Macross Delta
Alternate Titles: Macross Δ
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Mecha
Bubuki Buranki
Alternate Titles: BBK/BRNK
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Aldnoah Zero
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Knights of Sidonia
[Review Written by Chiaki]
Alternate Title: Sidonia no Kishi
Number of Episodes: 12 (Season 2 has been announced, but is not scheduled)
Plot:
1,000 years ago the Gauna, a strange alien race, destroyed the solar system. Portions of humanity were able to escape via “Seed Ships” in search of new homes as they drift through space. One such seed ship is the Sidonia. Nagate Tanikaze has been raised in the depths of the Sidonia, but is plunged into society when he fails to steal rice. Despite his differences from others his age – such as his inability to photosynthesize – he is enlisted in the military to learn how to pilot large mecha known as Gardes used to fight off the Gauna. With his underground training Nagate is entrusted with the legendary unit known as Tsugumori. As the battles against the Gauna increase shadows surrounding the truth of who Nagate is, Sidonia’s “immortal council,” and more become longer and darker.
Original Source:
Knights of Sidonia is based on a manga series by Tsutomu Nihei that began publication in 2009 and is ongoing with 13 volumes as of January 2nd, 2015. Nihei is also the creatore of the manga Blame!, Dead Heads, NOiSE, and Sabrina.
Adaptation:
The adaptation for Sidonia is worth mentioning. The man behind the screenplay and series composition is Sadyuki Murai. He’s done scripts for Cowboy Bebop, Natsume Yujinchou, Perfect Blue, and screenplays for Bubblegum Crisis 2040 and Steamboy.
Music:
You know just from the opening song that this series music will be working hard to set an epic and serious tone throughout. The music being on-par should be no surprise as the man behind t is Noriyuki Asakura who did music for Major and all of Rurouni Kenshin.
Director:
Despite the accolades of many of the staff the Director of Knights of Sidonia, Shizuno Koubun, is relitively untested. He worked as the director on a few anime such as Armored Core, and Detective Conan movies, but this was the second prominent series he worked on. His first series was Hyakka Ryouran: Samurai Bride, so perhaps he wanted to make a name for himself in a more serious front.
Art & Animation:
This must be discussed for Knights of Sidonia as it is a 100% CG anime. This anime was produced by Polygon Studios. Polygon Studios has been around for some time, contributing to the 2002 Ghost in the Shell 2 film. In recent years they did animation for Hasbro’s full CG TV series Transformers Prime and the show won an Emmy for “Outstanding Special Class Animated Program.”
Initially, the animation may throw many anime fans who are partial to traditional looking anime, or who are long-time fans unaccustomed to even minor amounts of CG in anime. I was uncertain, but the style grew on me quickly. It’s almost like looking at a 3DS for the first time and letting your eyes acclimate to the 3D.
The backgrounds are interesting and well done. For an anime that takes play in space the inside of the Sidonia (the spaceship they reside within) is rich and full of character. Things look beaten and worn down, appropriate for a ship that a pocket of humanity has been surviving within for hundreds of years. The backgrounds have a painted look to them that complements characters.
Characters have a more “natural” look to them overall. Natural hair colors and generally modest proportions. The movement of the characters is what Polygon should really be commended for. They move in a way that seems fluid to what the normal anime fan should be expecting.
Review:
Knights of Sidonia will get you in the first episode, I promise. If you’re in the market for a realistic, no-nonsense, mecha, space anime then Sidonia is what you’ve been waiting for. The first episode is a nearly perfect example of what first episodes in anime should be. We meet the main character and through his eyes gain an introduction to the world he lives in. Sidonia has a bit of grit to it that feels natural to the series. Pilots suits are grimy, scuffed, and worn. The city has been built on top of itself throughout generations to create a seemingly endless honeycomb of life. Immediately the viewer gets an important sense of desperation, that this is the measure of what it takes to survive in this world.
Nagate is immediately interesting for the viewer because from the viewer’s perspective he is more normal than where humanity has evolved to. Out of necessity humans have been genetically engineered to photosynthesize, this enables them to live off smaller amounts of food in space, prolonging rations. Nagate’s history, however, is different. Having grown up with his Grandpa in the mysterious depths of Sidonia he is immediately able to pilot a Guarde, leaving the questions of how his grandfather got a piloting training system and why Nagate would be trained in it unanswered. Equally intriguing is why the Sidonia’s captain seems to accept his abilities without question and what their involvement really is in the immortal council.
