Anime: Domestic Girlfriend (overview)

 

Content Warning: Nudity, sexual activity between teens and adults, adultery, lies, slight transphobia, Yakuza, and “no Chromo” incest.

I know that I’m late to this party but I’m here now. And it was a wild ride. You see, like many of you out there, about three years ago, I saw Gigguk’s video about this show. I thought it sounded fun, thought about looking it up, but forgot about it. Thanks to a friend, I got Crunchyroll. And I looked this show up after remembering it. And, I’m not going to lie, this show broke my damn heart. Hold on to your butts, this is going to be a weird one.

Just a second. Before we get into this one, I want to explain that I’m not going to do an episode by episode breakdown of the show. Instead, I’m going to talk about the characters, their journeys through the show, and why this show made me cry. Also, this is going to be filled with spoilers, so I want you watch the show, and then come back and read this. It’s a 5 out of 5, okay? It’s only 12 episodes.

Our story starts by introducing us to the main male character, Natsuo, a high school student. He’s just slept with a girl he’s just met named Rui Tachibana, who just wanted to have sex just to try it, basically. After this, we get introduced to the girl that Natsuo really likes, one of his teachers named Hina. Next, we have the thing that makes this show what it is: The fact that Natsuo’s father is going to marry another woman (Natsuo’s mother died ten years ago), who turned out to be Hina and Rui’s mother. So, Rui and Hina are sisters. And Natsuo is going to be their step brother. Yeah. You think this would be the makings of a romantic comedy, but it’s really not. Sure, there’s going to be some things that make us laugh, but you’re probably going to cry more than laugh.

So, who is Natsuo? He’s an aspiring author (way to hook my interest), but a relatively normal teenage boy. He isn’t a terrible guy, from what we’ve seen. He has emotional depth, and empathy, but he’s very clearly a teenage boy. He isn’t a cardboard cutout, he seems nice enough, but aside from his desire to be a writer and his infatuation with Hina, there’s not a lot about him that I picked up on the show.

Let’s go to Hina next. She’s a new teacher and that clearly attracts the boys at school. She’s dismissive of all of them, but seems to show some affection for Natsuo. This is something I didn’t quite understand. While he’s not as crude as his two male friends, there’s nothing he real does besides being nice. Maybe that’s the thing that makes Hina like him. I don’t know. Anyway. Shortly after the show starts, we find out that Hina is dating a man who’s married to another woman. And when Rui finds out, she’s less than pleased. You see, Hina and Rui’s father cheated on their mom and left her for the other woman. Only happenstance allows Natsuo and Rui to find out that Hina is doing this. Now, Hina has a good reason for liking this older man, Shuu, as he was the one person who was nice to her when she was in high school, but he was a teacher. I get the sense that this was done to have Hina draw parallels between her feelings for him and Natsuo’s feelings for her, but that didn’t quite connect for me. For one thing, Hina didn’t get involved with the teacher until after she was in college, when they happened to run into each other (it’s later revealed that he had a crush on her when she was in high school but didn’t let it be know). The other thing is that Shuu was just trying to be a nice guy to her, as she turned up in his class room to each lunch, because she was accused of flirting with another girl’s love interest (behind her back, because teenage girls). There’s a totally different dynamic between Shuu’s actions as a teacher compared to hers. Shuu saw someone in a difficult time in their life who needed someone to be a friend and he stepped up. If he fell in love later, I can understand. When it comes to Hina’s friendliness to Nasuo, I don’t know what there is. There’s only two, maybe three times shown with them interacting in any significant way before they become surprise step siblings. However, once she commits to being with Natsuo, she commits hard. This is after she’s broken things off with Shuu, but also after she’s caught Natsuo and Rui kissing (don’t worry, we’ll get into it) and has moved into her own place. I think Hina just let herself get caught up in the emotion of love without thinking about it. Perhaps because she was the “other woman” or perhaps it was seeing so much of her teenage infatuation reflected in Natsuo’s for her, or maybe both, that let her lose herself in this love affair. And what does it cost her? Everything. You see, Natsuo and Hina hook up (for the first time, I think) during the school trip to Okinawa and a photographer catches them kissing in the background of a picture. This is found out by the school principal and she’s forced to transfer at the end of the term. She TELLS NOTHING TO NATSO about this, moves without telling him, changes phone numbers, calls her mother ONCE to let her know that she’s okay, and pretty much starts over. Without telling Natsuo. That’s the part that kills me. She got caught, took all the blame, and destroyed her whole life for his love for her, and then cuts him out of her life completely afterwards. And, because we see a ring he gave her in the final shot to the show, we KNOW THAT SHE STILL LOVES HIM. This, this right here, is what gutted me. Also, since I have spoilers for the manga, I know that it’s also an allusion to that ending. And it hurts even more.

Anyway, let’s talk about the best girl, Rui. Okay, there is no “best girl” in this series. All of these girls are complex and very human girls that are all equally good and deserve the best. Like Gigguk, I just wanted everyone to be happy. But you don’t show me a girl with short blue hair and red eyes and NOT want me to give her everything. And it doesn’t hurt that she reminds me of a lot of versions of Rei Ayanami in the various AU Evangelion stuff I’ve read, it terms of her personality. Rui is one of those characters that you see and you don’t know what to make of her right away. When she discovers that Natsuo is going to be her step brother, and then later her classmate when she changes schools when they all move in together, she just wants to pretend that the two of them having sex never happened. Which was her intention when she had sex with a boy she’d never met before, because she wanted to know what it was like. However, as the story goes along, she becomes friends with Natsuo and ends up starting to really like him, like that. Before Natsuo makes it official with Hina, but is still lusting after her, Rui says she wants to try kissing and stuff, just to see what it’s like and wants to keep doing it. This leads to what happens with Hina walking in and seeing them. One thing I like about Rui is that she can communicate clearly when she wants to, she also has some tact. After she’s caught kissing Natsuo, she has a talk with Hina about it. And she flat out says “it’s not like we’re related by blood.” Yeah, she’s that kind of girl. And she’s the one who is driven to push Hina away from Shuu for moral reasons. If I remember correctly, she even says something like “what would mom say about this?” But she doesn’t tell her mom. She’s not that mean. Instead, she argues logically from an emotional point of view. Rui would probably be seen a neurodivergent in some circles, but I think that’s not quite right (I mean, it could be). What I see with her is someone who can articulate what she wants, when she knows what she wants, without getting caught up in things. She’s cute, she’s smart, and she’s got a good heart. So, seeing her kind of end up with Natsuo at the end makes me feel okay. Rui is better suited to Natsuo, in my opinion, because they’re closer in not only age but personality that Hina and Natsuo. Hina is passionate love, Rui is devotional love. There’s a difference. And I know that if the same thing happened to Rui that happened to Hina, Rui would handle in a mature way. So, yes, I am Team Rui, manga be damned. One of the things I like the best about the relationship between Rui and Natsuo is that we see Rui fall in love with him. Sure, it might be after they've already slept together, and she's kind of been the instigator of things between them, but she starts to feel things and expresses herself. That makes her, in my opinion, one of the better characters. She doesn't overtly lie about things and when she realizes what love is, and that she wants it from Natsuo, she says something. She even told Hina that she had feelings for Natsuo, making her better than most everyone else in the show.

Now, one other thing that Rui does is she makes friends with Momo. Momo is precious and must be protected and deserves only the best. Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, Momo is (to use an old phrase) the “town bicycle.” Everyone has had a ride. She admits to Rui that she’s been with 30 guys. Did I mention that she’s a high schooler? Yeah. Now, this has caused to have a bad reputation with both the boys and the girls at school. When some of Rui’s friends approach her about hanging out with Rui, she just lays down the law: “I choose who I get to be friends with.” When someone says that, you know they’re a winner. But, with just the one real episode we get with Momo, you understand why Momo is the way she is. You see, she’s been in a lot of abusive relationships and was even held captive for a few days by a guy. And you know that means that she’s got some serious damage. Which is that her parents are in a loveless marriage and she spends most of her time alone, which is better than having them around and arguing. If anyone deserves Natsuo’s passion, it really was Momo. But, when he sees the scars on her wrists as they’re getting undressed, “I keep them covered up, people only see them when I’m getting naked,” he stops. Instead of fucking her brains out, he makes her dinner. This is a point for Natsuo, but it also shows Momo that she doesn’t need to have sex to have someone keep her company, it’s just the easiest way when you’re a horny teenager. Oh, and she’s one of the smartest students in the school, too. And that, too, I feel is a factor in to why she was suicidal, because she was smart enough to know what was happening to her life and what it would mean. Plus, being smart is a great way to become depressed, just ask every kid who was in any sort of “bright kids” program when they were younger.

While there are other characters, I don’t think we get enough time with them to really get into them here. They’re important, yes, but I want you to learn about them yourself. While they’re important for the plot, they’re not the emotional core of the story. The three main characters, Natsuo, Rui, and Hina are who the story revolves around. Momo is important because she shows that Natsuo is more than his dick, but she also asks Rui if she can date him, which makes Rui have to face facts that she does in fact have feelings for him. And that’s important to the emotional story.

