Logo handmade by Bannister
Column by Scott Green
Manwha Spotlight: Shaman Warrior Volume 1 by Park Joong-Ki Released by Dark Horse Manwha
Like the early volumes of the manhwa Banya: The Explosive Deliveryman, the opening of Shaman Warrior is driven by outstanding action, and held together by serviceable plot and character construction. Like Banya, Shaman Warrior situates events around the wasteland outposts of a currently defined military campaign and employs a cinematic style of action that is neither completely plausible or implausible. So a shrouded shaman warrior, kind of a master swordsman/berserker, and his hulking servant walk into a bar. Some toughs start causing problems, and in a blink of an eye, the shaman warrior's loyal brute has clocked the ruffian. As the foe reels back, the servant looms over, raising his strange, curved, cleaver-like sword, quickly settling the dispute. The protagonists walk out, and of most the volume's remainder is one giant avalanche ambush, with some contextual interludes and aftermath. Given that the volume does not seem to make an effort to establish a status quo for the series, the relationships, or the political intrigue, or the larger conflict might deepen going forward. There is room and the foundation for these in the first volume, but presumably the series will largely remain in the mold that it establishes in its opening. Park Joong-Ki attacks the opportunity to stage fight scenes. Again, like Banya, what he provides is not what is typically expected from fight comics. His battles are not the most brutal. Featuring only slight superhuman abilities, they don't present an extensive platform for effects and they are not strictly imaginative in the sense of breaking existing boundaries. The work's shining characteristic is its fight choreography. Park Joong-Ki demonstrates a clear mastery of both the fundamentals and flexibility of illustrating a fists and swords battle in the comic medium. As the distances between combatants and the chains of events register with rational clarity, a high degree of care in what is illustrated solidifies the intensity of the manwha's action. If the manwha was a movie it would require some wire assistance to achieve the acrobatic highlights of the fights, such as when the shaman warrior goes into a crouch, then springs over a crowd onto a narrow beam. However, there is a constrained reliance on these, that gives the moments an aura of awe. The cumulative effect of two factors is chiefly responsible for the impact of the action. First, every motion fits together. Punches or sword swipes don't materialize out of nowhere. A character will be in one location, then move or reposition their body based on there physical range and attack. Given that comics are made of up of gaps between images, cheating in this regard comes naturally. This makes the accounting for movements remarkable. It's the equivalent of a long cut in the movie: a sign that everything is blocked out in detail and executed with great skill and care. When two characters fight each other for 9 pages, each blade, fist, tackle and throw, and each right, left, hip twist and dash lines up, the accomplishment is at least in the direction of Old Boy's single cut hall fight. Unlike film, in comics this brand of tight choreography does not need to rely on a stable vision. Rather than detracting from the narrative the way quick cuts may in film, shifts of angle and distance between the view and the action orchestrate the pace. In the heat of the fight, Shaman King utilizes some dizzying shifts of perspective, moving from first person to head on or mirroring the view from one moment to the next between panels. Especially with the men versus mob nature of this early battle, this style of unsettled, fluid view enforces the impression that a blow can come from any direction. The combination of rigorously controlled body movements and chaotic points of view yields a complete picture of the fight in its form and tone. It's a akin to an exaggerated version of well produced video coverage of a boxing match or MMA fight: shifting angle and catching the character of every moment and motion of the fight. As a result, when a character plants his foot into the chest of an attacker, the impact solidly registers.
