16 Aug 2008
Posted by Martin [Tags: Black Lagoon]
Black Lagoon rounds off the First Barrage with rip-roaring conclusion to the Unstoppable Housemaid arc before following the crew as they embark on a mission set by the Triads that pits them against a group of international terrorists. Needless to say it involves some more blistering action and an outrageous supporting cast but the dynamic between ‘Two Hands’ Revy and Rokuro ‘Rock’ Okajima is the emotional focus of a fast-paced story that has a surprising amount of character depth at its core.
I don’t know where to begin in describing the larger-than-life incidental characters the crew of the Black Lagoon meet during these four episodes: from Roberta’s Terminator-like tenacity through Mr Chang’s uber-cool gun-toting gangster to a stoned Irish getaway driver and a Taiwanese girl with an array of throwing knives they may only appear for an episode or two but it makes them no less memorable or entertaining. That is not to say that their criminal natures are completely glossed over though: we’re still seeing brutal killers, kidnappers and thieves but they are merely being portrayed as people winding up on a certain path and getting by as best they can…in considerable style too of course.
Read the rest of this entry »
Reading stats: 766 words & 4 images; estimated reading time 3:04 mins
[8 Comments]
12 Aug 2008
Posted by Martin [Tags: arthouse, Kaiba]
Right from the get-go Kaiba proved to be certainly one of the most unusual but also one of the most thought-provoking shows of recent months. In light of Masaaki Yuasa’s penchant for the extremely odd (when I mean extremely odd I mean it in a Holden Caulfield-italicised extremely) I wasn’t sure if it would try to carry itself on its unique visual style alone or whether Yuasa would back it up with a richer thematic approach too; for all its artistic innovation, Kemonozume was engaging, unpredictable and even shocking at points but as a story nothing revolutionary. Kaiba in contrast looks like NOTHING before seen on God’s green Earth and also kept me guessing from the first episode to the last.
For some viewers, especially those who followed it from afar or dropped it entirely, the ‘look’ may be the one thing they remember it for. It certainly flies in the face of everything that even the most eclectic animation fans are familiar with: the outlines are bold, the character designs childlike and the animation flowing like something Tezuka may have had come up with if he’d taken LSD. In some ways it distances the viewer from the gravity of the situations the characters find themselves in: vehicles look and move like bubbles, weapons appear to be innocuous lumps of rubber and when a character dies they disappear into a puddle of colourful gunk instead of a spray of crimson and dismembered limbs. Had the emotional heart of the story not been so strong I’d actually count its Astro-Boy-Gone-Wrong aesthetic as a hindrance - I certainly wouldn’t think less of anyone who was put off by this.
The opening episodes took a bit of getting used to for this reason: I was still worried that the artwork was a gimmick and that the story was a limitation as it was with Kemonozume. As we met the likes of lecherous Vanilla, the idealistic Popo and the delightful Chroniko however, I began to realise the true nature of the trump card that Yuasa and Madhouse had up their sleeve: the cutesy, hallucinogenic alien world with an amnesiac at its centre took on some very grown-up themes concerning identity and sense of self despite its juvenile and dreamlike appearance.
Read the rest of this entry »
Reading stats: 1036 words & 3 images; estimated reading time 4:09 mins
[8 Comments]
09 Aug 2008
Posted by Martin [Tags: Macross, Macross Frontier]
The first question I ought to be answering here is, if Macross Frontier is one of my favourite shows I’m watching now, why am I not blogging about it more often? For sure, I’m enjoying it one heck of a lot but while some stuff is really enjoyable to watch that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy to write about too. I don’t blog anything episode-by-episode any more either (Eve no Jikan will be an exception to this, but I don’t see it being released weekly like the TV series are) and Frontier is a good example of why: I’d just be writing really short posts that state the same things over and over.
Nuff said
It would go something like this: the aerial scenes rival those of Macross Zero (honestly), the music is only one level below that of Plus and it has a good balance of humour, dorama and intrigue. Basically, this is space opera anime of the highest order - the sort of stuff my blog lives for. As true as all that is, it pretty much goes without saying for every episode so I can’t be bothered to reiterate it every week…unless I can somehow acquire the same talent for insight and humour as Kabitzin perhaps.
Read the rest of this entry »
Reading stats: 1072 words & 5 images; estimated reading time 4:17 mins
[10 Comments]
05 Aug 2008
Posted by Martin [Tags: arthouse, Eve no Jikan, Yasuhiro Yoshiura]
Anyone who’s heard me go on about this in recent months will know how I’ve been dying to get my myopic, bloodshot orbs on Yasuhiro Yoshiura’s latest effort, Eve no Jikan (Time of Eve) and how I’ve been trying to drag fellow bloggers onto the EnJ fanboy bandwagon purely from watching the trailer. Not knowing what to expect from the director of Mizu no Kotoba and Pale Cocoon, apart from expecting Good Things, I nigh on jumped out of my seat at the sight of the first episode. I actually watched this twice in twenty-four hours, and noticed extra little details on the second time around: it’s only fifteen minutes in length, but what a fifteen minutes it is.
