Month: July 2008

Sword of the Stranger, Why’d you have to go and make things so complicated?

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This was our second experience at the Imaginasian theater and it continues to be a nice, quite place to see a film (though it was about 40 below in the theater). My only issue was the film was dubbed, I was quite surprised. I figured a place that specializes in foreign film would show it in its original language. When I asked about it they said they have no control since it is just what the company gives them. Bandai! In the Anime News Network coverage it said it would be shown in Japanese.

I think it all revolves around the fact that anime companies are convinced that the majority of people want dubs over subs. That is a mantra you here all the time. So they release movies in theaters with dubs because they assume they will get more people in the theater. That might make more sense if this had a large number of theaters it was playing in. But as it stands Sword of the Stranger is only playing in a few select theaters across the nation. At that point you’re only going to get less casual anime fans (more otaku) and art house movie goers, both of which tend to prefer subs. I understand their position but I too would have preferred watching the Japanese version.

The movie begins when Kotaro and his faithful dog Tobimaru are on the run from warriors from China. The monk Kotaro has been staying with tells him to run to the main temple in the area where he will be safe. While trying to get to the main temple Kotaru takes refuge in an abandoned shrine and meets a nameless swordsman. Soon warriors come to take Kotaro away and the nameless swordsman defends the boy but Tobimaru is poisoned in the fight saving the swordsman. Kotaru then hires No Name to save his dog and escort him to the temple. No Name reluctantly agrees but must wonder why such powerful warriors are attempting to kidnap such an ordinary child.

Sword of the Stranger presents a simple tale of a man who did something terrible in his past and lost his warrior spirit. Through the events he becomes entrenched in he regains his desire to fight.

Atleast it would be simple but the director, Masahiro Ando, insists on throwing in dozen of side characters and secondary plots. The are over half a dozen Chinese warriors who have their own little stories. There is local lord and his servants who are working with the Chinese while plotting against them. There is also several sub plots that are only tangentially related to our main character’s story.

Don’t forget the drug plot! Oh and they guy who wants to marry the Princess. Along with the man that sort of knew No Name in the past.

I admire the director’s ambition but if this were a series of OAVs or as TV show I would understand the need to throw in so many different plot threads. But it is a movie so he would have done better to simplify some of the plots or reduce the number of changes to make things run a little smoother. I realize he wanted more fleshed out characters and themes but this movie did not need them. All it needed was a simple plot to attach us to Kotaru and No Name and more quality with less villains.

It is true it might have served better is some longer format, but I still saw what was important coming through to the surface. The characters that were supposed to stick out did and the fights were great. And while the plot does have a too many threads, it isn’t done poorly and it isn’t confusing. The film sets the tone and pace with the fight in the rain kicking it off then gradually building up to the final confrontation.

Indeed the director has the good sense to make sure we never got too bogged down in the byzantine plot. We spend a good deal of time watching Kotaru and No Name bonding. We also learn quite a bit about all the people scheming to get Kotaru and scheming against each other. In between all these scenes are some awesome battles. Anytime things get close to getting slow someone will challenge No Name or the Chinese warriors will get into a fight. This is an action movie and it know you came for the fights so they deliver.

No Name (Nanashi) is a totally sweet combination of Kenshin (from Ruroni Kenshin) and Jubei Kibagami (from Ninja Scroll). His refusal to draw his blade doesn’t keep him from beating the tar out of everyone that tries to attack him. His past haunts him and though he claims to be helping the Kotaru and his dog for payment he grows to genuinely care for both of them.

Unlike Kenshin, No Name seems to have made no such vow as not to kill. He quite impressively proves that a sword can still be an effective killing weapon even if you never unsheathe it in the first fight. He is a laid back fellow with many secret although one of his secrets was rather odd and I’m not sure why it even existed in the first place.

Kotaru is your stereotypical anime brat. An inexperienced angry little know it all punk in the beginning he definitely grows into being a much more likable character as the movie goes on. I liked the scenes where No Name teaches Kotaru to ride a horse. They let you bond with the characters as they bonded with each other. Tobimaru is an awesome dog though out the movie and one of the most likable characters. I am sure Narutaki wishes he had a Tobimaru.

