The 2nd Dimension

Viewing Journal: Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt (complete)

2011-10-14T06:45:00.002-04:00

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)

2011-08-06T15:30:00.014-04:00

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)

2011-07-18T06:45:00.005-04:00

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

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

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

2011-07-08T06:21:00.004-04:00

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)

2011-06-20T07:10:00.002-04:00

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)

2011-06-08T06:50:00.012-04:00

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)

2011-04-15T21:44:00.007-04:00

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.

Viewing Journal: Bleach (episodes 144 - 167)

2010-12-16T07:00:00.006-05:00

Series Overview
Watch It Now
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= D
Story = D
Video = C-
Audio = C-

Journal

Ichigo enters Hueco Munco -- the realm of the Hollows -- to save his friend Otohime. Along the way he meets up with Hollows and Arrancars; some end up being friends, but most are among his most powerful enemies yet.

So this latest season of Bleach ended on Adult Swim nearly a year ago so I figured I'd better write a review before my sparse memory of it fades into total oblivion. And thinking back on it, there is not a lot that is memorable anyway. That's disturbing because this season doesn't have any filler episodes so there is no excuse for why it turned out so dull.

One of the reasons why this season is disappointing is because we finally get to see Hueco Mundo, but it turns out that this World of the Hollows is a pretty uninteresting place. I remember back in season one, Rukia would talk about the Soul Society and I thought it was this mysterious heavenly realm of the afterlife where spirits are at peace. Then I actually saw it and found out that it is not quite so mysterious, but is still cool for entirely different reasons. I had a similar initial reaction to Hueco Mundo, but instead of heaven I imagined it as a chaotic hell where evil reigned supreme. And I guess that is sort of the case, but instead of the rampant hysteria I imagined, it turns out to be a gray arid desert where Hallows roam about. Ichigo spends a good amount of time in the initial episodes just trying to find how to get to Aizen's seemingly unreachable fortress. And -- much like when Ichigo first arrived in the Soul Society -- when he does finally reach the fortress in Hueco Mundo, he has to fight a bunch of enemies as he strives to save his friend (this time it's Orihime instead of Rukia). But back in that Soul Society story arc, the concept of soul reapers and their fighting abilities was still a fresh concept and Ichigo was still learning to use his powers. But in Hueco Mundo the main cast's powers are mostly at their peak and the fights seem redundant and monotonous with no purpose other than to delay plot progression; so the action scenes are more frustrating than exciting.

And in that same vein, the new characters in this season are horribly cliche and trite. Usually this is not a problem if there is some unexpected depth or complexity added to the cliche, but at this point in the series I don't see it. First you have the friendly hollows Pesche, Dondochakka, and the arrancar Nelliel who all are nothing more than comic relief. The fact that they end up traveling with Ichigo et al. is a plot point that is forced into the story, since Ichigo gives in way too quickly to Nell's demand to follow them. Meanwhile, the new enemies are like the red-shirted pawns that are only introduced for the main characters to fight before being tossed aside. Their back stories are neither compelling nor do they help move the plot forward. Plus -- other than Chad (if I remember correctly) -- they don't challenge the regular characters enough to unleash new powers. In the end, they only add to the frustration by delaying the main plot line while adding nothing new or interesting to the story.

To be honest, there are points in the story that are somewhat intense and dramatic -- I can think of maybe two episodes in the entire series -- but even so, in the end it doesn't move the story forward much. For instance, I thought that the fight between Ichigo and Ulquiorra was pretty intense, but in the end it didn't result in new developments. Ichigo is no closer to saving Orihime. He is no closer to uncovering or foiling Aizen's evil plot. The number of enemies he and his compadres need to fight seem endless, and each individual fight drags on. So in the end, it's hard for me to even remember where the show is going -- and I'm not sure I even care anymore.

So, yeah, I'm not crazy about this season of Bleach. It's getting harder and harder to get motivated to watch new episodes when even the regular episodes are this bad. And the next season seems to be pure filler, so you can imagine how much of a chore those are to get through. If the extensive backlog of unwatched episodes on my DVR is any indication, it may not be long before I give up on the series altogether.

Related Reviews

Viewing Journal: Durarara!! (complete)

2010-12-03T07:10:00.002-05:00

Series Overview
Watch It Now
Expected DVD release January 2011
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= B+
Story = B+
Video = B
Audio = A-

Journal

Ryuugamine Mikado is a boy who longs for the exciting life of the big city. At the invitation of his childhood friend Masaomi, he transfers to a school in Ikebukuro. Masaomi has warned him about people he doesn't want to cross in the city: a champion fighter, an informant, and a mysterious gang called "Dollars." Nervous from Masaomi's stories, Mikado witnesses an urban legend on his first day in the city, the Headless Rider astride a black motorcycle. From then on, the existence of supernatural cases and a gang called the Yellow Turbans will rise to the surface, and Ikebukuro will pushed to the breaking point. (Source: ANN)

There are some anime series that you know from the first episode that they have bitten off more than they can chew. They will introduce so many characters and concepts that by the end they are either frantically attempting to tie up multiple plot threads or they end the story abruptly without resolving anything. Then there are other shows that can skillfully bring such a complex story to a logical and satisfactory conclusion. Durarara!! is none of those. In this series, plot is a minor concern compared to the joy of just watching the characters do what they do, making for a fun ride where the destination doesn't matter.

Durarara!! adapts the first three volumes of an eight-volume (so far) light novel series. It tells the story of an adventure-seeking teenager named Mikado Ryugamine who, at the invitation of his childhood friend Masaomi, has transferred to a high school in Ikebukuro, Tokyo. On his first day there, Masaomi shows him around, introducing him to some people around town and warning him who to stay away from. And at the end of his tour Mikado even crosses paths with the town's urban legend, the headless motorcycle rider dressed in black.

Probably the most impressive thing about Durarara!! is that it successfully introduces so many characters without feeling underdeveloped or disjointed. A lot of anime series that have an extensive cast will start by introducing different characters individually so you can get an idea of what their basic conflict is but it usually takes a number of episodes to develop them to the point where you care what is going to happen. Durarara!!, however, does something unique with its first episode. As Masaomi shows Mikado around town, seemingly random stuff happens -- like a pop machine flying up in the air -- without any further explanation. Then the following episodes will go back and show what was happening in those seemingly random moments, while at the same time showing even more events or characters in the background that are explained in other episodes. And as the show progresses the characters gradually become more directly involved with one another. So it is feels like the story is continuous instead of having a bunch of separate stories that eventually converge. The result is that it is entertaining from start to finish and each episode leaves you excited for more.

Of course, it's not just the narrative style, but the eclectic cast of surprisingly strong characters that makes this show so fun to watch. The city has everyone from an irritable, super strong butler, to street gangs, to seemingly average school kids who turnout to be not-so-average, to otaku who are gleefully part of a dangerous gang, to the headless biker Celty, and tons more. What makes them so intriguing is that they each one is multidimensional. You see their surface personality, then there is a side that is hidden but which you know is there because of how their personality contrasts with their situation. For instance, there's the prize fighter who is calmly passing out fliers in front of the sushi shop. You know he can kick ass at the drop of a hat just by looking at him, but for the most part he is always calm. So you wonder where he came from and how he ended up in the sushi shop. It's cool to see each characters' true nature gradually rise to the surface, and builds excitement for what is going to happen to them next.

The funny thing is that when I started watching the first episode -- not having any idea of what the anime was about -- it seemed like the story was going to be mostly realistic with maybe a subtle hint of the supernatural. But by the end of the second episode it becomes apparent that the supernatural element is pretty blunt to the point of being comedic or downright awkward; although I'm not sure whether the awkwardness is intentional or not. Specifically I'm referring to Celty the headless Dullahan/Faerie/Mortorcyclist/Underworld delivery girl. When she first shows up in the first episode, before you learn she is in fact headless, she seems like a total bad ass, beating up criminals and slicing them with her ghostly scythe. Then at the end of that episode she removes her helmet to reveal that she does in fact have no head, and a black smoke emanates from her neck-stump. At that point I'm thinking, "Hm. That was weird. Maybe it's just an illusion or there's some logical explanation for why she appears to not have a head." But, no. We learn that she is in fact something called a Dullahan from Scotland -- a headless faerie that visits those who are about to die. Someone stole her head and now she's come to Japan to look for it. Then we learn that she is shacking up with this scientist guy and a good portion of Celty's screen time involves her and the scientist hanging out in the apartment. So you have the scientist and the stump-neck girl casually sitting on the couch chatting in regular street clothes like it's a situation comedy. It even tries to make her appear all sexy including a scene with her in a bikini. And sure she has a nice body, but she has NO HEAD! It's really really weird -- like she's a walking, headless mannequin -- and I was never able to get used to the oddness of it. And the head thing aside, she is also never quite as bad-ass as she was in that first episode. She ends up being more emotional and concerned than tough. She does end up fitting in well with the rest of the cast as the story progresses; but still, she never quite meets the expectations established in that first episode.

Even if Celty doesn't kick quite as much butt as anticipated, there are plenty of other strong characters to fill in the void. The most obvious is Shizuo Heiwajima, the gangly, super-strong butler with a temper that flares up at a hat drop. But I was most surprised by the main character Mikado Ryūgamine. When he first shows up, he seemed to be the person that the audience was supposed to relate to as he learned about the goings-on around town -- a shy, weak character who is maybe a little too naive for the big city. And that may be true to an extent, but it isn't long before we find out that he whole-heartedly embraces and revels in the action of Ikebukuro as he has an insatiable craving for new experiences. He is one of the most interesting characters because the more you learn about him, the more he defies expectations, while maintaining a consistent personality. It's another example of how the characters' contrasting personality traits and narrative style rise above the plot as the main draw of this show.

The only major disappointment is that we don't get to learn more about each character. While there is an impressive amount of development and revelations about their backgrounds, there are simply too many characters to go in depth about all of them or to come to a conclusion about all of the story lines they are involved in. So we never we never learn the full story behind Celty's missing head or Simon Brezhnev's past in the Russia. Even more surprising is that mid-way through the series more characters are introduced only to be dropped after one or two episodes. I assume that these characters have more face time in the original novels, and I can only hope that those books are either adapted into a second anime season or translated into English so we can learn more about the rest of the cast. But even if not, the anime is still well worth watching in its own right.

As for the art and animation, the character and setting designs are slick and the animation is decent, but there are a couple of visual details that contribute significantly to story itself. There are scenes scattered throughout the series involving internet chat sessions. They are simply avatars and pop-up dialogue bubbles, but somehow the simplicity and the way it shows the computer screen at odd angles makes those scenes visually engaging as well; plus they are a great way to show how the characters know each other online before they ever meet face-to-face. The other -- somewhat more subtle -- visual detail is the way in which color is used to bring focus the things happening in the background. For instance, you will have two people talking as they walk through the crowd. The crowd will be all gray and then you will suddenly see a person or two walk by who will be in color. It may last for just a second but it is enough to catch your attention. Then in the next episode it will explain what those background characters were doing. It's a cool and creative way to keep the viewer on their toes and show how the characters' lives all intersect; and this technique becomes even more significant later on in the series.

The music also gives the show a unique feel. It is an impressive blend of moodiness and quirkiness and seems somehow retro, though I have no idea what it would be a throwback to if anything. The opening song for the first half of the series is awesome, with a quick beat that -- along with the dynamic animation and smooth transitions -- really gets got me energized and excited for each episode.

So yeah, awesome show. The progressive development of the characters, and the casual, effortless narrative transitions makes it seem more like you are hanging out with the characters instead of just following events in a story. I'd recommend this both for those who want something a little different as well as those who enjoy the comfort of anime cliches, because this show does definitely use tried-and-true character types but adds unique twists that gives it a spark of originality. So definitely check it out; and then keep your hopes up for season two...

Viewing Journal: Fullmetal Alchemist - Brotherhood (complete)

2010-09-25T07:15:00.003-04:00

Series Overview
Watch It Now
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= A+
Story = A+
Video = A-
Audio = A-

Journal

Two brothers lose their mother to an incurable disease. With the power of "alchemy", they use taboo knowledge to resurrect her. The process fails, and as a toll for using this type of alchemy, the older brother, Edward Elric loses his left leg while the younger brother, Alphonse Elric loses his entire body. To save his brother, Edward sacrifices his right arm and is able to affix his brother's soul to a suit of armor. With the help of a family friend, Edward receives metal limbs - "automail" - to replace his lost ones. With that, Edward vows to search for the Philosopher's Stone to return the brothers to their original bodies, even if it means becoming a "State Alchemist", one who uses his/her alchemy for the military. (Source: ANN)

When I first heard that there was going to be a new Fullmetal Alchemist series I was extremely excited despite not knowing if it would be a sequel, a re-telling, or what. I liked the first series and expected this new one to be epic and awesome and one of the best anime of the year, if not of all time. And when I heard that Funimation would release each episode online only a week after it aired in Japan, I got even more pumped for its premiere. Needless to say that, with such high expectations, when I did finally watch the first episode I was thoroughly let down. I thought the story was silly, the animation wasn't as good as the original series, and overall it seemed trite and underwhelming. So for a while I didn't bother watching any additional episodes. Eventually I decided I would give the show another chance; and I'm glad I did because, as it turned out, my expectations were completely satisfied.

Now before I start the review, I want to go over how the episodes in this new series line up with the first series. Even if you have not seen the 2003/04 series, I think it's good to know because -- as I'll go into more detail about later -- the quality varies between the old and new material.

So episode one is a totally original story that does not show up in either the manga or the first anime series. Then episodes 2 through 13 are mostly comprised of material that was in the first anime, with some minor differences between the two (although it's been a while since I saw the first series so I'm fuzzy on exactly what parts were different). Then episode 14 is mostly new material, and all the episodes after that are completely new material -- with episode 27 being a recap episode. Altogether, the series has 64 episodes. Note that when I say "new material" I mean relative to the first anime. The "new material" actually sticks very closely to the story in the manga so it's not "original" material. Another interesting thing is that the manga was not complete when Studio BONES was animating the last part of the series. Hiromu Arakawa, the author of the manga, gave the animators her script for the manga's ending before it was published, and the animators based their storyboards off of that. So the last chapter of the manga and the last episodes of the anime were released at the same time. How cool is that?!

I mentioned that it's important to know how the episodes in this series match up with the first series because the biggest detriment to Brotherhood's success is the existence of that first FMA anime. The problem is that the story in the first thirteen episodes had already been told in the first series; so the writers have to get through that material as quickly as possible so people familiar with the story won't tune out, while keeping it comprehensible enough for viewers who are seeing it for the first time. In fact, a good amount of the criticism lobbed at Brotherhood is due to the fact that those episodes are basically a recap of the first series.

The problem is that, since it skims over the story so quickly for those 13 episodes, there is very little time to develop the characters and story for new audiences. It makes me wish that the first series didn't exist because maybe then maybe the animators would have given more time to building that first part of the series and the characters would have had more of a chance to grow on the audience giving the events that happen later more of an impact. The best example of this is with the death of a certain character (I won't say who, but if you are familiar with the story you know who I mean). That person's death ends up being a significant part of what motivates Col. Mustang to do some of the things he does. In this series, that certain character doesn't get nearly enough time to develop before dying, so Col. Mustang's reaction seems disproportionate. It's really a dilemma because the show is trying to find a happy medium for both old and new audiences, and as a result may disappoint both.

Of course, that raises the question, "If I have already seen the first series, do I even need to bother to watch those first 13 episodes." I'm not sure because I don't remember the first series all that much and don't remember if there were any significant differences. I guess the easy answer is to just watch them to at least get a refresher.

The one thing I will say though is that you can skip the first episode altogether whether you have seen the first series or not. That first episode really has no impact on the rest of the story and the events that take place are referenced maybe two times in passing during the rest of the show. I think that first episode was written for people who have already seen that first series because it throws you into the story without explaining the show's general premise and doesn't do anything in way of introducing characters . Plus the story in that episode is pretty lame and I would not want newcomers basing their impression of the whole series on that one episode. So, yeah, you can skip that first one and no harm will be done.

So if it's not obvious by now, I really like this series; but what exactly is it that makes it so good? That's hard to narrow down; but basically it has lot of great elements that all mesh together to make it compelling, exciting, and just plain fun to watch.

First of all, the story is based on an interesting concept: alchemy. The thing about alchemy that sets Brotherhood apart from other shows that have a similar idea is that alchemy looks a lot like magic, but it is actually -- according to the show -- based on science. So you have these characters doing these cool things like throwing fire or pulling spears out of the ground or made a concrete fist form out of a wall to punch the enemy and it all has a slight air of legitimacy because, hey, it's based on sound scientific principles. The other thing that distinguishes alchemy from magic is that it has limits. With magic you can pretty much do anything and your explanation is "it's magic". But much of what makes alchemy interesting is that, because it is based on certain principles, it has certain limitations; namely that nothing can be created without first giving something else up. So you can't do something like bring the dead back to life, at least not without drastic consequences. And this is what gives the show a large amount of it's drama because the characters WANT to do certain things, believing that alchemy and science are the answer; and when they can't do it or when they learn of the repercussions, they go through severe emotional stress.

The other thing about alchemy that makes it such an original piece of the story is conflict between the science of alchemy and religion. First, you have Ed, who is an athiest and believes that science can answer everything. Then there is the character Scar who is part of a religious race (a pretty blantant reference to Muslims) who -- against his religious principles -- uses the science of Alchemy to enact revenge for the eradication of his people. But getting back to Ed, what makes it really fascinating is that, despite not believing in God, he must achnowledge the existence of the soul. I like when shows develope the concept of the science of the soul (Evangelion was the other one) because it gives the show an epic feel. I said before that the science gives the fantastic events an element of legitimacy, and the same is true for the metaphysical elements. There is somewhere beyond the world where souls go, and that is exactly why Ed was able to save his brother Al in the beginning of the story. So this melding of science and religion give the show drama but also give it a larger-than-life feel and a supernatural mystery to it. It all comes together really well.

Of course, a good concept won't do you much good without following through with a good story. First of all, the mixture of action, drama, and humor balance each other out, without the sudden and awkward shifts in tone that were in the first series. But the one thing that this show has over the first series -- and most other anime for that matter -- is that it never deviates from its story. Other than than the first episode and one re-cap episode, there is no filler. Each episode builds upon the last through all 64 episodes in an epic storyline that ends in a satisfactory and well planned out conclusion. All the plot threads wrap up so nothing is left hanging. And throughout the entire story there are plot twists and revelations that keep the series unpredictable and full of dramatic surprises. Characters plot and strategize against each other, so you never quite know if the advantage someone has one minute will hold up the next minute. And the story moves at a very steady pace, without feeling either too rushed or too slow. A big way to see this is in the fact that the story doesn't just start killing off its characters in the last few episodes. Characters actually start getting knocked off relatively early in the series, and for a few of them you never know if they are truly dead.

And it really is the characters which catapult this show to the top of my fav list. Just about every character is worth watching and adds a new dimension to the story. What makes them worth watching is the fact that each one is complex and multi-layered to the point where even the bad guys have some respectable characteristics. For some characters, it's that they are one way on the outside, but another way at heart. The best example would be Major Armstrong from Fort Briggs who seems like a cold-hearted tough-as-nails military leader, but is also intensely devoted to protecting her men. But the characters tend to play their cards close to their chest and never fully reveal their intentions until the last minute meaning that the characters are all full of surprises. The homunculi in particular may not be hiding much in terms of personality -- except for maybe Wrath and Pride (and Pride is the best homunculus in my opinion) -- but are hiding some of their physical abilities and powers.

In addition to the multi-layered personalities is the fact that characters can change and mature over time. Ed and Al are the best example of this, and Al in particular. One big criticism of the first series was that Al never seemed much more than a motivation for his brother Ed. Al never seemed to do a lot on his own. He was always in awe of his brother but never became very independent. In this series, however, Al spends a good amount of time on his own, and as a result we not only get to see Al have a significant impact on the story, but we also see him mature and become strong and independent in his own right.

Even more than the characters themselves, it's their relationships that really give this show its dramatic kick. The characters' devotion to one another and their drive to follow through with that devotion makes for some of the most memorable scenes in the show. A lot of anime tries to pull off this same "value of friendship" theme, but FMA takes it greater, unexpected lengths giving it a hit-you-in-the-gut kind of impact and makes for some of seriously spine tingling and tear jerking moments. It pulls this off by staying true the the dramatic moments and maintaining the emotional intensity, but keeping a certain amount of the drama unspoken, subtle, and implicit. So the drama is intense, without being melodramatic. And when a scene is getting overly melodramatic, that's when the characters will recognize it with some sort of comedic reaction. So the comedy doesn't break the genuine drama, but does so with the melodrama.

So, the story and characters are great, but what about the animation? The funny thing about this show is that, in the beginning, the animation is okay, but I don't think it's as good as the first series. However, once you get past episode 14, the animation takes a giant leap. Maybe that's because up until then the animators were just trying to rush through it, or maybe it's because some of the scenes in those episodes demand great animation. The dynamics of the character movements and the shifting camera angles during the fight scenes really add to the excitement because it helps to maintain the pacing and flow of the action. But more than the fight scenes, I think the animation helps with dramatic scenes as well. That's because truly great animation will be able to capture the subtle shifts in facial expression and body posture that contain implicit emotions. And there are a few scenes that come to mind in FMA where this kind of dramatic animation really packs a punch. Whatever the case, the artwork and movement in the "new" episodes are solid, detailed, and fluid.

And much like the animation enhances the action and drama in each scene, the same is true for the music. The show does recycle the same score throughout the show, but that doesn't do anything to dull its impact. It really adds to the flow of the series and does a great job of pulling you into the moment. It all really comes together nicely.

