Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel III-Spring Song

After a lifetime of abuse, torture and heartbreak, Sakura Matou has embraced the Monster within, becoming the single greatest threat in this chaotic Holy Grail War.  Her sister, Rin, stands ready to end her sisters suffering in order to protect the world.  But the love of Sakrua’s life, Shirou Emiya, stands more resolved than ever to save her.  Now infused with the power of a long lost Servant, however, Sakura is ready to lash out against the world that has oppressed her and commands a nearly unstoppable legion of Dark Servants to do her bidding.  Shirou has risked and lost so much for Sakura.  Will his love be enough to save her soul…or will it take his life as well?

To think, it’s been three long, long years since I went to the movie theater to see the second chapter of the Heaven’s Feel Trilogy.  That’s a long time to wait for a chance to see the resolution to what has consistently been, so far, the very best Fate/Stay Night entry in existence.  It’s held the most gut wrenching moments, the best payoffs to setup established in Fate/Zero, offered the best version of Shirou Emoiya, and best of all, delivered a truly engrossing and heartbreaking tale for Sakura Matou, a character who has hardly had any proper role in any Fate project til now.  Much like Evangelion 3.0+1.0, that’s a lot of pressure to think about going into the grand finale.  Probably doesn’t help matter on my part that I’ve selecting this movie to be my celebratory Anniversary Review here at the Anime Corner.  But here we are: Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel III-Spring Song…how is it?
 

The Gundam Anime Corner 8th Anniversary

March 31, 2014.  It’s a date I hold close to my heart much like my own Birthday.  This was the day I sat down and penned my first Anime review for the first 7 episodes of Eden of the East.  Fast Forward to 8 years later…yeesh let me see if I can break down what I’ve covered: 87 TV Series, 200 Films (Damn), 36 OVAs (only that many?), 9 ONA’s and 2 TV Specials.  Guess it goes without saying that if I’ve committed this much energy to that many titles, I must really love Anime and yes, I really do.  I’ve loved Anime since Middle School and love talking about it from dusk til dawn.  Getting to share my thoughts and opinions via a blog has been a blast for the last 8 years and I’m aiming for 8-10 more (much more really).  The Gundam Anime Corner is one of the biggest projects I’ve worked on my entire life and I’m proud of how far it’s come from just simple Anime Reviews.  Top 5’s, First Impressions, Retrospectives, Manga to Anime Comparisons, Convention Reports.  This certainly isn’t just a review blog anymore.  I hope that heading into Year 9, the expansions I’ve been building on for the last couple of years get even bigger and bolder.  This blog is my home, my pride and joy and I cant wait to see where I take it next.  So I hope you’ll join me in wishing the Gundam Anime Corner a very Happy 8^th Birthday.

 
Now, here’s a look at what’s coming up in the next couple of months:

T5W#346-Top 5 Initial Thoughts on Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury

I was wondering just how long Sunrise was going to keep things under wraps.  But yesterday at the 3rd Gundam Conference held by the Bandai Namco “Gundam Project” Team, we finally got our first real, official look at the next Mobile Suit Gundam TV Series: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury.  There wasn’t a lot, just a thirty second teaser with the release window, air time and a look at the shows titular Gundam and lead heroine.  It really isn’t much but it’s enough to get me excited.  How long has it been since we’ve gotten a brand new Gundam TV Show?  Well we’ll talk about that, along with four other thoughts that’ll make up todays Top 5 Wednesday, my Top 5 Initial Thoughts on Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury.

Fate/Grand Order-First Order

The Caldea Security Organization is a group comprised of Mages and Scientists who have come together to oversee the protection of history and to ensure Humanity continues to thrive.  Ritska Fujimaru is the latest candidate selected to undertake dangerous mission into the timeline.  However, a disaster at Caldea leads to the prediction of Humanitys extinction in 2018. Rookie Caldea operative Ritska is sent to investigate the source of this anomaly: Singularity F-the 2004 Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City, whose conclusion has not be documented.  It’s up to Ritska and the mysterious Demi Servant Mash to find the source of Singularity F and destroy it before Humanity ceases to exist.

 
The Fate franchise has been one of the most popular in Anime in recent years.  While you can credit that success to the many Anime adaptations by Studio Ufotable, there’s no denying that an equal, if not greater, amount of said success comes from the megahit Mobile Game, Fate/Grand Order.  As one who has not dabbled that much in Fate GO the most I can say looking in from the outside is that it brings together all of Fate and then some under one umbrella.  Basically it gives players a chance to interact with every facet of the franchise from the core routes: Fate, Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven’s Feels, to spin offs like Fate/Apocrypha.  Like every other Fate tale ever conceived, Fate GO has gotten a few Anime adaptations, one of which is this quick little short film, First Order.  Does it work as a good intro to the Fate GO craze or even a decent Fate story all on its own?
 

