Holy shit, how do they not lose their patience with Chirico? I honestly kind of feel bad for them since they save his ass several times.
he's a good kid
>Wrong aspect ratio>Smudged to shit upscaleAbsolutely no hope.
>>23534456I just switched to Linux and started watching again today, I don't know why it looks like shit either :(
>>23534460>:(
>>23534448He's their friend
>>23535606this
>>23534448Chirico comes across rude, but is just traumatized and taciturn. He likes them, and they can see the good parts of him. They all have flaws, but get through things by sticking together
>>23534451>>23535730Yeah, he does care and they know it, even if it's only rarely shown or expressed. And likewise you might think the trio are just greedy scumbags but that facade also falls apart pretty fast whenever their friends are in danger.They're frens!
Watching Votoms. Currently in the episode 30s, and I've been enjoying the series so far.
>>23536437It's a good show, keep enjoying it or else.
>>23536437Have you enjoyed episode 3?
>>23536747No, I only watch even-numbered episodes
>>23535730>>23536430Tbf they did try to use him in the beginning, but I can't think of other times they tried to be malicious towards Chirico. It just kind of bothers me that Chirico is kind of thankless throughout the whole series when the gang pulled more than enough weight for him, but I'm probably just austically looking into it too much.
>>23537029Chirico is canonically autistic, you know. It's right there written in the series bible.
>>23537155huh?
was it implied that kokona got gangraped in the first arc before the outlaws let her go?
>>23537271No.
>>23537271Considering how much the series hammers into the viewer how human life is considered by most to be worthless, I'd say yes. Watching episode 2 where the guy is on the intercom telling the town to come identify bodies let me know that I was traveling down a dark road. It's almost like Fist of the North Star in space with how much disregard the average person gets, the 80's was a different time.
I did enjoy Mellowlink much more than I thought I would, so it's just the unrelated OVAs or movies left. Was Mellow an Abnormal Survivor? It feels insane to assume this, but they've outright name-dropped <10% and <1% survival rates for him multiple times. Also>tfw no bigger epilogue>>23537029They did start off like that because they're greedy space rats, yeah. I forget whether it was them or Chirico that bailed the other(s) out first, but they sort of got roped into it because Coconna was the conscience of the group. I think he eventually does verbally thank them, or had some sort of social development which was jarring enough for them to happily notice it. Despite being almost non-verbal, he does care about them and they've definitely picked up on that, at the very least.>>23537508>It's almost like Fist of the North Star in spaceThat's sort of how I recommended the show. It's not really comparable considering>nothing to really pass down or retain, Ken never had to deal with such a big conspiracy>they're both post-war but the galactic civilization's sort of faring much better>your friends aren't dropping like flies to such an extentBut at the same time, the desolate loneliness and all the shit that they go through, as well as the genuinely comforting cheer you feel from the few friends you always have, the sort of similar mood was felt throughout both shows. I think I'd generally be called insane if I compared the two shows, yet I still feel compelled to do so for some reason.
>>23537877>>23537508Layzner, another Ryosuke Takahashi Sunrise series, had some inspiration from Fist of the North Star and other stuff during the 80s.
>>23537877Maybe Mellowlink was oneIt's very obvious his ridiculous Home Alone-esque plans to beat Scopedogs on foot relied heavily on his opponents missing a whole lot of shots, but despite all the luck and contrivance, it was just so cool to see how it all played out anyway, definitely some of the most unique fights in any /m/ work
>>23534448Old dude wants Chirico to become his star pilot, Cockona wants the D, Vanilla thinks Chirico is a pretty cool dude.There's also another answer, but giving it would be a major spoiler.>>23534460>I don't know why it looks like shit either :(Because it was upscaled. I made a mistake of downloading a torrent like that from nyaa and had to delete it, absolutely unwatchable.
One thing I don't get about the plot is, when Chirico detaches the command module from the rest of the ship as he's escaping the battle next to the Wiseman space station, he leaves the gang in the cell, presumably to die. I expected him to leave some kind of way out for them, but I didn't see any signs of that. Did he just assume that they'll be fine on their own? I mean, his mission was to take down a malicious God, and he couldn't afford giving any hints that he is still clinging to his human morals, but it still was cold. At least when he shoots Fyana, he deliberately aims to disable her AT (or so she says, anyway).
>>23537271It's treated way too comically/lightly to match how the later show would have handled it, but yeah I thought that's what they were implying too when I first saw it.
Scopedog settei.
>>23538119>saw Chirico in the thumbnailI remember reading that Dougram was the only show he did that had zero "magic" weirdness (even though it was just advanced technology in Votoms as per Arthur C Clarke), so I take it that Layzner starts to get crazy-weird in that aspect as well.>>23538429Having recently read some criticism about 08th MS Team-onlyists or people that have it as their favourite, I really do think that people who loved 08th MS Team would love Mellowlink also. Yeah it's a bit insane that he's routinely going against one-man tanks but it's still very very fun to see.>>23539158I also don't get this and agree 100%.
>>23540588Official art of Layzner's protagonist, Eiji, shaking hands with Chirico.
>>23540595>now neither of us will be virgins
>>23537271You keep forcing this.
>>23538119Looks great out of context, but this episode was the beginning of the end for Layzner.
I've been watching through the series recently because I got tired of saving Scopedog pics without even seeing the show, watching them in release order. Just got through the first 3 OVAs (Last/Unknown Red Shoulder, Big Battle, Red Shoulder Document). Man, the last one is confusing. The rest is spoilers:So Chirico is genetically an Abnormal Survivor, after TV I assumed his luck was a result of direct Wiseman intervention through some kind of sufficiently advanced science, but I guess Wiseman chose Chircio because he was an AS? Or did Wiseman create Chirico, is the sequence with Palisen where he finds a babby on what looks like it could possibly be Wiseman station, and the babby gets spaced supposed to imply that babby was Chirico, an artificial human created by Wiseman to become his successor? Palisen is a part of Secret Society, so he, in theory, could've been on that station.So Chirico knew that he's an AS since as early as his service in Red Shoulders? I guess he could've lost that memory somehow (Wiseman Did It), but the 3 guys he meets again in the first OVA should've kept that memory, and yet they just don't mention it.Why was everybody on the parade freaking out when Chirico and the guys showed up? Palisen was understandable, he expected them to be dead. But the general public gasps like they saw something outrageous. Is it Chirico's hairstyle?Wish they shown Leeman's death. I guess they wanted to show the battle from Chirico's perspective, and he got bested by Leeman and passed out, but Leeman was such a fun character, I'd like to see his end.
