Recap: Slim City

Hello again. First off, let me apologize for the lateness of this recap. A lot of this month was spent prepping to go back to school; and the class I am taking will be occupying the bulk of my time until mid-June or so. I still want to give you some content in that time; as well as start my marathon of the Pokémon movies from the third one onward in April. That said, I’m satisfied with the momentum I’ve built up over this quarter, so I think I’ll ease out March with some old Sailor Moon. So, as I work on losing the weight I’ve gained over winter; let’s open up “Slim City” and see our friend Serena do the same thing. 

After a brief preview of what lies ahead, we once again get that great theme song. It’s every bit as catchy as a certain space opera they seem to be aping in the opening.

We open on Serena being distraught when she found out she gained half a pound. Despite her parents trying to reassure her, she’s once again bawling at her imagined girth. I type this as someone whose indulgence in holiday entrees and desserts has put me on the body type of a Star Trek V or Star Trek VI Shatner; though I’m thankful I’ve never hit his Boston Legal frame.

Luna takes the opportunity to mock her for this; drawing a picture of her as a little piglet. Even so, I kind of like ladies with a little meat on their bones; even if I didn’t mind the truer-to-the-manga redesigns for Crystal (still working on that one; even if it’s been dubbed, I want to finish the subs first).

Queen Beryl decides to take advantage of the fitness craze sweeping the town; and sends Jedite to carry out her will. Of course. What is an evil sorceress without her faithful servant? 

The next day, Serena talks over her weight with her classmates; who tell her not to worry about it.

At that moment, their teacher, Miss Haruna comes in with a new look and a slender frame! Fancy that!

Melvin, resident nerd; has also taken some candid before and after photos; which the girls question how he took them. I personally wonder the same thing about the shots he got of Kate Mulgrew at the Star Trek convention!

When he’s found out; he sheepishly decides to bail.

After discovering which gym she went to, the girls head there after school in order to shape themselves for swimsuit season!

As Serena takes on the rowing machine; I must note the workout clothes of both herself and the instructor just reek of the ‘90s. While the buruma are still a common form of activewear for young women in Japan, her trainer’s spandex look like he walked in from an old episode of American Gladiators.

She then decides to take a mineral bath; and I also note that DiC digitally added more bubbles in the water to hide her form. Again, I’ve watched the Japanese version for a frame of reference; and I’m just doing this dub for nature of a good natured-ribbing. I do like this episode, for the record.

Of course, the other ladies are led into this machine that saps their energy; which Jedite claims is a “Rejuvenation pod.” 

After staggering out of the gym and spooking a little boy over his “donuts” (really pork buns from the Japanese version; but still more convincing than trying to pass off rice balls like that in “Primeape Goes Bananas”); she once again looks over the poster for the Sailor V game at the arcade.

As she collapses in Andrew’s arms; Andrew determines that she’s not eating like she normally does, and helps perk her up with a lemonade. Works in a pinch; given a lot of those have as much sugar as my Mountain Dew Voltage; to say nothing of the newly-relaunched Surge (it’s only on shelves till August, so I’m taking advantage of it).

So, Andrew takes her out to lunch; after which she buys a bag of “donuts” for dessert. I put that one in quotes because, again, they’re pork buns. Least they can pass a cosmetic test for some.

Serena then bumps into Darien; who catches the “donut” she tossed at him, smugly biting into it as he establishes his early persona; before he and Serena started dating. He even eventually marries her! It’s a perfect example of the “deal with it” meme; complete with sunglasses, even when the internet was still in its infancy at the time of airing.

Miss Haruna; looking like some junkie on a street corner; is lured back into Jedite’s trap; and forgive me for finding his purple and green sweatsuit ridiculously funny. It’s just so ‘90s it hurts.

After Serena returns to the gym; Luna realizes something is up. She orders Serena to go investigate at her claws, as she transforms into Sailor Moon.

(pfft) Sorry, I just find it really funny the way he Jedite is dressed. It’s almost as tacky as Coolio’s dreadlocks in hindsight! 

In the basement of the gym, Serena engages the personal trainers, but they’re under Jedite’s spell! 

Even if it’s tough, Serena is encouraged to fight. She clobbers all the trainers and finishes them off with her moon crescent power! 

So, we close on a Sailor Says that’s actually a pretty good message compared to the pilot: while good diet and exercise are important, it’s never good to just stop eating and work out to exhaustion. 