We get a wide variety of villains, some with a little gimmick and some who are just damn good with a sword. Like the whip guy who was the first to show up was out of control. But then our major baddie, Rarou, is just looking to slice and dice in a new country. He establishes himself as a force to be reckoned with when he kills an entire group of bandits in the opening. His only real motivation is to pick a good fight, well he certainly picks a good one when he runs into No Name.

Rarou is an evil (more evil?) Kenpachi from Bleach. He is always fighting in hope of finally finding someone who can give him a run for his money. In fact he is only with the Chinese because he knows they are were the action will probably be. The Chinese bad guys were without a doubt cooler than the Japanese ones. They mostly exists to get their bums handed to them by cooler fighters.

The battles were beautiful, fluid, and bloody! Heads rolling, limbs flying! The movement was smooth and they always kept you right in the action. I just keep thinking of the fight that starts on some stairs. It was only a moment but it was so cool! Also liked how the terrain was coming into play for some of these fights, just kept it interesting. They were everything I was hoping for.

The fight choreography was well done and beautifully animated as only a movie could be. I liked the fact that most people had their own unique but interesting fighting style. There are even good deal of horse mounted fighting which in not something you commonly see in anime. The end battle is quite the bloodbath which is a fitting climax for the movie. It is quite a nice series of battles even if Narutaki thought that the music was too epic for the actions taking place. I would definitely see other action anime by Masahiro Ando again.

As much as I complained about the plot I could see this being a break out hit in America. It is a one shot movie with a good amount of violence which is usually popular among casual anime consumers. In fact, the plot complications might give it a boost among the casual anime fans. Most of the plot additives where added to give a sense of depth and philosophy to an otherwise standard story.

My initial interest in this movie stemmed from a need to see some really well done and totally cool fight scenes. Everything else that might have happened was just gravy so on that note I was totally satisfied. Sword of the Stranger doesn’t do anything new, doesn’t have an incredible plot, but it has a serviceable story with totally amazing battles and great animation to boot. I will be happy to own this movie.

Top 5 Favorite Swordsmen
5. Guts (Berserk)
4. Magatsu (Blade of the Immortal)
3. Kenshin (Rurouni Kenshin)
2. Zoro (One Piece)
1. Manji (Blade of the Immortal)

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #004

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Banana Fish ends, as all classic BL manga do, with tragedy. I enjoyed the series. It ended well and rounds out the last book with a prequel story and an epilogue. I’d recommended it to people who want to test the water on their enjoyment of BL and can get over the fact that Ash Lynx is the bestest guy at everything. On a side note it might come off that I dislike Ash but I found him a charming if rather messed up character. I am mostly warning our readers of what to expect. Plus it’s fun to make fun of Ash.

Pretty Cure, wouldn’t you know as soon as I start watching this it comes up by Toei for download! Hurry up and catch up to where I am! This series is a more modern Sailor Moon. Why 4Kids licensed this and never put it on TV has slipped into many a conversation lately. I’m about to buy the license and become rich by getting it on TV because it would be that big. It is magical girl to a tee, nothing more and nothing less. The two girls are very different from each other and they start an unexpected friendship since, ya know, now they have to save the world together. They have cute outfits and cell phones that transform them into their other identities (Cure Black and Cure White). I do find their little familiars incredibly annoying. And even if you can’t get into this show, I dare you to watch the opening and/or ending and NOT get it stuck in your head.

I have watched about as much Pretty Cure as Narutaki has and I only have one comment. Dear Internet: Nagisa and Honoka are not lesbians. Get over it. I don’t see this lesbian subtext people go on and on about. If you want there to be this subtext A. you are extremely creepy or B. admit that it’s all in your head. They have a perfectly innocent female friendship. It seems guys can be just as bad as fujoshi in self-delusion.

Mach Girl is a new show and the first short episode is streaming online in Japanese. This is a spin-off series of Speed Racer. The styling of the show is what most interested me, it is a meld of American and Japanese. Certainly Flash created and has the cutout feel (and extreme simplicity) seen in a lot of Cartoon Network original shows. Also has very Hanna-Barbara type villains.

