Too busy watching Saitama nut-punch ninja's to write anything. Also enjoying some Jelly Fish Dresses.
つづく
つづく
2015-10-27
2015-10-14
Death Parade
Death Parade (デス・パレード) is a 13 episode psychological fantasy anime by Tachikawa Yuzuru and is based on a 2013 Madhouse short film titles Death Billiards. It initially aired in Japan over the winter of 2015.
Once people have died their souls end up in an intermediary location in order to be judged on whether they will be reincarnated or sent to hell. The judgements are done by having two souls compete against each other in a randomly selected game and take place in a fashionable lounge like room, moderated by an Arbiter. The series focuses on one arbiter specifically, an emotionless Lurch type character named Decim. He reigns over the bar known as Quindecim and judges souls with machine-like precision. One day his boss, a crafty woman whos' real age bellies her youthful appearance, brings him an assistant named Chiyuki. Chiyuki is taught the judgement process, along with the audience, over a series of arbitrations.
The newly dead find themselves stepping through elevator doors into the realm of Quindecim. The memories of the death non-existent, so they believe they are still alive. Decim confirms that they have no recollection of how the arrived at the bar and then proceeds to tell them they can not leave until they have a completed a randomly selected game. The game is chosen and its rules are explained to the players. As the begin playing it rules are expanded upon that are meant to force buried memories and emotions from the players to allow a for a correct judgement. The players begin to have moments of catharsis during the games as the rules and stakes quickly turn lethal. The process dredges up memories that lead to the players deaths and they realize what is happening to them. Once that process is complete Decim can then pass judgement on their souls.
Not everyone goes quietly though and Decim has to employ some supernatural abilities to reign in the newly dead that are resistant. The process is also unsettling to Chiyuki who questions the way Decim forces people to have the 'required' catharsis. Little do either realize but Chiyuki is there as an experiment to test Decim's capabilities as well as to correct issues in Chiyuki herself.
On the surface and over the first few episodes, this series seems cut and dry and rather pointless. Two souls show up, play a game and they are judged. Once the basics are laid out for the audience the focus begins to shift on the realities of the arbiters existence and their world. This is where the story becomes interesting as more characters are introduced that work as arbiters and the politics they deal with come into play. The judgements and the stories behind some of the recently dead are interesting, but there is too much focus on twists an 'a ha' moments to really be quality. In the end the mysteries surrounding Chiyuki and the politics at play with the arbiters is interesting and well done. The story wraps it's self up rather nicely in many ways but I can see room for a shorter side story set in the same world.
The artwork is interesting. The background details are very well done but the character designs have a unique quality to them. Almost like a blunted modern rendition of shojo in some regards. The people are all beautiful in their own way, but as their agony surfaces their facial expressions contort in exagerated and grotesque ways. There is also a large amount of body fluid present, particularly spit and snot. It was interesting.
The series was simulcast by FUNimation and an English dub is in the works. The series has not yet been released in North America on disc though.
Once people have died their souls end up in an intermediary location in order to be judged on whether they will be reincarnated or sent to hell. The judgements are done by having two souls compete against each other in a randomly selected game and take place in a fashionable lounge like room, moderated by an Arbiter. The series focuses on one arbiter specifically, an emotionless Lurch type character named Decim. He reigns over the bar known as Quindecim and judges souls with machine-like precision. One day his boss, a crafty woman whos' real age bellies her youthful appearance, brings him an assistant named Chiyuki. Chiyuki is taught the judgement process, along with the audience, over a series of arbitrations.
The newly dead find themselves stepping through elevator doors into the realm of Quindecim. The memories of the death non-existent, so they believe they are still alive. Decim confirms that they have no recollection of how the arrived at the bar and then proceeds to tell them they can not leave until they have a completed a randomly selected game. The game is chosen and its rules are explained to the players. As the begin playing it rules are expanded upon that are meant to force buried memories and emotions from the players to allow a for a correct judgement. The players begin to have moments of catharsis during the games as the rules and stakes quickly turn lethal. The process dredges up memories that lead to the players deaths and they realize what is happening to them. Once that process is complete Decim can then pass judgement on their souls.
Not everyone goes quietly though and Decim has to employ some supernatural abilities to reign in the newly dead that are resistant. The process is also unsettling to Chiyuki who questions the way Decim forces people to have the 'required' catharsis. Little do either realize but Chiyuki is there as an experiment to test Decim's capabilities as well as to correct issues in Chiyuki herself.
The artwork is interesting. The background details are very well done but the character designs have a unique quality to them. Almost like a blunted modern rendition of shojo in some regards. The people are all beautiful in their own way, but as their agony surfaces their facial expressions contort in exagerated and grotesque ways. There is also a large amount of body fluid present, particularly spit and snot. It was interesting.
The series was simulcast by FUNimation and an English dub is in the works. The series has not yet been released in North America on disc though.
2015-10-13
Anime Fandom Through The Lens
As I creep closer to marking the 25th anniversary since I discovered anime (1992), I continue to face the question of approaching anime fandom through the eyes of others. Wanting to connect with otaku in the wild leads me to network via social media and the internet in general. Aside from the abysmal interactions that are commonplace in any web based outlet, there are also interesting perspectives that I have gleaned. The majority of my direct online interactions with otaku are done through Facebook by participating in various anime and manga themed groups. The global reach of the platform leads to interaction not only with otaku much younger than I am but otaku from other parts of the world, which makes for some interesting perspectives to analyze.
I tend to both unintentionally and intentionally be the champion for a lot of stuff that isn't super popular and eschew some incredibly famous things in the process. I have a long standing distaste for Dragon Ball Anything and after a short stint of Naruto and Bleach fandom, I now point my daggers at almost anything coming from Jump. I also have a well documented dislike of harem and fan service-centric stories. While I have nothing against hentai in general I stopped consuming it once I became an adult. So when dealing with fans, who in many cases are half my age, likes and dislikes can be quite polar. I try to be respectful though and keep my outrageous opinions isolated to this blog.
