Reviews
Dejimon seibâzu (2006)
Just as I expected
The moment I read the meaning of the acronym DATS (Digital Accident Tactics Squad) on Wikipedia, I just KNEW it was going to be campy. Extremely campy.
Masaru Daimon is a general jerk-type person/street fighter who's always looking for a stronger opponent. When he gets into a fight with an Agumon, they eventually become partners. Why? Because both were impressed with each others' fighting skills. It goes even more downhill when he's put on the surveillance tabs of agent Yoshino Fujieda, who works for DATS. DATS is your typical secret government agency that monitors and polices digimon activity in the real world. Sound familiar? In fact, it's almost a fusion of Hypnos from the Tamers season, and AEGIS from Gatekeepers.
Comes complete with a command center hidden in a supposedly abandoned warehouse by the docks, two bridge bunnies and their own Pawn Chessmon partners, a somewhat badass supreme commander with sharp-framed sunglasses who has a freaky Renamon-like thingy (that hangs out on his shoulder all the time, like a scarf) for an adviser, three mixed up field agents and their digimon partners, and finally, a single cramped car for all-around transportation. Oh, and did I mention the turtle-like digimon who brings refreshments? And the neuralizer rip-off they use to wipe the minds of witnesses? Yeah...
So anyways, Masaru eventually joins DATS because 1) a mysterious old man in a straw hat (ala Medabots) suggested it, and 2) he figured that by doing so, he could fight lots of strong digimon. Poor kid's not even concerned about the actual mission, namely protecting the human populace from realizing wild digimon, etc. Which gives big minus points for this show in my book. The thing about digimon I always looked up to is that it always had a gogglehead with a likable attitude, no matter how stupid. Hell, Masaru doesn't even wear goggles... But yeah, I don't like his attitude. All he cares about is beating the snot out of any wild digimon that dares to appear. As Agent Tohma Norstein would put it, no strategies, no tactics, no thoughts at all before doing anything.
Suffice to say, the opening theme is also campy. I still can't stop laughing myself off whenever that part plays. Plotwise, it reminds me of Gatekeepers so far, minus the whole trio of supreme baddies. Probably since the supreme baddies haven't been revealed yet.
I'm keeping my hopes up for this series. And hopefully it evolves into something that Digimon has always hooked me in for. Good action, good character development, good digimon too. Maybe if Commander Satsuma got to show everybody that his badassness wasn't all for show and totally pwned some poor digimon who never saw him coming. Yeah, that would be awesome... Recommends? Yeah sure, watch it if you like campy Secret agency that recruits kids with special abilities to do its dirty work type anime. As for myself, I'll keep on hoping.
City of Angels (1998)
Brilliant
I'm not much of a sucker for waff or the sort, but I couldn't help but check this out, being a believer in these kinds of things. Although the plot was rather predictable (specially the ending, where she dies), I pretty much enjoyed the execution. Probably my favorite aspect of this is that the angels weren't your stereotype dudes in white robes and wings and stuff. The black coats were awesome. And the sunrise/sunset at the beach gatherings where they listen to celestial music give the impression that these guys are really devoted to their work. The scenes with Franz were my personal favorite. He was the bridge, so to speak, between Cage and Ryan's characters. The irony of the end was what really got to me. I love irony. So yeah... this one gets a 10 from me.
SD Gundam Force (2003)
Funny, but quite annoying
Yep. A Gundam kids show. Unbelievable? Not quite. That's exactly what this is. The characters are really funny, although sometimes they can get a little out of hand and annoying. I enjoyed the first season quite thoroughly. The next season disappoints in a way, though. Those three Dark Axis 'honchos', Zapper Zaku, Grappler Gouf, and Destroyer Dom? They're nothing but comic relief now! It wasn't like before where they actually posed a threat or actually did anything useful. Now they always get stuck somewhere with all of their Zaku Soldiers... Pitiful, really. My only hope is that they are returned to their former glorified funny villain status, instead of their current pathetic comic relief state.
Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi (2004)
Cute... Childish... Urm... Puffy...
This show is, how should I putt it? Well, let's see... just what the title says. It's cute, in a sense childish, and probably the only sensible adjective to give it, PUFFY. The songs are cool, to the point where I got one stuck in my head because it's quite catchy. They're CUTE...(that's the point, isn't it?) The plots are the most clichéd things you've ever seen, and I've watched 3/4 of what's been shown, and I haven't seen anything original quite yet.
SPOILERS!!! The matador idea has been around since Looney Tunes - so have the robot doubles and problems with babies and demonic possession by means of cursed tools of some kind.
Vampires, getting a new job because you got fired, erm... yeah, that's a lot. I guess it can be summarized as pure mindless clichéd fun. Clichéd, but fun nonetheless.
I'm being lenient right now and suppressing my TRUE disappointment for this show, as I can't seem to find that many Pros to counteract the flood of Cons I see. Other than the music and the greedy little manager (he's the clichéd type too, but I like a greedy little man. They're the funniest characters around), I can't see anything here. It's so-so, in my eyes, and even THAT is a euphemism. I don't think it even deserves that. Go ahead and tell me I'm biased! I don't deny it. I'm biased. It's just how I am, okay? Every time I tune in to the show, I start feeling dull and feel like changing the channel. Every time my hopes go up for an interesting and original plot, it lets me down. I've come to the point of feeling void whenever I see their faces on TV. I don't even know what I still watch the thing!!!
My rating says it all... 1/5.