Hi I'm Dranzerstorm
You may remember me as a regular contestant on the caption battle contest.
Welcome to Retro Retrospective, my world dedicated to the old guard of the Otaku world; expect some reviews of the old & obscure, and in-depth geeky knowledge with the occasional top ten and I now have a logo.
Little info about me
Well I'm British and I'm in to all things animated and nostalgia.
I've grown up with every cartoon going and have watched hundreds of anime.
Oh and to answer a question I was asked once, no I don't wear glasses in real life, I would wear Loke's sunglasses though.
As voted by kita mikichi here is the Mega Man Cartoon review for the Vault.
Everyone knows the story of Mega Man by now, well those who've played the games at least; it's about a boy robot called Mega Man, who was created by Dr Light to fight off the evil Robot Masters of Dr Wily alongside his Robot Dog Rush and sister robot Roll. To compare it to another anime it's basically a cooler version of Astroboy.
In the mid 90s, Ruby Spears (The same Ruby Spears that made last entry's Rubik Cube cartoon) licensed the rights to make the Mega Man cartoon in collaboration with a number of Japanese animation studios; it's not uncommon for Japanese companies to lend a hand in animating with American studios and vice-versa; Anime series Big O being the biggest example of American influence on Japanese Anime but that's for another entry.
Now Video Game cartoons don't exactly have the most stellar history, there's a lot to name that failed miserably, and another load which were cheesy nostalgia trips that don't hold up well today with maybe one or two that do still hold up today. Mega Man would be in the latter categories for one reason only. It's the only Video Game cartoon that at least maintains it's identity.
To put this into context the only criticisms I can really give the Mega Man cartoon is Roll's design and the occasional derpy expression from Mega Man. Other than that there's not much else to point out; the rest of the show is insanely accurate to the games, even the opening theme sounds like the games' killer soundtrack.
In fact I've never seen the Mega Man cartoon appear on any worst video game cartoon list.
The problem is, a lot of shows in this genre always have to pass a barrier of abuse from fans who will constantly say it's not like the games. Mega Man actually gets a pass but at the same time it's also one of the more overlooked shows as the likes of Captain N, Sonic & Mario are more popular despite each having their obvious drawbacks. There's a case for taking risks as well and while Mega Man does make a lot of good decisions those decisions are too safe. Sonic's Nightmare world in the SatAM series was a risk that paid off, casting a wrestler to voice Mario paid off, you get the idea, Mega Man is too safe to be well remembered.
My opinion on it?
Well it's decent but I wouldn't say it's that memorable.
Next entry I'll be announcing a special run of reviews, keep watching folks.
40 Years Ago today, a Hungarian sculptor and architect named Erno Rubik invented the Rubik Cube, a puzzle cube where you have to match all the colored squares on each side. As a tribute to this frustrating puzzle cube I'd like to present the short lived 80s cartoon, Rubik the Amazing Cube.
In 1983, the animation house Ruby-Spears licensed the rights to use the Rubik Cube as a cartoon; the plot is about a magical Rubik Cube that when solved can turn into Yoda if he were trapped in a cube and sounded like a chipmunk with a cold. He used to belong to an evil magician but ends up in the hands of three Hispanic kids, which was bizarre to see during that time period as rarely were there any American cartoons with a cast of ethnic minorities making up the main cast and bare in mind that this was 17 years before Dora the Explorer popularized Hispanic cartoons proper.
Anyway once the evil magician is dispatched, Rubik helps the kids with their own problems throughout the series, whether it be kid problems or traditional adventures and mysteries, hey this was a Ruby-Spears creation alongside another show Chuck Norris Karate Kommandos which is somewhere on my long list of world entries. Anything they create is going to be pretty generic and borrowed from Hanna Barbara.
Rubik Cube wasn't alone during it's run as it was broadcast alongside the Pac-Man cartoon. This was during a time when early Computer Games were being raided for cartoons which led to the creation of the Saturday Supercade along with other early video game cartoons.
