this man who can end battles in one punch.  But is Saitama a savior or a cheater in disguise?  Better yet…does Saitama even care?  Probably not but that’s life for him I guess.

Well my hopes of Saitama getting into a battle royale with the Class S heroes never came true.  Still, that didn’t stop One Punch Man from delivering two more memorable battles and events that elevate Saitama to higher levels…what kind of levels is up to the viewer. 

It’s hard to gauge Saitama sometimes.  He wants to be known to the world but doesn’t want the recognition that comes with it?  He defeats a foe that no one else can, not even Genos, yet he claims he was simply capitalizing on the effort of heroes who already wore the enemy out?  Don’t get me wrong, Saitama isn’t a bad guy, not at all.  He does use his powers for good, even though he only seems to be thinking about something tedious like dinner while using them in battle.  I guess seeing him take a hit so that the reputations of Genos, Mumen Rider and the other heroes who couldn’t beat the Sea King was as humble as we’ve seen him yet.  Saitama’s just a guy who goes about his business and is more carefree and selfless as any character ive seen in an Anime.  He just…does what he does, even if it just so happens to involve beating up the Sea King or punching a FREAKING METEOR OUT OF THE SKY.  Truly, Saitama is the hero Anime deserves and ill stand by that sentiment, even if I still need to watch one more week of episodes to solidify that declaration.

That’s not to say other characters got overshadowed by Saitama.  The Sea King story really didn’t need to be two parts, in my opinion.  It felt padded out just to throw in more “heavy hitter” Class S heroes when really their time could have been cut down considerably.  Really, it was all building up to Mumen Rider and Genos making one incredibly defiant stand against the monster who could not be taken down.  Genos got the most stylish fight of the show so far, echoing his Dragon Ball Z inspired training match with Saitama.  But Mumen Rider’s futile stand was very My Hero Academia.  Even before we saw him face a monster he had no chance in hell of defeating (he’s a good fighter but doesn’t have super strength and rides a simple bycicle), we saw civilians stepping up to defend the shelter housing survivors from the Sea King attack.  Wow, that definitely gets the heart pumping.  It also made truly worry that, for a show as hilarious as One Punch Man is, things were going to take a line crossing turn.  Would Genos and Mumen Rider really bite it (especially Genos, gahhhh seeing his body get melted by acid was horrifying).  I guess there was a lot of material that it wouldntve been able to fit in one episode.  If I had to make a final call on it, the second part was much stronger than Part 1, which had a lot of build up but merely just felt like the first “ok” episode of One Punch Man when everything else has been excellent.  Worse yet, the Sea King Part 1 was sandwhiched between it’s second half AND Saitama and Genos going all out against the meteor (btw DAMN is Genos well animated and cool with his super cyborg buster arms).

In the end, Saitama made a friend of Mumen Rider and now there’s someone, other than Genos, who truly knows that Saitama isn’t a fake out to take the credit of other heroes.  Saitama’s subsequent bump up to another rank tells us the Heroes Association is finally taking notice as well.  I still don’t get how Amai Mask fits into all of this.  Is the ultimate Class S hero destined to get the crap knocked out of him by Saitama or Genos…cause id be ok with that arrogant jerk getting laid out like that.  It’s almost hard to believe ive blown through this show so quickly and that next week is the series (or rather season) finale.  One Punch Man so far has lived up to the hype, despite a couple of stumbles this week.  Let’s see if it can hit it out of the park one more time next week.

PS

“Threat Level Dragon” sounds so cool and I love the other names for the danger rankings for the city.

T5W#126-Top 5 Anime Super Powers

It’s the dream every kid has had at least once in their life, whether watching a cartoon or picking  up a comic book.  Even if you didn’t want to be a superhero, you always wanted a specific super power to make your life easier or more awesome.  You’ve always got your standard picks: flight, super speed, invisibility, time halting, etc.  Anime, I think, likes to go beyond the basics and really branch out.  Sure you could be invulnerable like Superman, a warrior like Wonder Woman or intelligent like Batman.  But what if you added a bit more “edge” to all of them?  So, that’s what todays Top 5 is all about.  I taking a look at my Top 5 Anime Superpowers, ones that go beyond the norm and into the realm of OP and yet still so freaking cool.

 

#5-Spirit Gun (Yu Yu Hakusho)

This is probably the most basic of super powers on this list but come on.  Didn’t you wish when you made the finger gun gesture that you could ctually fire an energy beam from it?  Yusuke Urameshi’s signature technique can simply stun a human being or turn into a Kamehameha Wave fired from his little finger.  It truly is, as Yu Yu Hakusho Abridged puts it, a true “FINGER BANG!!!””

 

#4-Super Saiyan (Dragon Ball Z)

In middle school, everyone wanted to hope that this was attainable after we found out about it.  The feeling of ascending to near Godhood by getting incredibly pissed off (which is even more funny since Super Saiyan God mode is cannon now, more or less replacing Super Saiyan 4).  Man if this were real and a kid actually managed to break the boundary and claim that golden glow…no one in school would dare mess with him ever again.  This goes double if they hit SSJ3 and can unleash a punch that produces an EPIC GOLDEN DRAGON!!!

