Category: Anime

Gate

Today: Gate!

So… Gate is a relatively recent release from Sentai Filmworks and as such it’s available separately on DVD and Blu-Ray. I went with Blu-Ray here due to the minimal price difference, but I’m betting the DVD video quality will be effectively the same.

This is an “ordinary people” (all be it, soldiers) go to a fantasy world sort of story that mixes a bunch of things up… there’s a harem element (though the fan service is minimal). There’s a good bit of adventure mixed in with some military geeking-out, and unfortunately there’s political intrigue.

Some reviews will point out the very heavy bias toward the JSDF (Japanese Self-Defense Force). Basically, every other organization (from foreign governments to various parts of the Japanese government and media) are dis-honorable louts, but you can ignore a good bit of it and pretend it’s an idealization.

Still… I think the series is at it’s best in the first half… where they’re exploring the fantasy world. The second half gets bogged down in political machinations and a civil war. These things are all reasonable extensions of the events that proceeded them, but really didn’t do it for me. I would have much preferred seeing Itami and his crew continue to explore either the fantasy world or Japan.

The combination of Itami’s professional soldiers and the eclectic array of local inhabitants makes for an interesting dynamic that I’d really like to see put through more situations and adventures. There’s a second season (half the length) so I can only hope that reproduces the first half rather than the second half of this series.

All in all, the current price for this series if pretty high for what you get. I was bored and looking for something new and different, and don’t regret this one… but if you’re not itching for it, I’d suggest holding off… I can’t see how they can justify the list price of $99 for the BD ($69 for DVD)… The BD is under $60 at present… which is still a bit high to me… I would expect in a couple of years it’ll be in the $40 range (which would be totally appropriate).

Anyway, in spite of the less enjoyable second half… when (if) the second season becomes available I’ll probably buy it if only in the hope that it’ll continue the first half formula. Check it out if you like reality meets fantasy stuff.


Blood-C

Today in anime: Blood-C… oh and The Last Dark… yeah, horror!

WARNING… do NOT watch Blood-C without having The Last Dark ready to start the minute you finish the last episode because the series does NOT have a satisfying ending… in fact it’s down right frustrating. I remember watching this when it first came out and being severely unhappy about the ending… then having to wait a couple of years for the movie which finally concludes the story with a reasonable ending… it’s not a happy one, but it’s a hell of a lot better than the way the series ends!

This is an interesting entry in Production I.G’s Blood franchise, being created with CLAMP, the characters exude their particular aesthetic and there’s a significant role for another famous  CLAMP character which is making me want to re-watch xxxHolic! (I don’t think that’s a spoiler… but sorry if it is).

This is one of those things I binge-watch because once you start it’s hard to stop. It’s as much a mystery as it is horror and things progress through the 12 episodes from nice sweet everyday slice of life with a tiny (and a bit gory) fight in the episode through surreal psychological assault with nothing but brutal mass-murder and raw unabashed evil. This series makes me think a bit about it’s underlying philosophical question, but it does an excellent job of crafting a villain you can really hate, and a heroine you genuinely feel for. The twists near the end are difficult to see coming and even on a re-watch the hints are subtle and you’ll probably forget all the details of the various character machinations.

If you want something powerful and affecting and difficult to forget, long after the credits stop rolling, this is a good candidate for that. It’s hard to recommend for everyone though. While there’s little fan service or sex, the gore is substantial and progresses throughout the series. Dismemberment is always on the menu… as are most of the cast. No one is safe from death, even the main characters. For those wanting something safe and predictable, this is not it. It’s also not an uplifting series. There’s no feel-good ending (even after the final conclusion) and no happily ever after. The survivors just move on… trying to put the past behind them. It’s supernatural horror, with unrealistic developments (the antagonist’s motivations are particularly hard to grasp, literally until his dying breath), and the protagonist becomes equally enigmatic, making the entire thing feel like a long strange journey you didn’t so much enjoy as experience.

