Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory

Chronologically, this is the third OVA that takes place between the original Gundam series and Zeta, which continues the story with another new threat to uh... whoever the good guys are. I'm not going to pretend I know a ton about the Universal Century's backstory. The Zeon guys are colonists who rebel against the Earth government, with the latter portrayed as the protagonists, although they usually make efforts to have at least certain people with Zeon seem sympathetic. Other shows like Gundam Wing take place in very similar but definitely different universes. I haven't really been watching these OVAs because of interest in the overall story though, more of out some weird appreciation for what they do. I definitely prefer the look of modern anime to stuff from the 90s, although sometimes that stuff is fun to see again. What might be most interesting about the whole Gundam series is that despite being about giant robots, it's still relatively hard science fiction, and that stuff is interesting to see on the rare occasions where it's actually filmed or animated.

And it's a series that really doesn't hold your hand. You have to try to follow the various factions and characters to really know what's going on. Stardust Memory takes place a few years after the first big war from this timeline, and a few more years before the next big one, and serves as a bridge between the two conflicts. In addition to its heavy military plot, there's again a love story to humanize it and keep it from getting too sterile. I wasn't a huge fan of the way they handled this one, though. It seemed schizophrenic in its efforts to remain interesting. First they like each other. Then she's a bitch for no reason. Then she treats him like a kid. Then he goes AWOL. It's all just a bit forced. But it gets tied in somewhat interestingly with the main story, resulting in an emotional and seemingly significant ending. It's sort of a foreboding one, although the main characters themselves seem to come out okay. The 13 episodes are a pretty quick and entertaining watch whether you really care about the political and military jargon or just like seeing robots blow each other up. I'm almost interested at this point in checking out the full TV series from the same storyline.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team

I haven't seen the original Gundam series, but among the tons of spin-offs they've made a few were straight-to-video direct sequels made in the late 80s and 90s that slot in between the first series and a couple others that were made earlier. The 08th MS Team was the last one made but the first chronologically, and shares a bit in common with the other one I saw, 0080: War in the Pocket. It's actually more of a side story, taking place during the war and telling a Romeo and Juliet-esque tale about two mobile suit pilots on opposite sides of the conflict who fall in love. This sort of tale doesn't seem uncommon for the series, as I remember similar ideas in other stuff I've seen. In any case, it makes for an unremarkable but pretty watchable anime.

The 08th MS Team has the distinctive in its blandness, not very attractive look of most anime from the 90s. The designs for everything are mostly just functional, and the animation isn't going to bowl anyone over. The art doesn't hinder the story either though, and does what it has to. It's a pretty tightly-knit story, as the characters develop as far as they need to. The protagonist is the new team commander, and his crew and some of the rebels they meet all have enough personality to make them distinct enough to keep separate. They have some skirmishes against the enemy until he crosses paths with the girl again, and then the focus shifts a bit as both sides wonder if their representative can be trusted. The girl's brother is developing a new weapon that becomes the objective of the fighting, and things go on in a predictable but entertaining way. After the climax there's a final episode that's quite a departure, as a couple characters look for something, without any giant robots fighting at all. If you're a fan of Gundam or just the genre, it's worth checking out.

Television Update 2: More Anime

So this is the rest of what I've seen this year. If it all seems like a lot, remember two things:

1) Anime series tend to end very quickly.
2) I am insane.

Azumanga Daioh

Azumanga is an insanely popular series among anime fans. I can see why it's appreciated, if maybe not why it's so revered. It's a cute, entertaining series, but rarely truly hilarious or interesting. It's a slice-of-life show with some wackiness thrown in, and that kind of show relies heavily on the quality of its characters to be successful. The characters are all pretty good, but they're not really funny enough to make the show really great. Without a real plot, the show just kind of wanders along, introducing some recurring elements and new information about their concerns and desires. It blazes through their high school years quickly, and then it ends. It's a likable show, but one of many I find to be overly loved by the community.

Big O


Big O is disappointing if only because it wasn't allowed to properly end. It has a nice style, it feels a lot like Batman: The Animated Series with giant robots. It's slightly obtuse and off-putting at times, but overall I enjoyed it. The characters and setting are interesting, and there are some really cool moments with the robots and different strange happenings. The story is a bit confusing, but interesting. Unfortunately, the show ends before the story does, and in the final episode about a hundred weird images are shown to completely confuse the viewer. It might have been an attempt to get another season greenlighted, but to this point it hasn't happened yet.

Excel Saga

Excel Saga is probably the funniest anime I've seen. It's basically a parody of the medium, with each episode basically representing a specific sub-genre or style. The main characters are likable and funny, and there's tons of crazy stuff happening all over the place, and a lot of smarter stuff to go with the generally goofy humor. There's a lot of fourth wall breaking, with the writer of the manga approving of the various episode ideas and the director making frequent appearances. It's just an entertaining show.

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing + Movie

The art style is pretty simple, but the show is still decently animated and designed visually. There's so much Gundam in the world that it can get dull, but Wing has an interesting political story and some good characters, so it's pretty watchable. It's not as compelling as some better series but stuff's constantly happening and the show never rests on its laurels. It always pushes the plot forward. The mechs are pretty cool and while the action is often repetitive, with recycled animations, it's still a nice series. The movie is pretty slickly animated and does a pretty good job of introducing a new story, wrapping it up, and adding a bit of (but not too much) closure.

Noir


A really stylish and entertaining series. It's a little weird to see so much violence without any blood, but it generally works out pretty well. The two main characters kick a lot of ass, and it's a lot of fun to see all the crazy things they do. The story's a bit weird, and as the show goes on there's a lot of strange interactions, and the final episode has a very odd setting. Definitely a unique show that marches to its own beat.

Rurouni Kenshin


Not really nearly as interesting as the OVA's. It's a decent show, it's just too kid friendly to be really interesting. The main story arc is pretty cool, but the series way overstays its welcome after that ends. The first third of the show is just random events with some continuity, the second third is one big storyline, and the last third is a few shorter stories that just seem pointless. Oddly paced series. The protagonist is another that refuses to kill people, and that's fine, it just gets annoying when it's used so much as a plot device. The characters are generally okay, the show is just rarely truly intriguing.

Trinity Blood


Trinity showed a lot of promise, but didn't quite deliver. The main character is basically a complete copy of Vash, with a similar friendly personality masking his true power. The show has some cool ideas and characters, but too much of it focuses on the weaker, innocent people, and the end is completely unsatisfactory. I don't know if there are plans to continue it, but it really isn't an ending at all. This seems to happen somewhat often in anime, and it makes me wonder if maybe the Japanese culturally care less about closure than we do.

Vandread


This series is the most obviously influenced by Nadesico that I've seen. Plotwise, it's pretty unique, but the general atmosphere and male-female interaction on the ship is very reminiscent. A lot of the characters are annoying, but it's usually a funny, interesting show. The central gimmick with the different ships somehow merging with each other is pretty cool, and there's more to the plot than it might seem at first. The romance stuff is a little too middle school for me, but otherwise it's entertaining.