Shin dodges a Macross missile swarm.
There's more where that came from, guy.

I haven't started Macross Frontier yet, but did stop watching Flashback 2012 over and over and moved on to re-watching the last Macross series prior to Macross F: Macross Zero.

Plying gals with Coca-Cola won't be effective for another 40 years, Focker.

Macross Zero left a lot of viewers unsatisfied, largely due to its somewhat convoluted mystical-songs plot. As mecha/dogfighting porn, it's top-notch, but the main story about birdmen and ancient legends and floating rocks and alien influence on human evolution is a little difficult to keep straight when there are six months between each installment of the five-episode OAV. Re-watching all the episodes in a more-or-less straightforward manner makes the story much more accessible and leaves me more impressed with the actual story this time than it originally did. (Although episode five still comes out of left field.)

This is a lot less freaky when Belldandy does it.

This is not to say that I haven't re-watched at least some of Macross Zero in all this time. Like I said, the dogfighting and mecha porn are top-notch. I've re-watched the initial air battle from the first episode countless times, and still marvel at seeing the venerable F-14s' initial dominance quickly negated by the arrival of the first Anti-Unification Force's variable fighter. Shin's dismay at being so grossly outmatched by the new machine could not have been greater had Arika and Nina launched off a Windbloom carrier to a "MATERIALISE" duet and quickly double-teamed him with a BOLT FROM THE BLUE to the face and a Dash Cold Water Spout to the rear. That's the kind of traumarama simple Haromatherapy can't cure.

The last guy Arika and Nina double-teamed fell into a coma, Shin.

The first on-screen VF-0 transformation (courtesy of Cho Jiku Yosai favorite Roy Focker) is the proper way to invite slo-mo mecha ogling. (C.f. the ridiculous amount of time it takes Shinn Asuka to assemble Impulse in Gundam SEED Destiny, even at combat speed. And don't try to tell me Lunamaria is quicker at getting tab A into slot B later in the series, either. Oh God, WHAT AM I SAYING?)

Roy Focker initiates a VF-0 transformation.

On the whole, Macross Zero isn't as bad as its reputation makes it out to be. The fight sequences are excellent, and the mystical mumbo jumbo isn't heavy-handed until the final episode. Personally, I think there should have been a greater emphasis on the power of song, although Sara's bit in episode five is an atavistic Minmay Attack if you squint really hard.

Sara is a lot more mature than Minmay, but she's sort of a hippie.

Finally, anyone still confused about an F-22's chances against a VF-1 should watch Macross Zero. Pay attention to Yellow-1's helpless cry about stealth in the first episode. Note the dime-turning thrust vectoring in the fifth episode. And be thankful the duel isn't a three-way free-for-all adding a sexually-frustrated teenage girl clutching a giant novelty sword in her quivering fist. However, viewers entirely new to the Macross universe should not begin with Macross Zero despite its chronological primacy—watch the original Cho Jiku Yosai instead.

Lift with your legs, not with your back, sweetie.

I never got around writing a proper entry regarding the fourth episode of the My-Otome Zwei OAV. In a nutshell, it makes no sense, but I don't care because it's AWESOME.

If you'd like to initiate the Surrogate System...press ONE.
If you'd like to load a Silver Cartridge...press TWO.
If you need to report your best friend for feeling you up in your sleep...
...please stay on the line.

Really, if you're expecting more from My-Otome beyond magikal girls kicking the Bejeezus out of each other...err, a common enemy, you're asking too much from this franchise. My-Otome is about giant swords, lots of hollering, scandalous couplings, and getting aced square in the face, okay.

Slap Sisters is the new Blood Brothers.

The most meaningful thing My-Otome Zwei does is elevate Nina to the coveted position of My-Otome Best Girl. Bear in mind this is a series that includes Chie hat-punching deadbeats, Mashiro and mom-sized Arika slapping the shit out of each other, and Nao demonstrating why she's the best onee-sama at the academy. Then again, it also has Natsuki (the My-HiME Best Girl) spending most of the mini-series yakking on the phone, which is kind of a shame, but Zwei wisely pares down the character count to avoid diluting the story too much.

Nina with her hair down is basically Claes in Megane Mode.

"Story," I says, but sheepishly. I admit I didn't follow My-Otome Zwei for the gripping plot. I watched it for "MATERIALISE!" and the old gunfighter (read: teenage girl) coming out of retirement to take names—and because if I keep hyping it up maybe Kajiura Yuki really will write a three-hour My-HiME opera. A fan can dream.

In other news, I noticed Anime Nano didn't pick up a recent entry about the Ai Yori Aoshi visual novel for Windows. I wonder if it was because I used the F-word in the title or just a coincidental glitch? Perhaps I should have called for more trophy-loving.

Futakoi Alternative mugs.

As spotted on Koshimizu Ami's blog. So much nicer than my own Futakoi Alternative mugs.

[Edit: Pity Kadowaki Mai didn't cross-post the picture on her own blog.]

I own the Ai Yori Aoshi PC games.

