Posted in the Starfist Fourm. A fourm that I've been part of since I was 17 in late 2007. It was my very first fourm and I am good friends with some of the hard core fans. StarFist is now a cancelled book series about marines of the Confederaton of Worlds who go on very interesting campaigns and realistic characters. I have every book in the series, including the sub series about Force Recon Marines...yes those tough SOB's. Seals ain;t got nothing on those guys. Written by a marine infantryman and also a army intelligence officer who both served in the Vietnam War. That's right not Afghanistan or Iraq but Vietnam....you know the war with the North Vietnamese? You know....the one with the bad guy named Charlie. Yes.....
That war. The series is about a platoon of marines and each book focuses on a different character or group of characters in that series. Very realistic, please PM me for my personal list of favorite military sci fi books and I'd gladly tell you. Two weeks ago the owner Mike and I started talking about Anime once again and I thought he'd like my personal review of one of the best drawn but worst plot for a anime short. Oh I forgot to mention, the guys who wrote StarFist well one of them is writing a new series called the Dogs of War first book is Issue In Doubt. Same formula but oh sweet plot and different characters. There's even a sentence that makes fun of the E.U.'s sensitivity
Don't get upset Lamond we all know the U.K. has good troops. nnd here are the links for the first book StarFist and the first book for Dogs of War. He's publishing a short story at the moment for Dogs of War and is now writing second novel for the Dogs of War.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345406222/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2/176-1429745-2778323?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_r=1HA8RRKWE0X4R3ZY90X5&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=1535523722&pf_rd_i=B000FBFOICwww.amazon.com/Issue-Doubt-David-Sherman/dp/1937051463/ref=la_B000APC3AU_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380837891&sr=1-1www.amazon.com/Dogs-War-David-Sherman/dp/1937051056/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380837936&sr=1-9&keywords=Dark+Quest%2C+LLCRe: Anime
Postby Skink » Tue Oct 01, 2013 1:17 pm
In case you missed it.......
Now that we’ve all seen the matrix anime or the episode known as “The Second Renaissance” I have lots of noticed many plot holes as well as some unrealistic things happening. If you haven’t seen the link that I posted above please watch it and then come here as I go deeper than the reviewer…who is also very funny.
So the anime starts in the year 2090 or so and man have made many machines, this includes robots. This includes construction robots that are used to build buildings or structures for man. In one scene we see a group of at least tens or hundreds of many humanoid robots pulling, yes…PULLING a giant slab up a building. This is a image from the slaves who built the pyramids of Egypt. Ok so 2000 years ago they didn’t have the technology to lift that heavy of an object that high. But this is 2090….isn’t there oh I dunno a new invention called a Crane? You haven’t heard? Yes a crane, and only for $4000 dollars! It will lift enormous objects for you without you trying to break your back. Amazing isn’t it? Another scene with the construction robots shows them walking or rather goose stepping to a job site. And a car that passes bye throws a bottle of some sort hitting a robot who wipes it off like nothing happened.
1. Why have humanoid robots pull a large slab? It’s a waste of time and more importantly money. Don’t those idiotic humans want the project to be built on time. I’m sure whoever designed the building said “Ok according to the plan it should be finished in four years”. Wouldn’t that double or even triple the time it’d take to build it, the robot had to work in large groups with one another. Weren’t there other jobs. Also why do they have hard hats?
2. Why are the robots walking to a job site….or rather if they aren’t why are they walking off one. Isn’t there an on site storage area that is practically on the job site? They could easily be shut down after the work hours and placed into containers or whatever they have to store robots in the future.
3. Why wear hard hats again?
So as we continue to go through the anime, we also see a robot butler in a club and or bar who is treated as a second class citizen. People push him and throw items on the ground. I’ve been to a club before(shocking I know and it was only once. I could barely hear myself, never saw anyone treat the waiter like a piece of shit) The robot is barely even noticed by the humans and this is a waiter mind you. This brings up images for me of groups in history that were discriminated against: Jews in Europe before WWII, various slaves of the ancient world, and blacks after slavery was abolished but before the civil rights movement….You know when everyone was separated.
