The End of the World

Allison to Lillia: the treasure hunting arc

Posted by Martin under Anime Reviews. Tags: Allison to Lillia

The structure of this series has taken me by surprise a little since our two young heroes wind up ending a war within an hour and a half of screen time - not bad going by anyone’s standards. I guess this means that we’ll be treated to a number of short arcs like this shown consecutively - those of you who have read the light novels might be able to shed some light on this but I don’t think we’ll be seeing a bigger picture in a over-arcing storyline sense. On the flipside any developments could be purely character-driven but whichever way I look at it, the narrative seems to be more episodic than I expected it to be; I’m hoping this won’t harm the strength of the storytelling.

The op theme is still my favourite of the current season’s (although Kaiba comes close…more on that later) and the BGM is in keeping with the old-fashioned adventure vibe. I really ought to start capitalising Adventure when used in the context of A & L though, since it is firmly set on maintaining that traditional approach to entertainment that the likes of Miyazaki were doing over a decade ago; I guess it could also be thought of as a modern take on the World Masterpiece Theatre vein.

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Kurenai: here’s to the child and all she has to teach us

Posted by Martin under Anime Reviews. Tags: Kurenai

It seems that the lolicon dabacle is mercifully dead and buried so we can now all concentrate on what Kurenai is and does rather than what the misguided individuals think it is. It’s certainly an unusual series, both in terms of aesthetics and storytelling - this is to me a shining example of well-made seinen anime that I find to be so refreshing and enjoyable. We need more shows like this - it has single-handedly cured me of my temporary writer’s block, which I’ll bear in mind when it finishes its all-too-short episode run.

Dialogue-driven win: lol@irony too

I’ve heard the art described as a bit patchy, which I concede is the case on occasion; while I appreciate the op and end animation sequences I can’t say I actually like them (and the black-and-white trimmed school uniforms make the students look like extras from The Prisoner too). There is a certain je ne sais quoi to the animation though, which a post at Hashihime helpfully explained; apparently the unusual technique of recording the dialogue first and animating it afterwards is applied to Kurenai, which gives it that organic and natural flow on-screen. Red Garden was treated the same way, as was Akira iirc. I’m sure this way of doing dialogue is more labour-intensive but the extra effort isn’t lost on me - it makes everything else broadcast at the moment look stilted and dry in comparison.

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I can’t be arsed to write a proper post so read these blogs instead

Posted by Martin under Specials. Tags: community

There are a number of things I could do as a reaction to burn-out (if that’s what I have) but I think recommending new additions to my own feedreader is the most constructive. My answer to everything at the moment is “I can’t be arsed.” Do that post on Kurenai I promised to write? Can’t be arsed. Reply to a week’s worth of other blog posts that I promised myself I reply to after reading them? Can’t be arsed. Mow the lawn? Can’t be arsed. You get the idea.

The QFT-ness of the subtitles speak for themselves

Since I Can’t Be Arsed to write a proper blog post I’ll instead point you in the direction of other blogs who still CAN be arsed. They’re on my blogroll and/or feedreader but since they’re 1. new and 2. especially good I think they deserve a special mention. The support of the Empire of Britannia in these recommendations is purely coincidental, honestly.

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Rebuild of Evangelion 1.0: you are (not) alone

Posted by Martin under OAVs, Movies and Full Series. Tags: Evangelion, Hideaki Anno

I was initially very sceptical of an NGE remake due to the cash cow-milking that the show has suffered from during the past thirteen years already; as much as the original series and cinematic alternate ending have been instrumental (pun intended >_<) in my interest in anime, it’s always felt like an exercise in taking a good story and squeezing as much money out of it as possible. Not that this stopped me watching the first Rebuild movie anyway, you understand.

My reasons for having any faith in this new Eva outing are largely centred round the fact that many of the key staff from the original series are on board, from the likes of Shiro Sagisu and Yoshiuki Sadamoto (soundtrack score and character design, respectively), Gainax alumni Kazuya Tsurumaki and Masayuki, not to mention the main VA telent; it’s like catching up with old friends. Even the maestro himself, Hideaki Anno, is sitting above them all, supervising with an eerily Gendo-esque air of Just As Planned on his face. When he’s revisiting his most famous creation after so long it certainly suggests that he has a damn good reason to revisit it.

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Sci-fi London anime all-nighter 2008

Posted by Martin under Specials. Tags: Live events

How hardcore am I? Apparently hardcore enough to sit for over eight hours between midnight and the break of dawn in the name of cinematic entertainment…my head aches, I’m sore all over and badly in need of a shave and a proper night’s kip and my eyes look like bloodshot piss-holes in the snow. This year marks my third successful attempt at the notorious Anime All-Nighter that forms part of the annual Sci-fi London festival; this year I dragged along one of my friends (the brave soul who’s marrying one of my sisters next year, incidentally) for the ride, which made an already entertaining evening even more fun. I’d already seen three of the evening’s offerings in some format or another but it was still great to experience them in the AAN setting. This year’s running order was an impressive one: Appleseed: Ex Machina, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Tekkonkinkreet and Vexille.

Every year the AAN has a special sort of atmosphere, this time around aided by a guest appearance by the Alien (yes, the Alien) and the Predator (yes, the Predator) who wandered into the downstairs foyer beforehand, hugged my future brother-in-law among others, danced to Yoko Kanno’s Voices and left via the lift. Where’s a camera when you need one?

Need…sleep…so…zzzz

The free tea, coffee, Red Bull and various types of ice cream were on offer as in previous years and it was also good to see that the seat allocation system was repeated, because it saves a lot of hassle. The venue is pretty posh by cinema standards too, so the wide variety of stuff on offer is hosted in a clean and classy location - always pleasant and comfortable in my experience. Incidentally, we had time to kill beforehand so caught a special showing of the live-action French cyberpunk movie Chrysalis, which was really quite impressive; well worth a watch if you get the chance.

