Forum - View topicShelf Life - The Last Unicorn
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GWOtaku
 Posts: 678 |
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I actually believe it's an ideal introduction to Gundam (except for the price; that planned DVD release can't come soon enough). In my view the first episode explains everything one needs to know in order to be invested in the story. |
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erinfinnegan
ANN Columnist
 Posts: 598 |
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I don't collect them any more, but when I was a kid I had the paradise estate!
It's just Aria's breast are so small it's like the characters are talking about nothing... a show about nothing... so Sacred Blacksmith is like Seinfeld?
It's confusing because there are two Lisas, but... what are you talking about? The blacksmith's assistant Lisa spoiler[totally blushes and freaks out when he gives her that tiny hat! I took that as a kind of crush. Plus she essentially has an unofficial "date" with Luke in one episode.]
If that anime was meant to sell more volumes of manga... I am sold! I wonder if some clever publisher will pick it up soon...? (Or already has and I missed the news.)
I didn't hate the ending... I could tell they weren't going to try and wrap things up. To me the ending just said "We'll do another season when we get the money..." Although now everything is super-crazy, it might be a long wait.
I suspect that women in Japan are perhaps not quite as enthusiastic DVD collectors as their male counterparts. I'd put my money on a live action adaptation sooner than a second season. How well is that manga selling?
I haven't seen a hundred and something episodes of Gundam though... I said in the review, I think UC is a good jumping-on point.
Does that count as anime...? I didn't get a screener, but it could happen! |
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littlegreenwolf
 Posts: 4796 Location: Seattle, WA |
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YES! I was just starting to think I was the only person who clicked on this week's shelf life fully expecting a review of the newly release Blu-Ray. The disappointment at discovering there was no Last Unicorn review made the little 6 year old girl in my cry. I'm very curious as to how that old movie looks on blu-ray, and what's on that 2nd combo disc. And I don't think anyone would fault you for reviewing the Last Unicorn as anime - it may have an English cast and writer, but I'm fairly certain just about all the animation crew are Japanese. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084237/fullcredits#cast I forget what studio did it though. I grew up with a crappy VHS - I'd love a good review on whether or not I should buy the blu ray. |
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erinfinnegan
ANN Columnist
Posts: 598 |
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I think that movie made me cry when I was a six year old girl... isn't it really sad? Fortunately I have this free Amazon Prime membership thanks to my university job... |
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GWOtaku
Posts: 678 |
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The Last Unicorn was produced by Rankin-Bass and animated by Topcraft. I count it as one of my personal favorite animated works from the 1980s. The new Blu-Ray is good and cheap too. The ending still moves me a bit. But I would call it more bittersweet than sad.
The second disc is simply the DVD from the 25th anniversary release, but the Blu-Ray disc has extras old and new for the occasion. This I'll indulge in linking this interview recently done with Mr. Peter Beagle; I had the privilege to conduct it and much is said about the new release, the recent graphic novel, and other things. The HD transfer is about as good as can be expected. As usual, Blu-ray.com offers a good analysis of how things turned out. Last edited by GWOtaku on Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:08 am; edited 3 times in total |
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Animehermit
 Posts: 964 Location: The Argama |
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the exact number is 140 episodes of Universal Century gundam and 1 movie. Its not really important, although i do like the little things, like, the mobile suits piloted on the Nahel Argama are generic versions of the Zeta Gundam. Or that the Tank-like mobile suits piloted by the ECOAS are of the same type used by the protagonist in the begining of F91, this sort of reverence for the original series along with the character designs is what i like most about Unicorn so far. |
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Megiddo
 Posts: 8360 Location: IL |
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And it looks like Kuragehime vol. 6 sold 100k copies, which is pretty dern good for a josei manga. I think you're right that a live-action adaptation is more likely. Last edited by Megiddo on Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:05 am; edited 1 time in total |
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enurtsol
 Posts: 14761 |
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Topcraft, which would later become.... DUN dun DUN.......
And a tinge feeling of beastiality! (He seems to love that unicorn a bit too much for comfort.) 
Nice interview. |
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nightjuan
 Posts: 1473 |
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Considering that every single episode of Gundam Unicorn was surely ridiculously expensive and labor-intensive compared to the average episode of any TV series, it's not much of a surprise to see the OVA look so good. The fact that it's being adapted from an already completed set of novels, which usually isn't the case with most Gundam projects, doesn't exactly hurt either.
