T5W#442-Top 5 Levels in Halo 2

Next week, the Halo TV Series returns for it’s Second Season…and to my knowledge not a lot of people are excited.  The First Season left a bad tastes in the mouths of fans who felt the show was somehow the worst thing in the franchise since Halo 5: Guardians.  Personally, the show is fine.  I don’t agree with everything but I’m not Cowboy Bebop or Ghost in the Shell levels of mad at it.  Anyway, that’s coming but that’s not the point of todays Top 5 Wendesday.  2024 marks the 20^th Anniversary of the game that got me into the Halo franchise, Halo 2.  This is one of my all time favorite video games with perfect action, music and dialogue I still quote and reference to this day.  Is it perfect?  No but the history of why that is, is well documented.  Still, it’s a game I can jump back into like no time has passed.  To celebrate this landmark for one of the most important games in the Halo series, I’m gonna count down my Top 5 Levels in Halo 2.

Xenosaga: The Animation Part 3 Episodes 9-12

Though they’re now free of false criminal charges, Shion and the crew of the Elsa now face the full might of Albedo, an insane former colleague of Juniors.  As Albedo schemes to destroy Second Miltia, Shion and friends hurry to save not just an entire world but a captured friend as well.  It’s the eleventh hour as Shion’s team braves the toughest opponent to date but will their combined strength be enough?  And what about KOS-MOS?  Can Shion find a way to trust a weapon that has exceeded her parameters and caused her a great deal of pain? 

I’ve been really trying with this one.  Like I said, I remember how cool and exciting Xenosaga looked when I found out the first game was coming out and its production history has been of interest to me.  But man, I just cant seem to give much care about the Anime adaptation, especially in this final third of the series.  It hasn’t even been an Anime to watch, it’s a long history lecture by characters who sound annoying as heck and whose personal stories don’t elicit any kind of reaction other than “Please stop talking and give me a cool mecha battle or more KOS-MOS please”.  So come the finale, I’ll admit I was half paying attention because this show lost me several episodes ago and I can see now why it never got a follow up and why the games might have their fanbase but ultimately couldn’t give the franchise the numbers it needed to see its intended six chapter epic through.
 

FIF#204-Don’t Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro

Naoto Hachiouji prefers a life of solitude: keeping to himself and drawing Manga.  But when a precocious underclassmen named Hayase Nagatoro discovers Hachiouji’s talents, her secret obsession with her Senpai jumps to a whole new level.  Driven to the point of tears by her constant teasing, Hachiouji now finds his life becoming a living Hell as Nagatoro steps up her sadistic torment of the poor Otaku.  They say all’s fair in love and war.  But no one has had to face off against the indomitable force of nature that is Ms. Nagatoro.

 
Today’s FIF has been on my radar for a while now.  Even before I loaded up the first episode, I already knew who Nagatoro was thanks to the overabundance of memes and gifs on the internet.  There have been plenty of Anime girls like her in the past, ones who thrive on chaos and making the lives of everyone around them miserable for their own amusement.  And then there’s Nagatoro, the one who allegedly puts all before her to shame…and holy crap they were right.
 

GBT#17-Gundam AGE-2 Normal

Oh Gundam AGE.  There was so much potential in the story it was trying to tell, but the powers that be opted to tell it poorly.  Even the mech come off as a bit less impressive compared to other Gundam series.  That’s not to say every mech is “meh”.  The Gundams of the Asuno Clan aren’t gonna win any medals for “Best Gundam in the Franchise” but they are pretty cool in their own right.  Today’s Gunpla comes from the Asemu Era of Gundam AGE, specifically his sleek as heck AGE-2.  To me this is one of the best, if not the best suit in the entire series and while the AGE-FX is ultimately the Gunpla I need to get as the “main suit” of that show, the AGE-2 is still my fav from Gundam AGE and I jumped at the chance to try a build of a suit from the Advanced Generation

 

T5W#441-Top 5 Things to Remember Going into Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom

2022 marked the 20^th anniversary of one of the most successful chapters of the Gundam franchises, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED.  Following the end of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, a feature length project was announced but sadly sat in development hell for almost two decades.  Well, the wait is almost over.  To kick off the 45^th Anniversary of Mobile Suit Gundam franchise, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom is set to arrive this weekend.  Since this is the first entry in the Cosmic Era timeline in 22 years, todays Top 5 Wednesday will be getting you caught up to date on current events and how the stage is set for the new movie.  These are the Top 5 Things to Remember Going into Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom

 

Xenosaga: The Animation Part 2 Episodes 5-8

Shion Uzuki and the few survivors of their massacred fleet are on the run, pursued by multiple enemies across the stars.  Not only are the dreaded Gnosis hot on their tail but agents of the U-TIC organization seek to claim a young girl in Shion’s care, as well as the 12 collected Zohar Emulators.  Even after finding refuge with the powerful Kukai Foundation, Shion and friends soon find themselves wanted for acts of terrorism that bring the might of the galaxy most powerful military bearing down upon them.  The only thing more frightening than the insurmountable odds against her is the question of who Shion can trust as she falls deeper into an intergalactic conspiracy.

