Anime Review No. 99 (From the New World)

‘A Bloody History’

From the New World (2012-13 TV Series)

Studio: A-1 Pictures

Director: Masashi Ishihama

Script: Masashi Sogo

So the core of speculative fiction, of which science fiction rests in, is centered around a rather simple question: What if? Of course, if one takes a look at any story in sci-fi or fantasy it is never simply What if but includes more information certainly, be it Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, etc. That is part of the appeal, to make us wonder about other worlds and places that reside in the imagination. Today I will discuss From the New World, an amazing anime piece of speculative fiction.

These poor children.....

From the New World, or Shin Sekai Yori, is an anime based on a novel of the same name by Yusuke Kishi released back in 2008. It tells the story of Saki and her friends that reside in a quiet village Kamisu 66 about 1000 years in the future. Oh but that’s not all, for she and her friends (Satoru, Maria, Shun and Mamoru) and in fact the whole village have psychic (PK) powers, of sorts. But that’s the least of their problems, besides dealing with that they also have to deal with enemies both out in the wider world and within their own secluded communal village.

Given the context this shot is very striking

I won’t go any further than that, because I am of the opinion that this is a show that must be seen and experienced first hand. That is the best way to describe SSY, as an experiential story. The speculative question at the core for this story is this: “What if human society as we know it went backwards?’ Part of the show is exploring the why and how of this question and a lot of the implications that stem from that. It is the future as reflected from the distant past and informed by the present. The future presented is so compelling in part due to how very possible it could be, and that is a scary and terrifying fact. It also dwells on the iterative nature of history and make approaches to the conceptual notion of infinity, but doesn’t quite get there due to the inherent limitations of humanity.

Opening Scene of Shin Sekai Yori

The opening scene is in fact one of the most striking and sudden moment in anime history ever. Slowly and surely this future Earth is presented to us and also the deep and dark secrets of humanity of this future. I like the slow burn pacing and the nice use of gradual world building. Small events have big ripples, as things that occur in first few episodes end up being very important down the road. Now there is a reason I am not talking about the characters and that’s aside from really two characters that have a story arc (Saki and Squealer) over of the course of the 25 episodes, the rest of the cast is developed just enough for the story itself but nothing beyond that, which does make them come across as slightly under-developed. But at the end of the day it is all about the experience, which is helped by a great sense of mood and atmosphere, which definitely enhances the experience.

Ohhh...pretty background 

Of course, what doesn’t help this story is the animation production, which is spotty at best and inconsistent at the worst. A-1 Pictures handled the production and they clearly only gave the minimum of budget for the show and it shows painfully at points: off-model moments, obvious CG, sketchy art, etc. This isn’t helped by the fact that A-1 Pictures was working on SAO at around the same time and that show has slightly better production values despite it being not too good. Granted at times, it works well but the show is barely functional given the somewhat low production values. There are also times when it does become visually impressive.

Wow, Saki, u be having some fecked up dreams 

That being said, the soundtrack is quite great, one of the best I have listened to. It is full of ambient sounds and noises which enhances the mood and atmosphere of the piece. Most of it is soft strings and woodwinds mixed with ancient tribal chanting-like music and musical silence. The titular theme is something familiar to me even before I heard of this show. It is the opening bars and initial theme from the Largo (second movement) of Antonin Dvorak’s Ninth Symphony, which subtitle has the same name as the novel. This theme has a special place for me as that symphony was the first one I purchased back in my youth and introduced to other symphonic classical music. It fits the themes, mood and feel of the show to a tee and becomes more poignant with every repetition. On a side-note, the sound design is quite exceptional.

SSY OST1 SSY OST2 From the New World Theme

Now onto the english dub. Now I did watch this initially subbed back in summer of 2013 and the acting in the original Japanese is well done. But then I heard that Sentai Filmworks had picked up the show for release and were giving it a dub, which I was excited about. Christopher Ayres helms this dub, and its my second favorite dub of his that I like right behind the Ef series, if not greater than that dub. He assembles a great main cast consisting of Emily Neves, Monica Rial, Greg Ayres, Clint Bickham and Blake Shepard. Bickham also wrote the dub script and proves that he is capable of writing both comedic and serious shows, complementing the nice and well-done direction by C. Ayres. The dub is good to great overall in terms of performances, but there are 2 standouts in my mind. First is Emily Neves as Saki, who gives a full sincere performance throughout and does a good job on the narration as well. The other is John Kaiser as Squealer, the other main character of sorts. He is a little known character actor who has popped up here and there in a few ADV and Sentai Filmworks dubs. Here he gives one of the more interesting character acting I have seen in a dub in a while. There are some highlights in the dub that are exceptional, be it the near theatrical duo between Neves and Bickham in one episode or a particular moving monologue by Rial in one of the more heartbreaking episodes in the series. There are some amazing supporting cast performances by David Wald, Carli Mosier, John Swasey, David Matranga, Allison Sumrall, to name a few. In fact the last 8 episodes offer some of the best dub work out here and makes this an exceptional dub.

