I got the urge to rewatch this now classic title and put in the discs today while the boys destroyed the living room. Ah, parenting. Anyway, Macross!
Since the licensing nightmare behind Robotech has basically been figured out, I (im)patiently await a huge box set of EVERY Macross title we've never seen in the states. But until then, Plus will remain my favorite in the franchise. I credit this to the creative trio of Shouji Kawamori, Shinichiro Watanabe and Yoko Kanno.
Not a massively butchered cut and paste like Robotech, nor seldom recalled sequel film like Macross II (we
...
Dec 6, 2023
Time Slip Ichimannen: Prime Rose
(Anime)
add
Let me get this out of the way be because I really found it weird: Spock is in the beginning of this anime. Yeah, I'll research it later but as far as I know, Paramount never sued anybody. Anyway, on to the review.
Some classics just don't age well, and this has curdled a bit. I suppose you'd call this story an isekai today, but that's being generous. A very Mad Max-ish dystopia accompanied by a bad soundtrack. I guess if you respect the older titles you can watch it out curiosity, pretty much as I did, but is it ... 
Jun 3, 2022
Deadman Wonderland
(Manga)
add
Deadman's Wonderland is, so far, the only manga title I've dropped. Which surprised even me. It wasn't an easy thing either. So what's so bad about it?
Oddly enough, I was enjoying it while reading. So, you have this kid who's the sole survivor of a horrifying supernatural murder in his school classroom, and the poor dude blacks out right as it happens. So of course he gets charged with all the murders. Now he's thrown into this Running Man-esque prison arena with all these other criminals, and it seems they have mysterious abilities. Pretty good art style, intriguing ... 
May 9, 2022
Mouretsu Pirates
(Anime)
add
With a title like Bodacious Space Pirates (U.S. title) I really expected way more fanservice. It sounds like it should be a guilty pleasure, not a serious space opera.
BSP jumps from schoolgirl slice of life to space faring political drama, looking bright and fresh in the process. More than a healthy dose of suspension of disbelief. I mean c'mon, a yacht club full of teen girls taking on space cruisers? Unarmed no less. I do wish we got to see more of the supporting characters, particularly the pirates, fleshed out or have episodes of their own instead of just a ... 
May 9, 2022
Sabage-bu!
(Anime)
add
Animated Japanese comedy can be hard to explain. More so without an English dub to pave the way. Basic premise of Saga-. Saddam- geez. SURVIVAL GAME CLUB can be summarized as "guntoting high school girls and their chaotic fantasies".
As the narrator will tell you a few times, the guns are airsoft and it's all playing out in their heads. Sounds like larping, but once the girls whip out their hardware it's all spent casings and bloodshed, with the occasional action film parodied. Stories are slice of life with club members personality quirks leading them into various shenanigans. Silly ... 
Mar 3, 2022
Two common practices in anime are the super short OVA getting recut and sold as a film version, an OVA or film that looks a generation better than it's original. Endless Waltz is one such example, and however you slice it we're served an entertaining piece of the Gundam franchise.
A sequel to the Wing series that looks six years better in animation even though they're a year apart, giving us an epilogue for our Gundam pilots. Heero still fights for what he believes, Wu Fei still fights for honor, Duo still fights for the people, Quatre is still Quatre, and it turns out ... 
Jul 23, 2021
Macross II: Lovers Again
(Anime)
add
So for me, Macross (or at least the bastardized edit that we got with Robotech) was my gateway prime; the first anime that I had ever seen, well over a decade before I understood what this genre called anime was. And I only saw it in passing, bits and pieces years apart. But it stuck with me.
I don't remember when I first saw the movie version of Macross II, but I do know at least one time I had rented it on VHS. Kids ask your folks what...those...shit, that's us now. MOVING ON! So what is Macross II? It is the quintessential space ... 
May 22, 2021
Otaku no Video
(Anime)
add
A classic and rare title for us stateside, I'd heard it mentioned and described and summarized for years. Got a DVD copy for the archives near the end of last year (went by quick and thank God for that) so I could finally see for myself what was so Otaku about it.
Overall a nice watch with an odd premise. Animated fictional account of a fan's ascent/descent into otakudom mixed with live action segments in a documentary style. The only thing that drags it down is those live segments. I enjoyed the anime skits and I could readily spot which character was ... 
May 18, 2021
Tide-Line Blue
(Anime)
add
A lesser title among Bandai's Waterworld inspired anime from the early oughts, I can't even recall ever hearing about it before I got it. I think it was a con purchase that just happened to catch my eye back in the day. But it turned out alright.
So the world we know is underwater, a massive globe spanning current has manifested (think an aquatic ether stream), a very small team of astronauts are stuck in orbit trying to map out the oceans for those who survived, and our complete yutz of a main protagonist is suddenly protecting a VERY pregnant girl on a state ... 
May 5, 2021
Once again Oshii brings us Special Vehicle Unit 2 in this sequel adaptation. And boy does it get deep this time.
Patlabor 2 offers more political allegory than the first's extremist environmental story, as we see Japan pulled to the brink of war. The darker tone in the dead of winter means a darker art style that's very bleak and ominous. The humor is still there but now it's a mere taste to keep us from losing our cool. The films are very much standalones from the series as a whole meaning you can bring in the uninitiated and show them a ... |
