Yes, that's right, it's time for another round of "What did the anime club watch last week?" Well, since we didn't update last week, you're going to get two for the price of one. Now where else can you find a deal like that?
Since LMH was absent (but not forgotten) the last two weeks due to scheduling conflicts, I jotted some notes. I was, as usual, about an hour late on the 16th.
16 January
First up: Cromartie High #1 & 2: I didn't see this the first week, but from what I saw of it last week...think Sexy Commando meets The Kids in the Hall. NO doubt about it. You'll see what I mean if you keep reading.
Next: Full Metal Panic Fumoffu #2: The further adventures of high-energy high-schooler Kaname Chidori and her paramilitary protector, Sousuke Sagara.
Witch Hunter Robin #6: 'Raindrops': Robin misjudges her Vespa's gas mileage and is stranded on the side of the road in a rainstorm. A good Samaritan helps Robin out by giving her a ride back to the STNJ, but soon afterwards, Robin's benefactor meets a mysterious end. Can Robin prove to her disbelieving coworkers that a witch was somehow involved?
Last Exile #5: This is a series that was given a big push at AX03 and I can see why--it's beautifully animated and the characters tug at your heartstrings. Lavi and Klaus, two young pilots, are witness to the brutal treatment of their living cargo--a girl named Al (yes, that's right)--by a bunch of burly guys who take delivery. Klaus tries to distance himself from it--after all, his job is to make the delivery and that's where his job ends--but Lavi protests. Finding Al's stuffed sheep doll lying forlornly where her owner dropped it as she was manhandled, Lavi picks it up and announces that they must deliver the doll to Al, who must be frightened without it. Without too much convincing on Lavi's part, Klaus fires up their tiny silver airship, and the chase is on. While trying to board the Sylvana, the huge cruiser where Al is imprisoned, Lavi and Klaus run afoul of the ship's mechanics, but the coldly beautiful Captain Tatiana comes to their 'rescue'...
Cowboy Bebop #1: Asteroid Blues: Still one of the best episodes of CB! Meet Spike Spiegel, devil-may-care bounty hunter, and his buddy Jet Black, as they chase down criminals in hopes of making enough money to actually put beef in the Jet's famous 'bell-peppers-and-beef'. Asimov Solensen, a small-time criminal, cheats a crime syndicate out of a large chunk of cash by stealing a load of Bloody Eye, a powerful illegal drug. Solensen and his girl, the beautiful Katerina, run for their lives from the Syndicate, the ISSP (Inter Solar System Police), and all 300,000 bounty hunters in the solar system, Jet and Spike included. Kung-fu fighting, smart-aleck remarks, gunplay, and breathtaking high-speed aerial chases--what more can you ask for?! Hey, this series was enough to make me drag my mother to San Francisco to see the premiere of the English dub of Cowboy Bebop: The Movie. So if you haven't seen it (i.e, if you've been living under a rock), be warned. You won't ever be the same again...
Noir #1: Now, this was translated in our version as "Black Woman" (fansub) but the 'official' version calls it "Maidens with Black Hands". Either way, we meet Mirelle Bouquet, sexy Parisian blonde with the shortest leather skirt allowable by law. Mirelle, an assasin for hire, gets a mysterious email from a teenaged Japanese girl named Yuumura Kirika, pleading for Mirelle to "Make a pilgramage to the past with me." Lured by a haunting tune from an old pocketwatch, Mirelle heads for Japan, where she and Kirika meet. Kirika looks like an average schoolgirl, but when a group of thugs attack the two at a construction site, Kirika springs into action, emotionlessly killing everyone in her path. Stunned, Mirelle resolves to get to the bottom of the mystery, even if it uncovers the darkness she tries to hide within herself...
Now, anyone who knows the average anime freak knows that we have a taste for the odd, the bizarre, the plain out-and-out random and strange. If it's any good, we'll watch it, and at times that does include domestic animation. This was one of those times, as The Kid suggested we watch Invader Zim. Kakarott had started watching this a while back, but I hadn't followed it recently. This really is a hilarious series, with shades of Nightmare Before Christmas, Ren and Stimpy, and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy all rolled into one. Dark and strange, this series is about Zim, an outcast alien invader and his faithful 'dog' Grr, who just happen to live next door to the alienphobe Dib and his cynical little sister. Dib has been trying to prove to someone, anyone, that Zim is an invader bent on world domination, but Zim's no dumb bunny; he's cooked up a disguise to blend in to the admittedly weird surroundings...
