Two more anime will follow this review along with a special on Hugtto Precure but lets start with something easy.
The world of Consume is at war between the Segua and Ninteldo armies, wait, wait, wait. Haven't you already done this series?
Yes, I have but since that review came out, the series got licensed so lets check out the dub.
Long story short this is the video game console wars if it was an actual war with popular game characters and franchises acting as soldiers with names hidden to block pesky copyright; what we get is a lesson in gaming history mixed with a fantasy lore that's convoluted at best and utterly ridiculous at worst. Since neither manga or anime were realeased finished I later abandoned it.
The manga goes off story and focusses on politics surrounding other characters not yet essential to the plot.
The anime cuts off when Gear becomes the new general and all soldiers start getting interested.
Now the dub, the cast knew full well what they were in for and they didn't hold back the video game quotes really making it groantastic not helped by it's frequent attempts to strip it's female characters.
Final Verdict: It'll always be known as a great idea not fully realized but it left it's mark by being that one series brought up in trivia videos on YouTube for years to come.
Another day, another ova, let's see what we got from Labyrinth of Flames.
Galan is a man obsessed with samurai and is willing to do anything to become one but as luck would have it, Natsu gives him a sword with the promise of more at her palace in Russia. Things get strange as it's revealed that Galan has been setup to marry Natsu but ends up in a fight with a couple of female theives who were tracked down by an American Interpol agent.
The title implies that it's a fantasy but it's just an off the wall comedy, probably best remembered for a few Bollywood dance numbers from one of the bandits.
There's no backstory, no way of knowing it's set in Russia bar the music, the dub comes down to "oh my god, Brock from Pokemon is swearing" and it's just plain stupid and this is a 2000 anime which you'd thought by the end of the 90s they'd be beyond this.
Final Verdict: This anime is terrible, the only thing I actually enjoyed was the music, Russian Folk Music is so catchy.
Coming up later will be a Captain Planet review but for now a crappy obscure anime.
The world is in danger but all hope is not lost as the Warrior is around to stop it. With help of the Holy Virgins and a small band of mercenaries, the 3rd Ramunes sets off to slay the evils of the world. There's also mecha and a sci-fi sideplot and the ova is just a borderline hentai compared to the TV show. Guess which one America got stuck with?
Yes the ova where the grown up holy virgins set out to stop the 4th Ramunes.
Okay the TV series is hard to watch as it is, as there are no versions I could find with subtitles.
As for the ova, it's just awful.
The acting lacks any emotion both dub and sub, the art style is already dated by the time of release, the holy virgins powers are confusing as they only seem to activate through orgasm or just screaming very loud, 4th Ramunes just beats up women for the littlest problem bad guy or not hold back already, the story makes no sense, the ending makes even less sense and it pretty much ignores the entire canon of the tv show.
Worst of all it portrays itself as a better anime in it's opening and closing sequences.
Final Verdict: The tv series may just save this but the ova on it's own is dreadful and they never seem apologetic over it, no wonder everyone forget this in the west.
This next list coincides with a change of rules. When I first started I made a rule that I wish not to review younger kids shows unless I grew up with them, but now I'm 32 years old it's time to tweak that a bit, I will now include younger kid shows that have been off the air for at least 10 years.
Now for the list itself, these things will never go out of fashion no matter how much the world changes
1. Wrestling
It's surprisingly compelling and is the most basic concept for Dragonballz and WWE has evolved from at least 40-50 years of pro wrestling back when even my parents were watching it.
2. Dinosaurs
The secret is we really don't know what dinosaurs look like and most popular depictions such as the T Rex are timeless.
3. Ponies
My Little Pony still proves to be girls first choice cartoon and even now ponies are up there with dogs and cats, speaking of which.
4. Anthropomorphic Characters
At heart we all enjoy a bit of furry and this concept is pushing close to hundred years old as the oldest of these characters Felix the Cat, turns 100 years old later this year.
5. Planes, Trains and Automobiles
If it moves it's fascinating, my nephew is so fascinated by this he could probably build one before he turns ten.
6. Super Heroes
Superman started the trend, that has evolved into the biggest money making movies of the modern era.
7. Classic Sci-Fi and Space
Since Sputnik launched in the late 1950s the possibility of space was endless creating some of the best known franchises of all time.
8. Robots
We've put these mechanical beings through every scenario possible and in every shape and size, intelligent or piloted, they are still popular.
9. Classic Fantasy
Sword Fights, Magic of Witches & Wizards, Fantastic Beasts and epic adventures, the possibilities are endless.
10. Princesses
No matter how many times people claim this trope is anti feminist, out of touch with modern society or just being sissy; a pimped out dress, bling jewellery and enough authority for anyone to bow at your feet is something that everyone has imagined themselves at least once.
Sometimes the writers know when something is too serious so they make it silly just rid themselves of the stress of heavy writing.
Honorable Mention
Black Butler Omake Theater
Honestly it was the only good thing to come out of season 2.
10. Rock Lee's Burning Youth from Naruto
Because Rock Lee's performance needed more hamming up, not to mention the poor stoic Neji being a comedic punching bag.
9. Nurse Witch Komugi from SoulTaker
How does a magical girl idol show spinoff from one of the most underrated horror anime of all time?
8. Adventures of the Tiny Goddesses from Ah My Goddess
Because boredom, they need to do something when Keiichi is at college so they play with the shrine's resident rat.
7. Chibi Attack On Titan from Attack On Titan
Everything from chibi school to the usual tropes associated with chibiness, doesn't escape the fact that it span off a show with brutal deaths.
6. Full Metal Panic Fumoffu from Full Metal Panic
This was better than the main series as Souseke attempts to endure school life with only his military history as guidance. Hilarity ensues.
5. Sock Puppet Theater from Noir
When ADVFilms was still around they to had a sense of humour, so they turned this classic piece of thriller into a sock puppet show.
4. SSS Conversations from Madlax
And from the same dub as Noir comes a showcase of phone conversations making fun of everything from old horror films to spy thrillers.
3. Black Lagoon Omake from Black Lagoon
They made Revy a magical girl, genderswapped the cast and turn them into younger versions of themselves just for fun.
2. SD Gundam Original from UC Gundam
I make that clear, the original and probably the oldest example, it's weird, soooo weird.
1. Lodoss Island from Record of Lodoss War
This anime is grim so lets make everyone chibi, play with chibi dragons and just generally have fun. Of all the spinoffs this is the most unexpected.
