Jungle wa Itsumo Hale nochi Guu OAVs

Jungle wa Itsumo Hale nochi Guu Delux and Jungle wa Itsumo Hale nochi Guu Final are the OAV conclusions to the TV series.  Deluxe, containing 6 episodes and a short special, was released in 2002.  Final containing 7 episodes was released in 2003.

     Deluxe picks up after the end of the TV series and we find Hale, Guu and Weda living in the jungle again.  Things don’t go as planned for Hale as a substitute teacher with anger issues moves to the village and Weda is pregnant.  The 6^th episode of Delux makes fun of every Shonen Adventure series ever made and ever will be made.  The special is a recap of half of the TV series.

    Final picks up after Deluxe and we find Hale, Guu and Weda returning to the city with Hales brother Ame.  Hale has to adjust with life outside of the jungle as well as continuing to put up with Guu's antics.  They once again return to the jungle where they really belong and have to tie up loose ends with the most obsessive members of the village.

    It was fun to watch more insanity but it seemed to just drag on with no real development.  Nothing has really changed in the action or animation between the TV episodes and the OAV.  The story keeps going, with its ups and downs of being entertaining.  The 6^th episode of Deluxe was annoying but excellent at the same time.  Final really gears up the satire, the 5th one entirely spoofs Final Fantasy.  After a while though i really got bored with many of the antics and story lines of the show.  But, if you enjoyed the TV series you can enjoy the OAV's as well.  I really wish there was some sort of overall point to this title...but just sit back and wait for the crazy.  Guu's origins and purpose never get explained and with the final episode it seems like the series could just keep going.  In a way it's good it didn't.  One oddity in Final was how Ame's appearance kept changing...one some episodes he would have a full head of hair, in others he wouldn't.  I wonder if there was something intentional behind that...

    Deluxe has been licensed in North America and is available on DVD.  But, Final is not...and doesn't seem to ever be at this point.  Perhaps the fatigue I experienced was shared by enough people to not want to finish the series up in this part of the world.

   

Mokuyobi Post - Battle Angel

Battle Angle is a 2 part OVA based on the manga Battle Angel Alita or Gunnm in Japan.

    Far in the future earth is a barren waste of degredation and misery.  Some humans; affluent and powerful, have left the surface of the planet to live in the utopian city in the sky, Salem.  Dr. Ido is a cybernetic doctor who had once lived in the skycity, one day while digging through a trash heap he comes across a delicate android body.  Using his expertise he is able to bring the female cyborg Gally back online and adopts her as his daughter.  Gally befriends a street kid named Hugo who runs errands for the cities more shady elements.  In a last ditch effort to escape his life of misery and short time span, Hugo concocts a plan to sneak into Salem.  Gally, emotionally attached to Hugo decides to help him realize his impossible dream.  But the pathway to the city is dangerous and the reality of the utopia is not what it seems.

    This is one of the classics of the anime titles from the 90's.  Yet, its a far cry from the manga and really is a bit disappointing.  The animation is dated, a number of odd changes were made in the anime and it really doesn't get into the meat of the story, Gally (Alita) being a powerful combat cyborg from a previous war.  Honestly, you can really just skip this, but as its under an hour in length you won't waste too much of your life watching it.  Instead pick up the manga and enjoy this interesting post-apocalyptic story.

    The OAVs have been available in North America for a long time.  A quick check on Amazon though shows it going for a hefty collectors price, so it may not be worth the money.

Jungle wa Itsumo Hale nochi Guu

Jungle wa Itsumo Hale nochi Guu (The Jungle was always nice/sunny/Hale and then Guu) or Hale + Guu is a 26 episode comedic anime that aired in Japan in 2001 and is based on the manga of the same name,

    Hale is a 10 year old boy with a lot of problems.  His irresponsible lush of a mom doesn’t let him play all the video games he wants.  His teacher is narcoleptic.  His classmates are a rag tag cast of weirdo’s and the chief of his jungle village is in love with his own chest hair.  If he thought his live was hard previously, when his mom adopts a mysterious girl named Guu his world gets turned upside down.  The fact that Guu can swallow things whole and has them live inside of her is only the start of what’s wrong with her.  Her appearance in the village is only the start of real trouble in Hale’s life.  Soon more weirdo’s arrive, causing him to live on the verge of a mental breakdown.  Can he figure out what Guu is and why she showed up?  Can he also figure out why all these people that are somehow connected with he and his mothers past keep showing up in the once peaceful village?

