VFTF1

Episode 8 is shocking. I was shocked when I first watched it. Sempais usually have this fate, but then again sempais are usually clearly sempais in contrast to a younger hero character. Say what you want about Simon, but I never had the impression over the course of the first 8 episodes of this series that Simon was in any way shape or form the star of the show. Kamina was the star. Kamina was the driving force, the main character. He wasn't just a sempai – in fact, he wasn't really a Sempai at all because he was too young to be one and certainly he wasn't the sort to be respected. He was a stupid idiot. As Kittan said, „your idiocy has become legend” - but that took quite a while, didn't it? See, most Sempais function within the context of a pre-established order. Kamina made that order up as he went along, and basically spent his whole life screaming „yes!” to every „no!” he encountered. Furthermore, he didn't really care who followed him and who didn't. He had affection for Simon, I think, mainly because Simon had affection for him. But had Simon been yellow or considered Kamina a wierdo, Kamina would have continued doing what he did anyways. As the show progressed, and the cast of characters grew, you got the feeling that more and more the central character was Kamina. He was the sun whose gravity drew in larger and larger constellations of planets. Each planet was interesting of its' own right, but the central point was Kamina. And now he's gone. That he died in a blaze of glory isn't unexpected – what is unexpected is that this happens eight episodes into a 27 episode anime. You know this thing isn't about to end, and you managed to get used to the pacing and to Kamina's bluster and to the idea that Kamina can indeed suprass all obsticles. And then you're met with this. And it's like... you know the Helix King is out there, you know that Thympal was just one of the „Big Four.” You know that despite how far Kamina got – this is only the beginning really...and he's dead. That was unexpected. It is naturally a matter for consideration to what extent Simon's feelings of jealousy were the direct cause of Kamina's death. Simon's feeling made him waver, and this initiated a chain of events that directly led to Kamina being killed. And you know what bothers me? The fact that this issue is never anywhere else in the anime addressed – EVER. Simon grieves Kamina for a long time, true. But he seems to be more preoccupied with trying to cope with th loss of Kamina, and the ensuing void in his life rather than blaming himself for that loss. I mean... can there be any doubt that had Simon not been distracted by his jealousy, he would have taken control of the Dai-Gunzen sooner, and made it unnecessary for Gurren to climb all the way up to the deck where it later fell victim to Thymil's attack? Or am I misreading things? Yoko and Ron both agreed that Kamina would be vulnerable since the plan called for the Lagann to be attached to the Dai-Gunzen, and not to the Gurren. Yoko and Ron understood that Kamina's living through so many close shaves boiled down to the power of Gurren Lagann; and that alone, the Gurren wouldn't hack it... So potentially, given that Thymil was going to use his Boobootooboo (ok, I made that up, but I forgot the name of that mecha), it is concievable that he would have attacked Kamina none the less... but...on the other hand – the attack needn't have had to have been so fatal. I dunno – maybe I am being harsh here. Battles are unpredictable and if one engages in the „if I had just shot left and stood right instead of shooting right and standing left then John Doe wouldn't have bought the farm” thinking... Ultimately it was Thymil that killed Kamina. And that's another thing. Interesting who ends up killing us, isn't it? I'm sure Lord Genome would not have concieved that some little kid and one of his sex dolls would kill him. Just like Kamina couldn't concieve that he'd die at the hands of a tub of lard who led an interesting sex life with a one eyed half scorpion half lingerie model. Anyways...we're getting ahead of ourselves again... back on track... Ultimately, as tragic and sad and shocking as Kamina's passing is, I do admit that it makes for a far, far more amazing epic story. I mean, if Kamina had survived here and through to the end of the series – even if he died in some big „final” battle – it would not have been the same epic story that it turned out to be because in some ways, it probably would have gotten a tad predictable. This way, the center of the story is suddenly thrown out and the fallout is allowed to happen and be viewed by us – and this makes for a far, far more interesting story. But the cost of that interesting story is – as Simon puts it „losing something that couldn't be replaced.” Abayo, Kamina. Pete