I do not love triangles. I don’t like most love triangles in most stories because they’re not well done. And I don’t like the idea in general because someone has to lose. Unless we’re working with different cultural norms, or are operating in a power fantasy, people usually couple up. Which means that someone who loves someone who doesn’t love them is going to end up hurt. This love triangle, this emotional conflict, is very well done. It hurts but in a good way. It twists the knife but you welcome it. Because it does something that all art should aspire to: It makes you feel something.

Domestic Girlfriend is one of those series that I know I’m going to think about again and again, and hopefully revisit in the future. I’m currently looking at picking up the series on physical media, that’s how much it hit me. And I hope it will hit you the same way.

Rating: 5 out of 5
Suggestion: One of the best things I’ve ever seen, please watch it.

Manga: Gigant, volume 9

 

Content Warning: Nudity (I don’t know why I even add it to this one anymore), violence, death, gore, and casual misogyny.

Here we are, the second to last volume of Gigant. And we are in for a ride. Buckle up, kids, because we are going into some wild stuff this time around.

The volume kicks off with our battle between the Future Weirdos and Chiho facing off against the reborn Satan. Or healed enough to fight again Satan. And it starts off with a bang. Or a finger laser. Not seen in the first round of the fight, Satan can make a laser come out of one of his fingers. While Chiho saves Rei, one of the Future Weirdos loses his arm to the laser. While the Future Weirdos try to rip out Satan’s heart (there’s a line I never thought I’d write), Chiho and Rei have a conversation about things. The sum of the conversation is Chiho asking for permission to stay and fight and Rei not wanting her to fight. Chiho, honey, you don’t need his permission for anything. However, Rei relents and agrees to meet Chiho at his house after she’s defeated Satan.

While this conversation is going on, the Future Weirdos are getting their asses kicked. They rip out Satan’s heart but that isn’t enough to slow him down. Using some super psionic power, he throws them off, and even kills two of them (the men, of course), while one of them explodes out of him. And this still isn’t enough to kill him!

But Chiho arrives, having grown even larger than normal, and just, kinda, sits on him. Mind you, she slams down on him pretty hard, but it just doesn’t look that impressive. However, Satan still isn’t down for the count and he pushes her off of him, even though he only comes up to her knee. She then bends down, picks him up, and starts tearing him apart. Literally pulling him in half and then pulling off his head. She continues to tear him up and drops the pieces in the river they’ve been fighting in.

And the world starts to celebrate. People are cheering, crowds are yelling Chiho’s stage name, and the three survivors, Chiho and the two female Future Weirdos, stand there to catch their breath.

And that’s when the “mothership” arrives. Three kilometers (over a mile) across at least, this massive satellite just hangs in the air above the city. One of the surviving Future Weirdos says that she was going to go up into orbit to take care of them but they’ve come to them. Like, how the fuck were you going to do that? I have so many questions. And it’s not like we’re going to get any answers. Because the satellite starts sucking up a bunch of stuff. Trees, trucks, helicopters, fighter jets, and finally the Future Weirdos and Chiho get sucked up into the satellite.

In side, we meet Plato and Socrates, the AIs. They look like the worst NEET out there, but with the heads of the famous philosophers’ sculptures for heads. Seriously, they’re sitting on a couch, wearing Millennial/Gen X band shirts, with Xbox controllers in their hands. Yeah. After introductions, Chiho asks if they’re aliens, to which they laugh, but then say it “racist” to call them AIs as they’re “pretty much human now.” Yeah, okay, dude. They were tasked to watch humanity but they learned all of the wrong lessons. They say that they thought they had humanity all figured out, but now they’re confused by Chiho, because she’s altruistic as you get. They assumed that humanity was selfish and self centered, thinking only for themselves, but here comes Chiho, risking life and limb for a world, a government, that has imprisoned her, ostracized her for being in a relationship with Rei, and otherwise only seems to love her because of her heroism. One of the Future Weirdos steps up and points out that humanity is both selfish and selfless, we’re all sinners and saints. The AIs counter that the destruction of the earth was decided by a large number of humanity. Chiho chimes in that she didn’t even save everyone because she was thinking about everyone else. She then says that they’re not even close to human, they’re just superficially mimicking them. One of them says “That’s like your opinion” and it always gets a laugh out of me.

The Future Weirdo then asks the AIs what they’re going to do with humanity after this, which makes them start discussing it. Chiho asks that they just leave humans alone, to which they agree, with a stipulation. They want to touch Chiho’s boobs. Jesus Christ on a pogo stick, why is everyone obsessed with Chiho’s boobs? Oh. Wait. Anyway. We find out that the AIs have only been studying men, not women, because “they’re inferior to men, they’re just chicks.” So. We have giant Incel AIs that have god-like powers. Fucking great. You know, I don’t even think that this is even slightly unrealistic. I’ve heard about what happens when you expose learning AI to Twitter…

But now it’s time for out punch out ending. While they’re arguing about being able to touch boobies, the news reports that the US has launched nuclear missiles against the satellite. By the time the AIs are made aware, they’ve already hit. We see the explosion moving down the hallways they’re all in, Chiho screaming no and how she wants to see Rei again, and then… We cut to an outside shot of Tokyo, where the sky is lit up, and then goes dark.

Now, I will leave you with the text from the last two pages of this volume:

WILL HUMANITY BE BLESSED BY A GREAT MIRACLE?

AND IF IT IS, WILL WE EVEN REALIZE IT’S HAPPENED?

CAN PAPICO AND REI’S LOVE ALTER THE FATE OF THE WORLD?

IT ALL ENDS NEXT VOLUME!

Rating: 5 out of 5
Suggestion: While clearly rushed and trying to get all of the points out as quickly as possible, this one really hits hard.

Manga: Gigant, volume 8

Content Warning: Nudity (of course), violence, gore, and

Are you ready for a short one? Because this volume is one big fight scene. As such, this will probably be a much shorter entry that usual. And I will strongly advise you to pick up this volume and read it yourself, as my commentary and description will never equal the art.

Okay, let’s get started.

This volume opens with one of the Weirdos trying to take down Satan with some energy blasts but it doesn’t work. Satan starts to retaliate with some kind of… telekinesis? I don’t know, they doesn’t explain it, but he moves his hands and the Weirdos start to bleed and double over. Satan gets tackled from behind while the others get into place. They crawl into his mouth, ears, and nose, but stay too long and he expels them out with fire.

Meanwhile, Chiho is making her way to the fight, while Rei is kind of stumbling around, and we get little glimpses of the destruction that Satan’s presence alone is causing. We see people continuing to kill themselves, but we also see people holding each other, crying or screaming, people bleeding from their eyes and ears and mouth. It’s really bad.

The fight continues, with the Weirdos ganging up on Satan, trying to save one of them that he’s grabbed in his hand. They kick, punch, and try to choke him, but it has no effect, and he handedly wins the fight. And that’s when Chiho shows up. She flies right into one of his eyes, making him bleed and stumble back. This is enough to make him release the others. Three of them shrink down and fly into his other eye, while the one that’s being crushed in his hand is able to free herself.

Chiho explodes out of Satan’s head, with the other three that were also inside of him, exploding out of his torso. They stand there, catching their breath, as the suicide field being projected by Satan fails. We see people dead and bleeding all over, and we find that Rei was about to jump off of a building. But, with his head clear, he stops and moves away from the edge.

While the Future Weirdos and Chiho stand there in the river, catching their breath themselves and everyone celebrating their victory, they look up to see a group of four new monster demon things. One of which has a stinger looking thing where his junk would be. They have too many arms, weird split heads, and are just plain body horror looking things, but clearly designed from the human form. We have enough time to go “Are you kidding me?” Before the battle starts again.

And what a fight it is. These monster or demons or whatever are fairly powerful and some of them have an explosive attack that dissolves flesh. Which we find out when a stray shot hits some people standing by the river to watch the showdown, Rei among them. During this fight, we discover that Satan isn’t dead, it’s regenerating. These monsters are here to buy him time.

This fight, which is intense, is also pretty short, as they aren’t as powerful as Satan. It doesn’t take them long to eliminate these monsters, using their smarts, growing larger inside them, and the energy blasts they have. Sadly…

It’s just long enough to give Satan enough time to regenerate and get ready for round two. In the next volume.

This is another filler volume, even if the fight is good. I think it’s a shame that they used the time they had left to have this fight last as long as they did. That said, it is a great fight, with full page spreads and all that good stuff. You see just how powerful both sides are, and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. But knowing that there’s only two more volumes after this makes it hard to justify the time it took to have the fight in the first place.

Rating: 3 out of 5
Suggestion: If you like gory fights, you like it. Otherwise, this will probably be a dud of a volume for you.

