Viewing Journal: Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt (complete)

Series Overview DVD Info Trailer Rating: Overall= B+ Story = B Video = A- Audio = B+

Journal

A company of ghosts has moved into Daten City, taking advantage of human greed. Two angels, Panty and Stocking, are sent from heaven to exterminate them—but in reality they got kicked out for bad behavior. (Source: ANN)

When I first heard that Studio GAINAX was creating a new anime called Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt I conjured up all kinds of preconceived notions about what it would be like and as a result I immediately dismissed it. However, after hearing and reading some reviews, I thought I'd give it a chance. As it turns out, it is not the kind of show I thought it would be, but is exactly the kind of show that I probably should have thought it would be. It's perverted as expected, but it is approached with such a self-aware, ironic, unrestrained and unabashed style that it exudes energy, unpredictability and fun, even if not as much hilarity as I would have liked.

What there is of a plot involves two earth-bound angels named Panty and Stocking. Panty is obsessed with sex and Stocking is obsessed with sweets and each will indiscriminately partake in their obsession anywhere, anytime. Because of their torrid ways, they were kicked out of heaven and sent to Daten City. There they live in a church with their clerical overseer Garterbelt who doles out heaven's orders to fight "Ghosts"—vengeful incarnations of objects or concepts ranging from feces to obesity to high school cheerleaders—that show up around town so the two can hopefully earn their way back into Paradise. The real gimmick of the show, however, is how they fight the ghosts: Each removes their namesake apparel which then transforms—in true magical-girl style—into their weapon of choice: Panty getting a revolver and Stocking getting a katana.

Of course, this is not so much a plot as it is a framework that allows the animators to let their unrestrained libido's run wild by putting the characters in any number of disparate situations, many of which have nothing to do with fighting ghosts. Overall the effect is something like a mix between the shock value of South Park and the fast-paced random energy of FLCL, but without the thematic value or social commentary of either. The show doesn't have the wit or comedic timing to make it laugh-out-loud funny, it's more about getting caught up in the fast-paced random insanity and wanting to see what crazy situation Panty and Stocking are going to get themselves into next and how they are going to get out of it. And while Panty and Stocking themselves have their characteristic wanton desires, the fact that they are so unapologetic and bad-ass transforms that perversion into energy, making for crass humor that is fun and surprising.

Still, without an underlying meaning or direction, that kind of crude, arbitrary storytelling can get tedious and mind-numbingly boring after a while because it seems so pointlessness. Thankfully, things pick up around episode 6 when the main antagonists Scanty and Kneesocks show up. They are essentially the devil versions of Panty and Stocking—complete with their own transformation sequence—and are the first to legitimately challenge the angels, allowing the show to create a bit more of a continuity. It's the first time in the series where the comedy is based more on character interaction and conflict instead of parody or crass humor, bringing a renewed energy to the characters and narrative.

The thing that makes this crass and perverted humor successful is that it is done to such an extreme as to be self-mocking; except, of course, when it's not. The fact is that the show is at times uncomfortable to watch because at one level it's like, "Ha ha . Isn't it so silly that panty is having sex with an entire football team;" but on another level you can tell that the creators are actually getting off on it. The moaning lasts a little too long and sounds a little too genuine, and the aforementioned transformation sequences lingers a little too long in certain places to be considered entirely ironic. Instead it seems like in the midst of all the wackiness, it's attempting to be genuinely titillating. So while you are laughing at the stupidity of the perversion, it suddenly turns the tables so that the audience is actually laughing at itself—or at least at the creators. That could be genius if it was intentional, but I not sure that it is, which is why I say that, while it doesn't ruin the show, it does make those scenes awkward to watch.

Another weird thing is that this show is filled with references to American pop culture. In fact, it seems so tailored to American audience—including all the on-screen text being in English—that if a company dubbed the show into English there would be very little other than the frantic tone that would indicate that it originated in Japan. Even the animation is mostly done in a very two-dimensional, heavy lined, Power-puff Girls type of art; the notable exceptions being the aforementioned transformation sequences and the live-action shots of model ghosts being blown up. But it's the specific references that are omnipresent throughout the series that make it either specifically designed with a US audience in mind, or simply a homage to to the US entertainment industry from an different country's perspective. And while it's fun—if a little strange—to find so many references to things like Sex in the City, the Transformers movie, and Las Vegas when they are integrated into the story well; there are times when the entertainment value and even the general comprehensibility of an episode is entirely reliant on knowing what the reference is. For instance, there is one episode that is one long music video with references to Lady Gaga, tATu (who?) and other singers but since I'm not up on my music videos I didn't get much if any of the references. The worst example is an episode called "Chuck to the Future" which was little more than a direct black-and-white re-enactment of an obscure movie using Panty and Stocking's much-abused dog Chuck. Of course, since I had no idea WHAT movie it was referencing (though I later learned it was Eraserhead), I had absolutely no idea what the point of episode was. Although, I think that even if you did know about that movie it still wouldn't be all that great because there didn't seem to be any parody in it, just a strait-up re-enactment. Point is, those kinds of things took away from the enjoyment because they relied so heavily on having a detailed pop-culture knowledge, which I don't have.