Episode 7 can best be summed up as: „I keep watching episode after episode after episode of Gundam, and not even the 40 something episode MSG has as much action as this episode.” Hm. No – maybe „action” is the wrong word. More like totally amazing action – action that excites even Mr. „I'm not into mecha porn” me. I mean – I just love the fight scenes throughout Gurren Lagann, and this one is no different. The dramatic tension just builds and builds as Kamina's fighting spirit goes up against adversaries that are more and more „impossible” and both we and Kamina's friends are just flaberghasted like...huh? How will he possibly beat that? How can he possibly hope to win? What can he possibly do? And as improbable as the resolutions of such problems are in Gurren Lagann... is it really any less probable than..say...how Bassara resolves things in Macross 7? See, Gurren Lagann just substitutes fighting spirit for anime spiritia. It's like Rocky only on Steroids. Rocky also goes up against larger and larger foes – but his spirit is so strong that by force of sheer will he overcomes them. And so, just like with Rocky, Gurren Lagann builds this improbable confrontation and then presents crazy resolutions that...aren't so crazy after all, but rather just suffer the same problem as most resolutions to such situations in anime/cartoons – namely they are really coincidential. It makes perfect sense that Kamina's example would have inspired others to steal Gunmen and try to catch up with him. And, in the previous episode, the Black Klansmen girls do say that Kittan had „something to do” which is why he's „not here.” Well – now we know what he was up to. He traded in his ass-farting goat for a Gunmen! It's nice to see Daiakaiser from Ritona village as well. The other guys are all standard generic fair, although at least they have nifty character designs and get names. My favorite is the suave cool guy who will later give Yoko a ride. The mecha designs continue to be completely crazy – but by this point that's to be expected. Raging Billows Thymphil is also something else along with his Mobile Fortress. Now, it goes without saying that the fortress is of course one massive phallic symbol – and I do mean this quite literally. Remove the throbbing protruding phallic part and it's just a skinny, lanky robot that happens to be about four times taller than Gurren Lagann. The true thrust of its' power comes from the phallic blob which happens to be lined with cannons. What a...well...what can I say about this design? It's awesome! I so want somebody to make a toy of this! I mean – seriously – these are so much fun. It's like the perfect mix of childishness with real robot elements and everything is taken to the extreme. I mean – I can just imagine what these guys were smoking when they designed the mecha for this series, and particularly this one. It's almost as if a four year old thought up these designs – because they are on the joyous level of a little child who has absolutely no regard for physics, whose mind is unpoluted by contemporary design aesthetics, and who is just basically building a big robot out of legos of doolding on a piece of paper and happens to draw...this. And this isn't a critique – I think it's praise worthy. It's fresh, it's out of bounds no holds barred awesome. It's also about time I said something about Ron. I've been silent about Ron because his best scenes were actually in episodes 2 and 3 (he was in 2, right?). His wiggley fingers are just awesome. I like the fact that, just like Yoko is a flaming babe, Ron is a flaming homosexual. And just like the women's characters are exagerated for erotic effect, Ron's gayness is so totally flamboyant that Kamina wants to cut him in half. That's just the spirit of Gurren Lagann – everybody is very, very pronounced as a character. The most demure character, the one whose personality isn't exploding and bubbling out, but rather is locked in a constant state of tension, trying to reach the surface but always being surpressed is Rossiu. But...I'm kind of veering off track here. This episode is mainly a fighting episode and it really really does a beautiful job. I mean, this is the first time that Gurren Lagann faces something of rather galactic proportions – well, almost galactic. Not quite there...but this thing is definitely a small friggat class ship. I mean, I figure it is pretty much the size of the Macross...so that would qualify it, no? Or is it only the size of the the Dadelus or Prometheus? In either event, it's much much bigger and more powerful than anything they've faced up to now, and this fact just makes Kamina's tenaciousness all the more pronounced and mind boggling. But then it really comes down to whether you accept the super robot genre or not. I mean, Kamina's fighting spirit cures Gurren Lagann's leg. This will be explained later on in terms of the power of the Lagann unit specifically, but generally the connection between emotions and physical reality in this show are very intense. And if that's a far flung concept that it will be hard for you to accept it. But – try looking at it this way: Yoko has nice boobs and a great ass. If you don't accept the super robot premise of Gurren Lagann, then you won't get the chance to really enjoy Yoko. Because, once you doubt the „science” of Gurren Lagann, it's hard to watch the show and say „yeah that Yoko is cute...oh but now comes the part where they use 'magic' to fix the robot...bleh...” I dunno – maybe that's not how other people view shows, but me – I'm a wholistic kind of viewer. I either like all of it together or don't like any of it at all. Like, take Char's Counter Attack, which I wrote about earlier. I'm sure I said something generally praiseworthy about something in it – and today I can remember the mecha animation being good. But... my impression over all is that I'm not writing home about that movie, and it's not sheered onto my heart and soul forever. Anyways – a final note that needs to be put in is Yoko's feelings for Kamina. Obviously she's in love with him and obviously she's not happy about how he's risking himself. She scolds him like a loving woman would scold a man who's being reckless and risking himself, but it's almost like there's nothing she can do about him. But – my point here isn't to recount step by step Yoko and Kamina's relationship, but rather to make a general point about it: Yoko and Kamina's relationship is the best love story anime has given us. It's the best love story because of what happens to Kamina and what happens to Yoko later on. See, even in Macross, where the love triangle is either unresolved or resolved in favor of somebody, the love story isn't so compelling because the guy doesn't die and the girl doesn't become a spinster. Heck, even Macross Zero, which, in my view, has a fantastic love story, the ending is a mystery. You can say they both died, in which case the good news is that no one survives to feel an empty void and mourn the passing of their love for the rest of their lives. You could also say they were transported into another dimmension and are together in a better place. Either way, Sara didn't become a spinster. But with Kamina and Yoko...I'm getting ahead of myself now, but it's just so hard to discuss any thing about this show without immediately looking at it in the context of the epic form.... Because...see... Kamina and Yoko's love is seen to be powerful by the fact that Kamina isn't capable of expressing it better than he does (with characteristic pathetic bluster) and Yoko is so moved by it that she basically goes into retirement and becomes a lonely spinster. This isn't the fate you expect for a big boobed prime butt beauty of Yoko's caliber, but it's not unexpected given the depth of her emotions for Kamina. Her later fling with Kittan (man, I'm really getting ahead of myself here) is, in my opinion, not really a love affair as it is a) a reward for his manliness in the face of death, b) a nostalgic attraction for that kind of manliness because it reminds her of Kamina and c) a natural human desire to be with someone else – even if you can't be with the person you really really wanted to be (and no, I'm not talking about „settling for second best” but simply about how sometimes our relationships to people end up surprising us... Um...yeah... But that's really a topic that's kind of out there – not unrelated to this episode totally, since Yoko is clearly seen to be worried out of love for Kamina – but it's hard to discuss her worries and her attitude without going into all of that stuff. Oh – and of course Simon saves the day again... It's funny how easy it is, especially if you're watching this for the first time, to completely miss out on how it IS Simon who keeps saving the day and winning. This is likely caused by the fact that Simon is always a silent fighter. Kamina keeps yelling, bellowing and giving speeches, jumping around and doing stuff, while Simon is usually just very, very very scared and, 90% of the time just keeps begging that they run, retreat, go home, forget it, get to safety, try again later... So the impression is created that Simon is just this little spud who relies on Kamina, while in fact, if you look closely at who does what during the decisive moments of battles...Simon is the one who constantly has that Ace up his sleeze. I guess it'll take Nia for both him AND US to realize that overtly. But that's getting way ahead of things. So I'll stop there for now ! Pete