Toonami Flashback Friday Episode 11-“Toonami’s Back Bitches”

Four years is a long time to go without anything.  While Anime had found a permanent home on Saturday Nights thanks to the Adult Swim Anime Block, it just wasn’t the same without Tom and Sara onboard the Absolution running our Anime favs and newcomers.  For many, Toonami ended when it really shouldn’tve have and that cry echoed in the vastness for four long years.  And then, as the Avengers’ mission statement begins, “There came a day, a day unlike any other”.  And that day…was an April Fools Day.  That’s the day where jokes are celebrated worldwide.  Thankfully, what Adult Swim had in mind was no joke, it was a miracle.

 

Ouran High School Host Club Part 7 Episodes 24-26

The normally happy and exciting Ouran Fair finds dark clouds hovering over it when Tamaki’s family arrives with an offer that changes everything for the carefree Head of the Host Club.  With Tamaki backed into a corner and the Club on the verge of disillution, it’s up to Haruhi and the others to find Tamaki and bring him to his senses.  But forces far more powerful stand in their way, determined to secure Tamaki to his fate.  But this is the Ouran High School Host Club…and they always take care of their own.

Ok so this is a tough finale to talk about for me.  I have made it pretty clear that I do not like Tamaki Suou.  He’s clingy, dim witted, totally unaware of how others are affected by his antics and his back and forth between thinking he’s a father figure towards Haruhi and being totally in love with her stopped being funny…you know what, it was never funny, it was flat out gross.  You’d think that being one of the two main focal points of the show, next to Haruhi, needing to like Tamaki as a character would be a critical factor for the final story of the series.  It forces Tamaki to see how his antics could be a tad disruptive before exploring his own backstory and pretty much establishing why he is the way he is.  I sympathize, I never thought I’d say that but I do.  Tamaki might be a dumbass…but I wouldn’t wish the situation he found himself in with his family upon anyone, it’s beyond cruel.  In short, I’m always gonna hate Tamaki.  For the Series Finale of Ouran High School Host Club though, I found far worse characters to hate so I pushed my Tamaki hate to the side for once.  Cause at the end of the day, whether you like Tamaki or not, the rest of the finale did a good job showing why this cast works and, honestly, without Tamaki to bring it all together, it couldn’t.
 

T5W#345-Top 5 Upcoming Anime Films that could do well in the US

This past weekend, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 arrived here in the States.  Seeing as how its popularity is on par with that of Demon Slayer or My Hero Academia, the movie did gang busters, coming in Second Place at the Domestic Box Office behind The Batman (which took it’s third straight weekend win).  It’s crazy to think that we now live in a day and age when Anime films can compete here in the US and score big wins and box office glory.  We’ve seen it with releases of Dragon Ball, My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer Movies within the last three years alone.  Since Jujustu Kaisen seems to be continuing that trend, on todays Top 5 Wednesday I’m counting down the Top 5 Upcoming Anime Films that could do well in the US.  Some of these have release dates set for 2022 while others are still as of now unconfirmed.  Either way, I think these flicks have the best chance of making a splash here with US audiences as they no doubt will in Japan

 

Ouran High School Host Club Part 6 Episodes 21-23

Ouran Academy is abuzz with Halloween right around the corner.  When Haruhi, Hikaru and Kaoru partake in the Hallowenn Test of Courage Tournament, the other Hosts are determined to get in on the fun too.  Then, the lonely but fierce, Ritsu Kasanoda looking student comes to Mori look for help making friends in spite of his frightening appearance.  But things only get crazier when Kasanoda discovers Haruhi’s secret and develops feelings for her.  Will the young Mafia successor be the one to claim her heart…and how will Tamaki fair at the thought of his beloved Haruhi possibly leaving his group for good?

