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We’ve got an interesting show this week. We lost RedUnit10 eight minutes in to a thunderstorm in NY, so the first bit is somewhat odd. But we pressed on with the news and then reviewed some Anime. Up this week, Gyo and Suisei no Gargantia. Don’t miss it!
Show Notes
Music
Intro – Kono Sekai wa Bokura wo Matteita by Minori Chihara from Suisei no Gargantia
Outro – Neko Mimi Mode by Dimitri From Paris from Tsukiyomi Moon Phase
Reviews
Gyo – Wait until it hits the US and NetFlix it.
Wikipedia
Official Site
Suisei no Gargantia – Wouldn’t kick it out of bed for crackers.
Wikipedia
Official Site
I’m sorry to hear that Red got cut from the episode. I’m surprised that the technical difficulties on his end means that all of his audio is unavailable; I didn’t realise a final mix was made post-recording, but maybe getting each voice at the source makes for the best quality. I haven’t quite finished the show yet because I’m saving the review half until I’ve finished Gargantia myself next week, but I did hear the news and discussion question.
I anticipated potentially getting a little heat over my personal re-rating of the Download Now titles I’ve seen, but I was ready to discuss/defend them in the thread if necessary. Some of it comes down to just having different tastes, but I also made a conscious effort to rate them with no regard to reputation. A disclaimer I’ll make is that I didn’t give the same amount of consideration to each rating as would be ideal for a full review; a person could spend days just considering even one borderline score. I do stand by all of the ones called out in the show, though.
Netflix for Eureka Seven: I liked all of the characters in Eureka Seven, I liked the mystery, and I found it genuinely sad for a story that has very little character death. It also has my all-time favourite anime soundtrack, and I’m really into anime soundtracks. But the answers it gave at the end of the series were rushed, incomplete, and confusing. (Although at least it had answers, unlike Last Exile.) Also, I didn’t like how some scenes made me feel uncomfortable without a corresponding level of payoff. All things considered, it’s difficult to justify fifty episodes for this. Netflix is a category that covers both low priority series and ones that might appeal to specific people. I’d be fine with anyone telling me it was their favourite, and we could have an enthused conversation about it, but it’s difficult for me to give it a wide endorsement.
Netflix for FLCL: I can see how experimental this is, but none of it appealed to me except maybe the ED. I’d put this one down to personal taste.
Netflix for Neon Genesis Evangelion: This rating is for the series excluding End of Evangelion and the Rebuild films. I hesitated with where to put this, especially as people often put it on must-see lists. I understand that it’s a classic, but a person doesn’t need to watch classic cinema to enjoy modern cinema. There’s a lot to like here, but its drawbacks feel like flaws. Those last two episodes… I didn’t like them even if they were made as intended. I’ve only seen the first Rebuild film, but I’m eagerly anticipating the rest. I really want to like this more, which is not something I can say about all of these.
Netflix for Full Metal Panic: I watched all three in my ongoing effort to see everything by KyoAni, as they did the second and third seasons. I didn’t feel like the school comedy and threatening situations was a good mix in the first season, but I do understand that this is the appeal of the series for some people. Fumoffu was better, but it lost even what made it unique and so covered well-worn paths. (Though it’s not listed here, I really disliked Second Raid for its violence, though there was one memorably nice scene between Sousuke and Kaname.) I liked Tessa, and I cared about the characters and their welfare, but none of the conflicts were interesting despite the stakes. But I would still watch a fourth season if one were made.
Netflix for Summer Wars: This would have been a lot better if it had more about Kenji and Natsuki and/or the unity of an extended family, but King Kazma vs Love Machine took too much focus. With the outcome seemingly inevitable, I really didn’t care for the CG scenes. I wanted more character development. This is a rating to indicate low priority – there are many better movies out there.
Burn It for Ceres, Celestial Legend: I haven’t heard the AP review for this yet, so I’m not sure how it got such praise, but I found it painfully shoujo. It was very difficult for me to invest in any of the characters, and they did foolish things with unclear motivations and suffered random consequences. Also, although I enjoy both dubs and subs, the dubbing on this was decidedly below average for the majority of the main characters. A lot of the soundtrack sounded dated to my 2012 ears, but the highlight of the series was in a few of its musical themes. I particularly liked “The Heavens and the Earth”.
Burn It for Clannad the Movie: The superior television series started airing a month after this story-abridging movie came out, and it is superior in almost every way. The shortening was not done well, the animation was comparatively poor, and the second half of the story is particularly inferior. Because it’s also based on the Clannad visual novel, some of the melodies are shared, which makes its one positive quality that it is a reminder of a better adaptation. Only twenty days after this movie was released, there was no longer any reason for it to exist.
Whoa! A lot of text.
I’m just wondering how Red’s power went out in NY. Where is he in NY compared to me, because my power didn’t go out.
This was my first download of the podcast and I really enjoyed it. The general tone and discussion is a pleasant change from what I get from many other shows. Consider me a regular.
Thanks Wolfe! I’m glad you enjoyed the show.