Macross: Do You Remember Love?

Just watched Macross: Do You Remember Love?

Length: 1hr 55min

Rating: 8/10

Genre: Mecha, Action

Prior to watching this movie, my exposure to the Macross saga was limited to the original television series and Macross Frontier.  I decided I wanted a change from what I usually watch, and if you look at my MAL, it's pretty clear that I don't generally watch mecha anime.  I watched Macross with a buddy of mine a few years ago and enjoyed it, and I heard this movie was good so I gave it a shot.

The movie is basically a retelling of the original series.  Humans are at war with the Zentraedi, a giant-like male warrior race whose only culture relies around waging battle.  The Zentraedi are also at war with the Meltrandi, another giant race of warmongers who are comprised entirely of women.

The flagship carrier SDF Macross is the pride of humanity, and also its home after earth was devastated during the initial battle of the war.  The survivors of earth rely on the U.N. Spacy, the surviving military forces, to keep them safe.  Ace pilots fly the VF-1 varitech fighter, which look similar to the F-14 Tomcat, but can also transform into a robot.  Both the civilian populace and military make their homes on the SDF Macross, working alongside each other.  It's very much the last bastion of hope the earth has left.  Because of this, the pilots that put their lives on the line almost every day are revered.  In these dark times, people have become devoted to music as a huge form of entertainment, and worshipping pop idols is pretty common.  Lynn Minmay is the most popular idol on SDF Macross, and rookie VF-1 pilot Hikaru Ichijyo is her biggest fan.

The first thing that really caught my attention was how beautifully animated this movie is, especially the space combat sequences.  Despite being nearly 30 years old, the animation is on par or better than what we're used to seeing today.  There's something beautiful about quality cel animation that puts it a cut above, and you'll definitely see it in this movie.  The attention to detail in this movie is amazing.  Granted, this was a big budget production back in the day, but I don't think they could have done better with modern technology.

That being said, I don't really like the character designs for the movie.  I'm okay with the 80s style, but the characters have ass eyes in this movie, and their facial expressions are flat and inexpressive.  You don't get much convincing emotion from any of the characters because of the awkward way their faces are animated/designed.  Minmay is especially bad at this.

The story was good enough for a movie, but being a movie, there wasn't enough development between the characters for it to be a strong standalone character study.  I enjoyed the stories of the side characters in the original series, but they're largely absent in the movie.  This is common with movies, since they simply don't have time to include the stories of everyone involved.  The story revolves almost entirely around the war and the love triangle surrounding Hikaru, Minmay, and Misa.  Anyone wanting to learn more about the Macross universe should definitely watch the series also, as there's a lot of great stuff contained in the TV show that wasn't in the movie.

One of the most important things to come out of this movie is the song "Ai Oboete Imasu ka (Do You Remember Love?)," which is arguably the most famous anime song in history.  Minmay sings the song during the climax of the movie, and everything great about the movie comes together in a final 9 minutes of sheer awesome.

I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who likes anime, even if they're not particularly into mecha.  As I said before, I think you'd do well to watch the TV show also.  This is an anime classic, and shouldn't be missed.

Valentine's Day 2013

Did you do something for your waifu today?  I made mine breakfast.

Fullmetal Panic: Fumoffu

Just rewatched Fullmetal Panic: Fumoffu.

Length: 12 episodes

Rating: 7/10

Genre: Comedy, School

I've been watching a bunch of my old shows during the past few weeks.  Aside from a few anime this season, I haven't been very interested at all.  I need to catch up on so many shows but I keep putting it off.  My backlog is only getting bigger!  Anyway.

A spinoff of the military action series Fullmetal Panic, Fumoffu is a comedy series which shows a lighter side of the story.  The mechs (armslaves) are completely absent from this show and there's no intense, serious plot.  The story follows the characters' daily lives as they go to school.  It seems kind of strange that this kind of show would get a comedy spin off, but nevertheless I found it very entertaining.

Sousuke is perfect for the lead role in a show like this.  He has a serious, militaristic personality, but is extremely naive to the typical behavior of high-school kids.  He can only behave according to what he knows, to the chagrin of his sidekick Chidori, who constantly berates him for his unnatural way of dealing with and/or interpretation of the situations they're always in.  For example, in one episode Sousuke dons an EOD suit and a blast shield and detonates his shoe locker, mistaking a love letter for a suspicious, unknown threat.

Sousuke picks up chicks.

The animation in this series is average, with a few notable exceptions.  There are a few scenes where the animation is done very well.

Fumoffu was released by ADV in the states, so expect a decent voice cast (I watched this show dubbed).  They all do an acceptable job, and I didn't notice any particularly shitty voice acting.  Chris Patton does a pretty good job as Sousuke.

I would definitely recommend Fumoffu.  It might be necessary to watch the regular series first, though.  Otherwise you'd probably be confused as to who the characters are.  There isn't really much of an introduction.  The show just assumes you know who everyone is.

Kami Nomi zo Shirou Sekai OVA: Tenri-hen

Just watched the Kami Nomi zo Shirou Sekai OVA: Tenri-hen.

