One Piece gets top ratings on Toonami premiere.

Hello again. I'm still wondering what to do for my next recap, so I think I'll share some anime news.

It turns out the premiere of One Piece on the new Toonami got the top ratings of the evening, at 995,000 viewers; being the top draw alongside Bleach, Naruto, and Soul Eater.

This development is a very good sign for One Piece in this country. Alongside the simulcast, DVDs, and streaming; this is means that the franchise has been redeemed among American anime fans and should have a strong life on the block.

So, I encourage you to watch it if you haven't yet, and keep watching it if you have. I am on episode 164, and will try to get caught up very soon. See you, space cowboy.

Recap: Enter Iron Man

Hello again. As I said before, one of the anime I wanted to cover that I didn't last year

was of the Iron Man anime. All that I was waiting for was the right time, which is now upon me.

This past Mother's day, I saw Iron Man 3; and I for one, loved it. Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is off to a great start. The film contained a darker storyline of Tony Stark

dealing with post-traumatic stress after the events of The Avengers, a haunting rendition

of the Mandarin by Academy Award winner Ben Kingsley, and enough intense action scenes

and swaggering skullduggery from Robert Downey Jr.; fueled by new director Shane Black.

The film has been met with largely positive reception; and has recently passed $1 billion worldwide.

So, as you can imagine, it put me in just the mood I needed to be in to recap the first

episode of this anime. It is indeed very good, but there is also a lot to make fun of as well.

As it happens, it turns out Iron Man is one of the few American comic book superheroes

to break out in Japan; the country where manga originated and thus reigns supreme. It helps

that Iron Man has a lot of similarities to the mecha genre as well as the long-running tokusatsu

series Kamen Rider. So, let's open up “Enter Iron Man”.

The opening is sort of a condensed treatment of how Tony Stark became Iron Man. For

the sake of argument, I'm putting on the Black Sabbath song. I know it's not about the hero,

but as implied by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tony is the type of person that would likely

adopt it as his theme song anyway.

It turns out this was written by Warren Ellis, who has written a lot of comic book storylines, notably the Extremis storyline (which was part of the basis for Iron Man 3). Ellis

has also done a fair amount of TV writing, such as writing the script for GI Joe Resolute.

The series was animated by Madhouse, a very distinguished animation studio; doing

quite a lot of film and TV work. Some of their credentials include Aeon Flux and Ghost in the

Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

One last thing before the anime proper begins: the copy I'm using to write this recap

is from a G4 airing of the show. In the waning days of the channel before it became a division

of men's fashion magazine Esquire, anime was added to the channel in an attempt to boost

declining ratings. Other series that aired included the Wolverine anime (which will be recapped

around the release of The Wolverine); Cromartie High School (I'm working on that one, what

I have seen of it is very funny), and Colorful, a series about underwear. I'm not kidding. I personally find underwear jokes to be one of the most overused tropes in fiction, to the point

where they're a pet peeve of mine. Jokes about hats and shoes, however, are proof that God

has a sense of humor.

 

We open on a plane in flight, and one of the instruments detects something off the port

stern. The pilot radios the control tower; who informs him it was the private jet of Stark

Industries. It's typical that most Iron Man adaptations establish Tony Stark this way. Many

different comics, TV shows, video games, and movies have tackled Tony's ego in different ways; and you'll see how it's handled throughout this recap.

 

Tony sees Mt. Fuji from the window of his jet, with a glass of wine in his hand. He

dryly remarks that it all begins in the land of the rising sun. The character design is very

nicely done, with Tony's anime design being both recognizable and distinct at the same time.

Tony lands and is greeted by Dr. Tanaka. Tony is surprised that the head of Lab 23 and

his right hand man are female. Well, I can definitely say that they've got Tony's reputation as

a womanizer down. Dr. Tanaka tells Tony that he has a meeting with the Japanese Minister of

Defense. Tony then asks the doctor on a date. The doctor does her best to remain professional,

despite Stark's advances.

