Finished watching Macross 7

Finished watching Macross 7 + Macross 7 Plus + Macross 7 Encore (1994~95, Mainichi Broadcasting System, Studio Nue, 49 Epi + 3 OVAs + 11 Shorts) on 12/17/2017.

Nekki Basara is the lead singer of Fire Bomber, a somewhat popular rock-band aboard the space colony ship, Macross 7. During one of their outdoor concerts, Macross 7 is attacked by a large number of mysterious enemies piloting heavily-modified Valkyries. Named Protodeviln, these enemies attack opposing pilots by stealing an energy called Spiritia, leaving them seemingly brainwashed. Owning a modified state-of-the-art red Valkyrie of his own, Basara takes off mid-concert to engage the enemy... with his own fighting style; playing music.

So, usually when I get into an anime franchise I tend to be a completionist (to some extent) by watching all the episodes of all the different series and spin-offs by either release date or story chronology. Macross 7 however was a bit of an exception for me. When I first researched the franchise, I often heard that Macross 7 was skippable or it was a silly series, not to bother with it, etc. Others however loved it, and apparently it was very popular in Japan. Or at least the music was, I heard. After watching Delta, I had gotten used to watching Macross and sort of needed one more hit, that's when I decided to give 7 a try. And boy, what a ride I was in for. It really was as I had been advised. Silly, over-the-top, corny, ridiculous, confusing. But it was good! It was also fun! I think having gone into 7 with the expectations put forth by other fans was what sort of eased me into enjoying 7. I knew it was going to be different from what I had seen so far, and so with that open-mind... I found myself singing with Basara outloud as he battled cringy alien monster designs and even when he wasn't battling and his band needed a helping-hand! And Basara, oh, Nekki friggin Basara, that man is quite the work-of-art. Not only do I think he's pretty awesome, but also a complete ass butt to his friends. He can be such a selfish little toad! Aside from that... I really enjoyed the music in this one, and they really make the show about it. There's always two or three songs that get played by episode, but they're so catchy and awesome that I don't really get tired of them. In fact I look forward to it. The variety of songs keep it from getting repetive... well, to an extent. Aside from that the show could really be more coherent. Some episodes feel a bit filler-y and the enemy designs, like I mentioned are just not that great. They seem a bit generic for my taste.

7.5/10 - Really love the music!

Finished watching Megazone 23 Part II

Finished watching Megazone 23 Part II (1986, Artland, AIC, Tatsunoko, 80 mins.) on 12/05/2017.

Attempting to return to a normal life with "Trash", his bike gang and Yui, his girlfriend, Yahagi Shogo finds himself answering the call for help from EVE, the digital songstress idol programmed to protect the city of Megazone, as the government that rules the people plots to take control over EVE's capabilities.

Well, this was... interesting. And a bit hard to follow. The first thing you'll notice about this second entry in the Megazone 23 series is the drastic change in the visual style. And it's one I'm not very fond of, to be honest. It got a bit distracting. But I can't say I completely hate it either. I think I understand its appeal. It has to do with the age it was produced in, and I have to say it's certainly a style from the 80's. I'm sure they picked it up from some other media, maybe even western media like the Heavy Metal movie. The art style is especially distracting with the scene where human ships get attacked by alien robots and it's really gory, unnecessarily so and they just keep playing it over and over or whatever. And then there's the Captain of the ship who just looks like a Muppet character. It was cringy for sure. But let's move on. The visual style was not the only thing that changed. It was the character's basic design. The girl's hair, for example used to be blue, now it's just brown. Funny enough however, EVE, the digital music idol seems to have retained her original appearance from the previous movie. Other than that, the movie was alright. Animation quality was pretty good and the story wasn't too bad, maybe some plot points were skimmed over.

6.5/10 - It didn't really catch my attention that much, but I still enjoyed it... somewhat.

Finished watching Macross Delta

Finished watching Macross Delta (2016, Studio Satelight, 26 epis.) on 07/17/2017.

A disease has spread through the remote location of the Milky Way Galaxy called the Brisingr Globular Cluster. This disease dubbed the Var Syndrome turns humanoids berserk with a killing intent. But the music of a talented idol group by the name of Walküre seems to suppress the symptoms of the infected. Wishing to join this group is an apple-loving young girl from planet Windermere, who at the end of her stowaway trip meets Hayate, a young man with a passion to cruise the skies.

7.5/10 - Accompanying these series I always find myself intrigued about the new song idols and how different the idol ideas seem to be with each new iteration. For Macross Delta I was pleased to see them go the idol group way. Not because idol anime is what I'm into, specially since I haven't watched any, but because the potential was there and that's what was popular at the time. So I'm really excited about what will be done next. Maybe a DJ artist or band? Or maybe something more traditional. I'm really intrigued. As for the series itself, I really enjoyed it. Not the best Macross in my opinion, but quite up there. I really enjoyed the songs and I think Mikumo has a great voice. In terms of mature voices, if we were comparing Mikumo to Sheryl, I'd totally go for Mikumo any day. There's something about Sheryl's voice that just seems forced or, maybe pretentious to me. At the same time I sorta get it, it reflects her big ego. And as tradition dictates, what would Macross be without a love triangle. Hayate, Freyja and Mirage are the main focus here, but I think it's obvious who has the upper hand on Hayate, of course. I mean, Freyja is pretty cute. But I also appreciate that Mirage doesn't feel discouraged by that.

