Baxingar, first 13 episodes:

The second part of the J9 trilogy finds its footing. I wasn't a fan of Braiger/Bryger, as it always felt to me like it was simply a very low-rent imitation of Lupin the 3rd's edginess in space, but it did have good music, some promising vibes of the more accomplished space westerns to come, and a doubtlessly amazing main antagonist. So total was Khamen Khamen's victory that the success of his villain plan in part 1 serves as the basis for the sequels' worldbuilding, centuries in the future.

Baxingar's killer concept is that it's a biker version of the story of the Shinsengumi... iiin space!

Tired of the lawlessness of the feudal solar system outside of the Earth Sphere, which is now also threatened by the arrival of black ships from Barnard's Star, our protagonists set up a paramilitary troop of their own to bring peace and justice to the frontier. Of course, by doing so they are also explicitly protecting the status quo of the ruling Bakufu government. Because Baxingar is adapting, however loosely, actual events from a turbulent historical period, its edginess has actual edge to it, and it's remarkably morally complicated stuff for a super robot anime. Then again, Dougram was airing at the same time and the real robot genre was at the zenith of its realness, so I don't want to oversell Baxingar as some sort of subtle real robot mimic. It is fantastically goofy and visually cheap, and a lot of its charm comes from this contradiction of cheese and darkness. And knowing what happened to the real-life Shinsengumi, my guess is the story's headed to the downer territory again.

The thing with the J9 series is that the mecha parts come off as contractually mandated blemishes on Yuu Yamamoto's vision. These are not shows that revel in the robot action the same way as many of their contemporaries did. Tomino may have resented the toy executives for pushing crap designs on him, but his shows always built good action beats around the toys. In Yamamoto's shows the toy seethe is more palpable, as the episodes seem to be going out of their way to minimize the robot screen time. Where did this new team of heroes, who are all fanboys of the original Braiger crew, obtain the former's size-changing machine technology? From the toy company sponsors, seems to be the unsaid in-universe answer.

But there is one piece of mechanical kit the show genuinely loves: the Cosmobikes. They are a hoot, and they imbue it with lots of individuality. Imagine normal motorcycles, but which also double as budget starfighters. They don't transform or anything; they have antigrav engines and dinky double lasers facing forward, and they can be flown in space as is. Or even in atmosphere, as is sometimes done, but the show does visually imply that such maneuvers require extraordinary skill. No surprise, considering the bikes don't even have small pop-out wings like those in Megaforce. Fuel economy seems to be an additional concern, so outside of battles the bikes are mostly driven normally on roads. Thanks to these little fuckers, the action parts have a whole new absurd energy to them, especially when dudes are swordfighting in mid-air. And even when the giant robots do come out for their obligated 30 seconds of screen time, the quick showdowns, which are usually over after a single sword slash, are a better fit to the jidaigeki trappings of the story.

In terms of mecha follow-ups that greatly improve upon their originals, Baxingar is so far right up there with Voltes V, and that's high praise. Here's hoping nobody jumps the shark on their flying motorcycle.

been watching some things...

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (English dub)



This past month the English dub of Frieren was available to watch for free on the Sony Pictures app one of the TVs at home, and in light of the shows' popularity and the announcement of a second season arriving next year I thought it'd be a good opportunity to give it a go. The dub is very good, and the show sets a high bar in animation, screenwriting, and overall quality.

I am happy I spent time with this show as although I haven't begun to read the original Sousou no Frieren manga, it's apparent that this adaptation is authentic to the source material all the while animating new material to expand on existing scenes.

And it never seems to stumble in how it balances its introspection (namely meditations on how perspectives adjust with age, and the importance of spending time with people dear to us) and its humour, and I saw no hesitation in how it allowed scenes to breathe where they needed to. In the first half of season this is particularly important because there are many scenes where we're still beginning to understand the past tense of Frieren's story alongside Frieren & Fern's lives in the present, so it needs that steady hand to succeed.

If the first half of the season is where I fell in love with the characters and the storytelling, the second half of the season - the First-class mage test arc - shows much thought has been put into the world, and proves how well the premise of the story is able to step beyond (pun intended) the normal playing field of fantasy adventure stories. The additions to the cast in this arc all add their own spin to situation, and though early on in the 1st test I was unsure if it was a wise move to spend so many scenes away from the main heroines, those separate stories soon tie together as the teams face-off in a satisfying showdown. The 2nd test builds on the new dynamics and it delivers. At this moment in the arc I think the standout newcomers are Übel, and Denken. The 3rd test ties almost everything about the arc and the show to this point together in such a way that I have no lingering questions about anything I've seen, apart for the question of what's next? And that's how a great show should be.

