Hi I'm Dranzerstorm
You may remember me as a regular contestant on the caption battle contest.
Welcome to Retro Retrospective, my world dedicated to the old guard of the Otaku world; expect some reviews of the old & obscure, and in-depth geeky knowledge with the occasional top ten and I now have a logo.
Little info about me
Well I'm British and I'm in to all things animated and nostalgia.
I've grown up with every cartoon going and have watched hundreds of anime.
Oh and to answer a question I was asked once, no I don't wear glasses in real life, I would wear Loke's sunglasses though.
In the next 48 hours I shall be adding a new world which will run alongside Retro Retrospective.
This one will cover the hundreds of great anime characters we've seen over the years entitled "Anime Walk of Fame"
Stay tuned for more info.
Lets face it Anime is weird and first impressions of any series makes for some funny stories, so today I'll be showing you some of my favorite stories over the many years of anime watching.
I do not count shows where I saw a trailer first.
10. "Hold on a minute, isn't that supposed to be Amy?"
This was my reaction to the Sonic the Hedgehog movie, having previously seen all the cartoons it came as quite a shock when the only female character is a catgirl, rather than Amy, Sally Acorn or a character that looked more animal like.
Significance: My first encounter with a Catgirl and the video trailer of Dirty Pair Flash led me into the anime world.
9. "Rave Master wasn't that good, there is no way on earth this will be good"
My sister first informed me of Fairy Tail and this was my reaction but thanks to natural curiosity I ended up watching possibly the worlds greatest anime.
Significance: I owe a number of shows a re-watch with Rave Master on top of that list.
8. "That's supposed to be a manga art style? it will never last"
Yet sadly Bleach is still going and while it started good has since remained a franchise zombie over a year after it's end was announced.
Significance: Taught me that it's not a good idea to collect a long series.
7. "I don't follow what's going on but the giant combat robots look awesome"
This was my opinion of Gundam Wing during Cartoon Network's promotional clips of episode 1 & 2. I didn't understand what the characters were saying but screw that there is a giant robot with a beam scythe.
Significance: I ultimately declared Transformers as utter rubbish.
6. "Okay we have transgender orange ninjas and lazily choreographed fights"
What I thought of Naruto after seeing a couple of scenes in an AMV, but it wasn't until I saw Rock Lee vs Gaara that Naruto became awesome.
Significance: Dragonballz had finally been surpassed.
5. "We have a guy in a suit, a pointy nosed man with a catapult, a guy who can stretch his limbs, a guy with three swords, one of which is in his mouth and we have a girl to make up the bunch; oh and a ship is somehow plummeting down a water slide; is this about pirates or do these characters just travel on a ship?"
Another show I first saw as an AMV, and yes to someone whose grown up on the Captain Hook school of piracy, it didn't look like what it really was.
Significance: Stereotyping is not required for a good series.
4. "That was hilarious, what the hell did I just watch?"
Try and describe episode 1 of Excel Saga with nothing to go on but the box art. Go on give it a try, film your reaction for more effect.
Significance: I seem to be immune to weird now.
3. "Wait a minute did Washu do what I think she just did?"
One show I watched a lot with my older sister was Tenchi Muyo and being older and wiser meant she was far more well informed than I was so she showed me some scenes cut from the Cartoon Network broadcast and.....
Significance: First realized this anime stuff is not for kids.
2. "I want that ice cream, the one with the orange balls with stars on" & "Why is there two versions of the same character on this video?"
Back in the 90s on regular holidays to Spain, Dragonballz was broadcasting and it never clicked in my young head that the image I was looking at was Goku & Gohan and not two Gokus. I never did get Dragonball ice cream, no longer exists now.
Significance: Toss up between this and number 1 as my first ever anime experience.
1. "There is a giant Panda throwing buckets & kettles at me which somehow causes me to transform between color schemes and movement, after collecting certain items a girl runs into me and the level is complete, there is a portrait with an unusual art style and the next level begins"
What I just described is a Ranma 1/2 game on the Gameboy, I've owned a Gameboy since 1992 and I'm convinced it still works. One of my games was a Ranma 1/2 game on a flash card which at the time were sort of legal in Europe but not so much anymore.
Significance: Understood the existence of Japan and it's products.
So those are just some of the stories from a lifetime of anime, I would love to hear some more stories, so don't be afraid to post comments.
Time for another OVA, this time we have the Shinesman.
Matsumoto is a young businessman ready to start a new job, but when he applies to join a new trading company he becomes the red ranger in a super sentai team along with the colors Moss Green, Grey, Sepia & Salmon Pink. (Look at those colors, you'd think if you were a super hero you'd choose colors that ugly?) The peace is broken when aliens (convenient evil villains who disguise themselves as a rival company) attack the city.
