Anime: Neon Genesis Evangelion (episodes 1 & 2)

 

Oh, yeah, here we go!!!

Content Warning: Violence, blood, emotional damage, parental emotional neglect, brief female nudity, and the beginning of your obsession (you only hope I’m joking).

Ah, this is truly one of the classics of anime and is more than likely responsible for the downfall of the mecha genre. This is THE “modern” mecha anime. It is a total subversion of a genre that turned around and became the new definition of the genre, going forwards. As this such an influential work, I recommend seeing it for yourself.

As such, this goal of this series of reviews isn’t to provide you with a guide of wither or not you should see this anime, but to help provided some context, things to pay attention to, and my own thoughts on the series. You have to understand that this anime is one of the things that made me who I am. I first started watching this show during my teenage years and was one of the first things to make me think. One of the first things to make me watch something over and over again, looking for details that I had missed. I haven’t seen the show in several years, so this will be nice to review it without as much baggage. Let’s begin:

Episode One: Angel Attack

The series begins with telling us that we are in the far off year of 2015, that year far into the future… Anyway. We see that the city is flooded, buildings left to rot away in the sea, but people are still alive, with the sound of an announcement being repeated over loudspeaker. We also see that humanity hasn’t advanced too much, with weapons of war (marked with UN) prepared to open up on… Something. Eventually, we get a shot of the first (but really the third) enemy, the Angels. It looks a bit more “biblically accurate” if you get my meaning. Now, we begin cutting between the action against the Angel, and introducing our main character, Shinji Ikari. He’s stuck in the abandoned city, with the announcement continuing to play, as the Angel continues to advance. We also see the UN military in NERV headquarters, leading the attack against the Angel. The final thing they send against the Angel is an N2 mine, which is supposed to mean “Non-Nuclear” but still has an EMP effect. Whatever. While some of the animation shows its age in this fight, it does really shine with the explosion of the N2 Mine. It’s absolutely fantastic.

After this, we start getting into our characters, beginning with Misato Katsuragi. She’s picked up Shinji, saving him from dying out there during the battle, but we see that she isn’t some great hero, she’s just a normal woman with car payments. We also get some information about Shinji and his father Gendo, the head of NERV. NERV has been prepared to defeat the Angel, who was only slowed down, not defeated by the N2 Mine, and the UN generals are forced to turn the battle over to NERV. However, there appears to be a problem with whatever they’re going to use against the Angel, as it doesn’t have a pilot. Until Gendo points out that Misato just brought them a spare pilot.

After being brought to a room by Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, and having the lights turned out, Shinji is introduced to the weapon that will save us all, the Artificial Human Evangelion Unit 01. In a normal mecha show, the young boy would be shown this giant robot and being told that he was going to pilot it, and this would usually result in him begrudgingly accepting that he needs to pilot it. However, this scene plays out a little bit differently than you might expect. Shinji, as you might imagine, isn’t up for this. He doesn’t know what this thing is and he doesn’t know how to pilot it. Misato and Ritsuko, who have been friendly up until now, are much more serious and tell him to pilot it. Gendo, keep in mind that he’s Shinji’s father, tells him that he expects him to get inside of it. And confirms that he only sent for his son as he “had a use for” him. Yeah. Real picture of paternal love right here… Anyway, Shinji chickens out and they wheel in Rei Ayanami. She’s a pale girl with bright blue hair, wearing a strange skin tight outfit and lot of bandages. She’s clearly not going to survive going inside the Eva, much less fight in it, but she will obey. While Shinji looks at her, the Angel attacks, causing a bank of lights to come loose from the ceiling. Eva Unit 01 moves its arm (exactly as Shinji does) to protect him from the lights falling. It shouldn’t have done that, given how it doesn’t have an “entry plug” or a pilot, and yet it has. Shinji checks on Rei, who was knocked out of her rolling bed by the attack, and his hand comes back covered in blood. Shinji then agrees to pilot the Eva. We then start a sequence of Shinji being in the entry plug, and having to breathe LCL, which will oxygenate his body and smells like blood, and we see the Eva get loaded up and getting ready to launch, with some details about how it works and all that. And then it launches, ending the episode.

