Imagine We Still Had VHS: Burn-Up W (and Burn Up Morton, IL)

 *This blog post was started on September 16, 2022.

It is actually getting late for me this Friday. As always, I air fry some wings to watch "AEW Rampage". When I have to be back at the retailer at 7:30 am, a 10 pm stop time means that I would be wise to hit the bong and call it a night. But my belly is just settling down by then.

Again, time management is not my strongest skill. Groceries and a haircut came after work and I cleaned up my apartment a bit, but aside from getting my My Faction award for today from "WWE 2K22", it feels that I just lost three hours. That is kind of depressing. This leaves me wondering if I will be able to type out a well written review for 1996's "Burn Up W".

Granted, "Burn Up W" was one of my first favorite anime series when I first got nerdy about this style of animation. The first volume (This was a 30-35 minute OVA series released one episode at a time), "Skin Dive" was a great entry point to capture my fellow Morton High School classmates curiosity. Too bad they were sex-driven teenagers. I showed them "Neon Genesis Evangelion" afterwards, but that somehow did not grab their attention.

After watching "Clerks 3" this past Tuesday, my disdain for the town keeps amassing. Thank the gods that the town cannot possibly have a social gathering on Sundays.

Fucking Apostolic Christians. This faith is kind of for wusses. They make their women cover all of their legs with skirts, but why the ladies allow for that is beyond me. Show me an Apostolic suicide bomber, and I may take them seriously. When I shout all that, it does not surprise me that half of my friends were treating anime like issues of "Playboy". It was a dirty window into another world. They were not interested in philosophy. Why question the dominant faith in a town where most of them were in the one-percent?

Despite my mocking of these "good" Christians, ironically the town's traditions means that I will miss the Pumpkin Festival when I return Sunday to pick up my replacement Apple Watch. The theme was a tribute to the 1980's. If you do not have VH-1's budget, do not try it. For fuck sake, it will probably be a Reagan circle jerk and calls to vote for the women-hating fascist Darren Bailey.

If a town made for the one percent wants to celebrate the Eighties, cocaine better have been flowing through the streets the last three days. At least do one thing right.

And I thought I was not going to be able to give you any insight into my mind this week. Just thinking about how the town does not appreciate art brings it out of me. Aside from not appreciating art, they do not appreciate their fellow man. Thus, why "Clerks 3" further hurt me. A village came to make Kevin Smith's a name in indie cinema, but fuck Russ Stevens and his dreams. If they are not about encouraging the importance of lessons about states' rights in the 1860's, they are worthless.

Now I think my vitriol about my hometown is seemingly obsessive. There was an easier transition to my thoughts about the adventures of Tokyo City's premier, all-female police strike force. In high school, I had developed a third anime website dedicated to kick ass, overly sexualized women. There was nothing too crazy about the "Iria: Zeiram the Animation" side of it, but when it came to "Burn Up W", I had Duran Duran midis playing in the background that were dedicated to each episode. The main protagonist is named Rio after all.

Pardon me for just focusing on the best things about the decade of my birth instead of how my hometown will fuck that up.

Imagine We Still Had VHS: "Martiann Successor Nadesico" Episodes 1-3

*This blog post was started on August 17, 2022.

Convention season is over, so it is back to trying to come up with time to watch movies. And of course, "House of Dragons" is going to debut Sunday, so that may all get thrown to the side. It is bad enough that I am behind on video games to play, but there is still "WestWorld" to return to.

At least my job, staffing wise, is settling in. This means I should not have too many early shifts. Time should be more manageable. Outside of time management, things seem to be going pretty well. I do feel like a conclusion to this physical existence would be nice, but that is more prevalent when I am stoned, trying to fall asleep. Every morning I wake up, so let us continue.

As for continuing my writing, it seems tricky. I say that, and immediately think, "Come up with some fiction". The environment just does not seem right. When I wrote "Main Event of the Dead", there was a better social environment. My script writing started during my relationship with Cindy and carried over to my second stint at Illinois Central College with my best friend Stefanie Smith. Once my relationship with her concluded, no one seemed to give a shit about my efforts. If it was not for my time in hospitality, writing about my Schrodinger-like existence, there would be no practice in writing.

