I ranked every episode of OG BGC. And ADP Files. And BGCrash. And two other OVA's.

[STMPD]

Oh boy. Here we go.

Yeah, I think I might have just written like, I dunno, three thousand words evaluating all the bits of original BGC media against each other. Also threw in Riding Bean and MADOX-01 because I think they capture the spirit of BGC very well thanks to their headline creators being Sonoda and Shinji Aramaki. Also threw in Grand Mal, but more to rib on it. Heh. Funny.

Thoughts?

[Bob Schroeck]

I just read through the first few eps on the list -- there's a lot there, and I'm going to have to wait until after work to get through it all -- but I couldn't exactly argue with a lot of what I saw. And it's nicely snarky in places.

[STMPD]

I just read through the first few eps on the list -- there's a lot there, and I'm going to have to wait until after work to get through it all -- but I couldn't exactly argue with a lot of what I saw.  And it's nicely snarky in places.

Was it good? Did it blend? I’m considering doing another clickbait-format post about Why 2040 Is Bad, would that be amusing?

[Labster]

Wait wait, there's a BGC Holiday Special?  What did Nene and Linna do for Life Day?  Holee shit.

I haven't seen anything past the 8 OVAs, based on general fan advice.  But it seems like the setting and characters were always stronger than the stories that they told with them.  Honestly some of the fic I've read has far better storytelling, even if it tends to get a little less grimdark.  And to be fair, Bob's animation department is virtually non-existent.  Bad animation isn't the worst sin, though.  I've watched a lot of Lupin III and half of the early episodes are like "maybe they won't notice if we replay this off-model clip three times?"  And then every once in a while Hayao Miyazaki directs an episode and your jaw drops.

What was I talking about?  Oh right, I haven't seen all of them, so I can't completely judge your rankings, but they seem right.  I probably would have put Moonlight Rambler at the top just because it's more memorable for me.  And of course the first seven minutes of Tinsel City.  Seriously, I'd sing "Konya wa Hurricane" in karaoke if they actually had it in American bars.

[robkelk]

Wait wait, there's a BGC Holiday Special?  What did Nene and Linna do for Life Day?  Holee shit.

Toured Bali while singing their image songs from the OAV 8 OST. (Seriously.)

Seriously, I'd sing "Konya wa Hurricane" in karaoke if they actually had it in American bars.

I might possibly be able to hook you up with a con where that could happen, maybe (I'll double-check with the DJ before promising anything)... but you'd have to visit Canada.

[robkelk]

Seriously, I'd sing "Konya wa Hurricane" in karaoke if they actually had it in American bars.

I might possibly be able to hook you up with a con where that could happen, maybe (I'll double-check with the DJ before promising anything)... but you'd have to visit Canada.

No joy for "Konya wa Hurricane"... but he can set you up with "Say, Yes!"

[STMPD]

Wait wait, there's a BGC Holiday Special?  What did Nene and Linna do for Life Day?  Holee shit.

I haven't seen anything past the 8 OVAs, based on general fan advice.  But it seems like the setting and characters were always stronger than the stories that they told with them.  Honestly some of the fic I've read has far better storytelling, even if it tends to get a little less grimdark.  And to be fair, Bob's animation department is virtually non-existent.  Bad animation isn't the worst sin, though.  I've watched a lot of Lupin III and half of the early episodes are like "maybe they won't notice if we replay this off-model clip three times?"  And then every once in a while Hayao Miyazaki directs an episode and your jaw drops.

What was I talking about?  Oh right, I haven't seen all of them, so I can't completely judge your rankings, but they seem right.  I probably would have put Moonlight Rambler at the top just because it's more memorable for me.  And of course the first seven minutes of Tinsel City.  Seriously, I'd sing "Konya wa Hurricane" in karaoke if they actually had it in American bars.

A: I always thought it was the other way around with BGC fanfiction - as per the standards of nineties pop culture in the west, every thing was darker n' edgier and also kind of took agency from the less angsty four Sabers in exchange for OC's with little going for them. Heck, that's my main criticism of Grand Mal. Bob's stuff is less grimdark than the main series, but Drunkard's Walk is the exception not the rule.

B: Crash's episodes 1 and 2 actually are okay in the storytelling department - far sillier and super-sentai than the original series, and yes the animation quality isn't so great, but there are good ideas for plot and character in there, plus some good mecha design (Nene gets functional weapons! NENE GETS FUNCTIONAL COMBAT ABILITIES!). I would actually recommend watching them, but skipping Melt Down.

