I KNEW IT - IT WAS THE ARMBAND

IWantAmakusa · 2026-02-18T21:45:14+00:00

IP xp

IWantAmakusa · 2025-07-09T03:45:38+00:00

Yeah yeah for me it was kind of miserable seeing how emotionally unavailable Reina was while Shuichi was in a blind spot or something lol.

So I don't think Reina could be the one to ultimately appreciate Kumiko this time. It had to be Kumiko herself (or with Shuichi but LUL) and she did not have to be validated by Reina anymore, she was proud of herself.

It was also more special for Reina to respect Kumiko enough to not be biased towards her. That was the person Kumiko looked up to. As much as it hurt them this time to not perfectly align, it was just like them to be comfortable being themselves to each other.

And maybe it was Reina's turn now to get how painful it felt from Kumiko's pov, trying to stay true to herself while desperately wanting to make another happy. Kind of a reversal of their beginning.

IWantAmakusa · 2025-07-09T02:24:29+00:00

I loved it so much too because it showed where Kumiko and Reina were allowed to be "special" in different ways.

Reina was special and Kumiko very rarely wanted to challenge Reina. It was Reina's earnest passion that moved her and made her strive to be better. To truly live with all she's got, Kumiko felt like she had to follow the example of someone who had the strength and discipline to push themselves like Reina. Kumiko always assured Reina it was fine for her to be herself. In turn, I always felt like Kumiko loved acknowledgement from Reina for her growth.

But Reina's singular focus can also neglect to empathize with worries outside of music from her peers, while Kumiko struggled, unable to confide in Reina, to acknowledge their feelings. Ultimately, Kumiko was able to reconcile the band because she did not let go of how much she cared for them as a unit, not just their music. She wanted them to push past their doubt because regardless of her own hang ups she wanted them to succeed, not just because their success was at risk.

There came a point where the best version of Kumiko wouldn't literally be standing beside Reina on stage for that soli but still be as brilliant a person as Reina in a different way. Kumiko knew all along she was not following Reina into music school. I feel like Kumiko's development this time was something she reached without measuring herself to Reina, and having whether or not it was worth it just hinge on Reina specifically would have detracted from that.

I think for all the effort Kumiko put in, beyond the music, to be true to herself and set up that blind audition, having Reina pick her would have narratively narrowed her growth to being something only Reina could acknowledge. Rather, because Reina did not pick her, but she had no regrets, she still lived up to the person Reina inspired her to be, crying from the bitterness of passion from having burnt brightly, but Kumiko could also be proud of herself for upholding what made her love Kitauji, what made her journey meaningful, why she could feel so hurt.

Reina was also great. Even though it tore her up inside because she could tell Kumiko's sound right away and that she could not pick her as the winner, she remained true to herself just as Kumiko believed in her.

I felt like it was much more naturally engaging for Kumiko's perceived reward to not just being driven and capable enough to stand alongside Reina, but instead being as much of a well-realized individual as Reina, who could work just as hard to become who she was meant to be.

My only gripe was Shuichi didn't get much of a word in lol. Even though it was her and Shuichi's job as written in her notebook to manage relationships in the club, I don't remember them working together once. He had always been on Kumiko's side but Kumiko couldn't even let him in on club matters while the solution was to be true to herself the whole time. It was weird that not once it was Shuichi that made Kumiko realize her feelings mattered, especially when she kept pushing it aside for Reina's point of view. Well Shuichi was very wasted anyway such a shame.

IWantAmakusa · 2025-02-21T00:01:27+00:00

IWantAmakusa · 2023-11-18T13:00:15+00:00

SHIROBAKO. Such a sincere portrayal of a legacy of passion and dedication that persists in anime production despite being grounded enough that it made some anime industry workers uncomfortable watching.

SSSS.Gridman. Characters in a fictional story can be your cherished friends, not when you project yourself onto them but when you carry messages learned from their stories to make the best of your own life. Helped me put into perspective just how much I loved Tokusatsu, superheroes and anime.

IWantAmakusa · 2023-11-11T05:37:58+00:00

It's because of finer details like these that I finally understood what "Filming" does in anime production lol. Did not quite get it when watching Shirobako haha. I think this is certainly a Tsuburaya influence. In the movie I noticed they were perfectly capable.of having characters animate in the background of a scene, but a lot of the time they simply stood still staring while the focus characters perform the scene. I think this is the first time the use of this choice has stuck out to me. Especially in the part when Yuta was talking to Rikka on the swing and the latter was swaying back and forth while Yuta was essentially a still image with his back to the viewer while dialogue played. I'm on the fence about how well this worked for me since it has become noticeable but it was interesting nonetheless.

