#animonday — Public Fediverse posts

Another #AniMonday has passed for me, and I am baffled—as ever—by #UchuuSenkanYamato. Such a seminal series. Such unhinged plotting.

Today's episode involved a trap that was unnecessarily elaborate by half ("I'll trick them into attacking this base by appealing to their honour" rather than "they'll attack the base because it's here") AND a deus ex machina conclusion!

Wild stuff.

#anime

It's weird to watch an episode of Dirty Pair and think, "There could have been more chaos and anarchy" but that sums up the sixth episode accurately. Yes, they blow a giant pirate spaceship in half, but still a pretty straightforward episode.

Relatively speaking.
#anime #AniMonday

After a bit of a hiatus, I picked back up on my #AniMonday watching, and promptly "finished" #Ranma ½. That is, the first 18 episodes before it was cancelled and resurrected in a different time slot to get it away from the media juggernaut that is Obocchama-kun (allegedly).

As I've mentioned several times, it's delightful. Highly recommended to watch, even if the "second" series doesn't hold up (I'm sure it will, but I'll start to see next week). I'll miss that original opening.

I've also realized that I'm sort of fascinated by #DirtyPair's almost anti-suspense. I'm not worried they're in danger, I'm just curious how much damage they'll cause to solve their problem. #anime
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DlT1yI7CSM

Visual storytelling is so fascinating. In #Ranma ½, Shampoo has been nothing but a quirky—if slightly terrifying—antagonist since her introduction, but one sad drawing, sad line, and sad music flourish and I instantly feel so bad for her. #anime #AniMonday

Today was apparently cheongsam day on #AniMonday, which is nice because we love a good cheongsam here at the S13 Works.

First we met Lum's mother on #UruseiYatsura. Then it was the second episode with Shampoo on #Ranma ½. And I thought that was a fun coincidence, but I'll be damned if Kei doesn't show up in a very stylish dress in a properly chaotic third episode of the #DirtyPair was well.

There was also an incredibly toxic episode of #UchuuSenkanYamato. #anime

Tonight's episode of Uchuu Senkan #Yamato tried to establish some real time-related stakes! It's the 15th of 26 episodes. Also: one of my absolute favourite sci-fi things is the tech they whiff on. Like Domel still using a typewriter for his report.

#UruseiYatsura has now introduced enough characters that I actually don't remember if I've seen them before (today was Benten, and no). Absolute chaos.

Every episode of #Ranma ½ (today we met Shampoo and it was delightful) tends to leave me with two thoughts:
1) "This was great."
2) "I can't believe they kept making shōnen martial arts anime after this (and also, to some extent, harem anime)."

The second episode of #DirtyPair was surprisingly low on the amount of chaos. It was straightforward action, even.

#anime #AniMonday

This #AniMonday, I watched the further trudge of Uchuu Senkan Yamato, the further comedy or #UruseiYatsura, the overall brilliance of #Ranma ½, and my new fourth show is #DirtyPair.

I've read a couple of the Adam Warren/Toren Smith stories, but never seen any of the original stuff. Looks promisingly fun. It's nice to have a slapstick dystopia over yet another melancholy one. #anime

This #AniMonday I finished #GunsmithCats. It's a fun little 3 episode OVA. The format lends itself to just being a plot-light action romp with good music. Like bite-sized action movies. #anime

How influential was Uchuu Senkan #Yamato on later #anime? It even innovated the Bright Slap. #AniMonday

After Riding Bean last week, I figured I could watch #GunsmithCats for #AniMonday. It's more fun than Bean, which was pretty fun.

I know it actually predates it—and has many other differences—but between the style of the opening and the jazz music used throughout my brain went to "Cowboy Bebop but fun." #anime

Uchuu Senkan #Yamato episode 11: The series is rolling a little better now. I particularly appreciate this shot, which seems like it's meant to imply that that Gamilons have been blue all along, AKSHULLY, and it was just lighting that made them look Caucasian for the first 10 episodes.

And why would you even make a robot that can get drunk?

#Anime #AniMonday

I finished #AniMonday this week by watching Riding Bean. It's a fun little piece of work. Very expressive animation, if not quite up to the best of late 80s OVAs. Really good sense of speed and motion in the car chases.

There's also something quite nice about being in and out in about 45 minutes. Little bit of action, little bit of exposition, bit more action, and we're out. No muss, no fuss. A solid 3/5. #anime

Uchuu Senkan #Yamato episode 10 is the first really good one so far. A bit worrying as it comes about a third of the way into the series.