The animation style is probably one of the the best things about the show and the biggest contributor to its tone because if it had a different art style it would be a very different show. The fact that it uses that flat art style with heavy line work means that at the times when it does imply Panty's rampant sex, it's hard to take it too seriously because the art is so unrealistic. And, like I mentioned earlier, the art does switch styles from flat to detailed during the "transformation" sequences to live action when the "ghosts" blow up. On one hand the switch-up seems arbitrary, but on the other hand there is a certain method to the madness. For instance, the scenes that are detailed are done so partly in parody and partly because, as I mentioned earlier, they are at least partly meant to be genuinely erotic. Doing those same sequences in the show's usual flat style would make it seem more ridiculous. There's probably equally valid reason for the live scenes, but if so I'm not sure what it is.

Overall, while I wouldn't call this show laugh-out-loud funny, it is a lot of fun. It's the kind of unrestrained outrageous humor that Americans are used to seeing in their more adult-oriented animation, but with an energy and randomness that is distinctly Japanese. I'd recommend it for both anime fans and even some non-anime fans.

[ For a full list of reviews see the Viewing Journal Archive ]

Viewing Journal: GaoGaiGar (complete)

Series Overview DVD Info Trailer Rating: Overall= B+ Story = B+ Video = B Audio = B

Journal

In the year 2005, a race of alien monsters called Zonders emerge from underground and launch a series of attacks on the city of Tokyo. The only defense against these creatures is the secret agency known as the Gutsy Geoid Guard (or 3G) and their ultimate weapon, the awesome giant robot GaoGaiGar. GaoGaiGar's pilot, Guy Shishio, is a former astronaut who was nearly killed two years before when the Zonders first crashed to earth. Guy's life was spared when a mysterious robot lion called Galeon pulled him from the burning shuttle and brought him to Earth. Guy's father, Leo, then used Galeon's technology to rebuild his shattered son as a cyborg, in the hopes that he could stop the aliens when they appear. Now, with Galeon as its core, GaoGaiGar fights to protect Earth. He is aided by a team of transforming robots and by a young boy named Mamoru, who has the power to purify the Zonders' cores, and seems to be connected to the mysterious Galeon. (Source: ANN)

After a string of shows that are confounding and weighty, it's a breath of fresh air to finally watch something with no pretensions about what it is: a strait-up action giant robot entertainment-fest. GaoGaiGar is an anime that unapologetically does its damnedest to imbue its audience with renewed faith that humanity can accomplish anything so long as it believes hard enough and shouts loud enough. And such faith is an appropriate theme for the show, because that is exactly what it takes to make it through the series: Faith that things, as mundane and redundant as they are in the beginning will get incredibly awesome eventually.

Giving a plot summary of GaoGaiGar would be redundant since calling it a "giant robot" show pretty much gives you all the information you need to know. It follows the same conventions of most giant robot anime in that there are aliens attacking the earth and only the giant robot—using the same technology as the aliens themselves, piloted by the son of the robot's developer, and under the control of a covert government agency—can stop it. In this case the giant robot is alternately Galeon, GaoGai, and GaoGaiGar depending on how it transforms and what other vehicles it combines with. The pilot is the cybernetic Gai (pronounced "guy") and the agency that controls it is GGG (pronounced "Three G") or Gutsy Geoid Guard.

This is the first anime I watched purely on recommendation from the Anime World Order podcast, and much of the information they provide is helpful in understanding why the show is the way it is. I'd recommend listening to the podcast episode to get the full story, but there are a couple of things worth mentioning here. First is that GaoGaiGar is part of a faction of giant robot anime called the "Super Robot" genre. In "Super Robot" anime, the robots capabilities defy the bounds of logic and reality, needing only a minimum of explanation—usually involving the strength of the pilot's will—to give the robot the power and abilities to defeat its foe as well often giving the robot a distinct personality or outright sentience. This is in contrast to "Real Robot" shows, which treat the robots simply as tools, limiting their abilities to those that have a logical, technical explanation. The second thing relates to the series' tone and story development. According to AWO (I haven't been able to find my this info through my own research) GaoGaiGar started out as a run-of-the-mill kid's show, but half-way through its run the producers discovered that it the majority of its audience was made up of nostalgic adults, not kids. In response, the creators changed the series' direction, breaking away from the limitations imposed by kids' entertainment. As a result the two halves are very distinct, with the first consisting of a formulaic monster-of-the-week format, and the second following a single continuity with more intense drama and action.

The first episode, despite its cookie-cutter premise (or maybe because of it), did get me initially excited about the series if for no other reason than because it sparked that sense of nostalgia. It's like when you go back and watch a show like Voltron as an adult, and you realize it's not as good as you remember it being when you watched it as a kid. Watching that first episode of GaoGaiGar brought back the feeling I had when watching Voltron or Transformers as a kid—that feeling of larger-than-life epic action involving good versus evil. But of course, then you get to the follow-up episodes and that excitement quickly fades into boredom.