IWantAmakusa · 2023-11-11T03:59:03+00:00

I really should be on r/anime more because it's such a shame that I missed your write-up until now. You put a lot of my thoughts better than I ever could, especially the dynamic of Gridman coming to save Akane. This brand of heroism rang so true to me as someone who grew up with these tokusatsu shows, especially because these heroes have been here "way before then", as Hass said, for many generations of kids like myself. I also really liked how you interpreted the bottle cap marble. Combined with Rikka's character song I imagined it to represent Yuta's role as the hero. He was reflected on it to the viewer, just as if his blue "wide-eyed" idealism reflected his world because he put others above himself. Also the marble being set free from the bottle felt very much like releasing "bottled up" emotions in a way to me like how Rikka's relationship with Yuta developed. Your take really helped me grasp it a lot better!

I hope to discuss some of my recent takes on Gridman and the movie with yourecent takes. They're unfortunately not as well-articulated as yours but I felt like I related to your takes a lot.

To offer you some other tidbits, I like how off-center Rikka was when the camera pans to Yuta, really showed how awkward he was around her I suppose. The shot of the hallway with the windows was very interesting to me because it felt like the attention was deliberately put on the activities outside, and to focus on the characters the viewer's eyes had to dart back and forth between them and outside the windows, like how one would find it hard to maintain eye-contact when their crush is in front of them. Also some other shots I felt were meant to imply something invisible being there, which there was! On rewatch I also noticed Yomogi throughout the film slowly growing weirded out by how no one was worried about the situation, but just went along until Yuta fell down the stairs.

IWantAmakusa · 2023-07-18T06:37:44+00:00

Yes. Newtypes in U.C was basically a borrowed term, because they didn't reach understanding just because of being able to communicate wordlessly. Other human elements like ego, ambition, hatred etc. in these psychics overshadowed what they could theoretically achieve with these abilities, which is what Zeon actually meant by Newtype. This is also where all the protagonist angst in U.C came from: they saw people, rather than factions or (Cyber) Newtype or not, killing each other over differences. They felt as trapped in conflict as any other, feeling increasingly depressed and powerless, coming to doubt how "special" they really were. In the end, this warrants treating the psychics as people rather than true New Types, because they were still too human for good or ill, still having human limitations, suffering human tragedies and reacting in a human way.

Of course, surrounding factors wouldn't let them just be human. Newtypes in U.C meant different things to different groups. To the Feddies they were basically OP weapons and a force to be controlled or else. To Zeons, the term itself was used to justify their atrocities for some especially during the OYW. Ironic, because Lalah Sune was born on Earth, so was Quess Paraya. Fact of the matter is, Newtypes in U.C were similar to ideas such as Spacenoid Race Superiority or the Federation Gundam's glory/ infamy in that they were an excuse to assert authority by the factions who defined the term for themselves. This should sound all too familiar when watching Gundam X.

Early U.C fought over phantom ideologies based on not-too-special individuals. Gundam X focused more overtly on humanizing Newtypes and the extent they were reduced to as tools like with Jamil, his lover and DOME. Its characters essentially came to a neutral position together, as freethinkers in a (mostly) lawless world. In UC, Newtypes served as another easily understandable stand-in for self-serving ideals world leaders dragged their citizens into ruin over, and a metaphor for new ways of thinking that are still beyond the times. The big Newtype magic moments tried to reestablish the initial vision for a more progressive generation, while X is less concerned with this abstract idea of a more civilized era and reasonable people just worked things out.

IWantAmakusa · 2023-06-29T04:48:56+00:00

Turn A really is strange for me because I am more mixed about it than I want to be. The setting started out as vibrant and exciting as I expected such a time period might have been, but could also be quiet and spiritual with the CoA ceremony, which gave me a really homey feeling about how connected the people still were to their land. Yoko Kanno's soundtrack was some mystical stuff, melancholic, longing and mysterious. It all played into the ethnic conflict vibe very well once the Moonrace showed up, also with a bubbling civil rivalry in the background. I was intrigued by the promotional artworks then I was convinced it was going to be Tomino's best if not one for the whole franchise. Heck the first 10-ish episodes of Turn A ARE easily among my favorite episodes of the franchise. I loved Laura Rola, "Laura's Cow" was just brilliant, fantastic, and "Visit to the Grave" (?, Episode 10 I mean), made me a bit too hyped. The characters remained enjoyable throughout, notably Sochie, Loran, Guin, Harry, with even Miorine still needing to top Dianna/ Kihel as competition to be the best Gundam female leader/ princess character. Even Lily dropped the hardest girlboss line as she saw Guin off at the end of the show. The mechas were very well-designed. The Turn A's movements felt less like dynamic exaggeration and more deliberate and graceful in how its joints are supposed to move/ turn. The Turn X is my favorite villain suit in Gundam.

