Counting Down the 20 Coolest Characters in Anime - #15 Mugen, Samurai Champloo

"I don't give a rats ass about going to hell. Guess I feel like I'm already there. What I do mind is the thought of being killed by you ugly bastards. I've gone my whole life without being helped by anyone else, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you help me into my grave."

When one thinks of a samurai, they think of a disciplined and honorable warrior. This...is not Mugen. No, Mugen is a trash talking, brash, and yet still brutally effective fighter. One can leave all that discipline and honor stuff with Jin (Samurai Champloo's other resident badass swordsmith). Like every other character on this list, Mugen certainly isn't lacking in the badassery category. But also like every character on this list, he's got depth (and a kickass backstory).

They totally had breakdancing samurai in Edo Japan

If theres any character that epitomizes the free flowing hip hop style that is Samurai Champloo it would be Mugen. Character designer Kazuto Nakazawa was quoted saying that the director wanted a character who "looked like a rapper and acted like a bad guy." Mugen, being one of the protagonists is more of an anti-hero than he is a bad guy. Mugen's most defining trait is the way that he fights. As Jin so often states, Mugen's style of fighting is undisciplined. Rather than follow the traditional way of sort fighting, Mugen mixes in various forms of martial arts and breakdancing. Not only that but he's deadly with his sword as well, to the point that he can fight hordes of enemies all by himself. In addition, he's helped out by a total devil may care attitude. In any fight that he's involved in expect Mugen to be foul mouthed while slicing and dicing his opponents. Plus any character thats voiced by Steve Blum (spoiler theres another Steve Blum voiced character on this list) is bound to be made of awesome. Mugen certainly carries on the legacy of great Steve Blum characters. Mugen is certainly worthy of being on this list just because of how badass he is. I mean, watch a video like this and it's no surprise that someone this awesome belongs on a list this awesome.

Polar opposites and yet a kickass team

It wouldn't be a Mugen piece if I didn't add a little about his character development. Before teaming up with the main characters, Mugen ran with a gang of pirates. Unfortunately, he was sold out by the leader of the group, the treacherous Mukuro, and was sentenced to be executed. Mugen was able to escape and eventually set out alone as a wandering swordsman. Up until he meets the main characters, theres very few people that he cares about. This is mostly because of the way he was sold out by the very gang that he thought had his back. Jin obviously stands out as Mugen's counterpart from the first episode. The two are polar opposites of each other; both in the way they fight and they way that they act. Throughout the series, they keep referencing that after they complete their quest for Fuu, they're going to finish the fight they started in the first episode. However, as the series runs along and the two learn more about one another, the relationship changes from an antagonistic tone to one of respect. It's a similar situation with Fuu. At first, Mugen is not willing at all to help her find the Sunflower Samurai but as the series continues he begins to care for Fuu, even risking his life for her. Jin and Fuu were the first two people that Mugen was ever able to trust and become friends with after the pirates betrayed him.

Mugen has a lot of awesome qualities that add up and make him one cool character. For starters he's pretty badass (I haven't said that one enough) and it's cool to see his character develop over the course of the show's run. Like I said in the preface for this series every character needs something that makes them different; theres plenty of badasses out there. Mugen is different because he comes from such a unique series and theres not many other hip-hop cool samurais out there. It is for these reasons that he finds himself at #15

Counting Down the Coolest Characters in Anime - #16 Misato Katsuragi, Neon Genesis Evangelion

"So fucking what if I'm not you! That doesn't mean it's okay for you to give up! If you do, I'll *never* forgive you as long as I live!"

When the fate of the entire world is on the line, it's time for the big guns to show their muscle. Neon Genesis Evangelion places this fate in the hands of some mentally unstable 14 year olds. However, while the EVA pilots are the one's who receive the most exposure, one can't doubt the mastermind behind their success. That would be hyper-competent Major Misato Katsuragi. Of course, it's not as if Misato doesn't have her issues (then again, this is Evangelion where if you don't have a major psychological issue, you're one of the weird ones). However, this shouldn't obscure how much of a badass strategist she is (there is a reason why she gets promoted to Major midseason).

Don't threaten Shinji or this will happen

Misato begins Evangelion as the operations director at the top secret organization known as NERV. This places her in charge of the most powerful weapons that mankind has against the threat of the angels, the Evangelions. She also is the first friend that Shinji makes upon joining NERV and in the second episode Misato actually agrees to be his guardian. This places her in the mother role for most of the series, often having to be one to Shinji when he has his daily "I can't pilot the EVA!' bullshit speech (more on this later). Misato begins the series at the rank of captain and she wastes no time showing exactly why, using her immense imagination to create absolutely insane plans to beat the Angels. For starters, she mobilizes all of NERV's forces to siphon the power of ALL OF JAPAN (I shit you not) to power a massive sniper rifle to take out an Angel. Operation Yashima, as she names, it is probably one of the most ridiculous and absurd things I've seen in any anime (that's saying something) and yet it turns into a moment of badassery. This is only one of the many times that she displays how competent of a major she is throughout the series. Part of this comes from her past where her father's life was taken during the Second Impact, leading her to have immense hate towards them. This sometimes results in some pretty risky plans (like having the EVA's team up to catch an Angel falling to Earth, risking the lives of three 14 year olds in the process). However, it's this drive to ultimately destroy the Angels that makes her such a strong military leader. Some naysayers would probably berate me for putting Misato in a list like this, mostly because of her heavy drinking party girl habits in the home (which Shinji knows PLENTY about). However, this only adds to her character, making her a humorous character (of course, theres a darker reason for this as well, this is EVA after all). It would also be a disservice to such a badass strategist and NERV agent.

Pretty much sums up this friendship

Like I said earlier on this list, each character here has something unique about them that makes them cool. Misato here certainly isn't lacking when it comes to the total badass side of things. I mean, In addition to be a crack military strategist theres a scene in End of Evangelion she takes out a group of SSDF soldiers all by herself, even throwing in a snappy one liner before she finishes the last one off (shown above). So yes, we've established that Misato is a badass major, that we know. But what really makes her character shine is her relationship with the show's main character Shinji Ikari. Yes, many times Shinji is an insufferable twat but Misato is the only friend that he has for most of the show. She's not afraid to be tough and realistic on him in order to see the bigger picture. The two grow close over the course of the series to the point where Misato is almost like a mother figure to Shinji. Even at the end, when hope looks lost and Shinji is unable to get himself out of his depressed funk (happens often in this series) Misato is there to snap him out of it (to the best of her ability, this is EVA after all).

So that sums it up, Misato is a kickass tactician, a hard drinking party girl, and a damn awesome person when it comes to giving inspirational speeches. What else could you possibly want or need? So yes, Misato is number 16 on this list for all the reasons mentioned above. Sure Misato is a badass in the war room, sure she's kicks ass when she's in the field. At the same time she has that motherly aspect that helps many of the characters throughout the show. Misato is a classic character from one of the most classic animes of all time. For those reasons, she's cool character #16.

Counting Down the 20 Coolest Anime Characters - #17 Balalaika, Black Lagoon

"I'm gonna tell you the truth tonight. What I seek is destruction and domination. I don't care about anything else. I'm only interested in how much I can dance in the pit of hell when it's all over...see ya there..."
                                           
Theres some people that you don't mess with. One of them is definitely the leader of the Russian mob in the most dangerous city on Earth. Theres plenty of badass characters in the world of Black Lagoon but the coolest of them all is easily the cold and calculating leader of Hotel Moscow, none other than Balalaika.

