Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt

Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt (機動戦士ガンダム サンダーボルト) is a 4 part ONA series set in the UC timeline of Gundam.  The series was released between December 2015 and May 2016 and is based on the manga of the same name by Otagaki Yasuo.

    Taking place during the One year War, Thunderbolt follows a force of Zeon soldiers battling a force of Federation soldiers in the ruins of space colonies.  The sides are locked in a bloody stalemate as they engage in small skirmishes, slowly dwindling their forces.  A feud between Federation pilot, Io Flemming and Zeon sniper Darly Lorenz is the focus of the short anime.  Each pilot is highly skilled and use every technical advantage they can to over come the other, all while their respective sides are being wiped out around them.

    This is a dark and mature entry in the Gundam universe.  Death and destruction are everywhere.  Those that survive the longest have embraced the darkness of battle.  The only thing they see to their actions is the victories of the battlefield and have no dreams of an end to the conflict.  Willing to sacrifice life and limb to quench their thirst for the fight it's self.

    With a running time of around an hour the series does a really good job at setting up the struggle between a handful of characters, showing enough of their background and personality to make everything fall into place.  This is a great example of brevity in story telling.  It is effective and well done.  The artwork is really nice too, with character designs that reminded me of Aeon Flux.  The line work is stark and bold.  The combat is pretty good, typical Gundam fare.  Whats best about this story is the lack of teenage wunderkind main characters.  These are hardened soldiers doing their job with brutal efficiency, there is no time of second guessing or moral quandaries.  Truly a mature story, something the franchise could do a little more often.

    The series is as of yet not available in North America, but there is word that the theatrical version of it may see a stateside release in the near future.  Sadly the manga is not available in North America either currently.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans (機動戦士ガンダム 鉄血のオルフェンズ) is a 26 episode mecha war drama set in the Gundam franchise.  The series aired between 2015 and 2016.

    Set more than 300 years after the Calamity War, in which Earths power concentration is drastically changed.  The story deals with a group of unwanted child soldiers employed with a security firm on Mars known as CGS.  Mars is under control of factions on Earth and has limited wealth and resources.  The daughter of an aristocratic Martian family, Kudelia Aina Bernstein, decides to head to Earth and plead for Mars to become more independent. When the strongest faction on Earth, Gjallarhorn, decides to stop Bernstein from leaving Mars they attack CGS headquarters.  Many of the deaths in the successful defense come from the child soldiers 'employed' by CGS. 

    One of the older kids, Orga decides to start a coup in retaliation for the attitude towards the worth of his fellow soldiers.  Through determination and cunning they succeeded in taking control of the mercenary group and change its identity to solidify their emergence as a new operation.  Orga, now the leader of Tekkadan, takes over the task of escorting Bernstein to Earth, believing in her goal and the possibility of it being successful.  The members of Tekkadan are children who live on the margins of Martian society, despised as little more than sewer rats.  They see a chance at earning respect and taking control of their own destinies under Orga's leadership and enthusiastically throw their support to continue to job.

    From the start everything is stacked against the upstarts.  Gjallarhorn sends reinforcements to succeed where the provincial forces failed.  Tekkadan leaves Mars, fleeing their vastly superior enemies.  Once they understand the level of threat aimed at them they join with a powerful crime syndicate for patronage, support and protection.  The lone Tekkadon ship partners with a sister group in the syndicate to continue the treacherous journey.  Along the way they are constantly attacked by forces trying to prevent Bernstein from publicly addressing imperial oppression.  Tekkadan facing lose and a greater understanding of the difficulty of others, not just on Mars, further empowers them to push on towards their inevitable death on Earth.

    This was a much needed return to quality story telling in the Gundam universe, following a few less than stellar TV series.  The core ideals of the series deal with child soldiers and imperialism.  The series deals with these powerful things with bi-shonen Caucasian looking characters.  Somewhat lessening the impact of real world issues.  There is a lot of freedom when it comes to Tekkadan's abilities as well, most glaringly when it comes to space flight and operating space-faring ships.  How exactly do discarded, lowest tier child soldiers who are abused and used as little more than cannon fodder understand how to not only launch but successfully operate an orbital vehicle?  This is one of the glaring and obvious lapses of reality that go to lesson the impact of the real world messages the series is trying to deliver.