My reaction face when finishing this up. No joke I just about choked up at the finale

Overall From the New World is an unique, visceral and thought provoking experience of speculative fiction. Its a show that grips you from the first moment and never lets up until the very end. The answer that the story poses to the initial speculative fiction question is an interesting one, that despite all adversity (from within and with-out) and struggles humanity will endure, as we have in the past, as we do now and as we will in the future. As part of my own experience as an anime enthusiast, this is the anime that helped me reignited my interest in more new and recent anime, without it I might not have seen Kill la Kill or Yuki Yuna among others. For that I am eternally grateful.

So remember when I’ve said that Evangelion and Read or Die were the anime that solidify myself as an enthusiast? Well the 100th review is for another anime feature that I saw around that time as well, and that will be Review No. 100, it’ll be really special.

Til next time dear readers

Anime Review No. 82 (Yama no Susume)

Yama no Susume

Initial Airing: January 2-March 20 2013

Director: Yusuke Yamamoto (B Gata H Kei, Walkure Romanze)

Creator: Shiro (mangaka)

Studio: 8-Bit (Busou Shinki, Infinite Stratos, Tokyo Ravens, Walkure Romanze)

So, hi there this is the Eclectic Dude and today is my birthday. Also, this is the last review I am doing at my parents’ place. Suffice to say, I am to be gainfully employed starting next month and will be moving out finally on my own. So, I am taking a look at a short series from early last year, one that was somewhat overlooked, that being Yama no Susume.

Yama no Susume, or Encouragement of Climb, is about a gang of four high school girls and their adventures doing mountain ‘climbing’,  though its about hiking and camping in the outdoors. Not sure if thats a translation error or something but then again I suppose hiking is one way of climbing a mountain. The main reason I picked up this show was that hiking was a big part of my growing-up, as I was in the Cub and later Boy Scouts and lived at least nearby an area where the outdoors was still somewhat undisturbed. So watching this show was rather nostalgic for me. Of course, I go on the occasional hike or walk outside, but nothing to the extent I did back in the day. I am glad to be moving out to a place where perhaps I can pick up doing that on a more regular basis. Anyway, tangent done.

(L-R): Hinata, Yukimura, Kokona

Now onto the characters, which is your somewhat typical moe girl stereotypes, but have enough dimension to at least be distinguishable. First there’s Yukimura Aoi, the shy and cute one who was once into hiking but a childhood incident scarred her for life and she developed acrophobia. Fortunately, Hinata the genki girl and old friend of Aoi from grade school, helps her out of her fear of heights and to grow an appreciation for the outdoors again. In the course of the show, the two meet two other girls: Kaede Saito, a megane babe who’s a big time camper and Kokona, the young and ditzy cutie of the group.

At least she didnt take a arrow to the....no no not going to finish that xD

This leads into the story, which is one of the strong points of the show. Granted, each episode is 3 minutes with 30 sec ending song (episode 12 has an extra minute). In other words, it took me just under an hour to watch the entire series. So, one would expect a short series to be just random stuff with no cohesion, right? Not so with Yama no Susume, as there is a semblance of a overarching storyline over the series of shortened length episodes. The whole show is rather economical, at least in terms of character and plot.

The animation is cheap and adequate enough for a short series. There exists some quite Impressive background art work of the outdoors and the full-on mountain vistas.

Ooooh pretty backdrop

But you know what, that’s alright, because it was a nice breeze to watch. Its a good-natured, light-hearted, soothing slightly educational SoL (slice of life) show. Also, I am highlighting  this show in preparation of the second season, coming out in July 9. And the good news-its 24 episodes long, each episode being 15 minutes. That fact alone soothes my soul and I can’t wait for the second season. Let the climb continue!

Yesh the Internet, our grand saviour!!!

Yama no Susume is available (legally) through Crunchyroll, not only for free but with no ads woot. Here’s the link for it: CR Link to Encouragement of Climb Watch it and enjoy!

I shall be doing a blip for the tip jar page around 4th of July weekend and then resume with reviews starting August 3rd. See you then!

Anime Review No. 51-Spice and Wolf Season 1

"It's About the Journey, not the Destination"

Spice and Wolf, 2008 TV Series

Studio: Imagin, Director-Takeo Takahashi

Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance

Well, February ends with a review on another series I like: Spice and Wolf. I watched this back in college when it first came out. Around Christmas 2010, I got some money to spend and after going to FYE, bought the whole first season on DVD. Unfortunately, I have yet to get the second season mainly due to it being only available on Bluray/DVD combo. So this review will focus on the first season.