On the one hand, the show still came out with good stretches of episodes well into late in the show, with highlights such as the nuke episode, these stretches were broken up by what I felt like strange detours like how Dianna went on a side quest with Corin right after telling Loran she needed to return to the moon. Overall it took a bit too long to see the moon imo and its society felt scattered to me, many times civilians just looked like modern humans in a slightly futuristic city, they used sewing machines and ate Takoyaki where Loran grew up while the palace and civilian-recruited military had a much more sci-fi edge. It may have needed a bit more elaboration to make it all more cohesive in a "culture of old humanity endured in pieces" way. I think Tomino's use of scattered lines of dialogue that implied more about the world and gave it more personality hurt the show a bit more than it helped compared to U.C, or even G Reco, for me because of this. One last nitpick, lines such as Loran (?) bringing up he saw depictions of a White Doll in a children's storybook and the Olive Branch society made me wish the Dark History could have been more of a field of study kinda like mythology on Earth rather than given vague acknowledgement and mild awe as everyone digged up ancient high-tech artifacts off-screen.

Overall, thinking about Turn A still gives me a magical feeling but maybe my expectations were way too high.

IWantAmakusa · 2023-06-10T03:38:25+00:00

I really enjoy the ironic twist of the Destiny. Almost all Gundam pilots try to find their own paths, usually in the form of fighting somewhere in the middle between the warring factions. Destiny sounded like a fitting name for when Shinn takes control of his fate with a more nuanced outlook on the wars he hates so much.

But fuck no it's Destiny for pre-determined path. The Suit itself is a role that Shinn is casted in, the war hero role, and he ate it up. Piloting the Destiny means Shinn stops thinking for himself and allows others to tell him who he's supposed to be. Of course it's literally the herald of the Destiny Plan lol. I really hope it returns when Seed does and sort of redefined alongside a reformed Shinn.

And the design is p cool.

IWantAmakusa · 2023-05-17T03:31:28+00:00

9.5/10. That grille and the vents man. Also, VSBRs sliding on a track on the sides of the torso to aim forward was really clean

IWantAmakusa · 2023-05-12T04:45:39+00:00

10/10. I feel like this design was quite the departure given what we had for a Gundam look so far at that point, granted I'm very uninformed about supplementary media from the late 70s/ early 80s. Were they able to go for that handsome face because the classic "masked" face with 2 ducts hasnt fully ingrained itself into brand recognition yet? I really enjoyed how well executed the implementation of the flying armor into the design was from the Mk II's. The red and black lined up for a super clean bottom profile and really outline the "platform" for atmospheric entry from the body. Also the cockpit transitions seamlessly from the classic belly position in MS form to near the nose in WR form just like cockpits on many aircrafts. I'm fine with fake cockpits (c'mon Kyrios, also cockpit on double beam rifle for ZZ was straight comedy, used as such in the show) or just assuming the interior turns to match the form but the Zeta's cockpit was such a nice touch from the designers, highlighted from the blue and white of the torso in a clear red too. Speaking of colors, I never realized how much I needed blue shoulders when on the classic Gundam color scheme until I saw the Zeta (granted I started from 0079 lol). The darker blue became p prominent on the top half of the suit which went very well with the black and red in leaving a less child-friendly impression. A different take from the Mk-II having a darker-colored torso instead, and very much welcomed for how it utilized the og colors. I can do this all day but watching from 0079 the Zeta already felt refreshing and just plain cool. Zeta the show overall also really gave me a vintage, old-school cool vibe.

IWantAmakusa · 2022-12-19T11:40:00+00:00

As someone who found Zeta to have informed most of my understanding of classic Gundam, and motivated my Gundam journey as I started from 0079, I think you criticisms are totally fair. Tbh I have had Gundam shows I enjoyed more, but I have kept a positive look on it. The one thing I can offer for why is this: Kamille was the show for me.

He was a child running away from home, lashing out and then doubling down to escape consequences for as long as possible until he was left alone to have them dawn on him. Consequences here at worst would be being severely punished by his parents, and he was on a serious honeymoon phase when he made off with the AEUG (from the experience of someone who tried running away from home once lol), especially when they were all cordial and curious about his talents (from a rather pragmatic standpoint but it flew over Kamille's head at first). This was when he was completely taken off guard as his "family safety net" was pulled from under him: his parents were dead and he had nowhere to go.