C: Rambler as more memorable than Vision... huh. You're not wrong, I guess, people talked about Sylvie in fic more than they ever did with Reika. But I think you get the sense of why I put Double Vision up at the top, right? Because it's the most consistently paced and well put-together episode, the one which expresses Crisis as a whole at its best (It may not have as memorable of an opening as Tinsel City, but Tinsel City also has Nene and Sylia ride the bus in hardsuits, a move which took me out of the episode pretty early on pretty hardcore). And to top it all off Masami Obari's mech designs in 5&6 are just too fabulous for words, the HyperBoomers in Red Eyes look like goddamn Pillar Men whereas Reika's GD-42 feels more consistent with established machinery like the Combat and Battle Boomers... yeah. I see what you're getting at, though. I think.

No joy for "Konya wa Hurricane"... but he can set you up with "Say, Yes!"

Hey, that's the guy who translated that one audio drama where the Sabers had to go on daytime TV! No really!
I don't suppose there's a chance in hell he could ever get around to finishing that little project? 'Cause you sound like you know him?

[robkelk]

No joy for "Konya wa Hurricane"... but he can set you up with "Say, Yes!"

Hey, that's the guy who translated that one audio drama where the Sabers had to go on daytime TV! No really!
I don't suppose there's a chance in hell he could ever get around to finishing that little project? 'Cause you sound like you know him?

Alas, I don't know him - I know a guy who knows where to find karaoke tracks.

[Labster]

A: I always thought it was the other way around with BGC fanfiction - as per the standards of nineties pop culture in the west, every thing was darker n' edgier and also kind of took agency from the less angsty four Sabers in exchange for OC's with little going for them. Heck, that's my main criticism of Grand Mal. Bob's stuff is less grimdark than the main series, but Drunkard's Walk is the exception not the rule.

B: Crash's episodes 1 and 2 actually are okay in the storytelling department - far sillier and super-sentai than the original series, and yes the animation quality isn't so great, but there are good ideas for plot and character in there, plus some good mecha design (Nene gets functional weapons! NENE GETS FUNCTIONAL COMBAT ABILITIES!). I would actually recommend watching them, but skipping Melt Down.

C: Rambler as more memorable than Vision... huh. You're not wrong, I guess, people talked about Sylvie in fic more than they ever did with Reika. But I think you get the sense of why I put Double Vision up at the top, right? Because it's the most consistently paced and well put-together episode, the one which expresses Crisis as a whole at its best (It may not have as memorable of an opening as Tinsel City, but Tinsel City also has Nene and Sylia ride the bus in hardsuits, a move which took me out of the episode pretty early on pretty hardcore). And to top it all off Masami Obari's mech designs in 5&6 are just too fabulous for words, the HyperBoomers in Red Eyes look like goddamn Pillar Men whereas Reika's GD-42 feels more consistent with established machinery like the Combat and Battle Boomers... yeah. I see what you're getting at, though. I think.

A. Well, there's the classic, indispensable fic, Bubblegum Pink: Raging Fires, which isn't darker and edgier, but I think we can safely say it's much danker and edging-ier. (NSFW obvs) I was also thinking of The Dance of Shiva.  It includes Sailor Moon, so it's naturally a lot brighter and in the dark places substantially darker.  But it's good, and much like DW2 it takes disparate stories and weaves them together.

Some of the existential bleakness of canon BGC comes from the fact that the OVAs aren't all that linked together; it's just one fight after another.  Because we never got to see where they were going, it can either lead a writer off in the direction of Sisyphean tragedy, or towards an resolution, or maybe just an improvement.  Or, uh, to sex, because this is fanfic.

B. OK will do.

C. Rankings are going to be arbitrary; you like what you like.  Sci-fi in particular, the writing doesn't always have to be as good so long as the story asks interesting questions.  Star Trek TOS's most memorable moment was probably the interracial kiss, but "The City on the Edge of Forever" had all the writing going for it, along with an interesting question.

I had been thinking of writing a slice-of-life BGC crossover.  Based on the character birthdates of stories set in the near future, all of these would be about the same age:
Koiwai Yotsuba
Sylia Stingray (only 3yo, but child prodigy)
Akagi Shunsuke (canonically 25 in 2030; 5-6 yo)
Takaya Noriko (b. 2006-09-12 in Osaka, Japan, 4-5yo)
Togusa [unknown] (27 in 2030, 30 in 2034 - roughly 4 yo)
So why not put them in a preschool class together around 2010, taught by Osaka from Azumanga Daioh?

Or maybe I'm the one on crack.

[Bob Schroeck]

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[Mamorien]

The only one of those I had to look up was the Akagi. Now I find myself spotting parallels between Dai-Guard and Pacific Rim.