>>23540768>paradeIt was just the top brass gasping, not the general public.
>>23540890Either way, they shouldn't have an idea what's the significance of Chirico appearing is.
>>23540893Bloodsuckers are cool but there's very little art of them.They performed poorly against Turbo Customs, but one thing I noticed is that they didn't have any additional weapons like missile pods or those little machinegun pods, only the default machineguns (actually closer to an autocannon). Could be explained outside of universe as a way to save animation budget, to draw less unique shapes, but in-universe you can say those were relatively recently developed ATs and they didn't finish the secondary weapons for them, which left Red Shoulders at a disadvantage, since in Roots they seem to rely heavily on secondary weapons in combat.
>>23540588Layzner was canceled before it got heavy on the sci-fi weirdness but they still tried to cram as much of it as they could into the last few episodes and the OVA. It was going to have a similar twist to Southern Cross.
>>23540692Zoomers don't know any subtlety.
>>23534448Also, there's a good high quality torrent of the main TV series on rutracker, 1440p without smearing, original audio and English subtitles (though it defaults to Russian subs for obvious reasons, you can just switch).
>regular HG Scopedog doesn't have the thrusters>neither does any reiteration or any p-bandai addonsMy Scopedog's back looks so empty, thrusters onegai>>23540893I do recall it felt like they were just disrespectfully and audaciously posing and smoking cigars instead of just saluting all regular, and then Pailsen gets freaked out by Chirico saying "even to (a) god... I will not obey-"as per >>18751800 and >>18761376>>23541290Haven't watched that either yet, but I can't wait!
>>23541682Layzner has strong animation quality going for it.
>>23534460>I don't know why it looks like shit either :(It looks like shit because it's the wrong aspect ration and smudged to shit. You probably grabbed a release from that faggot who goes full DNR on older shows and the aspect ratio is probably a shitty crop job to fake 16:9. Educate yourself.
>>23534548>>23539153>>23543176Now that you guys mention it, I swore the subtitles were blue with that weird font when I was last watching, was that the better rip?
>>23543176I feel like at this point that guy is trolling with just how badly he processes everything.
>>23543409Well, you can tell the quality of the rip by the quality of the image, not subs. The latter can be changed, unless they're hardcoded into image.
>>23543176No open matte?
>>23541682At least you have a Scopedog. I went to a model kit shop which had a Scopedog in display and asked one of the employees who owned that display if the shop had any Scopedogs. The answer he gave was: they didn't have any to buy.
>>23545359Just order one from Aliexpress?
>>23545359Wait whatI don't know where you can get the older ones, but surely Bandai keeps releasing and releasing them, and worst-case you could just get the tiny microscopic two-colour Choi-Plas if you felt absolutely miserable without one, right...?>>23545368I can't tell which listings are more reliable and genuine, but holy shit yeah there's quite a lot of ones for the regular Scopedog, possibly cheaper than retail. And some form of the p-bandai sets being sold as well.
>>23545382I've ordered Burglarydog from them and got what looks like a legit version, big box with Bandai logo, instruction, runners, all that crap. There's a lot of Gundam bootlegs there (which are barely worse than original sets), but I don't think there are Votoms bootlegs, because I basically ordered the cheapest set and got original stuff.
>>23545390I got a regular and booby Nobel because Bandai's refusing to reprint them, apart from them being made solely out of ABS plastic and also having incorrect/misleading instructions, it was fine. I've been consistently told that they will outright tell you if it's a legitimate product, and also tell you if it's a bootleg.It's just that if they were bootlegs I'd be happy for a different reason, because then they'd be dirt-cheap and I could army-build>pretty cheap for a Burg>but shipping makes it the same as retail
>>23545406I mean, I live in Russia. The shipping is cheaper since it can be done by train and I don't even think we have stores which sell Bandai stuff. I've never been really that interested in plamo, I just really like various Scopedogs designs and want some of that on my table. I just don't think humanoid mecha design gets better than this loveable round-headed roller-skating bomb.
>>23545413Ohh, well, I'm glad the shipping works out for you, Scopedogs are very fun to look at and swoosh around and I do hope you're able to get a few. The plastic feels a bit softer than regular gunpla, so I think it might be easier for you to get rid of ugly nub marks. Might have to paint or use a marker if you wanted a Red Shoulder (although generally things look better if you panel-line a bit) but other than that, the basic Scopedog's a solid kit and I think you'd enjoy it. The variations and p-bandai bits leave you wanting more, but aside from maybe a lariat, the humble Scopedog can probably do whatever you'd expect it to.I don't recall what assistant or animator suggested the roller-skating movement to be so dynamic (she was a skiier as I recall) but it is SO fun to see them rolling around. I can't recall if I've ever seen them in the snow though (I assume Russia has a lot of snow).
>>23545426The last winter was actually the least snowy, at least since the measurements started. A cold planet and ATs adapted to such environments would've been cool to see. In general, new Votoms content would've been cool to see, at least if it was animated well and didn't look like a video game cutscene.
>>23545463I was thinking that the little sled feet would have worked well for the snow as well.>new Votoms content>more flashbacks>or an animated version of the text-only continuation of the main story>side-stories like MellowlinkAs much as I love the franchise and more potential content, I think we're good as-is unless we get that last bit animated. I just want Chirico to rest and be well.
>>23545502Side-stories would be the best, in my opinion. Even if Chirico is the most important person in the universe, you can tell good stories about the struggles of less important people. Not everything has to be about killing God.
