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Alderamin on the Sky quick anime review

It took some time for me to get back into anime-watching after the disaster that was the Gundam 00 movie, but I made it back somehow. I’ve watched some other series before Alderamin on the Sky (Nejimaki Seirei Senki: Tenkyou no Alderamin), but this is the most recent one I tried so I thought I’d dash off a few notes before I got too lazy. You have to ease yourself back into blogging with baby steps.

Blurb: The world is thrown into chaos when the Katjvarna empire takes arms against the Republic of Kioka. Our hero, Ikta, detests war but ultimately has no choice but to become a High Grade Military Officer to defend his land. No one could have ever imagined that this lazy womanizer would eventually become the hero everyone needed (from MAL).

What I liked about Alderamin on the Sky

The sprites were cute.
Unlike many anime about wars or invasions, named characters do die – and frequently too. Even though some of them were obviously created just so the show could kill them off to make us sad.
The show does a good job of showing the brutality and unfairness of war and the negative consequences of bad leadership.
Ikta comes up with some interesting strategies, 90% of which work because the opposing side is filled with dum-dums.
At the same time he’s not perfect. He can’t and doesn’t save everyone, and he doesn’t necessarily try when the cost would outweigh the benefit. He’s not the typical shounen hero, that’s for sure.
Ikta has the brains, but the other characters get plenty of moments to shine. Most of them can outfight him in a heartbeat, especially the main girl Yatorishino.
The show has a lot of bright and vivid colors so it’s fun to watch.
It’s only 13 episodes long and wraps up the arc it’s dealing with fairly well. Good for a Sunday afternoon marathon.

What I didn’t like about Alderamin on the Sky

The “hero” is a lazy, complaining womanizer. He hits on everything in a skirt and it’s neither cute nor funny.
The hero and his army are forgiven for all kinds of crimes mostly because he just happened to be childhood pals with the leader of the other side. And she of course is madly in love with him so genocide is totally forgivable when you’re in love.
His counterpart on the other side who was supposed to be the smartest strategist on the opposite side turned out to be a disappointment.
The setting shows some promise but the world, religion and culture of the countries are not explored in depth at all. An antagonistic country just shows up 10 episodes in when we had no idea that they even existed before.
The ending is pretty much “Please read the light novel to find out what happens next, okay?”

Summary

Alderamin on the Sky is a quick watch and a fairly good show that should please lovers of action anime and romance shows alike. The lack of a conclusive ending and the unpleasantness of the main character are the show’s main drawbacks. I still think it’s worth a watch. I enjoyed it for what it was worth and would probably watch a second season if they made one. But at the same time I’m not interested enough to follow up with the light novel so… yeah. That’s it for me.

Watched Gundam 00 Season 2 + the movie

Yes, I said I would watch it and I did… and it almost killed this blog. Was it bad? No, honestly I enjoyed most of Gundam 00 Season 2 more than the first season. The ending was highly implausible and a little overly optimistic given the nature of human beings, but it was… serviceable. Acceptable, even. The movie, I shouldn’t have watched. It was exhausting, pointless, aliens? in my Gundam? It’s more likely than you think! And by the end I was all Gundammed out. Not just Gundammed out but anime-d out, it took me two weeks to touch any episode of any other show.

Final thoughts: I marathoned both seasons so fast that they’re a blur now. I want to forget I ever watched any of this stuff. It was such a cheerless, joyless, tedious show. At least I did learn that I prefer the Gundam Seed/Wing-type BOOM POW KAPOW overpowered Gundams to these useless weaklings with their ridiculous ideas and incompetent leadership. So from an anime watcher’s point of view it’s good to know what you like and what you don’t like.

Apart from that, I’ve got nothing left to say about Gundam 00. It’s good to get it off my backlog. It doesn’t mean I won’t watch any more Gundam. And it got me pretty involved when I was watching. But… now that it’s all over… what did I watch it for? It was so crappy, so unsatisfying, such a waste of time… *sigh* I want those 2000 minutes of my life back… <— That’s how I felt when I finished the whole show + the movie.

Oh. I supposed I’d better comment on my wishlist from last time:

The overall story needs to make sense – It did, more or less. I won’t spoil. I don’t care enough to spoil

Better planning, strategy and reconnaissance from all parties but especially the Gundams – NOPE. There were flashes of brilliance here and there, but everything always fizzled to naught. Nobody ever had a backup plan in case the first one didn’t work, it was just ridiculous. And I lost count of the number of battles that turned into skirmishes – you hit me, I hit you, we kill a few grunt pilots, everyone retreat!