Serving during the war

Balalaika served as a captain in the Soviet War in Afghanistan, earning her name due to her excellent skills as a sniper. (Balalaika was a slang term for the Dragonuv sniper rifle in the Soviet Army) Of course, history tells us that the war did not go well for the Soviets or for Balalaika as evidenced by the the burn marks on her face and other portions of her body. After the war, Balalaika mobilized the soldiers who once followed her into the Russian mob known as Hotel Moscow, one of several powerful criminal organizations taking up rent in Roanapur. This "army" that she has organized is ruthlessly efficient and powerful with the training and skills required to "singlehandedly start and win World War III". All of this with Balalaika as an incredibly imposing and brilliant leader. Her army is defined by their inredible devotion to her, still referring to her by her military title of Captain. Like many of the characters in Black Lagoon, one must remember that Balalaika is a "bad guy" despite aligning herself with the protagonists at times. Committing evil deeds is just a part of the trade and she plays a big part in opening up the criminal underworld to the main character Rokuro.

Balalaika is damn scary when she gets her hands dirty

Not only is Balalaika an incredibly smart and effective leader she remains as devoted to her men as they are to her. In fact an entire arc in Black Lagoon is centered around a pair of twins who killed one of her men. This leads to her dispatching her incredibly effective and efficient troops in an all out manhunt to avenge the life of her comrade. Like I said before, don't mess with Hotel Moscow. If you harm her men, Balalaika's soldiers will hunt you down and provide you with a "reasons why you suck speech" as you die. That being said, it's not as if she's not deadly effective as well when she needs to get her hands dirty. In fact, she's darn scary in the moments where she pulls out a gun or knife to prove a point. Of any character in anime, she is one of the most ruthless and intimidating characters I've seen. Yet despite this, the level of compassion that she shows for her men is incredible. Bonds forged through war that remain even after. It's shown that the war changed Balalaika greatly. She was supposed to compete in the 1984 Summer Olympics but instead was deployed to Afghanistan. The Balalaika in the past is show to be nothing like the jaded and ruthless mob boss of the present. Instead she's bright, innocent, and optimistic. Balalaika is an example of the mental and physical scars that war can have on a person. A certainly tragic figure at times, if not for the fact that she loves her current work.

Theres something to be said for a character that can play the behind the scenes mastermind and be awesome when it comes to joining the fray. Balalaika is certainly a solid character, the only thing that keeps her from being ranked higher is that she doesn't receive much character development other than simply being badass. Of course, this only goes to add to one of Black Lagoon's main points, that Roanapur is the unchanging center of the criminal underworld. Even so, Balalaika makes for an excellent character. One who loves to walk on the dark side and is at her best when she does.

Counting Down the 20 Coolest Anime Characters - #18 Amane Suzuha, Steins;Gate

Name?
Amane Suzuha
Age?
Eighteen
Reason for applying?
Serious CRT buff!
You're hired
YES!!!

Here's an example of what I mean when I say that each character on this list has their own reason for being awesome; even if they don't entirely fit the standard definition of cool. Steins;Gate was the best anime I've watched in the past year, mostly by the merit of it's characters. The best of which is Amane Suzuha the self-titled "part time warrior". She's cool not just because her character has an awesome personality (and pulls some badass moves during the show's run as well) but because of her stellar backstory and development as a character.

Plenty badass enough for this list

In the alternate timeline that main character Okabe creates (by sending a text message of all things) in the year 2036, the organization known as SERN rules the world. This due to them being the first to invent a time machine leading them to believe that the world should bend to their whims. Suzuha comes from that future, having traveled back in time from there in order to prevent the tyrannical SERN from taking over. In that time, she was a member of the Anti-SERN Liberation Movement, a trained soldier. Realizing that SERN couldn't be stopped in her time, she traveled back into past to stop them, posing as a part-timer at the CRT shop underneath the protagonists lab. Suzuha is one of the most entertaining and tragic characters of the show. Being from a different time she's a Fish Out of Temporal Water so to speak. She's pretty quirky even in comparison to the rest of the cast who could hardly be considered normal either. The other characters are surprised by her lack of knowledge about their time (they of course don't know she's from another time period until several episodes in). Her bright and bubbly exterior though is masking a troubled and almost broken girl on the inside. Living in a dystopian future has made Suzuha into a strong soldier whose incredibly cautious to the point of paranoia. (at one point tackling Okabe to the ground because she thought a helicopter flying over was an air raid) Not to mention being the biggest badass among what is mostly a group of nerds (brains are the new sexy though). She can thank her training as a rebel soldier for that sort of thing.

Steins;Gate is a stellar series but at it's best when Suzuha is a focus

Suzuha makes this list because I thought of her as a really enjoyable character. She's energetic, fun, and she's fantastic in every scene that she's in. Of course, once you find out more of her backstory she becomes more of a tragic figure and one that you can really sympathize with. The more you find out about her the more you realize that behind her bubbly and snarky exterior; theres a traumatized rebel soldier hiding underneath. Obviously, Suzuha isn't the only "Broken Bird" character thats ever been in anime. However, I really liked the way that Steins;Gate handled her character. You can really feel how out of place she feels in the current time period and how confused and scared she is. When she finally reveals her past to the team she reveals her more cynical and serious side. Despite how the bleak the future is the rest of the cast reignites her desire to change it; giving her something that she never had in the future, friends. She gets her own run of episodes which elaborate on her backstory as well as the search for her father. The entire arc is beautifully done and the way that it comes to a close is one that is extremely emotional. These episodes are some of my favorites in what is an all around amazing show.

Suzuha is incredibly entertaining in her light moments as well

Amane Suzuha is not the most badass character on this list but she easily ranks among the most interesting. Her backstory and the way that she develops throughout Steins;Gate's run is absolutely fantastic. It's for these reasons that she's cool character #18.

Counting Down the 20 Coolest Anime Characters - #19 Gohan, Dragonball Z

"Fight you? No...I'm going to kill you."
                                             -Gohan

Similar to Kittan, Gohan resides in a universe in which beings with enough energy to nuke an entire planet all by themselves all exist. Unlike, Kittan however, Gohan certainly isn't an underrated character in his universe. In fact he's one of the most popular characters in his universe. Of course, theres certainly reason for why Gohan has become such a popular character. (other than just being a straight up badass that is) Gohan is such an important character in the grand scheme of things because in a universe of beam-spamming aliens, Gohan was easily the most developed and complete character in the cast.

