(L) Wings of Rean - Yoshiyuki Tomino's new OVA

[MrProphet]

I don't think there was a thread about this series on AnimeSuki, so I thought, what the hey, why not discuss it? 8)

AFAIK, it is not licenced, so we can talk about it here.

So, has anyone watched the first episode? I though the animation was kick-ass, the story seemed interesting if complicated, and I always loved Tomino's old-school charadesigns, so this show was a definite win for me.

If you are unaware as to what this is all about, here is a quick look-over.

- It's "Wings of Rean", a new OVA by Yoshiyuki Tomino, who is the creator of Gundam, Aura Battler Dunbine, Space Runaway Ideon and other classic mecha.

- It's sort of a sequel to "Aura Battler Dunbine" (takes place in the same universe), but the characters are new, so don't worry

- It's broadcast on the internet, so it's technically an ONA (Original Net Animation). Bandai Channel should broadcast it once in a couple of months. Episode 1 aired recently (for free too!)

- Basically, it's about a guy called Aesop Suzuki, who is a Japanese-American, living at an American military base in Japan. One hectic day he whitneses several weird flying ships appear out of nowhere. On one of these ships he meets a princess of the world of Byston Well called Lux Sakomizu (she too is Japanese-... ugh... Bystonian 8)) and she has come to our world looking for Aesop.

Pros:

- Animation is great, especially for Tomino. Think Macross Zero, but without all that annoying 3DCG. Well, maybe not that good, but it's close.

- Lux is really-really cute for a spunky princess.

- There is no crazy love at first sight. The main character is just confused as hell, which is refreshening to say the least.

- Mechas and technology of Byston Well look really original and non-cliched.

- It looks kinda fun, at least to me.

Cons:

- The pace is maddening. It literally does NOT stop for one second from the beginning to end. There is no slow introduction/get-to-know-the-character kind of sequence. It's action. Non-stop-action with dialogues thrown in between

- No explanation for anything. The show assumes that you saw Dunbine. But it's not as bad as it sounds as some things are just obvious to a watchful anime fan.

If Dunbine is any indication, this would be one of Tomino's Kill-Em-All shows, so beware. If you come to this seeking some Gainer-like fun... well, it's not dead-serious, but it's not a comedy either.

So... anyone saw this? What do you think? 8)

Here's the website: http://www.rean-wings.net/

PS Just in case you were wondering, the female star's name is not pronounced "Rakusu", so this isn't Tomino's swipe at Gundam Seed. The name is pronounced "Yukusu". 8)

[Nightengale]

Originally Posted by MrProphet

PS Just in case you were wondering, the female star's name is not pronounced "Rakusu", so this isn't Tomino's swipe at Gundam Seed. The name is pronounced "Yukusu". 8)

Of course it's not. That guy doesn't even watch SEED.

[MrProphet]

I remember reading an interview with Fukuda couple of years ago, where he told the world that Tomino was quite displeased with the fact that Turn-A was not the end of all.

So he must have watched something... 8)

[BlackDove]

Show assumes I saw Dunbine. Hmmmmm.

I'll give it a try anyway, though hope I'm not penalised too much for never hearing of it.

[Blaat]

I thought it was highly entertaining, even though I've never seen nor know anything about Dunbine (except its one of the first fantasy mecha anime) so pretty much everything related to that universe is "huh?" . OVA's are usually intended for fans so I'm not that surprised. Hence the compilation feel to it.

[CaiSter21]

is it just me or was the quality of the fansub done by mahou pretty bad?
i mean the way that the "lights" were flowing through the wind just looked like a bunch of artifacts in my screen

[CoolMod]

Originally Posted by CaiSter21

is it just me or was the quality of the fansub done by mahou pretty bad?
i mean the way that the "lights" were flowing through the wind just looked like a bunch of artifacts in my screen

It was a streaming raw off the internet. It's a bandai channel www release only. (well until the dvd comes in a couple of months) It says that on our website =)


"Also, Wings of Rean was encoded from a crappy online-video stream (it's all that's available currently) so deal with the quality and enjoy another fantastic series!"

[Zelda1]

Nobody gets a chance to breath in this opening ep. It looks cool though, I've never seen Dunbine so I'm probably missing a lot. What is the release schedule for it online?

[CoolMod]

第１話配信日 2005年12月16日（金）
第２話配信予定日 2006年4月21日（金）
第３話配信予定日 2006年5月19日（金）
第４話配信予定日 2006年6月16日（金）
第５話配信予定日 2006年7月21日（金）
第６話配信予定日 2006年8月18日（金）

Episode 1: 12/16
Episode 2: 4/21
Episode 3: 5/19
Episode 4: 6/16
Episode 5: 7/21
Episode 6: 8/18

=)

[brightman]

Originally Posted by MrProphet

- The pace is maddening. It literally does NOT stop for one second from the beginning to end. There is no slow introduction/get-to-know-the-character kind of sequence. It's action. Non-stop-action with dialogues thrown in between

Heh, did you expect anything thing else from a Tomino show? He just loves throwing the viewers into the middle of everything and let them figure everything out for themselves.

