Continuing on from Samidare into the catalog of Satoshi Mizukami, next I came along Sengoku Youko. Despite being Mizukami’s longest work and a shounen action manga, it was a name I’d heard little about. However what I did hear about was quite interesting, OPT threads posting ambitious spreads, and some classy-taste friends of mine listing it as their favorite battle shounen ever. So I began my delve into the 2007-2016 series, Sengoku Youko. Let’s Rock.
PLOT: Two people roam the land. We have the fox demon, Youko Tama, and her stepbrother, Yamato Jinka. Together they’re on a quest to reform the evils of the land and
...
bring a better peace to the world. Along their way they meet the young samurai Hyoudo Shinsuke, who’s the first to join their party in their quest for peace. If this doesn’t sound interesting to you, don’t worry. This is just the initial set-up. Sengoku Youko is broken up into some clearly defined parts, each building on the events of the last and, in my honest opinion, increasing in intrigue. The first part has a pretty standard set-up and does drag for the first while, but what it ends up doing and being built from there is quite the mastercraft. Sadly this means it’s the type of piece where I have to hold my tongue on why it’s good because the twists and surprises are best left unspoiled. Once part 2 kicks it, it becomes a tightly woven tale that carries a lot of emotional punch. Despite the simple set up, some quite amazing and surprising things do happen down the road, the manga will shift the status quo quite a bit and time will pass, but all of this is done quite meaningfully and with a lot of skill. There’s also a lot of thematic and emotional weight, as the series goes into humans, demons, fate, and what it means to fight. It’s full of exciting fights backed by powerful ideals and heart-wrenching deaths. It manages to fantastically blend an intense action plot with a lot of character moments and development. As with my last Mizukami series, I will say the plot falls under the characters but that’s by no means a bad thing. Ending wise the series ties up nicely, even if the epilogue lacked in some ways.
7/10, the first part is a 6 with the second part beyond being an 8.
CHARACTERS: Mizukami is one hell of a character writer and this doesn’t change. The initial cast are all quite memorable. Tama herself I find to be the weakest character as while she’s likeable and cute I found her development quite lacking in comparison to everyone else. Her initial ideal of peace stays throughout with little questioning, but she does over time come to discover her motivations for what’s more important to her. Jinka on the other hand is quite strong development-wise. When we meet him he’s a human on a quest to become a demon, after being exiled and living with demons he watched humans kill all the demons he lived with and has developed a hatred for them. Through the events of the series (and especially through his relation with Shinsuke) he comes down off of his hatred horse and begins to develop into the main hero we want him to be. Shinsuke himself is quite the case, starting off as a coward and a wannabe we see an AMAZING amount of development with him. His development is rough, but as all human development is, and by the end he’s even rather inspirational. I can’t say his name, but the other character to go through quite as complex and satisfying a development is one who becomes a lead character in the second part. I imagine any fans of the series will know who I’m talking about and there’ll be little dissent on the development of this boy. There’s also a lot of great side characters. The character of Teru was a particular highlight for being both incredibly funny and endearing despite overall playing a rather minor role in the series. Some other characters such as Raidou and Nau were also quite nice. I never found any of the characters to be unpleasant, with the “worst” being fun but static. As far as villains go there’s a good amount to talk about here. Some of the recurring villains are quite nice, especially Douren who falls into the old trope of “Genuinely Great Guy who’s just on the Other Side.” The character of Mudo falls into the villain turned rival role and has some of the best character development in the series. I also want to give a shout out to Jinun but can’t say why for spoiler sakes. Lastly the series villains, who’s reveal itself is a twist, were rather interesting. They were built up in a mysterious and exciting manner over the early parts of the series, and come to pay off towards the end. Despite being villains they fall into the nice category of not only relatable, but arguably more right than the main characters and have a fantastic backstory even if they’re lacking as individual characters. All in all Mizukami outdid himself by creating a loveable cast that grows well and ends up becoming powerful and memorable characters.
9/10, epitomic of good battle shounen character writing.
VISUALS: I’d honestly say this is a mixed bag. Mizukami’s art isn’t the strongest but he pulled out all of the stops here. While the individual panel to panel can be alright, the action scenes (especially later in the series) are top notch. While it may not be the most anatomic or realistic, the art is really expressive and can flow well. Character faces convey a lot of emotion and the designs are unique and memorable. Most memorable of all are the spreads, which on their own might be 10/10. Whether it be epic attacks conveyed in gripping detail with powerful emotion, back to back spreads conveying a mix of scale and flow, or (most surprisingly) spreads of larger than 4 pages to convey the size and scale of a scene in intriguing ways, Sengoku Youko I feel is one of the best examples of how to utilize and make multi-page spreads in an action series. I can still picture some of them with their intense action and raw emotions. It’s ambitious for the medium with having even a 6-page spread at one point. The average page isn’t as good as these spreads, but the series looks fine on average. I also think some of the demon design is particularly fantastic, a personal favorite of mine is Banshou’ou’s combat form.
8/10, some amazing spreads put in what’s otherwise a pretty decent piece.
FINAL SCORE: 8/10
While not perfect (with a slow first act) Sengoku Youko does some amazing stuff and in my opinion is well worth the read, while not becoming my favorite battle shounen I think it’s a pretty good contender for one of the best ever. I’d recommend it for most manga fans and is a must-read for any battle shounen manga fan.
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Mar 21, 2019
Sengoku Youko
(Manga)
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Continuing on from Samidare into the catalog of Satoshi Mizukami, next I came along Sengoku Youko. Despite being Mizukami’s longest work and a shounen action manga, it was a name I’d heard little about. However what I did hear about was quite interesting, OPT threads posting ambitious spreads, and some classy-taste friends of mine listing it as their favorite battle shounen ever. So I began my delve into the 2007-2016 series, Sengoku Youko. Let’s Rock.
PLOT: Two people roam the land. We have the fox demon, Youko Tama, and her stepbrother, Yamato Jinka. Together they’re on a quest to reform the evils of the land and ...
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 23, 2019 Recommended
Probably better known under the name of it’s sequel, Aria. Aqua is usually held as a pillar of Slice of Life and Iyashikei with some Utopia to boot. I have yet to break into Aria, but let’s look at how the two volumes known as Aqua fares. Let’s Rock.
