[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Ghost Hound: first impressions
As outlined in my mission statement for the season, this was right up there in my shortlist. The staff roll-call was the clincher, of course - I loved Kino’s Journey and SE: Lain is one of my all time faves too (I really need to re-review that sometime). The output from these guys is what makes me feel separate from the majority of fellow fans - I absolutely love the unconventional approaches they take to storytelling and artwork and really dig the premise “you’ll scratch your head until it bleeds!”, even though many viewers can’t stand that sort of thing.
Quoted for truth
It’s a typically cryptic and dialogue-light affair so far, which to be honest is what I was expecting anyway. There’s a young lad who sees interesting and occasionally harrowing dreams, a family tragedy that goes unspoken, odd transfer students at school (does EVERY Japanese school play the Westminster Chimes at the end of each lesson?)…we’ve already been shown hints regarding the Tragic Past™ and Special Ability of the protagonist, mind, plus some odd supporting characters - this sort of venture often turns out to be pure win or epic fail when such things are introduced but it’s always impossible to tell from the first episode how that will pan out. As with Texhnolyze, actions (or pregnant pauses and meaningful stares, as the case may be) speak louder than words so if you are drawn into the proceedings at all it’s largely the visual side of things that works the magic.
When a combination of psychological thriller and horror makes for win
That is to say there’s scant evidence of explanation here: merely gorgeous visuals and an atmosphere you can cut with a knife. As much as I like to emphasise storyline and even more importantly characterisation in my appreciation of anime, there’s no escaping the fact that animation is, well, animated pictures. Interesting characters and a good story make for a satisfying end product but a decent visual style invariably helps. The 3D graphics, when used, are spectacular, as you’d expect from a Production I.G. effort; everything else is either a picturesque rural idyll or a background to a grainy, grungey nightmare, depending on whether it’s ‘real life’ or one of the main character’s bizarre dreamlike visions.
Trust me, it looks awesome when it’s moving
Even with this in mind I can safely say quite a few viewers will absolutely hate this. Boring, pretentious…I know what you’re going to say without reading around other blogs beforehand and I do actually understand where you’re coming from. That sort of criticism for this kind of show is utterly lost on me though because I’m a complete sucker for the Konaka-Nakamura Headfuck Combo. All that’s missing in fact is Yoshitoshi ABe’s contribution to the character designs.
Actually, the character designs are my only beef with the show at this stage. Unless it’s a close-up shot they’re really bland and unexpressive when placed in front of such striking backgrounds - and this is the opening episode! I dread to think how close they’ll veer into Speed Grapher-standard territory if the budget flounders. Other than that it’s everything I’d hoped it would be and more: it positively oozes atmosphere, which I loved from the first frame (perfect for solo viewing in a darkened room!). I like the music a lot too since it’s especially reminiscent of Lain. The overall vibe is tense, gloomy and almost industrial, except the instrumentation sounds like traditional taiko-style drums that are mixed in with electronic noise, processing and whatnot. Again, it’s very inconventional but it fits in with the feel of what’s onscreen - some of the most edgy moments are when the music, already quite percussive and sparse, drops out completely to let the sound effects be heard. The op theme is a catchy jazz-inspired number although the end them is a more conventional and forgettable ballad, so not quite as noteworthy. It does happen to be one of the coolest opening animation sequences I’ve seen in a while though.
Nope, I don’t know what the hell that is either
Asking whether I’ll be watching more Ghost Hound I guess is like questioning the Pope’s catholicism or the bowel habits of bears in the woods. With the exception of the character designs, this is a textbook example of how music and visuals can work together to create an atmosphere of intrigue and suspense, and makes me desprately want to see more. Mindful of how the characterisation could leave me cold or the plot could prove to be an incomprehensible mess, I still have high hopes for this show. This is the sort of highbrow, cerebral offering I’ve felt deprived of for so long.
Posted on October 25th, 2007 @ 3:37 am
I agree with you on your Ghost Hound verdict. Although, I’d like to say that I didn’t think the plot was presented in a particularly cryptic or obfuscated manner at all. Aside from the fact that the events depicted in his dreams are more implied that outwardly stated, the direction of the plot thus far appears to be quite clear indeed.
The character designs aren’t so bad, but when they’re met with this simplistic cel animation style, it’s a bit of a detriment.
Posted on October 25th, 2007 @ 7:09 pm
@Washi: I *think* I know where the story’s headed but after being surprised at how Lain turned out I’m a bit wary of jumping to conclusions! The ’show rather than tell’ approach is something I really appreciate as a break from the norm though, and the writers should be congratulated for that.
As for the character designs…they’re okay close-up I suppose. With it being an I.G. effort (a 20th anniversary one no less), it’s fair to assume the quality of the animation should be pretty consistent throughout the series. At least, I hope so because this should turn out to be a really good series. It’s nice to know I’m not the only fan! (:
Posted on October 26th, 2007 @ 3:21 am
If you want to watch something similar to texhnolyze I can recommend shugurui (same director), I just finished ep 4-6 and all the time texhnolize was on my mind for some reason. The faint colors and story telling style is so identical.
Posted on October 28th, 2007 @ 1:18 pm
I was holding off on reading this entry until I’d seen/written about Ghost Hound myself, but it’s good to see we agree (a ubiquitous trend, eh).
“Pregnant pauses” is a fantastic way to summarise Ryutaru Nakamaru’s directional technique. It’s atmospheric as fuck and I’m enjoying it far far more in GH than I did with Lain. Can’t describe the sense of relief it is to enjoy an anime this season with absolutely no apology. It’s like hearing the new Radiohead album in anime form!
Posted on October 28th, 2007 @ 11:00 pm
@Gabest: Cheers for recommending Shigurui - it’s not often I’m tempted to watch an historical-themed show. Sadly my viewing backlog is so intimidating I doubt I’ll be making any posts on it for a while yet!
@Hige: Yeah, it’s a worrying trend…try to think of it as great minds thinking alike, eh?
I’ll have to check out the new Radiohead album now too, since I lost interest with them after Kid A. Back o/t, I love Nakamura’s approach to directing as well. It feels so mature and assured and never takes the audience’s intelligence for granted; I mean, it’s the polar opposite of the ‘dumbing down’ we see so often these days.
Posted on October 31st, 2007 @ 12:43 pm
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