Victory gundam is a series that catches quite the bad rep with it often being regarded as one of the worst entries in the franchise, when I was going into the series I was embracing for the worst , but what I ended up seeing wasn’t the travesty some see it as but rather a solid series that was able to convey some truly beautiful moments and messages that can even act as a entry level gundam as its pretty much stand alone from other gundam despite being a universal century entry. Now don’t get me wrong, victory gundam has flaws that has garnered it
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infamy, many of the negatives attributed to victory gundam come from its supposedly forced deaths and odd placement of goofy and absurd moments. And those flaws are sadly quite true as there are many deaths that frankly felt forced and didn’t need to happen in addition to some downright bizarre scenes that feel completely out of place with the show’s generally dark and depressing tone. However while victory gundam has its weak points I also believe it does so much right that it can outweigh its faults in the end, that is if one’s tolerances for what it does wrong is strong enough and this is going to greatly determine whether victory is for you or not.
As unconventional and potentially dissuading as this may be its probably best to address the negatives of this series first before getting into what the show does right so try not to get dissuaded dead on arrival, Like I said I believe one's tolerance of the following things are really going to determine whether victory gundam is really for them and knowing what to expect is best in determining this:
-Deaths: lets tackle this one right off the bat, victory gundam is billed with the largest body count in the franchise, and frankly there are quite a few deaths that didnt need to happen. Victory gundam has a bad tendency to introduce a character and give them focus for an episode only to kill them off immediately that same episode. Many of these deaths feel very formulaic and can create a disconnect in emotion the series should be conveying during these death scenes and instead makes them feel sloppy and lacking in impact. It really can make the deaths seem predictable and there are more than a few times where the reasons they die are completely avoidable. The worst case of this is a heroic sacrifice about halfway in of a semi important character up to that point where he/she kamikazes into a enemy to supposedly save another character....however the enemy is completely unaffected and the person they supposedly were saving was just fine without their sacrifice ultimately making their death needless.
HOWEVER! Whilst victory gundam has its poorly executed deaths not all of them are bad, actually there are some truly well done and powerful death scenes. In fact most of the dumb and absurd death scenes are only done on really small and unimportant characters (admittedly sometimes as a result of the dying after being introduced complaint above) but whenever a generally major character dies (and alot of times even really minor one off characters) have some really impacting deaths. Its poorly done deaths are a big issue with the series but there is still really well done ones in there and Id actually argue there is more well done ones than bad and the good actually play a major part in developing the main character uso which ill get into in a bit. If you cant possibly forgive a series for dumb mistreatment of (mostly minor) character's mortality then victory gundam may irk you in the wrong way but if your willing to forgive the series in favor of the ones it does right than it may be more up ones alley
-Absurdity: Victory gundam is a really dark series depicting the most brutal and at times disturbing imagery in the series; in some regards victory gundam is the most realistic gundam in the sense that the true brutality of war and the destruction these mechs are capable of causing are most accurately displayed in this series. And it’s for that reason these random absurd scenes can really hurt the show. Now you’re probably wondering what I mean by absurdity, what I mean by that is Victory gundam has a handful of really out of place goofy scenes that distract the dark tone of the show, worst of which is when the main character fights a squad of jetpacked bikkini soldiers who he unsurprisingly obliterates cause he is in a fucking mech (this scene is on youtube under the name "Bikini Babe Assault in Victory Gundam" if you don’t believe me). They are pretty rare but their appearances are memorable (but not in the good way) so that they will stick around in your mind and potentially hurting the series’ image. These scenes are generally pretty funny but when the show’s point is to be a dark and serious war drama being funny is not a good thing.
Alright so if your still reading and shaking your head in disapproval from how I started off a review for a series I’m recommending by immediately shit talking it then its time to get into the part where I actually say why people should watch it. Victory gundam has its flaws but I believe victory also does much right:
-Characters: This is by far the strongest part of victory gundam, for starters Uso erwin our protagonist has an instantly likable personality, to top this off the way his development is handled is truly excellent. His development is dependent on him coming face to face with the horrors of war and changing as a result of them ultimately becoming a scarred but matured character similarly to zeta gundam's protagonist Kammile Bidan. His character development was very visible and by shows final 10 episodes he felt entirely different than he did at the start. He was a character I really grew attached to and he showcases a real display of humanity, he’s a 13 year old boy experiencing true hell, many of his actions feel genuine like a 13 year old boy would do, he has his naive moments which may or may not be a turn off to some but that just makes him feel more genuine as when you’re young you are naive, To top this off the series isnt sugar coating his maturing nature as he shouldn't be maturing and experiencing what he is at his age, its the loss of innocence due to tragedy which really sums up uso's character as a whole. Out of all the gundam this kid probably goes through the worst experiences and that really is saying alot in a franchise like this, and this hell he goes through really makes him a compelling character.
