Gundam 00

Episode 1-2

Well I'm still sceptical about this show. As anyone should be. The show looks good. As it ought to. The action sequences seem to be pretty good. However, I'm going to start nit-picking at it till it surprises and wow's me again. Curse my fanboyism.

This is the first Mecha series since Macross that I prefer the protagonists and the protagonist mecha over the antagonist and antagonist mecha. I'm not a fan of the mech designs here. the only ones I'm slightly forgiving of is Kyrios and Virtue. Though both of these designs still go too far out there(Kyrios has those ugly Knee Wings, and Virtue is just Fat).

First thing I should address here is that 00 only has a few similarites with wing but it does make it hard to deny them when they are constatly in your face. The most obvious is the many good looking young male pilots. The other thing that bugged me cause it seemed so unnessesary to have in the series but is always heard is "Phase complete" which if doesn't sound like Wing I don't know what does.

I'm really anxious to see the political drama associated with this plot but I'm feeling a bit defensive. How am I going to handle a four-way political drama? Sounds like it's an impossibility. The series is already giving an impression that it's about the youth and their reactions to the events more than the events. Also it seems to be heavy on the action but we haven't seen anything really different or special about any of it yet.

A minor beef with it right now is the Dub. The Graham character's voice doesn't seem to fit at all. However I could be wrong, maybe his character design doesnt fit the character personallity. I don't know but for now, I'm annoyed.

What I'm watching Update!

Deathnote

Ok, starting us off today. We have Death Note. The premise of this show is very promising. However I should mention from the start here the biggest issue as an American Otaku watching Anime on scheduled programming(TV/On Demand/etc)... The English Dub.

With all Anime on TV I have watched the "WTF" moments of disgust always bring the Dub into question. "Was this in the original?", "Is this some lame attempt of making things more understandable for U.S. audiences?". The latter of these two is my biggest concern for this Anime. It seems that half of each episode is used to EXPLAIN EVERYTHING!!! Not to toot my own horn, but I understood movies/anime like Donnie Darko, Akira, and The Matrix upon the first of second viewing. I understood why things happened and what the point was and didn't need someone to explain things to me. This Anime seems like it's short-changed by this on-going explanation of what is happening/happened and why. I get it, OK. Stop treating me like I'm dense. I have an IQ of 130 for God's sake!

I'm frustrated, obviously. At least up to this point they can still keep my interest in what WILL or COULD happen in the series. I just wish I was watching this with the original dialog(translated) so I could see if this is just my speculation.

Now, the next thing on my list...

Hell Girl

I just started watching this as it appeared on IFC and I already like it more than Death Note. Not a big stretch of plot difference however. Hell girl involves an website that is during any time of day except midnight reads as a "Page Not Found". Though, at midnight someone will have the chance to view the page and submit a name into the database... to be sent to Hell. This girl is pretty creepy looking the music even gives it some creepiness. It does however seem very episodic. With each episode having a different plot and characters. Regardless I'm looking forward to more.

On DVD...

Macross Zero

So far I've watched only two episodes at home and I'm really happy I get to watch this on my TV cause I get much better picture definition than when I watched the first episode on my friend's computer. Another bonus to the DVD version is the Full 5.1 DTS/Dolby Surround sound. I'm so happy to have an Anime with such great sound to it. I don't know why more Anime don't focus on better sound.

So far this OVA is a bit disappointing plot-wise with the character focus on (IMO) the WRONG character. Though it seems like they got Roy Focker's character pretty spot on, complete with ass grabbing.

Also...

Macross 7

I Love it already. High octane action, crazy J-rock music, and even some fan-service. I really like the new characters and can see a lot of influence here for Cowboy Bebop with the character relations. All the characters have very high charisma and it's nice to see our favorite Anime couple of all time Max and Miriya Genius. Love it, Love it, Love it!

And the biggest thing since sliced bread...

Gundam 00

To be continued...

I ran out of tissues...

No, I wasn't watching porn. Most of the day anyway. I just finished watching Victory Gundam. I've got to say that one of my favorite things about Gundam is how it/they depict the grit and realism of war. Prior to the finale of this series my favorite Gundam set/series/etc. was 0080: War in the Pocket. Thanks to this, it's been pushed to #2. Congratulations Victory Gundam your #1(Number one with a bullet).

This series really had me sold after episode 31. Before this there was a lot of plot/character development. Granted the multiple occurrences of Shakti's capture/return got a little stale but the amount of realism and heartbreak that is scattered throughout the last 30-odd-sum episodes really bring the viewers in.

Once again, I say, Thank you, Tomino-sama. Thank you.

Corruption and heartbreak

Well It's time for an update about my current watched shows.

Today I finally got around to watching more Victory gundam. and once again I feel my heart crushed. I've never seen something so tragic in any media form. I finished up episode 36 and the next death on the show was one that wasn't very surprising. (spoilers) This episode ends with Uso gripping the helmet containing the brutal decapitated head of his own mother. if that weren't enought it was only about a minute after this happend that a cease fire was called. I swear Tomino gives Uso every chance to lose his mind and to give up all hope. I mean who wouldn't.

The Newest show I added to my list was Death Note. I wasn't sure if I would like this or not but I read up on it and the premise is something I just had to see for myself if it lives up to the sick and twisted asperations that the plot brings to mind. This show is about a kid who finds a note-book with DEATH NOTE written on it one day after school. The first few pages tell him what the purpose of the book is. To kill ppl. Anyone who's name is written in the book will die in 40 seconds of a heart attack if the writter does not list details of how they die. The main character believes he won't be corrupted by this by simply killing off those who commit heinous crimes. But can he pull off this task without being corrupted? can he do it without being caught? Guess I'll see in future episodes.