The precursor to this blog was started as a way to expose people I knew to what was new and hot in the world of anime ten years ago. A vacuum was created in my circle of friends at that time when our best source for anime locally closed it's doors. In a side story I was very close to buying said store in 2004 as a turn-key agreement. The store, with it's owners policy relating to fansub, was the best place for us to learn about the newest stuff.
Once the store closed I took it upon myself to take on the mantel of herald in my group of friends. Scouring the websites of the Japanese TV stations I knew, trying to figure out what anime was new and what was upcoming. Soon enough I picked up on the cycles of the broadcasting seasons. I was about to start building a web database to help search similar anime titles when I discovered the existence of Anime News Network. What went from posting short critiques on MySpace for my group of friends, turned into regular postings on a MySpace blog page and then the migration to this site on Blogspot.
My fandom has seen two major breaks over the years. The first was around 1999-2003 when I had to shelve anime to focus on other issues in my life. The second was 2009-2013 when I became completely disenchanted with the industry. On top of that, some emotional aspects from visiting Tokyo in late 2009 caused me to want to ignore pretty much everything related to Japan. Since picking the mantle up again two years go I am still working on watching series lost in the last four year absence. While I was away from the fandom in those breaks I was still aware peripherally of how it was evolving. The period around the turn of the millennium is particularly interesting in how it ushered in the third wave of American otaku.
There is a tendency in multi generational things for each generation to worship the things that took place in their prime. Anime fandom is no different. There are many in my generation who profess that the titles we grew as fans on are the best and lament that more titles aren't produced that meet nostalgic demands. I have a hard time, artwork alone, sharing these opinions. Currently TV anime is producing some of the most detailed and amazingly beautiful shows out of its entire 52 year history. The animation, much through the aid of CG, is above anything we have seen before and should be lauded and respected for that. People argue that the stories are different and the focus has shifted and the new trends are bad. But, has anime really changed all that much when we look at it? Hasn't the hallmark of anime always been it's character driven stories?
Takahashi Rumiko is responsible for a few staples of the anime landscape since the 1980's. There are 3 series in particular that are iconic between the three different generations of American otaku. Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2 and Inu Yasha. There are a significant number of anime fans who were brought into anime via Inu Yasha and a few of it's contemporaries; Gundam Wing, Outlaw Star, Cowboy Bebop, etc. This was through them being aired on cable TV. Unlike their predecessors, these shows were promoted as being anime, sold on that idea to the audience. Normally the anime that hit American TV wasn't outwardly presented as being a product from Japan. It was just a cartoon to try and gets kids hooked on in order to sell stuff. Yet at the turn of the century, following the immense boom in popularity for anime video's, a few cable networks decided to ratchet up the populism and actively promote syndicated anime. This lead to a flood of new fans who had access to anime unlike anyone before.
You have a large contingent of new anime fan's, borne from the push for televising a bunch of anime around 2000 and beyond that made entry into fandom significantly easier that it had previously been. The generation of otaku I fall into still had it easy compared to the pioneers 15 years before us. There were companies already in existence that were willing to license and distribute anime for general consumption, many of them started by the first generation of American otaku. By the mid 90's entire sections of Blockbuster, Planet Video and Suncoast were devoted to the medium. When it comes to popular awareness of anime and public availability the 90's doesn't compare to the 2000's. Truly a renaissance in anime fandom, when for the first time fans could consume large quantities of the product the way Japanese fans did, on TV.
Based on the popular series' for each wave of fans the experiences and expectations are different. In some ways very different. Takahashi has legions of fans in all generation of otaku. One thing that is interesting is to consider the divergence on fan expectations for her works when looking at the fans who were introduced to her through Inu Yasha and everything else. When it comes to the TV series' based on her works, Inu Yasha is the odd man out in many respects. In a slightly less drastic way Maison Ikkoku is also an odd duck. People who became fans of Inu Yasha might run into disappointment when digging into the rest of her catalog. Ranma 1/2 and Urusei Yatsura are similar enough to avoid this sort of dichotomy. There are few artist's who have been able to span such a large time frame. CLAMP and Tezuka Osamu are two that come to mind, particularly with the wide array of styles they have produced.
While a person's level and type of fandom can't not be identified by their gateway anime, it may be more appropriate to generalize fandom on their generation as a whole. Of course, this is a dangerous idea since everyone is an individual. Trends though can be determined and used as generalizations in fandom. Each generation does latch on to a handful of anime titles with feverish devotion that other generations have a hard time grasping. This may in part be from these series' imprinting the impression that will go on to form the growth of that generations fandom. It is typical for fans to seek out series' that match the styles of the series' that broke them into the medium.
At the same time people who herald from an older generation of fandom will not experience the same thing from the same series as the newer fans. Someone who was brought into the fandom through Space Battleship Yamato will have different expectations than someone who entered via Ghost in the Shell versus someone who entered via Naruto versus someone who entered via Fairy Tale. Our opinions and tastes are shaped by our experiences. This mind set, which is wholly understandable, leads to varying opinions one has on newer waves of anime. For a totally biased look at the reality behind 'old school' anime being better than 'new school' anime take a look at this post and this post to see my two cents on the matter.
If you maintain a dominant mindset in which you continue to expect anime to continue the stylistic qualities from a specific period you're are limiting your expectations and severely discrediting the medium. The best thing the public should expect out of anime is fluidity in style and content. The problem is overcoming the bias of opinion that comes from when one was introduced to anime. Fan's in general should demand a continuing effort by the industry to innovate and evolve. Stagnation leads to decline and death.
While I do enjoy trashy and cookie cutter anime like everyone else I strive to always find something interesting and new, something I haven't really seen before. It exists in all time periods of the medium but as is always the case, it's hidden and hard to find with out work. It's all too easy to look at popular shows from newer periods and cry foul, since the styles and stories of the newer shows don't match the ones that you were weened on. Opinion and taste don't reflect the reality of quality from varying time periods.
