This actually covers two showings - the first covering Cyborg 009 and Dark Myth, and the second showing including the rest.
Cyborg 009: Light sentai fun based on the old, old Cyborg 009 manga. It quickly settles down into monster... er, cyborg-of-the-week threats. Though about as shallow as a puddle, it's fun if you take in the Saturday morning sense, with fun characters that are much more diverse than your usual anime cast. While nothing really special, I do have a soft spot for retro pieces like this, given the obvious influence of the source material on later anime.
The Dark Myth: Logic, plot, and characterization take the day off in this horror attempt, where things happen because... well, the script says so. Quite why any of the characters do the things they do is something of a mystery, and it drags it all out with a long, ponderous butchering of Eastern mythology. Mind, the mythology is well-researched, and there are some good cosmic horror gems-in-the-rough for those who want to use Eastern mythology in the Call of Cthulhu RPG. But there's no real excuse for just how boring this piece is. There's wet paint out there with more action than this.
Art of Fighting: Continuing in the tradition of terrible anime based on video games, there's Art of Fighting. But really, has there ever been a good anime based on a video game? Ever? Fatal Fury, Samurai Shodown, Street Fighter Alpha, Street Fighter V, Final Fantasy Unlimited, Disgaea, Tekken, and Viewtiful Joe all stank, stank, stank. The best one was probably the Street Fighter Movie, but even so, it's gained a certain rankness with age. Why do they stink so? Well, I'd give two main reasons: One, they feel the need to change central elements of the game. For example, Art of Fighting throws in a jewel heist element that would embarass even the worst 1980's action movie, changes the roles of characters blatantly, and... uh... even avoids using the end boss of the original game. Two, subpar animation. The fighting is not a draw in Art of Fighting. The characters never even use their signature moves once, particularly bizarre in an anime like this, where overusing such elements is usually the standard operating practice. I know you probably spent too much money on the license, but please, at least make sure you have the money left to buy cels to paint on. Utter garbage. But then, most video games based on anime are similarly, utter garbage.
Dog of Flanders: Schmaltzy period piece about a poor child and his pet dog in 19th century Belgium. Apparently, it's very popular in Japan, if not in Belgium. While it starts out fun if bittersweet, it quickly spirals into tragic, depressing drugery, which feels bizarre for a film that seems to have more in common with American children's films than anything you typically see out of Japan. Though it's hard to criticize any of the technical elements - the animation and cinematography are rather good - it's a just a tiring sob story, too dull for adults and too depressing for kids.
Demon Fighter Kyoko: Disposable two-part OVA where the 'heroine' removes her clothes to lure ghosts (no, not demons) out so they can be exorcised. In case you're wondering, she doesn't do much fighting, either. Her name is Kyoko, though, so one... out of three ain't bad, I suppose. Most of the gags fall short, though occasionally it overcomes itself with some nice breaking of the fourth wall. Though generally bad, it is at least delivers its badness with a winking enjoyment, which is refreshing after plenty of terrible anime delivered with straight faces.
Detonator Organ: You see, a Detonator is a robot from space, and Organ is the star robot from space in question. The sort of naming inspiration that gave us the "Boomers" of Bubblegum Crisis, which shouldn't be surprising considering this anime has some Bubblegum Crisis alumni on board. Average robot action, pulled down by some whiny protagonist antics and pulled up by some solid robot fighting sequences and good animation. I liked the twist for the alien invaders, though the double deus ex machina on the conclusion is so bad as to almost ruin the whole anime. Still, the overall package is probably average, above average if you have a fondness for old mech-suit series like Bubblegum Crisis or Guvyer.
Interlude: One of those intriguing anime like Lain that delivers mystery but not many answers, Interlude scores points with pretty eye candy and bizarre ideas, but generally spins its wheels to keep from spoiling the big finish. When the male protagonists finds out reality isn't all it's cracked up to be, he finds himself diving into an alien world of horror! and mystery! The problem is that most of the mysteries are left dangling without many answers, and though I'm glad it doesn't shy away from a dark conclusion. It's a fun ride while it's lasts, but it's one you look back on and realize you were on a wet'n'fun slippery slide when you really wanted to ride in a barrel off a waterfall. Nice character designs, though.
Gestalt: Probably the best of the night in question, this two-part OVA promises a sweeping epic that... well, it can never deliver in only two parts. But it does ofter some fun gags-n-sorcery akin to Slayers, with some nice riffs on Japanese RPGs. Very much does what Sorcerer on the Rocks wanted to be but failed. Also includes the requisite D&D references - carrion crawlers and dark elves - to fufill a solid geek quotient of some sort. Hey, carrion crawlers are in the public domain, aren't they?
Maetel Legend: I know the Captain Harlock anime is supposed to be a classic, but you'd never know it from this spinoff. Twenty minutes of animation and plot is dragged out to an excruiating eighty-five minutes. Dramatic speeches are repeated over and over in spirit if not in form - there's some pieces where they drag out a character's tragic fate about a half-dozen times, threatening some kind of resolution each time but just only dragging it out. The animation is similarly painful, with pieces of animation being run forth again and again and again - watch for the villain pouring and drinking wine with the sort of enjoyment for recycled animation that I suppose only his robotic nature could appreciate. Or any time a person is converted into a robot, they play the same repeating animation of the same people being converted into the same robots and dumped into the same bin while the same rats chew on their same mechanical parts while you, the viewer, are reduced to grinding your same teeth and throwing up your same hands in the same frustration each time. It also hammers in its pet theme - people becoming robots is bad, okay? - with the joy of beating a dead horse several whacks past horsey mush. I suppose if you're a Harlock devotee, you might enjoy the answers this movie provides, but don't hesitate with that fast-forward button.
Believe it or not, this is only a fifth of the stack of budget anime we're digging through. So... more to come, though probably at a much slower rate in the future. I have another set I just finished watching to review, though thankfully fewer to cover.
