Makigumo

Super Serial: Minami-ke Okawari episode 1

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 16:30:00 CDT

The second season of Minami-ke brings about some changes, mostly in the art style. I liked the look of the first series well enough; I'm not really sure why the switch in production studios was necessary. The look isn't that much closer to that of the manga either.

There's not much to say. I'm always appreciative of more Minami-ke. This first episode, while not superbly awesome, is still a good reintroduction to the characters. The quality dialogue seems to be intact, and even the Mako-chan segments aren't unbearable.

Review: Minami-ke

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:45:00 CDT

Synopsis

Minami-ke is a slice-of-life anime that follows the mundane lives of the three Minami sisters: Chiaki, Kana, and Haruka. It also gives a lot of attention to their classmates in elementary, middle, and high school. Kana is usually the mischievous troublemaker with Chiaki frequently as her target. Haruka is the responsible older sister who everyone idolizes. Due to their large network of friends and acquaintances, the sisters are always assured eventful days.

Plot

Minami-ke doesn't have much in the way of a story; the most you'll get is some rudimentary background information about the sisters and the slightest hint of a family history. Like many shows of this style, episodes are typically disjointed; they play out like comic strips. This show does a better job of preserving a narrative throughout each episode, but the series as a whole is still very episodic.

Of course, for a sitcom-anime like this, the focus should be on good characters and humor rather than depth of story. Usually I like my comedies to have good drama at their cores. Effectively balancing humor with drama makes the series feel less artificial, and helps to identify with the characters. Minami-ke doesn't do this, and spends most of its time setting up the jokes. Fortunately, the writing is of high enough quality that the humor works, but without true dramatic writing, every episode still has a whiff of the Sunday funnies about it. I should say that this isn't intrinsically a bad thing. But if the series is going to be about life, it should, in some capacity, speak to our lives. Minami-ke does this only slightly, and that feels like a missed opportunity. I would love to have had more dramatic episodes, especially when the characters are so good.

All right, so it's not all serious with this show but the humor works and I love the dialogue. The exchanges between characters are usually sharp and witty, and the themes used are not very culture-specific. The style of comedy is quite Japanese, but that's just the flavor of the show. The essence is very much enjoyable for everyone. A few too many episodes are devoted to side characters, only a few of which are decent. I'd say that's the biggest irritant of the series; it spends too much time away from the characters you want to watch.

Luckily, a lot of other things work. Minami-ke features the greatest video game parody montage ever, and the running gag with Hosaka and his imagined scenarios are over the top but infinitely amusing. My favorite moment would have to be the segment in episode 11 where Chiaki is kicking around a pebble (which she names Yamada). It starts out as a very ordinary yet insightful peek into an elementary student's mind. From there the story becomes an epic journey, showing the bonds of friendship and adversity. Then the conclusion gives us an ironic twist that is Seinfeldian in its execution, heartbreaking in a way, but still quite hilarious. All of this happens in the space of three miutes - it really is an extraordinary piece of storytelling.

Before I move on, I really must complain about the ending. It's not that I didn't like it, it was just very out of form for the series. This character, who you barely see throughout the show, just shows up and hijacks it. By the last episode, you've grown almost posessive of the sisters and their slight naivete, to the point where it feels like they're sullied by what happens. Yes it's really weird and possibly creepy to complain about such a thing, but you know... that's how much I took to the cast.

Characters

I spent most of the plot section blathering on about how much I like the characters, so I'll just reiterate once that the show uses them well. Kana (the middle sister) in particular is deceptively complex. She starts out almost as a cliche; the zany one who has to be that way to serve as a focal point for the humor. She goes through a change by the fourth episode, and you see that she really wants to be a manipulator, but her success rate is inconsistent at best. She's also a bit dumb, but her out-of-touch quality is really the result of her coming up with scenarios in her head and acting them out without consulting anyone. It's a surprising amount of nuance for this kind of show, and as a result, I absolutely loved every minute Kana was on screen.

