As I’ve said, watching ATTACK ON TITAN has been more-or-less akin to eating a juicy steak with a fair amount of gristle on it. You’d describe the experience as great, on the whole, but you still feel like you’re frequently chewing through stubborn fat string to get at the stuff that’s actually tasty.
(Which is to say that this show could benefit from a story editor armed with one of those scissors that are so popular, right now…)
This episode was unquestionably a good portion of TITAN steak. The ruckus between Eren and the Female Titan was as strong a fight as I’ve seen in any anime - - absolutely visceral. More to the point I'm making here, though, it makes the slower portions of this arc look better in hindsight, as the frustrations they built up comes to a thrilling catharsis. Eren’s transformations have been fueled rage since the get-go, of course, but no Hulk-Out has ever made you feel like you’re in the guy’s head (figuratively and literally) the way this one did. Moments like this make TITAN’s classification as a supheroic horror war ensemble epic seem like something awesomely unique.
== TEASER ==
Going even further, I dig how TITAN’s showing itself to be an inversion of many familiar anime tropes. We already know that the 3D gear provides an interesting inversion of the kaiju/mecha dynamic we’re so familiar with, but I also can’t help but wonder if Eren’s revelation about self-belief is a direct potshot at the philosophy of GURREN LAGANN and its ilk. That sort of thing can easily twist into a lot of vague and incomprehensible hooey, so it’s likewise easy to view the Guardsmen’s gruesome deaths as being this show’s cold, hard illustration of the pragmatic consequences of such notions.
A tenuous idea, perhaps, but I’ll bet these creators all know eachother. I’m sure they’re giving throwing plenty of subtle and not-so-subtle ‘answers’ into their work, and the phrasing so closely recalls GURREN LAGANN’s that it really doesn’t seem like it could be a coincidence.
Watch this episode,"Crushing Blow - 57th Expedition Beyond the Walls" here and decide for yourself, then read my write-up on the previous episode here.
About the Author
Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk
CROWDS’ notion of some internet start-up (presumably?) updating an iconic superhero team’s MO with a program that works along the same lines of a hook-up app very overtly recall’s EDEN’s social network approach to rebellion. As consequence, these G-Forcers don’t seem like bold and dynamic action-takers, but petulant kids who are defusing their responsibilities and delegating their heroic duties to a data-addicted crowd. It’s really not that inspiring.
== TEASER ==
Secondly, I’d compare this C – CONTROL, because its production seems to have already outpaced its ideas. Despite my unfavorable comparison to EDEN, I actually do find this fantastical approach to social networks to be an intriguing bit of futurism (as the title suggests!). There’s plenty of room here to take satirical stabs at modern culture, but I don’t think the show’s going to be doing so with that much cogency, simply because it hasn’t had time to properly think things through.
As such, we’re being left with a show about ideas that aren’t fully-formed, starring characters that really aren’t that fleshed out. All the while, we’ll be waiting for a spiritual successor that might hopefully take all this raw material and weave it into something better realized.
Watch this episode,"Futurism" here and decide for yourself, then read my write-up on the previous episode here.
About the Author
Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk
It’s impossible to watch everything at once. Plain fact. While I’ve enjoyed going back through both FIST OF THE NORTH STAR and HUNTER X HUNTER, they are both older shonen series, and thus, are kind-of ‘double-dipping’ in terms of purpose. I also figure I ought to be keeping up with at least one new series this season. Group that with a nagging curiosity about just how ridiculous this iteration of GATCHAMAN gets… and we find ourselves right here for this game of catch-up.
I can totally see why this show has been sticking so sorely into diehard G-Fans' craw. With the first episode, it was dryly amusing to simply appraise CROWDS and compare it to the self-aware reinvention phases of other superhero franchise. Now, it’s already becoming clear that it isn’t a particularly coherent ‘self-aware reinvention.’
When I read over some… * AHEM *… episode summaries which more enthusiastic fans have written up, the show doesn’t actually seem that complicated on paper. However, there’s just something about the presentation that seems almost intentionally obfuscated.
== TEASER ==
Again, the notion of GATCHAMAN being reinvented as a loose network of sleeper agents (is that the right word?) who are assembled by an app-based network based on their proximity to the threat-at-hand is novel and intriguing. However, seeing that premise in action feels akin to, say, watching a bunch of kids jump through the hoops of e-courtship. You actually gain a new appreciation for the direct, confident way that things to get done.