    This is a pretty funny and off the wall series.  It’s unfortunately from a really bad period in anime production so the animation is sub-par.  The comedy is spot on though, with plenty of sight gags and insane monologues.  Though, about half way through it starts to lag quite a bit and I was starting to lose interest.  I knew there was some sort of over arching plot and it just seemed to flounder around uselessly for a while not really going anywhere plot wise.  That got taken care of in the last 7 episodes and the series ends on a cliff.  So that can be a bit annoying as well.  They did however make up for that by releasing two OAV series to continue the story of these crazy jungle dwellers.  This is a good comedy though, even with its faults.  If you are a fan of break neck speed comedies like Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei this one will be right up your alley.

    The series and the first OAV set are licensed in North America and are available on DVD from Funimation.  There must have been little interest as the second and final OAV set does not appear to have been licensed…shame.

Watamote

Watamote (Watashi ga mote nai no wa dou kangaete mo omaera ga warui) is a comedic slice of life series.  It aired in japan in the fall of 2013 for 12 episodes and is based on the manga of the same name by Niko Tanigawa.

    Tomoko Kuroki is a 1^st year high school student who has no friends, no prospects for a future and no ambition.  However she quickly wants to change her position in life and strives to become popular and loved by her peers.  The problem is that she has no clue how to really interact with other people and her understanding of reality comes from video games, manga and anime.  Her otaku tendencies keep her from interacting and other people from being able to approach her.  In an attempt to change her image she runs through various scenarios in her mind as ways to become popular…will she be able to be one of the loved students in her school, or will she always be a socially awkward NEET.

    This odd series reminded me of a mash up between Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge and  Ouran High School Host Club.  There were some funny parts, but honestly I wasn’t impressed or entertained.  I actually started to zone out for the last few episodes, which didn’t seem to matter much in the overall course of the series.  The funny parts were in dealing with Tomoko trying to remake herself in popular girl stereotypes, which she seemed to turn into freaky caricatures.  Tomoko is an idiot and she doesn’t realize it, so it’s pretty hard to care for her success of failure.  The art isn’t anything special and the writing tries to be witty, with some references to other satirical comedy series, but doesn’t come anywhere close to capturing the creativeness of the series it name drops.  You can really just skip this series.  It doesn’t offer anything worthwhile aside from wasting time.

    If you really want to watch it, you can stream it via Crunchyroll.  Honestly it’s still better than half the crap available on CR anyways.

Summer Wars

Summer Wars is the second theatrical project by Mamoru Hosoda.  It is a slice of life cyber adventure that was released in theaters in Japan in 2006.  I never ended up writing a review on this movie back when it came out...so here it is.

   The story follows, Kenji Koiso, a hapless high school student who moon lights as an administrator on Oz.  Oz is a massive global online community the everyone uses for most aspects of life; business, finances, entertainment, education, personal, etc.  It is the internet in a few years from now, a truly connected global community.  The inhabitants take on avatars while in the fully interactive world.  Our protagonist, who is a bit of a mathematical savant,is suckered into accompanying the girl of his dreams, Natsuki Shinohara, to her grandmothers 90th birthday party, pretending to be her boyfriend.  When they get to the family estate he learns she is from an old and powerful samurai family that had fought against the Tokugawa shogunate.  Even with dishonor, the family has remained prosperous.

    On the night of the first day, Kenji receives an odd message and quickly cracks a cryptic code presented in it.  Unfortunately he discovers the following morning that he had helped an unknown hacker gain access to vital portions of Oz. Now the global network is in danger of being overtaken by this mysterious assailant.  At first everyone thinks Kenji is the culprit but soon it is discovered that an advanced AI is the one behind the attack.  To make matters worse, the creator of the AI is none other than Wabisuke, grandfathers illegitimate son who disappeared ten year previously after stealing a portion of the family fortune.  Now with the culprit being one of their own, grandmother rallies the clan to defeat the AI and restore honor to their family before its too late.