Finished watching Macross Frontier

Finished watching Macross Frontier (2008, Studio Nue, Satelight, 25 epi.) on 6/3/2017.

Macross Frontier is a massive space colony fleet heading towards the center of the Milky Way Galaxy in search of a habitable planet for the human race. On its way there biomechanical insectoid mechas of alien origin attack and invade the fleet. Caught up in the chaos of the attack and its political and military aftermath is a love triangle between three young characters - Saotome Alto, an aspiring Valkyrie Fighter pilot; Sheryl Nome, a famed music idol also known as the Galactic Fairy; and rising star music idol, Ranka Lee.

8/10 – Hm, I don't have much to say about this show aside from it being pretty good. I feel like it was able to capture most of the themes that seem to be traditional within the franchise, like the focus on music idols affecting the plot and the ever-popular love triangle and work them into a new setting and set of characters. I think one of the episodes I enjoyed the most was the Macross Zero throwback ones. The fighter battles were pretty cool too and all the CG they used didn't put me off at all. It seems like production quality was pretty good too. Not too often did I notice anything drawn or animated awkwardly. I think it's a pretty good addition to the Macross series. However, it did leave me wondering what happened to the characters after the end of the series.

Finished watching Macross Zero

Finished watching Macross Zero (2002, Studio Nue, Satelight, 5 OVAs) on 03/30/2017.

Set one year before the events of the original Macross series, Macross Zero follows the story of Shynn Kudo amidst the final battles of the U.N. Wars between the U.N. Spacy and the Anti-U.N. Forces. After being shot down by a strange aircraft that can transform into a humanoid fighting robot, Shynn wakes up in an island inhabited by a tribe that seems to hold great secrets about a sunken alien spaceship. A spaceship that would soon become the main focus of the wars.

7.5/10 - Hmm. Maybe I'd have to watch this show again, but I feel like I didn't really understand what these OVAs added to the franchise. Maybe it was to sort of explain the origin of the VF fighter technology? I'm not sure. Maybe it was just its own thing altogether. Either way I enjoyed the show, it was nice to see Mr. Focker again. The quality of the show was pretty good. So overall I had a good time with it. Lots of CG Valkyrie fights. I guess those are cool. Not sure how I feel about the framerate differences between the CG and the characters though, but whatever.

EDIT: After having watched Macross Frontier I began to make some connections that clarified a couple of things for me, but for the most part it made me realize that Macross Zero introduced, or expanded more on the idea of an earlier alien contact with Earth. Still, I think I'll watch the OVAs again for a deeper understanding of the story and concepts.

Finished watching Macross Plus: Movie Edition

Finished watching Macross Plus: Movie Edition (1995, Studio Nue, Triangle Staff, 115 min.) on 03/20/2017.

Isamu, Guld and Myung, three childhood friends bitterly reunited after a tragic event that separated them for so long. But the wounds of the past have not yet healed and their career paths keep them further apart. While Myung is involved in the creation of a virtual pop idol to inspire the masses, Isamu and Guld compete as select military test pilots for the Super Nova Project.

10/10 - First of all. The movie opens up with music by Akino Arai. I'm already sold. Second of all. This movie is an animation masterpiece of epic proportions. Not only is it a pioneer for the marriage of cel and CG animation, it masterfully combines music and visuals in ways that will leave you hypnotized. The characters are amazing and their relationships are well crafted. The music and soundtrack is really one of its kind. And again, with Akino Arai providing some of the songs for the virtual pop idol what's not to like about this movie? I really want to watch this movie again one day.

Finished watching Macross Do You Remember Love

Finished watching Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love (1984, Studio Nue, Tatsunoko, 115 min.) on 03/17/2017.

A massive alien spaceship crash lands on Earth and is years later reverse engineered by Earth's UN Spacy who names it SDF-1 Macross. It is then launched into space as part of a ceremony celebrating the project's completion, but the launch attempt is interrupted by an attack from an alien species called the Zentradi and the ship teleports itself to the edge of the Solar System taking an island city along with it. In the midst of the messy launch, Valkyrie pilot Hikaru Ichijo rescues pop idol Lynn Minmay and in doing so they become trapped in an area of the ship for days. The Macross must now return to Earth all the while dealing with various Zentradi attacks.

8/10 - DYRL? is supposedly an alternate retelling of the original Macross series with certain events unfolding differently than the TV show. While the movie itself is pretty good, I still prefer the original story. Specially with how Roy Fokker is handled. But the animation quality is great, specially with Lynn Minmay's shows. And it's always nice to hear her songs as well. I'm not trying to say the story isn't interesting just because it's a different retelling, on the contrary, that's what's interesting about it. Oh, and Kaifun doesn't have much of a presence in this movie. So far as him being replaced as the actor for Shao Pai Long. Ichijo plays the part instead which I thought was great. I can't stand Kaifun...