In this episode, 'Zim Eats Waffles', Dib is trying to capture Zim's plan for world domination on video, but Grr has discovered the joy of cooking...waffles. Again and again, Grr's, uh, enthusiastic culinary skills renders Dib unable to get solid proof. Yeah. Pretty much says it all.
Everyone enjoyed it so much that we decided to watch another episode--this time, 'The Wonderful Life of Dib'. After a frustrating day of trying to save the world from Zim's clutches, Dib falls into an exhausted sleep. During the night, a pair of aliens appear (in the form of athletic shoes, citing that it's a form that Dib can comprehend) and bestow incredible superpowers on Dib to defend the Earth. Does it work? Well, you'd think so, wouldn't you? Yeah, so did Dib...
Final for the evening was Wonderful Days, a beautifully animed Korean feature. Unfortunately, Michael (so named for the computer whiz on Witch Hunter Robin), couldn't get his laptop to cooperate with the subtitles, so we spent the whole movie just appreciating the scenery. We went back and watched it again last week after we got the subtitles working, and it was interesting to note how much of the story we had guessed at correctly, just by watching the characters. Lovely stuff, and I'll explain more about it below.
That was it for the 16th. Onward!
23 January
I actually got there on time for once! Was in a meeting and not only got out early, but was a bit closer to the freeway...
First up: Cowboy Bebop #2: Stray Dog Strut: Proof positive that the life of a bounty hunter is anything but glamorous, Spike and Jet are reduced to chasing after Hakim, a 'pet thief' who stole a valuable animal, called a data dog, from a top-secret laboratory. Spike and Jet get a tip from a disgruntled doctor who gave Hakim extensive(and expensive) plastic surgery--and didn't receive payment from the slippery sonufagun. However, the thief gets ripped off himself, and the data dog--an ultra-cute and ultra-smart Welsh Corgi--is off and running, and almost literally falls into Spike's lap. Hakim isn't too happy about that, and amidst a funky soundtrack (one of the best such moments in the series), he and Spike face off, while trying to keep one step ahead of the lab techs who want the dog back. Well, you know the rest of the story: the dog, whom Jet christens 'Ein', becomes a permanent fixture on the Bebop, much to Spike's chagrin...
...I'm going to have to finish the update in a bit. My computer's freaking out...
17:40pm: Resume Transmission
Okay, computer's all fixed. I hope...
After CB, next up was Heat Guy J #2 'Bomb'. Continuing on the story of the last episode, young Clair Leonelli has ascended to his deceased father's position as head of the Vita Company, but there still remains the ceremony to cement his rule over the crime syndicates in Judoh. While the ceremony goes smoothly, Clair seems to have a talent for sniffing out duplicity in the hearts of those present...meanwhile, Daisuke and J go investigate a report of a mysterious smell--though they find out that it's much more than just a public nuisance. With probably the coolest car chase in the series yet, Daisuke and J try to head off Clair's agents before they can wreak havoc on Judoh.
Witch Hunter Robin #7 'Simple-minded' A big heist gets the attention of the STNJ, but it's hands-off until they can prove any witch involvement. The break comes when one of the men who pulled the heist ends up dead, his car squashed and twisted as if by some terrible kinetic force--yet he didn't get in an accident. The other accomplice in the heist confronts Karasuma and Dojima by accident, who barely escape the same fate. Who could be doing such things? And what does the small child found drugged in the back seat of the escaped man's car have to do with it all?
Next, more insanity from Invader Zim! First up is 'Voting of the Doomed'--the current student body president is, um, ousted from her position. Zim decides that his quest for world domination needs to start somewhere, so he volunteers to run for student body president. Dib would have run against him, but the powers that be decide to (forcibly) nominate Willy, a formidable opponent...that is, when he stops drooling all over himself...
