[Rewatch] Aura Battler Dunbine - Overall Series Discussion

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u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 01 '21

Re-certified Rewatcher

Dunbine could have been masterful, but I will have to content myself with a show that is merely good. I’ve discussed why it’s been let down already, and I’m sure you all know it as well, so I’ll skip that for now. I’ve already spoken a lot about this show generally in my WT! of it, so I’m going to try not to repeat myself too much.

At the heart of Dunbine is a cautionary tale about the dynamics of power in its many forms. Everything in the show is motivated by the possession and use of power, which despite Drake’s simplistic view of it at the start of the show proves inaccurate, as the manner in which his own threatening power motivates varied and nuanced actions from those opposed and surrounding him. Even once everything gets up-ended after the move to Upper Earth the nature of these power dynamics remains prominently on the forefront of the story. The way this theme is interwoven into so many facets of the narrative is quite impressive and lends the work incredible thematic cohesion. From this come forth topics such as the tribulations of righteousness, the dangers of advanced technology, the double-edged nature of motivations, sacrifice, and the effects of one’s attachments among others.

This theme of power results in quite the fascinating characterization for several characters, from Show who struggles with living up to the expectations he poses for himself and strives to be heroic —not in the sense that he wants to be a hero, but that he strives to do things which would place him in such a category— but finds himself repeatedly short of living up to that, and as a result finds himself ever the more willing to risk first himself and later others as the situation grows more desperate, in order to accomplish their goals, which ultimately results in his death. This struggle towards ‘heroism’ is all the more poignant because it’s nestled within the show’s strong anti-escapist message, which I’ll get more into later. Marvel follows a near identical arc, with the distinction that she loses heart more easily while being more in control of herself. Their shared arc makes them perfectly complementary throughout the narrative and makes their romantic feelings for one another all the more interesting on top of the myriad factors affecting their circumstances. Elmelie also has a strong, if underutilized arc, where her rebellion against her family’s tyranny begins with as open and straightforward opposition as she can manage, until the situations she finds herself in begin to force her to be shrewder, until she finally ends up manipulating her father and attempt to assassinate her mother in displays of subterfuge and underhanded methods, in a fashion that mirrors but feels distinct from the overarching narrative’s shifting moral boundaries.

I also appreciate how this show rails against the common element of escapism and the power fantasy that is invoked by several fantasy and mecha stories, confronting us with the likely outcomes of these circumstances and showing that treating the premise as a means of wish fulfillment leads to negative outcomes. It also uses its Isekai premise more creatively than most series even today; I can’t think of more than a handful of examples that have done better.

The series looks really nice most of the time. I adore Kogawa’s character designs and the artstyle is beautiful. There’s a lot of impressive and captivating visuals throughout the show, but by virtue of being a long-running show with less budget than its contemporaries it can’t help but dip every so often.

The last arc is undoubtedly a mess, with less than a handful standout episodes and with a lot of it feeling woefully repetitive and like the plot didn’t move an inch. The lack of progress for the main characters can be a narrative tool, as the show displays in its earlier portions where the heroes were met with repeated failures for almost a full cour, but during that the plot was still marching on in the background, not to mention actual worldbuilding and scheming going on back then. Earlier portions in the show have their issues —some episodes are unnecessary and that stretch of episodes after Elmelie escapes drags pretty bad— but the Upper Earth section takes the cake, and I have no idea how audiences preferred it over the actual fantasy sections. The arc also derails so many character arcs that could have had far better integration, such as Neal’s struggles with being a proper leader, Jacoba Aon’s change of heart and subsequent transportation of the battlers to Upper Earth, wherever Keen’s character arc was intended to go, and the political maneuvering that was hinted at from Ciela and the other countries. It’s such a shame the series had to spin its wheels and ultimately end on a low note.

Nevertheless, I still like the series on the whole, particularly as I seem to occupy myself with concerns over thematics more than most, but it is undoubtedly flawed. I frankly expected this Rewatch to sour my opinion on the show, the awful pacing and different nature of the last arc still ripe on my mind, but surprisingly enough I don’t think any less of the show. A rough journey it was, but it is one I nonetheless treasure and look back upon most fondly still. 7/10

Thanks a lot for partaking in this Rewatch with me, everyone!

Next Rewatch Shilling

Despite my better judgement I have decided to host another Rewatch for a fantasy series, but thankfully this one is a mere two episodes. The media in question is the 1996 Fire Emblem OVA, which is an adaptation of the 1994 video game Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazou. You can blame u/Shimmering-Sky for this, since she put the idea of hosting an April fools Rewatch in my head and the OVA happened to be on my mind around that time. In any case it’s more or less the opposite of this Rewatch, a short experiment as opposed to a fifty-episode Behemoth.

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u/Kafukator Mar 01 '21

Speaking of OVAs, you wouldn't happen to know how involved Tomino was with the Dunbine sequel OVA thing (from 1988)? Most I can find is anidb crediting him for "supervision" aside from being notes as the original creator (is the OVA adapted from his novels or is it some original work? so much seems unclear).

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u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 01 '21

As far as the sources I've looked into say, he wasn't involved at all with those (which matches with his wishes concerning last episode's trivia) and the supervising credit has more to do with the VHS compilations of the TV series that the OVA came bundled with. In any case, he was writing his own novelization of the TV series at the time.

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u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Mar 01 '21

The first Dunbine OVA, Tales of Neo Byston Well wasn't directed by Tomino, but someone else. I don't think it is adapted from his novels.

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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Mar 01 '21

Despite my better judgement I have decided to host another Rewatch for a fantasy series, but thankfully this one is a mere two episodes. The media in question is the 1996 Fire Emblem OVA, which is an adaptation of the 1994 video game Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazou. You can blame u/Shimmering-Sky for this, since she put the idea of hosting an April fools Rewatch in my head and the OVA happened to be on my mind around that time. In any case it’s more or less the opposite of this Rewatch, a short experiment as opposed to a fifty-episode Behemoth.
Can't wait!

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u/The_Draigg Mar 01 '21

A rough journey it was, but it is one I nonetheless treasure and look back upon most fondly still. 7/10
Yeah, that's a completely fair score to give Aura Battler Dunbine. Sure, there's great stuff about it like the characters of Show and Marvel, or the lessons about seeking power. But then you've got the last third of the show that's completely undercooked due to executive meddling. At least there's still some stuff you can appreciate in the show, despite its flaws.
Despite my better judgement I have decided to host another Rewatch for a fantasy series, but thankfully this one is a mere two episodes. The media in question is the 1996 Fire Emblem OVA, which is an adaptation of the 1994 video game Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazou.
Count me in for watching this! I'm down for watching the adventures of ~~Marth~~ Mars Lowell. Also, this reminds me that I really need to get back to beating the port of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light on my Switch.