The worst thing about the first half of the series isn't so much the all-too-familiar giant robot formula or the predictable characters or story lines; the worst thing is the mind-numbing redundancy. It's not just that each episode follows the exact same plot outline as that first episode only changing the characters and situations slightly; it's that the way that GaoGaiGar defeats the bad guy is the exact same in every episode. It uses the exact same transformation, the exact same final move, and the exact same "purification" even going so far as to recycle the exact same animation. Certainly, the show does do it's damnedest to push the excitement leading up the the final battle with a lot of declarations that we must believe in the hero, but since it's all so repetitive it ends up feeling like someone is monotonously screaming in your face for twenty-plus minutes. And because you know exactly what is going to happen at the end each episode, the climax is less exciting than the story that proceeds it, making every episode a let-down.

What keeps hope for the series alive are the hints that there will be cooler things to come. For instance, there are a lot of insinuations that the robots are just biding their time until they can remove the safeties and unleash their true power; and as cliche as that may be, it totally works for me. The show starts throwing out these clues around episode thirteen, which is about the time it starts to switch things up and introduce more robots and more powerful weapons, and episode 16 is the first one in which GaoGaiGar does not use its usual final move to take out the enemy. There is also more information about the characters' backgrounds and more development of the overarching plot with hints of a larger story to come; but even so, the plot for the individual episodes are still the same. In fact, the repetitiveness was so annoying that as I watched I questioned whether it was worth the tediousness of those early episodes to get to the later ones. As it turns out, it is.

Much like how the robots keep their capabilities in check until they can release their full power, the second half of GaoGaiGar feels like the creative juices of it creators have finally been set free to unleash their true intentions. It's like a transition from lollipops to hard whiskey as the characters are exposed to increasingly intense battles with a real suffering and death and greater opportunities for heroic glory. All of the anticipation and hints of something bigger from the first half of the series are paid off as the redundancy is replaced with episodes that build upon one another and drama and action that are dialed up to eleven.

It's that over-the-top awesomeness that makes this show so fun to watch. It seems to me that shows with this level of ridiculousness take one of two routes: either they call out their own goofiness with self-effacing comedy, or they say "screw it" and push the unbelievability even further. Shows like GaoGaiGar that take the second route are more engrossing, epic, and strait-out fun to watch because it allows the tension of the series to build up to such an awesome degree that you just don't care about inconsequential things like logic or continuity or exposition. The giant robot fights, the shouting of every line, and even the mundane actions like sliding a key card—they are all done with such zeal and sensationalism that you have to either completely accept it and get lost in the heights of awesomeness that it inspires, or completely reject it and walk away.

Even though these theatrics exist in both the first and second half, they come off very differently in each set of episodes. It's cheesy and insanely melodramatic in the first half where victory is a certainty, but it takes on greater weight and significance in the second half where failure is a real possibility. There are still a lot of declarations that we must believe in the hero, but because there is a real chance that the hero can be defeated, it has much greater weight and significance.

And despite the level of danger, the heroes always push themselves harder to pull out some kind of victory. It's that unrelenting positive attitude in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds that makes this show so refreshing. In each episode in the second half I was constantly thinking "Holy sh** how the hell are they get out of this? There's no fricking way!" And that's when the GGG would come up with some ludicrous plan and be like "Well, we've got less than 1% chance of surviving but f*** it. Let's do it anyway and believe that our hero can win and oh wait we have another extra powerful robot that just happened to arrive. BONUS!" They may all have special powers but its not the strength of their bodies that bring them victory, it's the strength of their will—the DESIRE to win mixed with the drive and mental fortitude to put that desire into action. Sure there's occasional wavering in their optimism, and that's fine as long as sooner or later they step up. It's the conviction that "you can achieve anything if you work hard enough" on the macro level that makes it fun to watch and—dare I say it—inspiring!

Both the animation and music were good, but there are a couple of things to warn you about the animation. The first is that whenever there is a discussion amongst the series' antagonists—the Machine Kings—there is a headache-inducing strobe effect. If there is any series that needs that "watch in a bright room and a safe distance away from the TV" warning, it's this one. The other thing is that it constantly uses recycled animation. Some people may love it, others may hate it; but it's there is pretty much every episode. As for the music, the one thing of particular note is the opening theme lyrics which actually talk about the title robot itself. It seems like most animated series these days use some cut of a song from a popular band where there lyrics are only thematically related to the plot, if at all. Having the opening song actually talk about the story, as much as anything else, really elicits that sense of nostalgia for the cartoons of my youth.

The unfortunate thing about this series is that few people will have the patience to watch 26-or-so episodes before they start to be entertained, which is understandable. But if you are like me and have a passion for over-the-top excitement, you will find it worth your while. And if you do watch and love it like I did, then spread the word; because no one is going to stumble on this series by accident and make it through. They will need someone there to tell them to stand strong, to fight hard, and to believe because in the end you will be rewarded with the highest level of mind-blowing giant robot action imaginable.

