Anime Review No. 90 (Mardock Scramble The Third Exhaust)

Mardock Scramble III

Ok, so now time to finish off this film series. It continues from where Part II left off, with Rune Balot and Dr Easter are still at the casino. They are still losing, but its all part of the plan-they have a long game in mind for sure. Meanwhile, Shell is able to track down them at the casino and Boiled still is trying to get back Oefculque. It is clear right from the get-go that this feels like the last third of a larger movie, where everything is coming to a head.

They end up in a card game against Ashley Harvest (some official at the casino who was in one scene near the end of Part II) but the game turns to a draw every time. Of course he tries to get under her skin but she is strong-willed and determined and also gets some advice from Bell Wing, the casino worker Balot met in Part II. Then Shell brings in some heavies to settle the score, however Balot and the doctor get away from the casino. But uh-oh a car chase ensues with Boiled but they get away from that as well. Car chase is quite good, granted that there is some obvious CG in places.

Rune Balot and Dr. Easter then sort out the memories acquired from the casino chips, because Shell’s obsessed with implanting memories into those…..because, there’s a lack of explanation, but whatever. So, Balot dives into Shell’s memories and its quite interesting. Shell’s brutality towards his ‘girlfriends’ is quite harrowing and shocking, and mostly puts his actions up to this point in context. His reasoning…..is both predictable yet still unsettling. I won’t spoil but suffice to say yeah I kind of figured that but it's still shocking.

The trial date is set (yeah remember that from Part I? Yeah it slipped my mind, and the production crew it seems) and Shell gets the conviction. But Rune Balot ends up having to protect Shell for some reason, in part due to the October Corporation (which Shell was part of) has now to decide to detach Shell from them and thus go after him as they are practically mobsters. Balot and Dr. Easter go to his place, only to find Shell’s fiancee murdered in the bath.  

Last bit of it is quite bloody as Shell struggles to get away from Rune Balot who wants to kill him for what he did, but Oeufcoque is her conscience in trying to get her to stop. There is the very tense final fight between Balot and Boiled but had a very satisfying end after all.

Now, the third installation, which I got back last spring, contains both the Theatrical and Director’s Cut versions. I watched the Director’s cut mainly on a whim. Pretty much the same things I noted in my reviews for Parts I and II can be applied here. Mardock Scramble is impressive looking, with a vibrant and diverse color palette and tense atmosphere throughout this installment. If nothing else, it is visually striking and quite wondrous. Granted the story is a bit rote and hues to cyberpunk tropes and formula but its good enough in everything else that I can give it some slack.  

Now, the English Dub, directed by Janice Williams and written by Josh Grelle, is a very solid effort by Sentai Filmworks. Hilary Haag, David Matranga and Andy McAvin put in some of the best work here in this film series and should be commended for that. The rest of the cast (includes Andrew Love, Leraldo Anzaldua, Susan Koozin and David Wald) is very good as well.

In the end, Mardock Scramble is really good, but not quite great. It is however a remarkable tale of redemption and revenge and the delicate line between the two.The trilogy is worth at least a look if you like cyberpunk and sci-fi action. Of course, I would recommend anyone who wants to check this out, watch all 3 parts in one sitting-its something you can dole out on easy-going afternoon.

So, next review is my last one for the year on the blog, and its a very special movie for me….

Til next time, dear readers…...

Anime Review No. 84 (Sound of the Sky)

Sound of the Sky

Director: Mamoru Kanbe

Script: Hiroyuki Yoshino

Studio: A-1 Pictures

Now onto a show that isn’t only great, but I consider it an underrated gem of the decade thus far. That show is Sound of the Sky, or Sora no Woto. In some time fan in the future, private Kanata Sorami, a new recruit for the Helvetian army is being sent to her first military assignment. That being at the Clocktower Fortress, a far off fort on the edge of the frontier, near the frontier town Seize. Kanata is also a bugler, though her instrument playing needs a bit of work but she has the urge to improve. She was inspired by an encounter as a child by a mysterious blond bugler, whose identity is a mystery plot point throughout the show’s run. Although, the fortress is home of the 1121st platoon, though it is more like a squad given the small size of it. It has a varied cast of characters that get their own stories and time to develop/grow, be it the stern mentor Rio, the kind motherly Fillica, the bratty Kureha and the sleepy but stoic Noel.