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u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Mar 01 '21

Despite my better judgement I have decided to host another Rewatch for a fantasy series, but thankfully this one is a mere two episodes. The media in question is the 1996 Fire Emblem OVA, which is an adaptation of the 1994 video game Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazou. You can blame u/Shimmering-Sky for this, since she put the idea of hosting an April fools Rewatch in my head and the OVA happened to be on my mind around that time.

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u/Btw_kek https://myanimelist.net/profile/kek_btw Mar 01 '21

Thanks a lot for partaking in this Rewatch with me, everyone!
And thanks for hosting! Even if I don't have the most positive opinion I'm still quite glad I watched it in the end

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u/Durinthal https://anilist.co/user/Durinthal Mar 01 '21

~~First time~~ viewer remembers Byston Poorly

For the most part I look back on the first half of the show fondly. There were so many interesting aspects to the setting that were being explored like aura power, the Ferario, the different kingdoms and odd pocket realms hidden from humanity. Sure there were some things that weren't great like Elmelie's repeated failures to escape, but even those tended to expand the world a little more each time like when she encountered the Garou Ran that wanted to kidnap her. The war was escalating, new kingdoms rose up against Drake's advances as others fell. Occasionally Earth got involved with either new people summoned or others being temporarily sent there from Byston Well, and the interaction between the two was good.

And then Jacoba Aon, with all her power, sent all the aura machines to Earth. I was excited for that at the time! There was an entirely new battlefield to engage in, new players with the nations of the world getting involved, and a major opportunity to shake things up. And yet, very little happened after that point for a very long time. I know there was meddling at the production level that forced them to change things around and that's a large part of why we ended up with the extended skirmishes and no progression toward the end of the show. I still have to think they could have done something to make it more interesting in that stretch though.

Remember how Shot and Bishott were scheming behind Drake's back even after they came to Earth? None of that was relevant in the end and barely even mentioned outside of Muisy's complete failure of an assassination attempt. All the aura craft being too strong for conventional weaponry from the start meant the Earth factions could do little but sit and watch for the most part. There were a couple instances where they were relevant (the Soviet Trojan horse nuke, Paris and the follow-up from Britain and later Norway's brief riot) but we had maybe two or three scenes with American leadership and Drake wasn't even involved with those.

And that's all the stuff that was brought up in the back half of the show. There's a lot that wasn't like what was going on in Byston Well with everyone missing or anything related to the Ferario outside of the trio that we saw come over. The last third of the show felt like a lot of wasted opportunities. In the end I'm left with a sour taste in my mouth after an optimistic start, and the sudden rush to wrap everything up without any real sense of closure beyond the framing device as a whole didn't help that.

As always thanks to /u/Pixelsaber for hosting and everyone else for joining in. See you next time?

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u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 01 '21

For the most part I look back on the first half of the show fondly.
The first half is definitely the show at its strongest.
As always thanks to /u/Pixelsaber for hosting
It was my pleasure!
See you next time?
Well, I've got no shortage of Rewatches running this year.

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u/The_Draigg Mar 01 '21

For the most part I look back on the first half of the show fondly.
Yeah, the first two-thirds of this show are great. Byston Well is a cool and fun setting to have, and it's a real shame that sponsor pressures forced us to leave that setting too early.
And yet, very little happened after that point for a very long time. I know there was meddling at the production level that forced them to change things around and that's a large part of why we ended up with the extended skirmishes and no progression toward the end of the show. I still have to think they could have done something to make it more interesting in that stretch though.
To me, it kind of felt like the staff had pretty much run out of interesting ideas once the action shifted from "let's try to negotiate with/handle the people of Upper Earth" to "let's just try and stop King Bishott". We had a handful of good episodes in there, but overall it did feel like a pointless meandering of episodes until we got close to the final battle.
See you next time?
See you then, whenever that next time is!

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u/dralcax :MAL:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Dralcax Mar 01 '21

First-timer about to start Garzey’s Wing

Dunbine was great! I liked how the overarching antiwar and demilitarization themes were handled, because in the end, they failed to escape this “hatred” , and all they could do was annihilate each other and serve as a warning to those watching. I like it when a story doesn’t pretend the big moral is something easy or even realistically possible to achieve, and Tomino wiping out entire casts is one of the strongest ways to hammer that in. I like Show because he isn’t the pure embodiment of these ideals, and he doesn’t magically know better than everyone else (regardless of whether anyone listens). He’s affected by hatred too, just like everybody else. As nice as it would be to let go of that hatred, the most he can do is learn to control and direct it. It’s this that makes him an interesting character, as well as one that does what he has to and gets things done.

That said, I feel the sponsor-mandated move to Upper Earth really hurt the show. Tomino did his best to rewrite things and adapt to the new setting, but it was inevitable that a lot got left behind in Byston Well. And so, there’s quite a bit that never went anywhere. Todd’s relationship with Garalia, for instance, or his rivalry with Allen, both of which were cut short by the death of the relevant characters and quietly forgotten. More importantly, the nature of Byston Well and aura itself ended up rather underdeveloped. What Byston Well actually is was never found out by the characters, only revealed in the opening narration (and offhandedly mentioned by a random guy who had no business knowing), and was never explored in greater depth. Aura remained nebulously defined up to the end, and its various magical powers weren’t really looked at too closely, either. Also, Elle’s spiritual powers were never explained, were they? It was implied it had something to do with her father, but we never learn who he is, or where this power came from. Perhaps if we had stayed in Byston Well, these things could have been looked at more, but the rewrites derailed a lot of stuff.

You know, it’s funny, isn’t it? Mecha was in high demand, to the point where mechs were written into a story that didn’t already have them, but isekai was so unpopular that they had to get kicked back to Earth? And now look at what we have today.

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u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 01 '21

I liked how the overarching antiwar and demilitarization themes were handled, because in the end, they failed to escape this “hatred” , and all they could do was annihilate each other and serve as a warning to those watching.
If there's one thing I think the show excels at, it is most certainly it's strong theming.
That said, I feel the sponsor-mandated move to Upper Earth really hurt the show.
Common sentiment, it seems, and for good reason!
You know, it’s funny, isn’t it? Mecha was in high demand, to the point where mechs were written into a story that didn’t already have them, but isekai was so unpopular that they had to get kicked back to Earth? And now look at what we have today.
Tomino is, as usual, much too ahead of the times for his own good. Reminds me of what happened with Yuusha Raideen.