    The character designs are some of the oddest that that the Gundam franchise has seen since the 80's.  The mechanical designs as well are rather sub-par compared with other recent series'.  The bread and butter for the die hard Gundam fans is also mostly absent in the series.  As the story progresses we don't see the constant equipment upgrading that has become integral in the franchise.  There are long pauses in the story in which a mobile suit is almost non-existent.  Instead we get a decent attempt at a Gundam story that focuses more on the characters and their plight instead of spending undue time on the mechanical aspects of the show.

    With all of that said, I actually enjoyed the series and eagerly await its return, as eluded at the end of the final episode.  There were some serious levels of plot armor through out, but its no fuss straight forward story telling was welcomed.  As it neared the end it did begin to pick up some less than useful obligatory characters which didn't do much for the over all progress and appeal of the story.  They seemed more as throw ins for helping develop a plot arc that wasn't fully developed.  Yet with all of it's flaw's it was still enjoyable.

    The series is available streaming in North America currently, with a dub being produced.  This is also a signal that video releases are pending.  The second season of the show is slated to begin airing in the Fall of 2016.

Macross Delta - First Impression

The preview episode of Macross Delta aired in Japan January.  Given that it won't be reaching North America's the only choice is through the fansub network.  I will say the subgroup that did the copy I watched took a few liberties with their translation, but what ever.

    The series takes place as humanity has been expanding into the cosmo's for 50 years.  Current frontier pioneers are facing a new indisious enemy.  A infectious desease known as Vars.  Vars takes over a host body and drives them irrational and insane, think Space Bath Salts.  Luckily a weapon has been found to fight against the influence of Vars...songs sung by the military idol group Walkure.

    The story begins with a country bumpkin girl who has stowed away on a cargo ship in her bid to audition to join Walkure.  Unfortunately her ride stops at a different planet and she is discovered.  A recently fired dock worker decides to show pity on her and helps to get her on her way.  The attempt at continued travel is halted as an outbreak of Vars infects a Zentradi base, causing them to begin attacking the city.

    Fortunately for EVERYONE Wakure happened to be on site and instantly gears up for musical combat along with their veritech support crew, Delta Squad.  The members of Wakure deploy their voices and what can only be described as mechanical magical defenses to defend the innocent populace and suppress the Vars infection.  Things go well until an unknown enemy invades the planets air space and disrupts the efforts.  This unknown menace is focused on destrying the life saving pop idol group for unknown reasons.

    There was an amount of disappointment in this preview episode and bodes an ill omen for how Delta will pan out.  I have been mulling the things I dislike with Macross.  With every TV series I always start to loose interest in the story as it nears the ending in which the idol wins the day with her song.  I think the reason Plus and Zero are my favorite Macross titles is partially in their length and lack of fatigue.  In all of the TV series of this live long beloved anime I stop enjoying the last 20% of the story.

    Delta seems to cut to the chase and start out by being ultimately an idol story, which when it comes down to it, ever Macross is.  What makes it more disappointing to me is the presentation of the idols in Walkure as almost mechanical magical girls, complete with magical transformation sequences and 'spells'.  The Walkure, with the armored support of the Delta squadron blend classic and excellent fast paced mecha combat and the most noxious idol trends currently around.

    The episode ended with the idol crap being pushed to the side as a group of insurgents arrive with the goal of wiping them out.  I have deep rooted fears that this series will be as horrible for me as 7 was but there may be a saving grace with the new plot development at the very end.  Time will tell as the series begins in April.  I don't harbor high hopes for the series though and might not even watch it till the very painful ending.  I wonder if the shadow lords of Harmony Gold are laughing at this joke of a Macross series?

Knights of Sidonia Battle for Planet Nine

Knights of Sidonia Battle for Planet Nine (シドニアの騎士 第九惑星戦役) is the 12 episode follow up to the original Knights of Sidonia.  The space opera mecha series is based on the manga of the same name by Nihei Tustomu and was originally broadcast in Japan in the spring of 2015.

