#mortar headd

[arcadebroke]

[alphamecha-mkii]

A-Toll Scritti Lineart by Nagano Mamoru

[shornsilk]

illustration of the Bang Doll from The Five Star Stories

[ttto-ok]

fan art for a thing that precisely two people love (one of them is me)

[the-bang-doll]

Excerpts of a writeup for the intro to the Sleeping Clotho Arc (The Japanese Volume 2), from Animag Magazine issue #8, published in 1989.  It provides a quick overview of the franchise and its author, before summarizing the events of this arc, with a very informative explanation of the LED Mirage written by the infamous Mark Simmons.  This is the first instance of an official English-language anime magazine publishing something about Five Star Stories to my knowledge.  

The full article and Animag issue it was published in can be read here, and provides great insight into the western anime fandom at the time:

http://animeofyesteryear.blogspot.com/2013/06/evidence-15-animag-saga-issue-8.html

[szmigiel]

Lego Mortar Headds

[fujimayu]

Jagd Mirage

[videoclip-vault]

[AMV] The Five Star Stories - Hitomi No Naka No FAR AWAY

[racsoronin]

¡Echa un vistazo!

Cuando el diseño de Mechas se convierte en un arte incomparable solo al alcance del MAESTRO Mamoru Nagano😍 Lo que daría por ver finalmente publicado el manga en español!🥺😭

[sneakyworks]

I tried to remake heels with cutting machine. More Five-stars Mortar Headd like. #gundam#gunpla #Qubeley https://www.instagram.com/p/CBpfMt2D9l1/?igshid=6loixwy06pwc

[rustysalamander]

One of my first FSS kits in forever. Obviously yellowed thanks to sitting in its box for who knows how long, but everything seems to be in order. When I first forayed into resin kits, I used brass rod to pin the parts together, but am planning on trying out piano wire this time. Supposedly lighter and more rigid (and cheaper) than brass, not that this model is particularly heavy. Eventually will need to get some putty for the inevitable surface correction hell, but today, will just clip off bits of flash and give everything a good scrub.

It feels nice to get back into this kind of stuff again, but I am not looking forward to essentially rebuilding a large portion of my toolbox.

[minazki5236]

Gothicmade Movie- A Story of Hope (Update: 2019/01/02)

Fortunately, I had a chance to see the movie “Hana-no Utame Gothicmade” (2012) in a theater with Dolby Atmos 9.1ch in late October, 2018. The movie is a part of The Five Star Stories (FSS) retconned in around 2014.

The author (and the Director of the movie) Mamoru Nagano insists that it would never become discs. Because he made it as a movie, so he really hopes the fans to see it in theaters. Then many domestic fans voted for the revival (there is some request service in Japan), and one of the results was the screening in 31 places in this autumn. I could attend to one of them.

The voting would be continued, but I think this was my last chance to see the movie. So I record my impressions while my memory is fresh. And it includes some spoilers.

*Some of spelling for proper nouns are my guess.

It was over my impression of FSS. It was so greater and more beautiful than I thought. I got utterly different impression from the teasers on YouTube. It was an art, not just a splendid anime movie. And the movie made my image of FSS world clearer.

I think there were two kinds of beauty on the surface. One was the nature, another was mechas. However, most beautiful to me was its theme- “hope”. I would like to write about these three beauties: nature, mechas, and “hope”.

Nature

I don’t have enough knowledge about other anime movies, but it was so impressive that how nature (and foods) was described beautifully with oriental music (taste of Middle Eastern). The pictures themselves (without music) reminded me of Hayao Miyazaki’s works like Nausicaa, Castle of Cagliostro, Totoro etc. But there was something difference. I felt “gentle wind” in these scenes. It was unique and tender. And in a certain scene, despite the hard rain, I felt softness from the screen. It might be related to the conversation of the characters- began to understand each other.

Mechas

Both GTMs and battleships sounded not only loudly, but also sensitively and deeply. I could feel “breath of mechas”. It was so cool.

Gothicmades (ex- Mortar Headds)

GTMs were driving with sounds of their engines roaring and sounds like so heavy heartbeats, as if they have a facet of organic lifeform.

Merrowra (ex- Neptune) It appeared in one shot, the moment of activation- her red eyes flashed with Sin-Fire (a gaseous lifeform to control GTMs)’s voice (like low male machine voice) to declare activation. Only by that, it created an impression that the machine was a beautiful and massive craftwork. It was so impressive.

