Trese Part 1 Episodes 1-3

Alexandra Trese walks a fine line between two worlds in the city of Manila.  Though she is Human, she is also a Protector and Mediator for those who live in the supernatural realms within the city.  When the police receive word of grizzly murders they cant explain, that’s when Trese is called in.  But keeping the peace between Humans and Monsters is no small task and rumors are spreading that the truce that has kept open war from consuming Manila is on the brink.  If Trese can’t find out what’s stirring up trouble, it wont just mean the end of Manila, but the entire world as well.

 
Coming as a request from a friend, we’ll be spending the next couple of reviews in a different part of the Anime world with a dark and exciting new realm to explore.  Based on the Filipino Comic by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo, Trese carries on in the tradition of Anime inspired project like Castlevania, bringing a gory and wondrous mythology to the rest of the world.  I may have my gripes about the lead heroine herself but overall, I’m having a blast in these first three episodes just watching the world and creatures around her. 
 

Toonami Flashback Friday Episode 4-Gundam Rising

It was the beginning of the new millennium, January 2000, when I first caught a 15 second teaser for a show that was destined to change my life forever.  Up close battle cries, explosions, maniacal laughter, GIANT ROBOTS and the promise of “Those who have laid eyes on a Gundam shall not live to tell about it.”  What the hell was “Gundam W”?  Two months later, I got my answer and I have been a fan ever since.  This was the show that challenged Dragon Ball Z for the Toonami throne, the series that blew everyones young mind and became lunch table conversations all week long.  This was Mobile Suit Gundam Wing.
 

Girls und Panzer der Film

Though they have won their High School Tankery Tournament, the Tankery Team of Ooarai Girls High School are devastated to learn that their beloved school is to be closed for good.  As Miho and the others begin to imagine lives apart from one another, a last ditch deal is struck.  If the Ooarai High girls can defeat a college level Tankery Team in a Team Deathmatch style showdown, Ooarai High will remain open.  Their opponents: The University Strengthened Team, led by a prodigy as skilled as Miho, Alice Shimada.  Against overwhelming odds and with the fate of their school on the line, Miho, Saori, Hana, Yukari and Mako will have to call in every favor they have and prepare for the ultimate battle.

Girls und Panzer is a strange series but dammit it works and it works so well.  The idea of cute High School Girls operating vintage World War II tanks in an actual school sport proved to be a hidden gem for me (does it count as a Sports Anime, cause I do find I have soft spots for those).  Having just finished up the TV Series, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Girls und Panzer movie, more of the same just meant to be seen on a bigger screen I guess.  Well there’s a lot of retreading and underutilization when it comes to the story and the characters, old and new.  When it comes to the action, well you know half of you are here for the tank mayhem (1/4^th are also here for the girls and another 1/4^th are here for both in equal measure) and damn if you thought that you got plenty of the good stuff in the TV Series, Tankery has never looked or sounded better than it does here.
 

T5W#337-Top 5 Girls und Panzer Commanders

While we still have one more piece of Girls und Panzer story to look at on Friday with Girls und Panzer der Film, I wanted to use today’s Top 5 Wednesday to talk about how entertaining and great the cast of this show is.  While all of the Tankery Schools are Japanese, each one bases its look and feel off of countries with extensive histories of tank usage. This was a pretty unique aspect to the show and gave us some of the biggest and best personalities for Ooarai Academy to go up against.  So today, I’ll be counting down the Top 5 Girls und Panzer Commanders, the leaders of the Tankery Teams who inspired their comrades and maybe made me laugh a little bit too.
 

Girls und Panzer Part 3 Episodes 9-12

The Student Council finally comes clean about why it is so imperative they win the National Tankery Tournament: if they lose, Ooarai Girls High School will be shut down.  With a new, far more important goal, the Tankery team heads into their final match with additional firepower and theyre going to need it.  Their final opponent is Kuromorimine Girls High School, home to one of the strongest Tankery teams in the world.  And their Commander…is Maho Nishizumi, Miho’s older sister.  It’s all come down to this.  With her team behind her, Miho is determined to show her family that there’s more to Tankery than just victory.

