Anime Review No. 92 (Martian Successor Nadesico)

'You Get to Burning!'
Martian Successor Nadesico (1996-97)

Director: Tatsuo Sato

Writers: Hiroyuki Kawasaki, Miho Sakaki, Naruhisa Arakawa, Satoru Akahori, Shou Aikawa, Takeshi Shudo

Studio: Xebec

So, the new year is abound us. The holidays were nice on me, got to see my family along with grandparents for the first time in a few years and it was all nice and calm. Now then onto the first review of 2015, a look at a show that I have been meaning to get to, and that is…. the space opera Martian Successor Nadesico, an adaptation of a manga series by Kia Asamiya, who was also the creator behind Silent Mobius. .

Nadesico is the story of Akito Tenkawa, a young man who while yearning to be a cook, is instead roped into joining the new crew of a new starship the Nadesico. There he is joined by a crew of veritable oddballs, be it sexy helmswoman Minato, the stoic child genius Ruri, the fanboy pilot Gai and the young captain Yukari who might be someone from his blurry past. Together, they journey to Mars to discover some rather unsettling things from humanity’s past, possibly relating to invaders from Jupiters and their Chulips and also to have some hijinks of the slice-of-life and romantic varieties.

One of the things about I like about the show is how transitional, but then again that is part of the times. The Mid-90s sci-fi anime scene was dominated by one giant show: Evangelion which to this day still has an influence stretching to the present day. Nadesico, in many ways, was the next big game-changer for sci-fi anime. Though more for the space opera subgenre whereas Evangelion was a grand turning point in giant robot genres. Of course this show is mostly forgotten, but in many ways I find that Nadesico works a lot better then Evangelion.

Now why’s that? Well, for one thing Nadesico has a better and more likeable cast of characters. Granted, some of them are based on archetypes of the genre (young male pilot, the captain, the helm crew, the child prodigy, etc) but they have enough quirks and eccentricities that ultimately make them charming. And each of the them gets their episodes to focus on them individually and how they worked together as an ensemble. While Akito is a main character of sorts, pretty much all the other major characters get their own character arcs that are for the most part very satisfying. I see Akito as an improved version of Shinji from Eva, in more ways then one. He at least has some sort of spine.

For another thing, the story is much more interesting and yet takes risks to explore new areas in its home genre. It takes place in a future much like Star Trek, where humanity has combined their efforts to explore the stars. Only not so optimistic, with the world controlled by the all-powerful military and corporations that seek nothing more to fuel the engine of war even at the expense of life and peace. At yet our intrepid crew, when a big story twist comes in halfway through the series,  seek out the truth and hope against hope that someday peace and reconciliation. Like Evangelion, though they do some psychological introspection but thankfully it is kept to mostly one episode with a few other scatterings as the series progresses. No, what the show is really about is learning to overcome differences and make it better for the next generation. There is a vehement anti-military, anti-war streak in the ‘shades of grey’ morality and there’s a good reason for that, being head writer Shou Aikawa who would go onto do Neo Ranga and FullMetal Alchemist ‘03 and those share that similar moral trend. But it doesn’t come across as preachy, and that’s by giving the other side fair and equal treatment, something which not many anime accomplish successfully. The sci-fi elements, be it the Nadesico spaceship, the concept of space travel via the means of the Chulips and the effect of time dilation are very well-thought out. And then the movie happened, and well if you want my thoughts on it, see my review on that back in January 2013.

Of course, the story is without its visual presentation. However, like Silent Mobius which I talked about back in October, this show runs into the fact the show came at a rather awkward time.The production does show signs of digital techniques and CG intruding into a mostly solid and well-done hand-drawn cel animation. Fortunately, it isn’t so obvious here as it is in Silent Mobius. In fact, recently RightStuf released the series and movie remastered. I however have the old ADV 3-2 disc sets from back in the day. In part because I feel its best to see it as it was, even it is imperfect. The show director is Tatsuo Sato, who after this show, would go on to have a career mainly helming solid and entertaining or interesting sci-fi series (Stellvia, Lagrange, Bodacious Space Pirates). Also the opening song, You Get to Burning, is freaking awesome and is one of my favorite opening songs of all time. The rest of the music is done by Takayuki Hattori (Slayers and Gundam Origin OVA among others) and it’s amazing and really powerful full-on orchestral music. Its really good stuff.