2nd in the IZ set is 'Vindicated!'Dib gets sent to the guidance counselor to talk about why he thinks Zim is an invader from another planet. To Dib's unending shock, the counselor believes him! Will Zim finally be exposed as an alien bent on world domination? Do you have to ask?
On to Cromartie High School #3 Did you ever get a song stuck in your head, even though you didn't know what it was? And so you asked all your friends what it was, so then they had it stuck in their heads too? I hate it when that happens. So do the guys at Cromartie High! But hey, at least they can all hum in chorus...
Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Since Shake put all the trash in Frylock's room, Frylock moves out. Shake makes Meatwad play Chicken Baseball (with real chickens) in the house, which proves difficult due to the landmines Shake set up to combat the rats...yeah, you know this won't end well...
Then we revisited Wonderful Days, since Michael finally got the subtitles working (yay!). In the year 2142, the floating city of Ecoban is preparing to celebrate its centennial with a large, lavish party. However, deep within the city's gracefully arched passageways and inner chambers, members of the city's ruling council meet to discuss a grave emergency: the city is running out of power. Ecoban, originally built as the shining solution to a world darkened by ecological disaster, uses pollution from Marr, the blighted city far below, as its energy source. There seems to be but one course of action--and that is to make sure that Marr keeps producing pollution. Ruthlessly driving the Merrians--refugees and outcasts from the elite who live in pristine Ecoban--to bend to their wishes with the panic that comes from trying to survive, the Ecoban masters try to quell an increasingly restive Merrian population. Jay, a pretty (and pretty tough) female cop, comes across a masked freedom fighter trying to infiltrate the Ecoban headquarters. Unbeknownst to Jay, the masked invader is none other than Shua, a young man who was once her childhood friend. Despite her best efforts, Shua escapes, leaving Jay to ponder the events that led to their separation so many years ago.
With a lot of will-he-make-it-bet-he-doesn't action, cool mecha (check out Jay's sleek motorcycle, straight out of Tron!), and a bittersweet love triangle between Shua, Jay and her elitist boyfriend, Wonderful Days is just that--wonderful. Not for the kiddies, though, as there's a huge gunfight, a few bloody deaths, and a bit of naughty language (granted, it's in Korean, but the sub doesn't mince any words).
Last up for the night: Chrno Crusade #4 'Sinners': Chrno and Rosette find themselves in deep trouble while trying to rescue Azmaria, the child prophetess and "Messenger of Fatima" from demonic forces. The only way to stop the bad guys is by letting Chrno take his true form--sort of a 'demon to fight a demon' situation--but even mere minutes of doing so takes years off Rosette's life. Chrno protests, but agrees to only ten minutes, and Rosette unlocks the vessel she wears around her neck. As Chrno goes from imp-child to darkly handsome demon, Rosette tries to free Azmaria. "I probably won't make it past thirty," Rosette says with a tired smile...
So there you have it. No club meeting next week, although I'm hoping to have a meeting with my former screenwriting teacher--we're still trying to get another anime club off the ground at the college in my hometown. Wish us luck...
Okay, so I go down to the local mall at ten minutes till closing (I know, I'm bad) desperately seeking the new Newtype USA magazine (I got a head's up about it from the ADV Films e-newsletter). Bzzt, they don't have any, so I get the latest issue of Anime Insider (with a certain hunky Battousai on the front w/a bit of fanservice for the ladies, I might add! w00t!) as well as Alice 19th Vol 2 and Hellsing Vol 1. Well I rush home with the spoils and tuck myself into bed, magazine in hand to enjoy in comfort (read: to avoid becoming a popsicle).
I'm flipping through it and I see an article about the upcoming live-action production of Neon Genesis Evangelion, and they talk briefly about who they'd like to see for each character. Well, they picked Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith, Lord Elrond) for Gendo Ikari, Shinji's dad. They have a shot of Gendo with his shades on and his nifty beard-with-no-moustache look...and all of a sudden I flashed back to Evangelion: ReDeath. The record player in my head spit out, "It's Gennnndooo!" "Ohh, baby." Hysterical. It's pretty bad when a fandub/parody comes to mind FIRST...*snerk* I just can't look at him being all serious with those pimpmaster shades on without busting up laughing.