Kid Gohan

As a child, Gohan was definitely thrust into what can only be described as an "interesting" childhood. Let's be honest, Goku is hardly father of the year material. What makes Gohan's character so interesting is how different he is from his father. Unlike Goku, Gohan is a Saiyan/Human hybrid. Because of this he inherited Saiyan powers with human compassion. Even as a kid, all Goku wanted to do was fight and train, always excited to test his strength against his opponents. Luckily for Goku, his opponents were usually just other martial artists. Gohan on the other hand was forced into much more dangerous battlefield. Dragonball Z introduced the series to ultra-powerful aliens and more dangerous and evil opponents than any that the team had encountered before. Gohan was thrown into the fray as a very young child. Unlike Goku, Gohan wasn't as willing to train and become a fighter in his young age. He wasn't as interested in unlocking the massive potential he had. Later on however, as the threats against Earth and the other Z Fighters mount, he takes his training much more seriously. Considering he was an infant at the series beginning, this really isn't surprising. Gohan however, provides a contrast to most of the other characters in the story. He's the first in his family to grow up on Earth with a somewhat normal life. Goku was raised by his adopted grandfather in the woods therefore never learning social skills and had never seen a girl until he met Bulma. Gohan's teen years are spent trying to blend into normal society while keeping his Saiyan side hidden (he fails at this). Gohan, unlike Goku, doesn't always see the need to fight either. As his hidden powers begin to show themselves Gohan worries about how his incredible powers will only hurt people. Unlike Goku, Gohan doesn't just fight for the hell of it. He only fights when there is a need or if people will be hurt. When he reaches this messianic power level of Super Saiyan 2 it's scary to see the innocent and playful Gohan turn into a merciless killing machine. (a badass killing machine...but a killing machine nonetheless)

Gohan certainly isn't lacking in the badass category either. The kid was able to hold his own against some of the galaxy's biggest baddies such as Frieza and the Saiyans when he was barely out of diapers. He's the first to reach Super Saiyan 2 in which he makes Cell ( a character who had already established himself as even stronger than Goku) his personal chew toy. In Buu Saga he returns as Ultimate Gohan and single handedly beats the crap out of Buu for two episodes without even firing a single energy blast. It's clearly stated that Gohan is the strongest character in a show where even minor mooks are able to blow up planets with ease. That alone just tells you that the guy is not to be messed around with.

Adult Gohan in all his forms

So why isn't Gohan higher on this list? You'll have the blame the fans and Toei Animation on that one. Akira Toriyama'a original storyboard for Dragonball Z was for it to end at Frieza saga. However, Toei Animation realized the show was too popular for it to end so early into it's run. Toriyama then adjusted the story for it to end at Cell Saga, with Gohan taking his father's place as the defender of Earth. Neither Toei or the fans were very pleased by this. Toei of course wanted the series to continue onwards and the fans didn't want Goku to remain dead. This led to Buu Saga and a 7 year timeskip in which Gohan didn't train at all and as a result was relegated to sidelines because his power was no longer special. Not to mention the fact that teenage Gohan was kind of a dork in comparison to his badass and uber-powerful younger self. Of course, he still returns later in Buu Saga as the most powerful unfused character in the entire series. Unfortunately, Goku is the only character allowed to defeat anybody in the series and so Gohan's run of being badass once again comes to a close rather quickly. Yes, Gohan was an awesome character and if not for certain parts of Buu Saga he would probably rank closer to the top ten of this list. Unfortunately, I can't overlook those parts. Still, Gohan makes the list and nothing should take away from how cool he was for most of the series.

Gohan is by far the most developed and complete character throughout the run of Dragonball Z. His character development throughout the series is probably the best out of any other character. That added to the fact that the guy has been kicking ass and taking names since he was barely out of diapers. The fact that we see Gohan mature from a shy and whiny little kid into a badass Super Saiyan 2 throughout the course of the series is awesome. We see Gohan's ideals mature and he eventually becomes the guardian of Earth that he always had the potential to be. For that Gohan is #19

Counting Down the 20 Coolest Anime Characters - #20 Kittan Black, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

"So this is the power of the spiral...Not bad...Not bad at all."
                                                                     -Kittan

Seems fitting that a show like Gurren Lagann would produce the first character on this list. To me, Kittan is one of the most underrated characters in the show. Of course, it's hard to stand out when one is surrounded by so many characters that each exude so much badassitude already. Kittan is a character that I certainly didn't really pick up on during my first run through of the show. However, the second time that I got around to watching it he was the character that really stood out.

Kittan and the other members of the Black Siblings

Kittan was the leader of the "Black Siblings" a group that consisted of himself and his three sisters. In the earliest episodes he never aligns himself entirely with Kamina, Simon, and Yoko. However, the parallels between him and Kamina are quite apparent. One of the key aspects of his character is the traits about him that make him so much like Kamina and yet the ones that make him so different. After Kamina's death, Kittan takes it upon himself to be the leader of Team Dai-Gurren, a task that he finds he isn't quite good at. He lacked Kamina's ability inspire the troops in any situation no matter what the odds were. However, Kittan learns that his ability to inspire didn't come from his words but from simply leading by example. Kittan's real value that while Simon pulled from the top, Kittan pushed from below. Kittan found his niche as the leader of the team's grunt soldiers. Like most characters in the show, Kittan was not lacking in the badassery department. In fact, Kittan was the the first one to rally the others around Kamina's cause. Kittan showed up with the cavalry in the first battle against General Tymylf and stole Gunmen for the other soldiers to use. Not to mention that he makes his entrance in a badass, Big Damn Heroes style. Kittan is also important for the fact that he's the one that goes to bat for Simon after the time-skip and seems to be the only one who still remembers the spirit of Team Dai-Gurren before the fight against the Anti-Spiral. After Kamina's death, Kittan is the character who embodies the spirit of the team, their never say die spirit and their willingness to fight against near impossible odds.

Like I said before, it's easy the first time around to miss Kittan. After all, he's not one of the principal main characters and doesn't get as much development as Simon or even Yoko. However, I was surprised the second time around at how strong of a character he was. Kittan's strengths are never the ones that people pick up on right off the bat. Frequently, the show likes to portray him as a shadow of Kamina, and insecurity that Kittan certainly carries with him after Kamina's death. Kittan's crowning moment is in the battle against the Anti-Spiral. He gets an episode all to himself and it really shows how far he's come as a character. In earlier episodes, he was brash and arrogant, trying to be someone he wasn't. In this episode it's seen that Kittan knows this and the insecurity he feels about not being able to be the same man that Kamina was hurts him deeply. All of Gurren Lagann's characters had to deal with Kamina's death and the fact that he was no longer there to inspire them. I thought that Kittan's despair in the fact that he could never be that kind of man was the most interesting and underrated storyline in that respect. In Kittan's special episode he comes to terms with the fact that he's not Kamina and goes on to pull off acts of badassery that might even top Kamina in that department. Kittan serves as a reminder that it's while it's great to want to be like your idol, you should never forget who you are and embrace what makes you great as well.

Kittan is a super cool character, even when you just take his badass exploits at face value. Deep down though what makes him so cool is the complex character that he is beneath. In a universe in which just being a badass makes you pretty normal, Kittan actually manages to surpass many of his more famous comrades. Not to mention that he's a reminder of the show's themes of being yourself and "kicking logic to the curb and doing the impossible. If anyone serves as a reminder of how Team Dai-Gurren rolls, it's Kittan.

Counting Down the 20 Coolest Anime Characters

This is a project that I have wanted to start for a really long time. For one, I watch an obscene amount of anime. So it would be a shame if I didn't share a list of the 20 characters that I thought were the coolest out of all the animes that I've watched. So heres how this will work...I plan on posting each character as often as I can. Likely these posts will be spaced out over the course of several days or will become a weekly thing. These posts will also be interspersed with my regular postings, just so I retain that kind of quota. This is the first time I've undertook a project of such size for this blog and yes, 20 posts is a number higher than the total amount of times that I've posted on this blog. So with that out of the way, I feel that a post like this requires a couple disclaimers:

1.) This list is a representation of MY OPINION

As stated above, this list represents my opinion. I'm not saying that it's a fact that one character is ranked higher than another, it's just my opinion. I'm sure other people who read this will have their own opinions as to where a character should rank and frankly I don't care. This is my list so it will be in my order which will be decided upon based on my standards.