Chiaki, the youngest, idolizes Haruka. Conversely, her relationship with Kana is roughly analogous to the relationship between Stan and Cartman on South Park. Chiaki is quite detached and almost world-weary, and the way she berates those around her is impressive to save the least. Sometimes, she'll buy into whatever scheme Kana comes up with, and the results are some of the show's best jokes.

Haruka is the oldest sister, and has the unreasonable burden of having to care for the other two while still going through high school. Her innocence and beauty are played up, but we see that she can be lazy or even violent at times. That makes her the most realistic of the sisters, and I'll just use the word "endearing" as a euphemism for "if she was real I'd marry her." I do love that she had a stint as her school's "legendary badass."

The supporting characters are hit and miss, and sometimes copies of one of the sisters to very little effect. Makoto, Chiaki's classmate, is the most annoying for his overblown melodramatics and general un-funniness. He gets too much screen time, and even his cross-dressing as "Mako-chan" quickly becomes an unwelcome gimmick. Most of the others are bland and serve no comedic function. Hosaka, Haruka's senior classmate, is always watchable. He has too high an opinion of himself, and much like Kana, acts on ideas before consulting anyone (or his own common sense).

Giving so much time to supporting characters (especially one as insipid as Makoto) is a serious weakness of the show. However, the relationship dynamics of the three sisters and their characterization are excellent and strong enough that you can mostly forgive the worse parts.

Technical

The character designs tend to look a little uniform, but the cast establishes itself well enough to overcome that. The animation for the most part isn't worth discussing because it's not conducive to the show's purpose. I would like to note, though, that Minami-ke has the happiest opening and ending songs ever.

The series truly comes alive in the voice acting. Inoue Marina nails Kana, complete with comedic inflections and a wide range of moods. Chihara Minori's performance as Chiaki is mostly in monotone, almost robotic, which is odd on its own but really accentuates her more emotive lines. Satou Rina plays Haruka in a generic way but it fits her bashful, somewhat motherly personality. Ono Daisuke, an alumnus from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya along with Chihara Minori, gives a suitably over the top satirical interpretation of Hosaka.

Super Serial: Minami-ke episodes 6 and 7

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:00:00 CDT

This will be the last of the Super Serial posts on Minami-ke because I think it's pointless to blog a series to its completion, and then review it. Episode 6 revolves around Makoto, who (like every other male character) becomes infatuated with Haruka and will go to insane lengths to get close to her. I really hate Makoto, and if you refer to my complaints about histrionics in Happy Lesson, you'll know why. He embodies everything that initially turned me off to Kana in the first episode, and his schtick gets old very quickly. Unfortunately, there are a few more Makoto centered episodes to follow, and that is a grating nuisance in an otherwise good series.

Episode 7 introduces some of Haruka's history as a junior high student, who was christened "banchou" by her class. My translation interpreted the term as "badass" with the meaning being something like "gang leader," i.e. a jeuvenile delinquent. I guess Japan has a problem with unruly junior high schoolers, although my personal feeling is that I could fight and defeat an unlimited number of them. From the characters' standpoint, Haruka's appeal is her beauty. I think that's why she has become a great character; we as the audience understand the allure of her beauty, and sympathize with the fact that she's the focal point of all these schemes from which she is powerless to escape.

Review: Samurai Champloo

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:00:00 CDT

Synopsis

In a deadly brawl, Fuu meets two fighers - Mugen and Jin - who have incredible skills with the sword. Mugen is an unruly wanderer from Ryukyu who lives by his isntinct rather than his intellect. Jin is a disciplined former student of the Mujuushin school of swordplay, and carries himself with a calm, controlled demeanor. They are polar opposites, but Fuu enlists them to help her find a samurai who smells like sunflowers. Along the way, they get caught up in government intrigue, assassins, bad mushrooms, and everything in between.

Plot

If you're familiar with Watanabe Shinichiro, you probably know about his "storytelling" methods. Samurai Champloo does have a central narrative, but the episodes don't really link together. We get a sequence of events that probably aren't in chronological order, and they each tell a different story. Some are more interesting than others, although only the later ones really hit hard.

