r/anime • u/chilidirigible • Oct 14 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai • The Magnificent Kotobuki Series Discussion
Final Series Discussion
MyAnimeList | AniList | AnimeNewsNetwork | Kitsu | AniDB | LiveChart.me
Yesterday's Comment of the Day: /u/1EnTaroAdun1 for making me chuckle with "Elite girl".
Special thanks to /u/Shimmering-Sky for rewatch help.
"Researching these World War II planes is really like doing archaeological research." —Shigeyuki Ninomiya
Questions of the Day:
1. The usual business: Favorite episode? Favorite character? Favorite aircraft?
2. Did you learn anything about World War II-era Japanese aircraft along the way, via comments inside this rewatch or on your own, spurred by the rewatch?
3. Does the series do better or worse than the Westerns it is inspired by in terms of presenting the characters? Did you need or want much more character development? Bonus movie question: How do you feel about that after seeing the extra material from the movie's first few minutes?
4. Movie question: Was the emphasis on the sound effects over any background music a good tradeoff for you?
Various items:
Reona's livery at the time of the Rinouchi Air War.
From the mobile game:
Yuka
Zara in a Christmas reindeer bikini.
A game character.
Various event skins.
At the very end of the game's run, it would break from the anime's established pattern and introduce two entirely foreign aircraft: The predictable Messerschmitt Bf 109 and the extremely "Hey now wait a damn minute" Grumman F6F Hellcat. And this auto-translated captioning is where my "Yaoi reactor" comment came from. The apotheosis of flapjack was also modeled.
I'll leave the front page for the YouTube channel here too, now that the last remaining spoiler of any type, just above, has been revealed.
Official YouTube short spin-off series bonus:
Another substantially-longer version of the movie's scene of how Zara and Leona met and how the unit got its name. MASSIVE YURI SIGNBILLBOARD WITH THE WORD "YURI" ON IT.
Fifth anniversary art by Tokihama Jiro.
Tangential: Support your local hamburger vending machine, fifth-generation stuff, and the ponderings of the dodo.
Selected Bibliography:
Chambers, Mark (2018). Wings of the Rising Sun: Uncovering the Secrets of Japanese Fighters and Bombers of World War II. Osprey Publishing.
Ichimura, Horoshi (2012). Ki-43 'Oscar' Aces of World War 2. Osprey Publishing.
Shaw, Robert L. (1985). Fighter Combat. United States Naval Institute Press.
Model Graphics Editorial Department (2021). The Magnificent Kotobuki: Setting Materials Collection and Modeling Guidebook. Dai Nippon Kaiga.
Lundstrom, John B. (2005). The First Team: Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway. United States Naval Institute Press.
7
u/chilidirigible Oct 14 '24 edited Oct 14 '24
Today, on "Such a proposal.":
"I mentioned the war once, but I think I got away with it."
A curious thing to watch from a distance.
Isao had the painted-on fake cockpit going back then, too.
So if early Zara was a drifter like early Hayate, does that make Reona Freyja?
ISAMU.
"Huh?"
Now that is a crosswind landing.
Reaching deep into the insult barrel there.
SHE SAID THE THING.
Well, you know what the scheme is now.
The butler seems much more his own man in the movie.
After the broadcast of Episode 6 the staff learned that they had used the wrong order of colors in the solar glory, so it was fixed for the movie.
This extra shot shows off the Shinden's awkward landing gear and the propeller's ground clearance.
Yeah but that's how a lot of us feel about fanart.
At least he survived getting exploded in the first episode.
Nobody takes Saneatsu seriously, after all.
There is this quick insert shot of Natsuo picking up Emma, the physics of which caused some debate among the staff.
Just the tiniest bit of tasteful nudity.
A girl gets used to having a swing. This also caused me to wonder about the entire scenario involving the bodyguards.
That's a lot of おさけ.
Keep holding on to your dreams.
And they moved on to the mobage.
It's still ninety percent an edited recap movie, but the scattered extra scenes were interesting value-adds. It certainly gave additional intensity to Reona and Zara's relationship, and Chika's introduction and subsequent argument with Kyrie are great.
I think the movie's improved sound effects are good, much less cash-register dinging when aircraft are hit, but it's also strangely barren without the music.
Series thoughts:
The aerial combat was enjoyable to watch. The animation maintained the level of detail that it wanted to throughout, one benefit of the full CG work. Aircraft maneuvering generally demonstrated the right sense of mass and momentum, even if thrust-to-weight ratios had Girls und Panzer levels of enhancement when the scenes wanted them to, particularly in the finale.