2.) These characters are only from animes that I HAVE SEEN

I understand that theres several other "legendary" characters out there in animes I haven't seen (Death Note, One Piece (unlikely anyway), or Full Metal Alchemist). However, I feel that I have reached a point as an anime watcher that I have seen enough animes (enough great ones in fact) that I can make a suitable list. Once again, this is represents MY OPINION.

3.) Spoilers will be difficult to keep out

It's hard to get into how good each character is without spoiling a couple things. So if you haven't seen the show that said character is in; tread lightly.

So the next thing that I have to decide is how exactly I have decided to make this list. What am I taking into consideration when I make a list like this? Let's start with the title of this list. I plan on listing the 20 "Coolest" characters. Now of course, this list will be based on what my definition of a cool anime character is. A cool character can be several things; they can be a badass or an extremely complex and intricate character who goes under awesome character development. Alright, so lets boil this down to five points.

1.) Backstory
2.) Personality
3.) Character Development/Depth
4.) Character Design
5.) Badassitude

That's a pretty succinct list and one that I think sums up what I take into account when I evaluate an anime character. As you will see, each character on this list is cool for their own separate reasons. So now that I've cleared the air on all of these points I can't wait to start this. Expect #20 to be up in a few hours or so.

See Ya Space Cowboy

Whatever Happened to My Beloved Pokemon?

I am a Pokemon nut, I will say this without any hesitation. I absolutely love the franchise mostly because it holds such nostalgic value to me. I remember waking up on weekends at 6am to lie in my bed and play my Pokemon: Red Version nonstop. Things haven't changed much since then, I still enjoy playing the games. It's not just nostalgia that brings me back however. It's the fact that the games are incredibly fun and from gaming standpoint are actually quite complex and impressive. (I'll spare you the details.) So when the newest installments in the series, Pokemon X&Y, drop in October one would think that I'd be incredibly excited. Turns out I'm not, in fact, I've been pretty disappointed by Pokemon in it's last few installments. Guess an explanation is necessary: here are the reasons why I am not running out to get X&Y.

1.) TOO MANY POKEMON

When I started playing Pokemon, there was 151 pokemon. That number has since ballooned up to 649. (X & Y will bring this number up above 700) The original goal of Pokemon was "Gotta Catch Em' All!". In order to do so you needed to know a friend who the opposite version of the one you had. Back in the old days catching them all certainly wasn't a walk in the park (in reality it's just time consuming) but it sure was a hell of a lot easier than now. Nowadays theres an ungodly amount of pokemon and an unreal amount of equipment necessary. Some Pokemon are only available at certain events, which may or may not only happen in Japan! Not to mention that the reward for catching all the Pokemon is utter crap (an in-game certificate that says you've caught all the pokemon, it's the equivalent of Prof. Oak giving you a gift card to Applebee's) y But it's not the gotta catch em all aspect I'm so worried about. It's the fact that the new Pokemon that come out barely even resemble the ones that made the franchise so famous. As of Black & White, the creative team over at Pokemon seems utterly uninspired. Hell there's even a Pokemon that looks like a freaking TRASH BAG!!! What is my motivation to catch them all when theres so many Pokemon that I don't want to catch. In all honesty, I'm not going to log 5 hours of Pokemon just so that I can find a Dunsparce. I will say one thing though on X &Y's behalf. From what I have seen from the new Pokemon, they look much more true to the franchise than Black & White's did. Still doesn't mean I'll be getting the games.

I guess a simple way to solve this would be this...STOP MAKING NEW REGIONS!!! To be perfectly honest, I really don't think that fans would mind if a new Pokemon came out that was set in a region from a past game. Obviously the plot and events would have to change but think of the possibilities. It was super cool to visit Kanto in Gold & Silver, especially because it was set a few years after the events of Red & Blue. It was cool seeing how things changed. It would be a great way to bring back in old fans and you wouldn't have to add any more Pokemon!! Unfortunately, money needs to be made and I'm sure Nintendo collects tons and tons of money off of making new Pokemon merchandise for all the new Pokemon. As I'm about to describe, Nintendo doesn't exactly do a great job listening to their fans...

2.) LACK OF NEW FEATURES (that the fans want)

The Pokemon franchise is just as bad as Microsoft is when it comes to giving their fans what they want. For years Pokemon fans have clamored for...

• Having your Pokemon be able to follow you around while you walk around
• A 3D console Pokemon adventure
• Being able to go back to past regions (not just in remakes!!)

Just to name a few. All this time Nintendo has refused to give in to any of these requests even though I can't imagine that any of these (with the exception of the 3D) would be asking too much. Sure, they let your Pokemon follow you around in HeartGold & SoulSilver but then totally forgot about keeping the function for Black & White. Basically Nintendo was like "Oh so you want your Pokemon to follow you? Well we can't do that...buuuuuuut you can go to a dream world and hang out with your Pokemon!!" Black & White even let you put your Pokemon into musicals...which isn't as funny or awesome as it sounds. I mean maybe if they let your Tyranitar try and bust out the lyrics to Wicked or something I'd be totally down. No, it seems that Nintendo is willing to give us superfluous features while ignoring the ones that would make the games really good. X & Y plans on giving us "Horde Battles" in which your one Pokemon goes up against up to five opponents. Absolutely brilliant Nintendo. While I'm sure the game ensures that your one Pokemon doesn't end up facing five ridiculously tough Pokemon all at once, it's not like it sounds fun. 

Remember how cool this was?

3.) DON'T MESS WITH MY CHILDHOOD

One of the new features I haven't mentioned in X & Y is that some Pokemon now have "Mega" forms that they can achieve if their holding a "Mega Stone" and they meet certain conditions in battle. This is...kind of not cool to me. You see, I wouldn't have an issue if they gave these Mega forms to only the new Pokemon. No, they thought it would be cool to turn Blaziken, one of my favorite Pokemon ever, into this. Ok, all partiality aside, that thing does look pretty sweet but it's not the Blaziken or the Pokemon that I remember. This isn't the way that Pokemon are supposed to evolve either. They evolved through you slaving over your Game Boy/DS for hours trying to level up your Pokemon high enough for it to evolve. When your Pokemon reached it's highest evolution there was a feeling of achievement about it and your reward was a sweet new Pokemon to use. The Pokemon that have Mega forms (Lucario, Mewtwo, Ampharos, Kangaskhan, Absol, Blaziken, and Mawille) are all already at their highest evolved level and it just seems silly to me to have them go higher. That and the whole Mega future just seems like a tacked on gimmick anyways. Perhaps I'm just overeacting a bit to something that doesn't seem like a big deal but giving Pokemon a "hyper mode" just doesn't seem very Pokemon like. Theres a point to raising and evolving a Pokemon, not just giving it a special item and giving it a super mode. I guess really my issue is Nintendo messing around with things from my childhood that I just wish would remain the same.

Call me nostalgic but I'll take this kind of gameplay over any of the new games

I went through a very similar stage with Diamond & Pearl when they came out. Originally, I didn't like most of the new Pokemon that came out, complained there was too many. Later I'd come to appreciate Diamond & Pearl and would even go on and buy Black & White afterwards (not as enjoyable of an experience). However, I don't think that I'm going to have such an experience with X & Y. I'm sure the game will be fun and enjoyable. I'm sure that if I bought it, I'd enjoy the same great core gameplay that made the previous five generations of Pokemon games so good. But no, I'm not running out and spending 40 bucks (or however much a 3DS game costs) to buy it. It doesn't feel like Pokemon to me and call me nostalgic but I'll stick with my classic 151.

