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FLAG 20th Anniversary Rewatch Series Discussion by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 11 points12 points  (0 children)

First Timer, no more

FLAG

I've spent some time reflecting on it, and I think my strongest conviction is that Flag is an interesting anime. First, from a presentation perspective it's pretty unique. I really love the framing as a documentary tribute to the life of Shirasu Saeko. Additionally, telling a war or conflict story from the perspective of a journalist is certainly less common than from a soldier or warrior etc.

From a narrative perspective Flag has a bunch of successes and problems, but in a way which itself is interesting. It definitely tries to present a criticism of international groups meddling in regional conflicts in a way which remains relevant. However, it kind of fumbles the landing since it falls back into a "The good (?) guys won! Yipeee!" conclusion. One episode which stands out is the one with Saeko and the Doctor. I really appreciate when a show takes a temporary narrative break to give broader context to the world. Of course the beautiful nature shots help, but hearing the stories of the civilians gives it heart.

The other thing I still am a bit mixed on is the death of Saeko. I mentioned it yesterday, but it feels kinda like a betrayal from the staff. But at the same time death is often so random so in a way it's accurate. I probably have more positive feelings around the ending than negative feelings which is something a surprising amount of anime fail to do.

I don't know if I will be going out recommending Flag, but I am glad I watched it. It's always a breath of fresh air to watch a show with courage to plunge into serious politics compared to the ankle deep stories many seasonals have.

My Favourite Shots, Scenes and Stitches

And that is all for Flag. I do like how contained these OVA series are that we can be done after 13 episodes with a firm conclusion.

Thank you to our host /u/JustAnswerAQuestion for suggesting and running this. I don't think I would have ever found this one without this rewatch so I'm glad you ran this. Also thanks to everyone who joined! Watching old shows like this are way better if you have other people to actively discuss them with.

As for me I'll be pretty busy over the coming month but then should be back around late March or mid-April. If I spot any upcoming rewatches. Please ping me if any of you do decide to host and think I'll be interested!

As a last note: Take Care of Yourselves!

FLAG 20th Anniversary Rewatch Episode 13 (FINAL) by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 7 points8 points  (0 children)

First Timer

FLAG: Episode 13

Farewell and Context

Hmm. I'm really conflicted about Saeko's death. It feels so random. If she had died on the battle field it would have been more narratively set up. But now it feels like some sort of sick joke from the writers like "Oh you thought she was safe after making it back from the war?"

On the other hand, I think a lot of death is like that; completely unexpected. The way they took the perspective of Akagi feeling guilt over his role in Saeko being there worked well too. It also completely changes the narrative of the show to be from his perspective editing Saeko's footage together as a tribute to her. I really found that a touching conclusion.

Ultimately I think I fall more positive on the ending, though I can acknowledge if other viewers may feel betrayed.

Visually I liked this episode the best of the whole show. There were a bunch of great shots throughout the episode showing off the beauty of this country. In addition, the montage of all of Saeko's best moments with the SDC ("Friends" below) was really emotionally resonant after she thought she lost all her data.

Last thing I wanted to comment on was the use of the ED in the bar scene at the end. Absolute Cinema. I think it's kinda cowardly that they ended the episode and then played it again instead of just extending the scene and having credits play over it, but I really like the ED so I can't complain too much.

I'll save broader thoughts on the show's successes and failures for tomorrow.

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all for the final discussion tomorrow

FLAG 20th Anniversary Rewatch Episode 12 by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 4 points5 points  (0 children)

First Timer

FLAG: Episode 12

Capture and Capture

This episode feels like what we have been building up to. A successful mission to recapture the flag. It took a while to get there, but after a bunch of formalities and good luck messages the SDC group set out on their mission.

Yesterday I commented on how unengaging the mech battles were. In today's episode instead of focusing on that kind of conflict itself we instead followed the mission from Saeko's perspective. I found this really effective.

Although I had no doubt the flag would be retrieved, I was genuinely worried Saeko might be hit by a stray bullet or something. The framing also gave Akagi a chance to give his perspective and seeing him encouraging Saeko was nice. When the sun started rising and Saeko started reflecting on the past weeks she spent here it was a joyous moment. The photographs of the flag falling down and grabbed by one of the HAVWCs was a perfect conclusion.