Anyway, Spice and Wolf tells the journey of Kraft Lawrence, a traveling merchant in a world not much different from Medieval Europe. One day, while at a village, he runs into Holo, a wolf goddess who can take human form. She yearns to go back home to the northern lands, as the villagers have grown tired of the old pagan ways and are moving towards the all-powerful Church. So, Holo enlists Lawrence in joining her on the journey as she needs a companion after being lonely so long.

Now, based on that premise, one would swordplay and fast adventure in a fantasy world, would you not? Not really, as the focus of this series is on ECONOMICS, ECONOMICS, ECONOMICS!! Mostly it involves characters talking about and doing economic activities, including trade deals and doing networking with other people. Thus, the main drive of the series comes from dialogue and characters' interactions, as opposed to action which when that occurs, it is sweet and succinct. Of course, there is nothing wrong with this, as the attention to detail with regards to historical detail makes the world of Spice and Wolf rather believable.

This leads to the other draw that this show has for me: the characters, mainly Kraft Lawrence and Holo. Kraft Lawrence is a very complex character. Being at times confident and brave to being angry and defeated. But, the highlight character for me is Holo, who practically steals the show every scene she is in, which is most of them anyway. She's feisty, sarcastic, energetic and prideful on the surface, but there's also a lingering sad softness underneath. I like that. The supporting cast are mostly one-off characters that are a bit one-note, with a few exceptions (Nora the shepherdess for instance).

In terms of production, it is very solid across the board. Animation is very nice-looking, with some quite lovely backgrounds and consistent character designs. Music is traditional Medieval music, mostly strings and percussion. Not too different from what one would hear from a Ren. Fair. I especially like the ending song, which is a jolly energetic and all-engrish music. The english dub is done by Funimation, who do a very job with it, as usual. J Michael Tatum and Brina Palencia, as Lawrence and Holo respectively, are the knockout V.A.s for the dub. The rest of the dub is filled with Funimation regulars which upon hearing some of them you will recognize at an instant.

So, all in all, Spice and Wolf is a very good fantasy series. I highly recommend it.

Next time is well, back to Saturdays.

March 2^nd is the next review, I am keeping it a surprise. See you then!

Anime Review No. 48-El Hazard the Magnificent World 2

"Lost Potential", El Hazard: The Magnificent World 2

1997 OVA, 4 episodes

Studio: AIC

Genres: Adventure, comedy, fantasy

This time around, I figure I do the same thing I did for the Nadesico movie review. I'll tell you about most of it. Trust me, you are not missing much. El Hazard: The Magnificent World is quite possibly one of the best OVAs that AIC ever put out (Tenchi Muyo and Oh My Goddess are a bit better). However, the sequel is well, an entirely different beast altogether. It is a disappointing and inconsistent mess. Let's get started!

Episode 1 The Bride of Roshtaria

We start with an exposition dump by Princess Rune, you know, the character who did next to bum kiss in the original OVA. Great way to start, I must say. Then the opening, which is just that not good and tries so hard to be epic like the original OVA's opening song. This is evident by the fact that strands of that theme music do come through is some desperate attempt to say 'Oh don't worry, this is good I swear'. There is a rather noticeable shift in the art design where it is a bit sloppy and inconsistent. But that's the least of this OVA's problems.

The crew from the original OVA are dealing with the wedding of Miz and Mr. Fujisawa. Miz is naturally excited about it, with her innate desire of being a housewife and stable income, even having a humorous flashback to the drunken proposal. Mr. Fujisawa, on the other hand, isn't really ready and for really petty and vague reasons. So much so, that he doesn't even show up to the ceremony. When confronted of it by Makoto, he says he needs to "find the man within" or he's useless. Miz, to say the least, takes it real well by nearly flooding the capital.

Also, there's a subplot involving Princess Fatora and Aielle and their funny antics. Fatora, being a rather frisky lesbian (as you do), tries to seduce Nanami by disguising herself as Makoto. However, this is a total failure. So far, they are the most enjoyable part so far in this OVA.

Once she is calmed down, the crew gets ready and mobilized on a journey to find Fujisawa-sensei. They figure that he went to Mountain Lilly-Coco, which is a place of mediation, and bring him back to his senses. They stop off for the night at a desert hamlet, where not much happens aside from more antics by Fatora, this time targeting Shayla-Shayla. Again, it goes hilariously terrible.

Then, we cut to Queen Diva and Jinnai, he still being his crazy usual self. They, along with a small group of Bugroms, are searching for resources for the Bugrom Army. But, they stumble onto a cave and Jinnai find a key-staff, similar to Ifurita's. After a few obstacles, they reach the core of the cave: another like Ifurita ('demon doll' as Jinnai puts it).

