Welcome to the very first Anime Grab Bag here at Reactor! In this series, we’ll dive into the depths of specific anime subgenres and hunt, perhaps futilely, for hidden gems. For each installment, long-time otaku and old friends Leah and Bridget will spin a custom roulette wheel composed of qualifying anime in the genre and watch three random pilot episodes. You can find this month’s wheel here!
While the wheel will contain almost every possible title in the subgenre, the hosts can only select series that follow the following rules:
- Each show must be an anime that at least one host has never seen and/or heard of
- The show must be available to stream somewhere so that readers can join in if they want to
- The hosts are forbidden to do any real research on the show before viewing it, although a simple image search before watching and some Wikipedia-ing during and after are fair game.
In each column, the hosts will react to the selections and share their thoughts on where these fit into the subgenre and speculative fiction as a whole. The hosts will comment on everything from music direction to character design, make comparisons to other, more popular series, and finally ask each other the most important question: Would we watch more of this?
Feel free to play along by watching these shows yourself (if you dare), spinning the wheel to meet your fate, or sharing your expertise below. Because the hosts are long-time otaku themselves, they know how vast and deep the trenches of niche anime can be, and acknowledge outright that what may be an unknown entity to most is probably standard viewing to some dedicated genre fans out there.
To kick things off, we’ll keep it predictable and do as the idiom says: Go big, or go home.
Welcome to Mecha Madness.
First Spin: Burst Angel (Gonzo, 2004)
B: Our first show is Burst Angel.
L: …what happened? Why did the angel burst? Do you know Burst Angel?
B: Vaguely. I’ve never watched it. I just remember it as the kind of thing you saw a lot of in the 2000s. You know what it’s giving me? It’s giving me El Cazador de la Bruja.
L: I don’t know what that is, but let’s go.
Viewing Summary
The show opens with an orange-soaked post-apocalyptic scene. Shortly thereafter, we’re thrown into an inexplicable mech battle, and one of the mechs is piloted by a zombie. The CGI, despite its age, holds up pretty well. The good-guy mech draws guns from two hip holsters, gunslinger style, and shoots. The show is evidently a post-apocalyptic zombie-mech Western.
There are already too many cooks in the kitchen.
Both hosts enjoy the opening credits, which remind them of Bebop, and their hopes rise. A lyric aboutrisma, as in charisma, leads Bridget to suggest that maybe “rizz” did not come from TikTok after all. Most of the character designs feel nostalgic, and the backgrounds are well-illustrated. At first, both hosts are excited to see that the whole cast is made up of women. To Leah, the music is reminiscent of scores by Tsuneo Imahori of Trigun and Seatbelts fame.
But it’s all downhill from the credits. Burst Angel’s plot is garbled at best, but here’s the gist: a young man attending cooking school near Kabukicho is recruited by a band of renegade women (mercenaries?) to work aboard their vehicle as a cook. Also, all the hot women are immune to bullets, possibly due to overexposure.
L: How is she not getting shot?
B: It’s the power of sapphic love.
L: I wish.
B: When you’ve got thongs and cut-offs going, no bullet can hit you.
And yes, that describes the actual outfit, and it is par for the course in Burst Angel. Even background characters suffer from overdesign, covered in tattoos and piercings and almost always leering. As for the main cast? Well, their boobs are in attendance even if actual personalities are not. Don’t get it twisted; both hosts are queer and will fight for any human’s right to go boob-loose. But in Burst Angel, the nipples are not liberated so much as fetishized. No character fits in their clothes. As cosplayers, Bridget and Leah cringe throughout the episode, imagining all the chafing, not to mention the discomfort a cold breeze would do to those exposed underboobs.
Bridget works in the fashion industry and admits that the costume design speaks to “the degenerate inside” her. “I kind of like these outfits in a stupid way. Even if the nipples are egregious.”
Leah, a fan of cooking shows, is more distracted by the wasted potential of what might have been a fun plotline. “These gals just… posted a Craigslist ad to lure an aspiring French chef into their shady RV? Is he even a good cook?”
