When it comes to the announcement of Apple TV‘s release date, waiting by the computer the past few weeks has been unbearable to say the least. But, the question has been answered, Apple TV is heading to preorders this coming Monday, October 26th for those (me) looking to get into the newest edition of Apple’s answer to the entertainment industry.
With orders set for Monday and thus reportedly shipping on the 30th, Apple is introducing a long awaited upgrade to a system that many assumed was a dead project. Boasting an upgraded A8 processor, refreshed remote and two separate storage capacities (32 GB for $149 and 64 GB for $199), Apple is looking to blow open the door for in-home entertainment, reopening a rivalry with competitive streaming/set -top boxes in Chromecast, Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
Throw in a revamped UI, Siri-controlled viewing experience, an App Store and and introduction of a gaming platform, the Apple TV is a fresh take on Apple’s evolution of the TV service. Starting from the beginning, Apple TV was introduced in 2006 and first released in 2007 under the code name “iTV.” From there, we saw the interface evolve from the side bar and floating options, to a more stabilized menu option and finish right now in the current menu format, with all your tiles arranged under the iTunes Store options. With the ability to purchase or rent the newest shows and movies, as well as listen to your iTunes library, Apple looked to the living room as their next adventure, but that adventure soon became a tale lost in time.
With Generations 1 and 2 revealed in the time of Steve Jobs, and the third edition revealed just two years following his death, it was evident his dream of entering the living room were dying away. Until this September.
At the September 9th Special Event, Tim Cook announced the newest addition to the Apple TV family along side it’s brand new iPad Pro. Since then, the website has read “Coming Soon,” and my anxiety has skyrocketed. But now, with the reports that pre-orders will begin on Monday, assuming it will open at 12:01 am PT, or 3:01 am EST, we will see if the new Apple TV is going to live up to the hype, or if it is a fresh introduction to another impending neglect? If what I have seen is true, then we are looking at a new and innovative entry into a long list of Apple products.
Stay tuned to MonkeysFightingRobots for my unboxing video of the brand new Apple TV when I receive it!
There is a story going around the web that a man killed himself because the main character in Star Wars: The Force Awakens is black. This story by News Watch 33 is a hoax. We called WCNC the NBC affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina to verify the story and they thought we were nuts.
The story is a great click-bait headline, but once you dig deeper you realize it is a more of a bad Onion article. The website in question is based out of India and has only been up and running for a few months.
Look, there’s no point including John Carpenter’s 1978 masterpiece Halloween in an article ranking Halloween films. It’s number one, because it’s far superior to every other film in the franchise without question. Let’s get that out of the way. Carpenter’s creepy-crawly slasher flick was a master class in mood, suspense, and the theory that less is more. Sadly, the flicks it inspired following 1978 had to amp up the gore to get any attention, and that leaked directly into the sequels to Halloween.
Carpenter’s film spawned seven direct sequels, a reboot, and a sequel to said reboot. They are all inferior, we know that, but of the nine films some are much more tolerable than others. At times, the continuing adventures of Michael Myers are barely watchable, other times they are solid entertainment. Let’s try and sort these things out…
9) Halloween II (2009) – Not only is Rob Zombie’s follow up to his own reboot a terrible Halloween film, it is a wholly unwatchable, abhorrent attempt at filmmaking. Zombie’s first reboot was thankfully locked into a plot not his own, so his typical trashy characters and bizarre nonsense was kept at bay. In Halloween II, however, the reigns have been let go. What we get then is a dark, dingy, incomprehensible film, complete with the ghost of Michael’s mother, played by Sherry Moon Zombie (of course), a dream with a white horse, and a color palette that is indescribable. Michael’s mask is barely recognizable, and Laurie Strode (Scout Taylor-Compton) now follows the tired Zombie trope that all his character must be white trash. Awful, awful, awful.
8) Halloween: Resurrection (2002) – The last entry into the “original” sequels isn’t as aggressively awful as Zombie’s own sequel, it’s just flat, lazy, and uninspired. Jumping on the Reality TV craze that was taking off in the early 2000s, Resurrection puts six one-dimensional characters, or contestants, in the childhood home of Michael Myers. What could possibly go wrong? The forgettable characters are killed off in uninspiring deaths until Busta Rhymes, another relic of 2002, saves the day. The central issue with Resurrection is the fact the entire film takes place in one house. The monotony is crippling.
7) Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995) – This was the first entry into the franchise produced by Dimension, and the slick prod values and vapid storytelling are evidence of the transition. The most notable thing about this sixth Halloween film is it’s credited as the film debut of Paul Rudd, wh plays the adult version of Tommy from the original (Clueless has already been released, but this was technically filmed first). Beyond that, there is literally nothing memorable about The Curse of Michael Myers. The mask looks odd, the murders are dull, and the man in black who was introduced in the fifth film is revealed and is hilariously awful.
6) Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989) – Much like the first two films, Halloween 5 is a direct sequel to Halloween 4, continuing the story but without any of the charm or energy of the fourth film. Michael is blown away in 4, falls into a river, and is saved by some strange drifter. It doesn’t take long for Michael to recover and head back into town to finish what he started. His cousin, Jamie (Danielle Harris) is in the hospital after the dark events at the end of 4. Donald Pleasance is back as Loomis, and he is even more of a loon this time around than he ever has been. The nutty performance by Pleasance is the only bright spot of an otherwise drab retread of the better film which preceded it.
5) Halloween III: Season of The Witch (1982) – The second sequel to Carpenter’s original is the only film in the franchise not not star Michael Myers. He is mentioned in the film, but only in throwaway moments. This film focuses on Conal Cochran, a madman who plans on selling his popular Silver Shamrock masks to all the kids – all of them – therein brainwashing them into becoming a murderous lemming army. The plot involves a Celtic curse, Stonehenge, and any number of 50s-inspired mad scientist themes. While Halloween III is decent in its own right, it feels like a film exclusive to the franchise for obvious reasons.
4) Halloween (2007) – Rob Zombie’s reboot is his best film as a director. This is not meant to be a compliment more than it is a process of elimination. Zombie’s horribly unhinged violence is on full display here, and when Michael Myers attacks Laurie Strode and her friends his decision to uncontrollably vibrate the camera is beyond distracting. We also get 45 minutes of backstory we never really needed or wanted. Nevertheless, the aesthetics are good enough, and Michael is more imposing than he had been in quite some time. It was a competent reboot, but necessary? That’s another story.
3) Halloween II (1981) – Picking up right where Carpenter’s film left off with Laurie Strode being transported to the hospital, Halloween II is somewhat competent as a sequel. Carpenter, who produced the film, was the one who requested the violence be amped up to compete with the slasher flicks that had been released since his original film. Michael’s plodding gait is a device now, not an ominous threat. The increased gore erases the suspense from which the first film was built, and instead becomes a series of elaborate kills. And at least the film has some creativity in that department, namely the hot tub that somehow can get hot enough to boil human beings. Overall, Halloween II is a pale comparison to the original, but that’s really the status quo for all these films.
2) Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later (1998) – Halloween “Water” has nostalgia on its side. Ignoring the four sequels between Halloween II and itself, Halloween Water brings Jamie Lee Curtis back into the fold. Now, Laurie Strode has changed her name and moved to California where she is the headmistress of a boarding school and a functioning alcoholic. Can’t blame her for that. She also has a teenage son (Josh Hartnett in his film debut) who becomes a target of Michael Myers once he returns. The film does a good job of building suspense, and is wisely the shortest entry into the franchise. The gore is toned down, and the suspense is built on a solid foundation.
1) Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988) – For all of its flaws and issues, Halloween 4 still manages to have fewer flaws and issues than any of the other sequels. One of its strengths is the addition of Danielle Harris as Jamie Lloyd, Michael’s troubled cousin. It hearkens back to the original film, which was the story of a disturbed young child more than anything else. Jamie even dons the signature clown costume in the film’s bleak and daring finale. Michael Myers is more menacing here than he had been since the original, and Donald Pleasance had not yet gone off the rails like he did in the follow up.
If these two videos don’t make your inner fanboy and girl go crazy, then your are probably dead and you will sadly miss Star Wars: The Force Awakens in December.
The stars of The Force Awakens, John Boyega and Daisy Ridley watched the new trailer last night and their reactions are pure and honest. Boyega owns the trailer until the potential light saber battle and then he hides behind his couch. Enjoy this great moment and December can’t get here soon enough.
Lucasfilm and visionary director J.J. Abrams join forces to take you back again to a galaxy far, far away as “Star Wars” returns to the big screen with Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Episode VII in the Star Wars Saga, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, opens in theaters December 18, 2015.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan & Abrams, features a cast including actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Crystal Clarke, Pip Andersen, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow. They will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker.