By the time I wrapped up watching the second set of episodes for Xenosaga: The Animation, my head was hurting.  Normally, I do take notes for reviews so I know what to touch on and talk about.  With Xenosaga, however, I’m doing so much notetaking that I feel like I’m barely watching the show, mostly because the more I listen to Junior aka Little Master deliver endless exposition dumps the more lost I become.  This is a universe that wants viewers to know it has a grand history spanning millenia and has been lived in.  But it’s doing so at a cost.  There’s so much lore and info dumping going on in these four episodes that it feels like theyre all just setup for something bigger that hasn’t happened yet.  And to be honest, I’m so bored, tired and frustrated with it, the end result will hardly be a letdown because my expectations have become that low.
 

FIF#203-Pokemon Concierge

Welcome to the Pokemon Resort.  Here, Humans and Pokemon are guests alike and can enjoy a wide variety of fun and relaxing activities.  A young girl named Haru comes to the island looking to start anew after a long string of bad luck.  She doesn’t expect to find one of the most peaceful and fun places on the planet, a place that can help her shed her nervousness and embrace the most relaxing and rewarding job ever: being a Concierge of the Pokemon Resort.

 
It’s funny how long I’ve been doing this blog and I haven’t done a lot of Pokemon features.  Don’t get me wrong, I like Pokemon but my hard core interest piqued early on with Gold and Silver (also not being able to shell out or ask for a Gameboy Advance to keep going).  But the franchise is just as, if not more, massive than when it began with new games and Anime keeping things going strong.  The most recent addition to the vast Pokemon Anime pantheon is Pokemon Concierge and I’ll give it immediate cudos: It’s been a while since I’ve fallen in love with an Anime setting this quickly.  In a world as stressful as our own, I know I’m not the only one who wishes the Pokemon Resort was real.
 

GBT#16-ZGMF-X42S Destiny Gundam

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny might be my second most hated Gundam anything (It was #1 for a long time until Recongusita in G did the impossible and dethroned it), but the Cosmic Era does have some of the coolest and most awesomely designs Mobile Suits in the entire franchise.  I especially love how the basic Gundams like the Strike and Impulse can be rolled out with varying weapons sets to suit any particular combat situation.  Today though, we’re talking about a far more advanced Gundam…one piloted by one of my least favorite characters in the franchise.  I’ve always had trouble with Gunpla that I consider to be “extra.”  By this I mean they have an overabundance of weapons, backpacks, wing spans, generally just stuff that makes it feel overcrowded, so much so it makes it a huge pain to balance and pose the model.  The Destiny Gundam was one I had such concerns with, especially once I saw the backpack, the foldout weapons attached to said backpack, and the wings.  So, how did I do with it?

 

T5W#440-Top 5 Jujutsu Kaisen Characters

Recently I returned to the world of Jujutsu sorcery by binging all of the Anime megahits Second Season.  It was an experience that left me emotionally drained and highly conflicted about where the story goes from that apocalyptic cliffhanger while also leaving the fates of some of my favorite characters in the wind until we get to Season Three.  It’s hard to believe that I wasn’t into JJK when it first came out and how many tries it took to finally get me onboard.  But I am and a lot of that has to do with many of the shows characters…that aren’t Yuji or Gojo even when the story itself wants to make it all about them.  Now that I’m totally caught up with both seasons of Jujutsu Kaisen and the JJK0 Movie, it feels long overdue I do a T5W about my Top 5 Jujutsu Kaisen Characters.  I’ll do my best to refrain from spoilers incase anyone isnt up to date on what’s gone down in the story so far.

 

Xenosaga: The Animation Part 1 Episodes 1-4

It’s been 4000 years since Humanity abandoned Planet Earth, thanks to an encounter with a massive monolith, the Zohar.  Their expansion into deep space is now threatened by other dimensional beings known as the Gnosis. Desperate for a miracle, all eyes fall upon Shion Uzuki, a beautiful scientist who is spearheading a special project that might turn the balance in Humanities struggle.  But KOS-MOS is as unpredictable and dangerous as the enemies she is programmed to defeat.  Now she has been activated and Humanity has discovered the Zohar once more.  The battle for the fate of the Human Race just got a lot more interesting.