Catwoman: DC's Mysterious Anti-Heroine

In 2009, IGN ranked the Top 100 comic villains. Catwoman ranked 11th on the list, an exceptionally high ranking for a character who is less of a villain. No, Catwoman is hardly a villain, if anything, she's mostly an anti-hero. The city of Gotham certainly contains multitudes of interesting characters but Catwoman is definitely the one that caught my eye when I first started reading comics. To be honest, I didn't know much about the character. However, the more I read about her and got to know her as a character the more I began to love the complex and mysterious character.

The character of Selina Kyle was invented by Batman's creator Bob Kane in 1940. Kane wanted to open up his Batman comics to a female audience. She was described as a "friendly foe who committed crimes but also a romantic interest in Batman's rather sterile life." Kane thought that cats served as an antithesis to bats.

"I felt that women were feline creatures and men were more like dogs. While dogs are faithful and friendly, cats are cool, detached, and unreliable. I felt much warmer with dogs around me—cats are as hard to understand as women are. Men feel more sure of themselves with a male friend than a woman. You always need to keep women at arm's length. We don't want anyone taking over our souls, and women have a habit of doing that. So there's a love-resentment thing with women. I guess women will feel that I'm being chauvinistic to speak this way, but I do feel that I've had better relationships with male friends than women. With women, once the romance is over, somehow they never remain my friends."


Catwoman served as an antagonist of Batman for several years before reaching a bit of a lull in the 1950's due to the Comics Code Authority which tried to regulate the level of sexuality present in comics. Since the 1990's however, she has been one of DC's most popular characters, even earning her own comic book run. In the 2000's, the character faced a bit of an identity crisis thanks to the abomination of a film starring Halle Berry in 2004. The movie was an extremely poor representation of the character actually bearing very little resemblance to the actual character. Luckily the character has been restored and reintroduced properly to a contemporary audience in The Dark Knight Rises.

And it is here that we reach the most intriguing part of Catwoman's character, the fact that she toes the line between good and evil without a care in the world. Just like a cat she frequently teases Batman, her crimes more of a game than anything ever threatening. Most notably she's always the foe that Batman is never able to defeat, unlike the Joker she never threatens him directly in any way. Of course, that doesn't means she's not against playing around with him. Her relationship with Batman is always one where Batman makes an effort to reform her. Just as Kane intended, their relationship is cool and detached. While it's clear that she does have feelings for Batman and that he has feelings for her in return, it's also obvious that she can't commit to him. Not to mention her clear defiance towards Batman's attempts to reform her. It's clear that she has good deep down within her and that she's not as bad as she would like everyone to think. Yet, deep down she struggles because she refuses to see herself as anything better than what she is, a thief. Of course, that doesn't mean that she doesn't like what she does. In fact, she absolutely loves stealing. Despite this, many works that involve Batmand and Catwoman often show the incredible potential the two have when they work together. It's clear that Catwoman could be such an asset for good, rather than the simple agent of chaos she usually plays. Batman often serves as her moral compass, this theme has been explored in many recent interpretations of the character such as The Dark Knight Rises and Batman: Arkham City. In these instances, she usually chooses the good path, with both of these works giving her the opportunity to simply save herself as well. In the New 52 Catwoman remains an anti-hero but more frequently than not finds herself on the good side of things. Most recently she's become an "unofficial" member of the Justice League of America placing her firmly on the side of good, even though her role is handle work that falls under grey areas since that has always been her specialty.

My favorite portrayal of the character has to go the phenomenal performance by Anne Hathaway in The Dark Knight Rises. The reaction to Hathaway being picked for the role was generally negative when it was first announced. Most people doubted her ability to play a character so dark and edgy. After all, when most people think of Anne Hathaway they think of her role in Disney's The Princess Diaries series. From her first appearance in Rises she made it clear that she was perfect for the character. Everything about that scene is perfect, the way that she slides from the innocent, nervous, scared persona into the sarcastic Selina Kyle. The smile that she gives Bruce Wayne was the moment where I realized that she was the perfect choice for the character. Throughout the movie she's sarcastic and snarky and glides through the world with the ease that only Catwoman could. But it wasn't just Hathaway's performance that made the character so great. Credit should go to Christopher Nolan and his staff for doing an incredible job capturing the essence of the character in the short time that they had. Catwoman's inner conflict of whether she's good or evil permeates throughout the film. All culminating in her final decision as to whether she leaves Batman to deal with Bane or to go back and help him. Overall, no other portrayal of the character has been able to give such a solid and succinct display.

Anne Hathaway proved her doubters wrong with a flawless performance as Seline Kyle/Catwoman

The biggest crime that the 2004 Catwoman film committed against the character was simply reducing her to nothing but a sex object. Of course, it's not as if sexuality hasn't always been a part of the character but it's never been something that defined the character. Selina Kyle is character who simply knows how to use her strengths to get what she wants. She knows she has sex appeal and she has no hesitation using it in order to get her goals. But it's a disservice to the character to write her off as that. Catwoman is one of DC's most interesting characters, an absolute enigma but also a pleasure to read. Her character has been so well fleshed out over the past couple of years. Like I mentioned with Superboy in an earlier post; DC's comic book world may be dominated by Batman, but that shouldn't keep one from checking out a great and classic character like Catwoman.

Avoiding Sequelitis - Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid

Sequels are always tricky business. Some films or series are able to pull of sequels especially while others fall flat on their face trying unsuccessfully to make a work that captures the same spirit of the original. Then there's the rare breed that is able to make the second series even better than the first. This is Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid. I reviewed the first series of Full Metal Panic! last week and I thought it to be an excellent show. Such a good show in fact that it was rewarded with a sequel series in 2005. The series is a textbook example on how a series can go from good to great by correcting many of the errors from the first work.

The Second Raid picks up two months after the events of the first series. Our favorite military nut hero, Sousuke Sagara is still in charge of protecting Kaname Chidori, the bubbly high school girl and one of the "whispered" whose mind contains the secrets to incredibly powerful military technology. Nothing has really changed, Sousuke still lives his double life of high school student and elite military agent and most of the cast appears unchanged. This peace is brought to an end by a mysterious organization with incredibly powerful technology that seems intent on starting civil war in China. However, it's not this plot that makes The Second Raid so good, no it's Sousuke's personal development as a character all during the show thats so good. The strain of living a double life begins to take it's toll on Sousuke and it's noted that despite guarding Kaname for six months he still hasn't made any progress towards fitting into Japanese society. This is dealt with in a much more mature manner than it was in the originals series which played Sousuke's social ineptitude for laughs most of the time. In fact, you can say that for all aspects of The Second Raid in comparison to it's predecessor, the show feels a lot more series in it's tone and it's a welcome change. The romance and comedy were key aspects of the first series and it's not as if they're not present in this work either. What Second Raid does is scale back the comedy and romance a bit in order to flesh out it's characters more, which I welcome wholeheartedly. That being said, it's not as if the main plot of Second Raid is boring either. In fact, it's an improvement over the first series as well. The original series had a plot that was handled in three episode mini-arcs and didn't have any semblance of an overarching plotline other than Sousuke's guarding of Kaname. This time, theres a clear overarching plotline which serves the show well. Being only 13 episodes, the show is paced incredibly well (although the final few episodes do pack on the revelations).

Despite a more serious tone, Sousuke still manages the time to track down pantie thieves.

