Forum - View topicIs Anyone Watching Dancougar Nova?
|
|
| Author | Message | ||
|---|---|---|---|
TranceLimit174
 Posts: 958 |
|
||
|
Somehow after facing many dangers I have finally clawed my way back to internet society. Anyway to kick things off I started watching Dancougar Nova. I was pretty excited as Dancougar is probably my favorite combining super robot next to Getter Robo. Unfortunatley I haven't seen the actual series but given what I can gather from various SRW games and the Wikipedia article I have some familiarity with the series.
Despite having not seen the original, why is it Nova feels like it's unworthy of the name? As far as I can tell Dancougar Nova doesn't really look different, sure it's shinier, and it's much more slim but that's about it. It was basically the SEED to SEED Destiny upgrade (in other words pretty much pointless). I also have a lot of story issues with it already as well. First of all Dancougar's purpose is to show up in the middle of a battle and assit the losing side. Now I have to ask myself, what's the point of this? If Dancougar can't pick a side then doesn't he just make the war last longer? The only "logical" explination I could think of is that in some action packed roundabout path of destruction Dancougar Nova hopes to keep both sides equal so that neither side feels superior to the other thus them ending the war themselves. I'm not big enough on various religions to know if there's one out there that has this kind of philosophy. Oh yeah, and it also resorts to not only long but rather chidish exposition to explain what would otherwise be plotholes (we put piloting devices in your heads when you were sleeping so you'll have no trouble piloting Dancougar Nova). I'm not saying mecha anime is the most mature genre out there and even for one that revels in excess that's pushing it. That brings me to another point. According to the Wiki article Dancougar is deeply rooted in religion and the formation of Dancougar itself has a Taoist philosophy to it. Also in the original we don't even see Dancougar itself until midway through the series. At first they start out in their vehicle modes, then humanoid, and finally Dancougar itself. Basically it's supposed to be a theme of evolution. I don't see this in Nova. I can be somewhat forgiving since you need to have a hook, and given this particular genre you kind of do need to show the title robot. However given the structure of the original I expected something similar. And finally, what in the hell happened to all the hot bloodedness that's supposed to be in a show like this? The entire cast is fairly stoic and the music doesn't exactly get the blood pumping. As a side note I can't tell if I like the opening or not (and I'm a reading it right? Composed by DDR's Naoki?). It is original, but sometimes that originality comes off more as being a mash of instruments than a song. At others it's jungle beat does make me want to move a bit. But back to my main point, this show has 0 energy. Nothing feels exciting. On that note we haven't even gotten a "Yateyaruze!!!" So what does this all add up to? This series, other than the design of the title robot has nothing to do with it's predecessor. If you're gonna make a sequel or a remake, it should in some way connect or have relevance to the original period. The unfortunate fate of such works is that they will always be judged based on how and how well they do this. I thought the point of these remakes was to attract fans both new and old. Nova has 0 connection to Dancougar, so as an old fan I'm not sold and the material they do have isn't even enough to hook me in as a new one. As far as I can tell this show has unfortunatley failed on all accounts. At least the new Gaiking managed to stay original while harkening back to it's predecessor even though the artwork got incredibly sloppy (at least the actual animation was impressive). With the way Nova turned out it's not looking too good for Jeeg and Raideen. Oh and for those that would know about this sort of thing, did anyone else get the feeling that the director is a big fan of the Nagahama Trilogy? The first episode of Nova reminded me of Combattler V, and the moment when Dancougar Nova punched through the robot it reminded me a little too much of Daimos's Reppu Seikenzuki. |
|||
|
|||
Emerje
 Posts: 7341 Location: Maine |
|
||
|
It looks like this series is going to be very character driven which tends to be the downfall of a lot of mecha anime. I do like the characters, but they are somewhat slightly generic. But then again we're only a few episodes in so there isn't a whole lot to say. They are moving at a slower pace than I thought they would, but they are keeping away from some cliches as well like recycled transformation sequences. The whole "you already know how to pilot" thing is a bit too "Matrix kung-fu", but between teleporting and talking robots anything is plausible.
Dancougar Nova actually is an entirely different mecha than the original. He's more streamlined in every way (animals, vehicles, and single bots, and combined), but additionally every form transforms differently as well, the modes are designed differently, and the cougar has now been replaced with a rhino. While the changes may not be as drastic as Raideen (2007) or G2 Giant Robo, it is a totally different mecha. Even though it isn't a very thought inducing series, as most mecha anime aren't, it's still a fun series that I'm looking forward to continuing. Emerje |
|||
|
|||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group