Pete has now watched UFOPV, or at least the first DVD of it, and didn't like it. Which is about right; it's not very good. (I'm a bit confused about how he interpreted my review, where I gave it one star and thumbs down, as any kind of endorsement.)

The only thing in that franchise worth watching is the second series, and not even all of that. In practice, you could start watching the last DVD of the second series without any significant background and you wouldn't have very much trouble catching up. Certainly, now that Pete has seen part of the first series, and is familiar with Akina, Hydra, Valkyrie (both of 'em), and Kazuto, he wouldn't have much trouble with it.

I don't think he's met Mehm yet, but she's not too difficult to understand once she shows up. (She's the senior of the 8 princesses and current head of state of Valhalla.)

And Shiro would be a bit of a surprise; as of the first DVD of the first series he's just a sapient family pet, and hasn't been revealed yet as a pirate and and one of the best fighter pilots alive. (He's a mercenary, and I have long since concluded that Mehm hired him to join Kazuto's household and serve as a bodyguard for Valkyrie, under the guise of being her pet. I bet that bell he wears around his neck conceals all manner of amazing weapons. I think Kazuto suspects, and that's why Kazuto lets Shiro live there.)

The last four eps of the second series make up a pretty well contained story, and frankly it's pretty good. A person jumping in there would be confused about who Valkyrie Ghost is, but that's OK. At that point in the series she's supposed to be an enigma, and none of the other characters know what she's about either. Everything about her gets explained by the end of the series, and it's a pretty good explanation, too.

Pete's negative impression of the first DVD of the first series is well-deserved. But I hope he gives the last DVD (the last four episodes) of the second series a chance.

I have a short list of isolated stories from various shows that I rewatch a lot. For instance, the 9th episode of Kamichu is on that list. The last four eps of UFOPV2 is also on that list. I think I've watched that DVD more than the entire rest of the franchise combined.

UPDATE: By the way, I suppose that I should mention that the closing story is partially tongue-in-cheek. There are several ways where it deliberately subverts standard tropes. The story is still a good one, and some parts of it really are exciting, but it's also deliberately just a little bit silly.

For example: Akidra's gattai is powered by Akina and Hydra quarreling, not by the "power of friendship". If they start liking each other too much, the merger dissolves.

Murrenbach's transformation "only lasts five seconds", except that it lasts more like ten. (That was the case in ep 1, too, the other time we saw it.)

Shiro, Marduke, and Murrenbach are inherently subversions of the whole idea of macho heros. They are macho, but they sure don't look macho.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in General Anime at 02:48 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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