Recap: Mariko

 

Hello again. Well, after months of waiting, The Wolverine is finally coming out. Hoping

to rectify the poor reception to X-Men Origins: Wolverine; this new movie is based on the

classic comic book story where Wolverine goes to Japan and clashes with Yakuza gangsters

and the villain Silver Samurai.

Due to this story, this makes Wolverine another one of the few American comic book

superheroes to successfully break out in Japan; a country where manga rules the roost (a large

chunk of anything that gets read in Japan is manga, with stories appealing to every niche and

age group you can think of). So, as I promised, I will recap the first episode of the Wolverine

anime to mark the occasion. It is indeed very good, though there is material for this recap.

So, let's open up “Mariko.”

We open on the skyline of New York City. We see a ship on the docks, with a young

woman looking over the bay.

Then, we get our approach of Logan, aka Wolverine. Even in his anime design, he still has the familiar sideburns. Many people, myself included, have tried to replicate them; to varying degrees of success. Wolverine approaches the woman and asks if it's too cold. The

woman says it isn't with him there.

Suddenly, men in scuba gear and with jetpacks on their backs come out of the water!

They start firing on the ship!

We're still angry about X-Men Origins Wolverine! If your new movie is bad, we'll come back with adamantium bullets!

Wolverine takes the blasts. I'm not sure what these people were firing, but he appears

to have burn marks all over his body. Naturally, we get to see one of the two of Wolverine's

many mutant powers that get used most in adaptations: the ability to heal within seconds

from any injury.

 

He leaps to face the men and we get the most prominent mutant power: those claws.

Adamantium claws that come out of his hands that are indestructible and come in handy in

many fights.

We then get our opening sequence, set to a heavy J-rock guitar. Much like the Iron Man

anime I recapped around the time Iron Man 3 first hit theaters; Warren Ellis wrote the story

to this one. Madhouse animated it, and apart from that opening scene, this intro does a great

job of showing off the badass that is Wolverine.

We then cut to one year later. A man is on a rooftop when he's cornered by several

people wearing invisibility cloaks. Several countries are working on this sort of thing: it's a

bunch of microscopic cameras that scan the area around them and project the image around

the space they're on.

The man, named Asano, draws his gun and fires on the men as they reveal themselves.

It turns out the suits also have force fields around them, rendering the bullets useless. The men

use a sonic shockwave gun, which renders Asano's weapon useless and emits a shrill sound that

the man cannot bear to hear. The wave continues, and the man's glasses break.

NO! STOP! This is worse than going to see X-Men Origins Wolverine in the theater!

 

Everything metal on the man breaks, until a beer falls from the sky and sprays all over

the attacker when the can bursts. It's Wolverine! It turns out he's helping Asano. Wolverine then

attacks the people after throwing his other beer into the sky.

Wolverine takes out two of the men while the other three slip away. A water tower is

destroyed, and Wolverine is all wet; with his clothes sticking to him. I may be straight, but

whether he's wearing that, his yellow-and-blue duds, or 20 pounds of black leather; Wolverine

is fair game.

You're welcome, Japan.

He's not done yet. He uses another one of his powers, animal senses (which tend to

be far greater than those of humans) to sniff them out and finish them.

 

The last one tries to leap off the building with Asano, but Wolverine dives after him, and

uses his claws to slow them down. All while Japanese rock music plays. To finish it off, he

catches the beer he threw into the air before and casually welcomes Asano to New York.

It turns out this is the first time in 10 years that Wolverine and Asano have met; with

Asano remarking he hasn't aged a day. Despite the jabs I've taken at X-Men Origins: Wolverine,

this is consistent with Wolverine having been alive since the provincialization of Canada in

the late 19^th century; having effectively stopped aging since he hit his thirties.

Asano shows Wolverine a photo of Mariko. Asano says he knows where she is.

Wolverine says she was taken from him.