The crew steels their resolve with their last contacts with Earth. It is very melancholy, so I can see wanting to establish more action and adventure before you do something so downbeat, but it further highlights the pacing weirdness of the series. They're still only 50 days in to their 365 day mission. #anime #AniMonday

For my #AniMonday viewing, I had my usual episodes of Uchuu Senkan #Yamato, #UruseiYatsura, #Ranma ½, for better (Ranma is still great) or worse (Yamato is not).

Most significant was the last episode of #BubblegumCrisis. What an interesting series. I'm glad it ends with a lighter episode, and that all the Knight Sabers had a chance to shine. A really solid 7 for me. Classic cyberpunk style in rich 80s OVA animation. Killer soundtrack. Too bad it didn't get its chance for proper closure at the time.

Now I have to figure out which #anime OVA will takes its place in the fourth spot next week.

I really love how everything in #Ranma ½ is SO SERIOUS, all the time. It's fitting for both a shounen series, and also for how so many people are at that age. #AniMonday #anime

Uchuu Senkan #Yamato continues to be a fascinating series. Looks cool. Fun adventures. If you think about the over-arching plot at all, everything completely falls apart.

A land of contrasts.

Congrats to them for their pioneering use of "the exhaust port of the giant space laser is its weak point" in episode 8, tho. #anime #AniMonday

#Ranma ½ episode 7:
Is Ryouga the greatest antagonist in anime history? Early signs are promising. #AniMonday #anime

#UruseiYatsura episodes 13 and 14.

Man. Just like, everyone in the city is obnoxious, aren't they?

Also: Is this episode the inspiration for the kinkeshi of Kinnikuman/M.U.S.C.L.E.? #AniMonday #anime

#BubblegumCrisis episode 5:

I knew where it was going, but it still hurt when it got there. The first episode was cool. Two and three were fine. But these last couple? This series is rolling. #AniMonday #anime

#Ranma ½ episode 6:
It's nice to see that picking on the girl you actually like is a cross-cultural phenomenon. JUST APOLOGIZE, RANMA! #AniMonday #anime

#UruseiYatsura episodes 11/12:

Ataru's mother thinks he's stupid. I kinda wonder what she gauges this against because, like, everyone in their city is stupid.

But it's slapstick hilarity. #AniMonday #anime

Uchuu Senkan #Yamato episode 6:

I'm beginning to feel like this would actually be a pretty good adventure series if they hadn't hung the "365 days til the Earth is destroyed" plot on top of it. As it is, I'm about a quarter of the way through the series and only six days have passed since they set off. The pacing of that part of the plot is just so off. It almost feels like negative stakes at this point.

The individual episode is actually good, removed from that countdown context. Swashbuckling sci-fi adventure. Some fun, some drama. A little deus ex machina. That's all fine. #AniMonday #anime

#AniMonday #BubblegumCrisis Revenge Road really clicked as an episode. The last couple weren't as interesting as the first episode—too obviously trope-y in places—but this one is quite compelling even as it skips the Boomer menace plot arc. Some really cool 'ghost in the machine' stuff. And maybe the coolest motorcycle this side of Kaneda. #anime

#AniMonday Takahashi Rumiko edition (#UruseiYatsura episodes 9/10 and #Ranma ½ episode 5):

Both the male protagonists really need to get over themselves. Interesting choice that Akane's character really starts to flesh out before Ranma's. #anime

#Yamato episode 5 for #AniMonday

They... they know this series is only 26 episodes, right? This might be the slowest paced piece of action/adventure media I've ever seen. #anime

#AniMonday Bubblegum Crisis episode 3:

It's so 80s in so many glorious ways, from the trope-y way you know who's going to die to their clear love of 80s American movies, like perhaps #TopGun. #anime

#AniMonday #Ranma ½ episode 4:
One question is really gnawing at me: Where does girl!Ranma's makeup come from? #anime

#AniMonday #UruseiYatsura episodes 7/8:

In which our... uh... hero(?) shepherds an alien incarnation of a Japanese legend around town, and a class of preschoolers learn that the prospects of a salaryman may not be that great. Pretty bold for 1981, imo #anime

#AniMonday Uchuu Senkan #Yamato episode 4:

One of the more interesting things about this show in retrospect is how much of its influence on things like #Gundam and #Macross are so readily visible, particularly the latter.

Worth noting that even a show with nationalist leaning like Yamato managed to fascist-code the villains in 1974. We've come a long way, baby! :blobfox0_0:

#anime

#AniMonday #BubblegumCrisis:
I can't emphasize how weird it is that I have never watched this before now. It's great, and it ticks literally every box of things I was specifically into when it came out (not that I don't like those things now, but my tastes have broadened). #scifi #cyberpunk #mecha #anime #music

I even remember reading about it in magazines, so I wasn't even unaware.