Episode 6 – how nice that it's something of a summarization of the previous five episodes, but done in style. But I think I won't go too much into it, although it is worth mentioning that Kamina and Simon's discussion of the events of episode 5 is quite long, which should suggest to the audience that the events of episode 5 are very, very important. Not in and of themselves, but rather as symbols for what the whole thrust of the series is aiming at. Kamina's summary, about how men have eyes in the front so they can see the horizon is an apt consolidation of his views, and contrasts nicely with the religion of the village. But there's really no point going too much into the details of this deliberation here, since it has all been fleshed out in my review of episode 5. What is worth noting here is that Simon says that we have eyes in our front so we can see the back of those who are in front of us. That's an interesting footnote to Kamina's philosophy. It's interesting because, for starters, women look pretty hot seen from behind, and it would be a pity if we couldn't look at them from that angle. But, more importantly, it's interesting because it means that we can also see what people like us are going through, how they stumble, and we can „watch their backs” - that is, take care of them, keep an eye out for them. Simon illustrates the point well by comparing himself to Rossiu, noting that if not for Kamina, Simon would have „probably ended up just like Rossiu.” This is Simon's special gift – his gift of empathy – that lends a special kind of humanity to Kamina's otherwise fairy relentless philosophy of life. It's a special kind of humanity that eventually will mature into a completely different, self-sustaining and confident character – here we are observing its' slow growth in the shadow of Kamina and others. In any event, the discussion about the Religious village takes up a significant amount of time, particularly the extent to which Simon and Kamina wonder what motivates people to be like that. All of the questions they raise are central to the theme of Gurren Lagann and will come back in future episodes. The questions themselves were already raised by the events of episode five, but apparently the writers felt it was necessary to raise these questions explicitly and verbally, just in case viewers didn't get episode 5. That said, episode 6 also stands as an adventure in its' own right, and not just a good dialogue about the previous episode with snapshots from episodes 1-4 mixed in. The adventure is fairly simple, of course, but extremely well executed insofar as the brunt of the action takes place in the nude. Well, I guess before we get to the nude parts, we need to spend some time on the banquet. The banquet scene is great. Given how scarce food of any kind is, and how it's necessary to hunt for it, and how sometimes your food turns out to be pilots of giant robots bent on killing you, and how well established the hunger of the heros is, this episode is mouthwatering and I almost feel myself wanting to pig out alongside the Dai Gurren Dan. I'm not a fan of seafood as such, but seeing all those whacky fish made me really hungry. I love eating like that, and truth be told the only thing missing from my culinary experiences are skimpy scantly clad girls oogling over me as I pig out. I do love how the episode plays with conventions. Rossiu expects that by entering the resort, they'll be met with foul play. Instead they are met with a meal. Rossiu begins to say that it could be poisoned, but before he can finish his sentence, the Brigade is already asking for second helpings. Then comes the spa. It's nice how, instead of showing us some elaborate progression, we just suddenly realize after talking about the moon that everyone is gone and then pop! The spa becomes a giant robot and starts chasing our naked heros through the night. And I need to put in a seperate nod of approval for the fact that the Spa-Gunmen was ...plugged into a socket in the side of a mountain using a routine electrical cord not unlike those you'd find in your typical home appliances. Bravo. I'm not entirely sure of the sequence of events at this point, because the animation does not concentrate heavily on progression; there's no movement from point A to point B to point C. Rather, we are treated to scenes that are suggestive of fluid motion. Kamina and Simon are running. Kamina manages to jump up onto the Spa-Gunmen. The Old Man lets Kamina in. Meanwhile Yoko, who apparently keeps a small firearm handy (we can only imagine where she kept it...), breaks free and attacks the Beastmen along with the Klansmen girls. Everybody is decked out in towels, lingerie, or just buck naked. And all of the fight scenes basically take place between naked people and sexually liberated fanservice girls who transform into wear wolves. Now come on. This is just awesome. How can you not fall in love with this crazy show at this point (if you still haven't)? One thing that is a point of curiosity – and not just in this episode but really throughout the series is this: just who is the Old Man? Where does he come from? Why can't he talk? Why does he keep helping our heros? The question is never answered, but I'm sure if I gave it some thought, or maybe asked (like I am now), the answer or potential answers would be interesting. In any event, this episode is loads of fun. It has a perfect mixture of intelligent discussion and naked people fighting wearwolves mixed in with Yoko once again loosing her bra. Yay Gurren Lagann! Pete

And now – episode 5! „I don't understand any of this!” This episode is just awesome. Gurren Lagann (the series) is one big metaphysical treatise on the struggle of Mankind with the abyss of despair, nihilism – the void – call „it” what you want. Episode 5 of the series is like a symbol within a symbol, because the story here is symbolic of the wider „truth” of the series. Rossiu's village's religious myths effectively achieve the same goals as the „rational philosophy” of Lord Genom's general rule over the Earth. The message here is clear: religion and reason are both used as a blunt against the truth of nihilism. This is why Gurren Lagann is not only anti-religious (or, to be very specific, anti-mythical), but is also anti-rational. It is because both reason and religion seem to serve the noble purpose of blunting nihilism in order for people to live, but by doing so that condemn people to what Kamina calls a „drab existence.” This is why Kamina is so unreasonable. It would be easy to make the mistake of seeing this episode as a simple tale about how one should not believe traditions and conventional truths, but rather one needs to experience things for ones' self. And in the context of just this episode alone, certainly it's not unfair for people to draw this conclusion. But surely, if you look at this episode retroactively, from the vantage point of the whole series, you realize that the Priest was serving the same goals as the uber-rationale Capitol of Teppin and its' Lord Genome, using all the power of science towards that goal. What goal? The goal of turning the human drive to evolution, expansion and adventure against itself in order to save the universe from the dangers inherent in that evolution. To keep people moderate rather than allowing extreme passions to have sway over the universe. I especialy enjoyed the fact that the writers made Kamina such a complete apeface in this episode. He was totally utterly calously rude to th people of this village – to the point of threatening physical violence and goading young boys into fist fights and taking a swing at an old man. This is pretty severe. This isn't just impassioned intellectual disagreement – this is all out burning passionate hatred of people who are too scared to seek out the truest truth and face it down. Now – Kamina hasn't found the truest truth yet – but he knows a lie when he sees it, and life is too short for him to be bound by lies. This philosophy „excuses” his behavior – although Simon has a point (at the end) when he says „we're not the kind of people this village needs now.” Notice that „now.” This is Simon's wisdom, which actually shines through very subtley since episode 1, but is vastly overshadowed by Kamina's bluster throughout the duration of these first few episodes. Simon agrees with Kamina's philosophy, except he has a sense of time and an understanding of how people work – what they fear, what motivates them, what moves them. Perhaps this is because Simon himself is moved often by fear, unlike the reckless Kamina. As for Rossiu – this is the only episode where he manages to gain my sympathy and say and do something right. The „doing” part is easy – he goes with the Dai-Gurren-Dan. The saying part is when he states „We are going to make the surface livable for people without the laws holding us back.” Of only future President Rossiu stucks to that promise made to himself, or at least remembered the causal (not casual!) link between those two – namely making a place livable without laws holding them back. But then again, it's the strength of Rossiu as a character that despite this youthful „rebellion” against this father, he is psychologicall bound to his religious upbrininging, which will forever determine his destiny. He simply can't escape from a pesimistic and conservative way of thinking. This doesn't necessarily mean he's wrong about everything, but he keeps letting himself be guided – or rather misguided – by fear. „What will happen if” could be his motto; and this way of thinking makes him instinctively want to levy rules and regulations on life to „prevent” something „bad” that otherwise MIGHT happen. But I guess these thoughts are all retrospective, because at „this” point (episode 5) Rossiu just seems like a devout religious kid who, faced with the chance to experience the real world for himself and draw independent conclusions, takes that challenge -and we might even at this stage have „hopes” for his future. But again – it's the psychological portrait or profile which is most interesting for me here, because truly it demonstrates that even if a religious person rejects the spirit of his rleigious upbringing (and Rossiu does that), he finds it very very very difficult to reject the essential habits of that religion. And in this case, the central habit of the religion was fear. Fear of what is above the village. Fear of too many babies being born. And a perversely intverted imperative to consider their poverty a blessing since any attempt to alleviate that poverty would risk leading to spiteful fighting or worse – a prosperity and advancement in human endeavors that eventually could threaten the galaxy. On this point – that's another very strong aspect of the series and this episode in particular – namely the contrast of characters. If you realize what motivates Kamina and what motivates the Priest, you realize how radically different these two characters are and how great the tension between them is. That the Priest is a pacifist while Kamina is a fighter just sweetens things, because as „wrong” as you might think a religious group like this one is, you have to admit that thy aren't exactly compelling their views on others. Still – in Kamina's eyes – they are compelling because they ar perpetuating their teachings during rittuals and me.... eyes closing. More tomorrow Pete