I like it... The visuals remind me of Overman King Gainer, though with the buglike Dunbine technology... Not bad at all.

If Dunbine is any indication, this would be one of Tomino's Kill-Em-All shows, so beware. If you come to this seeking some Gainer-like fun... well, it's not dead-serious, but it's not a comedy either.

Hmm... Maybe, but I doubt that the Tomino of today would do a repeat of Dunbine's ending.

[Zadown]

Originally Posted by MrProphet

Cons:

- The pace is maddening. It literally does NOT stop for one second from the beginning to end. There is no slow introduction/get-to-know-the-character kind of sequence. It's action. Non-stop-action with dialogues thrown in between

- No explanation for anything. The show assumes that you saw Dunbine. But it's not as bad as it sounds as some things are just obvious to a watchful anime fan.

Both of these were actually pros for me - it was so refreshing to see the complete abandoning of normal pacing and explaining and just plunge the viewer into a raging stream of action. I wouldn't want to watch a lot of shows like it, but when I watched this I was actually laughing aloud a few times - not because it was so bad or necessarily funny, but because of the way they broke the customary structures of anime storytelling. Sort of "Haha, they still don't slow down?".

I liked it, despite the shoddy picture quality.

[zzz]

WORST ANIME EVER

[MrProphet]

Originally Posted by zzz

WORST ANIME EVER

How so? 8)

[cf18]

Wow there was some bat-shit crazy writing.

US Pilot's thought : Damn the missiles don't work! Obviously I must now throw my live away by ramming into this huge weird thing, even though I am just defending a foreign country, the plane is a lot less destructive than a high-explosive armed mach 3+ missile and completely go against my orders.

2nd US Wingman's thought : You want to ram it? Sure go ahead! I will cheer you on while you die a pointless death.

WTF? It would make a little more sense if it was the two kids since they have terminal stupidity. I would rather see them die quickly.

[deathsvengeance]

I watched this, the pace was extremely fast, but with a short anime like this, that is usually the case. I didn't mind the pace at all, it suited the sequence of events, it was a frantic situation so the animation was frantic and fast paced.

I am intrigued, it looks like it could turn out to be something very interesting.

[MarcusG]

Originally Posted by cf18

Wow there was some bat-shit crazy writing.

US Pilot's thought : Damn the missiles don't work! Obviously I must now throw my live away by ramming into this huge weird thing, even though I am just defending a foreign country, the plane is a lot less destructive than a high-explosive armed mach 3+ missile and completely go against my orders.

2nd US Wingman's thought : You want to ram it? Sure go ahead! I will cheer you on while you die a pointless death.

WTF? It would make a little more sense if it was the two kids since they have terminal stupidity. I would rather see them die quickly.

I thought that was the funniest thing I've ever seen in an anime. That made it entertaining. It reminds me of the stupid sitcom cartoons you see on Cartoon Network.

Not having to see anything related to this anime or any Gundam series I thought the beginning this episode was going great. Three boys getting in trouble with military for rebellion. The boys seem to be talented having to know to drive military vehicle and use a rocket launcher that had a dead rocket. I thought maybe this series will turn out good. TURNING POINT- Mysterious Ships come out of the Ocean. Telepathic powered humans with the latest Nike shoes with wings. Everyone is def and can't understand each other.
Complete random wtfness. Credits
Come and see the next episode to find out wtf happened in the first one.

[ZeusIrae]

errr....hum........I should I put this.
Ok....
what the hell is going on here.I watched the ep an hour ago and I am still trying to understand the situation.And I don't kno if it's supposed to be funny or it's just one of the worst anime I have ever seen.I will know when the next ep is out I guess,and what's dunbine?

[Catgirls]

Originally Posted by ZeusIrae

...and what's dunbine?

These links may help:

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aura_Battler_Dunbine
- http://www.advfilms.com/titles/aurabattlerdunbine/
- http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/ency...me.php?id=1188

[ZeusIrae]

Originally Posted by Catgirls

These links may help:

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aura_Battler_Dunbine
- http://www.advfilms.com/titles/aurabattlerdunbine/
- http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/ency...me.php?id=1188

Thanks a lot,sorry to bother you.
The situation is getting slowly clearer

[Kyuuen]

My very first impression (up to 10 seconds into the episode) is 'it's a cartoon'. I d not know how i managed to link up that fact in my head, but i can visually tell that it's more of a cartoon than an anime (to me anyway). The first thing that came into my mind is the new anime GPRX (or something, the racing robots thingy). It's the way the whole thing is drawn and animated that makes me think it's more of a cartoon than anime.

ANYWAY, other than the stupid idiotic kamikaze pilot who will die for no reason and the fact that the show didn't bother to explain anything, i like the pacing of the episode, it shows the rush of the situation (4 battleships appear out of nowhere, everyone is panicking). I will look out for the second episode.