Uso is a strong pro but he alone doesn't carry the show, he wasn't alone in his likability as the entire supporting cast(minus the doa characters mentioned above) was generally quite lovable and also experience a fair share of development with interesting and enjoyable personalities. Victory gundam still has action every single episode like the ones before it but the show felt like it has more focus on slower and contained moments of characters just interacting and talking, this really helped make the cast easier to grow attached to. I legitimately gave a shit about most of the cast and this really is what made victory gundam for me. The relationships between characters were actually enjoyable to see interact. Shatki the series heroine will get some differing opinions depending on the viewer though, she makes a few dumb decisions during the series that have led to some people disliking her but if you take a step back from our perspective her actions are more logical in her shoes and to her knowledge than to us the viewer who see the entire picture, I personally really liked her just like the rest of the cast but I will not deny some will find her off putting. Marbet and Odello whom make up the guardian archetype and the best friend archetype respectfully to the protagonist uso are particularly really memorable and undergo quite alot of development themselves.
-Pacing: One of the things I immediately loved about victory gundam was its pacing, not because it was always exciting moving from one event to another but rather the complete opposite. It was able to slow down instead of jumping into one traumatic situation after another. This is something that really helped me appreciate the world, characters, as well as made it less tedious as this made victory gundam feel more dynamic as a series progression wise. It’s not a super slow series but it has a good sense of when to slow down and when to speed up. Though it must be mentioned that the pacing in the first 4 episodes is off because they are told out of order due to a classic case of executive meddling, long story short the gundam originally wasn’t meant to appear until episode 4 and the execs didn’t like that so they placed episode 4 first in its broadcast with the 3 episodes before that being told in a “how we got there” type of story.
-Sense of morality: to me gundam 079's greatest strength was is showcase of how both sides of a war have people just fighting for what they believe is right, they have their reasons for doing what they do as well as have their own loved ones goals and ambitions. This strong aspect of 079 was immediately discarded come time for zeta and ZZ in favor of inhuman and absurd villains of zeta’s titans whom lacked any sense of humanity while ZZ was being....well ZZ. Victory gundam was a return to form for this theme and it does it extremely well. Just like 079 it does have a small number of "hurr durr im evil" characters usually as higher ups giving order but it does an exceptional job humanizing the enemy army regardless. You’ll see enemy soldiers talking about their families, showing genuine care for fellow soldiers and civilians, and one thing I absolutely adored me was showcasing how they also express fear of death as well. This humanization of the enemy is also the main reason victory gundam is such a heartbreaking series as the deaths of such enemies (as well as allies) only make it more and more depressing, which in turn I believe makes victory gundam truly sell the horrors of war more so than any other gundam (aside from war in the pocket). Though there is one elephant in the room I must mention while praising its depictions of morality. That elephant's name is katejina loos. Katejina is essentially evil incarnate and her reasons behind why she is such a disgusting human being isn't really touched upon aside from her relationship with one other major antagonist. To me she’s like ghilren zabi from 079, in the midst of this army that share humanity among its soldiers is this unnaturally evil and insane one that your just desperately waiting for the protagonist to squish them with their mech. At the very least she does end up being an entertaining and effective villain as her sheer brutality and unstable nature leads to interesting conflicts but I still wish they at least tried to give her some sense of humanity as there is another character that goes batshit psycho by stories end and acts similarly to katejina but was more a tragic outcome of his/her experience that made them what they were in the end, katejina is just a bitch.