“Slim City” is yet another case of the delightful cheesiness that is the DiC dub of Sailor Moon. While the uncut and subbed versions are indeed superior; there’s just something charming about its camp value. For my 5-year-old self, it just hit all the right notes before Star Trek came on my UPN affiliate in California. The show itself is also a subconscious reason I admire the likes of Katniss Everdeen, Black Widow, and now Rey.

Also, forgive the lack of screen caps; but due to time, I wasn’t able to get them in. My CWE class looks quite busy, but you may see me re-edit this recap and put them in; as per my original vision.

Next time, however, will be my look at Pokémon 3. See you, space cowboy.

FLCL Returns with New Episodes, Coming Soon to Adult Swim.

Hello again. Well, I saw Batman V Superman last night; and I personally enjoyed it. It may not have been as good as The Dark Knight or the Marvel films it was opting to emulate; but it should provide good footing for DC's planned slate of films in the near future in spite of the critical response.

Also, I'm about halfway done taking screencaps for my next recap; I hope to have it out before I go back to school on Monday.

Even so, I thought I would share a nice bit of news. It seems that a second and third season of the cult classic anime FLCL are being made for Adult Swim; in a similar manner to how the network previously got an exclusive second season of The Big O. The anime, which was produced by Gainax after Evangelion ended; was a way for the writers and animators to unwind after how intensive that production was.

Given how much I enjoy the series; I may consider recapping the full 6-episode OVA in the near future. Don't worry about me; I like it very much; and I love how hilarious and surprisingly heartfelt it is.

It's also a sure sign of how even if a series isn't always successful in Japan; sometimes it can be salvaged by a devoted following in the US. In fact, among the series that have been broadcast on Adult Swim, the higher-ups have outright it's their favorite of the anime that have been run; to the point where it's one of only two series to have a spot on the mural at Williams Street (the other being Cowboy Bebop).

If anyone is as excited about this as I am; please let me know. I'm going to get back to work on my next recap before I get too into my copy of Pokkén Tournament again. See you, space cowboy.

General Update-Spring 2016

Hello everyone. I hoped to have my next recap out sooner; but things have been incredibly busy lately as I'm getting ready to go back to school, to say nothing of me being hooked on Pokkén Tournament and going to see Batman V Superman tomorrow evening.

As such, I'm about halfway done taking screencaps for my new recap; so I'm now hoping it will be out before the end of the month, so I can focus my energy on my Pokémon movie marathon. My plan for those is still to do them from Pokémon 3 onward, then do at least one or two a month (with 4Ever possibly being done by Earth Day).

I have also been catching up on my DVR; which has quite a bit of One Piece and Kill la Kill saved on it. Since I also found a new source for many of my shows online; I am cultivating many options for the near future. I'm also still contemplating retiring in 2017; but I plan to have some pieces to go out on when the time comes.

As for Yo-Kai Watch: the series seems to be coming to Netflix in April. Even so, the site contains a host of much better anime; so it feels like a last-ditch effort to compensate for the show underperforming on Disney XD. As I've pointed out, the game has also not been selling well (as of this writing, the US release has only sold 130,000 copies since launch); and the merchandise has also sold poorly. Despite the fact that the reception among consumers has been the polar opposite of what it's been in Japan, Level-5 still plans to localize the sequels. On a personal level, though; I'm still not sure about buying the game at full price, though I am mulling over buying a used copy at some point. As for the anime, I'm not planning on recapping any more of it until after the European launch on April 29; so I can gauge how it does there. I'm also considering the movie in the near future.

So, I shall get back to work on my next recap; as well as waiting for Batman V Superman to open while I play Pokkén Tournament. See you, space cowboy.

St. Patrick's Day Riff: Pokkén Tournament Out Tomorrow+Blog Plans

Hello again. First off, to all my readers; including any I may have in Ireland: Happy St. Patrick's day.

Second, I thought I would give you an update on how things are going. As you know, Pokkén Tournament is launching tomorrow on Wii U. This highly-anticipated fighting game; a crossover between the Pokémon and Tekken franchises has been steadily garnering accolades since it first launched in Japanese arcades. While its financial performance has been below expectations, many are hoping the worldwide launch will turn things around. I will be picking up my preorder copy tomorrow.

Apart from that, I am still mulling over what to do for my next recap; as I want to continue doing the Pokémon movies starting in April, around the time of the 15th anniversary of Pokémon 3 being released in theaters. Ideally, I want to do one or two a month; given my four month gap between the first and second movies last year. As I said in my recap of "The Fires of a Red-Hot Reunion," episodes of the anime itself are now on a "whenever I feel like it" basis; with ones tied to more specific dates or if I need a breather from doing a work that draws particular ire from me.