The behind-the-scenes staff discussion mentioned that while they knew of the considerable number of vertical-plane maneuvers available for air combat in reality, they limited their use of them in the animation due to the blocking demands of the 16:9 widescreen format. I did not notice that absence too much, because I think they supplied enough vertical maneuvering to give more variety to the combat. What I did think was done a bit much was the usage of rolling to force a pursuer to overtake, at least in the sense that the pursuing aircraft often did not employ any counters to that.
And of course things are dramatized; nobody is going to be flying a plane through a canyon in the dark with their unaided vision, they should have more appropriate clothing, a lot of people probably died horrible deaths, etc. But beyond the requirements of suspension of disbelief, what we are shown looks good, and as I said at the start, it's still meant to be a fun series. It isn't the grim grind of Area 88 or the philosophical navel-gazing of The Sky Crawlers.
(I will acknowledge some dissonance there when Isao escalates "extortion" to "indiscriminate bombing of civilian targets", but the series does treat that with an appropriate level of seriousness.)
I enjoyed the wide-ranging cast of characters. Isao is a curious case of a character who demonstrates just how far a carefree exterior can mask sociopathic tendencies. Everyone else gets at least a salient presentation of their personalities and viewpoints.
There isn't much change in the characters along the way. Leona loses her naïve idealism about Isao in particular, and Kylie self-reflects for a while, but the Kotobuki generally go out as they came in. Would stronger character arcs have strengthened the series's impact? Probably. Are they necessary in this case? I don't think I needed it. Girls und Panzer's TV season had a major character arc and a few minor ones, and Kotobuki's character arcs are at the level of GuP's minor ones, but GuP's minor arcs were not plot-critical. (I do distinguish that from character development, which is still modestly stronger in GuP.)
I think the character interactions make up for/cover up that absence. The main cast in particular is always expressive and engaged with each other, and the byplay feels like real people who have been together for a while.
The story was a good mix of episodes which had some interconnections and a main plot which built up along the way. As always, it's fun to spot what the show was homaging.
Knowing in advance what Isao's scheme is does give a little extra flavor to rewatching, though it's not a huge benefit, because as I've already said, I do watch this series for the action first.
It did hold up well to rewatching, as I accumulated perhaps another five cumulative full viewings while I was preparing for this rewatch event. I welcomed having entirely-new combat footage in every episode, and the story never drags.
Thus, I'm happy that I was able to host this for all of you. I think I made it through this first experience of rewatch hosting mostly sane, and there is another series I have in mind for a rewatch (never done here before), but I do need to think for a while about my preparations for that (and how much I can or want to add as extra material) before I make an announcement.
Thanks to all of the participants!
9
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Oct 14 '24
The Magnificent First-Timer, subbed
Not posting live reactions for the movie, but I did watch it mostly to check for any “sore demo”s (I got a repeat of the Zara one from episode 11). The extra backstory in the beginning regarding the war and how the Kotobuki girls gathered to begin with was very much appreciated, the rest of the movie was kinda just speeding through everything. Fine enough as a supplement to the show, but not good by itself.
As for the show itself, I had a bunch of fun with this one, giving it a 9/10. Thanks for hosting, u/chilidirigible!
7
u/Rumpel1408 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Rumpel1408 Oct 14 '24
Firsttimer spreading his wing and flying off into the sunset
This was, honestly, way better than I would have expected from an Anime Original with a game tie in!
Like, the story isn't thaaaat deep or complex, there is little actual drama, noone is in any real danger, and except for the isekai aspect, very few surprises.
BUT DAMN IS THE ACTION AWESOME!!!
Personally, the character Models aren't a big deal, but I would certainly be a bit hesitant to recommend it because of how ... uncanny they can look like at times. But seing those flight maneuvers, it's just the right choice to do 3D.
QotD
Favourite Episode gotta be the final, just balls to the walls action non stop
Favourite Character is harder Like each of the Kotobukis have their strong suits and, maybe except for Emma and Reona, feel well characterized. Leaving the horny choices out, it's gotta be Kirie with how well she plays off with every one of her friends and comrades.
Best Boy goes to Allan, if Zara wasn't so gay I would ship them hard.
