Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) review: The "classic" deconstructed.

Overall verdict: 6.5/10

The Good: realistic character interplay, trend starter of the gritty "real robot" war genre, sneaks in philosophies about war amid the drama and battles,

The Bad: mediocre animation and sub-par artwork even when compared to other 1970s productions, extremely dated Japanese vocal track, English vocal track tries too hard to sound dated, complex plot and political maneuverings may not appeal to many.

Current Availability Status: DVD out of print.....



******************************Review********************

"The all time classic", "the one that started it all", "The Original Gundam". It has been called "influential", "a masterpiece" and "a legend". However the first thing anyone would notice would be the god awful theme song, complete with horrendously childish lyrics that sounds like something from Tetsuwan Atom(Astro Boy to you guys in the west), all set to cheesy footage of a bunch of kid characters running, posing heroically and piloting a giant robot. It looked like some show aimed at 5 year olds.

But sit through that deceptively juvenile one and a half minutes and one will be greeted by a cunning surprise. Gundam's story is anything BUT childish or campy. Where the opening theme set up the show to be little more than kid friendly heroics involving giant robots, what it really presented was a very real and very engaging war story about a gifted but misunderstood youngster and his friends forced into the heat of combat by unfortunate circumstance.

The story goes that in the far future date of "Universal Century" 0079, "The Principality of Zeon" wages war with the Earth Federation over authority in the outlying space colonies. The war soon spreads to the colony "side 7" where our main character, Amuro Ray, resides. Following an unprovoked attack on the colony which spreads fear and chaos, Amuro and his friends stumble across the prototype Federation mobile suit called "Gundam". A series of events lead up to our unlikely heroes landing on board, and becoming drafted as the crew of, "White Base", a powerful Federation space carrier commanded by the then ensign Bright Noa. This motley gang soon learn to work together and in due time, they and Gundam come to play a pivotal role in the ongoing conflict, forever altering the course of the war.

Unexpected twists ensue as the conflict both between the Federation and ZEON and among the rag tag crew of the White Base builds. The drama of inter character relationships and interactions play out as good as some live action TV shows and they manage to engage you on an emotional level without coming across as overly melodramatic. You get a sense that the characters really grow and evolve as the story moves along, never falling too far into the usual stock character stereotypes. Amid developing the characters, the story manages to weave in some underlying philosophies and thought provoking points of view on war. It lends an edge to the show that makes it a whole lot "smarter" than your average shonen adventure or super robot series of that era.

Within The "enemy" ZEON forces themselves, there is great turbulence under the seemly calm surface. A complex subplot of political backstabbing and "power-play" among the ruling party of ZEON made for a very intriguing experience. What is more intriguing is the mysterious Char Aznable. Aside from being a highly skilled mobile suit pilot and "rival" to Amuro Ray, bits and pieces of his past and ulterior motives are revealed little by little in such a way that makes you want to know more about him. As the events that shaped his current mindset, as well as the reasons behind his ruthless actions and obsession with defeating Amuro, Char easily becomes the most well rounded character of the cast.

True to the hype, the numerous battles in Gundam are done in a comparatively realistic way. There is a greater emphasis on teamwork between Amuro in the Gundam, the weapons and support team on White Base and the other pilots in the other mobile suits. The inexperience of the crew and the vulnerability of the Gundam make each battle a true nail-biter with a greater sense of actual peril.

Admittedly, this is not an easy series to get into, mainly due to its age. Already mediocre compared to other anime series that came out in the late 1970s and 80s, the animation style is painfully dated compared to today's fare. Stiff animation with a low frame rate, sketchy lines, inconsistent artwork, faded colors, not to mention the periodic "off model" character design. To judge Gundam based on its visual merits alone would not be doing its great story justice. Gundam's age is also apparent in the voice acting. The Japanese voices fit the characters well, but the script is definitely dated and the poor, almost muffled, sound quality betrays the earnest acting. On the other hand, the english language track handled by the "go to" team for gundam dubs, "Ocean group", feels like a lost dub of the 70s. Despite being produced in 2000, the way the actors emote, and the way the dialogue blends with the background music and sound effects feels 20 years older than it actually is.

MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM was no doubt an influential piece of work. But perhaps that was due more to it being a trend starter for the gritty "real robot" war genre in a market over-saturated by child friendly and sometimes comparatively cheerful "super-robot" anime. The dialogue heavy nature of the narrative might cause the story to drag in certain parts and for all its complexity, it might actually end up alienating those more used to simpler plots. On its own merits, Mobile Suit Gundam is a cut above the rest, though not as big a "cut" as the hype may claim.

