New Mecha Anime From BONES- Captain Earth

[Zeino]

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/20 ... tain-earth

Insert mecha Captain Planet jokes here.

[yazi88]

It looks like its holding the Gabthley and Hamrambi's Feyadeen rifle.

[Ryujin]

Speaking of Studio BONES, there's also Space Dandy, to be directed by Shinichiro Watanabe of Cowboy Bebop fame.

[Shinji103]

That mech actually looks pretty bad@$$. From what little we can see of it there, anyway.

[LightningCount]

The silhouette looks interesting and old-school. Sort of Zeorymer-like. The title of the show has me a little wary, though. But not enough info to really make much of an opinion.

[Amion]

The name had me expecting something crazy wacko like...well...Space Dandy.

But that silhouette practically radiates depth and oldschool style. If it is, than the name will be philosophic I'm sure. Or the dark, ominous poster is just there to deceive. I'm going to be looking out for this one.

However, I did not particularly like Bone's work before, animation wise. something about it always kind of struck me oddly. But the people doing the show are different form Eureka 7 Ao, right?

[LightningCount]

The name had me expecting something crazy wacko like...well...Space Dandy.

But that silhouette practically radiates depth and oldschool style. If it is, than the name will be philosophic I'm sure. Or the dark, ominous poster is just there to deceive. I'm going to be looking out for this one.

However, I did not particularly like Bone's work before, animation wise. something about it always kind of struck me oddly. But the people doing the show are different form Eureka 7 Ao, right?

I was expecting something goofy, too, especially since Star Driver was brought up, but this looks old-school mecha sci-fi.

However, maybe you mean character designs for Bones as opposed to animation? Bones is among the best in terms of animation. Just look at stuff like Wolf's Rain, RahXephon, and Cowboy Bebop: The Movie. Starting around the original Eureka 7, which still had great animation, they started to play with more exaggerated, 70s-inspired character designs, which has drastically changed the feel of their productions ever since (depends on one's tastes). Despite that, they still do amazing animation and usually have some of the more noteworthy titles that are at least worth a look. On my list of things to watch, I still have several Bones shows I want to pick up and see when I get the chance.

[Amion]

I think you're right, it's definitely the designs. And shamefully, I haven't seen not one of those you mentioned. Which do you recommend as the best of the bunch? Note, I don't plan to watch Cowboy Beebop the movie, I have it from several sources that it doesn't really add anything, and the series ended well enough for me.

[LightningCount]

I think you're right, it's definitely the designs. And shamefully, I haven't seen not one of those you mentioned. Which do you recommend as the best of the bunch? Note, I don't plan to watch Cowboy Beebop the movie, I have it from several sources that it doesn't really add anything, and the series ended well enough for me.

Hmm. Tough call. Personally, I would put both Wolf's Rain (2003) and RahXephon (2002) as among the best original anime series post-2000, and both are more than worth seeing. Not saying they're flawless, but they really stand out as a whole, and are among my favorite titles. One warning: The writing on both is pretty ambitious, so you won't necessarily "get it" right away, and even after you've seen the endings, you'll still be thinking/talking about them and working out the details. (Also, due to the SARS epidemic in real life, Wolf's Rain has a stretch of four filler episodes midway through when animators couldn't really get to work; however, to make up for this, four OVA episodes were added at the end of the series to wrap it up).

If you want a mecha series with lots of supernatural/historical elements, I'd pick RahXephon.
If you want an adventure/journey series in a fantasy/sci-fi world, I'd pick Wolf's Rain.

Neither series is simple to explain by comparison, but...

Wolf's Rain is sort of like Cowboy Bebop meets Vampire Hunter D, Ergo Proxy (Manglobe, 2006), and Witch Hunter Robin (2002, Sunrise). Adult Swim Trailer from mid-2000s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH4LtVKC-sM
(IMDB has it listed as 7.9/10). Animenewsnetwork.com gave it an A- and said: "...a series that takes the traditional hero's journey and builds a new legend out of it. Set in a vivid modern-fantasy world, with remarkable characters and powerful emotions, Wolf's Rain is a series that deserves the praise it gets."

RahXephon is sort of like Evangelion meets Macross. ADV Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbiGpBQcn7Q (IMDB has it listed as 7.4/10). Naturally, this one is more "mecha related" and is featured here on MAHQ, where it has a review aggregate of 4.00/5 stars. (Code Geass has 3.84/5 stars, Gundam Wing has 3.55/5, Gundam 00 has 3.96/5). Animenewsnetwork.com gave it an A+ by the end and said: "While the comparison isn't entirely fair to RahXephon, it's easiest to view the series as a competently executed, intelligent, adult version of Evangelion...and proves that animation is capable of telling stories that are unique and special to an educated and focused mind."