I have a couple options on the table; I just need to finish watching them before I decide what I want to do; and you should hopefully see a new recap in a couple of days. See you, space cowboy,

On the Subject of Yo-Kai Watch Launching in Europe.

I know I just posted a recap yesterday; but I felt the need to address this matter further.

On April 29, the Yo-Kai Watch game and anime are slated for release in Europe. This is partially serving as a message to any readers I have in those regions; but also to express my thoughts about it.

The demo for the game is currently live for European regions; along with the fact that information on the sequels being localized is highly conspicuous by its absence.

Although many fan sites and Tumblr posts have claimed the demo does not accurately portray the full game; which led to the game not selling well in the US, I'm going to offer some counterpoints to their arguments.

Fans insinuated that the demo quickly explained the mechanics of the game and gave the player little time to adapt; I will have to play devil's advocate and state I had the opposite problem. I found the gameplay, while competent; to be too simple compared to Level-5's other titles. While simplicity is by no means bad for any video game, I very rarely lost any Yo-Kai battles; barring the last one against Dismerelda before the demo ends. By contrast, I found the battle system of Ni No Kuni from the same developer highly engaging; which led to me finally getting the game after requesting it as a birthday present (to say nothing of a planned sequel that has me seriously considering getting a PS4 in the near future).

I also concede the Pokémon comparison is highly difficult to exclude; but even when I removed that from the equation, I found the experience to be a disappointment compared to other anticipated games coming out around that time. As one of my associates on YouTube pointed out; who shall remain undisclosed: "Pokémon has such a complex battling system, and Yo-Kai is so easy even a toddler could win."

I'm not kidding: outside the Dismerelda battle, I very rarely lost any Yo-Kai battles, to the point where I could win just putting in the bare minimum of effort. I often just had one hand on my 3DS while the other was surfing through my Netflix queue.

While all this had me decide against buying the game at full price; it still at least has me considering getting a used copy in the near future.

As for the anime: I've long felt that it lacks many of the more engaging storytelling or diverse characterization that other works of its type have. To this day, Spirited Away is still my favorite Miyazaki film because of how it shows that the world of Japanese mythology can be beautiful; dark and moving. The Yo-Kai Watch anime is a noisy, chattery and ungainly manufactured widget designed to give small children the impression they're watching an anime. While Hino's intention was to make a modern-day Doraemon; Keita and Jinbanyan lack the more human qualities that made the title character and Nobita so endearing. Nobita may not be the best student or athlete; but he is highly relatable due to being written like a small child in the target audience or that an adult viewer once was. Nobita was "us", and Doraemon is his friend and guide throughout life (to the point where an unofficial finale had his technology's power running out and Nobita responding by becoming a graduate student and robotics expert in order to save his friend). Even after more than 100 episodes; Keita and Jinbanyan still feel more like licensed commodities more than characters.

Lastly, I must state there is nothing wrong with being influenced by something that came before. Power Rangers began as an adaptation of the Super Sentai series before it became its own distinct series with its own identity. Sonic the Hedgehog was deliberately designed to be Mario's polar opposite; Sega's own mascot if you will. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were largely a parody of many superhero tropes and animal teams of the time (notably Frank Miller's run on Daredevil). Star Wars was heavily influenced by early Flash Gordon serials as well as "jidai geki" films such as "The Hidden Fortress." Star Trek has many similarities to naval works as well as trappings of a "wagon train to the stars" series.

Still, it remains to be seen whether or not Yo-Kai Watch can succeed in Europe where it failed in America; to say nothing if it can maintain the level of longevity Pokémon has enjoyed over 20 years and will continue to do so. Whatever the case, I will continue to follow this situation; as it's clear that the potential to analyze and deconstruct what's going on amid the two is endless. Now, I think I'll go back to mulling over what I want to do for my next recap. See you, space cowboy.

Recap: Yo-Kai Espy/Peckpocket

Hello again. Well, it’s time to cover more Yo-Kai Watch; seeing as how Level-5 wants to localize the sequels despite the first game only selling 120,000 copies as of this writing; which is pretty abysmal for a handheld with an install base of 15 million in the US alone. The TV ratings and merchandise sales have also been decisively less than they have been in Japan as well; so I thought it would be apropos to cover the last episode they’ve dubbed so far; to prep for the planned European launch next month. So, let’s open it up. 