The first episode is promising enough, but the subsequent ones are driven more by style and expectation rather than the actual events contained within. This is a major weakness of the series because it boils down to little more than a bunch of creatively done action sequences. Watanabe doesn't really draw the viewer in with that one episode that really lets you know what the show is about. All the great anime series have it, including Cowboy Bebop, the predecessor to this show.

Samurai Champloo could stand on its own through the merit of its style and creativity, combining the disparate genres of samurai and hip-hop, but there simply isn't enough substance to warrant true interest until the conclusion. Everything culminates in the last few episodes, and the continuous energy and plot advancement make for a very memorable ending. But the buildup is weak, a bit too weak, to warrant much investment in the grand finale.

Characters

Fuu, Mugen, and Jin are the central trio of this show. Fuu is a young girl who seeks a samurai who smells like sunflowers, and is willing to travel all across Japan to find him. She has a strong sense of morality and compassion, which sometimes feels a bit artificial. No real person could possibly be as compassionate and sympathetic as she is. You could almost say she's one-dimensionally kind.

Mugen is a ruffian, but eventually grows to care about Fuu and her journey. He doesn't have an understanding of the world around him, nor does he really care. All that matters to him is fighting - when he comes across someone strong, his one urge is to defeat that person in battle. His unique style mixes break dancing and swordplay, which is really awesome to see. As a character, he sometimes loses his edge because, well, we don't get the sense that he wants to be in the series. It's a strange thing to say about an anime character, but there are times when you really do wonder why Watanabe bothered to write him in at all.

Jin is similarly detached, although he is propelled by his own morality rather than his instincts. He can seem cold sometimes, and it's difficult to see if he develops throughout the series. What gives Mugen and Jin life is their interactions with each other. Frequently, Watanabe shows us how they deal with a situation individually and as a pair. This is where we learn the most about the two - their characters are complimentary to each other. It's an interesting mechanic that works well for this show, and should be used more in anime.

Technical

Watanabe has never skimped on the animation, and Samurai Champloo continues his habit of merging unorthodox styles into one. Everything from the character design (note how Fuu's dagger is decorated like a cell phone) to the music and fighting reminds you that hip-hop and feudal Japan can indeed fit together. His sense of humor comes out through visuals as well, and there are a lot of sight gags in the baseball episode.

The music is similarly infused with the feudal/hip-hop fusion. Unfortunately, this leads to one of the worst opening sequences I've ever seen: utterly dry lyrics and a flat beat do not make for an absorbing introduction. Aside from some inconsistent character art, the production values are solid.

Super Serial: Minami-ke episodes 2-5

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 16:30:00 CDT

At last, the beach episode. I was wondering when that was going to happen. Let's get down to it: I wasn't terribly enamored with the first 3 episodes. They spend some time setting up the supporting cast (each sister's respective classmates), but it all played out like pretty standard fare. However, episodes 4 and 5 brought about a change. Kana got toned down, and the relationship dynamics of the 3 sisters got fleshed out more. And I mean it when I say "fleshed out."

Truthfully, I like this show. I didn't think I would, because there are so many others with a similar premise. But the dialogue is sharper than it has any right to be, and the characters are amazingly watchable. Minami-ke is hitting its stride early; the humor is actually funny, and the fanservice doesn't hurt either.

By episode 5, Haruka has become a full-fledged character with her own set of motivations and development potential. We're also introduced to Hosaka, who is the greatest thing I've seen in anime since Lucky Star's Shiraishi Minoru. I'm also glad they pulled back on the pun-based jokes.

Addendum: Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan 2

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:30:00 CDT

I don't think this is worth writing a full review for, as it's just 4 short segments on top of an already-short series. As you may know, I'm a fan of this crude, idiotic, yet calculatedly so series about a busty and unstable angel living with an ordinary school boy. The cast is back, Sakura is still as terrified ever, and Dokuro is reliably batshit crazy.

Nothing has changed, in terms of the structure of each segment and the characters themselves. The humor might justifiably be called formulaic, but I'll be damned if any other show I've seen straddles the line between sexual tension and terror half as well as Dokuro-chan does. It's more of the same, but that's really not a bad thing in this case.

Full review of Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan

Super Serial: Minami-ke episode 1

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:45:00 CDT

"This story is a simple illustration of the three sisters of the Minami household. Please do not expect too much out of it."

