Father Geek here, annnnd I've got another of Scott's regular weekly columns for AICN that covers the worlds of Manga & Anime for you. Sooooo if you want to know about the DVDs, VHS, Feature Films, Toys, Games, the Personalities, or just the Internal Company Politics check out this report each week. Its all right here in the latest edition of...
AnimAICN...
by Scott Green
Anime Preview: Samurai Champloo
Based on English Dub Episodes 1 & 2
To be Released by Geneon January 11, 2005.
Samurai Champloo is Cowboy Bebop director Shinichiro Watanabe's
genre/music fusion follow-up to his hit work, in this case combining
jidaigeki samurai serials with scratch editing. Where as "bebop"
reflected an improvisation nature of the series, its willingness to
carry a moment of inspiration into a new direction, "champloo", an
Okinawan work for mix doesn't so much hop genre as experiment in
blending musical with visually techniques.
The series grabs attentions with an opening that contrasts traditional
motifs with highly stylized colorful renditions of the characters set
against a beat rap. Once it engages, you've seen why these characters
fight, but you've never seen anything like how they fight. The episodic
stories construct situations along familiar samurai serial lines, but
through a mixer's filter: rewinds, jagged transitions, non-sequitor
cuts, montages.
The distinction could easily become artificial, a loud high concept
conceit, but it fits the characters and plays with stylistic
authenticity. The character's personalities, especially the regimented
and flexible dynamics of the two lead swordsmen give the series to
distinct beats to opperated with. Working with dazzling action, swords
fights are as impressive as any medium's best that given a sense of body
and space that make them far less predictable than the standard advance
and strike, the mix is picks from amazing frames of action.
The series pays relatively concrete respect towards the limitations of
human abilities, without anime's frequent giant mid-battle leaps, yet
stylistically it flaunts anachronism, melding modern extensions of the
characters' in period apparel. For example, the young spoiled gangster
son of a corrupt governor has bleached hair, a pierced eye brow, and a
kimono that looks more like a warm up suit.
As expected from the genre template, the series follows three vagrants.
In appearances and style Mugen is a unique addition to the genre, a
scruffy swordsman from Ryukyus (Okinawa) itching to measure himself
against any opponent. The character fights with visually engrossing
technique of spins and kicks, integrating his metal plated sandals into
his sword strikes. His foil, Jin is the more familiar wandering,
masterless samurai, vissually distinguished by a set of glasses, but
reserved, and formal, with a traditional fighting style. While he has a
mind for justice, a fight also peeks his interest. The pair are chained
together by Fuu a headstrong teen orphan with a strange set of physical
and mental skilled who corrals the other two into not killing each other
and helping her find the samurai "who smells of sunflowers".
The first episode is a showcase of the series' offerings, a pauseless
exercise in applying the new series' style to the meeting of the
principle characters, and their fight with a corrupt governor.
Despite an excellent take of the obligatory bamboo grove duel, a unique,
shlumpy, homosexual assassin, and an interesting take on continuity
(character's oblivious to repeated encounters), the second episode was
disappointingly familiar. Given the bar set by the first episode, a
scaled backed Mugen, a predictable narrative, and uniformly familiar
visually progression (nothing more exotic than typical flash backs and
parallel narratives) it can't help but seem like a regression from the
boldly experimental first episode.
Manga Preview:
Apocalypse Zero
Volume 1
Takayuki Yamaguchi
Released by Media Blaster's Anime Works line
One of the holes in the body of manga to be released in English is that
none of Go Nagai's dirty, over sexed apocalyptic epics have made it over
(apart from some colored Devilman years back).
Apocalypse Zero is a Go Nagai-like gruesome extension of sentai(think
power rangers)/Ultraman/Tekkaman(or Technoman) tradition. As children, a
pair of descendants of one of World War II's most brutal generals are
implemented with metal spheres (via gunshots while tied to a post)
granting them power armor forged from the warriors' souls. Years later,
one brother is steadfastly determined to protect Earth and his high
school. The other brother, now sister has taken up the hobby out sewing
up humans and other destructive habits
The combination of a childish, acknowledged as a bit half baked concept
with gruesome violence (skin and organ removal and the like) isn't
universally appealing, but it does have an irreverent allure. There's a
mock normalcy that centers the events on a school where a student body
largely populated by punks and losers are picked off my rampaging freaks
and overseen by heartless administrators. In contrast are the rigid
formality of the hero, and the cartoon purity of the love interest.
Despite the sentai trappings of the show, the key device leverages
surprising spectacles rather than sentai look of expected sequences,
routines and abilities. Like the similarly post apocalyptic Fist of the
North Star, it is more about violence than action, hitting the next
skinless, yet living victim being spat out or giant old man who uses his
genitals as a weapon rather than how a given character will react to a
situation or overcome a foe. While not as intense or imaginative as Go
Nagai's works, Apocalypse Zero has shown itself to be a reliable well of
the amusingly grotesque.
Manga Spotlight Hellsing
Volume 4
By Kohta Kirano
Released by Dark Horse Manga & Digital Manga Production
In all the application of vampire lore, Hellsing may provide the most
pulp enjoyment. Heedlessly explosive Dracula vs the Nazis is vampire
lore free of the baggage of pretension and symbolism. It's hard to think
of any that have taken the nasty, powerful, and fairly indestructible
creature and applied it to imaginatively unrestrained, dark violence
almost to such an almost comedic level.
Volume 4 of manga begins the stark divergence with the series' anime
adaptation (another case of an adaptation from an incomplete, and in
this case still running, manga series). War between the South American
Nazi's Millennium, Anglican Church's Hellsing (its referred to as The
Protestant Church, but Anglican makes better sense) and the Vatican's
Iscariot heats up as Millennium's actions move beyond agitation into
institution, notably with the introduction of their supernatural
combatants such as the werewolf Hitler youth Schrödinger and musket
wielding vampire woman Rip Van Winkle (a dog boy named for a physicist
best remembered for a cat, and vampire Nazi werewolf.)
The exaggerated accents, complained about in the early volumes starting
to pay off as Millennium starts receiving more face time. It was
annoying trying to parse out the phonetic Scottish accent of the Vatican
paladin Anderson, but with the increasing pressance of German characters
and their "verevolves" and "wampires" cartoonish accent have helped the
non-sense serial tone of the series. A spacey woman vampire named "Rip
Van Winkle" is far more palatable when talking in pidgin German-English.
Kohta Kirano's illustration has a strange quirky look. There is a
mangled elongation in the inky dark cartoonishness that at times is
seems like a weakness in ability, but the dominant impression is a
stylized but non-idealized strangeness. There is a gawkiness in
proportion that adds a cartoonishness to the action. It isn't quite
bloody Loony Toons, but it is a step in that directory: bombardments
from oversized guns, body twisting fist fights.
There are few in any traditionally attractive characters in the series.
A character like the Hellsing organization's hereditary head Integra
isn't a supernatural creature, but her mixed heritage, androgynous makes
gives her an implacable strangeness.
An odd quirk of the series is that for a violent work, with more
personality than character, with an unromantic lead that parodies
chivalry at best, the series has a surprising female following.
Manga Spotlight: Ruruoni Kenshin
Volume 7
by Nobuhiri Watsuki
Released by Viz's Shonen Jump line
Ruruoni Kenshin volume 7 begins the chain of events that drive the manga
series at full throttle to its conclusion. It initiates the epic Kyoto
story line, which, unlike the series' popular anime adaptation, leads
into a second conflict of comparable scope.
At low resolution, the volume is recognizably the start of the shonen
(male demographic targeted) fighting tournament. Inarguably, it is
introducing a new threat who poses danger a level above anything the
hero has faced before, and a series of progressively more powerful foes
that will have to be worked through.
Yet, because it plays off interesting historical and historically based
figures from a dynamic point time, because the characters are engaging,
and because of Watsuki's furious rendered action, it is easy to separate
Ruruoni Kenshin from the stock formula.