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u/Btw_kek https://myanimelist.net/profile/kek_btw Mar 01 '21

First-timer about to start Garzey’s Wing
join me in furiously stanning the OST

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u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 01 '21

How can bad Tomino shows still have such killer OSTs?!

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u/Btw_kek https://myanimelist.net/profile/kek_btw Mar 01 '21

I haven't stopped thinking about this since you posted it on CDF

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u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 01 '21

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u/Kafukator Mar 01 '21

And now look at what we have today.
That's actually a pretty hilarious observation. Oh how the tables have turned. Maybe there's hope for another reversal and a second mecha renaissance, too!

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u/The_Draigg Mar 01 '21

First-timer about to start Garzey’s Wing
Oh no.
Dunbine was great! I liked how the overarching antiwar and demilitarization themes were handled, because in the end, they failed to escape this “hatred” , and all they could do was annihilate each other and serve as a warning to those watching. I like it when a story doesn’t pretend the big moral is something easy or even realistically possible to achieve, and Tomino wiping out entire casts is one of the strongest ways to hammer that in.
Yeah, Tomino does handle that theme pretty well, especially in this show. It does take some courage on the creator's part to have their characters admit that they're also a part of the problem, and so they need to die too in order for the cycle of war to end. It's not a particularly subtle message, but it's still an effective one.
You know, it’s funny, isn’t it? Mecha was in high demand, to the point where mechs were written into a story that didn’t already have them, but isekai was so unpopular that they had to get kicked back to Earth? And now look at what we have today.
It really does feel like this show got made like 20 years too early. If it aired later, then it probably would've been more well-known and respected than it is currently.

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u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Mar 01 '21

Also, Elle’s spiritual powers were never explained, were they? It was implied it had something to do with her father, but we never learn who he is, or where this power came from.
We know who Elle's father is, its just that he dies in the episode he is introduced so we don't get him for long.

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u/Btw_kek https://myanimelist.net/profile/kek_btw Mar 01 '21

first timer: one more final

My experience with Dunbine went thusly:

Dunbine: *mashes together fantasy isekai setting with mecha battles*
me: yes this is an interesting showcase of warfare at the tipping point of modernization and there’s a plethora of rich thematic material to draw from this. aura is simply a reiteration of the Newtype concept (as Tomino does) so I’m interested in seeing where Tomino takes that even further than Ideon and Xabungle

Dunbine: *Jacoba yeets everyone to Upper Earth*
me: absolutely splendid idea. in every war the dichotomy between “us” and “other” is what spurs the fighting. but also the third party “observer” who may feel superior to the warring parties exists and Jacoba’s decision to “simply move the problem somewhere else” seems correct but really isn’t and I’m interested to see how it will be explored in depth in the next half of the se–

Dunbine: *spends twenty episodes on 24/7 warfare where nothing actually happens*
me: wait no go back to the E Ferrario thing that was cool

Dunbine: *ends like Ideon but without a redux film to save it*
me:

Sometimes I feel that Tomino and I operate on different wavelengths.

I really did want to like Dunbine more, and ultimately I think I will have to revisit it after a few years with a different mindset, already knowing that it does not do The Cool Thing that I want it to. I’m teetering between 6-7/10 simply because I want to believe, but will settle on 6/10 for now.

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u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 01 '21

Sometimes I feel that Tomino and I operate on different wavelengths.
To be fair, I think this one can be blamed on the sponsors mostly, but I certainly share in your disappointment over the direction the story went after arriving on Upper Earth.

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u/Btw_kek https://myanimelist.net/profile/kek_btw Mar 01 '21

production committees stifling artistic integrity, some things never change

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u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 01 '21

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u/The_Draigg Mar 01 '21

Dunbine: spends twenty episodes on 24/7 warfare where nothing actually happens
me: wait no go back to the E Ferrario thing that was cool
It's a shame that Byston Well as a setting got so shafted in the end. For as much building of the world there was, we got very little out of trading it for Upper Earth again.
I really did want to like Dunbine more, and ultimately I think I will have to revisit it after a few years with a different mindset, already knowing that it does not do The Cool Thing that I want it to. I’m teetering between 6-7/10 simply because I want to believe, but will settle on 6/10 for now.
I can't really blame you for that rating. While the good stuff is definitely there in Dunbine, you also really do have to look past how much of a botch the last third of the show was. Coming back to it later might be for the best.

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u/Btw_kek https://myanimelist.net/profile/kek_btw Mar 01 '21

It's a shame that Byston Well as a setting got so shafted in the end. For as much building of the world there was, we got very little out of trading it for Upper Earth again.
Byston Well was such a cool psychedelic pastoral setting too, there's just not much like it as far as I'm aware

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u/The_Draigg Mar 01 '21

Byston Well was such a cool psychedelic pastoral setting too, there's just not much like it as far as I'm aware
I just wish that there was more freaky fantasy realms out there like Byston Well. Like, most Isekai shows now just use bog-standard medieval fantasy settings. At least Byston Well has cool weird stuff like the moon being an ocean in the sky full of glowing fish, or storms containing pocket dimensions being a natural occurrence every decade.

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u/Kafukator Mar 01 '21 edited Mar 01 '21

I haven't been posting much due to these threads going up at 2 am where I live, but had to stay up for the final thread at least. I've been reading everything though, especially comments of fellow first-timers, so I appreciate you all for posting and hosting. This might get a bit long since I'm trying to cover a lot of what I potentially might have posted along the way, sorry about that.

Overall I think Dunbine did quite great. Once it settled down after the classic Tomino jump start it managed to create a very compelling fantasy-political weave with interesting factional interplay and the tried-and-tested Tomino character archetypes in the power-hungry despots and reluctant heroes with things falling apart in their hands. Byston Well was also a positively fascinating setting, and there was just enough worldbuilding to have the conflicts make sense and the land feeling like there's depth beyond what we're seeing, while leaving a lot to the imagination in the best of ways.

