Allison to Lillia: the treasure hunting arc
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.
When I call A & L Miyazaki-esque I’m not just referring to the alternate-historical setting of Laputa and Porco Rosso; it specifically has some of the most impressive aerial scenes this side of Last Exile (not to mention the fact that Allison and Wil strongly remind me of Lavie and Claus, which I see as a good thing). The MWE (Madhouse Win Effect, that of the said studio turning almost anything it touches into gold) ensures that the animation is smooth, the character designs consistent and the backgrounds gorgeous. It’s not their best ever effort for sure, but by TV standards is pretty respectable and I’m sure will age quite well in future years. Unlike, say, cyberpunk and mecha shows, the true-to-life yet in-the-past setting makes it timeless in some ways and might be one of those shows that has non fans asking “so it’s Japanese, huh?”.
I found the wartime background and true nature of the ‘treasure’ to be quite telling: many searched for something financial, or at least material, but the value was found in an idea or concept. It’s a shame, but not surprising, that people had died over the years over something that is not tangible beyond the physical representation of it (namely the painting on the cave wall) - it’s also ironic how something so simple and innocuous could solve a complex problem such as long-term conflict.
As an aside, the wholesome and innocent nature of this show is proved by the fact that, amazingly, none of the Danbooru images belonging to the Allison Whittington tag are NSFW
A potential problem I can forsee is that suspending your sense of disbelief in a show like this requires viewing it through lenses with a prescription strength rose coloured tint. Part of this is the old-school, mostly-harmless nature of the danger and suspense and part of it is shaky storytelling (I can’t bring myself to call it weak but it is shaky). moments such as “Damn, I accidentally fired my small calibre machine-gun at the ceiling and dislodged a fatal quantity of loose geology, somehow causing instant death and allowing the heroes to escape unscathed!” is almot too convenient for my liking; so too is one piece of artwork being able to stop several centuries of warfare (surely painting a convincing forgery would be so easy that someone would have tried it already?).
As much as this sounds like I’m trying to put A & L down, I was absolutely content with letting these inconsistencies and plot holes slide because I was having too much fun to care. It’s undemanding entertainment that, thanks to its fabricated worldview (it looks European but, like the author’s other work Kino’s Journey, the people and places could be borrowed from anywhere) I’m never entirely sure what lies around the next corner. There is an air of predictability nevertheless, which comes across to me at least as the unsteady hand of a rookie director. In contrast with the likes of Hideaki Anno, who can take tired concepts and everyday situations, reinvent them and deftly balance them like spinning plates on sticks, A & L clearly has strong source material that places levity and fun in a world that is occasionally dark and complex but the direction is so pedestrian that is amounts to no more than the sum of its parts.
Fortunately in this case the sum is still quite a lot. The backlight of the original story makes it shine, the presentation is impressive and the two leads have a fantastic dynamic; there’s something that’s holding the show back from classic status but after this arc it promises much. I’m already intrigued about a journey in the snow and gun-toting pensioners but I think it’ll be the combination of Allison and Wil that makes it for me.
Posted on May 14th, 2008 @ 2:24 am
Six episodes in, it’s clear that the Allison portion of the show will consist of three stories (as is true of the novels): the treasure/war arc, the currently-airing Fiona arc, and the third arc (which somehow involves trains — perhaps presaged by Wil assuring Allison in episode five that air transport may someday rival rail in the postwar era). The OP hasn’t just got a lovely song, it’s animation is also a table of contents!
I, too, am enjoying this series, but the “convenient coincidences” are getting to be quite dense by the middle of the Fiona arc. I’ve gotten the novels, but it will be quite some time before I am able to get through them.
Still, I find the central characters to be quite charming, and watch the series just for them.
Posted on May 14th, 2008 @ 2:38 am
How did I miss this show. Okay, so now you’re going to get me to watch two shows that I didn’t have any intention of watching.
Posted on May 14th, 2008 @ 5:13 am
The cynical side of me says: “That’s IT? They find a cave painting and the two warring sides will step down? Yeah, right. Further complications ahead as the rulers find another reason to fight.” But I guess I was expecting a different type of series. So I’ll step back and rethink this as a simple, light show with some nice air battles and plucky protagonists (I’m reminded of Claus and Lavie too) and chuckle at things like the ease of which they sprung the old man from prison. Interesting that the old man died, though. Death of developed characters CAN happen in this show.
Posted on May 14th, 2008 @ 4:32 pm
I’ve put this on hold due to Spring overload (yeah, it happens, I know), but I’ll trust you to sing praises of this one if anything particularly exciting happens in the next two arcs, at which point I’ll probably pick it up again.
Posted on May 15th, 2008 @ 11:05 pm
I have to confess, I’ve been regularly laying into this show for what I see as its rather lazy and trite storytelling, to the point of being unintentionally quite funny at times.
I realise that it’s based on some light novels, but I was really shocked as to how the ended the ‘treasure’ arc - There was so much that could have been done with Allison and Wil’s struggle to get the powers that be to listen to them and actually convince people that the war could be ended, I’m no script writer but it seemed like a goldmine of possibility.
Posted on May 16th, 2008 @ 1:49 pm
I dropped it (or maybe just put it on hold) after two episodes after the deer accident? That was a convenient metaphor - too convenient for me. If you’ve seen “The Queen” you’ll know what I’m talking about. I like(d) the OP a lot too, a really cool tune that somewhat reminds me of Aria’s OP songs.
Posted on May 18th, 2008 @ 4:06 pm
@dm: so Allison’s adventures are only part of the bigger story? Interesting. I was actually expecting her to be *the* main protagonist of the show so I’ll be keeping close watch on where it goes from here.
@Cameron provert: yep, I’m sharing the feeling of “Where did my free time go?!” ^_^
@Peter S: my susprises hit at the same points as yours, it seems; I’ve had to shift my expectations a little but I can enjoy it just the same now. The old man’s death did catch me by surprise though.
@Owen S: yeah, I’m keeping this on on my current watch list. Expect future updates, motivation permitting.
@Hanners: there’s a lot of untapped potential here but I’m reluctant to lay into it too much in case it’s merely faithfully adapting the novels, imperfections and all.
@Lelangir: I’ll make a mental note to watch The Queen (it stars a famous UK actress iirc, who I’ve respected for years). Aria’s op theme is stunning though - I love the way it fades in and out to compliment the relaxed atmosphere.