FLCL Collection

FLCL Collection

Format: Anime DVD
Release: 2nd February, 2009.
Rating: 12
Publisher: MVM Entertainment

9

“It’s FLIctonic KLIpple Waver Syndrome. An adolescent psychological skin-hardening syndrome. A common affliction where children grow horns from trying too hard. Okay, I lied.”

FLCL is set in a simple Japanese town where nothing interesting happens, and nothing remarkable ever occurs. However, it does have a Scientific Laboratory in the shape of an Iron looming over the entire town, the Laboratory lets of a gush of steam once a day at the same time. Aside from this, the inhabitants of the small, unnamed town are bored of the town they live in.

The protagonist, a young boy named Naota is a withdrawn, frustrated junior-high student who has a strong relationship with his older brother’s ex-girlfriend Mamimi who’s not only flirty but somewhat vacant as well. Along with Naota’s friend, the world they inhabit couldn’t be any less interesting. That is until rumours of the Vesper start circulating at school, and Naota falls fowl of this rumour. Haruhara Haruko appears from nowhere on her yellow vesper and literally hits Naota with a bass guitar.

This causes Naota to have an unusual bump to his head; it’s as big and in the shape of a horn. Yet, it will go away when pressure is applied. With this in mind Naota goes to get it checked at the hospital, before he knows it Haruhara is attacking him and she is employed as the family housekeeper. Not forgetting the family robot that escapes from the horn on Naota’s head.

If not strange enough, they are the bits that are easily explained. Defining FLCL is next to impossible, it spits on genres and ignores all staple conventions of anime, takes itself very seriously and not seriously at all. Flicks between being an anime and being a manga and at all points defies logic. By the end of the first episode Naota has grown an robot from his head, fended of his brother’s ex, been attacked by a guitar wielding alien on a vesper and dealt with his zine loving father. Not forgetting his adolescent thoughts and problems.

FLCL is incredibly fast paced, and holds back no punches when it comes to divulging plotlines. However, whilst it moves incredibly fast, it can sometimes feel very slow. In a similar way that Serial Experiments Lain feels very slow per episode, an incredible amount of information is discovered. Unlike Lain, FLCL is a 6 episode series and the slow parts feel slow, but more information is uncovered throughout those periods than during any of the action packed parts of the show. This is due to the very nature of Haruhara Haruko, who reveals no information about herself or her mission, but simply speaks her mind, but actually says very little.

For those who like closure, FLCL is certainly not a show for them. It’s far too punk rock and rebellious to give closure to the lead characters. It doesn’t even reveal much about anything, it just happens and that’s accepted by the characters and he viewers.

One recurrent theme throughout all episodes is the transition that the main cast are going through in their lives. These junior-high schoolers are all adolescent and trying to comprehend and understand new feelings. This isn’t just restricted to discovering sexuality – which is a huge theme; but also in trying to become an adult whilst remaining a child. Characters who fail to understand this will end up becoming more confused by the situation and Haruhara only attempts to further confuse the situation.

Music plays a huge part in FLCL, as it does in many people’s lives. Throughout there are cultural references to Paul McCartney, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, Filler, Van Halen, Anna Nichole Smith, Evils, Jimi Hendrix, and plenty of references to Japanese music. Throughout the soundtrack is performed by The Pillows, whose logo appears on the vesper that Haruhara drives. There are also plenty of cultural references to Hamtaro, Tom & Jerry and in the English version of the show MTV.

To understand some of the puns, a basic knowledge of the Japanese language is useful. Throughout the term mouth to mouth is applied for kissing amongst other things, in Japanese the “th” sound doesn’t exist, so it would sound like mouse to mouse. This is used in a few episodes where mouse outfits will be seen.

The translation from the Japanese show has been fairly faithful but some elements have been changed for localisation purposes. This has been widely discussed in the past and for better or worse it’s in this version of the show. Due to the pace of the show, unless a real fan of the Japanese show is watching, this localisation doesn’t detract from the quality at all.

The animation quality is brilliant as well. Considering this show isn’t far from hitting its tenth birthday, the show hasn’t aged much at all. The characters are all well designed, distinct and it’s impossible to confuse the characters on appearance, as they all look so different - even the supporting cast. The backgrounds are well drawn and brilliantly presented and the transition between the town and the mecha robots is smooth and natural. At no point is it obvious that the animation style has entirely changed – which it does. The CG robots look like they are in the same style as the rest of the show, which is unusual these days.

The extras are plentiful, with audio commentary, textless opening and endings, trailers, and interviews just to name a few. It’s well worth the £30 price tag.

» Final Score

9/10

FLCL, otherwise known as Fooly Cooly, evades genre, defies convention and has such little logic that understanding the show is simply intrinsic. It’s an experience that’s next to impossible to describe.

Baldr Force EXE

Baldr Force EXE

Format: Anime DVD
Release: 26th January, 2009.
Rating: 18
Publisher: Manga Entertainment
7

In Norse mythology Baldr is a god associated with light and beauty, who’s death is a great tragedy to Æsir and a harbringer of Ragnarok. The very story of Baldr in mythology is that of grief and death and is argued to be the beginning of the chain of events that will ultimately lead to the destruction of the gods at Ragnarock. When Baldr passes, he will be reborn anew according to Völuspá the seeress. So it’s a fitting title for an anime that has exploding heads just minutes into the first episode.