You know, now that I think about it, I’m not sure this is really horror… sure it’s gory and filled with violence and bloodshed, but I think it’s defining characteristic is perhaps psychological torture. Maybe in that regard it’s more mystery/thriller than horror? Although there’s nothing thrilling about the mental assault depicted. Maybe it’s mystery/psycho-horror? I’m really not sure… I haven’t seen too many things that push my buttons in quite the same way as this one does. There have been a few… but most of them I don’t revisit nearly as often as this one. There’s something special about it that can bring me back again and again (probably once every 18 months).

Anyway, it’s well priced and truly unique and if you’re in the right mood for it… you’ll never forget it. Give it a try.


Princess Resurrection

This weekend… the classic Princess Resurrection!

If you want it… get it NOW while there’s one copy at list!!!

It’s really too bad this is so expensive now. Looks like it’s out of print and the privateers are exploiting that fact to try to make a buck off of poor unfortunate anime fans. It’s despicable and pathetic… people who can’t do anything but exploit market idiosyncrasies are really the worst! Hopefully it’ll get a re-release from Sentai and these jerks will lose out on the money they’re hoping to squeeze out of some poor fan!

Anyway… if you’re able to borrow a copy from a rental shop or friend… do it… this is a nice little series that’s enjoyable and easy to watch. There’s a little bit of story arc, but not much of one. It’s really a monster-of-the-week series. Most of the episodes you can even watch out of order… except the early ones where they introduce the characters and some of the last which are “continued”.

I called it a “little” series, but it’s actually 26 episodes. Really it’s 24 with two extra (OVA?) episodes tacked on the end. I call it “little” not for the run length, but for the ease with which it “goes down”. The stories are pretty episodic, but not so much so that it feels like they’re repeating the same thing over and over. When I watch, I’m often struck by how quickly an episode goes by, even though it’s standard length (25 min).

The first 6 episodes introduce the main characters Hime, Flandra, Hiro and Sawawa (#1), Riza (#3), Reiri (#5) and Sherwood (#6). Once they’re established, the rest of the stories involve some or all of them to one degree or another. Some of the villains (i.e. Zeppeli) recur but since they’re pretty flat and get little development, it almost makes no difference. As already mentioned, the conclusion (episodes 23-24) are really a “two-parter”. Watch them together and in order.

Other than that… I re-watch this on occasion when I want a break from heavy stuff… it’s not really a harem anime, though it sounds like it from the cast roster… one boy, 5+ girls… but while Hiro is clearly attracted to some of the girls (Hime and Reiri in particular) they really treat him as a little boy (which he is) that they can play with (more or less). This light S & M theme is intentional as made clear from the ending song. Still it’s innocuous and entertaining and it’s clear that while the girls “abuse” Hiro, they do it out of genuine care for him.

So… in short, a very enjoyable series when you want something that you can easily pick up and put down for a brief escape. It’s a shame the out of print status has driven the price up so much. Let’s hope for a re-release or rescue.


Rio Rainbow Gate

Along with Monster Musume, I also received Rio Rainbow Gate (Reshuffle)

This is a re-release of Rio Rainbow Gate with a new English dub. Since it’s only 13+1 episodes I watched it this week as well. I have to say this is relatively inexpensive for a “new” release (at least the English audio track is new which is quite an expense for a licensee). Compared to Funimation pricing… where a 13 episode series is listed for $60+, this is very reasonable. I stuck to DVD since when it comes to most anime, Blu-ray is unnecessary in my opinion.

Anyway, this turned out to be a delightful series. I wasn’t expecting a whole lot, and don’t get me wrong, reviewers out there are probably not going to be impressed… but it’s light and fun (mostly) and a great way to pass some time (assuming you have some time to kill). It starts off episodic but half way through we get a villain who completely dominates the remaining episodes. On the bright side, there’s a satisfying conclusion, and the angst is relatively limited… although the tension is high from episode 7 to the end (not counting the bonus OVA), episodes 8 & 9 are where the real drrrrama is found.

Frankly, I was hoping it would keep it’s “mindless fun” / episodic nature throughout. That’s what I was in the mood for when I started it, and for the first half it looked like I was going to get just what I wanted. The fact that it changed tone half way through is not really shocking, a lot of anime do this… and that doesn’t make it a bad series in any way. I’ll definitely watch it again in the future. However, I’ll almost certainly favor the early episodes for the “feel-good” nature they exude over the angst-y second half which you’ll want to watch in a row together to reach the happy ending.

