Late Work Can Be A Bitch

More catch-up, more mini-reviews, more anime.

Dreamy, but needs to learn to keep his hands to himself.

Vision of Escaflowne (TV Series, 1996) High School Student (it’s an occupation in Japan!) Hitomi is transported one day to the mystical land of Gaia, where she finds herself caught in a fight between Lord Van, the ruler of a small kingdom and the mighty Zaibach Empire, which is hunting her for her emerging psychic powers as well as planning to conquer the world and find the Secret of Atlantis.  Will Hitomi be able to elude the grasp of Zaibach?  Will she be able to help the inhabitants of Gaia find peace and prosperity?  Will she ever be able to go home again?  But most importantly, will she ever be able to choose between the cute but troubled Van and the dreamy (but also troubled) knight Allen Schezar?

Escaflowne is a very good fantasy show.  It moves quickly (no filler), has complex characters and it has good action and an intriguing story.  Watching this I was hooked, and watched multiple episodes in a row to see what happened next.  However, I can’t call it one of the absolute best anime shows ever, because there’s… something… missing.  I can’t quite put my finger on it.  Maybe for me it was missing the sense of life that the best of anime seems to have.  I don’t know.  I do know that it’s not that original.  “Japanese Schoolgirl Falls Into A Fantasy World Where She Is Special And Gets To Meet Cute Men” had been done before lots of times (it was a popular theme in the 90s); Escaflowne just merged that storyline with !GIANT ROBOTS!  And in fact, this show wasn’t even the first medieval-fantasy show with !GIANT ROBOTS!... that would be Aura Battler Dunbine, from 1983 – although admittedly Escaflowne is the superior show.

Sorry, Cham.

Escaflowne: The Movie (Film, 2000) A visually spectacular reimagining of the TV show; the story is completely different as are the characters (Princess Millerna is now a badass redhead, for example).  Only the basic setup remains the same.  And this is not a bad thing.  You could not tell the story of the original 26 episode TV show in one theatrical film.  Many fans do not like this movie.  I kind of liked it – it’s interesting to watch because it is so different from the original show.  Plus I liked the darker look and the different character designs (no pointy noses).  

If they start stripping I'm calling the Tank Police.

The only thing that keeps it from being a really good movie is that it’s too damn *short*.  This thing needed to be 2½ hours minimum to fit in all of the storyline and character development.  As it is it’s way too short and feels really rushed.  There’s some great art and animation though so I still recommend it to fans of the show or even anyone who is unfamiliar with the TV series – since the story is so different you don’t really need to know anything about Escaflowne going in.

Adolescence of Utena (Film, 1999) I’m not going to even try to describe the story of this one here, because I’m not sure that it’s even possible.  Suffice to say that it involves sword duels, weird architecture, odd imagery, strange private-school marriage rituals as well as more lesbianism and sexual symbolism than you can shake a stick at.

Or sword.

In fact the whole thing is basically a big metaphor for teen maturation as well as gay liberation.  And these are just two interpretations – part of the fun of this movie is just trying to figure out what it's all about.  The other fun part about Utena is that it’s so creative and different from everything else.  And the artwork and animation for this movie are nothing short of *spectacular*.  Seriously, check it out:

And the weirdest part is that this artsy piece of shojo cinema is brought to you by Kunihiko Ikuhara, the same dude who directed the majority of Sailor Moon.  So the guy who gave you this

Also did this

Anyway, this movie is gorgeous, wildly creative and will actually make you think.  As in, “What the Hell did I just watch?!”  Highly recommended.

Steamboy (Film, 2004) Remember when I said in my New Dominion Tank Police review that if I ever saw another Evil-Murdering-Weapons-Manufacturing-Corporation-Who-Tests-Their-Weapons-By-Making-War-On-An-Industrialized-First-World-Nation in anime again I was going to scream?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Five Star Stories (Film, 1989) Again, I’m not going to describe the whole story to this one as it is based on a manga that is more than 10 volumes long (and still running!) and has over 5000 characters (and I just might not be exaggerating).  In a nutshell though it’s about Ladios Sopp, a !GIANT ROBOT! mechanic (or, as this anime calls him, a “Mortar Hedd Meister”) who lands on a planet in the Joker Galaxy to try to free a genetically-engineered-giant-robot-pilot-girl named Lachesis (or not – the whole movie seems to be him being indecisive on this point) from the foul clutches of a fat and greedy planetary governor.

Our hero, Ladios Sopp.  Yes, gentle reader, he is a man. 

I really liked this movie, even if it ran at an incredibly short run time of just over an hour.  I guess director Kazuo Yamazaki just wanted to conserve the budget though because the artwork in this thing is great – very stylish.  The animation is pretty good but nothing to write home about (it’s above average movie animation for the 1980s).  The main thing going for it though is that it has a unique mood.  This is one of the few sci-fi films that truly make you feel that you are in a strange, almost alien future culture (kind of like David Lynch’s adaptation of Dune, really, only not quite as disturbing and freakish).

I definitely recommend it for those that can look past its short running time (A LOT of story is compressed into this) and the fact that it’s from the Eighties.  For the love of God, though, if you get the DVD DON’T LOOK AT THE BOOKLET THAT COMES WITH IT BEFORE WATCHING THE MOVIE BECAUSE IT WILL SPOIL THE ENDING OF THE FILM FOR YOU.



Next Post: Something that is not anime, I promise–

 

Um, Cham, what are you doing?  Okay, Cham, I know you're probably upset over what I said earlier but that's not the way to express your–

Alright, Cham, I'm sorry about what I said earlier.  Let's just please talk about this like rational–

Cham?  Cham?  No, Cham, don't–

 

Plus What?