 

It turns out she was kidnapped by a Yakuza clan known as the Kazuryu; who is funded

by Advanced Idea Mechanics, or AIM. Their leader is a man known as Shingen. He tends

to be very active as a master swordsman. It turns out Mariko is his daughter!

 

Asano and his group have been trying to gather enough information to convict Shingen.

Even more, Shingen is putting his daughter through an arranged marriage. Her fiancé is Hideki

Kurohage. He looks alarmingly like Aizen from Bleach. There's an idea: Aizen could come

to the human world and present himself as a Yakuza gangster! Hey, it's not much more ridiculous than most of the other stuff in Bleach.

It turns out Kurohage rose to power in his syndicate on an island known as Madrepur.

All of a sudden, I'm reminded of Enter the Dragon. The island is a sovereign state, but it's

full of crime and villainy. Kurohage, of course, lives in the penthouse of a heavily-guarded

skyscraper.

Asano says that Hideki is a very dangerous man, and that Hideki killed his own father.

With the marriage, Shingen will have a hotbed of crime, and Hideki will have untold amounts

of funding. Mariko was kidnapped and is being held hostage in her father's compound in

Tokyo. Wolverine then decides to go to Tokyo.

We then get a flashback with Mariko and Wolverine. Given what's been explained in

the past few minutes, this is a genuinely sad scene here. Wolverine then flies to Japan, vowing

to find Mariko.

We cut to Tokyo, and Wolverine is walking the streets; passing by a temple guarded

by men in black suits. 

It turns out Asano is helping Wolverine spy on the Kazuryu. Suddenly, Wolverine has

disappeared. He's jumped the fence, and has begun infiltrating the compound.

Wolverine has managed to make it to the garden without being spotted. Suddenly, Mariko comes out the door. Shingen then comes out to greet her, as do his guards. Wolverine

continues to stay hidden. Shingen then draws his sword and throws it!

I told you kids I don't want any magazine subscriptions!

 

Wolverine dodges just in time, and he's been discovered! The guards draw their guns

on Wolverine. Shingen greets Wolverine. Wolverine replies that his reputation precedes him.

I should hope so. Marvel has a habit of keeping you in the public eye. They even put you on

covers of books you don't actually appear in to get people to buy them!

Wolverine is not happy with Shingen kidnapping his own daughter, and has come for

Mariko. Wolverine claims she is her own woman. Shingen replies she has a duty to her family;

and has been promised to another. I did point out in my recap of The Sun, The Sea, and The Host Club that the Japanese have very different ideas about gender roles. Well, I must also

point out that they also have a much greater focus on continuing their bloodline and honoring

it. While in the US, marriage and having a child is indeed seen as a great milestone in a person's

life, in Japan it's vital for keeping their family from dying out. It's often why Sasuke from Naruto has his motives criticized in the US and other Western countries; but that's not important

right now.

 

Naturally, Wolverine does not agree. Shingen asks if the rumors he heard about him

are true; and Wolverine declares it's time for him to find out. He then engages Shingen's guards,

and wipes the floor with them.

 

Shingen is impressed, and challenges Wolverine to a duel. If Wolverine wins, he can

have Mariko back and Shingen will give up his plans. Shingen agrees. Wolverine goes inside,

meaning Asano and his colleagues can't track him.

Wolverine then engages Shingen in their duel. Wolverine isn't able to make one blow,

and Shingen takes out Wolverine in one strike. Still, Wolverine recovers and goes after Shingen.

Shingen is able to land many blows on Wolverine. Still, Wolverine continues. The fight goes

on, and Shingen apparently uses the Wind Scar on Wolverine to finish him.

Shingen then throws Wolverine through the door. I notice both of them seem to be holding back. Wolverine isn't using his claws, and Shingen isn't using a blade: I imagine they'll

be a more even-footed fight between them later in the show.

The fight between them continues still! OK, time to set this to some appropriate music.

The fight ends when someone shoots a dart into Wolverine's back. This

causes him to go all loopy.

Didney worl?

