(Surprisingly Old) POP CULTURE STORM

This clip is rather famous/infamous among anime fans for being one of the first productions of a group who would later go on to form Gainax (famous for Gurren Lagann and some other stuff, most notably the super-grim [and in my own opinion, kinda gross for reasons unrelated to sexual content] Evangelion). This was a totally amateur production that they more or less made in their homes for a convention. It is also the nerdiest thing I've seen in ages. (Well, actually, I've seen nerdier recently, but it's related to this and comes later. Yes, I'll go into it.)



I totally lost it when the Star Destroyer, Martian flying machines, and TIE Fighters showed up, and I hadn't been doing too well before that. (And I mean that in the positive sense.)

What really gets me is that I recognize almost everything that got referenced specifically. (Ultraman's Science Patrol, Starship Troopers [the armored suit that chases the little girl is actually the official Japanese design for the powered suit, but it actually made its animation debut here], that ugly monster is probably another Ultraman reference, the signal the suit gives when it gets wrecked looks generically familiar, then comes Godzilla, Ultraman villain Baltan seijin, King Ghidorah, Gamera, a "maser tank," the aforementioned Star Destroyer, Martian flying machines from the old War of the Worlds film, TIE Fighters, a Gundam that mysteriously transforms into the Ideon, the, erm, Atragon/it has some other name too, if I recall, I'm pretty sure that's a Tolmekian airship, the Space Battleship Yamato, and the Starship Enterprise. I promise I did not Google or use other reference materials at all for the entire time I was working on this post.)

If you're wondering what the heck is with the spaceship shaped like a vegetable at the end, this was created for a convention called "Daicon," and there's a type of radish called a "daikon" radish. Or something like that. (That's the closest you're getting to actual logic.)

-Signing off.

Super Robot Wars... Tuesday?

Low on energy, creativity, and time (DARNED COMPUTER), so here's some random stuff.



In case you're wondering, the robot is one Dis Astranagant, one of the most powerful robots from the Super Robot Wars games (click the Super Robot Wars Sunday tag if you're curious). Why is it so powerful?

Because it's powered by the souls of the dead.

To be fair, the Ideon, which was a robot from an anime that appeared in the games, was powered by the force of unborn souls (or something-it's kinda hazy like so many anime), so it's got precedent. But whatever.

-Signing off.

Super Robot History: Landmarks of Audacity

Robot with the best name: Xabungle. (There's no series information there, but it'll still tell you more about the series than Wikipedia.)

Robot with the most ambitious design: GaoGaiGar. (What could possible be more ambitious than a robot which takes common elements from preceding series [a train robot, a drill tank robot, and a lion robot] and crams all of them into a single design? GaoGaiGar isn't the handsomest mecha out there, but as my discourse upon him should indicate, the design has grown on me. Except Liner Gao. Replace that with a rocket ship.)

Robot that most radically defies physics: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. (That robot ought to collapse into a black hole larger than a galactic core merely by thinking about existing, much less actually existing. Considering that its dimensions render it thousands of times larger than the Milky Way galaxy by volume, and it's probably supposed to be mostly solid [as opposed to the vast voids of space] it's probably as heavy as the freaking detectable universe. Not to mention the fact that there's no way a structure that large could exist without bending and warping in on itself, or that the robot's punches would be constrained by the c limit [that is, it'd be impossible for it to conduct a battle in a human lifetime, or even the typical star's lifetime, especially when you consider the time dilation that would be created by the robot's gravitational field], or the fact that it'd be ending all life in the universe by yanking their planets out of their orbits to itself, shredding galaxies, etc., etc., merely by its presence.)

Robot that was the most horrible killer: Ideon. (It destroyed the universe. 'Nuff said-Cosmos doesn't hold a candle.)

Robot that isn't really a Super Robot but deserves an honorable mention for being a greatly loved character and all that: Optimus Prime. (Yes, there's irony in this being said after yesterday's post. Also, to clarify, making that picture wasn't really responsible for the post being so short, I just thought it was funny.)

-Signing off.

East Vs. West: Ideon and Jean Grey

When comparing manga/anime with Western comics/cartoons, there's a lot of information to be found on stylistic differences, reinterpretations, and so on. Sometime soon, I'll do a similar article comparing Superman to Son Goku.

So what do Jean Grey and the Ideon have in common?

Themes and Powers:
Jean Grey is powered by the Phoenix Force, a power source of death and rebirth, which is an embodiment of the unborn and the collected life force of the entire universe.
The Ideon is powered by the Ide, a power source of death and rebirth, and pretty similar in terms of scope.

Power Level:
With the Phoenix Force, Jean Grey can potentially destroy worlds or devour suns.
The Ideon blew up the universe.

Appearance:
Jean Grey is a 5'6", 115 lb. redhead.
The Ideon is a giant red robot that stands over three hundred feet tall and weighs over five thousand tons.
(Hm. At least they're both red.)

Other Features:
Jean Grey was cloned or duplicated at least twice, and at one point was merged with the clones and duplicates. Also, she brought herself back to life at least once aside from the duplications and false deaths.
The Ideon was made up of three unique vehicles that combined. When piloted by younger people, the Ideon was more powerful-it was once piloted by a baby.

I think that this can be viewed as one of the relatively few instances where the Japanese series doesn't make an otherwise similar character into a cute girl instead of something perhaps more logical; of course, they go with the other Japanese path.