I know that I've done nothing but praise this show, and I'm sure that there are plenty of flaws or things about it that won't be attractive to all audiences; but personally every episode -- especially after the first 14 -- were so satisfying and affecting that it's hard for me to look back and pick out those flaws. I think part of that is due to the fact that I was so let down by the first episode that my expectations went from extremely high to extremely low for all the later episodes. That combined with the fact that I had no idea what to expect in terms of the story made this show constantly surprising and defying my expectations. So given that, this glowing review may end up ruining the show for some people (assuming anyone reads it) since it will heighten their expectations. And I think that when people assume great things about something, they are more easily able to pick out the bad things -- even if they are not trying. But even so I'm just calling it like I see it. This is really the first show since I started watching anime where I was constantly anticipating and excited for new episodes week-to-week. And although the ending was completely satisfying, I was a little disappointed that I'd wouldn't have it to look forward to each week. And that's about the best review I can give: that it affected me enough for me to miss it when it was gone. Hopefully other people will have the same reaction, despite my rose-colored review.

Notes

A few final things to note that I think some people might be interested in. For one, there is going to be a movie version of Brotherhood. I assume (hope) that it is going to be a re-telling of the series but I'm not sure.

The other thing is that -- even though I've seen the entire show subtitled through Funimation's website, I'm also watching the dub on Adult Swim. And I noticed that Adult Swim does edit the show somewhat for time reasons I assume more than for content. In the original version of the later episodes (maybe like 16 and up?) there is an extra scene added between the end credits and the next-week-preview. But that extra scene is removed entirely from the Adult Swim version. That's disappointing because, while you can figure out what happened eventually, the scene did actually add something to the story. But anyway, just thought you'd like to know.

Cheers.

Related Reviews

Viewing Journal: Genshiken 2 (complete)

2010-08-28T07:25:00.000-04:00

Series Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= B-
Story = B-
Video = B
Audio = C+

Journal

The members of Genshiken are accepted as participants in the upcoming ComiFes, and Sasahara must adjust to his new role as club president. Meanwhile, Ogiue continues to struggle to fit in to her new surroundings. (Source: ANN)

And the seventh and final title in my list of anime/manga/books that I watched/read months ago but am only getting to review now — the Genshiken 2 OAV series. Actually, I watched this one relatively recently, being that I finished it in May 2010 or there about. Even so, it's been a while and I still have to wring my brain for details so I'll lump this in with the rest of my backlog reviews. Not that that designation matters to you, but...whatever. On with the review...

Genshiken is a title that especially close to my heart because I've watched the first series and read all of the manga, and at the end of both I felt a tinge of regret that they were over. So when I heard that they were creating more animation, I was really excited to get a chance to visit with the Genshiken crew again. Unfortunately, this new series fails to capture much of the magic that made the first series so great.

Now, just as a bit of warning, most of this review is going to draw comparisons between this series and the first one as well as the original manga. And even though I'd say that it's fair to compare this sequel series to the first — since if you are watching this then you most likely watched the original — I think some people would say that it's not as fair to compare it to the original manga. After all, many if not most people may have not read the manga and wouldn't understand the comparison; and even for those who have read the manga, you could argue that the anime should have the freedom to develop its own voice without having to strictly follow the source material. Despite that, I'm going to draw the comparisons anyway. For one thing, personally, I am often interested in how closely an anime follows its original manga, even if I have not read said manga; so I'm guessing that others may be equally curious. In the case of Genshiken in particular, the first anime series followed the manga very closely, so I think it's fair to inform audiences if the second series was the same way.

So before I get into the review proper, I want to take a step back and talk a little bit about what made the original anime and manga so great. Genshiken is about a college anime/manga club consisting of members who hang out and chat about their favorite TV show or comic. It's a fun comedy because even if you are not an anime fan, you can laugh at the character interactions and how the different personalities bounce off of one another in a casual, Seinfeld-like dynamic. Even if you can't relate to their love of their specific hobby, you can relate to the way that the friends hanging out and talking about goofy stuff. The key to the show's success is that the talk about anime is used as a way to build the characters' personality and their relationships. So when Madarame is at Comiket standing in the rain in quiet pain from some accidental injuries, but refusing to seek medical attention for fear of missing out on the start of the event, it's not just funny, it's showing his personality through his fanatical devotion. The constant debates between the club and the non-otaku Saki are not just there as an excuse to discuss anime, it's there to develop the relationship between those characters through that conflict. The talk about anime is a narrative and comedic tool as much as it is a lesson in anime esoterica. In short, it's funny, it's relatable, and you don't need to be an anime fan to enjoy it any more than you'd need to be, say, a race car fan to enjoy Initial D (assuming you like Initial D).

And that brings us to Genshiken 2...

On the positive side, we do get to see more of the old gang from the first series — Sasahara, Madarame, Kousaka, Saki, and the rest — along with the new members. Of the new characters, the most significant is Ogiue, who hates all otaku even though she is an one herself. She loves yaoi and loves to draw boy-love doujinshi (ie, fan comic). In fact, one of the most entertaining and somewhat disturbing episodes in this new series involves her fantasizing about making a doujinshi about two of the boys in the club. The other new characters are okay and have their occasional moments to shine, but Ogiue is really the driving force behind this new series. There is also an episode or two about Ohno's friends from America coming to visit, which is pretty funny too. These new characters definitely bring something new to the show that makes it fun to watch and funny in its own way.

But there is still something missing here that made the original series and manga so much better and — for me personally — cathartic to watch; and I think it has to do with how they treat the subject of anime/manga fandom in relation to the characters. In this sequel, the focus is more on the anime and manga itself and showing how silly if not downright depraved the medium and fandom are. Instead of using anime fandom to define and develop the characters and their relationships, it's using the characters to define anime fandom. There's less interaction between the characters where they debate the positive and negative aspects of the medium. Gone are the arguments with between Saki and Madarame over what makes an otaku an otaku, which made the show more accessible to non-fans. In fact, Saki and Kousaka are noticeably absent in this series. Kousaka's bright — if oblivious — attitude and Saki's struggle to change-him-or-adapt added a lot of comedic energy to the first series. Here, their relationship seems more hopeless than comedic.

In fact, all of the relationships in the show suffer from that same sense of pessimism. In the first series and manga, the characters romantic relationships are like a glimmer of proof that there is hope for these characters after all — they can find happiness and love if they can find someone with a common passion to bond over. In this series, the relationships are either underplayed or come off as downright grim. Saki seems hopeless in her relationship with Kousaka, and Takana and Ohno's relationship is hardly mentioned. And the hesitant relationship between Ogiue and Sasahara, which was such a huge — if subtle — driving force in the manga, is barely noticeable here. And a big chunk of the manga which focused almost exclusively on developing their relationship was totally left out of this anime.

In essence, although the show is a comedy, it's comedy relies less on character-driven, situational comedy than on a sort of awkward if not totally dry humor that relies more on emphasizing otaku depravity. As a result, a lot of the fun and energy is sucked out of this sequel and the characters seem more pitiful than lovable. In the first series and manga, you laugh at because you recognize yourself in the characters. In this series, you cringe because you recognize yourself in the characters. In the first series, I wished I could hang out with the characters due to a common bond which made that series so cathartic. In this series, I want to distance myself from them as much as possible.

Also, in the first series, the characters were embarrassed about their hobby, but for the most part they emphasized pride in their passion. Madarame was constantly coming up with his own logic for why he was into anime and manga and Kousaka had no shame for playing porn video games. This made for ironic, but light-hearted, self-deprecating humor . But here there is more focus on shamefulness than on pride. Part of that is that Kousaka and his cheery attitude are almost completely missing. You could say that Ogiue and her hatred for otaku are to blame for that sense of pessimism, but that same personality is there in the manga. But in the manga you can always see beneath the surface that her hatred is just a farce and, like Sasahara in the first series, she comes to accept her love for it more and more. In this anime, that side of her isn't as apparent or is gone altogether.

As for the animation quality, I don't think it's necessarily any better or worse than the original series, but it is different. It's a bit more realistic and detailed. For me, that somehow contributed to the fact that it's not quite as energetic as the original series.

In the end, I hesitate to say that this is a bad show, it's just that it's not nearly as enjoyable or effective as the original. I enjoyed another look at the Genshiken gang, but I didn't get that same connection that hit me with the original anime and the manga. It was funny at times, but was also kind of a downer. What I was really hoping for was to have an animated version of the second half of the manga, much how the original anime adapted the manga so closely. At the series conclusion, I didn't feel nearly the sense of loss that I felt at the end of the first anime or manga. Fans will probably watch this series regardless of how it compares to the other iterations of the story, especially if they never read the manga; but I'd say to those people to not expect to feel the same kind of connection to the characters that you may be used to.

Related Reviews

Viewing Journal: Michiko to Hatchin (complete)

2010-08-10T06:40:00.005-04:00

Series Overview
Bittorrent Download
(not yet licensed in US)
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= C
Story = C-
Video = B+
Audio = B-

Journal

Hatchin is a girl raised by strict foster parents who has long given up her dreams of freedom. Michiko is a sexy criminal who escapes from a supposedly inescapable prison. When she suddenly enters Hana's life, these two very different women set off on a journey across a lawless land in search of a missing man from both their pasts. (Source: ANN)

And here is number six in my list of anime reviews for shows that I completed months ago but am only writing about now. This time it's Michiko to Hatchin. (Or is it Michiko e Hatchin?) I have seen a lot of reviewers say that this is similiar to Cowboy Bebop, so I'm going to spend the majority of this review comparing the two. I don't usually like reviewing shows by comparing it to another show, but since a lot of people seem to insist that the two are so alike and are confused why this anime isn't more popular or license for US release, I think it might be worthwhile. Basically, I think the Bebop comparison doesn't go any further than the art style and any comparisons related to the story, themes, or mood don't last much past the first few episodes.

The beginning of the series is actually very promising. Hana -- aka Hatchin -- is a girl who was adopted by a well-respected religious family. But the family only took her in to collect the government grants, and they take pleasure in treating her as a slave and abusing her at every opportunity. Michiko -- a woman who recently escaped prison -- crashes into the family's home and kidnaps Hana. As it turns out, Michiko is Hana's mother and they both end up on a journey to find Hatchin's father, Hiroshi. But they have to stay on the move in order to avoid the police, especially the afro-sporting lady-cop Atsuko who seems to be connected to Michiko's past. This plot is mostly a set-up for Michiko and Hatchin to roam around, meet people, and get into trouble. Most episodes are stand-alone stories that don't have anything to do with finding Hiroshi.

In terms of its similarity to Bebop, the first thing you'll notice in the initial episodes is the visuals, especially the character designs and the overall "coolness" of the style. I'm not saying that these things are exactly like Cowboy Bebop or that they need to be associated with that show to be considered good. But I think that when people see the show's style -- myself included -- it will spark that memory of Bebop's characters and tone and the hope that this show will provide the same kind of experience.

Mitchiko to Hatchin is not as eclectic as Bebop; but it's characters, setting, and overall visuals do have their own unique, stylish, and exotic idiosyncrasy to them. The story takes place in a fictional Brazil-like setting. The areas that the main characters travel to range from the slums to backwater areas to the big city. All of the character designs are unique and interesting. Mitchiko is especially fun to watch, since she wears something different every episode and it's always extremely stylish. (That's especially amazing considering that she has little to no luggage during her travels.) The characters are not extremely muscular, but they are tough and threatening none-the-less. Their intimidation is mainly implied through their personality or their callousness toward violence.

But if there is one thing that separates this show from Cowboy Bebop it is its harsh violence. Bebop could be moody at times, but it's gun play and general action scenes were mostly fun and exhilarating. Michiko to Hatchin takes its violence more seriously. It isn't especially physically graphic, but the characters are so hardened to the violence as a way-of-life, and are so matter-of-fact about its execution that the overall tone makes these scenes more sobering and surprising.

So I really did enjoy the first five or six episodes, although at the time I was not sure why. It was strange because I would watch an episode and be thinking how cool it was throughout the entire thing; but then once I turned it off and thought back, I would realize that nothing really happened. It was like it was trying to create a tone instead of develop a story or characters. And the more I watched, the more shallow and pretentious it seemed to be. Each episode ended much the same as it began, with no real lessons learned and no advancement to the story. And with no substance, much of it seemed pointless.

And, like the plot itself, the characters seem to have less and less substance the further you get into the story. In particular, one character whom I was confused about is the woman cop who is constantly chasing after Mitchiko: Atsuko. They appear to be childhood friends, but exactly what their relationship was beyond that I was never sure. There were times when Atsuko would catch Hatchin, or nearly catch her only to intentionally let her go. It seemed like there was supposed to be some internal struggle that Atsuko was going through relating to whether or not she really did want to arrest Mitchiko, but I was never sure what the source of that struggle was. Was it just their friendship versus her duty as a cop that she was conflicted over? Did she have some kind of romantic feelings for Mitchiko? Was there something from their past that was caused this inner turmoil? I still don't know, and I don't even think there were any subtle clues to pick up on. And it's impossible to empathize with someone when you don't understand the source of their emotional stress. Plus, since you know that she is going to let Mitchiko go every time, there's no tension over whether she is going to get caught. So in the end it just seemed like Atsuko's only purpose was to motivate Mitchiko to keep moving, while preventing the possibility that she would actually get caught, and using an obscure personal drama as the excuse.

The show's ending -- while not satisfying or climactic -- did help to clarify the theme. In the end, the show is about reality versus perception and how people can twist their memories to in to a kind of idealistic nostalgia, even if it doesn't reflect what actually happened. Michiko perceives things idealistically and Hatchin is more realistic. And as a result Hatchin is more subject to abuse and the harsh realities of the world, while Michiko ignores that and is more interested in chasing after a dream and believes that if they can just find Hatchin's father, then they can all live as one perfect family. Once I realized that, it redeemed the show a little bit in my eyes because it means that both Michiko and Hatchin were more complex than I had been giving them credit for. But even so, I don't think that knowing that makes the show much more entertaining.

So anyway, I think this is an interesting show, but I don't think it would have as much overall appeal in the US as a lot of people think it would. Despite it's attractive visuals, it lacks story and character development. The first few episodes may grab viewers' attention, but once you get further into it, it becomes apparent that the storyline is thin, the character development is shallow, and overall it becomes boring. I would recommend maybe checking out the first few episodes and see what you think, but after that I'm guessing that a lot of people would lose interest and move on to other things.

Reading Journal: Twelve Kingdoms - The Vast Spread of the Seas

2010-07-26T06:20:00.003-04:00

Book Overview

Rating:
Overall= B+

Journal

When only an eggfruit, the kirin of the En Kingdom, Rokuta, was transported to Japan for his own protection. But he was abandoned soon after birth by his surrogate parents, left to fend for himself in the mountains. It just so happened that at the same time, a young boy in the En Kingdom named Koya was also abandoned by his own parents, after which he was raised by demon beasts. Their similar circumstances aren't the only thing to bind these two boys, though. Twenty years after their abandonment, their destinies intersect, with potentially disastrous consequences for the En Kingdom. (Source: RightStuf)

Aaaaaand here we have number five in my list of stuff that I finished months ago but am only getting around to reviewing now. This time it's the third volume in the Twelve Kingdoms saga: The Vast Spread of Seas. This one I finished around January; and although I can't remember a lot of details, I do remember that it is a fantastic entry in the book series.

While the first two volumes were introductions to the world of the Twelve Kingdoms, this volume is less interested in introducing new terms and concepts than it is in fleshing out a fully-realized, well-paced story. The first two volumes mostly focused on characters arriving at the Twelve Kingdoms and needing to adapt by learning the complexities that govern the world. And while the third volume also has characters from Earth (or "Horai") entering the new world and vice versa; the story really picks up when those characters are well-adapted to the world. As a result, it can focus more on the conflicts between people and and development of the characters.

Of course, even though the book is not introducing a lot of new concepts and the focus is more on the story; it is still maintains a certain level of World development that was part of what made the first two books so great. But it's more like this book develops previously-introduced concepts by revealing new aspects to them. We learn new things about he demons, as they adopt and raise an abandoned boy. We learn about the kirin and things like how to bind their powers. Those kinds of things give the setting depth and keep the story it fresh.

As with the other books, the characters here are complex, as are their interactions with one another. However, where the first two books were more about the main characters' internal struggles or their struggles simply trying to stay alive in the world; this one is more directly about conflicts between groups of people with different ideas about how the world should be run. But even more than that, there are interpersonal conflicts between individual people within and between those groups. As a result, this story is not quite as intensely personal as the first novel, and not as peaceful as the second. Instead, it strikes a good balance and maintains a well paced and well thought-out story.

If there was one conventional character in this book, it would be the King of En. He is the kind of character that seems laid back and irresponsible, but that ends up being just a misinterpretation of his keen leadership abilities, mental prowess, and concern for his people. But just because I've seen that type of thing before, doesn't make him any less compelling of a character. Unlike other characters of that type I've seen in anime and manga, he isn't masking his true motivations with an goofy facade. That goofiness is more of a result of his general attitude toward life, and is actually consistent with his motivations. And that consistency and honesty make him a stronger and more original character.

The one thing about having read this so long ago is that I forget some of the deeper themes and ideas interwoven into the story. For this book probably more than any of the Twelve Kingdoms book so far, I thought that certain parts of the story were supposed to symbolize different things. But now I can't remember what all of that symbolism was! There has always been the themes of working for people or working with nature, but I remember thinking of specific things that scenes were supposed to represent. So I guess my point is that this book has deep meanings, but I don't know what they are, so I guess you'll just have to trust me.

So anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say that all three of the Twelve Kingdoms book have been great so far, but also each of them has been very, very different; with each having a different tone but each also building more upon the world it takes place in. I'm looking forward to seeing what the next four book have to offer.

Related Reviews

Viewing Journal: Bleach - The DiamondDust Rebellion

2010-07-21T22:30:00.001-04:00

Movie Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= B-
Story = B-
Video = B
Audio = C+

Journal

A valuable artifact known as "King's Seal" is stolen by a mysterious group of people during transport in Soul Society. Hitsugaya Toushiro, the 10th division captain of Gotei 13, who is assigned to transport the seal fights the leader of the group and shortly after goes missing. After the incident, Seireitei declares Hitsugaya a traitor and orders the capture and execution of Hitsugaya. Kurosaki Ichigo refuses to believe this, and along with Matsumoto Rangiku, Kuchiki Rukia and Abarai Renji swear to uncover the real mastermind of the stolen seal, find Hitsugaya and clear his name. Meanwhile, a rogue Hitsugaya searches for the perpetrators and uncovers a dark secret regarding a long dead shinigami. (Source: ANN)

And now number four in my series of reviews of stuff that I viewed months ago but am only getting to review now. This time it's the second Bleach movie: The DiamondDust Rebellion. This one I actually had to go back and fast-forward through because I couldn't remember much of what it was about. I suppose that in itself doesn't bode well since it means it wasn't impactful enough to be memorable; but even so, as far as Bleach content created exclusively for anime (ie, not adapted from the manga) goes, it's not bad.

Having watched around 150 episodes of the TV series, I've been exposed to countless filler episodes (ie, episodes that deviate from the story of the original manga), and contrary to popular belief, a handful of those fillers are actually pretty good. The ones that are good tend to focus on analyzing and developing a specific character. In that same way, this movie is an improvement over the first movie because it narrowly focuses on developing and expanding the background of a single character: Hitsugaya Toushiro. Focusing on an existing character instead of creating a new complicated plot line involving multiple new characters helps the the story to feel more seamlessly integrated into the series instead of being tacked on. And as a result, I didn't find myself getting distracted by trying to figure out whether or not the new material would have any impact on the original story.

I have to admit that out of all the soul reapers, Hitsugaya is probably one of my least favorite. He seems to not have much of a personality, and his Zanpakto's ice techniques seem generic and cliche. But after watching this movie -- which focuses on Hitsugaya -- I'm starting to understand what his character is all about. Basically, he is supposed to be similar to Ichigo. For one, they both want to avoid getting other people involved in their problems; and two, their harsh personalities mask their deeper issues. And as a result of seeing that relationship, I'm starting to see Hitsugaya in a whole new light. And that is why I think these character-focused stories work so well. They provide the opportunity to flesh out the character by showing deeper and more detailed aspects of their personality, and a result makes them more empathetic and understandable.

The animation for this movie was -- as, by definition, you would expect from a movie -- theatrical quality. I art was detailed and clean, and the animation was fluid. I also liked that the art was a darker and/or monochromatic than the TV show usually is, with more scenes at night or on cloudy days or in the fog or whatever. I really enjoyed it and appreciated how it set a moodier atmosphere.

So overall, I would recommend this movie to Bleach fans, and especially Hitsugaya fans. As original anime goes, this one holds its own as a strong and enjoyable story.

Related Reviews:

Awesome Clips: Hellsing OAV 7 - Seras rages

2010-07-18T16:16:00.013-04:00

*SPOILER ALERT*

From Hellsing OAV (aka. Hellsing Ultimate) episode 7. Who needs Alucard? As far as I'm concerned, this makes Seras the new star of the show... if for no other reason than her demonstration of the all-time best method for stopping someone from punching you in the face...

Viewing Journal: Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit (complete)

2010-07-18T15:45:00.002-04:00

Series Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= A
Story = A
Video = A
Audio = B

Journal

Balsa the spearwoman is a wandering warrior, who takes on the task of saving lives, in atonement for a past sin. On her journey, she happens to save a prince, and is tasked with becoming his bodyguard. And he is going to need one, for his own father, the emperor, wants him dead. (Source: ANN)

And now third in my series of anime that I watched months ago is the famously under-appreciated Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit. I watched this one on Adult Swim back when it had broadcast, then canceled, then restarted the series, and finally finishing it back in December 2009.

