Anime Review No. 96 (Agent Aika)

Agent Aika (1997 OVA, 7 episodes)

Studio Fantasia

Director: Katsuhiko Nishijima

Writers: Katsuhiko Nishijima, Kenichi Kanemaki, Katsumi Terahigashi and Noriyasu Yamauchi

Ok, so Guilty Pleasures Month 2.0 kicks off with an infamous classic of the vaulted halls of ‘90s schlocky anime, Agent Aika. Or as I would like to call it, Crotch Shot the Anime. This brilliant ‘masterpiece’ is from the mind of Katsuhito Nishijima, who is also behind Najica Blitz Tactics, Kirameki Project, Labyrinth of Flames and oddly enough Project A-Ko. Also, the lack of screenshots in this review is due to the fact that no one wants 6-12 pictures of nothing but crotch shots because who really wants that? Yeah that’s what I thought. Also spoilers because I don’t care.

Anyway, Agent Aika takes place in the far future where Earth turned into WaterWorld basically. The world is mostly underwater with small pockets of land here and there. Underwater salvaging is a prime business. Aika is one such salvager, working for some guy named ‘Boss’ and his annoying daughter Rion. She is hot 90s anime babe who is both hot, attractive and can kick ass by using a special underwear that turns her into a dark skin Amazon that can kick more ass. Anyway, Aika and Rion run afoul of a madman villain Dr. Hargen and his legion of miniskirt hottie minions and a plan involving wiping out mankind with a super weapon or something like that.

One of the big problems with Agent Aika is that there is not really much to it, not even enough for a redemptive reading. There are two stories if you can call them that: episodes 1-4 and then episodes 5-7. The first four episodes feel like their own self-contained story while the last 3 episodes feel more like a series of loosely connected one-off stories as some sort of follow up to the main story from the first four. This is seriously just plots constructed by action pieces, some pseudo-science BS and background sets glued together by fanservice and some rather troubling and bizarre content. Like did the incest really have to be here?, for instance. Like Amazing Nurse Nanako, there are a few interesting, even good ideas (a waterlogged future) but the people behind the production aren’t interested in that, but in the fanservice. However, the fanservice in Aika is so pervasive to the point where it becomes dull and tedious. I would have done a drinking game with how many fecking crotch shots the director inserts into every single fecking scene, but I would wound up in a coma. Add to that Nishijima’s tendency to linger on every crotch shot FAR longer than need be, and the show becomes so ludicrous its funny. It is also so bad its good quality in the visual presentation. Plenty of corners cut in the production just so the ‘money shots’ are extremely well-done. The OP, ED and the BG music is so 90s it hurts.

Finally, the English dub is not very good but that’s par for the course when it comes to US Manga Corps dubs for the most part. Angora Deb, who plays Aika, is the only one manages to do a consistent job in the dub and I feel that even in the bad/mediocre stuff she starred in, she does a better job than required which should be commended. However, the rest of the cast is wildly inconsistent-ranging from ok/decent to downright cringingly terrible. At times the dub manages a very OTT style with one scene in episode 3 pretty much is so terribad I couldn't help but laugh at the incompetence on display with this dub.

So yeah not really worth your time, not even for the fanservice. Which makes the second part of this review that more inexplicable…..

Aika R-16 Virgin Mission (2007 OVA, 3 episodes)

Studio Fantasia

Director: Katsuhiko Nishijima

Writer: Kenichi Kanemaki

So yeah, this exists. It is a prequel in ‘celebration’ of the original OVA’s 10th anniversary, because that seems like a good idea. I will give it this, it is a nice look into Aika as a teenage girl and salvager in training. So she apparently joins an Adventure Club run by rich girl Eri Shingai and meets a mysterious quiet cutie Karen with a butterfly on her bosom. Anyway, they go on cruise to a treasure spot for some reason that actually has a (stupid) point. But their advisor (hottie Ms Risako) turns out to be EVIL (what a twist) and has some plot involving Karen. The treasure spot site is a site tied to Karen’s past and then it gets WTF weird, even more WTF weird than the original.  

There are still a lot of crotch shots and fanservice. except its more amusing and hilarious here than in the original OVA. Luckily there is some sort of a story that is going on that actually incorporates the fanservice a bit better. Granted much of the story still is riddled with cliches and contrivances but it is there rather than not as is the case with the original OVA. It also has an awkward habit of reincorporating character elements/details that appear in the original OVA.

The production values look a lot more slick and digital, i’ll give it that. Of course the true mark of quality comes when the ED contains footage of the episode itself, yes really. Granted the whole OVA feels like a sad artifact of the 90s just looks a bit better in the visual department slightly. It is full of the same shortcuts (speed lines, obvious CG, etc) just so the Nishijima-san can focus on the ‘money shots’.

Now the English Dub is slightly better than the CPM dub for the original OVA but that’s not saying much. Its a 2008 Sam Regal-helmed Bang Zoom dub probably made on the cheap considering the quick turnaround between the initial airing of the OVA episodes in Japan and its subsequent Eng dub release and how small the cast is. Main stars include early-career Cristina Vee and Kira ‘Rina-chan’ Buckland among some other regulars of the LA scene at the time. The dub can be best described as competent, decently casted and acted but rather dull and procedural, which can best sum my feelings on modern day LA/California dubs anyway.

There is another prequel, Aika Zero, that came out in 2009 which is a mid-quel of sorts but since its not out officially I won’t talk about it. I imagine Bandai (who re-released the first OVA and then dubbed/released the prequel OVA) and hoped that it would make money so then they could then release the Aika Zero OVA here in the States. But that didn’t happen, and since Bandai is no longer in the game, I highly doubt this will get a Western release.

