Anime that could use a sequel Part Three

Disclaimer: The following article may contain spoilers for the shows discussed below. If you have not watched the shows listed below or are in the process of watching them please read careful. Areas with Spoilers will be given white colored text so if you want to read it then highlight the text that is hidden.  Some images used here in these upcoming articles may be NSFW so please read at your own risk if you read this blog at work.

Welcome to the last part of these three part series on anime shows that could use a sequel.

Kare Kano

What is the show about? Yukino Miyazawa is really, really vain, and loves to hear people praise her. She’s always been the best at everything, and always tries to look perfect. But when Yukino goes to high school, she’s finally upstaged–by Souichiro Arima, who scores better on the entrance exams and instantly snatches the attention of the class. By accident, Arima finds out that Yukino is just pretending, and this starts off a series of events that lead to Yukino and Arima falling in love. They then have to cope with a lot of obstacles in their relationship.

Why does it need a sequel or prequel? (SPOILER ALERT) It is well known and documented that the mangaka hated how Gainax handled the source material so it just ended and not give it a proper ending. (SPOILER END)

What type of sequel does it need? Another twenty four episode series would be great to bring the rest of the manga to life and give it the end it so desperately needs.

Chances of this happening: Well since the mangaka hated the Gainax adaption I doubt it that another series would be allowed or a continuation of the series from where it left off.

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Mobile Fighter G Gundam

What is the show about? In the Year FC 60, much of mankind inhabits space colonies which orbit the Earth. Dominance over the colonies is decided once every four years by a large tournament in which each nation sends a single representative to fight the others with a giant robot called a Gundam. Domon Kashuu is selected to represent Neo-Japan in one of these tournaments, but he fights less to ensure his nation’s victory than to find his brother, who has been blamed for the deaths of Domon’s parents and the disappearance of a very dangerous weapon, the Dark Gundam or Devil Gundam.

Why does it need a sequel or prequel? (SPOILER ALERT) The series does come to an end but does state about seeing you in the Gundam Fight 14. There were also a manga series of the 7th Gundam Fight created so there could be some material there to work with, or potentially working with the past fights and giving some information there. It would also be interesting to see the next Gundam Fight championship. (SPOILER END)

What type of sequel does it need? In traditional Gundam fashion at least a forty nine to fifty two episode series would be needed.

Chances of this happening: Since a manga of the TV series came out in 2010 there always could be a possibility of this happening, but I doubt it.

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Sekirei (includes both seasons)

What is the show about? Minato Sahashi is extremely intelligent, yet due to his inability to cope under pressure has failed the college entrance exam twice. As a result he has been branded an idiot and loser by many. One day after talking to his yet again disappointed mother he comes into contact with a girl named Musubi who was under attack. The girl runs but takes him with her and soon finds that Minato, while unknown to him, is an Ashikabi, one of the mysterious set of masters that have the genetic trait that can become partners with some of the 108 cute girls, buxom women, and bishōnen called “Sekirei”. The reason for the partnership allows the Sekirei to use all their power to win in the competition held by the mysterious MBI corporation.

Why does it need a sequel or prequel? (SPOILER ALERT) Season 2 ends with the bad guy blasting off the MBI building into space. The game is not over by any means. (SPOILER END)

What type of sequel does it need? I would love to see a twenty four to twenty six episode series be created that gives a more in depth look with the cast and the terribleness of the Sekirei plan.

Chances of this happening: Likely, it has some moe elements and is fanservice driven so it would likely sell well in Japan.

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Suzuka

What is the show about? Yamato Akitsuki travels to Tokyo alone to study in one of the high schools located within the area. He lives in with his aunt who operates a public bath solely for the ladies in the local district and begins his normal high-school life. One day, he chances upon a girl in school and is immediately mesmerised by her beauty. He is shocked when he realize later that the girl, Suzuka, is actually living next door to him. From then on, Yamato’s ordinary life begins to change little by little

Why does it need a sequel or prequel? (SPOILER ALERT) The TV series ends with Suzuka and Yamato finally being together as a couple. The manga however continued after that going on about Suzuka’s leaving Japan to study in the United States for a year and Yamato’s dealings with other females who have an interest in him. There is also Suzuka and Yamato continuing their relationship and eventually ending up starting a family and getting married.(SPOILER END)

What type of sequel does it need? Twenty four to twenty six episodes would be good to bring everything completely to its end.

