Gatchaman - La Battaglia dei Pianeti September 28, 1980

From September 28 on Channel 5
The most extraordinary science fiction series
to ever appear on the screen. For 7 months
every Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 5:30pm,

Gatchaman - La Battaglia dei Pianeti  September 28, 1980

Gridman Universe

Dreams into Tenkai Knights

 

Not everything is a big hit. Unfortunately Tenkai Knights falls into that category. Tenkai Knights was a toy line and anime centering around a group of kids who'd cross through a portal to Planet Quarton. Going through this portal would change them from normal kids into the Tenkai Knights where they'd face Lord Villius and the Corrupted Army. The cartoon would shift from 2D animation to 3D when they Tenkai Knight action started. It was a fun show that admittedly used a lot of genre tropes. There was even a dark version of the main hero Bravenwolf. I watched it pretty regularly while it was on and fondly bought the toys. There was video games I kinda regret not checking out.

The toys were mini figures that transformed into building blocks and building block sets. You read that right, the mini figures transformed into building blocks. Just take off the armor and weapons and the basic figure underneath could fold up into a lego compatible block. The building block sets were a combination of vehicles and creatures for the mini figures to interact with and larger versions of the characters. I mainly focused on the mini figures. They were available individually carded, individually in blind bags, and in multi packs. The mini figures were generally inexpensive, so it was easy and fun to just randomly grab a few whenever. 

They made for a solid counterpart to Kre-O Transformers at the time. If robot mini figures are your thing, it was a good time. I am and it sure was. They seemed to sell well in at my stores, though after a year the line just kinda fizzled out. That's a shame. Like I said, it was a fun little line. I'd love to see a return one day or even something similar find it's way out. I'd be great to swing by the store for some cat food and grab a few while there again.

E Ticket EVA

If there's one thing that makes me jealous of others, it's when they visit themed attractions. Specifically those lucky folks in Japan that seemingly has a non-stop supply of them. Not just at theme parks either. Oddball parks and shopping centers, arcades, or even pop up shops. Here in America, they're at bigger theme parks or special appearances for a new movie. Maybe Spirit Halloween fits the bill a little. From an outside perspective, there's quite a bit in Japan and if I lived there, I'd visit them up often. I love that sort of thing. Above is the Neon Genesis Evangelion attraction at Toei Kyoto Studio Park. A park I'd like to go to already (they have a great Kamen Rider and Super Sentai exhibit). This cool attraction offers a life size EVA Unit 00-1 with several activities a fan could enjoy. I'm not the most well versed Evangelion fan, but like the show and this looks like a lot of fun. I'd sure visit it if I could.

The Singular Point Of Godzilla

Godzilla : Singular Point debuted on Netflix here in the states this weekend after what felt like forever. The prior Godzilla anime trilogy on Netflix was hard to enjoy. Sure there was good stuff, but by part three I was done. Singular Point, however, has been more enjoyable so far (I'm about halfway through). 

Singular Point manages to be both frantic and in no hurry. The story revolves around two different groups performing different investigations. They are brought together by the ongoing chaos that's just fun to watch. The show is funny and weird and kind of gives me SSSS Gridman vibes. I'm surprised by how much that I like  Rodan. Going by all the lead up material, I wasn't completely sold. 

Like everything else, Singular Point isn't for everybody. Your experience may vary, and that's ok. It kind of feels like a Millennium era story. Which would be the ideal era for a Godzilla anime to take place from. It's hard not to love the Otaki Factory. I want to hang out with them.

Diaclone X Gridman

Merge Into A New Week

 
Hey, remember when I said I'd be stopping these 'new week posts'? I lied. It's Monday and you know what that means? A brand new week here on Planet Zone! Before you say it, yes I was originally intended to launch Not As Brightly Lit today... and changed my mind. If you've gotten the chance to listen, I hope you like it. It's been on my back burner for a long time and it feels good to finally do it. I record episodes in advance, so you'll probably notice little improvements over time. Not as many pops in the next episode and the show is also available on iHeart Radio and Breaker now as well. Though it'll be a few episodes until that's mentioned because it wasn't ready when they were recorded. I plan to put it on more services, but I'm taking one thing at a time.

I'm looking forward to the new Pacific Rim anime on Netflix. Also the new Godzilla anime and Ultraman season 2 are coming soon. It's great that Netflix has such cool stuff, especially considering how uninterested I was in it's streaming initially. Power Rangers Dino Fury will be starting soon as well. I kinda forgot about it until the past few days. I'm glad it's been brought to my attention. The new Zord toys look neat and I'm looking forward to the show. From the cast descriptions I'm kinda excited. The Red Ranger is an alien, the blue a skeptic, and the pink is very into the paranormal. For a person who's TV stays on Travel Channel and got Discovery+ just for paranormal entertainment...