-Tone/atmosphere: Thanks in part to its absolutely excellent ost which utilizes alot more softer sounding string driven music (youtube songs like "the white ghost" and "shakti" to get an idea of its feel) victory gundam does a great job of setting its tone. It can create a very dire atmosphere as well convey the depressing nature of the series whilst also leaving room for a feeling like not all hope is lost. The soundtrack is beautiful and in part really makes the series itself feel beautiful. As stated before this will occasionally be thrown off by some absurd moments here and there but ultimately I felt like victory gundam continually retains its feeling of dire and depressing atmosphere whilst not losing the prospect of there being the possibility of a better future, and that itself leads into one last thing that really makes victory gundam for me…
-Hope for the future: I think its ironic how victory gundam is frequently regarded as the most grimdark in the franchise when it has the most focus put on how there is a hope for a more peaceful future, it goes out of its way to try and say that all these sacrifices and horrors experiences are not all for naught. The series is depressing and has a body count through the roof but it goes out of its way to showcase how the possibility of a better life is not lost. The way it expresses this is through the idea of the younger generation being able to carry the future from the ashes of war which is the main reason the cast is made up of large portion of young kids. People are not dying for nothing they are dying for the prospect of a future where the next generation wont have to experience the suffering the current one has, it idolizes the idea of new life and really sells through how this isn’t some hopeless situation but rather an opportunity to help those in the future. One specific scene in the 2nd to last episode which gets its own insert song specially for this one scene is the best example of why this theme of hope for the future is so important to the series and also stands as one of the best scenes in the entire show.
I am not going to say victory gundam doesn't deserve the flack it gets as I hopefully made clear it does do things really wrong and those that label it with such a infamous label are fairly justified, its not for everyone but I do truly believe there is alot Victory does right and even exceptionally, its just a matter if you can tolerate its shortcomings. Its got its faults that will ruin the experience for some but I believe there is truly a beautiful story to be found here for those that are capable of forgiving its shortcomings. Speaking personally victory gundam was a heartbreaking and powerful story that was able to evoke legitimate emotions from me and while yeah I really wish parts of it were better handled or cut entirely I cant deny that after finishing the series looking back on it there was just so much of it I appreciated and loved about it, and hopefully there will be others willing to give this a shot and experience it the same way I have.
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Sep 5, 2014
Kidou Senshi Victory Gundam
(Anime)
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Recommended
Victory gundam is a series that catches quite the bad rep with it often being regarded as one of the worst entries in the franchise, when I was going into the series I was embracing for the worst , but what I ended up seeing wasn’t the travesty some see it as but rather a solid series that was able to convey some truly beautiful moments and messages that can even act as a entry level gundam as its pretty much stand alone from other gundam despite being a universal century entry. Now don’t get me wrong, victory gundam has flaws that has garnered it
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Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jun 21, 2014 Recommended
Many months ago I decided I was gonna make it my goal to watch through every single universal century gundam and many of it's spin offs. Out of all the grand scale battles and magical newtype powers spread across the many entries of the universal franchise, I found a little ova by the name of war in the pocket. This short 6 episode ova stood out from the fellow gundam installments as well as many of its contemporaries in the genre even to this day. Set within the one year war from the original gundam series war in the pocket focused heavily on telling the
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war from the eyes of a civilian child as well as a rookie grunt on the antagonist army of the zeon from the original series. The series favors a slow build to focus on characters rather than action. Even in the rare moments of action the show is able to convey the combat as more weighted and bulky which ultimate results in a more realistic feeling combat than how most mecha feel. The action scenes are few and far between but are accurately placed where they would impact the most. The result is a polarizing experience with some of the most emotional punches not in just the gundam franchise but the entirety of anime. And its able to pull all this off in what is barely a run a time over a movie.