Live Action Spotlight: Seven Swords Released by Dragon Dynasty
If you read English language comics, you've probably heard of Grant Morrison, an iconoclast known for his metatexual reinvention of Animal Man, absurdist Doom Patrol and counter culture epic The Invisibles. Starting in 1996, Morrison took the reins of DC's flagship team, The Justice League of America or JLA. The comic featured the company's most recognizable heroes: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and so forth. During his run on the book, Morrison took the ideas and ethos of the American super hero comic tradition, and put it into high-def resolution. The nature of its heroes stood out in the epicenter of a mosaic of large ideas and branching mythologies. In Seven Swords, iconoclast Tsui Hark (Once Upon a Time in China) put the wuxia tradition into high-def resolution. The synopsis of Seven Swords is simple. The emperor has decreed that martial artists must be exterminated. With that dictate Fire Wind leads a squad of sadistic assassins and an accompanying army on a genocidal campaign. Collecting bounties by leaving a trail of tagged and beheaded "fighters", children included, the government sponsored marauders eventually find their way to the border settlement of Martial Village, whose Heaven and Earth society practice martial arts to protect their community from bandits. An old man with an unsettling history named Fu Qing Ju (played by Lau Kar-leung, whose monumental career included Drunken Master II and host of Shaw Brothers films including 8 Diagram Pole Fighter) arrives to warn the wary settlement. With internal strife cropping up in the wake of his arrival, Fu Qing Ju takes two villagers to the Heavenly Mountains. After meeting with Master Shadow-Glow the trio are given swords and joined by Master Shadow-Glow's four disciples (including Donnie Yen). If you're thinking Seven Samurai, you're not alone. The comparisons are inescapable, but what makes Seven Swords different is its essential characteristic. Seven Samurai had a bit of western influence, samurai epic roots, post war contemplation, thoughts on working together and a social ambivalence. Seven Swords is quintessential wuxia. Based on novels by the cornerstone of the modern wuxia, Liang Yusheng, filmed on location in Xinjiang, with intricate physical, character and plot design from Hark, the film awards the attention of a genre aficionado. It powerfully resonates with viewers who are attuned to the spirit of wuxia films: those who aren't just appreciative of the chorography and physical performance of the genres work, but feel a connection to righteousness exhibited by the characters and the ethos shaping the events. For viewers who haven't acquired a taste for the heavier side of wuxia, Seven Swords is not immediately rewarding. Approaching the movie with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Once Upon a Time in China expectations, the 2.5 hour international cut is both too long and too short. The first act jumps between scenes of action and development in the familiar pattern. The long second act is strictly character driven. The final falls back into a brand of the expected physical fireworks. If the incentive to see Seven Swords is action, long exchanges introducing ideas to children, relating to horses or simply reveling in the natural impact of China's landscape, this leg of the movie is going to pass terribly slowly. Yet, even when attempting to invest in the characters, Seven Swords can be evasive. Tsui Hark filmed a larger film, some cuts of which were four hours. For what ever combination of directorial vision and international marketing pressures, large developments in the movie's many plot threads were excised. Consequently, fundamental relationships are built or advanced off screen. Characters with commanding presence and significance to the plot are introduced and used in single scenes. Seven Swords is not a puzzle movie, the core plot is plainly apparent, but to fully comprehend what is on screen, a concerted deductive effort is required. For either audience, Seven Swords is a film that rewards attentive viewing. Whether it is to pick out details or figure out what Hark was really trying to achieve with his characters, the movie has a richness that is revealed with deeper inspection. Whether it is the character relationships, the functional details of the environment Hark created, or the coherent rationale of the characters' agendas, there is intricate design present and available to be discovered. There is a stated intention to make the action more real, but when a character flips into a room, beings opening necks and removing limbs with two swords, then attaches one to his foot for a wide arced slice, spectacle staginess is still apparent. The film does have some viscerally real fights. One ugly one on a river bank is memorable for its scratching, stabbing and choking, with a tangible sense of need to gasp for air. From Donnie Yen fighting on the walls of an impossibly narrow alley to Lau Kar-leung scrambling to stop a platoon in a town square there isn't uniformity to the action and there is not just one style re-positioned for a host of set pieces. Hark gave each of the seven swords its own distinct nature, and each is wielded with its own style. Fire Wind's black clad elite is similarly armed with all brands of pole arms, scythes, flying guillotines, and other instruments of ugly deaths. The cast mixes trained material artists with less well versed actors, but the film is able convey a sense that every one capable and in the midst of the action. This diversity ultimately serves the central concept of the movie in its common cause. The DVD offers plenty of Tsui Hark, which is invaluable for appreciating the film. He appears on a 45 minute interview of the second disc and in a running commentary, accompanied by top expert Bey Logan. His contribution to the release provides a glimpse into his thought process, and frankly, Hark is amazing. His attention to detail is apparent in the work, but his foresight into audience impressions, how to subvert expected patterns and balance a narrative almost sounds more like an athletic coach game planning for an opponent. Logan is invaluable in some of the Dragon Dynasty commentaries, such as when he is paired with overly fannish Brett Ratner on Police Story, but here he could have used a lighter touch. There are several cases where his observations drowned out or sided track Hark's self analysis. Donnie Yen is one of the other three interviews on the bonus disc (along with Zhang Jing Chua and Duncan Lai), and while Yen has an abrasive edge, he is at least compellingly opinionated. The making-of features are overly promotionally orient, but the disc does also offer a selection of deleted/extended/alternative scenes, all of which are action based. In this selection, it is gratifying to be able to see more Lau Kar-leung and Donnie Yen action. If you are looking for an anime connection, the sound track was composed by frequent Oshii collaborator Kenji Kawai (Ghost in the Shell, Patlabor).