Half of the enjoyment of Knights of Sidonia is navigating through the world and learning about it. Things like characters going into the water reservoir that’s an ocean, living on a planet being a novel concept, even how gravity affects the people, it’s all thought of. Everything seems to exist with a purpose, as it should, in the world.
The fight scenes are also great. In the first episode you get the first Gauna attack and from there on they find new and interesting ways to keep it fresh. The Gauna have the ability to morph shape and this creates a host of opportunities to change battles and strategies so that nothing is overly repetitive throughout.
But, the show does have its flaws. One example is the photosynthesis. It’s a logical leap for how humans could force evolution to eliminate some of the pressure on resources, and it also makes sense that the sun would need to come in contact with skin. But, its presentation comes off as being there only to have shots of mostly naked girls. It cheapens the effect and is jarring. Had there been an equal number of men and women scenes I may have a different opinion, but it was played as an excuse for fanboys.
Another major flaw is the bear who is also a chef – literally a talking chef bear. This is never explained and it comes off as very “anime” in an otherwise serious show. The bear does get some back story, but it’s never explained why there’s a bear. There are no other humanoid animals and yet no one seems surprised by the bear. Perhaps this is something that will be expanded upon later, but for now, it detracts far more than it adds.
Throughout, the show stays true to a central theme: What is the limits of what people will do to survive. The first 12 episodes end on a very “to be continued” note and this hurts the show’s overall score for what we can give it at this time. But, with a second season on the horizon it is well worth getting into now because it’s a show that’ll successfully keep you guessing on what’s next.
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Captain Earth
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Majestic Prince
24 episodes ; started in the Spring 2013 season
· Staff
o Original creator – Rando Ayamine – GetBackers
o Director – Keitaro Motonaga – long list of credits to his name; Date A Live(recent), Jormungand(recent), Katanagatari, School Days House of 1000 Tongues (hentai), and others.
o Production studio – Dogakobo
o Music – Toshiyuki Watanabe – Space Brothers
· Plot Summary
o The anime’s storyline doesn’t delivery anything new to the world of anime but it does present itself in a way that is easy to understand and follow with very little convolution.
o It is the story of a very human looking alien race called the Wulgaru who are hunters and acquirers of “DNA” from around the galaxy. They exist by using exceptional genetics to enhance their own race.
The humans of Earth have long expanded into Earth’s surrounding solar system. In order to handle the harsh environments of space and the defense against hostile aliens such as the Wulgaru, Earthlings have been genetically modifying children to pilot mecha that contain a very specific battle system the AHSMB, “Advanced High Standard Multipurpose Battle Device (These mech units have systems that were reminiscent of the Lamnda drivers from Full Metal Panic.) These advanced genetics lure the Wulgaru closer to Earth. The battle to defend Earth and to save mankind from extinction thus occurs.
The Earth’s best chance for survival rests on a band of genetically engineered children who were misfits and generally unsuccessful students at their training academy. They are each skilled in one particular area of combat but are generally bad soldiers and are not skilled at group cooperation. This assembled AHSMB team called “team Rabbits”, lead by aspiring “hero” Izuru, is Earth best weapon against the Wulgaru. Each child was genetically enhanced to excel at one specific task. For example, you have the sniper, the heavy defender, the “hero”, higher powered attacks, etc…
There are some problems with the characters in the series. The silly female pilot who says things like “stupid poopy doodoo head” when she is angry and the brooding “I hate you all” type of character just doesn’t often work well in skillfully constructed stories. This is no exception. The former especially took away from the seriousness of the story at times. How can one be expected to seriously invest oneself in a story about mankind’s survival when one of the main characters is constantly crying, eating pickled squid guts, shouting things a 4 year old would say and generally immature.
There were also some things that the anime’s writer forces into the story the make the “bond” between characters, ultimately the main character, Izuru’s, motivation for survival at the most tense and critical moments of the show, stronger. Things like forced, unresolved romance and a surprise “We’re actually related” (not sexually) moment, are all in the show and are given significant time but in the end are not important.
o Hanging its hat
§ The anime definitely hangs its hat on the combat sequences. They are fast and crisp and far outclass anything we say in other full length mecha shows from recent years such as Gundam Age or Macross Frontier.