They also picked Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) for Shinji, HIllary Duff (Lizzie McGuire) for Asuka, and Chiaki Kuriyama (Go-Go Yubari from Kill Bill) for Rei. Hmm, interesting....
Also: Fangirl Alert! I'm not a big toy collector, but I think I have to have these.
Someone stop me! I'm beginning to buy books on kana and kanji. Ack! Well, it's mostly because I've finally gotten to the point where I can't stand it. I think it's so completely cool that I might actually be able to decipher another language. LMH is on her way where she can look at a kana or a kanji and say, "Oh, that's got the root from blah, and with this on it, it means blahblah, but the reading is yaddayah". I think that's soooo nifty. Plus I'm really interested in knowing the meaning of things--what they're really saying, you know? I tend to watch anime with the subtitles on but the dub track going, too. It's intriguing to notice what gets left out, or what gets embellished or changed.
I think I am supposed to be a sociologist after all. ^_^
Hey there. Anime club was particularly stellar this week, so I'll let you in on what we saw. Unfortunately, LMH wasn't able to attend (and I knew she'd be sorry she missed it!), but I jotted some notes. All the usual suspects were there, including a few new faces, and we all braved the chilly room (and the positively frosty air outside after club) to shamelessly indulge in some very good stuff.
First up: MD Geist II. Didn't see it since I was an hour late to club (yeah, it's a little thing called work, *boohiss*). From what I can gather on Anime Nation, the gist of Geist (hur hur) is that Geist, a genetically engineered soldier deemed too unstable to be in normal society, has been exiled to an orbiting satellite until the powers that be can figure out what to do with him. Unfortunately, humans are st00pid and unleash a doomsday device that-you guessed it-Geist has to save them from. Sheesh. Typical humans. Reminds me of the old Hanna-Barbera Godzilla cartoons (did you ever notice they referred to Godzilla as a 'she' in that show?) where humans dumped toxic waste into the ocean and made a killer jellyfish or let some megalomaniac build an undersea base from where he proceeded to take over the world, and then the humans had to call Godzilla to put things to right. And that was a big honking run-on sentence but I don't really care.
Next up: Boogiepop Phantom #3. I came in at the tail end of this, but from what I can gather, two best girl friends share their philosophies about life, the universe and whatnot. The mysterious disappearances have continued and rumors abound, but these two girls are about to find out firsthand who Boogiepop is and what she does. However, Boogiepop isn't the only thing that goes bump in the night, and the girls discover that mere mortals can venture farther into the darkness than one might imagine. Yuuji was seriously freaked about this episode, so he was more lenient than usual about allowing our next item...
Aqua Teen Hunger Force: "Dumber Dolls" With the understanding that some of the club members don't have cable, we went from dark and disturbing to just...disturbed. Meatwad is playing in the yard when Shake's lawnmower destroys some of Meatwad's favorite toys. To cheer him up, Frylock takes Meatwad to the toy store, where they buy Happy Time Harry, a doll who's got more than a few issues. And odder still, this episode begs the question: Was "Highlander" a documentary? Heh. Ask Shake...*snort*
I know LMH will be sorry she missed this next gem: Fanboy Bebop. Way longer than your usual fan-made music video or parody trailer, Fanboy Bebop will go down in history as probably one of the best and funniest fandub comedy reels ever. Shown originally at Fanimecon, Fanboy Bebop follows the story of Ash (Jet), Keanu (Spike), Ripley (Faye), and Ed (forgot her 'name') as they decide to go to ASUX, the biggest anime convention evah. Cleverly done and borrowing footage from legendary (and not so legendary) shows, FB got laughs at every turn. I think the fan favorite was a clip of "Macross: Do You Remember Love?" in which Hikaru slaps Minmay. Of course, additional thwacks edited in (and out!) every time she says something stupid like "Oh, I wish it was only you and me in this world, forever!"...Another highlight was Keanu stealing Ripley away from Ash, complete with metaphors (trains running through tunnels, geyzers, explosions, etc). And Ein sounding like the Bit from Tron! Funny stuff. From the talented team who brought you Evangelion: ReDeath and Jubei Powers: Japanese Man of Intercourse!