Well…it had to happen at some point.  My ever increasing pissed off meter towards Tamaki Suou finally reached its peak, exploded and I had to actually shout at the screen and I really wanna share what I said but I like to keep swearing to a minimum.  Let’s just say its been a long time since any Anime character has set me off the way Tamaki has.  From his high on his own good looks and presence mind set to his constant back and forth between obsessed and downright cringy attitude towards Haruhi, this is a guy who is supposed to be the biggest comic relief of the show.  For me, he is not.  Tamaki is a spoiled brat who is so into his own messed up fantasy he doesn’t realize how ridiculous he really is and how incredibly dull, dense and messed up he is when it comes to Haruhi.  AND I GET IT, there’s a point to this kind of behavior and Kaoru actually did a good job of touching on it several times in this penultimate set of episodes.  But just because there’s a point to Tamaki’s stupidity doesn’t mean I have to like him or sympathize with him.  Especially because when I heard him actually say these words, “Daddy’s don’t wanna marry their little girls when they grow up do they?”…I finally lost it.  This entire review could just be on the culmination of my fury for Tamaki but there’s other ground to cover and there was quite a bit in three episodes.
 

Toonami Flashback Friday Episode 10-The First Farewell

By 2003, I was still a fan of Toonami but my time to watch it was slowly getting eaten up by sports team practices and other after school activities.  It didn’t really help that a lot of the shows that I had grown to love through Toonami were eventually taken off of the block in favor of titles that never really grabbed me.  Stuff like OG Dragon Ball was fine but it wasn’t Dragon Ball Z.  I actually wasn’t a big fan of G Gundam compared to previous offerings but after watching it again for review in 2021, that opinion has changed and I think it’s amazing.  Point is, Toonami’s reach was starting to wain not just with me.  Slowly but surely, the signs were becoming clear that it wasn’t the juggernaut it once was…and there were more than a couple of factors that led to its eventual first ending.

 

Ouran High School Host Club Part 5 Episodes 17-20

It’s chaos on all sides for the Host Club.  Tamaki awakens a dangerous beast when a sleepy Kyouya ends up stranded in a mall with Haruhi thanks to him.  Honey finds himself in the middle of a sibling spat when his younger brother comes looking to challenge him to a dangerous duel.  Then, the Zuka Club returns and kidnaps Haruhi, leading to a rescue mission that even Haruhi’s father is getting in on.  Through all of these antics, questions about the formation of the Host Club begin to arise.  Just how did Tamaki assemble his merry band of perfect gentlemen in the fist place?

As we close in on the end of the series, it was inevitable we’d finally start getting some origin stories about the formation of the Ouran High School Host Club.  This set of episodes still found time to strike an even balance between backstory and present day hijinks, along with a theatrical performance that must be seen to be believed.  However, when it came to the story of how Tamaki brought the boys together, I shouldn’t be surprised that some of it would be darker than others, or rather sad, dark implies some pretty heinous things.  Let’s start with the fun stuff first before we delve into origin story territory.
 

T5W#344-Top 5 Anime I Rented from Blockbuster

Ah Friday nights.  Back in the day, school got out, you’d get picked up and go out to dinner with family…and right nearby there it was, the most magical place on Earth: Blockbuster Video.  Yeah so after watching a retrospective video on the legendary video rental store, it got me thinking about the countless hours I spent there perusing isle after isle of Movies and Video Games for rent.  Naturally, I spent the bulk of that time going through the Anime Section.  It was a different kind of experience having to rent each volume or movie one at a time (ok you could do more but it was like one title per family member and I never got a proper membership til right before the chain closed…I worked with what I had).  But they were formative years and today I’m gonna take a quick moment to talk about the Top 5 Anime I Rented from Blockbuster.  Chances are high I’ve reviewed all of these movies at some point and I’ll include links along with each one.

 

Ouran High School Host Club Part 4 Episodes 13-16

Time marches on and waits for no one, not even the Ouran High School Host Club.  Between summer jobs and threats from other desperate clubs, Haruhi Fujioka has come to learn that life with the most popular boys in school is certainly entertaining even when she hopes for some peace and quiet.  Lifes about to get even more bizarre when Haruhi finds herself on a surprise date with Hikaru.  Could the playful deceitful twin be developing a crush on the girl who’s turned his world upside down?  And while Haruhi is feeling more comfortable around the boys, one question still remains: Why did she choose Ouran Academy and what are her goals in life?

Todays set of Ouran High School Host Club episodes felt different from everything so far.  The humor is still there and Tamaki’s still one of the most infuriating characters in all of Anime to me.  But I felt like we were seeing some advancement in character growth and signs of a darker side to the Host Club that have been subtly teased but rarely lingered on.  We also got a very trippy but surprisingly very gorgeous episode that saw Studio Bones step up the animation quality in an already good looking show.  The end result…you know I feel like I was building up to some epic revelation but really, this set was good, just good.  I think my excitement if focused mostly on subtext and theories that might not pay off but I’ll talk about that in a bit.
 