§ This anime does a really fantastic job of pacing itself. The balance between the shows action scenes, which are very frequent, and character developing/comical moments is just right. Throughout the course of the story, I didn’t find myself bored very often. The battle scenes are long and engaging.
· Aesthetic
o Overall Visuals
§ The overall quality of the visuals is amongst the best of the Summer 2013 season. Appealing character designs and vibrant colors bring the anime’s battle scenes to life.
o Mecha Design
§ The hero mecha units were well designed and each have a somewhat unique style. Some of remininscent of Zone of the Enders, especially Nephitis and Anubis.
§ Enemy mechs always look bio.
o Music
§ The music was average. Opening was good but the battle music and general BGM was generally uninspired.
· Summary
o Pros
§ Simple non-convoluted storyline that is easy to follow
§ Amazingly animated action sequences and glorious visuals
§ Enjoyable characters (mostly)
§ The general pacing of the story is excellent.
o Cons
§ Storyline is unoriginal and doesn’t delivery anything new
§ Cliches AND rushed ending (3 mins 40 seconds after the battle ends)
· “I will protect”
· Suicide crashing vessels into each other
§ Some very unnecessary goofy characters that clog up the mood and pacing of the story at time.
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Iron Man – Rise of the Technovore
Plot:
Tony Stark continues to be the self-declared world protector for criminals and evil-doers. To assist in this he is launching a surveillance satellite named “Howard” to help prevent crimes by finding them before they start. But the launch doesn’t go as smoothly as hoped when an unknown force lead by a boy in a suit attacks the compound. Iron Man and War Machine are quick to the scene but the boy is using a technology unlike anything Tony has ever encountered: the Technovore. Claiming it is the future Tony is left to learn the truth of the boy, the technology, and their motives.
Run Time: 88 minute OVA
Studio:
Like the Iron Man series before it this installation was produced by Studio Mad House.
Animation –
Mad House of course delivers on a good-looking show. While there are clear decisions that have been made to help cut costs (like avoiding showing Tony’s lip flaps in the suit by focusing on his eyes) the OAV overall has a nice glossy look. There is a clear application of CG, as is to be expected with robot shows these days. But it doesn’t seem out of place when it is used.
Director:
The director was not involved in any of the previous Iron Man, interestingly enough. But he did do some shows like Stein’s Gate, so he has been involved in something good.
Dubbing:
I actually watched this dubbed and it wasn’t so bad. As most of the characters are supposed to be American something about it actually “clicked” being dubbed and not having Tony Stark be Japanese.
That being said some of the writing was just a bit sad in how corny or mediocre it was. Some lines were particularly awful, but something about it did fit at times as an over the top super-hero movie.
Review:
So, think of Iron Man live action. What does it have?
- Iron suit dog fights?
- Playboy Genius moments?
- Other superhero cameos?
- Crazy over the top villians?
This anime? Check, check, check and check. It is exactly what Iron Man reboots have always and should always be. There is light techno babel but the important part is Tony Stark being Tony Stark and unabashedly messing people’s days up as Iron Man.
Right from the start they get into the action and do pretty well at keeping the beat all the way through the movie.
Nick Fury, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Pepper Pots, even the Punisher all have moments in this adaptation and it’s kind of fun to see Marvel’s take on the other characters in the Marvel universe. However, while Tony seemed to be as on-point as is to be expected these other characters fell flat for me. I’m not sure if it was writing, acting, or just bad storytelling but most seemed awkward, especially when dealing with Tony. Key example was Pepper Pots. I admit to being a Tony/Pepper fangirl. But every time I saw them together I was left wanting to laugh, or just shake my head. Right up until the end their whole interaction, professional and romantic, seemed forced and awkward. It would’ve been far better if she had never been in there from the start.
The story was simple enough to understand, but maybe too simple in that I didn’t completely get some of the motives of the villain. Just a crazy kid I suppose. But sometimes they would throw in techno-babble or self-important book quoting that made you feel like you went from the kiddy pool to the deep end and back without ever having a chance to acclimate.
But these are things that are just normal problems that shows, and superhero shows, have. Iron Man Rise of the Technovore did have some cool moments and great lines. One such moment was when Tony jumped into his Iron Man suit, literally, and it was an awesome sequence to see the motion of it wrapping around him.