Anime Spotlight: X TV Series Remix DVD Set Released by Geneon
X, originally known as x/1999 is one of the steeper ravines in the anime/manga landscape. For a while, it looked like the apocalyptic drama, commenced in 1992, was going to be the centerpiece of CLAMP's body of work. Then manga creators put the work on hold. Then, they built up their reputation for halting works. Then, they superseded X as their capstone by introducing an alternative set of works to serve as the glue to hold their creations together: Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE- and ×××HOLiC. Are millennial fears now the subject to kitsch, nostalgia or indifference? Regardless, CLAMP doesn't seem to be itching to return to the X. Most recently, they blamed their editors, who, CLAMP suggests, expressed reluctance to continue the series given its parallels to natural and human tragedies. X's history as anime has had some rocky moments as well. Director Rintaro first animated the work in a collaboration with the speed metal group X Japan, culminating in the memorable X^2 music video. Then in 1996, Rintaro and Madhouse, the studio that has animated most CLAMP adaptations, attempted to create an X anime feature film. There is a dark moment, a solid distance into the plot, that locks X into place. Because there wasn't more of the manga from which the trajectory of the plot could be extrapolated, Rintaro was locked into ending the movie with this overwhelmingly dark, terribly unsatisfying moment. Trained through works like Doomed Megalopolis, Rintaro certainly had a grasp of animating urban end-times, but with a narrative that knowingly plowed into an abyss, the movie as a whole looked a lot like a doomed enterprise. Then in late 2001/early 2002, Madhouse attempted to make an X anime again. This time Kawajiri Yoshiaki, best known to English speaking audience for Ninja Scroll (animated by Madhouse), would direct a televised series. 24 episodes might be a bit ambitious for a work that needs to reveal the fates of at least 17 major characters, but given the history of X and anime in general, the ending of the anime series is handled respectably well. Working with rare terseness for its length, with every episode intensely focused on the narrative, the conclusion is not inappropriate, not un-foreshadowed. There are far worse endings in anime, and far worse endings for anime based on incomplete manga. Unlike the movie, the ending mixes sentiment and a hard edge to a degree that will please most viewer who aren't too sensitive or too demanding of a high degree of seriousness. Every plot threat is resolved, but in the rush, once a plot thread is addressed, it moves to the resolution quickly. A number of the sub-climaxes receive almost brusque resolutions that rob the build of its dramatic impact or certainty. In at least one case, a character who is instrumental to moving the plot, though not the protagonist's central dilemma, is revealed and settled with detrimental abruptness. Before there was X, there was Tokyo Babylon, a CLAMP work following a trio of characters: Subaru Sumeragi, a sensitive quiet young man who is the heir to a renowned onmyouji clan, Hokuto Sumeragi, Subaru's bolder, forceful problem solving sister and Seishirou Sakurazuka, a veterinarian and secretly the heir of a mystical assassin clan. Ultimately, a love triangle develops. In particular, a love between Subaru and Seishirou is complicated because their roles in their families' futures have made each emotionally reserved. In plot and theme, X is a follow-up to Tokyo Babylon. It even hosts Tokyo Babylon's trio as supporting characters. It's own trio is Kamui, who grew next to brother and sister Fuuma and Kotori. When Kamui was young, he swore to protect Kotori, and Fuuma swore to protect him. On the night that Fuuma and Kotori's was rushed to the hospital, where she died a mysterious and bloody death, Kamui's mother whisked him away to a new home. Six years later, after his own mother died in a fire, Kamui returns to Tokyo to fulfill a promise. Manifesting strange powers, Kamui begins working to obtain the heavenly Shinken sword. He curtly tells off Kotori, Fuuma and those who offer him help. He's even more stand-offish to those who tell him that he is destined to either lead the seven Dragons of Heaven and save humanity, or the seven Dragons of Earth and destroy mankind. While the reputation has dimmed slightly, CLAMP's MO was once established to be that the group would take