    This is a good movie, entertaining, touching and offers an air of caution about the future of the internet.  At the same time there are a few annoying aspects with it.  I really disliked the premise behind the climax of the story...some things just seemed a bit too far fetched for my taste...to saccharine.  The real meat of the movie though is in the large cast of characters that make up the family.  Each has a unique and developed personality and the interactions between them all are really fun to watch.  The real message in the film is of the bond of family and persevering through hardship by relying on others to help where you are lacking.  The animation and character designs are the same as those found in The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.  While not my favorite movie it is still good and enjoyable.  I just really have a problem with the way the climax rolls and that knocks it down quite a bit for me.

   The film has been released in North America and has garnered quite a few accolades around the world.  You can get it on DVD or DB by Funimation.

Mokuyobi Post - Otaku no Video

This OAV from the beginning of the 90's was produced by Gainax and comically shed light on the varying otaku subcultures as well as offering a warning on their compulsive tendencies.

    Split between an anime story and a mockumentary this 2 part OAV follows Ken Kubo who is first introduced to the world of the otaku by an old school friend and eventually is determined to be the ota-king, ruling over all otaku.  He and his cohorts are met with a mixture of success, failure, betrayal and fantasy on their journey to create the most powerful otaku company in the universe.  Intermixed in the anime portion are mock segments interviewing members of specific otaku sub-cultures.  These segments are live action and each feature one person who is deeply obsessed with a specific hobby; anime, cosplay, war gaming, etc.  These segments also go to show either the shame people have in their otaku tendencies or pride in their obsessions, sometimes bordering on illegal/dangerous activities.

    This anime is from 1991, so it is dated but not too poorly.  Gainax has built a career on producing high quality products for their time periods.  They are also known for controversy and mischievousness.  This is a fun romp into the realm of otaku-hood, if at times somewhat uncomfortable.  The OAV also includes segments of the videos the crew who would eventually become Gainax created for the 1981 and 1983 Sci-fi conventions, Daikon.  This is a mandatory title to see in my opinion.

    This video has been available commercially in North America for a long time in both VHS and DVD format.  Pick it up when you come across it and enjoy.

Mushi Shi - First Series

Mushi Shi is a super natural drama that aired in Japan in 2005 and 2006.  This 26 episode series is based on the manga of the same name by Yuki Urushibara.

    Mushi are spirits of the natural world that can affect humans in adverse ways.  Ginko, known as a mushi master, has the ability to commune and control them.  He travels the countryside of Japan where ever his abilities are needed to save people who have been infected by mushi.

    The best way to describe this series is dream like.  The color pallet and background designs are soft and warm and the character designs are simple and somewhat realistic.  It is hard to determine the time period that the series takes place in, some aspects say sometime in the Tokugawa Shogunate, but others say the Meiji Restoration.  Either way there are no cars, trains or other modern conveniences.  There is no over arching plot, each episode is essentially a self contained story, following the patterns of Ginko arriving to the aid of someone who is being consumed by a mushi.  He then works through the problem using his extensive knowledge and experience to cure the person of the problem.  The mushi are just an outward way of showing human weaknesses and you could say that Ginko is really part therapist and part priest, helping people to realize the things they have done to cause them such pain and trouble.  Even if the mushi is able to be exorcised the person still pays a price for their problems.  I am not very versed in Japanese folk lore, but most of the plots seem to deal with many of Japans animistic traditions.  With that said, this is a really good series.  I really enjoyed watching it, even if it took me 8 years to finish!

    The series is available on DVD and streaming in North America.  There was a 1-shot OAV that came out New Years 2014 which is available on Crunchyroll.  A live action movie was made in 2007, directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, is also available.  There will be a second series beginning in Japan in April of 2014, which is what really prompted me to finish this excellent series.

Winter 2014 - A First Blush

Engaged to the Unidentified: On the morning of her 16th birthday Kobeni Yonomori finds out that she has been betrothed to a boy from a remote mountain village per her late grandfathers wishes.  The fiancee, Hakuya Mitsumini, and his controlling younger sister begin living with Kobeni's family to work towards finalizing the marriage.  Kobeni is completely against a forced marriage and has concerns for Hakuya's empty personality.  Can she break from the her grandfathers commands and can she hold on to any amount of normalcy in her life?