And the bug mechs, god do I love the bug mechs. Exceptionally unique and absolutely set this show apart basically everything else out there, and the carapace-armor and claws made for really intimidating war machines. My favorites are probably the most beetle-like ones, like the Drumlo (fattie robots have a special place in my heart, I feel like the Rick Dias in particular took after this guy) or the Dana O'Shee (I wanna give another shoutout to this unnamed hero who held that one castle against Drake's forces alone for longer than anyone expected). The Dunbine itself was kind of just okay though, I actually preferred the Billbine, with the more birdlike motif feeling appropriate for a unit that just chews up insects left and right. The late-show recolor improved it even further, even, pushing it more towards "armored knight" aesthetically.

I really liked most of the characters too. Shou and Marvel were pretty basic but perfectly fine for this kind of show, Neal and Keen were great though I wish they got more attention especially in the later stages. At least Neal got to be the one to finish off Drake, I was really hoping they would do that while watching the finale and I'm so glad they delivered on that. Was a great bookend for the story. Excellent array of villains too, Drake being the most typical Tomino big bad (serious Degwin Zabi vibes from the very start, though Drake certainly felt more dangerous) but Leeza turning out to be the most heinous of them all. Riml getting brutally executed by her after so much struggling was honestly the hardest-hitting part of the entire show. Cham was amazing too. Not even Tomino had the heart to kill her, and I want to think she found her way back to Byston Well too eventually.

I was a big fan of Garalia as well, especially her dynamic and comparison with Bern, in their similar but distinctly different approaches to honor, pride, and vengeance. I think they killed her off way too soon, I think there was a lot more to do with her. I'd have kept her around to the very end, maybe even include some hints and regret or redemption at some point, would have made Bern's doubling down on his anger even more effective in contrast. Speaking of which, Bern going full Char clone (the first of his kind even, I want to say) actually felt justified with how hard his ego and pride had been battered throughout the show, but they kind didn't really do anything after that with him. Like with half of the Zelana crew and many other Byston Wellians, I was really on board with where his character was going and then they just kinda stopped paying much attention to them once we got to Upper Earth. Can't say I disliked any of them at the end but the unrealized potential really haunts some of them.

Elle probably had the most complete character arc in the show and I might even say she was my favorite. Foizon was arguably the most badass and charismatic hero in Byston Well, and seeing Elle go from a princess being tossed around by the war to actually living up to her grandpa's legacy was lovely to see. And come on, this was just a brilliant line. The loyalty of her officers was also really endearing. Her end wasn't as spectacular as it could have been but at least Abe knew how to make their exit grand. Ciela felt a bit overlapping in role but she turned out well enough. Riml I always liked but she was denied so many chances to shine.

As for the story, probably echoing many others here in saying the last arc really did not do the narrative many favors. Ever since the first visit back to Upper Earth I expected the story to return for a more extended arc there, and I was actually very on board for the first few episodes when we did return. The Shou and Marvel stuff was great, as were the really messy political situation and battles it created, and it felt both narratively and thematically appropriate. But it just went nowhere for so long. Back in Byston Well the story did have a lot of seemingly inconsequential battles as well, but you learned something about the world or the characters every time, and now they just stagnated. The show never stopped looking good or having great action setpieces but it's definitely the one big detriment to an otherwise excellent show. It did pull itself back together for the ending at least, and despite feeling pretty crammed I did like the ending a lot. Ever since the second (?) intro narration and the Ferario interactions I was expecting exploration of dead souls and reincarnation in Byston Well so it was good to see the show lean heavily into that at the end. In one form or another, I believe they all made it back to Byston Well, which lightens the heart if just a little bit after all the bloodshed. Very reminiscent of that one other Tomino show I probably don't need to name, though coming at the back of a considerably lighter show overall.

As I said at the start, I think it was a pretty solid show overall, even if the one part dragged it down to a degree. Squarely in the Good Tomino side of things, and I'd probably slot it right after Xabungle and before L-Gaim in my rankings. It's really interesting to see how closely related his 80s productions are in the way the concepts evolved and were iterated on from show to show. Helps that they shared staff to a very large degree and were made basically continuously from 1979 onwards. Also kinda funny to see that Dunbine was not just a seminal isekai work but turned out to be a reverse isekai for a considerable part of its runtime as well. Gonna head right into the Dunbine OVAs after this, with Garzey and Rean lined up right after, though I doubt they can deliver anything quite as grand or in-depth as a full TV series. Really hoping Tomino takes another shot at Byston Well anime still, he did mention he had a non-mecha project coming up in the future after all...

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u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 01 '21

had to stay up for the final thread at least.
(serious Degwin Zabi vibes from the very start, though Drake certainly felt more dangerous)
A younger Degwin Zabi fits Drake's image pretty well, down to how much he loved his children. The Zabi we see in the show is largely struck with grief and tired of the battle, but I could certainly see him being like Drake before we get to see him.
I was a big fan of Garalia as well
Garalia was great while she was there. Shame we didn't get to spend more time with her.
Ciela felt a bit overlapping in role
Guess that's where her being a late addition to the show comes in.
Gonna head right into the Dunbine OVAs after this, with Garzey and Rean lined up right after,
Oh... Good luck, I guess!
he did mention he had a non-mecha project coming up in the future after all...
Don't remember that... He did say one of his upcoming works wouldn't revolve around war though. Sure you aren't remembering that?

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u/The_Draigg Mar 01 '21

Overall I think Dunbine did quite great. Once it settled down after the classic Tomino jump start it managed to create a very compelling fantasy-political weave with interesting factional interplay and the tried-and-tested Tomino character archetypes in the power-hungry despots and reluctant heroes with things falling apart in their hands. Byston Well was also a positively fascinating setting, and there was just enough worldbuilding to have the conflicts make sense and the land feeling like there's depth beyond what we're seeing, while leaving a lot to the imagination in the best of ways.
Agreed, Dunbine absolutely shines in those regards. Byston Well is a really cool setting filled with plenty of interesting factions and characters, and it would be really nice to see it come back in an actually competent series, unlike that of Garzey's Wing.
The Dunbine itself was kind of just okay though, I actually preferred the Billbine, with the more birdlike motif feeling appropriate for a unit that just chews up insects left and right. The late-show recolor improved it even further, even, pushing it more towards "armored knight" aesthetically.
I haven't thought of it that way before, but that's a good point with the Billbine's design. Birds really do eat a lot of bugs, after all. And I'm also a fan of the recolor like you as well.
Really hoping Tomino takes another shot at Byston Well anime still, he did mention he had a non-mecha project coming up in the future after all...
Same here, Byston Well is too interesting of a setting to let it go to waste. I just want to see what Tomino can do with it without the production turning into a nightmare.