I say that this show is “famously under-appreciated” because most reviews that I have seen has praised it, but has also said that nobody is watching it. Even Adult Swim canceled its run half-way through presumably due to poor ratings. And I think it’s worthwhile trying to understand why people don’t watch it when it is so good.

I think one of the main reasons people love it in terms of both its art and its story is the same reason that people don’t watch it: its level of detail. This show has an intricate story, deep characters, and lush art; but the time it spends showing these things to the audience means that there is less action and slower pacing.

In terms of the characters, that means that they will analyze and discuss their choices before taking action. That means there are conversation about politics and culture and religion, as well as analyzing the motivations of other characters. I am guessing that a lot of viewers would have no patience for this and would prefer characters to use action to solve their problems. But for others, myself included, the detail helps to maintain the pace because you can understand the setting and the characters’ motivations better and are not constantly distracted by thinking “why did they do that?” or “why didn’t they just do this instead of that?” You get a deeper understanding of the characters and their actions, and as a result makes the story more engrossing.

Another criticism that I’ve heard about Moribito -- and other Kamiyama-directed shows -- is that the characters are dry and don’t show enough emotion. And maybe you could provide an argument supporting the latter, but I seriously contend the former. Instead of “dry” I would say that they are “restrained.” Meaning that there is emotion, but since these characters are so mentally strong, they either choose not to show it or don't show it because of the situation or because of the culture that they live in. And this makes the times when they do show that emotion all that much more earnest, believable, and significant.

The mental resilience of the characters may also put off some viewers. By that I mean that many anime shows include at least one character who is unsure of him or herself or has some vulnerability that they have to learn to overcome. The characters in Morbito have vulnerabilities as well, but it takes time for the audience to discover them. And in the meantime, all the main characters seem strong-minded and reasonable, which may make them harder to sympathize with.

Also, the emotion of the characters is more subtle than you find in much anime where characters have intensely exaggerated reactions and emotions whether they be romantic or violent. Balsa is a prime example of this subtle approach. Her main motivation appears to be to save the eight lives to make up for something that happened in her past, and the last of those lives is the prince Chagum. But she insists on not just protecting his life, but also keeping him mentally and emotionally safe. And in doing so she acts both as a gentle mother and a stern strong father-figure. When she fights, it is for a specific purpose relating to protecting someone, and not out of anger. And almost all characters in this show offer the same level of complexity and subtlety making them more interesting to watch.

One thing that may put some people off is the fact that there are not really any good guys or bad guys. There are just people with different goals and a series of different understandings of the facts that cause the conflicts in the story. But there is no real dichotomy of good and evil since all the characters are trying to act for what they think is the best for everyone. And while this makes for fantastic characterization, it makes it hard for those who want to know who exactly to root for and who to root against.

The setting of the story is also complex and believable. This is a fantasy story, but it feels more real than the usual fantasy. The closest thing I could compare it to would be Twelve Kingdoms, with that level of detail and that level to which the fantasy elements are intertwined with the world and its culture. The characters in Moribito are not surprised to when they see something magical happen – at least the magic itself is not surprising, even if the significance or impact of the magic is. In fact the word “magic” is not really an accurate term and I don’t think it’s really ever used in the show. The characters simply accept that the world is the way it is. Like we see a tree and don’t question why it’s there; the characters in Moribito accept things like spirits existing in an alternate world because it is a factual part of their history and ingrained in their culture.

On the flip-side, the setting also may put off some viewers. Moribito is a fantasy, but one that is very eastern in appearance and takes place in it’s own self-contained world without any plot-connections to our own world. So the concepts and elements are not as familiar to western audiences, and as a result, there is little to relate to.

For those who love the show – or at least for myself – the unfamiliarity of the setting and the strength of the characters are part of what makes the show so great. As the story progresses and we learn more details about the world, it becomes more engrossing. The fact that the setting is something new and that we learn new things about it as the story progresses is stimulating.

And for me the strength of the characters is more refreshing than it is off-putting. I can enjoy characters who gain confidence throughout a story, but it is also enjoyable to see strong, competent characters react to one another; and then as the story progresses, discover their vulnerabilities. It makes any changes that they go through that much more impressive.

Of course the visuals in this story are downright incredible. This was animated by Production IG, the studio behind Ghost in the Shell. And keeping in line with the story, the visuals are also detailed and realistic. But you won’t see speed lines or exaggerated action in the animation either. The character movements are very grounded in reality, but still beautiful to watch. But the animation is always in service of the story. When there was a fight scene, there was always a purpose behind it in terms of the character motivations. When there was an action scene I was more focused on why the characters were fighting more than I was getting caught up in the action of the fight itself. That’s not to say that the animation was not stellar, it’s just that – like a good soundtrack – the animation enhanced the story instead of defining it.

At any rate, I’ll wrap of this review (seeing as how this is probably the longest and most convoluted one I’ve ever written) by adding my voice to the others who have said that this show is vastly under-appreciated and deserves more recognition. It’s a smart story with strong characters and beautiful animation. And I would say that it’s probably one of the best shows I’ve seen.

Awesome Clips: Hellsing OAV 6 ending credits

2010-07-09T07:16:00.002-04:00

Purely for the sake of awesomeness, I submit to you the ending credits of the Hellsing OAV (aka Hellsing Ultimate) episode 6. There are not really any spoilers here, so if you have not seen the whole show or previous episodes, no need to worry. The song here is Magnolia by Suilen.

Viewing Journal: L Change the World

2010-07-08T06:20:00.002-04:00

Movie Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= D
Story = D
Video = C
Audio = C

Journal

After writing his own name in the Death Note in order to beat Light Yagami, L now has only 28 days before he dies of a heart attack. But L can't call it quits yet. Sent by F, L receives a mathematical genius child, whom witnessed his home village destroyed by terrorists armed with a deadly virus. Now, L must battle K and her group of terrorists, as they attempt to develop an antidote to save themselves before they release the deadly virus on the world. With the help of Maki, a girl who's father killed himself stopping the terrorists, and Sugura, a FBI agent looking for the Death Note, L must not only fight the terrorists, but also against the clock, ticking down on his life. (Source: ANN)

And now for second title in my list of stuff that I watched months ago but am only getting around to reviewing now: L Change the World. This is the follow-up to the two previous Death Note live-action movies and does not correspond to anything in the manga or anime. It tells the story of master detective L who, at the end of the second movie, wrote his own name in the Death Note (which, in case you've never been exposed to Death Note before, is a notebook in which anyone who's name is written will die) in order to defeat Light Yagami. As a result he only has 28 days to live; but when L finds out about a terrorist plot to use a deadly virus to eradicate humanity, he has to dedicate those final days to saving the world.

Putting aside the connection the movie has with the Death Note franchise; even as a standalone film, this movie is trite and cliche and doesn't take advantage of its potential. Eco-terrorists intend to spread a deadly virus throughout the world -- while saving the antidote for themselves -- and the only one who can stop them is L. It sounds more like a bad James Bond film than anything from Death Note. The movie's title "L Change the World" seems to imply that L causes humanity to go through some epic transformation as his last act in the world; but nothing of the sort happens. And it could have been an epic, especially given that L had all of the genius children at the Whammy House at his disposal. But, even though some of the Whammy House children are involved, their genius isn't used to any great extent. And the whole movie is to be counting down to L's death, so it would have been great if he would have been fighting up until the minute he died, and maybe his death would somehow be the thing that defeated the villains. But instead he defeats the villains with a good couple of days to spare, which totally deflates the tension. So by the conclusion, I found myself anxious to just get to L's death already.

Even though this is a Death Note movie, it has none of the qualities that made the original story so great. I love the manga, anime, and even the first two movies' story because there are two (or sometimes more) strong, intelligent characters who would be constantly trying to out-think one another in order to get the upper hand. There is a lot of strategy involved that leads to exciting and surprising plot twists. But in this movie, even though the main villain is a genius from Whammy House, she does not do anything strategy-wise to indicate that she is any smarter than the average villain.

In fact, neither does L; and that is what really makes this movie sink. L doesn't show any of his genius world-renown detective skills here. The movie is just him chasing after people and using his physical resources to solve the crime, not his intelligence. Instead, the story tries to make up for this lack of personality by pushing his love of sweets and his hunched over posture as his sole personality traits.

Overall, it is pretty blatantly obvious that this is purely an attempt to milk a little more money out of the Death Note name, and a very lazy attempt at that. The writers did little more than take the L character, strip him of everything that made him a engaging and intelligent character, amp up his superficial traits, and then drop him in a cliche destroy-the-world plot. So don't be duped into watching this because you want to be a Death Note completist, since there is little here other than the main character's name that makes this a Death Note story, and nothing that makes it worth watching for anyone who is not familiar with the original story.

Okay, so I lied...

2010-07-05T08:01:00.011-04:00

So I said that I wouldn't watch any new anime until I finished my backlog of reviews; but with the series coming to an end, I couldn't help but watch the penultimate episodes 62 and 63 of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood on Funimation's website. And holy crap am I glad I did. Friggin' episodes actually made me cry -- like actual tears. And not just a few either.

So I guess FMA: Brotherhood has officially replaced Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex as my favorite anime of all time. Any show that can actually elicit bodily fluid (from the eyes) can't be called any less.

Review to come after I finish that frigging backlog...

[Edit] FYI.. There's a movie coming too.

Viewing Journal: Freedom (complete)

2010-07-03T06:20:00.002-04:00

OAV Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= B+
Story = B+
Video = A+
Audio = B+

Journal

In the year 2041, mankind created their first space colony on the moon. But after a freak cataclysm devastated human civilization on Earth, the republic of the moon built a domed megalopolis known as Eden. Now in the year 2267, a boy called Takeru spends his time engaging in hover-craft races against rival street gangs, unaware that he is about to embark in the journey of unearthing Eden's origin. (Source: ANN)

So it's been like seven months since I last reviewed anything. That's not to say that I haven't been watching anime in that time, it's just that I have either had trouble trying to figure out how to review things or simply put it off -- but NO MORE! I have a backlog of six or seven shows/movies/manga/books that I want to write about, so I have vowed that I will not watch anything new until I have completed this batch of reviews. Of course, it has been a while since I actually watching these shows, so I'll have to rely on the few notes I took and my unreliable memory. As a result, the next few viewing journal entries may either be brief or vague or downright inaccurate. But at least I'll have them done, right? Anyway, here we go...

The first series on my list -- which I saw I think back in December 2009 or January 2010 -- is Freedom. This is a 6-episode OVA about a teenager named Takeru who lives a restricted life in a enclosed metropolis on the moon...that is until he finds a photo of a girl which was supposedly sent from the long-thought-uninhabitable Earth. Takeru becomes madly infatuated with this girl and dedicates himself to traveling to Earth to meet her. Of course, first he has to find a means of getting to Earth, not to mention getting past the Moon's governing council which is intent on hiding the truth about Earth from the citizenry.

I've always liked stories about teenagers challenging societies and the governments that run them. When I was younger, I liked the idea that a kid can have a huge impact on the world and do things that adults can't. These days it has more to do with a fondness for that youthful optimism where nothing is impossible. Takeru embodies that optimism coupled with tenacity and naive passion, and these qualities make him ignore both pragmatic and paranoid opposition and push him to follow his new-found dream. Overall, his passion is really what makes this anime for me.

Other than that, the sci-fi setting is also impressive. It isn't that the technology is believable so much as it is detailed and expansive. Things like the mechanical details of the motor bikes, and practical considerations like the fact that the government imposes a curfew in order to conserve energy -- all make the storyline seem more real and engrossing.

Of course, the biggest selling point for this show is the animation. It is computer animated, but more like cell-shade animation or something similar. It is still 2-D but you can tell from the fluidity of the characters and the way that they move that it is not hand-drawn. And even though the characters' movements occasionally appear unnaturally stiff, 98% of the time they move naturally and have dynamic facial expressions -- unlike most other computer-animated shows I've seen. I think part of that is due to the Katsushiro Otomo's (Akira) character designs. He does not use the traditional huge-eyed anime characters. His art style is simple, clean, and realistic in terms of character proportions. Plus, unlike a lot of other anime, his character designs don't shift in their art style for comedic or dramatic effect and their facial expressions are not as exaggerated. So since his designs are so solid and consistent, they animate well with computers -- which, by their nature, are not as spontaneous or abstract as hand-drawn animation.

The music is also pretty good. Though honestly I can't remember much of anything other than the opening song, which was done by the same singer who did "Beautiful World" from the Evangelion 1.0 movie -- Utada Hikaru.

Of course, this isn't all sunshine and roses, as there are a few things that bothered me about this show. For instance, although Takeru was a great character and I enjoyed watching youthful passion, none of the other characters were as strong and were mostly uninteresting and passionless cliches. For example, Takeru's friend Bizmarck was the whiny one in the cast and was always telling Takeru that his plans wouldn't work. I can understand his role as an antagonist to the story, but the fact that he seemed to have no personality other than to complain really grated on my nerves after a while.

Also, the story often does a great job of creating a sense of realism by bringing up practical concerns, but then throws those concerns out the window the minute they got in the way of the the story's progression. For instance, when Takeru and Bizmarch finally get to Earth, they need to find this girl that Takeru loves. And at first the story seems to recognize the fact that searching an entire planet for one person is a near impossible task for two kids on a motor bike. But almost as soon as as the characters recognize this fact, they are given a series conveniences that allow them to find her. I'm not sure if you would call that deux ex machina, but regardless it seems like a cheap way for the writers to solve a narrative snag.

Another thing that bothered me about the story which was the fact that the moon's council had told its people that the earth was uninhabitable due to a nuclear fallout from years earlier (or something -- I can't remember exactly). But of course, Takeru discovers that the Earth is alive and well once he sees it in the moon's sky. Now putting aside the fact that no one bothered to look at the earth in the sky before this; the story never tells what actually did happen to the Earth? Was there a nuclear war or not? If so, was the earth ever not inhabitable? If so, how did people survive there? Those seemed like major plot points that could have helped make the story more believable, but were never properly explained.

Of course, you can't talk about this show without mentioning the blaring Ramen Cup Noodle logos blatantly splattered in every episode. The show I think was actually created as an advertisement for Cup Noodle, so it's understandable. But the logo is so blatant and out-of-place that it seems like more like a running-gag than an advertisement. But really you only see it once or twice briefly in each episode, so it doesn't interfere with the story too much.

So anyway, that's Freedom. It's worth watching if you can pick it up cheap on Amazon or eBay. I remember when it first came out there was a huge stink about the fact that each DVD cost like $50 for one episode-per-disc. But now I think you can get the whole collection for less than that. So if you have the time, I think this one is worth watching.

Anime World Order Podcast

2010-06-29T05:47:00.008-04:00

So I was searching around for a anime podcast to help keep me awake on my drives to and from work when I found this Anime World Order podcast.

The show is made up of three hosts -- Daryl, Gerald, and Clarissa -- who review anime, talk about news, and generally discuss all things anime and manga. All three seem to have in-depth knowledge about the subject and have some intelligent discussions while still keeping back-and-forth dialogue between them fun and often irreverent. Daryl -- who does the editing for the show -- does a good job of keeping dialogue at a steady pace and avoiding the awkward pauses that I have heard in the few other podcasts I've listened to.

In particular, I'm currently going through their "Decade in Review" series of casts. It's fun and nostalgic to listen to them review the shows from 2000 onward.

Anyway, give it a listen. You can download it on iTunes, or you can listen through their website.

Akira Bicycle

2010-06-17T06:15:00.003-04:00

This was apparently done as a t-shirt design for a Nike charity event. "Teams across the globe take part in a le mans 24hr style race to promote the charity Red." [Source] I just think it's cool. In the unlikely event that you don't get the reference, see here.

Viewing Journal: Fullmetal Alchemist - Premium Collection

2010-01-02T06:25:00.000-05:00

OAV Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= C+
Story = C+
Video = B-
Audio = C

Journal

If you have not seen the original Fullmetal Alchemist TV series and movie, then this "Premium OAV Collection" will be worthless to you. Even if you have seen the series and movie, this is still not required viewing. This is a collection of four very short videos that are outside the regular series' continuity.

The first story is a live-action video that has Al in his suit-of-armor form, appearing around the city, and ending at Studio Bones (which animated the original series). There is nothing more to this than an Al statue being filmed in different settings with a voice-over.

The next part shows a very young Ed, Al, and Winry running around the city trying to get to a particular place. Out of all of these shorts, this one seems like it might actually be connected to the end of the movie. The ending is strange in a "I know this means something, but I don't know what" kind of way. I'll just leave it at that.

The third part shows all the characters in super-deformed form as they have just finished filming the movie. They are all hanging out drinking and goofing around. It's fun and pointless and I'm sure a lot of fans will get a kick out of.

The last part is part of a Fullmetal Alchemist "interactive experience" attraction that was available in Japan around the time the film was wrapping up. It treats you -- the audience -- as a character in the story, so the characters are constantly talking to the camera as if it were a person. According to the plot, you are a new alchemist recruit and after an expository intro, you go into battle against the homunculi and save everyone. It's the only short with any kind of action, but again is not necessarily in perfect continuity with the regular series.

So is this video worth picking up? It is a fun bit of extra animation, but it probably would not be worth the $15 to anyone other than the total FMA completist. It would have been more worthwhile if it had been included as an extra on the original series' DVDs than a standalone video.

Viewing Journal: Pumpkin Scissors (complete)

2009-12-31T07:00:00.001-05:00

Series Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= D+
Story = D
Video = C
Audio = C

Journal

After a long war with the Republic of Frost, the Empire abruptly signs a cease-fire, ending the war. Three years later, the Empire is in ruins with starvation and plague. Former soldiers have become bandits. Former Anti-Tank Trooper, Randel Orlando, unexpectedly runs into and joins the Pumpkin Scissors platoon, an Imperial Army relief effort led by Alice L. Malvin to restore order to the war-torn Empire. (Source: ANN)

The first few episodes of Pumpkin Scissors seem promising. It takes place in the aftermath of a war where a small band of soldiers is trying to protect the commoners from the corruption and abuse of the upper class. The group includes a gentle-giant with a mysterious origin who turns into a ruthless killer whenever he lights is blue lantern. There is a driven noble woman who goes against her family's wishes in order to work for the common people. There are all kinds of ironic characters, relatable themes, and intriguing mysteries that should have made for a compelling series. But it ends up either not cashing in on this potential, or cashing in too much, or waiting to cash in until just before the series ends.

Let's start with the "Anti-Tank Trooper" Randel Orlando. In the beginning, this is the character that makes you sit back and say, "This is going to be such an awesome show." He's huge with a scarred face and lives under a bridge with the other homeless people. He's kind with a quiet, gentle demeanor; but when he lights up the lantern that hangs on his hip, his eyes go blank, he pulls out his gun and nothing -- not even a tank -- can stop him from taking out his target. Power, compassion, and mystery all come together with this guy. So what happened?

First of all, the show never delves into Orlando's past. We learn that there is this scientist lady who apparently made him the way he is. We also learn the reason behind why he was created -- that being to wield the large anti-tank gun that can only be affective against a tank at close range; thus the person using the gun had to have no fear of death. But we never learn the specific past of Orlando himself. Where did he originally come from? Why was he specifically chosen to be an Anti-Tank Trooper? What kind of brain washing had to take place to make that possible? And of course, I couldn't help but think that there was a greater conspiracy behind it all. For instance, why would Orlando be sent to the Pumpkin Scissors unit in the first place? There had to be a story behind that, but we never learn what it is.

The other thing about Orlando is that he lights his craziness-lantern way too much. In every single episode for most of the series, that is how the Pumpkin Scissors unit gets out of a jam. That tank coming after you? Light the lantern. Guys coming at you with guns? Light the lantern. Kitten stuck in a tree? Light the lantern. After a while it lost it's meaning and intensity because it became predictable and seemed like overkill for most of the situations.

The other character that has a lot of potential is Alice. She is just the opposite of Orlando. She is outgoing and aggressive, but lives with her well-to-do noble family. And just like Orlando, she has her own set of mysteries that never pan out. These mysteries mostly have to do with her fiance.. what's-his-name. He is all suave and easy-going, but he is obviously just using her for some scheme of his own, but we never lean what that is.

I think that overall the reason this show is such a disappointment is because I was expecting all this character development and unraveling conspiracies over a long story. But about three quarters or of the show involve stand alone episodes that do not contribute to any grander story arc. So you never get the feeling of the story progressing or the scope of the story growing. And when we do finally get a string of episodes that show potential for a larger story, the series suddenly ends and we wind up with all kinds of loose strings.

The animation does not even make the show worth watching. The first few episodes have some quality animation, but after that it ranges from average to poor.

So I can not recommend this show at all. It has a lot of poential but nothing develops to any satisfactory degree.

Viewing Journal: Bleach (episodes 121-143)

2009-12-30T07:05:00.000-05:00

Series Overview
TV Broadcast Info
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall = B
Story = B
Video = B-
Audio = C+

Journal

As quickly as the battle between the Soul Reapers and Arrancars began, it comes to an end. Having learned that Aizen and the Arrancars are planning initiate a large-scale attack on the world of the living, the Soul Society orders the Soul Reapers to begin preparing for the battle. In the meantime, Ichigo meets up with the Vizards in order to learn to control his Hollow-side, and Chad and Uryu go through their own training. To the Soul Reapers' surprise the Arrancars attack early and again leave unexpectedly, but not before convincing Orihime to come with them back to the world of the Hollows...

I've been following this series for a while now; so I thought this might be a good time to look back and see if the show is still as good as it was when it began. When I started watching Bleach, I loved it for its character development; balance of action, comedy, and drama; and the way that the characters would analyze each others' fighting styles. So how does this season compare to the first?