[ For a full list of reviews see the Viewing Journal Archive ]

Viewing Journal: Bleach (episodes 168-189)

Series Overview Watch It Now DVD Info Trailer Rating: Overall= D- Story = D- Video = C Audio = C

Journal

The main story arc is put on pause as Ichigo and crew are back in Karakura town fighting hollows and generally following life as normal. Then Ichigo runs into a noble girl for whom he reluctantly agrees to become a bodyguard. Meanwhile, Captain Aizen's replacement appears in the Soul Society; but with his wanten and seemingly incompetent ways, will he be able to earn the respect of his Soul Reaper squad?

God help me but I have the hardest time staying awake for Bleach these days. And it's no wonder given that this latest batch of episodes is another extended filler arc. This one doesn't even try to fit in with the rest of the series because it totally ignores anything that is happening in the regular storyline and goes back to before Ichigo left the Soul Society.

There are two storylines in this arc that eventually converge. The first has to do with a new Captain named Amagai who arrives to take the place of Aizen who, if you've been following along, ran off to the world of the Hollows and became the main villain of the show many, many episodes ago. The other part of the story has to do with a noble girl named Rurichiyo who is on the run from some bad guys and ends up running into Ichigo. Ichigo, through a combination of convoluted conversation and sheer force plot necessity, then agrees to become her body guard.

The new characters seemed at least somewhat interesting at first until you realize that they are little more than stereotypical anime cliches. The new captain is one of those anime character types who looks like a lazy moron but actually turns out to be pretty powerful—like a somewhat duller version of that one captain with the pink robe and the hat, Kyoraku. He brings along with him the smooth-talking, arrogant, and slightly gayish-seeming (or maybe that's just the pink glasses) Kibune, who acts as the third seed in the squad. The girl noble Rurichiyo is the annoying brat, and her bodyguards (other than Ichigo) Kenryuu and Enryuu are mostly worthless as protectors and even more worthless as the comic relief they are meant to be.

This filler is at least better than the Bount story arc because it had the familiar characters and setting. And even though it's not phenomenal story and puts the main continuity on hold, it at least fits in with the concepts introduced in rest of the show.

But it suffers from the same things that plague all filler story arcs: that it hesitates to develop either the setting or the main characters too much for fear that it will contradict something that happens later in the regular series story. Power levels don't increase, and characters aren't challenged. Say what you will about the Shonen Power Creep (ie, characters gradually getting more and more powerful), but it certainly makes you anticipate future events in a story. I still maintain that what needs to happen is that the story should focus even more on the new characters and their development and increase in power levels, but for some reason that development never happens. I mean, as cliche as the Shonen power creep may be, it should would be nice to see more of it in this show.

I could go into the art and music, but what's the point? For one it's pretty much the same, but for another I just don't notice it anymore.

I know that I keep threatening to stop watching this show, but it's one of those things where I like the idea of watching at least one anime consistently. It's the only long-running anime that I watch. And even if it's a literal snoozer, I can't help but enjoy the comfort that comes with watching at least one thing consistently. Who knows? Maybe it'll improve one day. Of course, optimistic hope can only take this show so far...

Related Reviews

• Bleach (season 1)
• Bleach (season 2)
• Bleach (season 3)
• Bleach (season 4)
• Bleach (season 5)
• Bleach (season 6)
• Bleach (season 7)
• Bleach: Memories of Nobody
• Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion

[ For a full list of reviews see the Viewing Journal Archive ]

Viewing Journal: Xam'd - Lost Memories (complete)

Series Overview Watch It Now DVD Info Trailer Rating: Overall= C Story = C Video = A- Audio = B

Journal

Enter Sentan, a lush, tranquil island encased in war between the military and those with Hiruko, known as X'amd. On one of these warlike days, Akiyuki Takehara heads off to school and gets caught in a raid by the creatures. Through a series of events he is transformed into a X'amd, and with the help of a Tessikan woman Nakiami along with his highschool friend Haru, Akiyuki is forced to learn to live with the Hiruko or faces the danger of losing his self-control and turn to stone. (Source: ANN)

And now I present the third and final (for now) anime in a string of frustratingly vague series that avoid revealing much background information about the story. In Skull Man and Ghost Hound it was done in an attempt to create a cryptic mood. However, in the series X'amd: Lost Memories I'm not sure why it's done. I'm not even sure if the lack of information is intentional, if it's bad writing, or if I just didn't pick up on whatever clues that were given. Point is that there is little to no basic explanation about the setting or its people that would help the audience understand the motivation of the characters or the significance of events. But the worst part is that there were so many unique and fascinating ideas and visuals that it seemed like it could be awesome if only I had that key information that would allow me to understand what the hell was going on.

The story begins on Sentan Island, a once-peaceful place that is suddenly caught up in a war taking place between the Northern Government and the Southern Continent Free Zone. Enter Akiyuki Takehara, a high schooler trying to keep a balanced life between his estranged parents. While a battle rages elsewhere on the island Akiyuki and his friends board the bus to school. He innocently helps a strange white-haired kid onto the bus, who then proceeds to blow it up and, as a result, implants Akiyuki's arm with a blue marble-like object called a Hiruko. The Hiruko turns him into a large white creature called a X'amd and, confused, Akiyuki ends up running off and nearly (for some reason) turning to stone before a girl from a postal air ship who is familiar with the X'amd comes to his rescue. She brings Akiuki's Xam'd form under control and brings him onto the postal ship, where she decides he will stay so that she can teach him about the Hiruko and how to control the Xam'd.