The best thing I can say for this movie is that it’s fun. This movie is 100% fun. Like a summer action flick you can turn your brain off and just enjoy what’s going on. Jump along for the ride and have fun. If that’s all you go into it with, well that and a healthy love of Iron Man, you will be able to enjoy this movie for what it is.
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Robotics;Notes
Plot:
Akiho Senomiya joined the Robotics club at her school to continue her sister’s dream of building a to-scale, working, giant robot Gunvarrel from a popular television series. Her sister had to leave the school before it was finished, somewhat disenfranchised with robots in general at that point. However with the help of her friend Kaito Yashio, a less than model student who loves fighting robot games, and other robotically inclined club members they work to complete the robot and answer the question, “What would happen if people really tried to build a giant robot?” But, things are never so simple, and in the process they encounter a number of mysteries.
Staff:
There aren’t too many notable members of the staff. However, surprisingly, the director wasn’t involved in Steins;Gate or Chaos;Head in which the world of Robotics;Notes is loosely fits into. But, note, you don’t need to, or have to, see the other two shows to watch Robotics;Notes.
Studio:
The production was done by Studio I.G. so the animation is very tasteful, slightly realistic feeling but still in a “traditional” anime style.
Review:
At the beginning of Robotics;Notes I was interested in where the show would be going. To come from an off-shoot of the universe of the much loved Steins;Gate I had hope for it. Robotics;Notes is also based off a visual novel game, much like Steins;Gate, and while I have never played it I still hoped the existing content could help the series.
I felt the anime started out a little slow, however, what I did like was that even though it was a little slow it was because of the realism they were trying to achieve with it. The show did work to have a realistic approach to high-school kids building a giant robot. Granted, there are some liberties that had to be taken with this that made the anime feel disconnected with it’s goal. For example, in “real” life the majority of the kids in the club would need to be technological geniuses. How would a school have that much space just hanging out to hold a giant robot for like 6 years? Where did they get the money? They answer that question some by having to win contests to gain funding and verify funding from the school. But the amount of money required for this project I feel would be so massive (as it’s only set in 2019 – not that far into the future) that it’s just crazy to contemplate High School students having access to that kind of funding.
Some things they did get right, I’ll give credit where credit is due for that. For example the team did have a number of setbacks and, a slight spoiler from the middle of the series, the first time they took out the robot it didn’t even really work. They also had people from high-ranking organizations like JAXA interested in the project at the point of the unveiling.
But the things they “got right” didn’t weigh up to enough for me when the GOAL of the anime was to tackle that question of being a “realistic” answer of what would happen if kids built a giant robot.
That being said, the show was solidly decent throughout the first arc when this was the only question of the show. It was a fairly straight-forward show in what it was trying to say and accomplish and for that it actually was solidly engaging throughout it.
However, the second half of the show, after about episode 11, began to just feel messy. It started to feel like an entirely different show. They began introducing new people and new arcs that felt like they never had proper resolutions. There was plot, and subplot, and I feel like the goal the anime set out to achieve and was in the first half got lost in all of the chaos that occurred during this time.
Also during this time I began to care even less. The anime had barely has my attentions due to the aforementioned contradictions but it lost it even more during this time.
Overall, I feel this show could have been something but was too ambitious in most areas that it ended up falling flat.
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Valvrave the Liberator
Sunrise
Directed by Kou Matsuo (Yozakura Quartet, Natsuyuki Rendezvous, Rozen Maiden)
Written by Ichiro Okouchi (Azumanga Daioh, Code Geass, Wolf’s Rain, RahXephon)
Music by Akira Senju (Mobile Suit Victory Gundam, Dead Girls, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)
SUMMARY
Valvrave the Liberator is a science fiction mech series produced by Sunrise studios. It follows Haruto, a high school student on a terraformed space station that is part of the neutral JIOR society. Although JIOR is a pacifist state, it must deal with two powerful military states, Dorssia and ARUS. When Dorssian forces invade JIOR to procure a secret weapon, our hero Haruto stumbles upon it first. What he finds is a giant red robot known as Valvrave. After watching his love interest supposedly meet a terrible fate during the invasion, he climbs into the cockpit with all his adolescent rage and powers the machine up. The computer greets him with a question, “Will you give up being a human?” Of course he says yes, and off he goes. The Dorssian military doesn’t stand a chance agains the agile war machine, and they quickly retreat, but this means war.