Ok – here I am writing all these episode reviews for Gundam shows; first MSG (albeit with a hefty break in between), and then Turn-A Gundam, when all the time a true challenge looms on the horizon – namely Tengeen Toppa Gurren Lagann. I call this series a challenge because if you think about it, there is never any discussion of its' merits and demerits. Rather, opinions seem to be evenly split between „this is the greatest story in the history of human life on the planet Earth” and „huh? You have to be kidding me.” It's not so much that detractors don't enjoy the series; but rather they refuse to acknowledge it's superiority. As one of our MW members put it in another thread (and sorry for not naming you – I honestly don't remember your sig, but I think you captured the view really well): „that show gets so much unwarranted hyperbole.” Admirers, on the other hand, would counter by sayin: „why yes, it does! And rightly so!” Now, as anyone who has read even a fraction of what I've written about Gurren Lagann on these boards knows, I fall squarely into the first, fanatical blind worship camp. That said, I'm by no means averse to trying to explain my fanatical devotion, which also means potentially taking up aspects that – as mind boggling as this sounds but – might raise doubts as to its' status as the greatest thing that human being have ever made in the history of the universe. Since I routinely watch the series in a marathon of back-to-back all nighters, I figured it would be only fitting to devote some written reviews to chronicle my personal thoughts on why Gurren Lagann is so great. Sadly – although actually happily (I'll explain this in a second) – I have just finished watching episode 4. I usually like to write my episode reviews fresh from watching a given episode; and very rarely following 2 episodes. Summarizing 4 episodes in one sitting would be folly, and I don't much want to go back and watch the first three episodes, which I just saw a few hours ago anyways... So I'll start my worshipful reviews from...episode 4. You'll just have to trust me that episodes 1-3, which effectively set up the context and introduce us to both the main characters, one of the main antagonists and the main mecha, as joyous, woncerful adventures without anything the matter with them and with so much going for them that it is impossible to concieve why this show is not broadcast on specially built seven thousand meter tall, forty thousand meter wide tele-beams floating over various points of the Earth on a regular basis, transmitting Yoko's boobs and the adventures of Dai Gurren-Dan to the planet, the universe and beyond? Instead, we'll start with episode 4. Oh – I mentioned that this was a happy thing after all. Why? Well – because episode 4 is controversial for its' „terrible” animation. Apparently, if you google this, you'll find the whole sordid affair spelled out in detail, culminating with one of Gainax studio's big cheeses getting fired, or resigning, or having his toes microwaved and his fingernails grinded by hot irons. I really can't remember which it was – but something went down, and „fans” were complaining and pissing and moaning that the animation was horrible. The animation is indeed different – but horrible? No. The animation is actually one of the best things about this episode because it showcases the underground, alternative, almost „grunge” like animation style that prevails throughout Gurren Lagann and that permeats the aesthetic design of the mecha and to a lesser extent the character art. Episode 4 just really makes no bones about this. We get extreme facial close ups worthy of bad porn, and we get almost two-dimmensional animations of the characters who seem to always be looking straight ahead or perfectly to the left or right without much of a sign of texture or the curvateurs and shadings usually suggestive of 3 dimmensional beings. But if you think about it – we also get the Black Klansmen, who ride furry animales that gallop backwards with their asses exposes – that is to say, the gallop forward, or striaght if you will, albeit ass first. And the rider holds their tailes up suggestively, just so you don't forget that the animal's ass is lunging your way. I think they also make fart sounds, but it's kind of hard to tell given that the Klansmen themselves seem to make semi-fart sounds which serve as their battle cry. What does this fact have to do with the animation? Well – just this: it's not like the animation being ass is somehow out of place, given the ass-forward animals that the Black Klansmen ride. A weak point? Probably – but see...the first step to accepting that Gurren Lagann is the greatest show in the universe is to stop thinking too much and discover the sheer pleasure that this show is able to bring about on account of the concepts it presents, the pacing, the humor, and the many babes who show up. Speaking of babes, this episode is a great one. Not only do we have Yoko, the main babe, but King Kittan's sisters – old, middle and young (forgot their names). The hottest one is of course the oldest one (IMO). Oh – there are also those fluffy pink monsters that look like the fluffy semi-prickley things I sometimes have to pull out of my dogs when they run off into the woods and come back with those things stuck to them. Ok – I'm drifting off here – but the point is – this experiment is ver...no...sorry – got it backwards – this episode is very very experimental. I mean – the main enemies might as well be dunkin dohnuts, and the newly introduced heros effectively ride farting goats ass-first forward into battle. Not to be outdone, the winning duo – Gurren and Lagann, piloted by our heros Kamina and Simon, have to combine to win – but not just any old combination will do. No. As Kamina says „a man's combination is a relationship...” I forgot the rest – but it was certainly homo-erotic and full of double entent, although one could also make the case for it being „purely” „Platonic” (though I actually don't agree with the idea that what passes for „Platonic” has anything to do with Plato)... Wait – I'm trailing again... My point: Bad animation fits with heroes riding farting goats into battle fits with enemies being pink prickly dohnuts fits with heroes needing a passionate homo-erotic combination to defeat the enemies. See – taken seperately, each of these aspects of this episode is extremely outlandish. So naturally, together, they make for an outlandish episode. Now, I'll grant that pessimists might read the above and claim: „So...you're basically admitting that this episode sucks, but you're trying to make it sound like sucking is something good?” The answer is yes and no. That is to say, the episode consciously sucks – or rather is consciously composed of elements which suck. But they suck in a way that a lot of anime, comics, cartoons and movies suck without being conscious of it. See, think of any of the great all time suckiest movies or animes you can and consider this question: did they suck on purpose? Was it intentional suckage? I'll wager that in the majority of cases, the suckage was a bi-product. Someone had what they and people close to them apparently thought was a great idea, only to have it turn out that most viewers thought the idea truly sucked. Now – with episode 4 – it is so patently obvious to me that from A to Z they were just messing around and having fun with it. Yeah, yeah, somebody will pop up and „prove” me wrong by pointing out that the animation was outsourced to CrapTastic Studios, and that it was all a terrible mistake and yadee yadee ya. But whatever the intentions – I'm just talking about the final product, and the final product works great. It's a lot of fun, and if for some reason someone were to start their viewing of Gurren Lagann from this episode, they'd probably write the series off as a poorly animated waste of time that relies on homosexual innuendo, fart jokes and moles taking a bite out of their asses and spitting out the meat so that their human friends can have something to eat. But before you decide that this is reason enough to hate this episode or put down the series, or at least „prove” that the series clearly doesn't deserve to be called „all time greatest” since it could produce such a cack-tacular episode – consider for a moment how zanny and fun that last paragraph is. I like watching this episode. It's a stylistic departure; that's for sure – but it's a merry one. It plays with anime as a genre – it's a critical meta-commentary on the anime community and on the anime market as such. Gurren Lagann, you see, is not just „some series.” It is one big commentary on anime itself. This is not unheard of in recent anime, apparently, since more and more anime seems to be getting self-reflective (reflective as in „thinking about itself” and not „repeating itself”). But Gurren Lagann does it best because it does so not in a small, subtle way, nor with a few token scenes (think the changing room in Episode 4 of Macross Frontier), but it does it constantly. Critique of the anime genre is inherent in each episode – and particularly episode 4 is a no holds bar visual essay on anime. I would come up with other things to say, and you might argue that my points do not convincingly demonstrate how it's possible for episode 4 to be so great, or how it's possible for the series to be called the best ever given a mediocre episode like this one. But the thing is – Gurren Lagann is so good that it can suck – when it sucks, it sucks so well that it's good. I dunno how else to put this. Off to eat more applie pie, drink more red grapefruit juice and watch episode 5. Pete