And what of Nishijima-san? Well he recently worked on an OVA titled Nozoki Ana, which someone on my Twitter feed was watching a few days back. Based on the screenshots it seems he is still up to his usual shtick. I suppose some old dogs can't learn new tricks. Though he has shown up working on another shows, notably as a key animator on an early episode of Kill la Kill, which is a quite interesting tie-back to the era of anime Nishijima-san was a part of.

So yeah this isn’t so much a guilty pleasure, because I don’t feel pleasure from watching it. If I want to watch something with just crotch shots, I’d just watch hentai or porn. I do feel a bit guilty in buying both of these though at a slight discount granted so I didn’t waste much money on this. Is the Aika series one of the worst? No, I have watched far worse anime that actually insult my intelligence. All that the Aika OVAs do is irk my sensibilities but only that as its not that deep or self-aware enough to read any further into it. Then again, that irking/shaking of sensibilities is what anime partly appeals to people I suppose.

Luckily, the other 2 entries this month are actual guilty pleasures and I will have more to talk about with those. Til next time dear readers.

Anime Review No. 75-Utena Movie

"For the Revolution of the World"
Revolutionary Girl Utena The Movie

1999 Movie

Studio-JC Staff, Director-Kunihiko Ikuhara, Writer: Yoji Enokido

Ah yes, the conclusion of February reviews, which have been mainly covering series about love or relationships. To cap it off, I saw take a look at Revolutionary Girl Utena The Movie. One can view the movie as a remake of the original TV Series or a slightly abridged version of the events in the TV Series. I am on the fence about this, for one reason: Of course, keep in mind I have yet to see the original TV Series. It has been a show I have been meaning to watch at some point, but never really had the chance to.

So, a brief summary:
Utena is a new student at an elite academy which seems to be rather strange place. She is on a quest to find her prince, which is probably a red haired dude at the school. On the way, she meets with Anthy (a dark skinned damsel) who is the 'Rose Bride'. The rings make duelists for the fight for the Rose Bride, which are done by sword duels. Theres duels, dealings and backstabbings and lots of sapphic love. Of course, the first two-thirds of this 87 minute long film are coherent at best. Past that point, I gave up on trying to summarize this fecking movie.

This is in part is due to the writing. One trait of a Yoji Enokido script that I have noticed is the use of spectacle at the expense of common sense and/or logic. It is light on character and plot but big on spectacle. Of course it isn't just in here, but also in other shows Enokido has written, like Diebuster and FLCL, even his more current stuff like Ouran (to a point) and Star Driver. The last third of the movie kind of follows this; a flurry of scenes that do bring some sense to story elements but in the end are glossed over  in favor of 'Oh, let's do something totally outlandish and crazy'. Fortunately, Enkido's writing is complemented by Ikuhara's direction which seeks to emphasize this point fully alongside being well very cinematic. Oddly enough, this is the best animated portion of the film (of course the movie on whole is glorious to look at).

For the most part, the Utena movie is about its characters and their relationships, be it Utena and Anthy, Touga/Utena/Shiori, Miki and his sister, Anthy and her brother prince, Miki/Juri and Juri/Shiori...... god one needs a fecking chart on all the relationships here. Granted, most of them are rather problematic relationships to say the least. This leads the movie to be a bit unsettling at times to watch, but I think that's part of the point. There exist brief moments where it seems like they are referencing the TV show (the scene with cow and elephants for instance). Fair amount of WTF abounds as well, especially in the finale.

Of course, not all relationships are problematic. The one that works, and dare I say, survives into tomorrow is....lesbian love? Yes, Anthy and Utena do make a cute couple, even if it starts off as somewhat sudden and forced. I also think that Utena and Anthy serves as an early iteration of the typical yuri couple: one being prince, tomboyish and 'bi-fauxnen' while the other is soft, demure and feminine. But we as the audience spend enough time with them during the course of the movie that by the finale, we root, nay cheer for their victory!

Of course, the animation has less problems than the writing, that's for sure. It is rich and colorful setting, an exquisitely shot production by JC Staff. In short, the animation is quite astounding and artsy. Artistic symbolism abounds in the movie: roses, the prince's ring (Mark of the Rose), sword fights, even the whole ending sequence is one extended symbolic metaphor in of itself.

Lastly, the English Dub is serviceable though it hasn't aged well. This, along with the TV Series, were dubbed and released by US Manga Corps back in the day. US Manga Corps dubs that I have looked at in the past tend to be hit or miss with me. With me, the dub for this is spotty at best. Standout performances from Rachael Lillis and Crispin Freeman are there to be sure. However, the rest of the cast seems either dry/stiff or OTT. Though I wouldn't rag on the dub too much as Ikuhara-san did supervise the dub himself, as documented on the behind the scenes video included on the DVD.

Overall, the Utena Movie is rather interesting. Granted, this is an opinion based on me not having seen the series itself, so I might find some character and plot details a bit fuzzy, but the animation of the sheer spectatle makes up for it in the end. I will make a point of watching the Utena series and maybe perhaps my opinion of the movie will change somewhat.