Finished watching Escaflowne

Finished watching Escaflowne (2000, Sunrise, Bones, 98 mins) on 3/8/2016.

Kanzaki Hitomi is magically whisked away from Earth to a planet called Gaea where she is taken in by a group of freedom fighters who believe her to be their fabled Winged Goddess, their only hope in awakening a legendary, weaponized, mechanical armor known as Escaflowne. With Escaflowne piloted by the young Van, they hope to fight and defeat the evil forces of a powerful man named Folken.

8.5/10 – It seems to me that the Escaflowne franchise likes to create parallel universes for each of their different media installments. The manga, anime series and this movie seem to be very different from eachother, yet the same. But the movie is more faithful to the series than the manga is in terms of character design. Just remember that it's a different story. But this movie is good. I especially like the visual aspects. The animation quality is very good, but the style differs a bit from the series, everyone is just so... attractive, gorgeous *coughallencough*. That's because Sunrise hired Bones to do the animation. Explains a lot, doesn't it? The movie has its own soundtracks while some are from the series, and others are based on them. And while the animation is awesome, the soundtrack is good, and even the story is interesting, the plot seems to develop at a slow pace, finally picking up a bit of speed towards the end. And Dilandau is still my favorite character. Just puttin' it out there.

Finished watching Gunbuster

Finished watching Gunbuster (1988, Gainax, 6 OVAs) on 3/3/2016.

In the near future gigantic, insectoid, space monsters pose a threat to human kind. Planet Earth's best defense lays in the hands of an army of giant fighter robots called RX-7, piloted by trained professionals. Two of those pilots, namely Noriko and Kazumi have been specially chosen to train for an even larger, more powerful robot, the Gunbuster.

10/10 – Yup, a 10. It's that awesome! This mostly female fronted show puts its two main characters in space, piloting giant fighter robots against giant space monsters and it even tries to be scientifically accurate as possible. Which it is! By a lot! SPACE! SCIENCE! Oh and did I mention this is directed by Evangelion's Hideaki Anno? The characters are well constructed and the soundtrack is pretty awesome. The animation quality, despite experimental on rare occasions, is pretty good. I should mention the boob physics here, they're not exaggerated, they're quite nice. And yes, there is some full nudity from the ladies on occasion as well. Gotta have that hot spring bath episode, yo! But let me tell you something, this show made me aware of Time Dilation, something I should really know about. Some of you know why. This concept is crazy and I'm happy Gunbuster brought it up to me.

Finished watching The Vision of Escaflowne

Finished watching The Vision of Escaflowne (1996, Sunrise, 26 episodes) on 2/23/2016.

High school student and track runner, Kanzaki Hitomi's life changes when a beam of light shines from the sky teleporting her to another earth-like planet called Gaea. She is thrown between a giant robot war feud between the medieval countries of the planet. But she is not alone as she meets new friends such as young king Van and her high-school crush look-alike, knight Allen.

9/10 - Amazing show! Truly recommend it! The animation quality is great for the majority of the show. The characters and their relationships are all very interesting. Shout out to my favorite character, Dilandau! The giant robots, the Guymelef always have awesome battle scenes. And the soundtrack is also very top notch with some orchestrated, epic a.f. tracks. I just don't get where the animal people came from. But that's not a big deal.

Finished watching Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky are Stars

Finished watching Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky are Stars (2009, Gainax, 2hr 5mins) on 5/23/2015.

The aftermath of a traumatic experience is tough on a growing Simon. But in the darkness a small light shines for him, looking to raise his spirits. Simon has much ahead of him, and despite what he believes, he's not alone. Everyone is right there with him, even when they aren't.

9/10 – You get a Tengen Toppa! She gets a Tengen Toppa! Everybody in the audience will go home today with their own Tengen Toppa! Holy cow tits! Like, seriously! This movie was insanely all over the place towards the end! I couldn't handle it! I'm not complaining, though. I enjoyed the living heck out of all of it! All of my yes!

Finished watching Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann the Movie Childhood's End

Finished watching Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann the Movie - Childhood's End (2008, Gainax, 1hr 52min) on 5/19/2015.

Simon and Kamina are two of the many children who live their lives digging underground tunnels looking for resources for their underground village. But one day Simon stumbles upon an object that turns out to be the key to an ancient machine of war. The two friends name it Lagann and use it to fend off a surprise attack on their village by a giant creature from the surface. They also meet Yoko, a massive-gun wielding wanderer also from the surface. The three join forces to explore and face the many challenges of the world outside and meet new friends along the way, as well as forging lasting relationships.

8.5/10 – It's been long since I watched the series, so halfway through the movie I was almost convinced I was just watching a series recap in movie form made entirely of recycled footage and a long montage. That might've been half-true for most of that first half of the movie (I say half-true because upon closer inspection, the animation is all new). The second half of the movie threw those concepts out the window and I found myself really enjoying it! Specially when they combined three different battles in the series into one giant brawl in the movie. And when I say combine, I mean they literally combined! Like, holy fuxx!

Y'know, I really think this whole show’s theme is about sex drive. They’re just sort of subtle about it.