Manga: Gigant Vol 7

Content Warning: Nudity (duh at this point), suicide, demonic imagery, and exposition dumping.

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve done anything with this series (much less this blog) and since this series is going to be coming to a close this year, at least for the official translation, I thought I’d catch up. Let’s get started!

This volume begins with a bit of a slow opening, with some panels showing how Chiho and Rei are dealing with the fallout of their break up. Rei seems listless, but Chiho is working hard and trying to get acting roles. This culminates to a fake out. We think that Rei and Chiho, who have been crying, are about to experience a happy reunion, but it’s not him in her apartment, it’s the Future Weirdos.

After a bit of confusion, and a Doremon reference, we get an exposition dump about the Future Weirdos and what’s actually going on. You see, our Weirdos (who are a military unit) have come back in time from 2135, where the human population has dropped to 85 million, due a war with a pair of AIs. Created in 2019 by your favorite Evil Empire, Google, Plato and Socrates have loaded themselves on to a satellite and have built a super satellite from space junk. In the future, after studying humanity, these AIs will end up trying to destroy humanity, and so our Future Weirdos have come back to stop them. This explains the Terminator references in the earlier volumes.

Moving on a bit, we have the Future Weirdos teaching Chiho how to fly and do energy blasts. It also looks like one of the Future Weirdos is falling in love with Chiho… Poor slob.

Meanwhile, we have some cuts to Rei and some of the stuff that’s going on. The birds start falling out of the sky as Satan approaches. In addition, suicides are increasing the closer Satan gets to Tokyo. While Rei’s friends are fleeing Tokyo, his dad is committed to seeing how all this plays out. People are also starting to feel sick, too, including Chiho. But it’s not because of Satan that Chiho is feeling unwell. It’s because she’s pregnant. Yeah. That broken condom in the last volume has come full circle. We’ll be circling back to this in a minute, but first, I want to talk about something that happens before that. When Chiho gets home, before she takes the test, she catches two of the Future Weirdos watching some of her adult films. Getting embarrassed, she turns it off, but we linger on these two. From what they say, mating isn’t something that’s done in the future, and is even damaging. However, humans being humans, this leads the two of them to experiment a bit, and they end up leaning in for a kiss. I find this whole thing fascinating, as they’ve been showing how sex focused our modern society is. I’m not saying it is, but the lens of the series thus far as been sexual in nature. Look at our main characters: An AV actress and her number one fan, who’s a teenage boy. We’ve seen Chiho naked and performing sexual acts since the very first chapter. Rei and Chiho have had sex several times on panel. And let’s not forget that Chiho is naked when she grows larger and fights. I just thought this whole contrast to be interesting.

Anyway, moving on, we have Chiho telling Rei what’s going on. There’s a tearful reunion, with Rei being very happy to be a father, but also not wanting to be a leech on Chiho. It’s one of those things that’s going to be hard to figure out in the future, but we must wonder, do these two even have a real future?

There’s a funny little thing involving Mochi, Chiho’s dog in case you’ve forgotten. While the Future Weirdos are discussing what happened to the Captain’s (the guy who died and gave Chiho the wrist thing way back at the beginning) “time orb,” Mochi finds it and accidentally used it. Chiho is upset, as that dog has been her close companion during all of this, but the Weirdo’s reason that he’s only gone a few days into the future, so he’ll be okay. This is probably one of the weirdest things in this volume so far, but I do wonder how it’ll be important in the future. Because I have a hunch it will be.

Now, it’s time to bring this volume to a close with the arrival of Satan. As Satan gets closer to Tokyo, we start following Rei as he travels… Somewhere. I’m assuming he’s on the way to school. He starts seeing people throwing up. And then people jumping in front of subway cars. He makes his way to the streets, only to have people landing on the ground around him, having thrown themselves off of the tops of the surrounding buildings. Chiho calls him and he admits that he’s feeling suicidal, and can’t stop himself. Meanwhile, we see Rei’s mom about to slit her wrists, but his father comes home right in the nick of time and stops her. When it comes to Chiho’s side of the story, she hasn’t told the Future Weirdos about her being pregnant and one of them overhears her discussing it with her assistant or manager, they don’t say who this guy is. Anyway, when the Weirdos find out about her condition, they say they’ll handle Satan by themselves. When Chiho asks if they’ll be okay, they don’t really answer. When pressed, the one that’s kind of developing a crush on her assures her that they’ll be fine. Chiho doesn’t seem to believe him but doesn’t try to go with them. This is when she calls Rei and then she takes off to help save the world.

The volume ends with the Weirdos facing off against Satan, seen in full for the first time…

This volume is really where we see that the creator realized that he had to “wrap it up” so to speak and get on with the ending. Several questions we’ve had since the beginning of the series are answered in just a few pages. We’re also seeing things that could have been left for a while, such as Chiho’s pregnancy, being brought up so they can also be resolved, too. All in all, I rather enjoyed finally getting to know what is actually going on and getting things moving. Even if this feels rushed…

Rating: 4 out of 5
Suggestion: Pick it up, we’re almost done.

Anime: A Silent Voice

 

Content Warning: Suicide attempts, kids being assholes, social anxiety and a very abridged story.

So… This is going to be an interesting review. Why? Well, it’s because it’s not as good as the manga. Thanks for coming by and hope you’ll read some more reviews!

Okay, okay, let’s talk about the movie, I guess. The movie begins with Shoya getting ready to kill himself. He takes all the money and gives it to his mom and then goes to a bridge and climbs on the railing and starts to fall. Only to be brought back to reality by a family lighting off fireworks. At this point, we go back to when he was a kid and in school. There’s a montage to establish who Shoya is with his friends and the rest of the kids in class. And then Nishimiya shows up. From here, Shoya starts to bully her, and the rest of students either quietly support him or stay out of it. They don’t like Nishimiya because she’s a “burden” to them and they’re having to adapt to her and they don’t want to. She’s “weird,” she’s “odd,” she’s “different.” And that’s never okay but they are kids. His bullying escalates and he hurts Nishimiya. After being confronted by the teachers, all of the kids blame Shoya for everything and he tries to defend himself by throwing the rest of them under the bus. Shoya’s mom has to pay Nishimiya’s mom for the hearing aids and then Shoya is bullied and exiled from friends.

We skip forward, back to where we were and Shoya tracks down Nishimiya to return the notebook. Again, she runs away and he follows her and talks to her using sign language. He apologizes. And then things start to change. He starts to change by helping out his classmate, Nagatsuka…

Okay, you know what? I can’t really do this review. Because I’ve already done this. It’s really hard to go over the plot of the movie when it’s the same as the manga, just missing some parts. Unlike a some others I can think of (Akira leaps to mind), it just tells the exact same story, with those same emotional beats, but a lot more quickly. There’s no movie subplot, which I think is a real shame. They also don’t give our various side characters any real character at all. In the manga, we really got to know these characters and understand them. In the movie, they’re just kind of there. And the ending is earlier on in the story than the manga but is still fairly good, it just doesn’t feel as powerful as the ending of the manga.

But I want to talk about what is good about this movie. One thing you don’t get in manga is sound. The movie uses sound and silence to great effect, as well as some powerful music. This is one of the best parts of the movie and I really enjoyed it. It also shows how someone who can’t hear can be alerted by other things. A very good example is when Nishimiya after Shoya is in the hospital and has a dream that he’s dying or has died. When she goes there and starts to cry, Shoya shows up, having had his own dream and finally woken up from his coma. When he goes there, he calls out to her but she can’t hear him. But he puts his hand on the railing to steady himself, which makes it move. Nishimiya feels this and realizes that he’s there. It’s subtle but works so much better in motion rather than panel by panel. There’s also a lot of visual cues about what’s going to happen with Nishimiya’s suicide attempt. The same sequence Shoya sees when he ends up saving her is shown when he thinks about killing himself at the start of the movie, again during the montage when he’s a kid and jumps off the bridge with his friends, and again when he jumps off the bridge after Nishimiya when her notebook is thrown into the river after he returns it. This same view of the water and the landing happens again and again, until he falls to what might be his death. There’s also several moments of Nishimiya and Shoya trying to catch each other’s hands when one of them falls. It’s not until that life is on the line that they’re able to connect. And that’s what this movie shows so well, is how Nishimiya and Shoya keep trying and failing to connect until the very end. It just adds to how visually well done the movie is. If you read the manga for the plot, you have to see movie for the visuals. It’s a true companion piece to the manga, as you’ll bring the full context from the manga with you when you watch it, making it so much better. Assuming you’re not like me and keep going “but what about this?” when they skip stuff or cut it short. Don’t be like me.