That's what the disclaimer says. Whether it's an ironic statement about the humor featured within, or a glib admission of the quality of the show, is something I intend to find out. I'm not sure what it is that keeps drawing me to these slice of life style comedy shows. Is it the cute female characters? Yes, absolutely. Now I'm sure.

There are several ingredients that all such shows have in common. You need to have an impossibly catchy opening tune, which Minami-ke has. You need your central comedic trio: the whacky just-for-laughs person (boke, Curly), the straight and serious person (tsukkomi, Moe), and the 3rd wheel nice person (Larry). Lucky Star has Konata, Kagami, and Tsukasa, for example. This show has the sisters Kana, Chiaki, and Haruka. A pretty standard setup, in other words.

Pretty much everything is standard in this episode: the situations, humor, and voice performances. I do like Chiaki, who is almost android-like in her stolidness. Her voice is suitably mechanical, with a few exceptions. Kana is the hyperactive, bumbling ingredient in our stew of ordinariness. Her antics feel forced and obvious, but hey you have to start somewhere. There's not a lot to say about the oldest sister Haruka, who generally ties the household together (because, inexplicably, there is usually a lack of parents in these shows).

Overall, the situational humor, the audio production, and the characters very much remind me of Ichigo Mashimaro. So, to sum up (this is for you Jerry, you illiterate boob):

+ I dig the art style.
+ Catchy opening.
+ Solid voice work.
+ Chiaki was off-putting at first, but she's funny when she demeans Kana.
- Nothing really inventive in terms of humor.
- Kana's zaniness is forced and a bit hackneyed
? The kissing... don't know how I feel about that.

Histrionic Newtype Tribute DVD: January 2004

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 02:30:00 CDT

Part 16: Happy Lesson

Contrary to popular belief, Happy Lesson is not my educational video about sexual technique. What it is, is a sensation. It's got a manga, 2 OVAs, 2 TV series, a bunch of drama CDs, and even a Dreamcast game. As far as I can tell, it's about some dude who lives with 5 of his teachers who all want to pretend to be his mother. You know, as teachers do.

Hitotose Chitose is our impossibly lucky protagonist, who for most of the first episode does nothing but overreact to things. Look, writers, there's funny and there's overwrought. Learn the difference. Anyway, there's some kind of parent-teacher night at school coming up, and Chitose's 5 roommates compete over who will play mother for him.

That's where it gets a little... weird. Because this is obviously a harem anime, and yet it's so clearly written by an overindulgent perv with a serious mother fetish. They have theme bars in Japan for that; no need to commit it to celluloid. I should also say that the show is extremely unrealistic.

See, I've lived with girls, and yes it was a roller coaster of misery, fun, anguish, sexual tension, and awkwardness. But not once did I ever lose my Steve McQueenian stoicism. And that's what irritates me about Happy Lesson. It's like, every time someone implies to Chitose that he might not live alone, he acts like he'd just been shot in the lung after having been spotted sodomizing a dog. It's just melodrama for the sake of it, and it gets really old after a few minutes. If he's really that miserable about living with beautiful women, why doesn't he move out or kill himself? The answer, you'll find at the end of the first episode, is because he's a spineless little bitch.

Review: Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:00:00 CDT

Synopsis

The Wings of Honneamise (hoh-NAY-ah-meez) is set on an alternate earth in the kingdom of Honneamise, which has just begun exploring the possibility of sending a man into space. The general public thinks such an endeavor is fruitless, and the government wants to use it to lure a rival nation into war. Shirotsugh Lhadatt, a directionless slacker, has been part of the space program. After the death of a colleague and a meeting with Riquinni Nonderaiko - a young girl with a strong faith in god - he is inspired to see the space program succeed. However, a series of major setbacks tests his faith in this vision.

Plot

This film premiered in 1987, over 20 years too late to coincide with John F. Kennedy's challenge to America to go to the moon. The lunar landing was done with, and the space race concluded, by then. From an American perpsective, I'd say The Wings of Honneamise is almost a nihilistic story. Unfortunately, I'm not privy to the Japanese perspective. Is it inspiring? Is it optimistic or hopeful?

