[Categories: Anime Reviews]
The Daughter of Twenty Faces 12-16: Twenty Faces is sooo Twentieth Century!
After a shaky start and a brave act of forging ahead as an old-school adventure that They Just Don’t Make Any More, I was as disappointed as Coburn was when The Daughter of Twenty Faces began to stumble under the burden of its own concepts. I’m sure there’s something I was missing about suspension of disbelief here - not unlike fantastical elements of Clannad trying to pass themselves off as realistic and becoming out-of-place in the process - but I couldn’t put my finger on it until now.
The scientist and his misspent youth
I think many of the more implausible aspects, such as machine men and giant planes (how I LOVED the concept of a giant plane that looks like a brainstorming session between Miyazaki and Howard Hughes!) would be the stuff of science fiction rather than fantasy a couple of generations ago - like a Jules Verne novel, the technology on show here is quaint and fun but can’t be viewed in the same serious light as, say, the cyberpunk of Shirow or P K Dick. Maybe today’s science fiction will be looked upon in the same nostalgic way as Verne and Wells in fifty years time, but I digress.
My point is, The Daughter of Twenty Faces feels like the adaptation of a novel written decades ago, and no revisions have been made to the story to make it seem realistic to today’s viewers. What it thinks of as ‘realistic’ cannot be thought of as so when viewed through Twenty-first Century eyes: maybe it’s trying to be retro-futuristic, but brings about the same sort of bafflement that I felt with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. In that case the setting is Victorian but when it was read to me at school in the late 80s/early 90s the alternate history setting confused me because wolves had repopulated the UK; at the time the Channel Tunnel wasn’t even completed! Perhaps the reason why the technology of Chiko’s world looks so strange is because it is the alternative timeline thing.
The retro-futuristic, almost steampunk setting (could we have a new sub-genre here in the form of post-steampunk?) doesn’t however explain the other problem I have with the series at the moment: the villains are just plain lame. Now, in any adventure story the villain(s) must be suitably evil and whatnot but here they’re either annoying or simply out of place. The doll-woman took the aforementioned alternate history tech and pushed it to the point where I just thought “Whut?” When her tragic past was eventually revealed, the sympathy I should have felt never really came. In the same way that Gauron pissed me off in Full Metal Panic! the bad guy shows no chivalry and therefore gets no sympathy at their eventual demise because of their refusal to die when beaten earlier. When you lose and you’re killed, please have the decency to STAY DEAD.
Now leave the stage. Please
Similarly, the ability that Twenty Faces himself has to cheat death is making me less and less concerned for his safety. Never mind how he does it (after his fall from the airship I’m sure I saw his cravat spin round like a propellor and carry him, Inspector Gadget-style, slowly to earth…just kidding), the fact that he keeps faking his own death and turning up later may be good for the overall plot but it hampers the sense of tension. As Chiko once again mourns the sudden disappearance of her mentor, she can rest assured that he will reappear again later, in perfect health and upset her all over again just in time to fight his private war with scant clues to keep Chiko guessing.
It would also seem he has the most well concealed parachute in cinematic history. The man really is a genius
I must admit that Chiko is the linchpin of the series, without whom I might have already lost interest. For all my ranting here, I still find it to be an enjoyable show: it’s better than the juvenile otakubait I’ve tried to avoid and even different from the better stuff that I’m watching. At least it is now, since it seems to be over its Detective Girls phase in which Koito spies on teachers and poor Tome’s boobs become the source of much of the entertainment value. That was fun as far as it went (which wasn’t that far, really) but now there’s someone who might know the true identity of Twenty Faces in his pre-war days, which kicks the story back into gear. Sadly it involves another crazy-eyed androgynous gymnast antagonist with superhuman strength but with any luck we won’t see much of him/her in future either.
