Magikal girls have the strongest conviction.

I'm rather pleased Re:CREATORS will be two cours even though it means the pace is somewhat leisurely. Or, at least it seems that way because it happens to be the sort of show where the viewer constantly feels as if something could happen at any minute. "Gunpuku," who we now know is named Altair, seems content to let things unfold without haste, an attitude which gives greater impact to the violence of her actions when she suddenly snaps in response to an emotional trigger. It's a great scene, regardless of how you feel about the outcome, and where your personal loyalties lie.

Looks like 2016, going by the calendar.

From what I've been able to gather based on the first episode, the basic premise of Re:CREATORS involves the arrival of various characters from contemporary popular fiction to the land of their authors: Japan. That is, rather than Potato-kun getting hit by a truck and reincarnating in a fantasy world, characters from these fantasy light novel, video game, and/or anime worlds are transported to Japan instead. There have been shows with similar premises (e.g., Hataraku Maou-sama!), but this twist is still fresh enough to give Re:CREATORS the edge in capturing my attention this season.

Also, the faces are top-rate.

The first time I watched the first season Bubuki Buranki, I didn't think it was very good. It wasn't until after Epizo's introduction that the show really clicked for me, although I enjoyed the fight between Kinoa and her ex-boyfriend during which his attacks consisted entirely of literal flashbacks to their Meet Cute and early relationship. Upon re-watching the first season, though, I loved the show and its absurd excuses to feature giant robots punching things at the whim of angry teenagers making faces. Perhaps I was just late in appreciating the motivations and relationships among the various factions.

What, did Asuka move in?

Season two of Bubuki Buranki picked up where the first season left off, and is generally about as good, albeit without some of the same highs. I did enjoy Kaoruko's addition to the show, even though I was often afraid I wouldn't. Notably, she works for me as a character because most of her scenes are absurd rather than emotional. I was afraid BBK/BRNK: Hoshi no Kyojin would belabor too much on how much it hurt her to be abandoned and not enough on how much it hurt to have her tits burned off. (Don't worry, they grew back.)

"Ode to Joy."

I do have a complaint about the second season, though: Not enough Reoko. The first season didn't have enough Reoko either, but at least she had a lot of scenes taunting opponents while ripping them apart or carrying on bombastically with her face covered in blood. Season-one Reoko is an adult's fantasy; she embodied a way of life where giving a fuck is subordinate to getting shit done. Season-two Reoko, on the other hand, is an adolescent's fantasy; she personified a goal and embodied the object of other people's ideology. I guess that's fair, given the intended audience of anime in general, no matter how much I'd like a third season of Bubuki Buranki to adopt adult characters as its leads, even if they happen to be worthless adults with uncertain futures.

Hikaru-vision.

We've got a new Macross series now, and by the looks of it (through the first two episodes, at least), it seems to be pretty good. As a Macross fan, I'm glad to see the new series get positive attention, but this renewed interest is not without pitfalls. Some neophyte fans attempt to get a feel for the Macross universe by watching the Do You Remember Love? (Chō Jikū Yōsai Macross: Ai Oboete Imasu ka) movie before they watch the original series. Look, don't do that.

Eyes on the road, toots.

I first learned of Heavy Object when I encountered an enthusiastic blog post celebrating the light novel's manga adaptation probably about five years ago. I hadn't heard of the title previously, but the blogger's excitement inspired me to at least give it a try. I gave up in disgust after five chapters, coincidentally also the end of the (first) manga's publication, as it turned out. Ostensibly, Heavy Object is a science fiction story about pitting fantastic huge fighting machines against each other in a futuristic war. Unfortunately, it was clearly written by someone who didn't know fuck all about war and didn't give a shit about conducting any research or addressing even the most obvious and painfully distracting plot holes. (I didn't know at the time that the author also wrote A Certain Magical Index. Man, that explains so much.) Given that the currently airing anime adaptation covers the same source material as the manga adaptation, it was obvious I would be predisposed to dislike the Heavy Object anime as well. Well, yeah. I do sort of loathe this anime. I'm still watching it, though, even though with eight episodes down I'm only about a third through its two-cour run. I'm not watching it "ironically" and I don't typically hate-watch shows, but there's something about it that prevents me from simply ignoring it, and I think I've figured out what it is.

Box in box.

Surprising no one, I'm sure, I imported the recently released Neon Genesis Evangelion Blu-ray box from Japan. This was pretty much a guaranteed buy from me on general principle even though I'm arguably more on the casual end of the fandom these days. Hell, I don't even know if it's technically still called Shin Seiki Evangelion. I seem to remember some rumor that Gainax or Khara or whatever entity owns the property was adopting the English title officially. (There's probably a wiki article getting to the truth of this on EvaGeeks.) Anyway, with the U.S. dollar so strong against the Japanese yen, this was actually quite affordable. I also got it from Amazon.co.jp in only three days which basically left me slack-jawed in amazement. It even shipped via DHL, like all the crap Asuka sent to Misato's apartment and then never used. What a world.

It does say "Neon Genesis" right there, you know.

As far as the unboxing itself, there are surely better examples on NicoVideo and YouTube with far better production values and narration than I'm willing to put forth. Here are some shots of my set, which presumably looks the same as all the other ones, unless I missed out on some sort of crazy cross-promotional pack-in I should be gnashing my teeth in dismay about:

A book and stuff.

Discs fanned out.

The discs play just fine on an American Blu-ray player.

No subtitles, of course. Well, there are Japanese subtitles for the hearing-impaired.

And, of course, the best ass shot of all time.

Anyway, it's totally worth it if you're an Eva fan. It's a far cry from the horrid quality many of us suffered through when we became fans in the first place.

SLAINE. DONE. FUCKED. UP.

I guess it could just be gas.

The standard Aldnoah.Zero caveat about megas spoilers applies again. The following addresses concerns and questions through the first 19 episodes and once more engages in considerable speculation.

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