Mikeshekely - can't argue with any of your points You're too reasonable To take a little bit to get back the the subject- I do think it's an interesting question what age does to us. I just turned 30 this year, and I've discovered that I've mellowed out a lot. But my parents, who are in their sixties, seem to have totally gone bonkers - well, mainly my mom, who melodramatizes everything... I used to go emo a lot - now I go emo...err...less than usual. It wasn't just a matter of having a bad temper - I just really really let stuff get to me. I was never suicidal or anything like that - nor did I hurt other people. I just would stress so much that I'd get sick; like get the flu, or get a rash - like it would be "under my skin" and I would physically suffer. Then again, I also started working out regularly after turning 30 (contrary to my sig, I have actually been working out for like three or four months now ) ... That helps a LOT with dealing with stress on a physical level. But I wonder - to get to th point - how age effects things that excite us. Could it be that, just as age makes us less excited over the bad stuff in a bad way...so too we get less excited over the good stuff in a good way? Take women. I used to find myself able to do anything for a cute girl. Now I'm like - yeah whatever. You're cute, but you're annoying me. Go away. Or I actually think to myself "yeah well, don't expect me to dish out money on you because I would prefer to get a Yamato, so either go to bed with me or go home" - it's wierd. I don't have that problem with anime - but then again, I mainly watch only the anime that I really love, and I seldom watch multiple animes - so I don't really get any "bad experiences." Like... I read up on stuff before watching it. Spoilers be damned. I just want to know what I'm getting into, because gnerally I think one can't judge a series by one or two episodes - and to really give an anime a shot, you need to watch a significant amount of it... so...to avoid dissapointment/wasting time - I like reading up on stuff before watching it. I dunno. I tend to think I agree more with the people here who say it's not a matter of age, but rather of taste. On the other hand - no doubt aging has some effect on how we experience "new" things. Like, why is it that the original Transformers means more to me, despite comparatively crappy animation, plot etc, than the Bayformers? Simple. Because when I was a little kid, I experienced that feeling of 'OH MY GOD! THIS IS SO COOL!" and it was "new." Now - that feeling - that special special feeling is a ONCE IN A LIFE TIME thing - it's like your first love, you never forget her. Heck, just yesterday I went to teach an english class that happened to be at a place that was on the same block as where my first Polish girlfriend lived - and I walked down the street to where she used to live and even though now I hate her guts, it was a magical experience remembering her - and in a sense, if I hadn't had that one true love, then I would have been a be able to have lasted 5 years with my newer girlfriend, who I loved in a different way - namely not in this "OH MY GOD I'M IN LOVE!' kind of way - but in a less emotional, more stable kind of way, where the lack of passion meant that things were relatively safer - that there were no big fights (although she says there were, but I compare to my earlier relationships and say they were peanuts in comparisson - proof enough is that we're still on talking terms!) ... But see - it's the same with cartoons and anime. That first one is always going to be the one that made you feel so excited - and the excitement is the feeling you feel when you see that first one again - and never with any "newer" ones. What I enjoy about Macross is actually the fact that each consecutive show is different and fresh enough that I don't need to like them out of nostalgia's sake. I don't like M7 because it "brings back memories" of SDFM TV. It doesn't. It's so totally different. Continuity wise, it holds together, but the story takes a totally new tack. And that's good - because I can feel excited about it in a new way. Same with MF. Even though it's a homage series, I see predominantly what is new and fresh in the series. To me the homage is just the icing on the cake..or the outer layer os something like that... But again..I wonder...age...how come age effects how I look at women and Transformers but not how I look at Macross? Pete