The series finds the hitokiri political assassin of the Meiji
Restitution (1853-1868 conflict/civil war which unseated the shogun
regime and stored power to the emperor) Himura Kenshin a wandering
vagabond who gave up his sword in favor of a reversed bladed sakabato
having sworn never to kill again. In the earlier volumes, Kenshin
settled in Tokyo with Karou, a young woman who inherited a school of
non-lethal defensive sword fighting, Yahiko, the scruffy orphan son of a
samurai family, and Sanosuke, a street brawler who grew up in
revolutionary band. Many of the conflicts he faced dealt with fighing
instances of corruption in the society he helped to institute, or echoes
of the conflict.
As Kenshin begins becoming haunted by memories of his action during the
Bakumatsu, the final confrontations between the pro-emperor Ishin Shishi
and the Shogun loyalist, the conflict's hot zone Kyoto begins heating up
again, and Kenshin's former opposite number from the fight comes to his
front door.
While character of Kenshin was based on one of the conflict's historical
hitokiri, a number of the other prominent characters are based on
captains of brutal counter-revolutionary militia known as the Shinshen
Gumi (Sanosuke, Aoshi and Soujiro specifically).
The group was part of a host of interesting historical figures who grew
out of the dojo culture in a city that was attracting masterless
samurai. The factual actions and tactics of the Shinshen Gumi aren't
necessarily appealing (they cleared Kyoto of radicals and unaffiliated
fighters by ganging up on suspected problems with superier numbers), but
their formality, their motto "swift death to evil", (more poetic in its
original Aku.Zoku.San ), zealous dedication to principles, that they
billed themselves as the elite of the elite gives them special forces
charm and personalities make them high yield cinematic fuel.
Shinshen Gumi Third Captain Saito Hajime is manga's Terminator, a
relentless, near unstoppable force. It doesn't matter that the man has
one technique that he uses repeated in every fight through personality
and action, Nobuhiri Watsuki paints him as a devistating force.
The historical figure is purported to have been one of the
organization's three top swordsmen. The lore about his origins are
ignored for the series and generally sound fanciful, but it is accurate
that with the institution of Meiji government, worked as a spy for
police, under the name Fujita Gorou. As alluded to in the series, he was
a drinker and a violent drunk, eventually dying from alcohol related
stomach problems in 1915 protector after spending his later years as a
museum guard.
As soon as he walking into the series the shift in scale is evident.
The new history and level of ability fills the scene in a gust. Where
as Kenshin's outlook was diametrically shifted by the revolutions,
Saitoh maintained a constant outlook and level of ability while adapting
the change in regimes and attitudes. The tension rises as Kenshin has
to face the prospect of whether he has over-dulled his abilities, the
conflict he is entering is his fight, and whether the goal can be
accomplished will remaining as non-lethal.
Resource Spotlight: Watching Anime, Reading Manga
25 Years of Essays and Reviews
By Fred Patten
Published by Stone Bridge Press
There aren't many books that belong in the library of every anime fan.
Frederik Schodt's Manga Manga and Dreamland Japan provided the benchmark
for insightful examination of manga. The Anime Encyclopedia: A Guide to
Japanese Animation Since 1917 by Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy
is useful for reference, even if, almost by definition, dated. Gilles
Poitras's The Anime Companion is a good guide to the Japanese cultural
elements frequently found in anime. Watching Anime, Reading Manga is an
excellent addition of the list, uniformly informative, and providing a
series of snapshots of how anime has changed in Japan and American over
the years through a clear, analytical lens.
The volumes collects years of essays, articles and reviews from topical
expert Fred Patten.
The essays feature numerous points of information that are not common
knowledge, and points of trivia (such as an article of some of anime's
favorite historical hot spots: the Yagyu clan and Oda Nobunaga ect),
but a well read anime fans is likely to be familiar with most of the
collection's significant points. The invaluable resource that the
collection offers is a sense of perspective. It provides a sense of
context to the mediums' snowballing popularity and a window into how
each past stage in its introduction to North America let to its current
state.