>>23545513I haven't watched Case Hunter(?) or Irvine yet, so I can't attest to their quality or worthwhileness, but nothing's been offensive so far other than maybe the show's narrative being continued, but I think that's kind of the point.Mellowlink was substantially smaller-scaled than the main story but was still fun, and I'm realizing that we haven't seen much from the Balarant side. Might be nice to see some ATs other than mainly Scopedogs, and see how they're doing on their side mid or post-war. And how civvies are doing as well, always good to see how the common people are doing, especially during or right after a war.Maybe you could have some AT pilot be pretty skilled and lucky enough that you wonder whether or not they're an abnormal survivor, and then have them die or have an ambiguous fate at the end, even though we sort of got that in Pailsen Files. Because I was starting to wonder whether Mellowlink was one as well, since they mentioned survival statistics a few times.
Watched episodes 41-42, the beginning of the final arc of the TV series. Neat to Ru Shako again after an entire arc's absence of him. Felt like Shako didn't have much screentime or lines in the second arc, so it's nice to see him be partners with Chirico for the final arc's starting episodes.
>>23545532I've been actually watching Shining Heresy now, I haven't seen Mellowlink yet (I'm trying to find a high quality torrent but they all seems dead), will watch the rest afterwards. I know Mellowlink is well received and I've seen some fights on youtube, very creative stuff. Yeah, it kinda stretches the suppression of disbelief when Mellowlink dances among bullets, but I can forgive that. Maybe he's halfway between AS and a regular human.>>23545542Shako is a bro, he's featured prominently in Big Battle OVA and honestly that's my favorite part of that OVA, him and Chirico working together. I love how he customizes a Scopedog to look like his favorite Berserga for the titular Big Battle.
>>23545542*Neat to see
>>23545547Heresy is... interesting. I still don't know whether I love or hate it.>I haven't seen Mellowlink yet (I'm trying to find a high quality torrent but they all seems dead)>they stopped subtitling the episode previews>the sub group that's doing it decently hasn't gotten to the last batch of episodes>the only subs I could find was a youtube playlist a friend sent me and they're in KoreanIn case it helps: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3mEOgz4PGwUFOFWtIqvbzGvEgJ5TjX8yI shouldn't have said anything about Mellowlink though, sorry!>>23545542Ru Shako's a complete bro, you're in for a fucking insane ride for this final arc
>>23545532Irvine is definitely worth it, I think it's the best VOTOMS thing to have come out since Mellowlink, just a shame it's only a single 40 minute episodeIt kinda feels more like a Gundam side story than a VOTOMS one since it has some super custom ATs, and the protagonist is a veteran who's quite a bit more emotive than Chirico or Mellowlink, but that was okay with me, I feel like the setting can support that kind of story too. PTSD affects different people differently I suppose. If nothing else it's worth checking out because it's the only VOTOMS work to have modern 2D digital animation for the robots. It looks really good compared to all the Chirico OVAs that were released after Shining Heresy
>>23545542>>23545556shako is cool but I completely forgot what happened to the rest of the vietnam crew, I think shako says he and chirico are the only survivors at some point but i don't remember the other twos dying
>>23546321Potaria (character voiced by Sho Hayami) lived in the second arc, not sure yet for the final arc (only have 10 episodes for the TV series). Kiderra got killed by Ypsilion.
>>23545556I found Mellowlink to just be disappointing. It felt subpar across the board, I don't understand the hype it gets. It just didn't have the same essence or atmosphere of VOTOMS at all. They made three stellar OVAs before it that felt like they really built upon the style of the show, and then along comes this 90s spin-off which feels decidedly cheaper in its presentation.
https://www.sunrise-inc.co.jp/work/news.php?id=22648
>>23546321Potaria is the only one alive at the end of the tv series and eventually dies during a skirmish in Phantom Arc, Shako and Chirico are the only survivors of the original tv crew as of the current state of the series, somehow Shako made it to the very end.
>>23547250>character is an idealistic, somewhat naive patriot who wants to see his country succeed and modernize by any means necessary>call him POL POTariaum
Anyone knows where to find high quality scans of Votoms artbooks? I know there was a big artbook featuring boxart from various plamo kits, and I think there's a magazine or something. Or is that stuff just too niche to exist on the internet?
>>23546020Best Votoms thing? I'll hold some high hopes for it then. All of this sounds promising, even if I didn't hate anything so far.>>23546321Potaria's doing alright for himself, the gruff guy died helping out Chirico in some form from what I recall.>>23546773It doesn't have as much depth, you're right, but I think I just chose to emotionally get invested in the revenge motivation and going along with the melancholy OP. Even the ED has him playing with the shells before realizing that he can't afford to have fun or anything like that. Revenge stories can be simple yet satisfying like Gun X Sword, so I wasn't really expecting or demanding anything with great depth, just only hoping that if he survives all of it, that he'd be able to find some peace and rest in his new life.>>23547526I'm not a big database guy but I know one autist friend compiled a supremely large Votoms database with a lot of niche stuff. Whatever you're looking for, your best bet's probably here.https://timeldred.com/votomshub/
>>23545556>>23545547Watched episodes 43-44. The twins, Arron and Gurran gets some direct, physical involvement outside of being smug. Also amusing to me how Shako and the Quaints knocked out/temporarily paralyzed Chirico with the drink. Wasn't even a "typical backstab" moment, it was just there to check if there was nothing abnormal on Chirico physically.
>>23540595you can cut diamonds with that jawline
>>23547658The twins are gross, but yeah Shako and the Quaintians are fren. Urine the final arc, things are getting crazy weird!
>>23540596Another official artwork.
>>23547666Chirico is drawn by so many different artists just in the TV show alone.
