Tag: mecha

Buddy Complex

What’s it about ?

Terminator with mecha.

Characters

Aoba, our generic high-school student protagonist. He’s got a generic (absence of) personality, and generic friends constantly saying how great a guy he is. He’s the picture of boring normalcy.

Hina, the girl sitting next to him in class who transferred in recently. Everyone just assumes she’s stalking him because she’s infatuated with him (for some unfathomable reason) ; and while there might be some degree of truth to that, the real reason is that he’s going to be Really Important in the future, and she’s a time-traveller who’s come back in time to protect him from…

Er, actually, I didn’t quite catch this guy’s name. (And since the credits just have him as a purposefully uncredited “pilot”, I presume that’s a plot point.) Anyway, he’s fallen into a wormhole from the future with his mecha, and for some reason he makes a beeline to kill Aoba. Hina was in hot pursuit, but somehow ended up arriving several months earlier ; this makes me believe time-travel isn’t an exact science here.

Anyway, the battle escalates enough for Hina to decide that the best course of action is to throw her mecha (with Aoba also in the cockpit) together with the other guy’s into another wormhole. When Aoba wakes up after that, he’s alone in a completely different mecha, at some point in the future, and the army owning that mecha is scrambling for combat…

Production Values

It’s Sunrise doing mecha. Of course it looks fine.

Overall Impression

Well, that’s certainly an intriguing start. I’m not too fond of the characters yet, but the premise is introduced well enough to feel interesting despite them. I certainly appreciated the way it rushed to have Aoba into the future so quickly, as there certainly wasn’t anything of much interest in the present.

I’ll give it a few episodes to see where it goes. (I have no clue whatsoever why it’s called “Buddy Complex” yet, for example.)

via [In which I review] New anime, Winter 2014.

Valvrave the Liberator (Kakumeiki Valvrave)

(12 episodes + 12 episodes this Fall)

What’s it about ?

Our third sci-fi mecha show of the season.

Characters

Haruto, our generic high school protagonist. Except this is the FUTURE! so his high school is on a gigantic space station near Earth. It’s supposed to be neutral grounds, so of course it gets attacked by an agressive Earth faction right as the series starts.

Shouko, his not-quite-girlfriend. She’s vastly more fun and charismatic than him, so of course she gets killed off halfway through the episode so as to provide him impetus to act. /facepalm

The villains have sent out a squad of five teenage soldiers to infiltrate the space station by posing as high school students. (“Wait, weren’t there supposed to be only two transfer students ?” “SLICE!”) Those guys are ruthlessly efficient, but still human enough to get temporarily sidetracked into arguments with the students they cross paths with. The full-blown mecha attack from the outside is actually a diversion so that they can locate and get theirs hands on…

The Valvrave, a secret high-tech mecha which is for some reason housed in the basement under the school (neutral, my ass !). It’s the kind of mecha which includes “Do you want to resign as a human being ?” in the boot-up sequence. Of course it’s Haruto who ends up in the cockpit instead of the infiltrators.

There’s a dozen other students who get enough glimpses of screentime to indicate they’ll be part of the regular supporting cast.

Production Values

Sunrise can produce decent mecha action in their sleep by now, so it’s nice to see them not half-assing it. This is a very nice-looking show, with the colourfulness sharply contrasting with the bloody action.

What did I think of it ?

Damn it. Fridging your most prominent female character right from the onset ? Not cool, show. I rarely get angry at anime series, but this really isn’t a good way to start off. (Yeah, I know it’s ambiguous enough that Shouko may just have been blown clear of the explosion. But I fear that’s just wishful thinking.)

Which is a shame, because this is otherwise a good opening episode, packing lots of plot inside 22 minutes. The infiltrator squad are a really fun bunch to follow, and the post-credits coda is very well-executed indeed.

It’s a very promising show ; shame about the bad taste it left in my mouth…

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2013 – Page 14.

Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet (Suisei no Gargantia)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Gen Urobuchi does mecha.

Characters

Red, our protagonist. As one of the most promising young soldiers of the Galactic Human Alliance, he’s soon due for some limited citizenship (which includes real sleep and reproduction rights) and a few weeks of leave at the paradise space colony of Avalon. (Thank gods Urobuchi claims he’s not doing grimdark, otherwise I might have mistaken the GHA for a hellish dystopia). Of course the next battle against the aliens goes to hell in no time, and his escape hyperspace jump goes utterly wrong.

