Yoru no Yatterman – 02-03
Leopard Doronjo is going to laugh her minions into shape
Hey everyone, welcome back to out continued coverage of Yatterman Night! I hope everyone is enjoying this very rich and rewarding series…
Let’s Get Dingerous
Bellybutton Forte
You know, I was somewhat reluctant to write for the show by the second episode. Now if I had the opportunity, and if this was Gatchaman Crowds, I would have had little hesitation. The Time Bokan series and thus the Yatterman franchise has a huge legacy. I grew us with Gatchaman/Battle of the Planets, so I have some experience. But for this show, I felt a bit out of my depth. I can recognize the nostalgia factor, but you really cannot have that for something you’ve only just caught up on. But after watching the show a few times, I realized that there is some depth I could very much get into to it, and beyond that legacy, it very much has it’s own story to tell. You just have to trust Doronjo!
Ding all the things!
If the show was merely fun, that would be the end of it wouldn’t it? But there is such richness in both background and detail. The older series wear their animation just as you would expect after all this time. I’m happy to see that instead of updating the old look, they choose to evoke a different atmosphere, one fitting for the well rounded story they are setting out to tell.
But even with that in mind I quite enjoy the easiness factor of it all. Yes, Doraky can and will just create a mech out of whatever happens to be lying around, but don’t count on it lasting for long. It looks like giving and getting lumps, easy come easy go is the calling card for this program.
Yatter all the things!
There’s always a trade off. You’re in the top spot one second, and out-numbered and outclassed the next. But this does rather pay in to how they choose to update the series. Instead of a out-front hero, we have a legion of copies. Perhaps even of copies of copies; with no sense of discernment that a hero would choose to indulge in. This shift of focus, while at the same time keeping with comic relief, rounds out the viewing experience. Things remain mostly the same as they were from times of old. With that in mind, I’m hoping they start to evolve from here.
Just like old times….the trike of shame…
In the old series’ they would escape and live to fight another day. But it was later, rinse, repeat then. Now we get into something a little deeper and see how the gang is evolving from the cast-offs of legacy foes into something bigger than that.
Some NSFW angels
An embarrassment of angels
Leopard is packed into the plot…
I rather loved the introduction of Galina and Alouette. Both of them see the world quite differently even though their circumstances are roughly the same. Ally choose to see the angels and the hope of redemption. Galina only sees trouble. He’s willing to take a chance however, but only on the roll of the die; a plot device that I felt was rather forced even when he choose to give that up and make his own choices. But in the end, he ends up giving the gang a new direction. He shielded them from danger, and now they have the chance to pay that back. Team Rocket gets to be heroes!
Click the pic to see the amazing entrance..
There is nothing like coming back in style. The gang is here to blow bubbles and kick Yatter, and they won’t ever run out of either! I love this shift in tone, as we go from quite bleak to triumphant in just a few key scenes. It looks like the new Donborow has shifted gears and won’t take any off it lying down. So is Leopard an angel in search of someone to protect instead of giving into revenge? That would be a great way to tell this story.
They had to bring back that smile
Where does he get those beautiful toys?
No longer the trike of shame!
Final Thoughts
Well, I’ve been loving this series from the get-go. And despite my initial reluctance, I’m more than ready to take it on. Fosh has gotten me hooked on a great show, and it’s going to be fun covering it on my turn until the very end. Admit it, you love seeing a Team Rocket win the day, don’t you?
About skylion
All around nerd that enjoys just about any anime genre. I love history, politics, public policy, the sciences, literature, arts...pretty much anything can make me geeky...except sports. Follow me @theskylion
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
A naked LOLi is fine too.
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 140 comments
I watched three episodes of Yatterman when the Tatsunoko vs Capcom game was coming to Wii. That was my whole experience with the franchise, but this show stands well on its own even without any understanding of the many references. The people behind this show are telling a good story, one that benefits from its legacy without being dependent on it.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…but I still feel like a “bad nerd” Which is silly of me. It’s kinda like saying that my enjoyment of the 2000 era BSG would be blunted had I never watched the original 70’s show; which I grew up on.
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 110 comments
well indeed this is been like hidden sleeper good anime to watch really indeed everything you all know about yatterman world indeed “nothing is the same anymore”.
got wonder how evil are “yatterman” in it give wonder robots they got did SKYNET got happen in this series or went HAIL HYDRA on world?
overall 3eps in really going watch this & Funi dub coming soon on it.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I’ll go out on a limb here, but one of the things I admire about anime is that they try to show us a relationship between protagonist and antagonist without making it devolve to cheap good guy and bad guy tropes. Well, they do that as well, and did it with the original Yatterman somewhat.
But yeah, the Yatterbot’s are without discernment.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I don’t know whether to call them Team Rocket or Zvezda.
Yoru no Yatterman strongpoint after these three episodes is that it’s self-aware. It’s campy, absurd, completely out there and doesn’t try to take itself too seriously. I mean, causing a stir in a whole nation for a forehead flicking? One can’t help but laugh. It’s a good show and has its dramatic moments like Galina and Alouette dealing with the aftermath of losing their families. Him trying to move on but her refusing to accept reality by doting on a fantasy.
All the craziness can be overlooked for the sake of humor and entertainment but I wish they could do something about Doronjo’s laugh. It’s so fake, like she’s forcing herself and grates on my ears.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…Well, she’s a kid…she’ll grow into the laugh…
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Episode 2:
The Yatterman are it seems, a bunch of robotic clones that have basically taken over the land. However, was it just me or did they seem a little more sentient than your average robot minions?
The Yatter Kingdom honestly doesn’t seem to be any more prosperous than the place that Leopard lived. I wonder why it seemed better from across the river?
And the drying off scene with the two guys seemed rather weird and risque. However, that part at the end confused me a lot. I know the new girl is Alouette who is basically going to be the new Ai-chan (Yatterman-2), at least according to the show’s synopsis. However, the connection with Leopard’s mother, Dorothy is confusing. Is the dove or Allouette supposed to be her mother’s representation? Was Dorothy actually a descendant of the original Yatterman as well?
And really, how did the original Yatterman allow all of their mechanical creations to go this nuts?
The mystery begins…
Episode 3:
Man this story would be downright depressing if it wasn’t for the cheesy humor that keeps popping up.
Galina’s story about their families was quite a sad one. But that scene where he’s caught by the Yattermen and they were going to blow up their house was actually pretty creepy. If I was him, I would have picked the girl up and ran to the basement, forget talking.
It’s interesting that Galina and Allouette have the Yatterman necklaces on and don’t even know it. And the fact that Leopard keeps singing the Yatterman song that she says has been passed down through her family.
I’m actually wondering if they’ll do a switch and say that Leopard, Galina, and Allouette are the actual descendants of the Yatterman, and that the mechanical terrors that are out there now, were actually the product of the Dorombo gang’s schemes long ago. They were known to try to con and trick people any chance they could get.
I like the new uniforms and their entrance was awesome. Leopard and Allouette’s cute moments together were nice too, and as much as she likes to act in charge, she really is just a little girl who still needs someone to take care of her. We’ll have to see what happens next.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I thought the robots had a chilling touch to them, especially in the third episode when Galina engaged them.
I don’t know if they would mess with the lineages like that…but it’s an interesting idea.
As for how it got this way? From just a few viewings, it seemed like the original crew did the hero thing on the side, or when needed. Doesn’t exactly lend itself to a full time rulership…especially when they are all robot and mech crazy…