Honestly, this show’s uncomfortably reminding me of EUREKA SEVEN AO. The fractal, geodesic design of the evil aliens (or whatever they are) establishes a visual link, of course. More to the point, though, it really feels like the product of Tatsunoku spuriously licensing their property out to some outside creative whose experience doesn’t pertain to the material, at all. What we’re getting is a clumsy, out-of-step take that seems like it’s stumbling toward a poorly-phrased statement about the modern world.
Or something.
Watch this episode,"Asymmetry" here and decide for yourself, then read my write-up on the previous episode .
About the Author
Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk
Don Chin Jao has lost more than the spring in his step.
As a younger-ish man, Don Chin Jao had a grand treasure, but that was all taken away by the iron fist of Monkey D. Garp. Don Chin Jao finally explained!
The Good
Thor Elephant Gun, better than Cialis.
Oda has done some rather bizarre things when it comes to character design through the years. Yet, something about Don Chin Jao's younger version disturbs me on a certain level. His head is just so obscenely erect. We then see via flashback how Garp rendered him...impotent to reclaim the treasure he buried in ice. He lost the penetrating power he once had, and wondered through the decades feeling flaccid and unsatisfied. In the end, Luffy sets things right, but I have to wonder if this will have any unintended side-effects. Other than splitting the ring in half.
I could understand how Luffy can generate fire by combining Gear Second and Armament Hardening, but I'm struggling for a way to explain how he can now electrically charge his attacks. We're getting to a point where Oda will need to explain this technique at some point. Till then, we can just enjoy the action sequences it helps create. What's a shonen series without evolving powers?
The Bad
As much as I appreciate Oda finally getting to the point of Chin Jao's mood swings, I don't really see what it's going to be adding to the plot. This series has had far more interesting characters that have never been given this much explanation in flashback. I could look toMonet as an example. The series has never explained why she became a bird-woman. I certainly hope someone asks Oda that in one of the ONE PIECE SBS sections.
Verdict 3/5
Well, we finally have an outcome in the Block C preliminaries, and the finale was completely...expected. I can't help be feel a twinge of disappointment. There was a part of me that was hoping for a weird twist that had Luffy losing. The outcome of it all had some great payoff, and I imagine the next round may face a bit of a delay. I can't wait to see what Luffy gets up to next time as his identity is becoming more exposed.
About the Author
Kristoffer Remmell (FoxxFireArt) is a freelance graphic artist, writer, and over all mystery geek. Follow for news updates: @AnimeVicers / @FoxxFireArt
So if you haven't heard the most exciting news in anime in a while, allow me to BREAK it for you. SHINICHIRO WATANABE is coming out with another show - - SPACE DANDY - - set to debut in January 2014 in Japan, and presumably later in the United States. Check out the A-mazing trailer below.
They know the audience here for sure. Open with some jazzy horns to get people thinking back to that other space show? Check. Insert some gratuitous female parts? Check (and love that quad gag near the end) Give your protagonist "hero sideburns" and an adorable cat sidekick with a merch-ready hat? Check and double-double check. I'm sure you'll be hearing more about this show on Anime Vice soon...
So with that excitement aside, it reminded me once more of the immensely re-watchable COWBOY BEBOP. == TEASER ==
The CLASSIEST screenshot possible featuring Inspector Gadget, apparently.
Now Tom already completed an episodic look back on this show episode by episode and had some good things to say about it, but I wanted to really throw down the gauntlet and TRY to suggest what I feel are the three best episodes of the show as a whole. And one of the advantages of this series was it's diversity and ability to have many parts of it stand alone, no matter the viewing order.
If anyone remembers the "Best Sessions" DVD that came out around 2002, it's kind of like that, except I'm not following Bandai or anyone else's orders! While there are tons of great moments in this series, I tried to narrow it down to the ones I think epitomize the show the best. You're probably going to disagree...
So let's jam:
3. Cowboy Funk
I'm talking to the man in the middle... never.
The best comedy episode in the entire show, and yes, I'm including Mushroom Samba and Bohemian Rahpsody. First off, you have an awesomely memorable enemy in the Teddy Bomber, who has political reasons for destroying buildings which no one listens to. You also have the best dialogue and character dynamics, with Faye being stymied on her seduction routine, and Spike losing his cool the entire episode. To top it all off, you have the best character in anime that never got his own show: Andy.
OOOOOOOOOOO-klahoma.
Maybe SPACE DANDY will allow Watanabe to explore these comedic themes more. I hope so...
The end of the episode features one of Spike's best fights in the series, and ties in perfectly with the theme of the whole episode. This session for me epitomizes the "A-B-C" plot structure of Cowboy Bebop perfectly. Kind of like in Heavy Metal Woman, where there are a few things going on at once: the background of V.T., the catching of the Woody Allen lookalike bounty, etc. It all ends up becoming a great game of missed connections and random jokes. I think this is bedrock formula that made Cowboy Bebop popular in the first place. Perfect episodic content right here.