We then see who shot the dart. It's Kurohage! The dart was full of an experimental

chemical weapon from AIM; which affects the nervous system. OK, I'm convinced: the suave

look, the smug demeanor, the presentation of himself as a magnificent bastard; this guy IS

essentially Aizen as a Yakuza gangster in a three-piece suit!

 

It turns out the weapon takes effect faster because Wolverine is a mutant. Still, he draws

his claws, and that's how the episode ends. One of the last images we see is a pastel-chalked

freeze frame of Wolverine and Shingen staring each other down.

“Mariko” is a solid first episode to the Wolverine anime, in a similar manner to how

“Enter Iron Man” was. I'm noticing a pattern that the Marvel anime are exceptionally well- made; with great animation, writing and voice acting. On top of that, they're practically

tailor-made for Western audiences. I plan to do a recap of the first episode of the Blade anime

around Halloween, and I think I'll add a recap of the first episode of the X-Men anime to my

plans for next year; around the time X-Men: Days of Future Past comes out. Once I post this

recap, I will be saving my energy for August; where the whole month will be on the Endless 8

of Haruhi Suzumiya. See you later.

Recap: Invasion of the Vestals

Hello again. I originally intended to write and post this recap much sooner, but

I have been under the weather lately. So, here I am, ready for the next recap. Last year,

I covered several episodes of the anime Bakugan. Boy, was that a bad series. Clichéd

stories, crappy animation; and cookie-cutter characters. That anime was one of the key

factors in starting this blog, and I had watched every episode to determine which ones

I could work with.

So as you can imagine, it provided plenty of material. I decided to cut my look at

the original series short, in order to look at its sequel series. We're starting Bakugan New

Vestroia, and this one is even worse. It takes virtually every complaint about the original

series and amplifies it tenfold. As we did with the original series, we're starting with

the very first episode. So let's open up “Invasion of the Vestals.”

We open on a recap of the end of the original series, with the Bakugan returning home

and Drago becoming the core of New Vestroia. Get ready, folks. It's going to be a long one.

It turns out they have the same theme song. Seriously? They couldn't even get a new

theme song, or at least a remix of it? I'd be more accepting of this if the theme song was good;

but it's not! Even worse, now I won't be able to get it out of my head! I will try, though. Maybe

this will help.

Three years have passed since the events of the original series. It seems it has been

peaceful on New Vestroia; but it has come to an end.

Then we see a spaceship that could not be more obvious CGI. Seriously. It's almost

as bad as a hubcap on a string. The ship lands, much to the dismay of the Bakugan. It unleashes

a wave that converts the Bakugan into a handy ball form. Another ship starts taking them

aboard.

Anyway, we see our villains, and- (pfft) (Laughs)- Wow. Those outfits look even more

ridiculous than Masquerade's getup! They're making Square Enix costume designs look

practical!

We cut back to Earth, and we see Dan walking the streets; not having much to do without Bakugan.

Suddenly, a wave of rainbow-colored energy surrounds him. Everything starts slowing

down.

Huh. Well this is weird. I should probably cut down on the drugs.

We then get our title card, and the design has not gotten much more elaborate. A few

colors changed, and a few effects were added; but that's it.

 

We then cut to Spectra fighting Baron; another one of the new characters. Baron has

a ludicrously high-pitched voice; and Spectra appears to be wearing his best Gatchaman villain

outfit. Spectra unleashes his Bakugan, Helios. It seriously says something when the monsters

are more sensibly-designed than the humans.

Helios then tears through his opponent's shield to attack. Then, Tigrerra, a Bakugan

from the first season tells Baron not to give up. Clearly I need to readjust to how crazy

this anime is. Tigrerra is then summoned into battle. 

Then, Helios speaks. You know, he actually seemed kind of cool before he started talking. Now he just sounds stupid. The animation is still very bad, with stiff movement and

washed-out colors. It feels like they're trying to hit every cliché of bad anime people can think

of.

(Laughs) I'm sorry! I can't even take what Spectra is saying seriously! That mask is

even more silly-looking than Masquerade's Elton John glasses!