Next review, well, its this:
Surprise Trailer

'Til next time, dear readers

Anime Review No. 66-Iria Zeiram the Animation

Iria Zeiram the Animation

1994 OVA, 6 episodes

Studio: Ashi Productions, Director: Tetsuro Amino
Writers: Tetsuro Amino, Naruhisa Arakawa, Yoshihisa Arakawa and Hajime Matsumoto

DVD Cover

Ok, so once again back to the well-90s anime OVAs most people are less than aware of. That is, of course, lucky for me as this is an OVA that doesn't really suck that much. That OVA is Iria: Zeiram the Animation. A show that about a year ago I wasn't aware of, until I saw on the anime shelf at my local MovieStop. Said price for the boxset was about 4$, and it came in a neat little tin box container. Quite a bargain, I must say.
Anyway, what is this show about? Well, Iria: Zeiram the Animation (IZA) tells the story of Iria, a female bounty hunter in training on the planet Myce in the far future. One day, she and her brother Gren, also a bounty hunter, are sent on a mission to retrieve some cargo and rescue some survivors from a decrepit space station. Once there, however, it turns out the space station was housing an experimental killing machine-the Zeiram. And it has gone on a killing spree on the space station and must be stopped, for the sake of all humanity. Of course, the only thing standing in its way is Iria herself-and her associates-as the fate of mankind hangs in the balance.

Iria, our heroine

So, what are the merits of this OVA? Well, for a start it has a rather good story. It's a nice and straightforward sci-fi adventure with plenty of action and character piece, particularly Iria the MC. She's very much the 80s/90s action girl archetype: Steadfast, strong, quite a shot with guns and weapons, yet a tad reckless and tends to lead with her emotions. Granted, the story does go into the bleak and grisly (plenty of bloody violence as requisite in nearly all 90s anime OVAs), but it is balanced out with a sense of cautious optimism; the feeling that in spite of all our problems, we will make it out OK in the end.

Of course, the story has to be bolstered up by good animation, and IZA certainly has it in spades, even for a series that is nearly 20 years old. It is very solid, from some very striking visuals and backgrounds at times to be sure. IZA actually shares a character designer with DNA2 and Video Girl Ai; just thought that'd be a fun trivia nugget. It looks a bit on the aged side, but that's just something to be expected with anime from the 90s nowadays.

Lastly, the English dub. Now, this was originally licensed by Central Park Media back in the days. It turns out that they did put it out on VHS, but it show up on the anime block on the Sci-Fi Channel in the '90s. They went defunct and thus lost the license. Luckily, Media Blasters rescued it and re-released it a few years ago. Now, the dub is not too bad, especially considering the quality of the majority of CPM dubs. It is a bit stiff in places but serviceable.

Overall, IZA is a rather enjoyable sci-fi adventure with some good animation and a serviceable English dub. It gets a recommendation, particularly if you are into science fiction.

And now for some end-of-post humor...

Now, the next review will be over Dusk Maiden of Amnesia, to be posted on October 31. In between, I shall post up the first three entries (#10, #9 and #8) on my Anime Favorites page for this blog. This will take place around the weekend of October 19 and 20.

Anime Review No. 59-CyberCity Oedo 808

CyberCity Oedo 808

1990-91 OVA, 3 episodes

Studio-Madhouse, Director-Yoshiaki Kawajiri, Writer: Akinori Endo

Well, Central Park Media Month concludes with CyberCity. This title is more infamously known as one of those shows from the late 80s/early 90s in the same company of Angel Cop and Garzey's Wing: cheaply made, poor dubbing and full of violence and gore. Fortunately, there are some good points to this OVA: decent storytelling, fleshed out characters and some good futuristic concepts. For this review, I shall look at each episode as this is only 3 episodes long, but each spanning about 40-45 minutes. In a way, CyberCity is more like a short anthology series, as one could watch each episode separately without missing much.

Episode 1: Time Bomb

The story of this series takes place in 2808 AD aka the far future. 3 convicts are released from prison to assist the police with high risk cases that the police don't want to deal with. They are left in the charge of Hasegawa, a shadowy authority figure in CyberCity who will pop off their heads with electronic neck braces the three wear. Those 3 convicts are Sengoku, Goggul and Benten. Then the Opening song starts, which is quite nice and rocking late 80s song. Focus of the episode is on Sengoku, who is an arrogant loud bastard (putting it nicely) but eagerly violent. He doesn't play well with Hasegawa or anyone for that matter, treating Varsus (tech support droid) and a young female police officer who admires him like shit. Yeah, what a likeable antihero.

Case in question: A computer controlling a skyscraper has gone mad planning to kill some scientist. Several people have been taken hostages and the situation could easily go awry. Sengoku is go with Googles and Benten to resolve the crisis. Oh yeah, Googles is the tech guy/hacker and Benten who is good with speed and metal wire.

Let me pause for a bit to comment on the English dub which is.....gloriously bad. This comes down to two factors: much of the cast consists mainly of British VAs trying to sound American and failing. Combined that with the fact that much of the dialogue is written with lots of profanity and a rather fast and loose adaptive script only compounds the terribad dub more so. And yet, this fits though with the dark gritty cyberpunk setting. That, and the dub has a lot of memorable one-liners.

Sengoku meets Dave Kurokawa, the scientist slated for execution by the mad computer, who is acting very suspect. As it turns out, Amachi (Dave Kurokawa's mentor) has returned to exact revenge upon him, despite being killed by Kurokawa some years prior.

Sengoku goes to find Amachi in the building. Of course, the story now becomes a ticking clock as the building is set to be destroyed soon. He runs into several obstacles along the way, but manages to get through them all by sheer virtue of being an arrogant bastard. Sengoku then finds out that Amachi is some corpse wired into the computer system, controlling it through power of revenge or something-it is barely explained. Duel between Amachi and Sengoku is a quite bloody and extended affair. But still very awesome and satisfying once it ends.The day is saved...I suppose; Sengoku is still an irredeemable jerk though.