BOOMZ
*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you have a vested interest in the good ol classics that helped shape the identity of the japanese anime industry.
Avoid it: if anime, to you, has to be digitally rendered in bright colors, feature upbeat j-pop songs and have characters that look sexually attractive.

Entertainment: B-
Story: A-
Characters: A
Animation: C-
Art: D+
Voice work (japanese): B
Voice work (english): B-
Replay Value: C
"Brains": B+


Believe it. This is the only time in the entire series where the Gundam's face is actually PROPERLY drawn
Thanks to poor quality control, the Gundam never seems to have the same face twice, sometimes becoming disproportional with the body, other times falling serverely off model.


Give me Zaku back me purse!!!
simplistic low detailed artwork. Notice how the seemilgly solid titanium "skirt" around the Zaku's thighs warps and wraps itself like a real cloth skirt as the Zaku's legs move.

Lucky Star (2007) 24 episodes

Overall verdict: 7.5/10

The Good: Lovable characters, is special by not trying to be special, natural character interplay, awesome voice acting,

The Bad: sub-par animation, low detailed artwork, lack of coherance in story, faltering focus

Current Availability Status: On code 1 DVD boxset but not available in singapore

******************************Review********************


Lucky Star is a curious little gem of an anime series. Curious in a way since it does not adhere to the usual tenants of popular anime series yet managed to achieve its own level of popularity. Its story can be summarised into a single sentence: Four close high school friends, Konata Izumi, Kagami Hiiragi, Tsukasa Hiiragi, and Miyuki Takara go about their daily lives.

That is it.

No grand adventure, no magical powers, nothing special, nothing complex, just plain and simple. The simplicity of the entire concept behind this production is clearly evident in the animation style. Clean lines, easy-to-draw character designs, basic color fills and plain backgrounds. Even the actual movements of the characters are un-sophisticated and the animation itself is far from what anyone would consider "dynamic". Nothing really stands out, making this series merely "a face in the crowd".

But that is exactly what the series is.
It never tries to be more than what it is, never gives in to the whims and fancies of a viewership that extols mainly the action and drama genre. It stays true to its own identity despite running the risk of ending up as an "outcast" of sorts among the more popular kids on the block. In a way, the very attitude that this series adopts toward other mainstream anime and its audience is personified in the main character, Konata Izumi.

Affectionately called "Kona-chan", Konata is the ultimate embodiment of one of Lucky Star's main target audience: otakus. She is everything and otaku is as well as wishes to be. A die hard anime fan, a video game addict and a slacker, Konata is quick to incorporate references to obscure anime culture in her conversation, has a habit of copying homework and doing last minute revision before exams, lines up for hours at manga conventions and works in a comic shop. However, she is also extremely athletic, miraculously aces her every test, and most importantly, she is accepted by her friends despite possessing attributes that would easily render one an unpopular social outcast. A very clever parallel to the nature of the show itself.

That being said, it is the characters, and the fresh new perspectives they give on the otherwise mundane happenings of life, that is the main attraction of the show. Through the eyes of the quirky Konata, the hot headed but innately emotional Kagami, the adorably innocent dim-bulb Tsukasa and the polite and beautiful "walking wikipedia" Miyuki, the audience is treated to different facets of every day Japanese life presented in new lights from varying points of view. For non-Japanese fans, it is a light hearted immersion into aspects of the Japanese culture without the show becoming a sort of "Discovery Travel and living" documentary. Comedy is well placed and well written, extending even into the laugh-out-loud "Lucky channel" segments at the end of each episode.

Believe it or not, it is this simplicity, this sense of "normalcy" and the presentation of the mundane everyday going-ons through new anime-styled eyes, that is the ultimate form of escapism. In a world fret with overly sexualised portrayals of the female figure, Lucky star presents a feeling of carefree innocence barring the occasional allusion to Miyuki's near perfect "curves". In a life of fluctuation, surrounded by tragedy reported in the daily news, Lucky Star's predictability and optimism is more than welcome. Things and people around us, people that we know, constantly change and sometimes for the worse. Lucky Star's characters never change from the first episode right up to the last. Some might say that is just an indication of a lack of character development, but it works to establish the identity of the core characters, in a way making them feel more "real". A closer look into the style of interaction among the characters shows how realistically each conversation plays out, augmented by some top notch voice acting.