Like I said in my review of the first series, Full Metal Panic! relies on the strength of it's characters to succeed. The Second Raid takes those characters and makes them even better. For example, Kaname is much more likeable character in this series. She's the perfect counterpart to Sousuke and the characters seemed to develop as a pair in this series. The Second Raid highlights her and Sousuke's relationship and it was the source of Sousuke's growth as a character. Once again, Sousuke and Kaname's relationship is handled in a much more mature way in The Second Raid than it was in the original series. Before, Kaname's feelings for Sousuke were childish and resembled little more than a schoolgirl's crush. Here, she seems to focus on the more mature aspects of the relationship and offers her hand out to help Sousuke more, rather than just obsessing over him. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Mithril's submarine captain Tessa Testarossa. I mentioned in my last review that Captain Testarossa is easily the weakest character in what otherwise is a strong cast. Testarossa seems incredibly useless and out of place in a show that has taken a more mature tone. She seems to think that she's caught in the middle of a shoujo anime and the writers still attempt to force the Kaname, Testarossa, Sousuke love triangle down the viewers throats. Occasionally, she shows signs of the character that emerged in the final few episodes of the first season but they're few and far between. Not to mention the scene where she cries in front of Sousuke because she knows he likes Kaname more than her when she was supposed to be reassigning him to a new mission. She's a superior officer, in the military who looks like she belongs in a harem anime. It made no sense in the first series and makes even less in this one. She even gets her own special bonus episode after the main series run is over called The Commanding Officer's Rather Quiet Day. Being a Tessa focused episode, it packs on fan service and has every character in the show acting incredibly out of character. Overall, it's a pretty weak installment in the series. All the other characters in The Second Raid are back in full force however. Kurz Weber and Melissa Mao are still as enjoyable as ever, with Mao taking somewhat of a big sister role to Sousuke. The show also introduces Lieutenant Belfangan Clouseau who doesn't do much other than tell the other characters how much they suck (doesn't keep him from being pretty badass though). On the other side of things, the villains aren't too spectacular. The main villain, known as Mr. Gates, is the same classic erratic, psychopath that we've seen in a billion other works. In fact, sometimes the show seems intent on shoving the fact that the dude is nuts down your throat. Seriously, he does things that just scream "HEY LOOK! I'M INSANE! BETCHA DIDN'T SEE THIS COMING!!! HAHAHAHHA" But, he still serves his purpose and he can be entertaining at times. The sisters Yu Fan and Yu Lan, start of promising but don't do much other than creep you out. Despite the weakness of the villains, The Second Raid still rocks in the character department.

Visuals wise, The Second Raid appears to have gotten a bump in the animation department in comparison to it's predecessor. Considering that the original series already looked great for it's time, the bump makes the show looks absolutely fantastic. While the first series had it's best moments in mech battles, the second series makes the quiet, more reflective scenes looks absolutely stunning. In thie audio department, things are largely the same. The english voice cast, done by Funimation, is fantastic once again with a special shout out going to Chris Patton. His work as Sousuke in this series is even better than the last. The soundtrack seems to have modernized a bit in this series, feeling less like a Gundam series and more like it's own work.

Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid is the perfect example as to how a series can go about making itself better. By removing some of the silliness that sometimes held back the series, Full Metal Panic! has turned itself into an elite member of the anime world. The more serious tone suits the show but it still makes sure to keep at least some of the silliness and comedic elements that made people love the series in the first place. I really enjoyed The Second Raid and I think it's a vast improvement over it's predecessor which is saying something because the first series was very good in it's own right. The Second Raid does what any sequel should do, improve upon it's predecessor.

My Score: 5/5

Idealism, Cynicism, and The End of The World - Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo Review

*BEWARE! Spoilers lie in this review! Proceed with caution*
 (For the purposes of this review I'll simply refer to the film as "Rebuild 3.0")

Hideaki Anno's Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the all time greats of anime. When the original NGE television series aired in the mid-90's it was groundbreaking and set a new bar for not just the super robot genre but for anime as a medium. For those who don't know, NGE takes place in a somewhat post-apocolyptic world following the events of "Second Impact" an incident which wiped out half of the world's population. 14 year old Shinji Ikari is called in by the mysterious organization called NERV (led by his estranged father) to pilot a giant robot known as an Evangelion. The reasons for this is to fight these beings called the Angels who are trying to cause "Third Impact", basically the end of the world. Famously, Anno and his team ran out of money for the final two episodes of the series which led to said episodes being nothing but still frames and talking. These episodes hardly cleared up the numerous questions that had been building during the series and unsurprisingly the fans expressed their discontent. Anno would go on the remake the ending with a movie budget, this being known as End of Evangelion, the franchise's penultimate and finest moment. That being said, it's not as if End was incredibly straightforward either. So that brings us to the Rebuild movie series, the series that NGE was originally supposed to be but Hideaki Anno lacked the funds to make such a work possible. The first Rebuild film, Rebuild of Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone, is a remake of the first six episodes of the TV series with zero deviations from the original plot. Rebuild 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance began the divergence from the known path to the all new storyline in it's final scenes. Rebuild 3.0 is the first film in the series to be all new, original material. The film was actually released in November overseas in Japan and has even made it's way to DVD there. However, it has not been dubbed yet and there is no set North American release date (Funimation, who did the first two films, has actually picked the film up so a dub should be on it's way in the next year or so). I had originally planned to hold out until the dub was released to watch the film but I couldn't wait any longer. So with all the backstory out of the way, I can finally get to actually reviewing the film.

It's all the characters you know and love! Sort of...

(Disclaimer: Plot summary requires some basic knowledge of EVA and it's characters, otherwise this review would be obscenely long. Also contains SPOILERS)

Rebuild 3.0 takes place 14 years after the events of Rebuild 2.0. When we last left Shinji he had risked everything to save Rei Ayanami from the hands of the Angel, Zeruel, and in the process started Third Impact. However, in the stinger after the credits, it is shown that Kaworu Nagisa put a stop to Third Impact before it could do any damage. So Shinji wakes up from a 14 year long nap to find that the world is much different than the one he left behind. It turns out that Third Impact was never actually stopped, only slightly altered (and is redubbed Near-Third Impact), as a large portion of the world's population has been wiped out. To make things worse, Shinji actually didn't save Rei either. As a result of his effort to save her she remains dissolved inside EVA Unit-01. As a result, Misato Katsuragi is now the leader of an organization called WILLE, intent on stopping NERV's attempts to cause a Fourth Impact to finish what they originally intended with Near-Third Impact. Many of Shinji's former friends and allies (Asuke, Mari, Ritsuko, and the NERV staff) have also joined WILLE and blame Shinji and NERV for Near-Third Impact. It's very disorienting to see characters that you know and love become so cynical and cold. Misato is especially guilty of this, the time skip has changed the bubbly character into a cold and efficient military captain. It's not as if this side of Misato wasn't present before (in the TV series she was a crack military strategist) but it is sad to see her character so stoic and cold. In fact, pretty much all the WILLE staff seem to have become this during the WILLE/NERV civil war and it's certainly gut wrenching to see them alienate Shinji. WILLE gives a Shinji a collar that will kill him if he ever pilots an EVA again since the last time he did he nearly destroyed humanity. Shinji obviously refuses to believe anything that his former allies tell him which leads to him being manipulated into running back to NERV, who have plans for him. At NERV, he finally meets Kaworu and reunites with what he thinks is Rei. All during this time, his father moves around in the shadows manipulating the plot to suit the scenario that he dreams of, Fourth Impact and Human Instrumentality.

