Recap: A Double Dilemma

Hello again. Well, the time has finally arrived. I've been telling you about it all year,

now I'm finally going to do it. I am going to recap what is charitably the worst episode of Pokémon I've ever seen, “A Double Dilemma.”

I've always had a fondness for Pokémon. I just feel that it's directly tied to my fascination with anime, being the first series I ever watched. The Pokémon anime has been

a strange bird, changing very little in story structure since its inception; yet remaining popular

despite its infamous reputation for filler in the Johto arc. However, I've always been baffled

how people consider Johto or Sinnoh the worst arc in the series but always manage to give

Hoenn a free pass.

I am in the minority that likes Johto, and also find Sinnoh to be one of the most well- plotted arcs in the show. I feel quite indifferent to Hoenn. Not that I hate it, I just feel that

people talk about how much they like it in comparison to other arcs of the show. In fairness,

it did introduce the idea of contests to the show, and helped Pokémon remain relevant in an age

where to like it was to be ridiculed and belittled by those around you.

However, it did occasionally produce some very bad episodes; almost as bad what you'd

expect from something like Space Thunder Kids or Beauty and Warrior. Therefore, let's open

up “A Double Dilemma.”

We open on Ash, May, Max, and Brock arriving in North Petalburg; a suburb of Petalburg City. Ash expresses his excitement for his upcoming gym battle with Norman.

Once again, the theme song is “This Dream.” I've talked about “This Dream” before.

No need to talk about it again, I have bigger fish to fry.

We get our title card, an indication of the emptiness this episode can leave in a person;

and the void it left in me.

The gang enters into the local Pokémon Center, and Brock once again does his schtick

of hitting on Nurse Joy. Max pulls him away by his ear. I'm not going to talk much about Max,

I have bigger concerns tonight.

A vegetable merchant sees May and Max; and notes that people are going to go crazy

once they find out they're here. The merchant's name is Rosa, not to be confused with the female player character of Pokémon Black 2 and White 2.

Sure enough, May and Max are hounded by a mob of people and a couple reporters

as they get out the door. I have a few rants prepared for what they'll do later. For now, I'll point

out this stinker was written by Junki Takegami, who also wrote some really good episodes; like

Bianca's first appearance, the departure of Jessie's Dustox, and two-thirds of the Sabrina arc.

I wonder what the Japanese term for Alan Smithee is.

Is it true that Chewbacca and the other Wookiees do not come from Endor?

The male reporter's name is D. Dunstan, a less-than-subtle reference to Darren Dunstan.

And people thought that Stephen Colbert wanted to get his name on everything.

Anyway, they ask May and Max questions about what it's like to be the children of

Norman; a famous gym leader. Way back in my recap of “Love, Petalburg Style”, I mentioned

how I would need to talk about this. The notion that Norman is famous is incredibly overblown

and unnecessary, and it goes to ludicrous levels in this episode. I shall continue to talk about

how North Petalburg's perception of their idol negatively impacts the episode as a whole.

May replies with her status as a Coordinator; and goes on to say that she's not very good.

Well, you look like any sane person would when mobbed by a gaggle of creepy hangers-on.

Mainly because you're one of the few sane people in this episode. She shows the crowd the two

ribbons she has won through that point. The crowd then stares in awe.

If you look closely, you can see the franchise slipping away!

Ash interjects to show the crowd his badges; as well as announce his challenge to

Norman. It always baffles me how 4Kids demanded that the Poké Ball symbol on his badge

case be turned into a red line. It's the same symbol on his hat, for corn's sake!

The crowd shoves Ash away; talking down to him. All right, folks. The first time I did

an entry on this show, I was criticizing cluelessness of adultery. Now, I'm criticizing the fact

that an entire town appears to be acting like arrogant dillweeds to a person they barely know.

I'm going to keep at it too.

Enter Team Rocket, the resident Wile E. Coyote types; wandering through North Petalburg looking for something to eat. They notice the popularity of Norman and get an idea

about how to exploit this.

