Anime Review No. 85 (Problem Children)

Problem Children are coming from Another World, Aren’t They?

Director: Yasutaka Yamamoto

Script: Noboru Kimura, Hideki Shirane and Yasutomo Yamada

Studio: Diomedea

Well, August closes out with a show that I picked up on a whim around my birthday when Rightstuf was doing a sale on Sentai Filmworks releases. I got this along with two other shows I will be covering in good time, but since the August schedule had an open slot, I decided to place it here. The show in question, is Problem Children Are Coming from Another World, Aren’t They?

Problem Children or Mondaiji Long Freaking Title, is based on a light novel series by Taro Tatsunoko and illustrated by Yu Amano. It tells the story of 3 young individuals: Izayoi, Asuka and Yuu who are pulled from different times of human history by a mysterious force to another realm, “Little Garden”. However, this turns out to be done by Black Rabbit, a rabbit eared hostess that wears a skimpy outfit, acting as an attendant for the ‘Problem Children’ as they engage in Gift Games and helping the No Names (a community consisting mostly of young children) regain their proper place in the Little Garden.

The story is a basically a ‘Alice in Wonderland’ but done in a fantasy RPG/video game-esque setting. You got 3 MCs that become rather OP as time progresses, and have an aide NPC (Black Rabbit). Little Garden is a world governed by games, The Gift Games, various competitions similar to what one does. Heck the first episode plays out exactly like the tutorial and first level of a video game, mostly set up and establishment. But once it starts moving past that, its a fun and fantastic ride. But that’s all it got going for it. Now why’s that? Let me explain.

For one thing, the characters are mostly broad stroke stereotypes that, outside of external appearance and aesthetic design, are similar to other characters that have been in anime for a long time. Izayoi is practically every brash and clever MMC, Asuka is a dignified rich girl and Yuu is a bandage patch away from being Rei. Black Rabbit is basically the fanservice factor taken to its logical extreme and outside of the villains, everyone else has little to no personality of their own. The villains, as in most video games, are either morally repugnant scumbags or genocidal maniacs that are evil because well they just are. This show operates on ‘Video Game Logic’ quite a lot, where stuff happens because it looks cool as opposed to making sense. Aside from that, the only different thing that Problem Children brings to the table is references to myth and legend, especially in the final episodes.

What doesn’t help this is that the show is only 10 episodes long, as opposed to the usual 12-13 episode run most anime shows get in a season. Though that’s not such a bad thing as it cuts out any excessive padding or filler that tend to pop in 12-13 episode anime shows It also means that this show, like a lot of LN adaptations, ends on a freaking cliffhanger/setup for a possible sequel. Granted this show does have an additional OVA episode, but it is akin to the mini games section of a video game, all fluff and no substance, as well as provide plenty of fanservice. Of course, there is a chance a continuation can occur since it has been about a year and a half.

The presentation, in terms of animation production provided by studio Diomedea, is a nice and solid effort, but a few shades away from unremarkable. So rather like Campione, the previous show I looked at from this studio. There are a few impressive shots and action sequences, particularly the Gift Games. The music is done by Shiroh Hamaguchi and its quite impressive and nice, sounding like an OST of a Fantasy VG/MMORPG. Considering the guy wrote music for Final Fantasy that’s no surprise there. The OP is nice often, though the ED is a funny lil cute chibi dance of the main quartet which is a bit chuckle worthy.

Finally, the English Dub….is some very good stuff from the great people working in Houston. First off no honorifics and no sight of Greg Ayres at all, like really. Its a Christopher Ayres-Josh Grelle team-up (director-writer respectively); Josh Grelle also plays Izayoi and is one of the best things about this. This isn’t the first time Ayres and Grelle collabed on a dub-previous efforts included Magikano back in the late ADV era and the dubs for Majikoi Samurai Girls and Bodacious Space Pirates in the current Sentai Filmworks era. The dub has essentially C. Ayres great casting and well-performed direction combined with Grelle’s much loose Funi-esque writing, Grelle having written for both Funi and Sentai dubbed titles. Emily Neves, an actress whose voice acting career spans back to Clannad, is credited as assistant director and she has gone onto be ADR director for some upcoming/recent dubs like Watamote, Rozen Maiden 2013 and Chuunibyo. I’m sure to talk about her as dub director at a later date. Another best thing of the dub is Jessica Calvello who has experienced a recent renaissance of sorts. Her role as Saori in the Girls und Panzer dub was the gateway of sorts to her getting more work recently, playing roles in Maria Holic, Attack on Titan, Gatchaman Crowds, and this. She does pretty great as Black Rabbit, though your enjoyment of the dub may entirely whether or not you like her particular performance style. It does for me so I find the dub quite good. The rest of the cast consists of nice blend of veteran and new talent that Ayres cast in his dubs (Brittney Karbowski, Nancy Novotny, David Wald, Cynthia Martinez, Carli Mosier, Hilary Haag, Andrew Love, etc) and everyone here does a great job here in the dub.

So, what’s the bottom line on this show? Well, Problem Children is an entertaining little diversion. As one reviewer on ANN stated, “Problem Children is probably the best saved for a lazy afternoon when you’ve got nothing else to do.” And you know what, I got to agree with ANN on that. Its a good entertaining show but probably only from time to time. Granted, when I first watched it, I was partly enthralled but after watching it a few more times, my critical mind started piping up and saying ‘Yeah, I dunno how that happened… eh just go with it” but I still enjoyed watching the show. And if that was their aim, well mission accomplished.

