Anime Abandon: Amon Saga

[@cielopachirisu929]

Just because i think this is relevant, Japanese fascination with Western culture started with the Bakumatsu/opening of Japan's ports. This is a grand oversimplification, but in short many of them got their first look out into the world after the 200 years of isolation and were fascinated by the world-spanning empires of the 19th century Europeans. They were a medieval-ish culture that was awe-struck by these modern superpowers with strange technology. It ties in to why Japan was able to industrialize so fast and why they became the Empire under Meiji. They absolutely _gobbled up_ anything that was Western because they wanted to be _powerful_ like the Westerners. Euro-American fashions, food, art, etc all came into style at the time period and even Christianity was de-criminalized alongside the import of arms and technology. *TL;DR* I believe that a lot of Japan's Western cultural appropriation/fascination are descended from the trends that started in the Meiji period and just kinda never went away. Just a note as a response to what Sage said in the beginning as to why he was wondering there was so much European influence in Japanese media.

[@chazzwozzio]

Cielo Pachirisu huh. now we know!

[@toodeadtowatch]

And knowing is half the battle.

[@V4Now]

@@toodeadtowatch Geee-Eyyyye- JOOOOOOOOOE!

[@RabblesTheBinx]

very much agreed. In fact, one could even make a fairly compelling argument that the Meiji Restoration was a contributing factor to Japan's involvement in World War II, 70 years later.

[@ArkThePieKing]

Oh my god, I can't believe Yoshitaka Amano was the character designer for this. This is the same man that gave us the art direction for the first 6 Final Fantasy games. That is HILARIOUS.

[@LunarSpiral1127]

17:19 - 17:40 And I just died of laughter over how ridiculously hilarious that wizard battle was.

[@deltaknight2764]

If one of the wizards started chanting "lather, rinse, repeat", I would've died so hard, I would be sent to the after-afterlife.

[@locke103]

i just watched it high twenty minutes ago. and was awestruck.

[@katelynpringle5506]

Wait, giant turtles? owl-cats? Could this mean!? *three seconds later* YEEEEEEEEES! LAST AIRBENDER REFERENCE!

[@XylophoneHippi]

Is he a fan of Avatar the last airbender?

[@katelynpringle5506]

XylophoneHippi No clue. I don't know if he's ever even watched it.

[@BIGhappyG33]

I know Korra never happened but the title is Amon Saga and that's the reference he finds

[@MrWarners14]

Katelyn Pringle Not that shitty movie though.

[@faolan1686]

BIGhappyG33 I love Korra. Fine, it lacks the magic of the original but it's still good in its own right.

[@BlackLegion12621]

That Zoidberg impression was impressive.

[@DGray-gl3ed]

Surprisingly solid Zoidberg impression. Nice.

[@deltaknight2764]

I never knew all you had to do make a good Zoidberg is to pull one of your cheeks. I even tried it, and the impression was spot-on!

[@Kyuthereaper]

I lost it with the Avatar reference and had to stop the video so I wouldn't miss anything said afterwards. Anyone else laugh that hard at this?

[@thefruitsong]

Kyuthereaper For me it was "fuck off babeh"

[@zwei3179]

Gabe makes this so fucking funny. The duo parts of sage and Gabe, just make it laughing gold

[@khimeraQ]

Sage you have to talk about Berserk now. I want to hear you talk all about it from its graphic violence to Griffith's complicated character and how the story hasn't moved an inch in years.

[@PancakemonsterFO4]

And it's graphic violation by the reboot

[@HouseLyrander]

It's funny you should call Amon Saga a collection of tropes gathered from D&D campaigns because Record of Lodoss War, the grandaddy of all Sword & Sorcery anime, was literally a retelling of the creators' D&D campaign.

[@joedredd1168]

J.R.R. Tolkien's influence has stretched far and wide, even the animation genre of a small Eastern Asian island cannot escape Tolkien.

[@Nagoragama]

"That was a bad shot." Yes. It was also a hilarious shot, it made me laugh so hard I had to pause the video.

[@anjetto1]

.......................... ........... what?

[@locke103]

@@anjetto1 they're doing that thing they intended on doing earlier, so we know the thing that this thing is. ...why so surprised, amon?

[@zeroterry000]

I actually think the shot at 16:34 is really well done. The camera follows Griffith's reflection in Darkseid's sword as opposed to Griffith himself during Darkseid's initial attack. After rushing past Griffith, Darkseid is left open for Griffith's counter attack, if you map it out their interaction here makes sense.

[@SilverFeet]

Gygax will never learn how much damage the owlbear did to the fantasy genre.