The story then get’s interesting in the next few scenes. We see a news report about the first robot to kill a human. A butler or house keeping robot murdered it’s own master. Now I went on the matrix wikia and according to it the robot found out it was going to be replaced by a newer model. So the robot then has an idea to kill the human in the house or apartment. It kills two people and the dogs in the household. The robot is then placed on trial where the court finds it guilty and executed. I’ll get into what happens after this but let’s analyze this
1. Why did the robot decide it’d kill the human, why didn’t it just leave the household/run away. And why kill the human in the first place, nothing would come of it. Didn’t it know that it would be breaking one of the three laws of robotics and furthermore if it had A.I. then I’m sure it knew that there was security camera footage (as seen in the video) that it would of first disabled the footage or erased the tape and bury the bodies or dispose of them in some way
2. Why did the owner even tell the robot in the first place. If I want a new dog I don’t say to Dottie “sorry Dottie I love you but your 11 years old, it’s time to get a new Dalmatian” Nope I wouldn’t tell her at all. Yes I know that she can’t talk but why tell a robot you will replace it
3. If the owner didn’t say anything to the robot then how did the robot find out about it. Ok maybe over conversation and the robot picked up on it. But telling your lover or friend you will get a new one while it is activated or around you is just stupid
The execution of this robot then causes riots around the world because at the same time. The courts decide that every robot with A.I. must be destroyed. People and robots alike protest this decision and are brought down by the man…..that’s 70’s term for government. I’m sure Mr. Mike knows about the man. So as this goes on we see the governments of the world then killing…..or rather destroying (I hate it when ppl say “Yeah I killed that tank” no you idiot it is not living it’s a thing it is destroyed. “Yeah I destroyed that tank”) the robots and begin a worldwide campaign of genocide against the robots. The militaries' shoot or crush them, police as well. The robots are then buried under water or underground in mass graves. In one scene we see a similar sequence of a man holding a pistol to a robot before it is executed on TV. The scene is actually from the Vietnam War where a South Vietnamese police chief or captain during the Tet Offensive puts a pistol to a Vietcong spy or saboteur. Another scene we see a bull dozer pushing the robots into a massive pit. This is from various genocide pictures so take your pick.
1. Why did the governments all obey one court. Was it the world court? The anime never said it was a world court. If so why broadcast it over the television screen wouldn’t it make sense to have the court case blacked out, or send the order secretly by mail or something. Just saying I know it’s not realistic but eh.
2.Was it the U.S. Supreme Court? The shot showed the U.S. Capitol Building…..you know where Washington D.C. is…you know the seat of the former greatest super power…U.S.A.? I’m asking this because if it was the Supreme Court and it ruled that the robot was to be executed as well as all robots around the nation, why did the world decide to destroy the robots that they also had.
3.Why oh why wasn’t there an off switch. Companies, especially software companies usually have plans to deal with bugs if something goes wrong they have a plan on how to fix it or pull it off the shelves. Didn’t any company that created A.I. robots have a plan in case this did happen where they could turn them off at once or over time
4.Did humans get idiotic or something? Dumping metal into the environment is bad. I know some of us aren’t fans of the U.S. government here but the EPA was created for a reason. Also common sense here is not used. Dumping metal into a ground will kill the area around it, such as the grass and contaminate the soil. This also brings into question how it’d effect the humans living in the area. Even if the remains of robots were dumped in the ground where a landfill was wouldn’t the surrounding community suffer some sort of side effect over the years? Also dumping them into water…any kind of water whether fresh, recycled or sea is just stupid. The chemicals in the water would kill people and someone would sue the organization that did that…or the government that allowed it. Not to mention the workers themselves wouldn’t they suffer from disease over the coming years and eventually sue for environmental cancer. Haven’t these people ever heard of recycling? Yes recycling the newest fad in the USA where liberals and tree huggers alike want to save the world. I’m kidding no but seriously recycling is one of the coolest things ever, and everyone loves it at least to my knowledge whether you are a believer in climate change or not. Woah went too far there!
With the humans now destroying every A.I. robot on the planet around 2100 the remaining robots migrate for somewhere to live They decide to migrate to Saudi Arabia where they then build the first machine city named “Zero One” or 01. The city prospers and makes goods so the robots can trade with the humans. Seems to me that the bad robots are becoming my former foes: Capitalists! No I’m not a commie anymore you all know that but yes. The robots are trading with the humans and making money. They build lots of things on the cheap and invent the hover craft (see the matrix films and watch the ship that neo is on. Any of the films have the hover craft) Analyzing time!
