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. 93 (Sakura Wars)

“With Fiery Passion!”

Sakura Wars TV (2000)

Director: Ryutaro Nakamura

Writers: Hiroyuki Kawasaki, Kunihiro Okajima, Yoshimi Narita, Katsuhiko Takayama, Kenichi Kanemiki, Gou Tamai, Sachiko Doi, Takao Yoshioka, Tatsuya Suzuki, Ken Abe, Kazuharu Sato, Takao Yoshimoto

Studio: Madhouse

Ok, so now we are at another important title, at least in my development of being an anime fan. Around 2009, I had come across this on the shelf at Best Buy when I was at college in Virginia. This was actually one of the early complete collection sets I gotten, the first one being Evangelion Platinum Edition back around 2006. That show being, as you expect, is Sakura Wars. Please note that I am only really talking about the TV series here. Yes I am aware of the games, manga, OVAs and the movie but my focus will rest with the 25 episode TV series that aired in 2000. So what’s it all about?

Well Sakura Wars (Sakura Taisen in Japanese) is the story of Sakura Shinguji, a country girl who ventures to Tokyo to become part of the Imperial Combat Troupe-Flower Division, a part of the defense force defending the capital from the denizens of evil. Although at first, she is a bit out of her depths when dealing with the other team members, both during and outside of combat and training. Of course, in the process she becomes part of the team both on the battlefield and on the stage. All set with a backdrop of alternative historical 1920s, steampunk-esque Tokyo where advanced mecha technology converges with dark mystical power.

The story of this series rests on the hands of three men: Ohji Hiroi who developed the original manga and acted as creator/producer for the franchise, Satoru Akahori.the head of the writing team (series composition) and finally Kosuke Fujishima who along with Hidenori Matsubara handled the character designs which you tell as the character designs closely resemble those from the contemporaneous Ah My Goddess the Movie. And they managed to succeed in forging a franchise that persists for several years. Sakura Wars is a brilliant meld of Super Sentai, Japanese historical fiction and nice character driven storytelling.

Of course, the series itself is drawn back from being truly great and that is for two BIG reasons. The first reason is that the story takes a very ‘long game’ approach to the storytelling. Which means for one thing it takes time for the show to get really great, like in halfway through I would say. But once it does it becomes easily one of the most interesting and entertaining anime ever. A colleague of mine once told me that he tried watching Sakura Wars but couldn’t get past episode 7 or 8 and I can understand in that leads to my other reason: The cast starts off very unlikeable or very shallowly developed, with a few that come across very stand-offish or straight up loathing. But thanks to the ‘long game approach they do get appropriate development as they are shaped by the events that occur and their interactions with each other and others is really compelling for the last few episodes.

The animation is well, alright and functional. Granted this was done by Madhouse before they were particularly well-known for the quality work that they are known for nowadays. It also falls in that same category of previously reviewed anime like Nadesico and Silent Mobius where the meld of traditional cel animation and digitally painted cel animation/CG. This does make the anime look a bit rough around the edges but by the final few episodes the production look a bit more even. What works great in the show’s favor is the soundtrack, with music done by the legendary Kohei Tanaka. The OP as I have mentioned before is one of the best OPs I have heard-an all time favorite.

Now for the english dub. Oh boy, what an uneven jumble. Of course, this dub is brought by the now long defunct Monster Island Studios, the secondary studio in Austin that ADV ran from 1998 to 2005. This is the same group that dubbed stuff like My Dear Marie (my favorite and only recommendable dub from this group), Eden’s Bowy, Zaion and heck Wedding Peach. What hurts the dub is several things. For one thing, it starts off not really good, sort of directionless with either too much hammy overacting or too little effort put into the vocal performances. Most of the supporting cast sound alright, but the main cast aren’t all that good starting off, no surprise that aside from a few (Larissa Walcott and Samantha Inoue-Harte), this was the one and only project that they were involved with. Worse still most of them employ rather obviously fake accents. Though to be fair, they do grow into the roles by the end, though its too little too late.

So overall Sakura Wars is an example of a rather interesting premise that gets fudged up by production troubles but its still impressive given the effort and work that went into it. I would add that the TV show serves as a good primer for the whole franchise. My opinion of it might have soured against it recently, but the series hold some significance to me regardless.

Speaking of significance, the next series I am reviewing is also another real important show for me…..

Til next time, dear readers

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. 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. 70-Patlabor OVA

Patlabor OVA
1988-89, 7 episodes
Studio: DEEN/HEADGEAR, Director-Mamoru Oshii, Writer-Kazunori Ito



Hello there, well it is time for the final review for the blog this year. In case you didn’t get it by the preview trailer posted at the end of the previous review, I am going over the Patlabor OVA, the other release I got from Maiden Japan this year. This review will be more of an episode guide as this show is old enough to warrant it. Therefore, spoilers warning.
Episode 1: Second Unit, Move Out!


Notice anything off here? 

