Otakuism

So it’s finally the end of Gurren-Lagann. Not the greatest ending I’ve ever seen, but a suitable one. Neither good or bad, and definately not the Gainax mindf**k. The final galaxy-spanning battle truly was awesome; a lot of the yelling helped. Lord Genome’s manly death and sacrifice was the best part, coming full circle from first half villian to second half hero. The anti-spirals got fleshed out a bit more,too. Went from being a grand dimensional government to a species with extreme self-esteem issues. The formless bodies were a nice touch, though.

I was actually surprised by Nia’s death. After all that Simon STILL can’t have her. The way it was handled made it hard for me to feel sad. If Simon’s happy then I won’t really worry about things. Finally there was the “life goes on” epilogue. One thing I learned from the ending is Gainax can’t draw older men. God is Rossiu ugly. Leeron stays fabulous of course. Yoko is old lady man and Viral is still GARMOE. And then there was Hobolock-I mean Simon. It really is fitting he chose to wonder the world, though you wonder what he did all that time, and where the drill spear came from. The only really disappointing things are no real Garlock, no grand dimensional government, no “all the stars are enemies,” and no final battle against God aka. The Will. Is there room for a sequel? Definately. Will we get one? Knowing Gainax, keep an eye out for End of Gurren Lagann for spring ‘08, hopefully where the previously mentioned things will be shown.

Gurren-Lagann has definately been one of the best mecha shows in many years, probably since Gaogaigar FINAL. It’s a culmination of the super robot revival that’s been going on for the whole decade. Was is good? Most of the time, yes. It gave us great characters, probably the most gar man ever in Kamina, great battles, and an epic plot that spanned the universe. Sadly, the plot kind of fell apart after the time-skip and never quite recovered the earlier pace till the later episodes. I don’t think we really needed all the episodes to show Simon being in prison or the Chouginga Gurren-Lagann trying to transform. The deaths in the latter half also felt a bit arbitrary, with only Kittan’s and Genome’s really getting the emotions going. So I would have to say episodes 7-15 were really the best. I definately know I’m going to miss those thousand posts stickies on /m/ now. Oh well, it was fun Gurren-Lagann. Now I just need that damn soundtrack. ROW ROW FIGHT DA POWAH!

Week ago I’m talking about how awesome more Potemayo would be and here comes along the first Potemayo DVD special. Still cute, still funny. Only real thing to say is that naked Potemayo makes me feel dirty in ways I can’t accurately describe.

The star of the ARIA OVA is really the excellent animation. If you thought ARIA looked pretty before, which almost everyone did, then you’ll be blown away by the OVA. Everything is just so much more detailed, from the characters to the city. Neo-Venezia is really shown as a character in its own right in this OVA, more so than usual.

The actual story is pretty good, too; normal ARIA fare. Akari dreams of becoming a Prima and losing Alicia, which leads her to ask Alicia if she’s felt like that and why she chose Akari. Get a nice flash back to the undines earlier days when they were just starting out as Prima’s. Sidenote: Athena looks hawter with the longer hair. Then back in the present Alicia takes Akari up the Campanile, the big tower in the main square, and shows her that even if things change their love for Neo-Venezia won’t. Cue credits and tears.

A dream sequence Ai-chan is fine too.

A wholly satisfying thirty minutes especially with the excellent animation. I wish the third season would get this kind of budget. I don’t know how much longer I have to wait for more ARIA, but as long as I love it everything will be alright.

…and Just Communication thrown in for more lols.

What more is there to say about Gurren-Lagann 26? After the last couple of admittedly pedestrian episodes 26 is a punch of pure adrenaline and manly tears. First half of the episode we finally get to see the Choginga Gurren-Lagann in action. It’s been well worth the wait just to see it rise from the space ocean Gubuster-style. Then there was the whole Anti-Spiral ships throwing planets at it. F**king planets! The finishers gurren boomerang cutter and choginga giga drill breaker were also f**kwin awesome. Nice to see that level of over the top action again.

Then there was the dream sequence. I swear I felt the manly tears coming on when Kamina first appeared. Not the weak and pathetic Kamina but the manly kick reason to the curb Kamina. I knew they couldn’t end Gurren-Lagann without one more inspirational speech from him. I was feeling the tears by the time “this is the final goodbye” was said. Then Simon just turned around with his cape waving, transformed into Gurren-Lagann and rushed off into battle. While last episode the opera music felt inappropriate for Kittan’s suicide attack, here it felt perfect and I’ve really fallen in love with the song now.

Yoko’s little dream sequence provided some nice closure for her, summing up her reason to fight - protect the kids - and showing that she might of wished for more from Kittan. And even if no words were really spoken between her and Kamina, it was a nice acceptance that it was a defining moment in her life with the man she can never forget. Once you go Kamina you don’t go back. And then there’s Viral’s dream. Now if that doesn’t make you cry I don’t know what will. All the man wants is to marry Zelda and have children, dammit! But, no, he is a true man who cannot abandon the field of battle. Viral, why are you so garmoe?!

So how’s everything going to end next week? There’s will definately be a huge battle, though I don’t know if it is the decisive battle in the spiral wars. Who knows, we may even get an End of Gurren-Lagann. Not that much of a stretch concerning Gainax’s milking of series. If the series does have a definite end next week, I’m betting either Gurren-Lagann’s from multiple dimensions will come to together to destroy the Anti-Spirals, The Dai-Gurren-Dan will fight for eternity ala’ Getter Robo Armageddon, or everyone will die/disappear after the fight with the promise they may return someday ala’ Gaogaigar FINAL. Or maybe it will be a good old LOL GAINAX ending. Hope not. Too bad I won’t be able to watch everything unfold on /m/ next week when it airs orz.

It’s so sad to finally see Potemayo go. The final episode was nothing spectacular, but a fitting conclusion to the series. Sunao and Mikan make up, Potemayo and Guchuko give birth, and we get to see the new babies. I’ll admit I teared up when everyone thought Potemayo and Guchuko were dead. I knew they weren’t, but it was still a powerful moment. Especially Guchuko’s with Kyo’s poignant elegy. Thank god they’re not actually dead and I can watch Potemayo dance to the pudding song to my heart’s content. As for the new babies, what little we saw of them, Potemayo’s was kind of ugly with the big, sketchy eyes. Guchuko’s was OHMYGOD CUTEGASMING OVER 9000. Yeah.

Potemayo really was the sleeper hit of the summer. All it had going for it was a couple of moeblobs and a wacky sense of humor. I found its humor much more enjoyable and accessible than Lucky Star’s, the other comedy show of the season. Reminds me I really need to watch the last episode of that soon. Potemayo definately was the best show of summer for me. Each new episode was an exciting breath of pure fun. All the characters were wonderfully developed and evolved beyond one joke limits. Who didn’t love Nene’s high-pitched sarcasm by the end? J.C. Staff handled everything wonderfully; exactly the qualities I’ve come to expect from them. The only thing Potemayo lacks is a second season. I need more honi honi~ and SHAAAAAAAA dammit!

I now regret anything negative I ever said about Gurren-Lagann. Episode 26 has everything: Bootaide, GARhalla, Kamina, Genesic Gurren Lagann. Everything. I don’t how 27 is going to top this, but I bet it will. so again, SUBS?! Or, hell, RAWS?!