Tag: Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ

Top 5 Favorite Female Mecha Pilots

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I worked in a second Gundam pick. I am sneaky that way.

I just finished the second season of Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne, a mecha show were the primary three pilots were all female. While Lagrange was not the best mecha show I have ever seen it was very enjoyable and did make me start thinking about female mecha pilots in general. The trio of female Aestivalis pilots in Martian Successor Nadesico have also started the gears turning in my head. So in turn instead of doing a lengthy rumination on the place of female pilots in mecha, which my thoughts are not entirely clear on, I thought I would do a simple top 5 list for now. Perhaps when my overall feelings on the subject are more settled I will do something with Narutaki on the more intricate topic.

As always for these lists I made a few rules for myself. Just as a note I went out of my way to only pick one character from any one series. While Gundam has quiet a few great female pilots it also has an equal amount of horrible ones. But I did not want Gundam to dominate the list so I narrowed it down to a single pick. Also I have not seen every mecha show ever made so don’t hate me because say Jun Hono or your favorite girl from Aquarion Evol is not on the list. And last but not least these are my favorite pilots not the best female mecha pilots of all time. You can argue who is a better pilot or character until your blue in the face. This is not a definitive ranking but a purely subjective list.

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The True Main Character of UC Gundam

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hisuiconIf someone were to ask a Gundam fan who was the main character of the Universal Century series of Gundam two names pop into most people’s minds. They would either answer Amuro Ray or Char Aznable. They are both iconic characters of the series and have an enormous influence on the Universal Century time line. But neither character is in Gundam Double Zeta and their deaths in Char’s Counter Attack make it hard (but possibly not impossible) for them to participate in Gundam Unicorn. A more savvy Gundam fan might realize that Bright Noah  has been in every major Universal Century TV series and movie. But he always been a supporting cast member and never rose to prominence as a main character.  In fact there is one character for all of the first leg of the Universal Century time line can be a backdrop for their story. Continue reading →

Ongoing Investigations: Case #077

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It was a natural combination that was an inevitability like the teaming up of Jackie Chan and Jet Li we have the combination of Detective Conan and Sherlock Holmes. Thankfully Detective Conan Movie 6: The Phantom of Baker Street turn out better than The Forbidden Kingdom. When Conan and his detective gang are invited to the world premier of a high tech virtual reality game the festivities quickly turn to a race to solve murders in real life and the virtual world. The draw of the movie is going to be Conan substituting for the world greatest detective as he tries to solve the Jack the Ripper murders in a virtual London. The fact that if they lose the game everyone playing dies also ramps up the tension. The action in the virtual world and the real world work well in tandem but eventually tie together in an unexpected manner. There was always some bit of action or excitement going on which helped keep the movie lively. It was great to see Professor Moriarty and Sebastian Moran in the game as well although there is less Holmes than I expected. The Junior Detective League also seems like they were deliberately part of the script as opposed to crammed in like the other movies. Overall it was a good time and a fine addition to the franchise.

I can’t tell you how trilled I was when I got my hands on this movie, I insisted that it be next on this list. My goodness, what a combination: Conan (love!), Sherlock Holmes (love!), 19th century London (love!), and a Jack the Ripper mystery (love!). I really enjoyed that the creators finally cooked up away to bring all those elements together even if it takes place in a virtual world. And the virtual reality aspect of this film tells you exactly when it was made, the mid-90’s when everyone was convinced that was going to be the next big thing! But it’s not like Detective Conan isn’t already set around some pretty crazy technology so this doesn’t seem out of place. Everyone contributes a lot to this movie and we even get an appearance from Conan’s parents. There are of course many twists and turns, and this one does have some very suspenseful moments. I found the final confrontation scene especially thrilling and once again tip my hat to Ran, in fact the franchise is very good at the final scenes overall. Detective Conan Movie 6: The Phantom of Baker Street is a great romp in the collection!

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