The premise is that of a near-future world in which robots have become commonplace in everyday life; they’ve made a difference to industry, agriculture and, in the case of humanlike androids, even homes. While Pale Cocoon was intevitably very cold and dystopian, the world of EnJ is a more recognisable and brighter place - the mannerisms of the characters and quirky background music make it a much warmer and jovial affair and show androids integrated into a society very similar to our own.
I know the idea of robots living side-by-side with humans is one of the oldest and most commonly-covered areas of sci-fi, and this in turn limits what new concepts EnJ is able to explore: it even quotes Isaac Asimov’s first rule of robotics in setting out the androids’ place in society. The first episode introduces Rikuo, an average teenager (aren’t they all?) whose family own a ‘female’ android who acts as a maidservant, running errands and helping out with household tasks. Rikuo clearly has trouble treating the android as a machine instead of a living person but when compared with how some people seem to behave towards to their mechanical assistants he’s more sympathetic than most; an issue that comes up immediately in this ep is how androids are viewed very differently from humans, even though superficially they look the same.
Read the rest of this entry »
Reading stats: 884 words & 4 images; estimated reading time 3:32 mins
[11 Comments]
04 Aug 2008
Posted by Martin [Tags: Soul Eater]
After the disappointing excuse for a post last time, I wanted to write about one of my currently-watched series that I really look forward to every week and feel inspired by; given that I hadn’t posted a word about Soul Eater since my First Impressions post, I think it’s long overdue a mention.
OGT made a point of stating that Soul Eater is not a Shounen Jump serial over a Bateszi’s blog, which I think is an important distinction to make. While it offers both the things I appreciate and the things that put me off animated adaptations of the magazine’s output for roughly 99% of the time, SE also offers more. A lot more in fact.
I was going to use this pic instead here, but decided against it when I couldn’t think of a witty caption for it, out-of-context or otherwise
If you take those long, drawn out battles that are padded out to the majority of an episode with macho dialogue and melodramatic panning and zooming, superhuman exhibitions of withstanding physical injury and humour that’s aimed at young teenage boys (or at least those with the mentality of one), then SE really does fit in with the SJ mould on occasion. It does of course share the genre’s positive aspects too: decent no-holds-barred action, heroes trying to act heroic and storylines that gain enough momentum to be truly epic over time for instance. I’m not trying to bash SJ here by the way; I’m merely pointing out that those of us who can enjoy the more positive aspects of SJ-style stuff will find there’s plenty to keep you happy in Soul Eater. The great thing is, almost as a bonus prize for more hard-to-please individuals such as myself, it takes those concepts one stage further and adds neat asides like, y’know, proper character development and storylines and stuff.
Read the rest of this entry »
Reading stats: 1179 words & 4 images; estimated reading time 4:43 mins
[8 Comments]
31 Jul 2008
Posted by Martin [Tags: Allison to Lillia]
After the fun I had at the show’s expense last time maybe it’s surprising that I’m even watching it still, let alone enjoying it. I can’t be arsed with listing all the faults this time though, but the more amusing ones still need highlighting. If laughing your butt off at a sarcastic critique is your bag though, let me direct you towards Hanners‘ side-splittingly vitriolic posts aimed at the A&L Plot Holes™; lulz aside, it really does openly invite ridicule on occasion. As for the question regarding “Is this a poor adaptation of a good story or a faithful adaptation of a poor one?” I think the light novel sales figures (over a million in Japan according to Wiki) speak for themselves. To that end, if anyone wants some (non Japanese-speaking) assistance in fanslating (sic) them, you know how to find me. I’m only half joking about that too.
Why are you sitting around drinking tea when there are lives at stake? Get on with solving the mystery, dammit!
In fairness though the third arc was an improvement over earlier ones, if only relatively: it stumbles clumsily and good-naturedly through the segue to the Lillia and Trieze half of the series and provides some fun and excitement outside of laughing at the clunky storytelling. The richness of the worldview peeps through at intervals, hinting at weapons industries and civil unrest still lurking beneath the surface, offering plenty of room for side-stories and spin-offs.
The problem is that the show’s flaws are not musical or artistic - it’s still one of my current OP theme faves, along with Kaiba - they’re in the storytelling itself. Furthermore they could be easily avoided, which continues to make the viewing experience frustrating for me. It’s understandable perhaps to suggest that it’s inheriting flaws in the source material but when you’re adapting something from one medium to another, what better opportunity to iron them out and put them right?