To start, in these episodes we do learn more about the different characters. Specifically we learn that the Soul Reapers have some kind of limit on their power when they are in the world of the living, which they then are able to remove provided they get the proper permissions. Then we have the bald Ikkaku Madarame, who reveals that he really isn't allowed to use his bankai because it's too powerful (or something like that). There isn't quite the exploration of characters' backgrounds as there has been in previous episodes, but at least there's some degree of character development.

As for the battles, they can be intense as each character reveals new fighting techniques and increases their levels of power, but there isn't as much analysis of technique and strategy as there was in earlier episodes. This is disappointing because as much as I like to see intense fighting, seeing the mental side of the battle makes them more engrossing.

Although there is still action, comedy, and drama in this show; it isn't as balanced as it was when the show started. Now an entire episode might be dedicated to either action, comedy, or drama, but you don't see all of them all together as much. I was even getting worrie because for a good while there was a lot of action but not a lot of drama. But then the whole part about Orihime getting kidnapped came up and totally got me excited about the show again.

For the filler episodes there was some good and some bad episodes. The first filler arc dealing with the brother trying to save his sister from the Arrancar was dull. But then there is a series of stand-alone episodes that ended up being the best filler yet. They are more character-focused and if you don't like the story in one, you don't have to deal with it for more that one episode. The final filler story about the rebel Arrancars surprised me because I originally through it was part of the regular storyline. The character designs and quality of the story had me convinced and it wasn't until I looked it up online that I realized it was filler.

On a final note, I'll say that Ichigo's dad does show up as his Soul Reaper self near the end of this collection of episodes. I know I said in my last review that I was wondering what ever happened to him, so I thought I'd mention that.

So overall this is a nice mix of episode of varying quality, and includes both filler and regular episodes. Even though it isn't as good as the first season, the last few episodes re-ignited my excitement for the series. Hopefully the next set of episodes can justify that excitement.

Related Posts:

Viewing Journal: Sky Crawlers

2009-12-09T07:30:00.002-05:00

Movie Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= B-
Story = B-
Video = A-
Audio = B+

Journal

The story unfolds in another 'possible' modern age. The main characters are youngsters called "Kildren", who are destined to live eternally in their adolescence. The Kildren are conscious that every day could be the last, because they fight a "war as entertainment" organized and operated by adults. But as they embrace the reality they are faced with, they live their day-to-day lives to the full. (Source: ANN)

It's hard for appreciate a Mamoru Oshii (Ghost in the Shell, Avalon) film the first time through. His movies are filled with weighty silence and philosophical characters and deep themes; and usually it's hard for me to understand what it's all about, especially when all I want and expect is something entertaining. Sky Crawlers is no exception to the rule. Sure, it's more accessible that some of Oshii's recent work, but that's mainly because it has some visually dynamic, intense, and innovative aerial battle sequences and the relatively smooth and detailed character animation. But when it comes to the rest of the story there is still that deep, moody character interaction. Usually it takes me a couple of viewings to fully appreciate it and pick up on the subtleties and story details I might have missed the first time around (although I'm not sure I'll get that chance).

But putting aside the thematic depth or dark mood of the movie, I think the story suffered a bit due to its lack of explanation for some key plot elements. For example, the movie the pilots talk about this unbeatable enemy pilot called "Teacher," but no further explanation of "Teacher" is provided. And then, near the end of the movie we are told that the pilots are eternally young and are created purely for the purpose of taking part in battle. But I can't help but think that there might have been greater opportunity for dramatic impact if I had known that closer to the beginning of the movie.

So in the end, this is probably among the more accessible movies that Oshii has made, and it is certainly praiseworthy for its mood-building and action sequences. But the story itself, while full of meaning (I think), suffered from either misplaced or a complete lack of plot explanation -- although, maybe that was the point.

Dead Fantasy 3

2009-09-28T14:18:00.006-04:00

Compared to the first two this one is still a well choreographed, but far less epic girl-on-girl battle sequence. And the credits take up like a quarter of the entire movie! Still fun to watch though.

[HQ Version]

Naoki Urasawa interview

2009-09-21T22:54:00.004-04:00

Here's a great interview with the creator of Monster, 20th Century Boys, and Pluto -- Naoki Urasawa. He talks about his major inspirations (Osamu Tezuka and Bob Dylan). He also goes through a time when he had to stop doing 20th Century Boys due to an injury from drawing too much! I don't usually spend the time to go through lengthy interview videos like this, but I thought this one was worth it. (Although I would have been interested to hear more about his work on Pluto.)

Part 1 of 5

Part 2 of 5

Part 3 of 5

Part 4 of 5

Part 5 of 5

Reading Journal: Trigun / Trigun Maximum (complete)

2009-08-27T07:00:00.005-04:00

Manga Overview
Book Info

Rating:
Overall= D
Story = C-
Art = D

Journal

Vash the Stampede is a gunman on the run with a 60 billion double dollar bounty on his head which has made it difficult for him to go anywhere without being chased and shot at. Because of the bounty, every town he ever visit ends up being destroyed because of his pursuers, and miracliously, no one ever gets killed. Meryl and Milly are two insurance agents that have been sent to find Vash the Stampede and keep him under surveillance so no more damage is caused. Meryl, who leads the pair, can't believe that the man they have met can possibly be the legendary gunman. This spikey haired, gangly, and blonde young man is extremely friendly, a pacifist, hates blood and suicide, absolutely loves donuts, and is a dork and a crybaby...there is no way he could he be Vash the Stampede, a notorious outlaw. However, there's more to Vash than just smiles and dounuts. (Source: ANN)

I -- like a lot of anime fans out there -- loved the Trigun anime. So I started reading the original manga because I heard that it went more in depth into the story and characters. And it does. It gives more detail about the origin of Vash and Knives and gives more information about Wolfwood and the people from his group the "Eye of Michael." Plus it gives more background behind the planet that the story takes place on. But unfortunately 90% of the time I couldn't glean much information at all from the manga because the artwork was so confusing.

That's not to say that the art isn't cool, it is just messy and difficult to interpret. The character designs are incredibly cool, and individual panels during fight scenes are frantic and energetic. But there is a disconnect between the art and the story -- most notably during any kind of action (which took up a good majority of the manga). Something might happen like an explosion, but there there may be no reference in the art to show where that explosion is taking place. Or there may be a group of panels showing a fight scene or one of Vash or Knives' many odd transformation scenes, but it's hard to tell what is happening because there's no way to know how the different panels are related. You can't tell how the fight goes from point A in panel 1 to point B in panel 2. It would have been just as effective to have a page with a big scribble for all I could glean from those action scenes. And the dialogue is no help because after all this incomprehensible action takes place a character would say something like "Oh my gosh, I can't believe that happened." But I would have no idea what they were reacting to, so I was constantly thinking that I was missing vital pieces of the story. It really got frustrating and annoying at times.

In truth, if it wasn't for this manga's connection to the anime I probably would have stopped following it a long time ago. I'm positive that all kinds of cool stuff was happening during the 16 volumes (2 volumes of Trigun and 14 volumes of Trigun Maximum). But since so much of it was lost one me, my whole reason for reading the manga -- that is to get more information about the story that I'd loved so much in the anime -- was lost too.

Viewing Journal: Flag (complete)

2009-08-26T07:10:00.003-04:00

Series Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= C+
Story = C+
Video = C+
Audio = B

Journal

In 20xx, a civil war broke out in a small country in Asia in spite of the dispatch of UN forces. But a picture taken by accident in the battle field accelerates the peace process. It is a picture of a flag which became the symbol of peace. However, just before the peace agreement is achieved, the flag is robbed by an armed extremist group in order to obstruct the truce. The UN decides to send SDC (Special Development Command) and a cameraman to record their activities. That cameraman is Shirasu Saeko - the cameraman who took the picture of the flag. Armed with the HAVWC (High Agility Versatile Weapon Carrier), Saeko documents their journey. (Source: ANN)

There's no doubt that Flag used an original concept -- at least for an anime. It tells its entire story through cameras, photographs, security videos, and news clips. But mostly it's told through the camera lens of the main character Sirasu Saeko and occasionally that of her "senior" Keiichi Akagi.

And this gimmick is pulled off with surprising believability. The camera might just be sitting on a cafeteria table or hanging around Sirasu's neck, so you might just see a hand or leg or even just the ground while a conversation goes on. This adds a good deal of realism to the story. That sense of realism is supported by the complexity of the storyline and the culture of the fictional country in which the story is taking place.

Unfortunately, a number of elements disrupt that sense of realism. First of all, the whole concept of a single flag being critical to a country's peace negotiations was hard for me to accept. But even given that, the worst flaw of the show is the fact that it throws mecha into the mix. That totally disrupted any sense of realism that that it might have been otherwise shooting for. Not that I expect total plausibility in my anime, but it just seems a waste for a show like this that is so successful at using realistic camera angles, to essentially negate that by bringing in a concept like humanoid mecha.

Although, even if it didn't have the mecha, I think the whole gimmick of using the camera to tell the story started wearing on me after three or four episodes. After that point I had gotten over the novelty of the concept and it started to get downright annoying because it seemed like it was getting in the way of the storytelling instead of enhancing it. It was frustrating because it seemed like I wasn't getting the whole story. Although I guess that was kind of the whole point, but it still doesn't do much for the series' entertainment value.

As far as the art and animation, it was pretty average. The only thing that really stands out is -- again -- the realism of the camera angels and movement and video quality. So the camera might be out of focus, or jittery while the cameraman is running, or other things like that.

The music also really sticks out in this show as enhancing that sense of realism. There isn't a lot of music here, but when there is -- from the opening to the closing credits and everything in between -- it's subtle but often packs an emotional punch and enhances that realism.

So as you can tell, the theme of this review is "realism". If the show would have taken that theme and carried it throughout the story and maybe cut down the episode count (even thirteen episodes seemed to be too much), then it could have been a phenomenal show. But despite the flaws, the extent to which the show takes "camera" concept really is impressive.

Viewing Journal: Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion & R2 (complete)

2009-08-25T08:10:00.001-04:00

Series Overview
TV Broadcast Info
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= F-
Story = F-
Video = F+
Audio = F

Journal

The Empire of Britannia has invaded Japan using giant robot weapons called Knightmare Frames. Japan is now referred to as Area 11, and its people the 11's. A Britannian who was living in Japan at the time, Lelouch, vowed to his Japanese friend Suzaku that he'd destroy Britannia. Years later, Lelouch is in high school, but regularly skips out of school to go play chess and gamble on himself. One day, he stumbles on terrorists 11's who've stolen a military secret and is caught by a member of the Britannian task force sent after them, who is Suzaku. As the rest of the squad arrives, Suzaku is shot for disobeying orders, while the military secret, a young girl, gives Lelouch the power of Geass, which makes anyone obey any order. While Suzaku is secretly made the pilot of Britannia's brand new prototype Knightmare, Lancelot, Lelouch becomes the masked Zero to lead the rebellion to destroy Britannia once and for all. (Source: ANN)

This is the worst show I have ever seen. It is absolute crap. There is nothing good about this show, and in fact it gets worse as you go on.

Now for those of you who have never seen it, go watch the show for yourself -- despite my hatred for it (like you listen to me anyway) -- and DO NOT READ THE REST OF THIS REVIEW. You have been warned.

Okay, for the rest of you, forget all that. (See the end of the review if you're confused.) This show is awesome. In fact, it is one of the most entertaining and unpredictable shows I have seen in... probably ever.

Although, for the first few episodes I was not sure what to think of it. First of all, the whole story revolves around an empire called Britania taking over the world, which essentially seems to be a commentary on how Western civilization is overtaking all other cultures. So right off the bat, I was put off by what essentially seemed to be a criticism of the US. Then you are introduced to all of the characters who all seem like typical anime stereotypes in both design and personality, complete with cheesy dialogue and melodramatic relationships. Of course, you also have the giant robots -- another typical anime staple. So given all this, it's not surprising that the show did relatively poorly in the ratings when it aired on Adult Swim in the US.

But if you can get past all of that and watch more than the first couple episodes, you are in for a wild ride with twists and turns and where each episode is more epic than the last. This is one of the few shows where I genuinely did not know what was going to happen next. And I don't mean unpredictable as in "random chaos". Each twist is actually a reasonable extension of the characters' personalities and is consistent with past events within the story. I don't think I've seen a story filled with so much strategic play between characters, where each character is trying to out-think and/or out-maneuver each other and ends up bringing out a surprise trump card to eliminate the other guy's trump card in a way that makes you jump out of your seat and scream "Yeah, take that bitch!" (which I think I literally did on a number of occasions), since Death Note. But where Death Note's unpredictability ended up causing it to loose focus (although it still kicked ass), with Code Geass, what made it great at the beginning is what makes it great at the end.

Of course, saying that the story stays consistent within it's plot twists does not necessarily mean that it's realistic. In fact, this is a show that is as much about over-the-top grandiose melodrama and action as anything else. Before watching this show, I always thought that the only way to pull off melodrama to this degree was for it to be a sort of self-aware type that is a sort of parody of itself or to balance itself off with subtle genuine drama. But this show pulls the over-the-top version off with to such an uncompromising and unforgiving extreme that it's blown my theory right out of the water. I think the reason that it can pull it off is because it's the type of melodrama that never slows down the story, but in fact spurs the characters on to act and pushes the story forward. Characters' emotions are extreme, leading them to take extreme actions. They know exactly what they want to do and they don't hold back in their effort to achieve what they want regardless of trail of bodies they leave behind them.

And there are stacks of bodies left in the wake of this show. No character is safe. The violence is not horribly graphic, but there is blood a-plenty and there is little build up to when a character dies. People get shot (or whatever) when you least expect it, adding all the more to the unpredictability of the show.

And speaking of consistency, the quality of the art and animation never wavers throughout this show's two seasons -- something that just blew me away. The character designs are as dramatic as the characters themselves. And everything from the lines to the colors are crystal clear and clean. I have not seen a series look this good for this many episodes -- well, probably ever. It's certainly not ground-breaking artistry, but it's not meant to be. It's the kind of visuals that support the story perfectly.

The same with the music. I'm not going to rush out to buy the soundtrack individually, but it does it's job of supporting the emotion and action of the show itself perfectly.

So with all this perfection, does the ending of the story hold up. I say, hell yes. There were so many times where I THOUGHT the show was going to end disappointingly (because I thought there would be less episodes then there actually were) but it just kept on going until it reached its final appropriate and altogether satisfying conclusion.

And honestly, I could go on and on about the different elements in Code Geass -- like the mecha and their increasingly more powerful weaponry, or the origin of the power of Geass or the key relationship between LeLouche and Suzaku and whatever else I'm forgetting. But this show is just so chalk-full of awesomeness that I could not believe that it went on for as long as it did. Although I'm sure I'm building it up way too much for anyone that has not seen it yet. Obviously I had low expectations when I watched it so I'm sure that contributed to the level of surprise that I experienced throughout it's run. So I suppose I may have just ruined the experience for anyone who has not seen it yet. So forget everything I said, this show sucks. In fact, maybe I should put a disclaimer at the beginning as a warning to those who haven't seen it yet. And I should change my "grades" up there too. And speaking of which, here's my real ratings:

Overall= A
Story = A
Video = B+
Audio = B

Cheers.

Viewing Journal: Irresponsible Captain Tylor OVA (complete)

2009-08-23T07:00:00.001-04:00

OAV Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= C-
Story = D+
Video = C
Audio = C

Journal

The shooting war is over with both the Raalgon Empire and the United Planets Space Force able to declare victory. Both sides have withdrawn their massed fleets and everything should have settled down to normal. It should come as no real surprise that it hasn't. The Raalgon Empire have taken the opportunity to secretly deploy a new weapon. Learning of this the UPSF has no choice but to send the Soyokaze on a secret mission to find out what this new weapon is. The scariest part of all, though, is that Justy Ueki Tylor has a plan. (Source: ANN)

I enjoyed the Captain Tylor TV series, so I picked up the OVA series hoping that it would continue the in the wacky fun of the crew of the Soyokaze. But unfortunately this set of extra Tylor episodes failed to capture much of what I liked about he first series.

First of all, I was hoping that all 10 episodes would tell an extended story, but as it turns out the first two or so episodes are related, then most of the middle episodes focus on individual characters, then the final three or four episodes tell another complete story. Plus, most of the time the crew is not even aboard their ship, and they are seldom even together. So you don't get to see much in terms of space adventure, or the character's dynamic.

The other problem is that the story in the few related episodes never comes to satisfying resolutions. The first story arc has Captain Tylor and Azalyn meet up again and supposedly discuss a way to help the Raalgons and humans achieve peace, but we never learn what the details of those plans are. And the final episodes has the Raalgons and humans going up against a third enemy, but although we finally learn who the enemy is (sort of) we never see the enemy fought or defeated.

The middle five or so episodes are mainly about the individual characters. Some of them are better than others, but again, I enjoy watching the dynamic of the characters interacting as a group more than as individual characters, so these episodes didn't do much for me.

The animation and art are on par with the original TV series. I still enjoyed detail in the show's old-school animation which was one of main reasons that I started watching this show to begin with.

So in conclusion, I don't think this set of episodes adds anything special to the original experience of the TV series. If anything it detracts from it a little because while the TV series came to a satisfying conclusion, this OVA opens up plot threads that are never satisfactorily concluded.

Viewing Journal: Bleach (episodes 98 - 120)

2009-08-22T07:20:00.006-04:00

Series Overview
TV Broadcast Info
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= B-
Story = B-
Video = C+
Audio = C+

Journal

The Bounts' assault on the Soul Society reaches it's explosive and fateful climax as the extent of Kariya's plans for vengeance finally become clear. In the aftermath, Ichigo returns home only to find new challenges awaiting him. The rebel Soul Reaper Sosuke Aizen is starting to put his plans into action. Those plans involves the use of a super-powerful form of beings called Arrancars who are a melding of Soul Reaper and Hollow. And if that weren't enough, Ichigo is also met by a group of beings called Vizards who, like himself, have their own "inner hollow" and want to bring Ichigo into their fold...

In this set of episodes the Bount filler story arc concludes and the main story featuring the rebel Soul Reaper Aizen and his plot to control two worlds continues.

First of all, we have the story of the Bounts. And for as much as most of the episodes in this arc have dragged on, the concluding six or so episodes seem comparably rushed. As the battles with the Soul Reapers rage, the Bounts start dropping like flies. And that is especially surprising given that the Bounts are supposed to be immortal while in the Soul Society due to their regenerative ability. And while the final battle between Ichigo and Kariya is slightly more intense and flashy, it still comes and goes just as quickly. So in the end, it seems that this filler story really was just that: Something that can be slowed down or speed up depended on how much time the writers needed to waste before getting back go the main story.

Of course, when things do get back to the real story -- ie, the one that follows the plot of the original manga -- we finally get to see the main characters develop and things of actual consequence start to happen.

First of all we find out that Aizen -- the mastermind behind everything that happened with when Rukia was arrested and sentenced to death, and who subsequently disappeared with a host of powerful Hollows -- is gathering and developing a group of all-powerful Hollows called Arankars in order to fight the Soul Reaper squads and eventually take over the universe via the use of the Hōgyoku (which allows him to meld Soul Reapers with Hollows) which he stole back in that earlier arc. (Take a breath!)

At the same time a new student named Shinji has arrived at Ichigo's school. And apparently Shinji is interested in Ichigo's inner hollow. So as it turns out, Shinji has his own inner hollow and is part of a group of spirits called Vizards, all of which can "hollowify" -- ie, bring out their inner hollow to help them fight -- and they are trying to recruit Ichigo to join their crew.

So that's all pretty interesting and cool, but then we also get thrown some rather odd curveballs. For instance, Ichigo's dad is a Soul Reaper now. What? Where did that come from? And as weird as that fact is, after Dad-as-Soul-Reaper is introduced, it's never brought up again. (Note: I'm almost through the season of episodes following this one, and it still hasn't been brought up again.) So I'm not sure what's up with that.

Another thing that bugs me is that Rukia has her Soul Reaper powers back now! I mean, the whole premise of the story is that Ichigo took her powers, and the fact that she now has gotten them back seems to destroy the whole weight behind what Ichigo is doing, especially when when she got them back simply by spending some time in the Soul Society. Part of the drama of Ichigo being a "substitute Soul Reaper" is that he got that way via Rukia's sacrifice, so now he has to carry that burden. But now he's not really even "substituting" for anyone anymore so the everything he's doing now seems pointless. Considering what a significant plot point that is, it seems like they should have at the very least made a bigger deal out of it.

As for the art and animation, it's pretty much the same as it ever was -- average to above average. But of special note are the character designs -- they're just so cool. The Bounts had somewhat original designs I guess, but for some reason the Arrancars and Vizards just look so much cooler and have so much more personality to their visual design. Each one is basically a variation on a them (a hollow-mask and a Zanpakutou) but there is SO much variety on that theme that it makes them so much fun to watch.

For the music, I have noticed that a few new nuggets have been added to the soundtrack, but much of it is still recycled from earlier in the series. It's gotten to the point where I know exactly what music is going to play at certain times depending on if there's drama or action or whatever. I really think the soundtrack could use a major overhaul.

So in conclusion, if you've gotten this far in the series there's no point in stopping now. You (and I) have made it through the tedium of the Bount filler arc and stuff that matters is starting to happen again. Now we just have to see how long it lasts.

As a final note, I just wanted to say kudos to Adult Swim for showing two episodes per week now. I wonder how long that will last before they are caught up to the Japanese episodes. Although, for some reason they have not been showing the original ending animation for the past couple seasons, and instead just show random images from the show during the end credits. Plus they never show the previews for the next episodes! How cheap is that? (So much for kudos.)

Related Posts:

Trigun movie trailer

2009-07-18T14:51:00.000-04:00

...with a totally original story.

Yet another Evangelion 2.0 movie trailer

2009-05-11T23:08:00.009-04:00

Well, looks like I'm going have to plan another trip to Japan. (I wish.)