Conspiracy videos can be a lot of fun, no matter how far-fetched they may get. Occasionally. conspiracy videos can get pretty creepy in the way they tie one seemingly innocuous thing to the next in a series of coincidences that, at some point, stop feeling coincidental.
Which leads me to the new conspiracy video claiming Robert Zemeckis and Back to The Future correctly predicted the 9/11 terror attacks at the World Trade Center. Before getting into details, here it is:
The first half is pretty wild. The Twin Pines into Lone Pines thing was the first thing I thought about from the original Back to The Future, but I didn’t even remember the images of the Twin Towers in Back to The Future II. The end of the video goes off the rails a little, and it either loses me or intentionally creeps me right out.
The image of Marty McFly at the beginning of BTTF II and Phillip Petit from The Walk is definitely startling, not to mention the tie in with the World Trade Center and Zemeckis releasing a film in October 2015. Many, many coincidences, almost to the point where they aren’t coincidences at all…
Since the announcement of its debut, Star Wars fans everywhere were feverishly waiting for Monday Night Football (that’s a sentence I never thought I would write). The trailer didn’t disappoint as it gave us our best look yet at the soon to be released Episode 7.
The internet reacted accordingly to the monumental release with fans all around the world, young and old, famous and not-so-famous, Jedi and Sith, sharing their thoughts on Twitter.
We decided to compile all the reactions from celebrities to die hard fans to give a look at some of the funniest reactions and maybe a few easter eggs that may have gone unnoticed.
This is how a fan base reacts to the first true glimpse of Star Wars: The Force Awakens:
Just came back from fan girling over that star wars trailer .
Star Wars destroyed the internet tonight when Star Wars: The Force Awakens ticket presale crashed Fandango. The epic franchise took over Monday Night Football when Disney and Lucasfilm released the latest trailer during half-time of the game. Below is the top 10 images of from the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer, with a few bonus images. The images are in chronological order to go along with the trailer.
Lucasfilm and visionary director J.J. Abrams join forces to take you back again to a galaxy far, far away as “Star Wars” returns to the big screen with Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Episode VII in the Star Wars Saga, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, opens in theaters December 18, 2015.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan & Abrams, features a cast including actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Crystal Clarke, Pip Andersen, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow. They will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker.
Lucasfilm and visionary director J.J. Abrams join forces to take you back again to a galaxy far, far away as “Star Wars” returns to the big screen with Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Episode VII in the Star Wars Saga, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, opens in theaters December 18, 2015.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, directed by J.J. Abrams from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan & Abrams, features a cast including actors John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, Crystal Clarke, Pip Andersen, Domhnall Gleeson, and Max von Sydow. They will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker.
The film is being produced by Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk, and John Williams returns as the composer.
“The you in you isn’t the you you think is in you.” –Satoshi Kon
Satoshi Kon was known for many things, subjective reality, mentally broken characters, and fluid visuals. He loved using skewed perspectives and messing with the continuity, Kon loved making his audience just as confused as his characters. Kon was also known for making a darn good movie, Perfect Blue, is no exception.
Whew, alright. Perfect Blue, I can do this, I can do this. [Eighty minutes later] I can’t do this! I can’t do this!
Perfect Blue is a pretty interesting case when it comes to Kon’s Movie career. Originally set to be a live-action movie, due to an earthquake that hit the studio the budget was lowered to just an animated OVA. This was when Satoshi Kon was brought on. Kon and Murai (the screenwriter) decided they could do better than the book and was basically given free reign on how they change the story. Due to Otomo being a “Special Advisor” (whatever that means) the budget was raised to a full animated movie.
Animated in 1997 by Madhouse, Perfect Blue marks the true beginning of Kon’s directorial career. In the film you see many themes and styles that we’ve come to recognize as Kon’s. Chief among these are editing style, smoothly cutting from scene to scene, subjective reality, and the theme of the ‘Male Gaze.’
This is a freakin’ confusing movie. Much more so than Kon’s other works, even Paranoia Agent or Paprika. The reason being is that this movie is designed to confuse you. It’s calibrated to have you change opinions every ten minutes. Whereas Kon expects you to understand Paprika and Paranoia Agent. As proof of this, I wrote notes about my thoughts on Perfect Blue while watching it for the second time, and my ideas were all over the place. It’ll be at the bottom the article for you to check out.
But if that isn’t enough to convince you, Satoshi Kon himself said in an interview that he was unsatisfied with the ending of Perfect Blue, and wished he could have made it more confusing… thank goodness he didn’t. It’s hard enough as it is.