As it stands, adapting a 4 panel comic into an anime series is no easy task. The source material itself has more in common with the newspaper comic "Peanuts" than your standard manga. Yet despite the scant amount of story details, the anime series managed to remain faithful to the spirit of the source while expanding on its core aspects. This resulted in the anime even replicating the general lack of coherent story from the manga. Each episode seems to have a running theme yet there is never a sense of focus in the episode's narrative. The second half of the series sees the introduction of more characters but none seem to be as interesting as the core four.

For being just "another face in the crowd" among other more popular anime, Lucky Star has managed to earn a dedicated fandom based on the very fact that it is something different. It embraces the culture and attitude of its main target audience, parodying it yet glamorising it at the same time. When you watch Lucky Star, you do not just watch a show, you pay a visit to some extremely lovable characters, more human than you might imagine, and just hang out with them.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if lovable characters are your thing and you want to be able to just sit back and have a good laugh at life itself.
Avoid it: if your idea of good anime has to include a good dose of action or drama.

Entertainment: B+
Story: C
Characters: A
Animation: C+
Art: B-
Voice work (japanese): A
Voice work (english): A
Replay Value: A-
"Brains": C+


Konata's opinion of Lucky Star





Tsukasa is startled by The mysterious floating red question mark

Random Rant: My movie rating style

"Overall Verdict" <----this indicates the overall rating of a show on a scale of 1 to 10. 10/10 is NOT the prefect movie. The perfect movie would be 11/10 which would never ever be achieved. When i give a movie 10/10 it indicates that the movie is a near masterpiece for its time and its genre. however i do acknowledge that there is no such thing as a perfect movie and thus, i never expect one. Should a movie fully reach my 10/10 expectations, it gets a 10/10.

Exceeding that expectations would be attaining perfection, hence an 11/10. So a good enough movie that excels in all aspects of story, entertainment value, replay value, characters, "heart", "brains", acting (in the case of animation, voice work, animation and art) and it succeeds in conveying what the director intended, it gets the honor of a 10/10 rating. 1/10 is the ultimatum. It is a rating i only reserve for the worst of movies, the kind filmed on some noob's cell phone and gets posted on youtube or some college student's adobe Flash animation project. If a professionally made movie or animation reaches that dismal level, then let it be labled with a 1/10 *****************************

Movies and animations are evaluated while taking into consideration 2 main factors
1) age (not fair comparing a 1970 film with a 2007 film and saying the special effects were trash)
2) genre (i do not put a independent romance film on the same scale as a summer blockbuster)
So i usually compare movies that come out within the past 2 to 3 years and within the same genre. That being said, i try to regulate the "exchange rate" as much as possible by refering back to "all time greats"(movies that constantly recieve critical acclaim) as a point of reference.

HOWEVER
Language and country of origin is NOT a factor.
In other words a china made fantasy film like Storm Warriors will be put on the same scale as Lord of the Rings. An american or french made animated series will be put on the same scale as a japanese or korean series.

I always say, "I do not like japanese anime or western animation. I like GOOD animation"

Movies, animated shows and animated series are all reviewed comparatively within their medium.
In other words, all animated series are compared together and all anime movies are compared together.

An "A" grade anime series among all the shows would not be a "A" grade when compared to anime movies as the two were compared on entirely different standards and viewing methods.
*********************

Entertainment: - the "enjoy" factor. A, B, C, D and F. How satisfied i feel by the overall experience of the film. How often i got bored watching the show. Those are two main factors affecting entertainment value.

Story: - coherance, natural "flow" of events as well as apparent plot holes affect this rating. Novelty factor also is a small booost (need not be novelty in story narrative itself, but novelty in excecution of said narrative)

Acting: - kinda obvious right? how well do the actors convey and channel the characters. Emoting, body language that sort of thing. Too over-the-top is also not good.

Characters: - the "heart" factor. how likable or easy to relate to are the characters? How strong Is the emotional connection of the characters to the viewer? How natural are the characters' interactions within the story

Replay value: how worth it is this movie on DVD or blu-ray which you can watch over and over again. How willing am i to watch it again

"Brains": underlying themes, clever allusions, morals etc. things that require one to think about.

Animation: movement of the on screen characters. Fluidity and composition with the background art affect this score greatly

Art: consistency of design style. Level of detail also factors in but is not as importatnt.