Related Posts

Red Line trailer = Awesome

2009-05-08T09:38:00.003-04:00

Source: Catsuka

Reading Journal: Monster (complete)

2009-05-03T06:59:00.002-04:00

Manga Overview
Book Info

Rating:
Overall= B+
Story = B+
Art = B+

Journal

When a Doctor makes the highly controversial decision to save a boy's life over the mayor's, it leads to the loss of almost everything he holds dear. His fiance, his career, his social standing. The only thing he keeps is his own feeling of self worth, knowing that he did the right thing in saving the boy, who came in first. Yet even that is threatened when he begins to learn that nothing is as it originally appeared. A trail of bloodshed pointing to the seemingly innocent child leaves him questioning even his beliefs. Whether, in the end, all lives are ever truly equal. (Source: ANN)

I already knew most of this story before I read it. That's because a while ago I watched the Monster anime; and since the anime and manga play out the exact same story, reading it in the manga left little to be surprised about.

So given that, this is a difficult review to write because, since I knew what to expect, there wasn't as much tension or anticipation about what would happen next. So as far as the story itself is concerned, I think you can refer back to my review of the anime to see what I thought about it.

Although, going through the story the second time does give me the opportunity to look at it with a more critical eye. For instance, this time I realized that we never learn much about what all the different organizations were trying to use Johan to achieve. We know that everyone is fascinated by him and want him to be their leader in some way, but to what end -- from either their perspective or Johan's -- I am not sure. And along those same lines, there are parts of the story that seem a little drawn out, with new characters constantly being introduced that did not seem necessary. And although the character development was top-notch, I never did get that feeling of dread that other characters (and other manga reviewers) had about Johan.

But despite that, the reason I wanted to read this story for the second time in manga for was because I wanted to see how such an intricate story and realistic setting and characters played out in manga form. It was more curiosity than anything else. And what I came to realize is just how skillfully the manga writer/artist Naoki Urasawa was able to relay the story. I mean, it really is just a lot of dialogue and very little action, but the manga never gets boring because it is told at such a brisk pace. The art is clearly drawn with equally detailed attention give to both characters and setting. The panel layout makes the action easy to follow -- something all too infrequent in a lot of manga I've read. And the dialogue is written with such efficiency and economy, that it is able to relay a lot of information in very few words while still maintaining character's personalities and intonations. Urasawa is one of the most talented manga artists/writers I've seen and I'm looking forward to reading a couple of his other works that I have sitting on my shelf right now: 20th Century Boys and Pluto.

So, in short, even through the story has some flaws I highly recommend this manga for those seeking a truly mature story. Or of course, you can watch the anime and pretty much get the same experience. And in fact I think Funimation is supposed to start releasing the anime within the next few months free online, so there you go. Although, with a length of 72 episodes, I think reading the 18 volume manga might end up saving you some time. But either way, you can't go wrong.

Viewing Journal: Nana 1 & 2 (live action movies)

2009-05-02T06:59:00.004-04:00

Movie Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= B+
Story = B+
Video = B+
Audio = B+

Journal

Two girls, both named Nana and of the same age, coincidentally meet on a train trip to Tokyo. They soon find themselves living with each other under the same roof because of an even bigger coincidence. Even though they share the same name and age, they differ in just about everything else. Even so, through hard experiences in love and life, a strong friendship is born between them, as both Nanas grow through their hardships and struggle to win the odds. (Source: ANN)

I don't have much to say about Nana other than that I like it. I think part of the reason is because it is about a rock band, and stories about bands -- whether real or fictional -- always seem to draw me for some reason. Probably the reason for that is because they usually involves an everyday normal person achieving success by following their passions: basically a feel good, success story with characters you can relate to. It's the same thing here, because Rock-girl Nana is trying to create a successful band. But there's the added twist that she is motivated by the desire to be an even bigger success than her former boyfriend, who is now I superstar rocker. And of course, you have the good-girl-Nana who is Rocker-Nana's biggest groupie, apartment-mate, and friend.

And definitely the Rocker-Nana is the more appealing character out of the two Nanas. Her childhood hardships made her strong and willful, which is always a good way to make a sympathetic character. The innocent-good-girl Nana is less appealing because of her puppy-doggish following of the other Nana, but is also more relatable because of it. She is drawn into the world of the other Nana (confused yet?) and wants to be like her. But because of her naivete she ends up getting taken advantage of and gets into a bit-o-trouble. But even though the two are opposites, they are attracted to each other (as just friends...I think) because each envies the other's life. The dynamic between those two Nana's and their friendship is a big part of what draws you into the story.

The other thing that draws you in is the casual nature of how all these rock stars act. Rocker-Nana's band all meet together in their apartment and BS just like regular friends would. There's conflict here (and a good deal of over-acted melodrama), but mainly in as much as people are struggling to maintain their relationships when their opposing lifestyles are pulling them apart. Sounds kind of cheesy when you put it like that, but even so, it's a big part of what makes these two movies so easy to watch.

That same tone also applies to the plot. There are some stories that seem to just be about the characters doing stuff, without ever having a defined direction, and thus gets tedious to watch after a while. This movie had that same kind of character driven story, but never got tedious to watch. But it does mean that the endings to both movies seem to come suddenly. And even at the end of the second movie it seems like there is more story to tell. But regardless, it's still an over-all satisfactory package, and I guess if you really want to know more, you could always read the manga.

Of course, a big part of any movie about a rock band is the music. It's especially critical because in order to believe that the fictional band deserves the success they achieve, the music has to be especially good. For this movie, I'd say that the music does mostly achieve that, but I guess the success there will all be personal preference.

So overall, I do recommend these movies for those who are looking for a good, easy-to-watch, genuine drama. I also know there's an anime version of this out there too and of course there's the manga too if you do end up liking it and are looking for more.

Viewing Journal: Vexille

2009-05-01T06:54:00.001-04:00

Movie Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= B-
Story = B-
Video = B-
Audio = C

Journal

In an alternate 21st century, Japan's scientists has perfected the art of biotechnology and robotics, its benefits extending the lifespans of all humans. However, the United Nations deemed the advanced technology a dangerous threat and started strict surveillance on Japan. The government of Japan refused to abide by UN's demands to halt research, in the year 2067 left the UN and isolated itself visually and communically. Ten years later, an American special forces unit by the name of SWORD, led by its female commander named Vexille, are sent to uncover the current status of the isolated Japan, after the country begins its plan to move. The shocking secrets they find will shock the rest of the world. (Source: ANN)

I had no idea what this movie was about going into it, which is why I was able to enjoy it as much as I did. The only reason that I wanted to see it was because it was animated with CG, and I heard in some vague reviews that it was intelligently written. Well, it is CG, and to a certain extent it is smartly written, but it's the unknown elements that kept me interested.

The story takes place in an alternate Earth where Japan has become a technological powerhouse, but has also decided to totally isolate itself any outsiders, even going so far as to block satellite photography. So Commander Vexille and her crew need to sneak in and see what's up.

To me, the best part of this movie is the build-up to the forces trying to get into Japan. The idea of an entire nation cutting itself off from the rest of the world, after being embroiled in such epic events creates a huge sense of mystery and I was dying to know what kind of epic insanity was behind that isolation.

Although, when they actually get into Japan what they find isn't quite as mind-blowing as my imagination had lead me to believe. There is really only one part that was kind of cool, which I don't want to give away, but to me seems like an obvious homage to Dune. But even with that, the concept behind how it came to be seemed really far-fetched, even for a movie like this that's far fetched to begin with. (Vague enough for you?)

But even if it didn't quite meet my own expectations, it is still worthwhile watching and it is somewhat intelligently written. I think that "intelligent" part mostly has to do with the fact that it is referencing Japan's real-life attitudes toward isolationism. So there is more of a meaning behind the story that what is on the surface.

As for the visuals, the CG is similar to the first CG Appleseed movie, although the visuals here are a slight improvement. I'd actually say that it falls somewhere between the first and second Appleseed movies in terms of the quality. But there is nothing particularly original about the designs here, especially for a sci-fi storyline.

So in short, if you are going to watch this movie, I suggest not watching any of the trailers or reading too many plot summaries. Don't even watch the trailer that I have linked at the top of this post; even though the spoilers there are pretty minimal. But in this case, the less you know the better.

Viewing Journal: Appleseed - Ex Machina

2009-04-30T07:10:00.002-04:00

Movie Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= B
Story = B-
Video = B+
Audio = B

Journal

Deunan, a young female warrior, and Briareos, a veteran cyborg-soldier, are both partners and lovers. As members of E.S.W.A.T., the elite special forces serving Olympus, they are deployed whenever trouble strikes. The two fighters find their partnership tested in a new way by the arrival of a new member to their ranks - an experimental Bioroid named Tereus. (Source: ANN)

This is a big improvement on the first Appleseed movie in both the story and the animation. That probably has something to do with the fact that this one was directed by acclaimed Chinese filmmaker John Woo. Although I have only seen a handful of his movies and -- other than his tendency to use doves -- can't say that I'm an expert on his style; but regardless, he definitely did a better job with characterization and keeping the visuals and action consistent, especially compared to that first movie.

The plot has something to do with a device that causes people to go out of control (or something like that... it's actually been a while since I saw this), and Deunan, Briareos and the rest of the ESWAT crew need to find out what's going on. But what's more is that Deunan has to take on a new partner: a Bioroid (artificial human) named Tereus who looks just like Briareos did before he became cyborg. It's a pretty cool twist on the story that gives a lot of opportunity for emotionally charged back and forth between the trio, and a good amount of drama -- or at least as much as you can have a in a CG movie.

And that's where the real draw of this movie comes in: it actually does a good job of giving the CG characters enough personality and expression to make seem incredibly sympathetic. The improved CG itself is part of that. The visuals are actually consistent instead of the half-realistic, half-computer-shade that there was in the first movie. The facial expressions of the characters are more natural and not as rigid or awkward as they were in the first movie. Same thing with the body movements. The characters look relaxed and -- well, like actual characters.

Even the costumes add to the their personalities. When you see Deunan in that dress at the birthday party, or Tereus walk in in his tux, or Briareos in his military t-shirts, it seems so familiar for a sci-fi CG-animated movie that catches you off guard.

But it's as much the writing as the visuals that make the characters come alive. The dialogue isn't quite as cliche or predicable as it was in the original. And the interaction between characters is natural. There is a lot of casual back and forth and guys chucking each other on the shoulder, stuff like that makes the interaction more sympathetic, believable, and relatable.

Of course, what you probably are REALLY going to see this movie for is the crazy shoot-em-up, sci-fi tech action, and there is plenty of it here to please. Everything from the landmate robotic armor whizzing all over the place and blasting everything, to Deunan and Birareos in the church doing all kinds of unexpected gun tricks and acrobatics to catch the bad guys. Both in terms of the art and the action, it is all a lot of fun to watch.

The music works well too. Both in terms of intensifying both the action and the drama, it does a good job of enhancing each scene.

My only major gripe about the movie is that the ending requires that you have seen the first movie in order to understand what is going on. And it has been so long since I saw that first one that I couldn't remember who was who or why certain things were happening. So the ending didn't seem as climactic as maybe it was supposed to be.

In a lot of ways this seems like a typical action movie, but it doesn't seem as much like the typical animated action movie because of the smart writing and well-choreographed action. So I'd definitely recommend it, even if you have seen the first one and were put off by the story and visuals, this is enough of an improvement to make it worth checking out. The action is fun, and the characterization really warms up the rather cold medium of CG-animation.

Viewing Journal: Strait Jacket

2009-04-29T06:55:00.004-04:00

Movie Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= C-
Story = D+
Video = B-
Audio = D

Journal

It is a world where magic and science coexist. Rayotte Steinberg, a lone wolf "tactical sorcerist", fights against monsters. They used to be human beings, but they have overused forbidden power, magic, to turn into monsters. What he wears is "mold", the straitjacket that keeps him human. He carries an explosive magic wand. If he casts magic, he moves one step closer to being a monster. If he doesn't, he will be killed. Among the harsh battles, he will face a sin he committed in the past. (Source: ANN)

Here's another movie where I like the concept, but am less impressed with how it's executed. The story takes place in a world where magic is commonplace and is incorporated with technology to create new practical tools. I think it would have been cool if they would have gone more in depth in explaining the "science" of magic and incorporating those concepts into the story. I usually like stories that do that kind of thing -- taking a concept (even if it's fictional) and exploring all the details and possibilities of it throughout the series (Mushi-shi, Standalone Complex, and Fullmetal Alchemist are a few examples of shows that do this well). But unfortuneately the writers of this movie never consulted me (damn them), so didn't end up going in that direction.

What it does end up being is a monster/gore-fest, and an unimpressive one at that. The magic-science part is only briefly touched upon as a setup to explain why people all over the world are turning into monsters. Apparently the use of magic poisons people in some way so that eventually they turn into rampaging homicidal mutants. The only people who can stop them are "tactical sorcerists" who don "molds" -- suits of armor that carry giant magic-powered monster-killing guns. Rayotte Steinberg is one such sorcerist who has a strange kid sidekick who looks like he has bug-eyes on his forehead and is somehow tied into Steinberg's mysterious past.

The show relies heavily on two things to attract viewers: the monster/gore-fest, and Steinberg's "lone wolf" character. Personally, I'm not really into gory monster flicks to begin with, especially when such little detail is given for why those creatures exist. Violence is cool and all, but -- just like I mentioned in my previous review on Afro Samurai: Resurrection -- you need to answer the "why" behind the violence for it to have any intensity or dramatic impact. For instance, the biggest question I had was why the sorcerists always say "exists" before firing their guns. If there was more detail into that kind of stuff, it would have been a lot more interesting. It's the same thing with Steinberg's character. There is some explanation into why he is the way he is, but since the rest of the story is so sparse on details, that even that little bit of explanation isn't enough make his cool persona convincing.

I do have to admit that the reason I picked up this DVD was because I thought the visuals in the trailer looked cool. But for some reason they didn't look quite so impressive in the movie itself. I guess when you string together all of the best scenes back-to-back, you can make any movie look good. The best animation was during the parts where the tactical sorcerists would fire their guns, but other than that the animation is just average.

I'd comment on the music here, but I honestly can't remember any of it at all. That's usually a good indicator that it was either so perfectly synced with the scenes and meshed so well that I never noticed it, or that it was so unimpressive that it didn't draw my attention in any way. I'm guessing it's probably the later for this one.

In summary, this anime had an interesting initial concept, that was never fully developed and instead focused on violent monster action. So unless you're into that kind of thing, I'd recommend you save your money for something better than this average-to-below-average anime.

Viewing Journal: Afro Samurai - Resurrection

2009-04-27T07:30:00.002-04:00

Movie Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= D
Story = D
Video = B+
Audio = C-

Journal

Late one night, Afro is suddenly attacked by Jinno. However, he is unable to protect himself, and Jinno drags him nearby to his father's grave, where a woman named Sio awaits. She proceeds to take the Number One headband that he possesses, as well as the remains of his dead father's skull. Before leaving, she tells him to seek and obtain the Number Two headband, if he wants the right to take back his father's remains. With that, Afro must once again embark on a path of violence in order to let his father rest in peace once again. (Source: ANN)

This movie could have been cool if they would have focused on telling a bit of the history of the legendary numbered headbands and developing the world that the story takes place in (while still including crazy fighting action of course). But instead what we end up with is a story that includes inconsistent, one-dimensional characters and a cliche plot.

It also has the same flaw as the original series: it takes itself way too seriously for all the goofiness that is going on: a samurai with a giant afro with his loud-mouth semi-hallucination sidekick, a cyborg with a teddy bear head, a rotund lust-filled scientist, and crazy villainess.

It seems like all it is really doing is trying to take a bunch of "cool" elements, throw them together and hope that it results in something super-cool. And it is possible to do that, but you still need to have a cohesive plot and you really need to explain the "why?" behind it all. Otherwise the story will seem forced and pretentious.

Even the high-quality animation did not improve my opinion of the show. The stylized character designs and dynamic fight scenes were enough to distract me from the flaws during the original series; but by the time this movie rolled around, so the novelty had worn off.

The music is almost all rap -- yet another element that attempts to make the show seem all cool and bad-ass. Not that that's a bad thing, it's just that everything is this show is just trying so desperately hard to be cool seemingly without any effort to develop characters or settings, that it ends up seeming pitiful.

So I wasn't crazy about this follow-up movie to the original series. If you really want more Afro Samurai, you're better off just watch the original series twice.

New Fullmetal Alchemist series available in english NOW

2009-04-03T12:06:00.009-04:00

[ UPDATE: Watch it now! ]

According to Anime New Network, Funimation will be offering the 2009 Fullmetal Alchemist series, Fullmetal Achemist: Brotherhood, on its website on April 9 at 12:00pm -- just four days after it's Japanese premiere.

This is just another part of a multinational release of the series that includes countries such as France, Australia, and Hong Kong.

Funimation has already released the original FMA series and the concluding theatrical movie.

Whether this new series will be a direct continuation or an althernate re-telling has yet to be seen.

Evangelion 2.0 movie trailer

2009-03-25T01:25:00.010-04:00

A grainy handi-cam trailer, but better than nothing.

UPDATE: Official ungrainy version is now available. And here's the original preview from Eva 1.0.

Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter trailer

2009-02-15T18:25:00.015-05:00

Tales of the Black Freighter was a "comic within a comic" in the original Watchmen graphic novel. In the book, a boy hangs out at a news stand reading this comic and talking to the stand's owner; all while the world is pretty much falling apart in the background.

That part is going to be left out of the Watchmen movie, but the DVD (when it comes out) will incorporate this animated version into the movie in the same way it was in the original book. But if you can't wait for that, the standalone DVD version of the anime will be released March 6 -- two weeks before the movie is in theatres. You can see the trailer below:

(Source: MTV)

Viewing Journal: Bleach (episodes 75 - 97)

2009-02-08T08:00:00.003-05:00

Series Overview
TV Broadcast Info
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= D
Story = D
Video = C
Audio = C-

Journal

The soul-sucking Bounts put their plan of vengeance into action as they begin an all-out assault on the Soul Society. It's up to Ichigo and his crew, as well as the whole of the 13 Court Soul Reaper Squads, to stop them.

At this point the story is well embroiled in the Bount-revenge arc, and I hate to say it but I am no more impressed with this "filler" material than I was when it first began. It isn't just because the main story has been put on hold or because the personalities and fighting abilities of the main cast seem inconsistent. It's because even the new characters and storyline itself are underdeveloped and redundant to the point where it feels like filler-within-filler.

The one thing that I liked about the soul reapers' battles (back when they were still any good) was that they would uncover new, more powerful fighting techniques and thus make the fights increasingly more intense. But the Bounts' fighting techniques never change. Even when they claim they are getting stronger, we never see any hard evidence of this because they still fight the same way. So one battle is no more interesting or intense than the next.

And even that would be fine if the battles actually advanced the plot or developed the Bounts' characters or even had a decisive victor. But no one ever wins or looses because the Bounts always run out before the battle is over. Then Ichigo and the gang go back to Urahara's place to recoup, and eventually go out to look for the Bounts again and so the cycle continues. That's what I mean by this seeming like filler-within-filler: you could probably miss entire episodes without missing anything crucial to the plot.

At times, it seems as though the series' writers are trying to do anything necessary to kill time while maintaining the viewer's interest. They'll even have the characters arbitrarily use their most powerful techniques for no apparent reason at all. The worst of it came with one battle when Ichigo was fighting Koga (the guy with that metal spider sphere-throwing doll). Ichigo is on the edge of defeat when suddenly his hollow-side appears and starts kicking Koga's butt. But before a decisive conclusion can be reached, the hollow-side goes back into hiding and Koga runs off. It's a major anti-climax.

My only consolation is that this arc seems to be coming to a resolution. I heard that this story wraps up around episode 110, so I'm just counting down the weeks until we can get back to the main storyline. I only pray that it ends up being as good as I remember.

On a bit of a separate note, I'll add that having made it this far in the series makes this officially the longest running anime I have ever watched, passing Rurouni Kenshin by two episodes. Yay! I'm a geek!

Related reviews:

Viewing Journal: Tsubasa / xxxHolic movie

2009-01-10T08:00:00.002-05:00

Movie Overview (Tsbubasa)
Movie Overview (xxxHolic)
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= D-
Story = D-
Video = B-
Audio = C

Journal

Tsubasa:
In their continuing journey to find the feathers that are the fragments of Sakura's lost memory, Syaoran, Kurogane, Fai, and Sakura move through time and space with Mokona. Here, they visit the "Land of the Birdcage," a seemingly peaceful country where people and birds live together, each person having a bird companion. After a boy named Koruri confuses Syaoran and Sakura for "bodyguards" and attacks them, they learn that the king of the country possesses a mysterious power. Princess Tomoyo, Koruri, and the other oppressed citizens, having had their birds taken from them, live in hiding within the forest. In order to take back Sakura's feather, Syaoran and the others stand up against the scheming king. (Source: ANN)

xxxHolic:
Yûko receives an invitation for the opening of an auction from a mysterious unknown sender. Likewise, fanatical collectors are summoned to an old mansion whose owner doesn't make an appearance. One after another, each collector disappears and a number of other strange occurrences happen during the night. The questions of what exactly it is that's being auctioned and who the owner of the mansion is must be solved in order for Yûko and Watanuki to get to the bottom of this. (Source: ANN)

I purchased this double feature movie for one reason only: the fact that it was animated by Production IG. I've seen about half of the Tsubasa TV series and read some of the xxxHolic manga, and did not like either one. But regardless, I figured the animation studio could pull off something that would make it worthwhile. Well, after this (as well as the disappointing Blood+ series) I may have to reevaluate their place as my favorite animation studio.