Toonami Flashback Friday Episode 9-Toonami Fantasia

Ok so, stop me if you’ve heard this before: August 31, 2001.  I was settling in to check out Toonami on a Friday Night in my study, popcorn and soda at the ready.  We got the typical intro: the Absolution slowly flying by before we entered the interior and saw Tom making his way to the bridge.  Sitting in his favorite chair, the Absolution Captain and Toonami DJ tapped the buttons on his arm rest and the Midnight Run got underway…but not with Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08^th MS Team.  Instead, things kicked off with one of Toonami’s masterfully made Music Videos.  Ok, that was a bit weird but surely 08^th MS Team would start right afterwards.  Well, the normal Midnight Run was taking the night off on this hot summer night.  I don’t know if I missed a bunch of adds or if this truly came out of freaking nowhere.  Frankly I’m glad it was the latter because disappointment quickly became intrigue and amazement as I settled in to check out the Toonami: Midnight Run-Special Edition.

 

Ouran High School Host Club Part 3 Episodes 9-12

Haruhi finds herself at a crossroads when an illustrious all girls academy discovers her secret and declares they can offer her a better life than that of Ouran Academy.  To what lengths will Tamaki and the others go to keep their prized protegee in their ranks?  Meanwhile, the Hosts find themselves needed on more personal matters: Reuniting a lost Manga loving girl with her older brother and making sure Honey Senpai doesn’t make a cavity worse than it already is.  And if that wasn’t enough, what happens when a bad dream finally brings Tamaki and the Hosts to a strange new world: Haruhi’s home?

There’s a lot about Ouran High School Host Club that doesn’t sit well with me and most of it has to do with the childish and darkly manipulative natures of at least 4 of the 6 main Hosts.  The upside is that A. Haruhi is doing a good job of laying down the law when their antics get too out of hand and B. when this shows humor works, it really works.  That all being said, this was probably my favorite set of episodes so far because of the humor alone.  We got a cute episode with Honey and Mori at odds for once.  The Host Club found actual rivals and we even got to finally see Haruhi’s home life…oh and a 6 year old knows what “debauchery” is thanks to Shoujo Manga…lots of laughs all around.
 

T5W#343-Top 5 Ways Sailor Moon has Influenced Magical Girls (and Anime) Over the Years

You all know her theme song (from the original English Dub anyway), “Fighting Evil by moonlight.  Winning Love by daylight.  Never running from a real fight, she is the one named Sailor Moon.”  This past Monday, Naoko Takeuchi’s legendary Anime celebrated it’s 30^th Anniversary and man what a ride it has been for Usagi Tsukino and the Sailor Senshi.  One Five Season/200 Episode TV Series, 3 Movies, a Reboot with a film continuation, and surely there’s more to come down the line.  Sailor Moon has stood the test of time in a number of ways.  While we’ll be delving more into that later this summer (could this be an unofficial Extended Summer Series Announcement?), today I wanted to celebrate the Princess of the Moon Kingdom by counting down the Top 5 Ways Sailor Moon has Influenced Magical Girls (and Anime) Over the Years.  Girl was a trendsetter, same with her magical companions.  And they deserve the attention this week.

 

Ouran High School Host Club Part 2 Episodes 5-8

Through a seemingly cruel twist of fate, Haruhi Fujioka has become the newest member of the esteemed Ouran High School Host Club: a collection of the most popular and beautiful men in the entire school.  Even though Haruhi is a girl, she maintains the façade of being a boy to work off the massive debt she owes to the club.  While it’s taken time to adjust, Haruhi is coming to learn more about her six gorgeous fellow Hosts and see there’s more to them than their outward gimmicks.  And perhaps, with more time, the Hosts can learn a thing or two about themselves as well.

So I’m half and half on Ouran High School Host Club right now.  Eight episodes in and I know the show is trying and can be entertaining and even fun.  Buuuuut there’s a large part of me that cant get used to how cruel and ridiculous the Hosts can be towards Haruhi (4/6 anyway, Honey and Mori haven’t done anything wrong so far).  Tamaki wants Haruhi all to his vanity obsessed self, Hikaru and Kaoru see Haruhi as a plaything like everything else in their lives and Kyouya is getting his kicks out of Haruhi being his guinea pig in daily social experiments.  So you’ll have to forgive me that my favorite moments of Ouran so far have been when Haruhi completely takes control and shows these guys that she might be a member of the club but she suffers no fools just because everyone sees her as a frail and vulnerable girl.  And yet, both sides can stand to learn a lot about themselves and each other and THAT is when Ouran is truly at its best…with some comedy working for sure.
 