PLOT: or lack thereof. Taking place in 2031, the planet Mars has become covered in water and renamed to Aqua. Our tale takes place in the city of Neo Venezia, a city of water and boats. Our protagonist Akari arrives from earth to seek a job as a gondolier tour guide known as an Undine. The series ... follows Akari training to be an Undine and coming to know the city and world she’s moved to. There’s not much of a plot. We see a sense of progress in Akari’s Undine training, but the series is largely a relaxing read. Luckily for a series centered on tour guides, the city is an interesting tour. Learning about the intricacies and lifestyles in Neo Venezia proves to be interesting. There’s a good amount of stuff going on in our main character’s lives to keep the series from getting dull. I’d usually rail a series for tottering around doing nothing, but it really works out in Aqua’s favor as an atmosphere piece. 7/10, plot might not be the right word but the events of the series are a joy to read. CHARACTERS: The cast is rather small. Akari is a cheerful girl who doesn’t quite have it all together just yet. Her immaturity and not being an Aqua native allow us to learn with her. She’s writing e-mails to someone, so there’s more to learn in the sequel I’d assume. She’s endearing, but rather simple. That’s the real running thing with this series. Most of the characters are simple tropes but they work. Alicia is your stereotypical nicer, skilled older girl. Aika is the girl who’s obsessed with Alicia (and also the series’ weakest character). Akatsuki is the rude guy with a good heart. There’s also the cat, President Aria. He’s a gentle comic relief with no speaking lines. They have a dynamic you’ve probably seen before, but in a “if it’s not broke don’t fix it way.” 6/10, nothing interesting but it’s all functional. VISUALS: Once again, when the point was to be a tour guide, you need to have nice things to look at, and this manga does. Setting design is wonderful here, Neo Venezia is just a joy to look at. We get many spreads of characters just looking about the city and they’re just gorgeous. Everything comes together, the architecture, the water, the technology, the fashion. It all builds something gorgeous to look at. The city being designed in mostly white makes it work with the black and white printing. It also goes well with the water, and speaking of the artist makes good use of water. It reminds me of the train scene from spirited away but up to 11. The water always has this gentle feel to it that just makes it work. The Undine outfits the main cast wear also meld with the city near perfectly. You can tell a lot of thought was put into the aesthetic design and it works wonders. The artistry in it is also pretty solid, while I was never blown away by the skill of the artist, he managed to convey his visions and they worked wonders. The character designs themselves are pretty standard minus the Undine uniforms, but like, who cares when everything else works so well. 9/10, it’s a tour worth taking. FINAL SCORE: 7/10 While it ended up simply being the prologue to another series, the manga Aqua is a good time on it’s own. I’ve yet to read Aria but I’m interested after what I read here. If you’re looking for a relaxing atmosphere place and some great setting design, I recommend you give this a read.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 20, 2019
Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan
(Manga)
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Going into this manga I knew nothing about it except two things. A. It used to be in MAL’s top 10 manga. 2. It’s one volume long. So allegedly it had a lot of punch for a tiny piece, without any further ado… Let’s rock.
PLOT: Juri Mutou is in the hospital after another suicide attempt. The daughter of a pianist who had to give up her career to have Juri, her life hasn’t been a great one. In the hospital her aunt visits her with an ultimatum, either stay and do the mental therapy Juri’s mother wants her to, or come with her aunt ... to visit death row inmates as a clerical mission. Juri accepts the latter and ends up visiting a man named Yuu, a man sentenced to death for killing 3 people. The manga follows their meetings and the revelations had in them. It’s an interesting set-up, presenting quite the morbid start, but as the title implies it has a more positive note, going into revelations about life through Juri and Yuu’s damaged characters. There’s not much more that can be done explanation-wise without digging into spoilers, but I can tell you my impressions. Which are “interesting”, “emotional”, and “powerful.” It’s the type of story which can be wrapped up in one volume. It has a powerful ending too. 8/10, it’s interesting and powerful. CHARACTERS: Our cast is small but because we have great emphasis on those we have. Let’s start with Juri. As I mentioned her mother had to give up piano to have Juri, and they’ve had a broken relationship their whole lives. Juri is initially characterized by her negative outlook on life as one rejected by her widowed mother. As with any child told “it’d be better if they weren’t born” she’s damaged against her family and herself, yet being the daughter of a rich family she’s always been put on a pedestal. She’s damaged but I didn’t find her to be unbearably down. Her development throughout the story is satisfying and quite emotional. I felt like I grew with her and her last few lines made me cry. Our other lead Yuu is equally interesting. He’s been on death row for a long time, and has attempted suicide during it before. He’s numb to the world and looking forward to his death, but being introduced to Juri changes that. His development is two way, with us slowly uncovering his past and what made him kill 3 people, and us seeing him learn from his opposite in Juri. His being an orphan and her rich girl make them opposites, but in a way that allows them learn from each other based on their mutual damages. His story has more spoilers, but I’ll say his arc is equally satisfying and impactful. Beyond the main two the cast has 2 more notable characters. Monica, Juri’s aunt and a Nun, is someone who’s had her own batch of struggles and hardships but has grown past them, and acts as a catalyst for the growth of both characters. Her story is also interesting and she’s a good character, but she doesn’t have much development to give focus to the main two. The last character of note is Warden Inoue, who oversees the prison where Yuu is staying. He’s not much of a story but he’s very pleasant and I quite like him. 9/10, a fantastic main duo carries the whole stories, and the supporting characters are nice too. VISUALS: The art for this manga is pretty alright. Nothing ever looks bad persay but it was never stand out. The character designs, while interesting, do suffer from a good amount of eyes drawn on top of hair syndrome. I’ve really not got a whole lot to say about it. 7/10, it’s generally pretty good but I could nitpick it for awhile. FINAL SCORE: 8/10 For one volume it packs a significant amount of punch. It’s got an interesting set-up and some frankly amazing character work. I’d recommend this for most anyone, but also specifically for people disillusioned with life. It’s got a lot to say and does it in a timely fashion.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 20, 2019
Kakukaku Shikajika
(Manga)
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For anyone familiar with the premise of this manga, my reading of it may seem odd. It’s an autobiographical piece for Akiko Higashimura, and mangaka of which I’ve read none of her works. However the premise of an autobiographical manga sold me enough, so here I am. From 2011 to 2015, Kakukaku Shikajika. Let’s rock.
