An American Writer's Thoughts on Japanese Animation

When the Wimpy Kid Joins the MIB – elDLIVE Spoiler Review

Last year, I reviewed DearS, a show with a premise that vaguely reminded me of a western film, in that case District 9. They ended up being pretty much nothing alike in tone, style, or content (more’s the pity), but it was an interesting comparison because it was, in some ways, like two students submitting different work for the same project.

When I started up elDLIVE, I was reminded of that experience because, once again, a 12-episode anime seemed to have the same setup as a pretty famous movie – in this case, Men In Black. For those who don’t know, Men In Black is a science fiction action-comedy about a relative normal who ends up recruited by a secret organization staffed by both exceptional humans and strange aliens, that polices the presence of aliens on Earth, handling crimes and cases related to the many extraterrestrial creatures that live secretly among us. And that is, basically, the idea behind elDLIVE as well.

If you’re one of the people who likes that I normally don’t curse in these reviews, you may want to skip this one. Sometimes, a bad word is the only way to describe something. That said, let’s dig in.

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Seasonal Selection: Sabikui Bisco Episode 12 (End)

Exactly what we were promised by last episode is what gets put on the screen this time.

Really, there’s only so much I can say about this. All the pieces were in place. We had Bisco resurrected (though I suppose there’s the twist that he’s now some sort of hybrid with the Rust Eater, since he sheds spores that sprout into completed Rust Eaters with his now super-powered shots), we had Kurokawa as the God Warrior, and we had everyone else on scene.

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Super Robot versus Real Robot – Aldnoah.Zero Spoiler Review

There are, on the whole, two major wings of the Mecha genre. The “Super Robot” subgenre consists of shows where the Mechas and their pilots have magical powers and capabilities that often seem to run more on rule of cool than on anything resembling reality. One example would be Gurren Lagann, which frequently tells sense and logic to sit down and shut up, because the robots are going to do something awesome. That’s not to say that Super Robot shows can’t be serious or even dark. Neon Genesis Evangelion is also very much in the “Super Robot” bracket.

Then you get the “Real Robot” shows where mechas, even if technically still made less impractical than in reality as we know it, are treated more like standard war machines. They’re made of metal and powered by engines and nothing’s going to sprout a new ability because the pilot believes in himself. The mechas probably don’t have unique names or anything like that, and the protagonist can at least in abstract theory get a new one if they total the one they’re driving, even if they’d have a lot of customizing work to do to get it back the way they like it. Full Metal Panic lives pretty comfortably in this space, as do several of the more classic Mecha entries.

So, what happens if you put these in the same setting, forcing a Real Robot protagonist to fight against a variety of Super Robot bosses with their named mechas and might-as-well-be-magic powers? As you might have surmised from the title of the review, you get Aldnoah.Zero.

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Seasonal Selection – Sabikui Bisco Episode 11

I would be so frustrated right now if this world had ever pretended to heed any sort of logic or reason beyond “It’s cool, therefore we’re going with it.” Mercifully, that was never the case, so I can enjoy this episode and the ending that will be coming from it with a resounding “OK, sure.”

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Growing Harem Chronicle – Undefeated Bahamut Chronicle Spoiler Review

So, Fantasy Mecha is a thing. It’s certainly less popular than SF or Cyberpunk Mecha, but it is at least an established mash-up. Battle School also has its own established place, one that I’ve talked about a good deal. And, of course, into any other genre a little harem may fall. Undefeated Bahamut Chronicle is the shameless mash-up of all of this, a melting pot of mediocrity onto which light must, at this juncture, be shone.

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Seasonal Selection – Sabikui Bisco Episode 10

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is a masterpiece. The movie more or less launched Studio Ghibli (since that’s what most of the team involved with it went onto become), and while it is quite strong, the Manga is leaps and bounds above even that, standing as one of the fictions I most absolutely respect. What I’m saying, in context, is that if you’re going to flagrantly steal from somewhere, you could do a whole lot worse than Sabikui Bisco lifting from Nausicaa.

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Isekai & Invention – Knights & Magic Spoiler Review

Without correcting for overall quality or removing material from the context of its genre, I can safely say that, in some ways, Knights & Magic is the most fascinating fantasy isekai show I’ve seen. This is not because of any sort of deep story or well-rounded character like Rising of the Shield Hero nor clever comedy and a deconstruction of the normal expectations like KonoSuba. Rather, it’s because this show is a broad-scale biopic of a historical figure in a fantasy universe that wears the skin of a fantasy isekai while telling its story in a completely different way. Is it a good thing? That remains to be seen, but it is a thing worth remarking on, so here we are.

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