Adventures in channel-surfing
Feb. 3rd, 2008 12:39 amOne of the upsides of channel-surfing cable networks is that you don't have to put up with quite as long or intrusive commercial breaks. One of the downsides is that they never bother to tell you what you are watching; unless you tune in for the exact 30 seconds when the show is starting and catch the title, you have no clue. Adult Swim on Cartoon Network, (the late-night anime slots) is particularly bad about this.
What was that (apparent) caper movie with Sly Stallone and some red-haired girl in it? I have no idea.
Then there was this anime show that started out with a very Gotham-esque flavor. Futuristic city with police corruption, noir-style plot, protagonist vaguely reminiscent of Bruce Wayne or Simon Templar investigating a death that may have been a murder covering-up for official misdeeds. The dead guy may not be dead after all, and is out for revenge on the crooked bastards who shot him and tossed him off the bridge... Then all of a sudden--GIANT MECHA BATTLE!
Um, what?
I've been reliably informed by friends familiar with anime that I was watching "Big O". That one, I want to catch again. It was neat.
But still, going from a futuristic "The Saint" knock-off to giant robots fighting is just a bit... surprising. Even if "Mr. Smith", the Remington Steele-like protagonist, *is* the driver of one of the giant mecha.
I guess in Japan you get a giant mecha instead of a Batmobile if you're a crime-fighting mystery man.
What was that (apparent) caper movie with Sly Stallone and some red-haired girl in it? I have no idea.
Then there was this anime show that started out with a very Gotham-esque flavor. Futuristic city with police corruption, noir-style plot, protagonist vaguely reminiscent of Bruce Wayne or Simon Templar investigating a death that may have been a murder covering-up for official misdeeds. The dead guy may not be dead after all, and is out for revenge on the crooked bastards who shot him and tossed him off the bridge... Then all of a sudden--GIANT MECHA BATTLE!
Um, what?
I've been reliably informed by friends familiar with anime that I was watching "Big O". That one, I want to catch again. It was neat.
But still, going from a futuristic "The Saint" knock-off to giant robots fighting is just a bit... surprising. Even if "Mr. Smith", the Remington Steele-like protagonist, *is* the driver of one of the giant mecha.
I guess in Japan you get a giant mecha instead of a Batmobile if you're a crime-fighting mystery man.