PLOT: I’m used to talking about set ups and what not, but not used to discussing real stories. We follow highschooler Akiko Hayashi as she ends up studying at a new art class so she can follow her dreams of being a mangaka, however that’s only half of it. The story ... isn’t a straight following of her life, but a reflection. It’s told from the point of the contemporary Akiko Higashimura, reflecting on her life and choices of the time. However this new art class isn’t what you’d expect, as we’re introduced to the yelling, bamboo-sword wielding sensei with no softness or hesitation. How this terrifying man would forever change Akiko and inspire her to be the person she is today. I don’t know if my words do it justice, but I found myself immediately pulled into it. Maybe I just jive with Higashimura’s humor, but the silliness of the situation quickly put a smile on my face, and the underlying heart got to me. The tale of Kakukaku Shikajika is one that spans across many years, following Akiko’s battle to become the mangaka she dreamed of, and Sensei supporting her every step of the way. It feels very real because it is real, and the modern Akiko’s commentary every step of the way keeps it from ever feeling dry. As much as I found myself laughing and smiling, I also found myself going through many other emotions as the tale unfolded, and by the end I found myself heavily crying. While seeming frivolous at first, by the end you can truly understand why the story needed to be told. 10/10, it never wasted any time and carried a lot of weight, it’s funny when it wants to be and powerful when it needs to be. CHARACTERS: Let’s start with Akiko herself. It’s her story of growing up, going from the self-important, dreamy-eyed high school girl who was going to conquer the manga world to the quirky mangaka of today. I found her quite endearing, helped along by the ability of her modern self to critique and poke fun at the her of the past. This allowed us to get in her headspace and make her an incredibly relatable character. Frankly for me to never get annoyed at someone who makes as many stupid mistakes as real people do is quite the amazing feat. The other major character is Sensei, despite being introduced as this assaholic, loud mouthed, terrifying man we quickly grow to understand his straightforwardness and eagerness. He acts the way he does because he gives it his all and believes honestly in others to do the same. He’s kind of an idiot but he wears his heart on his sleeve in an endearing way. His ability to believe in someone 100% without doubt is something I find to be uncommon in real life people, and something I can love and respect. He’s very rough but has an incredible amount of heart, and that’s something I love. There are many other characters who show up throughout the story but the real focus is on the prior two and their relationship. The characters all being real people allows you to take some inside looks at some famous people, especially the other mangaka Akiko meets along her journey. 10/10, I fell in love with the main two, and the supporting cast was full of interesting faces, some of which are names I’ve heard before. ART: The art throughout the series has this rough sketchiness to it. While I wouldn’t call it particularly amazing or any level of refined, it’s very expressive. Nothing ever looks terrible, but rarely do things look great. However things do look distinct and there’s a good amount of detail where detail is due. A lot of the settings have pretty distinct designs and the characters all look unique in very realistic ways. A lot of anime gets accused of same-face, and that couldn’t be farther from the truth here. The art is also great at expressing emotion, which in this kind of story is well appreciated. At the end of the day it isn’t great, but it’s very alive. 7/10, rough but charming. FINAL SCORE: 9/10 This was quite the read from start to finish. It’s a very personal tale, and one with an overflowing amount of heart. Akiko Higashimura has a great personality, and that shows with every piece of this manga straight from her heart. I’m now interested in more of her stuff. Whether you’ve read her or not, I’d definitely recommend giving this series a shot, it’s a frankly beautiful piece.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 4, 2019
Sakamichi no Apollon
(Manga)
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I first heard about this series due to the Shinchiro Watanabe directed anime, which I’d watched a long time ago. At the time I didn’t think much of it, but I was also a much younger and more close-minded individual. Years later, here I am revisiting the series in its manga form. Yuki Kodama’s 2007-2012 manga about life, love, and Jazz music. Let’s rock.
PLOT: 1966, a young Kaoru Nishimi transfers to yet another school. Due to his father’s work he’s always moved about, never really connecting with anyone. However he runs into the school delinquent, Sentarou Kawabuchi. The two form an unexpected friendship, helping each ... other through the ups and downs of life and playing jazz together. While nothing new, the set-up is effective. We follow Kaoru and Sentarou through their 3 years of high school and the events that come with. We see both characters deal with the damages of their past as they move on to the future. While, as with any drama, the situations were by and in-large caused by the main characters, it never really hit an obnoxious degree and very rarely did the situations feel particularly contrived. They were very natural and very impactful, and the manga’s brief length kept it from ever feel like it was repeating itself or dragging for dragging’s sake. The series mostly focused on the main trio, though it did spare some time for the stories of Yurika and Junichi which I found to be some personal highlights. If there’s any complaint I have it’d be that the original ending lacked much punch, however the bonus track volume adds more and wraps the story up in a rather nice manner. 8/10, a good drama story yet lacking in the horseshit that they sometimes come with. CHARACTERS: A drama’s story is only as good as its characters. Our protagonist Kaoru starts off the series as someone damaged by his loneliness. We of course see him grow out of that over the course of the series. While many times he does let his emotions get the better of him and put himself in trouble, his genuine love for the people around him shows through. We see him not only grow up, but loosen up, such as his transition from rigid classical music to the reactive and improvising jazz. His character arc is quite satisfying. Next up is Sentarou, the force to shake up Kaoru’s world. Despite his delinquent reputation, Sentarou’s quite the nice guy, if a bit aggressive. He’s got a bright energy to him and the force to change those around him, even if that strength is built on a troubled past. He’s the one who gets our lead into Jazz and is generally the motivating force of a lot of the series. I found him to be quite likeable in his genuineness and learning of the scars he bears I found to be quite the emotional trip. Rounding out the trio is Ritsuko Mukae, Sentarou’s childhood friend, Kaoru’s crush, and the daughter of the owner of the record store at which the cast practice their music. She’s a very kind and gentle figure and adds a softness to the main cast balancing them out. Despite her affable nature and likeability, I found she lacked presence in comparison to the other two leads. While it’s natural I do wish we got to spend a bit more time with her as her rather than sticking to her in relation to the other leads.If there were to be a fourth main character it’d be Yurika Fukahori. She starts of simply and a crush at first sight for Sentarou, but moves into a leading role for a good portion of the manga. Unlike Ritsuko we do get to see a bit more of her personal life and struggles and her arc in the manga is one of my favorite portions. Lastly I want to give brief mention to the character of Junichi, while I won’t go into details on why I want to mention him for spoiler reasons, I also really liked his character arc. As for minor characters go, there were a few comedy characters and some other minor characters to flesh out the cast but the real focus was on prior mentioned characters. 8/10, some strong and likeable characters brought up by each other. VISUALS: Yuki Kodama’s arts has its strengths and weaknesses. To start with the negatives, the art is really flat. Not in an emotional sense but everything felt really two-dimensional. (While duh it is two-dimensional, nothing felt like it popped.) On occasion I’d feel like characters felt off but not to any real demeritable amount. On the positive side however, is the expression and emotion tied into the art. There are a lot of scenes that come off as quite beautiful and really convey the feeling of the scene in a rather powerful way. This ability is also used masterfully in scenes with music, managing to convey the feelings of music in a soundless medium. A lot of the settings were visually interesting including the visual use of the titular slope. The characters all had unique and memorable designs and the quality was pretty consistent. As far as flow goes the series does just fine. 7/10, while not perfect the art does definitely have some very strong points. FINAL SCORE: 8/10 While it’s not a hallmark or a master-classic, Sakamichi is a very strong manga about life and music. It pretty well utilizes a strong cast and finishes right when it needs to. While many people may be put off by the lack of a soundtrack, I find playing some of the music discussed by characters in the background helped me get in the mood but was by no means necessary. If you do read this just make sure to read the Bonus Track volume as well, it’s great. All in all I would recommend this series.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 15, 2018
Hoshi no Samidare
(Manga)
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As an avid manga reader, especially being a massive fan or super-power action stories, not having read any Satoshi Mizukami was a black mark on my record. At the request of a friend, and after a long time coming, I read my first Mizukami manga, starting with his first big hit Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer. Running from 2005-2010, Lucifer became prized gem in many manga circles. Let’s Rock.