I know that'll all be dropped after the first few episodes, but man, I can dream right? Thanks everyone for continuing to read and support Zone Base. Please share with your friends, it's all I ask.

Revenge Of The Gobots

Godzilla Singular Point

OMG

Keith Courage's Cool Cartoon

I was pretty excited for the Turbografx-16 Mini until Covid-19 pushed back the release. I'm still excited for it, but man that hurt a little. One thing I found odd was the exclusion of Keith Courage in Alpha Zones from the console. Keith Courage was the original pack in game for the system here in the states until the release of the Turbo Duo a few years later.

I've always liked Keith Courage and was really hoping to play it on the mini (whenever I get it), it not being included confused quite a lot of people for good reason. It was just one of the games you associate with the system. Most likely it's due to licensing issues as Keith Courage is an Americanization of the PC Engine game Mashin Hero Wataru, which was based on an anime. The anime itself has had a few other series and other games as it's pretty popular in it's own right. Much more than Keith Courage. It's not surprising that essentially Konami wouldn't deal with the licensing all these years later.

There's all sorts of toys, games, and cartoons of Mashin Hero Wataru. If you really liked Keith Courage and wanted more of it, well there's plenty of it to go around. I'm kinda tempted to watch the anime as it looks pretty neat. I feel like I've seen bootlegs of the mechs at discount stores and honestly tempted to get one of the newer figures. Because dude...Keith Courage.

GeGeGe No Kitaro Opening [Vinyl Disc Version]

Summer is around the corner, and summer is a spooky season.

SSSS.DYNAZENON!!!!!!!!

完全新作アニメーション『SSSS.DYNAZENON』の制作が決定！
原作：グリッドマン
監督：雨宮 哲
脚本：長谷川圭一
キャラクターデザイン：坂本 勝
音楽：鷺巣詩郎
アニメーション制作：TRIGGERhttps://t.co/eX4Su9yp0l#SSSS_DYNAZENON pic.twitter.com/BBtXyhPHbR

— SSSS.DYNAZENON公式アカウント (@SSSS_PROJECT) December 14, 2019

Production of completely new animation "SSSS.DYNAZENON" has been decided! Original: Gridman Director: Satoru Amemiya Screenplay: Junichi Hasegawa Character design: Masaru Sakamoto Music: Shiro Konosu Animation Production: TRIGGER https://dynazenon.net#SSSS_DYNAZENON

Looks like the follow up to last years AWESOME SSSS Gridman is on it's way and looks great!

Ronin Mecha on Tubi

I've mentioned on here before my love of Korean rip off robot anime. Hell, I've posted a few. There's just a charm of those dollar bin robot cartoons full of stolen robot designs in adventures that I guess form a plot. Look, I don't think I really need to explain why Diaclone Inferno... I mean... you know what site you're on right?

So I was perusing Tubi earlier and discovered they've begun hosting a ton of them. Now as a series called Ronin Mecha. Like putting them together as a movie series, which makes sense considering some of them are literally made from others re-edited together. It's great to see them constantly add to their collection of Super Robot cartoons on Tubi. For the record I love Tubi and I'm sure if you're a Zone Base reader you're probably a fan too. It's practically the streaming service of Zone Base.

Robotechno

I intend to put some extra attention towards Robotech in the not too distant future. It's been forever since I've watched more than an episode at a time. I've got a few DVD sets and the whole series is on Netflix, I just need to set aside the time to do so... which is the challenge. For the record, I'm specifically talking about Robotech, not regular Macross or anything. Never been that concerned with the Harmony Gold situation either to be honest. I just want to re-watch Robotech at some point, I like it.

Thinking I want to stock up on some of the Robotech keshi Super 7 has been making. They've done a great job as usual. They've done some ReAction figures as well, but I'd rather just keep it small. I have some older stuff and anything new I buy wouldn't be... Look, I have a mini figure addiction.

Harmony Gold's Frankenstein

Harmony Gold, yes THAT Harmony Gold, whom you probably know better from making Robotech from various anime (Macross, Mospeada, Southern Cross, the occasional KFC commercial) and all the assorted stories that's gone with it since. Yes, that Harmony Gold at some point dubbed 'Kyōfu Densetsu Kaiki! Frankenstein' a production by Toei into what's commonly referred to as 'The Monster of Frankenstein' or 'Frankenstein Legend of Terror'. It's called two different names because they didn't actually name it anything, but it was advertised as one or the other. Yep.

Frankenstein and all the other cool kids come out to play on Halloween. Though I'm going to go ahead and give full disclosure. This is a pretty depressing movie intended for more mature viewers. It contains themes of suicide and religion, so be advised if those are things you might be sensitive about.

Evangelion on Saturn

I'm having a slightly brain dead day. Despite having a lot of fun this past weekend at Rangerstop, I'm still just a little fried. Maybe it's from displacing my sleep schedule, I took a million naps Sunday. Or maybe I'm just tired in general. Fortunately I have a long holiday weekend coming soon and plan to burn off some of those dead brain cells and get some solid mental refreshment. So, while I'm planning to put out some much better posts throughout the week, in the meantime check this out. Thanks to Netflix, every bodies talking Evangelion and maybe we're all better for it. While I'm slowly working my way through the first batch of episodes, I'm certainly enjoying it again. Here's a set of Evangelion game commercials for the SEGA Saturn. I do love SEGA, don't I?

Netflix's Ultraman early impressions

After waiting for months for Netflix's new Ultraman series to start, I finally got a chance to watch the first few episodes earlier today. With the season consisting of 13 episodes of 22 minutes each, it won't take long to watch it all even on my schedule. The show is based on a manga series starring the son of the original Ultraman in a mature and gritty take on the 50 year old series. It's a sequel to the original Ultraman series, so it's easy to jump in even if you haven't watched much Ultraman.

I really like the show so far. The characters are written well and the plight of our hero is a relatable one. He's growing into his role as a super hero and dealing with all the inner turmoil that goes along with it. The Science Patrol has evolved with the times and is presented how a organization like it should. Visually, the show is striking. Though I will say the human characters are not as detailed as the other characters like aliens or Ultras. I don't know if that's just me though, and it might well just be my perception. Either way, it's not distracting, just noticeable. Earlier I mentioned the show was gritty and mature, and it is. However, so far that doesn't feel forced ala Zack Snyder movies (pouring sand into water to make it 'gritty' and as dark as a 14 year old in a ICP shirt). Rather it feels natural, and more like a serious take on the subject matter.

I've had high hopes for this show and am pleased so far. Really hoping that the rest of the season delivers and the show has more seasons.

Sêjûshi Bisumaruku/Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs intros

Sêjûshi Bisumaruku

Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs

Godzilla: The Planet Eater

I finally got a chance to view the third and last installment of the Godzilla anime trilogy this weekend. The Godzilla anime series hasn't had the most kind critical response, and the first two installments I did enjoy. I'm not making any apologies. They were slow, weird, and the monsters involvement was disappointing. You had an outright cartoon Godzilla movie and Godzilla was hardly more than occasional background scenery. That being said, I did enjoy those two. I found them entertaining despite the prior complaints. This one, not so much. I found this one to be extremely long winded, too weird (there's a point where weirdness stops being acceptable and just doesn't make sense), and the monsters were completely misused. I usually try to balance the line on spoilers. I feel there's a time where it's considerate of others and a time where others need to get off the pot. I'm going to try to be considerate as I can, but give those who haven't seen it yet fair warning.

run away

I try not to get this way about things like movies. It's not important and really doesn't affect a real life. Though when you pay good money for something (life a Netflix subscription, it aint free ya'll) you don't have to accept everything and have every right to be unhappy. You can be a fan of something and be critical at the same time. Of course there's a line between being critical and being a whiny nerd. I'll try my best to stay in the first category for my own sense of self.

This movie is bullshit.

In a movie where the monsters could have had the most amazing fight possible due to being 100% animated, they're hardly featured and are practically a gif. The plot is complete nonsense that doesn't even try to make sense. The plot of the first two was reaching, but I could still enjoy what they were trying to tell me. I honestly was just waiting for this to be over. Fortunately, the movie wasn't too long as though the creators wanted to get it over also. I was utterly disappointed in this movie and even though the last two were hardly amazing, felt like this would be ok at least. Fortunately Godzilla 2 is coming soon to hopefully wash the bad taste of this out of my mouth.

SSSS. Gridman x Ultraman

Tsuburaya recently put out this little short clip as sort of a segway from SSSS. Gridman into the new Ultraman anime movie. It's a neat enough little clip, not that I needed anymore reason to look forward to the movie, but who am I to not appreciate a good bit of marketing?