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JoeQ



Joined: 19 Feb 2015
Posts: 77
PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 2:47 pm Reply with quote
Perishable might be a bit too harsh, but yeah, Captain Earth was mediocre at best and my opinion of the show really plummeted during the last few episodes. Felt like they were aping TTGL at times but completely failed.

Turn A Gundam, finally! I think I might cry...

Also, are you or any other reviewer planning to cover Shin Mazinger?
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Blue21



Joined: 13 Feb 2014
Posts: 244
PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 2:54 pm Reply with quote
I saw Turn A Gundam several years ago. Don't remember much in the way of fine details, but it was certainly unique as far as Gundam, or even mecha in general, go.
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Shadowrun20XX



Joined: 26 Nov 2007
Posts: 1935
Location: Vegas
PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 2:57 pm Reply with quote

Took 30 seconds to whip that up, for shame Aniplex.

Meh, I'm just happy more stuff is hitting Blu-ray. Very Happy
That ship has sailed on Turn A Gundam, for me anyway.
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Barbobot



Joined: 06 Feb 2007
Posts: 460
PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 3:27 pm Reply with quote
I've already received my copy of Turn A Gundam 1, but have yet to watch it. I went into this purchase blind so hopefully that doesn't burn me and I end up enjoying the show. And I'm still waiting for my copy of My Little Monster to ship out. I expect the show to hold up on a 2nd viewing. I enjoyed going through all the same material in the manga so I figured revisiting it animated again will still be a good experience.

Captain Earth was a show that was generally mediocre through its entire run. There were multiple times where I just didn't have the urge to check out the newest episodes and almost dropped it, but for one reason or another I kept with it. Can't say I would have missed out on a whole lot if I had dropped it. I do agree with Gabriella regarding the villain characters in that Bugbear was the only one that was interesting cause he came off as more than just "Evil Villain".


Last edited by Barbobot on Mon Jun 29, 2015 6:16 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Animegomaniac



Joined: 16 Feb 2012
Posts: 4064
PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 4:13 pm Reply with quote
I have the first half of Turn A Gundam and the characters, plot, setting and "material for Gundam models!" thing were fine, above average for the most part except for that one particular part of the plot that I figured would happen from the cover of the DVD even though it makes no sense "how?", "why?", "for what purpose?" or even as a "well, that's interesting" component to the story.

Also, the series feels longer than it is complex and most of that has to do with that plot aspect.

Even when the series gets to the point they can undo it, a certain character learns about it and doesn't care or worry about it... yeah, this really explains why I haven't purchased the second half yet. If that guy doesn't care what happens and that's his job, then why should I get invested in their plight? Obviously, no one is in any danger.

Oh, and that passive aggressive resistance movement of the Earthlings doesn't help. But as its against an "we're not an armed invasion force despite being an armed invasion force" opponent of literal Loonatics, it becomes a compelling character driven mess where everyone's too polite to declare war.

I'm thankful for Fran and Keith; They may not be main characters but at least they have goals that actually makes sense in relation to their actions.

I love A Lull in the Sea but I'd say what was decent to ok as a first half becomes a most excellent and worthy second half. But the second half needs that foundation of the first half, every slow meaningful moment, to fully work.
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JohnnySake



Joined: 22 May 2008
Posts: 582
Location: Auburn Hills, MI
PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 4:13 pm Reply with quote
I've been waiting for an ANN review of Turn A Gundam too. I actually received the first set several weeks ago (thanks TRSI!) and just a couple days ago I received the second set and started watching it as well. (One of the benefits of ordering it from the same place that created the disk I guess.)

Turn A Gundam is definitely a unique show with its setup and story. One thing that really struck me is some of the music that is used repeatedly throughout the series, specifically the guitar interludes. Good stuff!
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Lynx Amali





PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 5:54 pm Reply with quote
JoeQ wrote:
Felt like they were aping TTGL at times but completely failed.


I fail to see how anybody would think that. They're completely different shows, both in tone and in style.

Captain Earth's a lot slower (for better and/or worse.) and honestly, one of the most typical original mecha shows, as in not an adaption, I've seen in years. TTGL had a pace that I wasn't very fond of (I would've liked a bit more of the actual everyday life post time-skip myself) but it moved quicker than CE.

TTGL had the whole spoiler[Spiral Nemesis] thing going in and the villain actually making sense. CE has a twist that comes in the second half which actually makes quite a bit of sense if you're familiar with mythology and Shakespeare's interpretation of the character but it's still not something that's morally grey like TTGL's was.

Hell, even the robots are nothing alike. Earth Engine's more of a Mazinger to TTGL's Getter. While it can get upgrades, it doesn't self evolve like TTGL.

If I had to point out an issue with CE, let alone the first half, it's that Teppei's old man doesn't have ANY story relevance after that episode. He does not show up at all, despite the hints that would've led to more involvement from Teppei in the overall story. Just felt like filler.

In addition to that, too many episodes on Salty Dog. I don't think anyone can deny that.

My own issue is that the Earth Engine never uses the rifle they showcased in the promotional art.