I find the film's treatment of space exploration odd, and more than a little gutsy. Shirotsugh is a down-and-out bum, basically. The film may be about his struggle to find value in his mission, but it's also about the struggle of an entire nation to do the same. No matter how history has romanticized our own space race, you'd at least think a good portion of Americans believed space exploration was a noble venture. The message I got from the ending was not an inspiring or hopeful one. It felt like a downer. The intention, I can only guess, was to do the opposite. Despite this, Shirotsugh's speech was carefully worded to cancel out whatever sense of triumph he (and his country) should rightly be feeling. Even the ending montage seemed like a condemnation of humanity's history rather than a celebration of it.

So what's the deal? Why should I sit down in front of a screen to be lectured about our civilization's follies? Honestly, I shouldn't. The story being told hinges on Shirotsugh's awakening, which is supposed to parallel that of the human race. Except it doesn't, and I ended up feeling a bit cheated. I appreciate that The Wings of Honneamise tells a different kind of story - a more honest, more mature depiction of the struggles of a downtrodden man in an apathetic world. But in order to succeed, the story has to show that people can rise above their wrongdoings. Without that crucial reassurance, it's all for nothing. That's what I think this movie is: pointless.

As a film about hope and vision, The Wings of Honneamise doesn't hold up. It's much more suited as a work of nihilism. There are two moments toward the middle of the film where Shirotsugh, despondent from a critical setback of the program, acts violently toward his benefactors Riquinni and Manna. These events are brushed aside immediately, and I found that extremely unsettling. The fact that the world can go on, business as usual, no matter what wonderful or terrible thing happens, unnerves me greatly. That, ultimately, is the effect of this movie. I like to think that the entire world listened to Neil Armstrong's broadcast from the moon. It was an event that defined a generation. Now go see The Wings of Honneamise. Could you honestly say the same about Shirotsugh reaching orbit?

Characters

Although the anime features the entire staff of the eponymous Royal Space Force, the three main characters are Shirotsugh, Riquinni, and Manna. Shirotsugh, who volunteers to be rocketed into orbit, is a reversal of the traditional astronaut stereotype. He's not noble, confident, or even very likable. The film is about his journey to find the maturity and conviction to follow through with the mission, and that part is done admirably. Just to be clear, I think Shirotsugh is very bland for the leading role. But he is an everyman in the truest sense of the word, and that's something you just don't see much of in film. His rise from being a nobody to being a national celebrity is interesting, and is treated with care and a sort of frankness.

The motivating force behind Shirotsugh's transformation is Riquinni, who spends her days warning people of god's judgment. She doesn't really believe in the goodness of man, but sees space as the way to a world without boundaries. Essentially, it's big enough for people to leave each other alone. This vision, this optimism for the future, is what ends up driving Shirotsugh to accomplish what he does. The only problem is, going back to my plot evaluation, it ends up being wrong (or at least it's suggested to be wrong). This shows the contrary nature of the movie. Riquinni's hopes are meant to be adopted by the rest of the country, but this ends up having very little effect. Riquinni herself is supposed to be the purity of ideal that spurs Shirotsugh to greatness, yet even she is not immune to the result of his desperation. I could live with these layers of complexity if they had a greater purpose, but they seem tossed in out of the blue and forgotten about.

The last main character, Manna, is an orphan girl who lives with Riquinni. She's mostly mute and isn't very friendly to Shirotsugh for most of the film. I'm not sure what to make of her, but she does seem to share Riquinni's wonder for the cosmos. She is mostly an extraneous character, but at one point is on the receiving end of Shirotsugh's depression. Again, this is an instance of Shirotsugh acting out the darker part of his psyche, yet he never has to pay for it. Why? Manna serves to demonstrate that as a symbol of self-improvement, Shirotsugh is unsuitable. But the event does show that Shirotsugh is right in his thoughts about the space mission: despite the magnitude of this accomplishment, mankind is no closer to shedding its imperfections. The act of leaving earth might have had a momentary impact, but humans can never leave their nature behind.