Episode Two: Unfamiliar Ceilings

This episode begins almost directly at where the last one left off, with the Eva launching up into the streets of New Tokyo 3, to face the Angel. The Eva stands in place as Shinji receives orders to just focus on walking and he takes a step forward (into terror, perhaps?). They give you a perfect sense of scale with this moment, as the phone booth next to where the Eva’s foot comes down cracks. (For those of you too young to know what I’m talking about, there used to be these glass and steel booths that held landline telephones, that you could use to call people when you were out and about, which had vanished from most of the world by the time we actually reached 2015.) When Shinji tries to have the Eva take another step, he trips and falls flat on his face. While everyone is screaming at him to make the Eva get up, as well as providing him with weapons and lines of retreat, the Angel walks over, picks the Eva up by its head, and then uses its melee attack to damage the Eva’s head. The Angel’s free arm grabs ahold of one of the Eva’s forearms and crushes it, and we see Shinji grabbing his own forearm, having to be told that it’s not actually his arm that was being crushed. The Angel continues its attack and the Eva is thrown back as the wound in its head sprays blood on the building it’s leaning against. Yeah, you read that right, blood. This episode is where they start laying the groundwork for all the weird shit that’s going to be coming as we go forward. Speaking of how this episode is laying foundations, the episode then cuts to Shinji waking up in the hospital, with no idea how he got there. For there, we get treated to how the animation is going to proceed, with use of coloring to wash out the colors of the characters, still scenes used to draw attention to the dialogue being said, and, let’s be honest, what is probably a good way to save money for the really flashy stuff we’re getting. But, I find that these silent, still scenes, with their meditative qualities, are showing just how different Evangelion is when compared to others in the genre that have come before. When most people thought about the Mecha genre back when this show was made, there was a tendency to think about noble heroes fighting flashy battles, but I think that this is a misconception. When I think about the Gundam and Macross series, I find that the heroes weren’t always noble boys going out to win the war. While I will get more into this when I get into these series (when that ever happens), but I don’t think that the more popular Mecha shows were as much like the perception we have, and that while Evangelion did go further than any before it, it was actually building upon what had already been done before, instead of tearing it down. Ahem, anyway. After a very uncomfortable scene with Shinji and Misato running to Commander Ikari when they’re going get on the elevator, we find out that Misato has invited Shinji to live with her. Once we arrive at her home, we discover that Misato is very much a Millennial, in that she can’t keep her home clean because she works too much and drinks too much. Seriously, we were all like this in 2015 and you can’t tell me otherwise. Moving on, there’s the comedic introduction to Pen Pen, the warm springs penguin that pops up here and there from this point on. Once Shinji is laying in bed (showing our first real scene of the SDAT playing good old tracks 25 and 26 on loop), we get a flashback to the rest of the battle with the Angel. To summarize very quickly, Unit 01 goes silent and then berserk, regrowing the damaged forearm (supposedly impossible), and then starting fighting the angel. I’d like to point out that Unit 01 opens its mouth and lets out some very animalistic roars after this, making for an interesting question, what does a giant robot need with a mouth and the ability make noise? The Eva wins pretty quickly, shattering the Angel’s arms (making it bleed blue, thus why we’ll see “blood type: Blue” on screens in the future), and then breaks off a rib to start beating on the big red gem thing in the Angel’s chest. This is the Angel’s Core, which is very important to its survival, so it’s interesting how this uncontrolled Eva, piloted by someone who knows nothing about the Angels or Evas, knows to target this important weak spot. The Angel chooses to end its own existence and tries to take out the Eva with it, but the giant cross shaped explosion doesn’t do too much to the Eva. Well, except the rest of the armor on the head falls off, as Shinji is coming back to reality, and then the eye regrows as Shinji watches in the reflection of a skyscraper.

NOTE: In case you’re wondering, I’m doing two episodes at a time, because that’s how I first watched it back on VHS.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Suggestion: Watch it.

Anime: Love Tyrant (overview)

 

Content Warning: Girls kissing boys, boys kissing boys, girls stabbing boys, the dreaded love triangle (or is it a square?), a Yandere to the extreme, and a sadomasochist.

Oh, boy, this is a weird one. But you know it’s going to be a good one because we’ve got a crazy Japanese teenage girl with an unusual weapon. A kukri this time.

Hang on, let me rewind a bit. First, I found this show a year or so ago on Youtube, as CrunchyRoll was offering the first three episodes for free there, just to give you a taste. You know, like the drug dealers they are. Anyway, I thought I’d give it a watch, and I did, and I had a laugh. Now, I’ve had a chance to watch all 12 episodes, so let’s talk about the show in general.