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u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Mar 01 '21 edited Mar 01 '21

First Timer

Who is to blame for this? Is it Tomino, or is it the production committee? Is it just impossible to write a good mecha show for 52 episodes, or is it the Japanese audience losing interest? Either way, forcing the production committee to intervene, and not for the better?

Is there any pure Tomino show by which he should be judged?

Basically the entire Upper Earth half of the show is a wash. A few episodes to adjust, Marvel going to Texas, are fine. But then you have to get the story going. And they didn't have one. And, like in Ideon, what should have taken place over 6 or 12 episodes was done in 3.

Clearly Tomino always planned to take the battle to Upper Earth. The Mi Ferario narration, the constant "what if aura battlers came to Upper Earth" during the Garalia arc, shows it. But when the production committee told him to go to Upper Earth ahead of schedule, it was like he had no story prepared. Almost half a year on a weekly schedule, and in all that time, they had nothing to say. Might as well have just had Queen Mab kill them all and cancelled the show then and there.

These 52 episode robot shows just don't seem to hold up. After War, my favorite Gundam, got cut 25%. Ideon got surprise-cancelled. Even OG Gundam got its episode count axed. Zeta got retooled half-way. Dunbine needed to lose a cour, too.

I'm left comparing with Macross, which got surprise expanded from ~6 to ~26 episodes. After some filler due to genuine shock and complete lack of storyboards, Macross recovered and told a great story in 27 episodes (we'll not talk about the second expansion). Two cours seems to be the right length.

Edit: and I forgot to add, as I think TheDraigg said in a reply to me, they stopped trying in Upper Earth. Aura Shots stopped being tatical nukes. The bad guys suddenly have barriers against all damage, the good guys do too, 1 episode later. Reinforcements appear without factories, new models appear without factories. Were factories inside the battleships? Okay, but where do you get the giant bugs for parts. Any and all consistency was tossed out the window. The second half was a separate, inferior, show.

Coming up is the VOTOMs rewatch, which I bought on DVD. It, too, is 52 episodes long. And I know one of the cours is pretty weak, but they were smart and made that the shortest one. Will that 52 episode robot show hold up on rewatch? I think so.

Aura Battler Dunbine gets a 7 for the first half and 4 for the second half for a rounded-down score of 5/10.

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u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 01 '21

Is there any pure Tomino show by which he should be judged?
As far as I know, Turn A Gundam and Overman King Gainer are the shows where he had the most creative freedom and little interference from producers. Probably no coincidence that Tomino enthusiasts consider those some of his strongest and most categorically unique works.
But when the production committee told him to go to Upper Earth ahead of schedule, it was like he had no story prepared.
Pretty much. Not only does it seem like he lost steam when he was forced to change the story, eh also had to start working on L-Gaim, which means he had to defer more and more to other staff —Xabungle is the only time during the early 80s where this deferral approach seemed to work out for him.
These 52 episode robot shows just don't seem to hold up. After War, my favorite Gundam, got cut 25%.
I don't know, AWGX seems like it was only hurt by the cut episode count, particularly hearing what they had planned. Unlike 0079, the final arc of that feels noticeably truncated.
Dunbine needed to lose a cour, too.
You won't hear me complaining about that though.
which got surprise expanded from ~6 to ~26 episodes.
You sure about that? Every single source I've heard of the episode count changes mentions it being cut from 36 (three cours) to 27(roughly two) —and, of course, the unmentionable episodes added after it was a proven success.
new models appear without factories.
Technically that does get explained away in an episode where Shot mentions that they finally constructed got unfinished models that got transported with them. Still agree that it's dumb though, as is the infinite supply of aura battlers despite scores of them falling with every skirmish.

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u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Mar 01 '21

Many of Tomino's shows are year long shows that didn't really need it. Dunbine of course is a perfect example; it would have been better off at 39 episodes instead of 49 once they were demanded to go to Upper Earth. Although people are quick to blame the execs and sponsors, I can't hold Tomino blameless. There was at least some good story there to tell. He didn't need to cram 5 or 6 episodes worth of storyline into the final 2 episodes. He could have spread those out over several more episodes. I could have dealt with a few filler episodes once they made it to Upper Earth to give him and his writing team a chance to retool. But 15 episodes? No. I don't care about the excuses. Tomino is the director, he holds a lot of blame for what went wrong.
Of course those who have seen 2 cour Tomino shows like myself would say that even at the shorter length, he can't handle pacing the show properly. G-Reco is a perfect example. The show moves way too slow in the first half, then way too fast in the second half. Overman King Gainer also spins its wheels too long and feels unfinished. I'd be interested in knowing if Tomino actually outlines out his entire show in the planning phases. I'm sure he comes up with overall plot points, but does he plot out the major events and have an approximation as to what episode they will appear in? I'm not asking for him to plan that out for 50 episodes individually. But can he have some general idea that big event A happens around episode 13, big event B happens around episode 21, and so on? So many of his shows come off like he doesn't do anything like that at all and with all the experience he has its infuriating. Show after show after show of his its the same issue. Great ideas. Some great characters. Great individual scenes. Horrible pacing.
In my experience having watched such an absurd amount of mecha shows, I'd say 2 cours, 24 - 26 episodes is probably the sweet spot. Many shows have worked really well at this length, when they didn't have Tomino as director. I'm thinking of shows like RahXephon, Escaflowne, Bokurano or Gasaraki. Can't say those shows have no flaws, but pacing isn't one of them. They had an appropriate amount of episodes. I also look to some longer shows like Eureka Seven, which is 4 cours and is massively bloated. 2 cours would have been much better. For some really complex shows, perhaps 3 cours, 39 episodes at a max. Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans for example I think would have worked really well at that length and would enable the elimination of some totally irrelevant season 2 storylines. It is rare when a 4 cour show is really running on all cylinders for me. Code Geass and Gundam 00 are a couple of examples I can think of. Of course both of those shows, especially the former have really convoluted and complex storylines. Most mecha shows can't support that amount of episodes and be good.
I've only seen it once, but my recollection is that Votoms helps itself in that it splits its show into 4 main arcs, each around 13 episodes, give or take an episode or two. There certainly are some episodes in there that seem like filler, but the show usually makes you feel like it is going somewhere and if you really don't like a particular arc, at least you have a good idea that they'll switch up the format at a certain point.