Voldox (ex- Blau Cavalry (Blue Armor)) They were so cool and somehow weird more than my impression from the teasers.

Kaiserin (ex- Empress) It was far more beautiful than I thought. Not only for the figure, but also for well calculated timings of frequent flashes in the eyes and pointing laser beams.

Mark2 (ex- Speed Mirage) and Mark3 (ex- The Bang Doll) Their takeoff reminded me of arrival of Star Destroyers in Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017). (It was like a rewind of the arrival scene.) Anyway, it was so cool. I was excited like a boy.

Ships

The Battleship Schwalbe One of the main characters, Triharon led the ship. It was so impressive when it transformed for warp. The morphing was so beautiful. And I could see the outer space to which the ship went off, it was like a jewel box of colorful nebular. I wonder if the beauty is a metaphor of Triharon’s way.

Sailor Another main character, Berin was riding on the floating ship. It always went on the ground calmly. As if it showed her attitude always to be there for ordinary people.

“Hope”

I think there were themes of FSS I consider in the movie- “duality” (someone I know calls it like that, and I think that is a proper word) and its sublation (aufheben)- I call it “hope”. I think it’s not just a story of boy-meets-girl.

Hope in the Movie

Berin is “Utame”- a kind of prophet, a successor of memories of past Utames. She had finished to success the memories and leave for the City listening to and praying for people on the road by the floating ship, Sailor.

Triharon is the third Prince of the Donau Empire, a garrison state. He appeared at the beginning of Berin’s journey with the battleship Schwalbe taking in Gothicmades- a weapon of mass destruction. He declared that he would guard Berin requested by the United Planets. He insisted that assassination of Utame was planned.

At first, Berin and Triharon had opposite opinions from each other. Berin hopes for peace, but Triharon considered they couldn’t keep peace without military power.

Berin represented humanity. But like Triharon showed, her words sometimes came across poor and too romantic. Berin admitted later that she might be ineffective.

However, my impression was drastically changed in front of her dance to cast seeds. It was not just prayer for peace, but glorification of humanity. And there certainly was pleasure, not duty. I saw the true, the good and the beautiful in herself.

It was the moment that light side of the “duality” overwhelmed the dark side. I consider it is “hope”.

And this is the art which always intervenes to our hearts.

Hope, again

In the story, Berin said that Triharon and she had common term: their existence itself brought blood shedding. But I think they have another one: nobleness. Triharon’s nobleness might be symbolized by beauty of Kaiserin. So Utame Berin might say “What a beautiful robot…” in the incoherence (GTM is a weapon of murder).

At the end of the journey, Berin suggested something to Triharon to reduce blood shedding. Then successive Utames appeared and the beginning of them made a prophecy and showed his way. It supported Triharon.

I saw here “hope” again.

Curtain Call

It came to fruition at the “Curtain Call”. On the road with flowers to the City, Fatima Machi was walking flowingly. Flashing lights in her eyes apparently showed that she is not a human. The sounds like “Ring ring…” from her and the timing to emit laser beams from her Assiria Separate Suit were so beautiful. Est was as well.

At last, I certainly witnessed the moment Berin and Triharon’s promise was delivered.

Beautiful.

Obviously, I need more FSS movies.

EDIT (2019/01/02):

One thing I missed. Someone made me realize it. The movie doesn’t put much value on romance. Although this is a kind of boy-meets-girl story, the relationship of Berin and Triharon is more on a human-to-human basis. It is so natural to me, it is what I have longed for stories. I really love the facet of the movie.

[alphamecha-mkii]

Siren A Lineart by Nagano Mamoru

[gavinosbornedrors]

Monday Update.

Month of Mecha 2018: Mech #12.

The Gullfaxi Major - machine of Traze Erba Laplace - a renowned Lagrangian Marquis. 

Wanted to try my hand at that extravagant, delicate style of mech a la The Five Star Stories. I think I could have gone a little crazier and moved away from trying to look too much like a Mortar Headd. Happy with it, but I think I could have just stopped maybe halfway through and called it a day once the concept was concrete enough.

[sxpxrmxrgxr]

Internal Structure of Mortar Headd

[the-bang-doll]

An early draft of the LED Mirage B4 (Mighty Alpha) published in a 2001 issue of Newtype, with Fatima Atlas.