The stories for both features were boring -- even more so than what I have seen of the original animes and manga. I really just think it may be that I don't like CLAMP stories at all. The characters are all annoyingly goofy, or hopeless romantics, but in each case they are one-dimensional and predictable. There never seems to be anything to them other than what is on the surface. And it's not that I haven't liked my fair share of simplistic characters, but usually in the cases where I do, they are either strong and driven, or intentionally simplistic so as to be comedic. But CLAMP characters seem to be sappy and weak and even its comedy seems to forced and lame.

The animation is smooth and solid, but there isn't anything that makes it stand out. There was nothing original in the artwork nor was it especially detailed which are the two things I expect from Production IG.

So, whatever. I just didn't like this one. My guess is that only those who are xxxHolic or Tsubasa fans already will be interested in this one. It certainly won't convert anyone who isn't already into the stories.

Reading Journal: The Twelve Kingdoms - Volume 2: Sea of Wind

2009-01-09T08:00:00.003-05:00

Book Overview

Rating:
Overall= B-

Journal

Born in Japan and raised as a human, Taiki is overwhelmed when he's brought back to the kingdom of Tai, where he's told he's a kirin. With little knowledge or guidance, he must trust his latent instincts to choose a king for the Kingdom of Tai from among dozens of men and women who seek the position. Will the frustrated Taiki, who can't even figure out how to transform into animal form, make the right choice? And more important, will he discover the kirin that lives within? (Source: Amazon)

This second volume in the Twelve Kingdoms light novel series is a bit of a change from the first one -- at least as far as the tone is concerned. The first volume has a lot more violence and covers some dark emotions like anger and mistrust. By contrast, this follow-up novel has very little in the way of physical confrontations or interpersonal conflicts.

While Yoko from the first novel had to fight tooth-and-nail to make her way in the world, Taiki literally has to do next to nothing when he arrives. He is pampered by priestesses and the only struggle he has is his desire to make them as happy as they try to make him. And that is all well and good, but it really makes for a pretty boring and tedious start to the book.

But if there is one thing that does tie these first two books together -- other than the setting -- it's the fact that the main character in both have very low sense of self-worth and need to overcome that in order to accept their part in the world of the Twelve Kingdoms. Taiki tries his hardest to gain the skills and knowledge to become a good Kirin but is distraught by the fact that he doesn't make any progress. And he fears disappointing everyone who has put their hopes in him.

So Taiki's journey is much more of a cognitive and emotional one. And even though the story is not especially nail-biting, edge-of-your seat suspense; there is a good amount of insight into human nature and the way people think and the role that fate has to play in people's lives; and for me personally there were certain parts of Taiki's character I could identify with. And as I progressed through the book and followed the characters and saw how they developed and their inner complexities, I did start to get more attached to them.

Of course, the best thing about these books is learning about the world of the Twelve Kingdoms itself. In this novel you get more details about how the system of choosing the king works, and how a Kirin is chosen. Learning those details, to me, is what makes this series especially worth while.

So if you are into fantasy stories and have already read the first novel and liked it, you might as well go ahead and pick this one up too. It's certainly different than any other fantasy series in the US, if nothing else. And if the anime series is any indication, there is plenty more good stuff to come in this series.

Related review:

The Twelve Kingdoms - Volume 1: Sea of Shadow

Viewing Journal: Gurren Lagann (complete)

2009-01-08T08:00:00.006-05:00

Series Overview
DVD Info
TV Broadcast Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= A-
Story = A-
Video = A-
Audio = B

Journal

In their closed-off underground village, Kamina and Simon chafe at the limits imposed by the village elder. Yet all this will change, when Simon stumbles across a fantastic device - just as the village's peace is broken by a violent intrusion. (Source: ANN)

Anime as a medium has produced a wide variety of stories from every genre, theme, and subject matter imaginable with artwork that ranges from the esoteric to the purely commercial. But when it comes right down to it, what anime fans really want is something with outlandish energy and uproarious fun. And Gurren Lagann is just that kind of show.

Gurren Lagann -- for those who don't know -- is brought to you courtesy of Studio Gainax. That's the same bunch of die hard otaku/animation producers that brought you the classics like Evangelion, Gunbuster, Diebuster, FLCL, and Otaku No Video. The studio has built its reputation on giving fans exactly what they want. With Gurren Lagann they pay tribute to the giant robot genre. And by "tribute" I don't mean that it's the kind of self-aware parody anime that calls attention to different elements by making self-effacing in-jokes. Instead this is more of a true homage to the genre that boils it down to the purest elements, then bumps those elements up to unabashedly unreasonable proportions in order to show just how cool they really are. So, for example, you have the constantly evolving/transforming mecha, characters that aim for the heavens with an unbeatable will, and just a crap-load of really cool stuff.

And more than the stuff of the giant robot genre, Gurren Lagann has those qualities that tend to make all the best Gainax shows worthwhile.

For one thing, even with all that over-the-top action and melodrama, Gainax somehow is always able to create naturally evolving and compelling characters with heartfelt emotions. Other shows that try to pull off the same balancing act between action and drama usually seem awkward and forced, like there's a tangible dividing line between the two moods. But here, that transition is seamless.

The other quality of most Gainax shows -- at least their sci-fi series -- is that the science that they use to explain the mechanics and logistics for how their universe operates is convincing, even as you are watch god-like mecha hurdle galaxies at one another. It adds an odd air of legitimacy to even the most ridiculous circumstances.

Another thing that I like about Gainax shows is their willingness to make a drastic shift to the story midway through the series. I love that kind of thing because when a show ends I want it to feel like the story and characters have changed -- and the more drastic the better. Waiting to see what that change will be and how it will happen gives that much more to look forward to. That same willingness to turn things on their head is here too, though I obviously don't want to give away when it happens or what it is.

As for the art, it's top quality throughout. The character designs and mech designs scream energy. And the action sequences are full of dynamic ... um .. energy. It's like the best part of FLCL and Diebuster put together.

And, well, the music's good too.

So if you haven't gotten the point by now, this show is cool. If you are a fan of anime, you'll love it. If you aren't a fan, you may just get a glimpse of why we fans obsess over the medium so much. Watch it!

Viewing Journal: Batman - Gotham Knight

2009-01-06T08:00:00.005-05:00

Movie Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= C+
Story = C
Video = B
Audio = C+

Journal

From the producers of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight comes an original animated movie chronicling the establishment and progression of Bruce Wayne into Gotham City's legendary caped crusader through 6 standalone episodes: "Have I Got a Story for You" (the mythos of Batman from the minds of children), "Crossfire" (the initial distrust and the eventual gaining of it from the perspective of the police), "Field Test" (the compassion of Batman, even towards his enemies), "In Darkness Dwells" (tracking down Killer Croc and The Scarecrow to foil his plot of resurgence amongst the villainous of Gotham), "Working Through Pain" (a look back at Bruce's training to manage both the physical and psychological pains he would later endure as Batman), and "Deadshot" (a race against the clock to protect Lt. Gordon from a highly-renowned assassin). (Source: ANN)

Storywise, there isn't anything new that Gotham Knight adds to the Batman mythos. Each tale in this 6-episode conglomeration has been done before -- and more successfully -- either in other animated series, movies, or comics. Most notably, "Have I Got a Story for You" uses the same concept as that episode for the Batman: the animated series where a kid imagines him as an old man (a la Dark Knight Returns).

I'm not sure if Batman just doesn't jell well with Japanese storytelling, or if the Japanese directors were not given much creative freedom, but I was disappointed with how traditional, if not outright cliche the stories were. I guess I was hoping for to see more Japanese influence in the story, instead of just in the animation.

Of course, the animation was still top-notch. It added a new level of intensity to the fights -- especially the brawl between Batman and Killer Crock in "In Darkness Dwells", and the chase on top of the train with Deadshot (who's he?). It also adds an extra layer of moodiness to the already brooding Dark Knight.

And if I'd never heard of anime and had just assumed that the animation was something created in the US, I probably would have thought that it was all pretty sweet just due the PG-13 rating and stylish animation. But since I am in fact an anime fan I do want to see more of that Eastern influence, even when the story originated in the West (see my previous Witchblade review). So from that perspective I was unimpressed with this DVD.

Although, for those who are really into Batman, you'll probably end up picking this up regardless of whether or not you think it'll be any good out of curiosity if nothing else. If you are, and you don't expect anything new, then it very well may be worth your while.

Viewing Journal: Kaiba (complete)

2009-01-05T08:00:00.006-05:00

Series Overview
Bittorrent Download
(Not yet licensed in US)
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= C+
Story = C
Video = B
Audio = B

Journal

One day a man, Kaiba, wakes up in a broken room. He has no memories, only a pendant with a picture of an unknown woman. Outside of the room are grotesque floating electrical clouds of disjointed memories. Kaiba is suddenly assaulted, and escapes into space. He travels to various planets, encountering various people and retrieving his memories. Memories of an inconsistent and decaying world, of his own agony and of Niero, the woman in the picture. (Source: ANN)

The art and animation in Kaiba are unique -- like a mix of Doctor Seuss and Osamu Tezuka. The story is pretty strange -- which is not necessarily a bad thing -- but this is a little too strange. The whole setting and concept are so other-worldly that there is nothing to latch onto in terms of being able to relate to the characters or situations. Plus, the fact that the main character keeps switching bodies without ever talking makes it difficult to give a care about them because for a good portion of the show they didn't seem to have any personality.

Experiencing the story is something like reading The Little Prince in terms of it's tripped-out writing. I'm sure it's meaningful and I can appreciate that as an experiment in animated storytelling it has value; but for pure entertainment value it's hit or miss. There are times when I could understand pieces of it, but most of the time it was so abstract and/or slow-paced that it became a trial to get through.

Viewing Journal: Witchblade (complete)

2009-01-04T08:01:00.005-05:00

Series Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= B-
Story = B-
Video = B-
Audio = B-

Journal

In 22nd-Century Japan, Masane Amaha, one of the surviving catastrophe that destroyed Tokyo becomes the latest in an ancient line of women-only warriors to wield the mysterious sentient weapon known only throughout history as "the Witchblade". Protecting her little girl, she will face her worst fear .... (Source: ANN)

Based on a US comic known for it's well-endowed and scantily clad main character; the Witchblade anime has the same kind of "fan service" and violence as the original. On top of that it adds a good amount of creepy non-too-subtle innuendo in the form of rogue weapons called X-cons and -- of course -- Masane's own lust for battle (complete with erotic moaning. Yip!).

And as disturbing as that may sound, it certainly makes the show more interesting because on top of just being creepy, it also seems to be an attempt to symbolicly show (in the way only a genetically-altered human-weapons experiment can) the differences in what "lust" means for men versus women. Unfortunately though, the X-cons story arc only last for a few episodes, and once their part is over she show looses much of this "creepy" factor.

Once that X-con part is gone it's mostly witchblade-wearing-women versus other witchblade-wearing-women. And instead of symbolically contrasting men and women, the general theme for this part focuses more on what it means to be a woman -- specifically what it means to be a mother.

This is why I think this is the best example of a Japanese adaption of US material that I have seen recently. It uses the concept from the original comic, but it doesn't feel compelled to stringently adhere to its storyline. So it not only has unique characters but it also employs some original themes in creative ways. You have US material with Japanese sensibilities applied to it; which is the kind of mix that fans would want from this kind of anime.

The show also balances out its dark, seedy, and violent side with a bright, comedic side as well as some drama involving Masamune's struggle to keep her daughter.

Another unique element is how the Masamune's daughter is the more mature one of the two -- and it's more like the daughter takes care of the mother instead of the other way around.

Of course, if you think all that analysis is BS and just want to see T&A with violence and action; then there's plenty of that to go around too. And it's all supported by some nice colorful decent-quality animation. The art does an especially good job of establishing darker tones when Masamune is in Witchblade form, and lighter tones when she and her daughter are just goofing around.

So overall, I would say that this is worth picking up, especially if you are a fan of either warrior-woman type of shows, or of the original comic. It has unique twists on both and has a surprising amount of depth and drama in addition to good old-fashion bloody battles.

Viewing Journal: Mushi-Shi (complete)

2009-01-04T08:00:00.005-05:00

Series Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= A
Story = A+
Video = B-
Audio = B

Journal

They are neither plants nor animals. They differ from other forms of life such as the micro-organisms and the fungi. Instead they resemble the primeval body of life and are generally known as "Mushi". Their existence and appearance are unknown to many and only a limited number of humans are aware of them. Ginko is a "Mushi-shi" who travels around to investigate and find out more about the "Mushi". In the process, he also lends a helping hand to people who face problems with supernatural occurances which may be related to the "Mushi". (Source: ANN)

[Note: I'm a bit behind in my reviews, so this next batch of reviews is going to be succinct so I can catch up. And that's a shame because this anime in particular is so awsome and it deserves tons more analysis than I have time or mental energy to give. More's the pity.]

Mushi-shi is a great show that combines myth and fantasy with a wide variety characters, situations, and themes that anyone can relate to. As a result it has genuinely drama with fantasy to make a story that is both compelling and fascinating. Highly recommended.

Neko Rahmen Taisho trailer

2008-11-02T09:32:00.011-05:00

This is both the stupidest and greatest trailer I have ever seen -- or at least in the last few months. I love stuff like that is so blatantly ridiculous (and low-budget). When so many movies try to fake reality with CG, it's like refreshing honesty when you see something be so obviously fake.

Edit: Just found out that the cat with the conductor's hat is a reality.

Source: AnimeNation

Reading Journal: Death Note 13 - How to Read

2008-09-23T09:10:00.002-04:00

Book Info

Rating:
Overall= A

Journal

Here, in one authoritative volume, is everything you need to know about Death Note! Features include complete character biographies, detailed story-line summaries, production notes, and behind-the-scenes commentaries. Death Note 13: How to Read also includes exclusive interviews with creators Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata and a bonus manga chapter of never-before-translated material. (Source: AnimeNation)

I was in Borders one day browsing through the manga section when I found some book about Death Note that claimed to reveal mysteries and secrets about the manga. Intrigued, I leafed through it. But after a few minutes I realized that the book contained nothing that I didn't already know about the series. All it did was summarize info that you could find out by reading the books or watching the anime. Essentially -- much like some Harry Potter books I've seen floating around -- it was nothing more than a worthless attempt by some shmoe to milk money out of a popular franchise. Death Note 13: How to Read, however, is NOT that type of book.

The best way I can think of to describe DN 13 is that it is comparable a really good set of DVD extras. From character bios to creator's commentary to making-of info and even some humorous extras, this book is the definitive Death Note encyclopedia.

Having said that, there is a lot in this book that you may already know. The character bios and timeline of events are nothing new; but it goes the extra mile in both the way it organizes the information and in the level of extra behind-the-scenes info it gives you.

For instance, in the character bios there is a chart that gages certain personality traits of each character. So you can see how the intelligence level of Light compares to L, or how the death toll of Ryuk compares to Rem. Plus it give more insight into the background, motivations, and likes/dislikes and even the physical traits like height, weight, blood type that you wouldn't necessarily know by reading the manga alone. So now you know everything from the degree of Mellow's inferiority complex to Halle Linder's distaste for moths. In addition the creators tell you things like how Misa probably ended up after her final scene and what probably happened with Light's mom and sister.

The book also organizes the story and characters in every which way imaginable. You have the timeline of events including specific dates. You have all the organizations involved, including which characters belong to which organization, and the part each plays. You have all of the Death Note rules including the ones that directly affect the story and the specific scenes they apply to as well as the ones that are never even mentioned in the manga. Plus you have a list of all the tricks that the characters employ when using the Death Note. You have a list of what characters used which Death Note... the list goes on and on. And even though some of the info is redundant, each section provides some new or extra detail or insight to glean from the story.

Of course, the biggest value to the book are the multiple interviews with the creators: Tsugumi Ohba (the writer) and Takeshi Obata (the artist). They go into everything from how they went about creating the series, to the level of collaboration, to how they came up with the character designs, to aspects of the creators' everyday lives. For instance, Ohba reveals that the story was never intended to be as deep as people interpret it. He never meant for it to spark debate about right vs. wrong or whether Light was good or evil. He just wanted to create an entertaining suspense story. And Ryuk's apples -- which so many people interpreted as a reference to Adam and Eve and temptation -- was merely used because he thought the red color would look cool against Ryuk's black body. Although the one thing that I was confused about was the level to which Ohba planned ahead when writing the story. At one point he says that he knew what the ending was going to be all along. But later on he said that he was pretty much just making up the story as he went. I'm guessing the real answer is somewhere in between.

The final parts of the book include a hilarious "Ryuk's Journal" section where Ryuk uncovers everything from Mello's scoreboard of victories and defeats to Near's shopping list to just how much sugar and caffeine L actually inhales. Then there are some funny four-panel comic strips and everything wraps up with the original never-before-seen pilot chapter on which the serial Death Note manga was based.

So -- if you haven't figured it out by now -- this book is more than just a regurgitation of info you already know. It provides useful insight and new details that -- if you are a true Death Note fanatic -- you won't want to be without.

Reading Journal: Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms

2008-09-14T09:15:00.000-04:00

Manga Overview
Book Info

Rating:
Overall= B
Story = B
Art = C-

Journal

Part 1: Set in 1955, a family from Hiroshima struggles to come to terms with their survival of the atomic bombing of their city. The protagonist is Minami Hirano, about 20 years of age. Part 2: Set some decades later, the niece of Minami Hirano is bewildered by her father's mysterious disappearances. She and a friend follow him to discover what he is doing. Parts of this story are told in flashback. (Source: ANN)

There are some subjects that you'd think it would be easy to build a dramatic story around. One is the Holocaust. The other is the bombing of Hiroshima. And although I've seen and/or heard of plenty of movies related to the former, I can't really think of many related to the later (Barefoot Gen being the only one that immediately comes to mind). Part of that is probably because the US is not likely want to explore the unpleasant details of something it's responsible for (or to import that kind of material from Japan). But if Town of Evening Calm is any indication, it is also likely because Japan itself just wants to move beyond those events as well.

Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms -- unlike Barefoot Gen -- doesn't deal directly with the events of the bombing, but instead deals with the emotional and physical after-effects that are felt years and decades later. The first part takes place ten years afterwards and focuses on a girl named Minami who is trying to happily move on with her life but realizes that as much as she tries she just never feels right about it. The second part takes place in 1987 and 2004, and deals with how even later generations -- for whom the bombing is little more of a history lesson -- still feel its effects.

From a purely entertainment standpoint, this manga is definitely worthwhile. It isn't as heavy or in-your-face as I expected given the weighty subject. It's also not as preachy or critical of the events themselves (except for a few lines at the end of the first chapter). It deals with the subject matter indirectly for the most part, making it easy to read, but also giving it dramatic undertones.

But it's more interesting in how it shows Japanese attitudes and reactions to the bombing. I mentioned earlier that I have not seen a lot of stories involving the bombing directly, but of course there are plenty that deal with it indirectly, through either symbolism, themes, or just through the countless anime that show Tokyo blowing up. So you know that it's still there somewhere in the back of people's minds, but it's not often that I get a chance to see a straightforward representation to how the Japanese think and feel about it. So -- if nothing else -- this manga is certainly worthwhile for that insight alone.

As far as the artwork is concerned, it is not particularly impressive. The characters are ill-proportioned so that it is sometimes hard to tell between an adult and a child; and overall it not clean or solid. But even so, it does exude a light tone that, again, gives the weighty subject a more relaxed feel.

So, I think that a lot of people will hesitate to buy this due to its subject matter, regardless of how effective it is as a drama. But for those who are interested in getting some insight into Japanese attitudes toward one of its most historically impactful events, it is definitely worthwhile.

Michiko to Tatchin trailer

2008-08-21T12:53:00.003-04:00

This looks awesome... Like a combination of Cowboy Bebop and Black Lagoon...at least from the trailer.

Viewing Journal: Sword of the Stranger

2008-08-12T13:30:00.002-04:00

Movie Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= B+
Story = B-
Video = A-
Audio = B

Journal

Hunted by the Mings from China, young Kotaro and his dog meet a nameless samurai ("Nanashi") who is constantly being haunted by dreams of the past which lead him to seal his sword. Among the Mings is a fearsome Western fighter named Rarou, who desires only to find a worthy opponent. When both groups clash with a Sengoku-era feudal lord, a proud general, and monks torn between faith and survival, the reason behind the Mings' pursuit tests the bond between Kotaro and Nanashi. (Source: ANN)

Sword of the Stranger is pretty standard in a lot of respects. It has a standard samurai story involving a ronin warrior trying to protect a kid from other warrior/bad guys who want to use him for some villainous plot. It has the tried-and-true character types of the guilt-ridden samurai with the tragic past, the tough kid, the arrogant and power-hungry leaders, and the fighter looking for a challenge. But standard or not, the movie does pull off all of these elements successfully: The characters are sympathetic and compelling and the plot has just enough detail to keep it interesting while allowing the action to flow at a brisk pace.

But what sets this movie apart from others in the genre are the visuals. I don't mean the animation -- which is smooth and fast-paced -- and I don't mean the art -- which is above even Studio Bones' typically high standards. What I mean is the details in the action itself. The fight scenes are not only well choreographed, but also go so far as so show, in unexpected detail, the physical consequences of the fight. For instance, near the beginning, Nanashi finishes off an opponent by jabbing the hilt of his sword into the foe's neck. It sinks in, breaking the guy's neck, but when he Nanashi pulls the sword back, the neck swells at the entrance point due to internal bleeding. There are also a few other creative details, like when the hawk guy (I don't remember his name) is looking for his sword when it is in fact sticking out the back of his neck. Now that's quality!

As for the music, it was good and fit in with movie and enhanced the drama. At least I'm pretty sure it did because I don't remember it too clearly.

