Blog Archives
Stuff I Bought This Week – January 20th
Mobile Suit Gundam 0079 – Collection 1
Plot Synopsis: “Universal Century 0079. The rebel space colonies of the Principality of Zeon launch a war of independence against the Earth Federation, using humanoid fighting vehicles called mobile suits to overwhelm the Federation Forces and conquer half of Earth’s surface. Months later, the Federation has finally developed its own prototype mobile suits at a remote space colony. But when the colony suffers a Zeon surprise attack, these new weapons fall into the hands of a motley crew of civilians and cadets, and fate places a youth named Amuro Ray at the controls of the white mobile suit Gundam…”
Something you’ll notice this week is that pretty much everything is from Bandai. About 30 seconds after they announced they were effectively shutting down I said, “Well shit, better get all that stuff I was considering.” So yeah. I’ve already seen the compilation movies for this series, and I honestly prefer it that way, but I still felt like getting the original series on DVD just for the sake of having it.
Purchase Gundam 0079 Collection 1 at RightStuf
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing – Collection 1
Plot Synopsis: “Thousands of People live on giant orbiting space colonies called “Sides.” However, the Earth Government, which rules the colonies, is unjust and cruel. A group of revolutionaries builds five robotic Gundams and plans to send them to Earth to begin their fight for independence. Piloted by five young men, their hopes and dreams of freedom of the colonists with them as they descend to Earth to begin Operation Meteor!”
If you were to ask me for one thing that defined my childhood I’d shout Dragon Ball Z at you pretty much instantly. If you asked for another I’d say Gundam Wing. I loved this show as a kid, and as an adult I can honestly say it kinda sucks. It’s not that it’s terrible, but it does that Gundam thing where someone spouts a horrificly stupid line and it takes it completely seriously. Like anytime anyone says Gundanium. Regardless, I loved the show as a kid, but it was on after my bedtime so I’d have to tape it off YTV. YTV, for all of you who aren’t Canadian, was where you watched anime if you lived in Canada. We didn’t have Cartoon Network, so we didn’t have Toonami. I’m not even really sure what a Toonami is. Anyway, it was part of my childhood and I kept putting off getting the DVDs until now. The set ended up having two floaters because of Bandai’s shoddy packaging. The discs still worked though.
Purchase Gundam Wing Collection 1 at RightStuf
Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Endless Waltz
Plot Synopsis: “The year is After Colony 196, and for one year the Earth and its colonies have experienced an unprecedented age of peace. No longer needing their weapons of war, the Gundams are jettisoned into the sun. However, even in the silence of space, the drums of war can once again be heard. Rallying behind a new leader, the Barton Foundation has once again risen to threaten the peace of the Earth Sphere. As the conflict spirals towards its climax, the pilots must recover their Gundams before they reach the sun, and put an end to the conflict.”
Had to get this since I was getting the series. Saw this on YTV too. Well taped it, because it was also on too late for me to watch. I honestly didn’t even realize this was originally an OVA until I bought this DVD. So that’s neat.
Purchase Gundam Wing Endless Waltz at RightStuf
Outlaw Star Complete Collection
Plot Synopsis: “Gene Starwind and his partner Jim Hawking run a small business on the backwater planet of Centinel 3. But all that changes the day that Hilda hires them for a bodyguard job. Now, thrust into a mystery they don’t fully understand, they’re on the run from the cops, the pirates, an angry alien, and a mysterious assassin. But they’ve got one thing going in their favor – they have the galaxy’s most advanced ship!”
Have been putting off getting this for a year or more. It’s an old show that people used to like, so I was interested in it. It’ll probably be kind of mediocre, but whatever.
What OtakuAnthony bought this week April 15th (anime and manga)
Queens Blade Blu-ray Complete Collection
Plot Synopsis: “In a land where a queen is chosen every few years solely by winning a tournament, there can be no short supply of formidable opponents. For one woman warrior however, an early defeat clearly shows her that she is lacking in experience though she may be bountiful in body.
Fortunately, while defeat could spell one’s doom, her life is saved by a powerful stranger. But unfortunately for this savior, less-than-pure motives and shrewd family members mean her reward is a prison cell. Her release is prompt when the unseasoned warrior she saved, tired of her current lifestyle of nobility, sets off to prove herself.”
Like a majority of my purchases, I rented this show back over the summer and while I enjoyed what I watched, I heard about the Blu-ray coming out and I wanted to wait until I could find it for a good price.
Queen’s Blade Blu Ray can be purchased at Right Stuf
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Gundam Wing Anime Legends Collection 2
Plot Synopsis: “Relena and Heero have come aboard the Libra in a last-ditch hope to talk some sense into Zechs, but he will not listen. Treize and his forces arrive, and Treize challenges Zechs to a one-on-one duel to decide the fate of the war, but Zechs refuses, having cast aside such notions as “honor” and “chivalry.”
Now the immense ships libra and Peacmillion are on a collision course with one another, and the resulting collision could destroy all life on Earth. It’s up to the Gundam pilots to put an end to the fighting in this, the final volumes of Gundam Wing!”