Baldr Force EXE is set in a futuristic world where the Internet has become so over developed that rather than connecting to the Wired through a computer, it’s directly connected into the brain. This means that people are able to live out fantasy lives in real time, actually feeling and eating whilst in the Wired. However, this connectivity to the Wired means that when things go wrong in the Wired, they go wrong for the body.

Within minutes of watching the opening show the consequences of being in the Wired when things start to falter becomes apparent. A server has been compromised and an unknown virus has wiped out the entire population of the server. A futuristic anti-terrorist squad block the server from access and try to assess the situation. Within minutes the officers are dead, this is due to the virus actually attacking them and their bodies each react in a different way. Some may go into cardiac arrest, some may just shutdown from the inside and others, well, their heads explode sending blood and scattered pieces of skull across the room. Unfortunately, the user has to opt to logout from the Wired, as a forced disconnect will kill the user as well.

Of course, like any cyber-punk anime, the real world is always raining, is gloomy and is just a place people want to be away from. Whereas the Wired is an entirely adaptable place, where people with knowledge can create their own worlds, and where normal people are able to escape the realities of life for a limited period of time per day. Unfortunately the virus that killed the anti-terrorist squad keeps on spreading and rumours of a Wired Ghost scare those in the know.

As the premise for Baldr Force EXE is derived from a Dreamcast game, some of the elements are a little tired now. Fortunately most of this is recovered by the dramatic irony throughout, as the first episode itself is riddled with spoilers for the keen eyed viewer. This foreshadowing is an effective method of drawing the viewer in and creating the tension required to make this show effective. The lead protagonist’s personal quest for revenge against a fallen comrade of an old hacking group is an effective subplot that is entwined with the main plot of the show brilliantly.

Without Souma’s grief of his dead friend the rest of the show would not have been possible, and the climax to the show certainly would have been impossible without the amount of personal sacrifice and grief he has gone through. He’s very much the anti-hero, with just enough attitude and hate to want to see him in danger, but with enough human compassion and backstory to want to find out more about his character and history.

The character design is fairly well done. They are certainly not breathtaking, but neither are they completely average and uninteresting. The characters are all clear and distinct, with some great CG work when the battles are occurring. This is let down by the standard 2D work of when the characters are visiting institutions and are outside of the Wired as the world is dull. Fortunately the fan-service doesn’t last longer than a few seconds and does not detract from the actual quality of the show.

The voice acting is average in both the Japanese and the English soundtracks. No one character stands out as bad, but in contrast no character stands out as great either. This is first noticeable in the Japanese cast, and then in the English cast as well. This would indicate the casting process was spot on to the original. The opening and ending credits are catchy and these are textless as part of the meagre bonus features on the DVD.

The most endearing part of Baldr Force EXE is that it’s fast. This four episode series is lightening fast and this keeps the viewer interested. This show would easily fail if it were a 13 part series as there’s simply not enough life in it to draw it out that far. Fortunately the speed of the show leaves a few questions left to be answered, and that’s what will keep viewers coming back to the show. Especially fans of the game.

» Final Score

7/10
With the conventions of cute girls, mecha, the internet and excessive violence Baldr Force EXE follows every major cliché in the anime world. Fortunately the storyline and the speed of the show make this show stand out from the glut of similar shows in the market.

Bleach: Complete Series 2 Box Set

Bleach: Complete Series 2 Box Set

Format: Anime DVD
Release: 29th December, 2008.
Rating: 15
Publisher: Manga Entertainment
7

Along with Naruto, another Shoen Jump series has gained notoriety for becoming ridiculously popular. As well as being incredibly popular, it’s also one of the longer anime series at the moment. That series is known as Bleach, and it has continued to capture the imaginations of slightly older viewers than Naruto, this has meant that some of the merchandising hasn’t be quite the same as Naruto; however this hasn’t lessened the popularity of the show in the UK.

Bleach has been so popular that there are now two versions floating around the world, the cut version removes some of the violence and the blood from the show, and the uncut version, that as the name suggest, maintains the shows original content. There have been two releases of the first series of Bleach, the cut and uncut version and Manga Entertainment have now released the second uncut series.

The protagonist: Ichigo Kurosaki is not a normal child. He does the normal things that children do, go to school, helps out where he can with his parents; however, Ichigo “can see dead people”. This isn’t something that scares him, as he’s learnt to deal with it. In the first series he spots a girl called Rukia Kuchiki and assumes that she is a ghost. This assumption turns out to be incorrect and Rukia is actually a Soul Reaper - someone who helps people pass onto the other side.

They’re also duty bound to battle against the Hollows, who are spirits that have been unable to pass on and have become monsters that feed on the souls of people. Whilst the pair are talking Rukia is attacked by a Hollow and is badly injured. The Hollow then turns on Ichigo, fortunately Rukia transfers some of her powers to Ichigo to fight the Hollow off; however, this goes wrong and for some reason he takes all of her power. He easily fights off the Hollow but is unable to return Rukia’s powers to her.