And if that all wasn't strange and confusing enough, much of the rest of the story—that's the remaining 25 episodes—I had even less of an idea what or why things were happening. I do know that there are about 3 countries that are all attacking one another. One of those countries drops these large monsters called humanforms that wreak havoc until either the military or a Xam'd stop it. There is a military guy and a scientist who do scientific experiments on other characters, but I'm not sure why. There is a tribe of people with markings on their face and a religious cult of white-haired kids and a lot of talk about some huge event that is necessary for the world to continue. Otherwise I am clueless.

Much of the confusion is due the scarcity of information about X'amd's setting. It takes place on an alternate Earth much in the same way that shows like Last Exile, Fullmetal Alchemist, or Wings of Honneamise do. So things like the buildings and characters' wardrobes are recognizable as existing in present-day Earth; but other things like the warring countries, political structures, geography, religion, history, and technology are original to the the fictional world of the story. Most successful shows of this type will find some way to convey enough information about how the world operates to give the audience the necessary context to understand what is going on in the plot. This usually comes either through outright narration, or through an ignorant character that acts as a conduit for asking the questions the audience wants to know. In the case of Xam'd, there is no such means for gaining background information.

One of the consequences of not having this information is that it is hard to tell what the characters do and do not know. For instance, as I watched the battle in the first episode I couldn't tell if characters were surprised that they were being attacked by huge monsters, or they were just a surprised that they were being attack in general and the monsters were as familiar to them as tanks would be in our world. It was the same thing with the X'amd, the Hiruko, the war, the religion, and pretty much all the concepts that were introduced. Since it took place in a fictional world, I didn't know what the characters knew and what they didn't; and the characters' reaction were usually ambiguous on the issue. As a result, it was hard to gauge characters' personalities or their reaction to events; making it hard to know what was supposed to be a surprise. For instance, a character would explain something to Akiuki and the information would be a surprise to me, but Akiyuki wouldn't have a strong reaction. So I couldn't tell if Akiyuki already knew the information, if he was repressing his surprise, or if he just didn't care. I constantly felt like an idiot because characters would discuss things like I should know what they were talking about, so I kept thinking that I MUST have missed some vital piece of info from earlier episodes even though I was fairly sure that info was never given.

Not only did I not not understand what the characters were thinking, but I couldn't even understand their purpose relative to the plot. All of the characters had different goals, but I couldn't tell what any of those goals were. I couldn't tell what the relationship between characters were, and couldn't tell how it tied together with the plot. For instance, the delivery ship that Akiyuki was on—I couldn't tell the real purpose of the ship (since it was obviously NOT about making deliveries) or the motivation of the captain. It was so frustrating!

But the MOST frustrating thing about the show as that I so desperately WANTED to understand it all; partly because of the cool visual design and the uniqueness of the setting but mostly because of the characters. There is a lot of heart-felt emotion between characters, with interpersonal conflicts and drama that I could pick up on at a gut-level. And even though I didn't understand why the characters had certain reactions, their personalities seemed so down to earth and genuine that I was still drawn to them. The animtion studio, STUDIO BONES seems very adept at this kind of thing—showing effective drama purely through characters' voices and facial expressions which are both subtle and intense. But, again, since I didn't know the characters' goals or motivations or the source of their angst, I could never empathize with them.

I did not understand the ending any more than the rest of the series; but it is still incredible. It's like a climax to the lack of understanding that is so epic in it's confusion that I could only experience it on an emotional level. So, even though I would not call it a a satisfying ending; it does make for a crazy ride.

So overall, I'm not sure how to rate this show. In terms of the visual design and the presentation of the character's emotions it's great. But it is very hard to get immersed and lost in the story because there is always that disconnect preventing a full understanding of the characters or events. I supposed if you are the kind of person who can live without needing that level of understanding and can just watch for the visuals and the concepts then go for it. Otherwise it may end up being more frustrating than enjoyable.

[ For a full list of reviews see the Viewing Journal Archive ]

Viewing Journal: Ghost Hound (complete)

Series Overview DVD Info Trailer Rating: Overall= D Story = D Video = C Audio = B

Journal

Production IG's 20th Anniversary Project, Ghost Hound is set in the modest town of Suiten, located in a desolate region in the island of Kyūshū. The story follows the experiences of three boys who have had traumatic experiences in childhood from which they have learned to transfer their souls to a parallel world known as the "Unseen World". The Unseen World is however undergoing a change, with its ghosts starting to appear in the real world, altering it in unpredictable ways. (Source: ANN)

And here we have the second show in a trifecta of mediocrity from otherwise phenomenal animation studios. It began with my previous review of Studio BONE's Skull Man, and now continues with this review of Production IG and Masamune Shiro's collaborative failure Ghost Hound.