However I lean more towards pessimism and my general opinion is that a large percentage of anime made in any time period isn't very good. Some of this comes from my own personal tastes. I struggle to fight against my own anime fandom origins reflecting poorly on newer trends. Another portion comes from the realism I hold that the bulk of anime is mindless entertainment aimed at the mass audience. These cookie cutter stories, which exist in all time frames of the medium do not push the envelope of the medium or present originality and creativity. If everything was ground breaking and creative the authors and artists would never be able to maintain the high level of creativity for long.
In the general sense, anime is made for mass consumption, it is a product to sell. It is no different from a t-shirt or a car. People produce it with the intent of earning money from it. They put their effort and pride into manufacturing it, but in the end it is really nothing more than a commodity. We shouldn't expect the majority of the anime made to be amazing. But we can't forget that since the beginning anime has been comprised of products that are not meant to be ground breaking. What is important is being open to change. You can not support the industry by clinging onto the past. American otaku find themselves out of sorts when they realize Japan cycles through anime like toilet paper. In most cases series disappear into the past with little support for them once done. Some series' do maintain relevance and continued support, particularly the Gundam franchise. These series only remain relevant through being recycled. You would be hard pressed to find a plethora of Gunsmith Cats or Vampire Hunter D memorabilia in Japan.
In 1989 Gainax dipped it's toes into the American anime market through it's General Products US division. The intent was to directly import anime good to the American fans via mail order. American fans submitted their requests and the company went to work to fulfill orders. Unfortunately, many of the items and series' the fans in America were requesting were outdated by Japanese standards which caused issues for the company. Unable to really fulfill many of their orders the company had problems from the start and shut down after a few years.
In short; all anime fans should maintain a level of curiosity and acceptance of change; welcoming it as a way to continue the viability of the industry. By maintaining a certain level of fandom with current trends we can all do out part to support the industry. Don't give up the past though but don't let the past cloud your perspective. Just because something is different from what you started with, doesn't mean it's wrong or bad. Many of us came into anime fandom through the qualities of uniqueness and innovation, clinging to outdated expectations belittles what got you interested in the first place.
I tend to both unintentionally and intentionally be the champion for a lot of stuff that isn't super popular and eschew some incredibly famous things in the process. I have a long standing distaste for Dragon Ball Anything and after a short stint of Naruto and Bleach fandom, I now point my daggers at almost anything coming from Jump. I also have a well documented dislike of harem and fan service-centric stories. While I have nothing against hentai in general I stopped consuming it once I became an adult. So when dealing with fans, who in many cases are half my age, likes and dislikes can be quite polar. I try to be respectful though and keep my outrageous opinions isolated to this blog.
The precursor to this blog was started as a way to expose people I knew to what was new and hot in the world of anime ten years ago. A vacuum was created in my circle of friends at that time when our best source for anime locally closed it's doors. In a side story I was very close to buying said store in 2004 as a turn-key agreement. The store, with it's owners policy relating to fansub, was the best place for us to learn about the newest stuff.
Once the store closed I took it upon myself to take on the mantel of herald in my group of friends. Scouring the websites of the Japanese TV stations I knew, trying to figure out what anime was new and what was upcoming. Soon enough I picked up on the cycles of the broadcasting seasons. I was about to start building a web database to help search similar anime titles when I discovered the existence of Anime News Network. What went from posting short critiques on MySpace for my group of friends, turned into regular postings on a MySpace blog page and then the migration to this site on Blogspot.
My fandom has seen two major breaks over the years. The first was around 1999-2003 when I had to shelve anime to focus on other issues in my life. The second was 2009-2013 when I became completely disenchanted with the industry. On top of that, some emotional aspects from visiting Tokyo in late 2009 caused me to want to ignore pretty much everything related to Japan. Since picking the mantle up again two years go I am still working on watching series lost in the last four year absence. While I was away from the fandom in those breaks I was still aware peripherally of how it was evolving. The period around the turn of the millennium is particularly interesting in how it ushered in the third wave of American otaku.
There is a tendency in multi generational things for each generation to worship the things that took place in their prime. Anime fandom is no different. There are many in my generation who profess that the titles we grew as fans on are the best and lament that more titles aren't produced that meet nostalgic demands. I have a hard time, artwork alone, sharing these opinions. Currently TV anime is producing some of the most detailed and amazingly beautiful shows out of its entire 52 year history. The animation, much through the aid of CG, is above anything we have seen before and should be lauded and respected for that. People argue that the stories are different and the focus has shifted and the new trends are bad. But, has anime really changed all that much when we look at it? Hasn't the hallmark of anime always been it's character driven stories?
Takahashi Rumiko is responsible for a few staples of the anime landscape since the 1980's. There are 3 series in particular that are iconic between the three different generations of American otaku. Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2 and Inu Yasha. There are a significant number of anime fans who were brought into anime via Inu Yasha and a few of it's contemporaries; Gundam Wing, Outlaw Star, Cowboy Bebop, etc. This was through them being aired on cable TV. Unlike their predecessors, these shows were promoted as being anime, sold on that idea to the audience. Normally the anime that hit American TV wasn't outwardly presented as being a product from Japan. It was just a cartoon to try and gets kids hooked on in order to sell stuff. Yet at the turn of the century, following the immense boom in popularity for anime video's, a few cable networks decided to ratchet up the populism and actively promote syndicated anime. This lead to a flood of new fans who had access to anime unlike anyone before.
You have a large contingent of new anime fan's, borne from the push for televising a bunch of anime around 2000 and beyond that made entry into fandom significantly easier that it had previously been. The generation of otaku I fall into still had it easy compared to the pioneers 15 years before us. There were companies already in existence that were willing to license and distribute anime for general consumption, many of them started by the first generation of American otaku. By the mid 90's entire sections of Blockbuster, Planet Video and Suncoast were devoted to the medium. When it comes to popular awareness of anime and public availability the 90's doesn't compare to the 2000's. Truly a renaissance in anime fandom, when for the first time fans could consume large quantities of the product the way Japanese fans did, on TV.