Now for the english dub. It is solid if a little uneven, much like the show itself. Produced in 2000-01, its a dub of its time, that being the ADV Greenfield era. I say this as the first era of Houston english dubbing, from 1995 to roughly 2001-03 when Matt Greenfield was the main director/writer for ADV dubbing (Amanda Winn Lee and  Tristan MacAvery were also directors/writers as well, heck Steven Foster’s career goes back to this era). Of course, it is also a very transistional dub, featuring veteran 90s ADV talent like Spike Spencer, Tiffany Grant, John Swasey, Rob Mungle, Brett Weaver, Marcy Rae alongside newer talent like Kira Vincent-Davis, Jenny Strader, Jay Hickman (and Monica Rial in a small blink and you’ll miss it part). It takes a part of time to get good, but when it does it gets really great and ultimately makes the show all that more charming and fun.

It's kind of a bummer that this show has been largely forgotten and thrown aside. Despite the fact hasn't really aged all that well, its a very underrated gem from an era that is slowly fading into obscurity. Speaking of obscurity (or not).....

Til next time dear readers

Anime Review no. 70-Patlabor OVA

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



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


Notice anything off here? 

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



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

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

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

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


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

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


Gah, what a face >.< 

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


Bwahahahahahaha Dat Face (twice in the same scene)

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

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


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

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

 
Yeah, this makes even less sense in context. 

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

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

 
Dat Face strikes again 

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

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

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


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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anime Review No. 49-Sakura Wars Ecole de Paris

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Title: Sakura Taisen-Ecole de Paris

2003 OVA, 3 episodes

Produced by Red Entertainment/SEGA

Licensed and Distributed by Funimation in USA

Genres: Adventure, Action, Mecha

So, this series of reviews on anime sequels ends on this: Sakura Taisen-Ecole de Paris. Sakura Taisen, also known as Sakura Wars, is a franchise that has been around since the mid-90s. It has a manga, a TV series, movie, and several OVAs, all based on a series of video games. Its creators are Ohji Hiroi (Virgin Fleet), Kosuke Fujishima (Ah My Goddess and You're Under Arrest) and Satoru Akahori (KO Beast, Maze OVA, Sorceror Hunters). It tells the adventures of the Imperial Floral Assault Team, a group of female mecha pilots, who protect 1920s Tokyo from evil hordes. The 26 episode TV series is actually very good, with the right balance of action, drama, character development and comedy I've seen in a mecha series. It's on my list of 10 Favorite Anime series I posted over a year ago and included its opening song in my list of Favorite Anime Opening Songs a few months ago.

Enough of that, for today I am talking about one of the spinoffs. See, the popularity of the game series prompted SEGA/Red Entertainment to go out and make a few spinoffs of this series. This one is set in Paris during the mid 1920s, and there is also another spinoff set in 1920s New York City. Anyway, this 3 episode OVA, made back in 2003, concerns the formation and initial adventures of the Flower Division in Paris. It actually serves as a prologue to the third game of the Sakura Taisen series, which makes some sense.

Episode 1: Flowers at Daybreak

January 1926 starts us off. It starts off....in French? A bit odd, but well done by the English dub cast.

A Flower Division is formed in Paris during the heights of the Roaring Twenties. I love the attention to detail to make this so. The first character we are introduced to is Erika, the readhead who is a bit of a sleepyhead (reminds me a bit of Sakura from the TV series). She acts a bit like a Catholic nun, always doing a prayer and talking about devotion and such. She comes across as being naive and not too smart but good-hearted and kind, much like Sakura in the TV series. The music is very 1920s Francophone with accordion and jazzy/serenading instrumentals.

Of course, Erika runs into Glycine Bluemer, the rich bitch, though not as bitchy as Sumire in the TV series, but certainly comes close. She is stern, aristocratic, a tad snobby and somewhat annoyed at Erika's sillier antics. Some another characters are introduced: Lobelia, a femme fatale thief whose the only one with a proper accent; Hanabi, a young woman with a dead lover and finally Coclequit, a younger girl who works at a circus as an acrobat.

So, the basic plot and premise is established with this first episode. The Flower Division is starting to come together. And, to add to this, Ohgami (the only dude in this series) is coming to Paris to help train this new group. Hurrah! Let's continue!

Episode 2: The Black Cat and the Bad Girl

Here, the focus is on Lobelia, the mysterious glasses, white-haired thief. She is a femme fatale and resident 'bad girl'. By this time, The Flower Division has 4 members: Erika, Gycline and Coclequit (little circus girl) and Ohgami. Just as in Sakura Wars TV, Ohgami is still the most bland and uninteresting character in contrast to the female characters. Thankfully his time in the OVA has been small, for now.

Meanwhile, a mysterious adversary, named Jester who looks like a female Pierrot Harlequin character. Apparently, this is the bad guy. Ok, cool, as this keeps in line with how the rest of the show. Strange occurrences happen which may or may not be linked to Jester.