Kanata is bliss (and also reminds me of some other character hmm)

Airing in January-March 2010, Sound of the Sky was the debut project of Anime no Chikara. This project, translated roughly to ‘The Power of Anime’, was a collaboration between TV Tokyo and Aniplex put together in 2009 as an effort to do original anime productions, free of ties to other works like manga, visual novels and video games. So, Aniplex tapped A-1 Pictures (their own animation studio) with the task of making these productions. The project unfortunately only did 3 shows in 2010, in back-to-back seasons: this, Night Raid 1931 and Occult Academy. No further word on this project, which is a bummer but then again A-1 Pictures is too busy making SAO because it is really necessary for the world.

Yeah Kanata, I don't know why A-1 has some done more SAO then more of this or Zvezda Plot

What is interesting in Sound of the Sky is the unique mash-up of genres. It is basically a Girls Club SoL show in a war zone setting. I like the intricate world building present here. Granted, much of it is based on early 20th century European style (buildings, uniform/clothing, culture, partially names etc). It has a local story focus with glimpses of a wider world. The story has a nice blend of soft light hearted SoL vignettes and serious war drama. In addition, there is quite a lot of legend and lore dispensed within this 13 episode show, the legend of the Flame Maidens and also how that ties into a past catastrophe that is hinted at, but never fully revealed. But that’s ok, since the mystery of the catastrophe is more interesting than the thing itself. This is also a quite solid series from start to finish, never dragging down or going too fast.

The only bit of the omake episode I am showing you xD

My favorite episodes of the show were episode 7.5, 8 and 13. Now while the show is 13 episodes, its technically 12 with 2 DVD exclusive episodes, which thankfully Right Stuf (through their Nozomi Entertainment licensing/distribution label) included in the DVD collection. I got to say its for the best as episode 7.5 is one of the most funny omake/OVA style episode I have seen for an anime yet. Episode 8 is a fine bottle episode, focusing in on one location and letting the situational story that takes place to drive the episode. I won’t spoil what that is, you will have to see for yourself. Finally episode 13 is a quite sublime series finale, hinting at a possible and natural extension for the story to go and yet I feel the story is complete as it is. That, in my mind, is the mark of a great show.

It was at this moment, I knew that this was something special

Sora No Woto OP

Music is a bit of a theme and the power of it in shaping or even improving our lives. The song ‘Amazing Grace’ is the constant song played during the course of the show, and I like that ties into the other themes present in the show, rather than ‘Ode to Joy’ which is plastered on a lot of anime, regardless of whether or not it makes sense (looking at you Gunslinger Girl). Anyway,the animation is quite solid overall but then again its A-1 Pictures they tend to go a good job on certain shows.Music is quite great with some nice sweeping orchestral moments coupled with gentle guitar strumming and haunting strings . If the OP animation looks a little similar to Elfen Lied, then yeah that is because Mamoru Kanbe directed this and Elfen Lied, hence the rather Klimt-esque art style. The upbeat energetic ED.is standard and often a nice respite from some of the more darker episodes.

Nozomi Entertainment’s release of Sound of the Sky is rather bare bones, just some character profiles, clean OP/ED and trailers. There’s an alternate episode 1 but when I watched it the only difference I noticed was that it included the OP. It is also sub-only, so I can’t really speak on the voice acting, but it is quite good. Right Stuf used to, back in the boom (as KO Beast and Kare Kano can attest) they would pick up shows and then farmed out the dubbing to other studios (mostly in New York and LA) as the company is based out in Iowa

Sound of the Sky is available from Nozomi Entertainment (once in 2011, thinpak in 2013). Of course, if you just want to watch it without buying, then don’t fret: It’s up on Youtube (Sound of the Sky episode list) for mostly free of cost. You got literally no excuse to check this out and watch it.