The issue is finding stuff to practice. I do not have the cynical drunks to inspire my satire. Thus, it is up to movies and wrestling. Movies get "NinetyForChill: The #Podcast", so criticism with aspirations of a Pulitzer is lost. As for wrestling, since I concluded "Rip'Em System: Vince McMahon's Mein Kampf", it has been dependent on ranking the performers based around championships. WWE's lazy booking has made constantly writing about that a challenge.

Thankfully, Pluto TV and Tubi have allowed me to go back to what started the development of my writing skills, pre-Toonami anime and anime not flashy enough for Funimation. These streamers spare me from gambling on my VHS tape deck successfully playing my scores of tapes.

Ironically, the series I chose to revisit was the last set of VHS tapes that I devoted to colleting completely, "Martian Successor Nadesico". I will need to revisit "Gundam Wing" to determine if this is my second favorite giant mecha series. At least that means I have the next anime I will need to discuss lined up (This was stated before I saw the series was covered on this blog.).

Or should I watch "Macross Plus" or "Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure". Keep circulating the tapes (and tomorrow will be dedicated to "Rifftrax: The Return of Swamp Thing").

Martian Successor Nadesico: Episodes 1-3

Pinterest @rpgzero

By 2196, humanity has colonized space as far out as Mars. All seems well until an alien force, presumed to be from Jupiter, started to expand the reach of their empire to the inner planets of the solar system. Little is known about the Jovian "lizards" except that their gravity-based weaponry is far superior than anything Earth's United Forces has to offer. It was only a matter of time before the Jovian forces had conquered the Moon and Mars.

Like in the late 20the century, galactic expansion is not a big deal to most humans, so as long as they can fend off the invaders, they just blow off the attacks. Except for Akito Tenkawa, a fry cook who unexplainedly ended up on Earth after the first Jovian attack on Mars. Suffering from PTSD, he cannot hold down a job down and is shunned for having nanotechnology in his body that is necessary to operate any machinery on Mars, but is only used by mech pilots on Earth.

He is seen only as a coward, but his fortunes are about to change after a loose suitcase falls from the trunk of a car and crashes into his bike. The passenger is nice enough to help Akito out, but thinks there is a deeper connection between the two of them. As her car pulls away, Akito finds a picture left behind. This photograph is of him and an obnoxious girl as children. Akito realizes that the girl who he just ran into is Yurika Misumaru. She may have the answers about the demise of his parents the day her and her admiral father left Mars.

Akito follows her to a Nergal Heavy Industries facility, a private military contractor. Screaming Yurika's name the entire way to the base, he is obviously detained. Prospector, the civilian liaison for Nergal, questions Akito and after hearing his story, takes pity on the Martian and offers him a job as a cook on the new space fortress Nadesico. It is not ideal for a traumatized war survivor, but at least it give him a place to belong. And of course the Jovians are quick to attack.

Panics takes over and Akito takes a giant mech, an Aestivalis, to escape. Soon the captain of the Nadesico messages him calling on him to serve as a distraction to allow the ship to launch. Cowardice is not even a thought to the captain because the captain is Yurika. Akito seems to be a natural pilot and is the hero of the day as the Nadesico defeats the Jovians with little effort.

This is the first victory for Earth in the war with the Jovians, but the United Forces are not pleased. Nergal has no intention to provide the ship to the UF because they are not about to defend earth when there are so many humans left behind during the retreats from the colonies and answers to be obtained. The UF cannot afford to let a civilian battleship operate independently and will do whatever they can to stop them from leaving on their mission.

Akito needs answers about his parents and what happen to the Martian colonists, so he will put his culinary aspirations on the back burner to defend the ship. With the support of Yurika and the "Gekiganger III" anime-obsessed pilot Gai Daigoji, his fear will not stop him from defending those he cares about.

I have always thought that giant mech anime was played out as I was getting into anime. Central Park Media's mascot was "MD Geist". "Robotech" and "Voltron" were the first two animes to break big stateside in the 1980s. Anime intrigued me because of the drama and adult themes that it suggested animation was capable of. Not action that can be seen on "Mighty Morphing Power Rangers".

The only reason that I got into "Neon Genesis Evangelion" was because of its reputation as the greatest series ever. That series provides all the drama and symbolism I wanted, so it may have left me hungry for mecha as a means to tell stories. By the time "Evangelion" had concluded (As in, all the VHS tapes made it stateside.), I was ready for a new series.

