Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Gundam 00 s2 ep 16

Recap:

Hank and the other federation coup detat members have taken control of the space elevator. Hank releases a statement saying he only demands the public be informed of the horrors of a-laws. The a-laws however manipulate the media and the official press release states that anti-federation activist the demands the the dismantling of the earth federation and the release of thousands of anti-federation captives. Sergei knows that it is fake and is ordered to a special mission by his superior. He heads to the orbital elevator to talk to him.

A-laws have sent automatons to combat the coop. Hank hopes that this will show the world the horrors of a-laws. Sergei goes to talk to hank, and informs him that the government is rejecting his demands. He tells him that the government is altering his words and he should let the innocents go. Hank informs him that these people allowed a-laws to take control by their passive actions. they aren't completely innocent and need to wake up. They start to fight the automatons and evacuate the citizens. Sergei realized that he never intended to keep the captives. The video on earth has been altered to show the federation members doing the killing. Hank is not discouraged. He thinks 60,000 citizens cant be silenced.

Meanwhile, A-laws has decided to sit back and not get involved. Ptolemy heads to the elevator, knowing that setsuna will be heading there. Setsuna however is engaged by Bushido and his new trans-am capable Masurao. The Masurao has the advantage until setsuna trans-ams as well. The fight was short due to the arrival of seravee and cherudim. Sumeragi looks at the formation of the a-laws forces and the map of the wind. they noticed they are in position in case the elevator falls. they realized that a-laws has a second Memento Mori.

Reaction:

Noting much happen that requires input. Interesting to see how the information censorship will work and weather anyone will actually learn the truth. Still no Arios, but next ep has Marie in a flight suit so...

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Monday, January 19, 2009

Gundam 00 s2 ep 15

I wont have time to do screen caps, but I'll still try to post my thoughts a a recap

Recap:
After the death of Bring, The innovators all react differently. Healing wonders how one of them could have been defeated, jokingly offering to comfort Divine. Divine is upset at Bring's worthlessness. Regene is meanwhile still wondering why Tieria is opposing them. Revive is still in disbelief. Meanwhile Setsuna and the 00-riser arrive at the kataron base and finds Marina. He collapses after getting out of cockpit. Marina calls for a medic.

Back on the Ptolemy, The ship has been restocked and Liche says hes glad they were able to restock without being discovered. Milena and Saji continue to do repairs on Seravee. Tieria informs them he has used Seraphim gundam. they wonder if they noticed Seraphim's special ability, but Tieria doesn't think so. Alleujah notes that the ships weapons are still offline and Ian says they need the 00-riser. Tieria has faith that Setsuna will return.

At federation headquarters Hercules tells Sergei that he should stay out of the way. He notes that there are places even a-laws wont touch. Sergei realizes he is talking about the Orbital elevator. At kataron, The federation representative is informing Kataron about their plans. He saids how they will be able to complete the coup without the Kataron's help. They agree and plan to inform Celestial being. The representative is surprised they have contact with celestial being.

Meanwhile, Setsuna is having a vision. He sees a younger version of himself just before he kills his parents. Setsuna runs in to stop young Setsuna and takes the gun out his hand. When young Setsuna tries to say he is doing the work of god, Setsuna proclaims that there is no god in this world. He leaves young Setsuna to his parents and tells them to watch him. Outside he runs into Neil. Neil says one cannot change the past or the effects of things that have already happened, and turns to reveal his eyepatch. One can only change how he sees and feels about things that have already happened. Neil tells Setsuna to change in place of himself.

He starts hearing the kids singing and wakes up and sees Marina. He notes how he heard the song during trans-am. While still injured, he and Marina start to talk about the letter four years ago. the kids leave to give Setsuna and Marina a little time to themselves. He tells her about his past. She reveals she always wanted to be involved with music, but was forced to take the role of princess. Another Kataron member informs him that Ptolemy had resupplied at another of their bases.