Our story begins with Guri, a cupid that’s really a NEET, convincing Seiji to find a girl to kiss him. He kisses her, which isn’t what she wanted. You see, Guri has a “KISS NOTE” which is really a parody of the DEATH NOTE, except you need to kiss someone in 24 hours or then you die. Well, Guri dies and you are doomed to be a virgin the rest of your life. She’s lucky she ended up with a normal guy like Seiji, because asexual/aromantic people exist, Japan. Anyway. Seiji and Guri make their way to Seiji’s school and start spying on Seiji’s object of affection, Akane. Seiji has been watching Akane for some time but has never been able to say anything to her before. Seh notices them and starts running over, calling his name, her ample booba (as you kids say) swinging back and forth. Guri thinks that she can’t see her, so she pants her. Um, yeah, so, Akane CAN see Guri and then gives a Yandere face when Guri says that Seiji kissed her. Seriously, she’s terrifying, even before the Kukri come out. Even with her shorts around her ankles. Guri and Seiji run away, only to be tracked down by Akane and Guri gets a kukri in the back. However, Seiji has to ask, why you gotta be like this? Akane tells him that she’s been aware of him watching her and thought that he loved her, so she’s been waiting for him to say something to her. So, yeah, just a little bit crazy, but we do find out why later. In the end, Akane and Seiji kiss. And then Guri does her transformation sequence and we see that she really is an angel. And then she kisses Seiji again, because not only has she written Seiji and Akane’s names in her Kiss Note, she’s also written her own. Because she wants in on the crazy. Thankfully, this saves Seiji’s life when Akane starts stabbing him. Oh boy, this girl… Anyway, let’s wrap up this episode. Guri uses a device to make Seiji’s family think that she’s part of it and so now she lives with him. And we get introduced t Guri’s boss Coraly who takes over the family cat’s body and gives her a human face. So, that’s a thing. We get the hook of the series, that Guri has to work as cupid or she’ll become a demon, and since she’s joined with Akane and Seiji, she will literally drag their souls to hell with her if she does. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? But, wait, there’s more. We get introduced to the other part of our love square, Yuzu, who’s Akane’s half sister and desperately in love with her. God damn it, Japan… She’s a tiny little blond girl that is just a little weird, but very much in love with Akane. She steals the Kiss Note to write her name into it, joined with Akane, as she overheard how the thing works. Oh, and she can create a magical shield. And we find out that Akane isn’t exactly a normal human either. After witnessing the confession of love from Yuzu, Guri adds her name to the book and the whatever shape this is love-thing. And then Yuzu trips and ends up kissing Seiji to confirm her presence in the love-shape. Because funny!

From this point on, we get introduced to Aqua, Seiji’s younger sister, who has an older brother complex. No, not THAT Aqua, even if they both have blue hair. Aqua, thankfully, isn’t added to the harem but does pop up from time to time, and adds some depth to Seiji. There’s also a recurring villain that’s a penguin that has a sexual obsession with Aqua and we finally see her conquer her fear of him and beat the stuffing out of him.

Seiji also gets to meet Guri’s father, Kami-Sama, or God. That’s right, she’s the daughter of the Almighty. And half demon to boot! It’s why she has such trouble with love. Sure, she mostly plays around by having men fall in love with other men, using her Kiss Note (and later cell phone), but it’s that she understands love on an intellectual level, not an emotional level. And that’s what Seiji has to teach her. Really, I think Akane’s a better teacher, but then again, she is a tad… Obsessive.

As the episodes go on, we’re also introduced to Shikimi, who’s Akane’s cousin, and a true sadomasochist, as she enjoys giving and receiving pain. Like, she enjoys it sexually. She tries to take away, and then torture, Seiji but it doesn’t work out for her. When she tries to get added to the harem, Guri denies her because she “doesn’t have any love in her.” So, yeah, she’s a real piece of work. Later, she convinces Guri to hide from everyone and manipulates her into giving up. But more about that later.

We also get to learn more about Akane’s and Yuzu’s family history. You see, Akane comes from a family of assassins, which explains the Kukris, and we meet her mother. Akane’s mother fell in love with a man, but he left her for Yuzu’s mother, and Akane’s mom has never let go of it. She’s a stone cold bitch and tries to make Akane the same way, a loveless monster. But, the truth is, that Akane’s mom was still in love with Akane’s father, she just couldn’t express it. When she makes Akane go cold, Akane is even more terrifying than when she’s hot. But she really does love Seiji, in her own way. I will say that I like Akane, to a degree, because her love is sincere, she just doesn’t know how express it the right way because of her mom.

