02.08.10
Posted in Anime, Reviews Tags: anime classics, Ginga Eiyu Densetsu, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, OVA, sci-fi anime, space opera anime, 銀河英雄伝説 at 10:00 am by reversethieves
Random warning: Never watch the previews, NEVER, they are full of spoilers. And so are the episode titles, so never look at them, NEVER.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes can be one of the most intimidating series to start in all of anime with 110 episode in the main OVA series, several movies, and 52 OVA side story episodes it can seem like madness. But this is the definitive space opera inside or outside of anime. There are dozen of reasons to watch Legend of the Galactic Heroes: the complex politics, the epic space battles, and just the overall maturity of the the whole production. But the only reason any of that matters is because the characters are so compelling that they make you care about everything that happens. This is why I never cared for Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series despite how good it might be it never connected me to the characters. I had considered starting Legend of the Galactic Heroes on my own several times but thankfully Narutaki and my roommate decided to join me in watching this series once a week otherwise I would be watching this at a much slower pace. Even if you have to brave it alone know that it few series will reward for your effort and dedication. This review is for the first arc of the series with 26 episodes.
So perhaps you don’t know anything about Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Well, let me tell you, it’s infamously epic and quite long. And no we didn’t write that wrong, it is a 110 episode OVA. You might be saying to yourself, well 110 episodes sounds long but compared to many a shonen fighting show it’s not too crazy. But this isn’t a shonen fighting show, these 110 episodes are a dramatic, political, and strategic running narrative with a cast that swells with significant characters. But don’t worry, as the title implies, you can quite easily break the show into parts. You can even take a break between parts, but I promise you won’t want to. That is what makes it so amazing! Space opera has never been done better than Legend of the Galactic Heroes.
The Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance have been dead locked in intergalactic war for centuries. The Galactic Empire is a decadent monarchy and the Free Planets Alliance is a corrupt democracy both so weakened from within that they cannot conquer the other. But there are two rising stars, one on each side, whose actions will forever change the balance of the galaxy. Admiral Reinhard von Lohengramm plans to overthrow the corrupt regime of the Empire where as commodore Yang Wen-li merely wishes to keep the democracy he loves alive. Reinhard is disgusted with the decadent nobles who stole his sister from him and vows to gain power through the military to get his revenge. Yang on the other hand keeps rising through the ranks despite his best efforts and in the process drawing the attentions of the vile Patriotic Knight Corps. Countless men and women will dedicate themselves to helping or stopping these two men. As a man who studies history, Yang realizes that this story has happened before and will happen again.
Yes, there are huge space battles, we are thrown into one in the first episode where numbers like 300,000 get batted around when discussing the loss of soldiers in an attack. People get blown up, set aflame, impaled, and everything else but LotGH likes to throws these moments at you sparsely, so much so that you get surprised by the graphic nature of things each time it happens. This story is about a huge war that has been waged and never ceased but something about the clash of these two men, Yang and Reinhard, is about to change the course of the war. The ideas they represent, the moral ground that is tread, and the ability to show two sides, each with a set of values that are not demonized is what gives LotGH a unique flavor.
Everyone in LotGH comes off as someone to either root for or hate on both sides of the conflict. Yang and Reinhard are amazingly charismatic each in their own way and the similarities and contrasts between the two of them in the first arc are brilliant. Reinhard with his ambitious and upstanding goals but morally gray motivations and methods perfectly flank Yang with his slacker charm, easy genius, and upstanding character that is seasoned with a realistic view of the world. They are both tactical geniuses but both are remarkable strategists with their own distinct style. Reinhard is able to set up situations where he cannot lose and Yang is able to come up with brilliant strategy on the fly to survive in hopeless moments no matter how horrible the hand he is dealt. I definitely felt myself leaning towards Yang but I was still enthralled by Reinhard’s story. Both Reinhard and Yang strive to make the galaxy a better place but their ideals make it destiny to clash time and time again. Each time they meet it is not only a clash of their military strategy but of their world views. Reinhard wants to burn away the corrupt nobility of the Empire and feels only he has the vision and strength to reform the galaxy. Yang wishes just to keep himself and the people under his command out of trouble but we see that he has deeper and more grand ideals than just survival. Yang just knows you have to survive to make them a reality. As the first arc goes on both of them must also deal with internal struggles within their respective governments which exposes the strengths and weaknesses of both of their philosophies as well. When this part ends both men have changed themselves, their organizations, and the very course of human history itself.