I feel that this movie is important. It’s about empathy and redemption. And we need that. It’s also not about the idealized or romanticized version of redemption we see in movies and media but the true reality of redemption. It’s a process, not an event. And it’s messy and it doesn’t always work the way to expect it to. You try and fail, try again and fail a bit better. And that’s what Shoya does. He tries and fails. Keeps trying and fails spectacularly, by driving everyone away with his mouth. But he isn’t there to succeed in the eyes of everyone else but in Shoko’s eyes. That’s all he cares about. And while redemption isn’t an event, you sometimes face a choice, when you have a chance to not undo your old mistakes but when you get a chance to show how you’ve changed and what’s really in your heart. And that’s what Shoya does: He is given a chance to do the right thing, to show what’s in his heart, and he does it. Without thinking, without stopping, he risks it all to save Nishimiya and it costs him. All this event really does to him is give him clarity. It doesn’t make him a better person in an instant but does give him perspective and a chance to be who he wants to be. To live up to the words he says.

And that’s why this is an important movie. There’s a lot of other reasons why this is important but it doesn’t matter why it’s important only that it is. I do find it interesting how I have a different perspective on Shoya compared to other reviews I’ve seen. When he tells everyone about their flaws or problems on the bridge when he drives everyone away, I don’t see it as some big thing. I see someone being honest about the people around them. He calls Miyoko a coward, because she is. She really is. But there’s nothing wrong with being a coward sometimes. And it seems to me that having someone call you out on your shit is a very important thing to have in your life. Perhaps I’m a terrible person like Shoya is. But I’d like to think that if I was put in the same situation that Shoya was in with Shoko, watching her starting to jump, I’d at least try to do the same thing. I don’t know.

Okay, I have to bring this to a close, otherwise, I’m going to go on and on about this topic and put my foot in my mouth. To sum up my feelings (not thoughts) on the movie, I didn’t think it was great. But it was good. And I want people to watch it. That’s why it’s my feelings, not my thoughts. Because emotions aren’t logical. Much like friendship.

Addendum: While I was in the shower, watching some video essays about this film, I realized a few things about this film and manga. I just realized that Shoya doesn't know where Miyoko ended up. He doesn't know anything about Naoko. But you know what he does know? What he doesn't have to ask anyone about? Where to find Nishimiya. Maybe he looked her up somehow but it's not shown on screen. We don't know how he knows but he does. I'm thinking he was keeping track of her, in some way or another, and that's why they didn't show it. And that shows how dedicated he is to changing. It's not perfect but it's a little thing that shows a bit more about him. Another thing that people have talked about is how bullies can change and the like. While I do agree that they can, the difference between some of these stories and Shoya's story is one key thing: He takes the effort to apologize, learn to communicate with Nishimiya directly, and then takes action on his apology. Sure, he didn't mean to try and be friends with her but he still said it and does it after he does. I've also realized that I am missing parts of the context in these things because I've never suffered anxiety to the degree that these characters do. I didn't become afraid when I had to deal with bullying, I got mad. And then I became depressed because I knew it was wrong to act on my anger. Anxiety, to some degree, is about fear. And I didn't feel the same fear I did with those. And while I was lonely, I was never really alone, like Shoya. I always had a friend or two for most of my life. They might not have been the best people and we might have grown apart but I still had someone to talk to. And that might be a key difference. And now I think it's time to finish this up, before I discuss more about myself.

Rating: 3 out of 5
Suggestion: While a good watch and good movie, it’s not as good as the manga. Watch it anyway.

Other: The Complete Anime Guide - Japanese Animation Video Directory and Resource Guide

I don't have a picture for this one, so here's one show they talk about

 

Content Warning: Some very dated references and talking points

When you think about anime in America, most people I imagine are reading this probably grew up with Toonami and Adult Swim, at the earliest. However, there’s a longer history of anime in America, which brings me to this book. I found this book in the Goodwill a few years ago for the winning price of $3 and it’s in bad condition. Not terrible but not great. If you like what you read about it, just keep that in mind. A friend of mine referred to it as “the Weeb Dead Sea Scrolls” and they’re not far off. Allow me to fill you in.

Published in 1995 by Tiger Mountain Press, the majority of the text is written by Trish Ledoux and Doug Ranney. That first name might ring some bells for older anime fans, as she’s written several book on Japanese culture and anime. Brief aside, I once met her at PSU when she did a showing of Pompoko. It was… An experience. Anyway.

The book opens with a forward and an introduction, talking about the history of anime in Japan and making some comparisons to the American animation history. The first chapter is the more interesting one, starting with an essay about anime in America, the ones that were brought here with the when, the where, and the how. I found this really interesting, as it points out that for Boomers and Gen X, Speed Racer was the big cultural reference for them before anime was popular. I find this amusing, as I’ve never seen the original show. And I haven’t seen the live action film. This is even more amusing, as they discuss that John Travolta and Johnny Depp were attached to the film when it was in development at the time this book came out. After the introduction for the chapter, there’s a list of all of the anime that had been released on American TV up to this point. It’s a surprisingly short list but they do discuss each show; plot, production history, and cultural impact. There’s some shows and movies in here that I’ve never heard of, such as Prince Planet, Force Five, and Dragon Warrior. If you don’t know, Dragon Warrior is an anime is based on a video game with character designs done by the same guy that did Dragon Ball. Speaking of Dragon Ball, I forgot how dirty that show was and how it was edited. I mean, Bulma is a reference to bloomers, which every old anime fan knows about, whether they want to or not. I also found out that Captain Harlock had been shown on TV in the States! They did a Robotech (I’ve already written about this so we’re not going to get into it) and coupled it with another show to meet the episode number requirement for American syndication. This chapter ends with a description of Dragon Ball (and DBZ) and Sailor Moon. It’s interesting how they’re talking about how this is the Third Wave of anime in the US and wondering if it will stick, and then talk about the two shows that carried the wave forwards until we were flooded with anime in the US.

The next chapter is about “anime genres” and I find this a little… Dated? Offensive? I’ve never understood how people want to make up genres just for anime, when genres are not confined to media. For example, cyberpunk isn’t just for video games and RPGs, it’s for books, movies, anime, and even music. However, this chapter discusses some of more important shows in these four genres: Cyberpunk, Mecha, Noir, Romantic Comedy. Now, I will say that the Mecha genre is very much a Japanese thing, it wasn’t completely, even at that time. And Noir is originally a French genre, thus the name. However, I do think that the Japanese and anime does have some very unique spins or takes on these genres. When I think of Cyberpunk, I think of how it was the West worrying about Japan taking control of our technological and economic future. In the Japanese vein of Cyberpunk, it is much more about technology running amok and the corruption of the government and corporations. Mind you, those are still there in the various works of Cyberpunk but the Japanese brings it to the fore. So, for Mecha, there’s a lot to this, and I also think that most Mecha shows have strong influences from Cyberpunk, so to me it’s a subgenre of Cyberpunk during this period. Anyway, moving on. Now, Noir is different in Japan and they talk a lot about samurai anime that was coming out at the time. It’s interesting to see how many of the anime I would consider “classics” are in this genre. So, let’s talk about Romantic Comedy, shall we? One of the most important subgenres in anime and manga is the “magical girlfriend” until recently. And they don’t really name it here. I find this odd, as I have an RPG from about this time that does use the term. And while we think of the Magical Girlfriend subgenre as uniquely Japanese, it actually isn’t. Most Magical Girlfriend stuff is clearly inspired by old American TV shows, like I Dream Of Jeannie and Bewtiched. I think I’ve discussed this before. Ahem. One thing I find interesting is how they talk about Urusei Yatsura, which was a big deal for a long time but I don’t think I’ve seen it around in a while. There’s also Ranma ½, which was a cornerstone of the anime community during this time but has clearly fallen to the wayside. Why is that? Well, I recently picked up some of the show, so we’ll get into it. They also Kimagure Orange Road. When was the last time you heard that name? Have you even heard of it before? Because I saw ads for it everywhere when I was younger and it seems to have just vanished. Weird, isn’t it?

After this bit, there’s two more parts of the book I want to focus on. The first thing is the second half of this chapter. Sorted by genre, they give a summary of every single anime that was legally available in the US at the time. Think about that. There were so few shows, movies, and OVA for sale, they could talk about all of them. It gets even better in the next chapter, where they list each VHS tape, with those same summaries, in about 110 pages. This is mind blowing when you think about how much became available in just a few years after this book was published. And can you think of trying to do that now? There are websites for this now and they have hundreds of things listed. This truly is a time capsule of the anime scene in America at the time.

And speaking of time capsules, the next few parts of the book are lists of websites and online resources for finding fans of anime in America. These websites are USENET and FTP sites, with IP addresses! There’s a list of magazines and conventions that were happening. The book ends with contact information for the various companies that were distributing anime, followed by lists of major players in the production of anime and then the all the things they discussed in the book.