So, Tigrerra is defeated, and it cuts to a picture of her and Runo breaking. Just how many clichés are we going to go through in this episode?

 

We cut to the core of New Vestroia, where Drago consults the six legendary warriors

for help. So: invasion by an enemy force, rebel movement, and consultation of a higher power.

It is absolutely mind-boggling how many ideas taken from other works there are. We're only

six minutes in, folks.

You think your son is safe?! I WILL FIND HIM!

 

The warriors grant Drago the power to become a Bakugan again and help New Vestroia;

but he will be back to the way he was before. He is then sent to join up with Dan again.

We cut to Prince Hydron, who is asking Spectra about the sudden thunderstorm.

He may be a very flamboyant villain, but at least he's less blatant about it than his minions.

 

We cut to Dan and Runo arguing about why Shun isn't returning Dan's phone calls at all.

It's little more than a glorified shipping scene. All it needs is some music to pair it with.

Then, it turns out Marucho and Julie are in the bushes spying on them. Isn't this part of

the stalker's handbook?

A portal opens, and Drago returns. Of course. Couldn't let their cash cow out of the action; could they? Naturally, Dan is so happy that he starts dancing. No, really. We're nine

minutes in. We're not getting that back.

Drago says how it's great to see them again, but mentions he came for Dan's help; as

most of the other Bakugan have been captured. It's going to be one of those episodes, isn't it?

Dan agrees to help Drago; but Drago cannot let Runo, Julie, and Marucho go. Marucho sneaks

in, but leaves Runo and Julie. Hey! Are you seriously telling me you're not going to let the female characters participate? This is total Smurfette bullcrap, man!

 

Back on New Vestroia, we see a woman named Mira and her partner named Ace saying

they're picking up new Bakugan on their scanner. The woman's outfit is every bit as kooky as

the others we've seen, with one leg of her pantsuit short and the other long. Who designed these

characters?

Anyway, Ace finds out Dan and Marucho, and says they won't last long out there.

Another thing: the voice acting is very inconsistent. It's a mess of dull performances and

overly-hammy ones; with practically none that are merely competent in between.

Drago then tells Dan of how the Vestals arrived. There's a little new footage, but most

of it is a flashback to the first half of the episode. That's not a good sign when we're flashing

back to what just happened 12 minutes ago. Drago tells of how all the Bakugan were captured.

Did they ever read this out loud? They could not have written this with a straight face. I know

I'm not.

We then get two more of the villains: Volt and Link. They look like they're ready for

an impromptu performance of Shakespeare in the Park.

Dost mother know you weareth her drapes?

It seems Volt's default expression is “scowl”, as he tells Dan to go home to his toys.

Says the person who's part of a movement to capture as many of these things as he can.

They exchange dialogue that's as stilted as can be. And people say George Lucas writes

clunky dialogue. 

Sure enough, Mira comes up on a motorcycle and gives Dan a Gauntlet. Only $29.95!

Some assembly required! Batteries not included! Mira is the leader of the resistance. She explains about the Vexos; the top brawlers of the Vestals. This is getting more trite with each

passing minute. So, at 15 minutes in, we finally get a battle.

I love the Power Glove. It's so bad.

The monster designs have not gotten any better. We have a huge beetle and a crazed

baboon on the field. Dan takes them out in moments. Well, that was pointless.

Dan asks how Drago likes being back in the saddle. Drago says it's great. I'm glad

you're enjoying this; even if I'm not. Here's something to help me cope. 

Mira explains how the life gauges work. I don't care, there's only 4 minutes left. Mira

summons her Bakugan; and Volt and Link summon their next ones. The battle scenes are even

worse than the ones in the original series. They are that bad.

We're just falling further and further into stagnation. There's more and more banter that's

badly-written.

Dan gives Mira a hand; and things just keep getting worse. This is giving “A Double

Dilemma” a run for its money in terms of utter wretchedness. Of course, they win. So begins

another season of Bakugan. We'll be covering more of this, but not right away. I need time to

detox.