YOU GUYS REALLY DENSE!!! "STUDIO NU" NOT COMPANY!!! STUDIO NU NAME OF TOMMY COUSIN!!! STU (LIKE IN STEWART) DIO (BECAUSE HIM ITALIAN) SO MAKE "STUDIO" AND THEN "NU" BECAUSE MOTHER FROM KOREA!!! (OWN ANIMATION FACTORY!!) SO STUDIO NU OWN RIGHT TO STORY AND SINCE STUDIO NU IS PERSON IS COUSIN OF TOMMY THEN HG OWN RIGHTS TO STORY BECAUSE STUDIO NU WHO TOMMY'S COUSIN IS GIVING IT TO THEM!!! HOW MORE MUCH TIMES I MUST EXPLAINING THIS!?!??!?!?! MEMO2034023502 --------- Pete He's baaaaack!

Got around to watching another episode of Turn-A-Gundam. Not bad, not terrible, but not good or even midly nice either. I would call Anus' Attack forgettable if not for...well..Anus. I don't like manly women, but I guess it's sweet that she at least had a husband once and has a nice daughter and it's true that she's passionate about the land and knowledgable. It's also another good learning moment for Diana-Sama. I'm not quite sure what to make of the Hippie brigade, aptly called the Red Brigade (although I wonder why...sine there's nothing red about them other than the fact that they're hippies, and even that's just a stereotype)... But.. over all this episode is just way too much sentimental slop. And the fighting is kind of getting pointless. It's like... in MSG, at least the idea was that Zeon was chasing the White Base, which was an experimental ship with a super power mobile suite - the experimental Gundam - which turned out to be very powerful and thus is was kind of like going after a big fish. That was most of the series, before Lala and Loony (aka the Newtype mumbo jumbo) and that was interesting. Here, it seems that the biggest problem is that the chain of command in both Moonrace and Militia factions is totally broken. Somebody's always going out to sortie without asking permission, and the Militia leaders seem bent on digging up more mechanical dolls to strengthen their "negotiating position"... The problem with this silly tripe is that if the Moonrace was intent on destroying the Earth race, there would never have been ANY negotiations. Even "now" with the White Doll and other MSs of the Militia, Moonrace could probably vaporize all resistance if it wanted to. Yet they keep showing restraint and trying to negotiate a treaty. Also - what happened with Gamin's two years of radio communication - I mean - did that not bear ANY fruit? Lots of plot holes here. The plot holes are easily overlooked when we focus on Diana-Sama in a hot souther belle outfit being sexy. But when the focus shifts to old women named Anus who own donkeys - I start thinking about all the plot holes. This show is uneven. Some great episodes and some not so great. But I don't want to be too harsh on Anus. She is very brave and determined and has a lot of spirit. I just think that they intentionally overdid her screeching voice and that kind of made her less gentle than I would like a lady to be... Oh well. Pete

You know, Harmony Gold should just cave in and make a badly animated direct sequal to Macross showing what happened to Rick Hunter and Lisa Hayes without once using the name Macross and not showing us anything too reminiscent of Macross. I imagine the following: Lisa has gone blond. She's now got short hair and due to a mutant spore contracted when the SDF-3 came into close radius of an exploding sun, she has developed a third tit. Think that six tited dancer from Jabba's Palace, only three tits, triangle formation, and blond - short blond hair - kind of a Gozer hair do. Gozer - from Ghostbuster - remember her? That kind of hair, only blond, three tits and doesn't look like she just came out of a bubble bath. She lives with Rick, who now goes by the name of Dan and calls her "Titania." They live on the edge of a Black Hole - like in the Disney Movie, "The Black Hole" (I have the comic, it's awesome). Buzz Lightyear's rescue ship, the Tirelius, finally tracks them down only to find that at some point, everyone turns "Reverse color." Like in the G1 Transformers episode "The Killing Jar" (yes, this idea pulls in a lot of elements, aka copies them, from other shows - but it's Harmony Gold, so we have to make it a show that people will recognize as an HG production). Anyways - the SDF-3 landed on an asteroid on the edge of the black hole and turned into a big black panther wearing a white t-shirt, sitting like a Sphinx. The crew are close approximations of the Thunder Cats without Liono and Tigra. Or was that Cheetor? Anyways, in terms of mecha, people ride around in Mad Max type trucks that happen to be Peterbilts and have flames on the side. They transform into fairly generic Optimus Prime look alikes. The main battle takes place between those who want to go into the black hole and those who don't. It's all about which way to stear the asteroid. The ones who want to go in build an underground reactor to power some boosters they've built into the side of the Asteroid. The ones who don't want to go underground to stop them. That's basically where the Warwithin pirating stops. In the end, Minmey appears and sings We Will Win, which rouses everyone to put down their guns and those who want to go into the black hole put on space suits and just jump. The end. The merchandise could consist of imported, repackaged TT Hongoli Gundam bootlegs. People are dumb and won't tell the difference anyways - just put Robotech: The End of the M Saga on the box. Pete