That was a hell of a things, wasn’t it? So, let’s talk about some of the things they did talk about. One thing they keep bringing up is Legend of the Overfiend. If you’re blissfully unaware of what that is, allow me to educate you. Overfiend is one of the most notorious anime to ever be released in the US. Why? Because it’s not only tentacle porn but there’s a lot of snuff and other stuff in there. Terrible things. Yes, I’ve seen it. I own it. I’ll talk about how exactly it ended up in my collection another time but I do want to say that I didn’t buy it myself. I mention this because a lot of people thought that all anime was hentai because of this series. In fact, some companies that were translating and releasing regular anime had an imprint or part of the company that was putting out hentai. Another reason why Overfiend was known was because it got a theatrical release. I’m not even joking. If Akira was what brought attention to anime, Overfiend turned a lot of people off. There’s also Devilman, by Go Nagai, which was another notorious anime that involved a lot of sex and violence. One thing that this book does is point out that America has some history of animation for adults but strangely doesn’t mention Heavy Metal, which I feel is the best known example of it.

To wrap things up, this book is a wonderful thing to look at. There’s no reference to Evangalion, which is was a game changer and wildly popular. Why? Because it wasn’t out in the US at the time. I think it was still getting started in Japan at the time this book was published. Had this book been released a year or two later, it would have been wildly different. More focus on DBZ and Sailor Moon for sure, less focus on Speed Racer and Astro Boy. I love how this is a snapshot of the time just before the anime boom in not only America but Japan as well. I’m glad I found this and will try to take as much care of it as I can. Because they just don’t make things like this anymore…

Rating: 4 out of 5
Suggestion: I would love for every current anime fan to read this, just to show them how different things were back then, but I fear this is going to become lost media.

Manga: Dominion Conflict Number 1, No More Noise

 Content Warning: Violence, police brutality, explosions, and two annoying android catgirls.

To round out Mecha March, I’m returning to the world of Dominion Tank Police. This time, we’re looking at Dominion, Conflict #1: No More Noise. Now, the canon of this setting is different than the original manga we looked at last time, with less pollution and a more organized Tank Police. However, there’s some new characters and some of the old ones are missing. Visually, it doesn’t look nearly as run down or decayed but the same aesthetic is still there in the building designs. Oh, and all the tanks are mini tanks, which seems to make Bonaparte a little less unique.

Our story starts with Urushi-Maru, the Skyscraper Pirate, flying his plane through the city and getting attacked by the tank police. This makes him drop his stink bombs on the wrong target. The following day, we get some little introductions to the rest of the tank police, including Habana, who uses a wheelchair, and some of the returning cast, like Brenten, before Leona (now a squad leader or Sargent) has to go to a meeting. There’s an inspection, talk about the hunt for Urushi-Maru, and then Leona gets assigned the Puma sisters to her squad. So it appears that they’re still criminals, or at least they were, but since they’re androids, they can’t be held accountable for their crimes. Whatever they might be.

After this, the story becomes more of a cop drama, with the story following around various characters at various locations. Brenten is trying to track down where Urusi-Maru might have landed, and dumps a review thing onto Leona at headquarters. While she’s there, we learn a bit about how the Bonaparte class tanks work and what is being offered in the replacements. There’s also a line about how the bacterial cloud is now gone, suggesting that what happened in the other manga might be some-what canon. We also follow around various members of the squad around the station house, learning a bit about how this world works and how police work is done. It’s a rather interesting read, if you’re into that kind of thing. To make a more recent reference, it’s kind of what they do in Hot Fuzz but with more characters and with more discussion of explosives.

As things move on, the investigation of Urushi-Maru continues, with a piece of his place being analyzed and making it look more likely that Sagawa Armaments being the company funding his piracy. This, of course, turns out to be correct and Leona and the tank police set up a steak-out at the factory. Sending in a smaller Uni (or is it Anna?) to check things out, she catches the factory owner and Urushi-Maru discussing their plans. As she’s a “bimbo” she screws everything up and the tank police have to move in. Except for Leona because her tank ends up surrounded by protesters. They seem to be anti-war, anti-police protesters and they pick her to pick on. Which is about the worst thing they could have picked.

This fight takes up most of the rest of the volume and it is fantastic. There’s really two battles going on, with most of the tank police going after Urushi-Maru and Leona having to deal with the head of Sagawa, who’s behind the wheel of some kind of APC. This fight is really good, with each tank and crew having a role to play in combat. Leona, of course, does a lot of crazy things that she shouldn’t be done. This includes using HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank) and Sabot rounds to blow open a hole in a wall that’s suppose to stop test rounds. While she tries to take out the corrupt boss, the others are going through the factory to try to capture Urushi-Maru and his female sidekick. You get to see both sides using all kinds of gadgets and equipment, as well as tactics and teamwork, trying to come out on top. Of course, the tank police come out on top and Urushi-Maru is captured.

With the main plot of the volume finished, the rest is tying up loose ends and the other plots woven into the story. And, yes, the paperwork. There are a few things left hanging but these were clearly there for another volume. Which never happened. As much as I like Shiro’s work, the man rarely finishes anything. And that makes this a very sad tale, as there’s plenty more to work with that’s just left on the table.

This is a much more polished version of the original manga, both in look and story, making for a mixed bag. While I like how much more cohesive the story is, the loss of the grit and grime in the setting takes away too much of it. It’s also really hard to tell stories about the police having tanks unless you strike a good balance between the two. The first version of the tank police was more focused on tanks and crime, while this one is much more focused on the police part of the tank police. Perhaps someday we’ll see that perfect version. Maybe it was already done in New Dominion Tank Police but I only saw one episode of that back in the day and don’t really remember it. That said, this is a fun read, despite the flaws.

Rating: 3 out of 5
Suggestion: If you liked the first one, you might like this one, too. If you like police dramas with a dash of the absurd and comical, this might be something for you, too.

And with this, I wrap up another Mecha March. Next year, I'll finally be doing the OVA of Dominion Tank Police. If you have any suggestions for what else to do for Mecha March next year, let me know.

Anime: Robotech - The Macross Saga

I'm not saying this is right but it does make a point

Content Warning: Violence, casual sexism (a product of its time), more violence, character death, apocalyptic destruction, and that god damn song!

When we discuss anime in America, the topic of Robotech is bound to come up. Robotech was part of the 80s cartoon boom that included many American and Japanese shows, many included giant robots, which were very popular at the time. What makes Robotech different is what it is. Robotech isn’t just one show, it’s actually three. When bringing over shows to the American market, there’s a small problem that companies run into, mainly the number of episodes. In Japan, at the time, most anime series lasted 26 episodes but the American TV market required more than double that for syndication. So, Harmony Gold didn’t just buy one show, they bought three. They then had to sit down and figure out how to connect these three unconnected but visually similar shows into a cohesive narrative. As such, they took elements from the plots from the shows and tried their best to make it all work. How that turned out is a matter of taste. Personally, I haven’t seen the whole thing but I have seen the original Macross saga and enjoyed it. However, I thought it was time to tackle the American version. Plus, I found a copy of the Macross Saga of Robotech for $20. Before we get too far into this, I just want to say that I’m not going discuss Harmony Gold and the various problems they’ve had or the whole thing with their various legal battles, because that’s not what I do. I will say that you can use Google to find out. Now, let’s get started.

The Macross Saga, the opening part of the Robotech series, begins with a bit of history. In 1999, an alien space ship landed on an island the Pacific and then World War 3 broke out (honestly, since we’re looking down the barrel of WW3 right now, I would welcome an alien ship turning up). Ten years later, the war is over and a new world government has been formed, and has investigated the mysteries of the alien ship and have created a bunch giant robots. After this introduction, we start our story proper, with the introduction of Rick Hunter. Rick will be our POV and central character for most of the series and it’s a good choice. When he’s introduced, he’s a teen pilot that doesn’t want to fight and looks down on those who engage in aerial combat, including his “big brother’ Roy Fokker. By the end of the series, we will see him change his stance on most everything but it does make sense as to why he’s become the way he is.

Another character we get introduced to is Lynn Minmei, a 16 year old girl that wants to become a star. Now, I understand why so many people dislike her (I have to admit that I’m not her biggest fan) but I do have to point out how young she is. This, I feel, explains why she acts the way she does, because she’s immature and little more than a child. She’s 16. And she does have a bit of naivety in her thinking, as well as a honking huge ego.

 Our story really gets started with the preparations for the launch of the alien spaceship, a warship, from the island, Macross Island on it’s madien voyage. Rick arrives, talks with Roy about why he stayed in the military after the end of the war, and we have our introduction of Minmei. However, things go sideways when the aliens known as the Zentradi attack, trying to capture the ship, the Macross. During this battle, Rick somehow ends up in the pilot seat of a Veritech fighter. He has to do something he never wanted to, engage in combat. Of course, since he’s got no idea what he’s doing, he barely does anything. However, he does discover that this fighter plane is more than meets the eye (I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself) as it transforms. The plane is now a human shaped robot. While fighting on the ground, he shoots up a battle pod, only to have the pilot climb out and try to fight him. The pilot is a 50 foot tall humanoid that could pass for human, if he was our size. Rick has trouble fighting him and has to be helped by Roy. Keep in mind, this enemy is killed on screen. Not stunned, not hurt, but killed. Bullet holes and everything. This was a contemporary of the old Dungeons and Dragons cartoon show, which was targeted by parent groups for being “too violent” when many of the enemies were tied up, pushed away and the like, rather than being hurt. Robotech was different. We’re two episodes in and there’s been several deaths on screen. Planes and other vehicles blown up and there’s no parachutes. And, as the series continues, we’re going to see major and minor characters die.