    The series finds Tanikaze in a much better situation than the beginning of the first season.  He is now heralded as the hero of Sidonia for his various battles against the Gauna.  The increased danger to the ship has caused a number of citizens to protest what they feel are policies that instigate attacks from the aliens.  The group demands to be allowed to leave Sidonia and find a world to colonize.  The group is allowed to leave but are unaware of the grave danger facing them.  The Sidonia continues on the course behind them and detects a massive hive of Gauna.  Knowing it must face them it prepares for what may be its final battle.  One of the weapons developed for use in the upcoming war is a Gauna/Human hybrid developed from the captured Hoshijiro clone.  Meanwhile, Tanikaze enjoys the benefits of a top ranked pilot and his personal life takes a new twist.  Forced out of the pilot dorms he finds a new home in a quiet portion of the ship.  Shinatoze tags along as his roommate as does the new friend they have made in the hybrid who goes by the name of Tsumugi.  Tsumigi is child like and excitable, but Tanikaze and Shinotaze have befriended her.  Tsumugi in reality is as large as one of the guard frames but she uses a tentacle appendage to maneuver, in secret, through out the Sidonia.  The appendage allows her to communicate and interact with her two friends.  Strangely, it also looks like a talking penis.  With a serious battle approaching Tanikaze and Tsumugi find themselves being the ships best shot at survival.

    Season two of Sidonia was one I was highly anticipating and it did not disappoint.  The animation seems to have gotten smoother with the characters and the story gets a bit deeper from the original season.  Sadly, like the first, it omits some interesting things from the manga.  Even sadder, it feels like we won't see any more Sidonia TV anime with how the ended this series.  The story is still going in the manga of course but they put a nice wrapping on the end of the final episode.  Unlike how season 1 ended there was no teaser confirmation about a next installment.  Unlike the original season as well this one seemed rushed at times, but part of that may also come from my having read the manga.  They once again did not delve deeply into the history of the ship and the powers that control it, which is where some of the more interesting things take place.  Otherwise the show can be a mindless series of ever increasingly dangerous battles.  Something I really enjoy about the story is the interesting background that develops through out and a good portion of that is ignored or glossed over.  The anime doesn't explain the captains history, why Lala is a bear, etc.  Regardless the anime followed relatively faithfully with the plot progression of the anime and did not disappoint.  Nagate is still a wet noodle with only a handful of emotional modes.

    As with the original season, Battle for Planet Nine was not simulcast, instead Netflix is releasing it in dub and sub in one large batch in the beginning of July 2015 in North America.  Sentai Filmworks picked up the original so its only a matter of time before season two sees a disc release as well.  Here's hoping for more Knights of Sidonia!

    On a side note, I was SEVERLY disappointed that there wasn't more Blame! as part of the series.  Leading up to it there were rumors that there would be a series of shorts embedded into the show for the manga Blame! also by Nihei.  Booo!!!

Argevollen

Shirogane no Ishi Argevollen (白銀の意思 アルジェヴォルン) is a 24 episode military mech series by Xebec.  The show originally aired in Japan in the second half of 2014.

    Ingelmia invades its neighbor Arandas in a move to cede more territory.  Independent Unit 8 is a small mech platoon for Arandas.  As they are moving to the front lines they come across a civilian convoy under attack.  The convoy is transporting a new experimental mech unit, Argevollen, and Private Susume Tokimune boards the mech after his own is ruined.  With the help of the mech they are able to fend off the attacking units and rescue the mech and its mechanic.  Due to the nature of the neural link the mech is now keyed to Tokimune, meaning Unit 8 has to use it in their ranks.  This causes more trouble than they anticipate as word of the new technology reaches the enemy who wants it for themselves.  As the platoon does its best to survive the use of the new unit leads to more troubling events.  The mech is utilizing an upgraded AI system originally tested by Tokimune’s dead sister.  His platoon leader, Samonji Ukyo, was linked to the trial of that prototype and Tokimune’s sister.  Once it’s confirmed that Argevollen is being used to further that dangerous technology Samonji and Tokimune have to face a dangerous future as the mechs abilities are needed more.  Industrial military groups working in the background are playing a dangerous game with both nations militaries to further their own technology and fill their coffers.

    I really enjoyed this series.  It’s a straightforward military intrigue story.  It was entertaining but nothing original and not very deep.  The main characters are actually rather one dimensional but the large cast of supporting characters are entertaining.  There are few moments of pointless fanservice in the earlier episodes but all of that gets swept under the rug as the intrigue starts to kick into gear.  The intrigue is nothing new or inventive but its handled in a way that I enjoyed.  The artwork is rather substandard, much of this show felt like something you would expect 20 years ago.  The only thing I really didn’t lake was the design of the Arge.  All of the older mechs in the series are this clunky hulking Battletech style mechs, which I love.  Arge and its offspring look like Evangelions.  This show really taught me that there is a division in mech design and where my interest lies.  A good portion of the mech fan base didn’t like this story because it didn’t feature power ups and dramatic battle sequences like it was some shonen fight show.  To hell with that, there’s enough of that to go around and I’m not interested in that type of stuff.  Honestly, this series could have been just the same without the mechs, instead transferring the technology that was the underlying plot to something else.  It ended well which is a relief.  There is a solid, nothing left out in the open, closure about the end of the series.  You can watch it and feel satisfied that you got out of it what you deserved.  This series makes up for the untimely ending of Pumpkin Scissors.

