areaseven Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 (edited) Over the past five years, we've had some good robot/mecha anime such as The Big O, Vandread, Mazinkaiser, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, and most recently, Soukyuu no Fafner - Dead Aggressor. On the other hand, we've had some bad ones as well. Here are three prime examples: Choujuushin Gravion / Choujuushin Gravion Zwei ( 超重神グラヴィオン / 超重神グラヴィオンツヴァイ ) GONZO/Fuji TV/Pony Canyon/Media Factory, 2002-2004 ADV Films, 2004 (Gravion Zwei still unlicensed) Masami Obari has gone senile. After Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture (1994), his career as character designer/animator/director went downhill with stinkers like Battle Arena Toshinden, Voltage Fighter Gowcaizer and Virus Buster Serge. The thought of him going back to doing mecha anime sounded like a good idea at first, but once Choujuushin Gravion hit the airwaves... The Good Well, it's done by GONZO, the team behind anime hits like Vandread, Yukikaze and Saikano, so how can it go wrong? The Bad With lackluster animation, Gravion may probably be GONZO's worst title to date (yes, even worse than Blue Submarine No. 6). If there is a storyline, it must've disappeared during production, as Gravion relies mostly on panty shots and Mizuki Tachibana's gargantuan T&A shots. As for the mecha designs, Kunio Okawara (all Gundam titles) makes himself look more senile, as Gravion is just a cheap derivative of his GaoGaiGar design. The Ugly Not only is Gravion guilty of a weak plot, boring mecha designs and an ill attempt to use T&A, it's also guilty of poor Engrish. Add one more point if the English dubbing sucks (which is almost guaranteed, given that it's an ADV title). The Bottom Line Not even Mizuki's floatation devices can save this sinking ship of an anime. Links Download the trailer here Original A7 Review -- Hajakyousei Great Dangaioh ( 破邪巨星Ｇ弾劾凰 [ダンガイオー] ) AIC/TV Asahi/Avex, 2001 Viz LLC, 2002-2003 Ah, yes - Dangaioh. One of the first few subtitled anime titles to hit the U.S. shores. The action was good, the animation was great and the mecha designs were spectacular. The downside was that the three-part OAV ended in a cliffhanger. After over a decade of waiting for a continuation, AIC finally came up with a follow-up series titled Great Dangaioh. But wait a minute! Is this the same Dangaioh we all have known for ages? The Good It does have the name Dangaioh... The Bad This is absolutely nothing like Dangaioh. The characters are not likeable and the mecha designs are just plain fugly. Not to mention that G-Dangaioh's final attack is one of the lamest in anime history. The Ugly Don't get me started on the Philippine English dub that VIZ commissioned for this series. The Bottom Line Making Great Dangaioh was a not-so-great idea after all. Links Download the trailer here (QuickTime) Download the trailer here (Windows Media Player) -- Shinkon Gattai Godannar!! ( 神魂合体ゴーダンナー！！ ) OLM/AIC/AT-X/The KlockWorx Co., Ltd/TAKI Corporation, 2003-2004 U.S. Distributor Pending If there's one robot anime that could possibly be worse than Gravion, it's this one. The Good Out of everything in this series, Shizuka and her Core Gunner are practically the only character and mecha that are likable. The Bad Instead of having a storyline, Godannar relies on gratuitous T&A to the point of being borderline hentai. (Anna's mother Kiriko has a freakin' 94cm bustline!) Never mind that the animation is decent; this is an example of how NOT to make a robot anime. The Ugly There are actually mecha designs that are worse than those of Okawara. Godannar's design is both unoriginal and uninspiring. Oh yeah, and it's ugly, too. The Bottom Line The combined floatation devices of all the female characters won't save this Titanic disaster. Links Original A7 Review Edited September 4, 2004 by areaseven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CF18 Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 Over the past five years, we've had some good robot/mecha anime such as The Big O, Vandread, Mazinkaiser, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED, and most recently, Soukyuu no Fafner - Dead Aggressor. On the other hand, we've had some bad ones as well. Here are three prime examples: Shinkon Gattai Godannar!! ( 神魂合体ゴーダンナー！！ ) OLM/AIC/AT-X/The KlockWorx Co., Ltd/TAKI Corporation, 2003-2004 U.S. Distributor Pending If there's one robot anime that could possibly be worse than Gravion, it's this one. The Good If anyone has anything good to say about this series, go right ahead. It's fun! The character actually have some depth, as the show pay a lot of attention to the characters, even the background maintenance crews, instead of just showing endless monster kicking. And the animation is really well done and recycled action sequence is still reasonable, unlike Gundam SEED. You are not looking for some deep story in this kind of show, are you? The Bad Instead of having a storyline, Godannar relies on gratuitous T&A to the point of being borderline hentai. (Anna's mother Kiriko has a freakin' 94cm bustline!) Never mind that the animation is decent; this is an example of how NOT to make a robot anime. Blah! You think Mazinkaiser is good when it have one actual hentai episode. The T&A in Godanner sure is over the top by design, but in the show itself they are not too distracting. The Ugly There are actually mecha designs that are worse than those of Okawara. Godannar's design is both unoriginal and uninspiring. Oh yeah, and it's ugly, too. Bull poo. I don't care about Godanner itself, but Core Gunner rocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fernarias Posted September 3, 2004 Share Posted September 3, 2004 Shizura rocks. Goddaner is a great parady anime. F. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myk Posted September 4, 2004 Share Posted September 4, 2004 Well, a 94cm bustline can be seen as a good thing, can't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skull 0ne Posted September 5, 2004 Share Posted September 5, 2004 Shizura rocks. Goddaner is a great parady anime.F. Oooouch.... that is sweet battlesuit . wooo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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