>>23545556>Heresy is... interesting. I still don't know whether I love or hate it.Oh yeah, just finished it. All I can say is "what the fuck?"I think my favorite part was when chief doctor saw Chirico and immediately abandoned his post, cut all ties with the planet he lived on for many years and became a proficient combat helicopter pilot/infiltrator for Chirico. It's like the Gotho/Vanilla/Coconna arc, but without ANY build-up whatsoever. Maybe Rochina is right and Chirico is acting like a mind virus?Speaking of which, crazy old man Rochina was probably my favorite part of the OVA. Man, seems like literally everybody survived Quent explosion. I guess it wasn't instant, the God-Machine became unstable gradually before exploding.
>>23547526e-hentai has several.
>>23548604Yeah. It's been a slight while but I think there's just something about him that has that effect on people. I vaguely recall he actually signed up to help people or have fun and did recognize Chirico, but I could be completely misremembering.It definitely was a pleasant surprise to see Rochina again, especially after he stopped seething and uh... he's just insane now! But still REALLY happy to see Chirico again. But yeah, I guess everyone got off in time. I still have no idea what Chirico was thinking when it looked like he left all his friends for dead though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ljEo6MzQ_M
>>23536734Or else what?
>>23548874He did recognize Chirico, but as "The Untouchable", the pariah of the religion he used to be a part of. Not really a personal connection. I guess witnessing Chirico's miraculous resurrection triggered something in him, but overall it feels rushed, like many other things in Shining Heresy.
>>23550201Or else I'll be sad>>23550205I mean, if you left Christianity after formerly being devout, but then someone who's being quite the Jesus showed up, you're probably gonna be really enthused and curious as to what would happen. But yeah, it wasn't really explained but I still found it acceptable, enjoyable, and welcome. The next part's debatably weak for different reasons but I still enjoyed and accepted it for similar reasons. I'll explain more when you watch it.I think it's Brilliant Shining Heresy, Phantom Arc, then Alone Again in terms of production order? Except Alone Again takes place before Phantom Arc.Alone Again > Phantom Arc > Heresy I think. But I probably should rewatch this 10/10 franchise at some point. The only debatable time I could be said to have went "I'm sad this bad and unnecessary thing was made" would be for Shining Heresy. For reasons.
>>23550235Tbh so far I feel so-so about the story in the spin-offs. I feel like TV ending is perfect. It's sweet enough that Chirico and Fyana are together, but sad enough that they have to basically flee this world and hope for the best. The malevolent God who kept instigating conflicts is dead, but humans are fighting anyway. Makes you wonder if humanity really can have a future without violent conflict.The fights and AT variants in the spin-offs are so good, though. I'd be glad they exist for that reason alone.
>>23550241As much as I love everything else that's Votoms, if you went>oh what if they never made any of the spin-offs (which you haven't seen all of), would you be fine with thatYes>oh what if they never made anything after the plot of the show, would you be fine with thatYes>oh what if they never made any of the OVAs taking place before or during the show, would you be fine with only having just the showYesI appreciate all the other content but you already get the spinny glidy action and political intrigue, as well as the character drama and all of Chirico in the show. It wouldn't even be a case of>I can't believe they only made this and went bankrupt forever, I wish someone would pick this up and do moreBecause what else could you even do? Story-wise it already has a perfect ending, past-wise you're free to imagine the past but also respectfully leave Chirico's past alone, action-wise it's either more cool shit similar to what you've seen or something completely jarringly different. In that way, the OVAs never really feel out of place other than deciding to continue after the show's ending, and they did a really good job. I'd also be interested to see any production notes or interviews to understand the thought process of making or continuing any of the OVAs, because I'm almost sure that they intended for me to have this sort of reaction about the continuation.Also why is this in my Votoms folder, surely it's here for a reason
>>23550249>Norio Shioyama Self Portrait.jpg>He is most well known for his work as character designer on the anime television series Armored Trooper VotomsOk that explains it. I hope he's doing well->On April 13, 2017, a fire occurred at 1:00 AM, destroying his eighth-floor apartment in a 14-floor danchi in Misato, Saitama Prefecture. Shioyama and his wife Tokiko were both found dead, he was 77 years old.[1]Oh... ;_;
>>23550249>>23550251>Also why is this in my Votoms folder, surely it's here for a reasonOh hey Samurai Troopers, another Sunrise series that has Shioyama as its character designer.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4DacR6AgOk
>>23550249>Because what else could you even do?I mean, you could go in the past or in the future, but I also feel like Votoms is kind of a victim of Scopedog being such a good and iconic design. Shining Heresy takes place 30 years into the future and they still are fighting with Scopedogs and Fatties. Unknown Red Shoulder gave us a glimpse into what ATs could be with its Bloodsucker design, but I guess all of them were destroyed in the raid on Palisen compound.Just like the only energy weapon in the setting (so far) was destroyed in the Lido raid. Yeah, it took forever to charge, but it was so cool...
>>23550249>>23550276>Because what else could you even do?Blue Knight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxiL1IHO0MgLive cover.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q39jgouYIJw
>>23545463>A cold planet and ATs adapted to such environments would've been cool to see.Votoms Steel Force PS1 game has some good snow combat AT variants.
>>23534448they know he just needs some lovin'
>>23545426>>23545463>>23553199The Pailsen files OVA had an episode set on a snowy planet, it's been years since I watched it but I remember it being one of the better episodes of the OVA.The Scopedogs in the episode don't have skis though, more like giant snowboots with rollers. I quite liked the extra equipment the Burglary Dog had for skating over rough terrain as those resembled skis more.
>>23550258I don't think I've heard of this one>>23550276>kind of a victim of Scopedog being such a good and iconic designBut what about the Fatty and the three-eye swamp guys, as much as I like the Scopedog, I think the other designs could be lovable if they were front-and-centre also.>Bloodsucker>big asymmetrical shoulder for no reasonIt looked promising and scary, I just didn't know what the deal was with the spikes>>23550906HuhDo you mean Ypsilon's, because I never loved him even though I felt bad for him by the end. Thought about the Astro Boy character for some reason when you said Blue Knight.>>23554698It's not the greatest thing in the world but I don't know why Pailsen Files seems to have people either really love it or have people outright have it as their least-favourite, CGI aside.A bit surprising that I didn't remember this and the fact that it didn't use skis. I remember what episode this was, it was the one where temperatures were going to get abysmally low, I guess I just took them to be regular Scopedogs with snow camo.