Being an elitist, "Gundam Wing" on Toonami was not going to be enough. I was a fan of ADV Films ahead of all other American distributors, so I just presumed "Martian Successor Nadesico" was the next "Evangelion". To my joy, this is a more luscious looking series that took the piss out of my favorite franchise and celebrated geekdom that "Excel Saga" was yet to do.

The comedy is always present but drama is never ignored. It is exactly how I like to cope. If you want to focus on taking things seriously, you lose track of the present. Laugh your way through trauma because you need to get to the future.

I can see where many would think that is poor storytelling. If the writers do not take things seriously, why should the audience? My counter is that there is enough overly dramatic bollocks out there. After the intensity of "Evangelion", this is the break mech fans need.

The character design might deter some. It also does not take itself too seriously. This especially apparent with juxtaposing the story to the events occurring in the binge of "Gekigengar III" that Akito is on during his free time between cooking and piloting. I find it to be a clever storytelling device, but others may see it as an affront to a genre that they take way too seriously.

"Dual" maybe the series that better suits them since it has a "Tenchi Muyo!/El Hazard" vibe when it comes to deconstructing giant robot anime, but that is for fans of boy as the center of obsessed girls' universe. This series was a new approach to a tried genre of anime, and it should be admired for that. Add in great themes songs, and I think it is worth a view by any Japanese animation fan.

"Martian Successor Nadesico" is a great entry point for people that want to dabble into anime. It offers fan service, but not excessive to the point where the audiences thinks that it is trying to sell sex. The battles are fun, but not trying to sell the audience on gore. Unless you want Shakespearian drama, the humor does not take anything away from the series.

"Nadesico's" only fault could be that you do know it is still a cartoon. I do not see that as a bad thing, but some nerds want something to transcend a medium. This is a show that is not ashamed of being just entertainment and amusing an audience. Can you blame them for wanting a large one?

Imagine We Still Had VHS: Speed Grapher: Volume Two

 *This blog post was started on April 20, 2022.

I have a lot of things on my plate, but there is a sense of relief after getting past my latest unemployment hearing. Money was a stressing factor, but everything seems to be in order. Hopefully, the wise judge (He understood that whatever I was writing was satirical) will rule in my favor, and to Marine Bank's credit, there was only one lie on their side (My branch never had monthly one-on-one coaching.).

It was acknowledged that they (or at least the branch manager) knew I was writing my blog at work, so that may clear me over two counts of misconduct. I brought up my case that they fired me because I stated my opinion when it was requested in the annual review. The best revelation that came from this was that the actual inciting incident which led to my unwarranted termination was revealed. So, revenge is the new thought consuming my mind.

Am I going to be a better person than the person who wanted my job? We will wait until I get the ruling.

Otherwise, Ebertfest costing $200 is not cool. It is fair if you are going to every movie, but Marine Bank has made it so that I do not get the luxury. $20 a ticket is fair for a 35 mm movie showing, but my $90 fee for 4-days of Wizard World in 2019 included the chance to see Fred Durst's film "The Fan" (starring John Travolta and Devon Sawa). After the "Gothika" DVD included the music video for Limp Bizkit's "Behind Blues Eyes" as a special feature, Durst's cinematic involvement must be stopped.

The six hundred dollars I am fighting for would make life easier, be it my medical bills or car insurance, but it turns out that my debt will not be that bad. If I can somehow get my podcast, "NinetyForChill.com: The #Podcast" sponsored, all would be right with the world. If anyone has any suggestions on how my podcast can earn me $100 a week, let me know with an email to russthebus07@gmail.com.

If there is any frustration right now when it comes to my podcast, it is that I have no time for a guest this week, nor the time to binge a bunch of movies from "Ally's Accessories Shop on Etsy's Trash Feature Revue". Here is to hoping that I will meet someone at "Ghost World" who will want to chat. Anyone know where I can a press pass?

It makes me wonder, does NinetyForChill.com make me a journalist? I am making as much money as one. After revisiting "Speed Grapher", I know photos are not going make that extra money. But, this anime series does suggest that there is a lot of trouble that can be had, provided you are rescuing an abused heiress. Gods know that I thrive with trouble.

Speed Grapher: Episodes 5 - 8

*This blog post was resumed on April 21, 2022.

