And so it begins. From this point on, there will be no downtime. On a scale from 1 to zawa, the intensity will never drop below an 8.
This covered 2 and a half chapters, so I think we should be alright with only 8 episodes left. Might be cutting it close, but it should make the pacing better.
Well, once you've duelled in the arena behind the school in search of that shining thing, that is! (do you have a creepily jealous sister that can be there?)
So long as there is a single breath in this body, I WILL NOT ALLOW THAT FUTURE TO HAPPEN!
GARAGA
I have had about 30 minutes to process what I just watched, and I'm still not entirely sure. It's definitely B-movie material, but I just don't know what it was, hahaha.
Plot Summary
Well, this will be a summary as best as I can interpret. They kind of kept changing things, and it feels like I was supposed to have gained some kind of external knowledge of what was going on prior to the movie.
A cargo captain has hired a temporary crew to fly with him on a delivery, but things go haywire. The ship has an explosion that causes it to change course slightly before entering into the black hole it was going to use to warp out near their destination (yeah, they spend about 5 minutes introducing and explaining this at the very beginning, making you think this will be extremely important, but that's it). They end up making a crash landing on a nearby planet, and the crew finds themselves unable to leave.
They work on exploring and figuring out just what this planet is like, and here's where things get really confusing.
We're shown earlier that one of the crew is apparently responsible for things happening how they did, but it turns out EVERY PERSON ONBOARD WAS SECRETLY SOMEONE ELSE. Yeah, it gets confusing since it has something to do with politics, an extremist group, and some other sector.
Okay, I'm just going to lay it out as clear as possible now, no frills.
The protagonist, Jay, runs into a psychic named Farla, after the crew fights off some crazy monkey men with swords. A girl who was in chryo-sleep, as cargo in the transport, is apparently the daughter of a general and gets kidnapped by the monkey men. Her dad is on the planet trying to colonize it. He is aided by an android named Alf Dolf (hahahaha). The race Farla belongs to is called the Lars, and the general wanted to stop colonizing the planet after he learned how sacred the planet was to their religion. However, Alf brainwashes him into taking the Ulmunga (the monkey people), experimenting on them to get them beyond an animal level of comprehension, and have them kill the Lars so human hands aren't responsible for a mass genocide.
HOWEVER! Alf is apparently building a secret army of robots in the basement (the general and the monkeys/guards never went in the basement because it wasn't shielded against the psychic powers of the Lars like the rest of the castle is, but since Alf's an android, he's safe) to take over the planet. Jay goes to rescue the daughter (Heran), and he is captured. He's rescued by two Lars that are working for the brainwashed general (no real explanation is ever given as to why), and they find out what's going on. The rest of the crew, apparently there to do something good(?) work with Farla to break into the castle.
The general has left the castle with Heran to go to the satellite base they have, and Alf lets his robots loose on the castle. Jay and the others get caught in the crossfire as the Ulmungas suddenly decide to rebel against the humans. Jay pursues Alf to the satellite, and then there's a fight and the end. And, Alf was brainwashing the general into continuing with the colonizing so that he could use his robots to take over the galaxy.
Or something. I don't really know.
You can get the sense that the writer really had something important they wanted to discuss when they touch on things like the senseless fighting between people that look so similar, but they won't take the time to learn from one another, the encroachment on both the territory and lifestyle of an entire people, where to draw the line with science, and so forth, but it got lost somewhere in production in favor of COBRA MONKEY COMMANDOS, ATTACK!
Presentation
Garaga isn't anything to write home about. It has some really good looking segments, but they're pretty brief and far between. The best way to describe this movie is if someone watched Planet of the Apes, the G.I. Joe cartoon, and used a TON of 80's action figure toys as inspiration for designs this is what you would get.
Everything is kind of excessive and stupid looking, but it has a certain charm with how completely derivative it is of so many things of its time.