Masamune Shirow is the original creator of well-known titles such as Appleseed, Dominion Tank Police, and of course Ghost in the Shell. He is great at two things: creating highly detailed and intricate art/porn and creating even more highly intricate and detailed story concepts. When applied with relative moderation—as in the case with the original Ghost in the Shell and Dominion Tank Police—his work can be intellectually challenging and/or amusing as well as visually attractive. But when his full power is unleashed unhindered—as in the case with Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface and Orion—the work is so caught up in its own internal logic, lingo and barrage of footnotes that whatever plot may exist gets lost amidst the jungle of information, exposition, and analysis. In other words, Shirow is a great idea man, but does not have the skill or restraint to lay them out in a well-structured plot with empathetic characters. That's where the animation studio Production IG steps in. Coming off of the success of the phenomenal Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, they bring Shirow back to create a brand new concept for a brand new series. The result is Ghost Hound.

To varying degrees, I've enjoyed the work of both Shirow and Production IG, so I was excited to see if their combined powers would create the same kind of magic they made with Stand Alone Complex. And when Ghost Hound started out, it did spark my curiosity. I could see Shirow's ingenuity in the story's basic concept. And more importantly, Production IG was able to subtly weave those ideas into a story that focuses on the characters and their attempt to unravel the meaning behind a series of odd events. In my previous review of Skull Man, I talked about how it attempted to be subtly cerebral and mysterious, but failed to do so effectively. In the case of Ghost Hound, however, it pulls that off with greater success. The difference is that in Skull Man the quiet interludes seemed like dead space, whereas in Ghost Hound those moments include either strange, seemingly random visuals or odd camera angles of a scene that add a sense of eeriness. As a result, the mood of the show is kind of like listening to someone rattle off vague but fascinating information in a monotonous tone of voice—flat but interesting. It's that combination of interesting concepts, weird events, and subtle visual oddities that kept me curious as to how everything related and how the story would unfold.

However, the effectiveness of the tone and plot development waver—and ultimately crash—throughout the 22 episodes. The first few episodes start out quiet and confusing and then get more interesting as the concepts of the spirit world and out-of-body experiences are introduced. Then the show gets bland because the characters do little more than wander around in spirit form talking either to each other or to themselves, and repeating the same information over and over. At that point it's hard to tell where the story is going since there are no significant revelations and there is no build up or tension, making it tedious to get through. Then around episode 14 it gets slightly more intense and dramatic as characters' backgrounds are explored and the plot's direction becomes clearer. But by the end everything that made the show worthwhile falls apart. Random things happen out of nowhere in order to force the plot toward a conclusion, and it ultimately ends in a nice neat little package where the sky is clear and everyone is completely happy. That may not be so horrible if it wasn't for the fact that it is completely contradictory to the tone of the rest of the series. It is a rushed, jarring, downright crappy ending after an arduously slow but occasionally promising beginning and middle. I was completely annoyed with the show for stringing me along only to let me down like it did, making it a horribly disappointing series.

The animation itself is nothing special. Production IG is capable of creating beautifully detailed and creative visuals, but that was not the case in this show. Everything from the character designs to the spirit-creatures to the setting is simply average.

The music is one of the high points of the show, though I wouldn't rush out and buy the soundtrack. It adds a good deal to the subtle, eerie tone. The opening music is pretty awesome. It's fun and fast but still has a smooth weirdness to the pace of the singing, and smooth jazzy beats.

Despite the music though, the show is a disappointment on many levels. I was hoping that it would be like Stand Alone Complex where Production IG would take Shirow's ideas and explore their different moral and practical implications while weaving them into a over-arching plot; but the potential of the team-up never pans out. That along with the lack of planning, pacing, and consistency in the story leads to it's ultimate downfall. I can only hope that Shirow and IG's follow up collaborations—Real Drive and Appleseed XIII—pan out better. Here's to hopeless optimism...

[ For a full list of reviews see the Viewing Journal Archive ]

Viewing Journal: The Skull Man (complete)

Series Overview Watch It Now DVD Info Trailer Rating: Overall= D Story = D Video = B Audio = C

Journal

Set in an alternate history of Japan, freelance photographer Minagami Hayato returns to his hometown of Ootomo to investigate rumors of a man wearing a skull mask committing murders there. Once in the city, he discovers connections between the victims and a local pharmaceutical company, a new religious sect, and strange half human, half animal creatures. Along with a young photographer, he decides to find out who the Skull Man really is. (Source: ANN)

I really have to stop this habit of waiting months after watching an anime to finally write the review; because once again I have a back log of nine, count them NINE anime and manga to review. Of course, waiting months to write a review doesn't do much for the accuracy and legitimacy of my reaction but so be it. Here's my long awaited review of Studio's BONE's attempt at dark, cerebral storytelling known as The Skull Man.

The Skull Man anime is based on an a 1970's one-shot manga and its 1998 sequel. The original story—from what I've read on Wikipedia—is dark, grim, gritty, and violent. The protagonist of the first manga was one of the medium's first anti-heroes, as he is willing to take innocent lives in pursuit of his revenge. And that's really what this anime adaptation needed to be: a grim story about a man's obsessive drive for vengeance.