A variety of characters appear in the first series and many of them will have their own special abilities like summoning six small spirits that live in hairpins and power channelling. He also encounters enemies such as Ishidia, who unbeknown to the team is actually a Quincy, which is a race of priest who has a deep hatred of Soul Reapers.

The opening to series two shows Rukia being arrested and taken back to the Soul Society, as it’s illegal to give a human Soul Reaper powers. This would be fine, but the sentence for this crime is execution, and although she warns Ichigo not to try and get her, he along with the team try their best at getting her released.

To do this they have to get to the Soul Society, which means crossing dimensions and passing through huge walls and gates that are each protected by various guards. Of course they go for this option and an onslaught of fighting scenes occur keeping Bleach fans happy. There’s not a great deal of filler episodes, although some of the battle scenes are a little on the lengthy side. There are a few episodes that don’t follow the usual formula, and these are a welcome addition as they explain a little more of the story and allow the fight scenes to gather momentum.

Unlike a lot of Manga releases recently this had stereo audio in both the English and the Japanese soundtracks. The voice cast is the standard fare for this sort of show, and it’s of a decent quality in both the English and the Japanese language. The subtitles are also well presented; although signs and Japanese text isn’t translated which may irritate some fans.

The animation quality is pretty solid. The colours are defined and strong and at all times the characters are distinct from the background. There’s not a great deal of effects used, and the background scenes are good but not great. There’s a clean opening and closing as well as a few other extras, which make the DVD, go that bit further.

» Final Score

7

There are more battle scenes than in the first series; however, this series does push the storyline along and is a must for fans of Bleach. With good animation and good extras this is definitely worth a look at.

Naruto The Movie 2: Legend of the Stone of Gelel

Naruto The Movie 2: Legend of the Stone of Gelel

Format: Anime DVD
Release: 29th December, 2008.
Rating: 12
Publisher: Manga Entertainment

6

The second of the various Naruto films, the franchise is loosing no pace when it comes to pumping out episodes, films and various other merchandise to keep Naruto fans happy. Naruto The Movie 2: Legend of the Stone of Gelel was originally released in Japan in 2005, and was directed by Hirotsugu Kawasaki and co-written by Kawasaki and Yuka Miyata, the movie takes place directly after episode 160 from the first Naruto series.

Opening with a battle between Sand Ninja and mysterious warriors wearing suits of armour, the Sand Ninja are slowly overwhelmed with the strength of their unknown opponents. At the crucial moment, Kankuro and Gaara turn up and manage to destroy the opponents of the Sand Ninja en masse. When Gaara orders a flare to be shot, a large warship appears and opens fire – Gaara manages to protect everyone with his Sand Armour, but only just.

Whilst these events unfold, Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru realise their relatively normal mission is going to turn very sour when the group is attacked by a number of strange opponents, dressed in armour with their blonde leader having strange powers that stump the trio. During the fight Naruto and the blond foe fall into the river below them and awake in a caravan full of travellers. Whilst in the caravan the leader explains his motives to Naruto, which is standard when two enemies are locked in the same room together.

The group are after the Stone of Gelel, this stone possess extraordinary power and the group hope that once they have managed to obtain these stones they will set up a utopia and there will be no further wars in the world. The leader of Temujin, the blonde foe, Master Haido tells his group that sacrifices are for the greater good, and many sacrifices will be made to find the Stone of Gelel. It becomes apparent the leader of the caravan group knows where the Stone is and Haido goes to find it.

After a very long and drawn out scene, Temujun learns that Haido is not all he appears to be and is actually a murderer and Naruto attacks Haido with the help of Temujun to help save the world from Haido. After saving the war, Temujin leaves with some other children stating that he alone will end all war in the world.

Clichéd as always, but most standard sagas of Naruto follow this similar plotline, and unfortunately this movie follows that standard as well. The film feels old and it is, taking three years to secure an English release is far too long for such a popular franchise. Owing to this, the film pales in comparison to many other stronger releases in the market at the moment. Throughout there are few surprises as the viewer will see glimpses of everything to come earlier on in the story telling process.

The character development is forced, and although the rest of the trio manage to get some action scenes, their input feels very much forced and what development occurs feels flawed. Fortunately Naruto, Temujin and Haido control much of the story, and although a little stretched, the plot works for these characters. Although it would appear that there was no continuity editor, as the plot does have many holes and leaves most questions unanswered.

Fortunately the animation quality does not suffer from age, and throughout the film maintains the solid, vibrant and fluid Naruto animation quality. The character designs themselves may leave much to be desired, the quality of the area where the characters are fighting make up for this. With well-drawn and creative scenery, the film feels very natural – even if the characters do have super powers half the time.

The same voice actors are used in the film as the anime in both the English and the Japanese versions of the track, and the music composed throughout is of a passable quality. One big plus is the use of Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound, which has been missing on a lot of recent Manga releases.

Aside from that, the extras on the DVD are woeful – just a selection of other manga trailers.

» Final Score

6/10

Naruto fans will definitely want to pick this film up, as it explains a few things for other parts of the series. However, for most viewers it’s predictable in most points and doesn’t really warrant the hype. Not poor, but certainly not great.

