Welcome to the Fantasy Zone
This Zone is dedicated to the lesser known elements of anime hosted by the cast of Victory Script.
What weapon is the best?
Who will win in this Death Battle?
Is this costume practical?
You name it, it's all covered here in the Fantasy Zone!
Not done one of these for a while.
"Anime doesn't do women well"
This person is either blind, ignorant, stupid or has only seen ten anime, let's go with ten anime. It's easy to look at the ten most popular anime right now and think there isn't much in the female character department, Naruto definitely hasn't got that development but has improved in Boruto, My Hero Academia isn't much better but at least has a couple of standouts. I think the issue here is watch more than ten anime and don't be afraid to push out of your comfort zone.
"People only remember Macross for the idols"
It's the only thing I remember about Macross.
Real talk, when Macross was released it was up against the more colour friendly Gundam so in order to standout more, they added idols which also coincided with the new craze of idols in the 80s, after seeing Lynn Minmay, it's hard to picture that Macross was indeed a war sci-fi with fighter jet mechs, a lot of 40+ year olds would disagree with me but Lynn Minmay was so popular back then that there was an idol in every series of the show afterwards and that is harder to defend, even Gundam Seed's Lacus Clyne is a nod to Minmay.
"Vegeta is stronger than Goku"
Not really but Vegeta is the better man. Ego aside, his background makes him very well versed in being a leader and knowing what's important.
"Taiga from Toradora is a dumb character"
I've not seen Toradora but given how I feel about tsunderes recently, I don't think I'll like her, hardly a dumb character though, she's better written than most tsunderes, in fact the best written tsundere of all time isn't even an anime character, it's Hey Arnold's Helga Pataki.
"Bleach is overhated"
It's balanced and the criticism it gets is justified considering how much of it's own universal laws it had to break to make the story work.
The three-episode rule is intended to gauge whether a specific anime series will be to a viewer's liking within the span of three episodes, I mentioned previously that I've been known to drop series after less time and these days, the first episode has to grab you otherwise the internet will soon let you know if the series is bad or not by word of mouth, but how effective is it next to much longer form series?
I picked ten anime known to be longer than 50 episodes and popular enough to have an audience and applied the 3 episode formula to each one, I will not be including Dragonballz as it's a sequel series and well over half it's world viewers were already aware of this fact.
So let's begin.
Inuyasha
In three episodes, the basic plot is established but there's enough going on to warrant a closer look, not so much from Kagome but certainly from Inuyasha considering what he already displayed in a short time.
Passed.
Digimon
In three episodes, the Digi-destined are summoned, they meet their partners and we meet Greymon and Garurumon, you already want to see how everyone else turns out and the enemies are creative enough to keep your attention.
Passed.
Sailor Moon
In three episodes, Usagi gets her powers and it's already looking formulaic and Usagi has shown her entire hand by the third episode, luckily it's saved by the Luna pen giving an extra layer of intrigue in how far Usagi's powers will go.
Passed.
Pokemon
In three episodes, Ash has an eventful opening getting just to Viridian City meeting Misty and Team Rocket along the way, on the actual third episode he catches two Pokemon and evolves one, Ash has achieved enough to see how far he can go on his journey.
Passed.
Fairy Tail
In three episodes, we've met Lucy, Natsu, Happy and enough of the Guild to see how crazy it can get.
Passed.
Yu-Gi-Oh
In three episodes, Yugi has battled two major players and is on his way to a tournament to meet more crazy duelists, being honest I was already sold on episode one.
Passed.
Card Captor Sakura
In three episodes, Sakura has setup the quest, got her friend to join her and dress her up and Sakura has acquired some pretty good cards, the battle costumes alone made you stay.
Passed.
Bleach
In three episodes, Ichigo has his powers and is already taking down his first major hollow in Orihime's brother, the increased violence would've been enough to begin with.
Passed.
One Piece
In three episodes, Luffy has taken out two villains and Zoro has joined his crew, we even have Zoro's back story and Nami in the background doing her own thing and being pleased that Koby won't be joining them, there's enough there to see where it goes.
Passed.
Naruto
In three episodes, Naruto graduates to the Ninja Academy by defeating a villain, he then babysits Konohamaru for episode two and then team 7 is formed with Sasuke and Sakura, the problem here is that it makes the series look like a school anime and there's so little ninja content, you're lucky to stay invested after episode 2 let alone episode 3.
Failed.
Conclusion
I'm fascinated at how well all these series held up in regards to the three episode rule with only Naruto failing, so there is some merit in what you can learn in only 70ish minutes of content as to whether these shows will be for you.
Most fans of Naruto didn't really get into the series until either halfway through the Zabusa arc or when the Chuunin Exam was at it's best, I'll go as far as saying Naruto is the poorest starting anime of all time and it's popularity was by luck that enough people watched it to give it a chance, if aired today, it would fail after one season.
Yeah I couldn't think of a better title.
Hot Take Review is where I gather different hot takes on anime all over the internet and give my two cents on each opinion, there will be five per episode.
"Sasuke Uchiha is Overhated"
In the past, I've made my hatred well known for Sasuke mostly for the fact that his development was stunted when he left Konoha and after tons of filler his moping turned into a bad DC vengeance story but in Boruto he actually did grow out of it and I can't really hate him anymore and by the looks of it the fans agree.
"I don't think Sakura Haruno is useless"
Kishimoto in general is not good at writing female characters so she was always going to be the third wheel in a team with Sasuke and Naruto, but she's backed up with insane physical strength and potent healing abilities and her battle against Sasori is easily top ten battles. I agree, Sakura is not useless.
