Anime Review No. 92 (Martian Successor Nadesico)

'You Get to Burning!'
Martian Successor Nadesico (1996-97)

Director: Tatsuo Sato

Writers: Hiroyuki Kawasaki, Miho Sakaki, Naruhisa Arakawa, Satoru Akahori, Shou Aikawa, Takeshi Shudo

Studio: Xebec

So, the new year is abound us. The holidays were nice on me, got to see my family along with grandparents for the first time in a few years and it was all nice and calm. Now then onto the first review of 2015, a look at a show that I have been meaning to get to, and that is…. the space opera Martian Successor Nadesico, an adaptation of a manga series by Kia Asamiya, who was also the creator behind Silent Mobius. .

Nadesico is the story of Akito Tenkawa, a young man who while yearning to be a cook, is instead roped into joining the new crew of a new starship the Nadesico. There he is joined by a crew of veritable oddballs, be it sexy helmswoman Minato, the stoic child genius Ruri, the fanboy pilot Gai and the young captain Yukari who might be someone from his blurry past. Together, they journey to Mars to discover some rather unsettling things from humanity’s past, possibly relating to invaders from Jupiters and their Chulips and also to have some hijinks of the slice-of-life and romantic varieties.

One of the things about I like about the show is how transitional, but then again that is part of the times. The Mid-90s sci-fi anime scene was dominated by one giant show: Evangelion which to this day still has an influence stretching to the present day. Nadesico, in many ways, was the next big game-changer for sci-fi anime. Though more for the space opera subgenre whereas Evangelion was a grand turning point in giant robot genres. Of course this show is mostly forgotten, but in many ways I find that Nadesico works a lot better then Evangelion.

Now why’s that? Well, for one thing Nadesico has a better and more likeable cast of characters. Granted, some of them are based on archetypes of the genre (young male pilot, the captain, the helm crew, the child prodigy, etc) but they have enough quirks and eccentricities that ultimately make them charming. And each of the them gets their episodes to focus on them individually and how they worked together as an ensemble. While Akito is a main character of sorts, pretty much all the other major characters get their own character arcs that are for the most part very satisfying. I see Akito as an improved version of Shinji from Eva, in more ways then one. He at least has some sort of spine.

For another thing, the story is much more interesting and yet takes risks to explore new areas in its home genre. It takes place in a future much like Star Trek, where humanity has combined their efforts to explore the stars. Only not so optimistic, with the world controlled by the all-powerful military and corporations that seek nothing more to fuel the engine of war even at the expense of life and peace. At yet our intrepid crew, when a big story twist comes in halfway through the series,  seek out the truth and hope against hope that someday peace and reconciliation. Like Evangelion, though they do some psychological introspection but thankfully it is kept to mostly one episode with a few other scatterings as the series progresses. No, what the show is really about is learning to overcome differences and make it better for the next generation. There is a vehement anti-military, anti-war streak in the ‘shades of grey’ morality and there’s a good reason for that, being head writer Shou Aikawa who would go onto do Neo Ranga and FullMetal Alchemist ‘03 and those share that similar moral trend. But it doesn’t come across as preachy, and that’s by giving the other side fair and equal treatment, something which not many anime accomplish successfully. The sci-fi elements, be it the Nadesico spaceship, the concept of space travel via the means of the Chulips and the effect of time dilation are very well-thought out. And then the movie happened, and well if you want my thoughts on it, see my review on that back in January 2013.

Of course, the story is without its visual presentation. However, like Silent Mobius which I talked about back in October, this show runs into the fact the show came at a rather awkward time.The production does show signs of digital techniques and CG intruding into a mostly solid and well-done hand-drawn cel animation. Fortunately, it isn’t so obvious here as it is in Silent Mobius. In fact, recently RightStuf released the series and movie remastered. I however have the old ADV 3-2 disc sets from back in the day. In part because I feel its best to see it as it was, even it is imperfect. The show director is Tatsuo Sato, who after this show, would go on to have a career mainly helming solid and entertaining or interesting sci-fi series (Stellvia, Lagrange, Bodacious Space Pirates). Also the opening song, You Get to Burning, is freaking awesome and is one of my favorite opening songs of all time. The rest of the music is done by Takayuki Hattori (Slayers and Gundam Origin OVA among others) and it’s amazing and really powerful full-on orchestral music. Its really good stuff.