Chamber, his mecha’s AI (the always impeccable Tomokazu Sugita can make even dry exposition and straight-faced statements of facts sound slightly sarcastic). It wakes Red up from six weeks of deep hibernation when the inhabitants of the place he’s wound up on try to do stuff on the mecha.

Amy, the young perky girl (with the mandatory cute critter perched on her shoulder) who seems to be the one who found the mecha. She is trying to have it dismantled so that she can sell the parts, but none of the mechanics are having much luck even scratching the thing. Red takes her hostage after he’s found lurking around, on the basis that those primitives will have less incentive to shoot him while he tries to figure where the heck he is. (Er…)

We’ve got hints of a supporting cast, including Amy’s prospective buyer or the lady who runs the place.

The big twist he finds out about at the end of the episode is that this isn’t some random independent backwater colony : this is Earth, where humanity is fabled to have started from !

Production Values

Very impressive indeed. This features some very good and expressive character animation, and oozes money from every shot. In contrast, the space mecha battles appear oddly stilted, with the very static camera far from handing a candle to the hyper-kinetic action of Majestic Prince, for example. But that’s nitpicking.

Overall Impression

Well, it’s going to be hard to top this as best show of the season. It’s a smooth, perfectly executed on every level production, with dialogue that’s not without a sense of humour. (“They appear to be talking about reproduction with one’s mother.” “Barbarians !”) The culture shock is bound to be fun, and I’m curious about what the plan is with the GHA’s obvious problems as a civilization.

Definitely a keeper.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2013 – Page 8.

Majestic Prince (Ginga Kikoutai Majestic Prince)

(24 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Space mecha.

Characters

Our heroes are a team of mecha pilot trainees, known as the “Rabbit Team”, but mostly as the “Fail Five”, as they just don’t work well together. There’s Asagi the aloof ace who runs into battle without thinking, Ataru the nerdy gunner, Tamaki the childish and boy-crazy point-girl, Key the jaded analytical girl, and Izuru the “leader” (whom nobody acknowledges as such).

Lt Suzukaze, their training officer, isn’t the last one to constantly remind them that they’re crap. So she’s very surprised to learn the brass want them to immediately go on the frontlines with cutting-edge mecha to save their assieged forces from the dastardly baddies.

The catch is that those experimental mecha are very unstable, and they only need to distract the enemy for half an hour so that everyone can be evacuated. Hence why they send disposable newbies.

What nobody expected is that (1) Izuru would decide to play hero to save all those civilians the brass “accidentally” forgot to mention wouldn’t be evacuated, and (2) that he’d actually pull it off, frightening the aliens enough to force their retreat.

Yay ?

Production Values

Very impressive. It’s got tons of budget for the mecha battles, and it shows (although the CG is very obvious).

I also really like the recurring narrative device of quickly sliding the camera horizontally to catch each of the five’s reaction/quip on whatever is happening. It’s funny and the animators vary the facial expressions enough to make it work.

Overall Impression

Well, this was fun. It’s also completely empty of substance, with everyone being depicted with broad strokes verging on caricature. But it does establish its premise and characters properly, so there’s that.

I’m however mildly concerned by how it tells us rather than really shows us how the 5 really suck, especially as they seem surprisingly competent for their first real battle.

Still, it’s a decent effort, and unapologetic about what it is. As popcorn entertainment, it works.

via [In which I review] New anime, Spring 2013 – Page 3.

Chousoku Henkei Gyrozetter

What’s it about ?

Sentai show with cool transforming cars.

Characters

Kakeru, our hotblooded young protagonist. Since this is The Future, all the cars come with an AI, which explains how he’s now getting his license despite being 14 at best. He’d probably have gotten it earlier if he wasn’t pissing off his teachers with his acrobatic (but perfectly mastered) driving. Anyway, the people in charge (pulling double duty as both school officials and members of the secret organisation that saves the world) have found a Rosetta-like stone prophetizing he’s the chosen one, and so give him a car that transforms into a giant robot so that he can fight off the baddies with it.

Rinne, his totally-girlfriend, is already an assistant teacher for driving classes despite not looking any older. (Her student looks 10 at most.) Also, did I mention she’s driving a Prius (c) (r) ™ ? She spends a good chunk of the episode in distress mode (mostly because she’s not at the wheel when the villains attack), but she gets her own transforming car/robot in the second episode.