I have to admit, I was a bit hesitant about the gambling aspect of this show. I’ve seen some anime that have sacrificed entertainment in the name of near slavish accuracy when portraying some aspect of the story or setting… and I’m not a fan of gambling. I can understand and appreciate the technical merits of most games of chance where the goal is to manage or manipulate the system to tip the odds in your favor, but I find it barely interesting as an academic exercise and certainly not entertaining. Fortunately, this show effectively treats the gambling like a “magic black box” where winning and losing is not determined by probability management, but magic, spirit and/or will power. In other words, the gambling is a flashy and fun backdrop for, and setting to explain the competitions, but nothing more. So… the other side of that coin is that if you’re a gambler (or even just a fan of gambling) you may be offended by the way gambling is portrayed in this anime. I can’t really say since that’s not me, but I could imaging it may rub some people who appreciate the technical aspects of things like poker the wrong way.

So… to sum it up: Episodes 1-6 are light and fun and really easy to watch. Episodes 7-9 get progressively heavier and darker despite what I think is a clear effort to retain the up-beat feel of the first half. There’s just no way to tell the story they wanted to tell without it being depressing and unpleasant at times. Episodes 10-13 climb back up to happy, but it’s an up-hill battle. To be fair, the whole show has tried to ratchet up the tension at times all the way throughout, and the 7-9 arc is a reasonable progression of that. It’s not bad, and as I said, it pulls out and the mood improves as the series continues to a happy ending.

Finally I’d like to comment on the fan service (which is present throughout). In the early part, it’s played for laughs. All the girls know all about the pervy casino owner and put up with his ridiculous requests in a sort of sisterhood of those-who-must-endure-the-dirty-old-but-effectively-harmless-man. Again it comes off as harmless if a bit weird fun. While the fan service continues throughout, it’s so overshadowed in the second half by everything else, I barely noticed it… Objectively I know it was there… it just loses it’s appeal (and it’s comic effectiveness is reduced) as you wade through the drama taking place.

Well, that’s it. I did enjoy the series. Now that I know what I’ll get when I re-watch it, I’ll be sure to re-watch when I’m in the right mood for what it provides. That’s the whole point after all. First runs are always a gamble… you get what you get, rarely is it exactly what you want. In this case it wasn’t what I wanted but it wasn’t bad either and I’m sure I’ll want what it offers again at some point in the future. I do wish it didn’t go quite as dark as it did though. Anyway, c’est la vie.


Monster Musume

Today: Monster Musume… or Everyday Life with Monster Girls… 

So… this is new, and I just received it and decided to sit down and try it out this weekend. I have to say I enjoyed it very much. It’s fun and light and easy to watch, making it perfect to pop on and forget about the crazy stuff going on in the real world for a while.

I have to warn you… it’s very heavy on the fan service. This is a full on harem slice of life anime with a single male (lead). The rest of the cast is female and while they are “monster girls” (meaning they are part human mythical creatures) the focus is entirely on their familiar female anatomy.

There’s a lot of great anime without fan service (or where it’s minimized)… but when I’m in a dark mood… this sort of thing helps me escape from reality very effectively… so, sorry that that’s been the subject of the last several posts. Anyway…

The lead is not clueless (like Natsuru from Kampfer or most other harem leads) and there’s no “mission” or overarching story line… it really is a slice of life comedy where the main focus (plot-wise) is on demi-humans trying to live ordinary lives in the human world, and what they have to deal with to effectively succeed at that task.

I’m not sure if this will stand the test of time… In 10 years will I be re-watching it every 6-12 months? I don’t know… probably not, but I’ll probably re-watch it multiple times in that time period. I’m glad I added it to my collection and certainly don’t regret the purchase.


Kampfer

This week in anime… Kampfer!Kampfer DVD

This is an anime from 2011 or there abouts… so another one I’ve had for a long time… and another I like to revisit from time to time. I’m familiar enough with the story that I usually just pick out an episode or two when I’m looking for something fun to pass the time, but this week I re-watched it in its entirety so I could write something about the entire series.