It’s the near future in Japan, where giant robots have been developed for wide use in society. However, crime rose as a result and in response the police develop the Patlabor, which unsurprisingly look like the robot from Appleseed. This information is dispensed through the pre-opening intro at the start of every episode.  Then the opening song (link to OP), which I have to say is one of the best from the old school anime I have looked at. It’s energetic and fun, and gives you enough clues about what this is about, namely giant robots.



Essentially, Patlabor is the chronicles of the Second Unit of the Tokyo Metro Police Security Division. This series came out at a time when giant robot shows were rather simplistic: Macross, Gundam, etc while entertaining and successful money makers. Patlabor added some depth and philosophy to the mix-years before Anno did the same thing with Evangelion, except this works out a bit better. I believe that is due to the director, Mamoru Oshii. He also is behind Ghost in the Shell, another sci-fi which deals with similar themes and ideas to Patlabor. It is very cautious optimistic: robots have done some good things for society and that all our problems have been solved with technological progress, but still some of the societal ills exist nonetheless.
Anyway, the SV2 is headed by Captain Goto, a deadpan snarker boss. Shinobu is the female captain for the first unit and double acts against Goto quite often, providing some nice comedic moments here and there, in small doses. Of course, our main characters are the squad members: Noa Izumi-plucky genki redhead girl, names her Patlabor 'Alphonse'; Asuma Shinohara-down to earth guy who’s son of the president to the company that made the Labors possible; a gun otaku named Ohta, a scrawny newly married man Mikiyasu and the gentle giant Hiromi.  

 
One things I have to give this series is that it has quite solid animation, both in mecha design and backgrounds

Basically the first episode serves as a standard first episode: introducing the world, the characters, the main draw (the Patlabors), and setting up the situation. I have to say they do a very good job at this task. It does take a bit for it get interesting but luckily once it picks up, it does with great speed. What happens is that the SV2 grab their Patlabors and go to deal with some criminals who have gotten hold of a Labor and a police chase ensues The fight and chase scenes is well done, quick and kinetic animation. I also like to point out that the animation is rather solid and consistent, with some great backdrops thrown in for good measure. The episode ends with them capture the bad guys yet the Patlabors need repairs; overall a decent first episode.  

Episode 2: Long Shot (aka ‘Dat Face!!’)
It starts off with something completely out of left field: Izumi getting to test out a new Patlabor-which looks like a Gundam knockoff. However it fails, but then it turns out that it was all a dream.


Oh, mai waifu! (No seriously Kanuka rules, screw you guys)

Anyway, new character introduced: Kanuka Clancy, aka my favorite character in this show and potential waifu. No, seriously. Despite being an American transfer, she is the most Japanese looking of the entire cast, which is very funny. It also doesn't hurt that she is voiced by Angora Deb, one of my favorite voice actresses from CPM dubs (others being Veronica Taylor, Rachel Lillis, Megan Hollingshead, Jessica Calvello). She is here to oversee a goodwill trip by the NYC mayor; acting as temporary Security advisor.
It is in this episode that the Babel project is first brought out: basically turn Tokyo Bay into a mini-version of the Netherlands, to solve land issues. There is lots of talk about this, but it isn't explored too much in the OVA at least that I am aware of, acting as something in the background. Opposition in the form of terrorists and other anti-govt people that don’t much care for the Babel Project for very vague reasons.


Gah, what a face >.< 

It turns out some mad scientist has set up a bomb right near the hotel building where the NYC mayor will be at; the episode turns into a ticking clock type situation-real tense. She pretty much saves the day as she is like the expert on explosives and helps Shinohara with 'which wire is cut?' scenario then ends up cutting the wire herself just in the nick of time. 


Bwahahahahahaha Dat Face (twice in the same scene)

Shinohara wants to quit, yet stays when its announced that Kanuka Clancy is staying for a year with SV2. Possibly due to him gaining a crush on Kanuka, I don’t know it isn’t explained clearly at this point. Despite that, I quite like this episode: great action and suspense, and an introduction to one of my favorite female characters in anime.  

Episode 3: The 450 Million Year Old Trap
Ok, right off the bat, this whole episode is practically a dead straight parody of the 1954 Godzilla film. I say dead straight parody because as ridiculous as the premise is, it is played completely serious. It has all the elements of a monster flick: Mysterious sea creature, mad scientist who created it, various schemes to deal with the creature (ranging to scientific to practical to just plain silly), scientific psychobabble (panspermia theory and ruminations on evolution).


Oh you knew I had include another Kanuka screencap in here somewhere

The scene in Hirata's lab is really the one highlight: the writing, animation, lighting, direction-its all impeccable.Kanuka Clancy is really the sane one of the group but then is quickly involved, but more in the ‘oh let’s just kill the sucker’ which is rather disheartening. Unfortunately, it is very anti-climatic. 

 
Yeah, this makes even less sense in context. 

I see why most people don't like this episode, as it is rather unlike anything else in the OVA series. It turns the show from a police procedural with giant robots and blending in elements from B-movie monster flicks. On the other hand, I can also see shy Mamoru Oshii says that this is his favorite. He seems to be very much a Godzilla fan and wanted to pay homage to it in this project. Personally, I find this episode to be more an interesting experiment that fails in execution rather than planning. Sure, the plot is nearly beat for beat Godzilla, the fact that they play it straight makes its more entertaining, at least in my eyes.