As in any fandom subject, there are plenty of debatable points, from
hindsight or otherwise and elements that may have wanted greater detail.
Every fan's introduction to anime is going to differ, and consequently
every fans is going to find insufficient details and analysis about
their recollections. Apart from a few contrary examples, such as
dissection of the controversial similarities between Osamu Tezuka's
Kimba and Disney's Lion King, the essays are seldom exhaustive, which
appearances to be a function of their roles in their original formats.
Manga Spotlight: From Eroica With Love
Volume 1
by Aoike Yasuko
Released by CMX
The stumbling block of genre of has been kept in anime and especially
manga, but vintage remains a hurtle. Publishers and distributors are
reluctant to dabble works from the 70's, 80's and even early 90's apart
from a few creators (Osuma Tezuka in manga, Gundam creator Yoshiyuki
Tomino in anime) and commercial returns have bared out their reticence.
Frequently Japanese regard for the work drives up the license cost, and
a dated look wards off newcomers who didn't experience the work in its
original time frame.
In the case of manga, the dating comes more of a function of stylistic
evolution than technical advancement. In the vein of many 70's shoujo
(female demographic targeted) manga series, From Eroica With Love has a
look that is beautiful and a bit campy.
Ironically, From Eroica With Love combines the hot trends in manga
(yaoi, which the date of the series indicate, isn't exactly a new trend
in the history of the medium), and prose (art love insert Da Vinci
Code/Rule of Four link), yet, it is the contributing factors of original
context given it its unique character.
The caper managa follows the exploits of Earl Dorian Red Gloria,
flamboyant socialite and art apprecient by day, flamboyant art thief by
night, and his adversary German NATO intellgence officer Major Klaus.
Shoujo standards of painting visually in emotional hues through a
library of facial expression, enlarged figures and literally flowery
symbolism are applied to Lupin III style globe trotting chases.
A feminine looking male protagonist seems to be an attempt to balance
reader identification with a very romantically forward, adventurous life
style. The series comes on the heals of Rose of Versailles, a highly
regarded manga set in the days leading to French revolution starring a
woman raised as to be male, who serves on Marie Antoinette's palace
guards. The suggestions seems to be in place that a level of sexual
abstraction is needed for a woman to star as the swashbuckling hero.
The modern results are that Earl Dorian Red Gloria is a novel, offbeat
hero. He and Major Klaus play out amusingly complementary personalities
that would be far more predictable in a male/female relationship.
The shoujo aesthetic is taken to an extreme in the series. Where as
much of the shoujo released domestically is a more stabilized and
personally recognized evolution (high romances in the like), From Eroica
With Love maintains its gaze on the favorite elements of interest. In a
brand of exoticism reflected on the west, reveling in European cities,
long, waving blonde hair, and fashion taken to an outlandish degree.
Anime Spotlight: Martial Successor Nadesico
Essential Anime Edition
Volume 1
Released by ADV Films
In Japan, Nadesico picked up after Neon Genesis Evangelion, receiving a
transferred popularity and regard. The years haven't treated this
recognition well. Perhaps this was due to a petering out attempt to
spin a franchise . Still at the time, a second inventive and
entertainment that followed the monolithic Evangelion not as a copy cat,
but as intelligent and quirky in its own right seemed to the signal of a
renaissance in giant robot anime.
The series weaves around definition. It's a space opera centered on a
fighting robot pilot, but also, at times, anime parody, social satire,
conceptual sci-fi, and relationship drama. It shines in many facests
from mechanical design to a memorable and in a number cases unique cast.
In the midst of a hard fought war between Earth and mysterious Jovian
Lizards the Nergal corporation unveiled Earth's most advanced weapons,
the battleship Nadesico. Under the guidance of a corperate financial
officer a crew it constructed, they hire a retired military man, an
anime voice actress as communications officer, a highly skilled garage
tinkered and model enthusiast as technician, purchased a strange
sullen/snarky girl genius, and assign an attractive, personably high
ranking military officer's daughter as captain. They find their ace
pilot from the galley in a ship's cook, who mysteriously escaped to
earth during the carnage of military disaster on Mars.