Chances of this happening: The mangaka has mentioned before that he would like to do more Suzuka but it was not clear if he was referring to doing more of the manga or another TV series. The former is possible the latter is unlikely.

This concludes my three part series on anime titles that need a sequel.  I hope you enjoyed reading these three articles.  Check back tomorrow for a special article regarding sequels.

A bunch of words about stuff I watched during my break

So, last week I was off from university classes for “Reading Week,” which is like Spring Break except it’s in February. I don’t know what the point is really ’cause it’s not like anyone actually goes home and reads anything. But whatever. I took the time to watch some anime, and technically that sort of counts as reading because one of these series was subtitled, so I guess I win.

I meant to have this post done yesterday but once classes start I lose the motivation to do anything but sleep, so yeah.

Slayers Return, Great, Gorgeous, and OVAs

These were all Slayers as hell and I can’t really say much about them. They’re goofy fantasy and I kinda like fantasy.

Well there is one terrible joke I want to make.

Slayers Great? More like Slayers Just Kind of Okay.

Also, I don’t really like ADVs dubs for these. Cynthia Martinez, who plays Lina, seems to mumble sometimes and I couldn’t always understand what she was saying.

But yeah, Slayers.

.hack//Quantum

Really not much to say about this either. It’s formulaic .hack. Weird things are happening in the world and people are ending up in comas. It has a few nice throwbacks to older stuff, with the three main characters being based on the main characters of the first .hack game series, plus a character from GU who’s older now. If you aren’t sick of the .hack formula, it’s probably worth checking out. But it doesn’t do anything new, so if you know .hack and really aren’t interested in seeing it tread the same ground again, don’t bother.

I’d also like to mention that the people behind Quantum clearly don’t understand how video games work, or more likely are taking some liberties for the sake of storytelling. Personally, it just bugs me when things happen that couldn’t actually happen in an actual video game, like the cat dude having a magic stick that can slice a ship in half. I mean, I get that the stick is hacked, but hacking doesn’t just allow you to do whatever the hell you want in the game. The ship would still need to be coded so that it could be cut and fall away, and the people on it wouldn’t die unless, again, the game had fall damage in it. In order for most of the stuff to work, cat dude would need to be rewriting the basic code of the game, which shouldn’t be possible when he’s playing an MMO.

Though, from my experience, the people who direct cutscenes in the .hack games don’t really get how games work either.

Sekirei Pure Engagement

I reviewed the first season of Sekirei a while ago, and I’m pretty sure I hated it, but I didn’t really have as much of a negative reaction to this season, and I know why. One of the main things that drove me nuts was how pointless all of it felt. It was all set up with no payoff. Well, Pure Engagement is the payoff I guess. We see the consequences of certain things that occur in the first season, important events start unfolding, and people start dying. Not that any of it really matters since this season, once again, ends on a cliff hanger that makes it painfully obvious that the story isn’t quite over.

I also have to give the series credit for fully embracing how stupid it is. It recognizes that it is an entirely dumb series and endeavours to be as dumb as it can. The villain self-destructs is own tower with the protagonists inside, not because he wants to kill them, but because he was going to have it rebuilt anyway and he just thought it would be more fun to demolish it with them inside. He has a rocket ship built into the thing to launch him into orbit in case he ever needed to get away from the building quickly. Most villains just use helicopters for that sort of thing. Maybe I just don’t remember the first season that well, but it didn’t seem to go full blown crazy like this one does.

Also apparently I have a favourite Sekirei and apparently it’s Benitsubasa. I like her hair. And her not horrifyingly oversized breasts.

Queen’s Blade

I’m not entirely sure how or why Queen’s Blade has managed to become a thing. I mean, I get the concept. Half naked women with swords. I like those things. But I’m pretty sure the half naked women thing only works when you have attractive characters designs, which Queen’s Blade is lacking in. There are a few, but they’re kind of overshadowed by Cattleya and that nun chick, who are horrifying to look at really.

It also has some pretty poorly animated fight scenes. I mean, I wasn’t expecting them to be good, but still. This franchise just baffles me.

Gundam Wing

I liked this show a lot more when I was 10.

‘Cause yeah, it does not age well. At all.

I also watched some Hayate the Combat Butler and Dragon Ball Z Kai, but didn’t finish either so I’m not going to write about them. Well, I have no plans to write about Dragon Ball Z ever again save for a free-verse poem about how useless Yamucha is and a thrilling piece about about Bulma’s hotness relative to her hairstyle.