If all the praise and cultural impact of Frieren isn't enough to make it essential viewing for anime enthusiasts today, it's a fair bet the second season airing next year will see a lot of people picking it up so that they can join in on the conversation and keep up with the memes.


If there's one final note I'll add about Frieren (for now) it's that I feel this series would've garnered fair amount of appreciation on these forums in the early 2010s', when these What anime are you watching right now? threads were quite active.

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... speaking about posting in these threads in the early 2010s, these past two nights I've re-watched Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid



I first watched FMP: TSR in June 2011 - at that time, I said that I was 'reasonably satisfied' with it. It's almost fourteen years since, and as the show approaches its twentieth anniversary, it is now about the age I was when I first watched it. I admit that I didn't remember as much as I thought I remembered about it; in fact there's a fair amount of content in this that surprised me, mainly the cast additions in this season, and the intensity of the violence in some scenes.

Before I say a bit more about my new thoughts on the TSR overall, bear with me for a sidebar here as I address one new character in particular who I had completely forgotten, and who is the standout source of a lot of the aforementioned violent intensity in the show:



ahem to get back on track about my new impressions ...



I knew I would enjoy watching FMP!: TSR again, but I enjoyed it much more than I anticipated. I especially appreciated how well it handles the personal conflicts of the cast, and how it handles their interpersonal drama alongside the stakes at hand. It's actually a very well done season. Sequences such as "Don't talk and drive!" are an excellent example of what KyoAni was able to accomplish here in striking the balance between serious action and humour. Adding to the already high quality here is the touch to have the voice actors speak some lines in Italian for a scene set in Sicily, and Cantonese (I'm guessing) for a few of the scenes set in Hong Kong. I have to say I had almost no memory of how the subplot with Sousuke attempting to operate the Arbalest's lambda driver unfolded, though watching the final episodes last night it's apparent once again that subplot had arguably been the main storyline all along; all of the main trio (that being Sousuke, Kaname, Tessa) had arcs which were primarily about how they had needed to accept themselves as they are and acknowledge each other's strengths in order to move forward, and they came across very well.

If there's one thing that felt short it's that the season could've included a refresher as to why exactly Tessa is in the Captain's chair of the submarine at her age, as I feel it'd help in underlining her position for new and returning viewers - that said I can understand why KyoAni allowed this to aspect of the season to lean more on show rather than tell, and it's that the season overall is rather tight on time to achieve what it needs to achieve. (Or is it a latent feeling that I could've appreciated more scenes with Tessa? And besides, as the final episodes demonstrate, Tessa may be young and at times immature but she is ultimately beyond reproach in her position). As it stands there isn't any time in this season that was misspent - for example, the curtailing of the High School cast (who I recall were embellished for a fair amount of filler content in FMP!'s first season) works to TSR's advantage; and if it wasn't already apparent from my sidebar above, the time allocated to the new characters in this season pays off.

I am happy I took some evenings to watch TSR again after all this time, as the only other part of the franchise I've engaged with in the intervening years was another re-watch of Fumoffu! halfway through 2019. And I thought I needed to touch base with the main part of the story again, because, well, if you haven't suspected this already -

* * *

Next time: Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory

Loved Freiren and FMP The Second Raid (Though it's been quite a while since I've seen the latter). Invisible Victory is pretty fun too, though its a huge bummer the franchise has been left hanging again anime-wise for several years now...

The Killer of Heroes wrote:Loved Freiren and FMP The Second Raid (Though it's been quite a while since I've seen the latter). Invisible Victory is pretty fun too, though its a huge bummer the franchise has been left hanging again anime-wise for several years now...

Glad to hear you enjoyed Frieren too!
And I agree, it's a bummer that another season of the FMP anime has not been able to get off the ground since Invisible Victory ...


Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory (subbed)



Initially I thought I'd watch this over two nights, but I ended up enjoying the first half so much that I stayed up to binge the whole twelve episodes. I think Invisible Victory (2018) is a very good season, and after all this time since the original Studio Gonzo series (2002) and the KyoAni sequels (2004, 2005) it's impressive that Studio Xebec were able to pull off as much as they have here in adapting these sections of the original light novels and nailing the majority of the animation style established by the earlier seasons. It's almost as if it never went away!