 

#3-Esper (One Punch Man)

After seeing some of Terrible Tornado in action, the classic class of esper that was hugely popular in the late 80’s and early 90’s in Anime suddenly became a favorite of mine again.  Without spoiling too much since we haven’t seen her in action yet, let’s just say Tornado lives up to her promise with her psychic abilities, doing more than just levitating things (and looking sexy in her black dress but that’s another topic all together).  Could an Esper match a Super Saiyan in battle?  I don’t know but I’d love to see that fight.

 

#2-Unlimited Blade Works (Fate/Stay Night)

An armory of never ending blades encased in a bloodied landscape…I could definitely get behind that.  As a big fan of the swordsman, especially Knights and Samurai, the Noble Phantasm of Archer in Fate/Stay Night would be a power I’d love to have.  Being able to summon almost any bladed weapon at will (and I’m sure you could somehow forge a gun or two), you’d never run out of ammo and you could choose any favorite to aid you in battle.  Samurai Katanna? Good start.  Move up to Claymore? Definitley.  Summon a Gunblade or Cloud’s Buster Sword?  With the power of Unlimited Blade Works, the sky is the limit.

 

#1-Alucard God Mode (Hellsing Ultimate)

Before Aizen from Bleach and Naraku from Inuyasha abused this to death, there was the vampire Alucard and his nigh level of ferocious invincibility.  When Integra unleashes his “Level 0” abilities, Alucard becomes the reckoning and devours and slaughters everything in his path.  You could lob a nuke at him and he’d either swallow it up or take it in stride and laugh all the way. On a really, really, REALLY bad day…yeah that’s the kind of power id like to have…to you know, blow off some steam.

One Punch Man Part 2 Episodes 4-6

With the House of Evolution crushed, Saitama now has two big problems on his plate.  First, he has a new disciple in Genos…and literally nothing of value to teach him.  Second, Saitama isn’t a widely recognized hero.  At the suggestion of Genos, Saitama goes to sign up with the Hero Registry.  But it turns out there’s more to being a hero than just having the power of a God in your body.  If Saitama cant find a way to bump up his ratings, he’ll just end up more forgotten than he already is.  And when Genos is accepted into a class higher than Saitama, how will this affect the growing bond between “Master and Student”?

Terrorists threatening destruction in order to help the lower class get free food…yeah that would be boring to Saitama.  BUT Terrorist threating destruction in order to help the lower class get free food…who are also stealing Saitama’s bald headed look?  THAT is something the One Punch Man will not let stand.  It’s good to see that, contrary to any fears I had before, this show has not lost its amazing sense of humor after a brilliant opening act.  There might’ve been a pacing issue or two here and there.  Overall, if last week was about introducing us to the chill awesomeness that is Saitama, this week was about introducing us to the world he lives in.

It’s hard to tell which world takes its superherodom more seriously: One Punch Man or My Hero Academia.  Sticking with One Punch Man though, I do like the diversity of its heroes.  Many designs seem DIY mixed with a more traditional style of superhero wardrobe.  Anyone can be a hero it seems, so long as they are signed up with the Hero Registry.  This concept seems like a less brutal version of the Superhero Registration Act that was part of the Marvel Universe for a little bit.  If you aren’t signed up, you can still be a hero, you just don’t get a lot of recognition…or pay for that matter.  It’s kind of funny.  For being so detached and bored with being a hero, Saitama still wants to be known.  You’d think he would be anyway, given when he’s done and the villains he’s taken down.  By the end of this weeks set, he might wish he’d stayed off the radar but ill get to that in a bit.

While the scenes involving the higher ups at the Hero Association don’t go on for very long, they were probably my least favorite scenes so far.  Clearly theyre meant to be a parallel between the more super serious take on being a superhero as opposed to Saitama being Saitama.  Still, they didn’t seem as funny as they could be.  Now the heroes sent into battle, that was another thing, along with the villains they fought.  I got one of the best laughs of the series involving quick moving Ninja, Speed-O-Sound Sonic.  He may be bad ass with a sword but an accidental punch to the balls courtesy of Saitama was comedy gold (cudos to the technical difficulties insert card right when it happened). Golden Ball’s sling shot bullets and Spring Mustachio’s extendable also got a fun scene trying to take down Infinity Kombu, who itself was also highly entertaining.  Yet the one new character who holds the most promise didn’t do much besides float and pout.  I’m talking about Terrible Tornado, a cute ethereal powered superheroine.  A lot of characters like to boast about their powers but I wonder if she could actually be the challenge Saitama is looking for.

