When it comes to telling even the most basic of stories, there are six main questions you must adhere to at all times. Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? Even if your story turns to crap because you cant explain a plot point or explore a character arc properly, if you make an attempt to answer all of those questions, you’ll be fine. So why does Twilight Axis seem incapable of following even those most basic storytelling steps? What should have been a great tale to add to the Universal Century saga turned into a poorly made stew of random scenes cobbled together by someone trying to make their first AMV more than an actual project for a long running franchise.
Just an Anime fan sharing his opinions and love for Anime. Most reviews are from my own personal collection. But I might throw in some theatrical reviews as well if I see em. Def look for a lot of old school titles to show up here. It's where I got my Anime start and theyre titles that should never be forgotten.
Thursday, December 31, 2020
Mobile Suit Gundam: Twilight Axis
After War Gundam X Part 8 Episodes 36-39
So before we begin this review properly, let’s talk about the black mark on Gundam X. The show debuted following the conclusion of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing and went on to become the first Gundam series since the original 1979 series to be cancelled before the end of it’s planned 49 episode run. There’s no single concrete reason for this, there are quite a few actually. Some say that Japan had begun to experience a bit of franchise fatigue with Gundam. Gundam X was the 4th consecutive show to air on Japanese airwaves in 4 years after 1993’s Mobile Suit Victory Gundam; 1994’s Mobile Fighter G Gundam; and 1995’s aforementioned Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. Others would claim that X lacked the same massive appeal that Wing had in the past. Then there’s the possible poor Gunpla sales (not surprising since the mecha weren’t all that great in this show). But most notably, the poor ratings of Gundam X had it moved to a dead of night time slot that all but sealed its fate. And…that’s kind of a shame. If Gundam X had those other 10 episodes, the second half could have been much smoother and fleshed out instead of the rushed finale that we got. The finale wasn’t terrible but the force of behind the scenes drama could be felt in spades. What we have, is what we have. So did Gundam X end on a decent note at least?
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
T5W#281-Top 5 Best Titles Ive Reviewed in 2020
After War Gundam X Part 7 Episodes 31-35
When it comes to Gundam, I’ve always enjoyed seeing Mobile Suits in space. There’s just something grand about it and it’s giant robots battling in the sea of stars…it doesn’t get more scifi than that to me. So it’s about time we managed to get there, even if, just like Turn A Gundam, it might’ve been a super brief stay.
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
After War Gundam X Part 6 Episodes 26-30
Between being dragged into a war for the future of a country and the abduction of their most precious crew member, Garrod and the gang are not getting any post Christmas breaks and it looks like things are actually going to get a lot worse before Gundam X reaches it's conclusion…it’s kind of exciting too in many ways.
Monday, December 28, 2020
After War Gundam X Part 5 Episodes 21-25
Up until now, Gundam X has been a bit about a group of humans eeking out a living in a post apocalyptic Earth while trying to find other Newtypes who may or may not need their help. All of that has changed now. The second half of the series kicks off by sending the Freeden and her crew in a new direction, one that will see them at the forefront of a conflict I’m sure they hoped would never come again.
Friday, December 25, 2020
Neon Genesis Evangelion Retrospective-Christmas Day Special
After War Gundam X Part 4 Episodes 16-20
Before we begin properly, Merry Christmas everyone from the Gundam Anime Corner.
It can be hard for a series with a near 50 episode count to maintain good momentum all the way from beginning to end. There are rare exceptions to this rule like Fullmetal Alchemist (the 2003 series or Brotherhood) and even the original Mobile Suit Gundam had a pretty solid run (save for one episode so infamously bad that Tomino refuses to let it see a US release). But filler is an eventuality. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t…and sometimes you get a storyline where Tiffa helps Echo the Dolphin save his family from pirates…NANI!!!!????
Thursday, December 24, 2020
After War Gundam X Part 3 Episodes 11-15
When Gundams battle in the frozen tundra, they know how to heat it up fast. While I’m still not sure where this overall ride is heading, Gundam X’s latest episodes benefited from a good look at a new supporting character while doing further wonders for Garrod’s character and Mobile Suit piloting skill.
Wednesday, December 23, 2020
T5W#280-Top 10 Gundam Nods in Gundam AGE
After War Gundam X Part 2 Episodes 6-10
Jeez that was a doozy of a cliffhanger to end things on. I know I’m jumping ahead but wow, I did not expect Gundam X to go that far by pushing Garrod and his trusty weapon of mass destruction into a hopeless defeat 10 episodes in. Could we be looking at the eventual Double X upgrade next time? Wait, wait, it’s like I’m closing out the review before it’s begun. Let’s take it back.
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
After War Gundam X Part 1 Episodes 1-5
Happy Holidays dear readers and welcome back to this special GundamCember (sans First Impression Friday). Now that Gundam AGE is thankfully out of our way, the second half of December belongs to a potential hidden gem within the franchise: After War Gundam X. This is the series which succeeded Gundam Wing in Japan in 1996 and only saw a US release in 2016. Gundam X is notable for a couple of reasons going in. However, one of those more infamous reasons, it’s unfortunate early cancellation, is something I’ll get into closer to the end of my review of the series. For now, let’s start off at the very beginning and man, what a beginning it is.
Monday, December 21, 2020
Mobile Suit Gundam AGE-Memory of Eden
As of writing this review, Memory of Eden is the absolute last note on the Advanced Generation created for Mobile Suit Gundam AGE. Which, believe it or not is a shame. Gundam AGE is a show chalk full of mistakes from bad pacing to bad writing to bad planning of a multigenerational storyline. Memory of Eden attempts to show us what this series could have been if it had maybe stuck to one single Asuno, in this case Asemu. The results are surprisingly pretty good despite the usual issues that plague a lot of Compilation projects.