To get one thing out of the way, war in the pocket is entirely stand alone and requires no knowledge of the original series it takes place in. If you know a gundam is a mech and that there is a war then you know all you need to know to get into this ova. The immediate thing one is going to notice when going into war in the pocket is that its pacing is on the slow side. It take the slow build with a pay off formula and masterfully pulls it off. Everything that happens in the ova's first half leads to a impacting pay off for its faster and hard hitting 2nd half. The way it handles its transition from the slow and light hearted first half to the impending tragedy looming over head is nothing short of masterfully executed as it will truly make you grow attached to these characters and the world around them so that you will actually feel something in the coming events as the characters do. The use of its scarce action scenes is also nothing short of perfectly executed as they are few and far between but all of them contain impact when they finally happen in addition to be wonderfully choreographed and animated feeling as brutal as the story is trying show war is. When a action scene shows up you dont think "Oh man a cool action scene" but rather you experience some really tragic events shown through harsh and heavy imagery that are anything but glorified. War in the pocket is almost entirely character driven, it focuses on a single event and the characters reacting to it rather than trying to expand on the conflict of the original series. The main focus is on our elementary school child protagonist Alfred and his relationship with a zeon grunt named Bernie. The relationship feels real as do the characters themselves. They are not only relateable but also dynamic as they go through more believable character development over the course of these 6 episodes than entire series are capable of providing. Alfred our main protagonist delivers a different viewing experience than any story i can think of as it focusing on showing how a child his age views something like war, we see this in many stories but usually with side characters but never have I seen it done through the eyes of the central protagonist. At the start of the series he idolizes war and conflict as do kids in real life sadly do, and as the series goes on he begins to learn more and more about just what harsh consequences war pertains not only to those fighting in it but also the civilians caught in the cross fire. Its got a very harsh but sadly true message about how people see this awful event of war in real life and is able to convey just how harsh it truly is. Its able to do this while still making the characters not just likable but lovable. you will care about these 2 as the series goes on and you actually feel something when they do. Though the series being heavily character driven can also be a turn off for some, if you longing for a more plot driven story-line then war in the pocket will be a disappointment. There is a bigger picture going on but rather than exploring that larger event it instead to shows just how people out of the loop of this larger conflict react to it. It shouldn't be a problem to most but it is understandable why some may walk out wishing the story may had focused on a larger scale rather than the smaller singular event they do focus on. People may also be turned off by the main character alfred since he is a kid, and as a results hes very naive and gullible, hes a realistic portrayal of how a kid acts but its also understandable that hes not the ideal character entertainment wise to be following for a story to some even if i personally could not imagine a protagonist any other way for a story such as this. The undeniably biggest flaw with war in the pocket comes in the way of its just straight up bad ost. Its not just that the songs are really bland but they kill a ton of the atmosphere and tone by being way too happy sounding. It works for the first half but during the latter events of the story it simply is out of place and even at a few moments can detract from some powerful scenes. Most notable is the very last scene of the ova which is nothing short of powerful....buuuut I cant help but feel it could had been more powerful if a song that sounds straight out of a cheery slice of life wasn't playing very loudly throughout its final moments and the ensuing credits. its not enough to ruin such a powerful story in my opinion but iIlong for something more fitting especially when the audio of the sound effects is top notch. War in the pocket is one of the most polarizing and impacting stories I have had the privileged of sitting through, it doesn't revolutionize a genre but what it instead does is tell a powerful story that had more impact on me both while watching and well after its had finished playing than entire 50 episode series were capable of providing. The conflicts, character, and relationships all feel real, the slow build to a pay off is perfectly done, and the entire series just continues to stay lingering in my mind many months after I have finished it. Its depressing that a story this stand out and impacting has been lost to obscurity despite how well it has aged and impacting it may be. If you ever have the time i urge you to check out war in the pocket, while i doubt its for everyone, this isn't a story that should be lost in obscurity like it has and is more than worth your time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Apr 16, 2014 Recommended
As much as I'm a sucker for the romance genre even i have to admit they are a source of tedium through common cliches and contrived drama especially in the face of love triangles. After a long familiarity with said contrivances Uwagaki, a sci-fi slice of life romantic dramedy(if thats even a thingl), acts as a breath of fresh air utilizing one of the most unique ideas of a love triangle that perfectly juggles comedy and drama that actually feels warranted.