When it comes to Yuzu, she met Akane when they were children and it was the first time she felt love. Now, I’m not a fan of incest in my love triangles or romances, because that’s just not okay. However, I do genuinely understand that Yuzu can’t help but feel the way she does. And Akane rejects her completely, so there’s no confusion. However, I would hope that over time, Yuzu would be able to find love with someone else, that isn’t her sister. Also, she has a magical shield because she’s from a family that protects people. It actually makes a really good contrast between her and Akane, and is well done, in that one is from the family that slays, while the other is from a family that protects. It also shows how different their love is. She also starts to fall for Seiji, but I don’t know if it’s love or just working from hating to accepting him, with typical teenage confusion.

I’d love to talk more about how things go, but I think you should give this show a chance, if it sounds interesting to you. If you’re a fan of older harem or Magical Girlfriend anime, this is a love letter to it, so you’ll probably like it. If you’re not experienced with the genres, but you’d like to give them a try, this would be a good place to start. Each character has a personality and you get to understand them as things go on. Plus, it is about love, and how each person loves differently. Oh, and it’s pretty funny most of the time. It’s worth the watch.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Suggestion: That’s right folks, we have a Magical Girlfriend show. Back from the dead, the genre returns…

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.

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.

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. 

Anime: Those Who Hunt Elves (Episodes 1-6)

Content Warning: Elf ladies getting stripped of their clothes without their consent, a tank running rampage through the countryside, a dash of fetish fuel, and some one note characters. Oh, and Isekai.

Ah, it’s nice to get back to something old here. I mean, I did take up the name “Anime Necromancer” to show that I wanted to talk about the old stuff. And this one is probably one that most people haven’t heard of. I heard about it ages ago, as that same friend who score Kite for me was watching this one and wanted me to get into it. However, I didn’t and I feel like I missed out a bit. But thanks to eBay, and some extra cash, I can now sit down and watch it. First, a shout out to my Twitter friend Natalie Hunter for reminding me that this show existed. You can look her up on the YouTube if you want to watch stuff about current anime.

Anyway, let’s get started. The first episode begins “in media res” without much introduction, as was the style at the time, as several shows with a fantasy setting did this. We get a glance of the backstory, people from another world looking for a way back. With a tank. The episode begins with a group of anthropomorphic sea creature pirates attacking a town, looking for an elf. Our heroes, two of them, are in disguise and try not to get involved. Of course, that doesn’t last long. The two members of the cast in town are Junpei and Airi. Junpei is a Karate master and a bit of a meat head. Airi is more of a rogue build, as a professional, Oscar winning actress in our world. Airi tries to take the place of the local elf lady but she’s come into town to save the town from the pirates. With the plan scraped, Junpei beats the stuffing out of the pirates, making a lot jokes about sushi and seafood. When things turn against him, Ritsuko starts shooting an assault rifle at the pirate leader from a distance. Of course, he’s just the leader of the landing party, as the real captain is aboard the pirate ship. As the ship starts bombarding the town with their canons, Ritsuko uses their T-74 tank to sink the ship. With a single shot. Possible but unlikely. Of course, this is a comedy series, so cartoon physics is in play. The episode ends with Junpei tearing off the elf’s clothes in front of everyone.

The next episode gives us the real backstory, at least as to why they’re trying to rip the clothes off of elves. There was a ritual being done by Mistress Celcia to send out characters back to their world but screws up the spell in a few ways but mostly due to Junpei talking about her behind her back. When they’re told that the spell has been transferred to five elves out there in the world, appearing somewhere on their bodies. Junpei and the others say they’re going to search and strip all the elves they need to find the pieces of the spell and get back home. Initially Celcia just stood back and let this happen but seeing as the actions of Those Who Hunt Elves (they’re actually called this in the show) have become widespread, she now has to take action. Using a magic ring to take the form of a talking dog, she tries to pretend to be someone else. Airi’s acting background helps her see right through Celcia’s ploy but she does agree to help them. She has a lead on someone who might have a fragment, Gabriella, leader of the Dark Elf clan. Well, really, she’s the leader of a band of Porcs (Pig Orcs, orcs that have the old pigmen look) and they attack the city. First, Gabriella tries to use magic to attack, but Celcia counts it easily. Then, she tries to unleash a Colossal stone golem against them but takes a HEAT round to the face from the tank. When she tries to charge across the bridge into the town, Ritsuko has placed a mine on the bridge and most of her forces fall into the river. The few who make it across are easily defeated by Junpei. After a brief fight, Junpei defeats Gabriella in hand to hand combat and strips. They find the first fragment under her eye patch and Celcia takes in on to herself. However, she was still in her dog disguise and now can’t change back. She’s now part of our merry band of pervs and has to try not to kill Junpei, who gets along with as well as gunpowder and match do.