PLOT: High above the clouds in space is a massive hammer. Known as the Biscuit Hammer, it’s a tool of the Wizard Animus to destroy the world. However before Animus can use the Biscuit Hammer, he has ... to defeat the Princess Anima and her 12 Beast Knights. Rings are show up on the chosen Beast Knights along with the Animal to guide them in their battle. One such person is our main character Amamiya Yuuhi, the lizard knight, with the talking lizard Noi Crezant. However Yuuhi’s distaste for the world leads him to have no interest in its affairs, that is until he meets the chosen princess Samidare, who reveals to him her plan to defeat the wizard so she can destroy the world on her own. Swearing fealty to Samidare, Yuuhi joins the battle to save the world and carry out their secret agenda. The set-up is simple, 13 warriors battle a wizard and 12 golems to save the world, but it’s executed upon quite well. The various golems Animus throws at the Beast Knights plus Samidare and Yuuhi’s secret plan keep the formula from getting stale. It’s also helped along by some strong character development and a real sense of danger. The plot isn’t complex, as the characters are the real star of the show, but it’s still fun and interesting even if it sounds very cheesy. The ending is pleasant and satisfying, it’s a short series but it didn’t need to be any longer. The plot may not be the most ambitious but it’s successful. The only thing I can see bugging people is how the plot will skip over noticeable time gaps where nothing happens. The story takes place over more months than it has volumes, so it’ll speed through slower months. 8/10, while feeling like something out of a cartoon, it’s done in a satisfying way. CHARACTER: This is where the series really shines. Staring with Yuuhi himself. His character arc is flat out great, while he starts off as kind of a scumbag, we see him influence by the people around him. Breaking the chains of his abusive past and discovering the person he wants to be. The relationships he has with the other characters is a highlight as they impact each other. I want to bring special attention to Yuuhi’s relationship with Noi, as that was particularly nice to see develop. Samidare is another character of note. Though less connected to other characters, her connection with Yuuhi is a major part of the series. Her role as the “Lucifer” combined with her upbeat nature make her quite the engaging character, just kinda wish she had less panty shots. All of the other Beast Knights are rather well written as well, the way they influence and bounce off each other makes the cast the real push of the series as we get into each of their minds and stories, no character is left behind (even if they die before being introduced). Princess Anima was interesting but I felt like she didn’t have enough screen time to really be much. Animus the Wizard, while not the deepest of characters, was incredibly notable for his relationships with the Beast Knights as he was highly present throughout the series and constantly interacted with the main cast, being a real highlight. There’s not many notables beyond that though. Early in the series Samidare’s sister Hisame plays a heavily recurring role and was generally played a big part of the character dynamics of the time but fell into irrelevancy. Sami’s family were important to her story but weren’t much outside of that. Yuuhi’s family played a similar role but had noticeably tiny screen time. More time was spent talking about them than with them. Any other character was entirely background, though background can be interesting, just not in the case of Hiwatari who would literally just tighten the pacing of the series if removed, playing no real role. 9/10, the highlight of the series for good reason. VISUALS: I was not a fan of the art of this manga. While not terrible it was noticeably rough, many characters breaking down anatomically anytime they weren’t the main focus of a panel. The backgrounds were pretty passable when present, but there wasn’t much if anything to really write home about with art quality. From a design aspect however, it was smartly done. The characters are all unique and stand out, most could pass a silhouette test. The golems were interesting to look at and the stuff in space was all visually interesting. The manga flows and is panelled quite well, with some cool spreads here and there, but they were more for being smartly designed than being arted well. However I don’t find the art to be problematic, I do think some of the moments could be given more punch with some better skill. Color pages also look nice. 6.5/10, smart design feels slightly hampered by weak art. FINAL SCORE: 8/10 While not perfect, this is a very solid series. The characters are fantastically done in a story that stays interesting just as long as it needs to. The series is a lot of fun while also containing interesting ideas on connection, recovery, and what it means to be an adult. While I wouldn’t call myself a Mizukami fan just yet, his first big series turned out to be quite a good one, and one I’d definitely recommend to anyone curious.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 13, 2018 Recommended
Running from 2008 to 2016, Billy Bat is the next mystery-thriller from Naoki Urasawa, though this time written in combination with Takashi Nagasaki. People discussing Urasawa usually tend to solely mention Monster, 20cb, and Pluto, giving Billy Bat a pass. Is this due to a lack of quality? Is it simply too new? Let’s Rock.