So, Team Rocket decides to disguise themselves and sell autographs. James is Norman,

Jessie is Caroline, Meowth is May, and Wobuffet is Max. Oh my god. Even by Pokémon

standards, this is nonsensical. This is going to be a long half hour.

For some reason, the other citizens of North Petalburg bite. They do question how Max

is all blue, but quickly brush it off. Meowth also notes how “she” shrank on “her” journey.

Like the Wii! It lost its Gamecube backward compatibility and online capability when it shrank!

Dunstan continues to hound May about her accomplishments. She shows off a contest

move and Dunstan notes he could use it for his articles. North Petalburg News! Fair and Balanced Towards All Pokémon Trainers!

Max says that they should get out of there. May, listen to your brother. These people

are like shoppers hunting for toaster ovens on Black Friday.

Meanwhile, Ash is approached by a group of kids. They immediately start talking down

to him, saying he isn't worthy to challenge Norman. What's with these droogs? Did I mistakenly

put on my copy of Akira?

Here is what I hate about this episode. The citizens of this town are so blind in their

devotion to their idols that they'll project upon anyone who they deem isn't up to snuff. This

is simply deplorable; given how society in Pokémon has previously been established to accept

any challenge, no matter who it's from.

One of the kids challenges Ash to a battle, sending out a Golduck. Ash counters with

a Grovyle, and beats the kid handily. You know, this episode feels like a bad day at work or school. You just want to get it over with and do something else.

Anyway, more kids decide to challenge Ash. What is this, The Warriors? Why does an

entire town want to fight one 10-year-old on his adventure?

For a moment, it cuts back to May continuing to do things for the amusement of the crowd; such as making her Skitty juggle. Another thing I'm bringing up here- the pacing is

all over the place. Normally, the episodes have a solid idea of beginning, middle, end.

Here, it's like someone's film school project on Adderall.

Soon enough, a whole caucus of kids has lined up to challenge Ash. Well, that escalated

quickly. Why not just have them take place in a crappy parody game while you're at it?

The remake of Oldboy got hit with production troubles right out of the gate.

Oh dearie dear, we're only halfway through this. Even so, Ash decides to take them all

on in a show of courage. Amazingly, he wins.

Rosa catches wind of Ash's display, and proposes that May face Ash. Perhaps there's something I'm missing here. Maybe there's some sort of social commentary beneath all this. Maybe the fact North Petalburg puts their stock in Norman and his family is that their town is an otherwise dead district of Hoenn and having a connection to him brings in tourism money. Maybe their city was ravaged by Team Magma or Aqua and they need something to believe in. Maybe they hold Norman in such a high regard that to sway to anyone else is unthinkable! Maybe I'm just over-thinking this.

So, Rosa-I'm not kidding-actually brings May and Max in on a Palanquin to face Ash.

Rosa, Annie Wilkes called, she thinks you're crazy!

The moment they reach Ash, the townsfolk accuse him of causing trouble solely because

he wants to face Norman. Oh, for the love of Mew-he's not the problem here, you are! Hard to

believe you actually have to resort to Neo-McCarthyism just because the lead character wants

to challenge your beloved Norman! You hear me? Red scare stuff!

Ash and Brock remark on the illogic of the situation. Even the people in the show know

this makes no sense! It's like if you can't have him, no one can!

Dunstan remarks that if May wins, it will make a great article. So now you're bringing

yellow publishing into this? … Look, I know the “Dubya” years were tough, but I just can't

fathom this coming from him!

Max makes a remark about the battle. He points out this whole battle is just feeding

into their ego, and it's already the size of the Goodyear blimp. Rosa is going to be the judge,

which is not what that woman needs. Some estrogen would be of more use.

Ash says he feels all tired out. I'm tired out too. Watching this episode will do that to

a person. The bias the town holds gets no better throughout the battle, constantly jeering Ash

just because he's not May and therefore; not related to Norman. This town needs an enema.

Combusken ends up roasting Ash, and Rosa declares May the winner because of this.

I'm sure on some planet, Rosa's judgment is sound. The only problem is, this is Earth.

