[Anime Reviews]

Eve no Jikan (Time of Eve) act03: Koji and Rina

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Eve no Jikan, Yasuhiro Yoshiura]

I find myself watching each new episode of Eve no Jikan multiple times, letting myself become immersed in its world and absorbing as many of the plot points and details as I can. For most series, when there’s a batch of episodes on one DVD disc or when a new episode is available to view on a weekly basis, it’s as though it cheapens the experience in comparison with the way I watch this show. I think I take too much anime for granted in a way but here there are fifteen short minutes then that’s it for another couple of months; even leaving its other merits out of the equation I can’t help but try to squeeze the last drop of entertainment value out of each outing and savour every second.

I’m not posting this pic to crack an “Are those real?” gag: notice the CODE:LIFE book. Then crack an “Are those real?” gag

The story takes a less eventful course in this episode, most scenes taking place in the Time of Eve café. This time it’s all about the Koji and Rina of this episodes title: that romantic couple who often keep themselves to themselves in a secluded corner. In the two previous episodes I was looking forward to seeing how EnJ portrays romantic relationships like this in a worldview that makes human and android indistinguishable; needless to say it once again doesn’t disappoint. Spoilers after the jump folks.

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[Anime Reviews]

Eve no Jikan (Time of Eve) act02: Sammy

Posted by Martin  [Tags: Eve no Jikan, Yasuhiro Yoshiura]

When I first sat down to write this post all I could come up with was the unhelpful “Words cannot express how fantastic this is.” One rewatch and one refill of my trusty cafetière later (not EVEblend though, sadly) and I’m finally in a position to make a proper post about it. Bear in mind though that I think this is possibly the best series we’re likely to see this year - something that kicks your brain into gear so efficiently you don’t realise you’re questioning the meaning of humanity and whose pitch-perfect storytelling delivers important plot points with subtlety and eloquence. Expect a quick shameless plug after the moar tag too.

After the first Act that introduced the worldview and some of the main cast, the second returns to Asimov’s Three Rules of Robotics, this time examining how they relate to the housemaid android of the episode’s title and her unusual behaviour. There’s an underlying conspiracy or other over-arching theme dropped in late on plus a short (as in, freeze frame it to catch it) flashback concerning Masaki but generally this episode is a ‘zoom lens’-style outing that mostly takes place within the confines of the Time of Eve cafe and concerns itself with the android Sammy…who incidentally looks quite pretty with her hair tied back. Admitting the latter detail makes me feel a bit uncomfortable but I think that’s precisely the point.

[20 Comments]

[Anime Reviews]

Eve no Jikan first impressions: are friends electric?

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.

[11 Comments]

[OAVs, Movies and Full Series]

The shorts review #1: Mizu no Kotoba and She & Her Cat

Posted by Martin  [Tags: arthouse, Makoto Shinkai, Yasuhiro Yoshiura]

This post is something of an experiment. There are a few bits of anime that are too short in terms of running time to warrant a post of their own - there simply isn’t enough to say about each one individually so I’ve decided to take on two in one go; the only common feature between them, really, is the fact that they aren’t very long. I don’t stumble on these short-and-sweet pieces very often, so I’m making no promises as to how regular this feature will be (recommendations for more are welcome, people). First up though is Yasuhiro Yoshiura’s nine minute effort Mizu no Kotoba (Aquatic Language) and my long-overdue fanboy rave of She and Her Cat.

[5 Comments]

[OAVs, Movies and Full Series]

Pale Cocoon: A glimpse into a forgotten past

Posted by Martin  [Tags: arthouse, Yasuhiro Yoshiura]

In the distant future the human race lives in an industrial and artificial environment far from the world outside. The past few decades of history are all but lost and there is a shrinking minority of people who work in the extensive Archives to piece together the Earth that used to be. One of those is a quiet and thoughtful guy by the name of Ura, who discovers an intriguing video recording that could irreversably alter his perception of the world he knows.

[1 Comment]