Well, this is an interesting setup for the story. Though, the ending song sounds like a rejected disco track. Moving on...

Episode 2 Awakening of Kalia

This opens with a recap of the end of Episode 1. Jinnai awakens the new weapon, named Kalia. She is a bit of a foil to Ifurita. She's a bit brash, impulsive, out-going and rebellious, much to Jinnai's chagrin. She also has never heard of Ifurita, which is a bit baffling, but I will let slide for now.

Our crew is still on their way to the Mountain Lilly-Coco. An accident by Shayla-Shayla crashes their hovercarft and they end up land in some sort of 'micro-dimension' or a hidden place masked by an illusory spell. It has flora and fauna that El Hazard had in ages past, looking much like a paradise rather then the desert wasteland that much of the land is. This is where the OVA turns into a completely different story, and its a bit jarring.

Ifurita appears, but there's a catch: She doesn't know Makoto or his friends. Her appearance here is another baffling thing that just raises too many fecking questions, so I won't bother now. To put it simply, this is 'another' Ifurita who has lived with an old scientist, Yuba Yurius. The place is a 'living time capsule'. It turns out Yuba is another traveler from another dimension, much like Makoto. He reveals the heart of the shrine houses a machine now activated ('The Trigger of Destruction'). This is particularly interesting, as lost ancient technology was explored in the original OVA (The Eye of God).

Jinnai and Kalia are heading over to the same place They bump into Mr. Fujisawa who has gotten lost in the desert near the hidden place, which he stumbles into by shear accident. The gang is all back together, at long last. Jinnai hatches a plan of deception to get in by pretending to be nice and kind. This leads into really awkward and cliched scenes with Jinnai playing up being nice, which you think wouldn't work, but it does. However, Jinnai's plot does downhill in part due to Kalia, who its turns out that she is also an evil and heartless villain.

Episode 3 Ifurita Farewell to Destiny

The battle against Kalia begins. Jinnai gets relegated to side character, not even a joke villain (he's still enjoyable in the scenes he's in). The Plan: Jinnai will activate the 'Trigger of Destruction' with Kalia's assistance.

This ensues lots of fighting between the three priestesses and Kalia who like Ifurita can mirror and project back the priestesses' power. This is interluded with various other scenes. There's a quiet Moment between Yuba and Ifurita; a very touching but too short for worth. Fujisawa has a "Manning Up" moment which is pretty good. Unfortunately, there is also a few scenes so trite or cliched I won't even happen.

Now the problems of this story come into place: a bit too much going on all at once which makes the episode drag more then the previous two episodes. The story has lost all sense of coherence and focus that even the first episode had in spades.

In addition, the story lacks any sort of urgency and concern that came with the original OVA; at times I kept asking myself: what's the point of all this? So what if Kalia activates the superweapon? Unsure of what will happen, but it has to taken care of since Kalia's evil.

An there's another problem: Kalia is just plain evil for no good or explained reason. The Shadow Clan and Ifurita from the 1^st OVA had nuance, maybe not a lot but enough to empathize with them. Not the case with Kalia, as she turns on Jinnai and activates the 'Trigger of Destruction'. Oh noes!!!

Episode 4 Promise of Reunion

The 'Trigger of Destruction' turns out to be a giant war-ship with tremendous power. Ah so that wheres all the budget went to, I see. It does look quite impressive and menacing, as any doomsday weapon should be.

Meanwhile, Makoto and friends regroup. Ifurita is non-functioning so Yuba and Makoto set to revive her, but Yuba dies at the cost of reviving her. What a shame. Now there's impetus to get rid of the superweapon but too little too late. The ending is a lot like the final episode of the 1^st OVA. Heck, the final confrontation between Makoto and Kalia is both too short and too late to add nuance to Kalia. Once again too little, too late. The warship melts away into a gooey mess. Wow, what an anticlimax.

Fujisawa rescues Miz, resolving their plot thread (that I didn't care for) and a tad pointless at this final point in the story. Yes, the plot thread that propels this OVA that then gets thrown aside like a used towel halfway through episode 2 and not resolve towards the end.

Finally, the Epilogue:

Jinnai and his bugs pick up some of the remnants, proclaiming he will be back, the crazy nutter.

There's another farewell to another Ifurita, placing a plot thread that goes nowhere. The Wedding between Miz and Fujisawa takes place, which I don't care for so moving on. The last note of the OVA is Fujisawa and Makoto getting chased by Nanami, Shayla-Shayla and Miz. Yeah, brilliant /sarc.

