Kim's match reviews and pop culture emporium

First defense for Uno and Hotta as far as what we have on the set. The challengers start off hot with jumping spin kicks to the back leading to multiple irish whips into the rails at ringside. The body of the first fall is mostly based around the challenger's targeting Uno's previously bad knee viciously. The champions counter mostly via Hotta's size. The finish comes via top rope tombstone. The second fall is a great mirror of the first with the champion's establishing a foothold with Hotta's strikes and eventually begin targeting Ogura's leg. The finish comes via top rope gutbuster. The third fall  breaks down quickly. If there is a throughline it's the challengers isolating hotta and eventually piling on enough damage for the win. Really fun interesting how the internal dynamics for Ogura and Nagahori have shifted especially in that first fall feels like Ogura's trying to find herself a bit. 7.9/10

 Asuka starts off the match quickly with a jumping spin kick the body of the match can essentially be boiled down to a really effective clash between strength and guile from Omori and Asuka respectively. Omori takes up a bunch of the offensive load with Asuka being on the back foot for most of it with Omori targeting the head and abdomen with a real mean streak. Match is finished with a elevated piledriver. simple but great. 8.5 give it a watch                       

 episodes 9 and 10 are the climax of the initial arc with Lacus and man Flay has these moments of desperation emotionally that make me want to reconsider her but at every opportunity she chooses the most violently racist option possible. Threatening to kill another teen on the other side to save your father is scummy as fuck. The thing i can sympathize with flay on is she has what i think is a worse version of an expectation that promises given will work out. The battle ends with Flay's father and the relief force at large being destroyed and Lacus being held as a hostage. episode ten deals with the aftermath of the battle with Flay blaming kira for not saving her father and Kira along with Sai and Miriallia helping Lacus escape from the archangel without permission after prodding during the battle from athrun. in the moment as a two parter 9/10 Sai Miriallia and Kuzzey are much more interesting on this watch than when i first watched as a teen, It's fascinating as the characte...

 First Japan grand prix match on the disk let's go. we start off fast with a Chigusa ambush via spinning wheel kick which i love but that's video game nostalgia talking. She follows up with a partial barrage but misses a enzuigiri leading to her getting put into a surfboard. Something I appreciate more about the surfboard as a move is it's a multivector attack for lack of a better phrase. it's interesting that Devil takes up most of the match offense wise with matwork kinda seems like a reversion whereas the evening out of offense between the crush girls and their elders is gone for at least one night. Chigusa does get one segment of legwork in via an achilles lock but the vast majority of her offense comes in from high impact counters. There is a segment of both trading bombs near the end at which point Devil snaps and goes berserk with her shinai which i love. Wish we got more unhinged Devil as a babyface leading to a chigusa win via disqualification. The finish takes...

 we start off phase 8 with the escape pod from the end of episode 7 being opened on the archangel and Lacus meets the crew. The big things in terms of movement is Athrun finding out that Lacus is missing and the Vesalius heading out to search for her. The senior bridge crew question Lacus and we have a seen with flay and the other teens where the mask goes fully off even using the good old *heavy sarcasm you're different than the other coordinators line at Kira. She's a very well written character but dear lord is she hateable including saying she doesn't disagree with blue cosmos. Really you don't disagree with the metaphorical white supremacist org? fuck you. the episode ends with an Alliance admiral finding the archangel including flay's father with the vesalius close behind. 9/10

 We're back and we start off with a sneak attack by the champions leading to Uno and Kai both dealing leg damage to each other. I enjoy the characterization of Uno not lacking craft or offense but not being able to go head to head with the champs but using her agility and grappling. the first fall is really anchored by babyface mistakes and vicious heels being ruthlessly efficient with Uno getting the brunt in terms of volume but the key offense is after a missed splash by Hotta leading to the heel victory in the first fall. The second fall is mostly the champs taking advantage of the damage done to Uno's head and legs before being countered by a barrage of dropkicks leading to a dive ending in a referee stoppage due to Kai's taped arm being hurt in the dive. It seems like the match might end on an anti climax but Martin fights on and Dump Interjects causing a gusher to Hotta. the faces overcome eventually with Hotta hitting a german Martin for the win, great stuff. 9/10