Haven't mentioned much about my anime lately! Maybe it's because I've been watching stuff slower than molasses, I dunno. So, this entry is going back, way back, to Otakon and what I've seen since then!

So, one of the first things I watched from Otakon was Gilgamesh, which I have since then sold because I hated it. It basically just disappointed me in any and every way except music, which I will admit was easily the best aspect of it. For the most part, I've seen this series get high approval and praise everywhere I look, but I just don't think the story bothered to support all of the interesting ideas it clearly had in mind and the ending just felt rushed and sloppy, introducing elements out of nowhere. Not saying that all endings should be predictable or anything, but they shouldn't feel this far away from the storyline either. So, I'd call it interesting ideas never fulfilled, 4/10.

Luckily, I had far more success with this series: Brigadoon. Now this series had some inconsistent ups and downs too, it started off as a very cheery upbeat series, then about halfway through, became devastatingly depressing, especially for the main character, Marin. The dub was pretty sub-par, more so when you find out who worked on it, but dub issue aside, music was excellent and the story was great too. The animation was the exact opposite of it's depressing subject matter once the series really go going and at times, the series was certainly a bit too strange for me to buy certain things, but I'd still say this deserves a watch. 7/10

I'm actually still in the process of watching this one, but I've seen the entire first half of Kaleido Star, which I checked out because it was by one of my favorite directors of all time, Junichi Sato. While I don't think it approaches the greatness of Princess Tutu (one of his other works), this is still a great show and I can't help but like it, even when I think it stays on the same subject matter for a bit too long. 8/10 so far.

Come to think of it, Giant Robowas probably the first thing I saw after Otakon from my Otakon haul. Man, so this was what TTGL would've been like before TTGL! They're both all about manliness, action, and awesome fights and robots. This is also, without a doubt, the best looking OVA I've seen, and it was made in the mid 90s. Consider that it still looks good today and then imagine how mind blowing that would've been back in the 90s. The story is good too, even if it does feel a bit rushed at the beginning and end. The set also came with a side-stories OVA containing 3 episodes that had been made during the production of the show (which took over 7 years). The first two were hilarious, the third was a resounding "meh", but the second one was the clearly highlight of the bonus episodes, the whole thing played out like a ridiculous abridged episode, we inexplicably had the good guys and bad guys having drinking contests, we had the good guy grunts consider going to the bad side for the sake of better benefits, etc, it was just one laugh after another. 9/10 for both the series and the extra episodes (although I really mean just extra ep 2 here as it's the one most worth watching, but the first extra ep does feature a giant robot getting a nosebleed).

Then come to think of it again, I finished up Souther Crossjust before Otakon. This is the series that was taken to make the second season of the Robotech saga (which I've seen as well) and if I had to pick only one to keep, the original is far superior in this case. I had heard it was the most changed of the three seasons and while the first half was practically identical barring names, the introduction of Seifreit (called Zor in Robotech version) was a major change, as was his whole backstory and I honestly liked Seifreit a lot more than Zor and simply the whole show overall more than the Robotech version. Robotech version did have better music though. 7/10

I got quite a few movies at the con too, this one, My Beautiful Girl Mari, is actually a Korean production. So, while it was never bad and certain parts of it made it seem like a really good movie, I really can't recommend this, it was kinda all over the place at times and didn't exactly make sense at certain parts. Sure, it was an interesting watch, but can't tell if I'd ever bother to see it again. 5/10

This was a good buy if you ask me, They Were 11is of the extremely rare sci-fi shojo genre, which tend to mix equal parts science fiction with typical shojo romance, but it always seems to lean towards the sci-fi part of the spectrum. It's actually one of my favotite sub-genres and other than the extremely old-school feeling of it, it was a nice watch if you ask me. I was drawn in fairly quickly, but the whole thing was interesting to see play out as the crew tried to determine who the mysterious added 11th member of the crew who were supposed to be 10 was. This lead to internal paranoia among the crew, who both had to work together and make sure the 11th member wasn't going to backstab them, whoever they were. Sure, why there was an 11th member might have been painfully obvious to the viewer, but who they were wasn't, so all is forgiven. 8/10

Tree of Palme, dear lord was this a bizarre movie, which I checked out due to being by the same guy who did Fantastic Children. So, I like the art s t y l e but you can tell by looking at this pic if you do or don't. It was a strange movie, oddly paced, seemed always either rushed or too slow, but never just right, the whole thing left a strange taste in my mouth because it could be so strange it was often difficult to follow. I haven't actually rate it yet, I'd like to see it again before I do so.

I actually saw Otaku no Videoat the con itself, and the best words to describe it are "uncomfortably hilarious". There are two parts to the 2 episode OVA that is apparently a staple at Otakon as the first and last thing shown every year, there's an animated segment of a student who's life is quickly overrun by anime and his journey through life which is intermixed with live action interview segments with grown otaku, most of whom are crazy and hilarious to listen to. The interview questions themselves are hilarious too, like "Have you ever considered dating a real girl?" as asked to the guy marriage obsessed with a fictional anime character. This is an absolute must see for fans who know they watch a bit too much anime, 8/10.

Someone else describe Karasas "expensive junk" and I'd have to agree with them. It's very nice to look at, very nice, and the first half of the series is very good, but then we suddenly get a cop-out ending of "We're doing this because humans are an evil species", which is a shame because it had all been going well up until it's just god-awful ending that I can't describe in any word other than "lazy". Two of my anime pet peeves are pro-nature or anti-human speeches, if it's shown, I'm alright with that, but you should never make your characters speak your personal agenda. If you like pretty things, you can't go wrong and the first half was pretty damn good actually. 6/10

Junkers Come Here!was exactly the hidden gem I was looking for, it's also directed by Junichi Sato, which was of course why I checked it out. Perhaps it was because I found the main character relatable, anyone with home issues can, even if they're not quite the same as Hiromi's. The moral here is a good example of show don't tell and even with a talking dog thrown in the picture, the movie still feels very much so based in reality. A lot of people are probably going to compare this to a Ghibli movie, but I wouldn't because 1) I hate Ghibli because they always break the "show don't tell rule" because Miyazaki is a massive pro-nature anti-humanity jerk and 2) this was delightful for me to watch and at not point made me go "you're coping out again, story!" like I do at some many Miyazaki movies. I highly recommend this one, 8/10

Legend of the Galactic Heroesgets the big image here! Before you ask, no I haven't finished this series yet, it's 110 episode long, but what I did finish was the second season. I must've started watching this show almost a year ago (or in the 9 month range) and don't let my watching of this series in molasses speed make you think it's not good, it very much so is and the second season is just as good as the first if not better at times and I cannot wait to watch the rest, but it can be a bit heavy to watch at the same time, which is the explanation for the molasses speed of watching it. While I will reserve my final judgement of this series in a rating format, I will say that as of now I'd give it a 9/10, it is a must watch, especially for fans of space opera. I wouldn't dare spoil anything for you, this show is in a cla$$ all its own and has tons of plot turns and twists and two very interesting viewpoints with which to experience everything. There's a reason this is one of the most requested shows to get licensed for R1.

In the meantime, The Irresponsible Captain Tyloris a great distraction from the serious mood of LoGH. I'm 9 episodes in, but it's a great comedy/space epic evolving here and it's absolutely addictive to watch. Just this far in, I can tell why it's considered one of the cla$$ic anime from the 90s.

Well, I think that's everything, sorry for the super long post!

*edit-fixed some pics that I apparently "wasn't allowed to use"