Old school visits Club Anime in the form of Robotech: Macross Saga #1 "Boobytrap". Yuuji had never seen Robotech (!!!!) and wanted to see this, so after yelling loud enough to drown out the Peanut Gallery (most of whom weren't even born when Robotech aired the first time) we settled in to watch. For those of you who haven't been introduced to this groundbreaking series--one of the first to really get people's attention in America--here's a recap: In 1999, in the midst of a devastating global civil war, a mysterious spacecraft crash lands on tiny Macross Island in the South Pacific. Halting the war, the governments of Earth come together and pool their resources into restoring the craft. Renaming the ship the SDF-1 ('SuperDimensionalFortress-1', known in Japan as "the Macross"), a team of highly trained, yet mostly green recruits makes the ship their own. On the day of the SDF-1's maiden voyage, the celebratory mood is destroyed and the first shot of a war that will ravage the Earth is fired--by the SDF-1 herself, the 'boobytrap' set by those who flung the SDF-1 out of one age-old conflict and into another. Introducing a host of legendary characters, this episode is most definitely a classic. I noticed (and the comment was made by a younger fan, too) that there tends to be a lot of overexplaining by a familar but too newsy announcer. I think the appearance of a horde of menacing Zentraedi ships would have been much creepier and more effective if the announcer hadn't popped in with a well-meaning "Just outside Earth's orbit, a horde of alien spaceships defolds and prepares to descend on the SDF-1." Just my $.02...my screenwriting teacher would denounce that as very bad narrative cram...
After this classic moment, it was Heresy Redux as we were subjected again to Family Guy: "Fore, Father". LMH has explained this episode a few meetings back, and though I will admit it was one of the funnier ones ("It's STILL not funny!" Jun pointed out) I find myself both laughing and shaking my head in pity at the lowbrow humor of this show.
Time to put the class back in our act by showing Witch Hunter Robin #5: "Smells Like Wandering Spirit" The STNJ are on a modern-day witch hunt among the homeless who populate the cardboard shantytowns in the subway. While passing around the witch's picture--that of a clean-cut businessman gone mysteriously missing--the group encounters the overwhelming smell of an olive tree in bloom. Suddenly, one of the homeless men runs from Sakaki in a panic and bolts blindly into the street. Sakaki and Dojima watch in helpless horror as the poor soul is run down by a truck, and the encounter haunts a guilt-ridden Sakaki as the rest of the team tries to figure out the connection to the missing witch. Meanwhile, Amon and Robin return from the opthmalogist, where it's been determined that Robin's vision blurs when she's using her firestarter powers. To that end, Amon gives her a charming pair of glasses...and a stern warning to use them, as well as a curt direction to keep her pointed questions about his own abilities to herself.
It was quickly getting very chilly in our viewing room (and yes, LMH, we did meet in the place with the really nice desks!) so a lot of the Peanut Gallery took off. Yuuji, Jun, The Kid and I joined the Wizard (ah, now he's got a name--such because when he's running the AV equipment he reminds me of the Wizard of Oz, "Pay no attention to the man behind the screen!") in watching a new favorite--Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem. A collaboration between the techno group Daft Punk and the legendary Leiji Matsumoto (of Galaxy Express 999 and Spaceship Yamato fame), Interstella tells its story without one word of dialogue, save for song lyrics. In a galaxy far, far away, a huge concert is underway on a peaceful alien world. A quartet of aqua-skinned pop stars entertains the masses with their groovy music, but the party comes to a sudden end when a band of menacing soldiers puts the crowd to sleep in order to abscond with the group. Once in the clutches of the evil Master (my name for him; there are few names given), the group is given a new identity--a new human identity, as their skin and hair is recolored and their wardrobe switched out--and christened "The CrescenDolls". Dolls they are indeed, since a mind control device has rendered them little more than lifeless puppets. All is not lost, however! A young male fan, daydreaming about meeting the beautiful lady bassist, receives the distress call from the group's homeworld. Determined to get them back, the hero flies off in his way-cool guitar-shaped spaceship and makes his way to Earth to try and save the CrecenDolls. Does he make it before the Master puts the CrecenDolls to his nefarious purpose? Dun dun dun! You'll have to see it to find out...