Episode 2: The Decoy Program

Focus this time is on Googles, the tech guy/hacker. He's studious, a bit even tempered well more then Sengoku and a lot more honorable. Story this time around is about an investigation of the Special Forces secret base. However, a former squeeze of Googles, Sara is on the run from the military. She stole some precious information on a top secret project. Her English VA actually slips out of accent after the first scene she's in, which is amusing.

There is also some underlying commentary on a corrupt military in the far future given how no war has made them turn to solving issues of public order and really mettling in affairs they have little to no business being involved in. The military has devised a new killer machine to deal with crime in the city More or less, they made psychic cyborgs. Yes, really. So, Sengoku and Benten act as support cast as they figure out what's happening but the story doesn't focus on them that much. But, Sara double-crosses him and sacrifies herself to finish this-a very poignant moment to be sure.

Out of the three, this is my personal favorite because well Googles goes through so much crap so his final duel against the killer cyborg is more emotionally impactful.

Episode 3: The Vampire

The third and final episode focuses on Benten, the bishounen speedster with the deadly wire. It starts off with a search for some mysterious woman he meets on the street one night, Remi Musada as it is later revealed. However there are mysterious killings with neck wounds involved that require the Benten's attention. The Conclusion: Vampire (naturally), even if it makes no sense initially.

One thing that works in this story is the atmosphere-it is very dark and grim, almost like a horror mystery story. It reminds me of Vampire Hunter, which makes sense as the character design for Benten is very similar. Benten is vastly different from the other two-a smooth operator: cool, calm and collected, nearly to the point of being sinister and detached.

A connection is found to be the chairman of a medical foundation, a writhing old man.

Benten goes alone to find out the dirty research: cybernetic panthers, I shat you not. It is revealed that the chairman has been making an immortality vaccine which, as a side effect, causes pyschic vampires. Once again, yes really. Yeah, cus that's how science works....by being fecking magical.

Remi decides to take matters into her own hands, for no real reason other than the story must go on. In a surprising turn, the chairman is a crazy immortal nutjob, much like Mr Gentlemen from ROD and the big baddie from Master of Mosqution. He doesn't really care for the side effects at all.

Benten vs. The Chairman is a very long drawn out battle, with little bits of immortality philosophizing which manages not to be pretentious. Plus it ends with a pretty gruesome death scene. Remi Musada gets her proper death-a journey to beyond the stars, Roll credits....

CyberCity Oedo 808 is an interesting mess. On the one hand, it has decent story, fleshed out characters (even if most are a-holes), and some rather interesting sci-fi concepts (even if it is sometimes laughingly implausible). On the other hand, it has an english dub that outright refuses at times to take itself seriously and animation that while looked good back in the days, it looks cheap to the modern viewer, though even this is good to look at times. Yet, this does get a recommendation from me. The good parts (setting, characters and plot) work well, and even the bad aspects (the dub and animation) of it are at the very least entertaining.

Next month is taking a look at two shows that mean a lot to me from when I started off with anime

Crest of the Stars 7/13-14

Read or Die the TV Series 7/27-28

'Til next time

The Eclectic Dude

Anime Review No. 58-Gall Force Movie 1

"The Quest is the Quest!"

Gall Force: Eternal Story

Theaterical release: July 26 1986

Studios: AIC, Artmic, Director: Katsuhito Akiyama

Writer: Sukehiro Tomita 

Well once again back to the 1980s. I have only glanced at this era twice before-looked at 1984's Birth: A War of Two Worlds, a rather stock standard sci-fi action movie last June and then last Halloween I looked at 1988's Vampire Princess Miyu, a 4 episode OVA involving vampires and the supernatural. So, where does Gall Force: Eternal Story fall? Well, let's see.

Gall Force: Eternal Story is the first movie in a science fiction film series done in late 1980s to mid 1990s. It was done by AIC, or Anime International Company, a studio which around the time this film came out, had only done Megazone 23 the previous year. Nowadays, they are a powerhouse studio, having done series like Tenchi, El Hazard, Burn Up, Ah My Goddess, etc. Now, down to the story.

Well, the story of GF: Eternal Story is essentially a science fiction epic. In the far future, there is a war waging between two groups: the Solnoids (all female race) and the Paranoids (race of amorphous aliens who reside in bio-mechanical suits, bit like the Daleks). The first part of the movie deals with a Solnoid ship Star Leaf as they journey to a planet open for colonization. Now, there are some members of the Star Leaf crew, but most are one note characters all who die by end of the movie, so no more word on them. Well except for Lufy, a starfighter pilot that they pick along the way, who does try to add some life to this dull proceedings. Seriously, it is a 'pick off the cast one by one' plot at the core of the movie.

Well, except a Paranoid comes abroad and infects one of the crew members who is close to the Captain but I'm sure it won't factor much in later. Spoiler-it does, but more on that later.

It sure says something about a movie when it has not one but two music videos embedded inside it, where there are long stretches of nothing happening. In addition, while stuff happens, one simply can't give much care since the characters haven't had much development. For instance, one of the Star Leaf crew is revealed to be a secret android who sacrified itself/herself in order for the rest of the crew to escape from the ship once it self destructs. What should be a deeply moving scene is empty because the characters and moral dilemmas haven't been fully developed, therefore I can't really care. Contrast that with the scene where Lufy ends up drifting out into space, without any way out. The audience has spent some time with Lufy and she has some sort of personality so her death has more emotional punch.

