Anime Review No. 98 (Maria Holic)

Maria Holic (Winter 2009) and Maria Holic Alive (Spring 2011)

Studio-Shaft

Directors-Akiyuki Shinbou (with Yukihiro Miyamoto and Tomokazu Tokoro)

Writers: Masahiro Yokotani and Miku Ooshima

Well, here we are, something that I am sure most people would not expect me to cover. I was not entirely sure that I would get around to covering this show, but circumstances brought it back to my attention and so here it is. This is Maria Holic.

Maria Holic the anime is based off a manga series written by Minari Endo between 2006 and 2014. It is about Kanako Miyamae, a new transfer student to a private all-girls school. She is secretly a closeted lesbian hoping to find her first true love and a bit of a misandrist, well more in that respect due to her condition where she breaks out in hives when men touch her. She gains a new roommate in Mariya Shidou a nice and gentle ojou-sama but turns out to be a male sadist who is forced to crossdress due to the wishes of his dead grandmother who was also a former headmistress of the school. Thus Kanako is blackmailed into keeping Mariya’s secret. In the process she ends up in a series of unfortunate but comical misadventures at school.

What I like about Maria Holic is how twisted the whole thing is. The whole breadth of creative decisions for this story are made in the opposite way that they would normally trend. Be it Kanako who is basically a girl with a male pervert mindset, Mariya the sadist disguised as the nice and kind ojou-sama and her maid Matsurika who turns out to be a deadpan snarker. The rest of the supporting cast are like that and all fit a basic stereotype (tomboy, megane babe, genki girl, etc) and then taking them to a rather unexpected places.

This is quite fitting as Maria Holic is a rather black comedy at its core. The humor is prevalently dark and its funny mainly due to that. Granted there are some laugh out loud hard moments, but most of the time the comedy is met with a nice dry chuckle from yours truly..There is the semblance of a story/plot but Maria Holic relies a lot on gags and sketch comedy segments. What story is there is an interesting parody. This is very related to my previous review, OtoBoku. Whereas that was a gentle soothing parody, Maria Holic is a bitterly tinged parody and a satire of not only yuri but school slice of life and otokonoko sub-genres as well. Of course, at times it openly embraces the conventions it is joking about. The second season is more of the same, except it seems to double down on everything from the first season and it is even more strange and ridiculous.

Maria Holic S2 clip

The animation production certainly helps this out in spades. If you can’t tell from the first episode alone, this is a pure Studio Shaft/Shinbou directed show. All his trademarks are here and in spades, and it is oddly fitting for such a surreal and dark satire show. This includes the various off-point references, use of text in scene, head tilt, art shift (this show has 3 main art styles). The 2 non-consecutive seasons came out during what I consider the peak of Studio Shaft/Shinbou productions (same era as the Zetsubou Sensei, Hidamari and Arakawa series). There are the seeds of other Shaft productions lashed in the people involved in the production of this series: Yukihiro Miyamoto, future co-director for Madoka and ED for Season 1 done by the future production designer for Madoka and the OP was done by the guy who helmed the Bakemonogatari series. The main thing to take away is that it suits the story and characters, supplementing it as opposed to recent Studio Shaft productions where those same tricks are employed only the story and characters aren’t as engaging-cough cough Monogatari, Sasami-san, Meh-kaku cough cough, but moving on.
S1 OP S2 OP2
S1 ED             S2 ED

Now, onto the english dub, which is a treat especially for those of us waiting for it. The series had its 2 seasons released by Sentai Filmworks (S1 in 2010, S2 in 2012) but sub-only bare-bones releases. But then in late 2013, they announced that they were doing dub re-releases of some of the shows they had done sub-only treatment earlier. I was a bit concerned but then the dub cast came out and I did a sigh of relief. I bought both seasons with the dub in early 2014 and it was worth it. Thankfully Christopher Ayres helms the dub and as usual he doesn’t disappoint. He assembles a great cast with some of his regulars sure but he topped it out with 2 great if not perfect casting choices: Jessica Calvello and Monica Rial. I feel that Jessica Calvello’s career doing more dubs again has its origin point with this dub. She is in true comedic form asa Kanako and I have to say this is her funniest performance since Excel Saga and I can’t imagine anyone else in that role now. Of course she is complemented by Monica Rial who plays Mariya and its the surprise in the dub, always fantastic. The rest of the cast is very spot-on if littered with Ayres’ regulars (Carli Mosier, Brittney Karbowski, Meg McDonald, Shannon Emerick, etc). Another honorable mention has to go to George Manley who does the narration (old ADV fans might know him as the narrator for the ADV redub of Gatchaman a decade prior). The dub script, written by Clint Bickham (who plays a minor role in S2), is nicely done adding in some stuff to punch the already comedic material. Overall a great dub that is highly recommended by yours truly.