Yang, Yang he’s our man! If he can’t do it no one can! This poor guy clearly comes off as the underdog in the series because not only does Reinhard just have more resources, his own government is constantly getting in his way. The Alliance seems to flip-flop from thinking Yang is the hero of the hour to thinking he is going to plot a coup to overthrow them. This actually stems from their own greed and corruption, they just can’t understand that a man exists who doesn’t want power and dominion, especially one has military and strategically capable as Yang. And this is what makes Yang such a contrast to Reinhard. Reinhard is trying to do all those things! However, Reinhard also has noble ideals and grand dreams for the Empire he so desperately wants as his own. Both of these men are plagued by the deceit, arrogance, and disregard for the people by their respective factions but their personalities and ways of dealing with it couldn’t be more different. Yang has sort of accepted that the democracy that he defends is rotten from the inside, but he doesn’t believe in using military might to fix it. Reinhard on the other hand believes the only way to cure the downward spiral of the Empire is by becoming the Empire himself. They are two sides of the same coin and as such they are perfect rivals.
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09.21.09
Posted in Anime, Reviews Tags: Gundam, mecha anime, OVA, robots, 富野 由悠季, 機動戦士ガンダム0080 at 7:26 am by reversethieves
There is an interesting spectrum in the three Gundam OAVs we have watched recently. On one end is Gundam 0083 which is the biggest in scope and totally focused on the mobile suits. It deals with the events that make Zeta Gundam possible but I highly doubt that anyone claims their favorite characters come from 0083. In the middle you have 08th MS team where the story is more personal while still having a good mixture of mecha to character importance. Then you have Gundam 0080, everything about this series is personal. The objectives, the feelings, and the missions are all clearly motivated by the characters not the politics. There are mobile suits but they are almost MacGuffins to move along the individual stories within 0080. I won’t claim that 0080 is the Gundam series for people who hate robots, that Gundam series does not exist. However, this is the Gundam series for those who care most about the people behind the machines and how they are effected by war.
Since we decided to watch the Universal Century OVAs in timeline order, this was our second stop and truly I felt 0080: War in the Pocket had much to live up to since I enjoyed 08th MS Team so very much. I knew this OVA was going to be different from other installments in the Gundam franchise merely because I had been told so, but I didn’t fully understand what that meant till actual viewing.
Maybe just to prove that this OAV is very different from any other Gundam series, we start with an elite commando team trying to steal an experimental mobile suit from a secret facility. While this seems extremely formulaic it deviates when after two attempts the Zeon unit cannot waltz off with it like it was a free sample of cheese and crackers at the local supermarket. During the second attempt Bernard Wiseman is shot down and crash lands in a deserted part of the colony. Bernard is discovered by a young boy named, Alfred Izuruha, who is a mobile suit fanatic. As Alfred beings following Bernard they become friends. Bernard soon discovers that the Zeon fleet has decided they will just destroy the whole colony. Will Bernard try and save his new friend or will he leave everyone on the colony to die.
From what I have seen, the 0080 OVA may be the Gundam series that deals the least with robots and pushes the development of its characters and the moral ambiguities encountered in war. Also of note, Gundam tends to do away with young children protagonists except as background or minor characters, but not so in 0080. But hold on there, no Alfred isn’t a super annoying (okay sometimes he is annoying just not all the time) and irrelevant child character. He shares the screen with Bernard and is equally vital to the telling of this story.