I just finished Tower of Druaga. I enjoyed it. It’s nice to see some fantasy anime again. I was obviously much sadder about one character’s death than Narutaki was but I think it was mostly because I liked that character more. Seeing how Gonzo is in big trouble, I really hope they can finish Tower of Druaga. I can’t say I would be devastated if they never finished it but I do want to see how it will all play out. I am most curious to learn more about Neeba’s motivations. In many ways the reasons for his actions will determine how much I go on to recommend this series overall.

I <3 Neeba

Just got around to reading the first book of Two Flowers for the Dragon. It is shaping up to be a good fantasy shojo romance. It has a competent female lead who is willful and spiritually powerful. Her two suitors (quite literally fiance #1 and fiance #2) are different from each other but not polar opposites. And neither is pretending to dislike our heroine (thank goodness!). There is also a story beyond this love triangle dealing with the kingdom, her missing father, and hopefully more to come. I’m glad to see CMX continuing to pick up some obscure but delightful titles.

That’s it for this week’s investigations! Look for new ongoing investigations every Friday!

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Batman Gotham Knight, Pow! Splat! Kerplop! Flurb!

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Batman, DC, Dark Knight, Gotham

We did a little preview of this a while back, but now that it is out we thought it only fitting to tell you if it lived up to our expectations. I have heard it said that if you aren’t a fan of Batman, don’t bother watching this. My question is, who isn’t a fan of Batman? because I don’t think we can be friends.

It’s interesting because it’s another anime co-production that takes a super popular American franchise and touts the anime production team doing the animation as a selling point. I can’t see something like this coming out once a month but it looks like they sell well enough that I would not be surprised if we saw a co-production like this every two year or so. Plus Batman is always +10 to awesome. I try to catch anything with Batman in it. We just get to cover this one for the blog because it’s anime related.

Batman, DC, Dark Knight, Gotham, DVD

We didn’t go all out for the special edition, but obviously the most important part is the actual show! The packaging is sparse for the regular printing. You do get this nice coupon however and to my great surprise it is actually valid at a couple of theaters in Manhattan.

Batman, DC, Dark Knight, Gotham, coupon

This is basically The Animatrix for The Dark Knight. It is a collection of 6 stories set between Batman Begins and the Dark Knight showing what Batman has been up to since the end of the last movie. The stories are stand alone but they are interconnected. You could theoretically watch only select stories or watch the stories out of order and it would be of no real detriment but you would miss out on little nods between the stories. Each story had a different writer, different director, and three different anime studio doing the animation.

Have I Got a Story for You

The first short deals with how every person sees Batman differently, indeed the entire film deals with this idea, too. But this being the first brings the viewer in on a lighter note than the rest of the shorts would have. The kids telling this story are funny and typically trying to one up each other with their tales of the caped crusader. I noted right away that the animation very much resembles Studio 4C’s Tekkon Kinkreet. I always see this as people kind of being shaped like diamonds, as you move away from the body they become extremely narrow and pointed.

For some reason certain Japanese directors love making their animation look like it’s being shot through a fisheye lens. I’m looking right at you Mamoru Oshii. I liked each kids fantastical take on their encounter with Batman. It is certainly one of the most amusing takes on the unreliable narrator I have ever seen. All in all it’s cute story and it’s definitely the funniest story in the bunch. This piece reminded me of Almost Got ‘Im in Batman in animated series.

Crossfire

The next short made me chuckle as I remembered that all of Staten Island has been turned into Arkham. I think this series wouldn’t be complete without the typical cop that doesn’t trust Batman story, so here we have it. I really enjoyed the vision of Batman in this one. He seems ten-feet tall at points and I think that is really how you would feel if you came face to face with him. This had much more intensity and it gripped me. I thought this one also had the best fight throughout, thought that isn’t a surprise when Production I.G. is involved.

