MIXED BAG. ANIME CO-PILOT #2 ACE ATTORNEY!

attorney [at-ur-nee]

noun

1. A lawyer.

I have a little history with the Phoenix Wright series. In fact...

 PHOENIX WRIGHT MIXED BAG LET'S PLAY

... I played the first case with my friend Zach on my youtube channel back in 2014 when I gave that a go. It was actually a lot of fun! The characters are fun, the music/design is decent and the writing is pretty funny.

The portable series found on Nintendo handhelds involves solving puzzles and cases as Phoenix Wright in order to save your defendant. That, of course, isn't really a defense attorney's job in our world but the universe that the games take place is a little silly. It would seem perfect for an anime series but the biggest case against it being made into an animated series is that the games, save the flashbacks, primarily take place in the less-than-action packed courtroom. So, when I saw there was a new anime based on the series, I was a tad leery.

The first episode is a very conservative take of the first case in the game series. It introduces Phoenix Wright, his mentor, and his defendant (his friend Larry Butts). They introduce a couple of new details but it is mostly a simplified version of the case. It was a very safe take with bland 3D background, boring voice acting, and a pretty weak pace. But then the anime tapped into the over-the-top nature of the show...

... and if it can tap into that more, I think it has a chance. The best parts of the games are when characters have full on freak-outs and meltdowns. The first example of such a reaction, combined with the weird logic of the Ace Attorney universe's bizarre legal system were the most amusing part.

Despite this strong conclusion, I gotta...

PASS.

Still, if you're a fan of the game series or this sounds compelling, give it a fair trial on Crunchroll now.

WORD OF THE DAY! 4/26/16!

A FOX IN SPACE - S 01 EP 01 

"DON'T CALL ME STAR FOX!"

barrel roll [behr-uhl-rol]
noun
1. An aerial maneuver in which the airplane makes a complete rotation while maintain forward momentum at all times.

I featured these cool independently produced fan animations based on the Star Fox characters last year and, finally, after years of hard work of "Fredryk Phox" and his comrades, we have an episode length pilot. And it is fantastic.

They took the characters and setting of the Star Fox franchise, animated them into a more adult style reminiscent of the jazzy Fritz the Cat meeting Bojack Horseman's dry wit and rolled up together in a way that is so good you'd swear you were watching the pilot for a new Adult Swim show.  The music and voice acting just add to the aesthetic of this brilliant piece of hand animation that was clearly a passion project. I really hope there is more coming and just hope Nintendo or someone else doesn't kill it. This is why the internet exists.

THIS.

And it comes out right on the heels of a new Star Fox game (which may or may not be one of the worst disappointments of the year) and a Star Fox anime short (which is so-so). The latter of which you can enjoy in the link below!

BONUS: STAR FOX ZERO ANIME!

MUSIC MON! JONTRON & YUNGTOWN ARE SPACE COWBOYS!

JONTRON'S FIREWORK COVER

The first video in today's queue is the fantastic cover of Katie Perry's Firework by Jontron. It's been a long time coming-- like five years long time coming-- since Jontron first teased his audience with an incomplete cover at the end of his Dino City video from 2011. It is a pretty great cover and the video is electric thanks to the collaborative efforts of a bunch of talented animators.

On a side note, we are stuck with Katie Perry's Firework until we die thanks to it being a fun pop song with a theme that can easily be tied into every 4th of July firework celebration from now until the end of time. I dunno if that's good or bad, but it certainly is a thing.

TWILIGHT PRINCESS RAP - YUNGTOWN

Twilight Princess's HD remake came out for the Wii-U and I bought it but... I haven't played it yet because I promised myself to finish some of the other games I've bought before I do so. I beat Pokemon Blue's 3DS shop remake and currently I'm working my way through the main storyline of Fallout 4 with my character Patagonia O'Brian.

But I can't wait to play Twilight Princess again. It's my favorite 3D Zelda game.

COWBOY BEBOP FILM OPENING SEQ.

Cowboy Bebop is one of the best animated series ever made. I got my parents to watch it with me when I got it on bluray and the animated film, from which this sequence is from, is a fantastic example of animation that is hip, stylish and has scenes constructed with such hypnotically smooth movement that it is hard not to admire it. Check it out.

BONUS: JONTRON: DINO CITY BRO!