Now for the english dub. It is solid if a little uneven, much like the show itself. Produced in 2000-01, its a dub of its time, that being the ADV Greenfield era. I say this as the first era of Houston english dubbing, from 1995 to roughly 2001-03 when Matt Greenfield was the main director/writer for ADV dubbing (Amanda Winn Lee and  Tristan MacAvery were also directors/writers as well, heck Steven Foster’s career goes back to this era). Of course, it is also a very transistional dub, featuring veteran 90s ADV talent like Spike Spencer, Tiffany Grant, John Swasey, Rob Mungle, Brett Weaver, Marcy Rae alongside newer talent like Kira Vincent-Davis, Jenny Strader, Jay Hickman (and Monica Rial in a small blink and you’ll miss it part). It takes a part of time to get good, but when it does it gets really great and ultimately makes the show all that more charming and fun.

It's kind of a bummer that this show has been largely forgotten and thrown aside. Despite the fact hasn't really aged all that well, its a very underrated gem from an era that is slowly fading into obscurity. Speaking of obscurity (or not).....

Til next time dear readers

Anime Review No. 79 (Battle Athletes OVA)

“Winning at Friendship means Winning at Life”

Battle Athletes OVA (1997-98)

Studio-AIC, Director-Kazuhiro Ozawa, Writer-Hideyuki Kurata*

*-original concept derived by Hiroaki Hayashi (creator of Tenchi Muyo and El Hazard)

You know, sports can be quite fun and enjoyable. While I mostly walk or play fitness games on the Wii, back in the day I did do cross country during high school and tried out for track and field (in shot put) before becoming an equipment manager. I do also follow some sports as well (mainly college football and basketball) and find them entertaining.

Thus, sports do figure into anime but regrettably don’t sell well if at all. Efforts to do so stateside (Princess Nine, Ayane’s High Kick, Shootfighter Tekken and the 90s Ping Pong anime CPM released) have been fondly remembered or largely gone by the wayside. Of course, in that pile lies Battle Athletes, a OVA series from the late 90s that I find to be easily one of the better entries in the genre.

Of course, some background: In the far future (of 2015) a world war occurred but ended with the arrival of a global disaster. This united humanity, sort of the same way that Star Trek portrays the future. Flash-forward to AD 3045 and humanity colonized the whole of the solar system, but they engage in war with an alien race and it is very high tech warfare. It is a futile effort thus turned to tests of athletic prowess instead. The University Satellite Program, which would make the ISS look like Skylab, is founded and created. In AD 3996, the contest for the Cosmic Beauty is made in inspiration from that history but for female athletes only. Going forward to the present time of the story, which is 4999 AD.

Well Battle Athletes tells the story of one Akari Kanzaki and her journey to being the next Cosmic Beauty. She’s your standard main heroine: nice, kind, a bit naive but strong-willed candidate. Her mother Tomoe Midou won the contest years ago, so she strives to just not win, but also set a new record in process. In other words, Battle Athletes boils down to the classic underdog story that many sport stories use, like Rocky, Rudy, etc. That being said, Akari’s story is more interesting as the journey not the destination. Yeah, we as the audience know that she will end up winning in the end, but how she goes about it is more interesting.

In terms of conflict (besides the sports events which I will get to), Akari has more self-doubt and reluctance on her part then much of an external force. She is basically living beneath the shadow of her mom’s past success, which does put her in a bit of slump. Luckily she doesn’t mope around too much and seeks to improve. Of course, it isn’t just her doubt that plagues her.

If the series does have an antagonist, its Mylandah, but only through indirect sabotage. She is an A-grade psychotic given into her own highly misplaced regard for herself. She has her eyes on being able to beat the previous champion, Lahrri, herself to the point of pure obsession. Later, it is revealed that might be more than that, but I won’t spoil it here.

Fortunately, Akari is not alone. She got support from a few friends, be it the jungle girl Tanya, the quiet demure girl Anna Respighi, or Grant Oldman who I have to say is quite awesome. I mean, the dude surfboards in the upper atmosphere in one scene (trust me it makes more sense in context). Of course, Akari’s greatest pillar of support comes from well, one of my favorite characters in anime ever, Kris Christopher.