Something of note:

Each of the girls have specific 'spirit powers' which are more latent here than in the TV series. There, all that meant was that they pilot the Kubos, but here they can do a bit more with their powers, like in the case of Lobelia who can literally bend fire to her will which she uses to outsmart the Flower Division's attempts to catch her.

After a rather lengthy but very good action sequence, Lobelia is finally caught and recruited into the Flower Division. This is a very good episode with plenty of action and excitement to be enjoyed. Let's see how this all ends up!

Episode 3: The City of Love

It has been three months since Ohgami has been in Paris, getting a rude awakening from Erika one morning which I chuckled at I'll admit. The episode goes through a sequence of Ohgami interacting with each of the girls one at a time.

First, Gycline is doing some sword training with Ohgami. She's extremely prideful but reliable with what "The honor of the aristocraticy" bit she keeps going on about.

Next, he's hanging out with Colcequit, who is the little circus acrobat girl. It is a very nice and soft conversational moment. There is a lingering inner sadness to her character, but sadly it isn't fully explored here.

Next, Ohgami is watching Hanabi perform on stage. Hanabi doesn't have much screen time, but the bit of time she is portrayed as a quiet and demure girl who is still moving on from her dead lover.

Finally, he is playing cards with Lobelia. She is expanded upon here, being reckless, morally ambiguous and stubborn. "Last thing I want is a peaceful Paris" very succinctly sums up her character.

Now, to cap off this part of the episode, we get a scene of the four girls in round-table conversation. This is quite entertaining, reminding me of group dynamic displayed in the TV series. I'll admit I smirked at this bit.

Now, we go from that to some government stiffs talking about remote controlled submarines. The Jester takes one and mucks around with it. It then goes about Paris starts causing some havoc.

This prompts Erika and Ohgami to go out in their Kubo units and fight. This is admittedly the best part of the OVA, where the production pulls off all the stops. This action scene which feel and looks like a video game (not surprising), with a nice blending of CGI and cel animation (even for the time it was made).

But, it all ends on a slightly unresolved note. A shame, as this is really good. Best part of this, you can watch this and not lose much aside from Ohgami but that's fine. Overall, this is very well done in terms of whole production (animation, sound, etc). Funimation does a good job with the English dub. Bummer that they couldn't spring enough money to get the second OVA of this, but whatever. As a final note, I highly recommend this.

Next Review: His and Her Circumstances (Valentine's Day Special) to be released February 16^th.

Video Game Adaptation Month Review I-Tristia of the Deep-Blue Sea (Anime Review no. 8)

Hello, this is the Eclectic Dude ^_^

 To start off Video Game Adaptation Month, I am going over Tristia of the Deep-Blue Sea. It is a 2003 OVA of 2 episodes long. It is based off a PS2/PC simulation game of the same title. It was done by ufotable zippers, a studio whose only other production to date is Ninja Nonsense. For the United States, it was licensed and distributed by Pathfinder Pictures, which mostly does the license/distribution of  indie and cult films (this OVA is the only title they've released to the States).

So, what's it about? Well, it involves Nanoca Flanka, a young female mechanic who's good with gadgetry and technology. She lives in Tristia, a port city set in an early modern age (it's not clear in the OVA when this takes place) as a local mechanic. Then, she hears of a 'golem competition' from Stuka (her best friend and sidekick). Of course, also attending this event is Nene Hampden "rich girl" and self-proclaimed rival of Nanoca. So, she's off to fight with her golem (a mecha in actuality) in the event.

That's all I am mentioning about the plot, watch it for yourself to find out lol.
This OVA has a lot of things working for it. For one, the plot and story fit in nicely to the length, being 2 episodes=roughly a hour of content. It is paced very well, considering. The characters are well, as much developed as they can be. The animation is very standard.
Though, there are a few letdowns. First, it is in Japanese with english subtitles. This is surprising, As Pathfinder Pictures probably only had enough to get the OVA to America and nothing much beyond that. Which I don't mind, the JP VAs sound their parts well enough, so I don't have much to object to.

Final Score is 7/10. It is merely average, not great but not too bad. Points off due to length and the degree of obscurity (surprising, given this came out within the past decade). As a Video Game Adaptation, its is merely safe, serving as a decent introduction to the game. If I could find a copy of this game, I'd buy and play it in a heartbeat.

Well, the next 2 weeks I will be covering the Galaxy Fraulein Yuna OVAs. I am doing the 2 OVAs separately as they are 2 different stories. So, onwards.
Final Note-Teaser:




Enjoy, see u all laterz ^_^