Naruto Unleashed Series 5

Naruto Unleashed Series 5
Format: Anime DVD
Release: 15th December, 2008.
Rating: 12
Publisher: Manga Entertainment
7

Since the dawn of time, Shoen Jump mangas and their subsequent anime series have always been popular. This can be seen historically by the various anime shows to hit the west in the past twenty or so years, Dragoball, Dragonball Z, Dragonball GT, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh GX, Bleach and Naruto. The appeal of Naruto hasn’t slowed at all, and is one of the strongest sellers in the UK, as such, Manga Entertainment have acquired the rights to release the follow up series of the franchise: Naruto Shippuuden.

Produced by Studio Pierrot and TV Toyko, Naruto premiered in Japan on the 3rd October 2002 and ran for 220 episodes. Directed throughout by Hayato Date, the first 135 episodes are adaptations of the 27 volumes of manga, whilst the remaining 80 episodes are mostly filler episodes. These fillers are either entirely new elements to the show, or huge offshoots of a slight theme developed from the original material.

The debut of the fifth series and the first volume commences with the final two episodes of the new Tea Country arc. For many who watched the last volume, the Tea Country arc is the beginning of the infamous filler episodes that Naruto has become well known for. Fortunately this arc does actually push the show forward somewhat, and there’s a degree of character development. Unfortunately, it’s not really at any of the main characters in the show.

Itachi, the person running the race across the Tea Country manages to hurt his leg, and whilst he is recovering Naruto is carrying the boy across the country. Although this may seem like the right thing for Naruto to do, Itachi’s resentment at Naruto is growing and a meeting with his brother comes to mind. This only leads Itachi to resent Naruto even more. Whilst his resentment is growing the trained ninja: Jonin appears to cause more trouble for the cast.

Jonin, aside from being very self-inflated, attacks Naruto and Itachi whilst Naruto is trying to carry Itachi across a bridge so that he can win the race across Tea Country. However, Jonin attacks the pair with a deadly sword that cannot be destroyed or broken. Naruto attacks Jonin with everything that he has many times, and still hasn’t even made Jonin really move much. Then out of no-where Naruto’s friends turn up and battle Jonin. Unfortunately they don’t do much better; however, they do make a crack in the sword. Naruto who attacks Jonin and wins, whilst doing this Itachi realises a few home truths and they win the race notices this.

Predictable and contrived. However, the rest of the episodes are as if an entirely different production team and script team have made them, as they are vastly more interesting. Following from episode three on the first volume, otherwise known as episode 107, the show starts to follow the manga again and much of the second disc is taken up by Saskue’s emotional turmoil and his jealously of Naruto.

A lot of character development is spent in many of the episodes, and most of the main cast are fleshed out more. Neki, Shikamaru and Choji, who were once very much one-dimensional characters, actually have backstory and motives. This leads to more emotional conflict within the group and the volumes are at their peak when the battle between Rock Lee and Garra occurs during the Chuunin exam.

It’s clear that by now the voice-acting cast are very comfortable in their roles and their respective characters, and this is portrayed well. The English cast are now well put together; however, some voices still don’t really suit the characters in comparison to the Japanese cast. Fortunately though the actual quality of the voice cast is strong enough to put aside these reservations.

Throughout the animation is smooth and of a solid quality – which is rare for a show of this length. The characters remain distinct and at no point drab, the battle scenes are very well animated and there are not minutes of powering up either. Thankfully.

» Final Score

7

For Naruto fans this is a must as it’s really the climax of a lot of the show, as from this point onwards the filler episodes start to rear their ugly heads. The emotional attachment to the characters, and the newly fleshed out supporting cast make this an important volume in the series and it’s fortunately been done with a lot of attention.

Daphne in the Brilliant Blue Volume 2

Daphne in the Brilliant Blue Volume 2

Format: Anime DVD
Release: 08th December, 2008
Rating: 12
Publisher: MVM Entertainment

7

The market for big busty fan-service animes has really shrunk in recent years. However, Daphne in the Brilliant Blue should quench the thirst of many fans that adore that type of anime and as with Volume 1, it should also quench the thirst of those who want a storyline as well.

Picking up where Volume 1 left off, Volume 2 continues to show the journey of Maia Mizuki and her employment at the Nereids agency. Volume 1 introduced many characters into the fray, the Branch Manager, Rena, Shizuka and Gloria. Maia is only just starting to get used to fulfilling the demands of the customers who approach the Nereids agency, which vary from acting as rent collectors, cat rescuers to crime fighting units and bounty hunters.

Volume 2 starts by introducing a new character into the already expanded cast. A former convict, and a deadly marital arts expert attempt to try and rejoin the Nereids agency. Yu Park, however, has her license to rejoin Nereids declined by a somewhat annoyed Police Detective; Yu Park had to serve time for causing injuries to more than 20 people, and causing damage to the local area in the attempt to capture petty criminals.

To try and get back Yu’s license, Rena attempts to seduce the Detective and use her womanly ways on the poor man. However, terrorists storm the floating restaurant and attempt to use both the Detective and Rena as hostages. Unfortunately for the terrorist, Rena is able to contact the agency and get Yu to save everyone on the boat. This infuriates Gloria who wanted to shoot all of the criminals onboard the craft but arrives just a bit too late.