Technical

What really irritated me about The Wings of Honneamise was the score. It grated on me while watching, as it is a tuneless 80s mashup of synths and percussion. Although it gives the movie a distinct character, I think the sound is hideous. Thankfully, much of the movie is without music of any kind, leaving only dialogue and sparse background noises. I'm not a fan of the sound design but at least it wasn't saturated with that awful music.

The visual production is solid. The alternate earth felt truly alternate, showing an industrialized society just on the cusp of the modern era. The animation is solid too, though most of the on-screen movement is fairly pedestrian. Character designs reflect the 80s style, and it got difficult to tell characters apart at times. I believe the designer was Sadamoto Yoshiyuki, who we all know is capable of great things.

Another area in which the production falters is the voice acting. It's just something about the quality of the recording along with the performances that sounds low-budget. Typically, Japanese voice actors are still pretty solid even on their worst days. This time, a lot of the performances seem lifeless or forced. Morimoto Leo, Shirotsugh's voice actor, sounds especially like he's phoning it in.

Review: Princess Mononoke

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:00:00 CDT

Synopsis

Ashitaka, a prince of a hidden mountain village, suffers a strange illness after killing a monstrous wild boar. He sets off to Iron Town to find out what caused the boar to fall into a murderous rage, and possibly to find a cure for his ailment. Ashitaka discovers that in order to sustain her town, Lady Eboshi is ordering her workers to cut down the nearby forest to power their furnaces. This is making the forest spirits angry, and both sides are gearing up for war. Meanwhile, he also meets a human girl, San, who was raised among wolves in the wild. Her unique relationship with the forest spirits is Ashitaka's only hope of reconciling man and beast.

Plot

This film is rather atypical of Miyazaki Hayao's work. It's much darker than anything he has done previously, and his usual sense of optimism is toned down slightly. Princess Mononoke is definitely not geared toward the child audience, as it contains several decapitations and dismemberments. The themes involved in the story are also slightly more abstract. Through Ashitaka, Miyazaki makes it clear that war and hatred can not lead to anything constructive. Although there are strong environmentalist overtones as well, they are dulled somewhat by the apparent compromises that had to be made. I wouldn't call this a cop-out, though; the story is nuanced enough to convey the need for coexistence.

The audience is sympathetic to the human cause, since the forest spirits are seen as the first aggressors. The inhabitants of Iron Town are constantly in danger of attack by wolves, and the only way they can make a living is by extracting iron from the forest. Eventually, Ashitaka spends time with the woodland critters and we begin to see their side of the conflict. This was an inspired decision, as the situation becomes no longer black and white. It also puts the audience in Ashitaka's shoes, as both sides are built up to be equally likable and equally threatening.

The last act is much too long, featuring one particularly slow scene that is neither suspenseful nor meaningful. Pacing on the whole is uneven, but the middle act is noticeably better than the rest. The violence feels out of place at times, especially when the director isn't quite sure whether it should be scary or funny. Despite a few imperfections, the story generally maintains a level of intrigue. It can get preachy, but the message is complex and, I feel, worthwhile.

Characters

The main character, Ashitaka, embodies the central conflict of the story. He is torn between his love of nature and his compassion for the suffering citizens of Iron Town. He is infected by the hatred of a fallen forest spirit, and it endangers his life. Still, Ashitaka's sense of duty keeps him going. He's watchable enough to keep us moving along the film, and the way he struggles to maintain his allegiances is a good way to help us understand his motivations.

When San is introduced, she and Ashitaka get off to a rocky start. After a while, she begins to sympathize with him as she is reminded of her own human nature. Miyazaki downplays the inherent conflict in San's personality between her upbringing as a wolf and her human nature, but it still plays an important part in defining her. San is very much Ashitaka's mirror, a girl raised by beasts who comes to understand her humanity. It serves to show a differing perspective, though by the time we fully understand her, Ashitaka has already carried out that role. I think perhaps San is not Miyazaki's most empowered female character, but she and Ashitaka together make a fine combo.