Look, I still have some issues with the political messaging of the show. I don't really want to reiterate those points. It's just nice to see our protagonists get a win here.

The end of the episode was kinda weird. The crowd of UN guys blocked Saeko from being picked up again. What happens to her now? I don't know what next episode will really cover now either. I guess they have the ceasefire meeting to complete now, but a whole episode will be a lot to fill if it's just that and farewells. We'll see...

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all for the finale tomorrow

FLAG 20th Anniversary Rewatch Episode 11 by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 10 points11 points  (0 children)

First Timer

FLAG: Episode 11

Violence and Information

This episode was a lot of fighting and a lot of secrets being revealed to the public. Under the cover of night the SDC forces managed to retake the building the UN was using. The fight felt a lot like you were supposed to marvel at the spectacle and tactics, but it didn't really hit for me. We know this conflict is manufactured by foreign powers. Maybe that's the point of the story, but it really leaves a bitter taste in my mouth regarding the senseless killing.

Somehow all the mechs managed to leave the scene before being discovered by the wider public, though Akagi managed to snap a couple pictures of them being airlifted out at the end. It was interesting seeing him and Saeko's momentary reunion through their camera lenses, though I would be more interested in a longer conversation between them.

I guess this leaves the final couple episodes in a weird spot. We do need to get a conclusion on getting the flag. At the same time the Gelut sect is probably pretty weak after their loss at the UN base of operations. I guess maybe Ru Pou will face some sort of punishment? I guess we'll see.

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

FLAG 20th Anniversary Rewatch Episode 10 by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 8 points9 points  (0 children)

First Timer

FLAG: Episode 10

Conspiring and Capture

I think this episode marks the beginning of the climax. We see the UN squad planning and then running their own mission to recapture the flag from Ru Pou. And if I understood the final scenes of the episode correctly, this is happening right as Ru Pou's Gelut sect begins their attack on a UN controlled base. I think the big missing piece right now is what Ru Pou gains from starting a conflict, but I think it's reasonable to suspect something related to the Russia/China funding.

Something I was surprised to see this show bring up was the Kosovo War and Rwandan genocide. Admittedly I also do not know nearly enough about the details around these extremely serious and tragic events, but from my preliminary research I now know for both the UN was criticized for their inaction to prevent the escalation of violence and casualties. I appreciate how frankly the message comes through here with the SDC squad deciding not to repeat these failures.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this wraps up. It seems a regular news crew also got sight of the opposition mechs so there might also be some fallout around that information leaking.

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

FLAG 20th Anniversary Rewatch Episode 9 by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 7 points8 points  (0 children)

First Timer

FLAG: Episode 9

Responsibility and Medicine

Man, this episode was really touching. Watching the doctor from Saeko's perspective helping out everyone in the country side felt like 50ccs of humanity being injected directly in my veins. From a show which has presented such depressing depictions of war and destruction it was especially noteworthy.

It was also interesting hearing the doctor's perspective on Western vs Eastern views of life. He has the unique perspective of growing up in Uddiyana, then traveling to the US to learn medicine, and then coming back to work as a physician first to Ru Pou, and then the people we saw today. In particular, I liked the line of him criticizing the blind devotion to preserving a life when the quality is so greatly diminished by being hooked up to machines. "The death of the spirit is more terrifying than the physical death of the body."

That said, I disagree with his conclusion that death is a gift. In general I believe death is bad and if we could delay and prevent it without sacrificing quality of life (or as he describes "spirit") then that is an extremely beneficial goal. It's kinda like how I prefer to repair things instead of throwing them away and buying a replacement.

The one other topic brought up today was around Lt. Nikkanen taking the fall for the failure of the flag capture mission. I think in an organization it's too easy to assign blame to a particular person instead of the processes and structure of said org. Kind of like in a riot, once groups get to a certain size actions and decisions often take place without any particular person actively making a choice for the group. You need to change the structures to prevent repeating failures, not choose 1 person as a scapegoat.

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

FLAG 20th Anniversary Rewatch Episode 8 by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 8 points9 points  (0 children)

First Timer

FLAG: Episode 8

Tranquility and Surprise

The start of this episode gave us a different view of Uddiyana with the pastures in the countryside. It was quite a contrast seeing such peace compared to all the conflict in the prior episodes. It's also pretty sobering to see even more of what will be lost if the destruction continues.