We open on the first segment, “Yo-Kai Espy” as Nate, Eddie, and Bear lament that humiliating secrets have been spilled about them by Katie. Nate flunked another test; Eddie wants to be in a boy band (what is this, 1997?), and Bear is in love.

The dubbing is still pretty bad; with the voice acting being incredibly stiff and the mouth flaps being incredibly choppy. It’s worth noting that Japan animates the mouth flaps before the ADR is done, so they have to follow the same practices, despite the dub writers’ flagrant disregard for them.

Anyway, they see a beautiful woman walk by; complete with sexy music playing, despite the fact they’re around 11 years old. Ew.

Then, Nate is in a hurry to get home because he has to take a leak. Again? I know this is written for younger audiences, but how many times to you have to rely on toilet humor? It’s the primary reason I’m not doing the Fidgephant episode; because I need more to work with than that.

It’s revealed to be the work of the titular Espy, whose power is revealing embarrassing secrets about someone. That’s all well and good; but even though she can also levitate, doesn’t she have any other cool psychic powers? Setting things on fire by thought? Making people’s heads explode? Crushing cars just by gesturing your hands?

Yet again, they reduce this potentially creative yokai to just one joke; which has been one of my key complaints with Yo-Kai Watch since I first found out about it. Maybe I’m just way too used to the humor style of Sgt. Frog, Mitsudomoe and Shin Chan; but this doesn’t really do anything for me.

When Whisper scoffs at Jinbanyan’s predilection for Next Har-meow-ny (I can’t believe I just typed that); Jinbanyan fires back with “like you’re solving the energy crisis!” Well, he is full of hot air. See, I can do it too, it’s not hard.

Then, for some reason, Whisper is revealed to think Nate looks like a turnip; which he quickly denies. Nate then says “Don’t even try!” I guess someone got guerrilla recordings of Johnny Yong Bosch in his trailer and it made the final cut. I must also point out he’s not a bad voice actor; it’s just that he’s being given worse direction than when we was recording lines behind the helmet and mask of a Power Ranger!

As he determines how to stop Espy; he remembers his bladder, to which she responds she doesn’t 

“appreciate bathroom innuendo.” Tell that to the writers; it seems to be one of their major sources of “humor.” 

Nate then rationalizes he just has to think about the most disgusting thing he can to stop her. Of course!

It turns out that the most disgusting thing is just Nate changing his underwear again and again. You have no idea how tricky it was to screen cap this, especially since this gag is way too shotaro for my tastes. Thanks, Hino. Thanks a bunch.

So, we close this segment on Nate rushing home to use the bathroom.

For the sake of argument, I’m skipping the expository narration to talk about the alternate theme song; which was part of the initial trailer. It was written by animation veteran Jeff “Swampy” Marsh; who worked on Rocko’s Modern Life and co-created Phineas and Ferb; two shows that are actually funny. Sadly, this is actually worse than the usual “Laugh out Loud” theme. Call me crazy, but lyrics that contain phrases like “trip you up, give you a flat tire or make your socks go missing in the dryer” lack the ability to get one pumped the way the Pokémon theme, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers or the 1987 version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles can (all of which have been remixed for newer versions of these series, by the way). Yet, despite the fact that many critics and fans have said otherwise; David H. Steinberg and Keetgi Kogan have outright said “it doesn’t matter.” Having recently finished Gravity Falls; and also seeing how good Star VS The Forces of Evil and Star Wars Rebels are; I vehemently disagree. Just because a child might like this doesn’t mean this is all you have to show them. 

We open the next segment; “Yo-Kai Peckpocket” as Bear swipes a piece of food from his alleged friend, Eddie. Again, I know the point of the show is to help teach life lessons to the target audience; but would it have killed them to make it a bit more subtle in its messages? You’re making Cool Cat Saves the Kids look like Inside Out!

He then takes a ball from some other kids on the playground! Our hero, ladies and gentlemen!

So, Nate reveals that the cause is the titular Peckpocket of the Eerie class. He looks like an overstuffed Marshmallow Peep and sounds like Pee-Wee Herman (by the way, looking forward to his new movie on Netflix, should be fun). 

He even willingly offers Whisper to this overgrown Furby! Remind me why I’m supposed to like this guy, again?

Yet, Peckpocket declines on the grounds that he’s no fun. Well, that was pointless.

Nate summons Jinbanyan, who’s too hungry to engage Peckpocket. Again, is it really a surprise that kids here aren’t taking to the series the way they are in Japan? With Sun and Moon on the horizon; I heavily expect Pokémon to continue its growing appeals to older fans like me while also maintaining its popularity among today’s kids as well.