More Tieria back story – This we got. Pretty straightforward stuff, and Tieria becomes much less of a jerk and much more of a useful, sympathetic character as the show progresses. This part I enjoyed.

Less Saji and Louise – Ha. No.

Less Setsuna, less Mari-whatshername – Ha. Of course not, Setsuna is the main character. But there was less focus on Marina and she didn’t turn into the second coming of Lacus Clyne, so we should be grateful for that much.

Enough talking about Gundam 00. It wasn’t bad but it made me feel bad. It’s that kind of show. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to hunt for something light and fluffy and actually interesting to clean the bad taste from my mouth.

Gundam 00 first season impressions

Gundam 00 is the first Gundam series I’ve watched seriously since Gundam Seed Destiny ended. I loved the first two-thirds of of Seed Destiny, btw. How did it fall apart so horribly? But that’s a story for another day.

After Destiny ended, I watched the movies of the original Gundam 0079. Interesting stuff, especially for the similarities and differences between it and Seed. And watching Amuro getting Bright-slapped is probably the most satisfying thing in all anime. So that was fun, but not a full series. I followed it up with Zeta Gundam, but I’d downloaded only 5 episodes. Once I ran out I couldn’t decide whether to continue it or not, so I put it on hold… about 7 years ago. I’ll make it my next mecha project after 00. It had potential and I liked Camille.

After Zeta I tried Turn A. Watched at least 10 episodes but it was slow. Really slow. Too much drama, too many cross-dressing shenanigans, nothing I wanted to watch was happening. I skipped to the last episode but obviously it didn’t make much sense. That was it for me and Turn A. Most recently I watched an episode of Victory Gundam… or was it Gundam X? The one with the little boy. Didn’t catch me but I did mean to try a little more.

What’s the point of this long lead in? Nothing! I just like to write. And it does show that I’m not a Gundam hater, no matter how critical I am of it in this and subsequent posts. I watched Gundam 00 because I wanted to enjoy it, and for the most part I did. It had a lot of flaws (dumb protagonists being number one) but I’m only halfway through. That’s why I’ll save judgment until I finish the whole show. A few impressions plus wishlist for season two.

Impressions of Gundam 00 season one

The slow build up was a bit frustrating, but the upside is that it helps to keep all the parties and characters distinct in my mind. You’re never left guessing who is who or who is working for who, it’s very easy to follow.
The story, such as it is, is easy to understand. More questions have been raised than have been answered so far, but the timeline is clear, the general aims and objectives of the different parties are clear as well. It’s very straightforward.
The Gundams aren’t quite as cool as I’d been hoping for. They look decent enough but outside of a few early scenes they don’t act very cool. They get beaten up a lot, which any wrestling fan can tell you reduces your cool factor by 0.1% for every blow. Their weapons are either not interesting (yawn beam saber) or are rarely used even when they should be (Dynames’s long-distance rifle, Kyrios’s pincers).
The Gundams need more strategy. The enemies seem to do a lot of planning and thinking about how to take the Gundams down. The Gundams just rely on luck and their superior firepower and armor. That makes some of the battles hair-rippingly frustrating (episode 15!!).
I can’t decide whether I like the relative weakness of the Gundams or not. On one hand it’s a nice change from the KIRA STOMPS nature of Seed/Destiny and the AIEEEE IT’S A GUNDAAAM nature of Wing. On the other hand, I watch Gundams to see stuff getting blown up, pink explosions everywhere, so 00 is a little dull so far. Ask me again at the end of the show.
It’s great how the enemy combat leaders are seasoned and competent and give the Gundams (a.k.a. Gundumbs) a run for their money. TBH I often found myself rooting for them, especially for Sergei of the Human Reform League. Smart, compassionate, skilled… why couldn’t he be the main character?
Seeing the tables turned on the Gundams in the last few episodes of the season was GLORIOUS. Smarts + firepower trump simple firepower every time. QED.
The last episodes of the season were a huge disappointment. Enemies coming out of nowhere and attacking with very little motivation, unimpressive final boss, ugly mecha, wasted buildups etc etc. But to explain would involve spoiling so I will refrain.