I just realized...the whole scenario reminds me of Kid Video. Do you guys remember that? With their nemesis, Master Blaster? I can't believe I remember that...^_^; But this is about 1000x10th better than that. Really. I could tell you everything that happens, but it's best if you just see it. Chris Berenidge(sp?) at Anime on DVD gives it a good review (spoilers ahoy). The music was so cool I went and got the album. It rocketh.
That was it! Another meeting come and gone. We started on August 29th and here it is the middle (almost) of January. Wow. Time flies. I think it's cool that we're getting to know each other's names now...^_^
In other news, I wanna thank Asmodeus for bringing back my Gunslinger Girl manga. I wasn't kidding when I said it was messed up, was I?? LMH still has your disc with the Mirage of Blaze preview, but I'll try to get that back ASAP. I may have to fight her for it.
I bought a FAKE disc off eBay the other day. Pretty cool, but I was really disappointed when David Lucas wasn't playing Dee (for some reason, when I read the manga, I hear his voice for Dee). Oh well. If you're into shounen-ai, it's cool. It's pretty much as if someone just animated the manga, with all the wild takes and everything included. All in all, not bad. Not as long as I would have liked though, and I'm not sure if it was an OVA or if it's one of a series...
I decided to try Netflix. I figure it's good for me since I work/go to school so much that when I rent movies, I can never watch them in time nor can I get them back to the store without paying an arm and a leg in late fees. So far, I'm very pleased with the service! I like the fact that you can find movies that aren't at the local Vid-O-Rama. I'm renting a movie called Russian Ark about a museum with ghostly guides through history. This movie was at our local 'art house' theatre (where LMH and I saw the Cowboy Bebop movie) a while back but I never got to see it. I also asked for The Princess Blade but that's a 'long wait' according to the site. Wahhhh...oh well.
In the interim, I rented the entire series of Princess Nine, a baseball saga that's made mention of quite a bit in Patrick Drazen's "Anime Explosion!" book. What a cool series! Nine plucky girls from all walks of life are recruited by the ambitious headmistress of Kisuragi High, a prestigious girls' high school. Forming the team around prodigy pitcher Ryo Hayakawa--herself the daughter of a late pro baseball player--the team recruits Mao, a former Judo enthusiast (catcher), Seira, a dropout hooligan who starts fights (2nd base), a spaced-out dreamer (center field), the principal's daughter (shortstop), a prissy idol-wannabe (right field), and others, including the headmistress' own spoiled daughter, who gave up a promising tennis career to go head to head with Ryo. Fighting impossible odds just to get into the male-dominated league, the girls give their all to make it to the championships at Koshien Stadium. If you'd like to get a taste of what baseball is like in Japan, it's a good rent. You'll find yourself cheering for these girls in no time ^_^
The next thing coming in my mail will be the whole series of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Yes, pals and gals, R-chan is finally going to see this series. Then it's on to Martian Successor Nadesico and Akira and Serial Experiments Lain and whatever else I haven't seen yet. Ack.
Happy news, happy news! Piro and Co. have announced the Janaury 21st release of Megatokyo Vol 2! w00t! If you shop at Waldenbooks, they're going to have an exclusive MT T-shirt design as well. Go to MT and find out all the nifty details. Also, safe journey to Piro, Seraphim, and the rest of the crew as they go to AX Tokyo (lucky dogs!). Hope you all have a great time! Bring me presents! ^_^
More happy news: Bachan has finally finished Book 14 at Hero in the 21st Century! Way to go Bachan!! Banzai! I haven't been over to read it yet (will ASAP, but I'm going to take her suggestion and read the entire thing from beginning to end). Now get some rest, Bachan, so you'll be ready to go with Book 15 ^_^
Whew. I think that's all the good news I can take for one day.
Okay. So I didn't exactly get back to you all 'tomorrow'. In the middle of having a wonderful Christmasu, I caught a head cold. But before that, LMH and I managed to take in the sights at anime club! Stand by, space cadets, for your December 19th briefing!
As usual, this comes from the decidedly poison-free pen of LMH.
