Yeah, I saw some people mentioning it in the AOTY thread and realized it completely passed me by. Want to watch this and Rozen Maiden before voting ends.
So far it at least seems like the good kind of slow where it's mysterious and atmospheric instead of just dull.
Speaking of which, I should finish Ergo Proxy some day. I liked the first half, but the second half ground the pacing to a halt. Few single episodes of a show have sapped my will to watch like Ergo Proxy 16, an episode in which literally nothing happens until the end of the episode comes and a deus ex machina moves the characters along. If I sound bitter it's because I am a little.
Don't be too ashamed, seems like the majority of people in Japan missed it as well given how abysmal its sales were. Always sad to me that that show flopped so hard. It was quite ambitious, and that's something I like to see.
Forgot to review the other thing I'm watching.
After War Gundam X: Episodes 2-26
Man, I really really dig this one. It's got such a different, interesting world from most Gundam shows. I also love its much smaller focus. It doesn't have to be about an all out, full scale world war. The smaller scope really meshes well with the nature of the characters and setting. It really feels like a place that's been so severely ravaged by war, it's nearly impossible to recover.
The cast is also really fascinating as well. It's probably got the highest percentage of characters I like of any Gundam AU show, aside from maybe G or Turn A. The entire crew of the Frieden are really fleshed out and well characterized. I love the way Jamil feels like an older Amuro-type who's been absolutely destroyed from the war he's experienced. Garrod continues to be a really fun protagonist and his relationship with Tiffa is sort of adorable. It's a fun little light plot in the middle of a really dark story. Witz and Roybea started off as kind of annoying characters, but both have grown in really great ways and are now super fun to watch. I also love the role Frost brothers play as rival gundam pilots. They definitely feel like sort of standard gundam villains, but theres just enough twists with them to keep them really fun to watch.
Overall, I'm getting a lot more enjoyment out of this than I expected. Given that it's one of the worst performing Gundam shows of all time, I expected it to be sort of garbage. What I got was an interesting meditation on the after-effects of the wars we see in every Gundam show and it's a perspective we rarely get from that franchise. For that reason alone, it's easily become on of my favorite AU gundams.