However, before I expand on my experience with IV it's worth acknowledging that the version of the season available to buy or stream today is more polished than the on-air versions, which suffered from quality some assurance issues predominantly in the second half of the season. In addition, the broadcast of IV utilised not one but two recap episodes, which indicates production issues that Studio Xebec and assisting studios may have had in meeting the timelines set for the broadcast. I say 'assisting studios' here because the Anime News Network encyclopaedia page for IV lists over a dozen different studios which assisted in 2nd Key animation, In-Between animation and more, suggesting that the production of IV was ultimately financed by a broad set of production partners. I'll have more to say about this near the end of the post, but I thought it would be useful for some Geeks who haven't yet seen IV to know a lot of hands were involved in bringing it to our screens, and as such several aspects of the production aren't up to the standards set by previous seasons.

And the use of 3D CGI in IV is certainly a stylistic choice some find issue in - I found it worked out well overall, though I'll address a few cases of it in the spoilers below.



Invisible Victory starts off from the story threads introduced in The Second Raid involving Tessa's enigmatic brother Leonard and his role in the rival organisation, Amalgam, who have had enough of Mithril's interference in their activities. Amalgam are taking their gloves off, and it isn't long until Sousuke and Kaname's idyllic life at Jindai Municipal High School is interrupted by Leonard, who arrives to persuade Kaname to accompany him in peace before Amalgam acts to apprehend her by any means necessary. As attacks on Mithril bases around the globe unfold and Sousuke and Kaname are forced on the run, it's clear that there is no going back to the status quo for anyone - the opening four episodes focusing on this are arguably the most thrilling that FMP has ever had and will ever have.

And on that note it's hard to ignore any longer that IV is best understood as three individual arcs, as the season adapts three of the original light novels. I'll separate spoilers as such.







As satisfied as I am with Invisible Victory, there are enough small points that are off about the overall picture which I would've wanted to be see done better to say that although it is worth watching, it isn't the new high bar of the series.


* * *
Bringing back that point above about how many animation studios had been involved in bringing IV to our screens, it feels unlikely that there'll be another anime adaptation to pick up at the spot it left off. For as good as Full Metal Panic! is, it's also not lucrative enough for the studios that are able to meet the animation needs of this kind of an I.P. - there's almost always going to be another I.P. that's more worth their while to adapt, an I.P. that will hit a bigger share of today's market, sell more Blu-Rays, and more merch. We're far more likely to hear Yukana play C.C. again than hear her play Tessa again. I read that the Japanese Blu-Rays for IV sold well on release, though seven years on I'd imagine FMP BD sales in Japan and abroad are slow indeed.

If interest in more FMP anime arises on the industry side, it's unlikely to be from more sales of older releases, but from sales in new material such as the spin-off Full Metal Panic! Family light novels. Two novels were released last year, and the second novel was promoted with an advertisement voiced by Satsuki Yukino and Tomokazu Seki. Kadokawa certainly thought it was worth booking the series' two main voice actors for a two minute promotion and selecting two new cast members to voice Sousuke and Kaname's children in the promotion. And the light novels are apparently already being adapted as a manga. If there's a slim chance of a future for more FMP anime ... it's unclear if it'll continue on from IV.

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Next time: I've been unsure about what to watch next so unless I pick something over the weekend, next time I might write some thoughts on two or three shows I watched in 2024.

Back again!

Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! (subbed)



A new high school romcom light novel adaptation approaches! Makeine is not your average high school romcom. If the title isn’t giving the game away, it’s not only aware of popular genre tropes, but also turning them upside down and having a good time of it. In fact this series is so good of a time that it might actually be one of the standout shows in its genre. It’s a realist romcom, not a fantasy romcom like Haruhi or an action romcom like Full Metal Panic!, and though there are some ecchi moments they aren’t overdone. And no matter how many romcoms you’ve seen, this series has some of the best animation and background art out there, and it’s much more entertaining than I anticipated.

Cue the story: our first-year hero Nukumizu is a light novel afficionado, who's read enough romance LNs to immediately realize when a real life romcom rejection is going down! In the opening scene, Nukimizu happens to recognise fellow classmate and star losing heroine Anna in a cafe with her childhood friend, and witnesses her dreams of high school love come to a heart-breaking end ... until it becomes awkward, and then hilarious. Boy oh boy does Nukumizu set off a chain of events just by making eye contact with Anna at this crucial intersection of their lives... his social life and his wallet will never be the same!

From a certain point of view, Nukumizu is in a bit of a bind hanging out with Anna as she pays off her debt to him with school lunches – but soon, he’s roped into the school literature club, and is involved in helping not only Anna steer herself through her feelings about her lost opportunity at love, but also two other first-year girls who are about to face the realities of their own romantic aspirations. It’s less about Nukumizu getting in the middle of things as it is about him happening to be along for the ride and offering his new friends someone to lean on as they figure out their romantic struggles, and his support in fulfilling the commitments of the literature club. It’s a lot of fun watching these silly kids work things out ... and wondering all the while if Nukuzmizu is actually secretly romantically interested in any of the girls he's come to count on as his friends, or if any of three titular losing heroines (Anna, Lemon, & Chika) are over their past love interests enough to start to feel something about him.