Based on the popular series' for each wave of fans the experiences and expectations are different. In some ways very different. Takahashi has legions of fans in all generation of otaku. One thing that is interesting is to consider the divergence on fan expectations for her works when looking at the fans who were introduced to her through Inu Yasha and everything else. When it comes to the TV series' based on her works, Inu Yasha is the odd man out in many respects. In a slightly less drastic way Maison Ikkoku is also an odd duck. People who became fans of Inu Yasha might run into disappointment when digging into the rest of her catalog. Ranma 1/2 and Urusei Yatsura are similar enough to avoid this sort of dichotomy. There are few artist's who have been able to span such a large time frame. CLAMP and Tezuka Osamu are two that come to mind, particularly with the wide array of styles they have produced.
While a person's level and type of fandom can't not be identified by their gateway anime, it may be more appropriate to generalize fandom on their generation as a whole. Of course, this is a dangerous idea since everyone is an individual. Trends though can be determined and used as generalizations in fandom. Each generation does latch on to a handful of anime titles with feverish devotion that other generations have a hard time grasping. This may in part be from these series' imprinting the impression that will go on to form the growth of that generations fandom. It is typical for fans to seek out series' that match the styles of the series' that broke them into the medium.
At the same time people who herald from an older generation of fandom will not experience the same thing from the same series as the newer fans. Someone who was brought into the fandom through Space Battleship Yamato will have different expectations than someone who entered via Ghost in the Shell versus someone who entered via Naruto versus someone who entered via Fairy Tale. Our opinions and tastes are shaped by our experiences. This mind set, which is wholly understandable, leads to varying opinions one has on newer waves of anime. For a totally biased look at the reality behind 'old school' anime being better than 'new school' anime take a look at this post and this post to see my two cents on the matter.
If you maintain a dominant mindset in which you continue to expect anime to continue the stylistic qualities from a specific period you're are limiting your expectations and severely discrediting the medium. The best thing the public should expect out of anime is fluidity in style and content. The problem is overcoming the bias of opinion that comes from when one was introduced to anime. Fan's in general should demand a continuing effort by the industry to innovate and evolve. Stagnation leads to decline and death.
While I do enjoy trashy and cookie cutter anime like everyone else I strive to always find something interesting and new, something I haven't really seen before. It exists in all time periods of the medium but as is always the case, it's hidden and hard to find with out work. It's all too easy to look at popular shows from newer periods and cry foul, since the styles and stories of the newer shows don't match the ones that you were weened on. Opinion and taste don't reflect the reality of quality from varying time periods.
However I lean more towards pessimism and my general opinion is that a large percentage of anime made in any time period isn't very good. Some of this comes from my own personal tastes. I struggle to fight against my own anime fandom origins reflecting poorly on newer trends. Another portion comes from the realism I hold that the bulk of anime is mindless entertainment aimed at the mass audience. These cookie cutter stories, which exist in all time frames of the medium do not push the envelope of the medium or present originality and creativity. If everything was ground breaking and creative the authors and artists would never be able to maintain the high level of creativity for long.
In the general sense, anime is made for mass consumption, it is a product to sell. It is no different from a t-shirt or a car. People produce it with the intent of earning money from it. They put their effort and pride into manufacturing it, but in the end it is really nothing more than a commodity. We shouldn't expect the majority of the anime made to be amazing. But we can't forget that since the beginning anime has been comprised of products that are not meant to be ground breaking. What is important is being open to change. You can not support the industry by clinging onto the past. American otaku find themselves out of sorts when they realize Japan cycles through anime like toilet paper. In most cases series disappear into the past with little support for them once done. Some series' do maintain relevance and continued support, particularly the Gundam franchise. These series only remain relevant through being recycled. You would be hard pressed to find a plethora of Gunsmith Cats or Vampire Hunter D memorabilia in Japan.
In 1989 Gainax dipped it's toes into the American anime market through it's General Products US division. The intent was to directly import anime good to the American fans via mail order. American fans submitted their requests and the company went to work to fulfill orders. Unfortunately, many of the items and series' the fans in America were requesting were outdated by Japanese standards which caused issues for the company. Unable to really fulfill many of their orders the company had problems from the start and shut down after a few years.
In short; all anime fans should maintain a level of curiosity and acceptance of change; welcoming it as a way to continue the viability of the industry. By maintaining a certain level of fandom with current trends we can all do out part to support the industry. Don't give up the past though but don't let the past cloud your perspective. Just because something is different from what you started with, doesn't mean it's wrong or bad. Many of us came into anime fandom through the qualities of uniqueness and innovation, clinging to outdated expectations belittles what got you interested in the first place.
2015-10-12
Kaiba
Kaiba (カイバ) is a 12 episode sci-fi surrealist romance created and direct by Yuasa Masaaki. The series initially aired on cable TV in Japan in 2008.
The title character Kaiba wakes up on a pile of rubble, no memories intact. Around his neck is a locket with a blurry photo of a girl. Before he knows what is going on he is on the run from machines/biological beings that are attacking people indiscriminately. Kaiba discovers that the world he lives in is filled with the technology to store your memories/personality and then implant them into other people or machines. This ability has created a very real divide between wealth and desperation. The planet he is on is separated physically and economically with the poor relegated to an artificial underworld, while the wealthy live far above them, separated by a cloud of gas that erases memories.
There is a terrorist cell trying to bring down the establishment, while championing a policy forbidding memory backup and transferal. Members of the terrorist cell whisk Kaiba off of the planet as the authorities search for him. Unsure what is happening he goes along with the flow and finds himself a stow away on an interplanetary ship. The ship visits a number of unique planets with Kaiba experiencing various aspects of the reality around him while hazy bits of memory return to him. The snatches of memory are confusing as he is either part of the terrorist group or part of the authorities hunting them. The only constant is the girl in his locket, who is a member of the terrorists. Kaiba strives to meet her, seeing her as the key to unlock his memory and to make all of the events unfolding around him clear.