At first, she is a capable athlete but a bit of an oddball. She is from the Moon Beginners Colony, which are akin to lunar hippies, with their communal back to nature society and non-violent/pacifist philosophy. I would argue that the OVA is just enough about Kris as it is on Akari. Like her, Kris was inspired by Tomoe Midou as a child to go for the Cosmic Beauty. She is willing to give it her all, even against Akari. But more than anything, Kris strives not for victory, but self-improvement and seek spiritual peace in the process. Well, that and she’s a heavy spiritualist but thankfully it isn’t over-emphasized and she demonstrates this with both actions and words, which I have to admire.  Also, she’s an open lesbian or at least open to options perhaps, which makes some of the Akari and Kris scenes quite sweet and touching.

Of course, the sport events have their place in this. For once, these are given some degree of practicality to them. Of course, there is stuff like lacrosse in zero G or extreme High Jump with extra running start where physics much less standard human endurance are called into question, but yeah its sci-fi so I will let it slide. That and a lot of them look like a lot of fun and work to reinforce the character development and plot.

One of the things I adore about the show is how unbounded in its optimism and enthusiasm, much like other sports storylines with underdog protagonists. It is one of many Anime examples of the individual underdog going against all odds and obstacles in the process of getting it to the top.  It also has that good 90s old school charm which appeals to me greatly. Finally it is just so damn inspirational. It was so good that like many other AIC productions in the 90s, got a TV series named Battle Athletes Victory, which is a more expanded and light-hearted retelling of the story presented in the OVA and also gets a recommendation from yours truly.

Now, onto the animation. It is classic 90s AIC work here, very similar quality to El Hazard, Tenchi Muyo and Oh My Goddess in this regard. There are spots of CG work here and there but well done for the times. It is an overall gorgeous presentation and animation. It looks just fine on the DVD; of course, this came out in late 1998-early 1999, with the first US volume released within 6 months of the last episode release in the OVA in Japan.Though it would be nice if they would do a re-release in the future, especially the TV series since the only way to get it is through singles only at variable prices. I mean, come on, Princess Nine got a recent re-release, why can't this series?

The music is done by Takayuki Hattori who also did the Nadesico and Slayers OST among others. The OP song is  second best AIC OP besides the EL Hazard OVA 1 OP that I have listened to. It is phenomenally great, mainly being sweeping and grand orchestral music, though a lot of it sounds like battle theme music.

Lastly, the english dub. Now, this is late 90s LA dub done by the wonderful group at Animaze, the same group that brought us the dubs for Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Outlaw Star, El Hazard etc. The dub does have a handful of well-known voice actors (Steve Blum, Dorothy Elias-Fahn, Julie Maddalena, Bridget Hoffman, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Wendee Lee, etc) in there, and they are doing quite a good job here. This would be an overall ‘great’ dub but the big BUT rests on whoever they got to voice Akari, Bambi Darro. She is doing her best, but its just not consistent as the rest of the cast_ Voice slippage, slight overacting in scenes, screeching, etc. Granted, that does improve a bit by the end so not too bad, just not as good in comparison.

Overall, Battle Athletes is a very good 90s OVA series showcasing a future with young women playing really cool sport events and watching Akari Kanzaki against all odds reach to the top.

Now, for my next review.....well who's ready for some tankery?

Til next time, dear readers.....
(It should be up around May 3-4)

Anime Review No. 72-Redline

The Need for Speed

"Redline" (2009 movie)

Director-Takeshi Koike, Studio-Madhouse, Writers: Yoji Enokido, Katsuhito Ishii and Yoshiki Sakurai

Nice, minimalist design for title card 

Well, its time for my first anime movie review in quite some time I suppose. Considering my last anime movie review was over Gall Force: Eternal Story, way back last summer, is quite something. What better way then to review Redline. My buddy Foggle from Animation Revelation encouraged me to check this out, and at first I was hesitant since it seemed to me to be another over-hyped movie that end up disappointing me more then not. However, once I watched it, my tune got changed real quick. I have seen it twice online (subbed and dubbed) before finally coming across at the local MovieStop for about 10$.

First best moment of the movie 

And no, Redline isn't just the name of the titular race in the movie. For those not in the now,
the definition is (from freedictionary.com): 2. To reach the maximum engine speed at which an engine is designed to be safely operated. In other words, it is the breaking point for any engine-based vehicle.