 

Tony is greeted by the Minster of Defense, then taken to the arc reactor station that he

commissioned. A common use of the arc reactor is to provide free clean energy, but one of the

most obvious ones is to power the Iron Man armor. Tony is honored that the US and Japan

are working together, as well as the fact that he could build an arc station there.

The minister asks Tony if it's true that he's retiring Iron Man. Tony says yes, and he plans to put a new Iron Man called Dio in his stead. Tony mentions that Dio will be put into

mass production and replacements will be trained. Also, he's already signed off on the figma

and the cosplay equipment, so we need to get some exposure. This just asks for Holy Diver.

The next morning, Tony supervises the arc station being started. Dr. Tanaka remarks

it's 90% complete. Dr. Tanaka is concerned at how the Japanese public will react. Tony

tells her not to worry, as the prospect of free clean energy is upon them. Dr. Tanaka replies

that the Japanese might not see it that way. She tells Tony the Japanese appreciate humility.

Tony is surprised at the concept. Yeah, you're talking to the wrong person if you want humility.

He's quick to tell you that even though his armor is now hanging in his house like a trophy,

he's still a “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.”

Tony looks at his armor in his Japanese home, with his co-worker and on-and-off-again

girlfriend Virginia “Pepper” Potts on the phone. Pepper informs Tony that Dio is ready, and the

first candidates are on their way to Japan. Tony is pleased to hear this. Tony is even more pleased that the Japanese are reacting positively to the arc station.

We cut to the office of the Tokyo Journal, where a young reporter named Naname is

being yelled at by her superior; who looks and sounds a lot like an anime J. Jonah Jameson.

The editor-in-chief is not pleased with Naname's story. He hands her a paper with Tony Stark

on the front page, which surprises Naname. He tells her to get on this story. I'm serious, it would

not be out of place for him to ask for a picture of Spider-Man, with or without his giant robot.

Tony addresses the first batch of candidates and introduces them to Dio. He shows them

the prototype and says it will go into mass production as soon as it passes inspection. I must

also point out that this anime uses a lot of CGI. I admit it sticks out against the traditional animation, but it is better than the CGI of Iron Man: Armored Adventures.

The trials for Dio begin on a US military shooting range. The suit takes a blast from

a tank and it's not even scratched. Tony decides it's time for a flight test, to show off his $1.5

billion suit.

As per usual, Tony is hounded by reporters asking about the arc station being a front

for weapons manufacturing. Tony snarks that reporters in America ask him similar questions.

Tony then states that the arc station will supply free clean energy, with the press wondering how

that's possible. Tony then goes on to mention Stark Industries' history as a defense contractor,

then says that's behind him. The press then asks about Iron Man. Tony says he's retiring.

Naname steps forward to ask Tony a question, trips, and lands in Tony's arms. Well,

He has that effect on women. Tony then tries to hit on Naname, which gets him slapped across

the cheek in true anime fashion. And he liked it.

Tony begins his demonstration of Dio. What do you know, the helmet of Dio opens

to reveal Tony after all! He just can't resist a chance to flaunt one of his armors.

 

Both Dio and some jets have been flying to form a pattern of Tony's arc reactor.

Dr. Tanaka remarks that humility has gone out the window. Then, Dio starts malfunctioning.

Tony crashes Dio near Naname. At least it's not as bad as that time he got soused on his birthday

and started screwing around in his armor.

Last time I have the Dr. Pepper and Jack before flying!

Dr. Tanaka radios Tony. Tony says he's all right, but the crash has wrecked Dio's mechanical systems. Tony then asks Naname for a ride. She accepts on the condition that they

have an interview en route. Naname starts with a question about the retirement. Tony says that's

the last time he'll don the Iron Man armor. Tony makes another pass at Naname, then runs the

rest of the way back to Lab 23.

That night, Tony runs diagnostics on Dio to determine what went wrong. Tony wonders

if this flash of light has while he was flying Dio has anything to do with its malfunction.

Dr. Tanaka is having the team run further diagnostics. Dio seems to be working fine, but

then it traps one of the trainees inside! The suit then rights itself and its eyes glow red! The suit

attacks the other two trainees! Dr. Tanaka tries to seal off the compound, but Dio blows through

the blast doors!