“Invasion of the Vestals” is an even worse start to a season of Bakugan than “Bakugan:

The Battle Begins” was. With every cliché piling up on bad animation, writing, and voice acting; it is remarkable of what I just witnessed. Anyway, The Wolverine is coming out on

Friday, and as I promised; I will do a recap of the first episode of the Wolverine anime to mark

the occasion. I am also in the process of finishing Binbogami Ga, as well as watching plenty

of One Piece and Claymore. After Wolverine, all of August will be the dreaded Endless 8 of

Haruhi Suzumiya. I can definitely say that September will be something to detox from that;

but you will have to wait to see what I have planned. See you later!

Recap: The Shooting Star She Saw

 

Hello again. Earlier this year, I did a recap of an episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion; which then led to me doing more recaps of mecha anime. Now, the film Pacific Rim is coming

out this week; which is the first major attempt at a western mecha movie outside the Transformers films. Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) is directing, citing his massive love for the mecha genre as the reason why he made the film.

Despite the fact that it would seem like a movie that audiences would eat up, many

critics and analysts are wondering if audiences will accept this type of mecha movie; citing

the failure of the film adaptation of the board game Battleship and GDT's lack of experience

with big-budget films.

Still, the idea is admirable. I did mention in my recap of “Both of You, Dance Like You

Want to Win” that Mobile Suit Gundam is one of the most recognizable and popular franchises

among western and Japanese anime fans. The original series may have been canceled, but it proved popular enough in reruns that many sequel series were greenlit and it became a cultural

phenomenon; essentially the Japanese equivalent of Star Trek.

Which brings me to the subject of my recap today: when I was younger, I often saw

advertisements on Cartoon Network for Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. While I never really watched it, it did seem interesting. From what I could gather, Gundam Wing is one of the more

popular entries in the franchise; being heavily praised for its animation and story. It also moved

a lot of toys and other merchandise (I have a Gundam Wing card binder). Given the release

of high-risk venture Pacific Rim; I suppose it's as good a time as any to take a look at this series

and start watching it. So let's open up the first episode of Gundam Wing, “The Shooting Star

That She Saw.”

We open on the theme song. It's pretty good. It has a nice '90s pop beat over imagery

of a world torn apart by war.

We then see a starbase, where several mecha are firing at a space shuttle. Can't let these

people go into space! They hit the shuttle and destroy it.

 

We then get imagery of how humanity left Earth for space; but the United Earth Sphere

Alliance became militaristic and power-hungry in their travels. The year is After Colony 195.

There is a rebellion that seeks to restore freedom to the galaxy by smuggling weapons back to

Earth as shooting stars. Even so, the Alliance catches on to this. Five pods are sent down as

we get our title over one of the titular Gundams.

A group of soldiers are tracking the pods as they descend upon Earth. They contact their

superiors to let them know about this development. We cut to a space shuttle as Lieutenant

Zechs is informed of the pods. He deduces they're related to Operation M. They can only catch

up to one of the pods: the one headed for Eastern Eurasia.

 

One of the pods has someone on it. He notices a civilian shuttle that is re-entering Earth's atmosphere. A young woman named Relena and her father are returning to Earth after

a very long time. Zechs' shuttle finds the pod and catches up to it. Zechs realizes the pilot of the

pod won't shoot down a shuttle just to increase his speed. He then decides to make his move.

The pilot realizes the Alliance is on to him; and exclaims “damn it” at the situation. Do

you know what the hell we have to do to get a damn TV-PG rating? It's not like the premise of

robotic civil war would have been enough? No, we always have to throw in some profanity

to make the teenagers want to watch! The pilot begins entering the atmosphere, and fires his

retro rockets. Zechs' shuttle goes after the pod at full throttle! Zechs is surprised that the pod

has increased speed. Relena looks out the window, and the pod deploys into a jet! Zechs

notices the jet is transforming. Zechs orders his men to open fire. The jet rights itself and

gets ready to face Zechs' shuttle.