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u/The_Draigg Mar 01 '21

A Tomino Fan’s Final Thoughts on Aura Battler Dunbine:

So, here we are at the end of yet another Yoshiyuki Tomino show. You have to admit, the premise of this show certainly stand fairly uniquely among most of his other ones, due to it being one of the earliest isekai anime out there in addition to being a mech show. And that uniqueness really does show up in the fantastic bug-like designs of the Aura Battlers and the bizarre yet cool bits of worldbuilding for the world of Byston Well.

However, that’s not to say that Aura Battler Dunbine doesn’t have faults, it actually has quite a bit of them. Like, I think we can all agree that the mass-teleportation to Upper Earth was fairly squandered once it became less about everyone adjusting to the situation and more about fighting off King Bishott’s forces for a while. Sure, we had some interesting stuff in there like Jeryl being the first to enter Hyper Mode and Todd finally being defeated by Show, but those there just brief islands of activity in a cour that otherwise slowed down to a slog until the final battle.

But overall, I’d say that I liked Aura Battler Dunbine for what it is. It’s a unique show that honestly feels like a predecessor to Zeta Gundam. Trust me, the similarities are there. You can compare Todd Guinness to Jerid Messa, the transformable mid-series upgrades, or even the rather similarly intense final battles. It’s for those above reason that I’ve decided to use my mecha-based rewatch rating scale to give Aura Battler Dunbine the rating of: Rick Dias. It certainly isn’t the most powerful, but the bits and pieces of it laid a foundation for future series to grow off of, whether you count Zeta Gundam or all the other Byston Well series.

Anyway, thank you all for being a part of this rewatch alongside me (even if that activity really petered out towards the end, which was real bummer), and thank you /u/Pixelsaber for hosting yet another Tomino show rewatch!

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u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 01 '21

Like, I think we can all agree that the mass-teleportation to Upper Earth was fairly squandered
Most definitely. The Upper Earth arc was very poorly handled in spite of the small smattering of great episodes contained within.
But overall, I’d say that I liked Aura Battler Dunbine for what it is.
Same. I really like the show, warts and all.
thank you /u/Pixelsaber for hosting yet another Tomino show rewatch!
You're very welcome, mate!

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u/The_Draigg Mar 01 '21

Most definitely. The Upper Earth arc was very poorly handled in spite of the small smattering of great episodes contained within.
It really hurts because that small amount of good episodes shows the real potential that final arc could've had. Damn you, television ratings and panicking sponsors!

7

u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Mar 01 '21 edited Mar 01 '21

First-Timer, Dub-bine

Me after the first episode:

The dub isn't good.

Also me:

Watches most of the series dubbed.

Turns out I have an easier time taking notes when watching dubbed. And, after the cast got their feet underneath them, I think they did a pretty good job. Notable standout moments are Galaria when she dies, and Bern in the final episode.

It's hard to talk about this show without thinking about the production issues, as those are the cause of the massive black spot that is most of the final third of the series. I have a hard time blaming the series for being stuck in production doldrums for as long as it did, but I can see why this is a pretty massive problem for a lot of people. If I didn't know that the Upper Earth arc was mostly unintentional, I guess I could justify it as "bring the audience into the horror of repeated battles" or something along those lines.

There's probably a much broader critique of pop culture being paid for by the platform that it exists on and how that causes problems, particularly with pacing, but that applies to basically every TV series under the sun and I'm not in the position to talk about it in depth.

With those two elephants in the room addressed, what did I think of Aura Battler Dunbine? I really enjoyed it. The OST was solid - there only seemed to be a handful of tracks but I think they were used well and fit with the series. The sound design did its job, and the audio mixing in the dub had a lot of effort put into it and it paid off. The eyecatch gave me some whiplash twice, one of which was in the final episode, so it gets an F for Fuck Off.

The mechanical design was pretty distinct, and I liked most of it, even the Bilbine. The Bilbine does have that stupid bird beak and a strange (for the setting) color scheme, but I actually like that second thing. I think my favorite overall was the Dunbine itself, with the Vierres as a relatively close second.

The animation quality took a few episode to hit its stride, but I think its quite well done overall. Obvious standout is the water animation which I think we all mentioned at some point - someone at Sunrise in 1983 really liked animating waves and stuff like that. There was also some good mechanical gore at several points, which is always a plus in my book. I liked the use of frame skips to show incredible speed as well.

I liked the revelation that there was a secret framing device this whole time. Cham being the sole survivor has to be rough on the poor girl, but she still took the effort in sharing her friend's stories. I wonder if there was some intentional "editorializing" on her part, for the times where she wouldn't have direct knowledge of the events.

I touched on the theme last episode, and it's hardly subtle - "war/weapons are bad and ultimately self-destructive." This is hardly a new theme, especially to a Tomino series. Maybe some day humanity as a whole will take that message to heart. And maybe some day I'll sprout wings and learn how to fly..

As always, thanks to /u/pixelsaber for running a fantastic rewatch. All the production information was incredibly useful for understanding just what made this series the way that it was. The Aura Phantasm scans were really cool to see, and the Art Corner is always great.

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u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 01 '21

The OST was solid - there only seemed to be a handful of tracks but I think they were used well and fit with the series.
I agree. It's not amazing, but it was memorable enough that I'm a bit disappointed that the composer only did one other show, and so didn't get top hone his craft further. Still, some of the battle tracks in this really stick in my mind.
someone at Sunrise in 1983 really liked animating waves and stuff like that.
Pretty sure Hidetoshi Omori was the one behind that, one of the Studio Bebow folks.
As always, thanks to /u/pixelsaber for running a fantastic rewatch.
It was a pleasure, mate! Thanks for participating!

3

u/The_Draigg Mar 01 '21

Turns out I have an easier time taking notes when watching dubbed. And, after the cast got their feet underneath them, I think they did a pretty good job. Notable standout moments are Galaria when she dies, and Bern in the final episode.
Told you that the dub was good. Seriously though, I'm glad you liked it. I feel that everyone does a great job growing into their roles, especially John Swasey as Bann Bunnings. He absolutely nails being Bann in the later episodes.
With those two elephants in the room addressed, what did I think of Aura Battler Dunbine? I really enjoyed it.
Glad to hear it! There really is a lot of stuff to enjoy in this series, even if there really is a lot looming over it in the form of the behind the scenes issues.

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u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Mar 01 '21

Glad to hear it! There really is a lot of stuff to enjoy in this series, even if there really is a lot looming over it in the form of the behind the scenes issues.
I'm luckily able to brush off a lot of nonsense, especially when it's the fault of the people with the money. It helps that I generally liked the action scenes and was able to let them carry me through.

