Ozma — First Impression

This is off to a great start. I like the characters so far, it’s exciting and full of action, and the world is detailed and filled with the kind of technology only Leiji Matsumoto can design.

So far the only works by Leiji Matsumoto I’ve seen are Space Battleship Yamato and the first half of Harlock, so indulge me when I compare this more recent work with his older ones. First, of course the animation is more modern, which is nice. But the biggest difference is the women.

Their faces don’t all look the same! She doesn’t even have long, straight hair! I love it!

And this nurse sure isn’t Leiji’s ideal woman. Note the different hairstyle, the larger breasts, and the flat chin. I guess there’s also the fact that she’s a drunkard.

We still have our usual sharp chinned, long haired beauties, but I think their appearance is all the more striking when every single woman doesn’t look like this. I like this version of Maya. I prefer Arcadia of my Youth’s Esmeralda at the moment, but this version’s great too.

There’s even moe shit! How the times have changed.

The essence is still the same, however. Epic manliness, apocalyptic environmentalism, and staring straight into barrages of lasers.

Things also flow much more naturally in Ozma than Yamato and Harlock did (although Harlock had already improved vastly over Yamato, which was one giant fetch quest, in this regard). The show moves with a light hand, quickly alternating between comedic moments and more serious ones. There is less telling and more showing. Yamato, if I recall, loved long narrations explaining things.

Overall, I loved this episode and am anticipating the rest of the series.

One big question remains, though: why is Harlock doing Char cosplay?

4 thoughts on “Ozma — First Impression

  1. Right now you have a 35-year + chronological gap in your Leiji viewing (between 1977 Harlock and this) but when you get to watch stuff inside the gap (his 1990s OVAs, say) you’ll find characters like Mimei much more familiar. Look forward to it!!

    Anyway, let’s hope this keeps itself interesting 🙂

    1. Yes, I need to fill this gap! Maybe getting to the 1990s OVAs will help motivate me to finish Harlock. I’ve been stuck around episode 20 for ages now.

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