    The series was simulcast on Crunchyroll but there is no word on any North American disc release.  Too soon to tell.  What would be cool is to see some sort of console game port for the series!

Captain Earth

Captain Earth (キャプテン アース) is an original mecha action series by Enokido Yoji.  The 25 episode  series originally aired in Japan between April and September of 2014.

   Manatsu Daichi is a troubled high school student who struggles with the expectations set upon him and runs away from his foster fathers home.  He returns to Tanegashima island where he met two strange children years earlier, in hopes to see then again.  His deceased father was an astronaut who worked at the launch facility on the island.  One day while Daichi was by himself he wandered into a restricted area and met a mysterious boy named Teppei.  They sneaked into the facility where they met a girl enclosed in liquid.  The girl, Hana, reacts to Daichi's presence.  Now Daichi seeks Teppei and the mystery girl again, searching to calm his unease and uncertainty.  He finds both and discovers that a secret organization is stationed on the island whose sole purpose is to defend Earth from alien agressers who are trying to destroy all human life.  Hana had bestowed a power to Daichi that allows him to pilot the mecha, Earth Engine, and fight against the aliens.  The three once again reunite and join forces with a spunky hacker girl, becoming Earths best and last defense for total human extinction.  Things don't seem as they really are as the group discovers the sinister forces moving in the back ground that don't particularly want the aliens plan stopped.

    The only reason I continued to watch this show to the very end was due to the interesting story, otherwise it was a pretty miserable show.  I could care less for the characters and their success or failure.  The enemies were ridiculous and the mech designs were either Gundam rip offs or horrible.  What kept me coming back each week was the intrigue, I wanted to find out what was up with all the factions behind the scenes and what their motivation was.  That's all...and it was pretty horrible in the end.  It could have been done significantly better and more mature.  The whole 'libido' thing was just plain idiotic.  The artwork was slick and modern and some of the character designs were nice.  This show could have been so much better though, if it was darker and had more original mech designs.  There was a lot of potential wasted I think, but that would be to cater to my tastes and I know I'm a bit in the minority.

    The series was simulcast via Crucnhyroll with no word on it seeing a disc release in North America.  A video game spin off is slated for 2015.

Aldnoah.Zero

Aldnoah.Zero (アルドノア・ゼロ) is an original sci-fi mecha series created by Urobuchi Gen.  The series's first season aired over the summer of 2014 in Japan.

    During the American missions to the Moon in the 1970's a gateway to Mars was discovered.  Soon humans started migrating to the red planet where they discovered other alien technology.  The people who emigrated decided to claim the technology and Mars for themselves and separated from Terrans by calling their new 'empire' Vers.  In 1999 during a minor conflict the gate was destroyed, taking a sizable portion of the Moon with it.  The Vers citizens who remained stranded on Earth moved into orbital castles built out of the debris from the explosion.  Relationships between both Terran's and Versian's strained and in 2014 a Vers Princess decide to visit Earth on a goodwill mission to help ease tensions.  The mission ends in failure as the princess is assassinated and the lords in their orbital castles declare war on Earth.  An unlucky group of Japanese high school students end up stumbling upon the living Princess in their escape from the assault on their home.  They discover who she is and work to get to safety and inform both worlds that she still lives in a bid to stop the useless killing and destruction.

    This is one of my favorite titles from the Summer season and made me take a good hard look at the styles of mecha anime and how they possibly evolved (I'll elaborate sometime in the future on that).  The animation is typical for today's standards and I liked the simple and soft style for the character designs.  They reminded me of designs from the late 90's when the acute angled heads were going out of fashion.  The mech designs...I really liked the utilitarian designs for the Earth mechs and was only mildly annoyed by the regal Vers mechs.  What I was more impressed by was the interesting weapons deployed by the Vers mechs.  The story was liner and not filled with much in the way of twists and surprises, but it was enjoyable.  I like the concepts for the backdrop more than the episode plots though.  It wan't bad, but sometimes the tenacity and planning deployed by the main character, who's stoicism can annoy some, was a bit of a stretch.  Regardless it was a well done show and I eagerly await it's return in January 2015, especially with the cliff hanger or sorts at the end.