But unfortunately that is not the route the anime took; instead it attempts to be the Serial Experiments Lain or maybe even Ghost in the Shell (movie) type of quiet, cerebral, moody storytelling; resulting in an show that is neither character nor plot-driven, but mood-driven with characters talking in unnaturally flat—but nevertheless melodramatic—tones. That's not to say that the story isn't dark at times because a lot of people do die, but the tone is so inconsistent and the narrative is so slow and underwhelming which makes for a series that is downright boring.

The first episode starts with a girl running from some monster, but then runs into the title character. It seems like a strong, eerie start to the series, but the rest of the episode and most of those that follow are entirely too conventional in terms of the plot, characters, and visuals. The two main characters—the journalist Hayato Mikogami and the tag-along photographer Kiriko Mamiya—are investigating the a series of murders, and Hayato suspects the culprit to be the legendary "Skull Man"; but other than Hayato's insistence that the Skull Man is important, there is never any real reason to find him particularly noteworthy or compelling. Other than being a potential murderer, nothing is revealed about him until much later in the series. As a result I never understood what was driving him or any of the other characters, making it hard to empathize with or care about what happened to them.

The biggest problem with this mood-driven show is that said mood is neither consistent nor well-executed. The moments of silence and stillness that are intended to be time for either the audience or the characters to quietly reflect on the situation, seem instead to be more like dead space intended to kill time. The violence that is present—especially the fights with the monsters—are too strait-forward to add either tension or excitement. And if that weren't bad enough, there are some horrible anime cliches thrown in that really cheapen the show and completely throw off the dark cerebral tone. For instance, I knew that it had reached a low-point when I saw the "Oops, you accidentally saw me naked and so I'll yell at you and kick you out of the room" scene.

The animation was fine, but I think that Studio BONES was a poor choice to produce this show. It's not that I don't like BONES—their stuff is usually consistently high-quality and the fact that they were involved with this show was the main reason I wanted to watch it. But it's that very consistency that worked against them here. Their animation style and character designs seem to have similar qualities from series to series, and that style did not fit with this show. The show needed a studio that was a bit more experimental and edgy. The ideal studio, I think, would have been Madhouse; but obviously they can't do everything.

I'll conclude by saying that I was very apathetic about this show. I simply didn't care about what was happening from the beginning to the end. It could have been cool, but that potential is confounded by a number of stylistic and directorial missteps making for a show that is simply not worth the time.

[ For a full list of reviews see the Viewing Journal Archive ]

Reading Journal: Pluto (complete)

Manga Overview Book Info Rating: Overall= B+ Story = B+ Art = A

Journal

Based off of a story arc from Osamu Tezuka's Tesuwan Atomu, Pluto follows the Europol detective Gesicht as he tries to uncover the mystery behind a string of robot and human deaths. The case becomes much more puzzling when evidence leans toward the murders being the work of a robot, which is something that hasn't happened for 8 years. (Source: ANN)

I think most Americans—anime fan or not—have heard of Astro Boy. Even if you have never read the manga, seen any of the various anime series, or watched the new CG movie; you at least know that it involves a boy robot with rockets on his feet, who flies around fighting bad guys. What most of the general public is not aware of, but which many if not most anime fans do know, is that Astro Boy was originally titled Tetsuwan Atomu and was created by the "god of manga" Osamu Tezuka—a man whose omnipresent influence in the manga and anime industry can not be overstated. Beyond that, even most US anime fans know few specifics of Astro's story. So given that, can Pluto—a remake of an Astro Boy story—be worthwhile for an American audience? The answer is that, while you do need to know some basic details about the back story to get the full effect, this manga can still be both relevant and entertaining for all audiences and the reasons have little to do with its connection to Tezuka's original series.

The story of Pluto unravels as a murder mystery set in a future sci-fi world where humans and sentient robots live side-by-side. There are a string of deaths of both humans and robots, and it is up to Europol Instector Gesicht to find the culprit. As he uncovers answers, he realizes that the murderer may be robot, the first such one in eight years.

One thing you might note is that this is not "The Origin of Astro Boy." In fact, Atom (Astro's original Japanese name and how he is referred to in this manga) doesn't even show up until the end of the first volume. Since this is just another arc in Atom's life, it is about as far removed from explaining his beginning as any random issue of a Superman comic would be to explaining his origin. And while I don't think this is an impediment to understanding the story's plot, it does effect the dramatic impact some scenes may have because without knowing the backstory you would not be able to pick up on the subtle implications of some of the characters' relationships—mainly those between Astro, his creator Dr. Tenma and his care-taker Dr. Ochanomizu. This can be easily remedied, however, by doing some quick internet research on Atom's origin ahead of time.

Personally, I've never read the original Astro Boy or seen any of the anime; but based on what I've heard, while Tezuka's original stories had mature themes (at least compared to most American cartoons), his delivery of the material was very child-friendly, sometimes to an awkward degree. In particular, Tezuka would often wedge humor into the middle of a serious scene to break the dramatic tension. Pluto rectifies this by bringing consistency to the story; so the characters, setting, and overall plot are as mature and hard-hitting as those themes demand.