Wishlist for season two

The overall story needs to make sense. They’re doing well keeping things logical so far and I’d like them to keep doing so. That’s my main wish.
Second biggest wish: better planning, strategy and reconnaissance from all parties but especially the Gundams. They approach battle like they’re in Gundam Wing but they have all the might of an light novel protagonist in front of a truck. Their piloting skills are only so-so so they need to compensate with brains. That goes double for you, Ms. “tactical forecaster” Sumeragi.
More Tieria back story. Horrible fashion sense aside, he had the most professional attitude out of all the Gundam pilots. Everyone else got their flashback, now it’s Tieria’s turn.
Less Saji and Louise. Please.
Less Setsuna, less Mari-whatshername. A forlorn wish, I know.
Cooler mecha. I can forgive it in Knight’s & Magic and Aldnoah Zero, but Gundam is the mech show. If the lead mecha don’t make me go “I want all of them!” something is wrong.

That’s it. A very short wishlist because there wasn’t that much wrong with the show apart from the lack of strategy in the battles. Trying to shoot your way out of everything against enemies that are more experienced and better prepared than you doesn’t work very long, which the show illustrates well. And now that they’ve illustrated it, I’d like them to do something about it. Let’s see if they do.

Overlord anime review – Nothing really happens

Overlord is yet another isekai anime about an overpowered main character who gets stuck in the world of a videogame. The slight twist on this one is that the main character Momonga a.k.a. Ains is an undead character with a legion of undead servants under him, all loyal to his every command and willing and eager to help him conquer the world.

The good: The slight twist on the setting and the characters’ slightly different morality makes Ains/Momonga and his companions a little more interesting than the “Must save everyone” hero-complex characters that populate 90% of these kinds of shows. For example Ains leaves NPCs dead when he could easily resurrect them (because resurrection would draw the wrong kind of attention). His party also murders another NPC party to keep them out of the way and so they can experiment on the corpses later. Of course these aren’t exactly commendable actions, but their unusual approach to the world makes them unpredictable and thus more interesting to watch.

Overlord also has a fair bit of action and combat – much more than I had expected given Ains’ goal of merely getting famous. I thought he would concentrate more on politics and magic, but he transforms into a warrior class and dukes it out with random mooks instead.

Which was a bit… sad. Sword-using main characters are a dime a dozen in isekai shows, and there’s already a famous dual-wielder out there. The battles Ains fought using his magic, items and skills were far more interesting than the hack-and-slash he used to take on some of the enemies. I hope future battles will focus more on his magical side and less on his Kirito-wannabe tendencies.

Last thing to praise Overlord for: the humor. Though the funniest moments came in the Pure Pure Pleiades specials and not the main series, the show still had some humorous moments. …Or so I thought, but now that I try to come up with examples, nothing really comes to mind. I’ll just say the show had a uniformly light, friendly and adventurous tone even when bodies were falling like raindrops all around. Even the death of some well-developed NPCs wasn’t all that depressing or saddening because the main characters take it all in stride.

The bad: Tasteless and needless vulgarity especially from the characters Shalltear and Albedo. And Cocytus in the specials. Also the show didn’t need to be quite so gory, it smacked of someone trying too hard to make the show hardcore and different from other fluffy game world shows.

The unsatisfying: Shalltear felt inadequate as the ‘final’ boss of an anime series. She was more or less a joke character throughout the show, then suddenly she’s being treated like this giant threat nobody can possibly beat no matter what? I didn’t buy it. Though I admit the final battle was suitably epic, the opponent should have been equally epic and not the previous butt of everyone’s jokes.

Bigger complaint, Overlord really should have been a 26-episode anime. At the end of the 13 episodes things have only really begun to get started. Ains has only just managed to get famous in one city. His bait ploy involving Sebas and Solution has just gotten underway. Powerful characters like Gazef and Brain have met. And most importantly, the only possible threat to Nazarick’s reign, the Slane Theocracy, has just started to show its true nature. Ains Ooal Gown and Slane are on a collision course without a doubt. What’s going to happen now?! Eh? Roll credits? Last episode? You want me to read the light novels to find out what happens next? NOOOOOOO!

Conclusion: Overlord is a fun show, but much too short. It has some good action, a charming cast and an overpowered but still somewhat relateable main character (the gap between Momonga’s scary appearance and diffident true nature always made me smile). If you can overlook the occasional gore and off-putting fanservice it is very much worth a watch.

The only downside is that season 1 will leave you itching for more. Which is what all first seasons are meant to do so I can’t complain. If you don’t mind light novels, I recommend reading the light novels instead so you don’t end up like me, champing at the bit for the next installment. Or you can join me in hoping for a sequel. Season 2 where?!