The premise drips with potential from the very first chapter. The main character Ajikawa has been in love with his classmate Chiaki for a ... long time, Chiaki however already has a boyfriend kazuo whom shes loyal to, and shoots down Ajikawa's feelings before he even gets the chance to confess. Overhearing Ajikawa getting shot down is the teacher Mr Yamada whom posses many magical/sci-fi abilities. He offers Ajikawa a proposal then copies Chiaki into a separate and identical entity (later named koaki) but without any memories of Chiaki's boyfriend, If Koaki falls in love with ajikawa and that love outweighs chiaki's love for her boyfriend then the 2 will combine into 1 with the feelings for ajikawa overwriting the feelings for the boyfriend as well as vice versa if the feelings for the boyfriend are stronger than feelings for ajikawa. Thankfully this premise is not wasted, instead of focusing on a romantic tug of war between the 2 couples it instead decides to lets the 2 relationships act as their own individual stories intertwined with each-other free from malice of competition, in fact the relationship between both parties are encouraged and supported by one another with 0 attempts to hinder. This route makes the characters way more sincere and generally lovable as they dont force any malice of ill content brought on by competition but rather lets the relationships take the natural course of development allowing more dynamic and ironically natural drama real couples may face despite its sci fi elements. The strongest aspect of uwagaki comes in the form of its writing, to put it bluntly, it cuts the BS and gets the point. In other stories there'd be some development only to be hindered by forced misunderstandings, characters halting due to embarrassment of their predicament, or interruptions which only reset possible developments in character relationships, Uwagaki has NONE of this, sure there is some embarrassment after certain actions but it never does the reset to development and is always moving foreword. The problems characters face aren't forced and it delves into territory such as what it means to have unrequited love, the results of being in love with 2 people but favoring one more than another, and one of the most satisfying is how it addresses head on how circumstance plays into the characters lives/relationships. The opening scene where Chiaki shoots down Ajikawa's feelings is a great example of how the series writing is performed, Blunt and doesnt sugar coat the obvious and even the not so obvious. Its not a psychological story but it delves in what the characters are thinking, their motivations, and their feelings as well how they feel in the face of the idea of one of the 2 girls being overwritten which is handled very maturely and feels considerably darker in comparison to the other themes expressed within the story without feeling forced. The characters are a highlight in the series especially because of the previously mentioned lack of malice or rivalry between the characters, In fact the most interesting relationship is between Chiaki and Kaoki, the 2 being the same brings out an interesting dynamic in the dialogue as they know mostly everything about each other whilst sharing similar personalities but also delves into how the 2 begin to separate and establish themselves as individuals from one another brought on by different experiences which is handled excellently especially in the later half of the story. The main character is basically your generic timid romance MC, however unlike most he actually develops as a character and grows a backbone as the series goes on, establishes clear and justifiable reasons for his feelings towards chiaki/kaoki and later in the series takes some very noble and ballsy moves youd never see out of many of his fellow archetypal characters in other series. Hes a character who in my eyes was just your standard and hard to like protagonist but then transforms into a competent and developed main character who takes the initiative in situations. Hes not exaggerated through some over the top personality to make him likable and while his true personality may be kind of bland that what honestly makes him more relatable in the end, hes a normal guy and actually feels like it, this can be said for all the characters with the exceptions of the possibly supernatural teacher as well as one off comedy characters. The characters feel real and face believable obstacles which is not something i can say for many romantic slice of lifes. One thing to note about the story that may turn off some is how the final events of the story transpire. While i personally found the finale to be perfectly fine with its typical transitions between comedy and drama and even to the ending being a very satisfying and conclusive experience, I do believe there will be some that will find the final events to be jumping the shark. The series does begin to get a bit more over the top near the end as it does begin to put alot of context into its previously unexplained sci-fi elements as well as add a bit of danger to the situation. Those who have found frustration with how the romance formula plays out should definitely take the time to read this as well as anyone who just likes the genre in general. uwagaki may not be groundbreaking by any means and may suffer from occasional bouts of cheesiness, but none of that stop it from standing out from the rest with a clever premise, great tonal shifts, lovable characters, and a all short but sweet experience.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Feb 15, 2014
Uchuu no Kishi Tekkaman Blade
(Anime)
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Mixed Feelings Spoiler
Every so often I come across a story, a story that has such utter genius written across it that reaches levels of masterpiece storytelling....only to be hindered by careless mistakes. That happens to be the case with tekkaman blade, the way I see this series is that its one of the best shows with one of the worst executions, for everything tekkaman blade was doing phenomenally they would do something bad to counteract it, yet despite all the things wrong with the series there is still a outstanding story to be found if you look hard enough, but does that story truly negate the flaws
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that plague this series?