The most blunt of all the themes is the one relating to the affects of war. To say that "39th Middle East War in Persia" in Pluto is a reference to the US War in Iraq would be an understatement. It would be more accurate to call it a overt allegory. The Persian War started after the United States of Thracia lead an investigation into the Persian Kingdom's possession of Robots of Mass Destruction but find no evidence that any existing there. Sound familiar? It was almost humorous how obvious the reference was, but it was also the strongest indication that this was no longer a children's story. What children's story would have such a strong and current anti-war message like that? In fact, when I first read that part, I was so taken aback by just how blunt the reference was that it distracted me the the point where it was hard to get back into the story.

What ended up bringing me back, however, was the characters' reaction to war; specifically the robots that were charged with fighting it. There are seven "Most Powerful Robots," six of which fought in the War in Persia and one of which opted out on humanitarian grounds. Each of the robots that fought had to kill not people, but other robots. So when they have flashbacks, they remember a battlefield covered with robotic limbs and mangled transistors instead of blood and guts; but to the robot the memory is just as horrible as if the field was covered with human remains. At first, I had a hard time empathizing because, seriously, they just machine parts; but now it seems more like a representation of how some people view foreign violence. For instance, when I read a newspaper article about a war in some foreign country where hundreds of people have died, I don't have nearly as strong of a reaction as when I read about hundreds of Americans dying. It's the ones I can relate to that I sympathize with. It would be the same for the sentient robots in the story. I may not get their reaction because, obviously, I'm not a robot. But for them it is a horrible memory because the victims are one of their own.

One scene in particular really brings this point home. Inspector Gesicht has to relay the news of a robot's death to it's robotic wife. But, unlike Giescht himself, the wife is not human in appearance. She is very much obviously a robot, with a metallic face and unchanging grin. So when Geitch delivers the message to her, she reacts with a mix of subtle sadness and acceptance; but still has that grin because she has no way of changing her expression to reflect her emotions. The contrast is almost funny, but it's hard to laugh after seeing Gesicht who—being a robot—obviously understood the wife's feelings and empathized with her. It's those kind of complex reactions that really make this an incredible and absolutely relevant story.

One other thing that seemed contradictory about the robots was how the humans in the story reacted to them. When the first volume opens, there is a news report talking about the death of Mont Blanc, a robot much beloved around the world; but later on the characters will talks about how humans hate and discriminate against robots. Now I don't think this is an inconsistency in the story so much as it is a reflection of a complex reality. In reality, there is discrimination is not always so extreme and not always consistent. For instance, there are celebrities in the world who are minorities and still popular, but that doesn't mean discrimination doesn't exist. That's how people are presented in Pluto. One of the best arcs involves a retired composer who hates all robots including his new robot butler, but by the end his feelings are more complex. It's the gradual development of the characters and the reasons for that development that pulled me into the story.

Of course, there is action and an epic and engaging plot in this manga in addition to the themes and character development; but the book does a great job of keeping things shrouded in mystery both in the plot and the action. The fight scenes rarely occur in the open, and are only shown fully when necessary for character or plot development. That "less is more" philosophy does a lot to make the scale of the battles—even those that are unseen—seem all the more grand because your imagination has to take over and anticipate when everything is going to be revealed. It also allows the story to focus more on the effects and implications of the action than on the actions itself, ensuring that it is never gratuitous.

The artwork is just as fascinating as the rest of the story because the sci-fi elements and character designs seem so realistic. In most sci-fi movies/manga/etc, the settings are one of two extremes: either it's a pristine future with minimalist designs for the buildings and mechanics, or it's a dystopian wasteland. The setting in Pluto skews toward the former, but the details in the art make the setting more believable while avoiding the glitz and flashiness that usually make such settings look silly. As a result the futuristic buildings feel somehow, for the lack of a better word, normal; and it's another example of how the book combines the fantastic with the realistic. The character designs are also more believable than the stereotypical "big eyes, etc." look. Here the body types come in all shapes and sizes and the character's expressions are varied and subtle while expressing all kinds of emotions effectively.

The one thing that did disappoint slightly with the manga was the ending, because at that point it did start to seem like a child's superhero comic. The scope was epic and the fate of the world hung in the balance, but it seemed so rushed and forced that it lost the character-driven narrative that had allowed me to build a personal connection with the story. That downhill fall could have started when the villain robot was revealed. After so much anticipation, the final design of the robot was unimpressive and seemed too corny to be intimidating. The story seemed like it needed a few more chapters to tell the ending effectively, because there did not seem to be enough time to build proper emotional tension and resolution.

Do not let that one criticism dissuade you from reading this, because there is so much more to love about this series. I would definitely recommend this to anyone whether you are a fan of Astro Boy or not. The plot and characters are engaging and the themes are unambiguously mature, relevant, and current. Read it and encourage others to read it, and maybe more people will realize just how far the medium of manga has come.