This Volume also reintroduces Maia’s friend, who managed to get employment at the prestigious Ocean Agency, as they are out for a meal together. Unfortunately, her hire car is stolen and whilst reporting the crime at the local station she bumps into her Nereids’ team members and is caused some embarrassment. Whilst Maia is telling Rena about the theft of the hire car, the Detective who had previously been saved by the group turns up and Rena manages to get a contract from him to get the cars back.

After a stake out the group are able to find the convicts, who use high-tech ways of stealing cars and threaten to kill Maia as they take her hostage. Fortunately for Maia they crash and she manages to secure her friend’s car and get the reward money. This is good as they then have to all pretend to really respect the Line Manager as his daughter is doing a school project on him.

To make things more interesting the group go to a deserted island, this is so he can “catch” a criminal, who turn out to be Gloria and Yu dressed up. His daughter is devastated and runs away, straight into a black market for penguins. Maia, the Branch Manager and his daughter are all captured and are used as hostages so the rest of the group can’t save them.

Whilst speeding off to kill the Branch Manager’s daughter, he manages to jump onto the back of the boat and knock the criminal into the ocean. This shows his daughter that he’s not entirely useless and this memory of the Branch Manager is destroyed in the next episode where he is removed from the room for commenting on someone’s cleavage on TV. The amazing Maia has to help a racing driver, who is an old friend of Shizuka.

Daphne in the Brilliant Blue Volume 2 is a lighthearted comedy show. The animation quality is just as good as the first volume, and the characters are really beginning to be fleshed out in this volume. Although some characters, such as Gloria really are two-dimensional. The skimpy costumes continue in this Volume, with Yu’s battle costume looking similar to a bondage outfit and nearly the ultimate fan-service for Rena.

As with the last Volume, the voice acting continues to be great on both sides of the language pool. Although Yu’s acting is a little distant and although she’s meant to be a distant character, it sounds more bored than anything else.

» Final Score

7

Volume 2 continues Daphne in the Brilliant Blue’s light-hearted comedic storyline. Taking jabs at itself and it’s own character design along the way, it’s an amusing and easy show to watch.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Format: Anime DVD
Release: 08th December, 2008
Rating: PG
Developer: Madhouse
Publisher: Manga Entertainment
10

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is the official international release title for the adaptation of the Japanese novel written by Yasutaka Tstusui in 1965. The novel is a classic youth story, and has been adapted various times over the years. This adaptation was produced by Madhouse, and with Saotoko Okudera as the screenplay producer. It’s taken more than two years for this title to come out in the UK, so long in fact that in July this year it was on television on one of the various anime channels in Japan whilst I was there!

The story follows a normal, but slightly tomboyish, schoolgirl called Makoto Konno who lives in central Tokyo. She has no sense of time keeping and is consistently only just on time for school, after having to rush to school almost every day. More often than not causing some form of commotion along the way. She has two good friends Chiaki Mamiya and Kosuke Tsuda, both of who are admired throughout the school by the girls – something that Makoto seems oblivious to.

Whilst running a little late, Makoto is reorganising the notebooks in a classroom on one of the upper floors, while she is doing this in a rush she falls over and lands on something that hurts her arm. She thinks nothing of it, as she is more concerned with wondering why she thought someone was in the room with her. She then ran off, as she was late for baseball with Chiaki and Kosuke.

She soon discovers that she is able to travel through time if she puts herself into a certain situation, and uses this ability so that she is able to avoid awkward confessions of love, stop being late, get perfect grades and to just generally enjoy herself. She also uses her ability to match make her friend and someone who fancies him. However, all of this time travel soon starts to show negative effects with a boy who ends up making the mistakes that Makoto makes due to different circumstance. This boy is under increasing stress and then attacks some of the other students at the school; this causes Makoto to revaluate what she is doing.

During this period she is visiting her aunt a lot more than usual, her aunt advises Makoto that she believes she is leaping through time. Although Makoto keeps on travelling back in time, she talks to her aunt whenever she is confused, who never questions what she’s doing and always continue to give solid advice. No one questions this; however, it does imply that she was the girl in the prequel to this story.

Eventually Makoto discovers a tattoo on her arm that never used to be there. She soon realises that this is the number of leaps that she’s got left, and in the attempt to save her friend Kosuke and his girlfriend from dying she uses her last leap; unfortunately she is not successful. However, time freezes and Chiaki tells her that he is from the future and he is searching for a painting, and is now stuck in this time because he’s used his last leap to save Kosuke.

Makoto is devastated by this and is also devastated because the boy she loves has just disappeared. This is because he explains everything about the future and time travel to her, which he is now allowed to do. Fortunately owing to Chiaki’s time travel Makoto has one left, which she uses to go all the way back to the start of this entire adventure and starts all over again. She confronts Chiaki early on and then tells him she knows everything, and that he has to go back to the future and she’ll secure what he came to the past for.

The animation is simple, but distinct and is visually a treat. The backgrounds are realistic, colourful and well planned. Although the character designs are a little on the basic side, this contributes to the overall feel of the film. The leaps through time are entirely different to everything else in the film. They show a strange world of digital clocks and are depicting time continuing to move forward while Makoto goes backwards. The qualities of these scenes are second to none and have clearly been well planned ahead.

The understated music score by Kiyoshi Yushida is perfectly suited to the bittersweet story. The music is at no point overused, and owing to it’s minimal usage it makes the touching moments that bit more poignant. It’s rare in motion picture for music to be used so well, and in this case less is certainly more.