SO yeah, next time, who wants to go down the rabbit hole?

NO NOT THAT HOLE >.<

Til next time, dear readers.

Anime Review No. 77-Mardock Scramble The First Compression

Mardock Scramble The First Compression 2010 Movie

Studio-GoHands, Director-Susumu Kudo, Writer: Tow Ubukata

Well, yeah it is very violent as I said weeks ago. This time, well its Mardock Scramble. Based on the novel by Tow Ubukata, who also wrote the screenplay, Mardock Scramble: The First Compression is the first in a trilogy of 3 short films, as this installment clocks in about 60 minutes.

Now, here’s the summary, so spoilers behold below. In the far off future, a young prostitute named Rune Balot is introduced and then ends dying after a run-in with a particularly nasty customer, in a rather nasty way to go, I must say. But she is rescued by a scientist Dr. Easter and reborn as a cyborg, preserve through the Mardock Scramble 09 system (heh title drop).She is asked to assist in the investigations behind Shell Septinos, who is involved in illegal activities and the guy responsible for her untimely death. She is teamed up with Oeufcoque, a biomechanical entity.They try to go to court so they can get Shell in jail, but unfortunately they hit a snag when her tragic past is brought up and the justice system isn’t too kind towards lowly Rune Balot, even if she was killed unneeded. Of course, the battle is far from won as it will be fought against some hired hands that Shell Septinos, all whom are in some way rather nasty and disturbing psychotics.

After some training with Dr. Easter, Rune is ready for a fight. Last 10 minutes or so involves Rune Balot with Oeufcoque fighting off the mooks piecemeal. Highlight of the movie itself-nice, slick and to the point. Though, She nearly loses it towards the end. Final showdown is against Shell Septinos' main henchman but ends on a cliffhanger and cuts to credits while....Amazing Grace is playing?! What?! Yeah, somehow I imagine a trilogy was expected as Movie 1 is more like a prologue.

Rune Balot is an interesting enigma. She is very detached from the world, yet builds a nice rapport with Oeufcoque. In addition, she led a truly sad, twisted and tragic life. Yet, when she is with Oeufcoque she is a witty and smart-alecky, and the banter between the two are a treat in this movie. Apart from those two, the other characters in this movie are stock at best,with barely any characterization past the surface. Then again, this serves as the introductory piece to this story.

To be frank, this is a bloody and dark, mature affair. In many ways, it seems to be a throwback to the bloody, grimdark late 80s/90s OVA era from which anime more or less sprung from in the states (CyberCity Oedo 808, Ghost in the Shell, Armitage III etc) in a sense. It is a bit vague on the sci-fi details but adequate enough for the proceedings. I’m sure that more details will come in the other 2 movies and the novel. This feels like something from 20 years prior but with better production values.

Now, while the movie might be short on plot or characters, it sure looks and sounds pretty. It is a lavish production and has high quality values. GoHands is an offshoot of former employees from Satelight and known for anime such as Princess Lover, K and most recently last fall’s Coppelion. There are nice use of colors and shadows to enforce a grimdark atmosphere. Music is an eclectic mix of rapid fire punchy music and slow, plodding music.

The dub: oh boy, here we go: Steven Foster, who directed and wrote the dub script for this movie. This is the first time I am talking about a Steven Foster dub and certainly not the last (though THAT series is for a review down the road to be sure). Not saying he's a bad ADR Director/Scriptwriter but he is rather inconsistent with his dub work, especially in comparison to the other directors/writers in the Sentai stable, what few they are. For every good/entertaining dub (Ghost Stories, Cromartie High, Pani Poni Dash, Horizon series, etc) he goes a hack job (HOTD, Medaka Box, Kill Me Baby, etc). Granted, this was dubbed back in 2011 when Steve Foster was very much the go-to guy for Sentai Filmworks dub work as opposed to now when it’s not clear whether or not he doing that stuff anymore.