Now with lots to cover on this one lets put it to a vote for my next Cartoon Vault entry.
Your choices are. Pacman
Saturday Supercade
Dragons Lair
Mega Man
Captain N the Game Master
If there are no comments I shall do something else.
Until then have fun reading.
And now the final part, after this something completely different
Fuka Narutaki
Being there to make up numbers is not easy and Fuka as well as Fumika really lose out badly in the character department. However their epilogue story proves to be the biggest surprise of the series.
5/10 Score
Makie Sasaki
I can't decide whether I like this character or not, on the one hand her genki personality is very charming, on the other hand it can also lead to some of the most random scenes possible.
6/10 Score
Setsuna Sakurazaki
Our devoted body guard is by far the best character in the whole series and really should be the lead main character. Her relationship with Konoka is one of the show's shining moments. She also has some of the best action scenes in the whole series.
10/10 Score
Madoka Kugimiya
There to make up numbers and may have had something for Kotaro but it went no where and neither did this character.
2/10 Score
Satsuki Yotsuba
Satsuki is the type of character who fully makes use of her scenes when given to her. She's able to talk down the entire cast including Evangeline and gain their respect which earns my respect as well. A top candidate for Negi's bride.
7/10 Score
Chizuru Naba
Another person who can talk down the entire cast, this is someone who commands authority with a green onion and will happily use it when pushed. Sadly underused but like Satsuki does make use of her time on screen.
7/10 Score
Ku Fei
She's a two dimensional character but that's all she needs to be. Chinese Kaolla Su only needs to act as the martial arts genius and nothing more. Anything else she's done is not even worth mentioning and I can't understand her dub voice at all. However she's a strong candidate for Negi's bride.
7/10 Score
Satomi Hakase
I was hoping she would be more than two dimensional but sadly she's not, a boring eccentric scientist is all she'll ever be; she also borderlines Mary Sue territory especially around Chao Lingshen.
4/10 Score
Yuna Akashi
Probably the only member of the sports girls who isn't boring, her love of military really saves her from being two dimensional and makes her fun to watch, especially when she breaks out the model tanks.
6/10 Score
Chachamaru Karakuri
I normally dislike robot characters but Chachamaru is adorable. She goes through the process of developing emotions against her programming which may have been done before but when done well it can really make a character good; she's also kissed Negi the longest out of anyone.
8/10 Score
Evangeline A.K. McDowell
Last but not least we have the vampire Evangeline. She's another one who should be the main lead character but is not used beyond being Negi's magic teacher. Her introduction story is consistent in all versions of Negima making it the only plot point to remain unchanged. She's a great anti-villain and her childish reactions are gold.
9/10 Score
Ayaka Yukihiro
Everything Class Rep does on screen is pure gold and is one of the few characters to actually have a proper backstory, sadly underused in the official canon which is a shame.
8/10 Score
Sakurako Shiina
Another member of the cheerleading squad with her only character trait being good luck, which isn't enough to sell the character.
4/10 Score
Ako Izumi
The reluctant medic is another one of those wasted characters; her giant scar has no explanation and she just becomes a chew toy later on in the story. With that in mind, her season 2 downgrade was welcomed.
4/10 Score
Nodoka Miyazaki
I should hate characters like Nodoka with a passion but despite the obvious Hinata Hyuuga comparisons I can't bring myself to hate a character who manages some amazing acts of bravery despite her obvious shortcomings.
7/10 Score
Chao Lingshen
I can't stand Mary Sue characters and Lingshen fits the role like a glass slipper. Perfect at everything, is somehow Negi's descendant and can manipulate things with time magic, everyone's favorite reset button. Non canon versions don't improve the character much despite removing the above backstory.
1/10 Score
Misora Kasuga
I had to look up this character to remind myself that she exists. Her entire role in the story is redundant.
1/10 Score
Asuna Kagurazaka
You'd think Akamatsu would've learned not to use another tsundere after Naru's legacy was met with such discontent, but here she is, Ass Pull Asuna as I call her. To be fair her second season character was more tolerable and less tsundere, everything else, official or not is just bad; there are lots of characters more deserving of the main character title.