I first stumbled across the title Xenosaga back in late 2001/early 2002 via an article in Gamepro.  While I didn’t play them often when I was younger, I was always fascinated with larger than life JRPG thanks to Final Fantasy.  But naturally, Xenosaga had one key element front and center in the Gamepro article: super hot girls with big guns poised to fight Aliens for control of an ancient universe changing artifact.  Xenosaga was poised to be the next big JRPG series coming off the heals of the .hack series as a six part gaming epic. However, while reception was positive, sales were incredibly low and the six part saga was cut in half, with Xenosaga Episode III coming out on PS2 in 2006.  Given its clear Anime influences, as there usually are in JRPGs, Xenosaga was ripe for the Anime treatment and in 2005 we got this adaptation of the first game in the series, Xenosaga Episode I.  Well, having rediscovered this series on YouTube, I’ve decided to give it a shot.  Is Xenosaga an underrated game changing scifi saga that was way ahead of its time?  Or was it too ambitious with its storytelling that it collapsed under its own weight.  Well there’s only one Anime of one game but I wont jump to conclusions.  Let’s get to the premiere.
 

FIF#202-Solo Leveling

Ten years ago, portals to another dimension changed the world forever.  Now society thrives on Dungeon Raids against monsters and only specially chosen individuals are capable of protecting mankind from certain destruction.  Sung Jinwoo is one of these chosen few, one of the lowest ranked.  Then during a disastrous raid on a special dungeon, Jinwoo is chosen by a new kind of power, one that will enable him to finally level up and finally become more than just a hinderance to raiding parties. 

 
The only reason I know what Solo Leveling even is is thanks to stores like Wal Mart and Target having an overabundance of the Webtoon Comic on their shelves.  I’d glanced at it, really liked the art, but never wanted to give it a shot (not like I’m reading a lot of Manga these days anyway).  But being so readily available means it must be doing something right and that’s bound to be the case now that A-1 Pictures is delivering an Anime adaptation.  This has made Solo Leveling one of the earliest most anticipated Anime of 2024.  Does the first episode offer promise that the studio behind Sword Art Online will have another megahit on their hands.
 

GBT#15-GF13-017NJII God Gundam

When you look through any catalogue of Gunpla, selections from Mobile Fighter G Gundam are noticeably absent.  It’s a Gundam series predicated on the fact that every suit featured for the most part if a Gundam.  And yet Gunpla from this series are very, very hard to come by.  For all of my love of G Gundam, I guess it isnt nearly as popular as say Gundam Wing, Gundam SEED or Gundam Unicorn, whose Gunpla all sell like crazy.  So I was pretty excited to come across the titular G Gundam of all things one day and nabbed it without hesitation.  My goal isnt just to have a representative from every Gundam entry but the MAIN model from each of them.  And the God Gundam ticks off that box on the checklist.  So how is the build and does it make me wanna seek out other Gunpla from this awesome series that lacks a strong Gunpla presence?

 

T5W439-Top 5 Musical Numbers from Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

Throughout my watch of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, one particular stand out element is easily the music.  It’s like listening to the OST of FLCL for the first time all over again, providing a mix of soothing indie rock, exciting 8bit inspired action romps and just a bunch of tunes you can jam too on any occasion.  It also helps that Anamanaguchi returns to the franchise to compose much of the score like they did with the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Video Game.  As you might’ve guessed from the title of todays T5W, I’m gonna single out my favorite musical bits from this kick ass OST…and then probably go listen to the full album again on YouTube somewhere cause I’m still obsessed with it.  These are my Top 5 Musical Numbers from Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Part 2 Episodes 5-8

In a surprising twist, Scott Pilgrim isnt dead.  But he is missing and Ramona Flowers, the Girl of His Dreams, still has a few Evil Ex suspects to sift through in order to find him.  Throughout the course of her crazy investigation, new clues emerge that point to something beyond the League of Evil Ex’s.  Something, or someone, is manipulating the story to keep Scott and Ramona from coming together.  Mysterious Scripts, Trouble Making Robots, the Ultimate Stage Play, everything is building up to one seriously epic conclusion…and no one will see it coming.

After the unexpected bait and switch at the end of the very first episode, you’d think fans would riot over the fact that Scott Pilgrim isnt in every single episode of his own show.  As we saw, however, Ramona Flowers is more than capable of being Scott’s equally competent (if not more competent) lead.  Everything that worked about the opening half of this series was kicked into even higher gear in the back half.  And while I do have nitpicks, mostly being that Ramona’s resolution with the other Ex’s isnt as emotional strong as with Roxy and Lucas, this is still a golden gem of a series that I might just have to give a top tier award to.  Before I lock that in, let’s find out how things progressed for Scott and Ramona’s new love story and why it might surpass the OG (and definitely The Movie) in a lot of ways.
 

FIF#201-Case Study of Vanitas

Legend tells of a Vampire named Vanitas who was exiled by his people because of his blue eyes and the Grimoire he created to serve as his weapon of revenge against them. For Vampire Noe Archiviste, this story has remained a myth…until he meets a human, bearing not only the Grimoire itself but also going by the name of Vanitas.  Brought together by fate, Noe and Vanitas join forces to cure a surge in corrupted Vampires in Paris.  But who or what is the cause of this sudden infection of Vampires and what will it take for these two excentric souls to stop it?