[ckosacranoid]

I just to say nice read. could not finish it but a nice read. Love the idea of tossing in riding bean there...though you should have done gunsmith cats also since they also are by the writer of bean and set in chi-town.

Speaking of riding bean and the game showrunner......where the hell is that damn mountain range in Wisconsin that shows up damn it? The open setup of looking down at Chicago...where the hell is the mountain in Wisconsin that you see? Cause you are on the south side of the city looking north.

[jonathanlennox]

Speaking of riding bean and the game showrunner......where the hell is that damn mountain range in Wisconsin that shows up damn it? The open setup of looking down at Chicago...where the hell is the mountain in Wisconsin that you see? Cause you are on the south side of the city looking north.

They filmed in Vancouver.

[STMPD]

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

https://youtu.be/EP2GMyQdw78

Do it, but get the other chibi-Sabers in there. Maybe Kanna-chan from Kobayashi, too?

I just to say nice read. could not finish it but a nice read. Love the idea of tossing in riding bean there...though you should have done gunsmith cats also since they also are by the writer of bean and set in chi-town.

Speaking of riding bean and the game showrunner......where the hell is that damn mountain range in Wisconsin that shows up damn it? The open setup of looking down at Chicago...where the hell is the mountain in Wisconsin that you see? Cause you are on the south side of the city looking north.

There is no mountain range in Wisconsin that’s visible from Chi-Town. I should know, I grew up on the North Shore, I know a great deal about this mighty city. Riding Bean might have one visible range in that shot, but that’s an error.

GSC does look quite Chicago-y, though, in many places where it counts. The bridge where the Russian lady gets got on in OVA 2 is a real place, though it faces East-West, with the Eisenhower to the west - so you can’t exactly reach a yacht club on the straightaway, without cutting through downtown. Also, Rally fights Radinov in OVA 3 in a museum which has the exterior of the Museum of Science and Industry, but looks way more like the Art Institute in the interior. Pastiche at its best.

I didn’t include Gunsmith Cats for a reason, though, and that’s because it only got going once Crisis proper was over, and once Sonoda had left AIC and Artmic to do his own thing - it is a post-Crisis work, not a during-Crisis work. Moreover, the 3-part OVA was done by a totally different studio, OLM (Oriental Light And Magic, a reference to Lucas’s famous SFX powerhouse). OLM did some interesting stuff later in the 90’s - I hold that their Silent Möbius TV series was better than both of AIC’s Möbius movies and Crisis 2040 - but the whole conceit of ‘here’s AIC-Artmic staff members doing Crisis-ish stuff during Crisis’s run’ doesn’t really apply in that case.

(I really should get around to putting that Why 2040 Is Bad post together, but I can’t bring myself to do it because then I’d have to rewatch more of the show, not to mention parts, like the last handful of episodes, I never watched in the first place. Ugh, like the only redeeming part of that show is that Yuu Asakawa made her big break, and her as Medusa is one of the best parts of Fate.)

Also, it’s fuckin’ hard to read the manga. Not because Toren Smith and Dana Lewis translated it badly, but more I stopped just a few chapters from the point where Goldie brainwashes Rally and I seem to hear rapes her? Or just expresses a very strong desire to rape her? Ech. Semmerling in Riding Bean ‘89 was bad enough, but Sonoda just can’t seem to help himself sometimes.

[Dartz]

I got through the whole Manga.

It - wears it's heart on its sleeve - though to a lesser extent than Cannon God Exaxxion (Rough, like a Demons!). I quite enjoyed it, in the end. Though, perhaps - Burst is best pretended it doesn't exist. Burst started a bit crap.

[STMPD]

I got through the whole Manga.

It  - wears it's heart on its sleeve - though to a lesser extent than Cannon God Exaxxion (Rough, like a Demons!). I quite enjoyed it, in the end. Though, perhaps - Burst is best pretended it doesn't exist. Burst started a bit crap.

Really! I felt like Exaxxion was just marginally a smidge more tasteful simply because it didn't have Minnie May, or for that matter a Sinister Lesbian like Goldie. Shit, I expected Hoichi to aggregate a harem pretty fast and he didn't, that crown went to his (grand)father and his lab assistant gynoids. So it felt less weird simply because it was more toned-down in that area alone.

I love Exaxxion. Read it all last summer in a few days, right past the point when Proteus had to stop translating it and into the valley of the shadow of somewhat mediocre fanlations. I ended up declaring it The Anti-Evangelion because of how thoroughly it embraces high-octane Go Nagai-grade mecha bullshit. Nadesico is similar but it deconstructs and then reconstructs mecha and anime sci-fi, whereas Exaxxion looks over all the things Anno thinks are flaws of mecha and anime and declares them virtues.