There was a point when I was watching the final match of Girls und Panzer and I suddenly realized: while I really wanted Miho and the girls to come out victorious, if they didn’t win…that was ok too.  The Ooarai Girls have overcome some very tough opponents from across the world and have grown into much stronger and fun loving girls through their time with Tankery.  That means more than any award ever could.  Buuuut there was the matter of their school under the threat of being shut down looming over their heads so they did need to win no matter what.  Never before has “whatever it takes” been so fun to watch.  I’m really gonna miss this show but before I start crying over a feel good finale to a feel good show, let’s break down the final battles.
 

Toonami Flashback Friday Episode 3-Girls Can Play Too

Growing up in the mid to late 90s and just starting to get into Anime, I always saw Anime as kind of a guys only pastime.  From Dragon Ball to Ronin Warriors, there was no denying Anime seemed like a male dominated genre.  Little did we know in the US, that has never been the case for Anime.  There were female power houses galore who were Mecha Pilots and Super Heroes amongst dozens of other professions in Anime.  And one of the eternal megastars of Anime became Toonami’s most powerful and popular Queen when her series finally graced the Anime block in 1998.  She is the one and only, Sailor Moon.

 

Girls und Panzer Part 2 Episodes 5-8

Despite losing their first official match, the resurrection of Ooarai Girls High School Tankery Class has become a resounding success.  With a determined and excited group of students manning the Tanks, Ooarai enters the National Tankery Tournament, which will pit them against the best Tankery crews from across the world.  Thrown back into the Sport she thought she’d left behind, Miho Nishizumi is tapped to become the Commander of her entire team.  But up against the likes of a gung ho American and a battle crazed tiny Russian, will her experience be enough to carry her team to victory?

 
Anime continues to surprise the hell out of me.  I’m sitting here watching a show about school girls ridding around in vintage tanks mostly from World War II and it is working, it really is.  Maybe it’s the fact that the Tank action is top notch and nail biting at times.  Maybe it’s the laid back and feel good attitude and the extremely likeable cast.  Maybe its because somehow action and slice of life have been blended together so well, I wasn’t sure it was possible til i watched it.  And yet here we are, our second review of Girls und Panzer and I’m actually kind of sad it’s only a 12 episode season.  Great binge but besides The Movie that I’ll be reviewing after this is done, that’ll be it for the Ooarai Tankery Club (at least until the Der Finale film series is done).  But that’s Monday’s problems.  Let’s take a look at what we covered today.
 

T5W#336-Top 5 Thoughts on Bleach: The Thousand Year Blood War Arc

So…Bleach is coming back.  Not gonna lie, I knew this was gonna happen eventually but I stopped wondering if it would actually happen a long time ago.  Low and behold though, the tail end of 2021 brought us the first official look at Bleach: The Thousand Years War Arc, the continuation/conclusion to the original Anime that ran from 2004-2012.  Bleach was a mega hit back in the day, becoming a Shonen Legend almost overnight.  So a lot of people are pretty hyped about its return.  Me though?  Am I excited?  Worried?  Has it been too long to care anymore?  Well I’m a little more split on the matter and today I’m gonna talk about my Top 5 Thoughts on Bleach: The Thousand Years War Arc.  Here’s hoping I don’t ruffle any feathers, bear with me.

 

Girls und Panzer Part 1 Episodes 1-4

Ooarai Girls High School used to be home to one of the worlds most prestigious sporting events: Tankery.  Miho Nishizumi is a Tankery superstar from a family of Tankery Superstars but has come to Ooarai to get away from that life.  However, once the Student Council learns Miho has graced their halls, they successfully resurrect the dormant school sport, using Miho’s status to build up a new team and seek challenges from rival school across the globe.  Though Miho is uncertain, the unexpected and genuine bond she forms with her Tankery Team will reignite her love of the sport and spur Miho to head into battle once again.

