This has been one weird series, in how they approach the overall stories. The first two seasons of “Full Metal Panic” were rather grim and unrelenting tales of world terrorism and the steps that the ultra-secret organization, Mithral, engaged in to keep the world safe from peoples and organizations bent on a dictatorial regime or just basically a lot of dead bodies. (more…)

As is my normal complaint, I know that there are a ton more anime movies out there, but for whatever reason, rarely do they get to our sunny shores and then, then make themselves nearly impossible to get, short of some Fathom Event (where you can pay $12.50 or $15 or $20 to see their offering). So, whenever one does seem to get uncovered, I will watch it and let the chips fall where they may, as was the case for “Napping Princess: The Story of the Unknown Me”  (“Hirune Hime: Shiranai Watashi no Monogatari”). (more…)

If you have ever caught an episode of Robot Wars or BattleBots, or even seen the opening of “Big Hero 6”, there is something exciting about metal-on-metal competitions, as they proceed to rip each other apart. And, to a larger extent, isn’t that what ALL mecha anime is about? However, in this case, this is more of a school vs school approach, seeing which team has the wherewithal to best the other in a more specific competition than merely doing 137 picks at your enemy. This is “Robomasters – The Animated Series”. (more…)

I wuz robbed! Someone call the anime police! What a crock of crap! Please excuse my histrionics, but never have I felt so cheated by a show as I was from “Kishin Houkou Demonbane”. It promised one thing but devolved into…mecha! I can’t stand mecha, but the fact they had to lie and cheat me into it is even worse. So why did I hang around for the full run? I’ll explain that in a bit, but first, the plot. Giant fighting robots! I mean…ahem! That is to say…. (more…)

I must be the dumbest sack of doorknobs out there. Why do I torture myself? I have potentially been chasing this franchise down longer than “Code Geass: Akito”, yet I am not half as whiny about it as I should be. This popped up at AX 17, so I grabbed a showing of “Evangelion 3.33: You Can (Not) Redo”. What a pile of noise! (more…)

I am starting to notice another trend cropping up and that is the throwback style in anime. I have seen a few shows that are trying to mimic what I call the First Wave of Anime (1962-1969 or thereabouts), like when “Astro Boy” first made it to the shores of America. This is an apt description, as “Atom: The Beginning” (“Atomu za Biginingu”) tells the story of things before “Astro Boy” became Astro Boy. (more…)

Oh, no, how did this happen? I watched a show that was BOTH giant fighting robots and CG animation! Am I crazy from the heat? Missing a critical enzyme? On the verge of being deported? What could have led me to such a series? Well, sit down in front of the fireplace (it’s summer; there’s no fire in there, merely deadly spiders and a ton of creosote) and I’ll explain “ID-Ø”. (more…)

Yeah, the ending of the first season guaranteed a second season, but it fell into the Sophomore Slump and we ended up being dragged along in an exercise more in what not to do for a second season. We are back to “BBK/BRNK” (or “Bubuki/Buranki: The Gentle Giants of the Galaxy”).
 
So, after the crew of the Oubu learn the ins and outs of their Buranki, they discover that there are more users out there. Oh, the crew of the Oubu (left to right) Shizuru Taneomi, Kogane Asabuki, Azuma Kazuki, Kinoa Ogi and Hiiragi Nono. (more…)

The past is the future is the present. That’s not an ‘alternate fact’; the rather cryptic line is the best way to describe “Kuromukuro” (“Black Relic”), this iteration mecha show. Yes, as a lot of folks know, mecha is my most detested anime genre, beating out sports and vampires. I once mentioned that if there was an anime about sports-playing vampire Gundams, voiced by Chris Ayres, then it’s everything I hate all in one spot. But this one tried to do something more with the genre, and for that it deserves a bit more credit. (more…)

I am always concerned about the second season of any show. Sometimes, there is a tendency to stay the course. Maybe good, maybe not. Other times, you want to strike out in another direction and try to accomplish more than you did in the first season. Always daring, but not without its pitfalls. Sometimes you abandon that which you had and made it appear like it was two different shows. That is what happened with “Active Raid 2^nd”  (“Akutivu Reido Sekando”). Whatever happened in the first show, it got turned into a political drama (of sorts) in the second show, which is a shame, as I felt a lot of good characters were misused or underused. (more…)