Picky Pete picks on some posts: But it's such a compelling love story, unlike DYRL, which is less compelling - in this one you can really feel Shin and Sara's relationship blossom and come on - the ending is amazing! And it's so moving. This is the best OVA in Macross bar none. Perfect from A to Z. To this day I can't understand why anybody would have a single complaint about this. I was so happy to see an episode dedicated to it in MF. Well, technically we can't blame the designs of Sound Force's valkyrie for "flying in the face of serious military design" because...they seriously aren't military jets. They are customs and privately owned valkyrie. Plain and simple. This was actually something I really liked about M7 - it showed that valkyrie eventually weren't something that only the military had and the rest of us rubes never got. People could buy their own and do what they wanted with them. Bassara got his, painted it red, gave it a face and made it into a music machine. You can say they are silly designs - but not silly because they aren't true to military form, since they never were meant to be. Yeah - totally agree. Although, after a while watching, you do get used to it - and in fact the noses aren't really that pronounced - they're just not something anime watchers are used to. It's almost as though they just can't find middle ground between "no nose to speak of" and "sword fish nose" and like the animators were trying to be really revolutionary here saying "look - we'll make this SO REALISTIC that the people will have VISIBLE noses! No anime has done that before!" But actually - unless my memory is short circuiting (always possible), I believe Ideon did this, as did Neon Genesis Evangelion to some extent. In any case, I'm a "no nose" fan because cute girls usually have no noses anyways. that just sounds so wrong Sorry for picking on you - but your post was so detailed that I couldn't resist having a conversation with it Pete

Tough question when you put it that way. My answer would have to be hot girls singing mode... but that's not an option... hm. You know... even if I had to just really vote between the three modes of the VF-1, it would still be hard to pick. The fact that the mecha is variable is a big part of its' charm, and the extent to which each of the three modes has a very definitive purpose - they aren't random. I really can't look at the VF-1 in terms of "one awesome mode and two less awesome." But what really got me into Macross was Minmey, seen from behind, in episode 1, when Roy was oogling her while she was busy fussing over her little cousin. I loved the dress she was wearing. It was so feminine; simple, yet classy. While I do enjoy modern fashion, which is generally mode sexualized and erotic than fashion from older times, I have to admit that there's just something about a slim, well proportioned girl in a knee-length dress that does wonders for me. I guess I'm one of those guys who enjoys well cut clothes rather than revealing clothes. It's not so much that I'm against tank tops and mini skirts and stuff like that - but even in Macross Frontier, I believe Ranka's charming dresses to be miles and miles ahead of Sheryl's pretentious and pedestrian prostitute-chic. There is, naturally, a certain primal delight in the bare sexuality that Sheryl projects, as well as the fact that I appreciate it's only part of her "act" and not indicative of her character (though, the two are very very connected - she really LIKES her image, I think)... but still - Ranka is just beautiful in her dresses - not so much in that yellow one she starts out with - and I don't like her goofy teenage girly necklace - icky. But later, she has some utterly gorgeous duds. Her school uniform, naturally, but also the white dress and the blue dress - the one she wears while on the island filming Birdman. Her "performance" dress is kind of silly, although it gets the job done. But generally, her dresses are more demure and classical, and I like that. Minmey was, of course, the queen of classical style and good Lord did she look great in that stuff! Even her one piece bikini was a hit - and most girls with her figure would be wearing a two piece, I think? In any event, I think it was Minmey that got me into Macross - particularly her looks. Her personality not so much (won't complain about her "character" because from a literary angle it was interesting) - but dag - she's so beautiful. The only time Misa looks that beautiful is towards the later episodes where we get glimpses of her in casual clothing. I never found the officer's duds attractive. They weren't bad, just not very feminine (although that was sort of the point I guess...) Oh my. I've strayed completely off topic. I guess I'll vote um...um.... I dunno. I honestly can't say which mode sorry Pete

Hm. Some thoughts: a) You wrote that you mainly liked that action in Robotech. When you finally saw the original Japanese Macross, did you still only mainly like the action - or did the plot, characters and music also move you? Because if it was just the action combined with a love of the specific mecha designs - then no wonder the newer stuff does nothing for you. No matter how great the action might be, it's not VF-1s.... b) You're not alone in disliking 7 and Zero. There are plenty of people who hate 7 for Bassara and kiddie protodevilin and hate Zero for being all "eco-feely-touchy." I happen to love the two shows for those precise reasons. I love Fire Bomber and I love the tension set up between nature and technology in Zero - a tension that also found its' way into Frontier (The Frontier being eco-friendly while Galaxy is science run amok). And mind you, I'm by no means what would be called an "environmentalist" in political parlance - I just happen to have a personal fondness for nature and sympathize with the philosophical notion that Man cannot be happy unless he also finds his place in Nature rather than covering it up in technology - though this personal view is by no means a political view in my case (in fact, I think that most environmentalist views are simplistic and destructive - and held by people who live in big cities and not in the wilderness - which is where I live).... But that's verging on off topic... Another, less sophisticated way of putting it is that I like sun-tanned chicks who swim naked in lakes and sing in French. c) Do you enjoy any other anime, or is it just a case of "I saw Robotech when I was a kid so I like Macross" ? Because that would also go a long way in explaining it. If you don't follow other non-Macross anime, then it probably is just nostalgia for a particular series/time in your life. If you DO follow and enjoy other anime, then it's more fair to say that you just don't like other Macross series but still have fun with anime in general. I dunno. I love the girls and the music and I love the humor too. The mecha and the action are secondary aspects for me. I love the characters and I really love the fashion. Especially in Macross Frontier - I love how much attention was paid to aesthetics. Pete

Haruhi movie?? This is a winner - especially since it's not a "retelling" or anything like that and will likely be all original footage. This is truly my favorite non-super robot anime ever! And the music rivals Macross easy! Only there's so little of it Pete

That explains why I don't know Angel Pants. I haven't seen Flashback 2012... But I will try to find the song on Youtube thanks, Pete

Just out of curiosity...which one is Angel's Pants? I don't remember it at all...? Pete