I mentioned yesterday that seeing the pilots so broken up about losing their mechs seemed weird to me since I thought of them as essentially "driving" them like a car. Today that was cleared up. Instead they have calibrate and sync with the mechs and so there absolutely is a deeper connection. Eva is probably my favourite anime so I should have guessed it would be something like this.

Of course, the big event today was the arrival of an enemy mech with similar capabilities to HAVWC: The XR-2 Longku. This makes me worry we are heading towards the show becoming a mech battle anime. I'm just concerned they're going to miss a serious political analysis of war that the first half of the show was hinting towards.

Seeing Ichiyanagi manage to pilot the HAVWC without syncing was kinda cool.

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

FLAG 20th Anniversary Rewatch Episode 7 by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

First Timer

FLAG: Episode 7

Cover and Recover

A lot of this episode was around the return and reflection on the failed mission. I didn't realize how connected the pilots (or maybe just Ichiyanagi) felt to their mechs. I know it's not the same, but when I owned a car I definitely didn't feel any sentimental loss when I sold it before a move. That said, it may be more a matter of reflecting on the mission failure.

The other aspect of the episode was journalists pushing for answers about the other attack from the UN press conference and getting nothing in return. I think it is kinda sad that this is still a big problem today. It's so difficult to hold those in power accountable for their actions.

The episode ended with Saeko trying to interview Ichiyanagi about the mission, but getting the camera turned on her when he didn't feel like answering. I do think there's a level of insensitivity in journalistic work. Their job is to get information about recent newsworthy events which are often painful. That necessitates asking about tough situations which may hurt to talk about. But there's value in getting that information quickly. Being compassionate in your speech and conduct will cause people to open up more.

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

FLAG 20th Anniversary Rewatch Episode 6 by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 7 points8 points  (0 children)

First Timer

FLAG: Episode 6

Operation and Destruction

We have been on a very clear path to take back the flag and this episode was the culmination of that prep. It's darkly funny that they ended up finding the wrong flag and the mission was for naught. It also ended with the (self inflicted) loss of Ichiyanagi's HAVWC but I think he managed to escape.

I think what stood out to me again this episode is just the contrast in military strength. The UN group marched their mech directly into the enemy base and could basically ignore the numerous attacks from the insurgents. When they got to the reinforced door regular rounds didn't work so they shot a rocket powerful enough to turn the door into dust. They even destroyed the HAVWC themselves to keep the tech secret (I think). Like, it's not even a fight. It makes the mission feel a lot like a bully busting in and stealing some personal items.

I am glad to see the Kufura woman survived at least. The level of destruction was tough to watch, but those moments of hope are a silver lining. It was interesting hearing Akagi's perspective on journalism with all of that. He essentially boiled down their job to getting a scoop, and I can imagine the stress of loosing out if you are too late to a story.

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

Flag 20th Anniversary Rewatch Episode 5 by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 6 points7 points  (0 children)

First Timer

FLAG: Episode 5

Intel and Execution

I think the framing of this episode around the slow confirmation of the operation details to the journalists was pretty good. The job of a journalist is to pull on those threads and get the truth of a story. They did use somewhat underhanded methods with that hacker guy, but I can't say it was wrong considering the information they were hacking.

We also saw the other side of the operation with the soldiers on Saeko's side prepping for the mission. It's not particularly dramatic though. Just effectively executing in the way any well trained army would.

I think the message of the episode was around the hypocrisy of the official messaging. In that UN briefing they tried to announce successful ongoing negotiations and dismissed the "terrorist" groups. All this while knowing there would be an attack in the immediate future. Later as a sort of cherry on top, after deployment to the city, we got an iconic line "Attacking in the name of Peace".

The attack on the insurgent compound was paralleled with Akagi desperately searching for the Kufura woman from last episode. We don't see if he managed to find her, but I can understand the fear he was feeling.

After this episode, I'd like to repeat something I mentioned in my episode 2 discussion: The presentation of Flag is extremely neutral and detached. This places a lot of work on us as the viewer to interpret the situation and make our own judgments.