This is a series that will not gain much fandom from the typical anime fan. The artwork is unusual and amateurish in some regards. But the artwork and the character development is what makes this one of the most interesting and fantastic anime series' I have ever seen. This is the type of show that keeps me wadding through the piles of repetitive and unimaginative anime that continues to be produced and has always been made. The best way to describe the artwork is by calling it the love child of 60's anime and Moebius with some Ren & Stimpy thrown in for good measure. From the beginning the artwork grabbed me as a big nod to 70's French surrealist comic art. There are uncountable sequences that would fit comfortably, stylewise, in Yellow Submarine. In short, Kaiba is a trip.
The story is nothing original. At its core it deals with a person that finds them self starting from nothing and having to work backwards to figure out who they are. It's not too difficult to guess the answers for the plot secrets. You can pretty easily figure out who Kaiba is and a number of the events and triggers leading to his memory loss and his association with the terrorist cell. But it is done fantastically well. The series goes through a few movements, very familiar to those who are versed in Joseph Campbells studies. The first is where Kaiba discovers himself and his humanity by visiting other worlds were reality differs. At the same time the world of the show is also fleshed out, with its core rules and idea's set into place. Once Kaiba begins to get a picture of the world around him the story shifts to fleshing out a few key characters, further solidifying the world and the shows central plots. Flashback work to explain how Kaiba got to the point in the beginning of the series and how he lost his memory. Once that has been laid out the climax takes over as the characters rush head long for the final conflict between the terrorist and the authorities over the future of humanity.
The series is very dark and the artwork belies that. At it's core it deals with questioning individual identity and what one places value on; the individual or the individuals consciousness. What are the societal ramifications when those who can afford it are able to live indefinitely? The class-ism in the series leads to people selling their bodies as a means of survival. But what is survival is you no longer have your body?
I can't stress enough how amazing this series is and how much it represents what I seek in anime. Unique and original story telling with a stylistic approach that makes all of the repetitive titles that line the shelves of Akihabara stores worth it. It also puts a fine point on the dangers the industry is facing in limiting original series' like these from being made. Fewer and fewer original stories are allowed to be produced due to the financial risks involved. Yet, sadly, a series like this, that is pushing story telling in anime to new levels, is hard pressed to find significant popularity to make sponsors to want to make more.
Not surprisingly, Kaiba is not legally available in North America and will probably never be. I am going to take a strong suggestion here and tell you to find it and watch it. It's amazing.
The title character Kaiba wakes up on a pile of rubble, no memories intact. Around his neck is a locket with a blurry photo of a girl. Before he knows what is going on he is on the run from machines/biological beings that are attacking people indiscriminately. Kaiba discovers that the world he lives in is filled with the technology to store your memories/personality and then implant them into other people or machines. This ability has created a very real divide between wealth and desperation. The planet he is on is separated physically and economically with the poor relegated to an artificial underworld, while the wealthy live far above them, separated by a cloud of gas that erases memories.
There is a terrorist cell trying to bring down the establishment, while championing a policy forbidding memory backup and transferal. Members of the terrorist cell whisk Kaiba off of the planet as the authorities search for him. Unsure what is happening he goes along with the flow and finds himself a stow away on an interplanetary ship. The ship visits a number of unique planets with Kaiba experiencing various aspects of the reality around him while hazy bits of memory return to him. The snatches of memory are confusing as he is either part of the terrorist group or part of the authorities hunting them. The only constant is the girl in his locket, who is a member of the terrorists. Kaiba strives to meet her, seeing her as the key to unlock his memory and to make all of the events unfolding around him clear.
This is a series that will not gain much fandom from the typical anime fan. The artwork is unusual and amateurish in some regards. But the artwork and the character development is what makes this one of the most interesting and fantastic anime series' I have ever seen. This is the type of show that keeps me wadding through the piles of repetitive and unimaginative anime that continues to be produced and has always been made. The best way to describe the artwork is by calling it the love child of 60's anime and Moebius with some Ren & Stimpy thrown in for good measure. From the beginning the artwork grabbed me as a big nod to 70's French surrealist comic art. There are uncountable sequences that would fit comfortably, stylewise, in Yellow Submarine. In short, Kaiba is a trip.
The story is nothing original. At its core it deals with a person that finds them self starting from nothing and having to work backwards to figure out who they are. It's not too difficult to guess the answers for the plot secrets. You can pretty easily figure out who Kaiba is and a number of the events and triggers leading to his memory loss and his association with the terrorist cell. But it is done fantastically well. The series goes through a few movements, very familiar to those who are versed in Joseph Campbells studies. The first is where Kaiba discovers himself and his humanity by visiting other worlds were reality differs. At the same time the world of the show is also fleshed out, with its core rules and idea's set into place. Once Kaiba begins to get a picture of the world around him the story shifts to fleshing out a few key characters, further solidifying the world and the shows central plots. Flashback work to explain how Kaiba got to the point in the beginning of the series and how he lost his memory. Once that has been laid out the climax takes over as the characters rush head long for the final conflict between the terrorist and the authorities over the future of humanity.
The series is very dark and the artwork belies that. At it's core it deals with questioning individual identity and what one places value on; the individual or the individuals consciousness. What are the societal ramifications when those who can afford it are able to live indefinitely? The class-ism in the series leads to people selling their bodies as a means of survival. But what is survival is you no longer have your body?
I can't stress enough how amazing this series is and how much it represents what I seek in anime. Unique and original story telling with a stylistic approach that makes all of the repetitive titles that line the shelves of Akihabara stores worth it. It also puts a fine point on the dangers the industry is facing in limiting original series' like these from being made. Fewer and fewer original stories are allowed to be produced due to the financial risks involved. Yet, sadly, a series like this, that is pushing story telling in anime to new levels, is hard pressed to find significant popularity to make sponsors to want to make more.