They then realize that they've been had; as Team Rocket reveals themselves. Dunstan

exclaims, “who the Pokémon are you?” … That has to be the worst possible thing you could

say right there. Dunstan, if I had my way, you wouldn't be able to get a job reporting on bake

sales in Toledo. Thankfully, we only have three minutes left, so I'm going to get through this.

Ash decides to show them what he's really made of; getting a second wind and having

Pikachu attack Team Rocket. They blast off without much of a hitch, and I like that; it makes

the episode shorter.

The crowd approaches Ash, and it looks like they've finally come around. Instead, they give credit to Pikachu, and write Ash off as “snotty.” … What? You spent an entire day harassing a boy you had just met, and you're saying HE'S snotty? OK, I'm convinced. I would actually be glad if North Petalburg met a foul end at the hands of Team Magma and Aqua due to how absolutely bigoted they are towards Ash. This is like that Avatar: The Last Airbender episode "Avatar Day", only not funny.

Anime fall downs-because this is just too stupid for words.

Yet, as Ash leaves the town, he takes the complete prejudice by these people surprisingly

well. If you ever decide to go on TV Tropes, be sure to look up Unfortunate Implications, and

you'll get a solid idea about why this is the worst episode of Pokémon of all time.

“A Double Dilemma” is among the worst episodes I've chosen to recap this year; and

among the worst I've ever seen. It's needlessly mean-spirited; and the behavior of the North

Petalburg citizens goes against Pokémon's messages of friendship and teamwork. It's also one

of the reasons why I do not understand why people value the Advanced Generation so highly.

So, why even bother recapping it then? Well, by explaining why I don't like something,

you get a solid idea of why I do like something. Pokémon is one of the most venerable things

I've gotten into in my life; but there are always going to be bad episodes of any TV series, and

bad aspects of any franchise. If I had the opportunity to strike one episode from the record out

of the 750+ episodes that have aired, it would be this one. I admit that I don't hate the Advanced

Generation like I used to, and I consider Pokémon to be intrinsically tied to my fascination with

anime, video games, and Japanese culture. Now that I've finally recapped this episode, I'm going to take a break while I ready the next recap. Until then, I leave you with my favorite

Pokémon song of the Advanced Generation, “Unbeatable.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_wHzfKQZ6E

Anime I'm Currently Watching 11/26/2012

Hello again. Given what happened this month with the recap of “Mega Man! Plug In!”

and my internet woes; I will be making good on my decision to list anime I'm currently watching in between recaps. This will be the first of such posts; while I start work on my

recap of “A Double Dilemma.” I also plan to have a recap on a Christmas-related anime

episode (yes, the Christmas holiday does have a following in Japan) out after the recap of

“A Double Dilemma,” and I plan to both out before the month of December is over. So, let's

get started.

Deadman Wonderland

I've mentioned this anime in passing a couple times, now I'm officially talking about it.

“Deadman Wonderland” tells the tale of 14-year-old Ganta, who is wrongfully convicted

of the mass murder of his middle school class. He is then forced to compete in “Deadman

Wonderland,” an attraction in the prison theme park where he is residing. The convicts must

compete for their lives to win Cast Points and a special type of candy that extends their life

(the outset for death row inmates is 72 hours before a collar on their neck releases a poison

that executes them). Ganta must put everything on the line, as well as put his trust in a mysterious girl named Shiro in order to survive.

While the series was unsuccessful in its initial run in Japan, “Deadman Wonderland”

has proven to be a surprise hit for the revived Toonami block. Speculation is now underway

of a second season being funded (a similar situation happened when “The Big O” aired on

the original Toonami). Scans of the manga are also popular. I believe the success of “Deadman

Wonderland” could very well be linked to its similarities to “Battle Royale” and “The Hunger

Games” series (especially with the latter being a bestselling book and a record-breaking box

office hit).

Holic

This is one of the more peculiar series I've gotten into. I'm frankly not sure how to

categorize it, as it uses elements of several different genres (horror, comedy, slice-of-life, drama) to tell the story. Created by ensemble production house CLAMP, Holic tells of high

schooler Watanuki, as he stumbles upon a strange shop while being harassed by a group of

dark spirits. He comes across a woman named Yuuko, who claims she can rid him of the spirits.