2. Pierrot Le Fou
The DEADLIEST Electric Parade ever.
Now, if you skipped ahead, you'll know that I didn't include any "Spike" episodes, either dealing with his past or anything that alludes to it. I actually enjoyed those parts better than Tom did (which Jupiter Jazz is the best 2-part entry in that, btw) but think that Vicious and Spike's story was better left unresolved, and--you know what, I'll save it for another column.
If you want to experience the dark, creative edges of this series, I think that Pierrot Le Fou goes the farthest.
Remember my name.
Against the backdrop of an experiment gone wrong (nice Pink Floyd reference in there as well) the final fight here takes place in pseudo-Disneyland theme park. Like Spike's battles with Vicious, he willingly enters into an unnecessary fight because he enjoys the thrill of facing death. It just so happens his opponent is a malicious, psychokinetic assassin with the mind of a child. It's also just as memorable, just as good, just as... uh, vicious. This one will stick with you.
1. Hard Luck Woman
Yup. Totally teared up. YOU did too, you heartless person.
One of the least action heavy, and one of the most character-backed of the show, Hard Luck Woman highlights the secret plot of the entire series: going back home. Just hear me out on this one...
All of the misadventures the crew of the Bebop had were always framed with episodes dealing with their past: either reclaiming it, forgetting it, or having it come back to haunt them. Faye begins the series as a pretty simple thief and con-artist character who'll do anything for money, Ed was a super-hacker that just seemed... random. But it's episodes like this that make you realize these characters were carrying around emotional burdens heavier than bullet-wounds and bad food found in the fridge.
Watching Ed and Faye walk around a bombed-out earth-- forcing Spike and Jet into the background for once-- you realize they can never go back home. And what is home? The family you make while on the road? The connection to the people you left behind? Everyone on the Bebop is left without anything to tie them down, they could walk away from their problems easily. But they can't. And none of them do. This episode epitomizes the heartbreak of having to keep wandering, once you realize you can't go backwards. Did anyone expect Bebop to be this deep?
This show goes deep. Click to experience the feels with Faye.
Cowboy Bebop is like jazz music. Certain things are on the sheet, but what you often hear is improvising, wandering away, doing its own thing. Cowboy Bebop presents itself as a cool, jazzy, action-drama, but really... it's saying something else entirely. And just like jazz, it gets a little deeper every time you listen to it.
***
Hope you enjoyed my little retrospective. So whadda ya say Vicers, did I knock your socks off with my picks? Or did I play some sour notes? Let me know if I'm missing something (which I'm sure I am) below, and talk about the BEST and WORST episodes of the show below!
Seeing as how most otakus’ definition of filler runs somewhere along the lines of “pointless screen time devoted to unimportant characters who aren’t the leads,” I’d really be curious as to whether the Vergo/Smoker fight qualifies for that label. I mean, we seriously just saw Vergo squaring off against Law - - does an extended fight with another non-Straw Hat advance us anywhere?
It’s a silly question, at this point. Like I’ve said before, I feel like a lot of the criterions we judge stand-alone features with become almost wholly irrelevant when we’re discussing a long-running serial like this. Does it push your sense of disbelief when Caesar’s goons are shown to be as gullible as they are in this episode? Does that seem too convenient for the plot? Well, who can object when we’ve already committed over 600 episodes to this plot?
The goons can be stupid and blindly accept Caesar’s lies, or they can be savy and call him out for his baloney - - it really doesn’t matter. We’ll accept any and all plot developments at this point, won’t we?
== TEASER ==
Of course, the biggest development here comes when Luffy meets another dragon. Seeing as how we already know that the green dragon was actually the samurai’s son (right?), I’ll just assume that this is another innocent mutated by Caesar’s nefarious experiments. Pair that with the flashback where Mr. Clown comes off as the purest demonization of a drug dealer - - overtly and deliberately conspiring to get kids hooked on drugs to simply ruin their lives - - and it’s even harder to deny that “Punk Hazard” seems like the most epic anti-drug PSA ever created.
My morbid mind wonders if the set-up here is supposed to be that the famished Luffy is actually going to eat the dragon. Getting tricked into doing that would certainly make him as pissed as you’ve all been saying he’ll eventually become. And, going to back to what we were saying about the ad hoc nature of all this, there’s no major reason to say it couldn’t happen, is there?
Watch this episode,"Fists Collide! a Battle of the Two Vice Admirals!” here and decide for yourself, then read my comments about the previous episode here.
About the Author
Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk
