Just having recently downloaded the first episode of BC, the only one available at the moment, I have a whole bunch of questions and no real answers. Some of these may be due to terrible subs on my version of it, but I'm guessing it's just kind of confusing. It appears to be an anime about slice-of-life Japanese high school kiddos, the main character a floppy-haired boy named Aoba. He's starting high school (maybe) and there's a cute girl with black hair that blushes constantly and stalks the shit out of him. Adorable. (His name makes me think of the baobab tree)
See? Basketball, stalking. Typical day at a Japanese high school.
*announcer voice* BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE. Not only is it a slice of life, but also...MECHA!!! Mecha everywhere. Literally. From the sky...under the ground...mecha mecha come out whereever you are.
It's pink because girl pilot. Gender stereotypes are alive and well in anime.
*announcer voice* BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE. Apparently one of the mecha, and some characters, have traveled through a wormhole and time travel is possible!!! Wow, it's turned into some kind of Terminator-cum-Gundam thing with awkward high school stuff going on. Surely that's plenty, right? Surely we don't need yet another facet on this diamond of a PILOT EPISODE.
Wormholes and such. Jake Gyllenhaal may or may not be involved.
*tired announcer voice* BUT WAIT, APPARENTLY THERE'S EVEN MORE. To wrap up the whole episode, they go through the damn wormhole they came in, except this time the future people drag the protagonist with them, and he wakes up in some new mecha in the midst of a massive firefight, looking for Dio. Why is he looking for a dead rock singer who tried to fill the massive, heroin-splattered shoes of Ozzy and ended up just singing Holy Diver? Why would you make such a complicated episode for a pilot? Why are Japanese sweeps in the dead of freaking winter? Why can't I find torrents with quality subs? I don't know if Buddy Complex will answer these questions, but we can only pray and watch.
Who even are these people? You sure don't know from the pilot. Except floppy-haired Aoba.
Those space train shows are so popular with the kids these days.
The other day I was at Japan Video, and it seemed like every drama cover had a couple or a couple and some kids and dogs all kinds. It was like someone had an alright idea for a show, but EVERYONE who had anything to do with producing it knew, if they just added a dog or two, that show was going to go from okay to SUPER GREAT!
Well, you get the picture. Dogs! Dogs, everywhere.
Speaking of dogs, do you know what else seems to be as ubiquitous in Japanese anime as dogs in Japanese cinema? I will tell you: Trains!
And, do you know who really likes to write about anime with trains in it? ME! Dear Readers, that's right! I love writing about the "animetrain" genre so very much!
If you remember my previous post on Miracle Train in which a gang of street tuffs, er, I mean Tokyo train stations embodied by androgynous young men help solve girls girly problems, or my even more previouser post on Galaxy Railways in which someone thought it was a great idea to build trains through space and then wondered why people would attack them, then you know, I just LOVE anime about trains. Blurg.
A space train being a train in space.
But, let's talk Galaxy Express 999 of which I have only watched one episode but am not surprised to find that it is a beloved classic of Japanese animation, long running and forever returning like Dr. Who. Though, unlike Dr. Who, Galaxy Express 999 is not so beloved by me.
I've said it before, and I will say it again: BUILDING A TRAIN TRACK THROUGH SPACE IS A VERY BAD IDEA.
Despite that, some of you Dear Readers may find the show enjoyable, so I will relate its premise to you now.
It's the future or some distant planet and a bit dystopian. Rich people have enough money to get their souls implanted in cyborgs so they can live indefinitely, while poor people have to stay human and live in unbelievable slummy poverty. The only hope for these slum dwelling human scums is that one day they might be able to get on the space train, the Galaxy Express 999, which will take them to a planet where they can get their cyborg bodies for free.
In this setting we find our poor hero Tetsuro Hoshino, a twelve year old urchin wandering though a snowy wasteland with his surprisingly pretty mom..
I really hope my cyborg body is more attractive than my human one!
Pretty mother and not-so-pretty son are on their way to the Galaxy Express 999, when a group of cyborgs led by a fellow named Count Mecha decide to go on a human hunt and kill his mom intending to skin her and make a trophy out of her.
The less attractive prey, Tetsuro, escapes and lays down in the snow to die but is saved by the mysterious and also very pretty Maetel:
I'm pretty and mysterious.