All she asks in return is that Watanuki become her apprentice. Watanuki agrees; and becomes

enraptured in all the strange people and doings that revolve around her shop. These include a pair of twin girls that somewhat resemble the ones found in “The Shining” , and a creature

that craves expensive food; much to Watanuki's chagrin. I am interested to see where it goes;

at least. One last thing: I didn't type the full title because of the problems it causes when

one tries to mention it. If you see the full title, you will know why.

Shin Chan

This was an anime that I discovered by accident, when using the Netflix account of a

family friend. It tells of 5-year-old Shinosuke “Shin” Nohara and his day-to-day life of living

in a small town in Japan with his mother, Mitzi, his father, Hiro, and his baby sister, Hima.

It sounds innocuous enough, but I quickly found out how audacious and vulgar it was when I

watched it. Evidently, Shin Chan is on the same level in Japan as “Beavis and Butt-Head” would be here. In particular, Funimation took an already inappropriate series and made it

even more raunchy by giving it a gag dub; intentionally airing episodes in no particular order

(which becomes clearer as some episodes are made from footage from older, cel-animated

vignettes and newer ones made with digital coloring); altering Japanese letters with digital

photoshop techniques that 4Kids would be embarrassed to use, and filling the writing with

coarse language and dead baby comedy that make sure that no one makes the mistake of putting

this on for their child. That TVMA sticker on the DVD box is much-obliged, folks.

Episodes are filled with digs at everyone from Angelina Jolie to the right wing; and a recurring parody revolves around the merchandise-driven tokusatsu hero “Action Bastard”.

The animation is gloriously bad, looking every bit like a child's drawings being used to make

an anime (the series is even called “Crayon Shin Chan”in Japan). They could even leave pencil

marks or inkblots in some of the frames. If you do decide to watch this series; it is the textbook

definition of “Not safe for work.”

Durarara!!

I am currently on my second time around watching this series, and I will tell you why.

“Durarara!!” tells of teenager Mikado Ryugamine, who had previously lived in the countryside

before moving to the Ikebukuro district of Tokyo. He meets with childhood friends Masoami

and Anri; and begins attending school there. He hears of a mysterious organization known as

the Dollars and their efforts to cause chaos and dissent in Ikebukuro. The district is also home

to a dullahan named Celty; a sort of black rider that people fear in the city, a super-strong

bartender named Shizuo, a deceitful young man named Izaya, and a hulking Russian sushi

chef named Simon.

Filled with great art and a soundtrack that mixes indie rock, free form jazz, and classical

music, “Durarara!!” is among some of the best series I've ever seen. The stories really flesh out

the series as it goes on. The plot blends crime drama, Celtic fantasy, slice-of-life, and action.

If you've seen this anime already, good for you. If you haven't, please do so.

One Piece

I cannot tell you enough how much I love this anime. After Funimation rescued it from

obscurity, “One Piece” is quickly gaining steam among the anime fandom. “One Piece” is the grand saga of young Monkey D. Luffy, a person who wants to find the One Piece and become

king of the pirates, one of the highest honors that a pirate can earn. In order to do this, Luffy

must travel across the Grand Line, a place filled with all sorts of dangers and enemies to battle;

and many friends and adventures to be had.

Joining Luffy on his journey are Roronoa Zoro, a swordsman who favors the three- sword style (one in each hand, and one between his teeth); Nami, a charming thief who will

steal one's heart along with their wallet; Usopp, a marksman known for his grand flights of

fancy; Sanji, a womanizing, chain-smoking chef; Chopper, a shapeshifting reindeer who serves

as the crew's doctor; and Nico Robin, an alluring woman who has the power to send out dozens

of arms from herself.

“One Piece” is quickly becoming one of the most deeply-revered anime series of our time, much like “Dragon Ball” before it. With Luffy's extraordinary powers of being able

to stretch his body to incredible lengths and proportions, he battles his way through many

strange and unusual places throughout the Grand Line. My advice to anyone who wants to

watch this anime; but isn't sure how they'll like it: watch it up to the end of the Arlong arc.