Overall, Maria Holic is an interesting high concept comedy show that excels in being fun and entertaining. Granted the flavor of comedy might not suit everyone’s taste but that’s ok. I like it quite a lot and its certainly up there on my list of funniest anime I have ever seen.

So that closes out March 2015 aka Guilty Pleasures Month 2.0. Will I do another series of review like this? Hmm maybe next year, but it will be under a different title for sure. April 2015 marks the release of my 99th and 100th reviews. I am keeping the subject of those 2 reviews a secret but in due time you will all find out. Review No. 99 due out on April 12th.

Til next time dear readers…..

Anime Review No. 78 (Campione)

Campione

aka Harem Primer 2014   

Studio-Diomedea, Director-Keizo Kusakawa
Writers: Jukki Hanada, Takamitsu Kouno, Hideaki Koyasu and Takashi Aoshima

“The myth is infinitely flexible, capable of endless variation without sacrificing any of
its magic. And it will outlive us all.”

Chris Vogler, A Practical Guide to The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1985)

Introduction

Note: I took this Harem Primer format in part being inspired by Blogsuki’s similar article on Mahoraba (link: Mahoraba article).

I can’t believe it took me this long to actually get around to talk about a harem series in depth at least. For those not in the know, a harem series is where you got a male character surrounded by a bevy of beautiful/gorgeous/cute girls and any romantic/comical situations that occur. Of course, that’s a very simple distillation of the genre.

The harem genre can be divided in terms of genre and type of source material. For genre, they can first off be straight laced slice of life such as Clannad/Key adaptations, Ouran, Love Hina and ToHeart. Or perhaps they can be harems with other genre elements inserted into the story. Examples of this include Rosario Vampire, Is This A Zombie?, High School DxD, Tenchi Muyo, Monogatari series (somehow), TWGOK series and Infinite Stratos.

For source material, harem shows are adapted from a few common places. Usually, its from a Visual Novel (like Princess Lover and Walkure Romanze) and other eroge/otome games where the objective is get the right route so to speak. Manga (like Love Hina and Ranma ½) are another source of adapting. Though fairly recent, Light Novel series like Date A Live and Infinite Stratos have pervaded the scene for this genre.

Granted, the harem genre, much like shonen action, has gotten very overdone to the point where it has become stale. Fortunately, Campione is a good recent entry in the genre. Its a harem show with fantastical elements and based on a light novel series written by Joe Takatsuki, which has been running since Fall 2008. I did purchase this series more or less as a blind buy, though I did watch 1-2 episodes online before making that decision. It came out initially in Summer (July-September) 2012 before getting licensed by Sentai Filmworks for DVD/BD release back in October 2013.

Now, I get to the common elements of a harem show, using Campione as an example. Spoiler warning though there are nebulous at best.

The Hero-Goduo Kusanagi

A 15 year old student who in course of returning a relic that his grandfather had, runs into Erica and gets involved in some mystical affairs. In process, he ends up inheriting the powers of a Campione or God-slayer. He is of average intelligence, but quick to his feet on learning and can be quite confident. Granted, he is not too much of a spineless wimp like other harem leads and does take initiative in his own story. Of course, he knows when to be humble (i.e. even when he gets the Campione powers, he refuses to use them in ordinary life affairs). Generally speaking, he’s a nice guy and the moral counter of the group. However he ends meeting at first….

The Alpha Haremette: Erica Blandelli (The One the Hero Ends up with)

She’s a Blond Italian girl (as most Europeans are portrayed in anime). A Member of the Copper Black Cross, she is more of a magic warrior, using Hermetic magic, based on power of iron with her weapon of choice  being a sword. But at her core, Erica is a strong, proud and bold noble young lady. Goudo and Erica don’t really get it on initially but once they do they team up quite nicely. Erica and Godou act as a couple of equals, mutual partners. In addition, she is quite sexy and flaunts it quite openly. She might seem to be manipulative, having a cunning edge at moments, but there is a hinting that she does indeed care for Godou. Even seems to advocate polygamy (when Godou expresses interest in hanging out with Maria and the later harmettes, she’s totally fine with it so long as its clear she is the No. 1 girl in his eyes (always the strategist). Finally, she must have Charisma of over 100+ as she can get people to take her advice, whether or not they want to.

