The Goubain Effect

Warning: Contains spoilers for Fafner.

The infamous Goubain helmet, yaoi negator.

Before I Knew It, I Became An Ouran Fanboy

I recently tried my luck at Ouran, a show which I had glossed over during my Suzumiya fanboying days (“Other Haruhi? Bah, she fails for not having aliens, time travelers and espers!”). My friend didn’t really help with his testimonial that while it was a good show, it wasn’t something he wanted his mom to catch him watching because it would make him look gay.

This is my Ouran face

Of Aces And Sky Crawlers

Sky Crawlers is a powerful movie. But its production values aren’t the best part, for me. It’s the mood, the mood that the show kept consistent from start to finish.

When I first read about it, I thought it was some sort of glamorous Top Gun-esque flick with crazy dogfights. Nothing can be farther from the truth. It first plays out like a pilot slice-of-life, then important stuff happens, then it ends. It explains the nature of Kildren in trickles (there’s only one noticeable LOL Oshii exposition scene), until it hits you in the head (don’t forget to stay after the credits). There are dogfights, and beautifully-animated ones at that, but they’re not grandiose, merely empty games that occur daily. You’ll understand when you see it.

When you see it...

Gundam X: Hidden Wonder

Gundam X is a very maligned show. It was cut short by 10 episodes and was a commercial failure. But it achieves something that its direct predecessor Gundam Wing failed at, which is telling a damn good story. Gundam X may not have done well as a Gundam show, but it was a great anime.

Things Schneider Thinks Would Be Cool, Mark I

Thanks to Owen for indirectly referencing me to this post idea. I’m a huge super robot fan (as if that isn’t clear enough by now), and there are some things I find lacking in the genre, things that I would really like to see more of.

Megatokyo Anime Grand Prix: Round 1 Thoughts

Round 1 has concluded and I need to voice my overall thoughts for it here. As a whole the round was very entertaining and had many good campaigns. Many people too were convinced to check out shows that they’ve missed (i.e. Xam’d), which is always a good thing.

Stolen from omo's sig

For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, the Megatokyo Anime Grand Prix is a yearly character contest held in the Megatokyo Forums (MTF). Old and new characters can be nominated, and there’s this little prediction game in which the person who gets the most bracket predictions right would win a bag of goodies from fellow forumites. What can I say? It’s fun.

WARNING MASSIVE POST AHEAD

Macross 7: Not at All Fun and Games

A week ago I started watching Macross 7. It is a very quirky show, even by Macross standards. The characters are all amusing without being overly annoying, and I dig the Fire Bomber music.

(Warning: spoilers ahead)

Metal Gear Fathers

It’s been a few days since I finished Xam’d, and I’ve given thought to what my post about it will be. Well, since most of its noticeable pros and cons have been highlighted already (link is sort of a portal for Xam’d stuff), I thought about writing something else.

That’s right, my favorite subplot in the show: Metal Gear Fathers.

Flag: Courage and Hope

Out of the diverse library of anime I’ve watched, Flag strikes me as very unique. It makes me feel that I’m watching a war documentary in a not-so-different alternate world where bipedal robots work. It’s camera porn, complete with film grain. The characters are all well-portrayed and believable, and the story has solid focus. Even its one tangential episode was meaningful and relevant.

Someday I will turn this into my banner.

Marriage in Anime (A Godannar and LOGH post)

Anime about married couples is rare. Probably because most anime fans are single? Let’s just leave it at that. Today I talk about how a few shows deal with the wonderful world of marriage. (Sorry Clannad AS fans, I haven’t watched your show yet.)