When Iron Widow came up on the list of the list of rejected Hugo Award nominees in the controversy over the Chengdu Worldcon, I figured that I should bump the book further up my reading list (it was already there, it was just further in). Then it became a Sword & Laser book club pick, and I made sure to get ahold of a copy from the library – and I was not disappointed by this book at all, and I’m eagerly looking forward to the sequel.
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Anime Review: Bullbuster
When Bullbuster was announced, it was viewed as a more grounded successor series to Dai-Guard, a Super Robot anime series that had its tongue firmly embedded in cheek, as it grappled with the tough questions of how do you financially justify operating a Super Robot to fight kaiju. Bullbuster revisits those questions, except with a more grounded Real Robot (though still fighting fairly large monsters), and couches the story in the conflict between small businesses and big corporations.
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Anime Review: Aura Battler Dunbine
It feels weird to call Byston Well, the setting Yoshiyuki Tomino created for Aura Battler Dunbine – a series that many Isekai novels draw their lineage from – as a “joke”. However, arguably no creator has so desperately tried to “make fetch happen” with a setting that Tomino has done with Dunbine – not only with New Aura Battler Dunbine, but also Wings of Rean and Garzey’s Wing. Yet, with the degree of traction the original work obtained, there has to be something there – right?
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Anime Review: Mobile Suit Gundam: Witch From Mercury Season 2
This season had the second halves of not one, but two very LGBT-ish anime from Bandai/Sunrise, and a lot of worry about whether these would be able to stick the landing. Let’s start with the mecha series: Mobile Suit Gundam: Witch from Mercury, Season 2. There will be some spoilers.
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Anime Review: Mobile Suit Gundam: Witch from Mercury (S1)
Mobile Suit Gundam: Witch from Mercury is an excellent example of how to handle shifting the tone of a series incredibly well. The show opens with a prologue episode set several years before the main body of the series, establishing what the Gundams are, and what the Gundam (or GUND-ARM) technology that powers them is based on – before setting up why the Gundams are rare and restricted, and how the main character’s Gundam, in particular, is going to be special in the series to come.
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AMAIM: Warrior at the Borderline (Season 2): Anime Review
AMAIM is a show where the first half of the series had some questionable issues, but ended on a really strong note that left me coming back for the second season. The second cour of the series, while it does have some strong concepts, has some significant problems with the finale that makes it not quite work.
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Spring 2022 Anime: Season 2-s
Outside of the shows that carried over from the Winter Season (like Requiem of the Rose King), there were a couple earlier series that I reviewed that are getting second seasons, that I feel like giving some quick thoughts on – partly to cover for time on the blog (because, again, work wrapping up) and partly because honestly, I haven’t done much with the “As They Air” thing for ongoing series before and this might be worth doing for the long term. So, here are the two Season 2-s of anime I watched from earlier seasons that I’m checking out in the spring.
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Rumble Garanndoll: Anime Review
If AMAIM: Warrior at the Borderline was the mecha anime series from this season that was trying to sell hesitant viewers on Japanese conservative talking points in an anime context, Rumble Garanndoll feels much more like a move in the opposite direction. It’s a mecha anime series, leaning more towards the super robot side of things, which also feels like it’s more overtly anti-fascist, but with a more comedic, otaku-focused take.
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AMAIM: Warrior at the Borderline (Season 1): Anime Review
AMAIM: Warrior on the Borderline was an anime series from Sunrise Beyond (formerly XEBEC), which touted itself as being a mecha series that continued with having fully hand-drawn mecha, instead of ones created using CG. Unfortunately, it ended up trying to surf into some politically awkward waters, in terms of its plot, and while it may have navigated them successfully, it didn’t try to do anything interesting either.
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Sakugan: Anime Review
We have a trio of mecha anime that I watched this past year – the first of which to finish was Sakugan, something of an underdark exploration anime, combined with some Gurren Lagann-esque hot-bloodedness, and a well-done father-daughter dynamic with the leads.
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Evangelion 3.0+1.01 Anime Review
I have, at long last, watched the (to date) final Evangelion film, Evangelion 3.0+1.01: Thrice Upon A Time. I have some considerable thoughts about this – and I’d like to talk about them with spoilers, so the entirety of my review will be below the cut.
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Let’s Play Zone of the Enders 2 Mars: Ep 26 – Closure
We watch and discuss the ending of the game, and I give my final thoughts.
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Let’s Play Zone of the Enders 2 Mars: Ep 25 – Reap It You SOB
We finally finish our battle with Nohman and Anubis.
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Let’s Play Zone of the Enders 2 Mars: Ep 24 – For All the Marbles
It’s time for the final fight against Nohman, this time inside Aumann itself.
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Let’s Play Zone of the Enders 2 Mars: Ep 23 – Battle in Hyperspace
We throw down with Anubis again – this time on semi-equal terms.
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Let’s Play Zone of the Enders 2 Mars: Ep 22 – Backstage Pass
We make our way to Aumann via a cargo entrance.
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Let’s Play Zone of the Enders 2 Mars: Ep 21 – Hold The Line
We make our next attempt at the next survival sequence – holding off waves of enemies while keeping our supporting troops alive.
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Let’s Play Zone of the Enders 2 Mars: Ep 20 – Boss and Battle
We have a boss fight against a very large orbital frame, before our first attempt at a major pitched battle.
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Let’s Play Zone of the Enders 2 Mars: Ep 19 – Fleet Action
It’s time for the big push, and we have to take out some capital ships on our way to the rendezvous point.
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Let’s Play Zone of the Enders 2 Mars: Ep 18 – Anubis Returns
Like the title says, Anubis is back and we have to do what we can to survive.
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Let’s Play Zone of the Enders 2 Mars: Ep 17 – Earn Your Upgrade
We have a boss fight with Lloyd to get the needed upgrade for Jehuty.
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Let’s Play Zone of the Enders 2 Mars: Ep 16 – Descent Into the Depths
We make an absurdly long descent into the basement of Lloyd’s base.
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Let’s Play Zone of the Enders 2 Mars: Ep 15 – In Through The Out Door
We navigate the surface of Lloyd’s base in an attempt to find our way to “the basement”.
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Let’s Play Zone of the Enders 2 Mars: Ep 14 – Walk This Way
We make our way to someone who can upgrade Jehuty – Lloyd.
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