Wolf Whistle ~~

The Gimmick:

Like many harem series, Campione has a gimmick. But unlike a number of them, Campione has an interesting gimmick to go along with the stock standard harem elements, which is high concept battles against mythological beings (Rogue Gods) and other Campiones. The Rogue Gods are more akin to forces of nature, as the cause for natural disasters and the progenitors of conflict. The fights are a mix of armed combat and Godou’s spamming of the ‘Words of Power’ (literally talking his opponents to submission).

Buried deep within the mythic fight sequences, there is something worth taking note of, which I will call ‘Interconnective geography of human mythology’. Its an idea that I wish was explored a bit further, a rather Jungian notion that all human myth is linked together, primarily through word of mouth, you know the oral tradition. Of course, the scope of myth in this show is severely limited to Greek/Roman myth, with some Persian/Middle Eastern and Japanese mythos thrown in for good measure.

It also take beats from The Hero’s Journey. Godou, for instance, receives the call of the journey by Erica Blandelli. He is reluctant at first, but is encouraged by Erica and others. He next crosses the first threshold within the first 2 episodes as he gets used to Erica and the situation he has landed himself in. Godou goes through tests and gets helpers, in the form of harmettes and receive supernatural aid via the kiss of certain maidens, again word of mouth a tad literally.

Going along with this, the story structure is similar to a mythical epic, where mini-story arcs that tie development of the girls in the harem with mythic duels take place of a single narrative that thrusts throughout.

Story Arc I (E1-4) Prophecy of the Starless Night

Story Arc II (E5-7) Duke Voban and His Most Dangerous Game

Story Arc III (E8-10) Perseus, the False Hero

Final Story Arc (E11-13)

And they all want him...... xD

But it also uses tropes of harem shows, but at least with other fantasy/myth elements its not too grating or tired as in other harem series. Erica  goes to live with him and there’s some nice and humorous bits on how that impacts his home life. Godou bothered by the sexual advances of Erica, similar to other harem leads with their leading love interests. Once again, Godou develops friendships with the other charmettes, which I will get to now…

.Harmettes No. 2 and 3: Yuri Maria and Liliana Kranjcar (The Two Blushing Maidens)

Yuri Mariya

She’s the first Japanese haremette and classmate to Godou. She’s mainly a Yamato Nadeshiko: soft spoken, reserved yet nice and kind Hime-Miko (Shrine Maiden Princess). In line with that personality, Yuri seems very formal and traditionally Japanese.But she has some bad past history with the Campiones (tied into Story Arc II). She isn’t too pleased with Erica getting too cozy with Godou, so the two develop a rivalry that at times reminds me  of other rivalries. Like Erica is the leader/head warrior, Yuri is the the healer/support member of the party. Granted, she is not totally useless, as she has a sixth sense ability which enables her to dole out essential information when the story dictates. She is also very willingly to call out Godou on his harem antics, despite the fact he doesn’t have much control over that. Much of her focus is in Story Arc II where she has to get over her troubled past and joins the team thereafter.

Liliana Kranjcar

She is Croatian/Eastern European, given the silver hair. She starts off as a minion of one of the baddies, Duke Voban as well as a member of Bronze Black Cross, rival organization to Erica’s Copper Black Cross. She is a young woman of few words, seems a lone fox at first. A Secondary warrior who uses sword as well, but not as good/polished in combat as Erica. Nevertheless she is innocent and devoted, if a little naive. Though, she seems to be a secret pervert despite coming off as a pure maiden. She writes in her diary the equivalent of harlequin romance stories, but that’s not too surprising considering she’s a teenage girl. Next to Godou and Erica, she also seems to have something of a character arc throughout the series, going from being somewhat of a background character to joining the main cast and overcoming her anxiety.

Harmette No. 4-Erina Seishuin (and the Big Issue of this adaptation)

The final harmette introduced…..in episode 11.  She seems to be a hybrid of Erica and Mariya-shes a Hime-Miko as well, but is good with a sword though its cursed. She, however, introduces the biggest problem/issue of the Campione anime, which is...