Aboard the gratuitous nipple-mobile, the dishes have not been done because the mercenaries are too busy killing things. Bridget and Leah briefly hold out hope that this show will be a messy lesbian slice-of-life comedy, but in their hearts, they already know the harsh truth. It will only take a few episodes for these badass women to begin competing for Chef McBland’s affections.
Each character comes right out of the harem handbook: There’s a girl too moe to function, an angry redhead who will shout only as much as she blushes by the end, a sophisticated woman who’s good at tech, and a deadly tsundere.
L: You know what though? It might have passed the Bechdel test, but only by accident.
B: I think it fails on the grounds of all the asscheeks hanging out.
The gang rushes to a warehouse to interrupt a shady deal we don’t care about. The mercenaries draw their weapons and a gunfight ensues, during which bullets are repelled by their hotness. A nondescript gray mech joins the fray. And that’s the pilot, folks.
B: It’s doing that sci-fi thing where maybe they’ll explain things later…but they won’t.
Awful objectification aside, this could have been interesting; it could have been a story about quirky people being great at their jobs but terrible at managing their lives. Heck, it could have been a zany cooking show. The hosts recall fondly the myriad ways Delicious in Dungeon uses cooking to develop a rich world, story, and characters.
But no. Instead, the angel has burst.
Conclusions
L: We can forgive all the nipples, but at least one character should have been given enough depth for us to care about them.
B: And what we saw of the tech was not interesting enough. Primarily, the tech was not futuristic or unique; mostly we saw a big gun.
L: It had potential when it was leaning Western—the mech as a gunslinger. But it was such a mish-mash of genres that it didn’t land.
B: With mech, the tech design has to be good, or at least different. What I love about Eureka Seven is the mech is unique, it’s very organic.Even Darling in the Franxx, which is not a great anime, has a strong aesthetic. I can’t remember this mech, and I saw it several times.
L: And what was the purpose of the mech? They were already gunslinging characters, so what did the mech bring to the table? In Evangelion, the mechs are the horrific heart of the planet. In Suisei no Gargantia, the mech is from outer space but the show takes place on an ocean-covered planet, so it’s about displacement and finding purpose in unusual circumstances.
B: Yes. In Macross, the mech matters not because of its functions, but because of what it represents; freedom to fly, to escape the cramped space that is the Macross, which is itself a huge mech that transports people like an ark.
L: No matter what the mech is, the mech has to matter. In genre, I remember this being described as a Bat Durston story. If, in a genre story, you removed all the genre-specific elements and the story still functioned the same way? Then it’s not a good genre story. The SFF should play a fundamental role in altering the story. Tech should not be set dressing. That’s why steampunk fans get mad when people glue gears on things and call it steampunk. Trigun, a great anime space Western, is a story about terraforming, and the story would ultimately be impossible without the technology central to the setting and characters. Yes, it’s a Western, but it would not work without the space elements. But Burst Angel could have been any genre.
B: It didn’t matter that the mechs were there, so it almost feels disqualified from being a mech anime.
Would we watch more?
L: I wouldn’t. Any aspects that were initially cool were immediately eclipsed by problems that would only get worse as the show progressed.
B: It’s a shame because I kind of like the character designs, because they were a testament to their time. But the show didn’t give them the characterization to support the character types. But no, I wouldn’t watch more of that.
Gonzo did produce some iconic anime in its heyday; Bridget loved Last Exile, and Leah recommends Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo. Gonzo was a pioneer in incorporating CG into anime at the turn of the century. Alas, Burst Angel is not among the studio’s crown jewels.
Second Spin: Brave Bang Bravern! (CygamesPictures, 2024)
B: This one I don’t know. It’s Brave Bang… Bravern!?
L: What? Is that a K-pop band? Brave… Bang Bravern!?
B: It is on Crunchyroll, and it aired last year.
L: Ohhhh… Well, we sure aren’t hip to the jive these days.