It starts off with a Yellow-Line race in the far future which our main dude, JP, participating in. He is the dare-devil racer who likes taking things to the limit, lives for the immediate thrill. The opening race really sets the tone of the movie right off the bat: Fast, quick, energetic. The soundtrack pops without a pause for breath or respite. Characters get the bare minimum of depth; but then again that's only because we (the audience) simply have to bask in the spectacle of the event. It is akin to watching wrestling or other event television-one might be slightly interested in the world or characters but its the event(s) that grip us. There are also a few characters introduced as well, including Frisbee: his manager who may or may not be screwing him over behind his back and works for the mob to get JP into races and Sonohee: requisite female racer/potential love interest.

Hmm....something about JP reminds me of some recent character...

Plot: He nearly wins the Yellow Line race before getting sabotaged by a bomb planted by his manager, Frisbee, meaning Sonohee wins it. During his recovery in the hospital, he finds out that he will end up in the Redline race, the famous underground race of the galaxy. However, it is to be taking place on Robo-World, which the locals of that aren't particularly pleased. Of course, he has to go and get his ride repaired. Along the way, when he isn't dealing with other racers or the Robo-World army. he discovers that when racing, its the ride that excites the most more then the finish line, though crossing it is so satisfying. And that's as far as I am going, as this movie is an experience everyone should go out and enjoy.

And you thought that skipping stones was hard as hell...

Simply put, this is a racing movie (Fast and Furious comes to mind) done in space, a rather fun and exciting space adventure. Nothing more, nothing less. It is pumped into action from the opening shot and never, ever lets up. It is also well aware of what it is, in on its own joke.

Bahahahaha....oh how can one take this guy seriously?!

Animation: phenomenal! This movie took 7 years of production and well worth the wait it would seem. Quick, kinetic, rather fluid animation throughout, without a bad shot in the entire film. 100,000 hand drawings were used in the production of this film, and it surely shows that traditional animation still has a place in the modern age of mostly/all CGI and digital productions. Seriously wish I could have found this on Bluray, but even on DVD it looks excellent.

Voice Acting: Very good in both language tracks, if I am being completely honest. Though, the English dub barely outdoes the original Japanese. Of course, that has little to do with the direction/writing (Madoka and SAO's dub director Alex von David handles this)and more to do with the voice actors/actresses themselves. It is like a who's who of the LA/West Coast Dub Scene, including Pat Seitz, Michelle Ruff, Liam O'Brien, and several others, along with some surprises as well. For instance, there is a bit part played none other then Spike Spencer that for me was a highlight.

Yes, Spike Spencer as the bug-eyed commentator....I'm in heaven 

If you do get this on DVD/Bluray, be sure to watch "The Quick Guide to Redline" which is essentially a brief look into the movie and supplying some details. Basically, it helps to explain some of the more inexplicable elements of the movie. In addition, it gives some information regarding the staff, with some short interview snippets thrown in for good measure. It very nice seeing these people at work, pouring their heart and soul into this project. It is certainly something to be admired. I do like how the director at one point says the main reason for this project, to push animation to the limits, for it to reach its own 'redline'. In the end, that is what Redline: an experience that pushes Japanese animation to an ultimate limit, one that probably will never be replicated. Why? Well, that is due to the fact that the box of comfort that digital productions bring is much easier to do, in addition to being cheaper. Granted, I would not expect TV series to do this long span production so then we get only a few TV shows of anime each season. Movies like these are good only once in a while, so as to not wear off the novelty.

True that indeed, Director-san ^_^

So, yeah Redline gets a recommendation for me. It is great for what it is: Slick, simple entertaining fun! I would say get it on DVD or Bluray, but if you can't; don't worry, it is available from Manga Entertainment on Youtube (Redline YT Link), free viewing! Seriously, Go watch it!

Anyway, what's next on the platter? Well, sometimes the constructed box of anime productions can lead to some interesting experiments in of themselves. And it being February, it means looking at relationships as I have done the past 2 Februaries.

'Til next time, dear readers.....

Anime Review No. 27, “Tenamonya Voyagers” (April Fool’s Day Special Review)

Hello, I’m the Eclectic Dude I review it for the lols.