Following this, we have a city under siege by a group called the “Skeletons” but is defended by the beautiful elf lady, Dihal. The Skeletons are terrorists, as the episode opens with a “school bus” (a wagon full of school children) that has a magical bomb strapped to it. Dihal has to choose to cut the red wire or the blue wire, or the whole thing will explode. Of course, she picks the right one. This is the start of several questions we’re going to have about this world, trust me. After our gang of idiots arrive in town, people assume the Junpei is part of The Skeletons because he’s wearing a T-shirt with a skull and flame logo that looks like theirs. Nevermind that he’s never worn this shirt before and it took them reaching a restaurant before anyone noticed the design. The gang is quickly arrested and interrogated by Dihal. And then The Skeletons attack and we discover that they’re… Skeletons! Like, animated skeletons. Who aren’t very smart. Somewhere, there is a necromancer wondering where his minions are. The city guards quickly discover why you use Blunt Weapons on skeletons, not Piercing. Their crossbows are useless against them. So, the gang makes a deal with Dihal, they’ll defeat the skeletons, if she agrees to strip down for them. Once the deal struck, Junpei shows why Monks are the best class against the undead, beating them into dust rather quickly. Things change when the skeleton unleash a dracolich (that’s a skeletal dragon for those of you who haven’t had the misfortune of facing one) on the city. Dihal, in a bizarre turn of events, casts sleep on everyone so she can get some potions that were off-handedly mentioned earlier in the epsisode. Airi, using her acting skills, plays her like a fiddle. I was hoping for Junpei to become giant and stomp the dracolich, if we couldn’t have the tank blast it, but Dihal gets tricked it into using it. Why? So she’ll grow giant and lose all of her clothes, as Airi didn’t think she’d actually strip. As the gang leaves the town, giant Dihal steps on the other potion and detonates 200 megatons of magical power.

The next episode is a Junpei episode, all about the fight. And it starts out with yet another mystery of the world, with a town that is described as “as if they build an Edo period tourist town in this world.” That’s right, we have a little slice of old Japan in this not really explored typical J-Fantasy world. Put a pin in that. The episode is about an elf named Rapier trying to defeat 1000 fighters to lift a curse. They think that she’s got a fragment on her because the curse takes the form of a counter on her back, to keep track of how many she’s defeated. Of course, she’s at 999 and Junpei is going to be number 1,000. While Airi and Ritsuko find out that she’s cursed, after stalking her at the bathhouse, Junpei is dedicated to fight Rapier in duel. During the fight, we learn the full backstory of the curse, and being defeated by Junpei teaches her the lesson she needs to learn to have it lifted.

The following episode is focused on Ritsuko. She hasn’t gotten much attention until now, all we really know is that she’s still wearing her school uniform, with a pistol holstered in a web belt and loves the tank. Of course, the tank has run out of gas and has to be left behind. Junpei is confirmed to be an idiot as he wants to use an animal to travel, rather than the tank that has saved their asses and is very OP in this world. It’s off-handedly mentioned that they’ve been using a fruit that grows and makes gasoline. Airi does make a note of how odd this is but there’s no explanation for it. In the town they end up in, they find that it’s under siege by a cat spirit that takes over stuffed animals and causes all kinds of havoc. After it’s defeated, it takes over a stuffed dog and befriends Ritsuko, who’s still with the tank. When the townspeople come to take care of the spirit, they end up putting it in the tank and destroying the bridge. Ritsuko jumps into the tank as it falls into the river but is somehow saved. How is she saved? The cat spirit is now inhabiting the tank. Good news! No more worries about gas!