In all the years I’ve been watching Anime, very little should surprise me when it comes to the medium.  This is Anime we’re talking about and in Anime, literally anything is possible if you have an imagination.  And yes, this also goes for whoever decides to do a pseudo sports/slice of life Anime with vintage Tanks and school girls.  The question is: Does that combo work for Girls und Panzer?  At the end of four episodes, I can say…well it isn’t something you see everyday but I’m certainly here for it.
 

Toonami Flashback Friday Episode 2-Reign of the Dragon

It is a legend of Anime…a series that virtually everyone in the world knows whether they are or aren’t an Anime fan…you know it’s name…and for Toonami, it is the Forever King, the show that made Toonami push forward with its nigh Anime exclusive run for years.  This, Ladies and Gentlemen, is Dragon…Ball…Z!!!!

 

Tenchi Muyo! Part 4 Episodes 11-13

The nefarious Doctor Clay has been dispatched by Lady Tokimi to retrieve Washu from Earth.  To this end, Clay abducts Ryoko and replaces her with a duplicate who ends up falling hard for Tenchi.  Soon, the battle for two souls is on and it’s up to Washu to settle the score with her old foe, Clay.  But this conflict is nothing compared to what’s headed to Earth next: The Jurai Royal family.  What kind of craziness will hit when Tenchi meets his distant relatives from beyond the stars and could it possibly mean the end of his new family here on Earth?  Or is this just the beginning of a larger story?

About a year ago, I reviewed the original Bubblegum Crisis OVA and came away incredibly disappointed.  I knew already it was an unfinished project (even with the subsequent Bubblegum Crash sequel).  Outside of the animation and kick ass soundtrack, BGC was a mess with no story and some of the worst character writing in all of Anime.  I bring this up because we’ve reached the stop point of the original Tenchi Muyo OVA that was shown on Toonami, and thus the only bit of the OVA I’m covering (for now).  There are a lot of unanswered questions, a lack of action or a fun villain like Kagato.  And yet, unlike BGC, Tenchi Muyo manages to wrap up incomplete but still on a decent note that doesn’t leave me the least bit mad.  And no, that’s not just because we’ve got a lot more Tenchi to look forward to later in the year but more on that later.  For now, onto the finale.
 

T5W#335-Top 5 Live Action Anime in Development Hell

Live Action Anime seemed to be on the up and up in the last couple of years, in particular Alita: Battle Angel.  Director James Cameron had long been a fan of this classic cyberpunk action epic and sought to bring it to the big screen for years…then he got bogged down in Avatar and handed the reigns over to Robert Rodriguez and history was made: A Live Action Anime that didn’t suck.  Still, Cameron was talking about Alita in the 90s, it never arrived til 2019.  Live Action Anime are no stranger to “Development Hell”, the place where film and TV Projects all go to sit and wait for someone to care about them enough to see them through to completion.  Some are worth the wait, like Alita or the Rurouni Kenshin Movies…others make us remember why Live Action Anime are best left alone (looking at you Cowboy Bebop).  Today on Top 5 Wendnesday, I’m looking back at some of the titles I’ve either heard about long ago or that I know are still very much in this very special circle of Hell.  These are the Top 5 Live Action Anime in Development Hell.  I should note, I’m picking titles that are currently stalled or that we haven’t heard news about in years.  So the Mobile Suit Gundam movie in the works by Legendary Pictures isn’t going to be on this list cause I know it’s gonna happen…eventually…there’s other Anime that better fit trust me.