Funimation April 2012 Releases

Funimation releases for April have finally been announced and are available for pre-order on RightStuf. I recommend the Fullmetal Alchemist movie. It’s pretty good, if you like Fullmetal Alchemist. April also sees three other new releases, including Black Butler season 2, Okami-san, and Legend of the Legendary Heroes. This is a step up over March, which is kind of barren.

April 3rd

Black Butler Season 1 Complete Series DVD/Blu-ray Combo
Black Butler Season 2 Complete Series Limited Edition DVD/Blu-ray Combo
Okami-san and Her Seven Companions Complete Series Limited Edition DVD/Blu-Ray Combo

April 10th

Oh! Edo Rocket Complete Series DVD
Sekirei Season 1 DVD/Blu-Ray Combo

April 17th

Legend of the Legendary Heroes Part 1 Limited Edition DVD/Blu-Ray Combo
Legend of the Legendary Heroes Part 2 DVD/Blu-Ray Combo
Tsubasa Resevoir Chronicles OVA Collection DVD (S.A.V.E.)
Tsubasa Resevoir Chronicles OVA Collection Blu-Ray (S.A.V.E.)

April 24th

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Collection 1 DVD
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Collection 1 Blu-Ray
Fullmetal Alchemist Sacred Star of Milos DVD
Fullmetal Alchemist Sacred Star of Milos DVD/Blu-Ray Combo
Jyu-Oh-Sei Complete Series DVD (S.A.V.E.)

Funimation January 2012 Releases

Funimation’s releases for January 2012 are now available for pre-order on RightStuf. This month sees the release of more Fairy Tail and Hetalia, as well as a more recent license with B Gata H Kei. Dates are subject to change.

January 3

Dragon Ball Z Movie Pack 3 DVD
Gun X Sword Complete Series DVD (S.A.V.E.)
My Bride is a Mermaid Complete Series DVD
Sekirei 2 Complete Series DVD/BD Combo
Sekirei 2 Complete Series DVD/BD Combo Limited Edition
X TV Complete Series DVD (Anime Classics)

January 17

Hetalia Axis Powers Season 3 DVD
Hetalia Axis Powers Season 3 DVD Limited Edition
Kaze no Stigma Complete Series DVD (S.A.V.E.)
Nabari no Ou Complete Series DVD (S.A.V.E.)

January 24

Fairy Tail Part 3 DVD/BD Combo
Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom Complete Series DVD/BD Combo
Tenchi Muyo GPX Complete Series DVD (S.A.V.E.)

January 31

B Gata H Kei: Yamada’s First Time Complete Series DVD/BD Combo
B Gata H Kei: Yamada’s First Time Complete Series DVD/BD Combo Limited Edition
One Piece Collection 4 DVD

Anime Review: Sekirei

Sometimes when I’m bored I like to check out Crunchyroll or Funimation to see if they’re streaming anything interesting. Sometimes it works out really well, such as the time I watched all of Nerima Daikon Brothers in a day. Or when I spent an entire weekend watching the first two seasons of Shin Chan. Sometimes I prefer to check out shows that I’m mildly interested in, but not interested enough to spend $40 to buy it. Which is how I ended up watching Sekirei. Could have been worse though. I was hoping to find Master of Martial Hearts, but Funimation isn’t streaming it anywhere.

Sekirei tells the story of a bunch of people known as Sekirei who are destined to kill each other until only one remains to reach some never-totally-explained goal. It’s like Highlander, but with large breasted chicks instead of immortals. Minato gets caught up in the Sekirei Plan when it turns out he’s an Ashikabi, a human who can make a Sekirei “emerge” and gain more power by kissing them. As the game gets underway, Minato starts to gather more Sekirei and prepares for the oncoming battle.

Obviously no one is going to jump into Sekirei for the plot. I get that. But that still doesn’t excuse the show from being a giant exercise in pointlessness. It’s hard to really attack the plot as being poorly written or executed, because that would require there to actually be a plot. It’s 12 episodes of set-up with no pay off, and absolutely nothing gets resolved. They talk about the Sekirei Plan, where all the Sekirei start killing each other for some vaguely defined goal. Except nothing is ever actually done with it. The plan gets underway and the city is put on lockdown, and then nothing actually happens. They make a big deal out of how this means things are going to start getting real, and the fight is finally beginning. But it never does. They just goof around for a few more episodes, fight a couple other Sekirei, and then call it a day. There’s already a second season of the show, but they could have at least attempted to actually do something here, especially since it took two years for the second season to get made.

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