Big Issue of Pacing

Most harem shows have an issue with pacing, that is its paced too slowly, they either waste time or the story is so plodding. Campione on the other hand has too quick a pacing, though at first its not really noticeable. It was, to me, noticeable slightly in episode 8, but especially by episode 11. For instance, Episode 7 ends with a preview of next episode (8), with the tag ‘oh beach episode’ and I was like ‘oh ok then, should be a nice break’ then halfway through ep 8, boom, next plot arc-agh what? The cold opener being the closest this show gets to having actual cheesecake, much less mizugi in the show.

One of the few mizugi pics I could find

But it goes far beyond that, such as leaving out a critical duel between Godou and Salvodore Doni another Campione at some point early in the story. We are told about it but we never get to see it, its ‘Show don’t tell” but luckily the only time this show pulls that trick. Also, the last three episodes are such a crammed mess of story and character parts that if given more time to develop alone, might have work out for the better. In fact, the only part that really works in the final arc is the climax (literal and figurative) of the Erica x Godou relationship, which is the emotional high point of the show. Episode 13 in the end is fitting as a season finale, but leaves on a freaking cliffhanger. This is due in part to the fact that the anime is an adaptation of 5 volumes of the light novels of the same name. They crammed in a lot of stuff to the series so then there’s no breathing room for the audience. Whether or not this was a direct decision on the part of the production staff or a dictate from the publisher who knows. Then again, its a good entry for those shows where ‘oh if you want to find out more, read the book!’ which regrettably are a dime a dozen these days.

Athena (the potential harmette)

A Rogue God who looks like a loli, you know since that’s a thing nowadays. She utters “Lethargy’ and is quite mysterious. She is the baddie of Story Arc I as she seeks to regain her full power. But that get thwarted by Godou and Erica and  yet gets spared by Godou because he is, in the end, a nice guy. She’s a potential harmette but not really as the ‘eek’ factor is a bit much, but overall a serviceable character.

Non-harmettes

There’s Erica and Liliana’s maids though they are mere side characters mainly for comic relief. There’s also Lucretia Zola, the High Witch of Sardinia who despite being in her 60s looks like a hot model in her 20s. Seriously, dayuum…. Also, there’s Pandora a mysterious goddess figure that comes in to give advice to Godou. There are some other characters, but mostly one-note so not much else to comment.

I only included this pic cus the meido is cat-faced, what a minx xD

Fanservice

Aplenty in this, not unexpected from the harem genre. In fact, its quite tame in comparison to similar harems shows (like High School DxD and Freezing). Aside from kissing with tongue (a lot) and one particular make-out session, its mainly sexual innuendo and implications.  

Heh, Erica's meido (girl on the right)'s swimsuit outfit is amusing

Animation and Music

This is a quite solid production from recent studio Diomedea, as in it doesn’t cut too many corners and looks good. It has a fairly even budget from the look of things. Granted they are some stock footage/repetitive sequences but there are quite nice looking. It doesn’t really excels much but then again doesn’t derp too much as well. Also, the music was done by Tatsuya Katou (The Horizon series, Needless, and recently Zvezda Plot) and it is in fitting with at least the mythic adventure aspects of the show. Leitmotifs abound, if you wish to listen for them as well as ‘EPIC’ choral music for the fight sequences. When it gets dramatic and emotional, it does quite well.The OP and ED are quite rocking.

Campione OP Campione ED

Dub and Sub

Perfectly serviceable in the original Japanese, though the original Japanese does butcher a bit of the Italian in places. Surprising, since they had ‘Italian Language Supervisor’ on staff.

But the fact that got me interested in this show was in who was helming the English dub, as it wasn’t by Steven Foster or Christopher Ayres, their more regular dub directors. ADR Director and script was done by Jason Grundy who has mostly done work as audio engineer on ADV/Sentai Filmworks dubs. This is the one and only dub crediting him in both directing and writing, though he has directed a few Funimation dubs (some eps of Funi’s One Piece dub, Sekirei, Rosario Vampire, Sands of Destruction and Master of Martial Hearts(!)).

Its certainly one of the better recent SF dubs not directed by Foster and/or Ayres. Writing is slightly rewritten or reworded dialogue that works to the advantage of the dub actors. Certainly makes it sound natural in English. As an experiment, I watched one episode with dub and subtitles on, which proved to be quite interesting. It seems to me to be almost like a Funimation dub, but with Houston acting cast.