B: You’re out of touch, we’re out of touch. It’s looking Gundam-like.
L: I see a very serious young man, possibly military. It does look retro. A blonde American man is hugging an uncomfortable Japanese man. And there’s a huge ensemble cast, but what else is new?
B: That’s pretty standard for mecha anime.
Viewing Summary
The story focuses on trainee mech pilots in the middle of a joint military exercise in Waikiki. The animation is slick, the mech designs are thoughtful, and the action sequences are beautiful to look at. The story feels grounded in reality, but with mechs that appear almost to skate across the battlefield. The show’s two leads, Lewis Smith and Isami Ao, from America and Japan respectively, are set up as friendly rivals. Will they become good friends or enemies by the show’s end?
The character designs are interesting, and the women are given pilot roles and practical uniforms. The show maintains a military aesthetic that reminds Leah (in a positive way) of Valkyria Chronicles. Bridget loves the digitigrade feet on the mecha, which gives them incredibly fluid, sleek movement.
During a second training exercise, the unthinkable happens when real enemy forces, seemingly alien, lay siege to the planet.
The alien ship’s appearance is effective and horrifying, as the alien mechs spill from the vessel like a swarm and decimate Oʻahu. The alien mechs are graceful and capable of aerial and ground combat. The human forces don’t stand a chance.
B: The enemy feels truly alien. This is a good first contact. And it’s a real-world location, which makes the stakes feel higher.
L: I can’t speak for the mecha heads, but I bet they were excited for this one. It’s delivering on what people want from the genre. We know about as much as we need to, and it is actually scary.
B: I love the alien mech’s toothpick legs.
The show’s pilot has one more surprise up at sleeve; a colorful rainbow mech looking like Voltron shows up and, in a booming voice, asks Isami to climb inside it. Isami does so out of desperation but feels completely out of his depth as cheesy Super Sentai music blares while he’s trying to pilot the damn thing. This interaction makes the action both thrilling and comedic as the mech’s destroying the enemy.
Conclusions
This show feels incredibly promising. Somehow, the pilot managed to be a serious military storyline and a playful homage without stumbling. What happens when childhood fantasies invade the lives of actual adults? Perhaps a mecha from your past demanding things of you in the present would be an unwelcome dose of nostalgia. How does real heroism differ from the heroism we imagine as children?
What a fantastic question to build a show around.
Would we watch more?
B: Yes. I deeply enjoyed this. I liked how deeply they considered elements of design; actual control centers and military fatigues and the thoughtfulness of it all.
L: Yes, I absolutely will. That was a fantastic pilot episode. What’s the deal with this robot? Why is it so hammy, and how did it come to be here? I don’t know if Bravern can live up to the expectations it just set, but I’m ready to find out.
Bridget and Leah did some more digging: They learned that Brave Bang Bravern! is a sort of spin-off of a thirty-year-old Sunrise franchise, the Brave Series, well-known in Japan but less popular on the world stage, and it is Gundam– and Transformers-adjacent. This one is worth looking into.
Third Spin: Apocalypse Zero (Ashi Productions, 1996)
B: Oh my god. It was canceled for gratuitous violence.
L: Body horror… cannibalism. It’s an OVA with only two episodes. About a boy named Kakugo who must kill monsters in post-apocalyptic Tokyo? But his sister is trying to wipe out humanity… so he’s gotta kill his sister? Or… ugh.
B: Someone online says it’s a mix of Devilman and Fist of the North Star, which sounds like the most buck-wild thing I’ve ever heard of in my life.
Apocalypse Zero was disqualified for breaking the second rule of Anime Grab Bag. (It’s not available to stream.)
Fourth Spin: Full Metal Panic! (Gonzo, 2002)
B: This one is a classic. Full Metal Panic! Have you seen it?
L: Yeah, years ago. But I didn’t finish it. The second season was like… a slice-of-life comedy or something? It hasn’t aged well.
