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Gatchaman Fighter: Complete Collection (anime review)

Title: Gatchaman Fighter: Complete Collection

Director: Hisayuki Toriumi

Studio: Tatsunoko Productions

U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U. S. Release Date: July 4th, 2017

Format: DVD / 48 Episodes / 1200 Minutes

Genre: Sci Fi, Fantasy, Action, Adventure

Age Rating: TV 13

Overall Personal Grade: C

Synopsis:

Gatchaman Fighter the complete collection contains episodes 1-48.

The fight against Leader X was finally over, but a small portion of his evil remained and regenerated into Leader Z! Now, with the aid of the monstrous Count Egobossler, the Gatchaman team’s arch-foe is out to destroy the world again, and even though their ranks have been decimated, the Gatchaman force has no choice but to keep fighting. To combat their new foes, they’ll need new weapons and new allies, but their mission remains the same: protect the Earth and Mankind, no matter the cost. And that cost may prove to be the ultimate one when the new Gatchafencer blade wielded by Ken turns out to be a double-edged sword. Find out who will live, who will die, and who will triumph as Japan’s most famous sci-fi fighter team takes on their greatest challenge!

Commentary:

I’m not too sure that there can always be a case made to bring older anime back. It might just be a case that the cost to package and sell made it worth the trouble or someone who truly loves a series is doing in hopes to renew a fandom for a classic. Gatchaman Fighter is a vital part of the Gatchaman series, but it just might have been better off being left on the self.

I don’t too many older Gatchaman (a.k.a. Battle of the Planets) fans that are still out there needing an additional Ninja Science team fix, but if there are then they will be happy to get their hands on Gatchaman Fighter.

Overall Grade: C

Not everything ages well and Gatchaman Fighter is one of those anime that just proves how much better production values have become. Unfortunately many older shows come across as campy, but this one just becomes distracting and with  secondary story and writing the 48 episodes just don’t measure up.

Gatchaman fans will be after this set, I just feel like it would be few and far between that will work to show it off to a new generation. Even so, there will be more than just a few fans happy to see it.

 

Ping Pong (anime review)

Ping PongTitle: Ping Pong 

Director: Masaaki Yuasa

Studio: Tatsunoko Productions

Music: Kensuke Ushio

U. S. Distributor: Funimation Entertainment

U. S. Release Date: June 23rd, 2015

Format: DVD/ Blu-ray/ 11 Episodes / 275 Minutes

Genre: Seinen, Coming of Age, Sports

Age Rating: TV 14

Overall Personal Rating: A-

Synopsis:

Smile and Peco. Peco and Smile. Besties from the beginning, both with a badass backhand. Peco is known for his arrogance on the table tennis court, and Smile for his silence. But with a new school year and a new high school table tennis team, both boys are in for a challenge, on – and off – the court.

Peco’s slacker ways are hurting his game, and after getting crushed in a tournament, he decides to quit. Smile is finally learning to harness his natural talents, but can he squash his sympathy for his opponents enough to beat them?

Commentary:

Several years ago I had the opportunity to review a live action adaptation of Ping Pong and when I heard that the anime was being done I was very edited. The story is not so much the tail of Ping Pong players as it is the story of how these young men are finding their way in the world and how things change as they come of age. There is also the underlying question “Will the Hero Arrive”?

Anyway as I started watching the series I was at first blown away but the animation stylings and the free flowing aspects to the artistic choices. As I got further into the series I began to find it somewhat of a copout for shortcutting some of the visual language. I understand what they are trying to do with this loose and free line work, we have seen it may times in other anime when there is a reason to slip in a new perspective to a series. In the case of Ping Pong I think there should have been a little more attention to the solid conformity to the characters rattan than give us a loose depiction of the overall settings story. I think that with some more attention to detail there would have been a much more solid understanding of these characters as a hole.

The great thing about Ping Pong is that it is such a powerful story to begin with that even a loose free flowing artistic style did not fail the essence of the series. We live through self assurance turned self doubt and also see self loathing turned into loathing of all external forces. We get to taste how one owns understanding of who they are can make all the difference in the world and how powerful just playing a game at your best just for fun is where all the true fun lies.

Overall Grade: A-

Ping Pong is a powerful story that deserves a chance. If you do not like the animation style just give the story a chance. It won’t take long before you don’t care how it looks and just want to see how things turn out. I promise that this story will make you rethink your own ambitions or lack there of.

After you have watched the series you should check out the film, it was done by Sora, the same director who did Appleseed and a few other high profile CG films. But remember this film is not about special effects it is about the human condition and understanding ourselves.

Find out for yourself if the Hero arrives.