After an action packed opening to the film one would think the middle would accommodate for explanations of what happened during Near-Third Impact. This being Evangelion, explanation is passed by in order to show Shinji's deteriorating mental state dealing with the fact that he was responsible for dooming humanity and Rei's "death". The first two Rebuild films had a lighter tone that the series ever did and really looked like Shinji was going to get a happy ending. But no, Rebuild 3.0, plunges Shinji back into the psychological torture center, probably deeper than he's ever gone before. Rebuild 3.0 is easily the franchise's darkest work which is saying something since End of Evangelion crossed the disturbing threshold more than a few times. This is a much welcomed change though, I really missed the psychological aspect in the first two Rebuild films. After all, isn't that what Evangelion is supposed to be? EVA is supposed to dark, creepy, and psychological, it's what made the original series such a success. The lighter tone of the first two films is definitely gone and I'm pretty satisfied. It's hard to judge the plot of Rebuild 3.0 because I have nothing to compare it to. This is the first film that has completely deviated from the original storyline and has an all new, original plot. In fact, none of the scenes from the preview at the end of Rebuild 2.0 are even in the film! (However, theres some hypothesizing that these scenes may have happened during the timeskip and thus aren't shown) This is the plot that Anno originally intended for Evangelion but he lacked the budget to do so. Theres several familiar plot aspects: the Evangelions, Human Instrumentality, NERV, and familiar characters (although most of them are different than how we remember). But obviously theres plenty of new stuff: WILLE, EVA's 8,9, and 13, an organizational civil war, Near-Third Impact. Theres so much new material for EVA fans to sink their teeth into. However, not everyone can be as happy about this as I am. The biggest complaint that I have seen about the plot of the movie is the lack of explanation. The movie's plot itself is pretty self-explanatory but the film leaves many of the questions about what happened during the timeskip unanswered. Personally, I don't think that this is such a bad thing. Knowing Evangelion, why do we need answers? EVA thrives on the mysteries, after all that is what made the original series so compelling. The film puts you in Shinji's shoes, disoriented and confused at the changed world that he has woken up in. This is a changed, new world of Evangelion and it only makes sense for the viewer to be confused as well. Obviously, it's a little hopeful to say that all the answers will be supplied in the 4th and final film but I'm excited regardless.

Aside from the completely new plot, the biggest changes come with the characters. As I said before, most of Shinji's former friends and allies have turned away from him because of his role in causing Near-Third Impact. Misato is the most obvious example, though Asuka also shows herself to be quite cold to Shinji as well. Rei plays a pretty small role in the film in comparison to how heavily she was featured in Rebuild 2.0. This is because this isn't the same Rei from the previous film but rather another clone. However, Shinji insists on her being the "real Rei" (eventually he comes to accept this as a falsehood) which leads to this clone having a crisis of identity, something that will definitely be explored in the next film. The biggest bump in terms of screen time goes to Kaworu whose screen time in the original series ran for only one episode (his role still vitally important in the show however). The entire middle of the movie is dedicated to character development between him and Shinji (lots of piano playing). It's not as if they flesh anything more out of his character that wasn't there before however. His role is the same as it was during the TV series just for the length of a movie rather than minutes. Regardless, it was nice to see his character get more screentime considering how vital of a character he is to the main protagonist. Asuka is the character who probably changes the least out of the WILLE staff despite being 28 years old as a result of the time-skip. She's still a dominant and confident character, which also makes me wonder if the Rebuild films will ever get to her established backstory from the original series (unlikely, given how this film is concerned with mostly developing Shinji). Another major supporting character, Ritsuko, goes pretty under the radar during the film and other than sporting a new hairstyle, doesn't do much. At the same time for NERV, Shinji's father, Gendo, and his assistant Professor Fuyutsuki don't do much other than give out cryptic information the viewer. Well, other than the scene where Fuyutsuki blatant shoves 3-4 major revelations down Shinji's throat out of the blue. This is EVA after all so I guess I should be thankful.

In addition to the new characterizations of old characters, theres a handful of new characters who show up briefly. We finally get to meet Toji Suzahara's sister, who is now a major player at WILLE, along with some new characters that join up with the old NERV staff guys to play around with computers. theres also the matter of Mari Makinami, the EVA pilot that was introduced last film with pretty much zero backstory or character development. As of this film, nothing has really changed. The viewer still knows nothing about her other than the fact that she's basically the Mrs. Fanservice of the new Evangelion universe. This is once again a piece of the plot that I'm hoping will be explained in the 4th film.

One of the major themes of the film is the conflict between idealism and cynicism. In one corner it was Shinji's idealism that initiated the Near-Third Impact. All he wanted to do was save Rei, a noble action of course, but his EVA understood the action as "save Rei, destroy the world". Shinji often lets his idealism get to his head and rule his actions. He thinks with his emotions which is a dangerous thing to do while piloting an EVA. This is noted by the staff at WILLE who recognize Shinji as an out of control maniac who should never be allowed to pilot an EVA ever again. Thus leads to the aforementioned cynicism. It is Misato's cold and cynical treatment of Shinji upon his awakening that leads to him defecting to NERV's side. Of course, Shinji having just woken up doesn't know who's in the right or who's in the wrong of the conflict. NERV is able to use Shinji's guilt of being the one responsible for Near-Third Impact and the alienation he feels from his former friends to manipulate him and use him as a pawn for their plans. The film's message is that being overly idealistic or overly cynical only leads to problems between people. Being too cynical we can alienate the people who need our support while being overly idealistic can result in one making a decision without thinking about the consequences.

The animation, just like in the previous Rebuild films, is unbelievable though Rebuild 3.0 might have set the bar even higher on this one. To be perfectly honest, this is probably the best animation that I have seen in any anime. The battles in space are a feast for the eyes with popping colors and superbly fluid motion. I definitely recommend finding a high quality version of the film to watch and watching it on an HDTV. Soundwise the film was excellently scored. I can't say much about the voice cast mostly because I watched it in Japanese with subs. I will say one thing though. Normally Japanese voice casts irritate me to no end but I actually really liked the cast in this one. The film's soundtrack is perfect, mixing in some classic EVA music from the TV show though the old music has less of a prescence here than it did in the first two films. This is a good thing as well because it symbolizes that this is a new Evangelion and helps this version to stand alone.

I will say that I actually really enjoyed the newest installment to the NGE franchise. Sure, it's not without it's faults but because this is Evangelion faults such as leaving you with too many questions is actually a good thing. No other franchise could pull off such a cryptic film. Yes, there are a few things that I did want to know but I'm sure the next film will clear things up. That being said, the fourth and final film now has a great deal of pressure. Leaving all these questions unresolved is only acceptable if the next film wraps them up. Because this is EVA this is likely wishful thinking, but that won't keep me from being excited for the next film. Overall, I think that Rebuild 3.0 is a good, if not great installment into the franchise. It returns the series to it's roots which is dark, creepy, cryptic and uncomfortable. This is the Neon Genesis Evangelion that I know and love. Sure theres plenty of new stuff but the core components remain.

My Score: At the moment a 4.5/5 but I will definitely revisit this film once the series concludes with Rebuild 4.0

Giant Robot Anime Done Right - Full Metal Panic! Review

Giant robot anime's have followed the same track ever since the original Gundam series launched in the 70's. It always involves state of the art machines, piloted by teenagers, and lots and lots of boring and poorly written political machinations. The plots always circle around the trials of war (especially scarring considering the pilots are almost always teenagers) and have melodramatic teenagers act like...melodramatic teenagers despite being military personnel. And finally, the show is way more about the robots themselves rather than the characters. But wait! Theres a giant robot anime that subverts these tropes? One that has colorful and interesting characters? That isn't just about big robots beating the tar out of one another? This is where Full Metal Panic! enters the fray and boy is it a breath of fresh air.