In pure sentai tradition, the OP/ED show that the team is eventually going to be five-strong, with the fat-comic-relief, the stand-offish rival and the other girl presumably joining us soon.

Also in this episode : an over-enthusiastic TV reporter who spends all his screentime shouting exposition at us or telling us how awesome the action is.

Production Values

Very nice : there’s way enough budget to sell the action sequences, whether the car chase scenes or the giant-robot fights. It’s obviously a toyetic tie-in to something, but at least they’re not half-assing it.

I have to admit I laughed out loud at the ED sequence taking the piss out of the current trend of CG dancing sequences.

What did I think of it ?

This is actually quite fun. It’s a nearly complete checklist of every single sentai cliché ever, but played with enough enthusiasm and energy to be watchable. (Although Jouji Nakata can’t pull off his “gung-ho old scientist” role to save his life.) Let’s be clear : despite not displaying a single original idea, this isn’t a “so bad it’s good” show ; it’s enjoyable unironically. There’s a reason those clichés were used in the first place, after all.

In less busy a season, I could have seen myself sticking with it in the long run ; as it is, I don’t think I’ll be watching beyond episode 2. Still, nice try.

via [In which I review] New anime, Fall 2012 – Page 10.

Robotics;Notes

(22 episodes)

What’s it about ?

A high school club dedicated to building a giant robot, in a near future where the tech just about allows that sort of thing.

Characters

Akiho, the club’s leader. Her sister founded it a few years ago, and there was much progress at the time ; since then, it’s kinda floundered, and there’s only two members left (one of which never does anything). Still, she’s very enthusiastic about it.

Kaito, her kinda-boyfriend (I think), who spends a lot of his time playing videogames (so well that he’s been flagged as a possible cheater) and can’t be bothered helping much. He’s vaguely supportive and that’s it.

The vice-principal isn’t too keen on this pipe-dream-club, and is sneaky enough to promise them more budget if they knuckle down do a little something for a robot show. Which is set in a week. Oh, dear.

If the paratext and the brief flash-forward are any indication, the club is soon going to fill out with many more members.

Production Values

Perfectly alright ; the way the tech is portrayed makes the club’s goal ambitious but just within the range of plausible.

I also love Kaito’s augmented-reality phone app, a gimmick which would never look right in real life but is a lot of fun in animation.

What did I think of it ?

Re-adjust your expectations : yes, this comes from the same visual novel studio as Steins;Gate ; no, this doesn’t have the same blurry grit and paranoia-inducing atmosphere at all. This is much closer to something like, say, last season’s Tari Tari : a “save our club” story with a geek-friendly theme.

On this level, it’s perfectly enjoyable, and I’m always up for a series that looks like it’s going to deal with the practical aspects of building and operating a giant robot.

via [In which I review] New anime, Fall 2012 – Page 6.

Code Geass: Akito the Exiled (Boukoku no Akito)

(4 50-minute episodes ; next one’s out in March or something)

What’s it about ?

This is a side-story to the main Code Geass anime, apparently set at some point between the two seasons. Remember how that was mainly a struggle between the Brittanian Empire and occupied Japan, with the Chinese Federation meddling in ? Well, there was also a third superpower that was supposed to be kinda equal to those two, but never really got any screentime : the EU. The point of this story is to shed some light on those guys.

Characters

The titular Akito is one of the many Japanese people who fled to the EU when Japan got conquered by Brittania. Unfortunately, the EU is about as racist a society as Brittania, as it keeps them into camps where they barely survive and uses those non-citizens as cannon fodder for its war. Akito himself is an unbelievably talented mecha pilot, and has a bit of a death wish.

Our actual protagonist here is Commander Leila Malcal, who leads his unit. Because we can’t have an EU character who isn’t a jerkass, she’s actually adopted from a disgraced Brittanian family. She’s a tactical genius, sympathetic to the Japanese plight and all-around awesome ; her main flaw seems to be a tendency to avoid confrontation until it’s a bit too late (she lets another commander nearly botch the opening mission and get about her whole squad slaughtered before she takes the initiative to have him removed ; and then there’s the issues with her adoptive brothers…).

We also meet a group of Japanese gunrunners/terrorists who are very angry indeed. Predictably, Leila recruits them after they try kidnapping her mentor figure for ransom.

Our top villain for the overarching story seems to be Shin Hyuuga Shaing, who takes over the closest Brittanian outpost by the episode’s end. That he shares a last name with Akito is probably significant. To make things worse, he’s got exactly the same Geass as Lelouch, which feels very strange to me (didn’t every Geass user in the original series have a completely different power ?).