Finished watching Votoms. Overall, really good series with a rather conclusive ending that I'll be curious on how the sequels will later follow up on. Somewhat amusing to me how the final confrontation wasn't even a mecha battle. It was Chirico fooling Wiseman and shutting him down in the process.
>>23555303>a rather conclusive ending that I'll be curious on how the sequels will later follow up on.Yeah.>spoilerWere you worried about how the show would end? I think SRW30 hints at the ending or at least tells you his attitude about that kind of situation, but I was hoping you forgot. I only vaguely knew that "he kills god" but didn't really know of any other spoilers. And no, like another anon pointed out, I don't know what Chirico was thinking when he sort of left his friends for dead that one time.I think production-order wise, it's Big Battle and then The Last Red Shoulder? The first one is within the last arc but before the final stretch, so you get what just feels like a fun and standard multi-part episode imo.>it's TLRS, Big Battle, and THEN Origin of AmbitionYeah, a lot of the OVAs will bombard you with backstory stuff, and give a bit more focus on a certain important character.You've definitely enjoyed the meat of the franchise, but I don't think you'll be jumpscared or disappointed with anything that suddenly dips to dogshit in terms of quality imo. And it's only uphill from here in terms of mythos, because you'll get a bit more explanations here and there. Looking forward to how you find it.
>>23550906Is Blue Knight even good? Or is it just good enough for a novel and that one video game?
does anyone else do a sad melancholic smile as they play the end credits music? just me?ok...
>>23555384Yeah. Likewise for the Brilliant Shining Heresy ED, something about that just makes me want to sit in the heavy rain and have a good cry.Phantom Arc you could probably criticize for a whole bunch of things, like "it's just pointing to the original show going "hey do you remember this" constantly" (to which I'd counter with the fact that initially Gotho was sort of doing that for Vanilla and Coconna, and it's also been almost 30 years since the original show, so it feels a bit more acceptable or at the very least still a fun guilty pleasure)but even so, that fucking opening is so hype.>that narration of that whole saga>gradual crescendo>original opening hits AS the title rushes inPhantom Arc > Alone Again > BSH for the post-show OVAs imo, although I'd be genuinely surprised if there were any gigantic objections to this. Or maybe I have to rewatch BSH if it's ranked that low.
>>23555489The narrator was pretty hype too, i liked phantom arc alot.[/spoiler]I wish that cyborg girl survived but then again i thin fyana shouldnt have died
>>23555372Well Tim Eldred has been getting it translated into English so you can finally start judging for yourself .https://timeldred.com/blueknightbook1/
>>23555489it's completely the reverse for me, Shining Heresy was at least interesting and trying to be unique and different, and it didn't have the bad CGI of the later OVAs, which all feel mostly like cheap cashgrabs that have no meaningful content justifying their existenceI could be more accepting of Phantom Arc if there was more to it than just showing how none of the conflicts of the TV show actually had any resolution, and that none of Chirico's actions actually affected anything. It feels like it ends just as we finally get to something interesting
>>23555588>narrator's Banjo Ginga who also voiced Rochina apparentlyWait, for all of Votoms? Was this meant to be Rochina the whole time, considering he's a walking Chirico database by the time of Phantom Arc? (Why IS it called Phantom Arc...)>spoilerAnon... But yeah, you both hate her for the continuation existing but also wonder where she went by Phantom Arc, I guess they didn't think they could fit her in, so they made Alone Again after.>why aren't you looking at her>why are you just looking at me with those sad eyes;_;>>23555713I think it's really miserable that Shining Heresy existed and I still don't know whether it's an ill-advised continuation or whether it's fully intended for me to object and be sad.>bad CGII didn't think Pailsen Files' stuff was the greatest in the whole world, but I also appreciated the "we spent money on the renders and now we can do whatever we want" bit and the different ways you saw them moving dynamically, even though I prefer hand-drawn stuff.>than just showing how none of the conflicts of the TV show actually had any resolutionVietnam was very miserable but I was glad to see that whatshername mellowed out and that she managed to have some good moments with Chirico, because it was frankly a bit frustrating at times with her in the original show.>none of Chirico's actions actually affected anything.But it's not like he signed up to actually help out in any of these areas though. Apart from killing robogod, I don't think he was intending to be the world's hero or anything. Muh "war never changes" aside, it was sad and unsurprising to see things remain the way they were.>It feels like it ends just as we finally get to something interestingSide-stories set at other places (or even Balarant!) would show this well. I don't think the intent was ever to get us deeply intimate with the world, but more would have been nice to see.
>>23555273>Huh>Do you mean Ypsilon's, because I never loved him even though I felt bad for him by the end. Thought about the Astro Boy character for some reason when you said Blue Knight.Blue Knight
>>23555747Well, regardless of Shining Heresy's unfortunate ending, it built on the setting and expanded the mythos in an interesting way, which is something I can't say for the later entries, or even some of the earlier ones too. I like Mellowlink more than Shining Heresy, but there's really not much there if you're looking for anything other than improbable footsoldier vs mecha fights. Everything else about it we pretty much already saw in the show>But it's not like he signed up to actually help out in any of these areas thoughIt's not really a question of that so much as it is my ability as a viewer to find meaning in the events. What was the point of anything we watched if all the same shit is still going on decades later? And like, even the things Chirico did sign up for he ultimately failed at. Fyana? Dead. Wiseman? Still alive for whatever fucking reason. And so on. So the other stuff in between didn't even facilitate Chirico's personal goals. Phantom Arc sincerely made me feel like watching the VOTOMS franchise was a complete waste of time
>>23555771>Phantom Arc sincerely made me feel like watching the VOTOMS franchise was a complete waste of timeThe battles and robots are nice. And you really shouldn't let an unfortunate sequel tarnish the original.