Episode 4: The Tragedy of L
It opens with the SV2 squad brought into deal with a hostage situation at a VHS store. Yet, they manage to botch that up and Capt. Goto decides that they need some retraining. So, they go back to their former training school. They still get some R&R (nice bath scenes with a bit of male and female fanservice, at least by late 80s standards).

 
Dat Face strikes again 

But, some strange things occur: Someone put red paint in the bath, Ohta finds hair in the sink and spots a ghostly girl, A mossy overgrown Patlabor emerges from the mist with a skeleton inside, and some other coincidental events relating to a tragic past incident at the training school. Shinohara and the others are piecing together the puzzle in order to solve the mystery. Shinohara comes in and basically shows that all isn't what it seems.

However, he is upstaged by Kanuka who very much steals the scene and goes further than Shinohara could: its takes more to put the pieces together-one must analyze and synthesize the whole situation and all the information presented to you must be taken into consideration: to sift out the truth from the lies.  
The only thing I really like about this episode is that it offers some interesting commentary on the structure of mystery tale. Otherwise, an OK episode.  

Episode 5/6: The SV2's Longest Day, Parts I-II Pinnacle of the whole OVA series
In Winter (February to be precise), Shinohara finds out that his father's company is developing a new Labor for military use. It is also around Holiday season, and so the SV2 squad are all off on vacation. Meanwhile, a widespread criminal conspiracy is afoot with a past friend of Capt. Goto's, named Kai, at its helm-mysterious men in black scouting out the SV2….for nefarious purposes mwahahaha.  


And another Kanuka screencap added in (also, the action scene she's in is fantastic)

Quick paced action and drama rolled in one; great character moments-everyone in the main cast have their moment to shine (Shinobu's defiance against the authorities who'd prefer to turn tail and run, Goto dealing with stopping Kai's plan, Kanuka and her crazy driving scene, Shinohara and Noa's buddy comedy scene as they make their way to help). Another thing I like about this show is that any sort of romance is rather subdued: Goto x Shinobu, Shinohara x Kanuka is more implicit in nature, and that it doesn’t detract at all from the main story.


Yeah, this is how the 2 parter ends....on a still frame for reasons that forever baffle me

Some other things of note: real nice cliffhanger between the parts as the squad gets together to do battle. Part I is all establishment and build-up, then Part II is big bang action and quick payoff. It is a nail-biting, down to the wire scenario. Finally, if properly edited, this could have been a good standalone movie for the series (oh wait...).  

Episode 7: SV2 to the North!
We sort of go full circle with the seventh and final episode, as the SV2 squad deal with a stolen prototype Labor, which got stolen twice. The unfortunate thing is that it isn't connected to anyway to the events of the last 2 episodes which were great-no sense of any time lapse or skip, even a basic mention.  

 
The Patlabor rolling out and the ensuing robot fight is really the only highlight of this episode

Gosh I love Kanuka Clancy-only one not arguing/bickering and just wanting to get the job done. Noa’s and her team-up with the prototype Labor against the company’s own Labors which turn on them near end of the episode is the highlight. It ends on a definite high note: Promise of good stuff to come….
That being said, it is a good episode overall, but it feels like the ending for this particular OVA, and not for a series: Not surprising, as by the time this episode was released in Japan a TV Series and Movie was being made.  

Misc observations:
I love how this series explores the impact that the advancement of technology has on society. It offers an interesting look into society of the future, that even with the giant robots, the police will still have to deal with criminal activity regardless.

The English dub: quite good, certainly one of the better NY/CPM dubs I've listened. For all the flack i give CPM when it comes to their releases, they did do quite a number of good dubs: this one, Slayers, Utena, etc. Dan Green is in this dub, and yes kiddies before Yu-Gi-Oh! He was in quite a lot of these CPM dubs. Everyone else is rather good, though a few slip-ups and hammy acting occur as well. Once again, Angora Deb is another standout performer as Kanuka, and certainly some of the others (Michael Schwartz as Capt. Goto) give some really great performances.

Overall, Patlabor OVA is a very good old school giant robot show. It is certainly one of the best old school (80s and 90s) anime that I have looked at. And I am glad that Maiden Japan has taken an interest in licensing and releasing this as it had been out of print for at least a decade. If you’re a fan of old school anime or giant robots, then I definitely recommend checking this out. Also, Maiden Japan has been releasing the TV Series which is based off of this OVA (4 sets in total) primarily because they did a license rescue of the stuff that US Manga Corps released back in the day. The movies in this franchise are still in the hands of Bandai, though been out of print for some time but can be found if you're willing to do some digging. I hope to get my hands on at least the first movie and go from there. This OVA, more than anything, has served as a great introduction for the Patlabor universe.

Well, that covers 2013 for me. I will be posting an update on the Anime Favorites page on my blog Sunday with Entries #4 and #3 for that list.

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