PLOT: We begin in 1949, comic artist Kevin Yamagata is semi-successful with his comic “Billy Bat” (which the first chapter and a half simply are). However an investigator looking into some soviet spies drops by his office. The investigator comments that he’s seen the Billy Bat character before as a manga ... in Japan. Yamagata, feeling like he may have unintentionally plagiarized the character. sets off to Japan. However what he finds isn’t simply a manga with a bat, but a multi-thousand year conspiracy about prophecy, power, and the icon of god. I say “begin” because the plot will move a lot in both directions, looking into the past, and progressing into the future. It’s intricate and intriguing, and in my opinion one of Urasawa’s greatest plots. Not only does it span a good amount of time, it heavily involves real world conspiracies. To avoid _too many_ spoilers I’ll only mention the JFK Assassination, Disney’s ghost writer, and Nazi spies. I find that the use of reality adds more weight and impact to everything. No matter what it does, it makes it connected and always comes with an interesting twist, being plenty surprising. The ending will be hit or miss depending on the person. I wouldn’t say it’s the most narratively satisfying but it’s incredibly thematically satisfying. Which party you lean towards will decide how you feel about it. I personally enjoyed it. Back to the main plot however, it’s a lot of different conspiracies over time, all involving the bat. They can feel episodic as it’s heavily arc based, but they all build into the larger narrative. Nothing is unimportant, even what seems irrelevant at first. 9/10, it’s crazy cool and uses real world elements for great effect. CHARACTERS:With that much plot detail something had to give, and that sadly was characters. Kevin Yamagata just isn’t as interesting as some other Urasawa protagonists. I think the epitome of this problem is when Kevin hooks up with a girl in early volume 2. It’s so focused on tying the plot in that the girl is completely devoid of anything interesting and her exit from the story has little impact. There’s not a lot of flesh given to a lot of characters save for some more character focused arcs. I rarely found myself connecting to anyone (notable exceptions were Kiyoshi Kurusu and Diane Goodman, who to the end of both of their arcs had become exceptional). Though there weren’t really any bad characters. Kevin(s) felt like typical leads, thrust into situations they don’t know and largely defined by their abilities and perception being based around those. They were simple, and effective for the plot, but with Urasawa I’ve come to expect more character writing. Takes on historical figures were interesting to see however. Lee Harvey Oswald was quite interesting in contrast to the usual public image of him. Adolf Hitler was also a surprise. A lot of characters were unique in manga for their natural existence in different time periods and locations, but I don’t think any of the characters will stay with me too long. 7/10, there wouldn’t be any real complaints if it weren’t for Urasawa. There’s nothing to write home about without comparison to external knowledge. VISUALS:The art in Billy Bat is a unique topic, mostly for its varying styles. In being a manga about manga/comics there are many a times that things are told through the comics themselves, switching into the style of whatever in-series artist drew the comic. This keeps the manga visually interesting, and whenever the series focuses more on fiction it becomes quite intriguing to look at. I can still see in my mind Billy Bat walking on a flat plane consisting of his comics, and that’s a cool image. Urasawa’s ability to represent different art styles is also a nice little touch. The real world art is pretty standard Urasawa fare. Like with Monster I found the art to be largely not surpassing functional. All of the characters were visually different and nothing ever looked bad but there were only maybe 3 moments within the 20 volume manga that I ever found myself wowed at the art. After 20th Century Boys I expected to be wowed once more but I never found myself as impressed. Still not being the greatest is by no means bad, and there were still things I found myself quite impressed with. The depiction of JFK and his Wife just wasn’t that. 8/10, there’s a lot of smart design and varied/unique visuals. Just not a lot of uber-frameable moments. FINAL SCORE: 8/10 Billy Bat is an interesting manga, a very interesting manga. I can see someone coming off of Monster and being disappointed that it doesn’t have Monster’s level of skilled character writing but it makes up for that in plot. I wouldn’t call myself Billy Bat’s biggest fan but it was an intriguing read that I think I’ll come to find I enjoyed more than I initially thought. For anyone into conspiracy stories and meta-narratives about art I’d definitely recommend Billy Bat. It’s not Urasawa’s best work but I do believe it holds to his standard of quality, and that’s a high standard.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 7, 2018
Kidou Senshi Zeta Gundam
(Anime)
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Recommended
March 2nd, 1985 the second series of Gundam made its debut, Zeta Gundam. While the 0079 movies may have put Gundam on the map, it’s Zeta you still hear people discussing to this day. Revered by many as a classic, and one of the best mecha anime of the 80s, Zeta’s a big name, but does it hold up to it? Let’s rock.
PLOT: Universal Century 0087, the One-Year War between the Earth Federation and Zeon is long over, however peace is not to be had. In response to the remnants of Zeon, the federation has created a police-like military organization called the Titans to control ... Zeon and other spacenoid groups to prevent them from uprising and resisting the Federation’s control. To do this the Titans have been given borderline free reign to do whatever they see fit to do their job, no matter how atrocious it may be. In response to the unchecked reign of the titans, a resistance group called the Anti-Earth Union Group (or simply AEUG) has risen up to fight back. During an AEUG mission led the mysterious blonde pilot who always covers his eyes and his past named Quattro Bajeena to the colony Green Noa, a young man called Kamille Bidan steals a prototype Gundam Mk. II belonging to the Titans. The two cross paths and Kamille ultimately ends up joining Quattro on the Argama as it sails out to fight the Titans. From the get-go we have a story both similar and dissimilar to the prior series. Once again we have a young man piloting a Gundam on a white ship as it battles enemies, but instead of being a traditional soldier, we’re now following a rebellion. It takes awhile for the plot to get truly moving, but when it goes it goes. The Titans are a hateable cast of villains, unlike the Zeon of the first series the Titans are mostly irredeemable. The Titan cast is likeable at best and cartoonishly evil at worst. There was never a Ramba Ral style villain where it felt like that without the war they’d be our friend. As it goes on the plot gets more and more interesting with webs of betrayals, cyber-newtypes, and even the remnants of Zeon. Especially of note is the ending of Zeta, which without going into detail, is both narratively satisfying, thematically resonant, and quite shocking for a series aimed at young audiences. Very few series have an ending that really make me sit back and consider it like Zeta’s and that’s a good thing for Zeta. However the story is not without its flaws. The first 10 episodes can be kind of a drag, and the once again episodic format can lead to some weak and borderline filler episodes. I feel the series could’ve shaved off 10 episodes and be better for it. The biggest problem I had with Zeta however, is the amount of things that happen off-screen and details the series feels like it doesn’t need to give to the audience. Many a times I found myself confused or questioning stuff and just had to concluding that some change happened off-screen. Characters swap ships on both sides with little notice, and operations fly by with people hardly mentioning it. It made the whole experience way less cohesive. The series also had a few cases of trying to emulate the original series for no good reason, such as bringing kids on board the Argama half-way through. It made sense for the White Base to have kids but the Argama really didn’t need them and it just felt like poor decision making. However by the end I felt that the pluses far outshine the negatives and ultimately lead to this series being one hell of a ride. 8/10, it’s good, messy, but good. Ending earns a whole point on its own. CHARACTERS: Let’s start with Kamille Bidan himself. Kamille starts off as an obnoxious brat, a lot of my early enjoyment was seeing people beat the shit out of him, but he honestly grew on me, and by the end he’d gone through quite the character arc. He’s a good mc, but