Good Haruhi this sucked. The story has little to no focus or coherence, the characters haven't really developed much since the first OVA, Kalia just doesn't work as a villain, etc. That's not to mention the art/character design which is also lacking. The only great thing I can say is that the dub actually makes this bearable. The entire cast from the first one return, and give it their all despite the poor material given to them. But the worse thing about this OVA is how potential is lost. This could have been great, like the first OVA. Instead, it just recycles concepts and ideas from the first one with a slight redressing. I can't in good faith recommend this, just watch the original OVA and stick to that.

See you laterz

The Eclectic Dude

Anime Review 42-El Hazard the Magnificent World

Fantasy: Then and Now continues with El Hazard: The Magnificent World OVA from 1995-96.

DVD Cover 

El Hazard is directed by Hiroki Hayashi (Tenchi Muyo, Battle Athletes) and written by Ryoe Tsukimura (Moldiver, Tenamonya Voyagers, Tenchi Muyo). Production was done by Studio AIC, who also did Tenchi Muyo, Battle Athletes, and whole lot of stuff in the 90s and early-mid 00s.If they did an anime I reviewed, I mentioned it at least. It is considered the ‘sister series’ of Tenchi Muyo, as the same people worked on both.   

El Hazard concerns the tale of one, Makoto Mizuhara, an average Japanese high school student. One day, when dealing with a self-proclaimed rival Jinnai, he stumbles upon an ancient ruin beneath his school. There, he meets Ifurita, who supposedly met him before and then waited in hibernation for a long time. With the last of her power, she sends him along with Jinnai, Fujisawa-sensei and Jinnai’s sister Nanami to the world of El Hazard, a mystical land. Makoto and Fujisawa-sensei ended up working with the Princess Rune Venus and her kingdom in an effort to stop an invasion by the Bugrom Empire, a race of insect warriors, led by Queen Diva and Jinnai himself. But an even more deadly threat lurks in the shadows, without letting either side know it. In addition, Makoto meets elemental goddesses, Ifurita (again!) and the Eye of God (a mystery). What a thrilling adventure!

What a stunning landscape, brought by stunning visuals

Now, what makes El Hazard such a classic to me lies first in the pure scope and depth this story delves into. This OVA spans 7 episodes, and clocks it at around 4 hours. The first and last are 50 minutes long, with the episodes between last 30 minutes. As such, there’s a lot of time devoted to world building, even if boils down to simple terms: The world is divided by a river, with Rushtaria and its alliance on one side and the Bugrom Empire on the other.  But there’s more to it, with vast forests and deserts seen throughout and even more that we don’t see. The stunning visuals, example above, help to reinforce this. 

L-R: Queen Diva, Rune Venus, Fatora and Aielle, Nanami, Makoto and the three goddesses

The story and characters are also well-done. Granted, the cast consists of Makoto (single male hero) and group of female characters (the goddesses, Ifurita, Nanami, etc.) and their interactions with each other. Sounds familiar, eh? Well, that’s the same setup as Tenchi Muyo except for the initial premise. Whereas Tenchi had a harem of women vying for his affections, Makoto is set on only one of the girls, something not used a lot in harem series. Sure, some of them vie for his affections, but he seems too oblivious to it. Granted, the story doesn’t focus on this too much. Instead, it deals with Makoto and his friends trying to find a way back to the real world, which seems linked to the mystery of “The Eye of God”. It is an ancient weapon long dormant since ancient times and is essential to how the story develops.

The characters are very engaging. Makoto is a bit like Tenchi, above average male hero who ends up being the key to the story. He seems a bit more developed, as he got some brains behind his meek and nice demeanor making him quite relatable. Jinnai, on the other hand, is a perfect foil and quite possibly the best ‘joke villain’ in anime ever. Any scene with him is quite an interesting gem.

Most of the other cast is very typical for anime: Fujisawa is drunk but reliable adult role model and Nanami is a love interest in denial with a slight obsession with money. Even the three goddesses, with their impressive elemental powers, have expected personalities (Shayla Shayla-fiery, hotheaded, confident; Afura Mann-cool, calm and collected; Miz-volatile and moody). Rune Venus is the typical damsel-in-distress who doesn’t do much in the story anyway.

Heh-part of the reason why I'm reviewing this.

The exceptions lay with Princess Fatora and Aielle, who are the lesbian couple in the show. Granted, Fatora doesn’t have an active role until the last episode, but when she does she is quite a surprise. Aielle shows up near the end of the first episode and stays on as the token lolita of Makoto’s group, constantly hitting on some of the other female characters, leading to much hilarity.  They may seem a bit superfluous, but they are entertaining anyway, so I welcome their casual addition.