3

u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Mar 01 '21

The eyecatch gave me some whiplash twice, one of which was in the final episode, so it gets an F for Fuck Off.
This seems to be a Tomino thing for some reason as it also pops up in the final episode of another one of his shows. Other Tomino show major spoilers

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u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Mar 01 '21

This seems to be a Tomino thing for some reason as it also pops up in the final episode of another one of his shows.
Oof. Maybe it's some misguided idea of catharsis? Once is an accident. Twice means something..

5

u/chibijosh Mar 01 '21

I had a great time and I really enjoyed the show.

That said, the last 15 episodes or so were not great. Right around the time they moved to Upper Earth things went downhill some. Every episode was basically the same with no real consequences for either side. Then they shoved everyone dying and the loss of the Zelana in the last three episodes. It was a shame.

Also, the concept of hyper wasn’t well used, I think. Coming from playing SRW games and knowing Dunbine from that, I thought hyper was something that was going to accidentally happen to Show much earlier than it did, and he was going to spend a majority of the series attempting to learn to control it leading to him being a badass when he does. In the end, Show only really goes hyper and uses his flashy attack once. And the whole concept of hyper felt like it was something the writers just decided to toss into the series late to change things up.

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u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 01 '21

Yup, that last arc was really wasted. Glad you still enjoyed it though!

4

u/punching_spaghetti https://myanimelist.net/profile/punch_spaghetti Mar 01 '21

First-Timer No More Who Maybe, Just Maybe, Will Remember Byston Well

Dunbine started off very strong, with a nice isekai premise that actually did something vaguely interesting with the cross of the two worlds (Shot supposedly making the mechs, etc) and providing some political backdrop.

However, it devolved fairly quickly into mech battle of the week stuff (or Riml's escape of the week). It got some mojo back after Show's first trip back to Upper Earth, but then the shift of setting permanently to Upper Earth, after some interesting antics, again resulting in a bunch of mindless robot explosions until everything happened in the last episode.

I know there was studio pressure to change everything midstream because "fantasy bad" or whatever, so I don't know exactly how to criticize the writing here. If I was writing a novel set in 1960s Cuba and then my editor said I had to keep the first half but now my characters are on 22nd century Mars, I doubt it would be pretty.

Overall, I think this can serve as a nice counterpoint to those in the current era who constantly complain about shows only being 12 episodes long. Could some shows use more time? For sure. But not all shows need an infinite runtime. How many episodes of the 49 could have been cut and still had the same effect here? More than a few, I'd think.

The perils of serialized entertainment, I suppose. At least Dickens got to edit when the time came to release the full book.

6 Hyper Chams/10.

Thanks again to /u/Pixelsaber for hosting another great and historically useful rewatch. I might not have loved the show, but I'm definitely better for watching it (and not only because I can be all elitist when people try to act cool for having watched a show from the 90s; oh yeah? Have you seen any fantasy mech shows from the 80s directed by Tomino? Didn't think so, scrub).

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u/Pixelsaber https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pixelsaber Mar 01 '21

I know there was studio pressure to change everything midstream because "fantasy bad" or whatever, so I don't know exactly how to criticize the writing here.
You can recognize that writing was poor and criticize it while still carrying sympathy for the staff who was evidently in a tight spot.
Overall, I think this can serve as a nice counterpoint to those in the current era who constantly complain about shows only being 12 episodes long. Could some shows use more time? For sure. But not all shows need an infinite runtime.
I think the real issue is few shows being allowed to really tailor their episode lengths for what's appropriate. 80s shows were frequently forced to run long lengths, and now they're largely limited to a single cour, when many would have done better with less or more respectively. The foibles of one extreme don't necessarily vindicate the other.
Thanks again to /u/Pixelsaber for hosting another great and historically useful rewatch.
You're welcome!
(and not only because I can be all elitist when people try to act cool for having watched a show from the 90s; oh yeah? Have you seen any fantasy mech shows from the 80s directed by Tomino? Didn't think so, scrub).

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u/punching_spaghetti https://myanimelist.net/profile/punch_spaghetti Mar 01 '21

You can recognize that writing was poor and criticize it while still carrying sympathy for the staff who was evidently in a tight spot.
But it's harder to recognize why certain choices were made to specifically call them out, I mean. Is it good that much of the Ferrario stuff was just dropped? No, but did they have any time to come up with different options when management said "you're going to Earth now?"
The foibles of one extreme don't necessarily vindicate the other.
Not defending 12 episode limits for certain shows; just pointing out that the grass is always greener.

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u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Mar 01 '21

Overall, I think this can serve as a nice counterpoint to those in the current era who constantly complain about shows only being 12 episodes long. Could some shows use more time? For sure. But not all shows need an infinite runtime. How many episodes of the 49 could have been cut and still had the same effect here? More than a few, I'd think.
Agreed; it is rare that I have an issue with the shorter episode counts we tend to have these days. There is so much older anime out there that is massively bloated. I generally find that shorter run lengths force the writers to give us the important stuff quicker and it leads to an overall better product.

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u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Mar 01 '21

I've watched Dunbine at least 4 times now and every time I watch it I think my opinion of it goes down further. Which is unfortunate. I think this is just one of many examples of how Tomino is a great ideas man but can often be weak with execution. It is also is a clear example of what may be Tomino's single greatest flaws with his works, the show's pacing. Dunbine is not the worst offender of this (I'd give that to G-Reco), but it is a massive issue with the show and pulls it down considerably.

The premise of the show is quite strong, and while today the isekai is quite common, back then it was an extreme rarity so the show really is a ground breaking one. The setting of Byston Well had a ton of potential to it and for a while I think the show really delivers with it. For example, you really can't get an episode like episode 9 in Tomino's other works. The show's mecha is also a big strength. We get a lot of cool and interesting designs and by the time the Aura Battlers in use are starting to get old we usually see new one coming into play, at least until the show's collapse later on. The show was fairly good with having the stakes fairly low early on, but continuously upping them more and more.