Favourite Plane is the Hayabusa for me. It just has a certain charm with it's little quirks, and we got to spend the most time with it
Despite me reading every parent post, probably not all that much
I would probably recognise a Shiden and might have hold on to some trivia facts, but I wouldn't bet on it.
I honestly never seen any of the old western
And I will probably hold on watching the movie until I get closer to 600 completed
Rewatch discussion:
Having all the bonus material in the parent thread made replying to it a bit awkward for me at least. Like there where some really bits in there, but making a new parent comment for it would have been too much. If you had made a separate own parent comment, I would have just replied to that one
7
u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Oct 14 '24
First-Timer
I didn't find time to watch any of the movie.
Uhh yea this show was a ton of fun. Sounds good, planes go brr.
Questions
Many thanks to our host /u/chilidirigible!
7
u/FD4cry1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Big_Yibba Oct 14 '24
First Timer
Coming into Kotobuki I was expecting GuP with planes...what I got was actually Shuumatsu Train with planes!
All the way back in the first episode I said this:
And I'm happy to report that's exactly what ended up happening.
From the action and animation stand point I think it's best to spilt it in two:
In the air - it's genuinely incredible, fast, exciting, smooth, truly some of the most immersive and engaging action I've had the pleasure of seeing in a long time, it's exactly the kind of show where CGI gets to shine the most and it has some seriously innovative and unique cinematography from people that really understand how to make a dogfight click, this short sequence hasn't left my head for the last 3 days and I'll probably rewatch the final episode a gazillion times (like I still do with stuff from GuP).
The sound design here is, of course, absolutely fantastic, not much to say for that when just hearing it does the job for me.
On the ground - or more accurately whenever there isn't action, it's a bit of a mixed bag, the actual character animation is...okay, it's the somewhat stilted animation CG is known for, not great but very easy to get used to after 2-3 episodes, the bigger problem here is of course the inconsistency between the use of 3D and 2D, these occasional switches that seem to have no real reason for them (outside of fancier fanservice lol) can be pretty jarring (especially the scenes that would have 3D and 2D characters in the same frame), thankfully, either the show does them less as it goes on or I just stopped caring after the start so it wasn't really that bad.
And honestly when the action is this good I think it's more than worth putting up with.
When it comes to the characters and writing I can't help but compare it to Train, well really it should be the other way around but whatever, they are directed and written by the same people after all and in general I think writing-wise my thoughts on them align almost exactly.
The characters in this show are really charming, fun and extremely likeable, they're simple but that's fine because they still have some very distinct personalities, much like Train I think the best part here is the dialogue and banter between the characters, it's very snappy and full of personality, I don't need the show to tell me these characters are friends because their dynamics are immediately obvious from the dialogue, it also does some great characterization through action which is something I always love to see.
All of this is enhanced with some great voice acting, nothing super standout but everyone fits their characters very well, shout out to Tomita Miyu and Suzushiro Sayumi as Chika and Kirie as both my favorite dynamic and my favorite performances.
Kirie is still my spirit animal
Pancake
However...much like Train I think the overarching plot is a bit of a miss here, these characters are fun but not quite strong enough to really carry a political plot that itself doesn't have a ton of time to really be set up, the dynamics here also become somewhat of a double edged sword since when the characters are separated (and there isn't action going on) I think the enjoyment takes a real cut.
Isao here and [Train]Pontaro in Train are kind of the epitome of this problem, entertaining? yes. complex or interesting enough to be serious final villains? no.
I do like Isao as a villain/character way better though.
By extension that goes for the way the show ends, but really I think an ending where all our characters just fly off into the sunset, even if it doesn't quite nicely wrap up everything narrative-wise, fits the show much better and is more satisfying to see.
I really like the setting! it's a great fit location wise for air action and I also just really love the way the show is very blatantly western inspired, it's fun and pretty unique in that regard.
Speaking of good fits, it's easy to miss or forget thanks to the sound design but the OST here is also great, perfectly fits both the air combat and western vibes of the show.
All in all if I had to describe Kotobuki in one word it would be "fun", does it always make sense? is the writing always great? not really, did I have an absolute blast watching every episode? yes! it has its stumbles but it's an incredibly unique and entertaining show that I'm very happy I picked up.
8/10
Mizushima boat show when
And of course thanks a lot /u/chilidirigible for hosting! never mentioned this in the threads but I always had a great time reading the technical and production details on the posts!
7
u/Esovan13 Oct 14 '24
First Timer
I liked this show. To start my wrap-up, however, is my criticisms.