The English dub is pretty good as well. Been done by Pioneer/Geneon back in the day, it has a cast that includes mainstays for quite a number of their dubs: Eddie Frierson, Lia Sargent, Michael Sorich, R Martin Klein, Melissa Fahn, Dorothy Elias-Fahn, Bridget Hoffman, etc. They all do a pretty good job given the material. There are a few others (like Ifurita) where the performance is a tad wooden. I definitely recommend watching this dubbed, though the subbed version is decent.

El Hazard OP

Now, there are a few weaknesses to this OVA. First, the music is rather forgettable, barring the opening and ending songs. I love the opening song, with its rich mix of instrumental and electronic music creating an opening that grips and hooks you in. For the first six episodes, the ending song is a jumpy and energetic tune. The last episode, however, has a quite lovely and nice song to cap off the ending.

This leads to another weakness: The OVA is centered on a time loop paradox surrounding Makoto and Ifurita. Now, while this OVA has it built in such a way to ensure it has a definite ending, there is the possibility for sequels. This is similar to Tenchi Muyo, which had spinoffs/sequels due to parallel universes with the same characters. And considering how successful that was, AIC rightfully though it would work again with the EL Hazard series. To put simply, however, it didn’t. But that’s the subject for another review down the road

At the end of the day, El Hazard The Magnificent World as a standalone OVA is a fantastic piece of other worldly fantasy epic. It is well-done in nearly all aspects of the production, with a few exceptions. It stands its ground with other similar fantasy anime, like Magic Knight Rayearth and Escaflowne, both also very well-done fantasy series. I definitely recommend it. El Hazard is available on DVD quite easily on Amazon. 

Laterz

The Eclectic Dude

Anime Review No 41-Ruin Explorers

Hi, I'm The Eclectic Dude and I review it for the lolz. 

Ok, time to start off Fantasy: Then and Now. I will look 2 anime titles from the 90s (Then) and the 00s (Now) for September and October. I have reviewed other fantasy anime titles before, like Princess Minerva and Detatoko Princess (check those reviews out by the way). This time, I hope to present some titles I own that are better then those I just mentioned. Let's get started with Ruin Explorers.  

DVD Cover

Ruin Explorers is directed and written by Takeshi Mori, who also directed Stratos 4 and Vandread.

Based on the 1992 manga by Kunihiko Tanaka, its production was done by ANIMATE and Asia-do. 

It was licensed in the USA by ADV Films, with VHS in 1999 then DVD in 2004. I own it under the "Essential Anime Collection" line, same for "Golden Boy" OVA. 

Ihrie and Fam 

Ruin Explorers tells the tale of 2 Ruin Explorers (Treasure Hunters) Fam and Ihrie in a European Medieval setting. Ihrie is a female warrior-tomboyish, headstrong, and confident. Fam is a squirrel Wiccan, despite looking more like a catgirl. She is the mage of the duo, timid, soft-spoken and cute. They are on a quest to get the “Ultimate Power”, key to the survival or destruction of the world. It requires 3 items to activate, because that's how that works in these fantasy stories. 

Migel, Galuff with his dog and Rasha

Fortunately, they are joined up by several travelers in this quest. They include: Rasha, another female mage; Miguel, a big brute of a swordsman; Galuff, a sneaky and conniving merchant (sidekick dog); Lyle, prince of a fallen kingdom. All the while, they must contend with the villain Ruguduroll, a priest from Lyle's kingdom who went insane and wants the "Ultimate Power" for himself.  

Now, onto the strengths/weaknesses of this OVA, which are quite a few. First, It tells a complete story in 4 episodes, a rarity in the 90s OVA market. As I have demonstrated, lots of 90s OVA went unfinished due to money running out of production or low video sales or etc. Granted, the ending seems a bit rushed, with a few unanswered questions which leaves you wanting more. There is potential for more, but as it stands what we got is pretty good. 

The story, while not exactly original, has a nice mix of comedy, drama, and adventure. Takeshi Mori comes across as being competent with telling this fantasy tale, but that's about it. It has an interesting cast of characters, even if there are just fantasy archetypes (Ihrie-female warrior, Fam and Rasha-mage, Miguel-big brute warrior, Lyle-prince of a lost kingdom, Ruguduroll-powerful villain) Nonetheless, the interactions and relationships between these characters keep the audience's interest up with little/no problem. 

Second, the music is very great, all orchestral  and performed by the Versailles Chamber Orchestra. It is very Wagnerian/Fantasy RPG Video Game in terms of music, with the use of leitmotifs, rich harmonies, long sweeping melodies, etc. It is not on the level of LOTR music, but fittingly epic. I would love the CD for the OST, but sadly that might never happen. 

Third, the animation is pretty good for something that came out 15+ years ago. Granted, it looks quite similar to stuff from the mid-90s, but the background visuals are very good looking and show that a lot of effort went into it. 