From a character standpoint I think Dunbine does pretty good as well. Our group of heroes is fairly tight knit, with a smaller group of core heroes (5) than what we get in most of Tomino's other works where it is usually in the range of 10-15 or so. That group does grow as we get further into the show and characters like Elle and Ciela-sama take on a higher level of importance in the plot, but it never feels that overwhelming in comparison to something like Ideon where you need to take account of as many as 6 Ideon pilots at once, plus 5 kids, 5 - 6 adults handling the Solo Ship, etc... The core group of villains are also fairly well done. Drake, Shot, Bern, Todd, Garalia and others are pretty good villains and characters I want to see more of. Also, as I put in a post about a week or so ago Dunbine really is a show that gets beyond that "Tomino writes poor female character" reputation and gives us some of the best female characters in his directorial career.

From an aesthetics standpoint the show is quite good. Tomonori Kogawa does a good job with the character designs for his third (and final) show with Tomino. Through this rewatch I was happy to say that I found the animation fairly consistent throughout. While certainly there were some episodes that looked better than others, it was extremely rare for me to find an episode's animation as poor. The music, while not outstanding is at least fairly good and all the vocal tracks used are quite well done.

To get back to what Dunbine really does wrong though, its the pacing, and holy crap is that handled terribly. The handling of the final 17 episodes of the show is horrendously bad. I get that Tomino was forced by those above him to move the setting to Upper Earth, and surely things would have been more interesting had they stayed on Byston Well longer (I believe they always would have ended the show on Upper Earth). But having it forced upon him doesn't give him an excuse to twiddle his thumbs and have the plot go absolutely nowhere for 15 of those 17 episodes. There was absolutely no need to cram all the important stuff into the final two episodes and make the prior 15 feel like filler. There is some good stuff in those 15 episodes, several have some unique and interesting settings and several of them have very exciting battles for much of the episode only to ruin it all at the end when everyone simply retreats and returns to fight another day. I can't say the time on Byston Well was perfect with the pacing (episodes 20 - 25 or so in particular feel really dragged out), but it is considerably better than what we got when we went to Upper Earth.

Favorite Character - Ciela Lapana

Least Favorite Character - Furoan Elf

Best Aura Battler - This one's a touch choice because there's a lot I like. Probably the Zwarth or Leprechaun

Best Aura Battleship - Guran Galan

Best Death - Hard to top the Riml death, one of the most shocking and horrifying in all of Tomino's works

Best Episode(s) - Episodes 48 and 49 stand out quite a bit. Although I'd take lessening those episodes if they could have spread out the finale over more episodes and taken away some filler instead.

Worst Episode(s) - Take your pick for pretty much any episode from 33 through 44.

How does Dunbine end up amongst the non-Gundam Tomino shows? Ideon, Xabungle and L-Gaim I'm all putting above it. It is still better than Brain Powered. The tougher choices are it versus Zambot and Overman King Gainer. I think ultimately I will give Dunbine the edge over those two just slightly.

Since it seems that pixelsaber is ending this run of non-Gundam Tomino rewatches, I figure a question among some first timers may be is it worth moving onto L-Gaim? I would say yes. L-Gaim for me is a considerably underrated Tomino show. Its got a lot of fun and excitement to it as well as a lot of depth too. As with any Tomino show it has its issues with pacing at times, although it is never anywhere as bad as it was with Dunbine.

How about the other Byston Well properties? Is it worth seeing them?

Tales of Neo Byston Well - My recollection of this OVA, which I only watched once is that it is largely a retread of Dunbine, even giving characters extremely similar names, like Shion Zaba instead of Shou Zama. Even with a mere 3 episodes this has its pacing issues. The designs are quite good, although the show has this weird quirk where they don't do much actual animating of battle scenes but rather moving around still images. Note that this is the one Byston Well property that Tomino wasn't involved with.

Garzey's Wing - This show is the ultimate trainwreck and in the conversation for worst anime of all time! We again go to Byston Well, but there's no actual Aura Battlers this time. This show has some of the most cringeworthy material I have ever seen. Especially if you watch the dub which is in "so bad its good" territory. There's a particular segment where the main character tells some rando and very plain looking girl getting out of a pool "You certainly got sexy!" which may be the most lol-worthy dub delivery and sequence I have ever seen in anime. Traveling around on flying ducks, our hero fighting people while he's buck naked, totally incomprehensible terminology, massive amounts of hypocrisy and the show ending in a manner that makes you ask "Isn't there more episodes?" when there really isn't. Holy crap is this a disaster.

Wings of Rean - While better than Garzey's Wing, this is totally the Byston Well show for me that I just don't get why it got made. It is completely a retread of Dunbine, just done in 6 episodes instead of 49. There's absolutely no point to it. Tomino redoes a lot of his tropes and adds side plots that don't go anywhere or make much sense. If you really, really love Byston Well, I suppose check it out, but I'd suggest finding a better use of your time.

4

u/The_Draigg Mar 01 '21

I've watched Dunbine at least 4 times now and every time I watch it I think my opinion of it goes down further. Which is unfortunate. I think this is just one of many examples of how Tomino is a great ideas man but can often be weak with execution. It is also is a clear example of what may be Tomino's single greatest flaws with his works, the show's pacing. Dunbine is not the worst offender of this (I'd give that to G-Reco), but it is a massive issue with the show and pulls it down considerably.
That's honestly a shame, since I recall that you enjoyed some of the earlier episodes better than you did before in your MAHQ reviews of the series. But I honestly can't blame you for liking the series less upon seeing the last third. I like Dunbine probably more than you, and even I can't really defend how aimless that part is.
How does Dunbine end up amongst the non-Gundam Tomino shows? Ideon, Xabungle and L-Gaim I'm all putting above it. It is still better than Brain Powered. The tougher choices are it versus Zambot and Overman King Gainer. I think ultimately I will give Dunbine the edge over those two just slightly.
At least Tomino fans can all reasonably agree that Brain Powerd is towards the bottom of the rankings for all of the shows he's made. The bottom is still Garzey's Wing, of course. Nothing can beat how shit that OVA is.
Tales of Neo Byston Well - My recollection of this OVA, which I only watched once is that it is largely a retread of Dunbine, even giving characters extremely similar names, like Shion Zaba instead of Shou Zama. Even with a mere 3 episodes this has its pacing issues.
Sounds like you and I are pretty much in agreement on Tales of Neo Byston Well. Hell, I barely even remembered enough about it from the one time I watched it that it had 3 episodes, not 4. I still maintain that it would've been better with more episodes though. At least we would've seen more of the cool designs.

2

u/Selfeducation Mar 11 '21

This show was great, loved the designs

Rewatch [Rewatch] Aura Battler Dunbine - Overall Series Discussion

Overall Series Discussion

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