Back at the Ptolemy, Tieria puts a blanket on a sleeping Mellina, who says while sleeping that he cant fall in love with her. However the moment is short lived as A-laws is launching their attack with 36 suits. Lyle starts off with trans-am to shoot down as many as he can before they arrive. His trans-am dies and waits to recharge. Alleujah and Tieria launch to intercept, but they aren't having much success. the new Empress mobile armor is able to take both of them. As they come within range, Saji realizes that among them is Soma's custom suit, and that Louise is the pilot. Marie tries to launch in the archer, but all of a sudden the A-laws begin to retreat. They learn it is because the coup has taken over the African elevator. Setsuna, still very injured launches and tries to fly back to the Ptolemy. He is intercepted by Bushido in his new suit. Bushido forces Setsuna's attention by shifting his suit to Trans-am.




Thoughts:
Well after a few episodes of action we get a nice cool down plot development episode. We have Marina and Setsuna development. Their relationship is very reminiscent of Herro and Relina. If that's true, i wont be holding my breath for a romance scene between the two. Speaking of romance, i hope the mellena and Tieria thing was just her sleeping mumbling and wont develop into anything. Anew and Lyle however are getting closer and if you watch carefully you can see it's definatly Anew behind the curtain. The ending itself is quite decent. The scenes are beautiful, continuing off the snapshots of the first ending, and showing images of all the suits destroyed. On another note, it seems Seraphim still has another function. Anew seems to be a beacon for A-laws and she doesn't even know it. It also looks like we can put the GN gun theory to rest as Marina states they pulled out the bullet. Neil seems to still have his effect, even on Setsuna. Last note, Bushido's new Trans-am capable flag-esque Masurao. Knowing how tau-drives cant create particles without using energy, its safe to assume the trans-am limit is drastically short, or it shuts down completely when finished or if its abilities are on par with the real trans-am. A certain sub-group has nicked named it Trans-graham ROFL.


Episode Plus/Minus

Plus:
Lyle. Starting to look like a real Lockon. Cant replace Neil, but hes becoming better.
Mellina for being lawls.
Federation, for not taking shit anymore.
the sub group TRANS-GRAHAM

Minus:
Louise, for still being a stupid winy ... i wont finish
Andrei, for still loving that piece of...
Billy for being obsessed that Setsuna out balls him and stole Kujo.

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Friday, January 16, 2009

SORRY!

I have been neglecting the blog as of late. I'm trying to find the first 5 episodes of D. Grey-Man and Kuroshitsuji I just havn't gotten around to. I'm also etremley busy since it is comming up on the end of the semester and Highschool has been piling on the projects. Also Exams are next week so hopefully I will be able to post something some time, but right now I am relying on SeedFreedom cause time is not something I have. Anyway I have to get back to preparing for my english fishbowl and writing my Hamlet Essay that is due on Monday! Have fun watching while I die a little bit inside due to school work! Read more!

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Gundam 00 s2 ep 14

Screencap: TBA

Recap:
After destroying Memento Mori, the crew is prepared to retreat when they get flanked by a new MS. Setsuna in the 00 tries to find the Ptolemy but only finds wreckage. Freaking out, he runs into Nena. Nena tells him the Ptolemy returned to earth and before she finishes talking Setsuna is already off.

Back at the Federation base, the new Federation member that showed up last week, Hercules, is talking about a coup de'tat that is being planned by some Federation members. Hercules eventually admits he is part of it.

On Ptolemy, Ian wakes up and is shocked not only to find that he is back on earth, but that the ship has taken damage. He is filled in on all the actions since he went down. Sumeragi approaches Alleujah and apologizes for once again using Marie. Alleujah accepts it, but asks her not to do it again. Meanwhile Lyle is filling in Kataron on his status and says he might need some help soon. Anew approaches him asking who he is contacting, but Lyle changes the subject. Anew notes how fast they found the ship and wonders if someone tipped them off. Lyle asks if she suspects him, which she denies and they start taking on first name basis. Saji sees them and looks at his ring again.

At the Kataron base, Marina is singing with the children. They are informed about the up comming coup detat from the federation, and they want to meet with them. Even though it might be set up, they deside to risk it and meet with them.

Setsuna is looking for Ptolemy when he sees Ali's suit. He chases after it until they reach Setsuna's home town where Ali gets out of his suit. Setsuna comes out to meet him and is greeted by Ribbons. Ribbons mentioned they have met once before. He reveals he is indeed the pilot of the 0 gundam. The 0 gundam being part of a weapons test in which everyone was suppose to be killed, but the look in Setsuna's eyes changed him mind. Ribbons saids that he was the one that made Setsuna a Meister and claims that Setsuna's job is over and that he is the rightful pilot of the 00 gundam. Setsuna refuses and is shot by Ali with what appears to be a GN gun releasing particles. Setsuna and Ali both return to their mobile Suits and begin engaging in a battle.