And not only that, the series is visually on another level to everything else. It’s as if Shinkai worked on this at times, I had to be sure at points because there are so many scenes that seem as if they are straight out of Garden of Words or Your Name:



For those who might be interested in the light novels, episodes 1-11 adapt Volumes 1-3, with Volume 4 also available in English (Japan is currently up to Volume 8). The twelfth/final episode is an anime original written by the LN author specifically for the series, and I am very happy with that choice for the ending as although episode 11 ends on a good note, I think stretching those arcs of the anime to 12 episodes might’ve spoiled the otherwise excellent pacing. And without that original 12th episode we would’ve missed out on a few Anna’s best reaction faces in the series - sorry but no more samples for the Anna reaction faces, I assure you it's far more fun to see her reactions to things fresh in the moment, and then you'll understand me when I say that she's the fan favourite for a reason and that you should buy Anna stocks and short Lemon and Chika stocks ahead of the second season.

I absolutely recommend Makeine, and I am eagerly awaiting the second season arriving sometime next year.


* * * *

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku (subbed)



Romcoms about working adults appear to be a rarity in anime, and as Wotakoi was available on Amazon while I had the service back in December, I gave it a shot. It’s quite good!

Wotakoi features two main couples who all work together in the same office, and a third couple that comes up later in the series. As you can see above from the screenshot I included - there weren’t many good quality screenshots around to pick from to downscale for this post, and this one’s pretty funny – the leading lady (pictured right) and supporting lady (pictured left) get up to mischief in discussing BL in some episodes. The leading man is a massive video game nerd, and the supporting male lead (their supervisor in the office, no less) is a closet magical girl fan. Fun couple dynamics and double dates ensue … and I learnt more about BL genre tropes from discussions in Wotakoi and in Makeine than I knew before, which is more than I wanted to know ... though I'll confess it was all fun and funny in-context. The Mario Kart and Pokémon Go! references more than made up for the BL mischief in Wotakoi, though Makeine still has its own BL joke to answer for …

Also, both Makeine and Wotakoi are animated by the excellent A-1 Pictures.

I recommend at least the first couple of episodes of Wotakoi for fellow EvaGeeks as there’s a clever Evangelion reference early on that the characters follow up with a chat about their favourite characters from the franchise. The anime and the manga Wotakoi is adapted from are several years old now; I recall many of the other references are to series or games which were popular in the mid-2010s but which still fit even if they are not ones I’ve personally watched or played. The comedy is great, and the relationship development is done very well too – though the supporting couple is already established at the start of the series and are the more dramatic couple, the main couple are just starting out and there are some very sweet moments for them. I’ll definitely return to this series someday.

Please note that if you plan to watch this on Amazon Prime, the service only has the original 11 episodes – for the 3 OVAs, they’re available on the DVD set, or you might want to see them on the high seas.


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My Deer Friend Nokotan (subbed)



I’d heard of Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan and had also seen some segments of it on the internet before I saw it on Amazon one day in September (by that time, who on the internet hadn’t?) and as the whole season was there, I thought I’d give it a go.

It’s about former delinquent Koshitan, who is forced into assuming responsibility for the well-being of deer-antlered-girl Nokotan, and her schools’ new ‘Deer Club’. Also, there are 3D CGI deer that appear as if out of a fever dream. To be any clearer about this series’ sense of reality unreality could spoil the fun.

It’s a good time for a light-hearted show. It is also, however, a gag anime – and that means your mileage may vary from episode to episode. I know that for some who watched it, it struggles to measure up to the enormous amount of hype it attracted from the opening and other pre-season advertising. I agree with the sentiment insofar as it applies to some of the material adapted in the second half of the show, where in episodes seven through ten the studio appears to pare back on the kind of wild interpretations of the source material that made the early episodes so enjoyable. Episodes eleven and twelve bring the hijinks back up a notch, and as was the case with Makeine, the twelfth episode of Nokotan is an anime original.

Nokotan a lot better than the manga it’s based off – the manga Is okay on its own, but the studio injects a lot of creativity into the anime that it needed if was going to keep up in this medium, and they mostly knock it out of the park.


So – should you watch Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan?

My wife and I have been watching Frieren: Beyond Journey's End recently. Safe to say it absolutely lives up to its reputation. It's very, VERY good- perfect balance of action, funny bits (notably Frieren's endlessly amusing facial expressions) and genuine poignancy. 100% worth a watch.