Of course, the remainder of the crew makes it to the new planet. However, it turns out, the infected crew member is now pregnant with child. She gives birth, which is one of the most unintentionally funny moment of all times. The child is revealed as male, which confounds the remaining crew most profoundly. Then the movie does the plot of TNG's The Child' as the kid grows up to full maturity in a matter of minutes. No explanation whatsoever, which miffs me a bit as this being science fiction some kind of explanation is expected, but the filmmakers said no.

The ending act is a confusing mess. It is revealed that both the Solnoids and Paranoids have planned this out from some point prior to the movie, in order to bring about peace to the galaxy or whatever. The rest of it doesn't make much sense and the movie ends on a non-ending and another fecking music video to close out.

Now, onto other stuff on this movie. The music is your standard 80s synth with the music video segments being stock 80s j-pop ballads. It is OK, not great but definitely ages the movie. The animation is well better then Birth: A War of Two Worlds. Kenichi Sonoda (creator of Gunsmith Cats) did the character designs though they mostly look like stock 80s anime character designs. The rest of the animation is very solid, even if it amounts to being an animation artifact.

The same praise can't be said of the english dub. Like Shamanic Princess, it is very dry and stiff and nearly literal to the Japanese. The only noteworthy voice actor in this is Lisa Ortiz, who one might remember as voice of Lina Inverse from the Slayers franchise. The voice acting is fairly average, though that is due in part to the material being dry and stiff and ultimately uninteresting.

On a final note: If you get this on DVD, don't watch it with the 'alternate english track'. It is not worth it. Seriously, I switched it off after a few minutes-its even worse then the original dub track, which astounds me greatly. What amazes me the most is that this enabled a film series. If I get the chance to look at the other films I might, but it is not a high priority.

If your are into science fiction and/or 80s anime, then I recommend you check it out. Otherwise, you can just skip this. The only interest it has to me is 80s kitsch, not much else.

Next time is over CyberCity Oedo 808.

Anime Review No. 57-Shamanic Princess

"I Can't Believe It's Not CLAMP!"

Shamanic Princess

1996-98 OVA, 6 episodes

Studio: Triangle Staff, Director: Mitsuru Hongo, Writer: Mami Watanabe

Well, this is the first review looking at titles licensed in the States by Central Park Media, a NY based company that specialised in licensing and distributing anime and manga...at least from 1990 up to 2009 when they went under. Shamanic Princess was released under the US Manga Corps, the main anime distribution arm, a fact made evident by their logo, which has the main character of MD Geist (one of their early releases).

Now, Shamanic Princess is an OVA from the late 1990s that is a bit of an oddball. In terms of story, it is rather straightforward: Tiara is a being from the 'Guardian World' (a world parallel to our own) who is on a quest for the 'Throne of Yord', which is the power source of all magic in the 'Guardian World'. In the process, she discovers that her friends Lena and Kagetsu are in pursuit of Sarah, Kagetsu's sister and friend of Tiara, who has become a person of interest to the Throne of Yord. Along the way, Tiara must face opposition from not just her friends but also from within.

Of course, it is not that simple. The first four episodes follow this story thread, with the last two episodes that serve as prologue rejoinder to the events of the first four. This threw me for a moment when I first watched, but then it clicked that this was mostly an extended flashback. As a recommendation, I suggest that if you do view this OVA, watch episodes 5-6 then go back and watch the first four episodes as that way helps to mitigate any confusion or plot holes that pop up in the main story, and it certainly has some. Thankfully, those don't defer enough from the story to make it bad.

As the title of this post suggests, what got me hooked to this OVA was the fact that it reminds me of CLAMP, even had a quote from Gamers' Republic on the back of the DVD cover giving this 4 stars and saying "a must have for CLAMP fans". Ha, what a gross misinterpretation. The only aspect that Shamanic Princess shares with CLAMP is in character designer (Atsuko Ishida), which shares similarity to Magic Knight Rayearth, a mid 90s fantasy TV anime series. Past that, it has similar aspects but at the same time differing from actual CLAMP series, in this case comparison to Magic Knight Rayearth (a contemporary series to this) is very apt.

First off, let's talk about magical power. In MKR, it is very much elemental in nature, reflecting core qualities of the attached characters. But SP's magic is more arcane and occult in nature, reflecting the rather dark, mysterious and surreal realm the characters reside in. Tiara's and Lena's powers rely on intricate symbols and chants similar to that used in occult magic.

Second, the characters' relationships. MKR would require an immense chart just to keep track of the huge ensemble cast within the course of that series. Luckily, SP doesn't have that issue as the main cast contains about 5-6 characters. An interesting exercise for viewers-try to diagram the various relationships of the characters in Shamanic Princess, that should be interesting.

Finally, the thematic focus isn't too far off from MKR. It deals primarily with how emotions and love can drive our actions more so than exterior forces. Of course, it adds to that philosophical musings on the nature of reality. For instance, when Tiara fights the Throne of Yord, it decides to take on her likeness, which while somewhat expected and cliche, it's interesting nonetheless as Tiara can't really beat herself. How she wins, quite frankly, I shall leave you to find out for yourself.

Apart from that, the rest is not too shabby. The background visuals are rather nice to look at, even in the Throne of Yord scenes, which have a dark surreal atmosphere. The magic battle sequences are very well done, kinetic and quick; just having enough time to run through without being a drag on the plot. The music is very fitting, shifting from battle action to quiet atmospheric moments, all without being intrusive.