Voice work: similar to acting
******************************************************

Naruto (2002 - 2007). 220 episodes

Overall verdict: 5/10

The Good: original premise, likable characters, decent development of main cast

The Bad: relies too much on "tried and tested" narrative, over the top acting, gets convoluted with too many supporting characters, mediocre animation that often dips below par.

Current Availability Status: On DVD locally from "Blue Max Pte Ltd"

******************************Review********************

So much promise, all wasted when a production team gets cold feet and decide to "play it safe".

Adapted from the long running shonen jump manga of the same name, Naruto presented a rather original premise, a potential for a great story and tons of action. In a fantasy world where magically powered ninjas rule, one boy strives to an ambitious young boy named Naruto Uzumaki dreams of becoming the next Hokage (the head ninja who rules the village). What he lacks in talent and brains, he makes up with his stubborn determination and optimistic enthusiasm despite being shunned as a social outcast for the most of his childhood. Now Along with his friends, the stoic Sasuke Uchiha, the hot headed Sakura Haruno and their eccentric teacher Kakashi, Naruto is dead set on the road to greatness. Many difficult trials await this unlikely quartet including the criminal organisation "Akatsuki", the evil rival village leader "Orochimaru" and numerous new characters they meet on their journeys. All the while they must train for their ninja exams and learn to be more than just a team. But young Naruto himself holds a dark secret for sealed within his form is the ancient power of the nine-tailed demon fox that ravaged the village many years ago.

Definitely fascinating, but where Naruto fails it is in its execution of the story premise.
Instead of banking on originality, the creative team decided to go with what has worked in the past. In other words, do not be surprised when you end up saying to yourself "hey this is exactly like *insert name of another show here*".

Whatever "originality" there was went flying out the window. One can easily compare Naruto-"I wanna be the Hokage"-Uzumaki to so many typical kid anime characters like Ash Ketchum, Goku(from the original Dragonball), Monkey D-"Gonna be the king of the pirates"-Luffy and the list just goes on. The Further we get into the show, the more typical anime staples get thrown into the mix. .
All The other characters are not original concepts either. They all fall into typical anime stereotypes than one can find in any "guide to making your own anime characters" book. By the end of everything, the only thing original left is the bizarre world in which this story takes place.

Now "originality" is a very debatable subject. After all, if the audience are used to what they like, giving them what they like all the time would guarantee a stable viewership as opposed to risking viewer ratings by trying new things. The problem with Naruto is that it handles its narrative aspects very clumsily. The writers' excuse for "character development" is to merely slap on some tragic back-story in order to make the audience "feel" for a character. As the number of new characters grow and swell, the writers must have discovered that characters with tragic pasts are more well liked by the audience and as a result soon every other character is given some form of tragic childhood or some old grudge or worse.
Such things devalue the concept of drama making sad scenes look like they were put in place to milk a cheap tear from the audience.

To Naruto's credit, this anime sees a few of the main characters grow both mentally and physically as well as learn a couple of life lessons along the way. It also boasts a good mix of dark and lighthearted elements, drama, tragedy, comedy, adventure etc. Too bad the director handled the mix of genre so badly. The comedy is misplaced, more silly than funny, coming in at the most inappropriate of moments and The drama feels forced at times. Not helping matters is the way the seiyuus(japanese voice actors) ham it up like they're at some high school stage play. Almost every role is over-acted; when they are supposed to sob, they bawl a big boo-hoo river. When they're supposed to talk loudly, they scream. Emoting is essential but when it is overly done to such extremes in Naruto, it just makes the supposedly emotionally charged scenes come across as unrealistic. Naruto and Sasuke are horribly miscast; Naruto's female seiyuu never tries to add that boyish gruff to her voice leading Naruto to sound more feminine than other female characters and sasuke sounds exactly like a forty year old man. The english and chinese voice acting fares no better choosing to mimic the over the top nature of the japanese voices.

Animation is standard TV series fare with many short cuts and budget saving techniques. Once in a while there is the "better than usual" fight scene but those instances are few and far in between. Overall, the show has an unimpressive and inconsistent look.

Kids love junk food and Naruto is to anime what the calorie loaded, pimple causing double cheeseburger is to food. This is your typical everyday garden variety shonen adventure/action series wrapped in a new skin but with slightly better character development. Whether one adores the main character's sense of optimism and "never say die" attitude or hates his obnoxious outlook on life and stubborn demeanor, it boils down to personal preference. Too bad for its less-than-mediocre animation, over-reliance on "sob stories" and the usual shonen action anime staples like long draggy fights and constant "powering up".

