Star Driver 23

Star Driver,

That was one of the most satisfying punches I’ve ever seen. Takuto came to the island to punch his dad in the face, and he did exactly what he said he would. Punched him in the face. No questions. No explanation. Just punched him and left.

We also saw some tension between Sugata and Takuto over Wako, as Sugata asks her out on a date. Takuto upgrades his Tau Missile to Sugata’s Eccentric Tau Missile. And Sugata finally heads over to the Hiraboshi.

I have to say I was expecting Sugata to switch sides for the past twenty episodes, so my only surprise was that it didn’t happen earlier. Still, I don’t think he’s actually betraying Takuto and Wako. I’m guessing that his switch is a result of his having spoken to Keito, and they probably have a reason behind it. Seems like we’ll have to wait to see out why though – they’re really milking out Keito’s secret rendezvouses with Sugata for all they’re worth.

There isn’t much time left in this series, so hopefully they’ll be able to make everything come together in the end. There are so many loose threads and unanswered questions left that it seems hard to imagine they will address all of them. Plus, we didn’t even get to see Kyuubey’s cousin and the president speak this week.

Fractale 09

Fractale,

Clain, you player you!

He deserved that one.

This was a calm before the storm episode, and it worked quite well. This show is best when it works with the world it has instead of making new things up. I’m cautiously optimistic about the finale – Fractale has been quite decent when it sticks to the core of its story and not random trips off to God knows where or entire episodes of “Clain is a pervert” jokes. It seems like for the finale we will finally resolve the fate of the Fractale system which has been largely ignored for the rest of the show.

In spite of its titular role, we know nearly nothing about the Fractale system. It lets people see and use dopples, but what else does it do? As we saw, it can make fake towns and buildings, but people cannot touch them. So how do people get food? It doesn’t seem like the Fractale system does anything to the physical world (except with Nessa, who is an exception) so how did people get food before, and why do people become starving refugees once the system goes down? It doesn’t make much sense why something which doesn’t influence the physical world could have such an effect. So either there is a lot they aren’t telling us (or I have missed) or there is a gaping plot hole. I wouldn’t be surprised in the latter case though considering how the creators have treated the setting.

Gundam Unicorn 03

OVA,

Gundam Unicorn has been pretty much everything I could ask for in a Gundam show. Epic space battles complete with explosions, political intrigue, futile wars and depressingly human characters. It seems poised to become my third favorite series in the meta-series, closely following Turn A Gundam and Zeta. My only complaint is it takes so long for the next episode to come out.

In the third OVA, we learn that the Unicorn Gundam has anti-Newtype capabilities which seem to overwhelm the pilot’s own will. Banagher almost kills Marida, only to stop at the last second. Later, Banagher begins to bond with Daghda, so of course Full Frontal kills Daghda. Banagher becomes enraged and finally gains the will to kill someone, only to have the father of the family he stayed with in the colony block his shot and die.

Banagher has been surprisingly pleasant as far as Gundam leads go. He has the usual issue of not wanting to fight, but who can blame him? He really does have no reason to, especially since he even knows the people he’s fighting against. And unlike certain other Gundam protagonists, his indecisiveness has been short-lived in comparison with the usual twenty to thirty episodes. Banagher’s bloodlust after Daghda’s death was also understandable – I, for one, was hoping he would succeed. Compared to Amuro and Camille’s endless whining, Banagher is great. And compared to Setsuna F. Seiei and the protagonists of Gundam Seed— well, let’s no go there. But he does still possess the immaturity and naivety that make Gundam what it is.

In addition to Banagher’s development, the supporting cast gets a lot of time in the spotlight as well. In particular, Marida and Daghda become fully fleshed out, to make Daghda’s death all the more disturbing. It was a nice contrast how the creators allowed Daghda to die – the Gundams withstand debris, explosions and beam particles, but the human body just disintegrates into nothingness with the light sweep of the saber, in the middle of a last-ditch attack which doesn’t even faze his enemy.

For the next episode it seems like we are Earthbound and hopefully will see the political side of things from the point of Mineva. Gundam Unicorn truly makes it feel like the end of an era is approaching, with Mineva, who we last saw as a child,  fully grown, and a weapon that has been built to make Newtypes, once seen as the future of humanity, obsolete.