REAL Life Mecha?

This is the EA-6B Prowler, the aircraft I've been working on/attached to for the past 4 years in my command.

This is theVA-3 Invader from Macross Plus/Macross 7(manga only) in attacker mode.

This is it in Battroid Mode.

Notice the simularities?

THE FUTURE IS NOW!

The realism of the "real-robot" genre that Tomino started is soon to be... well, realized. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5058011.ece This article talks about the new "Gundam Academy" in which members will be pursuing the actualization of most, if not all of the elements of Gundam(except the Minovski particle based technology, obviously). This is a landmark event not only for Gundam, but for humanity.

There is hope for space colonization after all. I now have faith in humanity again!!!

Thanks to Alpha_522 on http://myanimelist.net for this link and for brightening my day/week/life.

What I'm watching, what I stopped, and why

There are a few things that I (try to)watch ever day. These are them:
First, the BIG GUNS!
Mobile Suit Victory Gundam.

I've now made it up to the 31st episode. Those who know this series should continue but those who don't skip to the next paragraph. (spoilers) So up till now I've endured the heartless slaughter of every female on the Shrike team(except Marbet, who's quickly becoming a favorite). Now they went and killed the only male member, Oliver. Tomino must have been depressed cause now I am. I'm not even sure if I can watch another episode cause I'm so down. So far this week has been Victory free. sigh...

I went into watching this series with every warning possible. I even read through the reviews on MAHQ.net(every episode). But I can honestly say that NOTHING can prepare you for this. I really love this series. From the storytelling to the mecha designs, all of this is beautiful. God only knows why Tomino would put his distaste for this series on the japanese memorial box set(http://aeug.blogspot.com/2004_01_01_archive.html Gunota headlines). I think it's one of his best. A lot of ppl feel that Tomino showed an dislike of women in this anime but I dissagree. Marbet was a good pilot and she even survived the entire series. She's my favorite female pilot, next to Haman Kahn of course. Overall I recomend this to all anime fans who have the fortitude and strength to endure it's depressing plot elements.

Now to non-anime...
Attack of the Show.

There are few shows that entertain me and I can say that I'm glad I have DVR cause where as I do enjoy this show it's more the improvised/caught on film antics that really keep me interested in this show. That and Chris Gore. I want that guy's job. Also there a few segments that I like and a few I don't. They are as follows:

Around The Net or ATN as shouted by the back stage crew/audience. These are the top 5 clips of the day from the internet. Clips are funny as are the back and forth reactions from Olivia Munn and Kevin Pereira. Except the staged gags/skits they have following the #2(usually) clip. These are pretty dull, mostly, and should just be left out. The only thing entertaining about these are the stunts and outtakes by the host of AotS.

ATTACK THIS is a good segment overall that covers some upcoming/new released goodies. These are usually in a spit fire list that seems fairly short(even shorter than The Feed).

The Feed is probably the most interesting thing on the show. However, it's host is just a pretty faced prompt reader. WTF G4? Why? Sigh. This segment lacks a lot of real attention that it deserves.

Epic Fail (also BREAK moments in de-evolution) are of the best segments on the show, however they come off as filler in the program sometimes. These segments as good as they are label the show as an internet clip show. So maybe these segments are good as spaced as they are after all.

The Loop is the #1 reason I'm glad I DVR this show. Sometimes It's entertaining, others I could care less.

The rest is mostly consisted of weekly show elements.

Fresh ink/DVDuesday/Gadget Pr0n(even though this happens more often than weekly). These segments seem to be just right in the weekly spotlight and are the real reason everyone should watch. The co-host that come on for these segments are the cream of the crop as well. Blair butler is a former stand-up comedian that has quite an vast knowledge and interest in comics and it's cool to hear her opinions on these matters. Chris Gore is like a film version of Blair only this guy gives advice on what to buy/rent/pass which I think is the best format for reviewing all media. Gadget Pr0n is kind of a hit or miss segment but Chris Hardwick is a fairly goofy guy that also very charismatic and it is very informative to watch if you are looking for a new camera, computer, or TV considering that's what is normally reviewed.

In Your Pants is a sex life help segment and Women of the web is a showcase of the top 10 women on the internet found during the week. These totally miss the demographic in my opinion. They both seem like a desperate attempt to bring in and keep an audience of viewers they don't need, Troglodytes. Anna David must be getting paid to show up so why don't they just cut her(and the segment) out and save some money.

Wow! AotS really used up too much of my post...

On to X-PLAY.

the reviews are why I watch this show. The commentary and clips of each game with dialog and scenes taking out of context are hilarious. The pop-culture reference material, not so much. Adam Sessler is my favorite host on G4. I wish he'd include the Sessler's Soapbox segments on the show, as well as the "in 60 seconds" segments found during commercial breaks by various G4 hosts. They are all(mostly) related to video games so why not? Recently I've noticed that former EGM editor Dan "Shoe" is now a floor man for the big interviews and floor shows. This guy used to come of as quite entertaining and energetic on pages of the magazine, however now he seems like he's over-medicated or something. The guy seems really dull. Really the only room I see for improvement would be to cut out the full episode exclusives or make them available on G4.com exclusively, or better yet free on On Demand providers. They could use some of the elements of those episodes during the normal episode as a "teaser" so to get the interested party to go online.