Inconsistent from start to finish, Naruto recieves a lot more fanfare and praise than it really deserves but it is slightly enjoyable no less and will keep the more juvanile ones happy for the time being.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you like the typical fun action/adventure style shonen series, flaws and all.
Avoid it: if you want to spend your time watching better stuff since Naruto has 220 episodes which is going to take a long time to get through.


Entertainment: B
Story: B-
Characters: C
Animation: C-
Art: C-
Voice work (japanese): B
Voice work (english USA): B-
Voice work (chinese): C
Replay Value: C+
"Brains": C-

Naruto prepares to drop a poop bomb
Meet the team. Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto and Master Kakashi


I've got my eye on you.......
Scary looking Kakashi stare


Mine!


The true meaning behind the phrase "up yours"
The show's lack of art detail(notice the lastily sketched trees) is apalling

"Balls to that!"

Transformers (2007) review

Overall verdict: 7.5/10

The Good: heartwarming Spielberg moments, fun witty screenplay, awesome special effects, realistic portrayal of the general story, action packed from start to finish, fully fleshed out main characters, enough shout outs to the original material(eg: voice actors that reprise their roles) to keep fans happy

The Bad: lack of depth in side-characters, simplistic storyline, some plot holes(which were presumably explained by the tie-in comics and novels), tends to favor loud action over character development, too much creative detraction from the original cartoons while keeping many of the flaws of those said cartoons.

Current Availability Status: on discount DVDs and full priced Blu-ray discs at major singapore video stores.

DVD extras (on the 2 disc special edition):

Disc 1:

- film Commentary by Director Michael Bay

Disc 2:

- Our World (4 part featurette)

Part 1 "The Story Sparks" - Steven Spielberg discusses his love for the franchise and early concept art for the film. Explores how the writers adapted the cartoon into a live-action movie and why Michael Bay is the perfect director for the film.

Part 2 "Human Allies" - Actors selection and interviews with main cast

Part 3 "I Fight Giant Robots" - An exploration of the military training that Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson underwent for their roles

Part 4 "Battleground" - a featurette involving the army advisors brought in to give the film's portrayal of the military the most realistic level of authenticity.

- Their War (4 part featurette)

1) Rise of the Robots - Explores the choices by Hasbro and Michael Bay that resulted in the design changes to the Robot characters.

2) AUTOBOTS Roll Out - Michael Bay discusses working with Chevy and its designers and the modifications that were made to the cars seen in the film.

3) DECEPTICONS Strike - The film's military advisors discuss the "toys" they allowed the production to borrow: F-22 Raptors, Ospreys and A-10 Warthogs.

4) Inside the AllSpark - ILM's digital artists discuss the challenges of bringing the TRANSFORMERS to life.

- More Than Meets The Eye (3 parter)

-- From Script to Sand: a indepth look at the making of a scene: The SKORPONOK Desert

-- Concepts art

-- Trailers

DVD value for money Grade: A

******************************Film Review************************

Since 1984, the Transformers franchise has been a much loved world wide phenomenon, spawning numerous toys, animated series and comics. After twenty three years, a live action movie based on this famous franchise premiered to a huge box office success but mixed opinions. Directed by action movie extraordinaire(and incapable of doing any other decent genre BUT action movies) Michael Bay, and produced by veteran film maker Steven Spielberg the live action Transformers movie immediately polarised film critics, casual movie viewers and long time fans alike.

First off, this movie seemed to be a total re-imaging of the Transformers tale; From a reboot of the transformers' origin to setting the main story in contemporary earth 2007. It has nothing to do with any of the previously established stories other than a couple of familiar character names. And even those familiar characters got a radical cosmetic and personality makeover much to the displeasure of the long time fans. Essentially Transformers 2007 is its own creature, keeping general elements of the original animated series while crafting its own identity by going for a gritty "real world"(or, as realistic as "giant transforming robots" can get) approach.

One such element that was kept was the straight forward simplicity of the story: For eons, two warring tribes of sentient machines who are able to alter their forms at will, The Autobots and The Decepticons have fought an endless war while searching the cosmos for a powerful artifact called "The Allspark". Their search brought them to the planet earth where agents from both tribes at first chose to mimic the forms of local earth vehicles and infiltrate the populace to carry one their search. But a surprise discovery of a young smart-mouthed student named Sam Witwicky (played by the immensely talented natural comedian Shia Labouf), who unknowingly possesses a vital clue to whereabouts of the coveted artifact forces both Autobots and Decepticons to break cover with devastatingly violent results. Now the interstellar war has come to earth with Sam Witwicky and all of humanity caught in the middle. It sounds a lot more complicated than it really is.