Before I begin, I know this is usually shunned upon in reviews but I apologize for making this review so long but I really cant sum up what this show does so right and so wrong in a abridged version. The story of tekkaman blade about one man, who is later named D-boy, whom has the powers to transform into a mech like armor called tekkaman blade in which he uses to fight off an invading alien force known as the Radam as well as other mysterious users with ties to our hero whom also have the ability to transform into tekkamans. After a fierce battle and nearly fatal wound D-boy reverts back to a human body and is found by aki and noel, of the military branch called the space knights. While that may not be the most flattering synopsis the show is way more interesting than both its premise and its initial episodes let on divulging into quite the epic and at times unpredictable storyline. I really have to hold back on giving specifics of what is to come in this storyline as while there aren't necessarily many twists there are a ton of plot points that surprise and intrigued me when watching and really helped push me to keep watching. The story does a phenomenal job at utilizing D-Boy's initially shrouded past and utilizing them in the present plot points and storytelling without relying too heavily on exposition, its a very flashback heavy show but unlike most shows that do this it works quite well in Tekkaman blade. Finding out what happened in D-boy's past that gave him his powers as well as uncovering what his ties with these antagonist tekkamans that aid the radam is one of the strongest points in the story. There is also a interesting use of not making the radam the central antagonists but rather combining them with a corrupt military which adds a sense of danger to even the more calmer moments of the series when the radam are not attacking. However this interesting corrupt military plot point is pretty much entirely resolved by the shows halfway point and feels like a bit of a missed opportunity but for the most part served its purpose without overstaying its welcome but it still feels like there could had been some more interesting conflicts later on while they still juggled this antagonistic military force on their backs as they start to make their final moves on the radam forces. The 2nd half as well as the entire series suffers from 2 huge issues that truly hold it back more than anything One of the issues is filler. Unlike what many long running shounens have led people to believe filler can be a really good thing, while not furthering the plot it can be used to get to know the characters, allow them to grow on us by seeing them in a less dire/serious sight as well as develop/build the world. A good filler will let the characters grow on you or at the very least create a more relaxing entertaining experience different than the more action filled events of the main story episodes. Tekkaman blade does filler horribly, residing mainly in the second half the series goes into downright moronic territory, youl find absurd stories of robotic little girls, one shot characters that lack any form of logic in their actions and seemingly cool locations that get absolutely no details about them given past a cool appearance. Not only are these fillers not enjoyable to watch due to their repetitive formula which ends every single of the episodes with random radam attacks that lack any real tension because you know nothing important will happen, but its made worse that these were largely wasted when they could had been good tools to build the characters and world. The 1st half of the story is told through a military perspective going on missions then back to base, the 2nd half has the cast traveling on foot/vehicle across the world, this should had been a great opportunity to build up this world that has survived these attacks by this unknown alien force yet its wasted by only showing hints of cool world-building the never following through on it. you'll see plenty of really cool looking areas and towns or ruins that all end up being simplified to nothing more than their appearance. Its a huge wasted opportunity that hurts the show. To top this off there are 4 recap episodes 3 of which are in the show's 2nd half. The other huge issue that brings tekkaman blade down which ties into its filler issue, its pacing. Tekkaman blade simply should not have been 49 episodes, the pacing at the start is too slow for its own good and only a few of the first 10 episodes felt all that important, Many conflicts that span multiple episodes only needed to be done in merely 1 episode as many of the conflicts are drawn out by unnecessary dialogue from characters not fighting and the filler and the 4 recaps episodes did not need to exist as they only hurt the show rather than help. This should have been only about 26 episodes and would have worked much better that way. The way characters react to certain events is way too sluggish and slow that it really kills the dire mood the show is going for with this conflict. The shows pacing is quite fine from episode 11-24ish give and take a recap and episodes 36-45/46 or so are pretty back on scheduled to the main plot. However despite being a incredibly slow paced series the final episodes of the series are rushed as hell and nearly ruin all the good the 10 episodes before it had done. I cannot get into details at risk of major spoilers but to sum it up characters die anticlimactically for absolutely no reason or purpose other than to make it so D-boy isn't allied with anyone for the final conflicts, fights are anticlimactic, and the series ends with a bullshit deus ex machina final fight and ending, I was going to give a series a 7 at the time right before watching the finale but the way the show wraps up was so poorly done I had to drop it down the 6 its at now. One of the most mixed aspects of tekkaman blade is in its characters, The main characters D-boy, while not necessarily having that wide a range of emotions is a pretty well developed characters and I found myself really caring about the guy as the series progressed and really got into following the hardships he is facing due to the past