Speaking of the One Punch Man, Saitama’s shoulder shrugging reactions to everything around him continue to be the highlight of this show.  From just wanting to go home and not fight Speed-O-Sound Sonic, to suddenly forgetting an important food ingredient before being attacked by Infinity Kombu, we all wish we could be as chill as Saitama when it comes to this thing called life.  Not that he’s being lazy all the time.  Saitama and Genos got one awesome training match in on a scale that, I dare say, dwarfs even Dragon Ball Z.  Genos might have some sweet combat moves to him, along with some new upgrades.  But much like Carnage Kabuto in the House of Evolution, even the Cyborg had to feel a huge shred of fear when Saitama finally got serious and punched a hole through the canyon they were battling in.  It’s easy to be impressed by Saitama’s strength but im more impressed with how cool he is afterwards.  The dinner scene at the noodles shop following such a big fight was perfect: kick ass during the day, have a pot o noddles after, that is what’s best in life.  I did fear that Genos’ insertion into a high ranking hero class would dent his friendship with Saitama, and it still could given how the shady Amai Mask seems to be approaching him.  However, Genos coming to live with Saitama put those fears aside for now and I cant wait to see the comedy that comes from Master and Student living under the same roof.

Gotta say though, I love the cliffhanger ending this week.  Saitama may be good at saving the day…but the rest of the world is now gunning for him, believing he’s the ultimate threat to both humans and the monsters of City Z.  What’s more, no one knows it’s Saitama himself, they just know someone is walking around causing havoc and its enough to scare good guys and bad guys.  Could we be looking at a battle royale between Saitama and all of the Hero Registry’s best?  He may suck at written exams but we’ve seen enough of Saitama’s power to know that numbers aren’t enough to stop him.  If anything can we at least get Saitama vs. Terrible Tornado?  We’ll see what comes from this next week, see ya then.

T5W#125-Top 5 New Years Resolutions for Anime Corner 2018

2017 is over, done with, gonzo.  With 2018 now underway, it’s time for me to think about what I’d personally like to do with this blog over the next year.  How should I expand it?  Does anything already established need to be addressed?  Where do I feel like I stand more than almost 4 years into this little project?  This list took a while, for a minute I didn’t think I was actually going to go through with it.  But looking around and some heavy thinking later, ive got it, my Top 5 New Years Resolutions for Anime Corner 2018.  These are the ideas I want to build upon in the coming months and do my hardest to make a reality, for me as a reviewer and an Anime fan and for you guys, the readers and fellow Anime Fans Im happy to share my thoughts with.

 

#5-Cosplay Shout Outs

Cosplay is a very strong part of the Anime community.  Through the hard work of gifted nerds, various fan favorites can be brought to life with their own unique spins.  In the past I have done a couple of cosplayer shoutouts but ive never done like a Top 5 or so often cause…well I mostly know female cosplayers and just saying “Theyre hot” feels shallow and wrong.  If I wanted to do proper tributes id go a bit more in depth as to why theyre so good at what they do.  Maybe ill make this a once or twice a month feature depending on when I start it. 

 

#4-Writing More in Advance

Currently, im working two jobs, one during the day and the other at night.  That means finding time to watch Anime and review it is becoming more and more scarce.  Often times ill come home from my night job and stay up an hour or so just to work on stuff for me and, sometimes, that includes working on blog content.  Back in late October 2017, I ended up watching all of Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid in a single day and took time after each disc to write my reviews.  It freed up more time for me, knowing all of my reviews for a single month were written and good to go. I actually, more or less, did the same thing for Gundam Wing last summer and I want to try and do more of that this year.  The more stuff I have written out ahead of time, the more assurance I have it’ll get posted on time and itll mean ill have more chances to work on other projects related to the Anime Corner.

 

#3-Videos 

Ive never thought about doing Video Reviews before.  That requires a lot of editing, voicework, clip research, tons of stuff.  And given how I kind of stopped doing AMV Fridays way back when here on the Anime Corner because I thought I got flagged for copyright issues, it’s never really dawned on me to do anything else in that field.  Still, looking back on a couple of promo videos I made for upcoming reviews, as well as video tours of the places ive attended for conventions, it might not be a bad time to revisit these ideas.  Video Reviews, those ill have to still think on.  The convention tours and maybe a few videos from panels, photoshoots, dance offs and more, that might be a bit more doable.

 

#2-Convention Reports 

I know ive done Top 5’s on these over the years and ill continue to do them in the future.  However, I am sitting on a few years worth of more detailed reports ive written to cover my time at multiple Otakon and Katsucon Conventions.  Perhaps its time to let them see the light of day.  They’d require a little bit of editing but I think it would be fun to share more of my experiences with everyone.  These could very well take the place of First Impression Fridays until I decide to bring those back.  Just as well, as Katsu approaches and Otakon is, for the moment, in the cards for August, maybe ill start sharing them closer to their next events.  We’ll see

 

#1-Back to Basics 

2017 sucked on many life levels.  Many times, I found that affected my writing here at the Anime Corner.  I could feel I just wasn’t having fun anymore working on certain reviews.  Full Metal Panic Season 1 was a definite victim of this as I could feel little joy starting a project that would last me most of the year.  Well 2018 is where I try to find that spark again and apply to every show and movie I review.  Plus, I have found that ranting about a bad show like Silent Mobius can be kind of liberating too.  Does this mean seeking out more classic titles?  Going after titles that I know have a rep for being terrible?  Im not sure but I need to reignite my Anime and Film Reviewer passions big time this year.  After all, this is supposed to be for fun right, not a job.