You make it seem like that is not just the next logical step with Staten Island. Batman is merely speculative fiction. This is clearly the first episode that shows that this is grittier than the standard Batman cartoon. People are dying left and right in this episode. I mean all the people who die are mobsters but people still die. This is also the episode that makes it utterly clear that Batman is a total bad-ass. I found it odd that they went to Arkham but then it never came up again in any of the stories. I was waiting for an Arkham breakout to no avail. I wonder if it was originally intended it to appear again or if they just threw it in because it is so iconic.

Field Test

Ah, and we come to the title of our preview article. Bat-Bishonen. This version of Batman is certainly the closest to Christian Bale’s portrayal of him. They obviously based how Bruce Wayne looks on him, too. I liked how this short deals with Batman and Bruce, not just his dark alter ego. I liked how he uses himself as the perfect cover. This short also has Fox in it so that automatically makes it better, so we get to see all kinds of gadgets at work.

Ah. Bat-bishonen. I still like the ring of that. I liked how it showcased that Batman and Bruce Wayne can just as easily work synergisticly as easily as the two identities can cause trouble for each other. It’s an interesting insight into the morality of Batman as well. At one point Batman threatens the two warring faction in Gotham while he knows he does not have enough evidence to get them locked away for their crimes. He can’t stop them from engaging in illegal activities but he can make their lives horrible if they don’t behave. It’s a look at where Batman will draw the line in his fight against crime.

In Darkness Dwells

I was promised an awesome Killer Croc fight, I did not receive it. I wonder if I would have been so disappointed had I not watched that whole first look where they talk about this episode. This episode was the most creepy, but anything with Scarecrow and his weird drugs is freaky plus the animation added to it. But apprently those drugs didn’t have an effect on Batman, he still did his Batman-ness. Oh, I did like how well he knew the underground.

In this story Batman fights his greatest foe: The homeless. Batman’s fight with the Scarecrow’s homeless minions was longer than his fight with Killer Croc. I think this was certainly a story that could have used more time to develop. It seems like if this had been a full half an hour episode it could have taken more time and created a better story overall. I also felt that the poisone Batman was hit with seemed to have no effect on him. The fact that Batman got poisoned seemed there so they could throw in trippy visuals.

Working Through Pain

I liked when one person we watching this with said Bruce looked like Gackt in this short! This was different than all the others, we are getting a look at Bruce’s past not as Batman. The title is a throwback to something he says in In Darkness Dwells. I like the little tie ins thry throw in the episodes. I liked Alfred’s role of actually coming to rescue Batman a little. The ending of the episode was a little humours and a little of a sad look at what Gotham is.

This story, interestingly enough, is more an examination of Bruce Wayne the man than any other story in this collection. Although Bruce is wearing the Batman suit for half the story he does very little Batman work. It’s mostly him remembering his training as he tries to get home after being painfully wounded. This is a story of what about Bruce Wayne makes Batman the character that he is. It is a good look into what makes Batman so strong but so broken at the same time.

Deadshot

Batman has a mad crazy chin in this short! Really the animation is good in this one, I was just blown away by the chinlyness. This story had a little bit of a slow build to the final confrontation. A lot of players who were involved in the previous shorts have a role in this one. Deadshot is a crazy sniper, maybe better than Golgo 13. Through I did feel that Deadshot ended up being a total weenie in the end.

Like In Darkness Dwells I feel that this was a story that if it had gone on longer could have been much more interesting. Plus the preview hyped this story up so much. They promised this revised Deadshot who would be Bruce Wayne’s shadowy reflection. A twisted version of Batman who used his wealth and tragic past for personal gain and to satisfy his perverted desires. It was supposed to be this slow building epic confrontation. It turned out to be a rather pedestrian story of Batman VS another random gimmick villain. It’s not a bad story but it’s also not epic. I was entertained but I felt that the preview hyped it up to be something to remember.

Batman rocks, he came, he showed how much he rocks and he was gone in a flash. How very Batman like of him. The combination of talents in this collection ensures that you will like atleast a couple of these mini movies. As a whole this was good and entertaining and totally worth watching. There were some missteps but overall I’m looking forward to viewing this a second time. And it makes me even more eager to see the new movie.

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