The English cast is brilliant. The English cast all have passion and acting in their voices and at all points they are believable and not just “going through the motions”. Even minor character such as Makoto’s sister or the poor stressed out boy, they all sound real. The Japanese cast are equally brilliant, so fortunately there’s no reason to have to choose between either cast – it’s just personal preference this time.

» Final Score

10

This touching, bittersweet and understated film is a brilliant adaptation of the original novel. With a clever screenplay, brilliant animation and a great voice-acting cast this is a must for all anime lovers. Easily on par with many Studio Ghibli releases.

Haibane Renmei Box Set

Haibane Renmie Box Set

Format: Anime DVD
Release: 01th December, 2008
Rating: 12
Publisher: MVM Entertainment

10

Haibane Renmie, otherwise known as Charcoal Feather Federation, is the finalised product from an ill-fated dojinshi series entitled The Haibanes of Old Home. The legendary Yoshitoshi ABe, who also created the Serial Experiments Lain series, created this superseded manga and anime series. This ambitious series deals with various themes, and owing to its easily misinterpreted storyline, it’s been debated heavily since its release.

Based in a long forgotten area called Glie, the Haibane are a group of people, similar to angels, who have been mysteriously born into the town. Bound by the walls of the local area, and intricate traditions that occur on a day-to-day basis. A Haibane does not earn money; however, they work for very specific areas in the town in exchange for free residence at Old Home or the Abandoned Factory as well as being given a book – where they log their expenses. Any product that they do decide to buy has to be either second hand, or unwanted by standard humans. Along with many other rules, the Haibane Renmei strictly regulates this lifestyle, which is an organisation, which oversees the life of the Haibane and much of Glie.

No one from Glie is allowed to leave, and the only people who are able to enter and leave are traders called the Toga; the Toga are not allowed to speak when inside Glie, but speak with only one member of the Haibane Renmie in a form of complex sign language.

There are many characters throughout the show; however, the main two protagonists are Rakka and Reki. Rakka is part of the opening scenes to the show, which is a double scene as Rakka is inside the pod where the Haibane are born. The other side of the scene shows Reki and the other members of Old Home finding the pod and preparing the area for her eventual birth. All Haibane are born from a pod, and should have a distinct memory of the time that they spent in the pod, along with a sense that they used to live somewhere else and have family. The dream that they have in the pod becomes their name; however, whatever name they do have they later find has additional meanings.

The Haibane are not born with wings initially, or with halos either. The wings develop after the first day of their birth, this incredibly painful experience is made worse by the fact that a terrible fever develops at the same time, which miraculously disappears the night after the wings have developed. The Halo is made by the Haibane, using a special type of metal that’s developed from inside of the Walls of the town.

Rakka manages to build bonds very quickly with everyone, and particularly so with Reki and Kuu. Kuu is the youngest “adult” Haibane, and has always felt the need to prove to everyone that she’s an adult. She is the first Haibane in five years to take her Day of Flight. The Day of Flight is when a Haibane has reached a point in their life in the town when they are able to leave the town. To the Haibane in the town this is a sad event, as it’s likely that they will never see this person again.

Rakka has to overcome this sorrow, whilst trying to save Reki from herself and understand the world around her. Not to mention come to terms with loosing Kuu and then understand that things change all the time. She also discovers that not everything is as it seems in the area, and that although everyone looks angelic and happy people are harbouring deep secrets and sins. All of these realisations ultimately lead to a level of depression that has to shed aside so that she is able to aid a friend in need towards the end of the series.

This seemingly easy storyline becomes very complex when more of the details are unveiled and there’s a strong sense of history and character development from the main characters. There’s clearly much more to be told about the history between all of the characters, and the cast is vast. With a cast of this size, it’s easy to loose track of who is who, fortunately all of the characters are unique and it’s easy to distinguish them apart.

Fortunately the quality of the writing and the designs of the characters are also echoed in the animation quality, which is to a good standard, and the background and general design of the towns and scenes are stunning. With expansive and wide views, it’s clear that a lot of thought and effort has been put into making the town look as real as possible.

The accompanying soundtrack is really what sets Haibane Renmei apart from many others in its respective genres, as it’s emotive, vivid and pure. The music compliments all scenes of the series, and in fact the lack of music or sound effects at some points only heightens the interest in the show. Fortunately the quality of the Japanese and the English cast is matched, and works well with the original music for the show. It’s just a shame that it’s only in 2.0 surround sound and not 5.1.

There are plenty of extras in this box set, such as credit less opening titles, the original Japanese opening, art galleries, episodes previews, and trailers. All of these are worthwhile additions to the box set.

» Final Score

10
This beautifully crafted, emotive, insightful and touching anime is a necessary staple. Although it’s not perfect, its simplicity intertwined with complex storylines makes it a worthwhile show at all times.

Goth Volume 1

Goth Volume 1

Format: Manga
Release: January, 2009.
Rating: 18 (Adult)
Publisher: TOKYOPOP

8

To be a Goth is to be a member of a rich and substantial subculture that pulls on various influences from throughout history. A Goth cannot be categorised as someone who enjoys the dark side of life, someone who enjoys death or someone who is always miserable and depressed as they are merely a few areas of the wider subculture. As such, for this name to be used as a title of a novel, and subsequently a manga is ambitious.