Asatte no Houko Review – B+

Reviews,

Summary: Karada lives alone with her brother Hiro after her parents die, and wishes that she were an adult so that she could help her brother more. Shouko, Hiro’s girlfriend from when he lived abroad in America, comes to their town and meets Hiro again, who abandoned her to take care of Karada. By the power of an ancient shrine, Karada and Shouko’s wishes are granted as they switch ages. They are forced to deal with the consequences and learn to accept themselves as they search for a way to return to their original form.

Discussion: I had been hearing good things about a Asatte no Houko for a while, but had kept putting it off because of its premise. Swapping ages does not exactly sound promising, particularly when my mind somehow associates it with the gender-swap genre. Asatte no Houko’s premise is ridiculous but the execution is excellent and more than makes up for it.

First of all, the characters are fantastic, particularly for Shouko and Karada, the female leads.  The viewer is able to see why Shouko and Karada do the things they do, which differ drastically between the two  – there are no big surprises here since the viewer is really able to understand the characters. This enables the drama to come through and turns this show into quite the tearjerker. The pacing was excellent as well. I’ll often find myself losing interest in dramas like this and end up fast-forwarding, but I felt no urge to do so here.

 

The way the creators used the premise of swapping ages was masterfully done in spite of how ridiculous it seems. As one would expect, there were plenty of jokes about the age swap- Shouko trying to smoke cigarettes and picking fights with adults and teenagers who treat her like a kid, and Karada trying to get a job. But despite the humor surrounding the situation, the creators are able to turn it into a serious, heartwarming drama as well. I should also mention that little girl Shouko is extremely cute.

Overall, Asatte no Houko was excellent, but there was one thing which annoyed me a lot- Hiro, Shouko’s ex-girlfriend and Karada’s brother. Most of the cast was very well-developed— except for him, and he is central to the entire plot. For most of the show he didn’t even have eyes which was extremely creepy. They had me convinced he was going to end up raping someone (spoiler: he doesn’t). I assume the creators were going for the “now he’s transformed and his eyes are open” angle, but I wish they could have found a more subtle way to do so. He also has about the initiative of a doorknob, although he does improve somewhat by the end of the show.

My only other complaint is that there were too many deus ex machina in the plot. People conveniently running into each other is one thing, but Karada just happening to run away from home to the bed and breakfast her friends would be staying at was just too much. Still, a relatively minor problem which is easily overlooked as part of the whole.

  • Plot / Script –  9 / 10 – Excellent pacing, dialogue and humor.
  • Characters – 9 / 10 – Great development of the cast excluding Hiro.
  • Production –  9 / 10 – The artwork is good but not too special, and fits well with the story. But the background piano music is exceptional.
  • Overall – B+

Recommendations – Kashimashi (good), Myself; Yourself, H20 (these two aren’t really that good, but have a similar feel)

Nichijou OVA

OVA,

Nichijou is Kyo-Ani’s next show in the tradition of Lucky Star and K-ON, and I’m quite optimistic after watching this OVA about how it will turn out. We get three segments in this OVA: in the first, Mio (shown above) tries to trick her friend Yuuki into feeling positively after scoring a 1 / 100 on a test, complete with fishing imagery. I’ve been in a similar situation too many times to count, so this part hit home with me. In the second segment, Nano the wind-up girl together with her talking cat try to get a loli mad scientist to take her medicine. The third segment involves doing cartwheels and sleeping on an empty train.  I would say that the humor is actually more along the lines of Azumanga Daioh’s than Lucky Star or K-ON’s.

Mio and Yuuki were enjoyable to watch together and have a good chemistry, both in the first segment and the train segment. I didn’t enjoy the segment with Nano and the little girl as much – I think it could have been a bit shorter, and the jokes just didn’t have the same punch for me.

All in all, I’m looking forward to the TV show beginning in a few weeks and am planning to watch it. I doubt I’ll blog it though – I’ve realized I just don’t have as much to say about comedies (unless they’re bad *cough* onii-chan no koto *cough*). There’s nothing more boring than someone talking about what was funny.