    It was simulcast via Crunchyroll and there is no word on a disc release in North America.

Knights of Sidonia

Knights of Sidonia (シドニアの騎士) is a space mecha series based on the manga of the same name by Tsutomu Nihei.  The series aired in Japan during the spring of 2014 and ran for 12 episodes.

    1000 years after an aggressive and enigmatic alien known as the Gauna destroyed Earth; the survivors on one of the seed ships created from the remains of the planet are trying to spread the human race.  The Sidonia has experienced 100 years of peace, since the last confrontation with any Gauna.  The ship/city is flourishing with a population boom amid safety of peace.  Yet it is still run with a military style government and being chosen to pilot a Gardes mech to defend the ship is a high honor that many strive for.  Nagate Tanikaze was raised, hidden from view, in the bowls of the city by his grandfather, a hero from the war.  After his guardian dies and the last of his food runs out he begins to search through the labyrinth of the ship for food.  In a series of unfortunate events he ends up captured by security and hospitalized.  Before he can be charged with any criminal negligence his identity is discovered and the woman who commands the ship decides to instead enroll Nagate into the Gardes academy.  She is betting on Nagate being as talented of a pilot as his guardian was.  Luckily for her Nagate was essentially raised in a VR simulator.  His first actual mission is with other rookie pilots to harvest ice from a nearby asteroid.  Everything goes downhill when I dormant Gauna is found inside of the asteroid.  Now the 100 years of peace are shattered as their mortal enemy has shown its self again.  Can a new generation of pilots who have never been in battle save their city from destruction?

    This was one of my favorite new series from 2014 (so far) and I highly enjoyed it.  The animation is a bit bothersome at first.  The used cell shade CG with wire frame motion capture, so at times the people move a little 'unnaturally'.  But you get used to it after a while and the color scheme and use of shadows typical with cell shade CG actually lends to the style of the anime.  The mechs are pretty cool looking and the combat sequences are well done.  The real meat of this show is the story though.  The history of the Sidonia begins to reveal its self throughout the show and not everything is as it seems.  There is a lot of information that is left out though.  It is assumed that there are other seed ships like Sidonia.  I'm pretty sure what other survivors from Earth are in space are far removed from Sidonia.  Memory is hazy but there may have been a brief mention in an early episode about Sidonia's last contact with another seed ship years in the past...  There are also many secrets that they begin to hint at relating to current and recent events with the ship that they only start to touch upon.  I really like the 'world' that Nihei-sensei has created with this series.  While the mechs and mech combat are nothing new, I like what he has done with the society of the Sidonia.  In order to make up for limited agriculture space the populace of the ship has been genetically modified to photosynthesize.  Cloning is rampant and a 3rd neutral gender has been established, of which the person decides later in life what gender they want to settle on, if at all.  The biggest secret of all are the Gauna.  Why did they initially attack Earth, where did they come from, what is their goal?  None of these have been answered or even remotely discussed.  But new mysteries involving them have been introduced, like their ability to seemingly replicate things they come in contact with.

    This is a fantastic series; it’s got great action, an engaging story and beautiful CG artwork.  In retrospect though, the main character is rather flat and not well established.  He's a bit of a wet noodle that operates in about 2 or 3 emotional modes.  He is the apparent savior of the Sidonia, but the show isn't totally about him being the unlikely hero of the day like a shonen fight series.  The characters around him are much more interesting but his actions and character are a focal point of the series and determine the course of many of the events.  I'm not saying I hate Nagate, but he is a rather boring lead character, I enjoy a number of the peripheral characters better but wouldn't want them to be the main focus of the show either.  Instead, and the series does this to an extent, the story focuses on the events and the people involved in them, not just focusing solely on Nagate's growth, challenges and victories.  But in the end, Nagate is still the hero.

    You may be thinking, well shit, 12 episodes and they have not really answered any pressing questions?  What’s the point of watching this show if it’s not going to satisfy my need for completion.  True, you could just read all the manga, which is ongoing and up to 57 issues.  Well, there will be a second series titled Knights of Sidonia: War of the 9th Planet which appears to be airing in the beginning of 2015.  Meanwhile, watch this series, read the manga and also read another series by Nihei called Blame! which Knights of Sidonia steals some character designs from.  Who knows...maybe Blame! takes place on another of the seed ships?