"Nana is the worst romance anime"
Nope, not even top ten, it's overly dramatic and very soap opera like but far from the worst, it's stylized animation gives the impression that it will be a Seinen drama so you'll know instantly whether you're in to that genre or not.
"My Hero Academia is the best constructed shounen"
Would you believe that statement looking at that face?
Real talk, My Hero Academia does have a phenomenally well constructed world for a hero story and can create some fantastic narratives but it's got a long way to go to best One Piece and Dragonballz. My Hero has a rather underwhelming cast and has a few bad habits of not really taking on the narratives it creates.
"Good Characters are way more important than a good story"
You need both, you can create the best characters ever but they need a story to make me care what happens to them otherwise they are just nice looking pictures, equally you can write works more inspirational than Shakespeare but you still need a good character to pilot the story. Using Fairy Tail as an example, they have some of the best characters in shonen but what stops them being S tier is the fact that each arc is just the same plot with stronger enemies each season and they tend to write too many ass pulls to bail themselves out of writing into a corner.
Little back story, have you ever seen a character act in such a way that you could feel the cringe a mile away, that's a character clearly trying too hard by design or personality, these characters are villains and seem to follow a pattern, no order for this and a separate list for heroes will follow.
1. Alois Trancy and Claude from Black Butler
I'll get the worst offenders out the way first, Alois and Claude were the worst substitutes for Ciel and Sebastian period, it just hurts watching them trying to be characters let alone poor imitations.
2. Seiji Noumi from Accel World
Considering that the bullies in Accel World are usually the typical bruts several times the size of lead character Haruyuki, the fact that Noumi is doing pretty much the same thing but could just as easily be beaten up by same bruts is just laughable.
3. Garou from One Punch Man
I'm pretty certain Garou has improved recently but he's the wrong villain for a show like One Punch Man especially when he's already been defeated by Saitama and I doubt Garou could defeat Boros anyway.
4. Infinite from Sonic Forces
Cheating a bit with a video game but my god! Say what you like about Shadow, he at least had the right amount of edge and can laugh about it these days but Infinite in a 2017 Sonic game is the most cringe character ever created in Sonic media and that's a well contested spot.
5. Ulquiorra from Bleach
Look at the picture, he looks like Sephiroth after being forced to listen to My Chemical Romance for a week non stop, he's the most emo looking character in anime history.
6. Pain from Naruto
This was a hotly contested spot, I was looking at Kabuto for a while but then I remembered the character who is literally called Pain, painful looks, painful dialogue, painful actions, you picked to lead the Akatsuki, every obsessed fan of the Akatsuki, the Naruto era was a testing one.
7. Mello from Death Note
Look at me, I'm as smart as L and Near, I eat chocolate as well but I'm actually a colossal prick with an inferiority complex, when Near is looking like a better character you know you've failed.
8. Gladion from Pokemon
Thankfully toned down in the anime, Gladion with those stupid arm poses was so off brand for Pokemon it gave me bad 00s flashbacks.
9. Tomura Shigaraki from My Hero Academia
If Gladion had more hands he'd happily copy the most ridiculous looking villain in anime history, why the disembodied hands? You already look intimidating without them.
10. Zeo Zagart and Brooklyn from Beyblade
Beyblade really struggles with villains, the only successful one has been Tala who looks genuinely terrifying in battle.
Brooklyn is trying too hard to be Kai.
Zeo is just trying too hard to be anything, he didn't work as a Pinocchio like character nor does he work as a cyber newtype mind controlled puppet, it's a toy anime I guess.
Bit of fun, let's have a look at some bizarre facts.
1. Mario is a Supermarket worker
In Mario's only OVA, he's depicted working in a Supermarket, this is long before his established canon as a plumber.
2. Ayeka's Hair is Dyed
Princess Ayeka of the Jurai royal family in Tenchi Muyo is meant to have the same hair colour as Sasami, the turquoise blue colour. She dyed it purple to look better in front of Yosho and her step mother Funaho.
3. Space Brothers record breaker
Space Brothers has the honour of holding the only voice recording from space as dialogue was recorded from a Japanese Astronaut from the International Space Station
4. Anzu Mazaki has never lost a duel
Hard to believe but Anzu or Teà has never lost a duel in the Yu-Gi-Oh series becoming the only character in the series to have a 100% win ratio.
5. Usopp's Tall Tales are real
When introduced to One Piece, Usopp told a lot of tall tales of being a great warrior of the sea but ever since he left, he has been living many of the tales he's told, reaching a fever pitch with Dressrosa when he gained thousands of followers for breaking the toy curse.
6. Pizza Hut really did sponsor Code Geass
Remember that old meme Pizza Hut supports the Rebellion? That's real, product placement is everywhere in Code Geass.
7. The Titans were inspired by drunks
The unusual way the Titans of Attack on Titan moved and looked were inspired by encounters with drunks.
8. Most Isekai Protagonists dress the same
Quite often those Isekai Protagonists that don't take on a new form are almost always seen in a tracksuit. Re Zero, Konosuba, Shield Hero and Familiar of Zero to name a few.
9. Sasuke Uchiha wasn't supposed to exist
Sasuke was never planned for Naruto but many of Kishimoto's staff insisted on Naruto having a rival. This also explains why Sasuke isn't featured as prominently as he should've been and why the whole Uchiha plot was garbage.
10. One anime character has 22 voice actresses
Eucliwood Hellscyth from Is This A Zombie? Has 22 Voice actresses despite being a mute character, this is a running gag where the protagonist fantisises Eucliwood being his waifu and having a different voice each time. If you include English dub along with other language audio the total isn't far off 100.
