Sundown McMoon
@sundownmcmoon
He/Him Animator and Artist, Arguably Animation Critic @zekefilm.bsky.social Member of @bombsquadprods.bsky.social Old Cartoon Enjoyer
Frame stitch of the mercenaries of C.A.T. (Counter Attack Terrorism) keeping fit and socializing between missions. From the anime OVA Desert Rose: The Snow Apocalypse (砂の薔薇 - 雪の黙示録)
Finally got around to watching that new restoration of Desert Rose with my partner and some friends
Me and Emily both went through the truly dire Chiaki Konaka-penned GR: Giant Robo as a part of our homework for this one. It's mostly just especially dull and rather poorly assembled, but we refer to the two standout moments from the 12th episode on this BFF and feel they're worth worth sharing.
It's a shame, because his initial appearance (in 1978!) is rather distinct from the T-800's. Also, the original iteration's melodramatic conflict over being a cyborg and confrontation with Vader - stumbling into parallels that make the story especially fun to revisit - feel difficult to recreate.
Very much a fan of Imagawa's decision to make Chujo in the Giant Robo OVA as ultimately ineffectual as the character he's derived from in the Babel II manga.
[Yokoyama, trying to think of a way to naturally integrate a depiction of Custer's last stand into Babel II] whatever who cares
Been going through Water Margin and immediately grasping why it's considered a masterpiece
Preteen Imagawa reading this and deciding it should inform every project he'll helm in the future.
Thank you for the clarifications! I would have never guessed the Wang Ying and Alberto connection (I don't believe their marriage is referenced in the manga) but I can kinda see it now! I had thought of Huizong, but wasn't positive since the hat styles are slightly different, but that tracks!
Recently went through Yokoyama's adaptation of Suikoden and was struck by how much of the cast was represented in Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still. For those interested, I put together a quick reference chart comparing the original manga incarnations with their OVA counterparts!
Albiero also still has the altered art on the "Test" page of his portfolio site, despite it just being an alteration of extant artwork he needlessly and mean-spiritedly disparaged. So, it seems he didn't learn much from this interaction, which is a shame.
Albiero's redrawn art - aside from being less expressive and inconsistent with the style of Collection 1's cover - reflects the look of the show's first half, ignoring the shift in art style that occurs as the cast ages and after Dezaki takes over as Chief Director for the series's second half.
Clarifying and expanding a bit, it was actually a much more egotistical, callous reason! Marco Albiero was called out by Brady Hartel after he redrew/heavily edited the cover for Collection 2, claiming that it was not well done and that his altered version was better, then @'d both Discotek and TMS.
Frame stitch depicting a cross section of an under construction Black Ox. From episode 22 of the 1963 TV anime adaptation of Tetsujin 28 (鉄人28号)
Frame stitch of Vifam 7, stored in a hangar after undergoing maintenance. From the first OP of the anime TV series Round Vernian Vifam (銀河漂流バイファム)
A portion of Kausler's story sketches for the sequence, taken from "Unfiltered: The Complete Ralph Bakshi", emphasizing the background elements and lacking the aspect of single-motherhood featured in the completed animation.
Been thinking about the Malcome D'Cockroach sequence of Ralph Bakshi's "Coonskin" (1975), which remains exceptional, perhaps the film's best. Featuring background animation by Mark Kausler, homaging cartoonist George Herriman, and foreground animation by Charlie Downs and John Walker.
Glad that even tie-in merchandise captured this important aspect of Sluggo's character.
Wonderful getting to discuss another Rintaro film after chatting about Galaxy Express 999 a while back! In typical Rintaro fashion it's deeply beautiful, quite dense, and a smidge messy in a way that makes it an exceptional Tezuka adaptation! Also, here's Tomino and Dezaki at the film's premiere.
The full interview, from the August 2000 issue of Animerica. Featuring a rare, cowboy hat-less headshot of McNeil.
Excellent assessment of Gundam Wing by Scott McNeil (Duo's English VA) from an interview in Animerica.
While they largely reflect the events of the film Char's Counterattack after the first book, Tomino provides an important clarification with regards to the One Year War that's exclusive to the second entry of his High Streamer novel trilogy: Kai Shiden called Bright 'Daddy'.
To say at least one kind thing, I like the effect of the field of sunflowers when it cuts to the gameplay, the contrast between an otherwise pastoral bit of scenery and mecha action is a bit more evocative. It reminded me of the cover for the first G-Saviour soundcinema CD, which is a good thing.
While this was poked fun at by some at the time of initial release as an oversight, the fact that a performer played by a man is presented as passing as a woman without a sense of irony or mockery does add an interesting bit of texture to the play with gender present in the original work.
A fun quirk of Mospeada's adaptation as Robotech, while it retains Yellow's double identity, it eschews the dual role of Hirotaka Suzuoki and Mine Matsuki in portraying their different gender presentations. Instead, Cam Clarke performs speaking roles, while Michael Bradley is their singing voice.