    The series did not air simultaneously in America but Netflix will begin airing it in July of 2014, a week after the series concluded in Japan.    UPDATE: Neflix will have all 12 episodes available at the same time, dubbed in English. (6/27/2014)

Mokuyobi Post - Patlabor

Patlabor is a 7 episode mecha OAV series directed by Mamoru Oshii.  The series was originally released in Japan in the late 80's.  The OAV series is related to the manga of the same name and is also related to a few movies, TV series and a follow up OAV series.

    In a future vision of Tokyo mech's known as Labors are employed in all sorts of job related environments.  The Tokyo Metropolitan Police have had to create a special Labor division to deal with any Labor related crime.  New recruit, Izumi Noa, has to try and fit in with the misfit division as she gets use to piloting her Patlabor while dealing with all sorts of crazed Labor wielding criminals.  At the same time the division has to fend off retribution and funding cuts from the police department.

    This is a fun and somewhat light hearted mech series.  Its kind of like Police Academy with mechs.  The animation is very typical to the style from the end of the 80's and beginning of the 90's.  Many of the people involved with this series worked on other popular anime from the time period.  The feel of this series is close to that of Dominion Tank Police and fans of that show are probably already fans of Patlabor.

    This series was moderately popular in North America and most of the video versions of it are readily available.

Mokuyobi Post - Macross Plus

Macross Plus is the 4 part OAV commemorating the 10 year anniversary of the original Macross TV series.  The OAV's were released in Japan in 1994.

    30 years after the original SDF Macross accidentally launched to the far end of the Solar System and fought the war against the Zentradi, humanity has begun expanding to the stars.  The U.N. forces are secretly testing new Veritech fighters, one a traditional machine, the other controlled with thought.   The tests are being conducted on the colony planet Eden by two pilots who grew up there.  Isamu Dyson is a loose cannon hotshot who was forced into the test due to insubordination.  Guld Goa Bowman is half Zentradi and pilots the one controlled by thought.  Once friends as kids, they are heated rivals as adults.  The AI pop idol Sharon Apple is going to be performing a concert on Eden leading up to the commemoration ceremony for the end of the Zentradi war on Earth.  Sharons agent/controller is Isamu and Gulds childhood friend Myung Lone.  An incident involving Myung is what caused all 3 to grow apart.  With all of them in the same place dormant feelings surge to the surface and threaten the test project.  When Sharons program starts to be effected byMyungs mental stress the AI begins to enact a plan that will make Isamu hers for ever.

    This is one of the only Macross titles to make it to America without trouble relating to Harmony Golds strangle hold on the franchise.  It was well recieved and has been a classic in America and Japan since its release.  In addition to the 4 part OAV, it wad recut into a full length movie with some minor changes.  Both versions are excellent and highly recommended.  The animation was cutting edge at the time, merging cell animation and CGU rather well.  The plot is well detailed and the characters are memorable and well developed.  As with most Macross since this one, much of the music was done by Yoko Kanno and plays a central role in the story.  I have always really enjoyed this story and have watched it countless times.  On a side note, it's interesting to see the development and advancement in the virtual idol world in Japan, particularly with vocaloids.

    The OAV's and DVD are readily available in both dub and subtitled format in North America.

Mokuyobi Post - Sol Bianca

Sol Bianca is a 2 part OAV sci-fi space opera by Katsuhiro Akiyama.  It was originally released in Japan in 1990.

    The Sol Bianca is a light advanced space craft piloted by a small band of female pirates, who are all named after calendar months.  In the first episode a young boy has hidden himself on the ship and when he is discovered he begs the pirates to help him rescue his mother from the evil Emperor Batros.  They crew agrees and they attack the heavily defended planet with their wit and specialties to rescue the fair maiden. And honestly, I don't think I ever watched the second episode.  From what I can find on the internet about it it appears to have been a cliff hanger...woops.

    For the time period this was a pretty good show.  The thing I remember the most is one of the characters perched in orbit with a sniping rifle, aimed at the surface, during the climax.  Crazy stuff.  This is a slick action series that shows off idealized women in tight clothes and heavy weapons, kicking all sorts of ass.  If you liked Gunbusters this series would be up your alley.  Apparently it is a bit hard to find and has never been released on DVD in North America.  At the end of the 90's a redo was released called Sol Bianca: The Legacy, but I never got around to watching it.