Now, to talk about the English dub. Short hand, its not too bad, a rather decent effort. The only stand off voice actor in the dub is Crispin Freeman as Kagetsu. The rest of the V.A.s are only noteworthy of being in other CPM dubs and they do ok. Granted, the dub script is so tied to a straight translation script it's not even funny. Seriously, I watched this with the subtitles and I swear that the english dialogue was fitting to them 9 times out of 10. The only one that felt stiff was the V.A. For Sarah as she seems very monotone, but that's partially how that character is written. Overall, a decent dub and worth listening to; not too bad but regrettably not great.

So. I could recommend this to any fan of fantasy anime series. It is much in the vein of Ruin Explorers or The Sacred Blacksmith, that is decent fantasy fare that straddles the middle in terms of quality. It's not terrible nor it is particularly great, as the DVD cover would tell you. And on a final note, this just shows how desperate CPM seemed in trying to promote this. No really, the DVD cover boasts that this comes from "the director of Outlaw Star". I have a slight issue with this as I find that if you can't market a product on its own merits, then maybe you should reconsider Relying on other products/associations only serve to miff me a bit.

That being said, it is rather good fantasy yarn. It certainly worth a watch at the very least.

Anime Review No. 35 "Virgin Fleet"

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

Historical fiction is a genre I've read since I was a young dude. Be it Civil War or 20th Century fiction pieces, I find it interesting how some writers will look to the past of this country for literary inspiration. Not to say it's exclusive to American fiction, as the British (WWII, Victorian Age, etc), other European countries and all around the world has their own interesting histories to tell.

Anime is no exception. When dealing with historical fiction, one either ends with a few options: The Shogunate Era, WWII, Feudal Japan, etc. More well-known examples include Ruroni Kenshin, Peacemaker Kurogane, Grave of the Fireflies, and many others. But I'm not talking about any of those. Instead, I'm taking a look at the questionably titled "Virgin Fleet". An 3 episode OVA from 1998, this was made by Studio AIC (one of my favorite studios) headed by Ohji Hiroi, who is one of the 3 creators of Sakura Wars, another historical fiction piece, much like this OVA. This was brought to the USA by US Manga Corps, so right away it sours a bit for me.  

The basic story of Virgin Fleet deals with Shiokaze Umino, a cadet at the Virgin Fleet Academy in post WWI Japan, though in some sort of alternate universe (in terms of details anyway). She is training to be in the "Virgin Fleet", a special unit of the Japanese navy composing entirely of women. All of the members have 'Virgin Energy', a special psychic/mystical power that isn't well explained but could be misconstrued as water bending (lolz) and predicated on the young women remaining chaste. The OVA concerns Shiokaze and her fellow cadet friends Satsuki and Komachi trying to balance out her daily life with her duty to her country. Her choice: to either marry her childhood friend Mau or stay in the Virgin Fleet? All the while, the military higherups (total bastards) are attempting to shut down the Virgin Fleet and a looming new war is on the horizon. Oh noes!! 

I won't spoil this further, as I have to admit this isn't all that bad, even given the US Manga Corps license attached. It isn't great, as it seems to be too much to be like Sakura Wars. If you've seen Virgin Fleet after watching Sakura Wars TV Series, then the similarities are quite striking. Both involve girls with mystical powers piloting machines (Kubo bots in SK, biplanes in VF) dealing with issues in post WWI Japan. This is an era fondly remembered it seems, as Japan was on the winning side of WWI (nominally) and was experiencing good times in the country. However, I can see the first strands of rampant militarism that later would plunge Japan into another war. This is evidenced by the fact that all of the military are complete and utter hammy villains (apart from those in charge of VF). It also deals with heavy issues like arranged marriage (between Shiokaze and Mau) and equality (VF commander trying to get the military to recognize the unit's potential despite social obstacles: "The men must protect the women" mentality. It is very compelling, seeing Umino having a real moral dilemma on her hands. That what's makes this good, its a good character drama piece, with historical fiction taking a backseat to it. I care more what decision Umino makes then what happens with regard to the backstory: There's a conflict that is coming soon and will sweep away the complacency of the postwar age. Not that it's any less interesting, to be sure. 

Also, the english dub isn't that bad either. Granted, its US Manga Corps, so your mileage might vary when it comes to their dubs, I happen to like this one. Any dub that has Jessica Calvello, Crispin Freeman, Megan Hollingshead and Angora Deb deserves some praise. They all do a pretty good job with the dub, even if some of the lines are cringe-worthy. For instance: "It is our duty to our country to protect our virginity" and "My Virginity is Special" (the last line of the OVA) come to mind for me. That and some of the villains sound really hammy in the english dub. Listenable to an extant, I must say.

The overall production is very well-done. By the late 90s, a lot of OVAs were starting to look pretty good as the introduction of digital technology made its way into the production of animation at large. In the case, Virgin Fleet looks a bit plastic and a bit rough on the edges. It still holds up to today, but that's due to the fact it looks unlike anything I've seen, well, in terms of character designs.   

I'll end on this: If you like historical fiction, then check this out. It is very interesting and it has a complete story all within 3 episodes, unlike most OVAs I've previously talked about here, which due to production issues or money or lack of sales left many unfinished. But not this one. Check it out!

Until next week,

The Eclectic Dude     

Anime Review No. 19-"Maze the Megaburst Space" (1996 OVA)

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

This week, I am back in my comfort zone of anime OVAs from the 90s. Yeah, an area most people dread or don't know about is my comfort zone for anime. They are either interesting gems, so bad its good, or long forgotten titles.

Now, I'll explain this month's theme, which is an "Odd Notion of Genre". By this, I mean, certain series take a particular genre and adding in some quirky/weird elements to it. Last week's review was on Moretsu Pirates, essentially a space opera story with a space pirate story inserted into it. It can lend to interesting stories, for the most part.