Lastly, the english dub is probably the best way to enjoy this OVA. It seems fitting given the European Medieval Fantasy setting. The cast includes people from 90s ADV dubs, including Tamara Lo, Jessica Calvello, Guil Lunde, Brett Weaver, Kelly Manison, Jason Douglas, and Tristan MacAvery. Now, T. Lo and Calvello a little rough when it comes to screaming/yelling, but serviceable in the rest. Kelly Manison and Brett Weaver are very good (one extra on the DVD is a commentary on episode 2 from both of them, which is very entertaining). Guil Lunde is pretty funny, spouting out some more comedic dialogue of this short series. Tristan MacAvery (Gendo from NGE) turns in a particularly nasty performance as the villain. Lastly, Jason Douglas is OK, even with the not so good British accent (really? why?)

Final Thoughts: 

Ruin Explorers is a very simple yet good fantasy tale. It borrows quite a lot from other better fantasy tales, but its decent and entertaining anyway in its own right, which is due to how 'straight' they play it. I like it for this, as my previous titles I've reviewed (Detatoko Princess and Princess Minerva) they do it silly, dumb yet funny. With Ruin Explorers, its more simple tale with the right mix of serious and funny moments. 

If you got a friend who wants to get into fantasy anime, then this is a decent OVA to start off with. I can attest to this, as a friend of mine wanted to get into fantasy anime and I said to him "Oh, here's Ruin Explorers-Enjoy!" 

Other Recommendations include "Detatoko Princess", "Princess Minerva" (previously reviewed), along with "Those Who Hunt Elves", "Eden’s Bowy", "Spice and Wolf", "Slayers", and "Escaflowne".

  

Anime Review No. 19-"Maze the Megaburst Space" (1996 OVA)

Hello, I'm the Eclectic Dude and I review it for the lolz.

This week, I am back in my comfort zone of anime OVAs from the 90s. Yeah, an area most people dread or don't know about is my comfort zone for anime. They are either interesting gems, so bad its good, or long forgotten titles.

Now, I'll explain this month's theme, which is an "Odd Notion of Genre". By this, I mean, certain series take a particular genre and adding in some quirky/weird elements to it. Last week's review was on Moretsu Pirates, essentially a space opera story with a space pirate story inserted into it. It can lend to interesting stories, for the most part.


However, this week's entry is Maze the Megaburst Space (best misnomer title ever btw) has quite honestly one of the weirdest quirks and elements in a fantasy journey story. It is an OVA from 1996, done by JC Staff and directed by Iku Suzuki. It is based off of a manga that has never gotten to the States, much less online, and that is surprising considering some of the stuff one can find online.

Now, here's how I came across this title. One of the few local video stores I go to on occasion is MovieStop. Back in like 2006 or so, I went over there to see what bargains they had. I see this on the shelf, and noticing the interesting cover and title (and the cheap price), I decided to purchase it. Now, since this OVA has only 2 episodes, which covers about 50 minutes, I consider this title to be a short film.

So, how is this an odd fantasy story? Well, it is a standard journey story with mature humor and mecha thrown in for good measure. I view it as a combo of Escaflowne and Sorcerer Hunters (with a dash of Sorcerer on the Rocks), but done on a cheaper budget. I'll explain further.

So, the plot of this OVA follows such: Maze and her crew, in their journey, come across the kingdom of Babylon, where a mad ruler is constructing a tower at the expense of his people. They seek to rectify the situation, all while dealing with other problems. Maze is the main character, a human from the present who somehow ended up in a fantasy world. Normally, she's a nice and likable character, except when at night she turns into a angry and horny man (shades of Ranma 1/2 much?). Of course, she/he can pilot a Demi-Armor (an organic mecha)
Her crew consists of people she has met off-screen prior to the OVA. They are:
Solude, a lesbian rogue
Princess Mill, annoying sidekick No.1
Aster, strong and stock standard fighter
Rapier, sheltered butch swordswoman
Woll, the wise old man
Randy, annoying sidekick No.2
All this is of course explained in an exposition dump at the start of the OVA. Now, their aim is to travel to the stronghold of the Holy Jaina Group (the baddies) for some reason. I'm guessing to find a way to get Maze home. Anyway, after fighting a group of ninja monks, they end up in the kingdom of Babylon. Randy, a fairy they meet on the way, tells them about how the ruler, Duke Den Den (ha xD), is a selfish prick who is constructing a tower at the expenses of his people, who are poorer than dirt as a result of his policies. Apparently Duke Den Den was prompted to do this by Gorgeous, a scarfaced minion to the Creator, the mysterious evil being behind the Holy Jaina Group.
So, the crew, through some perils and trials, end up foiling Duke Den Den's plan and saving the kingdom from certain doom. Sorry, no spoilers, watch it if you are really curious.
Now, some other things about this OVA. The animation is well done, even if its a little on the dated side. The character designs are very solid, though the backgrounds at times look faded. Granted, this was made in the pre-digital age of animation, so that is to be expected.
The oddities are another story. The mecha battles are far and few between (there's like 2 battles in the OVA) but done very well, all things considered. The mature humor, however, is more than really necessary but slightly tolerable if you're older. Don't show this to a youngster, that's for sure. There's mention of attempted rape, casual lesbianism, sexual harassment, nudity, and weird sex habits (Randy's brief talk on how fairies reproduce is one of the most baffling things I've heard). There is also 'referential' humor inserted in as well (the quiz show with dragon segment).
Then, there's the voice acting (in the english dub). This was released by Software Sculptors, a company associated with Central Park Media. I would say that this dub is rather 'inconsistent', in that there are some good performances brought down by clunkers. On the good side, there's Angora Deb who does a good job. I liked her in Wild Cardz and Alien 9, and also in this OVA. On the bad side, there's Princess Mill and Randy. They have the some of the worst VAs I have ever heard. It seems like the voices got processed through a synthesiser or the VA was required to ingest helium before recording. Yeah, and the extras also are rather bad. Then again, it makes my job of riffing it easier, to be sure.