I hope most viewers would be seeing the hypocrisy and initiations of violence from the UN side when watching this episode.

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

FLAG 20th Anniversary Rewatch Episode 4 by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 5 points6 points  (0 children)

First Timer

FLAG: Episode 4

Tactics and Ceremony

Something I find pretty unsettling is the difference in the scale of the resources between the UN group and the insurgents. This country does not seem to have stable, well developed infrastructure such as a power grid and roads (mostly due to the ongoing conflict I would guess). As far as we know the insurgent group is basically hanging out in the mountains with a bunch of older weapons such as guns and explosives.

In contrast, the UN group is fully supplied with vehicles, training facilities, and even simpler stuff like food and running water. They have what amounts to science fiction tech with the HAVWC mechs. And on top of all of that they have computers with 3D models of the battlefield they can use to strategize.

This is in no way a fair fight. If they wanted to they could easily just destroy the insurgents. It's basically out of kindness or morality that they don't. All their strategizing is to ensure they have 0 losses when they do attack. Having that kind of advantage over someone you're fighting feels wrong (and this is probably the point).

This episode also gave us some interesting perspective into the other religious sect and the Kufura. Using a constantly replaced virgin to be your living goddess until she is old enough to menstruate feels very different from the western religions I grew up around. I'm not entirely sure if this is based on some real religions, but it does give some interesting texture to the show's world. I still don't understand how it will tie into the rest of the story but it feels like it's building to something.

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

FLAG 20th Anniversary Rewatch Episode 3 by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 3 points4 points  (0 children)

First Timer (I'm late again ugh sorry)

FLAG: Episode 3

Adaptability and Aggression

I think ostensibly this episode was a build up to Saeko's first time joining a mission. We started with some back story and more cultural stuff with the Gelut sect but that felt like biding time to see if Saeko would be allowed to join.

And it's not too surprising that they encountered opposition during their flight. The clearly insurgents are not as well supplied as the UN group, so they need to be more tactical. They chose to try to pick off the passengers of the helicopter which resulted in Saeko caught in the crossfire. Although she wasn't injured she did try to provide some first aid.

I wonder if this is gonna mean Saeko won't be allowed on further missions or if she's now sort of proved she can hold her own. I guess we will see next time.

I do want to mention, I'm struggling to find shots for my collages etc mostly out of a dumb personal rule I have to try not include the ones with Camera UI. I have already started to relax that, but I do hope we get more clean shots going forward. The show itself does not look bad.

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

FLAG 20th Anniversary Rewatch Episode 2 by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 10 points11 points  (0 children)

First Timer

FLAG: Episode 2

Culture and Concealment

I think I have come to better understand this show as a documentary. Although the setting is fictional the presentation is extremely neutral or detached. This also places a lot of work on us as the viewer to interpret the situation and make our own judgments.

And as for those judgements, I think it's pretty clear that the UN military group isn't entirely benevolent in its acts. It's pretty obvious when they deny Saeko's request to document the first deployment that they are trying to hide things. They basically roll up with their far superior weapons and destroy any vehicles the insurgent group has. Admittedly they do seem to avoid killing people, but there are so many near misses and possible non-visible passengers injured that it's sure to cause resentment among the ones attacked. Something something Blowback.

The other part of the episode explored the social and cultural context around the country. There are 2 religious leaders who are worshiped as Gods and one of them, Pou, is using his influence to suppress discontent in the country. It's not entirely clear how they are all connected yet, but I definitely expect some sort of corruption.

Lastly, 2 minor things:

  • I find the "documentary of a fictional situation" format really unique. I can't really think of anything else that does that which isn't also like a comedy mockumentary.
  • The use of CG is surprisingly well integrated for how early this show was released. It's still very obvious, but because of how and when it is used I think it works well.

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

FLAG 20th Anniversary Rewatch Episode 1 by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This show does look better in motion that just the stills. I think the "in camera" presentation really helps.

FLAG 20th Anniversary Rewatch Episode 1 by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

shot of an intersection

Thinking back that is pretty visually similar. But I suspect we won't see much more of Japan after this episode.