If you don't like it after that, it's not for you.

So, that's the first list of anime I'm currently watching. I'm going to get started on the

recap of “A Double Dilemma” very soon, and I'm going to be more proactive about posting

it, so I'm not so behind on things. In fact, the recap I was going to do after “A Double Dilemma”

may be pushed back to later in December or even January 2013. So, that's all for now. Later.

Recap: Mega Man! Plug In!

Hello again. Poor Mega Man. He was such a great video game character;

and he was once Capcom's golden boy. His games sold millions; he was practically everywhere.

Then, all of a sudden, Capcom began shafting their once-beloved character. First, there

was the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3; even when series creator Keiji Inafune said he

could return to Capcom to finish it. Then, there was the inclusion of the infamous off-model

box art Mega Man in Street Fighter X Tekken. Finally, even though series villain Dr. Wily

was scheduled to appear in the highly-anticipated Disney film Wreck-It Ralph; he was replaced

with Street Fighter's M. Bison. All of a sudden, Capcom was treating their valued character

like crap.

What happened? Not long ago, Capcom was all for support of Mega Man. They

released Mega Man 9 and 10; a throwback to the classic Mega Man games; and extended the

popular X and Zero series. They even kept Mega Man going along well past his 15^th anniversary

with the Battle Network and Star Force games, which I admit that I have never played.

However, Mega Man has been largely unlucky in the field of animation. First,

there was his portrayal in the infamous Captain N: The Game Master; which turned him into

a strange person with a voice like Phil from Rugrats, and they made his armor green instead

of the usual blue. Then, Mega Man got his own cartoon; which was animated by Ruby-Spears.

As in, the Alvin and the Chipmunks guys. The show was bogged down with constant demands

from executives; not the least of which was removing the Japanese art style in favor of a more

Western one, as the Japanese style was deemed “too kiddy” from Ruby-Spears. This was long

before the influx of anime-influenced Western cartoons began to take over TV.

My subject today is an anime based on Mega Man Battle Network, Mega Man

NT Warrior. I never really watched it growing up, so this is going to be a sort of new experience. Just bear with me on this. Here we go.

We open in the year 200X. In the not too distant future, we're down in Deep 13...

A boy named Lan Hikari tells of living in Danjaq City with his friends. I will also point out

that Lan is voiced by Brad Swaile; best known today for voicing Light Yagami in Death

Note.

Lan continues on to say things about PETs how they can be used for battles

with Net Navis. I bet there's some interesting Rule 34 of those.

Lan says he gained access to a great being known as Mega Man. He talks about

how he has to protect the cyber-matrix from computer viruses. I'm just going on record to say

that the character design is nothing special. Let's see if we can dredge up any personality for

these folks.

We then get our theme song. Boy oh boy, it is one of the worst examples of

early-2000s techno and electroclash I've ever listened to. Unlike the piece of the Digimon

theme, which did this sort of thing well; the song here is a ghastly song that is just painful.

 

-->

On top of that, there is a load of imagery being blasted at me. It's like MTV when

they still showed music videos and not trashy reality shows. It may be the most incoherent noise

and static since Box of Danger's Pokémon Abridged.

We open on the inside of a computer. Well, we've never seen the inside of a

computer depicted like this, have we? Tron? Reboot? Why this looks like an ideal computer

simulation! Hold on, I'm putting this on my Google Plus.

Almost immediately, I have gotten completely lost. From what I can gather,

we're fighting an enemy we know nothing about with characters we haven't been introduced

to. Perhaps it's because I've never played the Battle Network games, but my brother's friend

had to nursemaid me throughout this whole episode.

From what I can make out, this is Guts Man we're fighting. This version of him

looks like a bit of a banger.

 

We see a rather generic-looking Net Navi (I think my blood pressure went up

just from typing that) trying to attack Guts Man, and he promptly gets his arm sliced off.

Ho boy, looks like Quorra got into trouble again.

We pull out to an arcade, where we see Guts Man's master, Dax. By the looks

of this guy, he's more like Porkins. 