The last episode of this disc gives us a lot of backstory. Annette, who has been forced to cover for Celcia while she tries to help the gang, gets fed up and tracks down the gang. She asks Celcia about the spell she used to defeat some big bad not long ago but Celcia says not to try the spell. Of course, Annette gets the spell, ties up Celcia, and lures the group to the top of a frozen pillar. There, she unleashes the spell! And a bunch of stuff from Japan lands on the pillar. Computer monitors, telephone poles, trash cans, and a huge box of curry mix, just to name a few. Celcia arrives and explains that she used the spell and it summoned the gang, and the tank, and they defeated the big bad. That’s why she’s willing to help these pervs with getting home, she’s owes them. Annette now understands Celcia’s passion for helping them and why she’s willing to hurt her own people to do so. But, the pillar starts to fall apart and Junpei casts away his precious curry to save Annette. Seriously. His obsession with find curry and rice is one of his few character traits.

So. This isn’t a great series. There’s a major flaw in the premise, as Celcia is the leader of the elves and should be easily able to just send out a message the she needs anyone who has a weird mark appear on them to report to her. And she should be able to stop the gang from going around and assaulting her people. Minor note, we only see three male elves, otherwise, they’re all women and almost universally attractive. Just going to leave that out there. There’s also some interesting mysteries, with the gas fruit and the oddly out of place Edo era town. I get the feeling that there’s something very interesting going on here. Now, as humor is subjective, this show might not land with everyone. I find it to be funny but I’m also a filthy degenerate, so keep that in mind. The animation is also so-so. It’s not terrible but it’s not the best. It’s adequate for me and the story. Since it’s a comedy, it doesn’t have to be realistic. I honestly like the combative relationship that many of the characters have with each other and how, aside from the first episode, they’re not foretold heroes. They’re not super powerful. Yes, Junpei is a great fighter and the tank is very powerful but this isn’t like modern Isekai. Not a lot of the tropes are there. Plus, the comedy aspect really reduces the blow of Isekai.

Rating: 4 out of 5
Suggestion: While the animation isn’t the best, the premise is a bit contrived, and the whole stripping thing isn’t great, it is pretty funny and is a good time (so far).

Anime: Kite

 

Content Warning: Sex, graphic violence, bloody murder, sexual assault, underage stuff. Yeah.

Oh boy… This movie is one that I’d seen around and knew it was sexy, violent, and bloody from clips here and there. But I never got around to watching it. And I knew that even if I found it in a rental store, I wouldn’t want to be seen renting it (much less buying it) so a friend of mine downloaded it in those Wild West days of the internet. And it’s been moved from drive to drive, unwatched, until now.

Our story begins with Sawa, our main character, dressed up like a schoolgirl, getting macked on by some semi-famous comedian in an elevator. He starts insulting some old lady that’s also on the elevator and knocks her glasses off. After that happens, Sawa takes out the comdian with a gun that puts shoots a bullet that lodges into the body then detonates. So, blood everywhere.

Later, the crime scene is being investigated by a detective. And, as with all detectives, he seems pretty inured to the scene before him. Even the fact that the little old lady had a heart attack when she put her glasses back on and saw what happened to the comedian. Of course, the big reveal later is that the detective is Sawa’s handler and gave her the mission to kill him. We also find out that the detective took Sawa in after her parents were murdered and has trained her to be an assassin. And been having sex with her. So… Yeah. That’s a thing.

The next mission we see is Sawa teaming up with Oburi, a male version of herself. Together, they take out three reported child molesters. We also meet Oburi’s handler, who worked with the detective to train Sawa, but Oburi and Sawa never knew about each other. And Sawa goes out of her way to get to know him. I don’t know why.

The third mission is a complete disaster. Sawa dresses up like a boy and has to kill one twin, who happens to be a Hollywood star. Well, they have three bodyguards and Sawa screws the pooch. She has to stab people, throw around an explosive, shoots the wrong twin, and gets thrown out of the hole in the wall she made and… I will say that this action scene is intense, with her fighting with a guy as they fall through the air, landing on an overpass, having the car fall through the overpass, landing on a truck, having the truck fall through the road into the subway, and then having a sign land on top, making a massive explosion. Out of everything I’ve seen so far, this was the best part of the movie. So crazy and over the top but well done.

Afterwards, we see that the detective’s partner is a rapist. Yeah. Like you thought that these people who trained orphans to be assassins were going to be good, decent people. The detective is mad at Sawa for not only screwing everything up but also for killing the wrong twin, as he was the client. She also wants to go back to the scene to find her earring, as they were made out of the blood of her murdered parents. This girl… Sigh.

