Category: Anime

Completing a Series

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Everyone has their own various ways of watching anime and mine have changed over the years. Since I was introduced to it through a friend, I originally tended to watch in a group. But as my fandom grew I started to also watch things on my own. Up until perhaps the 2000s, in either of these scenarios I would watch anything and everything to the (sometimes bitter) end as long as I could find it. But I am not a completionist at heart.

So, as the availability of anime has grown, my tolerance for watching things that I’m not enjoying has dropped close to zero. That isn’t to say I won’t give a show a fair shake or the minute a show steps out of line I forget about it immediately, no, I’ve hung on from time to time. But my point is the minute I find myself complaining about a series too much, I let go. I’ve even been known to do this near the end. Afterall, the likelihood of someone else (whose opinion I trust) finishing it nowadays is great so I can find out if I should continue or not.

This is my entertainment after all, it seems silly to go too far in misery! The only real exception is if I’m watching with someone else, this can account for why I watched all of Banner of the Stars II and Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory among others.

So in general, when I finish a show it has a lot of meaning, personally. Something about the show was compelling enough to want to know how it ends; not merely want to say I finished it. With so many options, it only seems sensible for me.

What are your viewing habits?

Redline: Always Bet On JP

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For quite sometime I’d been hearing the life altering power of watching Redline so when the opportunity arose to finally see it, one does not waste time! Redline is one of those movies that reminds you of what anime is capable of beyond live action so consequently it also reminded me why I fell in love with anime in the first place. It isn’t hype, Redline is just that amazing a ride.

When only a handful of the English-speaking anime fans had seen Redline there was a good deal of contention about how much of its reputation was hype and how much of it was real. Tim Maughan was quite evangelical on the Internet which lead to a great deal of both extreme expectations and equally extreme skepticism (and often in the same people). People hoped that it was the perfection of an older and more extravagant form of animation. At the same time the long-delayed production schedule and strange release made people worried if it would be a bloated piece of retro nonsense. But now that everyone has a legitimate (and therefore less than legitimate) means to watch the film the general consensus is: it is awesome. All the promises made were true if not somewhat underplayed. Redline crossed the finish line in glorious form.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #135

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The BEST series of the year is shaping up to be Mawaru Penguindrum. So far in the first 6 episodes Kunihiko Ikuhara has proven that Utena was not a fluke. The show has stayed as consistently excellent as the first episode and I look forward to a new episode every week. The animation, imagery, and direction remain high quality and imaginative every week. The Rose of Versailles style fantasy imaginary in episode 4 is just scrumptious. Also the laser guided slingshot is both goofy and bass ass at the same time. The plot remains mysterious but we are always getting enough information that we never feel that the show is spinning its wheels. I get the feeling that Ikuhara is more of an “I got this all planned out” sort of guy so it is more a matter of seeing the tale unfold then see him make it up as he goes along.  Kanba and Shoma’s antics in trying to find the Penguindrum are always amusing but retain a creepy vibe without either feeling hurting the other. That said I need to know what is going on with Kanba’s ultra shady deals. Ringo has that same mixture of very funny and very disturbing. I am curious how popular she is among the American and Japanese fans. Narutaki seems to think she would be insanely popular. I cannot disagree. And I know there is more to Himari than meets the eye. She is too innocent for a Ikuhara anime. There has to be more going to with her than you see on the surface. If you don’t have a moral objection to watching fan-subs then you need to watch Mawaru Penguindrum. Otherwise you should get this the second it gets licensed. Because it will get licensed. Fabulous Max!

The most anticipated arc in recent Detective Conan anime TV series was the London case, the 11th OVA happens concurrently featuring Ai and the detective boys back in Japan. It starts as just a cute mystery involving peanutbutter and jelly, a mistaken starlet, and kick the can. But the kids discover kidnappers in an abandoned building and things turn more dangerous when they themselves become trapped. The real treat for this OVA is seeing Ai’s smarts at the forefront since Conan is a world away. Her use of the cellphones as well as the detective boys badges is nicely done. It combines the kid antics at the beginning and a more tense situation later well. The ending has a couple of surprises in store, though nothing too earth shaking. A fun and nice OVA if not remarkable.

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