The primary difference between this rendition of "The Transformers" and previous incarnations is the focus on the human characters and not the robots themselves. Human characters like Sam Witwicky are the conduit through which the audience gets immersed into the events of the movie; we are seeing, feeling, hearing the transformers through his experiences. This style of moving the narrative forward may not be appreciated by many as it portrays the robots as fearsome, mysterious and out-of-this-world. Everything from their lines to their mannerisms help to emphasize their very "alien" nature instead of making them "human-like" in their characterization and easy to relate to. Even the camerawork tries to emphasize this.

By not giving a full, clear body shot of any of the robots, and by utilizing a lot of "from the ground, upwards" camera pans, it just adds to the sense of awe, grandeur and mystery surrounding those aliens and allows for a good build up in the plot where for the first time, we get to see the full ramifications of an alien robot war on earth.

Instead of a story where the good guy team stops the bad guy team(like in the classic cartoons), we get to see how humanity in general reacts to the sudden appearance of sentient machines wrecking havoc in a city. From the higher end authorities, to the military, down to the man on the street, all their reactions to a possible alien robot war are very realistically scripted from start to finish. Central to the movie is the coming of age tale of Sam Witwicky and his friendship with the Autobot, Bumblebee. What begins as a curious "guardian/target" relationship grows and culminates in courageous acts of self sacrifice for each other, like brothers in arms. This is reminiscent of some of the more heart warming Steven Spielberg films and one of the few emotional factors driving this movie.

Easily the most successful live action adaptation of an animated show to date, Transformers is not without a few kinks in the gears. Aside from Sam, Bumblebee and perhaps autobot leader Optimus Prime(voiced by Peter Cullen who reprises his role from the animated series), none of the other characters, human or robot, get any character development at all. It could be argued that this is just another element carried over from the simplistic animated series but it did not work in the movie's favor. Thankfully there is the extremely fun and witty screenplay by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, complete with timely in-jokes, to distract one from the lack of character depth.

On a technical scale, ILM(Industrial Lights and Magic) should receive special commendation for their work on the fully CGI robotic characters. The level of detail is astounding right down to micro-gears whirring to move a single metallic limb. Frantic camera movements, whip pan cuts and tight closeups during action scenes add to the frenzied and raw feel of the battles and actually allows one to easily imagine being IN the movie and experiencing the all out action first hand.

Loud, intense, slightly shallow but thoroughly entertaining, Transformers 2007 could use some polish here and there as well as a deeper focus on its characters. It is sad when some of the comics and cartoons in the past managed to delve into more complex themes than a live action movie, but for a first attempt the results are satisfactory though no less polarizing.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you want to have a fun time seeing a more realistic portrayal of the Transformers in the form of one of the most action packed summer blockbusters ever created.

Avoid it: if you are not a Transformers fan to begin with or desire a live action movie that is a 100% adaptation of the original cartoon.

Entertainment: A

Story: B-

Acting: A

Characters: B-

Music: B+

Replay value: A-

"Brains": C+

Guyver: Out of Control (1986) OVA

Overall verdict: 2.5/10

The Good: over the top violence, main characters were voiced very well

The Bad: choppy animation, sloppy writing, minimal character development, chessy lines and voice acting for supporting characters, hentai.

Current Availability Status: internets only

******************************Review********************

It is a normal school day for young Sho Fukamachi. Happy, carefree, with his only worry being whether his cute neighbour Mizuki would ever love a guy like him, Sho's life could not have been more normal. That is, until a wrong turn on the way home causes Sho and Mizuki to stumle into what seems like a Mafia hit. Except that this "mafia" is the powerful "Chronos Organisation" and the hitman is a huge musclebound monstrosity tearing the limbs off another monster. Fleeing for their lives, Sho accidentaly activates a hidden "Guyver unit" which symbioticly binds with him. This Guyver unit encases Sho in near inpenertrable armor, augments his natural strength and allows him to fire searing beams of light from his chest.
With the Chronos organisation out to silence all witnesses and retrieve the Guyver unit, Sho would need to harness the power of Guyver if he is to keep himself alive and protect Mizuki.