Not surprisingly, Kaiba is not legally available in North America and will probably never be. I am going to take a strong suggestion here and tell you to find it and watch it. It's amazing.
2015-10-08
Durarara!! x2
Durarara!! x2 (デュラララ!!×2) is the 24 episode follow up to 2010's Durarara!! both of which are based on the light novel series by Narita Ryogo and Yasuda Suzuhita. The series was split into two chapters, Shou (承) which aired in the Winter of 2015 and Ten (転) which aired in the Summer of 2015 in Japan.
X2 picks up half a year after the end of the original TV series. Things have gotten back to what passes for normal in Ikebukuro. The Dollars are the only player in the color wars game in the area, or so it seems. The activities of the corporeal group have gotten the attention of the real underworld players in town. The yakuza are taking notice as well as some extremely dangerous shadow figures who wield unimaginable power. To stir things up outside elements are starting to encroach on everyone's territory, threatening to throw the town into outright war. The Russian mafia is beginning to operate for unknown reasons, with rival factions gunning for each other and a few select targets; including Celty. Some members of The Dollars are beginning to cause trouble with outside gangs and with the internal order of things. Ryugamini has to decide how he ultimately wants to handle the elements surfacing that threaten to destroy the vision he had for his hobby. At the same time he strives to undo the problems he has caused in order to reclaim the 'innocence' he first had when moving to Ikebukuro. With dangerous people waking up to flex their will's the lowly street gang that he created finds its self in real danger.
I loved the original series and it's return was warmly welcomed. X2 picks up right were everything left off in both style and storytelling. The unversed have no chance of understanding even half of what is going on and those that have seen the original are left scratching their heads as a host of new and interestingly diverse characters take center stage. While the character development and story telling are top notch with this series, the artwork seems to have done a nose dive in the second half...or perhaps i just became more aware of it. Honestly though, I don't watch this series for the artwork, which has never been phenomenal any ways.
Unfortunately, the series just sort of stops with episode 24...and you are left to wonder if it was done intentionally or accidentally. There is a side story OAV slated for release in Japan in November and a 3rd Tv series sometime in 2016. So, until then, our desires will have to wait for this excellent series.
X2 was simulcast on Crunchyroll and is currently about halfway through being simuldubbed. As with the original series plan on a disc release being available in North America sooner than later.
X2 picks up half a year after the end of the original TV series. Things have gotten back to what passes for normal in Ikebukuro. The Dollars are the only player in the color wars game in the area, or so it seems. The activities of the corporeal group have gotten the attention of the real underworld players in town. The yakuza are taking notice as well as some extremely dangerous shadow figures who wield unimaginable power. To stir things up outside elements are starting to encroach on everyone's territory, threatening to throw the town into outright war. The Russian mafia is beginning to operate for unknown reasons, with rival factions gunning for each other and a few select targets; including Celty. Some members of The Dollars are beginning to cause trouble with outside gangs and with the internal order of things. Ryugamini has to decide how he ultimately wants to handle the elements surfacing that threaten to destroy the vision he had for his hobby. At the same time he strives to undo the problems he has caused in order to reclaim the 'innocence' he first had when moving to Ikebukuro. With dangerous people waking up to flex their will's the lowly street gang that he created finds its self in real danger.
I loved the original series and it's return was warmly welcomed. X2 picks up right were everything left off in both style and storytelling. The unversed have no chance of understanding even half of what is going on and those that have seen the original are left scratching their heads as a host of new and interestingly diverse characters take center stage. While the character development and story telling are top notch with this series, the artwork seems to have done a nose dive in the second half...or perhaps i just became more aware of it. Honestly though, I don't watch this series for the artwork, which has never been phenomenal any ways.
Unfortunately, the series just sort of stops with episode 24...and you are left to wonder if it was done intentionally or accidentally. There is a side story OAV slated for release in Japan in November and a 3rd Tv series sometime in 2016. So, until then, our desires will have to wait for this excellent series.
X2 was simulcast on Crunchyroll and is currently about halfway through being simuldubbed. As with the original series plan on a disc release being available in North America sooner than later.
2015-10-06
Fall 2015 First Blush
The Fall season is now upon us for TV anime...sadly there isn't a lot that's grabbing my attention. Here's a look at the first opinning episodes consumed so far.
One Punch Man: In a city of super hero's one among them is unbeatable. Yet his power leaves him unfulfilled as there are no villains he can't defeat with one punch.
I have been waiting for this one for a while. Sadly, I have not gotten around to reading the manga but a few friends have been filling me in from time to time. I look forward to see how far this series goes in lambasting the shonen battle genre and fear for it to become pointless its self.
Otomatsu-kun: After a 26 year absence from TV we see the 3rd incarnation of an old gag comedy manga about trouble making sextuplets. The first episode deals with them trying to figure out ways to capture the hearts and minds of the current anime fans with the 'outdated' source material.
Sadly, I was unaware of this series and I have no understanding of the in jokes and references exhibited so far in the first episode. I did however greatly appreciate the attack on modern anime trends and feel this series will be entertaining, even without my prior knowledge.
Peeping Life TV: A series of voyeuristic shorts ranging from mundane interactions of classic anime characters to a variety of normal people. This is the full length TV treatment of the web based series by CoMix Wave, the studio behind all of Shinkai Mokoto's productions.
As I am already of fan of this series its no surprise this one will stick around. But I don't think it will gain much traction with most anime fans. The animation is low rez rotoscoped CG, which is a far cry from the beauty and elegance of their work on 5cm per Second and The Children Who Chase Lost Voices. This is a fantastic way to see how 'normal' interactions happen in Japan though and is well worth the time for some honest dry wit and tongue in cheek humor.
