Moments of Oda Madness: One Piece and Drag Queens?

One Piece is a manga in which the character drama and the world itself – a fantastical place where adventure doesn’t so much find the characters as get in their faces and rough them up a bit – is impossibly larger than life. Even after you figure out the basic storytelling formula (get to an island, fight successively harder enemies, move on) it’s still impossible to guess just what is going to happen next.

This is because Eiichiro Oda is extremely creative and not at all above throwing the readers for a loop. Take for example what I like to call Moments of Oda Madness. You’ll know a MOM when you see it because it will make you stop reading, slap your hand to your forehead and shout aloud “Dammit, Oda, you mad genius!”. You’ll probably then wonder what he’s smoking and where you can get some.

Take for example in the Alabasta arc when Usopp and Chopper fight against two of evil Sir Crocodile’s agents: Mr. 4 and his partner Miss Merry Christmas. Miss Merry Christmas once ate a devil fruit which turned her into a mole human and so, since they’re out in the desert, she starts burying herself in the sand to attack from below. At this point Usopp whips out one of his weapons – a giant hammer – and starts doing this:

Even the Stepford Wives are Jealous of Belldandy

Oh My Goddess! would’ve made a great horror series. You’ve got the hapless victim Keiichi who attempts to order take-out but dials the wrong number and reaches a ”goddess helpline” instead. Then there’s the goddess Belldandy who comes out of his mirror like a scene from The Ring except instead of trying to kill him she opts for a more devious scheme to ruin his life: moving in and staying forever.

This is where the real horror begins. You see, Belldandy is perfect. She’s cheerful, kind and warm. She loves to clean and cook. Every day after school she brings Keiichi homemade cake and other snacks. She even sits in his class and hands him school supplies whenever he needs them. And the worst part? As long as he wants her around, Belldandy will never leave his side. In fact the universe itself will bend just to make sure they are never separated. Ah, how terrible! What sick and twisted individual came up with something so frightening?

Oh wait… this is supposed to be an otaku’s ultimate fantasy? Keiichi isn’t going to crack from the pressure of living with someone so perfect and hack everyone to bits with a cleaver? Oh. Damn…

It’s a Good Time to Become a Gundam Fan

Once again it’s been a month since I’ve posted anything here. I wish I could say I’ve been too busy doing something incredible to bother with silly Japanese cartoons but no, I’ve been watching just as much as usual. In fact I’m in deeper than ever thanks to ghostlightning (fast becoming the guy I go to for all my recommendations) turning me into a fanatic for anything relating to Gundam, that highly influential and ever popular mainstay of mecha anime.

I never thought I’d get into Gundam. For one thing, I had the idea that it was all merely a marketing ploy by Bandai to sell toys to little boys. I know better now; it’s a ploy to sell to boys and full-grown men (and women if I break down and buy those Dynames and MS-07B3 Gouf kits I’ve had my eye on, but I digress). 

However the real reason I didn’t want to get into Gundam is that the sheer size of the franchise is utterly overwhelming. As if the incredible number of TV series, OVAs, novels, manga, video games and more wasn’t enough to scare off newcomers there’s the alternate timelines to worry about. Universal Century, Future Century, After Colony, After War, Anno Domini… it all sounds more complicated than millions of years of real human history. At least until you realize that each timeline exists in its own bubble and you really don’t need to know about anything except for the timeline that the particular Gundam you’re watching takes place in.

Instead of being turned away by the dizzying number of Gundam shows I now view each one as an exciting possibility. It’s like sitting down at a table piled high with food for a feast. You might try the turkey only to find out that it’s stringy and overcooked or you might end up with a slice of delicious apple pie. That’s all part of the fun. Stay at the table long enough and you could also find yourself engaging in a vicious food fight with the people around you, each side pelting the other with mashed potatoes and insisting that the other has no taste. That’s all part of the fun too… I think.

The one question that remains for newcomers like myself is, where to start? Allow me to recommend Mechafetish and ghostlightning’s Finding Your Gateway Gundam guide. As for me I’ve only just wet my feet with the original Mobile Suit Gundam compilation movies (which are a bit dated but still highly worth it and deserving of a post of their own), Gundam 08th MS Team and the currently airing Gundam 00. My feelings for 00 will depend on how it ends but I can say that I’ve been enjoying the hell out of it and reports of train wrecks have been greatly exaggerated.

I might be looking at this with the rose-tinted glasses of a newborn fan but I don’t think there’s a better time to get into Gundam than right now. As we approach April 7th, 2009 which marks the 30th anniversary of the original Mobile Suit Gundam it means not only that there’s 30 years worth of shows to go back and watch but also at least one new, recently announced addition to look forward to. Not to mention Bandai’s plan to build a life-sized, 59 foot tall Gundam at Tokyo’s Odaiba island. I know I’m really far gone because I don’t think this sounds like a ludicrous endeavor in a failing global economy… it sounds awesome.