1. What happened to destroying every robot on the planet. I thought the humans wanted every robot destroyed. And how did they even get to Saudi Arabia in the first place. They’d have to pass through Israel, Jordan, Yemen, Oman, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Egypt and oh yeah SAUDI ARABIA. Why did any of these countries allow any robot in to come through their own borders. Weren’t they enforcing a law that was supposed to destroy ever robot. How did the robots manage to even get there in the first place. Ok swarms of them came through but didn’t the humans see the robots on satellites or hear them on radio. Some how Saudi Arabia allowed the robots to build their own city. Why? Why did the Saudis allow them to go into their country when it’s illegal to have AI robots. Wouldn’t that break the law of a court order either U.S. or U.N. Wouldn’t there be armies rushing into the place as the robots gathered there
2. How did the robots manage to build a city that fast? Minerals are hard to come by in the middle east I’m not a geologist I’m a historian. I understand economics, government/politics and my personal favorite…warfare. But even an idiot in geology like me understands. Were did the machines get all of their own metal to construct their own city in the first place? Hello I thought the middle east didn’t have that much of a metal deposit. I mean everything is made of some sort of metal . You only have a few seconds of screen time to look but all I saw was a large metal city. No glass…concrete etc. Metal. Wouldn’t the rest of the world forbid 01 from getting metal in the first place, or place police and military around deposits of known metal areas. How fast can you build a city? Rome wasn’t built in a day it was built over thousands of years
3. So ok the robots want to be like the humans. Come again? Why are the robots interested in making money. And why do they even want an economy? Aren’t machines smart and realize that they would be better off not trading with the humans anyways because the humans just tried to destroy them. They are trading with a race that tried to wipe them out. Why make money, and why even have an economy. What do the robots gain from this besides money, wouldn’t it be good to just worry about 01 and not the rest of the world?
4. Why is man now trading with the robots. I thought a few decades before that the humans wanted to destroy every single robot. The economists of the world must know that the robots would outproduce them in every sector so why bother having them as a trading partner. So why trade with them. And wouldn’t the evil CEO’s and presidents of companies know that having deals with robotic companies out produce them? Ok so maybe I still don’t like some business people *Cough*Koch family*Cough*
5. If economists knew this, this also brings into question. Why did the leaders of every nation or most nations decide to trade with 01. I thought the court ordered every robot to be destroyed, wouldn’t there be some sort of law that prevented any sort of trade. But national leaders must of realized that if they traded with 01 then that would in turn destroy their own economy at home. Millions upon millions of people would loose their jobs, companies would go out of business, and in turn bring down the economy. So again… why trade with something that you just tried to destroy
Eventually with 01 exports becoming dirt cheap on the economic market, this leads to a global collapse of the economy and the U.N. meets to try and solve this new problem. The machines send two ambassadors a humanoid male and female, the female carries an apple with her. However even before the machine ambassadors are allowed to speak, the pissed off humans of the U.N. have security kick them out. The machines were most likely going to join the U.N. why didn’t the General Assembly allow them to even speak. The machines were there to help the world solve the economic crisis, and the U.N. just pushed them out without hearing anything! So then why did they even say to 01 “Yes please send your ambassadors over” and then just kick them all out? WTF man
With the U.N. enforcing a economic blockade, the situation eventually spirals out of control and we see WW1 type bombers bombing 01 with numerous nuclear weapons. I counted 13 nuclear bombs that exploded on the city. So somehow the machines (which were inside EMP shelters) then rebuilt the city and started to conquer the world thus starting the war with mankind. The war began around 2139 with 01 creating a massive army. By 2142 the robots have half of Africa, most of Europe and are all th way to china as you can see in the video. With humanity loosing, the scientific community had an idea about how to stop the production of robots from 01 and eventually halt the armies. In their desperation, the leaders of mankind decide to launch Operation Dark Storm. Operation Dark Storm was supposed to be spread over where the machines had conquered human territory. Small nonobots would block out the sunlight that supplied the machines with power and eventually 01 would shut down, this would be launched at the same time across all areas of the frontline. The armies of mankind were ready to fight the machines and this time, they’d finally win.
Before I show the battle clip let’s go over a few things
1. How did the armies of mankind fall this fast to the machines. I thought that every nation decided it’d be best of no machines were around. Didn’t they have troops outside 01 and then move in after the bombs had been dropped.
2. Ok so maybe the human armies weren’t laying siege to the city and it just got bombed, how did the machines produce an army…I’m sure that man has satellites that can watch anything, so why were they allowed to produce an army.
3. In all of history many empires have tried to conquer Europe. The Romans couldn’t do it, the Persians couldn’t do it, The Muslims couldn’t do it, The Mongols couldn’t do it, Bonaparte couldn’t do it, Hitler nor Stalin couldn’t do it. The reason is because Europe is so vast and the people so protective that it’s impossible to conquer all of it. How did the machines get this far in a matter of 2 years? What…were the armies of man fighting amongst themselves
4. How did 01 get all the material for war production, and don’t tell me it’s all recyclable. Not everything can be constantly recycled before giving out.