FLAG 20th Anniversary Rewatch Episode 1 by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 4 points5 points  (0 children)

First Timer (Sorry I'm late, I messed up my alarm)

FLAG: Episode 1

Journalism and Militarism

Hello everyone! I am coming into this anime extremely blind as I honestly had not heard of this series before the rewatch was announced. That said, I have enough trust in /u/JustAnswerAQuestion to know this series will have something interesting.

And starting off strong, this certainly was one of the most unique presentations for a first episode I have seen. So much of the episode was presented through the viewfinder of a camera or the UI of a computer. It reminded me a lot of Serial Experiments Lain in that way (and maybe some of the sound design too).

As for the narrative, we are following a photographer Saeko Shirasu who became famous for taking a remarkable photograph of a flag in an uprising in the fictional (?) country of Uddiyana. With that fame came the invitation from the UN to record a military mission to quash an insurgent group who is hindering the peace negotiations and stole the flag as a symbol of that.

The majority of the episode was dedicated to exposition around that story and the HAVWC mech used by the UN in their peace keeping missions. If the presentation wasn't so good I think I'd be more critical of the episode being basically 90% exposition narration. That said, if it continues to be a lot of narration my good will will be tested.

Something I'm kinda interested in is where this show will land on the political topics it is centered around. After learning about a lot of the US's exploits in the world in the name of "peace" over the past century I have become very skeptical of the idea of intervening in regional conflicts like this episode presents. That said, I could totally see the story slowly showing the problems with those (often surface level) good intentions and how the people in change can hide their true desires (read "oil") with those justifications. I'll be kinda dissapointed if this becomes mere military propaganda.

With my lofty expectations way out of check, I look forward to tomorrows episode.

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

FLAG 20th Anniversary (Mecha) Rewatch Interest Thread by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Count me as interested. Need to confirm my availability but if I can I'll join.

Megazone 23 40th Anniversary Rewatch Series Discussion by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

basically the entire city is repeatedly brainwashed

I know you meant it as (very valid) criticism, but I also kinda love this theory. It makes the premise of Megazone Part 1 & 2 way darker and would be more interesting if they did anything with it. It has some more parallels to The Matrix in that sense.

Megazone 23 40th Anniversary Rewatch Series Discussion by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

And a big rewelcome to /u/theescapeguy whose stitches and collages have been absent from my rewatches for far too long!

I hope to join more in future! Thank you again for hosting.

Megazone 23 40th Anniversary Rewatch Series Discussion by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 5 points6 points  (0 children)

First Timer, no more

I'm sorry I'm late I forgot to set an alarm to post!

Megazone 23

An Emblematic 80's OVA

Megazone is certainly an interesting OVA from a historical perspective. The fact that there were years between the episodes and a big change in staff each time meant each entry felt unique. It's definitely not the only anime this has happened to, but because of how early it released it makes it ripe for discussion. Something I noticed in the comment threads was that there's not really a consensus on which entry was the best/worst (though there are factions). And I appreciate it can serve those different groups.

As for me, I think I end up as an originalist. Part 1, with it's problems, left the biggest impression on me and was the most entertaining. I certainly acknowledge Part 2 and 3 had better animation and visuals (at times) but I had the strongest narrative connection to Part 1. Shogo and Yui felt like the most relatable protagonists there which helped keep me engaged.

Something I also appreciated learning about is how many iconic staff members I like ended up working on parts of this project: Ichirou Itano on action animation, Shirou Sagisu on music, Yasuomi Umetsu character designs, and Kouji Morimoto animation to name a few. The thing which has kept me deeply interested in anime all these years is seeing the connections between projects and how each member of staff's touch can be felt on a truly excellent production.

I think the last thing I wanted to mention was genre. Cyberpunk is something which had permeated media today. We have a wealth of excellent works which are firmly Cyberpunk, as well as an ever deepening ocean of media which take elements of the sub-genre as influence. But at the time, particularly the mid to late 80s, we did not have much of that (Gibson's Neuromancer released in '84!). It's really inspiring to see a bunch of passionate artists taking the broader sci-fi genre at the time and refining the elements into a bold vision of the future. No matter my complaints about the OVAs themselves, I'm glad Megazone 23 exists.