[@piccolo56000]

soooo Griffith? darkseid? a navi? a garados? WTF?

[@RabblesTheBinx]

The Berserk/DC/Avatar/Pokémon crossover that nobody wanted.

[@Thegreatarrowguard12]

1. Was about to go to bed. 2. Was wondering when the next video was happening an hour ago.

[@connerstallcup8673]

Thegreatarrowguard12 same

[@theperuvianX]

So the green guy is basically the "mysterious stranger" of amon saga.

[@jetfire851]

The Na'Vi guy should've been nicknamed "Yonto"--half Yondu, half Tonto.

[@GabyGeorge1996]

Doug Glassman fun fact: in the comics, yondu was originally a Native American stereotype

[@asher8754]

Yup and now he’s a southern stereotype. Ah progress

[@jamieriley8444]

11:43 - It's the legendary black beast of *SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!*

[@VoldasTeperas]

10:12 that face had me on the floor

[@Altamyr]

Two years later, the bit at 15:46 and Sage's response still make me crack up. Holy shit, who scripted that zoom-in. It's so terrible. I love it.

[@wretneck]

I erupted into song when I saw the episode posted. Too long of a wait, Bennett... too long- Gah!! you have a goatee now!

[@tripleA2334]

Wretneck you see this is evil sage.

[@laststrike4411]

I reacted pretty much the same.

[@maunze336]

He dodged the sword, that was coming down to him and jumped on the right sight of his oponent in the air;, the camera followed the reflection and changed the position to a pov until he came down again. Interesting idea for a shot - I think I 'll steal it :)

[@brownwindedangel]

It's interesting as a shot but poorly executed but I'm glad someone figured it out I was so confused by this

[@maunze336]

You're welcome :)

[@lolnahnvm208]

How confused you are by a probably is indicated by how much attention you're paying or how much you would know about art. If you don't get it, that doesn't mean it's poorly executed. That's a point of view that leads to watered down bulshit dominating the market.

[@anjetto1]

​@@lolnahnvm208 showed up 3 years late just to be a dick. excellent work

[@LION0410]

Glad,you are healthy Sage ,Welcome back :)

[@krausercruz2780]

You can create all the sad backstory you want but you will never beat BEING BORN FROM THE HANGING CORPSE OF YOUR MOTHER. Men i have to watch Beserk

[@Formoka]

That's a damn good Zoidberg impression.

[@TheKrensada]

I'm happy to see this show's return. Welcome back Sage.

[@Jasonwolf1495]

I know its dumb, but I'm proud to say that I now know that wasn't water behind the window it was waving grass. they were on a landship. I thought it looked like grass, and then later they mention landships.

[@HazyTown01]

Glad to see you're back, Sage

[@DarksideEXE]

"You want a hair cut? Why not Zoidburg?"

[@Rune9510]

Glad to have you back Sage! We missed you!

[@sathanasluciferii]

I'm surprised you didn't do a "Big Trouble in Little China" reference during the weird mumbling wizard fight.

[@salokin3087]

hmm.. i wonder what would happen if Sage and Demo walked into the same room. Both like the same stuff. Both spit on the current industry in a non-hipster fashion. Well, i guess i can only dream...

[@HEYREZI]

demo would beat the shit out of Sage for shit-talking Evangelion

[@salokin3087]

Revan Joestar i think they could get a mutual relationship thanks to Jin Roh

[@kestrelmerriweather392]

Yeah if Demo were ever in the show it would just be a small clip of him bring out his inner Rob Paulson and choking him for the EVA reviews.

[@CornishCreamtea07]

Sage exposes people to an endless amount of forgotten old crap, Demo lives blissfully unaware of it all. That there is the biggest difference between the 2 of them.

[@bgcorporation]

Salokin Sekwah Who's Demo?

[@gnomeconspiracy2122]

The Heroic Legend of Arslan came out as an anime last year, and I liked it a lot.

[@Crowley9]

Oh, this anime! I saw this years ago. All the entertainment value me and others watching it gained were from comedy value, whether intentional or not.

[@sabata2]

Oh jesus Bennet I laughed too damn hard at the 10 minute mark.

[@CD-Gaming]

I'm almost struggling to decide whether those behind this were bigger Discworld or Monty Python fans! Actually, come to think of it, if it were the former then we would have a Death character sounding suspiciously like Sir Christopher Lee with a sense of humour so dry you could build a house out of it! Or a steady foundation for this Animé's plot and why do I suddenly sense I've inspired someone there?