In addition, its well-directed and well-casted as well, probably some of the cast’s better performances. Highlights of the dub for me include Monica Rial as Erica, who quite frankly gives one of her best recent performances, of course it was a bit of a pleasant surprise. Blake Shepard is a good actor in this, though he didn’t really impress me before (The Sacred Blacksmith). Hilary Haag and most of the other cast (Genevieve Simmons, Carli Mosier, John Swasey, Chris Patton, etc) do a great job. Of course, the cherry on top for me was Chris Ayres doing the narration.

Final Thoughts

Aside from the harem elements which are very rote, Campione does have some neat ideas regarding myth and heroes. It has some neat action and characters are far more then just trope-based caricatures. It also has a fair amount of fanservice if you want some cheesecake. Granted, the pacing is very quick and it is open-ended in that way of ‘oh you want more, go check out the novels!’. However, I enjoyed it (unironically I must add), more so then other recent harem shows. Good harem show? Certainly, but there has been other great harem shows.. Great anime? Ehhh, not so much, it misses the mark too often to be great.

Well, what's next?

Its back to the '90s.....

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. 62-Amazing Nurse Nanako

"Amazing Failure"

Amazing Nurse Nanako

1999 OVA, 6 episodes

Studio-Radix, Director-Hiroshi Negishi

Writers: Yano Rasputin and Ryo Yoshida



One of the few SFW pics I could find for this...

Note: I bought this from Amazon.com for 50 cents (the 3.99 S&H notwithstanding)

Oh, boy, I'm the Eclectic Dude and this time...well...I got a special kind of show today to talk about. For the past few reviews I have talked about shows that in one way or another, are like well-oiled machines where everything runs smoothly and operates as a coherent whole. However, there's the other side of the quality spectrum, where all aspects of the show don't work at all and therefore does not operate as a coherent, much less cohesive whole. Amazing Nurse Nanako is a perfect example, a show that tries desperately to succeed but fails in every conceivable way in the most spectacular fashion possible.

Amazing Nurse Nanako, or Nanako Kaitai Shinsho, is a 1999 6 episode OVA directed by Hiroshi Negishi (Tenchi Muyo, Burn Up W, KO Beast, Master of Mosquiton) and animation production by Studio Radix. Released on DVD by Pioneer/Geneon in 2003, its obstentily about the story of Nanako, a nurse who works for the mysterious Ogami Hospital, whose head doctor Kyoji is brought in to conduct experiments on 'special' patients that the military bring him in some vaguely explained conspiracy.

At least it would be, but instead of telling a good or compelling story it focuses on fanservice and comedy slapstick. But it fails in these two endeavors. First, the fanservice is not titillating at all, just very stupid and hilarious. No female is this show (only Nanako and one other) don't seem to wear bras at all, with some prominent tent poles abound. The boob physics is probably the most nuts I've seen in ages, and possibly more so then modern ecchi shows. Then again, it doesn't surpasses Eiken levels of fanservice, so at least I'm grateful for that. Second, the comedy slapstick fails due to the subject matter which is abuse and torture of Nanako. It is not funny, despite the efforts of the writing to make it so; it is rather off-putting and awkward. It barely reaches the point of being cringe-worthy, but thankfully doesn't sustain that for too long.

Even when it does focus on the story, which it does for about half the runtime, it is also a glorious mess. It is a patische of military/religious conspiracy and bizarro-science ideas that really don't gel at all. Even at the end, when the serious and compelling story comes into force, it is too little, too late. It seems to me that there is a good story here, but it is muddled by tracks of poor decisions, like the stuff I mentioned above.

That, and the animation, to be blunt, looks like crap. This was made in that halcyon era of early digital paint/animation techniques of the late '90s and early '00s and shows itself here, more so than other series from that time. Obvious CG work and off model shots abound, especially in the ending song. The only good I can say about the animation is that very retro-90s look to it, but's that about it.

Finally, the only thing that salvages this show is the English dub, which takes the bad writing and makes it at least looking like it was done as a deliberate parody. It has some good actors in (Patrick Seitz and some others) who try and make this show works a bit better, despite the poor source material.

Nevertheless, this show needs to be seen to be believed. It is great fun, though for not the same reasons the creators didn't intend for. And it is interesting to see this show as it does serve as a template for future ecchi shows to come, as shades of this show can be seen by the more astute viewer in shows like Sora no Otoshimono and Rosario+Vampire. I recommend it, but only barely.