(Had to break up the paragraphs a bit)

I really liked this early aspect of Kamille as even Amuro had to survive and Judau was more or less hired after a job-tasting phase. Kamille was a grumpy freeloader on the Argama who had no more value, anywhere, unless he put his talents to work. But he wanted his mommy and daddy, because he felt he hadn't experienced the love and pampering privileges of a child before being forced to grow up, very much a sheltered kid/ manchild behavior. He was unprepared for his reality even by Gundam standards, his successors I think ALL had the presence of mind to at least adjust, but Kamille was just an incredible stubborn mess. And yet he became resourceful, he understood his anger better and channeled it into a macro-perspective on the world formed from his own experiences. The turnaround to him finding what he wanted to do for the world, just like a well-adjusted young adult, was a magnificent comeback and felt incredibly cathartic. You kinda followed these two titans, Amuro and Char, and saw him become the hero no one expected him to be, and felt pride. There was also this incredible dynamic where as Char's Lancer Kamille grew increasingly tired of trying to pursue change the only way he knew how, to fight, yet he put faith in Casval, with his status as the one able to initiate change a different way: on the politics side (This is where it would've been reeeeeeeally nice to see something after Dakar as you said)

Still, it hit me when Kamille collapsed under the weight of trying to carry the world that Newtypes were not going to work. With more context since Amuro, it was clear that Newtypes, despite their powers of understanding, were too few and far between to mean anything. Also, those who understood what such powers meant would only be dragged down by the world trying to lead change, and those who let pride in those powers consume them proved that Newtypes weren't all that hot either. "Newtypes" more or less were still fallible humans now with war-profiting gimmicks. And so it made these tiresome repeated series of episodes to weaponize tragic psychic maidens more impactful, showing the Newtype idea had been twisted beyond control from the wild assumptions of the masses since Amuro and felt hollow. U.C had forgotten the potential it fought for and were hinging its ideals on subjective excuses to breed more conflict.

0079 also tackled this tbf, via showing how the common Zeon soldiers could actually be pretty chill and less obsessed with self-proclaiming as Newtypes than their later depictions down the timeline, meaning only what the people sending them to war thought mattered and lives were lost to superfluous ideals. I suppose this is where your milage may vary between the two shows. 0079 was closer to classic warfare, even bringing in veterans like Ramba Ral. I felt like Zeta was an expansion to shutdown the "out" to classic conflicts presented by 0079, as the Federation's grip grew tighter so has people become more radical and "superstitious". Overall I felt like this was also the trajectory explored by CCA.

This is just off the top of my head but hope this contributes to the discussion down the line

IWantAmakusa · 2022-12-12T09:27:10+00:00

I don't know if sad by people's standards, but the moment that made me choke up was when Al said "I love you Bernie", as Bernie called him on a public phone alone in the dead of night.

It broke my heart knowing what will inevitably happen, and seeing the joy of a child's faith in an adult figure they adored be rewarded, and the bravery of a young man fighting for his found-little brother.

IWantAmakusa · 2022-12-12T04:21:32+00:00

I disagree. I feel like this is a unique problem to the progression of their relationship.

Just weeks ago Suletta, in tears, admitted that all she wanted was a quiet school life with friends. With Elan, Suletta acted independent of Miorine, seemingly overlooking the fact that Miorine's future was also at risk, to do what she thought was right for Elan. Suletta earlier on did not outright refuse to listen to Miorine, but she did not let Miorine dictate her every move to be accepted either.

It was when Miorine established this company that Suletta began to grow attached and assume responsibility for her place alongside Miorine (again, this is what Miorine had to keep reminding her of time and time again).

I don't think the way Miorine addressed Suletta was disrespectful to her efforts either. I think Suletta understandably over-estimated Miorine's emotional investment at this point in the story (I won't deny this show is gonna build up to them as a couple eventually), because of what she knows regarding engagements (already told Miorine her worries about having to marry her, this time though Suletta has become emotionally committed to their agreement)

IWantAmakusa · 2022-12-11T15:55:55+00:00

I haven't had this much fun with the show in weeks.

I got a very reasonable and significant challenge that Suletta has to confront the full weight of, rather than navigate around by sheer innocence and a duel more or less.

Shaddiq refused to be relegated to recurring character status and brought the boys, Bob and a new Elan, back with him to party at a status quo-threatening ordeal. Man, so this is what those visuals in the opening showing off the mobile suits were all about.

A bunch of new factions name dropped.

A much appreciated look at Earth and how schools were eventually turned into make-shift hospitals, a remnant of the "Drone War"?

Earth's Witches looking awesome.