Perfect Blue is not supposed to be fully understood. No matter how many times you view this film, it won’t get any easier to understand. Perfect Blue is designed to force you to come up with your own conclusions, your own theories. Similar to the ending of Inception, but with the entire second half. The reason Kon said he didn’t find it all that confusing, was because the continuity is not something that can be pieced together easily, if at all. Mima couldn’t make sense of her life or what was truly going on, so to pull us into her head, neither can we.
It’s hard to come up with an exhaustive writing on the themes of the movie, or how the characters have developed. Even after just finishing the movie it feels like a blur. But that is all intentional, Perfect Blue is Satoshi Kon’s most subjective movie. It’s up to us to make sense of things. It’s up to us to discover the themes. It’s up to you. That is why, I’ll leave it to you. But if you wish to see what I thought, just scroll a little lower. But I warn you, I’m not entirely sure or anything yet. I haven’t come to my own conclusion yet, and I doubt I ever will. But that just adds to my Perfect Blue watching experience.
Kon loved challenging his viewers to make sense of what’s happening, and consider their own perspectives, his movies may seem cynical and pessimistic, but underneath there lies a layer of vain hope. “With feelings of gratitude for all that is good in this world, I put down my pen. Now excuse me, I have to go.” –Satoshi Kon
Watching Notes:
The movie opens up with the “Power-rangers” and then some crowd chatter before going backstage where we see CHAM in chaos. Mima runs on stage and title sequence.
After title sequence we see Mima on a train, listening to her song, while staring at her own reflection. This is an important theme of the movie, either self-image (how you see yourself) or the reflection is a fake mima, of which there are a few.
We cut back and forth between Mima on stage and her everyday life. Showing us a clear distinction between these lifestyles, something that will be contrasted by Mima’s personal life being interfered by her professional one.
We already begin to see the smooth cuts Satoshi Kon is known for. It’s been with him throughout his major directing career, his style of directing was something we didn’t see in Magnetic Rose because he wasn’t directing it.
Four minutes in we have a cut that goes straight from Mima’s chest to her back. This is almost definitely foreshadowing her reliance on sexual content to keep afloat later on, and the rape, both of them.
Right in the beginning we have a, in this case group of, super big fans disrupting Mima’s professional performance, just like the threats we’ll be getting later.
Rumi is really fighting for her singing… just saying…
Five minutes and we’ve met the stalker. What thematic purpose does he have? How much of everything is he really responsible for?
With the hand shot of Mima from the Stalker’s perspective, it’s already established that he objectifies her. The previous group of fans disrupt this… could this signify that the Stalker plays a different role than the group of fans???
Mima’s singing voice sounds nothing like her normal voice.
The lyrics to Mima’s last song is TOTALLY symbolic of her leaving CHAM!
Mima’s Room was started before the show… definitely done by Rumi.
“Bye bye, Mima the Pop Idol” is a really freaky line of dialogue if you’ve seen Perfect Blue before.
That breathy call was supposed to seem like Stalker, but it sounded more… ‘feminine’
This movie most shows its age when Mima is confused about the internet
It’s interesting the two main characters of ‘Double Bind’ slip into character immediately, when Mima get’s lost in her own.
Stalker is on set! I repeat! Stalker is on set!
On ‘Double Bind’ we don’t know who the killer is… just like in Perfect Blue
Rumi looks visibly uncomfortable with Mima not being a Pop Idol… just saying…
Idiot, opening mail that isn’t yours??? Baka
The letter bomb is either from Stalker (supposedly on set) or Rumi (looked uncomfortable when the letter was mentioned)
Rumi used to be an Idol herself??? That’s… suspicious… just saying…
Rumi doesn’t seem too phased by the letter bomb
Of course Rumi belittles it as “A prank”
Rumi’s goal seems to be to mentally disturb Mima, the letter bomb, introducing her to Mima’s Room, and possibly the fax???
The May 12th entry confirms is has to be Rumi
Kinda surprising a primetime show like ‘Double Bind’ has nudity.
Nudity on the POSTER TOO? Japan is crazy…
Stalker seems happy to save ‘Mima-rin’
Stalker definitely killed one of the fans at the beginning “The hit-and-run”
This is where the reality stuff gets complicated…
Mima’s character changes personalities when raped… perhaps real Mima too? It is a scary event, real or not.
CHAM Mima will come out.
