Spring 08 Impressions PART III
three is a magic number~~
Macross Frontier
I’m a Macross nub, I’ll admit. I only just saw Do You Remember Love a month or so ago and have yet to see the original series. I did see one or two episodes of that Macross Zero thing a few years back, but I guess that doesn’t count. Anyway, what I’m trying to get at here is Macross Frontier is my first proper Macross series. I put off watching the original airing of episode one (the “Deculture” Edition) until after my viewing of DYRL because I didn’t want to be like a new Gundam fan who only watches 00 and forgets the original series and movies exist. But I digress.
I watched the Deculture Edition and the proper TV airing back to back, so I got the whole story of episode one down. I’m pretty fucking impressed. I’ve had this fucking annoying itch for well produced and engaging SF anime for a while now, and Macross F does a fucking good job of scratching that itch. The world design alone would have been satisfactory, but Macross F goes above and beyond by delivering dogfights that are actually exciting. A rarity in anime. Not only that, but they were rendered in 3D and actually looked not shitty. Sure, it’s not fucking Pixar grade or anything, and the movements did look awkward at times (you cannot reproduce the Itano Circus faithfully in 3D, I am sorry), but damn. I was fucking on the edge of my seat. I should note that this hardly ever fucking happens to me.
Anyway, aside from violence and spaceships, the character animation is pretty good and everything else in general is well rendered. The character designs are apparently done by a porno-game designer, and I’m not sure how I feel about them. Nyan Nyan girl is cute, but her eyes aren’t big enough so she’s not MOEEEEEEE. But the dance is nice.
So yeah, watch it.
Zettai Karen Children
…or Absolutely Lovely Children, in our archaic and simple Engrish ranguage. Though you may just want to keep it Zettai Karen for when you’re speaking in public, to attract less suspicious looks.
Yeah, this one is a big ol’ “I GUESS IT WAS OK.” This first episode had a crazy Hard Gay wannabe as the main villain. I dunno, maybe I’m just too old to appreciate a gay man shooting lasers out of his dick, but this wasn’t really funny or not funny. It was just there. Anyway, gay men shooting lasers out of their dicks aside, the show features some psychic lolis, which are clearly better than normal lolis, because they’re psychic. They could probably jerk you off with their minds, or something. One is voiced by Hirano Aya doing her Konata voice, and her character basically is Konata except more perverted. I’m not sure what to make of the character designs here. On one hand they’re kind of cute, but on the other hand they look like the stepped out of some show made in that awkward period where anime was becoming moe but was still not moe. Like 1999 or early 2000, or something.
This show is apparently directed by the Hayate director, which is confusing since that same directorial brilliance isn’t here. However, a quick gander at this guy’s other credits almost convinces me that Hayate’s brilliance doesn’t really lie in the direction so much anymore. I guess that guy just does lol otaku shows. Also, this is meant to run for a year. Not sure if I’ll be able to stick with it.
Allison to Lillia
Uh, I’m not really sure what to say about this one. Episode 1 was well done, but I’m not really sure if this kind of show is my thing or not. It certainly was fun and had a great sense of adventure helped by an ambitious musical score, but it’s so not-anime that I’m almost put off. I guess I’ll watch it until I get sick of it.
The animation is pretty good. I really like the use of colour.
The designs of Zettai are that way because the original manga is done by Takashi Shiina and he’s oh so 90’s in his style of drawing. In fact, I thought they were going to “moefy” the characters but they left them intact. Oh Japan.
Yeah Dark Mirage is kinda a dick. 00 is good (yes, I won’t stop plugging it) since it actually attempts to defy or at least procrastinate on old Gundam traditions (children falling into Gundams, Masked Men, Gundam Jackings, Bigger backpack Okawara Mech designs, no basement Gundams), but the original movies are always the best (unless, you take the books, which are fine as well. There are actually a lot things I PREFER about the books, with the lone exception that Tomino automatically reveals Char and Sayla’s identities). Particularly Macross is a series steeped in plain old good mecha anime. Macross Plus has one of the best mecha dogfights in all history.
Personally the one thing I’ve always liked about Macross mecha designs is that are really the most practical mecha in all mecha. The are the pinacle of reals type mecha: they stick to the fighter forms for the majority of combat, and most of the weaponry is built onto the Variable fighters themselves. Also the space combat has a much more bottomless feel than Gundam’s does. The battleship designs feel like they can handle attacks from the bottom side. Everything makes sense.
Regardless, the show has won me for the season. I’m really interested where this series is going. Now, all I need to find is a good comedy for the season.
>>Yeah Dark Mirage is kinda a dick.
Shh I don’t wanna start drama again :v DM will do his thing and I’ll do my thing while occasionally laughing at him doing his poorly written and boring things :V :V :V
>>Gundam 00
[00:38:04] bonertown: gundam 00 ain’t too bad
[00:38:08] wildarmsheero: lol
[00:38:16] wildarmsheero: i dont have time for 00
[00:38:28] bonertown: it really is basically gundam wing in a post 9/11 era
[00:38:36] wildarmsheero: ew
[00:38:42] bonertown: and with a ridiculously feminine looking gundam at one point
[00:38:53] bonertown: like that one from g-gundam
[00:38:58] wildarmsheero: http://www.kanokon.com/index-a.html some things are more important than g00
[00:39:05] bonertown: haha NO
>>good comedy
Zettain Karen Children? Golgo 13?
>>Drama
Yeah, we don’t need to give the FW and 4chan a reason to stalk around here that isn’t related to the comic.
>>ridiculously feminine Gundam.
I bet even you can guess who pilots that one. Hint: It isn’t a female, though rumoredly it isn’t really either. Also it comes out of another Gundam.
>>Zettain Karen Children? Golgo 13?
I’ll probably try at least one out, for lulz sake. I also might try Minami-ke. Last season, school kept me too busy to really try anything new out, but currently I’m in the final damn leg of it before college tiem.
I tried out Zettai Karen. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t good either and the jokes didn’t work for me. Also wasn’t that fond of those old fashioned designs, they really could have modified them for 2008.
Soul Eater is nice, at least its visuals. It’s like “Tim Burton has gone shounen anime” and the storyboard as well as the martial arts choreography is rather gainax-ish.
Zettai was a bit of a blast from my past. It was ok, I’ll stick with it for a while, and see if it gets any better. I must say a loli with a big boob fetish is relevant to my interests. Though the girl with the ONE giant earring just kinda weirds me out.
This is why you should watch Zettai Karen Children
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/3390/zettaisz3.jpg
Ah, someone in Japan finally remembers how much better the 90’s were.
Yesh…Macross is good….join usssssssss……
/spam
But seriously, if you liked Yamato, Macross is a good replacement for that sci fi itch.