Kowabon: Another rotoscope CG series, this one is a collection of short horror stories. After the first episode it is hard to tell if this will be any good or not...I could use a really enjoyable horror anime but this one will probably not fit the bill.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans: A small band of c-rank soldiers on a remote outpost of colonized Mars are chosen to escort a Martian aristocrat to Earth. Before they can begin their mission their base comes under attack from a skilled group of soldiers. Can the plucky rag tag misfits save the day!!
Given the bad experience had with last years G. Reco, this is tentative on the list. The emphasis of bi-shonen characters screams that its being aimed at Gundam Wing fans. I'll give it a few episodes though as there are some interesting background idea's in the show.
There have already been a few shows axed from the start that were on my initial list of prospects; Hakone-chan, Kagewani, Lovely Muko and Komori-san Can't Decline.
One Punch Man: In a city of super hero's one among them is unbeatable. Yet his power leaves him unfulfilled as there are no villains he can't defeat with one punch.
I have been waiting for this one for a while. Sadly, I have not gotten around to reading the manga but a few friends have been filling me in from time to time. I look forward to see how far this series goes in lambasting the shonen battle genre and fear for it to become pointless its self.
Otomatsu-kun: After a 26 year absence from TV we see the 3rd incarnation of an old gag comedy manga about trouble making sextuplets. The first episode deals with them trying to figure out ways to capture the hearts and minds of the current anime fans with the 'outdated' source material.
Sadly, I was unaware of this series and I have no understanding of the in jokes and references exhibited so far in the first episode. I did however greatly appreciate the attack on modern anime trends and feel this series will be entertaining, even without my prior knowledge.
Peeping Life TV: A series of voyeuristic shorts ranging from mundane interactions of classic anime characters to a variety of normal people. This is the full length TV treatment of the web based series by CoMix Wave, the studio behind all of Shinkai Mokoto's productions.
As I am already of fan of this series its no surprise this one will stick around. But I don't think it will gain much traction with most anime fans. The animation is low rez rotoscoped CG, which is a far cry from the beauty and elegance of their work on 5cm per Second and The Children Who Chase Lost Voices. This is a fantastic way to see how 'normal' interactions happen in Japan though and is well worth the time for some honest dry wit and tongue in cheek humor.
Kowabon: Another rotoscope CG series, this one is a collection of short horror stories. After the first episode it is hard to tell if this will be any good or not...I could use a really enjoyable horror anime but this one will probably not fit the bill.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans: A small band of c-rank soldiers on a remote outpost of colonized Mars are chosen to escort a Martian aristocrat to Earth. Before they can begin their mission their base comes under attack from a skilled group of soldiers. Can the plucky rag tag misfits save the day!!
Given the bad experience had with last years G. Reco, this is tentative on the list. The emphasis of bi-shonen characters screams that its being aimed at Gundam Wing fans. I'll give it a few episodes though as there are some interesting background idea's in the show.
There have already been a few shows axed from the start that were on my initial list of prospects; Hakone-chan, Kagewani, Lovely Muko and Komori-san Can't Decline.
2015-10-01
Charlotte
Charlotte (シャーロット) is a 13 episode super natural series created by Maeda Jun. The anime originally aired in Japan during the summer of 2015.
Otosaka Yu discovers he has the ability to take over someones body for a limited amount of time. He decides to use this super power to entertain himself; starting fights with people he dislikes, groping girls, cheating on tests, general mischief. He cheats his way into a prestigious high school, where he becomes the top ranked student and begins dating the top girl in school. He's called out on his cheating by the student council when students from a different school show up and present evidence for how he did it. When they expose his method of cheating through super natural powers they force him to transfer to their school. The head of the other schools student council is a craft girl named Tomori Nao. She, like Yu, has a special ability, to become invisible to one person of her choosing. She used this to observe Yu to determine what he was doing. The new school Yu is forced to transfer to is specially designed to protect kids who have special abilities or the potential for special abilities from organizations that might capture them. The powers come to random children while they are adolescents and disappear once they reach adulthood. Yu is forced into the student council, who's real goal is to convince newly discovered ability wielders to cease their use or come to the school.
Yu begins to adjust to his new reality and starts to use his ability more responsibly. He works with the misfit group of council members to seek out and contain newly awakened users. The ever present danger of sinister organizations who will capture and dissect users pushes them to locate as many as possible. Little does Yu or anyone close to him understand the real dangers that await them if their powers were known to the outside world. Nor are the prepared for what ability users in other nations might be facing or plotting.
I was a little apprehensive about this one, given it comes directly from one of the brains behind Key, the production company that brought us Clannad, Air and Kanon. Yet from the beginning I was surprised that it bucked the trend of their other products which are derivatives of ero-galge visual novels. Instead the series started out fun and entertaining as we see Yu work through his self gratifying plan at popularity. The series shifts with episode 2 to focusing on hunting down rouge ability wielders, while building the characters personalities. Just as this becomes rote and boring it shifts focus again, to Yu struggling with the world around him and spiraling into self destruction. Finally, it shifts again in a completely unseen direction where it runs a few episodes of this new plot line and ends with a whirlwind conclusion. The secrets just kept coming and unseen surprises never stopped.
The artwork was OK, much better then previous anime based on Key creations. Nothing special to note really. Regarding the story...it had some good points and some bad points. The plot and tone of the series continuing to change drastically didn't help very much, but at least it kept it from getting too stale. It felt more like four different stories merged together, some sort of Harmony Gold idea of how to make an anime. The feel of the first episode had the most potential in my mind. It was silly, fast paced and a bit lewd, but lewd in a tasteful way. I could have enjoyed it if the rest of the series had kept this tone. Portions of that continued to show up, particularly with the other male member of the student council. But they became less prominent by the second half of the series. The next segment, where the group searches out new users in a serial format was the least interesting and rather boring outside of the character development that occurred. The third segment was nice and dark but it really only lasted for two episodes. The final segment came out of left field and was enjoyable mostly for the incredible shift in the story and the potential for an even darker more action based series. It did retain some darker tones but all of it was fleeting with the final episode a whirlwind of emotions and ideas being kicked around. The final episode had some interesting idea's in it but ultimately didn't do much to salvage the direction the show went.