Is that when the next end of the world is scheduled for? Pete

If I were you, I'd join a flying circus asap. It's the only way for you to shack up with a chick like Minmey. Pete

My favorite is Ai wo Oboeteimasuka. I think it's a wonderful love song and still enjoy listening to it. The rest of them are kind of dated in a bad way. Not like Fire Bomber which is awesome no matter what. I guess the thing with Minmey's songs is that they work really well in the context of the TV series, but not so much on their own. Oh sure - Love Drifts away is tops, and Shaopailon is fun - but they're kind of hard to listen to while, for example, driving or during a romantic dinner for two. I guess I "judge" music on the context within which I can listen to it. Fire Bomber is great driving music, as is Gurren Lagann. With Fire Bomber on, I feel like a speed demon. With Gurren Lagann, I feel like I'm driving a tank. Minmey?... I dunno... the weather would have to be just right. Right now, Ai Oboteeimasuka is the only Minmey tune in my phone's mp3. Beyond that it's a mix of Fire Bomber's best, and the songs from Haruhi Suzumiya (Super Driver, Gods Knows and Lost my Music as well as Mikuru's Adventures Song)... I'm not criticizing Minmey, just saying - to appreciate her music I'd need to live on a super dimmensional fortress or something... It's hard to find a "place" for it. Pete

Lovely. Bounty hunter Yoko is definitely next on my list Truly a must have Great pics Although I would argue that my 1/5 is the CUTEST Yok ever made. Perhaps not the best - but certainly the cutest Pete

Well I'm glad he didn't get killed in the Nam and went on to make movies. But I never heard of any of those except Sin City, and that only because I saw a commercial or a trailer or something. Pete Basking in His Ignorance

Corny or not, I love it. The whole show reminds me of when I worked in a medium sized grocery store in Kalamazoo Michigan. Man... and to think - if I'd stayed there, I could have been a shift manager by now. There was a place serving coney dogs just on the other side of the street, and a video rental next to it that I would get movies at to watch after work. Sometimes me and my roommate would cruise to a chinese joint where they had a buffet. On the weekends I'd go to the mall. And this was pre-9/11. Best years of my life. Chad Vader brings back those great memories - where the world was so much fun. Pluss, working in a grocery store really is like that (minus the Darth Vader costume, and the use of the Force...) Pete

* Looks at link to "Universe Countdown* Sigh This just shows how completely out of whack I am with Transformers these days. For me, Universe Countdown should be called Universal CannonFodder. Beyond that... he's just a generic robot in my eyes... Pete endless TF whiny boy...

Nifty looking new pack I'm liking how the VF-25 alone is pretty traditional looking, harkening back to the old VF-1 in many way (although it's got some Zero elements in there too), but thanks to all the various super packs, armor packs etc etc, you can give it a different look, depending on your taste. Very nice. Keeps everybody happy. Pete

The only other Bay film I've seen is Armegeddon. I liked it for the most part - the only thing I thought was a bit over done was the pathos with the daughter saying goodbye to Bruce Willis as he blew himself up with a nuclear bomb. .... Reads that last sentence over one more time. Never mind! Bay's movies seem to suffer from their virtues - namely they are a major exercise in pathos. And given that all of sci-fi can be accused of being one big lump of pathos - that's a trait that sci-fi writers, directors and producers have to watch out for the most. Bay's problem is that on the one hand he strives for visual realism while giving us visualizations that have an almost zero probabaility factor of actually happening AND lacing that with bad acting and cliche characters. Words will fail Wanzerfan when I admit that the only movie-related thing I can think of when he writes "Rodriguez" is that one character who had a shrine in his bunk in Platoon. ("Quite a shrine you've got there, Rodriguez" - the lootenant says to him in that particular scene). Beyond that -I didn't even know there was a director by that name. Clint Eastwood on the other hand is an exceptional actor and director. He would have been fantastic for a Transformers movie I think - but I doubt he would have taken it up. The thing with Transformers is that it just got really lucky with Simon Furman and Bob Budiansky, who were foremost writers and not marketers. Michael Bay is a marketers director. He's the kind of guy who can get along with the marketing department of Hasbro I think, because he is able to take what a marketer wants and frame it in a manner that is both entertaining and jolting/enduring (in the short term)...if that paradox makes sense. Clearly the Transformers movies have succeeded in expanding the customer base for Hasbro's products, and to do that, you basically needed to dillute what Transformers were and make it big and explosive. I'm curious Gubaba - why did you hate the first movie so much? I had a lot more tolerance for it...although seeing...well...not seeing (since I haven't seen ROTF)...where things went...maybe that tolerance was misplaced.... Pete

Looks at pictures. Remembers why he didn't watch ROTF. Activates Standard Complaint Mode: I dunno. Well - no - I DO know. I know why I just can't enjoy Transformers as they are today...the reasons are so mundane that they scare even me. But...here they are: Look at Skids. The head is an easy target to pounce on - but I'm going to let even the head design slide because I understand that it was meant to be funny/comical and once in a while that kind of stuff is actually ok - independent of whether you agree with the effect - there's nothing wrong with doing it to one or two characters; giving them a little twist in the design department - face or head design. Think Unicron, whose head looks like Satan...or...well...at leas looks kind of like some imaginations of Satan (since I don't suppose Hasbro had access to the actual real image of Satan? ...) or ...or...hm. Ok...scratch that - I guess it didn't happen a lot after all. Except in Beast Wars, whee head sculpts were often tied to the beast mode.... um...but back on subject... Aside from the head, which for the above reasons can actually be "forgiven" - I just don't like the lack of explicit...well - of Explicit...ness? Can I say that? It's too fluid. All of the parts seem to pour into one another making for this dynamic gob. But a gob or gobby gook if you will just doesn't ring the robotic bell for me. For me, Transformers are big, heavy lumbering machines. They are dynamic relative to one another, and maybe dynamic given the lower gravity on a moon-sized planet such a Cybertron - but more than anything, they're big, heavy and blocky. They wear their alt modes on their sleeves, and on their legs, and chests, and knees ... no on their backs only. I guess it just boils down to that. Pretty mundane. Not really an earth shattering critique I know... Goes back to playing with his G1ers... Pete