The music is pretty forgettable, but it felt so out of place when it was prominent that I couldn't help but laugh. When Jay was being taken to be burned at the stake after he was captured, they intro'd the sequence with some very old school sounding hiphop hahahaha.
Some of the things present really showed some promise if they had been developed a little more (like Jay's amazing battle armor which turned into a beam gun, lightsaber, and quick-burst jetpack), but they ultimately feel like they lean towards "lazy" more often than "homage."
Characters
There's not really anyone worth remembering, since they're pretty generic. You have Jay, who is the pimp, rogue guy that all of the women get weak in the knees for almost instantaneously. There's Onbu, who is the robot sidekick that literally says "beep." The rest of the crew who are... I don't know. They're something, but it's so muddied I don't know. Farla is the psychic that acts entirely as the deus ex machina psychic the entire film. The general, the daughter, the monkeys... if only there had been someone great...
Kina~~~ She is a Lar as well, but she's got a knife and knows how to use it. She's stealthy, confronts one of the freaky robots on her own, and ultimately is key in the climactic ending.
Well, okay, Jay was pretty cool, but I had to have an excuse to post links to my Kina screengrabs.
Is it worth watching?
Do you like silly things, even if they don't make sense? It's definitely not going to be something that just anyone could sit down and enjoy, but I found it rather fun. There's enough nonsense visually, weird lines, strange inconsistencies, and an all-around sense that the vision was too large to truly be realized that it has a sort of "home-video" quality to it that's endearing.
It really feels like the script was written by a couple of kids who just wanted to throw all the stuff they thought was super cool into the film.
What a charming, fast-paced and all around nostalgic ride. I guess the series was originally planned to be 36 episodes long which resulted in it's very story driven nature. I said in the beginning that the characters weren't very intriguing, but I think in the end they each have a good standing in the story. Van especially-- he's really an apt hero for these types of shows. An archetype that doesn't carry the negative parts, too.
Anyway, if you're looking for a nostalgic adventure with good/pretty mech action, look no further than the The Vision of Escaflowne.
Forget Christmas, 'tis always the season to be foreveralone.
I have to agree that the female characters are stealing the show, and I'm not even mad about it. The various imoutos are usually creatures of pure id and rage. Nago is completely worn down by life. Literature Girl is HNNNNNNNG. Ringo's compulsion to resort to violence whenever she realizes she's out of her league around the boys' student council never gets old. Random schoolgirls are sadists and bullies. This week's High School Girls are Funky was, as always, incredible.
I'd watch K-On! if the girls beat the shit out of each other at the slightest provocation.
Forget Christmas, 'tis always the season to be foreveralone.
I have to agree that the female characters are stealing the show, and I'm not even mad about it. The various imoutos are usually creatures of pure id and rage. Nago is completely worn down by life. Literature Girl is HNNNNNNNG. Ringo's compulsion to resort to violence whenever she realizes she's out of her league around the boys' student council never gets old. Random schoolgirls are sadists and bullies. This week's High School Girls are Funky was, as always, incredible.
I'd watch K-On! if the girls beat the shit out of each other at the slightest provocation.
And jman's next avatar:
http://i.imgur.com/PoCGm.jpg[img]
They're killing me with these faces.[/QUOTE]
fffffff you're right, I totally should have picked that one.
Ah well, lit girl creeper smile is good nonetheless.
Planetes: Closing Thoughts
- I wonder what the ending would've been like if
Tanabe died
- Did he seriously
leave a baby in her before going on a 7 year trip?
- Long distance relationships never work out, luckily the writers don't have to deal with that
- Lunarians > Terrorists
- Not enough Yuri being deep toward the end
- This was meh, then was horrible, then was great, then was good, then was awesome, then was back to good again
- The art really sucks
I think literary girl still slightly edges out Ringo in the amazing face department because of dat fang, but Ringo going totally out of character and channeling her inner cat is reeeeeeally good. In a show with tons of great faces, that was one of the best.