    I kept thinking of Ranma 1/2.  The thing that really irritated me with this show was Hakyua's sister, Mashiro's way of talking...lisping a lot of her words like a 4 year old just learning to speak.  The character designs are all mundane unrealistic anime styles, off hair colors, big eyes, etc.  Normal fair.  I expected there to be a lot of fan service, but I was happy to not run into any.  This just may be a run of the mill romantic high school comedy about forced love.  While there are a ton of these types of stories and this one doesn't appear to offer anything new, it still may be mildly enjoyable to watch.  I don't see it lasting beyond a full 26 episode season so there shouldn't be too much wasted time.  We shall see though as the show progresses.

Hamatora: A group of misfits characters in Yokohama operate a barely successful detective and protection agency.  Each member of the agency holds a special and rare ability, known as a Minimum, that allows them to attain super human abilities.  With these gifts they can competently carry out their ad-hock assignments.

    OK, this one seems kind of like a throw back to mid and late 90's shonen action stories.  It reminded me of a cross between Gunsmith cats and Eat Man.  While I don't typically find super power character stories this one may be entertaining for old times sake.  The story doesn't it takes it's self too seriously and the action sequences are full of over the top dialogue and posturing.  The animation is pretty respectable in the detail but falls into the standard anime trappings.  I guess I will keep watching this one until it gives me a reason to stop, but I don't expect to be blown away by it.

Hozuki no Reitetsu: Not being a student of Buddhist mythology I really couldn't get into this show.  It seemed too dependent on prior knowledge of the hierarchy of Buddhist and Shinto hell structures for me to really understand what was going on.  The character designs irked me and the story appeared to be pretty jumbled, with too much going on at one time...pass.

Magical Warfare:  Given that the mangaka is reported to be against the anime adaption of his work, one would know better than to actually watch it.

    So a typical high school student all of a sudden gets involved in a battle between magic users from a different world, in coming into contact with then he gains magical powers and so do a handful of his classmates who stumble upon the battle too...

    Yeah...I'm not sure how much this deviates from the manga, I assume it doesn't deviate much, and it offers absolutely nothing for me.  This really just seems to be something created to sell cosplay outfits...nothing more than that.  Don't even get me started on the fanservice...  And whats with the Leluche clone?

Nisekoi: Raku Ishijo is the heir apparent of a strong yakuza gang.  But he wants nothing to do with his families criminal heritage and is determined not to take the gang over when his father absconds the roll.  Instead he is focused on becoming a trustworthy and successful civil servant and finding a girl he promised his heart to ten years prior.  His life takes a turn for the complicated when an exchange student from America shows up and leaves a bad impression with him.  They get off on the wrong foot and quickly become enemies.  He forces her to help him find a pendant from the girl hes promised to since shes the one who caused him to lose it.  The situation makes them hate each other more but the rest of the school thinks their an item.  Things become even worse when Raku finds out shes the heir of a rival gang and to stop a war from breaking out a plan is concocted to make them look like a couple for the next three years.

    OK, nothing new, forced, unrequited love that will probably blossom into a mutual liking between the parties involved.  Plus you have the mystery girl from ten years ago.  Its pretty obvious who that girl is at by the end of the first episode.  Raku's character is pretty agreeable, reminds me a bit of Hosaka from Minami-ke.  The yakuza underlings are really funny though and the way they act around Raku is amusing.  I could see this being mildly enjoyable, a little like Seto no Hanayome.  So, we will see how this unfolds

Pupa: I have been waiting for this one since the fall...and I don't know why.  It was horrible.  Just...just ignore it and move on...there's nothing redeemable about it.  The animation is crap, the 'monster' looks like something from an early 90's hentai and each episode is only like 3 minutes long.  Yeah just skip it.

Pupipo: This is the story of Wakaba Hijime who can see and interact with spirits of the dead.  Her unique abilities make her an outcast with her peers.  Her loneliness comes to an end with the occult loving tranfer student Reiko Azuma takes an interest in her and something resembling Kirby starts to tag along with her, warding off the ghosts.

    Its only about 3 minutes in length (a lot of short series being picked up for subbing this time around!) and I'm really not sure how I feel about it.  It's not bad, decent animation...but I'm not sure where it's ultimately going to lead...