 
Welcome, Dear Readers, to the start of a new season of First Impression Friday.  Today’s title comes as a suggestion from a friend of mine who’s looking to cosplay a character from this series.  Up until they announced their plans, I hadn’t even heard of Case Study of Vanitas.  And based on how it begins I was a little worried it was going to be a repeat of another Anime I’d covered on FIF last October, Undead Murder Farce, what with Vampires living in tandem with Humans in an uneasy(ish) peace and a pair of specialists looking to deal with them. Not gonna lie though, I think Case Study of Vanitas gets off to a better start than the other title and quickly proved to me it wasn’t a rehash of ideas (though UMF came a couple years after this dropped).
 

GBT#14-RX-0 Unicorn Gundam 02 Banshee (Destroy Mode)

The RX0 Unicorn is my favorite Gundam of all time.  Granted part of this is due to me using the heck out of it in Dynasty Warriors Gundam 3.  But I love the uniqueness of the design and its transformation into a more true to form Gundam.  It’s overpowered as heck and just a beast in combat when someone capable of putting it through its paces is in the cockpit (yeah not the biggest Banagher Links fan myself).  So what about it’s brother Gundam, the Banshee?  Well…it’s fine, I just think the Unicorn is better overall.  Still, I came across a nicely priced HG Gunpla of the Banshee and decided to assemble it.  I’ve built two Unicorns prior to this (three if you count an SD Model).  So I was curious how this build of a similar suit would go despite such a long gap between them (I built the armed to the teeth Full Armor Unicorn just after Christmas 2022, the Banshee at the time of writing this was almost a year later).  Turns out…I have gotten better at building Gunpla after all.

 

T5W#438-Top 5 Titles I’m Considering for the Anime Corner 10th Anniversary Review

2024 is now underway and that’s a big deal for the Gundam Anime Corner. We’re now about three months away from the blogs 10^th Anniversary on March 31, 2024.  Every year I always reserve that day for a special shoutout and welcome to readers old and new and, more importantly, a stand alone review, typically a movie.  Every year coming up with a Special Anniversary Review gets tougher but picking one for Year 10 is proving super difficult.  I mean, it’s the 10^th Anniversary, it should be big, right? And everytime I feel like I have a solid, locked in candidate, now possibilities and options arise that throw me right back into options paralysis.  So to help clear my head over this matter, our first Top 5 Wednesday of 2024 will be looking at the Top 5 Titles I’m Considering for the Anime Corner 10^th Anniversary Review. 

 

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off Part 1 Episodes 1-4

Scott Pilgrim has it all.  He’s in a band.  He’s dating a High School Girl…actually he doesn’t have much at all.  But everything changes when he meets the literal girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers.  Sparks instantly fly but wanting to hook up with Ramona puts a huge target on Scott’s back.  A league of Ramona’s jaded Ex’s had united to destroy anyone who might have a chance with her.  To win her heart, Scott must battle seven extremely powerful foes.  Is Ramona worth the fight or is Scott Pilgrim’s precious little life about to collapse in on itself?

Welcome Dear Readers to the start of 2024 and I’m happy to report that the first series I’m kicking things off with is off to a helluva good start.  You’d think Scott Pilgrim would have a greater presence in pop culture with its numerous references to nerd culture; from Anime and Manga to Video Games.  Sadly the incredible comic and it’s 2010 movie adaptation “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” have remained in Cult Classic status (the Movie Video Game too for that matter).  Me personally, I love the original comic and think the movie was fine (I feel like whatever issues I have with it can be covered in a potential future review).  I love the art style and energy Bryan Lee O’Malley infused in his Canada set fantasy about a slacker who has to fight for the woman of his dreams and sort out his own place in the world.  An animated series has been long overdue and Netflix has decided to be the ones to undertake that challenge.  And holy crap they actually pulled it off…but not in the way you’d expect.
 

Welcome to the Gundam Anime Corner 2024

Welcome, Dear Readers old and new, to the start of one of the biggest years yet for my little corner of the internet I like to call the Gundam Anime Corner.  Almost 10 years ago, the blog began quietly on another platform with my first review of Eden of the East.  March 31, 2024 will mark the 10^th year anniversary of working on this epic project of mine.  10 years is a long time to dedicate to anything but I have to say that the continued expansion of the Anime Corner is still something I’m incredibly proud of.  There’s gonna be great stuff for New Readers and Old to experience this year, not just in the lead in to the 10^th Anniversary Review but in the coming Year 11 as well. 
 
So what’s waiting for us in the next couple of months of 2024?  How about a little breakdown, shall we?