Gundam Anime Corner-Summer 2024 Update

Happy Day before June everyone.  With things getting hotter and hotter out there, the Gundam Anime Corner is about to get revving on it’s own Summer Season (which I guess already began with Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu in May but that sucked so lets do a soft second start).  However, some early announcements of what I had planned for Summer 2024, especially in June, have changed.  So today I’m here to give a bit of a primer on what’s on the docket for the next few weeks before getting into our Annual Extended Summer Series Review Event.

 

T5W#459-Top 5 Mindboggling Questions after watching Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu

Ugh, I cant believe I’m still dwelling on this lost cause of a series.  But dammit the fact that there’s so much potential with it to be a rival to the story of Fate/Grand Order makes it all the more infuriating that it’s squandered.  The biggest problem, however, is from the get go.  Sure as Anime viewers we’re used to be dropped into the middle of a story but at least there’s either a prologue or context to go with it, or we learn more about it down the line.  Katsugeki does neither and I’m amazed I could only think of 5 questions I’m still fuming about after finishing the series.  And no, as I look at my Top 5 Mindboggling Questions after watching Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu, I wont be childish and include more rage induced questions like “Do I want to punch Saniwa” or “Is this really worth waiting for the movie adaptation they announced during the last episode?”  This will be a bit more serious…but the answers are “yes” and “no” respectively.

 

Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu Part 4 Episodes 10-13

Having witnessed Yoshiyuki’s defense of his former master, Kunihiro’s resolve begins to waver.  When he suddenly vanished, Kanesada fears the worst. On the eve of the fall of the Shinsengumi, the Second Unit must not only deal with a betrayal from one of their own but an overwhelming force of one thousand Time Retrograde Troops.  It is here at the infamous Battle of Hakodate where all shall be decided, where the swords of the past will make a final stand to protect the future.

There have been moments, fleeting ones but ones nonetheless, where Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu has been trying to be something meaningful.  How far will one be willing to go to save the life of someone important to them even if it irrevocably changes the flow of history?  Is all the fighting Kanesada and his team are doing really making a difference or making things worse overall?  However, Katsugeki hasn’t really wanted to delve super deep into these matters and instead focus on one team of underpowered rookies and one team of overpowered vets cleaving their way through demons being sent back in time by a faceless enemy.  The finale wants to be more than the sum of its visual parts but dammit, throughout this entire watch, I was just waiting for it to be over. 
 

T5W#458-Top 5 Tragic Chosen Ones in Anime

Incase you aren’t aware, Dune: Part Two is now on Blu-Ray and is streaming.  This isnt a plug in any sense, this is just me saying that if you haven’t seen the second part of Dennis Villenuve’s adaptation of one of the greatest SciFi Novels of all time then WHAT IS YOUR DEAL!!!???  The movie is freaking awesome and I’m looking forward to watching it a few more times to take it all in.  Anyway, those familiar with Dune’s immensely deep lore and characters might be aware of one key detail (SPOILER ALERT FOR DUNE: PART II AND POSSIBLE FUTURE SEQUELS): Paul Atredies isnt the “hero” everyone thinks he might be.  No, Dune is a nice deconstruction of the “Chosen One” trope, showing that even if he’s meant to be a savior, the future he sets into motion is probably going to wreck the universe a new one in the process.  Paul accepts this, if only to spare Humanity an even worse fate if you can believe it.  Anime has its fair share of such similar figures, those who are either cursed by being tools of fate or starting journeys with the noblest of intentions that fall to darkness in the process and either cant return from it or must make the ultimate sacrifice to set things right.  So this week on T5W, let’s look at five prime examples of this tragic trope with my Top 5 Tragic Chosen Ones in Anime (btw, major spoilers ahead since most of these are all about Series Finales).

 

Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu Part 3 Episodes 7-9

Kyoto, 1565.  Saniwa dispatches the elite First Unit to investigate an unusual disturbance.  Waiting for them is a new breed of Time Retrograde Army enemy type, one whose new capabilities seem endless.  Meanwhile, The Second Unit travels to Kyoto in 1866.  Kanseda still struggles with his role as leader but it’s a chance encounter between Yoshiyuki and his former Master, Ryoma Sakamoto, that could truly test the resolve of these Swordsman and their dedication to protecting history.  Will Yoshiyuki sacrifice everything just to save the most important person he’s ever cared about?

I’m starting to think that Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu is at war with itself over what it wants to be.  Is it supposed to be a philosophical take on protecting history and how the ripples of taking such action reach further and wider than expected?  Or is it a straight up action series using the pedigree of Ufotable to believe it can get away with not having a story or compelling characters to follow?  I lean towards the latter in this argument but this penultimate set of episodes looks at both sides.  Overall, this is still a seriously disappointing watch and I think it’s made even more frustrating when it does something right only for you to think that this is how Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu should have been doing things from the get go.
 