In addition to playing Tsukihime again, I've also been playing the Ai Yori Aoshi PC game. And when I say "game," I'm using the term in its most generous sense, because the entire thing is basically two stand-alone episodes of the anime with very little variation in game play. Even for a visual novel, there are very few choices to make and not a whole lot of variation or different outcomes.

Oh God, what have I done?

Still, the game is voiced by the original Japanese cast and reasonably-well subtitled. There are occasional errors in the text, but not enough to detract from whatever enjoyment one might get from playing an Ai Yori Aoshi game. However, the characters only speak one at a time, so there's little chemistry among them, if at all. I have to wonder if the seiyuu recorded their lines "American style" with each reading lines alone in a recording booth. I hesitate to call the acting bad, but it certainly sounds artificial; it's far below their work during the anime series.

To Tina's chagrin, Aoi invites Mayu along.

To be honest, I'm rather amazed by the amount of Ai Yori Aoshi merchandise I own. Let's see, full first-print runs of both seasons' R1 DVDs (including their collector's boxes), a second (unopened) copy of the first DVD from the first season (look, don't ask, okay), the God damned PC game (a two-disc set, frequently discounted by Right Stuf), and all 17 volumes of the manga. That's kind of a lot of Ai Yori Aoshi stuff for someone who claims to dislike the majority of its anime episodes.

To Tina's chagrin, Kaoru pokes Mayu's backside.

However, I do like the manga—particularly the later volumes. Tokyopop did a damn fine job with this title, and it's a good thing because the Ai Yori Aoshi manga turned out to be really good. Okay, not Monster good, and arguably not even Love Hina good, but way better than the anime, which makes it a must-read if you enjoyed the television series at all, or even if you merely wanted to like it—more on that later.

There's a third Love Eva manga, Neon Genesis Evangelion Gakuen Datenroku (Neon Genesis Evangelion Academy: Records of Heaven’s Descent). At least I think it's the third one; I may have lost track. Like the first Love Eva manga, known as Iron Maiden 2nd, Girlfriend of Steel 2, and Angelic Days (among other monikers), Evangelion Academy runs in Monthly Asuka.

Turtle Paradise Scanlations is up to chapter five as of this entry. They're using scans from Monthly Asuka itself, and meeting the same challenges I faced with its pulpy paper when I was scanning Iron Maiden 2nd for Studio ADTRW. Scanning-type issues aside, Turtle Paradise is doing a fine job so far, although I see they've found yet another spelling variant for "Soryu."

As far as the manga itself...it seems all right. I like how Rei totes around the Lance of Longinus. One thing I don't care for is how it—like just about every other Eva revision—tries to make Shinji less despicable and whiny. While that may make him less annoying, it kind of makes it Not Eva anymore—might as well just take the basic idea of the revision and turn it into an original title. Making Shinji less of cretin seem as unnatural to me as transforming Asuka into The Virgin Mary. Oh, wait...

Sacrilicious.

The "TACOS, TACOS, TACOS" song is the best part of El Cazador de la Bruja.

I like El Cazador de la Bruja the least of the three Bee Train "girls with guns" shows. It's too damn dull. First of all, Ellis takes entirely too long to develop a personality, such as it is. Margaret was spacey in Madlax, but I didn't hate her for it. Kirika was quiet in Noir, but I loved her for it. Ellis is spacey and quiet, but I don't care about her at all.

Ellis setting L.A.'s crotch on fire? An under-explored allegory.

Ellis isn't even the worst character in El Cazador de la Bruja. That dubious honor goes to L.A. I have no interest in L.A. besides wishing he would start talking like a normal person. Additionally, Lirio contributes nothing to El Cazador de la Bruja at all aside from making me worry that Gendo Eastwood is a child molester.

It's because of your 'stache, Ricardo.

I did like the winks and nods in El Cazador de la Bruja to its predecessors Noir (which I love beyond reason) and Madlax (of which I'm ambivalent). I noticed Kuwashima Houko and Mitsuishi Kotono's cameos immediately. Surprisingly, I also noticed Kobayashi Sanae's, even though I don't know her voice well.

El Cazador de la Bruja should have been about mining instead of witches.

Sadly, mentions of Noir and Madlax also remind me how much better the music is in those two series than in El Cazador de la Bruja. This is not Kajiura Yuki's best work by any means. And as much as I like Savage Genius, even the OP doesn't work for me. The ED is good, though. I attribute that to Nanri Yuuka's singing.

L.A. eating Ellis' taco? Also an allegory.

The supernatural elements in the Bee Train "girls with guns" oeuvre grow more overt with each installment. Years ago, I observed, "Kirika isn't a ninja; she's a witch." But everything Kirika does is theoretically possible within the liberal rules of anime physics. She is Noir, after all. Madlax has supernatural mumbo jumbo, but remains vague about it long enough to keep things interesting. El Cazador de la Bruja is about witches with honest-to-God magic powers, but they're dull witches with boring powers. [Spoilers: Ellis jumps high.] Maybe Bee Train will make a fourth girls-with-guns series—this time about mahou shoujo with pink Uzis.