More anime, more anime!  My god, I went more than a month without reviewing something Japanese and animated… I started getting the shakes.  Even watching Memories didn’t slake my thirst, I need more!  And not just any anime but something with !GIANT ROBOTS!  Today I review an anime OVA with !GIANT ROBOTS! that the fandom considers one of the best of all time.  I found it to be… only slightly overrated.  Today I review

OVA, 1994

Director: Shōji Kawamori

The Story

It is 30 years after the conclusion of the first Space War between the Humans and Zentradi.  On the colony world of Eden, two variable fighters (jetfighters that can turn into !GIANT ROBOTS!) are being tested against each other to see which one will be selected by the UN Space Navy for service.  Unfortunately the two opposing test pilots – the reckless Isamu Dyson and the taciturn Guld Bowman – hate each other with a passion, having ended their friendship years ago over the love of a mutual friend.  Also unfortunately, this very person, Myung Fang Lone, has come to Eden to test the new AI “Sharon Apple” – a virtual pop idol singer that she is the “producer” for.  This only serves to intensify the rivalry between the two men, leading to dangerous and even deadly consequences.  Meanwhile, all may not be as it seems with the artificial being Sharon, who has the power to entrance whole audiences with her songs….

Review

Macross Plus has been called “The Top Gun of Anime.”  Personally I couldn’t say.  I have never been able to sit through Top Gun all the way through – in fact I have never been able to take more than 10 minutes of that film at a time considering I can’t stand Tom Cruise (The only movie I have been able to watch that has him in it all the way through is Legend, which was directed by Ridley Scott who coincidentally is the brother of Tony Scott who directed Top Gun.   So there’s your Useless Bit Of Trivia Of The Day).  But I can see where people get that.  The protagonist of Macross Plus is a lot like Cruise’s character of Maverick from that film and the antagonist looks a bit like Val Kilmer’s Iceman.  So I guess you can call it that, if you also threw in 2001: A Space Odyssey and, of course, the original Super Dimension Fortress Macross.
Anyway, Macross Plus has also been called the greatest Macross series ever, and even the pinnacle of the franchise.  I wouldn’t go that far.  Personally, I enjoy the original Macross more – which you don't have to see to enjoy this, by the way, even though you should – even if it is rough (*ahem* very rough) in a few spots.  Nevertheless, Macross Plus is an excellent piece of entertainment, even if is predictable and reuses the same tropes from the original show.

Yes, this anime is pretty predictable.  The characters act pretty much as you expect them to, and the situations develop likewise.  This being a Macross show, you’re also going to get lots of singing, a love triangle and missiles out the wazoo.  The show basically has two plots, and in both it’s pretty easy to figure out what’s going to happen.  I knew that Sharon Apple was going to go berserk and – what?!  Don’t look at me like that!  You know it’s going to happen the moment you see the computer!  Come on, it looks like THIS–

“What are you doing, Dave?”

 – what the Hell did you THINK was going to happen?  Anyways, the main love triangle was easy to figure out too.  What, you mean the reckless but lovable (?) hero will get the girl instead of the barely-repressed rage filled, stony-faced rival?  But that never happens!  Okay, sarcasm aside, I will say that I did like the fact that Kawamori switched the genders for the love triangle in this show but I found the one for the original Macross better as it was better done and not as predictable.

I know that my review so far makes it sound like I don’t like this OVA, and I have slapped it with some major criticisms.  But I really do like it – it has some great action, *awesome* animation (especially the opening fight scene.  WOW!), great music by Yoko Kanno and a complex relationship between three characters that resolves itself beautifully if (again) a little predictably.  I also like that fact that Kawamori, while reusing some of the tropes from the original Macross managed to twist them and make them interesting to watch again (and I have always liked the Macross Missile Swarms so I didn’t mind seeing them again here, in fact I relished it).  Sharon Apple is interesting as she is a pop idol that is completely artificial in nature (something that Japanese pop producers have to salivate over.  I mean, they’ve been striving towards this for years – a pop idol that is completely controllable – no drug scandals or the idol getting a *gasp* boyfriend or anything!).  She also ultimately becomes a negative force through her music unlike Minmei from the original show.  Speaking of Sharon, Kawamori takes time to discuss the nature of sentience and the dangers of giving computers emotions – emotions not their own but the emotions of others, others with serious mental issues they need to work out – which has been done before but was well done here so I can’t complain.  Where else can you comment on both emerging sentient artificial intelligence and make digs at the highly artificial pop music industry at the same time?  Brilliant!

Overall this is a very good OVA, and I recommend it highly.  I would in fact put it near the top tier of animated science fiction.  I don’t think however that it is the nigh-religious experience that others think it is – I think it's a little too flawed for that – and I don’t even think it’s the best Macross anime out there (which to me just might be the movie Do You Remember Love – which won't ever be released outside of Japan because of all the legal bullshit, ARGH) even though it might be the most mature.   Now all I have to do is check out the Movie Edition….

Screenshots

The most obvious way to begin an action-filled anime full of !GIANT ROBOTS!... Windmills!

It wouldn't be a Macross show without buttloads of missiles.

....Or the Macross itself.

Okay, what is it with the Japanese fetish for giant chickens?

Speaking of fetishes, for those of you with one for Japanese rope bondage, Macross Plus DELIVERS!

Quick note on the DVD:  Beware!  Some of the discs of Volume 1 of this OVA have “Movie Edition” printed on the disc, when it in fact has the first two episodes of the OVA (as it should be).  Manga Video strikes again!  So if you pick this up and see "Movie Edition" printed on one of your discs don't take it back for a refund right away (unless you really can't stand having a misprint).  Put it in your player and test it first.


Before I end this post, here's... another (gratuitous) shot of an ass-swarm of missiles!

Why?  Because I can!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!