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Spring 2008 first impressions #3: Kaiba, Kamen no Maid Guy, Kanokon

Posted by Martin under First Impressions and Retrospectives. Tags: Kaiba

The fact that the next three in line, Kaiba, Kamen no Maid Guy and Kanokon, all begin with the same letter is pure coincidence by the way - I’m not trying to be clever or anything here. It’s the ‘Experimental Edition’ of my Spring 2008 first impressions: the first is itself experimental while the other two were another attempt on my part to try something a bit different in another sense. The results were mixed.

You don’t know if fifty minutes of your life will be wasted on something until you waste those minutes on it. That’s the price for being open-minded I guess

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Ghost Hound final thoughts: everyone is connected here too

Posted by Martin under Anime Reviews. Tags: Ghost Hound

I’ll admit up-front that I loved Ghost Hound right from the outset, even during those tentative episodes when it wasn’t clear whether there was method in the madness (SE: Lain) or whether it was a monumental misfire in which Konaka and Nakamura lost sight of their goal of entertaining the audience (Malice@Doll). As it turns out, Ghost Hound takes only some of what made Lain great but fortunately makes up for this by succeeding in areas in which its seminal predecessor didn’t; I don’t think it’s as ground-breaking or profound but on the other hand it was considerably more accessible and easier to digest so I can still declare it a fantastic show.

Taking material from Masamune Shirow and placing it into the hands of the creative team behind Lain and Kino’s Journey was an exciting prospect, I must admit. Any premise that dealt with out-of-body experiences, parallel worlds or any form of sci-fi meshing with the supernatural is well within their zone of experience after all, and with I.G.’s involvement it certainly had potential. Fortunately it ended up being pretty consistent throughout, with only one or two minor derailments as opposed to serious missteps that all too often blight the more ambitious series.

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Kaiji: the tissue box raffle

Posted by Martin under Anime Reviews. Tags: Kaiji

There’s a good reason why, at the end of the series, I’m not doing one of my customary ‘Final Thoughts’ posts on Kaiji. It is indeed the end of the series run without an official announcement regarding any sequel TV shows or OAVs but I can’t bring myself to view this as the end. The manga’s ongoing of course but this is no indicator of any animated sequels; the fact is, as a series end it’s unsatisfying and lacking in resolution. The final scene, in which the Mulleted One is being driven away from the hotel and swearing vengeance on Hyoudou suggests so much unfinished business that it might as well have a ‘To be Continued’ caption to go with it. I’m hoping we haven’t seen the last of Kaiji, but in all honesty there’s a fair chance that we haven’t - the second season may come along in a couple of months, or more likely, a year or so, but I won’t be surprised if it does.

As an end to the series, it was pretty poor; as the mere end to an arc, it’s still not quite as gripping as earlier arcs but fares well nevertheless. After the brilliance of E-card, complete with a brilliantly twisted Apologetic Tonegawa Barbecue Grill to round things off, the Tissue Box Raffle was weaker in terms of premise, even though Kaiji’s trademark tension-building plot devices were all out in force. Because it wasn’t as strong as the earlier arcs, I daresay I’d view the nature of the ending in a better light if, say, E-card had taken place after the Tissue Box stunt to round of the twenty-six outings. Therefore I’d say it’s more of a patchy content issue than a crappy ending; not to mention Unfinished Manga Syndrome, obviously.

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Spring 2008 first impressions #2: Golgo 13, Macross Frontier, Soul Eater

Posted by Martin under First Impressions and Retrospectives. Tags: Golgo 13, Macross, Soul Eater

Yes, I know I haven’t posted my thoughts on Kaiba yet, nor have I watched Kanokon (before you ask: in regards to the former, I’m waiting for ep #2 to be subbed. In regards to the latter, “Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it,” still applies so I’ll watch the first two before allowing myself to rip it to shreds). In accordance with Peter S’s recommendationn I’ll try out Kamen no Maid Guy purely for giggles. Because wake-up call + hosepipes + cleavage == lulz. Maybe. At any rate, my schedule is filling up fast but my .mkv playback issues appear to be resolved. Huzzah. Onwards then, with Golgo 13, Soul Eater and Macross Frontier in glorious 1280×720 widescreen. *_*

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Clannad’s Nagisa arc: the bishoujo cake isn’t a lie after all

Posted by Martin under Anime Reviews. Tags: Clannad

Perhaps predictably or perhaps not, Clannad ends on an “Awww…” rather than a “Wow!”, which ironically was the resolution I was hoping for. It makes me all the more interested in the ‘after-story’ that’s promised since the final scenes are less of an ending and more of…a new beginning? It’s certainly not any sort of dramatic revelation; if anything it’s just confirming what we’d suspected for ages, with plenty left open to explore afterwards. It gives us the final, definitive pairing of the show, which is satisfying in an emotional if not a storyline sense. Cutesy? Fairly. Saccharine? Definitely. Predictable? Pretty much, or maybe that’s just me. The issue of predictability probably isn’t the point though, which was worth remembering while I saw it through to the end.

It must be love

Although there was supposed to be a big, wide question mark regarding who Tomoya would end up going out with in the end, it wasn’t exactly akin to the moronic “Which girl would YOU choose?” tagline of the Shuffle! DVDs or similar. Oddly, again perhaps because I didn’t see it as a dating sim story, I was looking out for early signs of which characters got along best with one another and started subconsciously cheering them on from that point onwards instead.

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