Well, Happy April Fool’s Day everyone! This special day calls for a special review, because why the heck not. I know the perfect thing to review-Tenamonya Voyagers!!!!!

DVD Cover with the main characters (L-R: Wakana, Ayako, and  Space Trash Paraila) with Inspector Yokoyama near top

Never heard of it? I don’t blame you. Tenamonya Voyagers, a Sci-Fi 1999 OVA done by Studio Pierrot is in that category of ‘rare, obscure” in anime. It also has the distinction for being one of the early titles of anime released exclusively on DVD back in the late 90s/early 00s. But being one of the first, does that make it good?

The story behind Tenamonya Voyagers involves the adventures of 3 young women in space, at some point far in the future. Two of them are humans-Ayako, a new teacher and Wakana, a student athlete. Both ended up at a school on a far off planet of Meldonia, Ayako having a teacher job and Wakana getting there via an athletic scholarship.  However, once they get to Meldonia, the school got shutted down (valid since it took them light years to get there). Anyway, without much to do, the two decides to return back to Earth, despite their limited resources to do so.

Fortunately, a solution comes from above, literally. A giant mecha falls onto the planet, demolishing the school. Out of it comes Paraila, a mysterious young girl who seems more than she appears. Together, they are determined to get back to Earth, the home in a vast universe so to speak. But, it turns out Paraila is a former boss of the Space Mafia who is hoping to get back to Earth for her own selfish reasons. Turns out, some past space treaty left Earth as ‘neutral territory’ wherein any criminal that lands there has ALL their criminal charges wiped clean. In addition to be pursuing by the Mafia, the Space Police have someone on her trail as well-an obsessive policewoman from Hiroshima, Yokoyama.

Sounds pretty good, eh? Well, unfortunately, not only it is rare/obscure it is also unfinished. Only 4 episodes got made. Yeah, spoiler alert, they don’t make it back to Earth and the final episode ends on a cliffhanger. However, unlike Legend of the Last Labyrinth, which suffered from cutbacks it seems, this title suffered from probably low sales. A sad fact of life for OVA collectors, in that a lot of them were released by video every few weeks or months and the continuation of many titles depended on sales of the videos. If sales were good, then OVAs got more episodes and vice versa.

Which is a shame, as Tenamonya Voyagers is a very good OVA. The animation is quite excellent, for its time. Upon first watching it, I did a double take when the fact that this was made back in 1999. It looks good enough to be something made from the early to mid 00s. Characters are extremely expressive and back grounds are well done in every scene of the 4 episodes.

The direction is also something of note as well. Akiyuki Shinbou directed this OVA, yes the same guy who was involved in Galaxy Fraulien Yuna OVAs and Detatoko Princess (both I have reviewed previously). Here, in my opinion, is the best OVA/series he did pre-Studio Shaft. His trademarks are on full display here, be it use of texts on screen, interesting camera angles and wacky/tippy lighting and color effects. He gives it some pacing and quality that one should view the OVA as all 4 episodes at once, as it feels like a movie at times.

The story and characters are well a mixed bag.  It is essential a ‘girls on the run in space’ story, but with a few unique twists thrown in for good measure. The writing is filled with lots of humor, both sophomoric and more subtle. The characters are overall fun and enjoyable to watch. Ayako is a distressed young teacher who is in way over her head at times, but gives enough laughs at times so the audience is totally annoyed at her. Wakana and Paraila basically serves as bouncing boards off each other, Wakana wondering why go through the hassle of going to Earth with a known criminal and Paraila just not giving a crud about what anyone thinks or says. And Yokoyama, the policewoman on the trail of Paraila is basically a crazy badass who probably joined the police just so she could capture/kill people, making her a passable antagonist.

OP http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkL-5_eGV0s

Finally, the music is also worthy of note. In particular, the opening, which it is basically a marching band tune set to well weird imagery. The rest of the soundtrack is very much like the OVA-space epic and all that. Granted, they do recycle some soundtrack parts a few times but thankfully it’s not too annoyingly overused.

Not that to say it’s all good. The story is rather unfinished and this fact is no more evident than in the fourth and last episode, where the production team just threw their arms up in the air and said “Feck the plot, we’ll just do something ridiculously awesome”, apparently. Now, there has to be the best way to end an OVA that probably had no chance: Just end on a note of ridiculously awesomeness. Check it out for yourself, I am not spoiling here.