IMPORTANT: This is one where you skip the movie, or only watch it after the series. It is a retelling compilation movie that doesn't work very well, despite some nice new animation in the beginning, which is worth seeing only AFTER seeing the series).

I'll leave it up to you on which you'd like to see. Both series have very famous staff members in anime. Due to their tone, pacing, art style, and genres, they aren't as well-known these days. The trends of recent anime have sort of moved away from stuff like this. I've run into a lot of anime fans that take issue with the fact that the designs aren't bubbly/cute enough and that the series take themselves too seriously.

Side note: Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is actually worth seeing. It does not ruin the series in any way at all. It is not a sequel. It takes place between roughly episodes 22 and 23. It's a stand-alone tale that's extremely well animated and a lot of fun with some interesting allegories/parallels to what Spike is going through in the main series. Much better crafted than the recent Trigun movie, which tried to do a similar thing.

[Amion]

They both sound intriguing, although I'm leaning more toward Wolf's Rain right now.

[Ryujin]

Meanwhile, out in the space....




They're from different studios, but I kinda wish that Space Dandy & Redline shared the same universe.

[hitokirigarou]

Love the combination sequence.

It looks like a war between Earth humans and Moon humans.

[Ryujin]

Can't really comment on anything else at this early a point, but all that docking gives, to me, a nostalgic, old-school super robot vibe to the show.

[Victorize]

Didn't care for the overlong docking sequence myself. Actually, I was more or less digging the first ep all the way up to the "WHAT CAN I DOOOOO?!?!?!" scene. I know it's just a typical anime sort of trope, but pretty much everything from that point was just kinda "...seriously?" for me. But the animation is gorgeous and I want to know more about bubble girl and shota-Tieria so I'll keep on it for now.

[Zeonista]

i watched the first episode last night and was pleasantly surprised. The title invites comparison with the ridiculous, but the opening episode set up an interesting story about a boy who was born to pilot a giant robot. It then caps things off with a mighty launch & assembly sequence featuring the gratuitous display of mecha might that made me a lifetime fan in the Eighties. This show puts BONES alongside Sunrise & IG for retro style anime done right.

[Mythgarr]

"Are you a Captain?"

Why, Japan, can't you that he is an underage kid, so no way he's a captain!

(Cool mecha though, although the gattai sequence is too long. Also: supernatural stuffs!)

[Raikoh]

"Are you a Captain?"

Why, Japan, can't you that he is an underage kid, so no way he's a captain!

(Cool mecha though, although the gattai sequence is too long. Also: supernatural stuffs!)

He's not a ship captain (大佐), he's a Captain!

And honestly, I can't see the big deal about the long combination sequence, because it was awesome. It only would become a problem if it was being used as stock footage, which (considering the length) I doubt is going to happen. I think we're going to have a case where, like Nanoha, the flashy fancy transform/combine sequence is shown once as a sort of "Well, we need this to be in the genre" thing and probably will be skipped (or at least compressed) in the future.

A few more interesting tidbits:
- Characters voiced by Sakamoto Maaya and Suzumura Kenichi are a couple.
- The Kill-T-Gang mentioned "Libido" by name. Is Captain Earth set in the same continuity as Star Driver? (And before you say anything about libido being a word, I mean Libido, the energy that was used in Star Driver and spoken in English)
- Orgone Energy. I squee when they bring out really obscure philosophical nerd bonuses like that (though I only know what it is since Super Robot Wars J made me look it up...)
- I'm not sure if Earth Engine reminds me most of Tauburn on the Obari Workout, Heroman in a Fusion Dance with Dangaioh, or White Gunbuster.

[iCards]

First two episodes were pretty good.

The first ones ending kind of threw me, but episode two cleared that up. The gun, Livelaster, may be a lifeform that was influncing Daichi a bit to pilot the the Earth Engine. Daichi also seems to have a handle on the Livelaster, teleporting it from a safe and using it to blow the tower up. That incident sure dealt with the creepy handler's ringing headset.

[Vent Noir]

I started to like Daichi when

Spoiler

he shot that tower.

[Deacon Blues]

He's not a ship captain (大佐), he's a Captain!

大佐 is a rank. You're thinking of 艦長 (kanchou).