None of the characters from the main series have shown up so far, although the next episode preview already promises appearances by C.C. and Suzaku. From what I vaguely remember of the original plot, there’s a strong possibility of the latter slaughtering everyone at the end (which would explain why none of those new characters have any impact on R2).

Production Values

This doesn’t deviate much from the Code Geass aesthetics : noodle people, and baroque costumes.

The one big departure is for the mecha fight scenes : they’re fully CG animated now. They might have been rendered a bit too dark, but the animation is a thing of beauty, making the OVA worth watching on its own. Akito’s spider-mecha is dancing around at high speed, with a level of detail to every single movement that forces the admiration ; the camera’s wild movements and the spastic jazz soundtrack make it even more dynamic and enthralling.

(And as logic made me wonder why we didn’t see any of this fantastic mecha action in R2, I remembered that most of mecha combat has gone airborne by then, making such ground combat obsolete.)

Overall Impression

A lot here depends on how much time you have for Code Geass‘s glorious dumbness and awkward Japanese nationalism. If you didn’t enjoy the ride then, there’s little chance you’ll appreciate this, as it’s pretty much in the same vein.

The big question mark on this OVA series was that, well, it focuses on the part of the setting nobody cared about the first time around, and doesn’t feature Lelouch at all (as his charisma held the original show together). The good news is that it does work and feels like a worthwhile addition to the story, instead of just a random cash grab (hello, Nunnally in Wonderland !).

I’m definitely on board for whenever the next instalment comes out.

via [In which I review] New anime, Fall 2012.

Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse

What’s it about ?

Okay, this is a strange one. Muv-Luv, as the name implies, started off as a generic dating-sim game, with an unlockable second storyline set in an alternate world where humanity uses mecha to fight off an alien invasion. Several sequels and spin-offs in other media later, we now have this anime : a straight “mecha vs. aliens” show with no dating-sim elements in sight anywhere.

Characters

Yui Takamura, our protagonist, is the daughter of one of the elite Japanese families in charge of Japan’s defense against the aliens ; so of course she goes to mecha pilot school. So far, she looks mostly personality-free, but then this first episode seemed much more interested in worldbuilding than characterization.

The only of her classmates to get any actual focus is the broody rival-type that I can’t remember the name of, and can’t find on any cast list. Between this, the fact that her rivalry with Yui seems resolved at breakneck speed within minutes of its introduction, and the general contempt of the hardened soldiers against those teenage rookie pilots, I get the horrible feeling that most of them are going to die next episode to free Yui up so that she can interact with the characters who actually are on the cast listings (and have yet to make any appearance).

Did I mention that the whole class of mecha pilots is female ? This, together from the skintight plugsuits, seems to be the only trace left of the franchise’s origins so far.

Production Values

Quite good ; it’s got enough budget to make the mecha battles look good, and the aliens a credible threat.

Overall Impression

There’s no way a mecha show should be this boring, but it is. Maybe because it’s far too concerned with setting up its world to bother with any actual characters, and thus leaves us with nobody to root for. It doesn’t help that a lot of the plot feels recycled from other (better) sources, and the show does nothing to breathe any life into the stock elements.

I’m giving this one more episode to change my mind, but I’m not hopeful.

via [In which I review] New anime, Summer 2012 – Page 7.

Gankutsuou – The Count of Monte Cristo

(24 episodes, 2004-2005)

My previous exposure

I first heard of this one through the president of my college anime club, who was a big fan of the artstyle. I think he even showed us the first episode. I never got around to actually watching the full thing it for ages, though, as I waited until I thought I’d be “ready”.

I’ve obviously heard of the basic plot through cultural osmosis, but I’ve never actually read the original doorstopper of a novel (or watched any of the numerous movie/TV adaptations). So I was mostly fresh on the actual plot twists the series had in reserve for me.

What’s it about ?

It’s the future, but conveniently society is basically the same as early-19th-century France (well, kinda, I’ll come back to it further down). Albert de Morcerf is the young naive heir of an up-and-coming politician, engaged to the daughter of a rich banker, and promised to a bright future… until he meets the eccentric Count of Monte-Cristo on the Moon. Little does he know that his newfound friend is actually out for a (very convoluted) revenge against the three men who wrong him 20 years ago… including Albert’s father.