5. How come the nuclear weapons didn’t do jack to the machines. When a nuclear bomb goes off the pressure, heat is so intense it melts things at the center and at the edge things are thrown around and fire. The robots inside 01 wouldn’t of survived even in their EMP bunkers. The bombs would most likely destroy whatever shelter the machines had. And if everything is destroyed where did the machines get the parts to rebuild 01. You can only cannibalize so much before you need a fresh mineral deposit of resources to build something. Again where did 01 get the materials to build an army. Weren’t the humans at war with them they must of seen the machines building an army so why not attack again with ground and air forces.
6. According to the matrix wikia a majority of human weapons are solar powered…so why not think of something else to stop the machines. If you cut of the sun, you’ll have very little left to fight robots.
And now we come to the epic climax of the Second Renaissance the battle.
Before I lay out the details please watch this. If it is blocked or deleted then please watch the review that I found on youtube
Here we see what looks like Mongolia or on the border of China and India. We see a large trench network with EMP artillery emplaced and numerous troops. We also see different religions. Catholicism or Christianity in general Buddhist monks praying with troops and Muslims bowing as a M1 Abrahams tank passes them just as the sun is setting. Mechanics are preparing the Mechs or Armored Personnel Units otherwise known better as APU. There are also camera crews giving shots of the human armies preparing to what is supposed to be the final campaign of the war. As the scene closes, we then see the bombers arrive over head and start to disperse the nano botic machines that will block out the sun. The cloud is only supposed to cover where the armies of the machines are, however it soon encloses the world. Oh did I mention there is no off switch?
1. In the beginning of the scene as the camera pans over the trench line we hear on loud speaker “Lieutenant Ganem report to the ops center. Lieutenant Ganem to the ops center” If I heard his name wrong please let me know that is what I hear. I know that in the military they are very strict about audio, such as radio or in this case loud speakers. Isn’t it dumb to announce to the entire trench network that a mere lieutenant has to report to a ops center. I am assuming by ops center they mean a place for the higher offiers such as Majors and Colonels to get their info and then tell the various captains. A lieutenant if I remember is in charge of a platoon. Why not just tell this lieutenant in a briefing with his platoon in person with his captain or say it over radio, not loud speaker. Or a messenger, courier. Shouldn’t the captain of the company tell his people what to do. And why report him to an ops center , all he’ll need to know is you go here and take this target or defend it. Now I’ve never been in the military but I’ve seen read enough military documentaries, military books and spoken to people from the military that having a loud speaker announce for a lieutenant is just…unrealistic. And heck my own fourm based RPG has more realism than this, I may not know every single correct word about military jargon but we get it right 95% of the time. I research before I do anything. Isn’t there strict rules in the military about communication, weren’t the human armies worried about leaks. Sure this is just one instance but just from that being said the machines might be able to pinpoint where the sound came from and find the human base or defense line quicker.
2. Trenches. What is this World War One, or the American Civil War Redux? Really? Why build trenches and fight the machines who will be out there in the field. The machines would and do eventually win in close quarters combat and the trenches are more like a death trap if anything and offer little or no protection at all. The Sentinels can easily fly over the trenches and then descend amongst the human armies very easily.
3. The M1 Abhrams Tank is a remarkable piece of machine of warfare. But they were produced back in the 1980s. The machine war starts around 2139 so you are telling me that we haven’t made a new tank in 150 years (estimated). Why not just send some panzers instead? No but really the tank should of already been decommissioned by now and a newer model should of taken it’s place.
4. The APU’s that are seen in my opinion are very….clumsy. Yes they have jet boosters that allow them to fly distances but I noticed they have a very hard time turning around and it’s slow for the arms to lift and fire rounds into a target. Also on the Matrix wika it explains that the APU’s were supposed to be used in NBC combat (Nuclear Biological and Chemical) which is why the APU has a hatch. Nothing wrong with hatches if anything it might protect the operator for a few seconds in combat. Didn’t the humans make better APU’s during this time instead of using other ones from the last war, they’d been fighting the machines for two years. We eventually made the MRAP or however you spell it after constant IED attacks before 2009 came along. Took us a while but we adapted
The battle begins, Infantry charge at the robotic armies, with support from artillery, APU’s and Tanks. The beginning goes well with the human soldiers winning against humanoid robots. Further into the battle, the Sentinals, Harvestors and mobile arti pieces from the robotic armies. The infantry are no match against the newer machines, and the Tanks are easy targets. I found it funny however when the large mobile machine arti pieces destroyed the human arti. Dunno why, maybe it’s because they are in the shape of a pyramid. The humans are becoming overwhelmed and the brass begin to send in nuclear weapons against the machines and kill their own armies as well. The APU’s are very easy for the machines to destroy. The battle ends with an APU getting owned and then as it falls the face is seen. The Human armies are defeated.