I will be up front, haste seems to be dominating my life. There is a need for immediate answers to problems that may be able to wait. My intent was to review the first four episodes, but life got in the way for the podcast, thus, my immediate memory of the finer details was lost. Returning to them seemed redundant, thus I chose to move forward.

Even now, I want my mind to be clear when I review this series. AEW Dynamite will wait, but since Fite.TV decided to disable VPNs to watch it commercial fee, my life is running behind. Things will not be order till I watch it, so pardon me if the series does not receive the respect, but more importantly the understanding that is so desperately deserves.

And that attitude proves I did some research to know that this Gonzo title is not as beloved as "Welcome to the NHK" or "Hellsing". To that end, shame on the so called anime fans.

After defeating the rubber Euphoric assassin/ballet dancer, heiress Kaguya Tennozu and Euphoric photographer Tatsumi Saiga are on the run. It is a greater challenge that Saiga anticipated since Kaguya has never gotten to experience the little things in her life. She is confused by about everything be it the deliciousness a cup of instant ramen or how to behave on a subway. This is all due to her mother Shinsen and her right hand man, Mr. Suitengu, resorting to keeping her locked away in the corporate tower.

Shinsen hates the beauty that her daughter has become while Suitengu seems sympathetic toward Kaguya's plight despite his exceptionally cold demeanor. But that does not excuse him for using his goddess to amuse the hedonists at the Roppongi Club. All of the key politicians, businessmen, and celebrities of Japan seem to belong to this club despite the immense membership fees. Failure to meet the clubs demands results in forfeiture of all assets usually via death by "suicide" to fulfill a the life insurance policy that accompanies club membership.

Some lucky few can serve the club and avoid the debt. They are the Euphorics, those blessed by the Goddess's kiss to unlock the true potential of their passion. Their services are needed to recapture Kaguya because fate seemed to allow Saiga that blessing. Now, whenever Saiga takes a picture with any camera, the focus of the shot will explode providing him the power to capture the life in the frame.

Saiga's neighbor Bob has arranged it so the two can hide at a drag bar ran by his "sister" David. As for Suitengu's cronies, they are escorting Madame Kaganei to face off with him. She is a Euphoric whose obsession and need for diamonds has allowed her to turn her body into the hardest substance in the natural world while being translucent. But, she has significant debt to the club, so she might have her own reasons to take Kaguya as her own hostage. Of course if she fails with either plan, Suitengu has a teeth-polishing obsessed Euphoric on standby.

"Speed Grapher" has been a divisive series. My best friend who has definitely lived through some wild and traumatic times enjoyed the envelopes that the story pushed while Ally of Ally's Accessories Shop found it to be too disturbing. Perhaps as schizophrenic or as a sheltered, god-fearing Midwestern woman, the concept of a conspiracy to sexualize and abuse a teenage girl while claiming it to be the victim's own imagination is everything she ever feared.

Some critics think that the themes are solely for shock. I feel that by the end of the series, it all pays off in a socialist's dream with some jabs at George W. Usually, three episodes is the most that I like to watch when I ask to "Imagine this was on VHS", but I am amused how the episodes tend to play out like "Highlander: The Series". Lets give our protagonist an hour to defeat the latest gimmicked bad guy and move on. "Speed Grapher" is an improvement on this formula because it has an overarching plot.

A lot of anime series start out like this, but then tend to fall into filler episodes until the director realizes that he has to work towards a conclusion. This is not as epic as "Evangelion", but I cannot recall this series ever falling into just having fan service episodes. By Volume 3, most of the shock efforts are subdued and it is just about Saiga and Kaguya's efforts to be happy in a world where money determines everything.

When bringing up "Evangelion", I will acknowledge the animation is not up to that standard. The style is far more unique than most series, but it does not look as sharp and vivid as "Hellsing" or many series from the early noughties. It depends on how you like your anime when it comes to the style. Do you want it to feel more like a manga or loud like "Dragon Ball Z"? My preference is towards the prior, especially when the narrative has a noir vibe.

"Speed Grapher" is definitely a grown up anime, so I can see the lack and care for universal appeal can turn off your casual fans of the genre. It is a narrative that wants to push the envelope by attacking your fears and urges, not just rely on nudity and violence. The dark art and casual animation fits the story perfectly.