Planetes: Closing Thoughts
- I wonder what the ending would've been like if
Tanabe died
- Did he seriously
leave a baby in her before going on a 7 year trip?
- Long distance relationships never work out, luckily the writers don't have to deal with that
- Lunarians > Terrorists
- Not enough Yuri being deep toward the end
- This was meh, then was horrible, then was great, then was good, then was awesome, then was back to good again
- The art really sucks
Planetes: Closing Thoughts
- I wonder what the ending would've been like if
Tanabe died
- Did he seriously
leave a baby in her before going on a 7 year trip?
- Long distance relationships never work out, luckily the writers don't have to deal with that
- Lunarians > Terrorists
- Not enough Yuri being deep toward the end
- This was meh, then was horrible, then was great, then was good, then was awesome, then was back to good again - The art really sucks
Had fun with the fake generic guys in alleyway vs. white knight skit.
And the lit girl gag is probably my favorite part of the show.
Decent episode, definitely better than the last two.
Today...the wind is sparkling.
Edit: And as always, the Funky school girls are a hoot.
Got damn this shit was intense. The animation and choreography for the fights was pretty awesome too. This seems like a good way to handle SRS BZNZ arcs in a show like this. Keep it short and concise and don't leave out the comedy that makes the show great in the first place.
Got damn this shit was intense. The animation and choreography for the fights was pretty awesome too. This seems like a good way to handle SRS BZNZ arcs in a show like this. Keep it short and concise and don't leave out the comedy that makes the show great in the first place.
Got damn this shit was intense. The animation and choreography for the fights was pretty awesome too. This seems like a good way to handle SRS BZNZ arcs in a show like this. Keep it short and concise and don't leave out the comedy that makes the show great in the first place.
This reminds me, yesterday they confirmed the date and price for the U.S. release of the Benizakura-hen movie through Section23's May solicitations. May 29, $30/40 SRP for the DVD/BD respectively, both hybrid.
I really wonder who they'll cast as the first ever English voice for Gintoki.
The opening is the worst part of K-on season 2, poor song choice and CG, what the hell was Kyoani thinking, especially after the first season having such a nice opening. At least the rest of the show is great.
Got damn this shit was intense. The animation and choreography for the fights was pretty awesome too. This seems like a good way to handle SRS BZNZ arcs in a show like this. Keep it short and concise and don't leave out the comedy that makes the show great in the first place.
Two episodes in, I'm sort of shocked by how good Dennou Coil is. The entire technology concept is neat, Densuke provides an easy emotional reason to take the cyber-threats seriously, and the grandmother and younger sister are excellent comic relief.
I can't believe nobody's licensed it for US release. It's been four years!
Two episodes in, I'm sort of shocked by how good Dennou Coil is. The entire technology concept is neat, Densuke provides an easy emotional reason to take the cyber-threats seriously, and the grandmother and younger sister are excellent comic relief.
I can't believe nobody's licensed it for US release. It's been four years!
It's one of those things I'd actually buy. (I mean, I even bought Mermaid Bride, which came in a shitty cardboard case that looked like an intern at Funimation had put together while on break.)
I think the closest thing you can do is to buy it for the . . . iphone? If the idea of paying seventy seven dollars for the show excites you.
It's one of those things I'd actually buy. (I mean, I even bought Mermaid Bride, which came in a shitty cardboard case that looked like an intern at Funimation had put together while on break.)
I think the closest thing you can do is to buy it for the . . . iphone? If the idea of paying seventy seven dollars for the show excites you.
Got damn this shit was intense. The animation and choreography for the fights was pretty awesome too. This seems like a good way to handle SRS BZNZ arcs in a show like this. Keep it short and concise and don't leave out the comedy that makes the show great in the first place.
The manga is sort of like the anime with exclusively the good parts and none of the bad. Although it's missing some of the expanded character development and world-view from the anime as a result of being significantly shorter than the anime, but it's got 1 volume of story that extends past the ending of the anime.