takes a damn long time to become that. Luckily he’s not alone. Let’s discuss the overly familiar looking Quattro Bajeena, doesn’t that scar look familiar? Might he be the Red Comet of Zeon? No he can’t be… But he is definitely a highlight of the series. The audience is invested in him from the get-go, and throughout the series we see him mentoring Kamille and doing some amazing stuff in his own right. He’s only human and has his flaws too, but whatever flaws they may be are something you forget when you see his speech during the Day of Dakar. Zeta’s also notable (by the audience and Kamille) for its sizeable female cast. Emma, Reccoa, and Fa Yuriy are all notable female characters put in powerful roles. Even if Reccoa’s later arc may inspire some ire from viewers they’re all great characters with their own interesting arcs. Another thing I’ve got to give Zeta a lot of credit is for how it used the returning characters from the first series. My boy Bright Noa shows up in episode 1, and many of the White Base members make some kind of reappearance (not really a spoiler because it’s in the opening). We get to see how they’ve lived their lives since the events of 0079, and they have many interesting scenes without it ever feeling like the series is too dependent on them (save for Bright). The problem I had with Zeta characters, is a lot of them act out and act irrationally. Now this isn’t necessarily bad character writing, but when someone acts out and takes a mech, does something stupid with it, and the next day is piloting a mech again it raises a few eyebrows. It can also get obnoxious with how many characters are being overly emotional twats, but I never found any of the Argama crew to be entirely irredeemable idiots. They were just flawed people in a stressful situation. The Titans on the other hand had what I felt to be a relatively lacking cast. While the character of Jerid and his varied love interests were all likeable, with Jerid himself being a standout likeable douche, aside from Jerid they didn’t get character arcs. Otherwise like Titans consisted of pitiable cyber-newtypes, hand-rubbing schemers, and straight up assholes. Aside from the cyber-newtypes none were very redeemable. The cyber-newtype Murasame Four was notable but limited by her limited screen time. They tried to make Paptimus Scirroco into a new Char, but he just felt way less interesting than Zeon’s red comet. The ultimate leader of the Titans, Jamitov, was just a bog standard evil politician. All in all only Jerid and Four were interesting characters, and only Jerid lived up to much potential. While you didn’t have any Garmas or Ramba Rals to make the war seem like a curse causing good people to die on either side, the Titans did fill the role of hateable villain well. Without going into too much detail, I do want to give a shoutout to Haman Karn. She was a rather engaging character but pretty much everything about her involves spoilers. 8/10, a lot of good characters, a lot of hateable villains, but most of the best characters are repeats from 0079. VISUALS: Now probably the biggest improvement from 0079 is the animation. The noticeable errors of 0079 are gone, replaced with some truly gorgeous and fluid animation. Zeta has a lot of sakuga packing, and when it wants to move well it damn does. However when it doesn’t care it’ll freely use a lot of cheap tricks that the skilled eye will notice, but what doesn’t? The actual art of the series I’m less in love with. There were less moments of truly interesting visuals than 0079, but being okay is okay. The character designs were mostly fine, with a few (Jamaican in particular) being very dull. The mecha design is a mixed bag with me. The designs feel way less varied than 0079, with a lot of mechs feeling like the same skeleton with different overly ornate decorations. As cool as they looked I found myself just shaking my head and saying “Really?” at some of the more over-ornate designs. However the thing that bugged me the most was the Titans using Zeon-esque mechs. Being part of the Earth Federation you’d assume they’d use Federation mechs, but instead they use mechs designed like their original enemies. This didn’t make much sense outside of the meta-reasoning “Villain mechs in Gundam need the domed one-eye design.” However everything I’m saying is simply nitpicks. 7/10, at worst we have functional art that suspends disbelief, at best we have gorgeous animation. AUDIO: In all honesty, I don’t remember much of Zeta’s soundtrack which is an okay sign. What I do remember is pretty decent but nothing ever stuck out to me except the first opening. The first opening was a rather enjoyable song, the second was very mediocre. The ending theme for the whole time was entirely forgettable as you’re skipping to the next episode anyway. Sound design wise everything sounded fine and natural, despite sound effects in space. Voice acting was passable. Most of the voices fit well with no real stand out performances in my opinion. The voice of Bask Oum was notable for sounding overtly evil, so that was nice. However there were some voices that were not so great on minor characters. Every time the minor character Sydle talked I just wanted her to stop talking. Luckily she was incredibly minor. 6/10, functional with a demerit or two. FINAL SCORE: 7/10 While not the perfect masterpiece many claim it to be, Zeta Gundam is something I’d personally recommend. With a powerful delivery of themes and a strong follow up to a good series, Zeta’s a fantastic watch. There’s a lot of great to be had here, though sadly the execution of the ideas is far from perfect. Held back by some bumps, Zeta nonetheless stands out as an excellent story animated quite well. The ending alone makes me want to raise the score even higher, but a show is more than it’s last five episodes. I now set out to continue my Gundam Quest with ZZ. I’ll probably get a lot of flack for rating the quintessential 80′s mecha so low, but don’t let a number understate how much I love this series.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Nov 8, 2018
20th Century Boys
(Manga)
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Recommended
In 1999 acclaimed mangaka Naoki Urasawa began his next big thriller. A story of Mystery, Suspense, Childhood Dreams, Manga, and Rock and Roll. At 22 volumes with a 2 volume epilogue we have 20th Century Boys. Let’s rock.
STORY: We begin with the humble life of Kenji Endo, working a convenience store while caring for his aging mother and baby niece. He’s living the life we all fear, one where we’ve grown away from our friends, failed out of our dreams of being a musician, and now battle just to make ends meet. However all is not peaceful in the world. A cult based around someone ... only by the name of “Friend” is shaking things up, and a mysterious set of deaths using a virus to make people bleed out and die have taken over the news. One day while doing a liquor delivery Kenji discovers something at the scene of one of the mysterious deaths. An old symbol that he and his friends used for their secret base as kids, and how that symbol connects to the cult of Friend. Thus Kenji sets out on a quest to get to the bottom of this before the world ends with the twentieth century. However to avoid going into spoilers, the story is quite the twisty and turny one. Do not expect a simple ride of a mystery, this goes far beyond that. However that is most definitely not a bad thing, the tale feels fresh, shocking, and unique as it carries on. It’s interesting and won’t go the tired ways of old, always holding something unexpected. It is however, not perfect. Some pieces are bit iffy and questionable, other pieces feel like they drag on for no reason. Going wild tends to lead to hits and misses, but luckily this is far more hit than miss. It won’t be for everyone, but I think a majority of people will enjoy the ride. 8/10, fun and exciting with a few bumps along the road. CHARACTERS: 20th Century Boys has a lot of characters. Kenji himself is a rather great character in my opinion. The hero with a guitar, Kenji’s got an interesting way of pursuing his justice. He’s been through the ringer and will carry the burden and risk himself so he doesn’t have to see others hurt. However rather than some great detective or ace combatant, Kenji’s approach is more of a revolutionary, doing great public displays to get his message heard. He also intends to hurt nobody in his fight, saving his destruction for his opponent’s tools, and is so adamant about not facing others with violence that we’ll see him go out of his way to preach his message even when his allies are ready to just shoot their enemy and be done. In the cast we’ve also got Kenji’s childhood friends, Maruo, Yoshitsune, Yukiji, Otcho, and Mon-chan of note. They’re all likeable characters, whether in the present or looking back into the past, and they all have great arcs of their own. Yukiji was a personal favorite of mine