If you haven't guessed by now, Shinesman is a Super Sentai spoof series taking away the teenagers and replacing them with businessmen.
Although Matsumoto is fairly straight forward for a lead and hero but looking at the others, we've got quite a bunch of characters.
Moss Green Ranger Hayami is a flirt, who we find out later is dating Turkish Twins.
Grey Ranger Yamadera is obsessed with his car, which is a Grey Montage as he calls it, so obsessed that he's in tears while his car is being serviced, like a toddler watching their favorite stuffed animal in the washing machine. Believes the color grey to be a "Regal Manly Color"
Sepia Ranger Ono is a proud parent of a little girl who he buys a stuffed fish for.
And finally Salmon Pink Ranger Hidaka, the only female of the team, hates being referred to as babe, frequently bursting into little rage moments crushing poor innocent coffee cans.
Our villains are a stuck-up Prince and his adviser, along with the Prince's younger cousin Shiina, who learned about how to defeat the Shinesman by copying scenes from the Greatman Show. (A show within a show basically)
And finally the team's manager Sakakibara is basically a big kid in a sexy woman's body, who clearly wants kids considering how gooey eyed she gets over Matsumoto's little brother.
With only two episodes to work with, we quickly see how much effort was made to place in as many gags as possible, something that the dub takes full advantage of and succeeds. Even a simple business card greeting looks awesome and predates Phoenix Wright by at least half a decade.
The gags get even better the more you watch, at one point Shiina accidentally traps herself inside a Godzilla costume uttering the greatest dub line since Twin Signal's "Lake full of Sea" Shiina: I'm gonna die in a Godzilla suit
It gets better when you have attacks like Business Card Cutter and Tie Pin Bomb, you just can't help but smile when the heroes themselves complain about their weapons.
Credit where credits due, it may not have created much impact on it's initial release especially when the creator is a Yaoi specialist, but holds the same kind of legacy Dragon Half has, being produced and marketed as a gag series more so in the west where parody humor is better appreciated, although some praise should be saved for Haim Saban for bringing Power Rangers to the west in the first place, which made it easier for Shinesman to succeed.
Final Verdict: This series is not only my favorite OVA but one of my top ten favorite anime of all time. (No that list isn't ready yet) Definitely find some time to watch it, you won't regret it.
Okay something more tame for this review, today we have another obscure OVA title Assemble Insert. Aww she looks so happy
In generic future Tokyo, the city is being terrorized by the Demon Seed, a nefarious villainous group from the Team Rocket School for Cannon Fodder villains.
Wanting to stop this crime wave a special task force is formed by a group of executives and a mad scientist to find a person strong enough to stop the Demon Seed. After an audition process that would pass for a Britains/Americas Got Talent episode they find Maron Namikaze who is freakishly strong, although to fight the Demon Seed she wears a special robotic suit which further enhances her already freak strength. To compensate her for the crime fighting and to at least try and make some money from the collateral damage Maron causes, she works as an Idol Singer.
I'm not going to lie, the animation style is strange, well it was very late 80s. I find many elements difficult to absorb, for example if they were looking for someone with super strength why would they need them to wear a robotic suit as well when the strength alone is enough, it's not like these villains are hard to defeat, they don't even make an effort when it rains. (Real Plot Point!)
It's proven in the episodes how strong Maron is when she bends the metal microphone stand unconsciously, juggles dumbbells and runs at about 60mph.
I suppose I'm asking too much especially when my last review was Butt Attack Punisher Girl. (That one will haunt me for a while)
Final Verdict: The animation is strange, the story makes no sense and the name of the anime is pathetic, I'd give it a miss.
To try and dig up the weirdest anime of all time wasn't easy, but this one comes close, lets see how long I last before I go into hysterics.
Here is the review for Butt Attack Punisher Girl Gautaman
Mari Amachi starts at a new school named Perfect Religion Academy but all is not well when the Black Buddha Gang kidnap her roommate. To stop this sinister evil, Buddha himself appears before Mari and offers her a special sumo thong that transforms her into the hero Gautaman.
Using her special wedgie powers she fights to save her friends and protect the freedom of religion.
This is a real 45 minute ova series, she saves the world by fighting with her butt and gets stronger when the sumo thong tightens. She catches swords with her butt, for some reason Darth Vader is in it...... *Technical Difficulties one moment please*
Cut me some slack, I watched this with my sister over some Long Island Iced Tea, I'm still racking through my brain the insanity of this show, I've got no more to say, this show is unreviewable.
Final Verdict: If you belong to an Anime Society or frequently band together for marathons then watch this as the final show of the evening and see how weird the Japanese can get.