This movie seems to be a highly condensed retelling of the opening chapters of the Guyver manga series which then spins off into a whole new story onto itself. From the get go, this 50 odd minute long OVA tries so very hard to be "style over substance" but ends up lacking any style other than pumping itself full of grissly violence and disturbing imagery. Character development here is a totally alien concept. Our main character of Sho appears for like one minute, has some dialogue with his dad and his girlfriend and then we get thrown headlong back into the action. Perhaps the director is trying to convey the main protagonist's sense of fear and shock at suddenly being in possession of an alien symbiotic weapon (the Guyver unit), being hunted by monstrous assassins and seeing his friends die around him, but the lack of characterization just does not allow the audience to relate to Sho as well as they could have. There are some flashbacks that are supposed to instill a sense of pity for the character but due to slipshod character development (or rather, an overall lack of character development) those scenes come across as a cheap attempt to milk a tear out of the audience for an otherwise uninteresting protagonist.

The much hyped and largely extolled action in this movie is not just violent, it is excessively so. It seems like every monster and villain that ends up shedding blood just so happens to have, like, a thousand large arteries running through the same spot. Blood is not shed; it is splattered, sprayed and splashed with all the wild abandon of a kid playing with the garden hose. The monsters are at first creepy in the opening scene where one of them attacks a truck driver on a dark and stormy night. But once the scenes move to the daytime, the monsters come across as looking only slightly better than those in Power Rangers. The whole story seems to be centered on the fights, causing the entire movie to spiral quite literally, (as the title says) out of control as it heads toward its halfway mark.

The next hyped aspect is the female guyver aka agent Valucia who adds nothing to the story other than to give those hot blooded and deprived otakus something to salivate over. Tastelessly and unnecessarily over-sexualized, the director takes every opportunity to either show her naked or huffing and puffing away, all sweaty in the gym making suggestive moans and grunts. The only times she keeps her clothes on are just like a transition from one naked scene to the next.


This movie should appeal to only the most die hard of guyver fans and anime otakus looking for a violent and borderline hentai anime fix. The sick minds behind this atrocity even turned the concept of "binding with an alien symbiote" into tentacle porn. Spiderman's Venom character pulled off the binding bit with a lot better taste. It is a slip shod collection of violence, sex and nightmarish images all set to some incredibly cheesy synthesiser music and disappointly inconsistent animation.
For those of you looking for an adaptation of the Cult manga series "Guyver" with a good coherent story and characters we can actually care about, look elsewhere. Anything you'll find in this movie is bland, brainlessness and bloody.

*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if mindless violence and R21 stuff is your thing
Avoid it: if you have a shred of good taste or are a existing fan of the Guyver franchise.

Entertainment: D
Story: D+
Characters: C-
Animation: D
Art: C-
Voice work(japanese only): A-
Replay Value: D
"brains": F


Hold the gravy, please.
Guyver after he tears off someone's arms.


What follows is A collection of disturbing images.

I'm MELTING!!! BOOOO!

Lost his head, plain and simple


Donkey Kong EXTREME


One really what sick mind thought this up. No prizes for guessing what happens in the next minute.


Wait, another white Guyver??
Actually its the same character but thanks to lousy animation and inconsistent artwork, his look varies from scene to scene

The Invincible Iron Man (2007) review

Overall verdict: 8/10

The Good: favors character centered drama over action, excellent 2D artwork and 3D animation when viewed separately, evenly paced, easy for people not familiar with the Iron Man franchise to "jump in"

The Bad: clash of 2D art and 3D CGI, less action packed than one might have hoped, short running time.

Current Availability Status: on discount priced local DVD release
DVD features:

english language with english subtitles

16x9 anamorphic widescreen

Alternate Opening Sequence – A voice over showing the history of The Mandarin and the prophecy pertaining to Iron Man.

“The Origin of Iron Man” featurette – A nice feature telling how the creative team took the origin story and changed it for the DVD. It had some great interviews with the producers, writers, and Marvel Editor-In-Chief, Joe Quesada.

“The Hall of Iron Man Armor” featurette – A great nod to the comic book Iron Man with the many suits that have shown up and how they were used.