The ptolemy is attacked by a garrazo and a gadessa and they release Tieria and Alleujah to intercept them. Tieria goes after the garrazo piloted by Bring and Alleujah goes for gadessa piloted by Rivive. Tieria cant get the upper hand on Bring. Bring tries a last chance at convincing Tieria to rejoin the Innovators, but Tieria says hes human. Bring wont allow a fellow Innovator to stop his mission and goes in for the kill. Tieria activates Trans-am and stops him. He then announces that he is revealing his second form by choice this time and detaches the backpack which contains the GN drive, the cockpit, and the Sepherim gundam. Bring activates his GN shield, but the Sepherim goes right through his. The wrist glows and he destroys the garrazo and kills Bring. The death is felt by the other Innovators.

Back with the 00, Setsuna is able to destroy some of the fangs and manages to land a hit on the the Ali. A plane containing the Kataron members fly by. Ali tries to take the plane hostage, but Setsuna in trans-am is too fast and almost kills Ali until he hears Marina's song. Ali gets away.

Meanwhile Billy shows Bushido his new suit, and it appears to have a fake twin drive. Billy mentions that Eifman's hidden secret is installed within it. Billy then tears up the picture


Thoughts:
What an action packed episode this was. Shame that Ali didnt die. It seems unlike every other show with a singing maiden, Marina is actually stopping Setsuna from fighting. The only plus is that it seems that Ali will be a non factor and he is quite handly defeated by Setsuna. We finally see Tieria's new form and i think its much better than Nadelleh. Quite interesting that the rest of Seravee is nothing but a giant GN condenser and an empty shell. Arios is now noted as being the fastest MS in air, but we still need to see much much more of it. Nothing at all with Cherudim, but the Anew-Lyle relationship is moving along. Speaking of Anew it seems she is unaware that she is a innovator making an interesting situation later on. Perhaps Lyle will think about defecting with Anew holding him back being a former (unknown) traitor as well. On to Alleujah and Marie. Seems Alleujah is being a little paranoid about Marie being involved in any way. This wont sit good with the fact that she will be the Archer's new pilot. I hope she doesn't bite the dust the first time she gets into the thing.

Episode plus/minus:

plus:
- anew. Looks to be a big part of the future of the show
- 00 for being pwnage again
- Sepherim gundam
- nena's Haro. "you got dumped, you got dumped"
- People who made the new OP.

Minus:
-ALi, for not dying.
- Directors. Still not giving Arios any air time. (and i dont really like the Arios, but it still needs some love)
- Marina for stopping Setsuna
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Friday, January 2, 2009

2008 Year End Review

Well, this has been an up and down year for anime. I am getting a little more critical of anime, and i have a lot less time to watch these days, but there were a few gems in the mix. Criteria for me is rather simple. Have i seen it and did it air in 2008.


Best Comedy: Hayate no Gotoku
HM: Minami-ke Okawari


Not a terribly difficult choice. Crop of Comedies this year was quite thin. Hayate was simply an off the wall Otaku pleasing anime. Constant pariodies and halirous characters makes this the best comedy of the year. Minami-ke was funny, and might have won any other year.

Best Romance: Ef A Tale of Memories
Honerable mentions(HM): True Tears, Clannad

Another easy choice. Ef was an amazingly detailed and emotionally powerful anime. While short of the original it was still the best of 2008. True tears fails to win simply because i didn't watch it. A lot of great reviews made my honerble mentions list. Clannad i felt was powerful, but fits better in other catagories.


Best Action: Gundam 00
HM: Soul eater, Code Geass

Gundam 00 does not dissapoint. The series start left be much to desire as i expect more explosions and destruction by our heros, but by the end of the year it managed to pull off amazing action scenes and epic fights.

Soul eater has good action scenes, but was few and far between. Code Geass simply wasn't as good as Gundam 00

Most WTF: Code Geass
HM:Chaos Head

Not really a competition. This is like something straight out M night shamalan. Constant plot twist left us guessing if anyone we knew was dead was really dead, and nobody was character shielded. Chaos head has a very WTF plot, but no real plot twists.