Thankfully, this is definitely in the good category at the very least. Aside from a higher level of profanity that wasn't in the original Japanese, the writing is rather tact and the performances are very good as well. In particular, Hilary Haag as Rune Balot and Andy McAvin as Oeufcoque give noteworthy performances. The rest of the cast seems appropriate for the roles and do a serviceable job. If you have seen enough ADV dubs, there are some recognizable voices but that’s about it. In fact, it’s hard to really call this a ‘Sentai Filmworks’ dub (more nebulous if you press me) as most of the cast is made up of ADV veterans, but since it came out in 2011 that’s most likely a trend of early Sentai Filmworks dub work.

So, in all fairness I can’t really recommend this by itself. Granted its good as a prologue with decent action and atmosphere but thats about it. It is also very dark and violent so if you are squirmy against that, you're best off staying away then. I suppose if you are curious, either get the other two movies (final one is out in the States next week) or perhaps check out the novel, which I plan on doing so. I do own the second movie as well and plan on doing a review for that, slated for later in the year and a possible review for the third movie once I get it and sit down to watch it.

So, next? Well, I figure its time for a primer….a harem primer. But don’t worry, I am not covering some trashy/crap show in that genre. Nah, quite frankly a recent entry in the genre that is quite overlooked, at least by me.

Dude gets all the ladies xDD

‘Til next time, dear readers….

Anime Review No. 71-FLCL

"Never Knows Best"
FLCL

2000-01 OVA, 6 episodes

Director-Kazuya Tsurumaki, Studios-Gainax/Production IG, Writers: Kazuya Tsurumaki and Yoji Enokido

also

2 volume manga (2000-01)-Art by Hajime Ueda; story by Gainax

So, Happy New Year readers

Well, I figure I shall start out the new year with a review of a show that's over a decade old and done by one of my favorite anime studios-that being FLCL or Fooly Cooly. Note, I will be talking about FLCL overall, no need to worry about spoilers. That said, go see this!

Now a brief summary: Naota is just your typcial young kid living in a city, dealing with puberty and the implications of that, be it his brother's ex-girlfriend, etc. He likes life to be easy and dull, yet one day Haruko, a crazy pink haired girl, runs into him with her Vespa motorcycle and from that moment onwards, Naota's life changes forever, for better or worse (more the latter then former anyway).

Suffice to say that it is all I am saying about, because this OVA has been quite overplayed for the past decade, first airing by Toonami then subsequent reruns every now and then. Yet, this show is still quite popular and well-known here in the States. Why's that?

Huh, something about this looks familiar.....

Well, the greatest strength of FLCL is that it serves as a grand pinnacle to anime comedy, at least for Studio Gainax. It is just so quick-fire in pacing that the gags fly full and above the rest, nearly blowing out of the water many of the other anime comedies I have seen. Granted, a lot of the comedy presented is rather surreal so at first glance one might not get it. I stated back on my Anime Favorites page regarding FLCL as such, and I stand by that statement. I feel that Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt, which I quite like, is a mere pale shadow of this: the jokes there are more hit and miss, dependent on your tolerance for toilet humor. FLCL is one crazy, insane ride from start to finish and it never lets up at all. In fact, FLCL can be more compared to Kill la Kill, the recent 2013-14 anime put out by Studio Trigger, which is made up of former Gainax staffers. If you have seen Kill la Kill (and you should because it's awesome), then that comparison becomes quite clear.

Why the malformed face......eh?