A Look at the Dr. Strange animated OVA feature

Trailer Gallery

DVD Grade: B
******************************Review********************

In 2007, Marvel Animation released their third direct-to-video animated OVA entitled "The Invincible Iron Man". No doubt this move was to generate publicity for Marvel's Iron Man movie scheduled to be released the following year.
Instead of merely doing a tie-in piece, Marvel animation deciced to create a whole other origin story for Iron Man, this time set in China (a move most likely influenced by China's popularity as host of the 2008 Olympics)

With a greater focus on character drama over brainless action, the story of "The Invincible Iron Man" opens with a violent terrorist attack on an archeological dig run by Tony Stark. The terrorists, calling themselves "The Jade dragons" intend to disrupt Stark's attempts at excavating an ancient city that once belonged to a fearsome Chinese warlord called "The Mandarin". As if those problems were not enough, Tony Stark has to contend with an attempt by Stark Enterprises' board of directors, led by his own father, to oust him from his company.

Facing this increasing pressure, Tony travels to china but is ambushed and suffers a fatal injury to his heart in a raid on his armored convoy. The survivors including Tony and his friend, Jim Rhodes are taken captive by the Jade dragons and forced to make weapons for them. During his time as a prisoner, Stark befriends a member of the Jade Dragons, Li Mei and learns that by bringing the ancient city to the surface, he had fulfilled a dark prophecy that resulted in the release of four elemental demons whose mission is to gather five magical rings in order to resurrect The Mandarin. Hoping to set things right, Rhodes outfits Tony with an artificial heart to keep him mobile and together they secretly build a massive powered armor which Tony dons to pull off a daring escape from their captors. Now with the forces of Darkness gathering, Tony must become the prophesied "Iron Man" who is destined to send the Mandarin back to the grave. As Iron Man tracks the Elemental demons across the globe, a more sinister threat arises in the form of someone close to Tony's heart.

The Invincible Iron Man is possibly the most complex animated portrayal of this famous comic book icon ever. The script plays out more like a live action drama than a cartoon as characters genuinely grow and change over the course of the story. Though he lacks the sarcastic charm of Robert Downey Jr's portrayal, Marc Worden's Tony Stark is comparatively subdued and more of a "could not care less" person than a straight out rich jerk. As the show progresses, he goes from being a happy go lucky, self serving womanizer to a responsible, mature and self sacrificing individual. Ironic that he had to lose a heart to gain one. The voice acting is restrained at times but fits in with the somber mood of the whole show. Only a couple of characters' voice seem off, particularly Li Mei's. Her supposedly genuine Chinese accent(she was voiced by a actress of Chinese decent) seemed inconsistent and her emotional range was rather limited. If Marc Worden had not done such a good job of acting on his part, the whole romance sub plot and interplay between Tony and Li Mei would have fallen flat.

The Animation pulls no punches either. Japanese anime company "The Answer Studio" renders this tale of Western technology VS eastern mythology in a mixture of 2D artwork and CGI(computer generated image) animation. The painted backgrounds are really a sight to behold and the character designs have a distinct Asian flavor to them. Despite the impressive level of art detail, the on screen movements of the characters were always very smooth. Sadly, while both 2D and 3D cel shaded CGI animation used for the Elementals and the Iron Man suits are on par with many big budget anime movies there was a jarring clash between the CGI and 2D animation when both are present on screen or made to interact(eg: CGI Iron Man smashing into a 2D painted wall).

Overall, Invincible Iron Man was a very refreshing new take on the origin of a well loved Marvel superhero, although it is recommended that children do not watch this as there is a fair bit of bloody violence, nudity and sexual innuendo. Favoring complex character drama and a couple of deeper themes over action was a good move, though the general lack of big battles might be going against some people's expectations of what an animated Iron Man show should be.(that and the limited screen time of Iron Man's signature red and gold suit).


*****************************Review End******************

Go For it: if you want to see the most "mature" portrayal of Iron Man in animation.
Avoid it: if you miss the witty stylishness of the live action movie or the action packed stories of other Iron Man animated shows

Entertainment: B
Story: A-
Characters: B+
Animation: A
Art: A-
Voice work (english): B
Replay Value: A-
"Brains": B


I'm in the middle of my sixth porno shoot Rhodes, can i call you back?
Tony Stark the womaniser

Soldier, did the driver in front of us just give me the finger?
Art detail on he characters. this scene takes place moments before the fatal ambush.

Meet "WindBag", "Hot stuff", "Piss head" and "Grrrr".
The four elemental demons of Wind, Fire, Water and Earth(the teeth baring one)

Oh Crap, here i am, the great Iron Man, cornered by a couple of lunatic cosplayers.
Iron Man faces off with the Elemental demons in a live volcano


"I WILL SHOOT AT HIM" said the cyberdemon.
Iron Man's clunkier "first" armor that he made in captivity