B: It’s been two decades since I watched it. I remember greatly disliking the art style. Also, it had those 3D mecha models, which I don’t love.
L: Like in Zoids?
B: Yes, but I love it when it’s Zoids.
Since both hosts have already seen it, Full Metal Panic! was disqualified for breaking the first rule of Anime Grab Bag.
Fifth Spin: Captain Earth (Bones, 2014)
B: Do you remember Captain Earth?
L: No, but I remember Captain Planet. Do you remember Captain Planet?
B: Of course, I remember Captain Planet. I’m not that young! But yeah, one thing to note: Bones.
L: Oh man, I love Bones (the animation studio).
B: Yes, and I also like this bulky Gundam-esque Robot.
L: It’s got Grace Jones’s shoulders.
B: There are secrets in those shoulder pads.
Viewing Summary
The hosts are big fans of several Bones anime, but also admit that the studio sometimes falls prey to its ambitions and overcomplicates its storylines. Captain Earth opens on the Earth and the dark side of the moon, from which a massive crystal is growing. Why? We don’t know. At first, it seems like this will be another mecha series inspired by childhood trauma. A young man named Daichi is being reprimanded for his failing grades. His dad has recently died, and that guy was a famous pilot who saved the planet from some kind of attack. Daichi is depressed and needs professional help…but instead, he will be thrown into a giant robot and asked to save the universe, or something.
Daichi takes a trip to Izu to visit his father’s grave and reminisces about that one weird summer when he met a superhuman kid at a shady facility on the island. But while these initial flashbacks tug on the heartstrings a little, the infamous Bones propensity for convoluted storylines sets in early…
By the episode’s halfway mark, the show has already bombarded us with a flashback to Dad’s deathday, a second flashback to the mutant kid during which the pair of them break into the facility and find a little girl floating in an orb (naked, unfortunately), and the mutant kid has made a rainbow in his hands, and at the same time we flashforward to the present where two villains that look like they were rejected from Team Rocket launch a large-breasted pink mecha into space in order to attack at the exact convenient moment that Daichi is at the facility again, about to fulfill his destiny under the guidance of some other random psychic kid with a Dutch boy haircut. The latest weird kid leads Daichi to a mecha, Daichi climbs on in without much hesitation, and suddenly he is less depressed!! Because the government trusts a grieving, empty-headed teen to face off against sexy evil space mechs even though he has never piloted one before.
Conclusions
Whatever emotional groundwork the first few minutes of Captain Earth manages to convey is immediately bulldozed by the mess that follows.
Bones doesn’t always stick the landing, and in this case, they don’t even stick the launch. And comparing the studio to itself does not help—Space Dandy aired the same year that Captain Earth did. This series felt like a doomed attempt to recreate the success of Eureka Seven: A heroic dead dad, an angsty kid, a mysterious girl, and additional psychic children for good measure.
B: Parts of it felt more like a magical girl anime than a robot thing.
L: I’m a hero just because! I’m good at video games! And having all these expensive space robots and risking them on a random kid? And it works? I dunno. The reason Evangelion works is the kid is unwilling, and coerced into it by terrible adults. It tackles the delicate topic of mental abuse by depicting its total mismanagement. Shinji wasn’t “the chosen one”; he was forced into roleplaying as one, and it broke him.
B: I do like a Chosen One trope, but it has to be done right. Captain Earth gave us all this information but didn’t tell me the things I want to know. I find myself comparing it to Eureka Seven and it is just not delivering. This show added nothing to the genre.
Would we watch more?
L: I’d had enough by the second half of that episode.
B: No, I wouldn’t watch more of this.
So that’s a wrap on our first-ever anime grab-bag. Will you participate? Do you know any of this week’s picks? Next time, we’ll be spinning a magical girl wheel, but other subgenre suggestions are welcome! We look forward to future misadventures into the anime unknown.
In this article:
- Brave Bang Bravern (CygamesPictures, 2024) Available on Hulu, Prime, Netflix, and Crunchyroll.