This is an unusual one in that I don’t think it’s particularly well regarded. I think it’s fair to characterize it as a fan-service heavy harem comedy, but it has a few twists that make it a bit unusual. I suspect Sentai didn’t think it’d be very popular, hence the absence of an English vocal track. Still, it was popular enough to get a release of the follow-up OVAs (2 episodes) as well as a Blu-ray re-release of the entire collection. I’ll bet if they had done an English dub in the first place it would have been quite a bit more successful. It’s probably a good example of the U.S. licensee miss-reading the appeal.

That’s not hard to understand when you consider the show over all… set in high school, it’s about a boy who turns back and forth into a girl throughout each episode and the collection of girls romantically interested in him. It’s complicated by the fact that some of them are after the boy version, one is after the girl version and one seems willing to take whichever one she gets (and in fact goes both ways) although she does express a preference. So there’s a straight harem element confounded with a yuri element. There’s also a heavy “magical girl” element, complete with mascots and transformation scenes… but the mascots are full-on comic relief and no one takes them seriously… not even their respective “magical girls” who are atypical since they really have no discernible mission or guiding principles. Let’s put it this way, they’re certainly not “warriors for justice” or anything like that. In fact, the show makes quite a point of having the female fighters effectively have no clue what they’re supposed to do or why, and a good bit of time is spent with them trying to figure out why they exist at all.

There’s sort of a villain, but it’s pretty ambiguous. Really the show may be more “slice-of-life” than anything else, although there are fight scenes in almost every episode, it’s not really a fighting show. As you can tell, I have a pretty hard time pinning the show down to a simple one-sentence description that tells you all you need to know, and that’s probably it’s greatest weakness… If you can’t put it in a box that a sub-set of fans “know” they’ll like… you can’t guarantee a certain level of success.

Anyway, it’s still a great show to me… I’m watching for the comedy. To me, all of the other elements are either irrelevant, or are contributing to the comedy. For example, the magical girl transformation scenes don’t really add anything for me, but they don’t detract either… but the magical girl mascots are often hilarious and the show definitely wouldn’t be the same without them. The same goes for the fan service… most of the time it’s effectively irrelevant, but occasionally it plays into the “guy in girl body” for a joke you just can’t have without that dynamic. In fact, the trans-gender aspect of the main character is the foundation of a lot of the comedy… but not in the ways you may typically expect. It’s not all about “how do I use the restroom” jokes, but about the extreme behavior of the other characters as they interact (i.e. Boy (in girl form) to girl: “Watch my back while I use the restroom.” Girl: “OK, if that’s what you’re into.” Boy: “No, I mean keep a lookout.” Girl: “Oh, don’t scare me like that!”)

And really, while the central character is the boy who keeps transforming into a girl, the cast of girls in his “harem” are the real stars of the show. Each generally fits a stereo type, but they are played very well for all the comic mishaps they’re worth. The dialog is a hoot, especially with the word-play and assorted verbal miss-understandings. That’s why it’s a shame it didn’t get an English dub. I can just imagine the voice cast of Highschool DxD and what they could have done with these roles. I’m sure they would have pushed it over the top and made it even funnier than it already is to an English speaker.

So… this is a great series, but as with most comedies, there are hits and misses, and unfortunately, there are entire episodes that are better and worse. When I re-watch, I tend to go straight to certain ones, and frequently skip others entirely. Since I re-watched it this week in it’s entirety, I’ll comment on each episode. If you haven’t watched this before, I’d encourage you to give it a try in its entirety… But it’s pretty old… either you’ve already seen it or you’ve already decided it wasn’t for you for whatever reason. Still, I’m gonna give you my preference for episodes in case you want to re-watch select ones, or dip your toes in the water without the commitment of the entire thing.

Warning: There is a “mystery” (I’ll call it that, but it’s not terribly well hidden) that plays out over the course of the series and if you skip episodes you’ll miss some of the clues as they are revealed. A good reason to give the whole thing a try… but if if comes down to all or some or none, I’d suggest you try some rather than none. Just watch in order since the story’s progressive.

Episodes 1 & 2: Essential and very good. It establishes the premise and the relationship between the male (sometimes) lead and the three main girls vying for his attention. Akane’s personality swings are fun and funny. She’s presented as two characters because while Natsuru’s transformation is entirely physical (from male to female), Akane’s is entirely mental. She looks effectively identical, but behaves like a completely different person. Shizuku establishes herself solidly as well… it’s Kaede that doesn’t really get much fleshing out here and really starts off as a straw man more than a real character.