 

-->

Anyhow, Lan loses the battle. This isn't the only reason he's disappointed. His

next voice acting job is Transformers Energon. Don't worry, we'll get to that one.

 

I should also point out the scaling issues with this arcade in this shot. It is

truly remarkable that this arcade could have so many people in it and still be so empty.

Test marketing for the Xbox 720 got off to a rocky start
when a fan dragged out Steve Ballmer's old Windows commercials.

Another drawback I found to not having played the Battle Network games:

I know nothing about these Net Navis and PET units, but they won't shut up about them!

I know that this anime was a marketing tool for the games and assorted brickerback; but

ShoPro isn't really making an effort to justify the existence of the wares other than just

having them there. By the way, the merchandise can be had for cheap on eBay.

The future of this series looks very average. No flying cars, PET units that look

clumsy compared to my smartphone (even when factoring the Net Navis), and they have not

solved the obesity problem at all.

Lan is depressed about his Net Navi not being up to snuff. Also, this vision

of the future doesn't have hoverboards, but it has clip-on rollerblades.

A fish flies through the air and lands on Lan's lap. It just reminds me of Ghost in the Shell, which I'd rather be watching right now.

Then, a fish merchant enters the scene. For some reason, he sounds like the Swedish Chef from the Muppets.

Lan explains to the fish merchant that PET is short for Personal Electronic

Terminal. Like I said, my smartphone does everything it does a lot better. He also talks

about the Net Battles and describes them as “sweet.” Look, Lan, your Net Battles are actually

quite dull and banal; no matter how “sweet” you think they are. Battle scenes I like are in

Princess Mononoke, Sengoku Basara, and Fairy Tail.

Lan heads home, and a whole convoy of fire trucks proceeds to a fire. Jeez,

how many fire trucks do you need? Are the Skull 'Saders in town? It's mentioned that there

have been 10 fires today. I suspect an arsonist is at work.

Lan arrives back home, and is stunned to receive a piece of physical mail

from his father in the age of email. I know, it's like we're back in the old west. The mail

came from Borneo. Lan then acts all stuck up that his father isn't there. You know, there

are people everywhere in this world that want their father more than anything. Lan's

attitude is simply deplorable.

Lan pulls out a disc from the mail. This has the effect of dating the anime, as

digital storage is quickly becoming the norm in computing. Lan goes to his room to download

it. I think he means upload it; but as we'll find, that's the least of this show's problems with

depicting computers.

In Lan's room, we see what appears to be a Space Battleship Yamato poster

on his wall. My respect for him went up a point.

Lan's Windows 8 performance began very awkwardly.

The computer says Lan's file will take three hours to optimize. That's quite

standard if you don't have broadband. The disc does all sorts of strange things to the computer.

It feels like we've entered a really boring seminar for a get-rich-quick scheme. I am also

surprised at how Lan can sleep through his modem making all that noise. I get woken up

if the TV is too loud. He would be the guy that sleeps at a party in college.

So, at 10 minutes in, we finally get to see Mega Man. He's a decent enough

representation of the character, but my unfamiliarity with the Battle Network games nullifies

much of my potential enjoyment. Of course, Lan labels him as puny, and says he'd have a good

Net Navi by fifth grade. Fifth grade? Yet he doesn't appreciate the Net Navi he has? My respect

for Lan went down three points.

All of a sudden, we see that the oven is on fire; yet it's revealed that it's an

electric range. An oven fire in an electric range just carves out a whole new category of failure.

After failing to put it out, Lan deduces that it might be a computer virus. No.

Computer viruses cannot start electrical fires at will. He then states that if the oven is connected

to the internet, that he must plug into it to take care of it. Look, appliances are not just

pathways to the web. It will be a cold day in Hell before I can read my Facebook page on my

toaster or my coffeepot.

Lan then plugs in with Mega Man, and discovers fire viruses are causing the

fire. This is just asinine. I know computer viruses and malware are problems; but they

can't do shit like this.

We then see some Mets. I've never played the Battle Network games, but I know

them from the old Mega Man games. The Mets are mining through the web so they can send

out fire viruses. Dr. Wily must be getting senile.