So anyway, this was a great movie overall and is definitely worth a watch for anyone interested in cool samurai violence presented with high quality animation and with good story and characters. And being able to watch it on the big screen at Otakon made it all the better.

Viewing Journal: Honey and Clover (live action movie)

2008-08-12T13:00:00.000-04:00

Movie Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= D-
Story = D-
Video = D
Audio = C

Journal

Takemoto study in art college, but not knowing what he wants to do in the future. Shy girl Hagumi loves painting. Some day she is painting and Takemoto see her; he fell in love. So does Morita, who is in art college too. (Source: ANN)

Even though I didn't like the anime version of Honey and Clover, I was curious in seeing this live action version (which was showing at Otakon this year). The only reason being that I wanted to check whether or not my theory about how the anime would work in live action was on target. And I can proudly say I was spot on.

This live action movie has all the down-side of the anime with none of the up-side. It's a story about a group of art school students who are all the victims of unrequited love; meaning that girl-A loves boy-B, but boy-B loves girl-C, etc. There is no focus on any particular set of characters, and with no other story elements driving the story forward it was hard to tell where it was going. And the worst part is that over the full 2-hours of the movie, nothing really even develops in any of these relationships, making it seem like the movie could potentially go on forever.

And it doesn't help that it moves so slowly throughout the entire thing. The conversations would include a line of dialogue, and awkward pause, another line, another pause, and so on. This technique can potentially be used effectively to build a sense of tension between characters, but that just didn't happen here. Maybe it was bad acting, or maybe it was lost in translation, but whatever the case it made each conversation way more drawn out than it needed to be. And it made the movie way longer than it had any right to be.

The thing about the anime was that, even though it had much the same type of storyline as in the movie, the visual gags and some of the extreme antics of the characters -- especially Morita -- at least made it somewhat entertaining, if not especially engrossing. But since those types of things can't be pulled off in a live action drama, this movie ends up falling flat.

As for the music, it is half-way decent. And just about all of the songs are in English which is nice from the perspective of a US audience. It also makes me think that maybe this is one of those movies where the soundtrack sells better than the movie DVD.

So in the end, this movie reminded me of a slow-moving Japanese version of Singles -- or any of those kinds of movies that portray multiple couples with loose connections trying to find love. I tend to dislike those kinds of movies because there is no plot and the characters usually seem so self absorbed and sappy that I just want to scream "Get over it already!" Again, I'm not saying that I don't like romance -- hell my favorite anime movie of all time is 5 Centimeters Per Second -- but with little focus and no plot, Honey and Clover left me bored out of my mind.

[Note: Sorry to J, M, and M, but I tried to hint that you'd have been better off watching The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Guess I was too subtle about it...]

Viewing Journal: Bleach (episodes 52 - 74)

2008-08-04T07:58:00.008-04:00

Series Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= C
Story = C
Video = B
Audio = C+

Journal

Conspiracies are revealed and sides are taken as Ichigo's quest to save Rukia comes to its dramatic and blood-soaked climax. In the aftermath of the battle, Ichigo returns to the world of the living only to find himself and his friends being taunted by rouge mod-souls and soul-sucking creatures called Bounts. The Bounts have nefarious plans for world domination, which somehow necessitate kidnapping the last known Quincy...

The good news is that the whole story arc involving Ichigo saving Rukia from being executed is finally resolved. The bad news is that once that's all done with, we're faced with the show's first round of mind-numbing filler episodes.

Starting with the up-side of this season, the way that the Rukia-execution story arc is resolved really is climactic. That's mainly due to Ichigo reaching his Bankai form and attaining a new black sword and a new Matrix-inspired outfit (although he looked cooler when he had the cloak). But there are also plenty of other battles taking part across the soul society with soul reaper squads battling one another to show who is strong and who is just a poser.

But as intense as a lot of the battles are, there are a few that seem to drag out. The worst of it comes in the battle with the bearded soul reaper captain Shigekuni. About a quarter of that episode (and part of the following one) was dedicated solely to panning over the old man's muscular body in slow motion just to show how powerful he is. And after all that we never even get to see the guy fight! What the--?

But despite the propensity for lengthy body-shots, most episodes contain some kind of revelation that uncover some new aspect of the characters or world they live in... at least, until around episode 62 -- the start of the dreaded filler episodes.

"Filler episodes" are the parts of an anime where the animators have run out of source material from the original manga and thus have to bide their time by animating all-new plot threads until more manga-based story lines are generated. The main problem with that -- regardless of how good or bad those new stories are -- is that the pace is ruined because there are no more revelations. And that's frustrating because it's almost like you are starting from scratch with a crew of new characters who are not nearly as interesting as the originals.

And even if you give the writers some slack and say that you don't care if the story is sidetracked from a little while, I would still say that the new stories are inferior to the originals. For one thing, it seems like the writers are doing nothing more with the original characters than playing off a single personality trait -- Ichigo as an angry and driven teen, Otahime as a ditz, Kon as a pining pervert -- so the characters do not seem as deep or complex as they used to. Plus, the careful balance between action, drama, and comedy that the show had at the beginning is gone. Sure all the elements themselves are still there, but they are not as well timed making for an awkward narrative.

As far as the animation, it's pretty much the same as it's ever been: average most of the time, above average the rest of the time.

The music -- which hasn't changed at all -- is actually starting to wear on me. I can only take so much more of that "If you want to see some action, you've got to be the center of a-ttrac-tion..." song. And the guitar music has lost the edgy-cool factor that it had in the first season.

From what I've heard the filler episodes keep going until around episode 110 (there are currently 190 episodes released in Japan) so I guess I'm stuck with them for a while. But despite how horrible they get I'll keep trudging along because bad filler Bleach is still better than no Bleach at all.

More Bleach reviews:

Viewing Journal: Blood+ (complete)

2008-07-29T13:32:00.010-04:00

Series Overview
TV Broadcast Info
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= C-
Story = D+
Video = C-
Audio = C

Journal

Throughout the passage of time and the shifts in backgrounds, a particular war continues to leave its mark on history, extending its influence into the modern world. There are two major groups involved in the ensuring war. The first group consists of monsters known as Chiropterans who can change their appearances into that of human beings. They are actually immortals who feed on the blood of the living. The second group is an organisation known as the "Red Shield", formed to track down these monsters and exterminate them. Otonashi Saya is a high-school girl who lives a peaceful life with her family. The only problem is, she has no recollections of her life beyond that of the past year. However, her happy life will be destroyed by an event that will lead her to her destined fate. (Source: ANN)

Going into this show I had a specific set of expectations. First of all, it is based on an OAV from 2000 called Blood: The Last Vampire -- a short video about a bad-ass school girl/vampire slayer who goes in to a military base overrun with beasts called Chiropterans and takes them all out. It was heavy on violent action, but more interesting was that it hinted about Saya's dense background, even though it left the details to the viewer's imagination. So with the Blood+ TV series, I was hoping to learn more about Saya and was expecting similar dark, brooding drama, mystery, and action. Other than that is the fact that Blood+ is produced by Production IG -- a studio known for making high-quality animation. Unfortunately, given all of these expectations, I was gravely disappointed with the TV series.

If there is one word to describe this series, it would be "weak". From the story to the characters to the animation, the show promises powerful drama, intense action, and quality animation that it never delivers on.

To start with, the tone of the original OAV and this TV series are like night and day. Don't let the first episode, where you see Saya taking out a village in Vietnam, fool you. The plot here focuses much more on characters trying to cheer each other up than blood-soaked action. The theme is "family means more than blood" (Blood+), so in service of that there is a lot of "I'm no good" "No, you really are good" "Why would you say that" "Because we're family!" kind of dialogue. In some shows that can work, but here the characters are like that so often that it ends up seeming superficial and contrived, if not downright annoying. The version of Saya from the OAV may have been brooding, but at least she was strong. Here she's just depressing and weak.

And the characters aren't vindicated much with their strength on the battlefield. First there's Saya herself. When her sword is supplied with her own blood and she is surrounded by the enemy, her eyes will glow red and she will go from shy school girl to battle-hardened warrior -- at least that is what you would expect. But more often than not, her red-eyed self will be the same as her blue-eyed self. And -- equally annoying -- she constantly forgets to power-up her sword with her own blood... which seemes moronic given that her blood is required for her to be able to kill Chiropterans at all. And she may cut down one or two of the beasts, but more often than not she gets her own butt kicked. Equally annoying is Saya's Chevalier Kaji. He's supposed to be her protector, but he is constantly getting knocked down or throw aside or stabbed through the gut (he's lucky he's immortal). Seriously. It's pitiful.

As for the animation, I was really disappointed in Production IG here. The quality of the visuals is average at best and at times drops to below-average. Given this and some of their other recent works I have to wonder if the studio has simply lost its touch.

So maybe it's not fair to have such specific expectations going in to this series, but the fact remains that for me this show is a major disappointment.

Reading Journal: Tekkon Kinkreet / Black and White

2008-07-29T13:30:00.002-04:00

Manga Overview
Book Info

Rating:
Overall= B+
Story = B+
Art = B+

Journal

In Treasure Town, orphans Black and White rule the mean streets through violence and terror. These lost boys are direct opposites: Black being a streetwise punk who embodies everything wrong about the city, while White is a innocent dope, out of touch with the world around him. Together, they're unstoppable as they take on petty thugs, religious fanatics and brutal yakuza. But when a corporation called "Kiddy Kastle" tries to tear down and rebuild Treasure Town to fit its own goals, the boys must save the soul of their beloved city, that is if they can save themselves from inner demons. (Source: ANN)

I started reading the Tekkon Kinkreet manga because -- like so many other manga -- I had seen the animated movie and wanted to see how the original compared. And as visually and dramatically gripping as the movie is, I think the manga actually works much better due to the art style as well as the medium of manga itself.

The actual story of the manga is nearly identical to the movie: Two orphan boys -- Black and White -- living on the streets of a city call Treasure Town go up against a shady redevelopment group who want to build a theme park atop the decaying metropolis.

The story itself is solid and easy to follow with genuine characters and relatable drama. But even so there are plenty of qualities of the show that are pure fantasy -- like Black and White's ability to jump from the rooftops and land at street level unscathed, or the supernatural fighting abilities of Snake's assassin squad.

And certainly anime is a better medium to portray these kinds of fantastic elements than live action, since the stylized nature of anime keeps it one step removed from reality. But the medium of manga allows even more creative flexibility and potential for abstraction because it doesn't necessarily require the artist to maintain consistency between panels. In anime it would be odd and confusing to have seemingly random anthropomorphic animals and objects appear in the background, but the Tekkon Kindreet manga does so successfully and with minimal confusion or effect on the plot. And instead said random visuals add a sort of imaginative dreamlike quality to the story. That is especially important because it shows that despite the violence and torment that the story portrays, Black and White are still kids and still have that childish innocence. The anime certainly has lush and imaginative visuals, but lacks that dreamlike innocence from the manga.

But even though the art certainly makes for a more effective story, I think that most manga fans will pass this one by because the art is so nontraditional. It is more influenced by European abstract art (specifically French art from what I've read) than Japanese. But I think if you are open minded enough to try something a little different, this manga will be well worth the time invested.

Viewing Journal: Bleach - Memories of Nobody

2008-07-22T07:22:00.004-04:00

Movie Overview
DVD Info (To be released October 2008)
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= C
Story = C-
Video = B
Audio = C

Journal

In Karakura Town, there has been a sudden outbreak of unidentifiable spirits called "blanks" (vacant souls) while in the skies of Soul Society, the real world has been reflected. A mysterious female shinigami called Senna has appeared before Ichigo along with a man named Ganryu, leading a group called the "Dark Ones". (Source: ANN)

I'm watching the Bleach TV series on Adult Swim, and right now I'm into the first set of filler episodes (ie, original stories unrelated to the manga). So I'm starting to get accustomed to the idea of story arcs that don't advance the overall plot or the characters' powers. But even given that, this first Bleach movie -- which is essentially a 2-hour filler episode -- has such an uneven distribution of character development, plot development, and action that it was hard to get into; but almost makes up for it in the end by showing all the regular-series' characters at their best.

I'd read online that the movie takes place around the point where I am in the TV series (episode 67) so it shouldn't have any spoilers. And for the most part that's correct save for two things: First, when the movie starts, Ichigo and Rukia are chasing after a hollow in the World of the Living. But the last time I checked, Rukia was still in the Soul Society, and Ichigo and Renji were the only Soul Reapers hanging out on earth; so how Rukia got there I have no idea. The second thing is that near the end, during the show's climax, Rukia show's her Bankia technique which I haven't yet seen in the series.

Other than that though, everything is original to the movie. The story revolves around a plot by the villain -- an original character named Ganryu -- to destroy both the living world and the Soul Society by making the two world collide.

This is where my first issue with the movie comes into play.... The method by which this massive destruction takes place is way more complex than it needs to be. The pseudo-logic used to explain the events is clear enough to get a general understanding, but there is a ton of detail and terminology thrown at you in a short amount of time, and it seems like it is way too complicated for a simple villain-destroys-the-world story. There's an attempt to make light of this overly-complex explanation by way of some comically bad illustrations by Urahara (something that was originally done much more effectively early in the series) but I couldn't laugh too much because I was focused so much on trying to understand the explanation.

The other issue I had is with the character development. Almost all of the movie except for the final climactic battle involves Ichigo and the other new character, Senna, developing their friendship. As a result there is little action, and even less development of the other characters. The villain Ganryu is hardly ever seen until the end, and almost no time is spent on developing his personality or motivation. So even though he's the key to the events in the movie, by the end he seems like a minor character, which makes the fight between him, his minions, and the Soul Reapers not nearly as dramatic as it could have been.

The one thing that does make this movie worth watching is the grand finale, which is a non-stop Bankai-fest as each Soul Reaper displays their most powerful fighting techniques. This was especially cool when watching the movie in a theatre crowded with other Bleach fans, because as each character made their entrance, everyone in the theatre would erupt with applause.

As for the visuals and music, they were about on par with the TV series. The animation was more smooth and a bit more dynamic, but the artwork wasn't much different. And much of the music was recycled from the series.

One thing that I was especially disappointed with was that the theatre I watched it in didn't seem to have the stereo sound on, so all the sound was coming from the front. So at times you couldn't hear what the characters were saying and some of the sound effects were barely audible when they should have shaken the seats. I'm guessing that had more to do with the theatre than the movie itself, but even so, it did have a big effect on the viewing experience.

So in the end, I'd say that this isn't the greatest anime movie, and certainly isn't as good as the original TV series, but was still fun to watch in a theatre full of anime fans, and is especially crowd pleasing in it's climactic final battle scene.

Club to Death Angel coming to US

2008-06-12T11:53:00.005-04:00

I was first exposed to the poignant classic Club-To-Death Angel Dokuro-chan a while ago via Question-san, over at The Hell House blog. I just watched one episode, but my God if it wasn't the most ridiculously hilarious thing I'd ever seen. And now it's coming to US DVD by way of Media Blasters. Score!

Of course, the concept of killing the same person over and over again might loose it's novelty after a while, but hell... it worked for South Park, didn't it?

(Source: AnimeNation)

Viewing Journal: Tsubasa Chronicle (episodes 1 - 26)

2008-06-03T22:15:00.004-04:00

Series Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= D
Story = D
Video = C+
Audio = C+

Journal

Syaoran, a boy who wants to become an archeologist, and Sakura, a princess from the Clow Kingdom, are childhood friends with a close relationship. On a fateful night, Sakura lost all her memories as a result of a conspiracy to obtain her powers. In order to regain her memory, Syaoran seeks help from the witch, Yuuko. Yuuko tells Syaoran that he has to travel from one alternate reality to another to collect fragments of Sakura's memory. However, even if Sakura regains her memory, she will have no recollection of Syaoran. Traveling together with them is Kurogane, a warrior who was exiled from his country, and Fye, a magician who wants to escape from his King. With the help of a magical creature, Mokona, they set off on an exciting journey through time and space. (Source: ANN)

I usually try not to review a show unless I've seen the entire thing, or at least plan to see the entire thing. But since I've watched a good portion of this show, I figured it might be useful to any readers who are considering the series to know what it is like through the first 26-episodes. The answer is: pretty boring and tedious to get through. That's because -- despite the possibility that things may suddenly start developing at a breakneck pace from episode 27 on -- there is very little development in terms of the plot and the characters up to this point.

To start, it's worth noting that -- as fans of the all-female manga-creator group CLAMP probably already know -- the characters in this series were actually re-used from other CLAMP titles, but here they play totally different roles. So you might see one of the apocalyptic warriors from the X anime (the only CLAMP-related anime I've seen in full) but when you see him in Tsubasa, he is a humble shop owner. It's something that CLAMP fans will surely get giddy over; but for people like me, it's an interesting side note, but otherwise it doesn't add anything to the story.

However, there were a number of things that did catch my interest and made me want to keep watching. First there's the fact Sakura, Syaoran, and their crew have to gather all of these feathers, each one representing one of Sakura's memories. I had to wonder what kind of secret lay in her memories, and what would happen once she got them all back? Secondly, there's the whole concept of traveling to different dimensions. What would each new world be like? And what kind of role would the feathers play in that world? And lastly, there's the whole conspiracy that caused Sakura to loose her memories and send the group on this journey in the first place. Who are the conspirators and what are their grand plans and ultimate goals?

But after the first 26 episodes, hardly any of those things developed any satisfying way, if at all. Sakura's memories didn't seem to have any particular significance other than to highlight the fact that she did NOT remember Syaoran (which we already knew anyway). The journey to the different worlds could have had more potential, but the story in each world dragged on for way too many episodes, and in the end it didn't seem to have much point to it in terms of advancing the overall story. And the villains that initiated Syaoran and Sakura's journey don't show up much, and when they do the hardly ever offer any new information, and what they do offer doesn't bring us any closer to understanding what their grand scheme is. All in all, the story doesn't seem to be going anywhere, or if it is going anywhere it is taking its sweet time getting there.

Then there are the characters themselves. At first they seem like they could develop into something interesting, but up to this point, they have not developed much at all. The people they are at the beginning are very much the same that they are now. They haven't changed and we don't know much of anything more about their pasts or goals. And even that wouldn't be all that bad if there they were interesting enough to keep me entertained in the meantime. But their personalities are basic and cliche -- the boy-hero, the strong soldier, the happy-go-lucky guy, the saccharine moe girl, the cute animal mascot -- lacking any quirks, mannerisms, or idiosyncrasies that might have made them more interesting and less predictable.

The one key element that I think the show hinges on is the relationship between Sakura and Syaoran and the fact that Sakura will never remember him even if she gets all her other memories back. It sounds all tragic at first, but the story plays this angle up so much that it starts to seem more melodramatic and sappy than tragic. And it becomes essentially a moot point later on when Sakura starts to develop feelings for Syaoran despite having no memory of him. It becomes increasingly obviously they are going to get back together sooner or later, so any dramatic impact is lost. And again, since those characters are defined by that one tragic element and never develop any additional depth in their characters, the constant reminders of how great Syaoran and Sakura are handling such heartache gets redundant after a while and essentially looses any emotional effect.

And speaking of flat characters, that's also a good way to describe the art and animation. The character designs themselves are consistent, clean, and simple, but lack any dimension making them look 2-D, even for an anime. And the animation was also very basic and was not particularly dynamic. On the plus side though, some of the costume designs are interesting, and the color palette for the backgrounds and some of the lighting effects are often impressive and appropriately dramatic.

The music is provided by Yuki Kajiura of Noir and Madlax fame. I usually like her work; but in this show her music, surprisingly, did not enhance anything. It may be nice to listen to on a standalone CD, but it did not add anything to the show itself.

So all that having been said, here's what I think the show should have done (assuming it's one goal was to keep me watching):

Keep the "price" of retrieving Sakura's memory under wraps (like maybe Yuuko would have told Syaoran, but he kept it a secret from everyone else) until later in the series. That would have added a layer of mystery and a whole lot more tragedy once it was revealed.
Characters should not be in any one world for longer than two episodes... at least for the first 15-or-so episodes. That way we get exposed to something new on a regular basis.
Provide some kind of hint as to the overarching story after the characters leave a world. That way you'd get an idea that the story is moving in a definite direction.
Get Production IG to do the animation (though they did produce the movie version, so I'll have to see how that one turned out).

So anyway, that's my two cents. I may one day go back to this show if I hear that it gets incredibly awesome right after episode 26, but somehow I seriously doubt it. One thing I did hear was that even after all 52 episodes, the story still doesn't come to a conclusion, so there is really no motivation for me to keep watching. After all, there are plenty of other shows out there to watch and precious little time (these days anyway) to do it.

Viewing Journal: Beck (complete)

2008-05-29T07:05:00.006-04:00

Series Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= B-
Story = B-
Video = D+
Audio = C+

Journal

Tanaka Yukio, better known by his nickname Koyuki is a 14 year old who feels disconnected from life in general. Through the act of saving a mismatched dog, he meets guitarist Minami Ryuusuke, and becomes involved in Ryuusuke's new band BECK. Koyuki's life starts to change as the band struggles towards fame. (Source: ANN)

There is no shortage of shows involving teenagers discovering that they have an innate talent for something, and -- with the help and encouragement of those around them -- "working their hardest" to develop and increase their abilities until they become the best in the world. It's a formula that works well most of the time because friendship, encouragement, triumph, and rise to greatness are all uplifting themes that most anyone can get behind, Beck being no exception. But Beck also has the added benefit of being about a rock band, which makes it more relatable than most.

Koyuki is a normal 14-year old who one day happens upon a freakish-looking dog, and through it meets up with Ryuusuke -- a guitarist who is working to start a new band. Koyuki begins to learn some guitar and develops his singing talents and eventually ends up bringing the new band Beck/Mongolian Chop Squad stardom in Japan with hopes of making it big in the US.