Last edited by Lynx Amali on Mon Jun 29, 2015 6:26 pm; edited 2 times in total
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 6:01 pm Reply with quote
Ah, Captain Earth. The BONES show that everyone loved at first but now metaphorically keep buried at the bottom of their closets out of shame. This thread is the most that anyone has talked about it in ages.
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phia_one



Joined: 15 Jan 2012
Posts: 1654
Location: Pennsylvania
PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 6:25 pm Reply with quote
I gave up on Captain Earth around 8 episodes in. The only character I liked was Akari, but other than that, the show was boring.
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 6:28 pm Reply with quote
Shadowrun20XX wrote:

Took 30 seconds to whip that up, for shame Aniplex.


Pfff, made me laugh there.

Irregular, to me, really feel like the kind of show I'd expect a computer to write by analyzing the most popular show of the last decade or two. There's just so many cliche/overused element all smashed into one with an ultimate Gary Stu main character (I think even above Kirito). But there's no subtlety and most of it makes zero sense. Element aren't in the story because they make sense, they're just there because they're popular.

Space brothers, so this is the part where the moon arc happen I guess, that's where the show started falling apart for me. That arc just completely took me out of the experience .

Captain earth… yeah its a real shame what happened to it. I actually liked the main character, but nothing happened in that show and the main antagonist were so boring. And it's definitely true that it never feel like the earth is in any danger, spoiler[especially since the world is supposed to end if the bad guys get to earth, yet your constantly seeing them on earth. That and the fact that they could easily just skip over captain earth and just B-line the earth and yet never do that. Feel like even team rocket are smarter than them.]
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BodaciousSpacePirate
Subscriber



Joined: 17 Apr 2015
Posts: 3016
PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 6:32 pm Reply with quote
It's been a long time since I watched Turn A Gundam, but I vividly remember Syd Mead's polarizing robot designs, the "our main character totally wasn't a girl in the first draft of the script before Sunrise made us change her into a guy for marketing reasons" cross-dressing stuff, and director Yoshiyuki Tomino's bold claim that the show was in-continuity with every previous Gundam series, including G Gundam.

You don't need very much previous experience with Gundam shows in order to enjoy the first few episodes, and if you can ignore the increasingly prevalent references to the "Dark History", the show might be a good introduction to the overall Gundam franchise.

spoiler[Moonlight Butterfly] is still pretty ridiculous, though.
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JoeQ



Joined: 19 Feb 2015
Posts: 77
PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 6:34 pm Reply with quote
Lynx Amali wrote:
JoeQ wrote:
Felt like they were aping TTGL at times but completely failed.


I fail to see how anybody would think that. They're completely different shows, both in tone and in style.


I don't know, to me they both have this general "feel" of their respective studios trying to make a tribute to the Super Robot genre, but where as Gainax succeeded triumphantly BONES just falls short. Can't really explain it better than that.

Also, some of the plot points in the last few episodes were pretty similar spoiler[like the Lotus Eater-hallucination during the warp or hero's girlfriend being possessed.]
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Razor/Edge



Joined: 05 Jun 2015
Posts: 607
PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 11:24 pm Reply with quote
Irregular is terrible. Not just because of the main character, but the story telling as well. Every arc pretty much ends the same way, and all the villains in the series are just boring and generic. While some of the sequences from the Magic Games arc were fun to watch, it was bland overall. I never felt myself caring about any of the characters.

Speaking of characters....

A Lull in the Sea, holy crap did I love that series. Such great characters that I got really emotionally invested in. Yes, it's pacing is pretty slow and not for everyone, and it was a struggle to get through at times. But I investment I had with the characters kept me going. And most things after the spoiler[timeskip] really kept me, since i didn't see that coming. It mixed things up quite a bit, and kept the show from being (mostly) predictable. Kaname was best character. And spoiler[Kaname X Sayu is my OTP. That confession scene was really good and symbolic with the train.]
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SilverTalon01



Joined: 02 Apr 2012
Posts: 2401
PostPosted: Mon Jun 29, 2015 11:25 pm Reply with quote
BodaciousSpacePirate wrote:
You don't need very much previous experience with Gundam shows in order to enjoy the first few episodes, and if you can ignore the increasingly prevalent references to the "Dark History", the show might be a good introduction to the overall Gundam franchise.


You don't really need any. Turn-A is completely stand alone. The "Dark History" is only canon for Turn-A so you might as well look at it as just some back story made up for Turn-A's universe because that is how it gets treated.

Animegomaniac wrote:
Also, the series feels longer than it is complex and most of that has to do with that plot aspect.


I definitely agree. Tomino's gundams tend to have what feels like a really long and slow first half without actually doing much with the plot. However, unlike his most recent attempt, Turn-A eventually takes off.
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Elves



Joined: 23 Mar 2005
Posts: 269
Location: USA
PostPosted: Tue Jun 30, 2015 12:32 am Reply with quote
I am so happy to see that Haikyu!! received a Shelf Worthy rating. It is one of my surprise-favorite shows as I'm not a sports fan to start with and only really started watching Haikyu!! due to the artwork.

I was totally hooked by the end of the first episode. I hope that other anime fans give the show a chance - especially after reading Paul's review. Smile I'd love to see the upcoming second season get licensed stateside too!
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