Recently My Sister is Unusual:  Yuya's dad has remarried which now means he has a younger sister.  But following an accident after the first day of school Mitsuki all of a sudden has tendencies of love for her new brother...because she is being possessed by a sex crazed ghost who wants love in order to pass on to the land of the dead.

    I shut this of half way through the first episode...once the chastity belt showed up and the ghost overtook Mitsuki's body and started masturbating I had determined I had enough.  I don't even know why I started to watch it anyways...I knew it was going to be another pointless sisterly love fantasy series.  Well, at least it isn't disappointing in maintaining my disgust for the current trends in anime.

Sakura Trick: Haruka Takayama and Yu Sonoda were best friends in middle school  In high school they decide to become more than friends to retain a special and unique relationship.

    In one way its refreshing to see an out in the open lesbian high school romance story.  But, if it wasn't done as a way to sell garage kits and fan service laden dojinshi I might appreciate it more.  There is really nothing redeemable with this poorly put together story.  Its really just fab material. 

Strange +: This is a bizarre and scatterbrained 3 minute per episode series about a group of misfit detectives as they solve crimes.  Its really just an animated yonkoma and I still am not sure how I feel about it.  Some of the characters remind me of something Go Nagai would create...weird.

Tonari no Seki-kun: Seki is an aloof high school student who spends his days challenging himself by coming up with complex ways to avoid paying attention in school.  His desk neighbor, Yokoi, distracted by Seki's past times, tries her hardest to stop him from getting in trouble.

    This series is actually kind of entertaining.  I don't really see it being able to maintain its enthusiasm for too long though...there is only so long you can keep up one joke.  But I'll enjoy it for the time being and wait to see what kind of insanity Seki-kun comes up with.  The artwork is really shitty though...but i really could care less at this point.

NANA

NANA is a slice of life drama that aired in Japan in 2006 and 2007 for 47 episodes.  The series is based on the manga of the same name by Ai Yazawa

    NANA is the story of two women who's lives inexplicably become intertwinned in sharred ambitions and sorrows.  Nana Komatsu (who we will now refer to as Hachi) is a spunky and gullible art student who has taken the leap to move to Tokyo in order to be with her boyfriend Shoji and their friends, Junko and Kyosuke.  A year earlier all three left their distant town to seek a better life in the nations capitol.  Hachi had to stay behind because she was unable to transfer schools.  After a year of saving her money she heads off to Toyko to be with them.  She takes the shinkansen during a snow storm and when the train suddenly brakes while looking for a seat she ends up in the lap of a severe looking woman.  The woman, named Nana Osaki, has more in common with the good girl in her lap than either realize.  This Nana is also on her way to Tokyo after her boyfriend left her two years prior to join an up and coming rock band.  Her goal is to becomine a professional musician.

    While both converse the entire way to Toyko, the distant and cold Nana doesn't do anything to remain in contact with the bubbly Hachi.  Hachi leaves with her friends but isn't comfortable living with Shoji and looks for a place of her own the next day.  By chance both Hachiko and Nana fall in love with the same apartment and are convinced to become roommates.  Hachiko's spunk grates on the serious and moody Nana but their friendship blossoms from a shared lonelyness.  When Nana's band mates from her hometown decide to move to Tokyo to pursue the dream together Sachiko becomes split between two words, the relationship with her still distant boyfriend and the hard living punk musicians.  Sachiko has to figure out what she wants to do with her life and what Shoji and Nana mean for her.  Nana has to come to terms with her boyfriend abandoning her for fame as they come in contact with each other due to Shachi's meddling.  Will both women be able to find the happiness and life they dream of?

    Aside from the annoying character designs and the emphasis on the crappy music this was actually a pretty mature and enjoyable drama.  It started to get a little too soap opera like in the mid 30s but finished strong.  The stories major themes are self doubt, personal ambition and fate.  Sachi's character grated on me, but I was still sympathetic to her plight, even if it was mostly her doing.  Through most of the series the naration is done from Sachi's perspective and switches to Nana's near the last dozen episodes or so.  Aside from the flashbacks and some parts of the last episode the entire series encompasses abut 7 months worth of time.  There was hope at the end of the final episode that there would be a second series for the show.  There are a few things that seem to have prevented that from happening.  The last episode does put a bit of a resolution on the story and the manga-ka has been dealing with unknown health issues since 2009 and the manga has been on hold since then.  So, I don't think there will be more Nana anime.  I am not sure how much more exists in the manga but there are also 2 live action movies that were made.