However, this week's entry is Maze the Megaburst Space (best misnomer title ever btw) has quite honestly one of the weirdest quirks and elements in a fantasy journey story. It is an OVA from 1996, done by JC Staff and directed by Iku Suzuki. It is based off of a manga that has never gotten to the States, much less online, and that is surprising considering some of the stuff one can find online.

Now, here's how I came across this title. One of the few local video stores I go to on occasion is MovieStop. Back in like 2006 or so, I went over there to see what bargains they had. I see this on the shelf, and noticing the interesting cover and title (and the cheap price), I decided to purchase it. Now, since this OVA has only 2 episodes, which covers about 50 minutes, I consider this title to be a short film.

So, how is this an odd fantasy story? Well, it is a standard journey story with mature humor and mecha thrown in for good measure. I view it as a combo of Escaflowne and Sorcerer Hunters (with a dash of Sorcerer on the Rocks), but done on a cheaper budget. I'll explain further.

So, the plot of this OVA follows such: Maze and her crew, in their journey, come across the kingdom of Babylon, where a mad ruler is constructing a tower at the expense of his people. They seek to rectify the situation, all while dealing with other problems. Maze is the main character, a human from the present who somehow ended up in a fantasy world. Normally, she's a nice and likable character, except when at night she turns into a angry and horny man (shades of Ranma 1/2 much?). Of course, she/he can pilot a Demi-Armor (an organic mecha)
Her crew consists of people she has met off-screen prior to the OVA. They are:
Solude, a lesbian rogue
Princess Mill, annoying sidekick No.1
Aster, strong and stock standard fighter
Rapier, sheltered butch swordswoman
Woll, the wise old man
Randy, annoying sidekick No.2
All this is of course explained in an exposition dump at the start of the OVA. Now, their aim is to travel to the stronghold of the Holy Jaina Group (the baddies) for some reason. I'm guessing to find a way to get Maze home. Anyway, after fighting a group of ninja monks, they end up in the kingdom of Babylon. Randy, a fairy they meet on the way, tells them about how the ruler, Duke Den Den (ha xD), is a selfish prick who is constructing a tower at the expenses of his people, who are poorer than dirt as a result of his policies. Apparently Duke Den Den was prompted to do this by Gorgeous, a scarfaced minion to the Creator, the mysterious evil being behind the Holy Jaina Group.
So, the crew, through some perils and trials, end up foiling Duke Den Den's plan and saving the kingdom from certain doom. Sorry, no spoilers, watch it if you are really curious.
Now, some other things about this OVA. The animation is well done, even if its a little on the dated side. The character designs are very solid, though the backgrounds at times look faded. Granted, this was made in the pre-digital age of animation, so that is to be expected.
The oddities are another story. The mecha battles are far and few between (there's like 2 battles in the OVA) but done very well, all things considered. The mature humor, however, is more than really necessary but slightly tolerable if you're older. Don't show this to a youngster, that's for sure. There's mention of attempted rape, casual lesbianism, sexual harassment, nudity, and weird sex habits (Randy's brief talk on how fairies reproduce is one of the most baffling things I've heard). There is also 'referential' humor inserted in as well (the quiz show with dragon segment).
Then, there's the voice acting (in the english dub). This was released by Software Sculptors, a company associated with Central Park Media. I would say that this dub is rather 'inconsistent', in that there are some good performances brought down by clunkers. On the good side, there's Angora Deb who does a good job. I liked her in Wild Cardz and Alien 9, and also in this OVA. On the bad side, there's Princess Mill and Randy. They have the some of the worst VAs I have ever heard. It seems like the voices got processed through a synthesiser or the VA was required to ingest helium before recording. Yeah, and the extras also are rather bad. Then again, it makes my job of riffing it easier, to be sure.

Final Word:  This is my guilty pleasure for me. It stands as a standard 90s OVA: cheap-looking, too short, bad voice acting, etc. Of course, its quirky/weird elements makes it stand out for me. Of course, I can understand why some people might not like this.  But I like it, nonetheless. If you like fantasy anime, take a look at this one. Of course, if your are looking for some funny fantasy series, I'd recommend Sorcerer Hunters or Slayers for similar shows to this.

 Next week is on Read or Die OVA. Oh joy lol ^_^ 

Anime Review No. 13-Alien Nine

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

This week’s anime review is over Alien Nine. It’s an four episode OVA that’s nearly over a decade old. A production by JC Staff and licensing/distribution by US Manga Corps, it is one of my favorite anime titles. In fact, it is considered somewhat of a ‘cult classic’ in anime circles. I will look at why that is.

In the near future, grade schoolers in Japan use symbiotic aliens (Borgs) to fight out invading aliens. This short series focuses on one group of three 6^th grade schoolers (all girls) and their adventures. At least partly, because it ends up being a bit more than a kid-friendly adventure.

Episode 1 serves as an introduction to the characters and the plot. First, there’s Yuri Otani. She’s a crybaby/wimp who gets picked for the Alien Squad (by popular vote no less) and doesn’t really want to do it. Second, there’s Kumi Kawamura, the self-designated leader of the trio who’s only doing the Alien Squad assignment as that’s the position most expected her to be in-a position of leadership. Lastly, there’s Kasumi Tomine, a cheery girl who’s doing it for fun. Rounding out the main cast is Megumi Hisakawa, the advisor for the Alien Squad (who seems more than what she lets on).