Mokuyobi Post - Madox-01

Madox-01 is a short mecha action OAV from 1988.  The series is an original creation by legendary mecha designer Shinji Aramaki.

    An experimental mech unit is lost while in transit.  It winds up in mechanic Kouji Sugimoto's apartment.  Intrigued by it he ends up getting trapped in its cockpit.  He has trouble controlling it in the tight packed environment of his neighborhood and draws the unwanted attention of the military.  Stuck in the mech, he still has to try and make it to his date. Along the way a rouge tank pilot tries to destroy the suit with him in it.

    This OVA is dated as you would expect from something from the 80s.  It's real intent is eye candy for mecha otaku.  If you enjoy mecha anime this isn't a bad one to add to your collection.  Otherwise you don't need to bother with it.

    This anime has been available in North America for a long time.  But the DVD appears to be a bit of a collector item and may not be worth the effort.  The VHS is cheap as dirt and so are tape players if you don't have one.

FLCL

FLCL (Furi Kuri) is a 6 episode sci-fi, action, comedy by the minds at Gainax.  The series came out in Japan originally in 2000 and aird in North America in 2003 on Cartoon Network

    Naota Nadaba is a sullen 5th grader living in a miserable town occupied by a mysterious factory.  His older brother moved to America to play baseball and his perverted father and grandfather run a bakery.  Naota is secretly 'dating' his older brothers delinquent high school girlfriend Mamimi Samejima.  His life is uneventful and dull until one day a crazed woman runs into him with her scooter, then slugs him in the head with a bass guitar.  When a horn starts to grow on his head the crazy woman, calling herself Haruko Haruharu, moves into his family home and pretends to be their house keeper.  Trying to hide the horn and the woman Naota's life becomes more miserable than before.  His situation goes from bad to worse when the horn grows out of his skull and into a robot.  Haruko battles the robot, defeating it but that's only the start...

    I watched this series when it aired on TV in America, it only mildly sparked any interest.  I thought I would watch it again and do a proper review after all these years.  I still have my reservations with this odd ball title.  The constant J-Rock in the background is still annoying but I can still appreciate the scatter brained antics of the show.  As a whole the series is OK, it's unique, or was until Gurren Lagann showed up.  That's to be expected since its from some of the same people and the series has now been trumped again by Kill la Kill.  As with pretty much everything Gainax, the animation for FLCL is better than most of the anime that came out when it did.  Even today it looks good.  The characters are fun, the story is interested but some aspects are confusing until the end when things are explained.  Another interesting note is with the voice acting, it's not in the typical professional style/fashion found in anime.  The voices are sometimes odd and over dramatic but there is a more natural quality to them, as if they were not done by professional seiyu, maybe just Gainax staffers (which isn't the case).

    Either way, FLCL isn't much my cup of tea and like it's brethren series' (Gurren and Kill) I respect the quality of the work and its creators.  So, if you like Kill la Kill, Gurren Lagann, Panti & Stocking with Garter Belt or Puni Puni Poemy you have most likely seen and live this series.  It has been available for a long time in North America on DVD and Blu-Ray in both sub and dub formats.

Mokuyobi Post - Otaku no Video

This OAV from the beginning of the 90's was produced by Gainax and comically shed light on the varying otaku subcultures as well as offering a warning on their compulsive tendencies.

    Split between an anime story and a mockumentary this 2 part OAV follows Ken Kubo who is first introduced to the world of the otaku by an old school friend and eventually is determined to be the ota-king, ruling over all otaku.  He and his cohorts are met with a mixture of success, failure, betrayal and fantasy on their journey to create the most powerful otaku company in the universe.  Intermixed in the anime portion are mock segments interviewing members of specific otaku sub-cultures.  These segments are live action and each feature one person who is deeply obsessed with a specific hobby; anime, cosplay, war gaming, etc.  These segments also go to show either the shame people have in their otaku tendencies or pride in their obsessions, sometimes bordering on illegal/dangerous activities.

    This anime is from 1991, so it is dated but not too poorly.  Gainax has built a career on producing high quality products for their time periods.  They are also known for controversy and mischievousness.  This is a fun romp into the realm of otaku-hood, if at times somewhat uncomfortable.  The OAV also includes segments of the videos the crew who would eventually become Gainax created for the 1981 and 1983 Sci-fi conventions, Daikon.  This is a mandatory title to see in my opinion.