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08.17.09
Posted in Anime, Reviews Tags: Gundam, mecha anime, OVA, robots, Tomino, 富野 由悠季, 機動戦士ガンダム 第08MS小隊 at 7:00 am by reversethieves
When NYAF announced that Tomino was coming we decide to try to watch as much Gundam as we could before he arrived. Since the original plan was to watch all the Universal Century series in chronological order this meant we had three Gundam OAVs to get through before we could move onto the next major TV series directed by Tomino, Zeta Gundam. I knew that different people liked different OAVs for different reasons so I was eager to watch them all as see which ones clicked with me. The two main selling points on 08th MS Team for me were realism and a good love story.
Since I really started to become a Gundam fan I have heard basically mixed opinions on every single iteration of the franchise. No one seems to completely agree on anything so really who knows what expectations to take into any of these shows! I can’t say I was any more or less curious about 08th Team than anything else on our plates. Nevertheless I went into 08th MS Team full of excitement and vigor, luckily the show kept me feeling like that throughout.
While Amuro Ray was still fighting during the One Year war there were countless other stories going on. One of those is the story of Shiro Amada a young Federation officer who came down from the colonies to help Earth fight the land war against the Zeon. During his trip to Earth he saves a fellow Federation officer in a underpowered Ball. Although he survives the encounter he strands himself on a derelict spacecraft and encounters a beautiful Zeon pilot named Aina Saharin. After they are forced to help each other escape, there is an undeniable bond between the two of them. Once on Earth, Shiro is assigned the commander of the 08th MS team and finds that his fate is tied to Aina who is a test pilot for Zeon’s newest mobile armor super weapon. Both Shiro and Aina must decided what is more important. Is their love doomed to tragedy when they are on opposite sides of the war?
Shiro’s new team isn’t exactly well loved and with a constant rotation of commanders people start placing bets on how long Shiro will last. And unsurprisingly this land war disrupts civilian life in the region as well. Because of this the 08th Team often finds them selves allied with a group of guerrilla fighters who live in the jungle region. While these guerrillas have no love for either side, they see as Shiro comes on the scene that they are the lesser of two evils for now. As for the flip side, we don’t see too much of the goings on as far as Zeon goes. We know there is a big, secret weapon. Though of course Aina is shown on some frequency both pining away for Shiro and also becoming increasingly wary of the project she is involved with. Most notable about this series is its focus away from the battles and robots. That is not to say that they are unimportant, but rather much more emphasis is given to the growing friendships and relationships on and off the battlefield.
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09.17.08
Posted in Anime, Reviews Tags: Macross 7, mecha anime, music anime, OVA, robots, sci-fi anime, so bad it's good, マクロスダイナマイト7 at 8:41 am by reversethieves
Spoilers, spoilers everywhere!
Somethings once seen cannot be unseen. Macross 7 was so popular it got 2 sets of OAVs. All iterations of the Macross 7 anime have the same over the top ridiculous vibe. Macross 7 Dynamite is a little bit different. That is not an easy task.
Macross 7 Dynamite was so weird (even weirder than what we’ve come to expect from Macross 7) that it warranted having its own article.
Macross 7 Dynamite takes place after the original TV series. Basara decides for no reason that is ever adequately explained to run off to the planet Zola. There he finds space poachers who are after space whales to make a tidy profit. Basara being Basara decides that J-Rocking with the power of all the gods of rock is the only way to save the whales. While trying to save them Basara befriends a Mylene substitute who is not related to Mylene. Elma, our Mylene substitute has a father who is also trying to hunt the main white space whale and a sister who is part of the police force trying to stop the poachers. Can Basara save the whales, stop the poachers, sooth Elma’s father’s tortured soul, and play Planet Dance one more time? Only time will tell.
