Goshogun: Time Etranger

Summary: >

Following an accident Remy lays in a coma. As comrades and former enemies gather, they wonder if she'll survive. In Remy's head a different struggle unfolds. She finds herself and colleges trapped in a strange city. She's warned that she'll die in a matter of days and there's no escape. A series of premonitions unveils just a few of the gruesome ways she might die. Can she escape fate?

Thoughts: >

Goshogun is a giant robot show which got merged with another random anime to form Macron 1 which I've never seen nor heard of, but seriously watch the intro. Okay, it's no Saber Rider but what is? Actually the Japanese Version is pretty good too. Man I haven't seen any of these, I should have done something productive with my youth like watching more awesome cartoons. ANYWAY, I'm assuming most would see this movie with no idea how the franchise goes. While the character back stories would be useful, this anime doesn't have much to do with the previous Goshogun stuff. So what is Time Etranger? I'm not entirely sure, and I watched the whole thing.

It's pretty gutsy to take a giant robot show, then make a movie featuring none of that content. Instead this is something like a psychological horror thing. Moreso it's a Remy fan service thing. However lacking experience with Goshogun means, you won't be invested in whats going on. This puts pressure on the characters and story to stand on their own.

The characters are kinda bad. Remy herself was passably interesting, with her tale of a fight against destiny. Some of Remy's premonitions I found blood curdling, so I think it does well in this regard, but only in parts. Mostly the story meanders, while occasionally giving flashbacks of Remys youth. By the end, the movie felt very very long, and the finally was expectedly lame. Don't even get me started on Remy's unbelievably idiotic use of her pistol, I've already deleted two paragraphs bitching about it to spare you.

I will however point out that the whole reason Remy is in a coma is because she avoided hitting a small bird on the road, and thus ended up engulfed in a high speed car crash ball of flame. For a bird.

For Japanese audiences perhaps Time Etranger provides an intriguing take on a show they're familiar with, but it doesn't stand well enough on its own. I'm not sure I'd say it's bad, but it certainly requires context to "get".

Screen Caps: >