Length: 2 Episodes

Rating: 8/10

Genre: Romantic Comdedy, Harem

After the relatively disappointing Kaminomi OVA Yonin to Idol, which was released in 2011, I was anticipating the release of this OVA, which features one(two?) of my favorite characters from the long-running Kaminomi manga series by Wakaki Tamiki.  This OVA was released at the end of last year, and somehow slipped under my radar, until I was idly browsing Tokyo Toshokan looking for random stuff and suddenly stumbled upon it.

Keima and Elsie are still on the hunt for loose souls, and this time, the "childhood friend" character appears.  Summer break is upon our hero, and of course all he wants to do is play video games in his room for 40 days.  Upon his return from the last day of school, Keima is forced by his mother to join guests for tea.  A woman and her daughter are moving into the neighborhood, and Keima's mom wants to be hospitable.  Tenri is a painfully shy girl who Keima doesn't remember, but due to a strange turn in her behavior during the conversation, she sets off Elsie's lost soul alarm.  A few "chance" meetings later, and it all comes back to him.

The Tenri arc is extremely important to the series.  Not only does it introduce a handful of new critical characters, but it completely sets a different tone for the entire storyline.  After the Tenri arc, a much larger picture will be painted, one which I thought was a very interesting direction.  What started off as a light RomCom with an otaku protagonist turns into something else entirely (no spoilers).  Things are really going to get out of control, though.

The animation for the OVA is pretty much on par with that of the rest of the series.  The animation isn't going to blow you away but it don't suck either.  While not terribly detailed, I like the character designs.

The OST for Kaminomi always deserves a special mention.  While Tenri-hen doesn't contain any new music aside from the ending themes, it's always a pleasure to hear the music from this anime.  The OST makes great use of a classical-esque score that's much better than your average anime background music.  There's a different ending theme for each episode. "Hikari no Kiseki" and "Mirai e no Tobira," both by eyelis, aren't anything special but they're kinda catchy.

I think one of the biggest reliefs of all was the confirmation that season 3 is in the making.  So, we're gonna get THAT arc.  Yes, THAT.  They won't be able to contain it in a single season.  My prediction is that they're gonna run this at least 2 more seasons.  Maybe a movie also, that would be cool.  In any case, I thoroughly enjoy Kaminomi, and am anxiously waiting for the next season to come out.  I can't wait for THAT!

I would recommend Kaminomi to anyone who likes romantic comedies.  Especially if they're into otaku culture or gaming or anything like that.  Start at the beginning and work your way through it.  The main character, Keima, is basically the embodiment of the very people that watch his show.  I would recommend the manga, but the anime is also very good.

Steel Angel Kurumi

Just rewatched Steel Angel Kurumi.

Length: 24 episodes

Rating: 5/10

Genre: Ecchi, Fighting, Romantic Comedy

It was probably early 2003 when I saw the DVD for the first volume of Steel Angel Kurumi in the small anime section of the Naval Exchange on base at NAS Whidbey Island, WA.  The box art was pretty cool so I picked it up on a whim.  Pretty much the only thing I did in my off-time was watch anime and play X-box.  I was still relatively new to anime, having only seen classics like Tenchi Muyo!, Dragonball Z, Record of Lodoss War, and The Vision of Escaflowne.

I was completely blown away by the delicious visuals that Steel Angel Kurumi offered.  I believe this was the first fully digitally produced anime I ever saw.  Though today I look back on cel animation with appreciation and fondness, the vibrant colors and clean lines that digital animation can offer was really amazing at the time.  This was also my first "robot girl" anime and thought the idea was pretty cool.  There's also quite a bit of ecchi scenes in this show.

Steel Angel Kurumi follows Nakahito, a young mystic in training during the 1920s(?).  Bullied into sneaking inside a mysterious, abandoned building by his friends, he inadvertently awakens a highly advanced battle android, steel angel Kurumi, with a kiss.  Of course, Kurumi now identifies Nakahito as her master, and obeys his every order.  Everyone is trying to get their hands on Kurumi for their own goals, and Nakahito is pulled along, fleeing both the military and other steel angels.

Looking back, the story is really weak and predictable.  Nakahito follows the old-school formula of "total pussy protagonist" to a T and is grating until, predictably, he grabs fate by the horns during the last few episodes of the show.  With Kurumi, the air-headed genki girl, Saki, the blatant lesbian, and Karinka, the bitchy tsundere, this show is full of stereotypes.  Also, the love story is stale to the point of being painful.  But I loved it at the time.

This is one of the shows that I watched dubbed, and I can say that ADV (now defunct) did a pretty good job casting the voice actors for the English dub, at least for the main characters.  Though they used their core VAs, Monica Real (Saki), Hilary Haag (Karinka), Kelli Cousins (Kurumi), and Kira Vincent-Davis (Nakahito), they were cast well and it worked.  Claudia Black provided a voice for one of the later steel angels, but I think her performance was unnatural and shitty.

As I said before, the animation was good for the time.  Digital animation has progressed even further at this point, and Kurumi definitely looks a bit outdated.  You'll see plenty of reused action scenes and uninspired battle choreography.

I would recommend Steel Angel Kurumi to anyone who is new to anime, likes battle android series, and doesn't mind a cliche plot and stale action sequences.  If you're more interested in a decent story and better characters, Gainax's Mahoromatic does it better.  Alternatively, check out the excellent movie Eve no Jikan, which completely drops the battle android theme and offers a thought-provoking take on androids similar to I, Robot mixed with Chobits.