It is a comfort to know that no matter where Basara ends up in the galaxy he will always find the same things. He will always find women who want his body; he will always find something that can only be saved by singing; and he will always find a valkyrie that works with a guitar. Shoo, boy do I feel safer! And I don’t know why they even bothered putting Mylene, Ray, Veffidas, and Gamlin in this. It was kind of sad, I guess they were worried about the 10 people that like these characters being upset.
It might seem like I am joking about Elma being a Mylene substitute but it is serious business. Just look at the two of them side by side and tell me you don’t see a similarity. If at the end Mylene popped in and commented how Barsara found another of her sisters I would not be shocked. Mylene and Elma both even have furry little mascot animals that follow them around.
Elma was creeping me out because she looks even more underage than Mylene! We don’t need that! She was also our somewhat singing replacement and of course she knows all the Fire Bomber songs. Oh yeah and Elma’s dad is a really scary looking dude that is trying to fulfill the psuedo-Moby Dick storyline of this strange OAV.
There is obviously supposed to be a Moby Dick theme. We have the White Whale that everyone is after. Elma’s father has a distinctly Ahab look and is obsessed with killing the whale to the point of his own destruction. All of the dad’s equipment also has an extremely nautical feel to it. The things is it’s all window dressing. This is Macross 7. It’s never going to be that deep. Beyond the superficial trappings the Moby Dick themes are mostly there to give a little structure to what would otherwise be insanity. It’s been about a decade and a half since I read Moby Dick but I don’t remember Ishmael rocking out on his guitar in order to stop Moby Dick and Captain Ahab from fighting.
Well to be fair, in the future all of classic literature has probably been rewritten to include rocking out. The more I think about this show the more my head hurts. There was way too much going on and way too many characters. Not that I wanted this to continue on but it was so confusing that nothing is really accomplished. Basara obviously saves the day!
The second and third episodes have some of the most WTF moments in Macross history. At one point we decide to sneak a peek at one of the other supposed main characters in Macross 7. Mylene has just finished a Basara-less concert and is invited to dinner by a big record executive. During dinner this female record executive decides to drug Myelene’s dinner so she can date rape her. WHAT!? When this turn into a hentai!? Then the third episode begins with our rapist in a teddy lighting up an afterglow cigarette. WHAT!? When this turn into something design to break your soul!?
Was it also necessary to have Elma undress and throw a naked, unconscious Basara into a magical hot spring? Was it then doubly necessary to have Basara awaken while a giant wave threatens to overwhelm Elma? Basara put the child down! Do not touch her while you are both naked! And then a naked Elma’s dad comes out of the waterfall. Is he upset that Basara is holding a naked Elma? No, no, no. Him and Basara proceed to smile at eachother knowingly. Thank you Macross 7, you will now always be remembered by me. I was so shocked by these things! It was certainly madness!
Macross 7 Dynamite’s production values were great! Maybe that is why there was so much crap going on, they just had all this money and didn’t know what to do with it. I mean Basara even changes outfits like 3 or 4 times! Heck, even Ray and Veffidas had different outfits! This is unheard of. And the opening, which was done by Gonzo, has some of the best looking sequence in the entire Macross 7 franchise. The music is just as good as the TV series, granted Try Again isn’t in it but there are loads of new tunes worthy of rocking out to.
Despite being totally bizarre (and manic) the production values on Dynamite are unquestionably OAV quality. The animation is head and shoulders above anything in the main TV series. Just look at the time and money that obviously went into creating the opening and the difference is clear. Also Dynamite is chock full of just as many catchy tunes there were in the whole TV series. I dare you not to get Dynamite Explosion stuck in your head after watching this. Heck I am listening to it as I write this. Dynamite Dynamite Dynamite Explosion Once Again!
Top 5 Most Hated Macross Characters
5. Leon Mishima (Macross Frontier)
4. Docker (Macross 7)
3. Sheryl Nome (Macross Frontier)
2. Lynn Kaifun (Macross)
1. Gavil (Macross 7)
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