[@HangmanOfficialUploads]

So in a nutshell, the king cured the queens protein deficiency.

[@Mattteus]

given the state California is in, 'Almond Saga' may be an awesome story

[@deltaknight2764]

12:29 I was really hoping for it to be the manly dude who just threw the spear/arrow.

[@OnDavidsBrain]

12:29 Why it's the Mysterious Stranger's fantasy intern.

[@danielramsey6141]

Damn! Even when its crap, you gotta love that Yoshitaka Amano Artwork on the front cover, as well as the character designs. This anime has his touch all over it :)

[@nightmarefanatic1819]

I'm waiting for a Record of Lodoss War episode.

[@SUPERMATT5546]

Only 9 more?Wouldn't it make more sense to recruit all of them?Isn't that the point of an army,to have strength in numbers?

[@JoaqMan]

Amon Saga sounds like a bad Legend of Korra fan fic

[@AngelicalSebastian]

StupidWizardFilms So...Legend of Korra: book 4?

[@marche800]

Dammit you're right!

[@PrinsaVossum]

AngelicalSebastian HA! So true.

[@gamezharks]

AngelicalSebastian you win

[@X_Blake]

***** Book 4 seems to be everyone's favorite book

[@smallbackyard]

It's great to have you back Bennett, hope you are feeling better.

[@kyubihanyou]

The unsinkable J. David Brimmer as this dub's saving grace. Unsurprising, but always fun to watch this guy do his thing.

[@dwainsimmons3447]

Adult 4kids!

[@Theevil6ify]

Ha, I swear to God, as soon as I heard "owl-cat", I immediately thought of Avatar too. I also get why he wouldn't wanna do it (since it's not really anime and isn't like the rest of the content he reviews) but maybe he could give his thoughts on it in general for "Not Quite Anime" month.

[@MrGlenbw]

8:13 - I AM A MAN!!!

[@Vix584]

This is one of your best shows I've seen yet! Holy crow I haven't laughed this hard in ages!

[@IrieMangaStudios]

Would like Sage to do a sword & sorcery month of Record of the Lodoss War, Ruin Explorers, Those Who Hunt Elves, Bastard!, Sorcerer Hunters, and Slayers (maybe the movies since he doesn't go into long series past 26 eposodes i.e. Trigun, Outlaw Star, Cowboy Bebop)

[@theaterhobo]

17:20 I haven't laughed this hard in such a long time. Thank you.

[@AldousShitbird]

The owlcat bit almost made me choke on my cereal

[@Ecthelion_2nd]

That reference just happens to be on my favorite album from that band. Making Movies

[@mr.gunzaku437]

I believe it's because the Japanese love for dungeons & dragons and other such role-playing games. They created the Fighting Fantasy game in response Deedlit, who originated as a character in one such game session, wanted nothing more than to steal Parn's magic sword. She even got him killed to get it! Lol!

[@thatonebritishidiot3037]

11:28-11:30 a wild gyrados has appeared!go anime pretty boy!

[@aceotaku]

I kinda like the desert imagry in some of this and want more fantasy with desert/egyptian themes and imagry. also, Illithids

[@maxbrandt6]

Something tells me Bennett fondly remembers the "Space Mutiny" episode of MST3k!

[@roys.1889]

I miss Reb Brown and Spoony :(

[@0n1baka]

You know I thought you were making another one of your jokes but that seriously is Darkseid plus now I know where James Cameron got the inspiration for Avatar

[@DJVirgoNeun1]

8:35 My god, she's a horrible mother! Really?! I would take revenge after someone throws me around like a fucking yam sack? XD

[@jeebay5188]

Unfortunately the OVA of Amon Saga much like others of the 80’s-90’s suffers from the presumption that you’ve read the Manga or watched the TV show.

[@uptown710]

Did he say “Thanks ho” to the glitch in the matrix?

[@VikingFyre]

love the MST3K reverences

[@edbateyjr.517]

The 1st in one of my favorite reviews to watch!👍🏾

[@GC-zd7im]

My initial thought when I saw this video uploaded was "YAY SAGE IS BACK :D" But yes, good review! Can't wait until the next one ^__^

[@RunyaEithelNar]

Thank gods for yt version! Blip lately is acting weird for me and videos are so jumpy it's no fun :( [I'm not from USA,so I don't have ads].

[@courtneywoodbury5198]

Sometimes random timing can be freaking amazing. I was firing up a steam game while watching this and got this little exchange: "Who's there?" "Welcome to Bookworm Adventures!" It just cracked me up for some reason.