and I found her relationship with Kenji charming and bittersweet. Another character of note is Kanna, to avoid going into spoilerific details I’ll just briefly say that her direct approach and personality made her a highlight of the series. The series villain, “Friend” is quite intriguing. His game of being one step ahead and pulling off crazy pieces that seem something out of an old shounen manga make him an entertaining villain, figuring out what he’d do next and who was beneath the mask kept the intrigue high. Even when we knew what Friend would do, the execution was always interesting and amazing. I will say however, that Friend’s truth tends to fall into the trend of “the mystery so grand no answer will satisfy.” I didn’t find the answers bad or unsatisfying, but they aren’t some world-shattering ground-breaking unforgettable twist. However what I’ve covered is only a fraction of the cast. The mangaka duo Ujiko Ujio, Shono Chohei, Koizumi Kyoko, and God are all also quite worthy of mention, but talking about them tends to lead to spoiler territory. The downside of having such a large cast is the amount of them who don’t really get much development, but in general I loved the varied faces and values. I’ll also go ahead and discuss here the setting and themes and whatnot. Mostly with Kenji, but a few others too, there’s a great emphasis placed on music (as the series title may have tipped you off to). There’s an emphasis on classic rock and the power of music to move people. The guitar on Kenji’s back isn’t for show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6fMWguYVME. There’s a pretty big emphasis on classic manga (specifically super robot). Growing up the cast would always share and discuss the various manga running in Sunday and Magazine, and a lot of those old tropes are reflected in Friend’s grand plan. 8/10, a few stand out characters and no real misses. I found the cast endearing. VISUALS: I said before while discussing Monster that Naoki Urasawa’s art isn’t as much amazing as it is incredibly functional, and honestly my stance on that has changed. Not in a bad way, I still find Urasawa’s art to never really mess up or downgrade, but this time he has pulled out his A game. In part I think his ability to integrate overly cartoonish pieces from classic shounen manga seamlessly into semi-modern society is impressive. Seeing things like Giant Robots, Laser Guns, Earth Defense Troopers, and whatnot put not only cohesively into a grounded location, but to the point where I thought to myself “Yep if that existed in real life that’s exactly what that would look like” is impressive. He also just generally hit it out of the park with designs, the iconic design of Friend, a cast who manages to all look distinct with grounded designs, and just the amount of detail in some pages is astounding. I don’t really have any complaints I could make that aren’t just comparing to “”Well Makoto Yukimura did this” or “Kentaro Miura did that.” It all flows well and works cohesively. I got really pulled into some of his settings. I’ve always had a weak point for run-down cities and semi-slums and both of those were put in amazingly. 9/10, nothing to complain about, just stuff to write home about. FINAL SCORE: 8/10 I really loved this series and would love to rate it higher, but it’s not the flawless masterpiece some people praise it to be. It’s an intriguing story with a big cast of loveable characters rendered in amazing art. You can feel the love of the culture of music and manga imbued into this series, it feels like Naoki Urasawa wanted to take the kinda thriller story of Monster but write it about his personal loves and passions. If any of this sounded interesting to you I highly recommend checking it out. Being Naoki Urasawa I feel like I can recommend this to nearly everyone, save for those who lack the stomach for blood and violence. For fans of rock and classic manga, there will be many a fun little nod to those in this series.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Oct 10, 2018
Kidou Senshi Gundam
(Anime)
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Airing from April 1979 to January 1980, animated at Studio Sunrise and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, I’m sure most if not all of you know what “Gundam” is even if you might not have watched or read any of it. I have watched the debut of this long-running series over the last few weeks and had the lovely experience of seeing the birth of Real Robot Mecha and many other pieces that would become part of Anime Culture. Though the question tends to come up with genre fathers, does it still hold up? Or did this simply work in an era of lower standards? This
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review will not contain any major spoilers, though for the sake of analysis I will have to discuss how the series handles its plot and characters even if I avoid going into major detail. Alright, let’s rock.
PLOT: So while Mobile Suit Gundam *is* the story of the One-Year War, it is also not. The year is Universal Century 0079. The Earth Federation now covers more than just Earth, with lunar colonies and artificial satellite space colonies known as “Sides”. However Side 3 has risen up in rebellion, calling itself the Principality of Zeon, and has in a swift move of advanced technology and facist war culture fought a destructive war against the Earth Federation, taking out many Sides and even conquering parts of Earth. By the time the show has started, this war has cost a toll of half of the human population. However this show isn’t about the war as a whole, more so it’s the story of one ship, the White Base. Classified military vehicle White Base docks at Side 7, carrying with it prototypes of the Earth Federation’s Mobile Suits. However Zeon gets a jump on the federation, launching an invasion on Side 7. The White Base makes its escape with the civilian population of Side 7 on board. The rest of the series follows the voyage of the White Base, from its escape to Earth, to its fights in the operation to end the One Year War. Rather than a large scale lens the plot is told through mostly the experiences of the White Base and its crew, we actually see more from the perspective of Zeon than we do from other Federation forces, and every instance of other Federation views are directly on the White Base. While this focus can lead us to becoming intimately familiar with a size-able cast, it means that any large scale operations the White Base partakes in feel similar to the independent skirmishes it partakes in, as we see only the perspective of the White Base crew and the opposing general, mostly hearing about other fronts through radio reports and discussions. However this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but those looking for a bigger war story might be a tad disappointed. In general I found the plot to be rather engaging. It mostly moved at a pretty fast speed and kept shaking things up enough that the constant battles didn’t get very old. As the stories are told in a more episodic manner most conflicts tend to get resolved in a timely manner and we move on. However the downside of the episodic nature is occasionally you just get uninteresting episodes (such as Episode 7) where the whole thing feels pointless and feels like it needs to move on with the overarching plot. Aside from the arc on Earth dragging on occasion most individual episodes tend to make noticeable progress and push along the course of the narrative. Occasionally it even feels like the story is moving too fast, some enemies get steamrolled, some interactions turn a significant result after only a few minutes, but it never felt like the story overall moved too fast, and a lot of these happened towards the end of the series, where anyone familiar with the production of Gundam might be able to estimate why. Though mostly grounded, towards the end the plot takes some strange turns with the introduction of the concept of Newtypes, which could make the show more or less interesting depending on the viewer. To briefly touch on the ending, I thought it was pretty good. It’s definitely not the most climactic of endings (as one wouldn’t except a war story to climax with a final episode called “Escape”) but it was satisfying none the less. It was messy and chaotic only insofar as war itself is messy and chaotic, and it put a good bow on the stories of our characters, though some epilogue would’ve been nice (like perhaps a “Where are they now?”). For this section I’d give a 7.5/10, it’s good but nothing amazing. CHARACTERS: It might seem odd that I didn’t mention any characters in the plot section, but that’s because the crew of the White Base act together as a unit, though definitely not to discredit their individual characters. Let’s start with the main character Amuro Ray. Amuro is the 15 year-old son of the Federation engineer Dr. Tem Ray, he moved out with his father to Side 7 so his father could