Beyond the other time

What happened to the good old days when OVAs consisted of animation and art that was near movie-like quality but you could tell where it came up short of being movie-like caliber? What happened to OVAs that were more risque than their TV counterparts, showcasing adult themes and violence? Continuing this trend of non-exciting OVAs (based off TV shows) is Bakuretsu Tenshi Infinity in which I will rant about my negative views of this already negatively viewed TV series (that sooo didn't make sense). However, y'know i still like the series, cuz why would i bitch.

This craptastic OVA was simply a flashback of the adventures of Meg & Jo before they met Sei and Amy. Those who've seen the TV show, would remember that there was a flashback episode regarding how Meg met Jo. This OVA is simply a boring extension of what happened after that flashback. So yeah, ultimately no Sei, which I would have hoped made an appearance as well as what happened at the end of the TV show. Questions left unanswered. WTF?! is Sei & Jo still alive?! I don't know!!! Cuz this OVA was a glorious piece of shiite. Waste of time. Not only was that disappointing, the art & animation weren't even near the quality of the best animated episode from the TV show. If you don't remember, the art & animation in the TV show is very average, inconsistent and most of the time just sucked. The only thing that looked good were the CGI fights (and Sei...most of the time :P). Every spring anime 1st episodes this season look better than this crap and they had almost 3 years to work on this. I had thought about ordering this due to my love for Ugetsu Hakua art (though I never really liked the box art) but I'm glad I didn't go blow 100 bucks (approx) on this crap. The only two things that I regret about not getting the R2 is the 2:40 min special on disc 2 (more on that in a bit) and the booklet w/ some Ugetsu art. However, it's most likely that Funi will release these stuff since they did as stellar job w/ the R1 release. So I'll buy it then.

Now about that Bakuten Project Final special on disc 2, man, was that awesome. This should've been turned into the OVA and not the garbage given on disc one. The special basically presents either a what-if/alternate or (maybe) real ending scenario of the Tenshis (& Kyohei) in the future. However, i'm doubting it's the ending cuz as you can see Sei, Jo and Maria return (YAY!). The designs are different (since it's directed by Ugetsu...w00t) as Meg's new outfit is different from the one in the TV ending. For those who forgot, her TV ending outfit was essentially a the same as Jo's, midriff and all but Meg's shirt was black instead of Jo's navy blue. The design was in Ugetsu's Flamboyant artbook. The outfit she wears in this one is almost the same as her normal yellow outfit in the TV show. The difference is she wears black stockings and the 'Jo-panties'. The red jacket that she wears over this has a fur collar, which is also different from the TV version. Anyways, I could go on and on (ie. 2 guns vs. 1) but i don't feel like it. Just know that this design was revealed in Ugetsu's Parhelia maybe 2 years ago. I just want to say this special looks great overall as you can see it's got more of Ugetsu's style. It does look weird at some points (look @ the screencap of bony Meg o_0). The special is full of fanservice w/ cleavage shots galore, boobies jiggling, some yuri action and nudity. This is what an OVA should be :P, especially in Bakuten's case since it was known for jubblies. The obvious highlight for me was Sei's appearance. Longtime readers and ppl who know me, know how much I adore Sei and am Sei-obsessed (buying the expensive R2 Sei box just for the box and fig, buying more figs x_x). Seeing her as an office lady and then stripping down in her slightly redesigned outift (not as hot as her original outfit but still hawt) was orgasmic :P ^_^. This tease was just not cool on Gonzo's part. Anways, this special slightly redeemed BakuTen by just a bit and it's all cuz of Sei ^^.

The latest Famitsu scores:

DS:
Gyakuten Saiban 4: 9, 9, 9, 9 - AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME. Can't wait to get this game as I should be getting a DS soon. Don't need the other games really as I played the GBAs ages ago.
Chicken Little: 7, 6, 6, 6
Little Mermaid: 6, 6, 6, 6
Mario VS. Donkey Kong 2: 8, 7, 8, 8
Watashi no Rirakkuma: 5, 5, 3, 4

PS2:
SIMPLE 2000: Nekomura no Hitobito: 7, 5, 6, 5
Grim Grimoire: 8, 7, 7, 6 - Yeah this good looking RTS had me skeptical. Decent score but i hate RTS games.

The latest Famitsu also has more details of Biohazard Umbrella Chronicles. While i'm slightly disappointed that the camera is 1st person (ala aim & survivor), i'm still looking forward to it. I do hope it's not like the light gun games though.
The confirmation of Biohazard 4 sounds good too, however, i don't think i'll get it unless it contains bonus stuff not in the PS2 port. It's assumed that the Wii version is the Ultimate BH4 game w/ GC graphics and PS2 extras. So far, that hasn't been announced, just that the you can now wave the wiimote for knife attacks.

I haven't purchased much in the last while. I did come across some good deals on the weekend w/ Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops (only 19 bucks CDN!! and FFVII Advent Children LE (35 bucks CDN). For those who haven't decided on whether FF7 AC LE is worth it, well, it depends on how hardcore you love FF7. I'm only a casual FF7 fan (i'm all about FFVIII man) but w/ the so much Crisis Core media, I wanted Last Order...legally :P. So it's good to have it in pristine DVD quality. The On a Way to Smile novel is a pretty good albeit short read. It sets things up nicely leading to AC. I'm looking forward to AC Complete on BRD. Though I don't know how "complete" it'll be.

Finish off w/ another Hakua BakuTen Inifinity Art.