Anyway, I've decided to rev up the 2040 hate-screed I was saying I might do over on tumblr. Any thoughts, folks? Any insights into things you wish the show hadn't done? Maybe some more urban legend stuff I can draw on about its production, because 2032's production is well-chronicled but 2040's is seemingly a black hole? Insights into ways the show tries to be Evangelion when it doesn't need to be Evangelion?

[ckosacranoid]

I know about riding bean and gunsmith cats. I was part of an anime group that started anime central in Chicago and knew the city very well along with doing an anime fanzine called anime squared.
I know all about the opening of riding bean which seems to be the city of LA I think if you look at it cause you are standing in the hills looking down at the city. Why do you think I made a comment about the mountains in Wisconsin. I also have also lived in Wisconsin all my life so I know and have to poke fun at that with the way I pointed it out.

Thoughts on BGC 2040......oh god...why?
I do have to ask How the heck Infetia from El-Harzzard ends up as Ceical though with a brother Mackie?

[STMPD]

I know about riding bean and gunsmith cats. I was part of an anime group that started anime central in Chicago and knew the city very well along with doing an anime fanzine called anime squared.
I know all about the opening of riding bean which seems to be the city of LA I think if you look at it cause you are standing in the hills looking down at the city. Why do you think I made a comment about the mountains in Wisconsin. I also have also lived in Wisconsin all my life so I know and have to poke fun at that with the way I pointed it out.

Thoughts on BGC 2040......oh god...why?
I do have to ask How the heck Infetia from El-Harzzard ends up as Ceical though with a brother Mackie?

Oh. It was a joke. Okay. I missed that by a mile. Sorry.

2040… I dunno. I feel as though to thoroughly do the show (in)justice I will have to rewatch a great deal of it - especially the parts towards the end (I think I’ve never actually watched the last three or so episodes where they go to space! Oopsie). And I don’t especially want to do that, my get-around-to-it-eventually watchlist is like fifty entries long at this point. I'll work on it as much as I can then put it off for later.

I did start a little project where I review BGC fanfiction, new and old! I'll get around to Drunkard's Walk eventually, of course, and for now I'm going to try to work solely off of memory of a fic instead of rereading it, but it should be a more regular project that I can work on in short chunks for the final weeks of fall quarter.

[Dartz]

2040 had a decent idea and started well - if with a slower and more deliberate energy that comes from having time to build. It had some interesting ideas on the origin of the Boomer brains, and the early hardsuit stuff was interesting where Linna introduces us to the world of the Knight Sabers. It just sort of went off the rails in a desperate attempt to do the Eva thing but without having the excuse of running out of budget.

The Giant naked space chick and the Ecco the hardsuit were, well, significant low points in the experience. I

[STMPD]

2040 had a decent idea and started well - if with a slower and more deliberate energy that comes from having time to build. It had some interesting ideas on the origin of the Boomer brains, and the early hardsuit stuff was interesting where Linna introduces us to the world of the Knight Sabers.  It just sort of went off the rails in a desperate attempt to do the Eva thing but without having the excuse of running out of budget.

The Giant naked space chick and the Ecco the hardsuit were, well, significant low points in the experience. I

Imma keep it real with you chief, I think it was trying to be Eva from the beginning, was off the rails from its genesis. The five-minute battery bullshit was not an accident. It was co-produced with ADV, and so I assume the logic was to make Eva again as a cash-grab, and AIC figured what the hell, might as well.

The other flipside of the budget issue is that even up until the last 2 episodes Eva looks pretty damn good, especially compared to how broke-ass even OVA’s were in the 90’s. From what I’m given to understand, what made Eva go off the rails was Anno’s own self-loathing and scheduling problems. They had to cut a whole episode where the Angel was a gas of sorts (I think it probably was the Iruel episode) because, you know, Aum Shirikyo. 
But BGC resorts to bullshit from like the second episode - I still remember the scene used in ep2 (and reused in ep3) where Linna is stuck in a sim of Priss while Priss backflips from another tentacl-y Boomer like seven times, an animation cycle which focuses mostly on the arms and head so it doesn’t have to animate too much of the backflip. This was how the show was meant to be, I assume, cheap and yet a guaranteed return because it was akin to Eva and fanboys love that show, right? Throw in some cheap yuri-bait and we’re good, it’s a guaranteed return on investment fellas.

I’m not going to work on ripping 2040 on the regular, no. I’m gonna try to do a few more fanfic reviews, since that feels more… positive? Even reviewing the bad ones feels kinda cathartic. I promise YT2032 isn’t on the shit list, though..