Moving on, the Macross ends up having to do a jump fold (their version of FTL travel) to get away from the Zentradi fleet. However, several things happen. The first is that they do it too close to the island and teleport part of the island with them. And then they wanted to pop out near the moon but end up pretty far out in the Solar System. To make matters even worse, they end up having the Fold Drive vanish, too. The ship is in a bad position but is far enough away that they have time to figure some things out. Their first order of business is to rescue the citizens of Macross Island and salvage the aircraft carriers that came with them. While Rick and Minmei are trapped in a part of the ship, the ship has taken in parts of the city and put them in a massive hold. The city becomes part of the ship. No joke.

After this, we get started on the military aspect of the show, with Rick joining the Robotech forces. He starts out as a Sargent but is swiftly promoted to a Lieutenant and ends up with two enlisted men under his command. This is also when the Macross starts making the long journey back to Earth. Side note, I find it interesting how the pilots are enlisted when in the American military, it’s the officers who fly combat aircraft. That’s why you want to join the Chair (Air) Force is we do end up in WW3, as only the officers fight. Personally, I’m too tall for combat aircraft, so sign me up. Put me in logistics and forget about me. You’ll get your bullets and beans, I promise.

Ahem. Moving on. While Rick is working his way up the chain of command, Minmei is also starting out her dreams. She participates in the Miss Macross contest and wins, and is soon working on her modeling and singing career. Which brings me to another problem some have with the show: That God Damn Song. Which song? My Boyfriend Is A Pilot. In the Japanese version of Macross, Minmei had several different songs she performed and each would capture a different emotion in the series. In the Robotech version, all we get is My Boyfriend Is A Pilot. And the singer isn’t that good. It’s really grating after the second time. And we’re going to be hearing it a lot.

As the show progresses, there’s a few things that start to happen. The first is Rick forming a complex relationship with Lisa Hayes, the second in command of the Macross and the Flight Control officer. At first, before joining the Robotech forces, he calls her names. Afterwards, they still don’t get along but he saves her during a battle on Mars. Lisa is exploring the mars base, hoping to find her fiance who was stationed there but the base has been abandoned for a long time. When she realizes that her fiance is really dead, she helps to blow up the base to save the ship but decides to stay behind to die. Rick saves her, against her will. After that, they get kidnapped by the Zentradi, who interrogates them. As the Zentradi are cloned and separated by sex, they have no concept of love or relationships. And this comes to one of the major changes between the Macross anime and Robotech: Protoculture. In the Japanese version, Protoculture was a type of culture that the Zentradi were told to avoid all contact with. In Robotech, Protoculture is the basis of Robotechnology, which is how they have their giant shape changing robots. This change is small in this part of the series but becomes a major plot point in the later parts of the show. 

 About a third of the way through the series, there’s a shift in tone and the stakes get higher. At this point, the Macross gets home to Earth, only to be told that they can’t offload the civilians. Why? Because the military told everyone that what happened at Macross Island was caused by Separatists, not aliens. Keep in mind, the whole damn ship is alien but whatever. Unable to drop off the civilians, the ship starts to fly around and just show that they’re still there.

The first major change is Rick and Minmei starting to grow apart. This starts with her singing career taking off after the Miss Macross competition and then gets worse when she visits home in Yokohama. While there, she runs into her cousin, Kyle. Kyle is a anti-war peacenik but also a Judo master, and he has a real problem with Rick and the military. Kyle is the fly in the ointment for the show on a lot of levels. Upon going back to the Macross, Kyle starts getting involved in Minmei’s career and even stars in a movie with her. The complications come in two ways. The first is that Kyle and Minmei have some chemistry, and yeah, they’re cousins, so ew. This drives Rick and Minmei further apart. The second complication is that Kyle reminds Lisa Hayes of her lost love and it makes her very confused for a while.

The next thing is serious and another big change in tone. It starts with Lisa getting distracted during a battle and Rick getting injured in a friendly-fire incident While he’s in the hospital, he has visions or dreams about rescuing Minmei and comes to realize that he needs the help of his friends. Meanwhile, Roy goes out to fight off another attack, and comes back injured. He doesn’t say anything and goes back to have dinner with his girlfriend, Claudia. I’ve kind of forgotten to talk about her but she serves on the bridge with Lisa and a group of girls. One thing that makes her stand out from the rest is that she’s black, which is rare in anime and her being in a position of authority, is even more rare. Anyway. Roy goes to have dinner with her as it was that they had planned and goes there even though he was badly injured. He might have survived but lost too much blood and pretty much dies in front of her. Roy’s death hits Rick hard and makes him have to grow up a little more.

 The last part of this absolute dump on Rick is when he loses one of the pilots under his command. Ben is a bit of a risk taker but Rick seems to like him. Unfortunately, he dies in a battle against the elite female Zentradi units. This really just hammers on Rick some more. However, after everything that’s happened, Rick just keeps rolling. He does have trouble writing the letter home about Ben’s death for his family.

Now, let’s take some time to talk about the Zentradi. The first forces that arrive are under the command of Breetai, a fairly intelligent and tends to think before he acts. With his advisor, Exedore, he keeps trying to understand the simply irrational and chaotic tactics of the humans. To further understand the “Micronians” Breetai sends a trio of spies to the Macross and learn more about the culture and ship. These spies lead to a lot of cringe humor for a while before they return. When they return, they end up corrupting the rest of Breetai’s men. But, we’ll come back to that in a bit.

Under Breetai’s command is a terrible person called Khyron. This guy is bloodthirsty warmonger and is willing to do anything for victory, including destroying the Macross, which is not what they’re suppose to do. It’s a good contrast from Breetai, who represents the best of the Zentradi, as a noble warrior who thinks before he acts. Meanwhile, Khyron is the worst of the Zentradi, driven to fight and kill without thought. This creates conflict between the two and Breetai calls back Khyron’s forces on at least one occasion.

Another commander is Azonia, the leader of the elite female warriors. One of these is Miriya, the ace of the Zentradi. In one of the battles, Miriya is defeated by one of the human warriors. This warrior is Max Sterling, the other pilot under Rick’s command. After this defeat, Miriya also undergoes micronization and tries to hunt him down. We’ll come back to that.

Moving on with the story. The Macross develops a new defensive shield to protect it while traveling to Ontario, who have agreed to take in the civilians. However, Khyron attacks the Macross and the shield overloads and all but destroys the city. In the aftermath, the Macross is ordered to leave the planet and stays in orbit from this point on. The drama on the ship continues with Lisa and Rick starting to developing feelings for one another, while Minmei is pushed away from Rick by Kyle. During this, the ship is attacked several times and even has enemy mecha (called Battle Pods) entering the city inside the ship and wreaking havoc. During one of the battles, Miriya is able to get inside the ship and begin her hunt for the pilot. There’s also those spies, who have managed to figure out how to get by in the city and will miss being there. Upon their return, as I mentioned before, they end up bringing a lot of stuff back with them that they don’t turn in. These include recordings of Minmei’s singing and dolls. All of this starts to get out in the fleet. They were also suppose to give a briefing to Breetai, Exodore, and Dolza, the supreme commander of the Zentradi forces. With his arrival, there’s now somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 million ships around the earth.

Now, let’s get back to Miriya and Max. He encounters her at a video arcade and challenges her to a video game version of flying and fighting in a Veritech. During the fight, Miriya realizes that she’s up against the same pilot she’s come here to kill. However, Max has fallen in love with her. After he defeats her, he makes a date with her the following night. When he arrives, she tries to kill him. She throws a knife and misses, and then charges him with another knife. Max, the ultimate chad, is able to get the knife she threw and defeats her. And, rather than killing her like she ask, he asks her to marry him. She agrees and this leads to a major wedding. However, before the wedding is the defection. During one of the fights, the three spies and several other Zentradi make their way to the Macross and apply for sanctuary. Captain Gloval, the captain of the Macross, using the wedding as propaganda. After the wedding, Miriya joins Max as a pilot and they go to war together. Ultimate. Chad. Confirmed.

During this battle, this is when some of the Zentradi who didn’t defect instead mutiny. This leads to a meeting between a mirconized Exodore and the humans. The long and the short of it is that Breetai has realized that he can’t win against the humans and has learned to respect them and doesn’t want to destroy them. Dolza, however, has other plans. The main Zentradi fleet, which is (again) almost 5 million ships launches an attack against the Earth.