I think the biggest draw of this show is the fact that it actually seems plausible. Sure, some of the characters and plot threads are unlikely to exist in reality, but the general idea of someone going from being a nobody to being a rock star is plausible because there are so many real stories of rock bands who made that happen. Plus Koyuki's feeling of detachment and his desire for freedom and expression through music are also easy for most people to relate to because music is such a universally understood medium of expression.

The show also does a good job of maintaining a relatively subtle tone. One way it does this is by eliminating any background music in its soundtrack; so the only time you hear music is when the bands are playing. This kind of technique was also used in the Paradise Kiss anime and in both cases was successful in giving the show a realistic and genuine feel by allowing to characters and drama to stand out on their own without the crutch of background music.

The one unfortunate thing is that there isn't much of an ending to the show. The last episode is mostly just a bunch of music-related visuals with Koyuki's voice in the background narrating what the band is doing. My guess is that -- as with so many anime with similar endings -- either the show's writers didn't have an ending planned, or it ran out of material to pull from the original manga, or both.

As for the animation, it's pretty bad. The character designs and animation vary between episodes, but the majority of the time they are sloppy. The only parts that really stand out as being better quality are the times when the bands are playing on stage. It's disappointing, but still didn't keep me from enjoying the story much.

There are a couple of interesting things to note about this show. The first is the fact that the characters -- in the original Japanese dialogue anyway -- will occasionally shift from speaking Japanese to speaking English because two of the characters were raised in America. It's amusing because their accents are so thick when they speak English that if it weren't for subtitles I wouldn't have any idea what they were saying. This is made all the worse when they start swearing in English, which looses some of it's effect because the voice-actors didn't seem to know how to act as well in English as in Japanese.

The other thing that I thought was interesting was how character's reactions to Koyuki's singing -- and Beck's music in general -- compared to the actual quality of the music itself. Back before I saw the anime and had heard of the Beck manga I thought, "How can you have a manga about a rock band? There's no way to hear the music!" But now that I've seen the anime version I can see where the story would actually work better in manga form. That's because in the anime, Koyuki's singing, even at the best of times, is pretty bad. (He reminded me of someone who would have gotten kick off of American Idol in the early rounds.) But regardless, the characters in the anime would react to Koyuki like he was the greatest thing since The Beatles. In manga form this wouldn't be a problem because you couldn't hear the music, so it would be easier to accept that his singing was great as long as you used your imagination. (Though I do have to say that I did enjoy the opening and second ending songs. And if you listen closely you'll catch a Pillows song in the last episode.)

Musical quality discrepancies aside though, I really did enjoy the Beck anime if for no other reason than I generally like stories that involve rock bands. I'm not sure that everyone would like it though since the general storyline is unoriginal and it's animation is sub-par.

Viewing Journal: Irresponsible Captain Tylor (complete)

2008-05-28T07:11:00.003-04:00

Series Overview
DVD Info
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= C+
Story = C+
Video = C+
Audio = C

Journal

Justy Ueki Tylor thought a career in the United Planets Space Force (UPSF) would give him an easy life: enlist, get a desk job, spend the rest of his life in quiet, boring comfort. No sooner does he take the qualifying exam than war breaks out with the Raalgon Empire, and circumstances quickly conspire to land this volunteer off the street in command of the cruiser "Soyokaze." Now Tylor faces two uphill battles - against the Raalgon fleet that wants to kill him, and against his own crew, who expect him to conform to some standard of military discipline. But as the war rages, Tylor's easy-going ways might have a better chance of converting his crew than vice-versa. (Source: ANN)

This show takes some getting used to. In the beginning it is hard to accept how Captain Tylor gets to be captain of his ship. It's not that I expect hardcore realism from a sci-fi comedy anime, and I know that much of Tylor's success is supposed to be due to "luck"; but even given that, the reaction of the characters seem unnatural and contrived in order to land him into the captain's seat of the Soyokaze as quickly as possible. The reasons that the commanders of the UPSF use to give Tylor command of a ship don't make sense, and then even after he gets command, the way that the commanders from both the UPSF and the Raalgon Empire overreact to his antics are unconvincing and inconsistent with their personalities.

That all being said, once all the pieces are in place: Tylor is captain of the ship, the higher-ups are focused on getting rid of Tylor, and the Raalgon leaders are interested in kidnapping him -- and once you've gotten over the fact that everything up to that point made no logical sense -- then it's actually a pretty fun show to watch. It's not that it is any more realistic or believable at that point; it's just that the characters react more naturally and consistently to the situations.

The main draw of the show is how it tries to blur the line between how much of Tylor's success is due to luck and how much is due to his conscious strategy. As first everything seems to be due purely to luck, but as it progresses it becomes increasingly unclear, and Tylor starts to seem like a stronger character.

As for the visuals, this is an old-school anime, so it's from the days before digital animation. As a result the art is much more detailed and spontaneous. I've really started to get interested in these kind of old-school sci-fi anime because it seems like there is so much more creativity and fun in the designs. Of course, there's no re-mastering here so the quality of the video is not as crisp and clear as you'll get in modern anime, which I'm guessing is enough to turn a lot of viewers away.

The music is mostly typical 80's type of anime music: cheesy and campy but still fitting. There is also some music that is pulled from well-known movie soundtracks which is used in the last few episodes making for some funny moments.

So in the end, I'm glad that I watched this show. Even though the first few episodes were kind of ridiculous (and not in a good way), overall it was a fun show to watch.

Reading Journal: Battle Royale

2008-05-11T15:30:00.000-04:00

Book Overview

Rating:
Overall= C+

Journal

As part of a ruthless program by the totalitarian government, ninth-grade students are taken to a small isolated island with a map, food, and various weapons. Forced to wear special collars that explode when they break a rule, they must fight each other for three days until only one "winner" remains. (Source: Amazon)

About a year and a half ago I watched the live action Battle Royale movie and loved it. So when I heard that the original book version was being translated and released in the US, I had to see how the two compared. And after finishing the book, I'll say that it's definitely an interesting read, but not nearly as entertaining as the movie.

The story of Battle Royale plays out like a combination of Lord of the Flies meets 1984 meets The Running Man. It takes place in an alternate history Japan where, as part of a military research program, a class of forty-two unwitting students are taken to an island, given random weapons, and told to kill each other within three days. The last student standing is labelled the victor and granted a dubious award, but if more than one student is left after the allotted time, everyone dies.

The initial draw of the book is the question of "what would you do in that situation?" And to its credit the book does a good job of showing forty-two kids, each with distinct personalities, history, emotional baggage, and philosophies on how to approach the game. In fact, part of what kept me reading was to see (1) how each character would deal with the situation, and (2) how each character would bite it in the end.

The real value of the book is in it's role as an allegory for youth. It's meant to show that this is in fact how real kids view the world: that they live in an oppressive world in which they have little control, and that adults simply use them and push them into a cutthroat, kill-or-be-killed educational system. I can see where this would be all the more true in Japan where so much more stress is put on succeeding in school no matter what. I found it particularly enlightening how the students in the book, in order to find some level of freedom and rebellion in under the restrictive government, turn to contraband music and literature smuggled from America.

So purely from those ideas and insights, the book is definitely an interesting read. But the entertainment value in terms of the suspense and thrill that you would expect from such a violent story is limited by the author's awkward, amateurish writing style.

The first chapter opens with the line "42 students remaining", which is actually a great way to begin because right away I was hooked with an adrenaline rush since I knew that by the end that number would dwindle down. But as the story built up to the point where I expected the action to really get going, it was suddenly interrupted by an ill-timed flashback; and it continued in that vein throughout. Now, I'm not faulting the flashbacks themselves, it's just that I've seen other authors who are able to use that kind of character development to enhance suspense; but here it tends to disrupt the pace of the action and destroy much of the suspense.

Plus, the characters themselves seem more like one-dimensional stereotypes for kinds of students instead of fully fleshed-out, believable characters. It's like an extended version of the cast of Breakfast Club where you have the jock, the nerd, the rebel, and the princess, along with the arrogant rich boy, the coward, the idiot, and of course everyone's favorites: the stone-cold stoic killer, and the psychopathic bitch. This can be amusing at times, but limits the level of empathy, and -- as a result -- limits the potential for suspense.

There were other things about the author's writing style that I wasn't crazy about. For instance, he is pretty blunt when describing things. So he's more likely to say something like "the red blood flowed from his head" as opposed to "the crimson fluid oozed out of his gaping wound like lava through the caverns of hell." Not that I need poetry, but I think adding more color to the language makes a book easier to read. The other thing I don't like is that the point-of-view will spontaneously shift from one character to another in the middle of a chapter, which can be confusing and, again, break the pace. Though instances like that tend to happen less as the book goes on, which give me the impression that the author was developing his writing skill as he went.

For those who have seen the movie, I do think this book is a worthwhile read just because, though inferior for entertainment value, it does add a lot of description to the characters and setting that helps make a lot more sense out of what is going on. First of all, as mentioned before, just about every single character gets some level of description of their background and personalities, but more importantly there is a lot more explanation of the world in which the story takes place and the real purpose and origin behind the program-o-death. In the movie there was some explanation, but it didn't seem to make much sense; but here, thankfully, it's more fleshed-out.

On the flip side, the movie does a better job at keeping the pace of the action and suspense by cutting back on the flashback sequences, including just enough to give the story some depth. And although many of characters are just as much stereotyped in the movie as in the book, the movie does a better job of playing up the camp-factor, making the stereotypes seem more like intentional exaggerations instead of limitations in the writing.

So overall this book has a fascinating premise, but the execution is so flawed as to limit its full potential. I mentioned in a previous post that my enjoyment of the movie version may have been due to low expectations, so it stands to reason that my high expectations for the book might be the reason behind my lack luster review. But I don't think so.

Evangelion 2.0: Division preview trailer

2008-04-28T21:19:00.012-04:00

The preview was released with the Evangelion 1.0 movie DVD. (Here's my review of the first movie.)

UPDATE: Looks like the movie below was removed by the Youtube fun police. No worries though, as it's still available via the mavericks at CrunchyRoll.com.

UPDATE 2: I will not be denied! Crunchy Roll seems to have taken the fall, but now we go all the way out to Portugal to satisfy our need for Evangelion 2.0 goodness. And with subtitles no less. Enjoy. (Source: Sapo Videos)

Now it's interesting to do a sided-by-side comparison with that fan-produced remake:

Yoko Kanno and The Seatbelts live concert

2008-04-25T07:11:00.006-04:00

If you know me, you know what a HUGE Yoko Kanno fan I am. Needless to say I would give any number of body parts to have seen this live concert featuring Yoko Kanno herself with the Seatbelts -- the band behind the music of Cowboy Bebop. For now I can just watch in awe... and you can too...

Full Concert(s)
(I'm not sure if these are two separate concerts or just two halves of the same one because they repeat a couple of songs between them. But whatevah...)

Individual Songs

Tank!
What Planet Is This?
Want it all back
Blue
(One of the best CB songs out there.)
Piano medley with Yoko Kanno!
(This is so awesome I may weep openly.)
Bad dog no biscuits
Call Me, Call Me
Mushroom Hunting
The Real Folk Blues
(I could do without the boa, but otherwise incredible.)
Ask DNA / What Planet Is This?
(This is the end credits for the concert video.)

Detroit Metal City live action movie to feature Gene Simmons

2008-04-25T06:48:00.001-04:00

Makes me proud to be a Detroit native... or not.

I'd never heard of this Detroit Metal City manga before the live action movie was announced (there seems to be an anime in the works too), but according to ANN, KISS front man Gene Simmons is a fan and has a key roll in the film and former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman also plays in a short scene with Simmons.

I'm not exactly waiting in eager anticipation to see this one, but simply because it has "Detroit" in the title it does pique at least some interest. It'll be like... the Japanese version of 8 Mile!

A short teaser trailer can be seen below.

Viewing Journal: Mind Game

2008-04-18T06:45:00.003-04:00

Movie Overview
(Not yet available in US)
Bittorrent Download
Trailer

Rating:
Overall= B-
Story = C+
Video = A-
Audio = B

Journal

Nishi has always loved Myon since they were little. And now as adults, he wants to pursue his dream of becoming a manga artist and marrying his childhood sweetheart. There's one problem, though. She's already been proposed to and she thinks Nishi is too much of a wimp. But upon meeting the fiancé while at her family's diner and accepting him as a good guy, they encounter a couple Yakuza (Japanese mafia), only to have Nishi grasp a certain revelation. And, with his newly aquired look on life, adventures abound as he, Myon, and her sister, Yan, escape the Yakuza into a most unlikely location where they meet an old man... (Source: ANN)

The first half of this movie is incredible. It is odd, frantic, and fast moving, and so different that I didn't want to take my eyes from the screen just because I wanted to see what would come next. You have everything from Yakuza soccer players, a trip to the afterlife with a randomly shape-shifting god, to an impossible wild car chase down the streets of Tokyo. And if it was able to keep up that pace, this movie may have been one of the coolest things I'd ever seen. But then Nishi, Myon, and her sister are suddenly and inexplicably swallowed by a whale.

So then I'm thinking, okay, that's a bit out of the blue, but what the heck, let's see what further wackiness befalls the heroes. But the problem is that nearly the entire rest of the movie takes place inside this whale, with the characters goofing around, eating fresh fish, contemplating what is going on in the outside world, and Nishi and Myon building their romance. It's still entertaining, and the characters do some pretty goofy stuff as they try to pass the time, making for some cool visuals; but compared to the fast pace of the first half, the plot in this second part seems stagnant. But then comes the climactic escape, which is so outlandishly intense and wild that it nearly makes up for that stagnation.

But then that's mostly where it ends. There are a bunch of scenes that show life and how it ends up for the characters, and then -- as if out of fear that things have ended too nicely -- it wraps up with a vague final couple of scenes that to me were kind of a let-down, but I guess appropriate given the overall tone.

Though regardless of how well plotted it is, the visuals are what really drive the movie. They're colorful and very abstract -- similar in style to Tekkon Kinkreet. But it takes it a couple steps further by varying the style on occasion, even going so far as to use real-life shots of the actors faces in at certain parts. At other times it shifts to cartoony animation, or to a more freeform style. It's not a random shift though, because the style matches and reflects the tone of the associated scene. And the overall experience is something so different from any other anime I've seen -- in a good way -- that the experience alone would make it worth multiple viewings.

In the end, though, I think the real appeal of this movie is that it is so different. With so many similar storylines and art styles in anime, it's refreshing to see a movie that can breaks free from the pack and do something original -- and do it relatively well. I wouldn't call this a masterpiece in filmmaking but it is an overall fun ride and well worth checking out.

Ghost in the Shell live action movie in 3-D

2008-04-18T06:30:00.008-04:00

Via ANN:

The American film production company DreamWorks has revealed that it has licensed the rights to adapt Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell cyber-police manga into a 3D live-action film. The story of an elite paramilitary unit in future Japan has already been adapted into three animated films and two television anime series. DreamWorks has released the second animated Ghost in the Shell film, Innocence, in North America. DreamWorks also released Millennium Actress and produced Transformers, another live-action science-fiction film with Japanese roots.
Variety reports that Universal and Sony also negotiated for the rights, which the Production I.G anime studio was pitching for the manga's original publisher Kodansha. What turned the dealmaking in DreamWorks' favor was co-founder Steven Spielberg's enthusiasm for the project. The entertainment trade newspaper quotes the acclaimed director and producer: "Ghost in the Shell is one of my favorite stories. It's a genre that has arrived, and we enthusiastically welcome it to DreamWorks."
Avi Arad (formerly of Marvel Studios as well as of the Spider-Man and X-Men movie franchises), Arad's son Ari, and Seaside Entertainment's Steven Paul brought the project to DreamWorks and will produce. Jamie Moss (Street Kings, Last Man Home) has been assigned to script the project.

Most of the time I just shake my head and shrug (in my mind) when I read about American companies vying to create live-action movies out of anime or manga. Part of that is because most of the time those kind of projects never come to fruition -- and the ones that do are titles that I don't really care about one way or the other. But, if the upcoming Speed Racer and Dragonball movies end up being huge financial successes, all those other live-action anime projects -- from Monster, to Battle Angel, to Evangelion -- are sure to come out of the wood works by the droves.

Ghost in the Shell is probably my all-time favorite anime/manga franchise, and the possibility of seeing the complex storyline and detailed technological concepts simplified to pander to US audiences really bothers me.

Plus there's the fact that what works in animation doesn't necessarily transfer equally well into live action. Animation -- being a totally contrived and artistically stylized medium -- allows for more flexibility in an audience's suspension-of-disbelief threshold. Transferring an animated movie to live action would only highlight the gaps in believability of the original story unless some key adjustments are made. And those adjustments could ultimately undermine what made the qualities that made original so great. And what would really suck is that if the live action movie turns out horribly, audiences would assume the worst of the original anime and manga worsening the already low-esteem mainstream audiences have for the two mediums, which would then lead to riots, war, pestilence, and the general breakdown of civilization.

Well, maybe not that last part. So maybe I'm taking this a bit too seriously; but the way I figure it, keeping expectations low is the surest way to head off disappointment.

Insignificant observation of the week

2008-04-18T06:16:00.002-04:00

Is it just me, or have more anime reviews been employing the term "deus ex machina" ever since Appleseed: Ex Machina was released? Discuss....

The Ghibli film that could have been: Little Nemo in Slumberland

2008-04-11T21:02:00.007-04:00

Little Nemo in Slumberland was a comic strip from the late 1800's / early 1900's -- back in the days when comic strips had a good deal more panel space to work in, resulting in some of the most creative art and writing to ever graze newsprint.

So anyway... An animated film based on the strip was released in Japan in 1989 and then in the US in 1992 (and on US DVD in 2004) and involved a long and arduous production phase (the details of which can be found on Cartoon Brew), and among the big names involved were none other than Ghibli veterans Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. Although they were not involved in the final movie's production, they did create a short but incredible test film which can be seen below.

(Source: AICN)

Genius Party Beyond trailer

2008-04-11T13:00:00.007-04:00

Umm.... Wow:

Genius Party Beyond trailer

(Source: AnimeNation)

Redline trailer from Tokyo Anime Fair

2008-04-04T21:53:00.007-04:00

A camcorder recording of the sci-fi automobile racing movie Redline, from the Tokyo International Anime Fair.... The detail of the art is incredible (if you can make it out from the poor-quality video).

[Update: Seems the trailer was removed form YouTube, but you can still find it on CrunchyRoll. Below is an older trailer from about a year ago.]

(Source: AnimeNation)

Do you like Mudkips?

2008-04-01T12:36:00.009-04:00

So I went on my DeviantArt site today and discovered that my avatar had been changed to this animated gif that says "So i herd u liek Mudkips??" And, the gullible shmuck that I am, I started freaking out thinking, "Holy cripes! My deviant art site's been hijacked!"... that is, until I realized that it's April Fool's Day and it was all just a temporary joke.

So after coming to that epiphany, I googled the term Mudkips and found out that it's a Pokemon (which I've never watched) character. And according to Urban Dictionary the phrase itself is something that was born off of the infamous 4chan website after someone posted the following (probably fake, but still funny) story. And just so you know ahead of time... No, I do not like Mudkips...

Today being Halloween, I decided to fuck with the major retard at school when I came out of science for break. He was dressed as Ash. Knowing this was going to happen, I brought a Mudkips doll. Thus I started the conversation, making sure no one saw me.

"So I heard you like Mudkips..." "Mudkips? I LUUUUUUUUUUUUVE MUDKIPS." "O RLY? So, would you ever fuck a Mudkips, that is.." (he cuts me off before I could said 'if you were a mudkips') "OF COURSE." "Well I just happen to have a Mudkips here, and."

Before I finished the sentence, which would have resulted in me hitting him across the face with the doll, he grabbed it. In one swift motion his pants were down and he was violently humping it. Not to get between a man and his Mudkips I started to walk away, because there is no way I'd be caught wrestling a half-naked crazy guy humping a Mudkips.

Needles to say, within 5 to 10 seconds, some girls saw him and started screaming. I coolly walked into a restroom, pretending nothing had ever happened; not that I had intended that outcome, but now that it was in play I didn't want to be involved.

I came back two minutes later, and like any wanton act on school grounds there was now a huge crowd round him. He was still fucking it and baying this real fucked up 'EEEEEEEEEEINNNNF EEEEEEEEEEINNNF' sound. Suddenly a scuffle broke out in the middle, meaning he probably did something stupid.

I asked someone what had happened. A girlfriend of one of the football players tried to get him to stop, but he bit her for trying to take it away. Someone called in a few football players (all dressed up like Road Warrior) who proceeded to pummel the shit out of the guy. Meanwhile the school police were freaking out and having trouble getting in to the situation.

A few minutes later the intruder alarm went off and we were shuffled into classrooms. Over the intercom the principal announced that someone had thrown a
flaming plush toy into the library. Uh.. what the hell.

So we were kept there and about 30 minutes later the principal came on again. This time he was saying that whoever was behind the beating should turn themselves in. All of a sudden this woman began yelling "I WILL SUE YOU FOR DAMAGES. YOU LITTLE PUNKS, I'M GONNA SUE..." and it was cut off.

I asked an office later what had happened. Apparently his mother had come to pick him up and threatened to sue for the beating and 'whatever else happened.' The school threatened to counter-sue because of lewd conduct, inciting a riot, and starting a fight.

So I ask you: do you like Mudkips?

I hath heardth that thou liketh kips of the mud.
Mudkips. I heard you like them.

The ultimate cat fight

2008-03-28T23:56:00.027-04:00

Feeling as if your life is suffering from a severe lack of "girls beating the bejeezus out of each other"? Then this ought to keep you satiated for the next couple of decades...

Montyoum's Dead Fantasy 1 [ HQ version ]

Dead Fantasy 2 [ HQ version ]

(Source: AICN)