Perhaps is this rape this is the cause of the whole Dopple-Mima, the time she fights it off is when she regains herself? Will look out for it.
Stalker is on set! I repeat! Stalker is on set!
Yikes, that is uncomfortable.
At least the guy is sorry.
Wow, that is even more uncomfortable.
Rumi really hates this… it’s ruined any chance of returning to being a Pop Idol… just saying…
Mima seems pretty unfazed by the rape scene. I guess Rumi handled it the worst.
OKAY! WHO KILLED THE FISH! I WILL MURDER THEM UNTIL THEY’RE DEAD! Seriously… that’s just mean.
Fish death means more to Mima than being (fake) raped.
I guess Mima really IS a good actress if she held her emotions in until now.
Yep, as soon as rape was involved, Idol-Mima has appeared.
The fish aren’t dead? Wow, Mima was really affected by that scene. “I see dead people, I mean fish, I see dead fish.”
That scene… showed Stalker writing on Mima’s Room? But.. I thought… Rumi…
These idol fans are pretty obsessed with innocence.
Okay… I can see Stalker writing this. But he must have an amazing ear to have heard the May 12th entry.
Idol-Mima is a combination of Mima’s inner want to be an idol again, and everyone else’s (Rumi and Stalker most notably) desire for that as well.
Idol-Mima’s existence stems from the Rape scene and the stubbornness of ‘Mimi-rin’s’ fans
Gosh, the music in the scene paired with the visuals of Idol-Mima hopping streetlights is sooo chilling. Love it!
Ahh, the first murder. This is almost definitely Stalker, but it still could be Rumi…
“Was stabbed umpteen times” What? Umpteen times?? What does that even mean???
Mima is smothering her feelings about showing her body by showing her body…
Everyone can see Idol-Mima???
Stalker can’t stand other people seeing Mima naked… or does he want it all for himself…
Perhaps Stalker, or Me-mania, isn’t running Mima’s Room? Yeah, I think so.
Right there, “There is no way illusions can come to life.” That answers the riddle! It’s all Rumi either doing the things, or convincing Stalker to! I wish it stayed this easy.
Did Mima get run over by Stalker? Or is this a dream? It’s a dream? Right? Right?
What if… perhaps… just maybe… Rumi and Stalker are related??? Their faces look pretty familiar, at least the eyes do.
So it was all a day-dream from Mima! Ah, how confusing.
Oh, so Mima’s just getting time mixed up now.
Yesterday!? Then why is the news spouting the same story?
Yep, okay. I got it now. In real life, Mima’s illusion is Idol-Mima, who possesses Stalker and Rumi. In Double Bind, Mima’s illusion is a security guard (much like Stalker) that possesses Rumi.
That was a reference to Opus! Cooool.
Yeah, Rumi is the one killing the photographer guy, we’re just seeing Mima’s illusion. Unless Mima’s doing it, and her illusion is possessing her! Probably not.
But Mima has the evidence so… she really did to it?
I really hope this scene is just a clever nod by the screenwriter to Mima’s actual life, and not a hint that perhaps Double Bind is real life, and the ‘real life’ is just a show. I really hope so.
This is Stalker finally doing what he promised Idol-Mima almost twenty minutes ago! Geez Stalker, get your act together.
But now Stalker admits to killing the other two??? Ugh
Stalker isn’t… natural. He didn’t flinch when Mima threw stuff at him, and his head didn’t move at all when she hammered him. Pretty sure he’s just one of her illusions.
Wait that was filming? But filming is done already! a;lsdhj;aosh b;oahg s This is so confusing!!!
Okay, definitely not filming. Whew, that’s not an aspect of confusion anymore.
What Rumi said there, “Back to Mima’s Room.” That is a worrisome line.
This… is not Mima’s real room, it’s too clean and perfect, completely unlike when we last saw it. Weird…
Aaand the fishes are dead again. Great.
Aaand the other producer guy’s dead. Great.
Aaand Stalker’s dead. Great.
Geez, what kind of fish are these? Lazarus fish?
Yep, different room. It was clean, the fish are in a different place. And Mima never had a train outside her window.
AND the Rumi twist is revealed! Bum bum BUUUUUUMMM!
Confirmed: Rumi is running Mima’s Room, and emailed Stalker as Mima.
Confirmed: Rumi killed the others, or at least told Stalker what weapon to use.
Now these fish are dead for real. Right?
Wow that’s a sharp umbrella.