September Blog Schedule to be posted tomorrow.

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. 69-Momo The God Girl of Death

"It's the end but the moment has been prepared for."
Momo the God Girl of Death: Shinigami no Ballad
2006 OVA, 6 episodes
Studio-Group TAC, Director-Tomomi Mochizuki, Writer-Reiko Yoshida



Hello, I am the Eclectic Dude.....and I rock the plaid. But in all seriousness, this entry is touching on a subject that is heady, that being death. Its a subject that over the centuries has been dealt in various ways and methods, from the Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, to the Divine Comedy of Dante, to Picasso's Guernica, to Monty Python's Dead Parrot sketch, to images from the past century of death and destruction (pick one there's aplenty).


Thus, anime certainly is not exempt from dwelling on the topic of death. Though it is mostly focused on character deaths, which can range from emotionally impactful (a certain death scene in Madoka) to dull and vacuous (I'm looking at you SAO!). Yet, there aren't that many shows in the anime genre that deal with death in any particular and constructive way. However, Momo the God Girl of Death is one of those series.


Momo the Girl God of Death is basically a short anthology series involving the titular Momo and her lively cat-bat assistant Daniel as they help people out with death, either by avoiding death or dealing with the wishes/regrets of people in relation to their lost loved ones. But, she does it with a gentle and kind heart, seeming more like an angel then a grim reaper (scythe notwithstanding).


So, what about this makes it special? Well, it being a loose anthology, you can easily just watch the episodes in any real order, as there is not much continuity. As such, this feels like a patchwork of vignettes stitched together with really the only connection being Momo and Daniel. Only episodes 3 and 6 are really any good standout in those terms. Episode 3 deals with a young man Kantaro going out on a treasure hunt based off a map left by game-loving grandfather, involving his female classmate Tomato (no seriously that's her name) to come with. What he finds there is not quite the kind of treasure one would expect. Episode 6 deals with Momo and Daniel consoling a recently dead spirit of schoolgirl Sakura. Watching Momo pointing out to Sakura how her family and friends are while at times moving forward with their lives, still take time to remember her. Of course, the twist at the end is quite a surprise at least to me. The messages presented here are not that different from the obvious ones brought out in other works on death. All told, they are rather simplistic in terms of story and characters, but is it attached to stunning visuals, right?


Well, unfortunately, the presentation is rather bland and dull. Then again, the show on the whole is mellow and calm for the most part, so it fits. The animation is done by the now defunct Group TAC, which went out of business in 2010 and as such it looks utterly generic. Heck, even the music is generic, light music with scarcely a memorable tune in it at all.  It is at least barely competent, but it doesn't stand too much, even from 2006. Which leads into my next question: Why did this get released?


The answer is Maiden Japan, a label linked with Switchblade Pictures, which in turn falls under the umbrella of Section 23 Films. Maiden Japan was founded by former ADV co-founder Matt Greenfield back in 2010 and their express purpose seems to be releasing really niche anime titles. I mean seriously, look at their catalog (Maiden Japan Catalog). I haven't heard of any of these, though Papillon Rose looks particularly interesting....anyway.

So yeah, and not only does this release come over here, but also with an English dub track. Niche titles, at least in this day and age, often don’t get a dub or if they do, it tends to be a re-release done several years later (Punie-chan as an example). So, what about the English dub?

Well, the English dub for this show is the second title Maiden Japan has released with a dub, the another being Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 this past spring. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a rather patchy and uneven Sentai Filmworks dub (mix of veteran ADV actors and newer talent that they got). Whether or not that has to do with the 2 ADR Directors working on it (Joey Goubeaud/Jason Grundy), large but multitasking cast, or some questionable issues in pronunciation or vocal performances ("shinigomi in lieu of shinigami"/use of reaper in text) is a point for debate certainly. Personally, I just think any problem with the dub is in relation to the rather lackluster source material. When it works, it is very mellow and slow, much like the show itself. There are some highlights to be fair: Jessica Boone as Momo and Nancy Novotny as Daniel deliver great performances overall. In fact, the overall quality improves a bit over the course of the 6 episodes, but not by much. Episode 3 has in my humble opinion the best performances of the dub: Brittney Karbowski, Chris Patton and John Swasey putting in some great performances, at least in comparison to the rest of the dub.


So, why did I choose to review this series? Well, I had have my brushes with death in the past, one in particular from 5 years ago. I ended up in hospital for a weekend after having a week of excessive lethargy and other things. Well, it turned out I had developed diabetes, type I to be precise (so yes, my pancreas is on strike). My blood sugar was so high at that point that the nurse told me any higher, and I would be dead from coma. I was like ‘wow, that’s scary’. In fact, I would dare say that was my ultimate turning point in my life, whereupon I no longer took stuff for granted and strive to live life to the fullest, which of course is one of the primary messages of Momo the God Girl of Death. In the end, it’s a reassuring comfort when I watch it. Not too great, but not too bad: it is just there, decent and competent show that touches on the heady subject of death.

Info on Releases:
Released by Maiden Japan in June 2013
3 novels published by Seven Seas Entertainment back in 2008
So, what’s next for me? Well, the last review for this year is over another release by Maiden Japan, luckily its much more memorable and what I’m sure will be a treat for old school anime fans:

Trailer for Next Time's Review

Thanks to wiifermadness for uploading this.

Later, good readers….

Anime Review No. 57-Shamanic Princess

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

Shamanic Princess

1996-98 OVA, 6 episodes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anime Review No. 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