    The anime and manga are both available in North America on DVD and streaming.

Aku no Hana - Flowers of Evil

Aku no Hana (Flowers of Evil) is a psychological drama based on the manga of the same name by Shuzo Oshimi.  The anime aired in the summer off season of 2013 for 13 episodes and a second season was hinted at the end of the final episode.

    Takao Kasuga is a 2^nd year middle school student in a small and secluded town.  He spends most of his free time consuming provocative literature from all over the world.  His favorite book is a collection of taboo poetry by 18^th century French author Charles Baudelaire called…Les Fluer du mal (Flowers of Evil).  Takao has a crush on classmate Nanako Saeki.  One day after school he ends up inadvertently stealing her gym clothes.  His plans to secretly return them are ruined the next day when word of the theft spreads and everyone starts talking about a pervert being on the loose.  After school the troubled girl who sits behind him, Sawa Nakamura, confronts Takao and tells him she knows that he stole the uniform.  She will keep his secret if he agrees to join in a ‘contract’ with her.  For fear of destroying any chance he has of dating Saeki and being labeled a thief and a pervert, Takao reluctantly agrees with Nakamura.  Just what she wants out of him in regards to the contract are a mystery and his life is now filled with anxiety over the truth being leaked and what Nakamura has in store for him.

    This is a slow moving and very heavy drama.  Initially I kept expecting there to be a lot of violence and supernatural elements in the series, but it’s all psychological and in many ways covertly so.  The major themes are isolation, control and struggles with identity but in one way this is a story about romance…a very twisted way.  The most striking thing is the artwork, which was done using rotoscope technology.  If you are unfamiliar with it, watch the movie A Scanner Darkly.  They take live footage and using a computer program, turn that live footage into animation.  You get comfortable with it by about the 2^nd or 3^rd episode.  But it can be a bit jarring.  I thought it was fantastic, especially since they chose to keep the animation as realistic as possible, showing the reality of what Japan looks like, both its people and its neighborhoods.  While pretty much all anime is about bright colors and unnatural features for the characters, many titles also gloss over the less tidy aspects of Japan.  I don’t want to say that the country is trashy, there are areas of Tokyo where I have been and was afraid to toss a finished cigarette on the ground.  But in general many buildings in the country have a somewhat sad look to them.  The city in which the story takes place is run down with plenty of rusty facades and faded signs.  I’ve been in neighborhoods like that, seen cities like that and it was good to see it so well portrayed in anime...the real Japan.

    OK, the story.  As I said before this is very slow moving.   Through much of it you are unsure what sort of resolution the story is supposed to reach.  The key points are the development of the three main characters and building on the tension of Takao’s secret.  Much of his paranoia is due to the general nature of peer interactions in adolescence, being such a confusing and problematic time.  From my understanding of how schools can be in Japan from accounts by foreigners who have taught there it can be even more daunting to be a teenager there.  The level of social acceptance in Japan is incredibly high, being a normal member of the group is one of the most important things and any deviation, real or not, can be devastating to the accused party.  There is a reason teen suicides are so high in Japan.  On top of this the restrictions placed on teachers creates a situation where the children are partially in control of the classrooms.  As opposed to America, Japanese teachers are almost powerless to enforce order in their classroom, with PTA’s being the most powerful voice in the schools.  If a class decides to ignore and disrespect their teacher things can get out of hand quickly and could result in little to no punishment for their actions.  This is a realistic portrayal of growing up and dealing with your own identity; whether through your own eyes or those around you.  That being said, I really enjoyed this show and it is such a breath of fresh air in the land of current anime.  But, it’s not for everyone, it is dark, moody and not an escape from reality.  More, it’s an escape from fantasy.  I look forward to a second season being produced, hopefully sometime soon.

    The series is available on Crunchyroll, no word on it being available on DVD/BD anytime soon.  The manga is also being released in North America and appears to be ongoing in Japan.