I ordered this back in February but it didn’t ship until this week. I am a huge Gundam fan and while I was icy to Gundam Wing at first I opened up to it.
Gundam Wing Anime Legends Collection 2 can be purchased at Right Stuf
____________________________________________________________________________________________
K-ON GN 2
Plot Synopsis: “It’s been almost a year since the girls of the pop-music club started jamming together, but the start of the new year is no time to look back on their journey – it’s time to recruit new members! Despite their inexperience, the girls’ passionate performance at the entrance ceremony impresses first-year Azusa, a budding guitar player who can’t wait to join. But she didn’t expect there to be so much tea drinking in the pop-music club. Or cosplaying… When do they get around to making music?!”
I finished reading the first voulme of the K-On manga the other day and I enjoyed what I read, so I went and ordered the 2nd volume of the manga series.
The Gundam Chronicles: 003 – Gundam Wing Part 1
So far things have been going well in my “Gundam Project.” I have successfully finished watching Part 1 (episodes 1-25) of Gundam Wing. Part 2 is being shipped to me, and hopefully it will arrive soon.
I’ve been enjoying the show so far. I do have some issues with it, but first the good stuff. The fight scenes are really cool, as expected from a mecha series. Of course, they’re not nearly as visually appealing as today’s visuals, but given the time that the series was made, I’d say they did a pretty good job. The characters are all pretty like-able for the most part. My favorite character thus far has been Duo. I really like his positive attitude about everything, and I think he has a good voice actor too. I like Zechs too, though I think he looked a lot cooler with his mask on. Now he just looks like some generic bishounen character.
The story has been pretty good, though there are definitely pacing issues. Some of the conversations just seem to drag on for too long. I understand that Gundam Wing is meant to be partly political, but unfortunately that kind of stuff just doesn’t interest me. Aside from that, I am greatly enjoying the scenes where there is plot development. For example, I loved in episode 10 when Oz unveils and executes their plan to take over the Earthsphere Alliance. That was certainly something I was not expecting.
So far I have been watching the show dubbed. Some of the voice actors are downright terrible. I understand that the standards for good voice acting weren’t as high back then, but really now! For example, General Septum’s voice is so outrageous, I actually laughed every time he spoke. I guess I should pretend that’s a good thing.
So far, the show has been mediocre. I realize that I may not be appreciating it fully because I just can’t pay attention to the long drawn-out conversations. Thankfully, the narrations in each episode and the next episode previews are helping me stay on top of the story. The archaic visuals may also be affecting my enjoyment of the series, and I’ll admit that I’ve been spoiled by today’s anime. It’s tough for a “new anime fan” like me to fully appreciate an older series because of this. At any rate, I will continue to watch and will finish Gundam Wing. After that, G Gundam will be next. Since it’s a comedy, I think I will have an easier time appreciating it.
The Gundam Chronicles: 002 – The 08th MS Team
My first Gundam experience was indeed a pleasant one, with 08th MS Team. As I was told, the characters in this series are indeed excellent. I particularly enjoyed the love story between Shiro and Aina, which kinda reminded me of Romeo and Juliet – a kind of “forbidden romance” between members of opposing sides. Eledore, Michel, and Kiki were among my other favorite characters from the show.
I also very much enjoyed the battle scenes. Considering the time this was made in, the animation is very well done. The music was great, especially the OP theme song, which got me into the series immediately. I forgot that Gundam has such awesome music. I have actually been a fan of Nami Tamaki and HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR for a long time, and I’m familiar with the songs they did for Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny.
I also watched Miller’s Report, which was bascically a recap of the series in a 51-minute “movie.” Even though it was mostly stuff I had already seen, it was nice to have a recap, especially since I tend to miss things the first time I watch something.
The only thing I didn’t like about 08th MS Team was the final episode, which many people had warned me about. It seemed very out of place and unnecessary. Most of the episode involves Kiki and Michel spending time in a town full of children, although in the end it turns out the children don’t actually exist. So they were some kind of hallucination? Or ghosts? Whatever it was, it just doesn’t seem to fit into a Gundam series.
My next Gundam series will be Gundam Wing. I ordered the box set from Amazon.com and got it yesterday. Unfortunately, the DVD case was damaged, and I need to send it back. Hopefully I’ll be getting a replacement soon. In the meantime, I will be watching Blue Drop.
The Gundam Chronicles: 002 – The 08th MS Team
My first Gundam experience was indeed a pleasant one, with 08th MS Team. As I was told, the characters in this series are indeed excellent. I particularly enjoyed the love story between Shiro and Aina, which kinda reminded me of Romeo and Juliet – a kind of “forbidden romance” between members of opposing sides. Eledore, Michel, and Kiki were among my other favorite characters from the show.
I also very much enjoyed the battle scenes. Considering the time this was made in, the animation is very well done. The music was great, especially the OP theme song, which got me into the series immediately. I forgot that Gundam has such awesome music. I have actually been a fan of Nami Tamaki and HIGH and MIGHTY COLOR for a long time, and I’m familiar with the songs they did for Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Destiny.