Illustrated by Kenji Ooiwa from Otsuichi’s original Goth novel, the first thing that Itsuki Kamiyama noticed about Yoru Morino was her hands. The clear sign of scars across her wrists informed him immediately of what type of person she was, and her infinitely pale skin made them even more noticeable. Kamiyama wants those hands, but not the girl. This horrific thought is the start to a very strange friendship between the pair.

With a strong draw to one another, Kamiyama and Morino soon discover that they both have a fascination with death, torture and sick crimes; that make normal people turn away. These crimes touch the darkest parts of their souls and make them feel like they can truly experience life and live. Goth is made up of six stories, each one depicting a different type of death, and dealing with the fascination that the lead characters have with murder and suicide.

However, this fascination with death and suicide is never eluded to be wrong. Throughout the six stories the pair manage to find themselves dealing with people who all ultimately end up regretting their murders in some respect. The regret of being caught is naturally the first, and that is swiftly moved on from by the regret of killing a loved one and the regret and guilt of lying.

Throughout the manga, darkness is used as a theme to heighten the macabre feeling of the characters. Although there is some horrific violence in Goth, the violence is not overused at any point. In fact, the conservative use of illustrating the violent crimes heightens the sense of horror when the occasional images arise. The images themselves are normally against a black backdrop and have little shading, the type of murder is shown clearly and the wounds are detailed.

The two most haunting images are towards the beginning and the end of the novel respectively. The first is a woman, who has been entirely mutilated, with her head in another part of her anatomy, maimed breasts and eyes in her hands. Whilst the second is the other haunting image is that of asphyxiation by hanging, which is unusually against a clear backdrop.

At no point can this be defined as high art; however, the artwork is drawn to a strong standard and the artist knows when less is more. Unfortunately, the story itself is stripped bare from the original novel. Throughout the lead character Kamiyama seems to instinctively know who the murderers are, and where to go to catch them and to save Morino. Morino appears to always be at the centre of most murder and kidnap plots, and Kamiyama seems to have the best luck at catching criminals. As the storyline has been stripped back, sometimes the plot can feel a little contrived and convenient.

» Final Score

8

Goth is a frighteningly horrific owing to its almost real life events. Although it has been stripped down a lot from the original novel: “Goth A Novel of Horror” by Otsuichi, the manga manages to capture the essence of the book. At most points sympathy is felt towards the murderers, which in itself makes the manga more evil.

Starship Operators Volume 3

Starship Operators Volume 3
Format: Anime DVD
Release: 01 December, 2008
Rating: 12
Developer: MVM
Publisher: MVM

8

In 2005 a series based upon science fiction novels of Ryo Mizuno was created. The series was animated by J.C.Staff and aired on TV Tokyo in Japan. This anime had no manga to base its story around, and the sci-fi novels of Mizuno were just the basic concept for the plot. For this reason, Starship Operators at the time didn’t seem to have a lot of press or hype around it.

There is a long and extensive backstory involved with Starship Operators. As a sci-fi anime, the series takes place in space and is about the 73rd class of the Defence University of the Planet Kibi. After returning home from their maiden voyage on the Amaterasu, they find that their home planet has been invaded and is now being governed by the upper powers of the Henrietta Alliance of Planetary Nations. On the demands of the new rulers, the original crew of the ship disembark; however, the student cadets decide that they will battle against the tyranny of the Henrietta Alliance.

As such they immediately leave their home planet and declare the Amaterasu a self-governed nation in exile. To make sure that the entire universe is aware of what is happening, they allow the Galaxy Network to fund the operation and are filmed with their every move being broadcast universe wide. With the former Prime Minister of Kibi, Minister Tatsuma Marmiya on board the ship has to protect itself and the exiled leader of their former world.

Naturally Henrietta are not happy with this and automatically declare war on the Amaterasu, who are forced to warp to a neutral location outside of the control of the various Alliances and Federations of the universe. During their stay in the neutral area they are challenged to a battle, downgraded to a pirate ship, face civil wars on the planets they land on and have ever-longer battles with Henrietta and the Earth Alliance.

The volume starts off with our heroes just appearing after they warped away from their last battle to try and survive. At this point the Prime Minister is no longer on board and is using every trick in the book to make the universe aware that the various corrupt Alliances and Federations in the Universe are unfairly attacking them. Unfortunately when the Amaterasu warps away they take a ship with them and are forced to continue battling.

The finale is stung with elation and desperation from the crew as they try to unravel the complex political battles that make various battleships that appear to aid them turn up. There are a lot of emotions between the cast, and along with the rapport that’s built between the crew of the Amaterasu there’s also a lot of sorrow for the amount of deaths that occurred on the ship.

Strangely for a series of this type, it’s not particularly fast paced, which is a welcome change. Of course there are a lot of young, attractive people on board from both genders, although there are far more women around than men. Starship Operators has a lot of tactical and technical discussion throughout, and it attempts to try and make the viewer connect with the show. This has been done successfully and it’s easy to get sucked into the show and think along the same lines as the crew on board the ship.