The March to Year 9

Hey there, Dear Readers.  I’ve gotta say, the last couple of years have been a bit mind blowing when it comes to this blog.  We’re now in 2022, which I’ve built up to be a pretty ambitious year in terms of the shows I’m covering.  And in about a Months time, we’ll enter the 9^th Year of the Gundam Anime Corner…call me crazy but that’s just…whoa…we’ll be at the 10 Year Marker before you know it.  But that’s all what lies further ahead.  What about in the here and now?  Well with Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai just about done, March is gonna continue my trend of shows I wouldn’t necessarily review unless requested…except this one HAS been requested for a long, long time, probably back since the 3^rd or 4^th Years.  Since I normally do a quick heads up about what’s coming in the lead up to the big Anniversary Review, figured I’d talk about all that right now.

 

Toonami Flashback Friday Episode 8-Gundam Twilight

The year 2000 on Toonami belonged to Mobile Suit Gundam Wing.  For the first time in Toonami history, it’s reigning Anime champ, Dragon Ball Z, was threatened by a newcomer whose influence was unexpected and game changing.  The first couple runs of the series, along with that of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, resulted in record viewing numbers for Toonami.  Naturally, Cartoon Network knew they needed to keep the train going and they had a vast universe of Gundam material to draw from, including a couple of popular titles from the 90’s such as G Gundam, Gundam X and Turn A Gundam (which actually wrapped its Japanese run while Wing was airing in the US).  And yet, Toonami decided not to lean on Gundams recent iterations closest to Wing.  Instead, they made the curious choice to go back to the beginnings of the Gundam franchise. 

 

Ouran High School Host Club Part 1 Episodes 1-4

Haruhi Fujioka just wanted to a quiet room to study.  Instead, she found her way into the headquarters of the most eligible bachelor club at Ouran High School, the Host Club.  When she accidentally breaks a priceless artifact under their care, Haruhi becomes the newest member of the club to work off her debt.  There’s just one small problem: Haruhi is so adept at dressing like a boy that everyone thinks she is.  Only the Host Club know the truth…much to Haruhi’s dismay.  Cultures clash and worlds will collide and the Ouran High School Host Club might never be the same again.

 
So a little bit of unknown history about the Gundam Anime Corner.  From the very beginnings, my goal has been to go through as much of my personal Anime collection as possible and review it all.  I started with a recent purchase in March 2014, Eden of the East.  Then I tackled some of the more popular titles right out the gate: Record of Lodoss War, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.  But since the beginning there have been a small handful of shows I’ve always wanted to cover but never did either because of lack of interest or a filled up schedule.  One of those shows is the one that I’m finally going to go through starting today: Ouran High School Host Club.  Yeah, this is another one that seems well outside my wheelhouse considering what the story is about.  But like many others I was drawn to it back in the day for various reasons.  The question is, will Ouran hold up now that I’m looking at it through a microscope.  Free and Yuri on Ice impressed me but a revisit to Love Hina a few years back showed that a few old favorites might not be as shiny as they once were back in the day.  Ok, I’ve rambled enough and it’s taken almost 8 years to fit this into the review queue.  Ouran High School Host Club.  Let’s do this.
 

T5W#342-Top 5 Thoughts on the Fullmetal Alchemist Live Action Sequels Announcement

Finally, a topical Top 5 right after an announcement.  Just announced yesterday, to celebrate the 20^th Anniversary of the Fullmetal Alchemist Manga, we’re going to be getting not one but TWO Sequels to the 2017 Live Action Fullmetal Alchemist Movie.  These two new (and judging by the title Final) chapters will be released within a month of each other: Fullmetal Alchemist: Final Chapter-The Avenger Scar will arrive on May 20, 2022 and Fullmetal Alchemist: Final Chapter-The Last Transmutation will follow on June 24.  A full trailer for both films was released and show that A LOT is going to be thrown into both of these movies.  Given how I was pretty disappointed with the first live action venture of the Elrics (you can read that Anniversary Review here: http://gundamanimeblog.blogspot.com/2018/03/fullmetal-alchemist-2017-special-fourth.html) I have some thoughts on this announcement overall.  So, for today’s Top 5 Wednesday I’m looking at my Top 5 Thoughts on the Fullmetal Alchemist Live Action Sequels Announcement.  I’m not writing everything off just yet as some of what has been shown looks very promising.  But I will be bringing up my issues with the previous film where I see it…and if you go read the review before hand, you’ll know what my #1 choice will be.  Either way, let’s break it all down.