Wow, that image of Idol-Mima standing in front of a moving truck, thinking it’s a crowd… that’s really good.
Okay so I’m going to be referring to Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans as Gundam IBO from now on. Its short and makes the title not seem so breathy. With that out-of-the-way I can start talking about how much I loved this episode. I think it was some kind of destiny that I was to be covering this show and Comet Lucifer at the same time. It seems everything that Comet Lucifer is seeming to lack Gundam IBO manages to execute almost perfectly. If you don’t know what I’m talking about with Comet Lucifer check out my disappointed episode three review here. So safe to say after a disappointing article on how much Comet Lucifer was “so-so” I’m really excited to write on how great Gundam IBO is going. So let’s get into it.
Episode Summary
Orga makes quick work of 1st squad by drugging them and forcing them to either leave or be subordinate. It takes a few murders from Mikazuki to realize how serious they are and almost everyone leaves. Orga learns that they are nearly broke and need to pick up funds quickly if they want to keep their newly managed business afloat.
Meanwhile the old guy from Gallanhorn comes back to request a duel. Mikazuki agrees with Kudelia’s life sort of on the line. Mikazuki wins and kills the man still showing no emotion what-so-ever. Kudelia finally realizes that there is something she can do to help. So she re-hires the newly formed “Iron Flower” to escort her on her diplomatic mission.
Episode Thoughts
Everything is moving very smoothly. While it may seem like nothing is really happening, it’s not that the characters aren’t trying. They just need time to get back on their feet. With the nice character developments helping to pick up the slow parts of the story though it doesn’t seem slow.
Gundam IBO, for the most part, does a really good job developing the character through the story instead of just exposition dumps. This is most noticeable in these slow episodes where even though things seem to be slow the characters are helping us get through these times. In turn this will help us care for the characters more later, plus we are growing to understand the characters better. It’s so simple but so many shows fail at this, so its noticeable when a show not only does it well but exceeds expectations. Which it is doing for me.
Honestly I still think Mikazuki is a messed up character. Although now as I see him more for how the show frames him, I’m starting to at least understand what the show is trying to say with a character like him. Basically I think what it boils down to is that Mikazuki is indeed a bad person. I don’t think the show is really justifying his actions or championing how he is so cold towards killing someone. More so, I think its showing how perception changes with whatever environment you are in. To all of Mikazuki’s friends he’s a hero and a good person looking out for his friends. Put that aside and he’s still a ruthless killer with barely a purpose. Given his circumstances he’s a good person but that’s not really the way it should be, and I think the show is acknowledging this. The only other evidence I have to back this up is the correlation I draw with Kudelia. Her whole thing is that she doesn’t perceive things the way Mikazuki and Orga do. She has a perception of the way people should act, but sees these kids and has to come to the realization that not everyone gets what they deserve. She doesn’t blame them for it though, she’s trying to understand them and trying to help them in the new environment she finds herself in. Her goal is to make a better life for the people of Mars so children don’t end up like Orga and Mikazuki. Its making a clear statement that life shouldn’t be like this.
Speaking of Kudelia, her character is still a little on the fence. While she was bumbling around figuring out what to do, she decides to just cook, as if it’s just something she would instinctively do as a woman. Maybe she just wanted to help out but knowing Gundam, I don’t know. Still I do enjoy that she came to a conclusion at the end of the episode and has her resolve back. But unless she jumps into a mobile suit I don’t think she’ll be doing much. Maybe at the end she’ll be able to have a big speech to sort of encapsulate everything the show is trying to say.
Orga on the other hand has sort of been settled already. His character is simple and easy to understand. That’s good though, because it gives us a good foundation to build off of. Given his position now he’ll have to make some important decisions that will most certainly reveal things about his character. Knowing him fairly well early on will help drive those future character developments home. Right now all we know is that he has extreme faith in Mikazuki (who wouldn’t though) and will do anything to ensure a better life for his friends.
I know I didn’t really talk about the mobile suit fight at the end of the episode, but at this point I think the mech battles are just the icing on the cake as far as this show is concerned. Besides what would I say about they other than “they were cool”. So unless there is some drop in quality or something that just amazes me I won’t be talking about them much.
Safe to say that Gundam IBO is progressing better than any Gundam that I’ve ever seen. Its managing everything nicely and not missing any beats in story or character. I know this phrase has jinxed me before but this could be the best anime of the season (besides One Punch Man). Surely a Gundam for everyone.