Lady Eboshi, probably the closest thing to a villain in the film (aside from scores of faceless samurai), is motivated mostly by her sense of caring for her people. Of course, she is the natural opposite of San, and the two clash both physically and verbally. Eboshi could have been written more consistently, as she turns from a benevolent matriarch into a bounty hunter-esque figure toward the end. What we get isn't bad, but given the consistency of the writing for the others, it is a bit disappointing.

The forest spirits are there to generate conflict, showing that there is no easy solution to their situation. I can appreciate this role, even if they're not given enough time to do a whole lot more. If I had to complain, I'd say a lot of the dialogue is horribly stilted. Part of it is in the delivery, but none of the words sound natural - not even for the period.

Technical

I had the privilege of seeing this in theaters several times, so I can appreciate as well as anyone else the marvelous production here. Miyazaki's films have always gotten the star treatment, and Princess Mononoke features some inventive action sets and superb scenery. The character designs retain the style of Miyazaki's previous films, which works a little against the more mature themes of this movie. The animation, too, smacks of a high budget. As far as the audio goes, Princess Mononoke features a suitably grand score, supported by top class sound effects. Combined with the visuals, you feel that Miyazaki pulled of that Lord of the Rings epic feel before Peter Jackson did.

Unfortunately, the English localization isn't as flattering. Lead actor Billy Crudup is frequently wooden as Ashitaka, and Claire Danes's San is amateurish. Billy Bob Thornton is overly conspicuous as Jigo, unable to tuck away his anomalous Southern twang. Gillian Anderson and Keith David are laudable in their respective performances, though.

Dichotomous Newtype Tribute DVD: July 2003

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:00:00 CDT

Part 14: King of Bandit(s) Jing

I'll be going short form tonight as I gear up to do some reviews. Note to self: Makigumo is a review site, not some lame anime blog about 6 year old shows. Right away, it's not a good sign that the producers apparently failed English grammar. Jing is the king of bandit in the same way I'm the king of anime blogger.

+ The first episode is actually pretty watchable.
+ I like Jing, the main character. He balances cool with confidence without being cocky.
+ The design of the world is desert-like and post-apocalyptic, which is always a plus for me. Not super imaginative, but it works.
- Kir... what the fuck? A lecherous talking bird? Is this show really promoting human-avian bestiality?
- The first episode relies on WAY too many coincidences; more like conceits of the plot.

My take: I'd be interested to see more, but the first episode is so forced and artificial that it makes Pam Anderson look natural by comparison.

Part 15: K.O. Beast

Contrary to popular belief, K.O. Beast is not a documentary based on my kumite days. The DVD happened to contain episode 4, so I had no idea what was going on or what the world was like. The characters established themselves pretty quickly, though.

+ The environment design is pretty cool.
- You know that Japanese kind of ham-fisted slapstick humor? Well this show has too much of it, and it's painfully predictable.

My take: Coming into the middle did not allow me to get situated as well as I had liked. I didn't find the characters terribly interesting, nor did I get the sense that the story was going anywhere.

Humdrum Newtype Tribute DVD: May 2003

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:00:00 CDT

Part 13: Samurai Deeper Kyo

Can somebody explain to me what a samurai deeper is? I must have missed the memo on that. It's like the producers picked 2 random English words out of a hat. I tried my hand at it and here's what I came up with: Beaver Taster Kyo, Clam Diver Kyo, Fur Burglar Kyo, Carpet Muncher Kyo, and Vagina Stimulator Kyo. Anyway, Samurai Deeper Kyo is not about fellating ancient Japan's warrior caste (at least, I don't think it is).

The first episode, titled "Road to Armageddon," contains a surprisingly little amount of Armageddoning. It revolves around Mibu Kyoshiro and Demon Eyes Kyo, who through some unrevealed process seem to be inhabiting the same body. That's about all the exposition you'll get out of this episode; there's a side plot featuring the bounty hunter Yuya but it feels like an afterthought. That's a pretty good way of describing the episode. Moments of lame comedy are scattered throughout with little consideration for timing or context. None of the characters are given much potential for development either. It's like the writers never planned out the series before doing the script.

The first episode is really a waste of time. Not only did it not intrigue me, nothing actually happens that you can't deduce from context. Maybe episode 2 is better, I don't know. And I'm not inspired to care.