The plot is basically similar to Evangelion, humans using alien technology to battle aliens. Also, the focus seems to be not on the alien battles, but rather the intense character development and psychological effects of the events upon the leads. Of course, where Evangelion partly succeeded at this (due to the ‘be subtle like a hammer’ approach to getting this across), Alien Nine succeeds a bit more. Sure, Yuri is vastly unlikeable from moment one, but at least the audience can somewhat sympathize with her, partly because she tries (something Shinji didn’t do much in EVA). That, and the psychological elements are done more subtle here than in Evangelion.

The structure of the series goes a bit like a modified short novel. Episode 1 is the introduction, Episode 2 rises the action to a minor climax, then Episode 3 the action falls, then picks up then again and rises to a higher narrative climax in Episode 4. I won’t say more, just to say find this title and watch it. The ending, I have to, is something I haven’t seen a whole lot in anime.  

Now, why is Alien 9 one of my favorites? Well, despite what I’ve said prior, is that’s only half of the stuff in the OVA. This series is rather disjointed.  For one half, the plot and characters fit into a framework of mature science fiction with some surreal and psychological elements (some of them still freak me out). The other half is firmly in the present. The art/animation style is superflat and moe, akin to Pokemon and Digimon (contemporary series to this one). The music is also split, with an opening that’s an upbeat pop song over montage, while the soundtrack is rather dreamlike, otherworldly music. 

So, with such disjointed elements, one would think that this short series would be bad, as disjointed elements typically yield a mess. On the contrary, they are melded together so well its not surprising why this is considered a cult classic.

(The cult classic status is due to its combined rarity and cheap price online).

Now, let’s look at the extras. The reason I mention extras for this title and not previous reviews is, well the titles I’ve looked at had very little in terms of extras. But, this is a special occasion. The DVD I had with Alien Nine comes with two extras that I like. The first is a “Dubbing Diary”, a documentary showing the dubbing production process from start to finish. It is very interesting, as it shows that some effort is made to make anime dubs passable at least. Seeing this sneak peek into this area of anime production (English dubbing and production work) is rather rare nowadays. The other extra of note is an interview with Taro Maki, one of the Japanese producers for the OVA. His talk is rather insightful, and fans of animation/creative process should watch this. He ends his talk with the possibility of more episodes of Alien Nine, though considering it’s been nearly a decade since the interview and nothing has come out (probably due to it being in development hell no doubt), I can that’s a pipe dream.

Final Score is 9/10. It is superb, with start to finish. A memorable, but sadly forgotten OVA from the early 2000s, it stands out (to me at least) as an example of animation doing something not meant just for kids, but also something adults can enjoy as well. It’s sometimes I’m proud to own.   

So, next week, back to the 'crap' ^_^  jk lolz

Laterz,

Eclectic Dude

Anime Review No.4-Sailor Victory

Hello, this is the Eclectic Dude; I review it for the lulz ^_^

Anyway, to close out my first month of informal reviews of anime (huzzah), I am going to go over another short 90s OVA-Sailor Victory.
DVD Cover
This OVA dates from 1995, done by Bandai Visual with assistance from Head Room and Movic. Sailor Victory is a spinoff of Graduation, another 1995 OVA, which itself has a sequel-Marriage (1996 OVA). Yeah, really simple titles eh? lolz.

Anyway, Sailor Victory involves the main characters from Graduation OVA in a parallel world. In this world, Mikado City (main setting) is under siege from criminals with giant robots (really ridiculous!). So, a group of teenage girls pilot ninja robots to combat crime. Wait, what?!

The plot is basically a pilot that didn't go anyway past that point. It introduces the main heroines, has them fighting a bank robber then an evil sorceress who wants to take over the city.
Now the main characters. Reiko (pink haired girl) is the financier of the Sailor Victory who tends to be a bit too serious for her own good. She's accompanied by Shizuka (brown long haired girl), the technician and token meganekko (glasses girl). Kiyomi (dark blue haired girl) is the leader of Sailor Victory, though she's a bit hot-headed and cocky (and not clever at all). Mika (brown short haired girl) is well, the 2nd lead robot pilot, that's all we are given (well that and her job is that of a delivery girl when she's not piloting a ninja robot). Finally, there's Mami (green haired girl), the token loli who's supposed to be a genius, but she ends up just being an annoying and clumsy dolt.

The other characters are basically stereotypes. The police in this are presented as misogynistic and incompetent dolts. The villains include a bank robber, who's also misogynistic butthole and an evil sorceress (Ms. Margarita) who seems to be a Sailor Moon villain reject. Seriously, this OVA can be summed up by a quote from Kiyomi-"Oh, this is B.S.!".

The animation, well, I can't complain. It looks similar to other works of the time, generic but not terrible. The ninja robots are designed very well, despite the wonky premise. The voice acting, on the other hand, it is not as consistent, particularly in the english dub. The actors/actresses range from nomially passable to bad. Also, AnimeWorks, for whatever reason, decided to add in rather unneccessary profanity (PG-13 level) into it. Not to nickpick, but still it's worth mentioning that.

Final Score for Sailor Victory is 5/10. Like Jewel BEM Hunter Lime, it has a novel concept. But, it gets hampered by content and not from execution. It gets too far ridiculous for me to give a care about the plot or the characters, despite its anemic attempts to do so. There are better mecha series out there. While it is not the worst show in existence, it is not the best either. It is merely average. I'd pass this unless you are really curious.

So, for next month I'll do something different. Here's the schedule for next month
Sept 4-List of 10 Favorite Anime Series I've Seen
Sept 11-Anime Review No. 5
Sept 18-List of 10 Worst Anime Series I've Seen
Sept 25-Anime Review No. 6