Fortunately for Haruto, his crush — the daughter of JIOR’s president — didn’t actually bite the big one. Not so lucky for him, though, the whole giving-up-being-human thing turned him into a sort of vampire with the occasional insatiable lust for biting people and body swapping with them. Soon the student body of Haruto’s high school decides to declare independence from ARUS, their sworn protectors, and establish their own military state within JIOR using the Valvrave as its sole show of military force. Naturally, other equally brightly-colored robots enter the fold, and new pilots are recruited to man them.
REVIEW
The most refreshing thing about this series is how it doesn’t take itself seriously in the slightest. As a sci-fi military epic about big ass robots, you get the requisite expository technobabble, but it never comes close to drowning in its own mythology before throwing an action scene at you. The show even has a song-and-dance number early in the series, so it’s clearly not gunning for any hoity-toity accolades.
This anime really knows how to prioritize its animation budget. While character designs and animations aren’t terribly attractive, the amazingly fluid action sequences more than make up for it. The whole show has a really excellent sense of color, and every frame explodes with over-saturated hues.
The music is great and overdramatic, utilizing full orchestrated pieces with a choir for the most over-the-top moments of action and melodrama. The opening and ending themes are energetic and rhythm-heavy, falling in line with mech shows of the past.
The show isn’t very thematically heavy, but the it seems to have something to say about the innate caste system of high school in how easily a student body can transform into a functioning society complete with governmental bureaucracy and political corruption. The story is slight and only serves as a backdrop for the great action beats. The characters are expectedly cookie-cutter, and the fan service is at a minimum, save for all of the robotic money shots. The situational humor can be quite funny at times, too. The show manages to land several jokes and make me laugh — a feat that very few anime have achieved.
Haruto’s vampirism affords the story some interesting if predictable opportunities to crank up the tension, but the details of the plot point don’t entirely make sense. The main character’s random and violent transformation is exclusive to Haruto and doesn’t seem to affect the other Valvrave pilots for reasons that are never explained. While under the influence of the curse, the desire to bite his victims — and subsequently swap bodies with them — seems to be his only motivation. That is until he rapes another character in the tenth episode.
The character who gets raped is called Saki, a pop idol who goes to high school with Haruto. She was at the center of the aforementioned song-and-dance earlier in the season. The rape scene comes totally out of left field but becomes even worse when the rape victim seems to stop struggling and accept her aggressor’s advances because, quote, “he is cursed.” Her character attempts to justify her victimization even further in the final episode when she tells Haruto that she is a pop idol and has been part of the dirty, adult world for awhile and is used to such things. So, whether or not she is being honest with Haruto, her character attempts to right the wrong of her sexual assault by comparing it to what the audience can assume is consensual sex she has been participating in her so-called dirty, adult world.
I don’t care who wrote this into the series our how naive Saki is supposed to be as a character, I cannot abide such irresponsible writing. This is not to say that rape has no place in any narrative. It is a terrible, powerful thing can conjure equally potent emotions in the audience, but mishandling such a thing can cause the audience to turn on your story. That’s exactly what Valvrave the Liberator did for me. Before that moment in the story, the one adjective I would’ve used to describe the series would’ve been “fun.” To be as succinct with my point as possible, rape isn’t fun. It doesn’t belong in this story. Shame on you, Sunrise.
Aside from such a huge misstep, Valvrave manages to entertain throughout and establish sufficient anticipation for its second season coming this October. Here’s hoping they leave the rape out of it next time.
3.5 pissed off Krams out of 5.
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Suisei no Gargantia
Alternate Titles: Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet
Plot:
(Source for some plot: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gargantia_on_the_Verdurous_Planet)
Humans have left Earth and have made a paradise in space, Avalon, as humanity’s new home and created the Galactic Alliance of Humanity to expand their journey through it. A threat known as Hideauze appeared before the Alliance and a war rages between them. Ensign Ledo and his AI robot partner, Chamber join the latest attack against the Hideauze. The attack ultimately ends in failure and a retreat order is issued, but Ledo is unable to return and is cast out into space. 6 months later, the salvage ship Gargantia retrieves Chamber from bottom of the ocean, but are unable to take it apart. After everyone leaves, Ledo decides to take a look around and gather Intel on where he is, but is soon chased and kidnaps one of the crew, Amy. He is chased outside and finds out he is on a habitable planet, which shocks him enough to release Amy. The crew pins him on a pylon, and he calls Chamber, which the entire crew is surprised to see moving and floating.