The plot development involving the old teacher and the poem throws up some interesting possibilities: is the old man the bad guy? Is Twenty Faces the bad guy? Is Twenty Faces, in a move that would be a great double bluff, actually Chiko’s father after all? What is his ultimate plan? The talk of ‘unseen power’ sounds a bit like nuclear research to me, which I suppose is in keeping with the era in which it’s set, but Akechi seems to think it’s something to do with a fourth state of water. The results of his research seem to be building up to something of that scale, which promises some exciting prospects in the alternate history thing in the same way it did with Steamboy. That after all came across as implausible too, but was really imaginative at the same time.
I reckon when it comes to ep #22, I won’t be too worried about the physics behind making a fourth state of water (although it would certainly impress visitors at cocktail parties, not to mention scare the bejesus out of your chemistry teacher, and who hasn’t wanted to do that?) or how a man can survive stabbings, falls into the ocean and attempted murder at the hands of an improbable villain; it’s all about watching Chiko try to solve the mystery and be home in time for a cup of tea with Koito and Tome. This show’s little foibles are still after all nothing compared to the notorious Allison and Lillia Plot Holes, which shares a similar historical setting; the crucial thing is of course that I still wait for the next ep to see what adventure Chiko finds herself in next, which is I guess why I’m sticking with it.
Posted on September 16th, 2008 @ 4:06 am
Nice post. I think you’ve identified some of the problems with NJMnM, although I am still enjoying it. In general, I have never liked steampunk or anything that purports to be the future but looks like some particular version of the past. Seems like a failure of imagination. I think what mitigates some of the problem here is the fact that it is really set in the past, and the weird pseudo-modern technology is almost appropriate in context. But this is not a very deep show, really. It is more like Batman than anything else, with miraculous escapes aplenty. Batman with its lesser villains.
Having read some of the manga, I think the anime is not failing so much as doing too good a job of giving us the manga, which also has less emotional impact that the plot suggests it should. Really, I am watching this for Hirano Aya, who seems to me to be doing an excellent job. Disclaimer: I do like Aaya’s work, but not well enough to watch Zettai Karen Children.
hashihimes last blog post..46 New Fall Anime — full previews (story, trailer, staff, cast, etc.)
Posted on September 16th, 2008 @ 6:33 am
hashihime: I read this somewhere. “Steampunk is the new Klingons.” I like steampunk, but I had to laugh.
Martin: “Sadly it involves another crazy-eyed androgynous gymnast antagonist with superhuman strength but with any luck we won’t see much of him/her in future either.” Sigh, I fear we’ll be seeing much more of this as the series winds down. They already had one, and here’s another. Maybe a squadron later. What a disappointment!
But you’re absolutely right on what makes me keep watching this show. It has strengths and, lately, a lot of weaknesses, but I keep watching because of Chiko. When confronted by thugs on the steps I kept muttering “Think, Chiko, think!” knowing she would.
When the final crisis appears, I pray that it involves Chiko thinking, then acting. Any other climax ruins the series.
Posted on September 16th, 2008 @ 10:25 am
My MAL tells me that I have just watched 10 episodes of the show, so I am not in the position to judge whether it really would turn out disappointing in the next few episodes (I do expect myself to be disappointed too though). But, I will keep your posting in mind, I think it was a great analysis of what seems to have turned wrong.
Posted on September 16th, 2008 @ 4:15 pm
I’ll admit the show has stumbled in a few places, but it hasn’t marred my enjoyment too severely. If I were to pick at something it would be that the show doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be. Variety is great and all, but often the tone and themes of one episode will clash violently with another. Take epsiode 15 for example: fun in itself, but the jokes and lighthearted tone stand completely at odds with the series’ more dramatic moments.
(SPOILER)
Weirdly, I found myself thinking quite the opposite with the villians - they all died way quicker than I thought they would. Particularly the ‘doll woman’, she appeared to be in for the long haul - but in the end she died quite suddenly, hardly a comparable to Gaurons 24 episode survival (and beyond..)
I agree with you on all the flaws which are present and on the general outdated feel to the show, but it still isn’t enough to cripple it for me. A lot hinges on how it concludes, so for now I’ll keep watching before I assume too much.