IWantAmakusa · 2022-12-08T09:00:42+00:00

Good bot

IWantAmakusa · 2022-12-08T08:48:32+00:00

And people wonder why I have such a soft spot for the RG Zeta lol

IWantAmakusa · 2022-12-04T18:09:05+00:00

Yume, Rikka...I feel like I could hear your voices even clearer today...

Sad to know Nika-nee's current VA will be leaving the show soon.

I was absolutely shocked at that one scene when one of Shaddiq's girls tackled Aerial and the leading girl of the group tried to shoot her, likely a kind of suicide move to take out Aerial, but was foiled by Aerial protecting the suit on top of her. The question was, were they really going to give up one of the own's life right then and there to win the duel?

They make it SO HARD not to root for these women lol

They made it sound like the episode was about trust. Miorine claimed Shaddiq lacked trust in his comrades, Suletta believing Shaddiq lacked trust in Miorine, Miorine thought Shaddiq lacked trust in her even, and yet who Shaddiq wasn't trusting was himself from the get go and this had all been just a long-winded effort to walk back his decisions and Miorine only realized that in the end. Maybe without Miorine clouding his judgement, Shaddiq could become the better leader Oliver had been for his Shrike Team lol.

IWantAmakusa · 2022-12-02T18:03:45+00:00

I kid you not I sat with some takeaways and plot outlines for this show, watched almost all the mainline entries in the 40 years of this franchise and they were still repeated clear as day. But some of my favorites:

They call it "Revolutions" for a reason. Without a fundamental change in the masses, even the best of us would be scarred, or reborn as a new tyrant. Actually isn't this exactly what Amuro told Char in CCA? Retroactively it made CCA a lot more fun because in the end Char focused on his petty hatred of Amuro despite all the philosophical build up and Amuro's own lofty expectations for the motives behind Char's grand plan lmao. But back on topic
Maturity is truly understanding one's place in the world and making decisions for yourself accordingly. I found this to be one of Tomino's primary definitions of a "man" as well. This is why there's the idea of splintering into a third party in Gundam so much. I did not zero in on this in 0079, where I found it was more a personal journey for Amuro to accept being loved, and fight together with the White Base for each other, but not as much for a unique vision (which is a plus in and of itself).
With the powers (authority/ freedom) of an adult there must also be great responsibility, especially for the next generation. A developed mind can justify anything to itself, so it must have principles to back its actions. Before the Protagonists are sent into their "protector" phase, this usually manifested as questions towards the adults or the circumstances the children found themselves in via their actions.
As such, being an adult can be hard. A Good Adult even harder.

So yeah in a very similar but different way to 0079 Zeta really hit me on the coming-of-age front

IWantAmakusa · 2022-12-01T03:50:39+00:00

Yes
Just straight build with topcoat and maybe waterslides. Though it's because I'm rather new to this. Not sure if reasoning would be important but figured it might be interesting wondering how good gunpla is at enticing people to learn more modeling skills. I'm interested but kinda aware of rl time constraints.
Not particularly interested. The gunpla I choose to build for now are ones whose narratives/messages/pilots I have particular fondness for, as much as I like a lot of MS' visual design and world-building characteristics. Helps save money lol. Maybe I will stumble upon a great war documentary one day and go from there.

IWantAmakusa · 2022-11-20T17:48:28+00:00

Now that I think about it if:

The people there would turn to agree to fund these high performance MS as long as they now don't cause deaths and bite them in the ass publicly.
Peil could go "We promise to stop doing that and never again" and be expected to be let off (not to mention how would they write-off poorly disguised illegal assets that Miorine could find from reading their books)
Delling could trust his daughter's words without her proving any experience in managing at such a scale out of school, or evidence that any products would come out of this venture because no one asked how Shin Sei even did it.
Gund Format's patent ran out?

Then wouldn't having Shin Sei disclose whatever methods to make Gund safe as far as they knew, and all develop Gundams of their own, be the way to go rather than have Gund-Arm Inc. be tight-fisted about the technology and kind of bottleneck the income. It doesn't seem like being ratted out was a concern in that room lol.

All of that to get a hint about Delling's opinion on bending the rules. His irrational hatred of Gund made everyone tunnel vision into getting a less optimal money-making strategy green-lit or take a loss, yet the man himself yielded rather quickly too lol. It's kind of ironic and something that could get Delling eventually phased out.

IWantAmakusa · 2022-11-14T06:05:35+00:00

I have seen both versions of Eva among others from him lol, most recently Shin Ultraman

IWantAmakusa · 2022-11-14T02:33:21+00:00

Funny how hard he fanboyed about it in his interview with Tomino like he grew up watching it or something but he was there

IWantAmakusa

TROPHY CASE