Category: Mecha

Our Aestivalis Are Invincible

Leave a comment

Ichi, ni, san, shi, ni, ni, san, shi!

Patz and I look at the classic mecha show Martian Successor Nadesico on his podcast the Cockpit. The series is one part comedic parody of all things sci-fi, one part loving homage to anything that would be in a Super Robot Wars game, and one part serious mecha drama. While the show has never been king of the roost it has always had a unique place in mecha fandom. Now that Nozomi Entertainment recently license rescued Nadesico it is a great time to not only examine what makes this show special but what the RightStuf has added to this release of the show.

In Part One we look at just the TV series. Part Two (which will hopefully come out soon) will examine the Gekigangar 3 OVA, The Prince of Darkness Movie, and briefly touch upon some of the oddity with the games and the ultimate fate of the series.

The Cockpit – Episode 2A – You Get To Burning

Ongoing Investigations: Case #189

Leave a comment

It was time to return to the Code Geass universe with the first Akito the Exiled OVA. It is a side story set during the original series that takes place on the mostly neglected European front. While the European Union was mentioned several times in the series there were no significant scenes that ever really take place there. So it is a good setting as a good deal can go on in that area and not have it contradict the original series.

The only real consequence is that the cast is limited in what it can accomplish. The overall defeat of the EU is an inevitability. So the cast cannot become super heroes who single handily turn the tide of the war or kill the Emperor. But at the same time the can accomplish smaller goals so it is not like there is nothing they do in this time period.

The first thing most people will notice is that no matter where Japanese people go in the Code Geass universe it is a hard knock life. The Japanese hoping to escape a terrible life in Area 11 find that being refugees in other countries is little better. The crazy European commander of a Japanese unit starts sending his subordinates suits their self destruct codes as he sees them as subhuman mongrels whose only value is to die completing their missions. So the not so subtle themes of prejudice are echoed here as well.

The single survivor of the unit, named Akito, is helped by another commander named Leila Malkal. It seems Akito has some sort of Geass power but other than using in ambiguously in combat a few times it seems the writers are keeping what exactly his ability is under their hats. I also get the feeling they imply Leila has a Geass power but they only tease its existence more than show it.

Other than that most of the episode is just showing the setting as the European Union that was barely fleshed out in the original series. We mostly learn that they are a different sort of corrupt government as opposed to a noble force that fights against the wicked Britannian empire. The leadership of the AU is mainly made up of haughty nobles who live in luxury while a good deal of the citizenry lives in poverty. Leila seems to be a rare expectation although she seems less concerned about reforming the system and more about just being a decent human being to the people she meets.

I was a little surprised that for a Code Geass series there was almost no fan service. The original series all but left you voice mails every episode reminding you about how stacked Kallen and C.C. were. So other than a pair of bunny girl waitresses (who barely appear on-screen) there is almost nothing else close to fan service in the series. I wonder if that makes this an easier sell to certain people.

The next episode preview seems to indicate that some major players from the original series are going to stop by next episode. It seems that C.C. has some tie to Leila which backs up my theory that she has a Geass power.

This is an easy recommendation to anyone who enjoyed the original series. It is fairly short but fills in the universe without trying to carve out too ambitious of a niche in the greater story. Hopefully they will keep the scope ambitious but not to the level in which they forget how small their canvas is.

I was looking forward to the Code Geass: Akito the Exiled OVA and the first episode didn’t disappoint me. Though admittedly a lot of the surprises were in the next episode preview, I thought this episode set up things well and got me invested in the characters.

I really warmed to our lead Leila right away. She seems like a soldier and able to take care of herself. She has her head on right without being conventional, her unit is ending up being a unique team. The hints at her past got more interesting as the episode went on.

Akito is not a cold fish which was a pleasant surprise. I liked that they didn’t reveal what exactly his Geass does yet. He uses it in battle at the start but he doesn’t use it in a later battle so it remains a mystery. The movement of his robot at the beginning is crazy! Very animal like in its agility, it was actually a little unnerving.

I enjoyed everyone meeting in this installment and happily there was no romantic agenda being pushed. They do introduce a lot of characters and a lot of characters with Geass powers but hopefully they’ll be able to balance all of them.

It doesn’t seem like a story that is going to end in happiness though I’m guessing it won’t be all bad. Still I expect Akito to die by the end.