1. Why didn’t the infantry have any sort of rocket launcher with them? All I saw were them having rifles…and not even rifles from the movies, the same or similar type of bullets were used. It’s 2139 and we are still using bullets? What about some sort of other EMP weapon, if they have EMP arti shouldn’t there be EMP rifles. The rifles did no damage to the harvesters nor any other large robot that was seen on the battlefield. Why were the infantry charging blindly, and that one guy with a sword I believe . Who the hell does that in a battlefield? Ok yes you got me the Japs in wwII but still. Your fighting robots. As far as the scene of the infantry taking drugs it must have been what we call in the starcraft universe a “Stim Pack” a stim pack makes you have no fear when fighting and you’ll do anything to survive. So they are given drugs to keep going? Is that even smart. I remember reading a long time ago that there was an experiment in Vietnam where the government gave U.S. soldiers acid to see how they’d perform. It didn’t work if I remember. If you remember what happened please tell me. Who yells fire in the hole while shooting at someone. Isn't that supposed to be used when you throw a gernade. right?
2. Where is the armor in all of this. I thought that infantry and armor work in close support of one another. Also if the Abrams is still being used, why wasn’t it upgraded to go faster or something. Better armor etc. All I saw was a emp gun (when the Muslims are praying, freeze it right there) and that’s about it as far as anything new.
3. Can anyone read what is on the camera shots, the wording I mean. Are those shots from reporters or soldiers. If so what do they say. The screen where a infantryman calls for fire support, what is that HUD I’ve been trying to make it out. And since everyone here has been in either the computer business or military you’d be better than me…what do I know I’m just a historian
4. The scariest moment for me personally is when that poor SOB in the APU has the hatch cut open and he’s screaming.
5. Where is all the air support. Helicopters and jets. We know humanity has them, but they might be solar powered. Ok let’s for sake of argument say they weren’t solar powered. Why didn’t the jets arrive and take down the hoards of robots, and clear the sky of Sentinels. I know that the Sentinels owned the sky, but we should of seen something human flying in the sky
6. Blocking out the sun is one of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen. According to the wikia, all the human weapons or at least most of them were powered by the sun. Didn’t the military planners warn against this before putting it into action. And if they did know why didn’t the governments get out older weapons and retrofit them to be reused because they don’t rely on Solar Power. Not to mention blocking out the sun would kill most if not all life on Earth as plants need it to survive. When plants exhale we inhale oxygen I’m going blank on what it’s called at the moment…photosynthesis that’s it. Wouldn’t that destroy all the animals as well who eat grass. How do humans gather food, or for that matter breath. But perhaps more importantly, it would take away vital nutrients from the human body which depends on vitamin D to help survive. Not to mention long dark periods are linked to depression
The U.N. then calls a meeting since humanity is loosing and are handed the terms of surrender by the machines. An ambassador for the machines signs via barcode, stating that they will be used as batteries for the machines, while the humans are put into a virtual reality aka the matrix. The machine signs in bar code before exploding the U.N. building and destroys New York City. Humans are then seen being put into the Matrix……and from there we go into the films.
So my verdict
Story: 2 out of 10. One of the worst stories I’ve ever seen
Sound: 8 out of 10. Amazing soundtrack as well as effects and voices
Acting: 9 out of 10. Very well done
The Second Renaissance was not done well. It could of easily been a full two seasons or two three hour films. When you tell any kind of story your supposed to try and fill in plot holes…in this case major plot holes. The background for the Matrix is appalling to my intelligence. There was really no real character…ok I get it but here could have been ancestors of Morphus in there or something.
In my own story I am still creating the background but the problem for me isn’t how it happened but when. I know how it all happened, I don’t have all the details yet as it’s still being written in my head. However it’s a problem of how far back do I want my universe to go, thousands, tens of thousands or millions of years? If anyone ever wishes to know more about what my universe is please please do not hesitate to contact me and I’d be more than happy to tell you. I have avoided plot holes this big, every question or at least most of them for the moment are answered.