Along with the strong and slightly unusual storyline, the animation quality is pretty good. At all times the characters are distinct, with decent tones and do not appear entirely out of proportion like many other shows in this genre. The animation is smooth, and is all in the same style as the rest of the show. There are no random CGI moments that look out of place from the rest of the animation, and this could easily have happened as it occurs on many sci-fi shows from anime to live action.

The voice-acting cast have done a solid job as well. A few questionable voice actors have been cast, such as the Prime Minister, who sounds not only forced, but also disinterested. Aside from the few odd choices, the English cast have done a stellar job. They emulate the Japanese voice cast in a similar style, and the emotions and names of the characters have all remained intact. Fortunately the subtitles appear to be of a decent quality. There are no dubtitles in this show, which could have happened owing to the age of the show now.

Disappointingly both the English and Japanese tracks are only in 2.0 Sound, not 5.1 that is commonplace along many shows of this type. However, the extras such as the opening and closing tracks with no text, music videos, trailers and a few other little things more than make up for this.

» Final Score

8

A strong conclusion to a well-written show, it leaves itself open for a sequel as very little is concluded. It’s an essential for any sci-fi lover, especially those who want a little depth with their space-fighter action.

Daphne in the Brilliant Blue Volume 1

Daphne in the Brilliant Blue Volume 1
Format: Anime DVD
Release: 24th November 2008
Rating: 12
Developer: MVM Entertainment
Publisher: MVM Entertainment

7

Just a few years ago there was a big burst in the fan-service genre of girls, guns and busts. Fortunately the genre subsided; however, a new series has been released in the UK entitled Daphne in the Brilliant Blue. This series does not follow the same formulaic storylines as many other fan-service anime.

Daphne in the Brilliant Blue is set on a future Earth, although not too far ahead in the future, where Climate Change has managed to melt all of the polar ice caps. This has, as scientists predict, left the majority of the world under water and the little land that is left is inhabited by the richest of the rich in the world. The rest of the populace of the world live on floating cities; which along with the Earth’s resources and climate is run by the Ocean Agency. This prestigious agency is where the protagonist of the series: Maia Mizuki tries to get employed by. There are a number of entrance exams, and she tries to enter with her friend. It would seem that it’s a sure win for her to be the latest member of the Ocean Agency.

Much to her own surprise, and the surprise of others, she does not manage to secure a position with the prestigious agency. This comes as a huge blow to Maia as not only is she unemployed – she is now homeless and at 15 as well. At the start of the series we see that Maia is signing the papers of her home back over to the local agency as her Grandfather, who she lived with, has recently passed away. As a homeless, unemployed teenager nothing is being done to help her so she is advised to go “Down Town” to where the action is.

Whilst she is down town she comes across the Nereids. The Nereids are an agency that helps people retrieve missing items: from money, to possessions to cats stuck in trees. This agency is primarily run by four people, the Branch Manager, Rena, Shizuka and later on in the show Gloria. The Nereids are after a criminal, and Maia manages to get her caught up with this gang and is used as a bargaining weapon twice in as many days. The leader, Rena sees some potential in Maia, and offers her a job at the agency. She immediately declines the offer; however, upon reflection she accepts the offer to find that she already has a room clean and tidy for her arrival.

The scarcely clothed women manage to bribe Maia into joining their group and she manages to bungle her way through the various jobs that are given to her until Gloria shows up and tries to teach her the “better” way of getting jobs done. Gloria has some internal issues with the rest of the girls, and her “better” way of doing things actually end up costing her more of what she loves the most — money.

Throughout the show the areas are intricately designed, with the initial under water scenes being carefully planned out. Even to the point where there are instruments that help people breath underwater and these are seen being put into the characters mouths. The actual storyline is very believable and everything falls well into place. The down town area is a little disappointing as from the incredibly modern sea area, and the more expensive area dominated by the Ocean Agency is very futuristic, the down town area looks typically 20th Century. With the tenements, casinos and other “bad” things all grouped together.

Even down to the way the characters are done in each area has been well planned; the characters in the posher end of town seem to be nicer and better educated. Whereas the poorer people are not only harsher, but they aren’t as articulate it would appear.

Fanservice is the name of the game in these types of animes, and Daphne in the Brilliant Blue is no different. The girls at the Nereids agency are already in very tightly fitting, scantily clad clothing. However, when it’s time to battle they actually remove clothing leaving only their modesty lightly protected. This is turned into something of a joke in the anime, with our lead character Maia not being able to fit into the costumes due to her normal sizing.

Throughout the show the cast have acted well, focusing on humour as much as drama to portray the message and not to become too clichéd. Both casts have done a great job, however, Maia does seem a little too frail in the English version of the show. Although both the Japanese and the English cast have passion in their voices and it’s a solid performance by all. The sound quality is also very good, and it’s loud even at low volume.

The quality of the animation is high, and the overall production value is strong too. Some of the characters are a little on the plain side, but they are all distinct and vibrant with great textures and shades being used throughout.

» Final Score

7

Daphne in the Brilliant Blue Volume 1 is a great addition to the “girls with guns” genre. A lighthearted, but fun, anime that has plenty of fan-service; however, it’s not done to the point where it becomes embarrassing or creepy. This is a great addition to any anime cabinet.