What Are You Watching?

[Painted Outlaw]

Finished up Gundam Seed and as I said elsewhere, I get what they wanted to do and a couple moments did get to me (Mu and Natarle ) but, as a whole, I wouldn't say it really matched up to the UC shows it so wanted to be. And geez, on that note, the finale was almost endearing on that since it felt like some giant UC-era checklist. "Creuset has a special mecha and he fights Kira like Char did. Oh-oh and, Kira gets powered by shounen rage and Newtype ghosts like Amuro and Kamille did and...". Tl;dr: I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either. It was this.

I'll get to GSD ...eventually... but, planning to watch Steins;Gate next.

[VLordGTZ]

So, I just came back from seeing the first Fate/Stay Night Heaven's Feel film in theaters and it was great!  While it wasn't my favorite anime film of the year by any means, it definitely lived up to my expectations and it was very well adapted.  Any concerns that I had about Ufotable rushing the pacing are gone, and I am looking forward to the next two films. 

[Avaitor]

That still reminds me that I need to finish UBW.

[Avaitor]

And speaking of series that it's taken me too long to finish, I finally found time to knock out The Woman Called Fujiko Mine. Damn, this might just be my favorite Lupin series. It doesn't contain as many of the qualities of the previous series that I loved, but it has great stuff for not just Fujiko, but the whole gang. Just a wonderful experience.

Definitely more enjoyable than Part IV. That does have some great episodes, but I'm not feeling it as much as this one or the first 2.

[VLordGTZ]

Yeah, The Woman Called Fujiko Mine is easily my favorite Lupin series.  It strays pretty far from the traditional Lupin anime formula, but is crafted incredibly well and does a great job of handling its cast.  It's also easily Sayo Yamamoto's best directorial work imo, which makes it a real shame that it is still largely ignored by anime fans even after Yuri on Ice's success. 

Part IV, while it has its flaws, I still love at lot and it has some of my favorite Lupin episodes ever.  I also enjoyed Rebecca and Nix's roles as recurring characters, both of which I'm hoping return in some way in Part V.

[Avaitor]

I'm enjoying Rebecca and Nix, as well, but the core storyline stuff doesn't do as much for me as the more loose episodes. When it's good, it's really good, but Part IV is only on top of Part III for me.

Lupin just isn't a big deal in the US at all. Even Gundam, which has been struggling post-Wing here, tends to have a bigger following, and both series that have aired on Toonami generally hold on better ratings than Part IV has. I understand why Part II didn't catch on originally, being old and all (I didn't get it at the time either- I've only really gotten into the franchise as of late), but even Castle of Caligostro is by far Miyazaki's least popular film stateside. I feel like Woman Called Fujiko Mine would do wonders as an entry point, but very few anime fans seem to give it a second look.

[Avaitor]

After finding and buying a figure of Char Aznable's main suit in Char's Counterattack today, I had a bit of a nostalgia kick on Gundam, and decided to do something I've thought about doing for a while- rewatch G. Although I don't plan to make this my main series to watch, I figured that I'd at least check the first episode out on Crunchyroll tonight.

And wow, I forgot how much I loved this dumb show as a kid. It's not one I talk or think about as much as other Toonami mainstays, but as everything came together, I realized that it was really up there for me. And it's still pretty darn fun too. I'm on episode two now, and I may watch at least one more before I call it a night.

[Spark Of Spirit]

G Gundam never pretends to be anything other than a fun action show and it succeeds at it. I know most people hated it when it came out because Bandai really didn't know how to handle the franchise, but it is good at what it does. It's just that what it does is not what people like about Gundam.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

It's basically Gundam re-imagined as a tournament-style battle shonen series. It's fun for people who enjoy that genre but doesn't fit the franchise for everyone else.

[Dr. Insomniac]

I love G Gundam because it doesn't fit the Gundam mold. No heavyhanded lectures about souls weighed down by gravity. No weird character shifts like Reccoa's arc from Zeta. No obvious Char Clone (Schwarz Bruder doesn't fit the archetype enough for me to count him). Instead, it's hot-blooded, over the top racial stereotypes fighting each other with giant robots. The director used the same approach for his remakes of Giant Robo and Mazinger Z, and he works wonders there.

[Avaitor]

I think what makes G work is its surprising lack of camp. The series takes itself entirely seriously, and somehow that isn't a detriment despite how dumb it gets with its stereotypes. The characteristics and action mostly work, and help to pull you into the story.

I do like the more traditional Gundams, but I'm glad this worked as a change of pace, since it helped the franchise to become more multifaceted.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, today I checked out the first episode of Devilman Crybaby.

My reaction went as follows:

.....

[Painted Outlaw]

Just gonna quote myself regarding G:
"I saw part of G Gundam when it was on Toonami but it wasn't until more recently that I went through every episode. It is a pretty good show and likely one of Tomokazu Seki's best roles. (Also, one of the few roles I can stand Kappei Yamaguchi; I still dunno how). From Domon trying to piece his family back together to Rain worrying that Domon won't make it through the fights, Argo haunted by his past as a Space Pirate to Sai needing to revive his family temple but neither truly wanting him to waste his childhood, and so on -- there's a lot to like in its over-the-top wrapping paper."

G Gundam never pretends to be anything other than a fun action show and it succeeds at it. I know most people hated it when it came out

Bah, those people probably gave something like Wing more love than it deserved.

[Avaitor]

G Gundam never pretends to be anything other than a fun action show and it succeeds at it. I know most people hated it when it came out

Bah, those people probably gave something like Wing more love than it deserved.

People genuinely thought that G was a betrayal back in the day. I've seen one anime reviewer outright call it the worst thing to ever happen to Gundam. I just wonder what he thinks of the past twenty years.

It's also worth pointing out that the franchise was on a decline in popularity around this time (and to be fair, you probably deserve some kind of medal if you can make it all the way through ZZ), and G helped revitalize it. Chances are that we may not have even gotten Wing without it, or it wouldn't have been nearly as much of a hit.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Watched the last episode of Juuni Taisen, and I just don't get how Nisioisin has all these anime and light novels out when he has no idea how to write actual dialogue or anything resembling human thought. Even the characters we're meant to relate to (like Hanekawa, the guy from Katanagatari, and Rat in this show) are so distant and talk too much that I can't sympathize with them at all. Watching a show with nothing but talking heads would feel more natural than any show of Nisioisin's.