T5W#457-Top 5 Favorite Anime Swords

Incase you haven’t noticed from my first two reviews of it, Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu is falling woefully short of expectations.  Ufotable handling your action and animation can only get a show so far and Katsugeki isnt really giving compelling characters or a story to care about.  Which is a shame cause the concept is pretty unique.  Like Fate/Stay Night, Katsugeki finds items from history and gives them new life and form for fighting off powerful supernatural threats.  Instead of important figures from history though, it’s swords that were used by some of the greatest fighters in history.  Whether or not theyre doing a good job…well we’re not gonna focus on that cause we still have half a series to cover.  Today, on Top 5 Wednesday, on the subjects of the coolest choices of weapons in Anime, I’m looking at my favorite blades which would probably do a better job fighting the TRA than anything Saniwa thinks is effective.  These are my Top 5 Favorite Anime Swords.

 

Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu Part 2 Episodes 4-6

Japan, 1868.  Kanesada and his Second Unit have been assigned to protect an important meeting over the span of three days that could bring an end to a long running conflict in the country.  The Time Retrograde Army is here as well, looking to disrupt history to the point where nothing can be repaired. And this time, theyre coming in force.  Outnumbered, outgunned and outmatched, can Kanesada and his men fend off an endless invasion, or is it time for another team to step in and do their job for them?

Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu has all the hallmarks of an instant classic.  It’s got the powerhouse Anime studio that is Ufotable doing the animation.  The premise of spirits protecting the history of Japan from Demons sounds fun.  And the action, well this is Ufotable, they’ve practically taken action scenes in Anime to a whole other level (see Fate/Stay Night UBW or Demon Slayer for that).  So why am I not enjoying myself at the midpoint of this series?  Is it because the story doesn’t feel like it exists so much as is just sprinkled in to get characters from one action scene to the next?  Is it that while some do stand out for their quirks and designs, I don’t really know much about the characters and thus don’t really care about their circumstances?  Or is it that the world on which this show is based on hasn’t been explained in any way shape or form beyond bare basics and I kind of want to slap Saniwa because he thinks simplicity is all that’s needed to do a job or tell a proper story…guess what it’s not.
 

T5W#456-Top 5 FLCL Seasons

I still cant believe that I cant talk about FLCL without specifying which season.  I mean how did we go from one incredibly unique and special OVA of 6 episodes to five with four of those seasons showing immense diminishing returns?  Ok so one theory behind that is this is the same thing that happened with The Big O.  While FLCL was probably meant to be a stand alone series, it’s popularity here in the States convinced Cartoon Network to commission and cofinance more seasons from Gainax.  And like their continuation of The Big O with The Big O II, the results are…mixed at best.  Well since I’ve finished the two more recent (and please God let them be the final) entries, it’s time to rank these suckers from Worst to the obvious best.  Cue up your Pillows Playlist and lets break down the Top 5 FLCL Seasons. 

Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu Part 1 Episodes 1-3

Japan, 1863.  At a critical time in the nations history, a secret war is being waged, not between Pro and Anti Shogunate factions, but by other powers entirely.  The Time Retrograde Army begins to slip into the time period, determined to alter the course of Japan’s destiny by any means necessary.  Standing in their way are an elite group of warriors born from histories greatest weapons.  For some this is their first assignment.  For others, this mission is nothing new.  Together, they’re the only thing standing in the way of the Time Retrograde Army and their elusive true objective.

Many of my good friends have been cosplaying historical characters who appear in Anime such as Rurouni Kenshin and Fate/Stay Night.  They’ve also done some cosplay from the Anime we’re starting today, Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu.  Apparently this is an adaptation of a hugely popular web based Video Game and this isnt even the first Anime adaptation either.  However, while the other one might fall under the radar, Katsugeki has the added edge of being a gorgeous looking new entry into the long list of similarly gorgeous projects from powerhouse Anime Studio Ufotable.  So it’s no wonder these intro episodes not only feel like a random extension of a Fate/Stay Night story but more specifically one from Fate/Grand Order (which Ufotable hasn’t touched but theyre so synonymous with Fate at this point).  That means some amazing action while also leaving viewers with a bunch of head scratching questions the show isnt in a hurry to answer.
 

T5W#455-Top 5 Stories from Star Wars Visions 2

Jedi, Sith, Smugglers, Pilots and Bounty Hunters.  May the 4^th is almost upon us once again, the time when the world comes together to celebrate another anniversary for one of the greatest scifi sagas of all time: Star Wars.  Whether you love it to your core or feel like it’s lost its way in recent years, Star Wars is still a cornerstone of scifi storytelling and is still used by pretty much everyone for inspiration in various way.  Back in 2021, the Anime Community got to unleash its inner Jedi with Star Wars Vison.  Last year, a second volume of 9 Animated Shorts was released with the rest of the animation world getting in on the action.  It somehow blew away Volume One with its incredible imagination and willingness to look beyond the Jedi vs. Sith conflict, so much so it found a spot onto my list of the Best Titles I Reviewed in 2023.  Well since I did a best of list for Volume One, for this forthcoming May the 4^th it’s only right that todays Top 5 Wednesday looks at the Top 5 Stories from Star Wars Visions 2