    This video has been available commercially in North America for a long time in both VHS and DVD format.  Pick it up when you come across it and enjoy.

Mokuyobi Post - Black Magic M-66

Black Magic M-66 is a one shot action OVA based on the manga Black Magic by the legendary Masamune Shiro.  The OVA was released in Japan in 1987.

    The story deals with two experimental combat androids that are on the loose following their transportation helicopter crashing.  Their mission, while only designed as a dummy program, is to kill the daughter of one of their designers.  A freelance journalist, Sybel, ends up getting caught in all the action and must help to try and stop these unstoppable killing machines before too many people are dead.

    This is classic Shiro cyberpunk; strong female lead, the dangers of advanced technology used for war and cybernetics.  This OVA is close to 30 years old and has not aged well.  It smells highly of the 80s in both character design and music.  Even with that, this is an excellent addition to anyones collection who loves Shiro's work.  Black Magic is essentially his first title and you can see the blueprints for future initiatives in it. Ultra destructive cyborgs are one of his strong points and this story smells highly of The Terminator.

Memories

Memories is a theatrical anthology of shorts that came out in the 1995. It is made up of three independent vignettes done by 3 different directors. The shorts are, Magnetic Rose, Stink Bomb and Cannon Fodder.

    The first short, Magnetic Rose, is a beautifully detailed futuristic drama that deals with the crew of a salvage ship discovering the mother lode in a derelict space junk yard. Two members of the four man crew leave the ship to investigate an asteroid with a house built into it after picking up a distress signal. As they explore it they discover it was the residence of an opera diva from the previous century. While searching for anything valuable to scavenge they are attacked by the automated defenses of the residence. As they fight to get back to their ship they discover that the automated systems have gone haywire with years of solitude and soon they have to fight between reality, fantasy and their own pasts to make it out alive.

    The second short, Stink Bomb, is a comedic yet sinister romp that deals with the possibility of biological weapons falling into the wrong hands. A young assistant at a bio research facility accidentally ingests a top secret military bio weapon thinking it was a cold remedy. He passes out to wake up the next day still at work, finding everyone in the facility dead. After calling an ambulance he realizes he took the wrong pill and quickly calls the government alerting them to the problem as he heads out on his own to Tokyo to meet with them. Unknown to him, the effects of the weapon emanate from his body and as he recklessly travels to Tokyo he endangers millions of people’s lives. The power of the weapon increases with his stress and as the military tries to capture him his stress level increases exponentially.

    The third story, Cannon Fodder, is a stylized and socially critical adventure that takes place in a 1984 type world. In a city that is always at war with an unknown and distant enemy country the business of the day is operating the large cannons that dot the cityscape. One way or another the resident's of the city work in jobs relating to the cannons and their operations. Our story follows one lower class family in a day of their life, the father works on a cannon loading crew, the mother works at a munitions factory and the son goes to school to learn the finer points of operating the cannon. As we progress through the day we see the realities of the underclass grunts coinciding with the son’s childlike fantasies of the magnificence of operating the towering behemoths. The citizens don’t really know why they are fighting or who they are fighting, in the end of the day they are safe and sound, their job is done and they live to see another day of the same thing.

    Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira, Steam Boy) is the overlying name behind the movie. Magnetic Rose is based on a manga of his.  He wrote and directed Cannon Fodder and produced the entire movie. Satoshi Kon (Paprika, Perfect Blue) wrote the script for Magnetic Rose which was directed by noted music video director Morimoto Koji. Stink Bomb was written by Otomo and directed by Okamura Tensai (Wolfs Rain).

    Each story is unique and different in scope and message. Out of all of them Stink Bomb is my favorite, for its comedic value alone. Magnetic Rose is beautiful and haunting while Cannon Fodder is very unique. I enjoy this movie and have since I first viewed it in the mid 90’s. Even with its aged it is still a good film. The animation isn’t of the highest quality compared to today’s standards but it is still quality none the less. The soundtrack is highly entertaining and well done, with each sequence having diverging styles. Most people will find something to enjoy from the movie. It took a long time for it to be released in America and is currently a little hard to track down. It is one of the gems of the industry and deserves a spot on every collector and fans shelf.