This is a series for those who want an independent film vibe. As an aspiring, traumatized artist, "Speed Grapher" is perfect entertainment. Here's hoping you are living the naive peaceful life instead.

Pinterest @ashitanojoe76

Evangelion 1.01: You Can(not) Overlook

 Am I crazy for entertaining the concept of reinventing the "Star Wars" trilogy? Trekkies gave into J.J. Abrams's concept and ended up embracing it, and the flaws of Lucas's scripts are quite prevalent.

Blasphemy. Well, we would all like to reboot the "Saga". No one can deny that, but when it comes to near perfection (with the exception of "Return of the Jedi"), why bother?

It is because we are starved for greatness and we will take our chances. That is why Hideaki Anno's reboot of "Evangelion" captured the world of anime's attention.

Shinji Ikari has been called to Tokyo-3 by his neglectful father Gendo. When he arrives, the city is under a military state of emergency and a battle with a giant monster ensues. After he is rescued by his chaperone, Lt. Col. Misato Katsuragi, he his escorted to Nerv's headquarters to find out his father's expectations. The primary one of these is for this 14 year-old to pilot a giant robot called Evangelion Unit 01 to defeat the monster.

 Should he fail, humanity is lost. But not being able to appreciate his own existence, why should Shinji care about the fate of mankind?

"Evangelion 1.01" is nearly identical in character design to the original television show, but it is far more than just a special edition of the first six episodes. This is a more concise version of the "Evangelion" story with an atmosphere that is more fitting of the dark conclusions of the initial series.

All of the mecha and kaiju have been visually upgraded and the theatrical budge is evident. Since budget held back the production quality of the first series, fans should definitely appreciate the upgrades. That is provided that they can get past the first two acts of the story being exactly like the first four episodes.

It can be frustrating that the "Rebuild of Evangelion's" story does not begin until act three, especially since the comic interactions between Shinji and the supporting cast are all but eliminated. The charm and optimism are removed, so those who did not appreciate the previous two endings that Anno had provided us, they may be left upset.

Those frustrations are worth enduring for the brilliant third act. The new vision and hints of what is coming up left me salivating for the film's sequel. On top of that, the action and drama sequences are greater than anything presented in the first half of the television series.

"Evangelion 1.01" is a great experience that promises even more to come. It provides incite into Anno's true vision that was confined to the restraints of 90's television. It is a darker journey, but well worth enduring for the reward of a new future for the franchise.

 

Rhb_RBS
 

 

Imagine We Still Had VHS - Blue Seed (Episodes 1-3) - In the Shadow of Evangelion

*Blog post started on October 6, 2020.

It seems like there is light at the end of the tunnel in terms of my exhaustion. Lets just hope it is not depression. Eva the Cat has been a little too cozy with me at night even after nearly hugging her to death when I was stoned and New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle" came on. She shared the bed with me and Skimbleshanks yesterday, so either her or I is pretty down.

I went to bed before 10 pm last night. Was I tired after a bunch of errands went south, yes. Red Box sent an email me to me about a free movie promise while making it impossible to gain the promo code (You know enough about me.) which is very frustrating when you find a movie that would need to go on NinetyForChill.com. Auntie Anne's pepperoni pretzel nuggets were the only option that close to closing time, so it was not the fun Hot Topic order pick up mall trip. Never mind the awkwardness of flirting with a girl who wants me to meet them for the first time by coming into their workplace wore my brain out. It is probably best to wait till I need to replace a worn pair of Chuck Taylor's.

In the end, my previous night concluded with me not even finishing my D.P. Dough calzone, a first. Fortunately, I was able to watch some anime the previous night to have content ready to review. That at least took my mind off how do I ask for my poker winnings after embarrassing myself with C-word littered rants fueled by half a fifth of 100-proof moonshine. It was an impromptu game night after I had finished my shift at the retailer. All I had time to do was change, so visiting a liquor store for seltzers was out of the question. I just grabbed what I thought would not need a mixer.

At that party and from my ex who thinks I am going to ruin my life in Peoria tonight, I have found that my under two-minute movie reviews have drawn people to my blog. This means that I should go and make a quick video for this "Blue Seed" review. Guess I will need to swing by Japan House during a lunch hour for proper ambiance.