December 19, 2003 (Happy Birthday to LMH! ^_^ )
Thanks to holiday schedules, Raze and I were actually close to on-time for this meeting. Probably would have been close to on-time if it weren't for an accident involving the microwave and a bag of popcorn. We smelled like burnt kettle corn all night. Ick. R-chan: Wah! My apartment reeked of it for days! ^_^;
At any rate, we came in just at the end of an episode of Those Who Hunt Elves II, involving a creature that... Well, there was toilet paper involved. Let's just leave it at that.
Up next, Berserk ep. 9 . If you're looking for a series filled with gratuitous violence, this is it. Blood, gore, b*tching, and an Exposition-Fairy bad-guy. I was never a fan of this series, and this just reminded me why.
Fruits Basket ep. 4 Yuki's older (bishounen) brother Ayami shows up, casting his charming spell over everyone, especially Tohru. But Yuki can't stand him (Ah, sibling rivalry) and it's Shigure to the rescue, calling in some help to get Ayame out of their hair. I have the first two eps of this series on a disc (mixed with some Dragonball GT promos) and it's really cute; shoujo stuff, but sweet. Probably the next on my list to collect, along with…
Heat Guy J #1 "Guy/Android". In the first ep, we meet cocky slacker Daisuke, 'cute angel' no-nonsense office manager Kyoko and J (the titular android, called "Heat Guy" because his mechanical body gives off plumes of steam), who make up the City Special Management Agency. Headed up by Daisuke's (bishie!) brother Shun, the City Special Management Agency is tasked with the goal of preventing crimes--before they happen. But with a pitifully small budget (Daisuke is only issued a gun when it's deemed necessary, loaded with only three regular bullets and one explosive 'red tab' round) and an overwhelmingly large city to police, they're going to have their hands full. Especially when the bad guys start pulling illegal androids out of their hats. Not to mention trying to do their job while dodging Police Detective Ken Edmundo, who often gets snippy about Daisuke and J infringing on his turf. Did we forget to mention the insane teenaged goth who takes over the mafia when his dad kicks the bucket? (R-chan: I saw this series for the first time at AX03, where HotRod and I both thought it kicked major bootay. J is totally the strong, silent type, and the animation is really sharp. HotRod thought Daisuke's motorcycle/speedboat was da bomb ^_^ )
Samurai Deeper Kyo ep.1 My current collecting obsession (along with Inuyasha, of course) Four years after the Battle of Sekigahara (Oct, 1600) Bounty Hunter Yuya Shiina is trying to scratch out a living while searching for the man who killed her brother. When she comes across simple medicine man Kyoshiro Mibu, she figures her money troubles are solved, at least for a little while, but Kyoshiro has a darker (R-chan: and sexay!) side to him, and it seems that EVERYONE with a sword in Japan is looking for him, or at least his head. (R-chan: I'd look for it too, with that huge mane of red hair! w00!)
Evangelion: ReDeath Redub of Evangelion: Death and Rebirth, with a comedic slant. Well, more than a slant. A farce from beginning to end, the redub relies heavily on pop culture references for laughs, and it gets them. In spades. (R-chan: Shinji wants to learn the facts of life, but his pimpmaster dad has other things on his mind. Asuka trades in her girly seiyuu for Arnie! And everyone else just wants to hook up with everyone else.) Truly hilarious, and we needed it.
Last up for the night, the movie Barefoot Gen. Semi-autographical, "Gen" is the story of a seven-year-old boy who survives the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima. Dark and poignant at times, Gen comes through at the end with a message of hope for the future. Definitely not for the weak of stomach or faint of heart. This is the kind of work that reminds me that anime is so much more than a cartoon. I get flack from people sometimes about anime. ("Aren't you too old to watch cartoons?") I try to explain that it's more like an art form, another way of telling a story. Manga and anime are a huge source of artistic inspiration, and Barefoot Gen is probably one of the best examples of the craft. (R-chan: I talked to Yuuji about this movie this past week and he said something very telling: "The thing that really just stuck with me was just thinking about replacing all the animated characters with real people and trying to imagine how it was." Personally, I didn't sleep very well for several days afterwards, and even went through an intense few days of anger, depression and 'survivor guilt' feelings. I can't imagine what it must have been like for some of these animators--this was made in the 1970's, and maybe some of them went through this experience, or had parents who did--to animate the extremely graphic scenes of what happens to human flesh when it's exposed to an atomic explosion at close range. Even as I write this, it's an effort to push back those images. Like 'Saving Private Ryan', it's an important movie to see, even if you only see it once.)