She tells Tetsuro she will give him a pass on the train if he takes her with him. Tetsuro agrees, but they aren't going anywhere yet, not before he takes an automatic weapon and goes and blows the sh*tballs out of Count Mecha and his buddies and burns down his manor. Then the cyborg police come after him with their crazy cyborg dogs, but Maetel saves Tetsuro with her cyborg horse and sleigh.
Long story short, they get to the city and rent a hotel. Tetsuro hears Maetel talking to someone in the bathroom, and he walks in on her while she is showering...wouldn't it be great if I stopped right here? Hee, hee!
Oh, but it keeps going. Shower scene over, the two are confronted with more cyborg police, and they escape to catch the Galaxy Express 999, a train that leaves its tracks and makes its way for the stars.
I won't knock this show too much because I know it is really loved, highly acclaimed, and I have not seen the whole thing. I will give it another go despite my train prejudice.
I just wonder if there will be any episodes involving dogs?
I think the animes/mangas with Mechas/Robots/Gunmen are called Mechs in English and Mechas in Japanese because they need an extra letter.
They are not this:
Oh, creepy robot mouth, you scare the bejeezus out of me. Please do not sing me to sleep. At least with anime viewers don't face an uncanny valley sort of robot issue. Most mechs in anime are pretty cartooney, and most are pretty meh...I think Voltron is pretty cool, I watched it when I was little too. And I really love the farcical Titan Maximum on adult swim. But most, nearly all, mechs bore the poo out of me. It's all fight, fight, fight. Look at me sweating in my robot suit. Look at me yelling stuff.
There is one exception though, and it isn't Gundam. I love Gurren Lagann. In fact, I love it so much that I am constantly surprised by my love for it. I have talked about it plenty before, and already picked the finale of the series as "Most Epic Scene." So, I'll keep it brief and just say, SEE IT! (Also, Ms. Shakespeare if you are going to see one mech, see this one, please? That way we can talk about how awesome it is.)
Here's the trailer:
JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?!!! I love Gurren Lagann! But I'm not alone.
This review by Anime News Network rated Gurren Lagann as an A rated series that shows "the manly side of mushiness, the kind of content which speaks about people who truly throw everything they have – all of their passion, their hopes, their determination, and even their souls and very lives – into the crucible to challenge the heavens, to force a path to their own destinies and those that they hold dear. "
This is some band of brothers stuff, very St. Crispin's Day speech! I cannot help but be swept up in the struggle.
So I'll leave you with some Shakespeare, which is an odd thing to be reminded of when one is discussing giant robot gunmen, but it seems entirely appropriate.
Since I mentioned it here is the St. Crispian's Day speech from Henry V:
This day is call'd the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day. Then shall our names,
Familiar in his mouth as household words-
Harry the King, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester-
Be in their flowing cups freshly rememb'red.
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.
Or, as Simone the digger would say:
"Aniki is dead. He's not here anymore! But on my back, and in my heart, he lives on in me! My drill is the one that pierces the heavens! Even if that hole becomes my grave, as long as I break through, I shall be victorious! Who the hell do you think I am?! I'm Simone! I'm not my brother Kamina! I am myself! Simone the digger!"
I'm all amped up now! YEAH! "This is my soul, and I'll make you regret this!" SQUEEEE! So much asskickery!
Since I was asked to post about my favorite mecha anime, (previously: the post in which I refer to it as Mech-anime), I figured I should look up what mecha anime is and share it with you!
Here at Squeefinity we like to keep learning and pass our learning on to you, our dear readers!
"Mecha anime cover all series that revolve around the use of piloted robotic armors in battle, which is broken down into two subcategories of Super Robot and Real Robot. Mecha series cover a wide variety of genres from comedy to drama, though are always fantastical and larger-than-life in nature and feature large-scale battles and/or action sequences. Mecha anime has contributed to a greater popularity of mecha and has expanded into other media, with manga and video game adaptations, and has also contributed to the popularity of scale model robots."
So, it has to do with robots. I LOVE Robots. What's not to love about Robots?
Unless this is the robot you are talking about.
Ew. For some reason it reminds me of Lord Voldemort's nascent reincarnate stage. Yuck.