The only real problem for me was the characters’ hair and clothing designs, bleh. Also some of the characters had tiny heads! Oh wait, and there was also super creeper fiance brother. So some minor missteps.

The Ongoing Investigations are little peeks into what we are watching and reading outside of our main posts on the blog. We each pick three things that we were interested in a week and talk a bit about them. There is often not much rhyme or reason to what we pick. They are just the most interesting things we saw since the last Ongoing Investigation.

Continue reading →

Ongoing Investigations: Case #186

2 Comments

So there have been a lot of talk about CBS’s Elementary ever since it was announced. There have even been some harsh warnings from BBC’s Sherlock staff on the concept of the show. Personally, I was looking forward to, at the very least, Lucy Liu as Watson. Finally, last night we were able to see for ourselves just how this NYC-based Holmes would fare.

This version of Sherlock is after all of his adventures across the pond and rehab; they were really able to sell me on this premise. He is still that aloof, detached observer but he can stop, pause, and realize people have feelings. That doesn’t restrict him once he is on a roll as things start clicking in his brain but he is also able to apologize.

Waston holds her own happily. At first she is understandably dragged along into Sherlock’s crazy but finds herself curious and capable of investigation. Her training as a doctor and a companion for recovering addicts allows her lots of insights. In fact, Sherlock and her go toe to toe rather well when analyzing each other.

One thing I’m curious to see is how well they can create a platonic friendship between these two. With the exception of their first meeting, I thought the first episode did an excellent job of it. But I also think this will be one of the harder aspects to keep up, it seems very difficult for television series to not add sexual tension between two good-looking people. But I earnestly hope they can do so here.

The first mystery is a murder, my (everyone’s?) favorite kind! It had good twists if slightly predictable ones at first. However the final conclusion was fantastic and Sherlock’s roundabout way of getting to the point made my jaw drop. I won’t take issue with the criminal admitting guilt to Sherlock privately out of confidence (a staple of the genre) as long as it doesn’t happen every time.

Random note, I was really impressed with that subway scene. That could not have been easy to film!

Natsuyuki Rendezvous was an interesting series in the fact that I think I saw just as many people proudly claim that they stopped watching the series as I saw enjoying the ending. Which is really a shame because it was a fine show that had a very refreshingly mature look at relationships, love, and selfishness and their interconnected nature. If anything I think a lot of the disconnect had to do with people Natsuyuki Rendezvous to be a different show. A show that it never wanted to be nor should have been.

First of all I am a little perplexed by people who were caught off guard by Atsushi being so prevalent in the series. I think Narutaki put it best when she said, “I can’t understand how anyone would hear the premise that the protagonists romantic interest is being haunted by her ex-husband that only he can see and NOT see how the ghost is going to be a prominent character.” In my opinion it is like being perplexed why they talk about the robots so much in Gundam. I don’t think Rokka and Ryosuke are ever ignored in the series. They just share the title of main character with Atsushi.

Second of all I am greatly perplexed by people who don’t seem to understand that selfishness and love are not mutually exclusive. On a certain level some of us wish to believe that absolute pure love means that you will always put the needs of those you love before your own. While this can be a noble sentiment reality shows us that first off the bat there are few people who are that are so buddha-like that they can shed their selfishness for another. You will be surprised how selfless you can be when you are in love but a selfish core remains within all of us.

I am also a little bit concerned by exactly how selfless they want Atsushi to be. It is not as if Rokka was cursing him on his deathbed. His attachment (no matter how selfish at times) to a woman he still loves and still loves him is perfectly understandable. Much like Kyoko Otonashi part of Rokka’s appeal is her devoted nature. It is only natural for Atsushi to somewhat greedily wish to have his own life back. It is not like a large portion of Atsushi does not wish to just see Rokka happy and free. But Atsushi is still human with all the frailties of such.

If you ask my opinion weighing in at only 11 episodes I don’t see any reason not to watch Natsuyuki Rendezvous unless you just dislike romantic dramas. It is a nice slightly supernatural love story for adults. It is a series that proves that letting go is an easy concept to embrace but a far harder concept to execute.

The Ongoing Investigations are little peeks into what we are watching and reading outside of our main posts on the blog. We each pick three things that we were interested in a week and talk a bit about them. There is often not much rhyme or reason to what we pick. They are just the most interesting things we saw since the last Ongoing Investigation.

Continue reading →