Okay. On to January 2nd! More comedic than heavy stuff, which was welcome.
2 January 2004
Nishin Corps - Aliens invade Japan weeks prior to Pearl Harbor, bringing the Nishin Corps, a highly specialized battle-android unit, to the front while WWII continues to rage around them. Didn't see much of it, so it didn't particularly strike me one way or the other.
Voices of a Distant Star - Mikako and Noburo thought they would be together forever. But when Fate separates them, Mikako goes on to fight the Tarsian Armada in the distant Sirius System, leaving Noburo behind on Earth, their only connection through a pair of old, 20th century cell-phones. Beautiful and poignant, getting across multiple layers of sadness in a brief 30 minutes. A++ (R-chan: According to Netflix, this short was directed, produced, and animated by one person, on his home computer! I saw this as a preview recently on another disc, and I really enjoyed seeing the whole short in its entirety. It ends on a hopeful note, and lets you decide what might have happened in the end.)
Jubei Powers; Japanese Man of Intercourse - Uhmm, yeah. Ninja Scroll, redubbed with an Austin Powers/Pokemon theme. I really loved the original Ninja Scroll, violence and all, so this was… strange. It was funny, sort of, but not as over the top out there as Evangelion: ReDeath. (R-chan: My favorite were the "we'll be right back" bumpers and the commercials! Loved the ad for "Pimp"--complete with Japanese pronunciation, which turned it into "Piiimpu!" And don't forget the shakashaka-boomboom intermission music!)
Samurai Deeper Kyo - Ep. #2 More of the convoluted history behind Demon Eyes Kyo comes out as he and Yuya stumble into a village where the surviving samurai who lost at Sekigahara are hiding. And the kennyou, evil humans-turned-monsters, are on Kyo's trail. I personally love this series, so I'm biased. We had a good time MST3K-ing it, though.
Urusei Yatsura - Christmas and New Year's Specials. First, Ataru's friends conspire to split Ataru and Lum up, hoping the beautiful alien witll give them a second glance if "Darling" proves too unfaithful. But Lum is steadfast in her love for Ataru (not that he deserves it) and steps in to keep him from becoming the local laughingstock. And Ataru manages not to be TOO idiotic at the end, a nice change of pace. Then Lum and Ten are cruising in the Heian Era, looking for Ataru's ancestor, and hoping he's not too much of a jerk. But some things just breed true, and Lum must cope with Darling's wandering eye while trying to fend off a group of "mythical" Oni, completely inferior to her own race, the "Sci-Fi" Oni. This one breaks the fourth wall in a big way, as the characters sit around talking about what's coming to the show in the new year. But VERY funny.
Family Guy - "I Am Peter, Hear Me Roar" Okay, First, Peter is a jerk. Really. That being said, this episode is a hilarious romp, during which Peter gets in touch with his feminine side after a series of fairly typical (for him) misadventures. However, the new Peter pleases no one, and it takes a knock-down, bodice-ripping, girl-fight between Lois and a feminist empowerment leader to snap him out of it.
Boogiepop Phantom #2 -- Okay, this is another case where I SWEAR I was watching the screen, but I wasn't sure I really got what was going on. It tied in a lot with the first ep, and there was something to do with a guy taking and devouring the bad memories of others, but I was frankly so COLD that I couldn't really follow. (R-chan: You could have hung meat in the club room! Eeek! The episode folded back on a bizarre incident in the first episode, where the main male chara of this ep made a puzzling comment to the nervous female chara of the first ep. He claimed he could see a 'bug around [her] heart.' He said that if she let it, the bug--her anxious and bitter feelings--would eat her up inside.)
That's it for the episode recaps. I went to Big Box and spent my gift card on the 3rd (got the 2nd with another store's gift card) Heat Guy J disc, as well as the 3rd Android Kikaider: The Animation disc. Excellent! Creepy Big O-reminiscent revelations about Judoh, the metropolis patrolled by J and Daisuke.
Well, going to go for now. Need to blow my nose (again)...