With digital animation becoming ever more present, 90's animation is
beginning to take on a distinctive look, simple in design to the new
decades, but with a different library of camera and color work.
There are many disposable enjoyable anime series, and some that are
provocative and or entertaining enough that to keep coming back to.
While Nadesico is far from a flawless series, it crams enough ideas into
a 26 episode anime series that it deserves to remain in print. It
really a title that deserves to be called Essential Anime.
Oscar Eligible Animated Features
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has announced that the
following animated features are eligible to be nominated for an Oscar
this year.
- Clifford's Really Big Movie
- Disney's Teacher's Pet
- Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
- Home on the Range
- Polar Express
- Shark Tale
- Shrek 2
- Sky Blue (aka Wonderful Days, Korean)
- The Incredibles
- The Legend of Buddha (Indian)
- The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
Nominees will be announced on January 25th. In order for three films to
be nominated, eight films must qualify. If 16 films qualify, 5 films
may be nominated.
Second Ghibli Set Back on Schedule
Disney has rescheduled the second set of Hayao Mayazaki/Studio Ghibli
movies for release on February 222nd, 2005. However, instead of
releasing Nausicaa, Porco Rosso, and Totoro (with a new English dub),
The Cat Returns will replaced Toro.
The Cat Returns is a tangential follow-up to Whispers of the Heart,
directed by Hiroyuki Morita rather than Ghibli's better known directors
Hayao Miyazaki or Isao Takahata. Hayao Miyazaki served as the film's
executive producer.
Walt Disney Home Entertainment and Studio Ghibli proudly present three
animated masterpieces from the creators of "Spirited Away," the Academy
Award® winner for the Best Animated Feature Film of 2002. NAUSICAÄ OF
THE VALLEY OF THE WIND, PORCO ROSSO and THE CAT RETURNS will each be
available separately in superb 2-disc DVD sets on February 22. These
remarkable films include a brand-new, stellar English language voice
cast and feature the original Japanese language track; storyboards;
featurettes that go behind the microphone and more, presented in a
pristine digital picture for the best possible viewing experience. With
a unique blend of entertaining storytelling, imagination, compelling
characters and stunning artistry, each of these magical and mystical
worlds will enchant and delight audiences of all ages.
Milestone works of unparalleled brilliance, NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF
THE WIND, PORCO ROSSO and THE CAT RETURNS are each available on 2-disc
DVD for $29.99 (S.R.P.).
NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND
Hayao Miyazaki's epic masterpiece! A thousand years after a great war, a
seaside kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind is one of the only areas
that remains populated. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the
people of the Valley are engaged in a constant struggle with powerful
insects called ohmu, who guard a poisonous jungle that is spreading
across the Earth. Nausicaä and her brave companions, together with the
people of the Valley, strive to restore the bond between humanity and
the earth. The English language version of the film includes the voice
talents of Alison Lohman ("Matchstick Men"), Patrick Stewart ("X-Men"
"Star Trek: The Next Generation"), Uma Thurman ("Kill Bill" series) and
Edward James Olmos (TV's "American Family").
NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND is written and directed by Hayao
Miyazaki, one of the most celebrated filmmakers in the history of
animation. This spectacular 2-disc set features exotic settings,
stirring music and a timeless story about courage and compassion in the
face of danger.
"NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND" Bonus Materials:
o Behind The Microphone With Voice Talent From The Film: Alison Lohman,
Uma Thurman, Patrick Stewart And Edward James Olmos
o Complete Storyboards-Get An Insider's Look At The Film's Artistry
o Original Japanese Theatrical Trailer
o The Birth Story Of Studio Ghibli Featurette
PORCO ROSSO
Take flight with "Porco Rosso," a valiant World War I flying ace! From
tropical Adriatic settings to dazzling aerial maneuvers, this
action-adventure from world-renowned animator Hayao Miyazaki is full of
humor, courage and chivalry.