Yuzo Takada's Blue Seed

After a construction night gas explosion in Tokyo that was seemingly triggered by the presence of Kaede Kunikida, the Japanese government has come to the realization that the Aragami, ancient demons who terrorized the country centuries prior, have returned. The reason for their return is because the Kushinada family that stopped the demons had given birth to twins thus awakening the monsters.

Before they defeated these monsters, the Kushinada would sacrifice a daughter to appease them. The Aragami are dependent on keeping this bloodline alive when there is not a spare daughter to kill. Now that there are/were two they can be a little more liberal in their movements and destruction. Kaede was one of the twins who was separated from her sister Momiji Fujimima for her protection.

During the past 15 years, the Aragami have laid low and picked up on some modern scientific knowledge. This has provided them the means to cancel the curse the Princesses Kushinada had placed on them. It is suspected this allowed them to kill Kaede without any consequences. If they use this method to kill the unsuspecting Momiji, they are free to destroy humanity.

Humanity's salvation can play out one of two way. If they decide to sacrifice Momiji, the Kushinada and Aragami die. The other way is that the Chief Director Kunikida, Kaede's adopted father, and his Terrestrial Administration Center and the Aragami assigned protector of the bloodline, Kusanagi can fight them to the last to protect the remaining princess. Since Momiji is a naive high schooler wanting to get the most out of life regardless of the inconvenience she can be, the prior option is very tempting.

When I was old enough to get into anime beyond "Dragon Ball Z", "Sailor Moon" and "Voltron", my primary source for what was being released was "DieHard GameFan" magazine. It introduced me to video game adaptations like "Street Fighter 2 V", "Street Figther 2: The Animated Movie" (my introduction to KMFDM), and "Battle Arena Toshinden". Most of the coverage at the time was devoted to those being distributed by Manga Entertainment (now a Starz subsidiary) and the defunct ADV Films, so I was well aware of "Neon Genesis Evangelion" and "Ghost in the Shell". In 1996, everything else came across as an after thought to the critics, including the not quite as beautiful or dramatic "Blue Seed".

At this time for ADV Films, this and "Evangelion" seemed to be the only TV series that they were importing, so if you bought a tape from this distributor, you were going to see a trailer for one of them. "Evangelion" was my first anime obsession, so it was inevitable that I would succumb to purchase a "Blue Seed" tape. The theme song was awesomely tacky, so $25 bucks did not seem like it would be a total waste.

As it turns out, I had bought the first four episodes three times over, first on VHS of course. Once there was DVD box set, "Blue Seed" was one of my rare anime DVD purchase (I was a creature of habit.). When my little brother's high school friends stole my DVD's, eBay allowed me to piece the series back together at a reasonable price. Upon this revisit, the flaws and redundancies were picked up on, but this is the type of anime that fan service catering should look like (unlike "Agent AIKa").

The characters in this series all seem to be one note, but if a joke calls for it, a ridiculous subversion of the one dimension is almost immediate and rewarding. It plays out like a manga in that sense where a single frame can totally change the tone with different art style, but the reader knows it is just a joke for the moment and does not effect the rest of the tale. You may say that is fourth wall breaking. Fan service is kept separate from the story, not distracting like "Agent AIKa" showing every woman's panties in every shot. My biggest mistake with this rewatch was that the episodes just played after each other unlike the original VHS tapes that ended with a wacky for the sake of being wacky cartoon (kind of like the previews for the next episode of "Hellsing").

With quickly changing art styles, the generally poor animation quality is forgivable. The colors are just flat which were common for mid-90's Japanese cartoons and until you get a character transformation for a joke, the characters are very static. To its credit, the scenery can be very broad and feature a lot of elements, and it is impressive that it all looks good. Soundtrack is the only other element I can think of, at it is pretty solid.

It was really unfair for "Blue Seed" to be distributed along side "Evangelion". The story is epic, but without the intensity of "Evangelion", there will just be a tendency to ignore it. "Evangelion" is the best animated television show ever. The score was magnificent and it was beautifully animated. Nothing in the mid-90's could compete.

"Blue Seed" is a solid anime for its time on the level of contemporaries like "Gundam Wing" and "Tenchi Muyo!". It is fun take on demon themed series and its willingness to throw in jokes and fan service makes it accessible to about anyone. This series is not a masterpiece, but we all needed something to tide us over as we waited for "Bubblegum Crisis 2040", "Samurai Champloo", and "Claymore". This is "Witcher" after "Game of Thrones" but before "WestWorld".