4/10 Score
Konoka Konoe
Konoka on the other hand is lots of fun and quite possibly the only character in a harem anime to come out as a lesbian. Like Haruna she's genre savvy and knows how to manipulate things to suit her and will quite happily enjoy the ride.
9/10 Score
Yue Ayase
Yue is smart but lazy, always seen with interesting drinks, is a Deadpan Snarker and acts like a real teenage girl when faced with the love triangle in front of her as she grows feelings for Negi but not wanting to hurt her best friend. She's a great character to watch and more believable than the rest of the class.
9/10 Score
Chisame Hasegawa
A reclusive computer hacker masquerading as an internet idol in her spare time. Chisame hates the idea of her reality suddenly becoming a magical realm, which is ironic considering her Net Idol indulges in that warped reality she tries to avoid. She's also our lampshading expert, pointing out things that the audience ask themselves, like why a robot is in class, pointing out that Mana clearly shouldn't be in school and the main thing that everyone asks "Why a ten year old boy from Wales is teaching a class of Japanese School Girls"
10/10 Score
Apologies in advance as I will be using the same image for all three parts.
As this list proved too difficult to make into a proper top ten list I'll instead go through all the Students of Mahora Academy whether they are liked or hated. This will be in three parts based on the official seating plan from left seating area to right looking at the teacher. With that all sorted lets begin.
Sayo Aisaka
This is pretty much how I pictured Casper the Friendly Ghost, if he were a Japanese School Girl. She's a cute character with a wasted back story mainly because she died during World War II, which is open to several interpretations, but sadly after her introduction she quickly gets relegated from the cast.
6/10 Score
Kazumi Asakura
Typical hungry journalist character, not afraid to work for the enemy if it means getting that story; beyond the odd scenes where she acts heroic she's really not that interesting.
5/10 Score
Natsumi Murakami
This girl makes self hate seem perfectly acceptable as the more you watch her, the more you start believing she's right. Even when she achieves something no other student does, she still feels the need to pull a Shinji Ikari.
3/10 Score
Kaede Nagase
The ninja girl who looks like Pokemon's Brock (daughter maybe?). For a secondary character she does her job really well and has proven time and time again to be the perfect mentor big sister type, and despite not being book smart she proves to be the most competent character when she learns of everyone's secret just by observation alone.
9/10 Score
Akira Okochi
On the one hand she's a quiet character with surprising strengths and a good heart, on the other hand, she's just as boring as the other sports girls. It's hard to get a grip on this character and would probably have done well as a mute character but sadly more wasted potential.
5/10 Score
Fumika Narutaki
Being there to make up numbers is not easy and Fumika as well as Fuka really lose out badly in the character department. However their epilogue story proves to be the biggest surprise of the series.
5/10 Score
Mana Tatsumiya
It's a bit strange seeing someone of her proportions and background in a Junior High School, but despite being in the wrong anime, Mana is by far my favorite action character, she makes throwing coins look awesome and her ambiguous motives along with her background make for the perfect action heroine. Sadly she loses much of her story in the newer adaptions.
8/10 Score
Misa Kakizaki
It's said that she has a steady boyfriend but is never brought up. Her function is to point out that Negi is hot as an adult. Not much to say on her or the other cheerleaders.
4/10 Score
Zazie Rainyday
Quite the oddball of the class, she either functions as a pun machine or someone who does bugger all. Even her function in the Magic World isn't really well explained. It was implied in opening images that she'd have a big role but it fails to materialize. In fact she had so little to do that her actress botched her lines during a live stage show.
2/10 Score
Haruna Saotome
Haruna is an absolute scream, I've never met such a funny character in all my life. She's the only one who really properly embraces the magic elements of the show and speaks in the same language as the audience. If some characters are meant to represent the audience surrogate like Chisame, then Haruna represents what the audience would actually do in the same situation. She tells it straight and enjoys it.
10/10 Score