a popular genre, coat it with their veneer of elegance and handsome men, then introduce some twists to really throw off the reader/viewer. Take Magic Knights Rayearth for example. It followed the idea of transporting a Japanese student to a mystical world where they would have to save a princess. CLAMP's first twist was to send three girls on the trip. Their second was to introduce a shocking final act redefinition of "saving the princess". In the case of X CLAMP's first twist was to redefine the battle lines in a conflict between 7 powerful characters looking to save humanity versus 7 powerful characters looking to destroy it. The spin makes this particular conflict more thought provoking than the default, expected mode. X starts with the concept that the future can be viewed, but not altered. Kamui's short term destiny is full of personal tragedy. Far seeing visions show him standing on a shattered Tokyo Tower in the middle of a desolate landscape. When the movie was produced, there was no set twist, which lead to ugly results. While the TV didn't have CLAMP's resolution to work with either, it did have enough t with to construct a complete storyline that is faithful to the complete set of characters. An aspect that aids the series in finding a conclusion is that X is an exceedingly literal work. Anime has no shortage of works where symbolism is reality, but comparing a work like Revolutionary Girl Utena to a work like X, where women literally give birth to swords, X is in a class of its own. Other than demonic/angelic wings, what the characters express happens. When they spiritually resolve their conflict, the story falls in line. The title of CLAMP's recent work xxxHOLiC is supposed to be a reference to the works catalog of addictive personalities. Sort of (fill in the blank)holic. By that motif X can be debatably called xxxCentered. Like the realized symbolism, the motivations of the characters are very concrete. Kamui doesn't try to save the world, he tries to preserve Kotori's world. The Dragons of Heaven operate at optimal capacity when they are protecting specific individuals. The Dragons of Earth optimally are driven by pure self regard. Yet, even for the Dragons of Heaven, X expresses a very insular world view. Characters are less motivated by abstract thought and more by reactions to specific people. Part of the narrative is for the characters focused on widening perspectives, but it never breaks from the egotistical core. Last week's column criticized Fate/Stay Night for its protagonist who had a super-hero complex in which be dwelled on the abstract desire to save people. X's characters might keep their personal philosophies on a narrow range, but the the discernible rationale makes them more interesting. The plot itself is literally ethnocentric. All of the people deciding the fate of the world are Japanese. Most of these are people who trace their lineage or upbringing to specifically Japanese mystical traditions, especially onmyouji, shrine priesthoods and/or Shinto traditions. The physical touchstones holding Earth in its present are all shown to be part of Tokyo's urban landscape. Most, if not all, peoples think that they are the center of the universe, which just makes it a wide-spread bad idea. It was fair to criticize Independence Day for its America saves humanity stance, and it is fair to criticize X for its viewpoint in which Japan determines the future. The matter of Kawajiri Yoshiaki... despite its male protagonist X is undoubtablely shoujo. Matters are resolved in heart felt rather than a heart punch manner. Consequently, if you go into the work thinking of Yoshiaki's history on Ninja Scroll/Wicked City you may be disappointed. X is a fast moving work, but it is not moving quickly to fight scenes. Characters and plot contend for the position as the driving force of the anime. Action is just a component of the nature of its story. Yet, Yoshiaki does manage some impressive spectacles of violence. In the cast he has a host of characters with elemental powers, ritual mysticism, and the ability to run across utility wires and jump several stories into the air. Factor in the Dragons of Heaven's ability to block off a section of protected space/time to fight, and the battles get rather destructive. With some instances of Ninja Scroll style mid-air ferocity, and sets of opposite numbers between the two Dragon cadres tracking each other for Tokyo death matches, Yoshiaki's combat can get quite heated.