Peckpocket then swipes Jinbanyan’s supply of chocolate bars. Yeesh, this is making Dora the Explorer look like friggin’ Jessica Jones!

He then decides to summon Tengloom of the Shady class; but that doesn’t turn out so well either. 

He’s so useless, Peckpocket steals everything, even the geta right off his feet! Well, that was pointless.

Then, he decides to summon Roughraff. Oh joy; more outdated beatnik talk from this discount Treecko!

Yet, he seems incredibly eager to take on Peckpocket. Of course! It’s always great when an overweight Prinplup decides to fight a rejected Killer Instinct character!

FULGORE! RIPTOR! FIGHT ON!

Somehow; Roughraff is able to steal back everything from the chocolate to Tengloom’s belongings; but not before Peckpocket takes his own stuff. This includes a chain; a set of knuckle-dusters, a can of hairspray, a comb; a switchblade, and some kind of drink I can’t identify. You know, for kids! 

Their quarrel continues till sunset; with all sorts of crap that came from Arceus-knows-where strewn all over the playground. There’s only a couple minutes left in this deuce, so I’m just going to gloss over their dialogue here.

All things considered, Peckpocket presents Nate with his Yo-Kai Medal and the two head off for milkshakes. For the sake of argument; I’m going to omit the Komasan segment to talk about the prospects for the European launch. 

While the US launch has been a bit of a nonstarter; the European launch is going to be an even bigger puzzle to solve. Even though the video game market here had to contend with competition from many anticipated titles; with more to come, Europe is an even more unique market. From time to time; a game that does well in the US often doesn’t in the UK, and vice versa. Notably, during the great crash of 1983; the UK was less affected due to being early adopters of PC gaming, to the point where console gaming caught on slower there than it did after after the US launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System. On top of that, prices for games tend to be different than for their western counterparts; making the emphasis on long-term play much more crucial.

As for the anime; the reception to dubs produced in the US is often middling to ones produced in the UK itself. At best, folks there are indifferent to how they’re handled; at worst, they’re considered downright atrocious. Notably, there’s fandubs online that actually do a much better job in terms of writing and voice acting than who Viz chose to handle this anime. Even the normally effervescent Johnny Yong Bosch seems embalmed; most likely stymied by bad direction from Steinberg and Kogan. 

Furthermore, this is the season finale for the dub so far. Given how poor ratings have been, it remains to be seen how Level-5 will localize the sequels; to say nothing of a dubbed second season. So, I probably won’t be doing more Yo-Kai Watch until after the European launch on April 29, so I can gauge to see how it’s doing there. Long story short, while there is a small fanbase here in America; it’s nowhere NEAR as popular as it is in Japan, which I’m officially attributing to the media trying to shotgun the franchise into “the next Pokémon” when it could have been sold better on its own merit. If they had done that, I would not have written at length about it. Instead; when many stores pitched it as an alternative to a new mainline Pokémon game, fans went with spinoff title Super Mystery Dungeon instead; which has been lauded as the best Mystery Dungeon yet among fans and sold better. 

Just as well, because this anime really hasn’t done the game any favors here. Despite the animation being very well-made and some occasional creative yokai designs; the story makes no goddamn sense and the voice acting is subpar at best. It’s fitting that I did this finale; as it caps off a dub to a series that’s at best, mediocre; and at worst, utterly insufferable.

I’m going to need a little bit to determine what I’m going to do next; as well as a cold drink. See you, space cowboy. 

Regarding Pokémon Sun and Moon.

Hello again. I am working on my next recap; but I felt I could make a post about this to give you something.

On the date of the 20th anniversary; a Nintendo Direct presentation revealed the plans for the Pokémon franchise for the coming year.

Rather than Pokémon Z, the next highly-anticipated games in the mainline Pokémon series will be Pokémon Sun and Moon; out this holiday season to kick off the seventh generation and commemorate 20 years since Red and Blue were first released in Japan.

While not much is known at this time; I believe that these games will continue the precedent set by X and Y in attracting the aging original fan base as well as a new generation of fans and games.

I intend to preorder the games once I have the money; as they are among the many anticipated games on Nintendo platforms alone, set for release on 3DS later this year. I will let you know any further information as I get it.

Update: According to a video chronicling the history of the franchise on the official Japanese Pokémon YouTube channel, the games will be releasing during the winter of this year. See you, space cowboy.