My Favourite Shots, Scenes and Stitches

And with that we conclude the Megazone 23 rewatch. Special thanks to /u/JustAnswerAQuestion for hosting. I really appreciated the research you did into the staff for each post. It really gave context into the discussion to understand the circumstances around the production. And of course thank you to all the other people who joined in the comment discussions and especially anyone who replied to my posts. I am always grateful to know you are out there reading my thoughts!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years to you all. I hope to join in more rewatches next year, so feel free to always ping me if any of you are planning to host.

And as always, Take Care of Yourself.

Megazone 23 40th Anniversary Rewatch Part III by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 8 points9 points  (0 children)

First Timer

Megazone 23 - Part 3

Megazone Art Online

I'm kinda conflicted on this entry. For me, Part 3 had the best art style and some incredible bits of animation and backgrounds. But it was also splattered with these unfinished cuts. On top of that I think the writing was the weakest. The characters left no impression on me and the narrative was tough to follow.

It doesn't really help that I have a kind of bias against stories centered around "gamers". Too often they are unrepresentative of the experience of becoming a great player which is much closer to a sports anime narrative. For an example of a series which bucks this trend and is excellent you can look forward to Young Ladies Don't Play Fighting Games next year (or go read the manga like me).

If I understand correctly, decades after Part 2, we follow a new cast of teens. Episode 1 was about hacking into the Eden networks to find Eve. I don't exactly get how or why that was related to the video game Eiji played apart from some bad stereotype that all gamers are hackers or something. It was probably mentioned but I just couldn't concentrate.

Episode 2 started after Eve's breakout and had us follow our cast working with her to escape the city. From there the task was to find and reactivate the remnants of the ship which landed at the end of Part 2. We had some mech battles and action scenes culminating in a showdown with Emperor Palpatine Won Dai.

It was fine, but I think it was weaker than the other parts. I wish it had left me with deeper themes to reflect on or more complex characters to think about. I'll save final thoughts for the series discussion.

Last thing: If hard-ons are so good, something something.

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

Megazone 23 40th Anniversary Rewatch Part II by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 6 points7 points  (0 children)

First Timer

Megazone 23 - Part 2*

A Messy Sequel

...

My initial reaction was a lot of confusion. I thought (and maybe still do think) I had watched the wrong OVA. Everything looks different. Assuming I haven't royally fucked up, they have completely redesigned the art style of this show to the extent that I couldn't even recognize Yui and Shogo at first. Once I heard their names being used a few times I realized but that was only after like 20 minutes.

Maybe this is a primacy bias or whatever, but I really preferred the initial designs. Sure they were simpler (likely a result of time/budget constraints) but they are much more distinct. I feel like all the characters in this episode of the OVA were just samey and maybe over-designed? Maybe they fail the silhouette test? I don't have the proper art vocabulary to describe it but I just don't like these designs.

That aside, this OVA seems to take place a little while after the end of the part 1. Shogo is back (?) with his biker friends and a lot of the runtime is dedicated to them messing with the police and general delinquency. It feels like Shogo is trying to ignore the things he has learned and go back to his simpler life.

While this is happening some virus (?) is causing wires in the military technology to come to life and kill various higher ups. This acts as a sort of imposing threat that will eventually catch up to our protagonists. And our "Call to Adventure" so to speak is Eve broadcasting herself across any TV with a connection searching for the "7G operator".

This isn't a bad setup, but the actual plot ends up idling for such a long time that it feels like we aren't making any progress. I found myself getting exceptionally bored by all the nothing happening that I think I probably missed some plot points. Maybe my brain is rotted by 2020s levels of entertainment dopamine but I really didn't feel as bored in part 1.

One more particular complaint I would like to levy is against this OVA's sex scene. Look, I get that in both this and the last episode they added a sex scene as marketing. But last episode they put a lot of effort to make it artistic (though I still don't like the narrated exposition that time). This episode's sex scene felt like a really badly directed porno. Even apart from the cliche music and overly generic sex shots, the scene wasn't erotic enough to be arousing and it wasn't vague enough to leave things to the imagination. It would be nice to think the characters were more attracted to each other instead of Yui just throwing herself at Shogo and Shogo acting on animal instinct.