Of course, this aspect is helped favourably by other factors. First off, there is a great director-writer team in Kazuya Tsurumaki and Yoji Enokido working on this. Now, prior to this, Tsurumaki had overseen the last third of Kare Kano anime (which I have looked at before) and Enokido had written a large part of the Utena anime and co-wrote a few episodes of Evangelion. So, in essence, we get a team getting their first project to run themselves. The result is nothing short of fantastic. The direction is vibrant and full of life, firing on all cylinders like a finely tuned machine. Of course, the animation derps and dips in place, but that seems to be delibarate. But when it is great, the animation can shine, due to this being a Gainax/Production IG collab, which both by this point had done some great work and would continue to do so for at least the next decade. Enokido provides a script which at first might be a tad confusing, but upon rewatching it clears some things up. FLCL is a series that is designed to be rewatched, in order to be fully understood. There is distinct lyrical, nah poetic aspect to the dialogue, though very postmodern, with little throwaway bits that later come into play in surprising ways. The middle of the OVA (episodes 3-4) might seem to be filler material and the ending is so ambiguous, but it manages to be entertaining enough so as to dissaude such accusations. Its no surprise that this same team would go on to make Diebuster a few years later, which is why those two Gainax shows are my favorite over some of the other entries in their catalog, though a good part of the Gainax catalogue holds a special place in my heart. Such a shame that Gainax has been in the pits for the past few years-their current stuff just doesn't match up to what they used to do, or rather they no longer suit my tastes which could be it.

A Faux-meganneko, if you will xD

The sound is equally terrific for FLCL: both the OST and language tracks. The entire OST is done by The Pillows, an alternative rock group who have been around for some time. In particular, the ending song "Ride on Shooting Star" is just awesome (FLCL ED). While serviceable in the Japanese, the English dub is quite good, with some noteworthy performances from Kari Wahlgren, Barbara Goodson, Stephanie Sheh, etc. Though, there exists a nagging problem with the dub: it is too faithful to the original Japanese. Not just in terms of the adapted script, but in how its performed vocally. This has been quite an issue with West Coast/LA dubs, in that they tend to hue more towards the original Japanese. I first actually noticed this with the dub of Lucky Star, which has predominance of 'chipmunk voices' in the dub in an effort to make the dub more like the original Japanese. Madoka also suffers a bit from this practice in the dub as well. It doesn't seem to me that anyone really notice or let them know about that. Regardless, the FLCL dub is still quite good.

Groovy  ^_^

And now for the manga adaptation, as I said before, this is an Anime vs. Manga article:

Typical start of your day....

Hajime Ueda did the artwork for the manga, having been a doujin writer prior to getting tapped for this manga adaptation. Story is credited to Gainax, though I'm willing to bet it was Ueda collaborating with Tsurumaki and Enokido in terms of the writing.

Volume 1 is nearly beat for beat the events of the first 2 episodes of OVA: Fooly Cooly and Firestarter. Some of the details are slightly altered, but the semblance of plot remains roughly the same. If you are thinking that the manga segments in the OVA are like the manga itself, then you are sadly mistaken. The art is very rough around the edges, very cartoonish one might say. Of course, it does fit the tone of the piece anyway, so any quibblings that can be made about the artwork are just that. There are a lot of more references made in the manga, such as one chapter starting off with a panel of Tak-kun and the robot making a rendition of Edvard Munch's The Scream.

Of course, the second volume is a different beast altogether. Sure, it starts off with what happens in Episode 3 and then veered off into totally unexplored territory. In many ways, this is where the manga makes less sense than the OVA, if that is even possible. The manga, in comparison to the anime OVA, ends on a more ambiguous note, but then again that's the open ended nature of the conclusion. That being said, the manga is a quick read (less then 300 pages between the two volumes), so if you have seen the OVA, then I definitely recommend checking out the manga as well. As for other work by Hajime Ueda, well, we shall take a look at that laterz.

Of course, Yoji Enokido did write a pair of novels based FLCL which has been released as well. I have yet to read those, but if given the chance I most likely will.