 @AnimArchive - Twitter.

 

Neon Genesis Evangelion - The Alpha of Anime TV, Omega of Arguments

Neon Genesis Evangelion -

Collection 0:1

Neon Genesis Evangelion

© GAINAX / Project Eva. - TV Tokyo

Genre: Science fiction (Giant Robots) Length: 120 minutes (4 episodes) Audience Age: 13+

Opinion: I still have yet to see an anime series superior to Evangelion.

This is a review of the DVD release.

This series maybe the best known anime TV series that is not on Cartoon Network.

I know this statement may sound bold, but I still have yet to see an anime series superior to "Evangelion". When I first started collecting anime (spring/summer 1997), this was the only title that mattered to the critics I followed, and since I liked "Robotech" and "Voltron" (both series always seem to have questionable video distribution status until Robotech was recently acquired by ADV Films) I figured I would give this $25 a VHS, giant robot themed series a chance. A year later, I had all 13 tapes, the Taiwanese bootleg of the first soundtrack, a set of imported key chains, and Chinese-subtitled versions of the first two theatrical films. As far as I am concerned, this dramatic science fiction series which mixes the classic Japanese standby of giant beings using a city as an arena and elements of the book of Revelations, is the best science-fiction series ever made for television (Star Trek, "Doctor Who", and "Babylon 5" fans who object to this statement can reach me at bitemescifigeeks@animeflow.cubs). 

Desperate for more of this series, I decided to purchase the first DVD of "Neon Genesis Evangelion" with full knowledge that this would just be the first four episodes that I already had on tape. I guess I am evidence about how addictive watching the adventures of Shinji Ikari are since I am allowing ADV Films to sell this to me as if they were a shady person with a questionable substance at an 80's Motley Crüe concert and I was Nikki Sixx.

Fifteen years after the "Second Impact" disaster of 2000, Shinji Ikari, a 14 year-old who may be suffering from chronic depression, is called to Tokyo 3 by his father that abandoned him 10 years-ago to "focus on the fate of mankind". He was not given a reason to come to the new metropolis, but being compliant to avoid the trouble of determining his own fate, he arrive in the third Tokyo which quickly becomes a battlefield.

After being rescued from the chaos of United Nation jets' pointless battle with a giant beast known as an Angel, his rescuer, Misato Katsuragi, takes him to Nerv Headquarters, a base hidden beneath the city. Shinji's father hardly takes the time to welcome his only child as he tells him to get into a giant bio-mechanical being, Evangelion Unit 01, and face the Angel in hand-to-hand combat. 

He asks why he must pilot and is told that he is the only one who can. There maybe one other pilot, Rei, but she is already severly injured, so Shinji must decide whose life will be put on the line.

There are no doubts in anyone's mind that since "Evangelion" was finished in early 1995, the overall animation quality for this genre has improved a great deal, but there is yet to be an anime series that has stories equal to Neon Genesis Evangelion. This DVD has a really solid beginning and ending, so that if you are not as impressed as I was with the storyline after four episodes, you do not necessarily need to purchase the next DVD collection. If you do not currently have a DVD player, I am sure if you buy the first VHS of this series, you will undoubtedly pick up the second. 

Evangelion's first DVD also shows some of its unique aspects. The soundtrack is one of my favorites and you cannot help to be curious about a giant robot show that has its ending theme song be "Fly Me to the Moon". Plus, the opening theme song is real easy to get into. I am pretty sure about this since one of my friends band was considering to cover it.

Uniqueness on this disc is not limited only to the soundtrack. Evangelion's character style is nearly identical to some of the most popular mangas, Japanese comic books. This is most likely why it was so easy to make a manga for this series after its TV run. Probably most interesting thing about any of the design aspects would be the mecha design. Eva Unit 01's look was considered to be so awesome that it got a cameo in the police action/comedy "Burn-Up W". 

With all the great elements that form Neon Genesis Evangelion, anyone who is interested in starting an anime collection cannot exclude it. Since all TV sci-fi should attempt to have stories on par with Evangelion, perhaps all television producers need one of the tapes or discs in their video collection.

Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure: an Evangelion and El-Hazard Smoothie

Do not immediately dismiss a film because it does not contain the excessive nudity of "Ghost in the Shell" or the graphic violence of "Akira". If you have heard good things about a title like the buzz there is for "Neon Genesis Evangelion", the title is not a waste of money.

Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure:
Visions

Dual Parallel Trouble Adventure!
© 1999 AIC / Pioneer
Distributed by 

Genre: sci-fi (includes a great deal of "Tenchi Muyo!" style comedy)
Length: 100 minutes (4 episodes) Audience Age: 13+

Opinion: One of the better cutting edge titles.

This is a review of the DVD release.

From the creator of Tenchi Muyo!

It maybe that I have not had the same amount of cash to spend on overpriced videos. It maybe that the previews on the videos I do buy are not enticing enough. It maybe that I am spending my cash on the recent ECW, FMW, and XPW videos (this is not a wrestling web site, but look for the first company's tapes first). Maybe it is all these reasons, but I am having a problem finding Japanese animated videos to buy. 

Since I got a DVD player for Christmas, I figured it was time to seriously restart my anime collection, but where to start? While flipping through the discs at SunCoast, I found "Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure". If you have seen Neon Genesis Evangelion, you should instantly become a giant robot fan, and Dual! has them. The disc also had a sticker on its wrapping which boast that it was "From the creators of Tenchi Muyo!" (specifically, writer Masaki Kajishima), and I am a big Tenchi fan. So far this anime was irresistible from this buyer's standpoint.

It would seem to be just an ordinary day in Tokyo, but that is not the case for Kazuki. For him, he has to continue to question his sanity as he constantly sees visions of giant robots using the city as their battleground. 

Despite these visions ability to drive Kazuki crazy, he has been able to create a popular website from his accounts of these battles. This site even gets repeat hits from the most popular girl in school, Mitsuki, who is so intrigued about the robots that she approaches Kazuki with questions about them. 

After saving Kazuki from a beating by the high school's athletes, Mitsuki (this may not be the correct name; but this is what I have picked up as her name after watching this DVD thrice) takes her to visit her father, an assistant University professor, who is also a huge, possibly larger enthusiast of the boy's visions. Such an enthusiast that he offers Kazuki an explanation for his visual stimuli. 

The professor explains that Kazuki's visions are actually the reality of another dimension that he wants to prove the existence of. Fortunately/Unfortunately, we find out he is correct by accidently sending the main character to the alternate dimesion and in the center of a battle none the less. 

So to solve his even deadlier dilemna, Kazuki must find the professor of this dimension and pray that he is a little more responsible than the one from his dimension.

Purchasing Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure really paid off for me. I think what really made this investment worth while was the series' having a plot premise that was similar to "El-Hazard: The Magnificent World", a series I cannot get enough of.

There just seems to be something captivating about an anime based on the idea of a weird boy becoming a hero in an alternative world which has a large population of girls who have some kind of attraction to him. I guess Masaki Kajishima, the writer of Tenchi Muyo! and this series, really knows how to write toward the stereotypical adolescent male's dreams.

Dual!'s great premise leads to good stories, but none of them are as good as the best of Tenchi Muyo! or El-Hazard: The Magnificent World episodes. Some of the attempts to sympathize with the main character make a few of the episodes a little too sappy, and maybe this type of story does not cross over well with giant robots officianados. Fortunately, this series does not seem like it will allow the robot influence to change the light-hearted characters, so if you do not want to see the dark, bleak atmosphere of Neon Genesis Evangelion, this series will not feature it.

These robots may not be appropriate with their story premise, but man do they look good. Most of the CGI (computer generated image(s)) are integrated well with the traditional animation and also looks great. And even with the CGI being almost outstanding, the regular hand drawn animation is good enough not to be blown away by it, so the efforts of the many animators with their pencils are not wasted. 

Dual! is by no means as funny as El-Hazard: The Magnificent World and Tenchi Muyo, but is unique enough to be enjoyable with its great animation, futuristic giant robot plot, characters with bright personalities, and good use of computer animation. If you dislike the animes that this is similar to, you maybe wasting a couple hours at your job trying to earn enough money to buy this, but as far as I can tell, Dual! is definitely one of the better cutting-edge titles which any audience that is suited to see it can enjoy.