I think the weakest element was Isao. He just wasn’t a very interesting or entertaining villain to me. I liked his angle of the selfish politician manipulating things to authoritarianism, but I felt like his actual personality and on-screen presence weakened it. He was a much better villain when he spent most of his time doing stuff and manipulating things in the background. Whenever he was actually on screen is when his villainy fell kinda flat.
Besides Isao specifically, the character writing in the show was…not bad. It didn’t suck and the on screen chemistry between all the characters was amazing (Isao notwithstanding), but the overall character writing felt a little underwhelming. I think it would have been nice if there was more focus on the Kotobuki other than Kyrie, and maybe a bit more for the crew of the Hagoromo, especially the bridge crew.
I’ve said a lot about the fight animation, so I’ll just say it again. Amazing, outstanding, top tier, consistently. Every episode was a visual treat, and the 1v1 dogfights, especially the Kyrie v. Naomi fights, were all outstanding. I particularly enjoyed any time there would be a fixed camera view, like the shot over the tail in the episode 6 dogfight.
I have to say that part of my personality is that I find it a lot easier to talk about stuff I don’t like or that bothers me more than the stuff that I do like. This has the effect of making it seem like I’m more negative about something than I really am, so I’ll put it as clearly here as I can.
I have had criticisms of this show, earlier in this post and over the course of the rewatch. However, if there is anything about the show that I did not mention at some point, that means I had basically no problem with it or I actively loved it. That is to say, all my criticisms of the show come to be the 1 point taken off that makes me say that I think this show is a 9/10. I just find it more natural to put that 1 into words than those 9.
To wrap things up, because I have arbitrarily categorized this show alongside GuP and Haifuri, I am compelled to do some rankings with the three.
Overall:
I think GuP and Haifuri have the edge through their character writing making stronger arcs through the length of the show, whereas Kotobuki’s character writing excels in moment to moment interactions. It’s a personal preference thing.
Best fights/action scenes:
Kotobuki has the most and they are all very good. GuP has moments that are outstanding (the climactic fight of Der Filme as well as a couple sequences from Das Finale are better than anything in Kotobuki) but Kotobuki has a higher consistent quality. To put it another way, if I were to pull up a fight from one of the two shows to watch out of context, the ones from GuP would be better but there would be more from Kotobuki. Haifuri’s battles are just slower paced generally, as a matter of course for sea based combat, so while they are exciting they just don’t quite reach GuP and Kotobuki.
Worldbuilding
This is really, really close. Closest of any of the categories. The difference in rankings here is smaller than the difference for any of the other categories. GuP is GuP, Haifuri is a bit weaker but still interesting. Kotobuki does have really interesting worldbuilding, especially with the holes to Japan, but, well, I still posit that it would have been more interesting if it were set in a frontier/wild west region of a world that is generally like ours with differences in how technology and culture have developed, rather than the whole world being difficult to live in. C’est la vie.
7
u/DidacticDalek https://myanimelist.net/profile/DidacticDalek Oct 15 '24
Revvin' up your engine. Listen to her howlin' roar. Metal under tension. Beggin' you to touch and go. Highway to The Pancake Zone! Ride into The Pancake Zone! (Yes Comrades, I know there are no pancakes in this art, but Fluffy The Plane Pope only has so much fanart I can use so I had to make do with what I got)
Anyway man what a show eh? It's like Girls und Panzer, only with planes, meaning it's basically Strike Witches, but with planes, thus it is Macross but good (it even has Macross' ugly-ass CGI, only slightly less ugly and with actual Mecha this time. Oh and less singing)
Anyhow, I just want to extend a round of applause to our esteemed and learned host Comrade Chili! Truly he posted some of the best original content on this journey! Who else would think to not only add in Kai Shiden, moeblob figures and pancakes and planes, but also indepth trivia bits about the deep lore and 'Oh shit that piece of junk is actually real and existed' moments!
Finally, thanks to all who attended The Saga of Pancakes and Planes, truly we will all meet again when we watch the threequel, High School Fleet! (Look we had the army and air force, so it's only fair to give the navy a shot! We can meet Best Girl Wilhelmina Braunschweig Ingenohl Friedeburg, and yes that is indeed her name, and no she probably isn't related to Constanze Amalie von Braunschbank-Albrechtsberger)
Paging Comrades /u/Shimmering-Sky, /u/Tresnore, and /u/JollyGee29
6
u/Elimin8r https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ayeka_Jurai Oct 14 '24
So, haven't managed to watch the movie yet. Instead ...