Posted on September 16th, 2008 @ 5:52 pm
We’ve just accepted it as a retro version of juvenile science-fantasy on the order of Star Trek or Gerry Anderson puppets. Certainly it passes any scientific rigor test that Star Trek’s transporter and Universal Translator pass.
I think it’s important to remember that this is from a shoujo manga. Since neither of us is even close to being a 12-16 year old Japanese schoolgirl, it’s unlikely that we’d find even a great story always compelling - different markets, different tastes. As it is, the characters (particularly Chizuko) are strong enough to pull us through the slow bits.
There’s a definite nostalgia trend at work in Japan now, particularly in content oriented toward those too young to have lived through any of Showa. This and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei are two good examples.
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Posted on September 16th, 2008 @ 9:28 pm
If you wanted to get really technical, it is an adaptation of a novel (or rather novels) written years ago, Edogawa Rampo’s detective novels in which detective Akechi pursues the mystery man with 20 faces. But I think it’s pretty loose.
The past few episodes started to make me curious about 20 Faces’ past, as I guess they were supposed to. But now that we’re faced with the prospect of actually learning something, I find I don’t care that much anymore.
The worst offense in my mind of the series in general has been its tendency to wobble between super-entertaining and just plain blah. The good episodes are good enough they make the boring ones seem that much worse. And I agree — the villains suck.
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Posted on September 16th, 2008 @ 10:52 pm
@hashihime: thanks! If it’s faithfully following the manga, that’s fair enough. I can imagine it’s a difficult task to have the opportunity to change things for the adaptation, but avoid upsetting fans of the source material.
@Peter S: Chiko really is the main strength of the series - a lead character with a quick mind is the most fun and rewarding type to watch. I have a gut feeling she’ll have a particularly difficult decision to make in the final episodes, but I’m confident she’ll make it wisely.
@Sasa: the series seems to be tripping up the little details rather than more serious ones so while it’s fun to pick them out I wouldn’t say they ruin it entirely. There is a bit of a slow middle section though, but I think it’s over that now.
@Wildcard: I wasn’t too keen on episode #15 either, but #16 pretty much makes up for that. The pacing isn’t bad, but it seems to jump ahead then take an episode or two to collect its thoughts before another twist. It would probably have more focus if there were one discernable villain (even a shadowy one that merely makes his or her presence felt), beyond the rather abstract concept of the war’s aftermath.
@senile_seinen: the fact that it’s aimed at a shoujo demographic explains a lot actually. The Detective Girls subplot for instance doesn’t do a great deal for me but I can imagine it’s the kind of thing young female readers/viewers will appreciate. As for the nostalgia thing, thanks for pointing that out too. The ‘retro’ art style of SZS is one of the things I loved about it so much.
@otou-san: the story behind Rampo is fascinating! It explains the anti-war sentiment (changed from WW1 to WW2 in this case though), the echoes of Doyle and even Poe’s darker themes (I quite like Poe’s stuff BTW, although it can be a bit heavy-going on occasion…almost too dark at times). Interesting that one of his influences according to that Wiki entry, Maurice LeBlanc, was the creator of the original Arsene Lupin. I guess this show has quite a rich pedigree, albeit indirectly. What’s even more interesting is that Rampo’s depiction of Akechi (who I think is a little under-used in this series) more accurately describes Twenty Faces himself… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kogoro_Akechi
Posted on September 16th, 2008 @ 11:12 pm
I liked the detective girls, they were sassy. Normally I’d be all for a sense of coherency but all in all I just don’t think the serious episodes are working that well. Aside from the legendary ep6 they haven’t contributed as much to my enjoyment as the cast and style. Maybe the approach is just too retro, but the serious bits are where the (perhaps kiddy) clumsy moments seems to bug me more.
On second thought, I might just like the detective girls because they’re so much lewder than an unedited old-school yarn. Joan Aiken (who never really appealed to me) was also sorely lacking in fanservice.
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