Next Time: Magic Users' Club OVA

Anime Review No. 54-Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt

"Animated Debauchery"

Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt (2010 TV Series)

Well, here starts my three review look at Studio Gainax's works. First, I shall take a look at Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt, which came out in late 2010. I saw it in anime club around early 2011, in subbed format. Last year, when I heard that it was not only getting licensed (by Funimation no less!) but also dubbed, I was all for that in a heartbeat. So, after chatting, my brother got me the complete collection for my birthday last year, and I enjoyed this show quite a lot.

Now, for those not in the know, Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt concerns the adventures of Panty and Stocking, two angels sent from Heaven to defeat evil Ghosts and collect Heaven coins to get back up to the lovely pie in the sky. But, they are too concerned with other affairs: Panty likes to screw every man in sight and Stocking likes sugar to the point where I think she's on the verge of a diabetic coma. In addition, the ghosts are all based on well, toilet humor (ranging from a ghost made of shit to a ghost that makes people fatter than cows). Essentially it is a 'monster of the week' show but made more raunchy and mature than really any shows from that genre. It is definitely not for kids at all.

Well, ok, there is something more beneath the surface. Starting halfway through the show, they try to crowbar in some big baddie who wants to enact 'the end of the world' or something like that. All well and good, but I find it to be rather forced in, no matter how entertaining. This is one of the problems that Gainax has run into since 1995, and that they try to pull this trick in most of their shows. It has rarely worked (Gurren Lagann being one of the exceptions, because it was awesome). Unfortunately, here it just doesn't work as that type of situation requires gravitas and appropriate dramatics, which Panty and Stocking can't support.

Why that is, it is due to the look and feel of the show. While many have noted the aesthetic design being similar to the Powderpuff Girls, its a lot more than that. Gainax has decided to use almost every production trick of the trades when it comes to animation: chibi SD, standard Sadamoto-eque animation, South Park-style animation, models for the ghost explosions, etc. It makes for at least an interesting viewing experience, to say nothing else.

My favorite episode of the entire series is Episode 6, "Les Diabloques". This introduces us to the Demon Sisters, Scanty and Kneesock who become the main antagonists for the second half of the show. Panty and Stocking are fighting ghosts at the local school when they stumble upon a scheme by these two to produce an army of ghosts to conquer Daten City. What ensues is quite possibly the best catfight ever put in an anime. Hiroyuki Imaishi, who directed this and Dead Leaves, seems to put a lot of effort into making this fast-paced and energetic as possible.

But what is really the selling point for this show: the dub. This is probably the only case (that I've come across) where the English dub is not only as good as the original Japanese, it actually surpasses it in almost every respect. Jamie Marchi and Monica Rial are a riot as the titular angels; it had me laughing out loud. It doesn't hurt that Ms. Marchi wrote much of the dub script, as it is full of innuendos and funny one-lines. Chris Sabat as Garterbelt is also good, even if it amounts to a white guy doing a Samuel L. Jackson impersonation. The rest of the dub cast is also very good, nearly a given since this is a Funimation dub. This is also one of the anime I've seen with both language tracks and I would recommend both for your viewing experience.

In the end, Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt, while not particularly deep, it is still a fun and entertaining series. It takes an unique spin on 'monster of the week' shows, has an interestingly diverse production, and is very enjoyable in both Japanese and English. Well worth a look, and then another, etc.

Now, without further ado, my first ever accompanying video:

(Will add in later today or tomorrow at some point)


Next review is on Gunbuster 2, to be released April 13th

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. 32 "I Dream of Mimi"

I’m the Eclectic Dude and I review it for the lolz (especially this week).

Sorry, this review is up a day late-it’s a holiday weekend and I got sidetracked a little from the relaxation. Anyway, I’ll make an effort to post on time from now on that’s for sure.

DVD Cover Note the 17+ recommended. It's not a joke I'll tell you

Guilty Pleasures Month closes on “I Dream of Mimi” or Buttobi CPU as it is known in Japan. This 1997 OVA is strikingly similar to another OVA from that same year that I’ve looked at earlier this year. That would be My Dear Marie, an OVA deals with the relationship between a young man and his robot female companion/girlfriend. I reviewed that in February, so check that out for details, but for summary, it is a rather good if criminally under-rated OVA from the 90s, touching on a lot of issues like love, nature of humanity and reality, etc.