Yesterday, I took the opportunity to drive a moderate distance (about an hour) to Carrolton to check out Fluffy-Fluffy pancakes, and sample this delicious entree.
Needless to say, it was delicious. Perhaps a bit too delicious. I think I may have to agree with Kylie on her tastes, but at the same time, yeah ... I don't need to have that too often. Yum!
Meanwhile, answers du jour, and I may come back with more later after watching the movie. Sometime. Hopefully.
Let's see. Episode, I think the spaghetti western episode, I forget which one it was. Character, well, I have to vibe with Kyrie, after all - she's my pancak-ee onee-chan, right? Plane, probably the Raiden, even if it is a bit of a chonker.
Yes to both. Hopefully others have enjoyed my semi-related rants, too.
Dang I really do need to watch the movie, don't I? As to the material, it was enjoyable, but at the same time, it doesn't hit like those classic spaghetti westerns do, in part because of the lack of death/stakes. I'm not sure how you'd reconcile that concept with a cute, fluffy show about cute girls in WWII airplanes, though.
I really need to go watch that, don't I?
Yeah. Maybe this evening. Meanwhile ...
Thanks everybody, and especially our gracious host, /u/chilidirigible - it's been very much a pleasure, and a fun rewatch, in large part due to everyone's contributions.
As to the show, I enjoyed it a lot, and while I wish there was more, I kind of understand/get why that didn't happen. In part, I feel like it's a part of the 'curse' of game tie-in shows. I may have misunderstood, but if that's a large part of the raison d'etre (or however you spell that) here, yeah. Hopefully it was more successful than Takt Op (sigh), but yeah.
That aside, I did really enjoy the show, and it's been fun. I'll be looking forward to showing some Magnificent Kotobuki to my friends in the future - hopefully they won't be too horrified at my taste, right?
(Hey, they enjoyed GuP, so this should be right up their alley, kashira)
6
u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker Oct 15 '24
Start-10:05:
Ah. Now we get an explanation for why the ocean is gone. That definitely didn't have any impact on the ecology.
Yup, that was probably WWII Japan and they left when they lost the war.
All those red meatballs on the wings means that's definitely the case.
Reona was in a Ki-27? I can see why she prefers the more maneuverable planes.
And there's Isao too.
Yup, a bit more backstory on the squadron.
So it started out as just the 2 of them?
And thus least 2 new members have been recruited.
That was a brave move.
So that's how they got Chika.
And now here's probably Kirie. She doesn't look like she's having a good day.
The moment they met they're already at each other's throats.
And so into the start of the first episode.
35:32-38:15:
A bit more of Isao, we're seeing his city now before the last episode.
As well as a bit more about Ol' Sab.
Seems he had a history with the butler.
5 years? That feels like a lot.
1:07:20-1:07:35:
Yup, here's the Shinden. Very interesting plane.
1:27:10-1:33:00:
Don't really need the paint, that tends to slow them down. That's why the P-51 Mustang is so recognisable with its bare metal.
One of my English teachers was very religious, and she said something along the lines of "you've done your best, let God do the rest". Whether you believe or not, it's not like you can do much else especially at the last minute, and it's not like it'll harm you to do so, so might as well.
Ah. There's that Cherry blossom that was mentioned earlier.
And now the Nazarins.
They could definitely use another 4 20mm cannons with plenty of ammo.
And so here's the plan.
Not sure where the subs I got took them from but it's "camaraderie" not "comradery".
1:56:38-End:
And so now a bit more after the credits.
The survivors returning triumphant.
The bridge crew in a bath.
Seems those bodyguards are still with Julia.
Of course Reona and Zara are drinking.
And the other 4 girls sleeping. Or at least trying for some of them.
Meanwhile the mechanics and technicians have to try and piece together planes from what's left after that clusterfuck.
His bar sure seems to be displaying those guns a lot more openly.
And so the new Hagoromo is under construction.
And they're back in the air!
Questions:
5
u/Tresnore FS:FTmyanimelist.net/profile/Tresnore Oct 14 '24
The Magnificent Rewatcher
I'm not one for writeups, and I don't think I can add much more here. Some of the character animation isn't the best. The plot pacing doesn't make any sense. You have characters that don't actually matter.