>>23555764I forgot what it was called... and likewise what Chirico's final custom one was called either.>>23555771>that giant weirdo religion>which you only saw with that one guy in the first arcYeah, that was crazy weird, and fun. I guess I sort of overlooked that, you're right. I saved picrel years before knowing where it was even from. Fucking wild.>really not much there if you're looking for anything other than improbable footsoldier vs mecha fightsI liked the flirtatious sorta-romance but I'm just a lonely person.The Wiseman Rerun and it going literally identically as the original was something that I'm not sure whether it was supposed to be a joke or not.But uhhhh, I think it's text-only but translated in that autistfriend's megapage for Votoms, isn't there a bit of hope in Chirico raising and protecting that strange green baby? As identical as things have been, isn't that the one new thing that gives us a bit of hope that this time things could be different?>inb4 it ends depressingly>>23555895>The battles and robots are nice.You're nice.
Will he ever find happiness?
>>23555950>You're nice.A-anon....I really should make more Votoms webms when I have the time. Spread the awareness of awesome chunky exploding robots. This one came out kinda crappy looking, probably should reduce the resolution next time.
>>23555950Kinda off-putting how firearms in Shining Heresy are obviously based on real life firearms. Like, this is just a Beretta. Why not a cool space pistol?
>>23555977He's a Red Soldier who killed my family. He deserves to suffer.
>>23556179Then Roots of Ambition happens and suddenly the only real Red Shoulder mission Chirico participated in was one battle of Sunsa when it was already a death wasteland.
>>23555747>>23555588https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYaVncmtdaEThe sample of Banjo Ginga's roles.
>>23555273Fatties are great, though I kinda don't like that they have no skirts, exposed hip joints just look too vulnerable.>It looked promising and scary, I just didn't know what the deal was with the spikesLeeman's command Scopedog has the same spikes, I assume those are antennae for more reliable/secure connection.
>>23540768Abnormal Survivor is just a term Pailsen made up. I don't think Chirico or anyone else really internalized it as a term.If you mean Perfect Soldier, well first of all Pailsen doesn't tell anyone in the OVA about the green space baby except Leeman, so no matter what is going on there, there's no reason for Chirico to know about it. As for if Chirico really is the green space baby or not, I've heard debate about it on /m/ and elsewhere for many years. It's unclear, but I personally think the intent is that the spacebaby is indeed Chirico, and he got ejected by Pailsen, flew through space, and somehow ended up on Sunsa, where he was raised as an orphan until his town was burned to the ground by Red Shoulders. This then leads to the (really stupid) bookend ending in Phantom Arc where Chirico flies through space with a different green space baby and lands on a planet.
>>23556604I mean, Chirico knows he's basically immune to bullets since Roots, but he never really shows it and the revelation that he indeed is a PS and not just a regular dude who's good at piloting ATs shakes him in the TV series.Green space baby has to be Chirico, because otherwise it's just a weird and completely irrelevant sequence.The OVAs are pretty but the story in them seems all kinds of fucked. I prefer to think about TV as the only canon, it really is a great self-contained story with arcs, twists, character development etc.
>>23555977Montewells is dead, Wiseman is dead (again), he has an adoptive daughteru to raise now and saw Gotho, Vanilla, Cocona and their kids off one last time after having one last adventure with Shakko, Phantom Arc ended relatively well off and with a sense of hope, but it's Chirico so suffering will still find him in one way or another.
>>23555348NTA honestly I think that the whole fakeout was dumb and kind of wasted the last half of the arc.Ironically, if the show didn't pull it and went for the actual BAD END it would be far more memorable, even if that means we didn't get all the OVAs
>>23556609To be fair, even though he knows he's not going to die to a bullet, he can still get hit by them and it definitely still hurts like fuck. He doesn't know that the reason is due to some cosmic computer pulling the strings, so for all he knows he could just get shot to pieces and buried alive to live in eternal agony. Hell, for all he knows maybe he really is just the luckiest guy alive.You're right, although I personally love Roots of Ambition as a decently self-contained OVA to just put on whenever or show to people. I've probably watched it 30 times or more.
>>23556043HehAnd yeah, the combat animations are fun, rewatched quite a few frame-by-frame repeatedly, just appreciating the little movements>>23556175>questioning the pope>>23556423For me, it's Souther.
>>23556529Didn't real;y notice anything about their exposure, they looked rotund and were usually in groups, so they just looked sturdy and reliable. But you know what, yeah I get that, reminds me of the Gogg, where it feels like the exposure is just so that the toy or model kit can move its legs around freely.>Leeman's command Scopedog has the same spikes, I assume those are antennae for more reliable/secure connection.But right on the pauldron? I thought those were used to tackle people, and for you to get hoisted up by helis>>23556604>>23556609I don't think Chirico was the green baby, but I forget an anon's explanation here or what my actual conclusion was. Or maybe that's the plain reading and I agreed with that, everything about the green baby throws me off. The guy who translated the final text story didn't seem to think it was Chirico though, apparently.>>23556619I don't think it was horrible, although I was confused and worried. Chirico is ultimately pretty no-nonsense, but has a rather good moral compass (although it might not be that hard to identify dogshit as dogshit, considering most of his world seems to be like that even post-war)
>>23556611>he has an adoptive daughteru to raise now Pretty sure the space baby is a boy in the Child of God "CHILD" illustrations. I forget if that kid's name is literally Child but the title alone is so fucking funny.
Okawara and Takahashi at the Scopedog monument in Inagi.
>>23556984I can never get enough of that kid's look. He's definitely seen some shit.
>>23557418He looks more normal in other illustrations but they did legit use that as the header image when they posted chapters of the story online.
>>23557437His Scopedog is alright
>>23557446So are you
>>23556043You stuttered.
>>23556880>But right on the pauldron? I thought those were used to tackle people, and for you to get hoisted up by helisThey're high-gain antennas. I don't know anything about high-gain antennas. Okawara probably doesn't either. He probably just thought it looked cool.
>>23556423Damn manliest VA ever.