I agree that it works quite well as a relatively self-contained introduction to the property as a whole, with a few references for longtime fans and all, but...like I've mentioned before, there's something of a double-edged sword behind the concept of not taking any significant creative risks at all and instead trying to cover a lot of already familiar territory. As much as I'm enjoying it, the implications of that don't necessarily thrill me in the long run.
How about dropping colonies on millions of people, using poison gas and chemical weapons or killing the very space colonists Zeon claims to represent? Not to mention that they're ruled -at least most of the time- by what is essentially a self-serving kleptocracy where nepotism is the norm. The Federation might be incompetent and reactionary, in that order, but they're still far less murderous than Zeon. Not that there aren't individuals within Zeon who have been portrayed as generally good people but it's actually quite hard to wave away the atrocities of the faction they're fighting for. Last edited by nightjuan on Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:25 am; edited 2 times in total |
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littlegreenwolf
Posts: 4796 Location: Seattle, WA |
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I hated each and every one of those song numbers of The Last Unicorn when I was little (I remember distinctly always keeping the remote near by so I could fast forward through them) but still, hating the music never stopped me from loving it. I guess it and my old Little Mermaid tape (Toei's 1975 adaption - another treasure from my childhood) were my first anime. I always thought the two looked similar, and nothing at all like my Disney movies. There was a fairy tail show shown on Nickelodeon full of old Fairy Tale adaptions I would link to the style as well now that I think about it. I find it funny most all my fairy tale/fantasy stuff was anime. I wonder how many other little American girls grew up on this stuff.
Looking back on it now in terms to that unrelated Toei Little Mermaid I remember being REALLY confused when the Disney movie came out and the Mermaid didn't die in the end. It seems all my anime when I was little made me cry - but in good ways I like to think. Great, now I have to go see if I can get the Toei Little Mermaid on dvd now that I've remembered it. |
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agila61
 Posts: 3213 Location: NE Ohio |
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Animehermit
Posts: 964 Location: The Argama |
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first off, the dropping of colonies was done by Later iterations of Zeon, mostly the 2nd and 3rd neo-Zeon movements. I was referring to the original Zeon of Mobile Suit Gundam, not of any movements that followed. second, gassing and using chemical weapons wasn't Zeon at all, it was the Titans, the Earth Federation Group. Which were the antagonists of Zeta Gundam. |
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enurtsol
Posts: 14761 |
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That the mermaid turned to soap bubbles, and Swan Lake, and the Xmas goodie I suggested to Mike Toole, The Little Match Girl.
Ah, Grimm's Fairy Tales. I like the opening theme. The Li'l Bits, Maya the Bee, The Little Koala....
Good luck. 
Last edited by enurtsol on Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:42 am; edited 1 time in total |
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agila61
Posts: 3213 Location: NE Ohio |
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littlegreenwolf
Posts: 4796 Location: Seattle, WA |
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Yes! That's the opening to the show! You just sent me back to being 5 years old and rooted in front of the tv every time that show came on. Oh man the nostalgia hit I'm in right now. HOW DO I OWN THIS?! And I looked up the Toei Little Mermaid dvd release and found THIS. I was planning on making my own dvd cover for it (that thing is atrocious) wile about to click add to cart when I read some comments and discovered that they took out a good 4 minutes of this release because of bare breasts and the sea witch treating to cut out the little mermaid's tounge. No, no no. That sea witch scared the crap out of me when I was little, but she was awesome. I need the horror to still be there, and as to the topless mermaids - I remember being in wide awe as a little girl to see the mermaids just swimming around topless. Then I would think, well of course, they're mermaids, what would wear? Clamshells? Does Disney have any idea how uncomfortable a regular bra is, so they go with clamshells? WTF. Still, questionable dvd quality and edits aside, I think I'll have to look into importing a DVD from Japan if I want a good quality version of this childhood treasure. It won't have the dub that's burned into my memory, but I am curious as to the Japanese audio track. Until then though I'll have to look up an old vhs copy of my dub, and a VHS player. Last edited by littlegreenwolf on Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:56 am; edited 1 time in total |
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