Tenchi Muyo! Part 3 Episodes 8-10

Kagato has been defeated.  But a quiet life isn’t exactly what you’ll find in the house of Tenchi Masaki.  Now with five beautiful women from space all living under his roof, it’s a struggle to survive from dawn til dusk for poor Tenchi.  Those same women have their own trials ahead of them too.  Washu finds herself an unexpected mother while Sasami must confront a dark past that could threaten her future.  And, of course, it wouldn’t be a typical day without Ryoko and Ayeka fighting for Tenchi’s affection.  Yep, welcome to Tenchi’s new normal.

Before I begin this review, I should clarify some things.  My intention for 2022 is to review the three Tenchi Muyo shows that aired on Cartoon Network’s Toonami block back in the early 2000’s.  This includes Tenchi Muyo!, Tenchi Universe and Tenchi in Tokyo.  The first of these shows (the one I’m reviewing right now) is an OVA that is STILL ongoing today and when it aired on Toonami, only 2 OVAs out of a current 5 had been aired (the third didn’t even arrive til the mid 2000’s).  As such, I wont be covering this particular era of Tenchi past the two OVAs they aired as one on Toonami.  The first OVA was seven episodes long and covered the arrival of the Tenchi cast and the showdown with Kagato.  This second one is only 6, with an extended finale much like Episode 7 from last time.  Usually, I like to wait until a particular Anime is complete before I review it.  However, since it was unclear if there would be anymore Tenchi OVA’s after this and this was the first Tenchi Muyo I was ever exposed to, I’m making an exception and I will grade these two chapters as one series come Monday.  With all that explained, let’s jump into the second OVA of Tenchi Muyo.
 

Toonami Flashback Friday Episode 1-In the Beginning…the 80s came back

Welcome Dear Readers and Toonami Faithful to a Gundam Anime Corner Special Event looking back at the history of Cartoon Networks Toonami.  From major titles to important programming blocks, if it had an impact, I’ll be looking at it, though I’ll be focusing a lot on the early days of Toonami since they were kind of my Anime origins.  Speaking of, lets begin at the beginning of Toonami…back when it was Moltar from Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, playing MC and not Tom.

 
Toonami launched on March 17, 1997.  While it is widely known to the world as the premiere spot for Anime, Anime wasn’t first and foremost on Cartoon Networks mind at first conception.  As such, there was only one Anime title released in the initial 4-6pm Monday-Friday block alongside Thundercats and The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest.  That Anime, was Voltron.
 

Tenchi Muyo! Part 2 Episodes 5-7

Kagato, an infamous space criminal, has come to Earth seeking a secret Jurian power source long hidden there.  Turns out, poor Tenchi is in possession of that power and now has to fend off a villain who has the power to destroy planets and even turn Ryoko against them.  Totally outmatched and underpowered, Tenchi and friends must use every trick up their sleeve, and a brand new ally, to stop Kagato’s reign of terror before he threatens to destroy the entire universe.  The time for Tenchi to step forward and accept his destiny has come.

With the bulk of the main cast introduced last time, Tenchi returned to kick things into high gear with its sophomore set of episodes.  For the most part, the wacky harem hijinks took a backseat to a much more serious story that saw the “death” and return of our main hero, a pretty snazzy dressed villain and all the Star Wars imagery you could handle.  It was a change of pace but it was still awesome, cause Tenchi is awesome and I’m glad I’m along for the ride.
 

T5W#334-Top 5 Most Anticipated Anime of 2022

Every year, the world of Anime continues to grow and evolve.  Fresh new IPS take a shot at the big time while a dozen new Issekai try to break new ground and never come close to matching the popularity of Sword Art Online.  For me, I’m always open to new stories but it’s the ones I grew up with, that got me into Anime that will always take priority.  2022 will see the end of new legends and the return of some familiar ones we haven’t seen in a lonnnnng time.  I don’t know if I’ll be watching all of them but you can bet I’ll keep a close eye on them (maybe even line up one or two of them for reviews, you never know).  So, to kick off our 2022 slew of Top 5 Wednesdays, lets look at my Top 5 Most Anticipated Anime of 2022.

