The Matrix Resurrections

Thomas Anderson feels his life is moving in a loop: same city, same job, same amazing woman he meets at a coffee shop everyday.  What Thomas perceives as reality, however, is anything but.  As a group of familiar strangers burst into his life, Thomas begins to remember who he really is…or who he used to be.  Awoken to two new worlds, Thomas must relearn everything that made him “The One” if he is to brave a brand new Matrix to save the one thing that still matters the most: his lost love Trinity.

 
I reviewed the Matrix movies two years ago for the 20^th Anniversary of the first film (Jeez, 20 freaking years, I’m old).  To me, the original is still a high bar of action/scifi/cyberpunk storytelling that feels timeless, despite some storytelling flaws and some of its revolutionary visual effects showing their age.  The sequels diluted the near perfect formula of the first, devolving into Philosophy 101 classes with some occasional action peppered in to keep viewers awake.  By the end of The Matrix Revolutions, the story felt stretched beyond what it should have been.  In my mind, “Where we go from there…is a choice I leave to you,” is where The Matrix should have ended.  And yet, against all odds, The Matrix is back with a 4^th Chapter, 18 years after the conclusion of The Matrix Revolutions.  Can the lure of The Matrix still make me go “whoa”?  Or is this another case of too little, too late and why do anything else at all?
 

FIF#151-Komi Can’t Communicate

Komi Shouko is the most popular girl at Itan Private High School.  She’s beautiful, elegant, refined and stoic to a fault.  What many fail to notice is…Komi isn’t exactly good at talking to people.  The mere though of conversation freezes the popular beauty with fear and she can’t seem to find a way to get better.  Enter Tadano Hitohito, Komi’s classmate who has his own internal insecurities.  Yet, he takes notice of Komi’s plight and offers to help her talk and complete a lifelong dream of making 100 friends. 

I know I said last week was the FIF Season Finale…buuuuuut there was one more free Friday and this one’s been on my radar for a while since it popped up as a fresh, weekly aired title on Netflix.  The look on Komi’s face that’s both hilarious and very cute caught my attention, along with the title that I swear couldn’t be that obvious…but it was.  Honestly, if Komi Can’t Communicate’s first episode was just a 20 min short feature, I’d be ok with it.  As a first episode, its probably one of the best Anime debuts I’ve seen in a while.

Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ Part 10 Episodes 43-47

Neo Zeon threatens to destroy itself as factions belonging to Haman Kahn and Glemy Toto clash.  It’s the opening Judau Ashta and his comrades have been waiting for.  Judau never imagined he would become the key player in the final battle of an interstellar war.  But his time has come and now he must face Haman, the Neo Zeon’s most powerful warrior, in a final showdown.  What kind of future is waiting for Judau, Haman and the rest of the Universal Century?  No matter the cost or outcome, the First Neo Zeon War ends here. 

Well, that’s all folks.  From ruined and horrible beginnings, Gundam ZZ somehow managed to pull off a pretty decent finale.  It doesn’t match the depressing and powerful finale of Zeta but in a way, I don’t think it’s supposed to.  ZZ was supposed to be a different show from Zeta altogether but started off in a less than ideal fashion.  It makes sense that the finale should reflect Tomino’s intentions to deliver a much more uplifting finale, which also planting the seeds of one more battle to come after this story ends.
 

Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ Part 9 Episodes 38-42

Leaving Bright Noa and the Argama behind on Earth, Judau and his friends head back into space.  Here, theyre equipped with a brand new battleship, the Nael Argama, and prepare to continue the fight against Haman Kahn and Neo Zeon.  Waiting for them are some old enemies who have grown fiercer and much stronger.  But theyre not the only ones with a score to settle in space.  Behind enemy lines, Glemy Toto plots his own rebellion, leading to a potential civil war within Neo Zeon itself.

Gundam ZZ reaches its penultimate set of episodes today and…ugh, I guess it couldn’t help but return to some terrible old habits, if only for a little bit.  I feel like a lot of time in this set could’ve been dedicated to other storylines.  But we just had to have some more of that incredibly tiresome and troublesome humor pop in.  I’m not even going to try and defend it as the finale is gonna be just as serious as any normal Gundam finale, which it should be.  But, I’m only kind of gripping about one episode and a smidge of another.  Time wasting issues aside, some characters got some long overdue development and Judau found himself starting the final path towards his ultimate destiny.
 

T5W#333-Top 5 Best Titles I’ve Reviewed in 2021

2021 is almost over and it was quite a follow up to 2020, both the busiest and most productive year I’ve had on this blog.  With the world still in the state it’s in, I wanted to make it my mission to cheer everyone up with good reviews and entertaining rants if it came to that.  This year, I increased my review quota by posting two reviews a week, something I aim to continue in 2022.  Believe it or not, I’m not sure if that increased the number of titles I’ve looked at in anyway.  Still, from Macross to Bubblegum Crisis to a tour of the works Studio Trigger, I’ve kept busy and, as is tradition, it’s time to choose the Top 5 Best Titles I’ve Reviewed in 2021.  I hope you’ve enjoyed these selections too and I cant wait to see what 2022 brings us in a few days.  Til then, enjoy the last Top 5 Wednesday of 2021 Dear Readers.