he has and its affect on the present conflicts he faces. Some of the villains are extremely well thought out such as tekkaman evil whom I don't want to give away anything about this guy but his relationship to D-boy easily ranks up there as one of my favorite rivalries in anime providing the most emotional and exciting parts of the story, whenever tekkaman evil shows up you knew the series would get really good, and with the exception of one conflict later in the series they always delivered. While not the big bad of the series tekkaman evil thankfully acts mainly as the main antagonistic force in the series and appears quite frequently. A few of the other tekkamans such as tekkaman rapier are a more of a fresh breath of air compared to the other tekkamans and 2 particular other tekkamans(axe and sword) have really well developed back-stories and ties to the past that really sell though a emotional connection to the events transpiring. However the remaining 3 tekkaman's including the big bad are incredibly underdeveloped, tekkaman dagger in particular being the worst, he acts as the first antagonist for the first part of the series and that's all he was, a guy that got in the way, D-boy recognizes who he was but the ties he has to D-boy are never investigated and after a terribly anticlimactic fight between the 2 he is never once brought up again other than mentions of how D-boy kicked his ass. Tekkaman lance which warning I'm just going to spoil his incredibly insignificant role he had on the series, He is introduced in the 20's doesn't show up for 15 or so episodes, then gets killed anticlimactically in the same episode he comes back. Who was he? what's his backstory? What's his ties with D-boy let alone any character? NOTHING, he literally just some dude that we know nothing about. Finally there is the big bad whom while he is given an actual tie in to his relationship with D-boy in the events prior to the show that relationship is largely underdeveloped anywhere past just addressing what the 2's relationship title was. he's one of those villains that sits in a room the entire series and yells at the people, granted they say why he cant leave the ship he's on but its still such a boring decision to make the MAIN villain of the series just sit around on his ass the entire show. The heroes are sadly fairly shallow characters, the main heroine aki lacks any real form of a personality and her romance with D-boy doesn't really get developed past stating she likes him. Noel while at first being kind of a dick is one of the more likable characters and has an actual personality and more wide range of motivations and emotions, Honda, Milly, Freeman, and Levin who make up the rest of the cast are sadly 1 trick pony characters that don't have anything interesting about them past initial synopsis of them, Honda is just a mechanic with no real personality, milly is the residential cutsy girl usually used for occasional panty shots, freeman is a stereotypical leader character that is more of a plotpoint than a character, and levin is just a gay guy used for ineffective comic relief, one of the best characters in the story is a side character named balzac who has a ton of development and by story's end is almost a entirely different character than his initial premise. The characters are just a mixed bag but sadly because of the hero's lack of interesting aspects it ends up really outweighing the good characters in the end since these people are simply not interesting or entertaining to watch. all that's really left are the music and animation/art, music is entirely forgettable and has no real interesting tracks, the animation is inconsistent with the art jumping from being well detailed and looking like a 90's anime should to becoming this really ugly, poorly detailed, and jagged animation that looks straight out of the 1970's. There are certain points where the series looks great such as some of the tekkaman evil fights but the series is really dampened by a ton of stock footage and poorly animated scenes. The art is also really ugly to look at, despite some cool looking backgrounds they use way too much of an emphasis on drag and dark colors that just make everything look unpleasant, and while this would work when showing the war torn world of this show, when you also use the same ugly color palette for what are supposed to be more pleasant looking areas you only make that lose impact and make the entire series just look ugly. To add on one last time about why this should have been 49 episodes is that if they had shortened the series it could have also allowed them to balance their budget more to make it look less cheap as it does throughout many portions of the series So should you watch tekkaman blade even with all that's wrong with it? Despite how much I complained and ragged at many aspects of this series I do honest to god think this is worth your time if your willing to put up with the issues addressed in this review. Its a great series brought down by mishaps but its not a great story ruined by mishaps. If you give the series its time and can put up with its problems you will be rewarded. However if you don't have the patience to put up with this then you probably are better off passing on tekkaman blade.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Dec 19, 2013 Recommended
Pluto is a sci-fi manga by Naoki Urasawa, the creator of such beloved series as Monster and 20th Century Boys, like the 2 works before it Pluto is a dark psychologically driven mystery revolving around themes of hatred, revenge, and death. Pluto is a remake of the late Osamu Tezuka's manga Astro Boy, specifically the "Greatest robot on earth" arc. Despite for the most part following its source material Naoki Urasawea's interpretations takes risks and adds more depth to both the setting, the implications behind the story, and most notably its characters all whilst giving the overall picture a much darker than grittier feel to
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it both in looks as well as the story itself ultimately resulting in an emotionally powerful and intense story that has stuck in my mind even after finishing it.