Radar, radar, radar rider! Radar, radar, radar!

 

Zechs readies his Mobile Suit, Leo, to meet the pilot's challenge. Zechs shoots down the

jet, and his comrades suggest facing him in the Aries. The jet transforms into a Gundam, and

Zechs' comrades go after him. They hit the Gundam, and it returns fire, annihilating Zechs' comrades! Zechs tries to face the Gundam. He clashes with it and ejects from Leo. Zechs is

in awe at the Mobile Suit. The Mobile Suit lands in the ocean, near Japan.

The shuttle has landed and the man, Mr. Darlan, is being interviewed by the press about

what just happened above Earth's atmosphere. Two officers have a car waiting for Mr. Darlan,

but he declines saying he has things to do for his daughter's birthday. The officers have another

car for Relena, but she also refuses; saying she'll find her own way home. Relena walks along

the seaside; lamenting about father and how busy he is, when she finds the Mobile Suit pilot

on the shore.

A man in military garb is at the opera when he receives a call from Zechs about his Mobile Suit being shot down. The man says this isn't like Zechs. Zechs reveals that the Mobile

Suit was made of Gundanium, which surprises the man. I must also point out how primitive the

man's video phone looks. It's definitely a switch from landline handsets with holographs of the

speaker on the other end. It may have been an indicator of Voice Over Internet Protocol services

like Skype, but it looks like the Alliance buys their electronics at the same store Strong Bad does.

Still, the man and Zechs are surprised at this development, saying this would not have

happened if they were in charge 15 years ago. They know that Gundams are now on Earth. The

man decides to send out some squads to retrieve the suit from the ocean while Zechs sends out

a flotilla to inspect it. The man is named Colonel Tres. His superiors are not happy with Tres

wasting their resources. Then, they get to the next order of business, stopping the coalition of

colonies. Tres, however, has ulterior motives with his organization known as OZ.

 

Back on the beach, Relena takes off the pilot's helmet and notices he's still alive, and

very young. The pilot is surprised, and asks Relena if she saw anything. Some paramedics

get to the beach, but the pilot pushes a button on his suit. In a puff of smoke, he beats up

the paramedics and makes a break for it- by stealing the ambulance! 

We then get a montage of the other Mobile Suit pilots of this series. We have Duo,

wrecking up an Alliance military base.

We see another Mobile Suit with a lot of firepower destroying Nova Base. The pilot's

name is Trowa.

 

We see yet another Mobile Suit attacking Alliance forces in the desert. The pilot's name

is Quatre.

On the sea, we see one more Mobile Suit attacking the alliance flotilla. The pilot's name

is Wu Fei.

 

Back with Zechs, his men are wondering about the search troops. He tells them not to

get so flustered. He then shows them photographs of another Mobile Suit, the last one we saw

in the montage. Zechs says their forces have been depleted, and there are now five Gundams.

 

At school, the students are wondering where Relena is. The girls at one table are jealous

of the fact that she went to space; and notice that it's her birthday tomorrow.

The school has a new student, Hiro Yun. He is the pilot of the Gundam that crashed. Sure enough, he's given the seat next to Relena's. The plot thickens.

 

Relena then invites Hiro to her birthday party, but he declines. Hiro then threatens to kill

her. Relena then wonders what kind of person Hiro is.

I blame the rap music.

“The Shooting Star She Saw” is a great start to Gundam Wing. With a franchise as large

as Gundam, this is indeed a good series to start with. It may have been that I just wasn't ready

for it when I was younger (I was in the Pokémon/Dragon Ball Z crowd). Just as well, the story

is very good, treating its viewers like adults. The animation has held up very well over time.

The characters all have distinct personalities. The villains have clear motivations and are

charismatic in their portrayals. All in all, I am now in the process of watching Gundam Wing

(I try to finish any anime series I'm on before I start new ones). As for my next recap; it will

be on an anime that I dread whenever I press play, but has consistently provided material for

this blog. See you later!