Final Word:  This is my guilty pleasure for me. It stands as a standard 90s OVA: cheap-looking, too short, bad voice acting, etc. Of course, its quirky/weird elements makes it stand out for me. Of course, I can understand why some people might not like this.  But I like it, nonetheless. If you like fantasy anime, take a look at this one. Of course, if your are looking for some funny fantasy series, I'd recommend Sorcerer Hunters or Slayers for similar shows to this.

 Next week is on Read or Die OVA. Oh joy lol ^_^ 

Anime Review No. 17-Detatoko Princess (1997-98)

Hello, I'm the EclecticDude and I review it for the lolz.
(Sorry was a bit busy the other day)

Anyway, this being the last review I am doing this year, I thought of covering a Christmas special or a Christmas-themed episode from an anime series. However, I came to this conclusion-most of these are pretty crappy. So, instead, I'm doing an obscure entry of one of my favorite genres in anime: Detatoko Princess, a wacky fantasy OVA from the late '90s. Oh, joy to the flippin' world.

This lovely little piece comes to us from the folks at JC Staff, who seemed to do a lot of OVAs in the 1990s, this being one of them. This was also directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, the same guy who directed the 2nd Galaxy Fraulein Yuna OVA (see my review on that back in October). This is also based off of a manga that was out around the time the OVA came out. Unfortunately, it has never made it stateside (and I doubt it will).

Anyway, the plot involves Princess Lapis of SorcerLand and her adventures with her band of friends. She's blonde, ditzy and has a pudding fixation (yes really xD). Her friends include tiny flowergirl Nandre, immortal fighter Kohaku and Jii, Lapis' teacher mage. Their adventures involve running into Lady Topaz, Wicked Witch of the North who has a legion of pretty little girls in pokeballs (She got a thing for them). They also fight off a giant konnyaku golem and finally a trio of sickly fitness brothers. Yeah, it is rather insane.

First off, the positives. For one thing, it is nicely animated, which is a common feature of most OVAs. Also, kudos to the director. Akiyuki Shinbo, as I noted in my GFY Returns OVA, likes doing two approaches to his anime: either dark and disturbing or funny, wacky parody/comedy. Here, he does the wacky, silly parody/comedy shtick. It works for the most time as I was laughing through the whole thing.

Now, my two pet peeves. First, it applies to the phrase "Characters instead of caricatures". There are not really any characters as there are caricatures, exaggeration of common Fantasy RPG characters. Granted, the characters are rather quirky and eccentric (especially Lady Topaz,. a female OTT villain whose got a thing for little girls-only in anime xD). Secondly, the length (again). It is only 3 episodes long, and leaves me wanting more. There is even a sequel hook at the end of the credits of the third and last episode, so odds are they were planning to do more, but didn't. Oh well.  

Final Score is 6/10. It is just above average in terms of story, animation and direction. But it lacks character development and length to sustain a lot of audience attention. However, I would recommend it to fans of fantasy anime at the least. It's a fun little sit and a good way to burn off an afternoon. Of course, if u want something similar, I can recommend "Thos Who Hunt Elves" or "Rune Soldier Louie" for much longer series that are fantasy comedy series.

So, yeah, my last review of the year. I will return with reviews starting weekend of January 7th. I'm sure that will be more to come for this review series.

Until then, laterz-EclecticDude