This gets a good recommendation, if you are a sci-fi fan or like parody series as well. It is not that hard to find it, as Amazon.com has it for dirt cheap. It is well worth it, as Tenamonya Voyagers is a joke; a huge, entertaining joke, to be fair, but a joke nonetheless

‘Til next time ^_^  

Anime Review No. 18, "Moretsu Pirates" Episode 1/First Impressions

Hi, I'm the Eclectic Dude and I review it for the lolz.

Anyway, this week's review is over a recent anime title that has come out in Japan. It is a tale of adventure, action, etc. in space with dangers and perils unseen by many. It is called Bodacious Space Pirates!!!!

Mariko, the cute pirate lolz

Bodacious Space Pirates, or Moretsu Pirates, is a recent entry into the space opera genre, populated mostly by Macross, Gundam and a few others. The director is Tatsuo Sato, well known for being the director of Nadesico back in the 1990s. Satelight is the studio behind this, and more or less a company that has been under the radar of sorts for the past few years. The anime is based off of a novel series called Miniskirt Pirates. Now, is it as awesome as its name suggests? Let's found out.

The first episode opens with exposition with lots of rather well done visual backgrounds. The setting for this story is in the far off future, where space travel is the norm and humans live on various planets throughout the galaxy. I like this, as it allows for quick info-dump without bogging down the introductory episode too much.

Then the opening song comes up, and it is AWESOME. It is full of energy, with nice guitar rock and orchestral blend. The 'god-chorus' part is also well done. Everything looks clean and crisp. So far, so good.

We then introduced to our main heroine, Mariko Kato, as she is being monitored by two mysterious people. These are a woman with blue lips and a nice looking guy. A couple thing we learn about Mariko in this first part of the episode are:
-High School Girl
-Works at a maid cafe called the "Lamp House"
-Member of the Space Yacht club (showing she got some skill at piloting)
-Generally nice and likeable
-Lives just with her mother, Ririka

After a long day of school and work, she comes and finds out two rather suspicious people (same ones following her earlier) have come to her house and are chatting with her mom, like old friends. Well, it turns out, the two are old friends of Mariko's father, Gonzaemon Kato. For a twist, he was actually a captain of space pirate ship the Bentenmaru. Unfortunately, her father died two day prior due to food poisonings (dang -what a bummer!).

Now, there's a law in this show's world where only the descendant of a captain can inherit a space pirate ship. At first, Mariko is a bit shocked at this and a bit troubled at potentially being a pirate (criminal record notwithstanding). But, the woman with blue lips assures her that the Bentenmaru has a letter of marque which  basically means they are more space mercenaries then actual pirates. Effectively, most piracy in space is legal. She mulls over it during the night.

The next day in homeroom, Mariko meets with her classmate Mami, who also works at the maid cafe. They chit-chatted, until its announced that a replacement teacher is coming. Turns out, it is the nice guy Mariko met the other night (his name is Kane McDougal) and he comes across as a really nice genteel man. The woman with blue lips is also at the school, as a nurse. Also, her class gets a transfer student, Kurihara Chiaki ( a mysterious dark-haired meganekko) who gives Mariko a serious glance as she goes to her seat.

Later, after school, Mariko heads off to the "Lamp House" for work. However, as shoe is getting started on work, groups of guys in suits (vaguely looking like mobsters) come into the maid cafe. Chiaki-san shows up as well, and it reveals she has a thing for chocolate parfaits (lolz). Then, an assassin comes in and tries to kill Mariko. But, Chiaki-san pulls out a gun (OMG that was unexpected) and saves Mariko.
That's pretty much the first episode. The ending song is a bit more subdued then the opening song, which works well. The preview is well done, pulling the audience into checking out the new episode.

Final Words: All in all, this is a great start for this series. Granted, there is lots of potential here to be explored. The concept/story is interesting, sort of like a 'Pirates in the Caribbean' but in space. The voice acting, animation, and opening/ending songs are rather well done. Heck, even Sentai Filmworks has come out and said that they got the license for this show already. I might buy it if it comes over to the States.
So, this gets a RECOMMEND TO WATCH from me. Sometimes in July, once its finished airing, I'll give a whole series overview.

Next week is Maze the Megaburst Space OVA. Laterz ^_^