Actual Audience reaction after this 

At the end of the day, FLCL is a fun and twisted bundle of cartoony insanity. In many ways, it represents the pinnacle of Gainax as an animation studio, in the prime of its heyday. It is very nice that its legacy extends into the present with shows like Gurren Lagann, Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt and Kill la Kill.

So, what's next on my platter? Well, its another project Yoji Enokido worked some years later....involving racing and fast action that would put the Fast and the Furious franchise to shame. 'Til next time, dear readers.

Anime Review No 45-Gunsmith Cats

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

Cover of the manga Volume 1, with Rally Vincent (nice, thumbs up)

I went out to MovieStop one time last summer, it being the only the store that sells anime in the entire county, a sad reality of economic times to be sure. It was there, sitting on the shelf for $3.99. I thought, what a bargain, compared to the prices online for this OVA.  I had heard of it before, rather good things about it. I am talking, of course, about Gunsmith Cats.

Gunsmith Cats is a Japanese seinen manga series by Kenichi Sonoda, well known for this and Bubblegum Crisis. The first series came out from 1991-97, which was then followed up by a sequel in 2004-08. A 3 episode OVA came out in 1995 done by Kodansha/VAP/Tokyo Broadcasting, with a stateside released a year later by ADV Films.  

The basis of this is the adventures of young female bounty hunters in Chicago, Illinois, a double act as it were: Rally Vincent (the gun bunny) and Minnie May (the gal with the bombs, literally). Teamed up with Becky and ATF Agent Bill Collins, they deal with gun runners and in the process stumble onto a plot involving political intrigue, a Russian psychopath assassin and lots of action. It’s a wild ride in the Windy City.

Heh-that almost looks like Diet Pepsi Minnie May is drinking ^_^

Now, I absolutely love this OVA. Everything about this is a like a well-oiled machine, firing out on all cylinders. The animation here is quite good and holds up even to today. Granted, the anime-style characters seldom look out of place within the realistic back-drops, but it’s hardly noticeable. Speaking of backdrops, the background art looks amazing; it feels like you’re actually watching something that’s taking place in Chicago. This is due to the fact that some of the production crew actually went to Chicago and did some location scouting, details of that are in a special ‘making of’ documentary included in the DVD. In addition, the production crew learned about guns and such while in Chicago, something uncommon in Japan. This translates to the OVA where the guns and weapons look also fairly realistic. Kudos to you, production crew.

Car Chase Ahoy!

Now, the plot of Gunsmith Cats is much like a fast paced action packed movie, just divided into three episodes and borrows quite a lot of tropes of that genre. In fact, I’m surprised by two things. First, why hasn’t this gotten a re-release by Sentai as a full length film feature? I mean, seriously, this deserves it. I don’t mind listening to the OP thrice (cus it’s awesome), but really this needs a re-release. Come on, Sentai, you re-release Burn Up for fudge’s sake. Second, why hasn’t this gotten a live action adaptation? I mean, this yearns for it. It takes place in Chicago (an actual locale) and features hot babes and explosions. It would have a far better chance than something like Cowboy Bebop or Evangelion for fudge’s sake.

Finally, the dub is quite possibly one of the best ADV put out ever. It’s got some excellent voice work by Amanda Winn Lee, Kim Yates and Tiffany Grant and most of the cast do a pretty good job. But by far, Robert Mungle as Agent Bob Collins nearly steal the show with his performance. Seriously, his one-liner ‘I’m a real Eliot Ness, pussycat!’ is just a sample of what his dialogue is, wonderful.

There is, however, one minor downside to Gunmsith Cats OVA: I wish there was more of it! Granted, the three episodes by themselves constitute a complete story, so no worry on that end. But, seriously, why isn’t there more of this anime? Yes, I’m aware there’s the manga but still I wish they were more episodes of Gunsmith Cats. But, I can be sated with just these 3 episodes. 

Still, well worth the look and then some. Gunsmith Cats is awesome, and as any kind of anime fan you should check it out.

Next Review is Dragon Half. See you then.