Sawa goes to kill Oburi but seems to change her mind. She also knows that the detective and his partner were the ones to kill her parents. Why she keeps doing this, I have no idea. Oburi gets a job to kill a supposed prosecutor on a train. And it also goes to shit, with the target having a gun and they have a shootout. And then, you know, an explosion. Sawa shows up to save him, as he needs it at the right moment.

Oburi then tries to quit by attacking the detective. But he loses to him and his friend. Sawa again shows up to save him. And then the final confrontation happens. And they lose. The detective ends up raping Sawa in front of Oburi. I just… WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK AM I WATCHING RIGHT NOW! Why is this? What is this? I don’t know how this movie had any sort of following! It’s just way, way, WAY TOO MUCH! Oh, it was all an act. Sawa was in on it the whole time. The whole thing with Oburi was a set up. Or was it? Games within games nonsense at this point? Nope. Sawa killed the detective’s partner and then goes to kill the detective. She played along with the detective’s sick game to throw him off and then brutally guns him down, putting a round right in his balls. Which, yeah, well deserved. The movie ends with Oburi getting gunned down by a child with one of their special guns, just green this time. And Sawa waits for him…

Okay. Yeah. This is a A LOT. And it takes a lot to process. I don’t know what to make of this film. There’s some interesting things going on here, what, with the child orphan assassins and the whole thing. But the gratuitous sex and violence is too much, even for the era this move came out. Thankfully, it’s just over 50 minutes long. It tries to ram in so much exposition, and sex, and violence, and it just… It doesn’t work for me. I don’t know… I mean, this came out at the same time (roughly) as the “Holy Sci-Fi Anime Trilogy” meaning, Cowboy Bepop, Trigun, and Outlaw Star. There were so many good things coming out and then… This.

Well, I guess I get to see even more of this as next month I’m going to review the American live-action adaption of it. Hopefully, my head doesn’t explode...

Rating: 1 out of 5
Suggestion: This is probably the worst thing I have ever seen and I don’t know why it exists.

Anime: Ah! My Goddess, TV Season One (overview)

 

Content Warning: Mild misogyny, attempted sexual assault, and racial caricatures. In a light-hearted comedy.

Welcome back to Magical May. This week, we’re going to visit a “dead” genre that deals with magic, the Magical Girlfriend. What is this kind of story? Well, it’s not hard to figure out: Boy meets girl that a witch, a princess, a goddess, or other magic user (or alien) that doesn’t know much about our world but is deeply in love with said boy. Sometimes they’re Tsunderes. Sometimes the boy is down for it. Sometimes, they’re really not. The formula was popular and common in the old days but has faded away in the recent era. Today, we’re going to visit one of the more wholesome and fun series in the genre. However, this is my first time watching this version of the story. You see, back in the day there was six part OVA that told an abridged version of the story and that was how I was first introduced to the characters. I even had a bootleg VHS of the first episode that had a printed out cover, the printer having begun running out of ink. After that, I tried to read the manga, checking it out from the library, but Dark Horse comics didn’t seem to believe in putting volume numbers on them back in the day so… Yeah. I didn’t really know what was going on. Anyway, let’s get started.

Our story begins with Morisato Keiichi in his dorm room, watching TV on an old TV (just to be clear this series is from 2005 and the original manga was written long before that), providing us exposition in the form of an internal monologue. The basics are that he’s enrolled in the Nekomi Technical College (or is it Institute?), likes working on motors and electronics, is short, has never had a girlfriend, and lives in the dorm with his very macho men “senpais” of the Motor Club. The flip side of this monologue is the one provided by Belldandy, about how Keiichi has been under an unlucky star his whole life. But, his luck is about to change.

Misdialing a number, he reaches the Goddess Help Line and speaks with Belldandy. Who then travels through a mirror to Keiichi’s dorm room. She’s there to offer him one wish. He doesn’t believe her for a bit but he catches on eventually. The thing I really love about this interaction is how Belldandy doesn’t see Keiichi like everyone else does. She doesn’t care that he’s poor, short, and unlucky. She sees how he takes care of old things, like his TV, VCR (for those of you who don’t know, that’s what we used to watch movies on), and a radio (I’m not going to explain that one). He sees how they can still be useful, even if they’re old and no one else wants them anymore. So, Keiichi uses his wish: For Belldandy to stay with him forever. His wish is granted, causing Belldandy to blow a hole in the roof, right when the other guys in the dorm get home. They get jealous and promptly kick both of them out. Because NO WOMEN ALLOWED in the dorm. It’s tradition. Here, we find out about the fate thing that will keep them together, no matter what. This usually takes the form of odd coincidences that prevent them from being separated, like Keiichi’s helmet getting stuck on Belldandy’s dress, but can go all the way to a tower collapsing on a car. That last one is avoided at the last minute. Eventually, they find themselves at a Buddhist temple, with a kindly and somewhat foolish priest, who takes them in. And then leaves them in charge while searching for enlightenment after seeing Belldandy’s “angel.” It’s complicated but it’s so Keiichi and Belldandy can stay together.

