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.
Now for a bizarre look into the origins of a certain children's card game.
Yugi Muto is a kid who likes any sort of games; board games, puzzle games, card games, even toy games but being short and fairly weak he doesn't have the most pleasant time in school constantly being bullied. That is until he solves an Egyptian artefact known as the millennium puzzle which transforms his persona into the King of Games, a confident gambler who challenges foes to games of severe consequences ranging from Death to being trapped in an endless illusion but with great power comes more evil foes as more well known regulars Kaiba and Bakura are among a list of rogues wanting a piece of the King of Games.
One thing you can never accuse Yu-Gi-Oh of being is having poor visuals yet season 0 is really hard to look at art wise, it looks almost amateur compared to even Season 1 of the series. Visuals aside I like the high stakes games and the consequences faced by each villain along with numerous creative ways of playing these games and the lack of restraint in each punishment, I almost wish this was still the series I had now, there is a simplistic charm to season 0 that future seasons lack with alot of baggage tied to whatever destiny the current series protagonist has to deal with, as for this series it's always a treat to see what solution Yugi comes up with to break out of his predicament and the cycle repeats frequently each with varying stakes and threat levels, it even made Mokuba a genuine threat.
Definitely no dub as it's likely disowned by the current license holders but if I was to base it on the character's dub in the first season it would have some painful dialogue to work with.
Final Verdict: It really is hard to watch with such a painful art style but offers a unique experience the other seasons lack.
I like to give all anime a chance but sometimes that's impossible.
Midori Makibao is a small white mule with exceptional galloping speed but is too much of a wimp to really be a proper race horse, but after his mother is sold to pay debts and coming to understand his Mother's parting words, Makibao gains the courage to race.
To explain the bizarre art style, it's referred to as Gonk - to make a character deliberately ugly for comedic effect; that can work fine for a one off character but having a whole series with that style along with some utterly piss poor attempts at humour makes Midori no Makibao borderline unwatchable, I only say that because it does improve later on when Makibao races but getting through the early series is just painful.
No dub, it can stay in Japan.
Final Verdict: Kudos if you manage to sit through it long enough to get to the better parts but it's unfunny gross out humour along with it's hideous art style is just not worth the effort.
I've had a request, so now let's look at Tamako Market.
Tamako lives a fairly normal life at the Usagiyama Shopping District as the eldest daughter of a Mochi Shop Owner, that's until she has an encounter with the talking Tropical bird Dera, who is seeking a bride for his master. After misinterpreting Tamako's sneeze along with a series of mishaps, Dera ends up staying with Tamako as life continues at the Shopping District, but will Dera remember his mission? And is there more to his encounter with Tamako?
It's basically K-On with a plot and the art style certainly makes it feel like it's from the same universe; of course trying to put a plot to something similar to K-On and you get the same effect, the plot takes a backseat in favour of the typical slice of life story, which isn't a bad thing as Tamako Market has a vast array of side characters with interesting quirks and then there's Dera who steals the show with his voice and mannerisms.
The only downside is that when they do have to return to the plot it falls flat and you actually want to return to the wholesome slice of life episodes you were watching right up to that point.
Dub is decent if mostly samey as others of that period but Dera does steal the show in both languages.
Final Verdict: If you enjoyed K-On, this is more of the same in a new setting with a host of interesting characters of all types just try not to get too hung up over the plot.
Okay, this was meant to be my Christmas review but it got delayed, hopefully there isn't anymore mishaps.
Made by Filmation of He-Man fame as a sequel to Snow White, the Christmas special focusses around Snow White II, a white haired young girl who sometimes looks older compared to the actual Snow White and her desire to give a Christmas to the children of the Kingdom. But an unusual incident revives the Evil Queen who wastes no time in unleashing a curse on the Kingdom freezing everyone.
It's up to Snow White II, Grunyon and the 7 Giants to break the curse and stop the Evil Queen and save Christmas.
This film is so corny, I guess I can't expect much from an early 80s fairy tale but I half expect Snow White II to not be as gullible as her mother, nor do I expect the giants or Grunyon to be so incompetent, especially when the Evil Queen really unleashes some creative ways of taking out Snow White II.
The voice work is really good at least; overall the film is corny, cheesy and very forgettable as it doesn't do anything that hasn't already been done by better Christmas specials. But the animation is at least decent and the voicework is top notch.
Been a while since I did a throw away ova and this one is no exception.
Tokyo is run by the internet,,,again! But having it do everything just encourages people to hack it.
Enter Alice and her friends Rena and Juri who can enter the Internet world known as Cyberland to stop malevolent viruses from taking over guided by a mysterious voice coming from a program known only as Lucia.
This may as well be a 20 minute advert for the game as it plays exactly like one. It establishes everything the game would've already told you in animated form in a slighty messy way but it simply does it's job of advertising the game and nothing else.
No dub, I doubt even the game left Japan.
Final Verdict: It's fine, it does it's job as an effective advertisement for the game but you'll forget it by tomorrow. Doesn't help that the plot is over used.