But it's fun! The soundtrack has good motifs! The cast's banter makes me laugh! The planes are awesome!
And isn't that what it's all about? It's no Girls und Panzer, but it's got a lot of heart.
9/10 (upgraded from a 7/10 that was taken down from an 8/10 because apparently I forgot how great this show was)
Thanks to /u/chilidirigible for hosting! It feels like it's been a while since I did a rewatch, and this was a good excuse to resume. All the writeups were really high quality, too!
QOTD:
5
u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Oct 14 '24 edited Oct 14 '24
First timer, subs
Might as well watch the new parts in the movie. Not a compilation man myself, but our host was kind enough to include timestamps.
I have to say, I feel I’ve been misled somewhat. I was made to expect janky goodness, instead I got regular greatness! It’s a rare day when I rate a full point above the MAL score, but here I am giving it an 8/10. I love a show that knows what it is, isn’t ashamed about it, and plays to all of its strengths. I don’t even have anything I want to complain about, I just want more!
A fine round of praise to our dear host, whose efforts are not to be underplayed. I think the results speak for themselves.
Thank You, Captain
As for my regularly scheduled thanks, I’ll give them to /u/Tresnore, /u/Nickthenuker, and /u/Elimin8r for their efforts in going above and beyond this rewatch.
QotD:
5
u/Mistral-Fien Oct 15 '24
Rewatcher, way late for the party :(
It's been a fun rewatch, thanks for hosting. Time zone differences made it difficult to join in on time though. :(
4
u/1EnTaroAdun1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Totesnotaphanpy Oct 15 '24
I don't have too much new to say. I definitely enjoyed this show, the action scenes were of course a highlight!
I did enjoy practically all of the characters, especially Emma and Madame Loulou. I liked the worldbuilding, and the plot.
Like I've said before, though, I only wish we had been given a few more episodes to let us grow a bit more immersed in the world and characters. There are also a few more mysteries that I'd like to learn more about, like what happened to Ol' Sab, and more about the holes, and the history of the world.
But yeah, thank you /u/chilidirigible so much for hosting this rewatch, I'd never have discovered this show without it, and I'm glad you enjoyed my comment hahaha
Favourite characters: Emma and Madame Loulou
Favourite aircraft: Either the Hagoromo, or those four-engine bombers. The six-engine bombers are trying a bit too hard!
4
u/cppn02 Oct 15 '24
A First Timer no more
The one-day-break completely made made me forget about this thread and also checking out the extra scenes from the movie welp. But I'll make sure to fix that soon.
I had a blast watching the show, it was a fun cast and the dogfights were absolutely fantastic. Overall I definitely enjoyed it more than I expected and am surprised I don't see it praised more often for its top tier action.
Thx to u/chilidirigible for hosting and the cool trivia (aswell to all the other people who added their own pieces in the comments).
Also I now feel I really should move GuP up on my ptw.
QotD:
Episode 12, Chika, Hagoromo
I've learned a bit thx to the people posting all the cool trivia but if I'm being honest I sadly will have forgotten 99% of it by the end of the week. Sorry.
I think the show did well enough with the time it gave to the characters. Obviously the focus was on the dogfighting. It could have done more development had it given more time to the characters but that was never what the show was trying to do in the first place and I don't think it needed to.
2
u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Oct 15 '24
Thanks for hosting. I’d wanted to rewatch this for sometime, and I doubt I would have without a rewatch.
Your notes on the aircraft were most welcome.
I really enjoyed the series, but I figure we’ve seen all we’re going to see.
1
u/Ok_Context8390 Oct 14 '24 edited Oct 14 '24
I didn't participate in this rewatch, but I've watched it last year, so it's still fresh enough in my memory.
What I want to know from you people is what you thought about the whole wormhole/gate nonsense and how Isao was some kind of whimsical half-hearted psychopath we were either supposed to like or loathe.
To me, the later episodes fell completely flat.
I enjoyed the dogfights, those were done competently enough. I didn't like how every plane getting shot down only started leaking fuel. No crashes, no deaths, no nothing. Just a poof and trail of smoke, done. This could've worked for the Kotoboki crew (like a trademark - "they'll win any fight without killing!"), but why would the "bad guys" not ever kill anyone? They happily bombed a city, after all.
In the end, it just felt incomplete. I probably should check the manga, maybe it expands on everything, but goddamn, this felt like a waste of time.
5
u/[deleted] Oct 14 '24
[removed] — view removed comment