Full Metal Panic! originally debuted as a series of light novels back in 1998. The series actually concluded in November of 2011. Like any light novel that succeeds in Japan, an anime adaption of the series debuted in 2002 to rave reviews as well. So well in fact that it has spawned a sequel series and spin off. The plot of the original series follows Sergeant Sousuke Sagara, a member of a covert anti-terrorist organization known as Mithril. In the show's first episode, Sousuke is charged with the task of protecting an excitable Japanese high school girl named Kaname Chidori. To do so, the hardened military man must go undercover as a typical high school student. As a reults, the first couple episodes are treated almost like a romantic comedy. Sousuke, as a soldier, has had a lack of normal social interaction. Because of this he treats normal, everyday high school situations like combat situations. This leads to some absolutely hilarious moments as Kaname herself at first doesn't know that Sousuke is a soldier. The audience isn't given much to go on as why she needs the protection of such a powerful organization. Mithril themselves are a mercenary operation that possesses weapons and technology beyond any country in the world, including the United States. Their most powerful weapons are the giant robots, called "Arm Slaves" here.

After 2-3 episodes of absurdity and social awkwardness, the plot begins to shift in a more serious direction. It turns out the Chidori is one of the "whispered" that possesses the secrets to the super advanced "black technology" thus making it of the utmost importance that she doesn't fall into enemy hands. As attempts to kidnap her begin to stack up, Sousuke and his friends from Mithril leap into action. The plot unfolds in the form of mini-arcs each lasting about three episodes each with filler episodes thrown in to break up the pace. The plot doesn't fall into the same traps as other giant robot animes, theres no poorly written political plots or lame teenage angst. The action is also really well done, ranging from the standard giant robot fights to some really solid hand to hand combat. The plot is definitely compelling but I was actually surprised that the times when the show wasn't so serious actually turned out to be my favorite parts. It will throw many viewers through a loop when they watch the first couple episodes. "Wait! I thought this was going to be a serious and action packed robot anime! Instead I'm stuck with some dating sim with SOUSUKE SAGARA!!!" Yes, the comedic and silly first couple episodes are a bit confusing on the first watch but even so, you can't avoid laughing at them. For instance, Sousuke's apprehending of a fellow student who was breaking in to Kaname's apartment to steal her panties was an absolute riot. Who couldn't laugh at watching a hardened military soldier interrogate a pantie thief in the same way he would an actual terrorist?

Kaname's (right) typical reaction to Sousuke's (left) shenanigans

Full Metal Panic! has a solid plot, but the real strength of the anime is it's characters. Sousuke's lack of social skills in particular is the show's best aspect. That adding to the fact that he's an ace pilot and killer soldier. There not much to dislike with Sousuke. His two other Mithril counterparts are awesome characters as well. Sergeant Major Melissa Mao is basically a way more badass version of Misato Katsuragi from NGE (she's even voiced by Allison Keith). Sergeant Kurz Weber is the typical flirtatious soldier but he backs up his foolish actions when he gets on the battlefield. The best part is that these soldiers aren't lame and angsty teens. Sure, they may be 16 years olf but they're war-hardened mercenaries so they cut the melodramatic bullcrap and leap right into action. Originally, I wasn't too sold on Kaname, as she only really seemed to be there for fanservice. Even when her relevance to the main plot is revealed she still seemed to be a weak character. However, the show redeemed her through her relationship with Sousuke. It doesn't take the viewer very long to realize that Kaname is hopelessly in love with him but what makes their relationship really click is how clashing their characters are. Their best moments are whenever Sousuke has made some abomination of a social situation or does something ridiculously out of the norm. It's really awesome when two characters bounce off of each other and make each other better. Kaname actually ended up being a really awesome character by the end of the show. This isn't to say that the show does well with all of it's characters. Mithril's Captain Testarossa is the exception to the rule here. In a cast full of unique and colorful characters it really sucks when you make a girl desperate to be in a harem anime your freaking CAPTAIN!!! She's supposed to be a respected military official and actually the highest officer that the characters report to and yet all she does is spend her time pining over Sousuke. Of course, she does manage to redeem herself in the final episodes where she actually manages to do something and pull off some badass tactical maneuvers. Unfortunately this all comes a little too late and makes me wonder where THAT badass genius was lurking the entire series. Instead the writers jammed her into an awkward love triangle with Sousuke and Kaname and expected us to care (and I certainly didn't give a frigg). She even got her own episode where she got to spend time alone with SOUSUKE-KUN which was probably the weakest episode of the series by a long shot. Testarossa notwithstanding, the core cast of characters are phenomenal and separate Full Metal Panic! from most giant robot animes.

From left to right: Kurz, Melissa, and Sousuke. Each character bounces off each other with awesome chemistry and NO ANGST!!!

The mechs that the characters do most of their fighting in aren't all that spectacular...which is actually a good thing! Most of the mech's look incredibly similar and actually fight alongside contemporary vehicles of warfare such as tanks and helicopters. Sure theres a couple of super models (Sousuke's Arbalest is a gamebreaker along with the enemy's Venom mech) but other than that, the "Arms Slaves" look pretty plain. Mithril's are pretty sweet looking, not going to lie, but none of them really stand out from one another. The enemy frequently employs Arms Slaves called "Savages" which look like giant toads with guns. This puts much more emphasis on the characters themselves. Most giant robot animes (cough cough GUNDAM) focus way too much on the mechs and not nearly enough on the characters. Or they get caught up way too much on having one mech be incredibly broken and invincible. In Full Metal Panic the pilots are very skilled but you never feel that they're invincible. They have their limits and the show isn't afraid to emphasize their shortcomings when necessary.

Visually, the show is very early 2000's in it's animation style. The characters themselves in terms of their looks alone aren't overly impressive but the animation in general is very well done especially when you consider how far animation has come since then. Occasionally theres some weird clashing when the animators try to integrate 3D objects into the 2D scenery but it's not as if these scenes are frequent. The mech battles are really something to behold as well. As I said before, the mechs are awesomely unspectacular in the fact that most of them don't have superpowers. However, the battles between the souped up mechs, like Sousuke's Arbalest are really incredible. Sound-wise, Full Metal Panic! succeeds despite it's soundtrack sounding like it's still in the 90's (not necessarily a bad thing). It's voice cast is another Funimation work with the familiar voices of Vic Mignogna, Luci Christian, Chris Patton, and Allison Keith turning in solid performances. Have to give them loads of credit for making each of their characters memorable. Special mention goes to Allison Keith for the character of Melissa Mao who was easily my favorite character in the series.

Everyone's mechs are the same which makes for a more fun playing field

Full Metal Panic! was a real treat. I went into the series thinking that it was just going to be just another Gundam rip off and found something really unique. It's ability to balance humor and a serious (sometimes especially dark) plot. Aside from it's slow start and some dud filler episodes (I'm looking at you Testarossa) Full Metal Panic! is definitely now on my watch list of anything that concerns giant robots. Anime is full of colorful characters but Full Metal Panic! definitely caught me off guard with it's fresh and lively characters. If you're looking to get into anime, this series is definitely a good place to start.

My Score: 4/5