To coin an overused phrase, some men just want to watch the world burn.

Lan actually manages to put out the fire with Mega Man and his PET. This

has gotten real stupid, real fast.

Lan meets up with Dax and heads to school. Lan mentions that he wants to beat

Dax with Mega Man. The animation here is pretty shoddy. I mean, this came out the same year

in the US as Spirited Away did. Their skating is not X Games material.

They arrive at school for their first class of the day. Somewhat futuristic:

their teacher has Princess Leia's bun hair. Still, it's not that impressive now that they're in

the process of phasing out physical textbooks with digital ones.

Lan and Dax use their PETs to send messages to each other. I don't buy it. The

teacher would snap those things up in an instant. We can't even text message in class, so

what's technically a glorified video game system won't do unless it's lunch break or recess.

Mega Man speaks with Lan, and states that an evil Net Navi could be behind

all the fires. You know, my high school had a student that was intoxicated all the time; most

schools typically do. Could Lan be it? It turns out the controller of the Net Navi was starting

the fires. I wonder what happened to a cigarette lighter.

We then cut to the room of Dr. Wily, as he confers with the man who was using

his Net Navi to start the fires. I also wonder who thought that this design was good for Dr. Wily.

He's practically dressed like a Venture Brothers villain. What was wrong with the white lab coat? Why does he need a monocle?

Finally, at 15 minutes in, we get the so-called Net Battle.

FLASH! AH-HA! SAVIOR OF THE UNIVERSE!

The battle is very mediocre, with a volley of dull attacks and poor animation.

You were really reaching with “sweet”, Lan.

All of a sudden, another oven fire occurs. Another oven fire? I think we need

a recall on that brand of ovens.

The evil Net Navi has a Scottish controller. The evil Net Navi is named

Torch Man; something of a captain ersatz of Fire Man from the games. Search me.

After Lan rescues a girl from the fire, he goes back in to have Mega Man engage

Torch Man. He says incredibly stilted dialogue such as: “Gotta upload the Battle Chip to Mega

Man before it's too late!” Kid! You just rescued a friend from a fire! Try to keep your priorities

straight, huh?!

That's not even the half of it. He needs these chips to do anything with Mega Man. Where I come from, if you beat the robot Masters, you could get their powers. I'm

totally at a loss at how this system works because of not playing the Battle Network games.

Anyway, Torch Man flees, and the fire is extinguished. Lan hopes his PET

is okay. What? You're concerned about your video game and your friend is being taken to

the hospital for smoke inhalation? Danjaq is one screwed-up town.

Mega Man congratulates Lan for his efforts. Mega Man, you're a wonderful

human being, but this show sucks.

“Mega Man! Plug In!” is an example of how far Mega Man has fallen in

Capcom's eyes in hindsight. The animation is some of the worst I've seen in an anime of its

type; having been made in 2002 but looking like something 10 years older. The writing is

absolutely horrendous; wasting the Mega Man mythology with a load of stock phrases and

a sorry excuse for a plot. The depiction of the future is lifeless and lacks vision. The worst part of it, however, has to be the character of Lan. He does not act appropriately for a hero at all; acting like an entitled bastard when he is truly owed nothing. The fact that he is without his father does nothing to justify how much of a brat he is; talking down to his friends and placing his desire for his gaming habit above the well-being of himself and others. At least with Monsuno; I found it entertaining for being so bad. Here, I feel like a part of me has died;

and I feel far less optimistic for the future of Mega Man. I'm all fired up. Next time, I'm

doing “A Double Dilemma.” Don't miss it.

Update about the new recap and other goings-on.

Hey guys. I know I expected to have the recap I was working on out in the first week of November, but I've got a few reasons why it was taking so long.

First off, my old Mac charger broke and I had to wait for about two weeks for a new one to come from the UK; effectively putting me offline for that time.

Second, is that I have most of the recap posted, but the internet connection in my town has been unusually spotty this month. For instance, I have not been able to get a connection in my own home. I've currently got 3/5 of the recap in my Blogger posts, and I'm working with several paragraphs of text and screencaps to finish it.