 

Tenchi Muyo! Part 1 Episodes 1-4

Deep in rural Japan, Tenchi Masaki is a high school student with an uncertain destiny.  Said destiny comes calling when Tenchi accidentally awakens an ancient demon from her slumber.  This kicks off a series of events that sees Tenchi battling monsters from history and from beyond the stars themselves.  Joining him are a slew of beautiful maidens, each with amazing abilities and all vying for the most important treasure in the universe: Tenchi’s heart.  Never has one young man ever been so lucky…here’s hoping Tenchi lives long enough to choose while girl becomes his bride.

Every once in a while, I like to look at a complete (ish) franchise over the course of a single year.  In 2017 it was Full Metal Panic.  In 2019 it was Slayers.  This year, 2022…well I guess I’m looking at 2 franchises since im also doing Fullmetal Alchemist.  Right here and now though, we’re delving into the series that was probably many Anime fans first introduction to the Harem genre: where one young man gets to live out the ultimate fantasy of being the object of several girls affections…whether it costs him his life or not.  Intergalactic beauties and space battles and villains of unimaginable power…and the one guy unlucky enough to be in the middle of it all.  Welcome, Dear Readers, to Tenchi Muyo!
 

Toonami Flashback Friday Announcement

March 17, 1997.  It was a day that will live in infamy.  What started as a brand new afternoon action block for the still growing Cartoon Network would become a first home haven for the Anime Commiunity and, for me, the true birthplace of my Anime fandom.  It is the block that introduced me to Super Saiyans, Sailor Senshi, Mobile Suits, Zentradi, Robeasts, Caster Guns, Light Hawk Wings and more.  It would see many iterations, a couple of iconic hosts and a lifetime of ups, downs and even an end and a resurrection. I am, of course, talking about Cartoon Networks TOONAMI.  It’s been 25 years since Moltar from Space Ghost: Coast to Coast launched the very first Toonami broadcast from the halls of Ghost Planet Industries.  We’ve come a long way from there, soaring across the stars with TOM and Sara aboard the Absolution and traversing the Anime multiverse and shows that changed my life forever.  This year Dear Readers, Toonami gets its due at the Gundam Anime Corner with TOONAMI FLASHBACK FRIDAYS!!!

 

Welcome to the Gundam Anime Corner 2022

A wise woman once said, “The Net is vast and infinite.”  Withing that expanse of digital wonder and chaos is this little neck of the woods I call my own.  This, Dear Readers, is the Gundam Anime Corner.  We enter 2022 coming up on the 8^th Anniversary of this blogs existence.  Started back in 2014, the Gundam Anime Corner began as a creative exercise to keep me writing regularly and eventually focus more on short story writing.  Ironically, short stories got pushed to the wayside in favor of me talking about all the Anime I had in my sizeable DVD/Blu-Ray collection.  What began with a review of the first half of Eden of the East has grown and evolved over the last 8 years.  Top 5 lists, First Impressions and, at last, Anime to Manga Comparisons have joined weekly reviews of giants like Neon Genesis Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Macross and, of course, Mobile Suit Gundam, and more is set to join that list.  The world is…well it’s still a rough place to be in right now.  However, it’s my hope that in a laundry list of articles about how crappy the world can be, a little article detailing how cool an Anime is or how incredibly horrific another one is can bring a smile, a chuckle, and general interest to the medium I’ve loved for more than half of my life.  Anime is a world of amazing wonders, terrifying horrors, jaw dropping fight scenes and stories from the heart.  I’m often revisiting familiar favorites here but am more than open to checking out more recent stuff too.  No matter what, so long as there’s Anime out there, damn right it’s got a shot of being talked about right here on my blog.  2022 is here, Dear Readers, and I hope that during it, I can make this year the biggest and best one for the Gundam Anime Corner yet.

 
Wow, that was a bit more emotional than I’ve done in a while.  How about I dial back the emotion and give you guys a sneak peak at what’s coming during the first couple of months of 2022.