Tony then dons the Iron Man armor again to stop Dio. Iron Man clashes with Dio, with

Tony dismissing Dio as a “knockoff.” As Dio lies in a crater, Tony goes over to get it. Then,

all of a sudden, Tony is ambushed by a mecha named Scorpio of the Zodiac. Tony makes short

work of Scorpio. Tony finds the trainee, and notices Dio has disappeared.

“Enter Iron Man” is a solid first episode of the land of the rising sun's take on Iron Man.

The animation and voice acting are very strong, and the distinct interpretation of the comic

book series is great. The little quirks of anime are a perfect fit for Iron Man. I would very much

like to see more of this anime. It's only 12 episodes long, so it should be fairly easy to get through.

As for what I'll do for my next recap, I'm not sure. One Piece has started on Toonami,

so I'm going to spend a lot of time this week catching up (I'm currently on episode 161 as of

this writing, Toonami is starting with episode 207). I'm also going to try and finish some of

the series I started in 2011, which include Myself Yourself and Tiger and Bunny. I also started

Clannad, which is pretty good so far (I've watched the first couple episodes). Also, I tried watching IGPX, but I'm afraid I don't like it. See you space cowboy.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3yjnobolxM

Kamisama Dolls First Impressions

Hello again. I am working on the recap of the first episode of the Iron Man anime, but things have been getting in the way. In the meantime, I decided to start a new series.

The series is called Kamisama Dolls. It is an anime that is heavily based in the paranormal, revolving around a man going to college in Tokyo, then is encountered by his younger sister and many strange dealings from their past.

In one sentence, it's essentially Mood Whiplash: The anime. While the animation and story are good, it does have a tendency to go from comedic to dark scenes very quickly, and back again. There is material for recaps, but that will wait until later.

I will finally get started on the recap of the first episode of the Iron Man anime tonight. See you space cowboy.

Recap: Four Warriors Come Out of the Sky

Hello again. By the time you read this, I will have most likely moved into my new

home. This recap will probably be late as well, as my family and I have been working very

hard to get packed and moved over these last few days. Nevertheless, it's time for the next

mecha recap.

For this one, I thought I'd do it on one of the many anime adaptations of Transformers.

Transformers is a very well-known franchise. A series about robots that turn into all sorts of

vehicles that was based on a toyline of the same name has endured for a very long time, with

hundreds of action figures, many television series, and at least four movies (one animated one

from 1986, and three live-action ones with a fourth planned for 2014).

It originally began when Hasbro went to a toy fair in Japan in the early 1980s to look

at potential licenses to secure. They found two transforming robot toylines from the company

Takara (which has since merged with former rival Tomy): Microman, which consists of everyday objects transforming to protect humanity, and Diaclone, which is a line of piloted

mecha. The lines were combined and the toys renamed to create the first iteration of Transformers action figures; with an animated TV show being produced in September 1984. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fOpPXk_7mw

The franchise has captured the imagination of children and the young at heart for almost

30 years. Even so, as it went on, the US and Japan had very different ideas about how to portray

the franchise in media (though the toys remain consistent, barring some paint redecorations

and modifications for safety concerns). The US, as influenced by series such as Beast Wars

and Transformers Prime (the latter being in its third season as of this writing); which examine

the conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons at its core: essentially a robotic civil war

that outlasted the planet it started on. Japan, however, believes that robots that aren't piloted

are childish, and series such as Transformers: Robots In Disguise and the Unicron Trilogy

(consisting of Transformers Armada, Transformers Energon, and Transformers Cybertron);

tend to be filled with more slapstick comedy and over-the-top action. Moreover, the

Japanese franchise holders took it a step further and gave Beast Wars and Transformers Prime

gag dubs. Inversely, they also attempted to turn the highly-stylized Transformers Animated into

a prequel for the live-action movies. For frame of reference, Transformers Animated is a relatively light-hearted take on the franchise (at least until season 3); and the live-action films

are notorious for intense violence, coarse language, sexual innuendo, and having some of

the biggest amounts of product placement tied to a movie franchise.

