Sadly the final Potemayo special has come. It features everything that makes Potemayo great:
moeblobs,
fighting moeblobs,
crossdressing,
Nene,
sexual innuendo,
Mikan’s reactions,
and Kyo’s breasts.
Reminds me why this is one of the best comedies to come out in years. Desperately needs a second season. If J.C. Staff can do three seasons of Zero no Tsukaima, then I don’t think more Potemayo is that much to ask for. Just got to believe in Honi Honi~.
How do you kill a guy bearing down on you with his mighty horse? Simple. PUNCH THE HORSE! This has been another badass moment brought to you by Vinland Saga. Now go read the manga already. It’ll put hair on your chest.
I can’t believe Kaiji did that. He’s shown earlier on that when push comes to shove he can do some incredible stuff, but cutting off your own ear is crazy. Reminds me a lot of the moment in Akagi when Akagi was willing to get his arm cut off just to prove he didn’t cheat. Truly showed just how awesome Akagi was, and this moment works the same way with Kaiji. I can now say I really respect Kaiji as a character for his sheer willpower. Even the crying seemed appropriate this episode! Still, this E-card stuff is really dragging on, which sucks since E-card is a pretty boring game to begin with. I have no idea how they plan to wrap this up, or they may just not like Akagi, but I really hope we hear word of a second season soon.
WILD BEAR KICK!
Finally the mass-produced gundams show up. Yes, they’re somewhat ugly and look like giant X’s, but it’s not like the Tierens are going to be able to take down anything. The best part is that Segei finally gets to kick Trinity ass! His line to Soma was so great after the battle: “That’s right, you’ve never felt the taste of victory before.” So badass.
Other badass grunt pilot Graham Acre refuses his new gundam, though, cause he can’t break a man’s promise! Yeah, Graham’s decision is stupid and will probably get him killed, but you have to respect his conviction. The way this show is going, however, the mass-produced gundams will probably give all their pilots aids or something, and Graham will be on top again, in his Flagdam. It has to happen, and the name probably will be that stupid.
Patrick, the other other grunt ace, who was too busy wooing women to comment on his new unit. If he actually does score with Kathy, then don’t expect him to be around much longer. It’s a gundam fact.
This episode also has the rather tragic death of Kinue at Ali’s hands, solidifying just how insane Ali actually is. This also shows the value of not getting in cars with strangers. The sad thing about Kinue’s death is it really has no purpose, since she couldn’t pass on all her information. It’s just meant to drive Saji to do…something. Hell, there’s still no clear indicator of what Saji can do about anything. Maybe he’ll find a secret cache of nuclear missiles or an uber powerful mobile armor lying around and become the final boss. That’d be one pathetic final boss actually, so let’s hope that doesn’t happen.
Yep, Saigar guy calls it quits. Easy to see why really, this whole thing had gotten out of hand. Here’s to all the memories, mostly of last year. I don’t really know if Saigar is going to continue on later or not, but if it does, then I’ll be right back here reporting on it. Tradition is tradition after all.
Story:
Hikaru Ichijyo is a young hotshot Valkyrie pilot for the fugitive SDF-1 Macross, a massive battleship on the run from its proper owners, the single-minded warrior race of Zentraedi. Hikaru is drawn between the affections of two women: the excitable pop diva Minmay and cold yet beautiful CO Misa Hayase. The three must deal with their fillings amid a galactic war that threatens the survival of the human race.
Impressions:
The extent of my Macross experience is the first episode of Macross Frontier, the first Robotech novels omnibus, and whatever information I get from wiki and /m/. So really the theatrical movie Macross: Do You Remember Love? is my first real macross experience, and what an experience it is. DYRL contains all the elements that supposedly make Macross what it is: transforming fighters, itano circus, love triangles, and catchy jpop. The animation for DYRL is amazing, especially when considering that everything is hand drawn; no effort was spared in the creation of this film. Every machine, person, and scene is filled with amazing detail, whether it be Zentraedi fighters or small recycling bots on the streets. The character designs are unlike anything in anime these days, both recognizable in their art style but filled with the grace and softness of real people. Every time Minmay smiles you can fully understand why she is such a star, or realize Roy’s cocky attitude by his smile.
The action scenes are also great with the trademark barrage of missiles Macross is known for. The final battle between literally millions of ships is just amazing in both its scale and the fact that it never seems too cluttered. I was surprised at how brutal some of the violence was, with severed heads flying and brains exploding. DYRL doesn’t shy away from the harshness of war at all. The central romance of the story - between Hikaru, Minmay, and Misa - was handled well. The development never felt too rushed and you can understand Hikaru’s agonizing decision at the end. There are only two points story wise in DYRL that really hurt it. One is that the movie starts with the viewer thrown into the conflict between the Macross and Zentraedi without any explanation, and only a viewer of the original anime would know why they’re fighting. Second is the handling of Max and Miriya’s relationship, who meet halfway through the movie and disappear after that except for a brief cameo at the end. More really could of been done there.
The soundtrack for the movie is perfect, from the epic OP song that literally gave me shivers to Minmay’s smooth jpop. It’s eighties to the end, but I can still like it. For a movie focused so much around music it’s a good thing that the VA for Minmay can actually sing. A couple of her tracks aren’t that inspiring, but the rest are all good, the best being the title song “Do You Remember Love?” sung during the final battle. DYRL is one of the best anime movies I’ve seen in both its presentation and story. It’s a great introduction for anyone wanting to get into the Macross franchise, and also good for anyone who wants to expand their anime horizons. A perfect example of the kind of work that came out of the eighties.
Medicine Seller of Mononoke (344) beats Lelouch Lamperouge of Code Geass (173). Yay, Lelouch actually lost. I don’t care how popular Code Geass is, it takes a long stretch of the imagination to call Lelouch GAR at all. Like longcat long stretch. Much rather have the guy I’ve never heard of, but who everyone tells me is GAR, win.
It’s finally down to Group H, with Claire Stanfield vs. Ryuuguu Rena. I assume Claire is a girl, so let the catfighting begin.