This is the end of the main story right here. 5 million Zentradi ships versus the Macross, the Zentradi ships under Breetai’s command, and Earth gigantic laser cannon. That’s right, Earth has a giant laser. And it does a lot of damage when it needs to. But the Zentradi deal a lot of damage. Something like 95% of the surface of the Earth is hit by weapons fire during the assault. But the laser, Breetai’s fleet, and the Macross are able to destroy the 5 million ships. From this point on, the Earth is almost lifeless, with carters and crashed Zentradi ships littering the landscape, and the planet ringed by the wrecks of the Zentradi fleet. The Macross, damaged and worn, comes to rest in one of the craters.

And there’s still more to come. There’s a two year time jump and we see that the Earth is starting to heal and society is starting to rebuild. Having brought a city with them, New Macross City is the hub of the redevelopment and society. Rick has settled into a more comfortable life, trying to live in this new world. And this life includes Lisa, even though she’s not really his girlfriend. They’re clearly starting to become a couple but haven’t quite taken that step. Max and Miriya, however, are settling into domestic bliss, including a their first child. I think it’s rather cute. However, there is trouble in paradise. Minmei is having trouble with Kyle, who’s become a controlling alcoholic, and he’s still her manager. And not all the Zentradi are happy with their new lives. There’s several episodes just getting things shown off.

 The action really returns when Admiral Gloval and Breetai have hatched a plan to secure a “Robotech satellite” to help rebuild. They use tactical prowess and Miriya and Max’s baby. Yes, they take a baby to a battle. They have a little pod on their Veritechs. I’m not joking. The revelation that Miriya made a baby inside her makes the untainted Zentradi run away in panic.

The next action bits have to do with Khyron and Azonia. They’re a couple and they’re collecting all of the renegade Zentradi they can. At one point, they kidnap Minmei and Kyle, only to have Rick rescue them.

The big climax comes when Khyron and Azonia repair a ship and crash it into the Macross. The Macross is heavily damaged and Lisa is lucky to survive. Rick, Lisa, and Minmei have a heart to heart to heart conversation. Rick was in love with Minmei but he’s become a member of the military and can’t give it up. In short, she’s too late. Instead, he’s fallen for Lisa. And, with all the threads tied up, the Macross saga comes to a close.

However, during these last few episodes, bits from the next series are spliced into the show. These bits are supposed to be the Robotech Masters discovering the Macross and slowly making their way to the Earth to recover it. There’s not a whole lot of it but it’s there, I guess.

And that’s where I’m going to wrap up this review. All in all, this was a good but long watch. As this was the second time I’ve watched it, and since it was dubbed, I was able to pick up more details in the visuals. There were several visual cues and elements that reminded me of things from later shows. And it was really nice to let things take time to develop, even if it does drag on a little too long towards the end. It’s a classic for a reason.

Rating: 4 out of 5
Suggestion: While I prefer the original Macross Saga, I will say that this one isn’t bad. However, the following parts of Robotech aren’t nearly as good as this one, in my opinion.

Anime: RahXephon - Pluralitas Concentio

Content Warning: Very brief nudity, older woman getting it on with a teen, some violence and blood.

I always find it weird when anime companies do this, the whole “hey, let’s chop down an OVA or series into a movie and release it so we can make more money!” I do not understand it at all. And you know what else they do? They usually change things so the plot is either way more simple or move things around to flow better. Wait a minute…

The movie starts us off with introducing the Haruka/Ayato young romance and all that, just right out the gate. And that her name is Mishima Haurka. Then we get to see her reaction to the Tokyo Jupiter event. After that, the movie starts roughly where the show does, but with a voice over explaining that he still remembers Mishima.

From here, two things happen: the new scenes (or edited scenes) start popping up and they start running us through the plot much, much faster. When Ayato goes for help, like he did the original TV show, he encounters the tank and all that, and then ends up in the subway, and has the encounter with the “government agents” and again is rescued by Haruka. This time, however, she drugs him and takes him with her as she tries to leave Tokyo. But, the RahXephon awakens and drags the plane down into the shrine. Here, Ayato boards the RahXephon for the first time and takes Haruka with him as he leaves the city. Outside, we see Tokyo Jupiter and the ruins of the world directly outside. Haruka fills Ayato in on what happened, the Mu invasion and all of that.

Soon, Haruka and Ayato are picked up and taken to the island, where Ayato becomes the pilot of the RahXephon in defense of humanity, but there’s not a lot of battles to be had. Seriously, there’s two fights and they’re chopped down to almost nothing. So, Ayato is taken back to Tokyo by one the Dorem and talks with his mother. And she’s really his mother this time, by the way. But she’s still not biologically Haruka’s aunt (thank goodness, but still, what the fuck, Japan?). And then Ayato saves Asahino, and leaves again. Since he wasn’t running away, he doesn’t have to face the music when he gets back, but he still ends up killing Asahino when she creates/controls the Dorem. However, at this point Ayato’s blue turns blue. And then Haruka sleeps with him! Yeah. She’s biologically in her 20’s and he’s biologically 17 or so, but they do the nasty. If it wasn’t for the age difference, I would be more on board for this, as they’re in love with each other and know who they really are in this version of the story. However, can we stop with this stuff, please?

After this, things get rolling quickly. We meet Quon, the sleeping beauty. She’s been waiting for Ayato to awaken her. And he does, with a kiss, and she goes to the Mu capital ship… Thing. Then, TERRA takes down the Tokyo Jupiter barrier and the war starts in earnest. There’s a huge battle against the forces of Mu on the high seas, and Ayato arrives in the RahXephon. He’s losing his memories, now that he has blue blood, but must “tune the world.” The leader of the Foundation thinks he’s going to tune it to what he wants, but due the intervention of Haruka, he doesn’t. Ayato’s RahXephon defeats Momaru’s Dorem, and then fights Quon’s RahXephon. During this battle, Haruka arrives and is killed. But she’s not gone yet. She’s able to get Ayato to reset things, kind of. The RahXephon can’t go back in time, but they can give them, Ayato and Haruka, their time back.

We then jump ahead 60 years and Haruka is reading “Through the Looking Glass” to her granddaughter, Reika (who is the Mishima Reika from the series). They talk about Reika’s grandfather, Ayato, who has passed away some time ago. Reika goes to get tea, and the old Haruka sees a young Ayato, and then vanishes.

And that’s where the movie ends. I have to say, I enjoyed this version of the story as much as the series. While the series gave us much more to experience, the movie distills it down, and edits things, to make a much more simple story. However, we don’t lose the same feeling of the story. It’s just different. I do prefer the end of the series, as it’s not as bittersweet, but I appreciate the movie’s ending for what it is.

When thinking about it, I believe that the movie was done the way it was because more women go to the theater in Japan and this movie is has a more feminine feeling to it. It isn’t about mecha and battles, not that the original was all that, but is more about the emotions and love. It takes the best part of the series, the relationship between Haruka and Ayato, and the time that was stolen from them, and makes it the focus of the story. No mystery about it, Ayato has always loved Haruka and she has never stopped loving him.

And now that I’m trying not to cry, I’m going to go now…

Rating: 3 out of 5
Suggestion: While lacking a lot of characters and depth, the emotional core has remained intact, and the story benefits from being condensed. 

Music: Macross Plus - The Cream PUF

Content Warning: Some VERY sexually explicit lyrics

Welcome back to Mecha March and yet another entry under the “Music” heading. Now, finding the music from anime wasn’t very easy back in the day. Until file sharing programs and sites came around, you had to get music imported from Japan or hope that you lucked upon some in a Japanese book or movie store. I remember when Suncoast Movies had a whole rack of music from Macross Plus when the DVD came out. It was wild. And I was broke. So, piracy ensued. However, all these years later, I managed to track down this CD and give it a listen.

INFORMATION HIGH:

This is the first track and it is a song I have been obsessed with ever since I first heard it. While in English, there is some “Engrish” going on with the lyrics. Slow to build, the song picks up and just takes off. If you’re wondering, this is the song that plays while Isamu is trying to get through the defense barrier of Earth. However, the eight minute and five second length might be a bit much for some of you. For me, I could listen to it forever. I suppose it would be Trance? Electronica? I don’t know but I want more of it in my life.

Idol Talk:

This track is the one that causes the warning above. Why? Because there’s snip-its of actual phone sex in it. I’m not joking. You can clearly hear a woman with a British accent talking about sex and sexual acts, towards the end. It fades in and out during the start and end of the song but is covered by the rest of the music. Besides that, this is actually a really good track. The lyrics are in French, I believe and it has a very Pop sound, with a dash of Electronica, that just works for me. Can you believe that this came out in the 90s? Because I sure can, as it feels very Madonna influenced. Once again, there’s a bit of a slow build up to the faster part but when that switch it flipped, it’s great. This song plays during Sharon’s concert on Eden.