While I admit there is material in the Unicron Trilogy, that's a matter for another day.

Generally, I find Armada to be all right, though I concede there is a lot to make fun of.

Energon is easily the worst of the trilogy, which makes it a contender for the worst piece of

Transformers animation in the entire franchise (barring the infamous Kiss Players, which I

will not be covering). Cybertron is a bit better than Energon from what I've seen, though there

is material for a recap or two (I just need to see some full episodes to determine which ones

I can work with).

For this recap, however, I decided to go back to 1987 to check out the very first

Transformers anime. You may or may not be aware, but anime production company Toei (Dragon Ball, Digimon, One Piece) animated a good chunk of the first two seasons of

The Transformers as well as all of 1986's The Transformers: The Movie. Even though AKOM

took over for season 3 and The Rebirth (a 3-episode season 4); this had the effect of giving

the show an anime-infused animation style in terms of the action scenes, how the characters

moved and were shaded, and the size and shape of the eyes on the human characters. However,

after season 3, the Japanese canon of G1 ignored The Rebirth and began a new continuation

of G1. It began with Transformers Headmasters, which would not be officially released in

America until nostalgic media distributor Shout! Factory secured the DVD rights. Even so,

the rise of YouTube and other video-sharing sides helped the subtitled and dubbed versions

reach fans. As you can imagine, it's not very good; and I have a lot to say about it. So, let's

open up “Four Warriors Come Out of the Sky”, transform, and roll out!

We're starting off with that awesome theme song, arranged by Vince Dicola, who composed the soundtrack to The Transformers: The Movie. It follows the same blend of heavy

metal and synthesizer sound the movie did. I'm posting a link of it so you can hear it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGAxrksCTos&list=PLD2980AEA5850CF8F&index=27

 

We open on a narrator explaining the history of Cybertron and the Transformers, set to

some stock footage of the original show. Unfortunately, it looks like a bad quality VHS or how

Kid Rhino fouled-up the footage for their DVD sets. Shout! Factory has the license now, and

while their sets have some animation errors here and there, they do look OK. Then, it transitions

to footage of The Transformers: The Movie, which had not come out in Japan yet when

Headmasters was in production.

We're getting our first pieces of original footage now, and it's not too good. The narrator

mentions that Optimus Prime put up a base on Athenia. The year is then far-off 2007. A strange

man named Michael Bay had this crazy idea about Bumblebee urinating on John Turturro.

We are on a war-torn Cybertron, with lights flickering and humming in a laboratory.

Galvatron enters the room, and the voice does at least resemble Leonard Nimoy. During seasons

3 and 4 of the show, I never thought Frank Welker's high-pitched Megatron voice fit for Galvatron. Just as well, as depictions of Megatron and Galvatron in more recent adaptations

are now more commonly deep-voiced, starting with David Kaye's portrayal in Beast Wars,

yes.

 

He addresses his new minions, and new toys. He tells them to attack the Autobots, and

the titular Headmasters volunteer. The Headmasters and Terrorcons are off to fight the Autobots.

We cut to the Autobot capital city of Iacon. Spike and Carly Witwicky are having tea

when an earthquake rocks the base. It's a meteor shower!

Kup and Wreck-Gar are observing a monitor while Blur paces the floor. Sadly, the show's voice actor for Blur is nowhere near as fast talking as John Moschitta, though I admit

hiring the world's fastest-talking actor would have been too expensive (this is part of the reason

the Transformers Animated version of the character was killed off after only a few episodes).

 

Wreck-Gar's voice is all right, and I also admit that Eric Idle would have been too

expensive to hire. (During Animated, they were willing to hire him, but Idle had a schedule

conflict and they settled on parody musician Weird Al Yankovic.) So, as you can tell, the voice

acting and animation are less than stellar.

Spike and Carly call Athenia for help. The Autobot Headmasters/toys call in to help.

We cut to Athenia, where we see Optimus Prime.

 

Hot Rod and Hound cut in about the situation on Cybertron. While it's not the exact

actors, the voices for Optimus, Hound, and Hot Rod are at least decent. Optimus receives

Spike and Carly's distress call, and sends help. He tells Hot Rod to take command in his

absence, while Jazz looks on.