Let’s be honest, the SF setting is just a parlour game, as one will try and guess how each element is transposed from the original context. But it’s also an excuse for the visuals to go marvellously insane. A duel will become a battle between giant armoured mecha… because why not, after all ? The show revels in its artificiality, using psychedelic images to make its story even more grandiose and baroque, as best exemplified by the use of unmoving elaborate textures to depict people’s clothes and hair. It will either burn your eyes or make you fawn over how pretty it is.

What did I think of it ?

I loved it, as you probably can tell by now. Not only is it gorgeous, but it never sacrifices the clarity of its storytelling. This is a very well-structured adaptation, with my only little qualm being that the Count’s plots take ages to actually go anywhere. But when they finally come to fruition, it makes all the build-up worth it.

It is interesting how little this adaptation cares about the Count’s past life as Edmond Dantès. He barely gets ten minutes of flashbacks very late on, as the strict minimum necessary to explain why he became the implacable vengeance machine known as the Count of Monte-Cristo. (Not the how, though, the series doesn’t care about that at all.) The Count himself is an antagonist throughout, with only token displays of hesitation while he tramples over the lives of innocents to get at his targets.

The focus here is clearly on Albert, which is a bit tiring at times given how much he’s a naive spoiled brat who takes a lot of time to distrust the dude who looks like a vampire. (Or heck, even be aware of how much many of the adults around him are scumbags.) But then, this is not a series for subtlety, and the core goal here is to display how the Count’s revenge wreaks havoc on innocents’ livelihood. Albert, as innocence personified, is the perfect incarnation of collateral damage. The storytelling choice of making the Count’s motives distant (and unrevealed until nearly the very end of the show) only adds to the monstrosity of his actions. Yes, those three assholes probably deserved punishment (not only for what they did to him, but also for their various other misdeeds later on), but the Count’s sweeping retaliatory action was always bound to provoke more future strife in an endless cycle of vengeance.

Perfectly illustrating the pointlessness of the Count’s actions, and looking great while doing so, this is a show well worth watching.

via [LTTP/WIW] Various anime from the 00s and beyond – Page 11.

Aquarion Evol

(1st episode is a 42-minute special)

What’s it about ?

In the future, Earth (?) is under assault from interdimensional kidnappers in giant mecha. In response, the authorities have set up their own mecha response forces, segregated by gender. Also, a good number of people seem to possess random superpowers.

Characters

Amata, our protagonist, projectionist at the local theater. (Business isn’t great, what with people staying at home to avoid the random mass kidnappings.) He’s a fanboy of a very cheesy 10-year-old movie he keeps projecting… and he sounds like he knows the main actress personnally. His superpower is that he starts flying whenever he gets excited (he weighs his shoes down with lead to avoid the embarrassment).

Mikono, our female lead. Amata finds her crying during his favourite movie’s projection, and it’s tepid romance at first sight. She spends most of her screentime either panicked or crying.

Cayenne (prophetic visions of DOOM) and Zessica (some sort of force attacks ?) are regular pilot of the mecha defense forces trying to fend off yet another attack… until Amata suddenly flies himself and Mikono into another mecha, and forces all of them to unite into a giant flying combining mecha ; despite the confusion they all manage to stall the attackers enough to send them retreating.

Nobody seems to have much of a clue why this happened, aside from the top general of the defense forces (who repeatedly refuses to provide any exposition for the benefit of his colleagues), and a dude with an eyepatch who gets to spout vague nonsense in random locations without any indication of who the heck he is.

Production Values

This episode screams “we have BUDGET !”, and may be slightly too much in love with its CG animation. Still, it’s impressive stuff.

The soundtrack comes courtesy of Yoko Kanno, although I’m not sure whether this is one of her lesser efforts or the bizarre editing just does it a disservice.

Overall Impression

This is a complete mess. It completely lost me 7 minutes in, when it became clear that piloting mecha was a blatant metaphor for sex (“it feels so good !” “Us pure maidens uniting with a man ? Ew !”). The incessant tone shifts, haphazard pacing and bland characters don’t help one bit. And once you get past the shock and awe of the production values, you’re left with a very pedestrian story that piles on the clichés without bringing anything new to the table.

Also, the protagonist is yet again played by Yuki Kaji, whose whiny voice is a sure means to make any action lead sound like an annoying loser. Yeah, no thanks.

via [In which I review] New anime, Winter 2012 – Page 5.