work on developing Mobile Suits. Amuro himself is pretty technology-savvy (having built the series mascot Haro). Through a large part being forced and a small part choosing himself, he ends up piloting the prototype mobile suit, Gundam, after the invasion of Side 7. As a natural pilot and engineer, he becomes the leading man of the White Base’s combat forces, being the main pilot of the Gundam and doing some rodeos in the other Mobile Suits. Over the course of the series we see him develop from a semi-anti-social teen who’s hesitant to shoot another human to an ace soldier. His arc develops slowly with plenty of bumps caused by his immaturity, but he does naturally grow and develop over time and by the end he’s quite the force to be reckoned with. While not a particularly unique or shockingly nuanced character, he’s more than serviceable and in a lot of ways represents different aspects of the world of Gundam. Being both the civilian dragged into the catastrophic war and eventually being our lead into the secret of the Newtypes. Other people of note on the White Base include Bright Noa, the military officer pressed into active command of the White Base after its captain becomes incapacitated. He starts off as a rather unsympathetic hard-ass, who’s stiff nature both causes him to be effective in crisis but also to break hard rather than bend. He learns to warm up and adapt, over time becoming the heart of the White Base and its leader. By the end of the show he was one of my favorite characters. Sayla Mass is also a character of note, initially working as a coms officer and eventually becoming a pilot. She’s the only female pilot and despite taking a long time to become decent, she becomes one of Amuro’s most reliable comrades by the end. Her past also slowly becomes revealed as it holds some of the secrets to the origin of the One Year War. Last character of the White Base I want to give special mention to is Kai Shinden. Kai starts out as the cynical voice of the cast, showing a desire for self-preservation and satisfaction, being generally unsympathetic to the “we’re all soldiers now” narrative everyone else plays. However for a few episodes in the late 20s his character arc becomes the main focus, it’s one of the stronger parts of the show in my opinion, and seeing him go from unlikeable douche to a character with his own baggage and reason to fight was nice, even if the arc itself was tragic. However the characters I mentioned early are stand out rather than the whole cast. I mean no disservice to Hayato, Ryu, Mirai, and Fraw Bow, who have some pretty good development of their own, just more interweaven into the overarching story rather than taking a front seat. They’re good characters in their own right, but they aren’t the shining stars you’ll never forget. As I mentioned earlier in the plot discussion, we also see the perspective of Zeon quite a bit and as such they have some pretty strong characters themselves. First and foremost is the show-stealer Char Aznable. The Red Comet, Char is a Lieutenant Commander of the Zeon military, and the one leading the chase of the White Base. Char is a very strong character both in combat and presence, he stands out for his masterful Mobile Suit control (notably his Mobile Suit is painted red) and his quick thinking and strong tactics. Even in a losing battle Char is known to keep his Mobile Suit intact and is already preparing for the next battle ahead. As much as Char spends his time hunting the White Base, he has grander ambitions within the Zeon Military. His wit is not only in combat strategy, but in politics and people, making him a joy to watch. He too has a hidden past, covered up like his face, which he always hides with a mask. Some other notable Zeons are Garma Zabi, the son of Zeon ruler Degwin Zabi, who alongside his siblings play major roles as opponents and leaders in the Zeon military. And Ramba Ral, a lieutenant in the Zeon military and an old fashioned soldier through and through. He’s rather likable with his noble patriotism and respect for his opponents, treating them as equals rather than lessers. He’s a good man who just happens to be on the opposing side, he inspires admiration and respect from both his soldiers and the viewers. All in all Gundam does a good job of developing and both likeable and large cast. Char himself is worth a bonus point. 8/10, loveable cast but only Char reaches anything above good. VISUALS: Keep in mind this series was made in 1979. It’s old, no way around that, but not necessarily bad. The designs are pretty good even if there’s not a lot of stand out. The Mobile Suits and technology generally look pretty good, but I felt some of Zeon’s newer weapons introduced in the later half were a bit much on the design aspect. The Gundam itself is iconic, but I wouldn’t call it amazing. If anything my favorite mecha design was actually the Guncannon. The backgrounds never really stood out to me as anything too amazing, and I wonder if it’s intentional that the series mostly avoided showing futuristic big cities. The animation itself is hit and miss. There’s a lot of cool direction and interesting ideas. Due to the nature of mecha anime in the 70s, a large amount of the violence had to be separated from humans. For a war story there’s very little blood as most battles are fought with machines and explosions. A good amount of times some interesting presentation tricks were taken to show death or extreme violence. Covering up blood and death in the chaos of war is hard to do believably but Gundam pulls it off. Towards the end though the gloves come off and we occasionally see some people get straight murdered. However to balance out all the unique tricks and ideas are loads of animation errors and inconsistencies. Weapons and gear changing between scenes, pieces of machines vanishing for a bit, derp faces, you name it. The series has lots of them but they’re never really distracting but aren’t fun (or are fun depending on who you are) to notice. The only real egregious one is a derp face Ryu makes once that keeps showing up in the episode opening recaps (which aren’t themselves bad) for a bit. Other than that they mostly go over with no problem and don’t much damage the experience. Though there are interesting ideas in direction, I never really found any point where the animation was particularly impressive. It’s a 70′s TV anime though, so we just have to accept that. Not everything can be Akira. After the introduction of Newtypes we occasionally get some unique and trippy visuals but they themselves aren’t much to write home about even if they’re nice to watch. 5.5/10, It’s mostly passable, the good and the bad balance out a lot. Though the mecha designs are iconic for a reason. AUDIO: Starting with voice acting it’s a pretty flat even. Char’s got a good Seiyuu, so does Garma. Nothing too amazing, no Mamoru Miyanos here. No real negatives either, the kids can be annoying but they’re little kids, little kids are annoying. The narrator is pretty good and Haro’s got a nifty sound. Everyone is nicely distinct though. It’s average and that’s fine. The music is more notable though. There’s some good bops in there, the few times the show puts a full insert song make for a good time, though the regular OST does it’s job quite well. Some of the combat themes have some nice kick to em, and Lalah’s theme is pretty memorable. Large part though the soundtrack isn’t that memorable. Nothing outside of action scenes really stuck with me. There were a few times the soundtrack sounded confused, cutting from piece to piece uncomfortably and on a few rare moments it felt like they were using the wrong track for certain scenes. Nothing particularly noticeable unless you’re trying to pay attention to the OST though. The OP’s pretty good, definitely grew on me over time, by the late 20s I found myself singing along to it on occasion (and once in public). The ED’s pretty nice and quiet and pretty alright, didn’t do much for me personally. Overall 6/10, it’s decent but not much more. Few really good moments, few missteps. FINAL SCORE: 7/10 While the show is by no means perfect, it was still a damn good time that even made me cry once. It has aged but many things have aged worse than it. It shines a lot in it’s ideas and characters, but has noticeable hickups along the way. Not only is it important in the history of mecha and the Japanese media industry, it’s also just a genuinely good show with a lot of heart. I’d still give it a recommendation to fans of mecha and classic anime, though the movie trilogy or Origin manga might be a better telling of the story (I’ll go through both eventually). It’s a good show on is own, but as the first step into a mega-series I’m excited to see where we go from here. All in all, Doan Cucruz didn’t deserve to be cute from the dub and DVD, his episode was good, Tomino.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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