What is “I Dream of Mimi” about? Well, none of that interesting stuff. Instead, it’s a soft-core erotica masquerading itself as a sci-fi romantic comedy. Yes, seriously. Not surprising, since the company who made this OVA is Pink Pineapple, notorious for producing hentai (the animated equivalent of porn), though they apparently got some help from Oriental Light and Magic, who are most well-known for Pokemon. Take that what you will.

The premise of “I Dream of Mimi” is as follows: Akira, the male geek and audience stand-in, comes home one day with a box supposedly carrying a new computer. Except it’s not; it’s a young naked woman! He’s very confused, as is the audience (yours truly) and then she turns on. It is revealed that she is a biomechanical computer, state of the art (from 1997!). She then requires ‘memory’ in the form of ‘active molecules’ from her owner. They do make a cute couple, to be fair.

If this sounds a bit familiar, well minus the sexual part, congratulations: You have seen/heard of Chobits, another anime that has a couple consisting of a young average male schmoe and a robot girlfriend. I am convinced that the girls at CLAMP (who are really great mangaka) at some point must have watched this OVA. Granted, I haven’t seen much of Chobits so can’t really say how much it’s different than “I Dream of Mimi”. Then again, one guy on the web says that this is the “R-rated Chobits”, so what do I know?

Sounds like fun, eh? Yeah the stuff in ‘ ‘ stands in for stuff that I shall not mention-draw your conclusions there, just take my word on it. The 3 episodes of this OVA follow Akira and Mimi (the android/bio-computer) as they deal with everyday life juggled with well having Mimi around. The first episode has them dealing with an out-of-control bio-computer in addition to introducing the characters of this little romp. Besides the main couple, there’s Shimada, Junpei and Futoshi. Of course, they have very little to no impact on the storyline, hence why just one statement on them.

This being an erotic piece, one would expect/assume a lot of sexual scenes in the style of a typical romance novel one find at the local grocery store (I don’t read those by the way). Not true here, for you see, the editing has a weird habit of either taking out the critical parts or substituting it for symbolism/convenient censorship. The result is that any sexual scenes aren’t really titillating but are rather unintentionally hilarious. There are also not a whole lot of them, so calling hentai doesn’t do it justice.

The science fiction is nominally better. It is severely dated, as evidenced from the loads of information on computers dispensed within the other 2 episodes. That’s because the other two episodes take place largely in ‘cyberspace’ or the inside of a computer network. I actually like this as the erotica blends well with the comedy. You see, Akira and Mimi end up going there since Mimi isn’t really a person (duh!). So, they are going to hack into a government site and insert false info about Mimi to elude suspicion. But, they ran into Forte, a high-grade bio-computer who doesn’t take kindly to our couple sneaking into her database.

But before punishment happens, another nemesis appears, the Nakinotsh sisters (pfft hahahaha xD). Seriously, I get the feeling the writer of this was a huge Microsoft fan, not that I’m complaining though (been a Microsoft user since childhood). They plan on doing something nefarious to the Japanese market of bio-computers, similar to taking over the world. Oh, and they are stereotypically Amero-centric (God Bless America!). Two of them (Quadra and Centris) show up in episode 2, with a third one (Performa) shows up in the third and last episode. All of them are dealt with by end of the last episode, but promise that they will be back. Haha, fat chance xD.

So, some other things of note for “I Dream of Mimi”: The English dub is absolutely hilarious. And quite a surprise too, as it features V.A.s like Angora Deb, Megan Hollingshead and Jessica Calvello (under a pseudonym-odd).    For the DVD, they include a outtakes track, which is very funny. The animation and music are stock-standard 90s with some neat early CGI, and very high quality more so then really necessary. Finally the opening is the best earworm of music you’ll ever listen to.

Now, I have a problem with recommending “I Dream of Mimi”. You see, it is very hard to find nowadays.  I managed to find it at a local video store (now a dying out species) for about five bucks last fall. Later, I checked to see if it’s available on DVD online. On Amazon.com, last time I checked, the VHS for it was available for about nine bucks (currently unavailable). Thankfully, someone posted them up on Youtube for anyone truly curious to watch this. It is very funny and entertaining, yet doesn’t take itself too serious. It is also fairly short, running a bit under 90 minutes with only 3 episodes. The manga that this is based off of hasn’t had an overseas release, and I doubt it ever will. Good luck finding it!

Well, that’s all. I am still sticking to the Sunday release schedule, as much as I can. Expect a schedule for next month on May 31.

Laterz,

The Eclectic Dude