Deciding to try and open a dialogue with these people, Ledo stays pinned to the pylon. He asked the crew to talk to the Alliance in charge, but the crew have no idea what he is talking about and they believe that Chamber, who is translating, has another person inside. As Ridget, the commander, and the crew try to decide what to do, Amy gives Ledo food and begins talking. She explains that this is Earth, and when it was frozen over, some humans escaped to the stars while others stayed. Eventually, the ice melted and became a vast ocean, in which many people form fleets to salvage old technology from below. Looking for other items of advanced technology, Ridget sends Bellows to the point where Chamber and Ledo were found, and Bellows’ ship is attacked by pirates. Amy asks Ledo to help them, and he agrees with the intention of earning their trust. Ledo boards Chamber and efficiently eliminated all enemies with no harm to Bellows’ ship and crew, as Amy and the others watch in shock at its destructive power.
Review:
This anime basically had a great start. It did everything right. The pacing was good. We had a nice space battle. The planet, situation and characters on Earth were interesting. Then, we got into episodes 4-6.
It was interesting that Ledo really couldn’t communicate with the people on the planet at first and so the ship had to translate. I was wondering how they would handle his lack of language skills throughout the show but this point turned out to be unimportant because technology conquered this problem and it wasn’t a focus at all in the storyline.
Episode 4 was a really boring uneventful episode, I’ve heard some people digging for the deeper meaning of “finding you place in society” and whatnot but there had to be a better way to execute this. Regardless, this was a forgotten episode that didn’t contribute anything lasting to the storyline moving forward.
Episode 5 was basically a beach episode that even had Ledo being pursued by transvestite men
Episode 6 was a fan service filled festival episode, titled “Festival”.
In episode 9 we got the half an episode info dump that essentially explains the entire shows story and serves to quickly make up the ground that the show had lost whilst fiddling around with the daily happenings of the Gargantia.
Basically, I don’t want to spoil too much but this is a show about the Earth becoming uninhabitable and humankind splitting into two factions over the best way to survive the coming Ice Age.
Biggest problem with the story, besides the bad execution was the ending. It went so fast in the last 3 episodes that I had to rewatch one of them and then read a summary to make sure I didn’t miss something important. But no, it just went fast. The shows first 9 episodes felt like 10 manga chapters and then the last 4 episodes felt like 15 manga chapters. That’s how unbalanced I felt the pacing was.
Didn’t appreciate the loose ends regarding the space war. They really just let that go unresolved. Despite it not being a primary focus of the series, I wanted to see more.
The Mecha battling really was only about 20 total minutes in the entire 13 episodes. Don’t expect much.
Characters:
This show had some good characters.
Ledo is an interesting thoughtful character that is driven by his military duty but is still willing to think for himself. It’s also nice to see him sort of evolve and adapt to his new living environment, including his slowly learning the Earther’s spoken language.
Amy was a little annoying but she was cute and helped to add some LIGHT romance elements to the show. By the end she was starting to get annoying though.
The other characters were all pretty likeable.
high ranking Gargantia officer Ridget
Bellows the excavation team leader
Pinion the head of the repair team
Didn’t think LEDO or AMY got enough backstory.
Animation and Art Style and music:
I loved the way the anime looked. It had a normal level of animation but the character designs agreed with me and I liked the bright vibrant coloration that the show generally had.
The opening and closing to the series were nice and the music in the show, while not especially memorable served to supplement the scenes without being obtuse.
Pros and Cons:
+ The show got off to a start and effective start making it IMHO one of the best shows after the first month of the Spring 2013 season.
+ The art style and visual appeal of the show is quite nice.
+ Most of the characters
+ I liked the atmosphere of the Gargantia
– The shows pacing problems, wasted episodes and info dump plotline really hurt the shows delivery down the stretch.
– The lack of background on Ledo and AMY left me wanting more.
– Would have liked more information about the war in space
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