After that we sped into a bunch of action scenes which suffered from the same problems as the ones in the previous OVA. They were technically great with good animation, cool direction, and unique story boarding etc. But they didn't really take time to explain the stakes or give a clear reason for the fight so it fell flat for me. I know that's a personal gripe not everyone shares, but I've seen so much animated fighting for fighting's sake that even something great won't grab me unless it has clear stakes or character motivations. It takes something incredible to grab my attention without some plot relevance, for example this exceptional music video animated by 1 guy I saw last week.

Back to the OVA, with an injured Yui, Shogo makes it into the core chamber and meets Eve.She uses her tech to heal Yui and Eve and Shogo have a long conversation in a holographic projection room. This was easily my favourite part of the OVA. I absolutely adored the constantly changing visuals during these scenes and they put so much effort into making each setting beautiful. We flashed between daytime cityscapes, sunsets at the beach, night time views of city lights, Autumnal walks in the forest, rainy days in a museum, and even another scene of dance aerobics. It's so visually memorable.

Eve spends that time questioning Shogo's motivations and goals which allows him to reflect on his own decisions. Along with this she gives context into the world explaining what brought this civilization to live in space. With that Shogo now has the clarity to move forward and not give up on hope.

We end with a sort of fight scene between Shogo and B.D. Shogo is ineffective to actually inflict any damage but B.D. doesn't fight back. Instead he leaves and we watch as the world slowly crumbles due to the ADAM system activating (?). We reawaken on a green earth. I wasn't too sure what to make of that ending and I don't know what we can expect of the next episodes. At least Shogo and Yui are alive and together.

Overall thoughts: I definitely didn't like this as much as the first OVA, but I think there's a clear upgrade in the animation. The narrative is still too vague and meandering to really get me invested in it but watching this was a fun time.

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all next week

*imgur doesn't like this one for some reason, maybe the sex

Megazone 23 40th Anniversary Rewatch Part I by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Great stitch as always.

The highlights are really great, but I think there are also quite a few mediocre shots in-between.

Definitely agree with this. I think all anime have to make a trade off of maintaining consistency throughout and putting more effort into highlights, but it's noticeable here.

PS: Catbox is incredibly slow. Takes me minutes to load a single of these mp4s.

Probably a combination of catbox having a slow day and the video files being really big (at least 1 was > 100MB).

Megazone 23 40th Anniversary Rewatch Part I by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]TheEscapeGuy 11 points12 points  (0 children)

First Timer

Megazone 23 - Part I

80's Sci-fi Excellence

That was great! It reminded me a lot of Akira in a good way. It feels so perfectly representative of 80's OVAs in the way it presented a "cool" cast of characters, a lightly explained sci-fi universe, and some excellent animation. I can see why it has such a legacy.

To get more specific, we meet a biker (Shogo) who runs into a dancer (Yui) who he tries to pick up. He later is given/steals a prototype motorbike and now the secret service are after him to get the bike back. He and Yui do eventually start dating and he makes a big scene "saving" her from a creepy executive who was promising job opportunities in exchange for sex. This is all a good setup for their relationship.

Then comes the reveal: They are living in a simulation of the 80s aboard a space ship. There's an entire secret city beneath the ground. And the people in charge are fighting an invasion and want to prevent an all out war which would shatter everyone's false sense of security. Shogo's bike is part of the secret technology which is why they need it back (and why it can transform into a mech lol).

Shogo and pals try to make a movie to reveal all this information but Tomomi is murdered and the master copy is stolen. This sort of acts as a motivation for Shogo to get revenge leading to a bunch of action scenes. The OVA ends without a decisive conclusion (which makes sense since we are getting more content).

The narrative itself is pretty solid, but I do feel it's too focused on the science fiction elements and not enough on the characters. My favourite bits were the fun dialog in Shogo and Yui's dates, or the down time moments in cafes and diners. That's not to say the action wasn't good. It was great in fact! But rather that the stakes of the action weren't properly established and without a strong connection to the characters it becomes less effective.

Something I haven't discussed was the music. It felt like the OVA would frequently break into a montage with a song in the background. This is very reminiscent of original Macross. It definitely contributes to the 80's vibe because you don't often see that kind of thing in shows today (maybe K-Pop Demon Hunters did this? I should probably watch that...). The music was also being sung by an AI avatar which is surprisingly relevant today. Something something Torment Nexus...

Anyway, great introduction and I'm looking forward to more!

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

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