We get our first ad bumper, which displays the Decepticon sharpshooter Sixshot, who

boasts six unique alternate modes.

 

Back on Cybertron, the Autobots face off against the Decepticons, with the Dinobot

Grimlock being hypnotized by a Predacon's wave.

Kup says they have to go. Spike remarks about Vector Sigma while Carly looks on.

Once again, the voice acting sounds like the water in the recording studio was full of Valium.

This anime has even worse voice acting than GI Joe Sigma Six. I know that's hard to imagine,

but it is possible.

Wreck-Gar enters the room, and says one of Hot Rod's quips from the movie: “We

can't hold out forever, Kup, but we can give them one humongous repair bill!” Sadly, the

awesome power of this line is diminished. Not because of being said by Wreck-Gar (who

is one of my favorite Autobots), but because the voice acting is so anemic. Just as well

that's not Eric Idle or even the regulars from the show, but some people in Hungary who

have never heard of Transformers. Seriously, some episodes refer to Blaster as “Billy”and

get the names of the other robots wrong. The problem is, Hasbro actually bought the rights

to this dub, making it an official unofficial dub.

Meanwhile, some Autobots are fighting the Decepticons. Autobots that stick out at me

are Ultra Magnus and Sideswipe. I do take the time to learn the Transformers' names, unlike

the people who dubbed this anime.

We then get our entrance of Sixshot, a Decepticon city commander from the 1987-1988

wave of toys. Available now at fine retailers everywhere! Sixshot shoots Ultra Magnus down.

Ultra Magnus returns fire, and we get one of the many sound effects borrowed from the

Star Wars movies when he fires his gun. Laser blasts and lightsaber sounds are the most common, with clashes when something is shot and the Millennium Falcon and TIE fighters in

flight being next. It was the 1980s, it was simpler to get these then.

 

Now, (sighs), we get our first glimpses of Daniel Witwicky and Wheelie. They are by

far some of the most annoying characters in the Transformers multiverse not named Mudflap,

Skids, or Kicker Jones. Daniel is a whiny kid, even more so than Spike was; and Wheelie tries

to be R2D2, but he comes off more as Jar Jar Binks. Even so, he's slightly more tolerable than

the Wheelie in the live action movies.

Anyway, they decide to head off to get to the Railbots, despite Daniel's objections.

This is a running theme in many post-movie Transformers G1 media: Daniel and Wheelie

tend to get into trouble by going places they're not supposed to. What do you know, they run

into city robot/dinosaur Trypticon. Another bit is that Wheelie speaks in rhyme, but the Hungarian voice actors don't have the time!

They actually tricked Trypticon into falling in a pit. This must be a new low for the

Decepticons. Yes, even lower than giving Devastator wrecking ball testicles. I'm honestly

running out of things to say about the voice acting. Not only is it shite, but most of the time,

it doesn't even match the lip flaps of the Japanese version! Vince Dicola's music cues still

enthrall, though.

 

We then get a battle that is as boring as it is badly-animated. We're talking Rhino

“Heavy Metal War” and “City of Steel” bad. We're talking Energon bad here. Ultra Magnus

and Sixshot are now clashing face to face, eye to eye.

In come the Railbots. Then, in comes the Autobot city, Metroplex, an Autobot who

is making a return for the 30^th anniversary of the franchise next year. Wow, there are a lot of

toys in this line.

 

Wheelie helps Daniel into his exo-suit as they decide to hop the Railbots and head to

Cybertron.

When the night has come, and the land is dark, and the moon is the only light we see...

 

Back on Cybertron, Optimus Prime and Jazz are having a heck of a time trying to ward

off the Decepticons. This is a scene I play in my mind and with my action figures all the time;

with Optimus and Jazz up against the odds... I am such a nerd.

Hot Rod and Kup arrive on Athenia, only to find that Optimus has gone to Cybertron.