[@falconJB]

I think I played in this campaign. The Navi was a guy I knew that always showed up late because of work, and then fell asleep after playing for 15 minutes.

[@cowabungajumba2981]

Loved it. Laughed my ass off like always. Any idea if you guys plan on doing a Slayers review?

[@kaihedgie]

Didn't think I'd hear a Mortal Kombat 4 reference in Anime Abandon

[@TheJboy88]

Nice to have you back, Bennett.

[@deltaknight2764]

The Owl-Cat/Avatar bit was glorious.

[@piccolo56000]

the spell part killed me....

[@Demonjazz420]

... Wow. I was kind of taken aback by that beard of yours Bennet. I've just been so used used to clean shaven Bennet.

[@Madtrixr]

the face bennett made after gabe said the thing from ATLA nearly killed me. Like legit choking to death from lack of air from laughing too much.God damn.

[@ravinnox2640]

I Remeber picking this up from best buy around 2001 and liking some of the ideas like the kingdom on the turtles back and the land ships and then thinking man those need to be in a better film lol

[@Greatnowwhat32]

Great video I think I found an anime OVA may just fit the show format for a review it called Hon Ran or its English Title Crimson Wolf.

[@striker6677]

I get the feeling that if the title was translated as intended that it probably have some more Christian and demonological undertones, Amon is one of Lucifer's top lieutenants in the mythos, and in the Devilman manga, (remember that two episode anime you reviewed) it was reviled that Devilman had initially fused with Amon and could possible go toe to toe with the devil himself. It bugs me how may titles try to make something else out of Amon, but I never knew until I read Devilman and decided to read about the named demon hierarchy, so I guess I can't blame people for stumbling into it.

[@Phos9]

In that shot: Ungriffith is seeing his reflection in darkside's (spelling intentional) sword to emphasize how close the blow was, I think its an uncharacteristically good bit of composition.

[@1123adam]

U forgot my fav medival anime and it's in the DVDs behind u .... Slayers !!!!

[@musicalDrebin]

0:47 AH A GOATEE! huh it actually looks pretty badass on him. go figure.

[@cloudmatt11]

YES! ROBOT JOX REFERENCE!!!...thank you Sage.

[@TheFrugalVideoGamer]

Honestly, the shot with the stab was a bit confusing, but not hard to parse - Proto-Griffith dodged to the near side of the sword, then it shifts to his perspective as we watch his reflection moving behind the guy.

[@DarthBobCat]

Welcome back. Like the soul patch.

[@22freedom33]

Any bad anime would become better with a Deus Ex Navi, seriously just picture that guy in M.D. Geist lol

[@andrewhamilton4452]

DIRE STRAITS!!!

[@joemcl3224]

Please please please do the last Airbender sires. Its been too long with out one anime that was actually good

[@dah3071]

judging from the angle the camera was at and the fact that it looked like a wave motion in the animation the room wasn't underwater just looking down on it

[@LimakPan]

I'll newer get over the fact that the intro to Anime Abandon is perfect for first 10 seconds, and then too long for next 30.

[@thebrownwolf]

I don't care how it sounds. The Engineer playes an awesome angry black man XD

[@CrimsonFox36]

15:50 That was Incredible! :'D

[@puppymolly123]

I may have just snagged a free copy of this on vhs. Really hope it works out cuz this actually looks pretty entertaining.

[@AquaLantern]

15:50 *Wayne's World* Extreme Close Up! WOAAAOOOOHHHHHHHH!!!

[@GuraKruor]

Well, I watched Amon saga some years ago when I was marathoning Yoshitaka Amano works and it was, indeed, weird yet I like it for some unknown reason. Because the mention of how japanese people depicted medieval fantasy as pseudo european made me remember of Arslan Senki (which has four OVAs) and Escaflowne: A girl in Gaea (which is not too old but kinda unknown for most people I've talked to). PS: As a side note, how do you choose the movies you review?

[@guilhermesfk]

Good to see you bac... AHH!!! GOATEEH!!!

[@Reacted1991]

you should review the original heroic legend of arslan 6 episode series since they are remaking it now

[@tiger98gamer62]

10:34 Her hair is ridiculous and it looks like Zoidburg's face in Futurama. Daithi de Nogla had the Zoidburg mod in Gmod and died in 2015.

[@Tareltonlives]

Oh my god, this anime's up there with Garzey's Wing in terms of silliness.

[@Tareltonlives]

Tareltonlives Including AVATARCEPTION

[@willjace789]

"Greener pastures" my butt.

[@CrimsonMenace1]

He returns, for a second I thought he was going to be doing a Gigguk