Best Mecha: Gundam 00
HM: Code Geass

Tried to avoid giving two awards to one show, but there is little doubt in my mind this deserves to win two. Many will argue that code geass deserves this title, and i disagree. The mech designs are much weaker, yes even guren and lancealot falls to the mighty 00 and cheurdim. A also simply felt gundam 00 was a better series overall.

Best Soundtrack: Macross

No HM here. The soundtrack to macross was fantastic and without equal. Every episode seemed to feature a new song, and everyone one of them amazing.

Best Fanservice: Sekirei

Pretty fun anime. Nice plot that reminded me of the battle royal in Fate/Stay night, only about 8 times bigger. A nice dash of humor adds a nice touch to a still medeocre anime.


Best Visual: Clannad
HM: Macross

The other world scenes are still as fluid as ever. with soo much detail in every episode every drop of emotion is amplified. Macross had its moments, but some episodes simply fell off the animation cliff.

Best Male: Yuuto (Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu)

HM: Michael(macross), Setsuna (gundam 00), Lelouch (code geass)

I felt this little known anime deserves some recognition so in a unexpected turn, Yuuto wins in a crop of high powered, adenaline pumped action heros. He wins for being one of the rare male leads in a romance/comedy that is not a complete idiot. He knows when to ask the right questions and always knows what to say. Michael, Setsuna, and Lelouch may all have had the brawn, but only Yuuto had the brain and heart.


Best Female: Hinagiku (Hayate no Gotoku)
HM: Tomoyo(Clannad), Horo (Spice and Wolf)

Hina is very close, if not the perfect female character. She definatly wins best female of the year, and has became my favorite female of all time. She is cute, strong, kind, and funny. Her secret love of Hayate goes unfufilled because she knows he has eyes for someone else, but she still puts on that cheerful face wholeheartedly. Any guys dream girl. Tomoyo's appearance in 2008 was rather limited and Horo simply missed the charm quality Hina had. To me, this wasn't even close.


Best Villian: Ali al Saches (gundam 00)
HM:
Schneizel, Charles vi Britannia (code geass)

IF the goal of a villian is to make you hate his guts, Ali is by far the winner. He plays a perfect enemy to Setsuna, Lyle, Teirea, Saji, and Nena on a personal level. While i disagree he is the best pilot in the series, he definatly has the skills to back up his arrogance. Charles and Schneizel are interesting, but they dont make me want to see him mangled by every character in the series like Ali does.

Worse Character: Suzaku (Code Geass)
HM: Louise (gundam 00), Nena (Code Geass)

Unlike the above catagory, these characters are just annoying and wont die like we want them to not because they play an important role, but because we are sick of seeing them. Suzaku has no morals, no ideals and runs around like a chicken without a head trying to avenge his dead princess which was not Lelouch's fault. Then by the end of the series, in a span of 3 mins he forgets all of it and joins him and takes out Kallen. The whole redemptions thing for all the Code geass charcters simply didn't work for Suzaku. Table girl is rather MIA in 2008 so her annoyance wasn't as bad. Louise could have easily won this any other year and gives suzaku a run for his money with the same betraying ideals mentality that landed Suzaku here.


BEST ANIME OF 2008: Gundam 00

To all those who say code geass was the best anime of the year, i disagree. Gundam 00 was jamed packed with action, great villans, amazing fight scenes, moments of shere halarity, and deeper plot than just thorwing plot twists around everywhere. Its one of the few shows i sit at the edge of my computer waiting for that download bar to reach 100. Cherudim impressed me with its nice design that made the blockness come in handy later (bit shield FTW) and the 00 is one of the most pwnage suits in gundam. Every kill is a feast for the eyes.

Well thats it for this year. Note these are only my personal opinions on the year that was 2008 so dont get your panties in a bunch if i didnt give your show the win.





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Happy New Year!

A small update. I get around 20 min a day on my computer so thats why I havn't been posting. Expect stuff to come out when I actually have time since exams are comming and I have tons of work to do. On the bright side I am getting in my DGM and Kuroshitsuji so that I can finally reveiw them and I'm sure that SeedFreedom is going to send out 00 when he has more time. Anyway, have a Happy New Year everyone! May you watch more anime than the last! :p Read more!