Read the rest of this entry »
Reading stats: 996 words & 3 images; estimated reading time 3:59 mins
[7 Comments]
27 Jul 2008
Posted by Martin [Tags: Toshokan Sensou]
This is one occasion where I make a distinction between ‘A-list’ and ‘B-list’ titles - in practice, it’s a difference between checking torrents lists and online DVD stores for the latest bunch of episodes daily or catching up when I have a day or two going spare. If I hadn’t watched Toshokan Sensou I doubt I’d regret my decision, but watch it I did and I have to say I enjoyed it too: it is a definite B-list show for me but at least it’s a good example of one.
I don’t think Toshokan Sensou ever had the ambition of being a rival for the Frontiers, Code Geasses and Clannads in the schedules: the animation quality is solid without being showy, its everyday storytelling aims fit neatly into a manageable twelves episodes and its balance of comedy and social commentary prevent it straying too close to the poles of laugh-out-loud slapstick or hard speculative fiction. I can say I merely liked it and mean it as a compliment - its sights are set lower than the studios’ flagship titles but it achieves the modest aims it sets for itself.
Read the rest of this entry »
Reading stats: 990 words & 3 images; estimated reading time 3:58 mins
[6 Comments]
22 Jul 2008
Posted by Martin [Tags: Black Lagoon]
Black Lagoon is shaping up to be both a gritty and satisfying action show and also a fascinating character-driven piece that’s placing plenty of emphasis on the contrasting personalities of tough-gal Revy and new recruit Rock. While there’s enough gunplay and double crosses to keep adrenaline junkies entertained the importance of the characters’ motives and actions aren’t lost on the show either: merely listing the adversaries as neo-Nazis with a penchant for objets d’art, arms-dealing nuns and a hardcore housemaid with hidden talents would be selling Black Lagoon short because it’s proving to be far more than flying bullets and amusing gimmicks.
I’d be lying if I didn’t find these things entertaining of course; it’s interesting to see Revy’s disregard for human life challenged by an increasingly more self-assured Rock, and following the change in their attitudes to one another that results. I won’t be too hasty is predicting some sort of romantic entanglement between the two – I doubt Black Lagoon is sentimental enough for that sort of business – but the way in which mutual respect and a professional-type relationship develops was rewarding enough and heart-warming in a brash gar kind of way.
Read the rest of this entry »
Reading stats: 687 words & 4 images; estimated reading time 2:45 mins
[4 Comments]
21 Jul 2008
Posted by Martin [Tags: Clannad]
Times shared at school lead to a gradual love blossoming as rumours spread among their classmates. Cut to…a lonely guy stands at the railway crossing, contemplating good times gone as the sakura petals fall. Cut to…a passionate embrace in the snow as the background song reaches a crescendo. Warm fuzzy feeling ensues. Wait a minute…bugger, wrong review*. Ah, so it’s more Clannad. In all seriousness though I really liked this bonus exploration of a Tomoya/Tomoyo pairing, especially given that the latter had been given so little attention during the series itself; being an alternate universe thingy it’s also distinct from the criticisms I levelled at the show as a whole. I can sit back and watch this sort of thing any time - the after-story will no doubt go back to following the Nagisa thread but aside from doing a what-if scenario I just enjoyed it as a romantic short standing on its own.
Whether it’s a manga adaptation, dating sim adaptation or something scrawled on the back of the director’s napkin while having lunch with his accountant, I couldn’t care less if it takes a story and tells it well. The relationship between the two feels natural and convincing - no small feat when we’ve been led down a Nagisa End path for twenty-three episodes! They are both quite stubborn and stoic in their own ways I suppose and not the most prone to outpourings of emotion; this, for me at least, made their romance more rewarding rather than improbable - I was able to come round to the idea Tomoya x Tomoyo with minimal effort actually.
Read the rest of this entry »
Reading stats: 1053 words & 4 images; estimated reading time 4:13 mins
[6 Comments]
17 Jul 2008
Posted by Martin [Tags: Daughter of Twenty Faces]
Whut? Another Nijuu Mensou no Musume post when I’ve yet to even finish Library Wars? Yep, The Daughter of Twenty Faces takes priority over even that and the new summer season for me right now. For a show that slipped onto the aggregators with barely a murmur, it’s strange to see it right next to Frontier at the top of my watchlist. Well, something had to replace Kurenai I suppose.
What can you possibly say at a time like this?
Read the rest of this entry »
Reading stats: 881 words & 3 images; estimated reading time 3:31 mins
[9 Comments]