>>23557402>make a cool-ass 1:1 Scopedog statue>don't give it a cool, dynamic poseeh
>>23557785>make a cool-ass 1:1 Scopedog statueThat's not 1/1, it's 2/3 at most. To be 1/1 it has to be about twice as tall as a human.
>>23557785
>>23540588Flag didn't have magic in it, did it? It's been a long time since I watched it, I remember it had a cult but its role in the story was almost perfunctory, and there was no weird or supernatural elements that I can recall.
>>23557785I don't like dynamic poses, I like the mecha just to be shown standing up straight.
It's time for: https://youtu.be/LoDIv6K3SaA?si=nRiibSAgjNfJFmOp
>>23557699Neither do I, but this is unacceptably silly.>>23557732I love the guy but it was very fun to see him seething>>23558030What is Flag again>>23558103>think standing poses are silly and uncreative>99% of my robots will be back in that position for most of its life, even though with stands and other robots you can do all sorts of cool thingsThey just look like they're ready for action and can deploy at any time...
>>23558344Rochina's voice breaking in the final episode really added to the seething. Not sure if he died offscreen in the TV series finale.
>>23558371Yeah it's been a long while since I've seen a man so flabbergasted. And as for things after the finale, the post-show OVAs touch a bit on what happened after that whole nightmare.
>>23558344Flag is the war documentary anime Takahashi made in the mid-2000s. The last original mecha concept he created, I think.
>>23558344I always thought the standing pose has a goofy retro charm since it always calls to mind old brick toys with no articulation
>>23558441I haven't seen this...>>23559243I remember seeing a post way back on /toy/, one anon has Transformers except he poses them like the 80s' toys. Feet stuck together if able, no elbow bend, arm swivels only, I think he saw a certain charm to it. I just like mine standing ready to face the day. Any girl figures (and a cheap Sevenger from China) are in some cheering or happy pose, but aside from the regular Gundam in a fencing pose, you can't beat the good ol' regular standing pose.
>>23555273Samurai Troopers is essentially Sunrise's first five-man squad series that would later get used in Gundam (Wing), Brave (Dagwon), and Chouja Reideen.
>>23559341I recall it not being very good.
I just got done playing a session of the Votom RPG and you know what, its actually not half bad for what its worth. I think I would of had more fun if I was playing Mekton Zeta. but it was stilla fun experience non the less. I with you faggots werent social rejects so I could invite you to a play together
>>23534448Remember, Gotho is only in his 30s.
>>23547691Besides their gross annoying behavior, the gross looks of those two were likely based off the Hagers brothers when they appeared in the Bionic Woman.Dudes had mega foreheads, but Shioyama just gave them yaoi jaw as well.Weird thing is so many people wondering if those twins inspired the Superjail ones, when I doubt Christy Karacas knew this show but it would be cool if he did.
>>23555747>>23555771Apparently Takahashi considered doing something more after Shining Heresy and questioned whether or not Fyana would truly stay dead, but so far in all the continuations she has.
>>23563193I find it interesting that in the end, one of the twins wanted to stop Chirico while the other was loyal to him (or to Wiseman, rather) to the end. Not so similar, after all.
>>23563193I don't know what that is but I get what you mean>>23563931They don't have to think the same just because they're strange freaky alien twins!>>23563196>pointlessly cruel to kill her off>sort of pointless to bring her backShe's had a hard life and she's not even really a useless damsel in distress but it feels like they don't really know what to do with her writing-wise>>23563184What the fuck man
>>23564001Yup, anime mags and the series planning give Gotho's age as 36. Life must have been pretty stressful for him.>>23563931Would be interesting to know the point in them writing-wise and how the staff got to that sort of conclusion with them, they don't talk much about the twins.Out of the villains they seem pretty overlooked on the Japanese side outside of a few choice fujoshi that are into their creepy and flamboyant gay schtick, but apparently Takahashi meant for them to be in their late 20s and niche facts like that are held as gospel among the fujos.
>>23564067>Votoms fujos lusting after the twinsThat's hilarious for me for some reason.
>>23564067>Yup, anime mags and the series planning give Gotho's age as 36. Life must have been pretty stressful for him.>tfw sad enough to feel tired but not stressed enough to look like a cool old guyMan
>>23564095You could always move to a hellish war zone. Decent number of choices these days.
>>23564127N-no that's a bit legitimately scary, I'm too frail to survive a warzone
>>23564148You stuttered, anon-chan.
>>23564149No!!!I do love how dopey, ineffectual, and ultimately expendable the humble and tiny living deathtrap of a Scopedog is compared to literally any other titular mecha. Zakus are cute in their own way but there's something fun about the lil Scopedog.
>>23564082They are very niche fujos. Most fans hate or ignore them because of how flaming and annoying they are, but there are or were a small handful that loved drawing the two, monstrous chins and all, and putting them in drag or drawing them with their silly space cat.
IIRC fujos complained back in the day that Ypsilon was obviously targeted at them (but they still love it).
>>23564149There's something incredibly funny about that Ide which I can't quite pinpoint
>>23564959smol hed
>>23564950Minoru Nonaka's manga originally made him a lot longer-haired too, since he was relying on rough drafts of the character designs so Ypsilon was extra bishie and then you had guys like Kanjelman being joked to look Italian.The twins were pretty horrifying in both the original art and Nonaka's later redraws, as if the anime designs weren't enough.
>>23547691>The twins are grossI haven't watched the Quent/Wiseman arc of VOTOMS in over 20 years and I don't remember it. What was gross about the twins?
>>23565237I guess they've got a weirdly elongated head, but that never seemed that gross to me.
>>23565237>weird alien triangle chins>they look like extraterrestrials with their ovular heads>they're too smug and weirdly gay>they know what the other one is thinking, and smugly gayThey're just slightly gross
>>23565244Some Japanese fans speculate there was some kind of inspiration from the drag twins Osugi and Peeco for them, who were popular at the time. Combine those with the Hagers brothers' enormous heads, sissy villain nature, and smug scientist ways, and you get two guys that are just too gay and annoying for most villain lovers.