Episodes 3 & 4: Skip. All you miss here is the setup to have Natsuru in the girl’s section (segregated) of the high school, Kaede’s growing interest in Natsuru, and an obligatory lingerie shopping and karaoke trip. It moves the story forward, but isn’t terribly rewarding.

Episodes 5 & 6: Watch. The obligatory school cultural festival sets up some pretty funny stuff… Natsuru and Akane are put through a fan service fiesta by their own female classmates to ostensibly prepare for the school’s beauty pageant, but in fact, it’s to finance the student government. Then the actual beauty pageant goes sideways in a way reminiscent of the fantastic theater scene from Fairy Tail (one of my favorites). Then there’s a ‘”maid-like” maid cafe’ scene on the second day of the festival in which Natsuru is again exploited by her classmates… and finally we get the introduction of a new kampfer… which is hilarious.

Episode 7: Skip. A sleep-over situation that reveals a little about the overall plot and introduces a mysterious new enemy (which is a motivation in future episodes), but kinda forgettable.

Episode 8: Maybe. The Shizuku and Natsuru date episode gives more time with Shizuku which helps her out a bit (as a character), but it’s generally just an average episode… the best part is how Shizuku keeps telling Natsuru one thing, but he keeps hearing another… building the misunderstanding up to an amusing conclusion with the other girls.

Episodes 9-11: Watch (probably). This is really the conclusion of the story, where the “villain” is revealed and lots of the mystery is resolved (to a degree). Most of it takes place at an amusement park, we get a fight between the new enemies and the gang, There is one scene in the hotel (before the fireworks) that’s priceless, and a few other good ones, but this is really less about the comedy and more about the drama (yes, they threw that in as well). It’s worth a watch, but mainly for the conclusion.

Episode 12: Skip. This is really like an OVA tacked on to the end of the regular season… the story was really wrapped up in 11. Some body swapping shenanigans and a Christmas theme aren’t enough to save this from being classic filler.

Episode 13: Watch if you watched 9-11. The OVA (with OVA levels of fan service) picks up right after the last real episode (11) and continues the conflict played out there.

Episode 14: Maybe. Again OVA levels of fan service but we’re back to the comedy shenanigans with a group date at a bunny cafe where Natsuru is working to earn money for a new bra. Some funny stuff… but this is more on the filler side than anything.


Black Blood Brothers

Today in Anime… I’m re-watching Black Blood Brothers.

This is an anime first released in the U.S. in 2007 (or so)… Yes, it’s really 10 years old. I bought it when it first came out and have re-watched it many times (probably once a year). While it’s not my favorite, I find it excellent. It has plenty of action, a fair share of comedy and a bit of romance between the leads.

I won’t bore you with a synopsis or review… there are plenty of those out there… instead, I’ll tell you why I keep coming back to this one…

  1. It’s short (12 episodes)… you can binge it in an afternoon (this past Sunday :-).
  2. It’s coherent… aside from the flashbacks that start each episode, the plot is linear and progressive which makes it easy to follow what really counts. Even the flashbacks are pretty straight forward, making it easy to connect the character’s history with the present story.
  3. It’s fun… while the action is over the top and there’s a lot of violence, it’s not ambiguous or uncertain like some more experimental anime can be. The good guys win and the bad guys loose in the end, and it actually has a conclusion. Minimal fan service and serious themes make this a nice change of pace from a lot of other anime I watch.
  4. The characters are fun… After 12 episodes with Mimiko and Jiro I do wish they were real people somewhere that I could meet and hang out with. Most of the rest of the characters aren’t as developed (of course), but they’re support after all. Also, the English voice actors do a fine job and they never take me out of the moment as I watch.

Finally… for those of you who haven’t seen this one, it’s available (Funimation S.A.V.E. Edition) for less than a buck an episode, making it cheaper to just buy it and add it to your collection than to rent/stream. I always prefer physical media… that’s how I can re-watch stuff 10 years later… when it’s gone from the rest of the world.