Third, is that I've been kind of sick this week. I've head a moderate head cold and intermittent problems with my stomach; which was a blow to me as they peaked around Thanksgiving.

I try to make an effort to not miss deadlines I set for myself any more than ones that are given to me; but my well-being must take priority over something I do for fun.

Regarding the recap, I will have it finished this weekend, but the recap I had planned after that will have to be moved to December.

For the one I was working on before I got so behind, it was on the first episode of "Mega Man NT Warrior", "Mega Man! Plug In!" The one I was going to do after that will be mentioned in that recap.

I'm going to finish up the recap today or tomorrow. Then, I can officially take a breather before I start the next one. Later.

Even more anime I've gotten into.

Hello again. It's been 10 months since I started this blog. I have recapped several episodes and a movie of bad anime; but I have also made a couple posts about good ones to recommend. This is the third in a series of them; as I have elected to make them a permanent feature of this blog. So, let's get started.

Mawaru Penguin-Drum

This is a series about two young brothers, Shoma and Kanba, who live with their sister Himari, who is terminally ill. During a family outing to an aquarium in Ikebukuro (a district in Tokyo that is well-known as the setting of Durarara); Himari dies. Suddenly, she is brought back to life by an alien life form living in a hat modeled after a rockhopper penguin; which was bought at the aquarium. The life form agrees to extend Himari's life in exchange for a mysterious essence called "Penguin-Drum." They are given three penguins in order to do this. The creative staff behind this anime was also involved with the shojo piece "Revolutionary Girl Utena"; which I have never seen, but I have seen plenty of shout-outs to it in other anime I've watched. The series is animated by Studio Brains Base; and it is one of the best looking series I've seen. The best-animated sequences are when the life form initiates a "Survival Strategy" using Himari's body, and summons a large piece of architecture with hundreds of moving parts. Mawaru Penguin-Drum is a bizarre series; as I found strains of FLCL, a series that is a strange coming of age story, Big Fish, a sort of anthology film of tall tales, and Pee-Wee's Playhouse; as influenced from the "Survival Strategy" sequences and the residence of the family.

Cromartie High School

A series about 16-year-old Kamiyama, who attends the titular Cromartie High School with all sorts of delinquents. They include Hayashida, who becomes a vital friend; Mechazawa, a sort of chibi robot; a student who somewhat resembles late Queen singer Freddie Mercury, and a literal 800-pound gorilla. Yes, it's that kind of anime. Lampshading many of the shonen clichés, in everything from story to art style (many of the students have a glare that resembles that of Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star); Cromartie High School is one of the most self-aware series I've done. I also like it much better than Ouran High School Host Club; as my large unfamiliarity with the shojo genre has made it highly inaccessible to me (I'm on the final episodes and I still can't fathom its humor). This show, on the other hand, is hilarious to me because of all the shonen I've seen.


Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

This is the second anime series for Full Metal Alchemist, the first one airing in 2003. Brotherhood is an an adaptation that is truer to the manga; a sort of director's cut. It still largely retains the same story, though I will have to see more episodes to say how I truly feel about it. For now, it has good animation; and the vocal cast gives good performances. As for this argument between the 2003 series and Brotherhood; I'm looking at it like this: the Tim Burton Batman movie did not stop being good simply because The Dark Knight came out. I will support both adaptations.

Casshern Sins

A darker and edgier re-imagining of Tatsunoko Productions' classic superhero anime Casshern, this anime tells of the titular Casshern fighting against evil machines in a world ravaged by war. Much of humanity has been forfeit, with only humanoid robots remaining in their stead. There is also a constant theme of Casshern's morality in the war; as he is confronted by a mysterious woman about his past. I am highly interested in seeing more.

So, this is all for now. I intend to make this a regular feature that I'll post between recaps. I have read up to the sixth chapter of the Deadman Wonderland manga; and I'm about to watch the second episode of the anime. After that, I'll get started on the next recap, which I hope to have out within the first week of November. I know what I want to do; and you will find out soon. For now, I shall simply say that the subject of the next recap has been treated horribly these past few years; and I hope things can improve for him...