You know, this whole thing was played a lot better in the movie. We've essentially gone from

Beast Wars and Animated to “BOT” and “The Girl Who Loved Powerglide” in terms of

writing. It's mentioned that Optimus doesn't have the Matrix of Leadership, meaning he won't

be at full strength. Kup and Hot Rod notice a strange glare in the sky.

After the battle, Cybertron is ablaze. Daniel and Wheelie head to Iacon, despite Wheelie's objections. Wheelie kicks a piece of debris, and it hits something, with Daniel

presumably filling his monogrammed tracksuit with fudge.

Zoinks!

 

He's being chased by one of the Predacons, a group of animal-based Decepticons who

who would later be the main villains of Beast Wars; the first Transformers show I ever watched.

The Railbots hit the Predacon, and Wheelie starts pounding it. One of the Railbots talks

to Daniel about what he did, but Daniel wants to stay on Cybertron. It can't be worse than

when he was in that firefight on Junk. I can say that I've surpassed my record of Transformers:

The Movie references from my recap Gray and the Blues.

Kup then says he remembers something from 4 million years in the past. I always liked

how Kup's characterization as a grizzled veteran of the Cybertron wars came through like this.

We cut to a flashback of the earlier days of the Cybertron wars, with Megatron, Starscream,

and Soundwave shooting up the place.

 

They notice the light outside is a ship. Blur thinks it's a Decepticon ship; but Carly

suggests it could be one for the Autobots. Hot Rod runs off, leaving Kup in command.

Kids these days and their ball joints and Aligned continuities! In my day, we had flying bricks for toys, and we liked it!

 

We then start seeing the combiners in action. The Aerialbots combine into Superion.

Superion and what I think is Bruticus (it could be Menasor) then charge at each other.

Then, we get the original Devastator in action. Optimus Prime has a dynamic entry-

dropkicking Devastator. Oh yeah! Optimus Prime just dropkicked Devastator! I think this

calls for “The Touch!”

YOU'VE GOT THE TOUCH! YOU'VE GOT THE POWER! YEAH!

Jazz tells Optimus that he doesn't have the strength to deal with Galvatron, but Optimus

continues to fight!

Grimlock points out that he doesn't recognize these Decepticons. The Decepticon

Headmasters introduce themselves as Weirdwolf, Skullcruncher, and Mindwipe. Only $19.95

each! Visa, Master Card, and American Express accepted!

 

Slag charges in. Regarding the Dinobots, Grimlock is my favorite, but Slag comes in

second. Mindwipe uses his ability on Slag, and he slows down and falls asleep. The Dinobots

were originally based on earlier stages of paleontology where dinosaurs were seen as slow,

dimwitted beasts. The advances that were made in each decade now depict them as more agile,

much like birds. This made it in when the Dinobots were brought back in Transformers Animated.

All the Autobots in the pit get hit with the beam, which include Grimlock and Sunstreaker. With the Autobots down, Galvatron proclaims that Cybertron is now his. A voice

then proclaims that Cybertron will never belong to Galvatron. It's Fortress Maximus, the largest

Transformer ever!

 

In come the Autobot Headmasters: Chromedome, Hardhead, Highbrow, and Brainstorm.

We end on the Autobot and Decepticon Headmasters staring each other down.

“Four Warriors Come Out of the Sky” is as uneven as you can imagine for the first

episode of the first Transformers anime. It's clear the fact that Japan had not yet gotten The

Transformers: The Movie led to continuity problems, not the least of which the memetic

recreation of Optimus Prime's death (which I had to omit from this recap for pacing). The

animation is incredibly poor; and the voice acting is some of the worst I've ever heard.

Even so, it does have a certain amount of camp value to it in how cheesy it is. That can be

said for other Transformers anime I'll be covering. There is definitely material for more

recaps of Headmasters, but the next Transformers-related recap will probably be on one of

the series of the Unicron Trilogy (I'm leaning towards Energon). For now, Iron Man 3 just

opened to uniformly positive press and a huge box office take; so I intend to get started on

the recap of the first episode of the Iron Man anime as I promised in my recap of Traffic Light

Chaos. See you space cowboy!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBXGUYRne1I