A big problem is Yu himself, his character is rather flat, only having 2 or 3 emotions. He is easily, sometimes confusingly, persuadable to change his mindset. Through out the course of the show he shifts personality 3 or 4 times, sometimes for no real reason other than...because. The most intriguing and enjoyable character though was Nao. She played the rock that Yu didn't realize he needed to maintain control and sanity. Calm, collected, calculating yet always with a rage of emotions just under the surface. Her interactions with the other characters were the most interesting, even with her random spin kicks to the head. Yet, at times she ended up being thrown away. The final episode had some far fetched notions of how Yu would respond in situations of self awareness and they could have done better to stretch that part out a bit more. The time dilation was horrendous. How much time got covered in that one episode? A few months? A few years? It's hard to tell. Some people have suggested the events of the last episode could be an anime all in themselves. While this is true I feel it would turn into some 300 episode monstrosity of painful repetition again and again and again...something like One Piece.
In conclusion, the show was unexpected. There are moments of enjoyment and quality among other moments of confusion and poor execution. It didn't have any fan service, it wasn't a contrived romance and it touched upon some realistic emotions and in the case of Nao, an enjoyable character. Ultimately though it was a nominal series and I'm not quick to recommend it.
The series simulcast on Crunchyroll. Aniplex has licensed it for disc release so I expect that at some point.
Otosaka Yu discovers he has the ability to take over someones body for a limited amount of time. He decides to use this super power to entertain himself; starting fights with people he dislikes, groping girls, cheating on tests, general mischief. He cheats his way into a prestigious high school, where he becomes the top ranked student and begins dating the top girl in school. He's called out on his cheating by the student council when students from a different school show up and present evidence for how he did it. When they expose his method of cheating through super natural powers they force him to transfer to their school. The head of the other schools student council is a craft girl named Tomori Nao. She, like Yu, has a special ability, to become invisible to one person of her choosing. She used this to observe Yu to determine what he was doing. The new school Yu is forced to transfer to is specially designed to protect kids who have special abilities or the potential for special abilities from organizations that might capture them. The powers come to random children while they are adolescents and disappear once they reach adulthood. Yu is forced into the student council, who's real goal is to convince newly discovered ability wielders to cease their use or come to the school.
Yu begins to adjust to his new reality and starts to use his ability more responsibly. He works with the misfit group of council members to seek out and contain newly awakened users. The ever present danger of sinister organizations who will capture and dissect users pushes them to locate as many as possible. Little does Yu or anyone close to him understand the real dangers that await them if their powers were known to the outside world. Nor are the prepared for what ability users in other nations might be facing or plotting.
I was a little apprehensive about this one, given it comes directly from one of the brains behind Key, the production company that brought us Clannad, Air and Kanon. Yet from the beginning I was surprised that it bucked the trend of their other products which are derivatives of ero-galge visual novels. Instead the series started out fun and entertaining as we see Yu work through his self gratifying plan at popularity. The series shifts with episode 2 to focusing on hunting down rouge ability wielders, while building the characters personalities. Just as this becomes rote and boring it shifts focus again, to Yu struggling with the world around him and spiraling into self destruction. Finally, it shifts again in a completely unseen direction where it runs a few episodes of this new plot line and ends with a whirlwind conclusion. The secrets just kept coming and unseen surprises never stopped.
The artwork was OK, much better then previous anime based on Key creations. Nothing special to note really. Regarding the story...it had some good points and some bad points. The plot and tone of the series continuing to change drastically didn't help very much, but at least it kept it from getting too stale. It felt more like four different stories merged together, some sort of Harmony Gold idea of how to make an anime. The feel of the first episode had the most potential in my mind. It was silly, fast paced and a bit lewd, but lewd in a tasteful way. I could have enjoyed it if the rest of the series had kept this tone. Portions of that continued to show up, particularly with the other male member of the student council. But they became less prominent by the second half of the series. The next segment, where the group searches out new users in a serial format was the least interesting and rather boring outside of the character development that occurred. The third segment was nice and dark but it really only lasted for two episodes. The final segment came out of left field and was enjoyable mostly for the incredible shift in the story and the potential for an even darker more action based series. It did retain some darker tones but all of it was fleeting with the final episode a whirlwind of emotions and ideas being kicked around. The final episode had some interesting idea's in it but ultimately didn't do much to salvage the direction the show went.
A big problem is Yu himself, his character is rather flat, only having 2 or 3 emotions. He is easily, sometimes confusingly, persuadable to change his mindset. Through out the course of the show he shifts personality 3 or 4 times, sometimes for no real reason other than...because. The most intriguing and enjoyable character though was Nao. She played the rock that Yu didn't realize he needed to maintain control and sanity. Calm, collected, calculating yet always with a rage of emotions just under the surface. Her interactions with the other characters were the most interesting, even with her random spin kicks to the head. Yet, at times she ended up being thrown away. The final episode had some far fetched notions of how Yu would respond in situations of self awareness and they could have done better to stretch that part out a bit more. The time dilation was horrendous. How much time got covered in that one episode? A few months? A few years? It's hard to tell. Some people have suggested the events of the last episode could be an anime all in themselves. While this is true I feel it would turn into some 300 episode monstrosity of painful repetition again and again and again...something like One Piece.
In conclusion, the show was unexpected. There are moments of enjoyment and quality among other moments of confusion and poor execution. It didn't have any fan service, it wasn't a contrived romance and it touched upon some realistic emotions and in the case of Nao, an enjoyable character. Ultimately though it was a nominal series and I'm not quick to recommend it.
The series simulcast on Crunchyroll. Aniplex has licensed it for disc release so I expect that at some point.
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