Reread Dune – Quick book impressions

It’s been… I want to say 20 years but possibly more since I last read Dune by Frank Herbert, a classical work of science fiction. I still remembered a lot of the main points of the story but the finer details had long since been lost to history. After watching several anime series with overpowered main characters (Sword Art Online, Log Horizon, etc) I decided to return to a much earlier example just for kicks. Go on, Paul Muad’Dib Atreides, show those amateurs how a real Gary Stu does it.

Blurb: Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad’Dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family—and would bring to fruition humankind’s most ancient and unattainable dream.

A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what it undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.

It IS indeed a stunning blend of adventure, mysticism, environmentalism and politics. For once the blurb did not lie. I stayed up to like 3am reading it and continued the next day until I finished. There are plenty of hair-raising will-they-make-it adventure sections, way too much BS psychological mysticism, enough environmentalism to make you develop an interest in desertification and its reverse and, of course, politics up the wazoo. The politics was the most interesting part IMO, there should have been way more of it.

So is Paul really a Gary Stu? You betcha! He’s sooo smart and sooo strong, and sooo psychic, he can do at age 15 what thousands of predecessors have failed to do, he learns everything so quickly, and on and on and on. There are suggestions here and there of the probability that he might fail at something, but of course it never comes to pass and he always sails through just fine and comes through even stronger.

That’s okay with me in the earlier parts of the book. It’s justifiable to have a super-strong, super-perfect character if the alternative is certain death. Of course he’s strong, if he weren’t strong he’d be dead. It’s the later parts of the story where he’s no longer in any danger but continues to get even stronger and even more perfect to the point where almost nobody in the whole universe can hold a candle to him physically, psychically or mentally that made me think, oh brother! Frank Herbert really laid it on thick.

To his credit, the negative side effects of his perfection do trouble Paul quite a bit. He gets fear, worship, reverence, fanatical devotion and even love in spades, but all he really wants are friends. He’s also worried by persistent visions of a universal jihad caused by his followers – an eventuality he seems to stop fighting after a while because, *shrug*. Dunno why, he just does.

It also bothers him how little he feels even when tragic things happen. Or so he says, anyway. Frank Herbert was probably trying to soften the super-perfect, super-competent image on Paul, but it backfires a bit, IMO. It just makes it much harder to get under his skin or relate to his feelings as he gets more and more prefect. Which is kind of the whole point of his dilemma so it works and yet doesn’t work at the same time. Very… complicated.

I also enjoyed the fact that Dune doesn’t start out focusing exclusively on Paul Atreides. Sure it’s his story, but there’s plenty of time spent developing characters like his doomed father, his mother, retainers like Thufir Hawat and Gurney, and even side characters like the geologist Liet. When you watch anime or play games about a prince taking back his kingdom, the kingdom is usually lost pretty quickly. Sometimes it’s lost even before the story starts. Dune, on the other hand, takes the time to sketch out the previous status quo and show how and why things went wrong. It’s very enjoyable stuff and I’m a little sorry other series haven’t imitated that approach since.

So, as I’ve bseen saying all along I had fun rereading Dune. It’s not a perfect book, though. When I was younger I found the swashbuckling adventures in the desert to be the main point of interest. This time I enjoyed the social and political intrigue and found the geological and ecological details to be far more interesting than the “Paul does something awesome yet again” parts. If I had to find fault with anything it’s that there wasn’t half enough attention given to those sections as there should have been.

For example Herbert portrayed Baron Harkonnen as a sneaky, wily, highly competent foe early on, but then the character vanishes for a while and the next time we see him he’s just a fat buffoon. There are attempts to build Feyd Rautha up as Paul’s ultimate rival but not only is he out of focus for most of the book but when we do see him he’s just a spoiled brat. Same goes for the emperor, who is never given a chance to show us what, if anything, qualifies him to rule the known universe. The supposedly powerful Guild is yet another example. It’s not that they aren’t all powerful in their own way, just that Paul is portrayed as so much stronger and smarter and more determined that they might as well not bother. I would have enjoyed a bigger focus on all of them, but it wouldn’t affect the ending in any way so I guess it’s all the same in the end.

Long story short, Dune is a great read/re-read for fans of overpowered main characters. There’s a lot of new terminology thrown around but you can usually figure it out from the context without referring to the glossary. And the story is just plain interesting and easy enough to follow without being simplistic. Good books are just good, you know, Gary Stu or no Gary Stu. I’ve never read any of the sequels because I hear it’s all downhill from Dune Messiah, but I’ll give it a chance anyway. Looking forward to it!