When "Porco" - whose face has been transformed into that of a pig by a
mysterious spell - infuriates a band of sky pirates with his aerial
heroics, the pirates hire Curtis, a comical rival pilot, to "get rid" of
him. On the ground, the two pilots compete over the affections of Gina,
a beautiful cabaret singer. But it is in the air, with Fio, a young and
talented airplane engineer/designer, where Porco's true battles are
waged. From its Mediterranean Sea settings to its dazzling aerial
dogfights of amazing sweep and grace, PORCO ROSSO is an exhilarating
ride you'll never forget.
The English language version of this high-flying adventure features the
voice talents of Michael Keaton ("Batman Returns"), Brad Garrett (TV's
"Everybody Loves Raymond"), Susan Egan ("Spirited Away"), Kimberly
Williams (TV's "According To Jim") and David Ogden Stiers ("Lilo &
Stitch").
"PORCO ROSSO" Bonus materials:
o Behind The Microphone With Voice Talent From The Film: Michael Keaton,
Brad Garrett, Kimberly Williams, Susan Egan and David Ogden Stiers
o Complete Storyboards-Get An Insider's Look At The Film's Artistry
o Original Japanese Theatrical Trailer
o Interview with Studio Ghibli Producer Toshio Suzuki
THE CAT RETURNS
From the creators of the Academy-Award®-winning "Spirited Away" (Best
Animated Feature, 2002) comes the visually stunning THE CAT RETURNS, a
spectacular animated journey to a world of magic and adventure.
Haru, a schoolgirl bored by her ordinary routine, saves the life of an
unusual cat, and suddenly her world is transformed beyond anything she's
ever imagined. Her good deed is rewarded with a flurry of presents,
including gift-wrapped mice, and one very shocking proposal of marriage
- to the Cat's King's son! Haru embarks on an unexpected journey to the
Kingdom of Cats where her eyes are opened to a whole other world and her
destiny is uncertain. To change her fate she'll need to learn to believe
in herself, and in the process she will learn to appreciate her everyday
life. THE CAT RETURNS is a magical animated adventure that will delight
and inspire everyone.
The English language version of THE CAT RETURNS features the voice
talents of Anne Hathaway ("The Princes Diaries 2: Royal Engagement"),
Cary Elwes ("Ella Enchanted"), Peter Boyle (TV's "Everybody Loves
Raymond"), Elliott Gould ("Ocean's Eleven"), Andy Richter ("Elf"), Rene
Auberjonois ("The Princess Diaries"), Tim Curry ("The Wild Thornberrys
Movie"), Judy Greer ("The Village"), Andrew Bevis, Kristen Bell,
Kristine Sutherland (TV's "Buffy The Vampire Slayer"), Katia Coe.
"THE CAT RETURNS" Bonus materials:
o The Making of "The Cat Returns"
o Behind The Microphone With Voice Talent From The Film Including Anne
Hathaway, Cary Elwes, and more.
o Complete Storyboards-Get An Insider's Look At The Film's Artistry
o Original Japanese Theatrical Trailer
Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind:
Run time: Approximately 117 minutes,
Rated: "PG" For Violence And Some Mild Language,
Bonus features not rated and subject to change.
DVD aspect ratio: 1.85: 1, enhanced for 16x9 tv screens,
Sound: Mono,
THX Certified,
Languages: Original Japanese audio,
English audio; English subtitles
Porco Rosso:
Run time: Approximately 93 minutes,
Rated: "PG" For Violence And Some Mild Language,
Bonus features not rated and subject to change,
DVD aspect ratio: 1.85: 1, enhanced for 16x9 tv screens,
Sound: Dolby® Digital 2.0 Surround,
THX Certified,
Languages: Original Japanese Audio,
English audio; English subtitles; French audio
The Cat Returns:
Run time: Approximately 75 minutes,
Rated: Not yet rated,
Bonus features not rated and subject to change,
DVD aspect ratio: 1.85: 1, enhanced for 16x9 tv screens,
Sound: Dolby® Digital 5.1 Surround Sound,
Languages: Original Japanese Audio,
English Audio; English subtitles,
French audio
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