>>23565265I mean, ok I guess that makes sense. It's not like I hate them either, it was interesting to see them take different stances near the end, as well as just see them (rightly) worried and frightened in the final arc.
>>23565281Yeah, if anything sometimes you need some bad guys that are comic relief even if not all their silly moments land.It's interesting that the older twin proved to be more of the hardass while they made the younger one more hesitant.
>>23565243>>23565244
>>23565292Yeah, and I do remember feeling bad for them when they were extremely scared, because yeah what the fuck is going on. Did the other one make it out okay to the end, I can't remember.>>23565470Dorks.
>>23565495From what I remembered of watching Votoms this month: The other twin got caught during an explosion and his last moments before passing away was talking to Rochina.
>>23565498Oh.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHnTocdD7sk&t=318s
>>23564174In terms of other main mecha being "tiny", there's Megazone 23.
>>23565244They also enjoy Ypsilon's mental breakdown from getting cucked by Chirico, because they believe it will make him a better PS, so here's that.
>>23565525Wanzers from Front Mission are also definitely Scopedog-sized.
>>23565161>KanjelmanSpeaking of this guy, it really threw me off when they shown him beating Ypsilon during their sparring session. I was sure he was some kind of a big deal superhuman for beating a PS so easily and it turns out that nope, he's just really good at swinging his big pointy stick around.
>>23565525Tiny...>>23565540Oh right, never mind, yeah fuck 'em
>>23565470Those Micromen are so fun, even come with the cat.
oh, fuck it. who here wants to give the Votoms RPG a shot? I'd hate to associate with any of you but if you're all willing to behave Im sure the Votoms rpg experience would be a blast for everyone involved
>>23565992Link to a PDF? I probably won't play it but I heard the book has lots of cool stuff.
>>23566068What even is Berserga? Who makes them?
>>23566074Quent, I think.
>>23565525Operating that fucking thing looks painful.
>>23566067fuck off,
>>23565541Wrong.
>>23565541Not the same size.Scopedog - 3.804 mZenith - 5.8 m
>>23566600>>23566607Huh, a little bigger then. Learn something new every day, thanks guys. Scopedogs really are tiny...
>>23566594nvm found it
>>23566167>>23565541>>23565562Roughly 4m similar to the Scopedog's scale.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiSbvxdSnvwIchiro Mizuki's rendition of Honoo no Sadame.
>>235693733.85m to be exact.
>>23564174>ineffectualFor as much as people give scopedogs shit, they're insanely useful. The notes for the setting continuously reaffirm that they've completely changed how war is fought and everyone's had to respec into light anti-vehicle weapon platforms to counter hordes of the things zooming around the place, and even most of those are largely just being replaced by more votoms units.
>>23569373Very undopey>>23569801Sorry, no yeah they're absolute workhorses, but I just mean compared to your standard protag robot or even armybuilders they have an insanely high mortality rate.>can just shoot the cockpit and kill the guy if you're lucky>the fuel is very very very highly explosiveThey're useful and versatile for what they are, and I absolutely believe that they were a revolutionary game-changer (you'd need 3-4 people for a tank but reduced that down to 1), it's just that I just haven't seen one last for a long time.>even trains and other turrets use the same scope designThey're friends
>>23570036We're all friends...
>>23570052>I can now be a scopedog friend tooThank you, Chirico...
>>23570058>>23570052The friendship.
>>23570052Scopedog's cameras are inspired by the various three-port or spider Eyemo cameras.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2BSHWDy7ao
>>23570063>they're literally the fucking sameHeh
>>23574813They're not, really, Eiji starts off as a typical teenage basket case mecha protagonist, then a timeskip happens and Eiji becomes sort of a Kenshiro clone
>>23574846>sort of a Kenshiro cloneViotoms gave me a vibe similar to Hokuto no Ken for reasons I still don't understand or how to describe
>>23575203The silent protag combined with Uodoo's degenerate bandit filled world. It's very much like a mecha HnK in that sense.
>>23575283Yeah that makes a bit more sense. Something about that and like>it's after the war, so things shouldn't be as hellish as it would be during wartime, except it still is>very melancholy and lonely, even though you have cheerful friends that are regularly there to help you>the silent protag thing and fighting bandits
I love these rascals
>>23574813>>23574846https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsoROU1zoZghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVNB9QoKmeoThe voice of Eiji Asuka, Kazuhiko Inoue.
>>23575295I actually don't recognize most of these characters>JeridFUCK that loser>DustyHe's friend!>Kakashi, KarsAlright, that's cool>the ojisan ojousan isekaiHeh.
>>23575295I'm hoping he gets to voice Rom or Joe again in SRW before he retires, or Bill if we finally get Bismark in a real game
>>23575300A friend with his great infinite wisdom.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFKXrtjNw9Y
>>23576166Wait what did Schenkoff say about 30>tfw 30But yeah, Dusty seemed rather carefree, but we occasionally see that he's really wise or really capable, think Yang left him command of like half a fleet at some point and he did well for himself. I think someone said it well of how it's an era where a shitton of people are exceptionally skilled, and so Julian being a second Yang doesn't really mean as much, because everyone else is a heavy hitter as well.>so whatYou know what, yeah. Yeah!!!
>>23537271I thought she narrowly escaped it>>23539295Yeah, I was surprised that they just brushed that off.
Just finished this, had its ups and downs, was very enjoyable overall.Would have been nice to see some of Fyana's backstory wasn't she a normal human at some point? I'm assuming she was named Fyana before becoming aa PS, and that Wiseman didn't just come up with a name on the spot.Also looking at the OVAs right now, I'm not interested in the sequels though. This Pailsen guy seems pretty important, should I watch the Last Red Shoulder first and then the Pailsen Files?
>>23576737That's how they came out and how the production staff expected people to have seen them (if they had), so yeah. Ideally have Roots of Ambition between them and Big Battle whenever.
>>23576737I think they later explain how Fyana got her name in some supplemental material.Chirico was made to yell out "Fyana" by Wiseman because it was the name of a girl from his old village or something like that.