Friday, December 18, 2020
Mobile Suit Gundam AGE Part 10 Episodes 45-49
The title of Gundam AGE’s final episode couldn’t be more fitting. This really was The End of a Long Journey across more than half a century of conflict, terrible character writing and some of the stupidest moments in the entire franchise and no amount of nods or omages to past Gundam tropes could save it. This finale was an infuriating mess. It had one maybe two moments that were partly decent but for the most part, this series started unsure of how it was going to handle itself and it ended as one giant cluster cuss of a Gundam show.
Thursday, December 17, 2020
Mobile Suit Gundam AGE Part 9 Episodes 40-44
When I first started Gundam AGE I knew the show had a bad rep amongst the community. And yet my continued interest in the kind of story it was trying to tell always kept it in view (that and its my destiny to watch and review all the main Gundam entries in some way). I know it sounds like im starting Final Thoughts one part too soon. But I can say this without hesitation or any chance of my mind being changed…I hate Gundam AGE and I think after this set it has more than earned the dishonorable distinction of fighting Gundam Seed Destiny for the throne of Worst Gundam Series of All Time.
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
T5W#279-Top 5 Times the Earth Federation were the Bad Guys (or just complete idiots) in Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam AGE Part 8 Episodes 34-39
Ladies and Gentlemen…I didn’t think we could hit a new level of low for Gundam AGE after the Arc 3 premiere. I was wrong, I was so, so wrong. I now find it a bit ironic I’m reviewing this series a few months after I reviewed my eternal nemesis: Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny. Because now Gundam AGE has started teetering into that low. I’m sure I’ve talked a little bit about all the tropes and character beats AGE has been borrowing from all across the Gundam pantheon. But why OH WHY…did it have to borrow from Seed Destiny amongst everything else?
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Mobile Suit Gundam AGE Part 7 Episodes 29-33
Well…here we go again. And I’m not gonna sugar coat it people: I think this is where Gundam AGE is going to start getting really, really bad. We’ve reset the board and jumped another 25 years into the future for what should be the beginning of the end. Unfortunately, Arc 3 is off to a pretty terrible start for a number of reasons, the chief of which is the premise of AGE has kind of worn out its welcome. This might not have been the case if this new opening had been stronger…but it’s by far the weakest beginning, even more so than the classic Gundam opener formula we saw in Arc 1.
Monday, December 14, 2020
Mobile Suit Gundam AGE Part 6 Episodes 25-28
Throughout Gundam AGE thus far, my interest has been waining a bit. This series is rushing through its main story arcs so fast it isn’t allowing time for emotions to set in or major developments to be properly digested. I suppose that was always going to be a curse of this rather unorthodox way of telling a Gundam story as massive as this. However, I can say that unlike the finale of Arc 1, I enjoyed the finale of Arc 2 a lot more. We got some of the best battles in the show, unexpected payoffs and even more unexpected moving sendoffs. And the future of Asemu Asuno looks far more promising than that of his father…who may have just started down the path Harvey Dent was so fond of describing, “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
Friday, December 11, 2020
Mobile Suit Gundam AGE Part 5 Episodes 21-24
The second saga of the Asuno family is running at a break neck pace right now. We kind of breezed through Asemu and Zeheart beginning and unfortunate end of their friendship and jumped right to their new responsibilities with their respective forces. Now we get one major confrontation between the Earth Federation and Vagans along with a few extra surprises and a heaping helping of family drama now that Flit is taking a more active role in the saga. There’s definitely stuff to like but there’s no denying that Gundam AGE is moving too fast for its own good just to get its mini arcs all crammed in and that double edged sword is really showing now.
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Mobile Suit Gundam AGE Part 4 Episodes 16-20
The next chapter begins. If yesterdays set of episodes had to prove Gundam AGE could end one of these mini arcs properly, todays set had to prove it could open them just as well and maybe even iron out some things going forward. Thankfully, the beginning of Asemu’s tale wasn’t as cut and paste as expected but there was one major problem that kept it from being more than it could be.
Wednesday, December 9, 2020
T5W#278-Top 5 Char Clones in Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam AGE Part 3 Episodes 11-15
If there was ever a time when the pressure was on for Gundam AGE, it was now. This set of episodes had a big task ahead of it and its success or failure would set the benchmark for how this multi arc story would be handled across the remainder of its episodes. Could AGE close out Flit Asuno’s saga while laying the groundwork for his son to take over? The answers kind of vary but the end result was…ok. The Battle of Ambat could have been bigger and better but the fallout might just be enough to keep the series going into the next era.
Tuesday, December 8, 2020
Mobile Suit Gundam AGE Part 2 Episodes 6-10
After Monday’s kind of disappointing premiere, im surprised Gundam AGE managed to steady itself a bit this time around. Between some epic battles and some decent world building, the show seems to be making strides to be more than just another basic Gundam imitator. Not all the rough edges we’re smoothed out. But this second set of episodes was a definite improvement over the first for sure.
Monday, December 7, 2020
Mobile Suit Gundam AGE Part 1 Episodes 1-5
Happy Holidays dear readers. Well since I’ve run out of Gundam shows to do a First Impression on, GundamCember wont be seeing a 4th installment this year. However, given how some forced time off has allowed me to check out more shows, I’ve decided to give everyone a special treat for the holidays. So this December, we’ll be looking at not one but TWO Gundam series. I’m not gonna call it Gundam Month Mark V, I’m saving that for something hopefully in 2021. I guess I could still call this GundamCember, just without the First Impression Friday banner…anyway…