From this point on, the series starts off as slow romance in the college setting, with Belldandy being the “fish out of water” for a while. This also gives us some low-level enemies. The first of which is Mishima Sayoko, the college’s Queen, who turned down Keiichi some time ago. Belldandy, being a goddess, puts her looks to shame. So, after losing the beauty contest, Sayoko tries to take down Belldandy, by any means necessary, including going after Keiichi to get to her. There’s also Aoshima Toshiyuki, the school’s heart breaker. He convinces Belldandy to go with him to a love hotel, using her naive request for trying to learn about romance, which ends with him getting a face full of lightning. There’s also small stakes (in retrospect) things that happen, but this first part of the show is chance for us to learn about Keiichi and Belldandy and have them learn to love each other. And then they start introducing the more magical characters and things.

The first other goddess to show up is Urd, Belldandy’s older sister. And, boy, does she have that “Big Sister Ara Ara” energy. Thankfully, she doesn’t try to ride Keiicihi’s Baloney Pony, she just wants to see them get together. Often with disastrous results. When we first meet Urd, you assume that she’s just a comic relief character, but that changes by the end of the show. We’ll get into it. After this, we get to meet Skuld, Belldandy’s younger sister, and Urd’s youngest sister, who just wants to be with and just like her older sister. Not oldest, as Urd and Skuld are like fire and water. Literally. Skuld has a “sister complex” and can’t stand that Keiichi is going to steal her sister away. This leads to all sorts of hilarity, like when Skuld turns Keiichi into a girl and then Bellydandy gets sick when trying to help Keiichi. However, that episode does show how much Keiichi cares about and loves Belldandy. As many problems as the show has, they make it clear that Keiichi doesn’t take Belldandy for granted and cares about her deeply. Even if he can’t do anything beyond hold her hand.

If you’re familiar with this kind of show, you know that the main male character is usually bland and doesn’t really have interests or much else. This show is different. Keiichi is a gear head and it’s part of the show. There’s a desert race in one episode, the interest in mechanics allows him and Skuld to get along from time to time, and it’s always there in the background. It also leads to one of the better episodes in the show. You see, Belldandy is very much along for the ride. She just wants Keiichi to be happy and doesn’t have much to do beyond that. But, then there’s this one episode where the one girl in the motor club, Hasegawa, needs to learn how to compete in a go-kart race because the two meat heads in charge sign her up for an all-girl race. Belldandy takes the lead and not only has Skuld make a go-cart track around their home, but helps her learn how to drive and compete. Of course, Keiichi plays an important role, as he is a gear head, but this is Belldandy’s episode. And Hasegawa’s. We get to explore her character and backstory as well, which makes her one of the more fleshed out minor characters after this episode. Really, this episode is worth the wait. I just wanted more.

Now, the show really gets on the serious track when Marller turns up. She’s a demon who was sealed away by Belldandy and Urd but is probably the worst at being evil. She’s got the will but not enough competence to pull off most of her plans. She conspires with Sayoko to get Keiichi to dump Belldandy, to hurt her, but it doesn’t work. She’s actually a very funny bumbling nemesis. Until she tries to release the Lord Of Terror.

She thinks that she can be the host. Nope. It’s Urd, who’s recently lost her Goddess License because she helped Belldandy. So, she’s mad and then she gets this offer of power, all she has to do is embrace her Demon side. So she does. But, not all of her does. There’s part of her that’s still good, trying to stop the Lord of Terror.

I won’t ruin the end of the season, because it’s just that good. What you need to know is that the mythology used for the show is based on Norse stuff. Just from a Japanese point of view. One thing I find rather amusing is that we see magic and technology at use in the show, pre-dating the whole “no difference between magic and science” in the MCU.

Rating: 4 out of 5
Suggestion: Give it a chance if you like romance, magical stuff, or slice of life stuff, it’s a good one.