Pluto's story revolves around A europol detective named Gesicht, one of the worlds 7 most advanced robots, as hes brought in to investigate the murder of one of the creators of said 7 robots, at the crime scene there is a suspicious pair of horns brutally attached to the victim's head, suddenly more deaths of creators and even a couple of the 7 robots alike all with a pair of horns somewhere near the body, Now with Gesicht at the helm of the mystery as well as him being in direct danger its up to him to discover who is doing this and why. The Story of pluto may not have as many twists as the previous stories by Urasawa had but its none the less intriguing, it manages to throw in a new aspect of world building, back-story, or a interesting new development to the plotline whenever it feels like it may become predictable and thanks to the liberties naoki urasawa takes with his own interpretation it provides a very different and more unpredictable story than the original source material. The characters are easily the strongest aspect of Pluto, The amount of depth given to the characters is truly a masterful example of story telling, with the 7 robots in particular even with the short screen time given to a few of them the manga provides an in depth look into their motivations, Their relationships with others, what makes them happy, what torments them, as well as giving them unique and believable personalities that only helps strengthen the theme of humanity in robotic beings that Pluto uses as a main crutch to its story. The main character Geischt in particular was a compelling character and the story arcs dealing with his control over hatred and the emotional connections he feels to others most notably his wife was easily one of the highlights of the series for me, we are consistently teased with hints of tragedy in his past and uncovering what happened in the past is one of the more minor but none the less intriguing mysteries behind pluto. Gesicht is a smart and well written character with a load of depth and even some development in him, from start to finish he was a compelling and often times tragic character that really helped carry the themes the manga tries to convey. On top of these characters is the character Atom, or as you may know him astro boy, Atom is a much different character than in the source material being a much less care free and more mature to the point character. Atom like the other robots was given a strong look into what makes the character tick and does act as a strong lead alongside Gesicht. Alongside the robots there are human characters like the much more gritty Dr Tenma, the vengeful Adolf Haas, and the more serious Dr. Ochanomizu whom add alot of depth to the story as the series progresses though I will refrain from mentioning much about them as they are best left to see from your own eyes rather than a synopsis. The depth given to the robot characters makes pluto stand out to me as one of the best examples of a story using the humanity given to robots premise done right. As the story progresses and more of the mysteries unravel the series does transition from a mystery to more of a drama/thriller, sadly even though the last 2 are still strong the series does reach a peak with volume 4 which provides a intense and emotion filler story full of revelations and intrigue all packed with a shocking ending that left me speechless, the final pages of volume 4 with the help of the phenomenal and detailed art is one of the most powerful and saddest images i have seen in story telling. What comes after is still a tear jerking tragedy but mainly in the final volume the series it begins to feel a bit rushed mainly in some explanations, while there are no lose ends the series does require you to use your head to fill in a few of the blanks, though this comes off more as rushed and poorly written in that aspect but not enough to really hurt the series too much as it was just trying to stay true to the source material and had to take a hit as a result, though the extremely abrupt ending of the final pages is disappointing none the less. Even giving it the handicap the final volume of Pluto is its greatest weakness, but isn't so weak to undermine the story pluto masterfully told up until that point. Pluto is an emotionally powerful series that never left me feeling bored, despite its considerably shorter length than Urasawa stories are usually it still had so much depth to its writing, characters, and themes that its becomes hard to tell its as relatively short as it it. Its a phenomenal series more than worth a read despite its hiccups near the end. Osamu Tezuka would have been proud.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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