The Borderline:

Another song in English, I never knew what the name was because the singer’s accent made it hard to make it out. It makes sense, as the Japanese don’t really have an L or R sound, it’s something somewhere in between the two sounds. Anyway, after the faster songs so far, this one feels so nice and relaxing. But it’s also a bit sad, melancholy, really. I like this one, too. Hell, I like all the songs here but for different reasons. This one is just so… Wispy, soft, and ethereal (yes, I know I’m pretty much saying the same thing three times, get over it). It’s very clearly got a Jazz or perhaps Blues influence and it works. This song also plays during the first concert of Sharon Apple’s. If you really want to enjoy it, I suggest using headphones. Also, this is the shortest track on the album, coming in at five minutes and eighteen seconds.

SANTI-U:

You know what’s interesting about this song? I think it’s in Zentradi. Yeah, a made up language from the show. This song is really two but are one track. The beginning opens with that etherealness from the last track, with some soft singing and slow drums, making for a relaxing start. It’s slowly relaxing you and preparing you for what comes next. Halfway through the song, there’s what sounds like someone flipping through TV channels, followed by a test signal, and then the song changes. There’s this drum beat that slowly starts up and then gets louder and louder, faster and faster, and then it hits you with the Scat (like, the singing thing) and Trace beat. It builds, and builds, until the end, where it all just fades away like a dream. This is the last song from Sharon’s first concert. It’s interesting, because if you listen to the album on repeat, it’s like a circle that never ends. Or perhaps waves rising and falling, over and over again.

And with that terrible metaphor, I think it’s time to wrap up this review. There are two more soundtracks for Macross Plus out there. Both of them, and this one as well, are available on Spotify, should you want to give them a listen.

Rating: 5 out of 5
Suggestion: A great one, if short one. Oh, did I mention that the artist is credited as Sharon Apple? Because it is. And that’s neat.

Manga: Komi Can't Communicate, Volume 5

 

Content Warning: A chainsaw, some stupidity, and a boy in girl’s clothing. If that really bothers you…

Oh, boy, it’s weird to read something this far back in the series, as volume 17 (!!!) just dropped in English recently (at the time of typing). So, it’s weird to see some things here that may or may not become important later.

This volume opens with Komi kind of stalking Tadano and a new character, Onemine. Now, she’s talking them because she wants to join in on the conversation, but because she doesn’t know Onemine, Komi has trouble approaching them. Of course, it’s going to get a little more complicated in a minute. After this opening, we see that everyone in class is trying to get Tadano, as class president, to commit to their pet projects or ideas, as well as getting all the work dumped on him. When Najimi tries to run out on Tadano, Onemine stops them and starts to help out. While helping out, Onemine and Tadano are walking and talking. It’s here that we see that Onemine doesn’t really know Komi at all and Tadano educates her on what Komi is really like. This is where we come back to the opening. Onemine tries to say hi to Komi but Komi hides and even Tadano is confused. Later on, Tadano and Onemine are getting started on the piles of papers and they say Komi can go. However, Komi wants to help and Onenime puts two and two together (or should I say that one plus one plus one makes a crowd?) and takes off. The next day, Komi apologizes and then Onemine apologizes for hogging Tadano and that she’ll be rooting for them. I like this little introduction, as Onemine is going to be around for a while and it makes it feel natural.

The next chapter is a bit of filler, about Komi not going to school due to a typhoon, and she ends getting a call from Tadano after the power goes out. Mind you, her mom is home but it’s Tadano she ends up talking with to calm down. Her mom sees this but knows better than to get in the way. It’s cute, it’s short, but it is filler.

The next chapter is about Ren Yamai’s obsession with seeing Komi’s underwear. Which, have I mentioned how creepy this girl is? This is another short one that’s just filler but I don’t like it as much, because of how creepy this girl is.

Next up, we have a chapter about getting food with a half day of school. Agari takes them (Komi, Najimi, and Tadano) to a family run place to eat. She’s never been there before but ends up giving it a try because Najimi says they should go to a place she’s never been to before, and the place is always empty. Before they walk inside, the father and daughter that run the place are having an argument and the daughter mentions a really popular reviewer known as Ramen Core. When Komi sits down, they assume that she’s Ramen Core. Spoilers, it’s actually Agari. But, they bend over backwards to serve Komi before anyone else. While cooking, the father realizes that what he’s forgotten about why he went into the business in the first place. He then whips up something fantastic. This leads Agari to give them a high review and business picks up for them.

Now, it’s time for the major story of this (and a bit of the next) volume, the cultural festival. This is something that’s important in Japan, or so my reading of manga and watching of anime would leave me to believe. Anyway. This story starts with the class unable to decide what THEY want Komi to do. There’s a lot of ideas, and even another new character introduced, but again, it’s all about what they want Komi to do. When Komi reveals that she voted for the Maid Cafe idea, everyone changes their vote and the idea is settled on. Now, they have to actually get started on making the outfits and whatever else. Of course, they can’t have Komi do any work so she ends up sitting on a throne while everyone else toils away. This isn’t what Komi wants and it actually makes her very uncomfortable, so she leaps to help Otori when asked if she will go with her to buy supplies. Onemine, her mom sense tingling, also goes with them and they wander into the hardware store. Somehow, they manage to lose the slow-moving Otori not once but twice, with her acquiring a chainsaw the second time. This girl is a menace, don’t let the stoner vibe fool you! Jokes aside, we’re really starting to get more characters in this volume, that’s for sure. The final part of the preparations is getting flyers put up around the area. Komi strikes out at the first place she goes to, because she’s so nervous, but has better luck at the salon where she gets her hair cut. And at the ramen place they visited with Agari a few volumes back. And at the restaurant they went to earlier in the volume. There’s one more thing before the festival itself starts, and that’s the girls feeding the boys after all their hard work. I won’t comment on the gender issue there but just know that I let out a small sigh. Anyway, Onemine made the larger rice balls, Yamai made the smaller ones, and Komi made the perfect ones. Oh, and Najimi made the ones that aren’t actually spheres. Because everyone wants Komi’s rice balls (there’s a turn of phrase for you), they end up doing Jan-Ken for it and Tadano gets a “perfectly square” one. Which is, of course, one of Komi’s as she kind of liked the idea of doing weird ones. When Onemine makes a crack about it, Komi turns bright red.

Finally, the cultural festival begins! And they get Komi in a short skirt. For four panels. After that, she gets to wear a long skirt. And we get another character, an older guy who has a thing about maid cafes. Now, this is the first time we see this happen in the manga but I’m going to tell you right now that something similar happens during the next festival. Once again, Komi’s super power activates and he reads way too much into her lack of speaking. However, she does actually say something to him as he’s leaving. It’s not much but it’s a moment to let you know that Komi is slowly improving her social skills. Afterwards, Najimi gets Tadano into a maid outfit. It’s mostly played for laughs but I really have to wonder why he did it. Oh, and it will happen again. Honestly, his character model doesn’t look half bad when in women’s clothing and they give him a rather ridiculous wig to wear. As shenanigans must ensue, Komi’s mom shows up, and says “I understand” when she realizes that it’s Tadano in the outfit. Komi’s brother also shows up and gets put in Komi’s throne by the girls but feels uncomfortable and leaves. And then Tadado’s little sister (Hitomi, I believe) turns up. She takes a picture of Tadano and sends it to their mom. Komi does think that Tadano looks cute in the maid outfit, however.

One thing that becomes quite obvious during this story is that Najimi has a certain moral flexibility when it comes to methods to make money. What I mean to say is that they’re very greedy and will do anything for money. But only the fake money they use for the festival? They use a variety of different methods to get the fake money but are caught rather quickly. However, this does give them the chance to walk the festival and have some fun. Najimi tries to get Komi to shout out a thing about their maid cafe, using the roof where people have been shouting love confessions. Yeah, Yamai says one about Komi and it’s just as creepy as you might imagine. After that, Najimi is pulled away for punishment by the principal and then Tadano and Komi are joined by Onemine and Otori. There’s some more highlights of the events at the festival and Otori manages to not get anyone killed. I’m sorry, but after the chainsaw incident earlier, I will never trust her again! Ahem. Moving on. At the end of the festival, Komi’s class wins but the prize is revoked because of Najimi’s meddling. Then, there’s the dance. Komi wants to dance but is too shy to ask and Tadano finally realizes what she wants so they start to dance. It starts getting awkward for a moment, as they start holding hands, and Tadano doesn’t really know how to dance, but they’re saved by Najimi who jumps in and the three of them start dancing together.

So, how was this volume? It’s not bad. I like the festival stuff but it takes a while to get to it. And I like how some people are picking up on Komi’s crush on Tadano, and even he seems to be getting a feeling about it. I do think the “boy dresses as a girl” thing getting played for laughs is old and isn’t very funny beyond the bit that happens in the little four panel thing where Komi grabs Tadano’s “boobs” as it’s about her lack of hesitation and curiosity. This volume, towards the end, really shows how good this series can be and has a lot of good laughs in it. 

Rating: 4 out of 5
Suggestion: Pick it up, if for Komi in a maid outfit, if nothing else.