Category: Comics

Ongoing Investigations: Case #158

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I went to see Studio Ghibli’s latest, The Secret World of Arrietty, in theaters this week. It follows a family of very tiny people known as The Borrowers because they take just what they need from the humans’ houses they live in. Borrowers move to a new location if they are seen by humans because it becomes too dangerous. Arrietty has just turned fourteen and will be doing her first “borrowing” with her father that very night. At the same time, a new human boy has come to live at the house. It is a fairly simple story of friendship and fantasy and therefore charming from beginning to end. There is a timeless quality to the country (thanks in no small part to Ghibli’s art style) and with the exception of one appearance of a cell phone it gives no hint of the broader world. The exploration of the house from the view of Borrowers is well-crafted and alive making the ordinary noteworthy. This is especially true for green Arrietty who has never ventured into its walls before but possesses all the youthful courage and curiosity you might imagine. The final resolution is possibly the most adventurous of all and made me sad that I could not see where it will lead. In a quite positive way, it breaks the spell of it being a small world and opens it up to thousands of possibilities. My only complaint is the English voice acting was not very good, there were a lot of times the voices sounded completely disconnected and disembodied. The only exception was Arrietty thank goodness. So I look forward to picking this up on DVD and hope the Japanese does it a bit more justice.

I might just stop watching Bodacious Space Pirates not because it is a bad show but because everyone loves it so much I think it is beginning to make me hate the show. When I originally watched the first episode I thought it was serviceable if a bit forgettable. But more and more I just heard people praising the show like it was the second coming of Fullmetal Alchemist. Narutaki and I joked that we must have accidentally watched Totally Tubular Space Pirates which must have been the inferior knock off show. It seems like the one show that is able to get the jaded old school fans and the young moe fans to sit down at the table and agree to enjoy something together. This keeps me watching the anime while trying to discover what I am missing that everyone else is in love with. But the more I watch the more flaws I see with the show. I feel more and more these are flaws I would normally forgive if it were watching this in a vacuum but are unmistakable when I examine the show so minutely. Plus being a Space Pirate seems to be more like a glorified Sea World stage show than the brave adventures of Captain Harlock. Maybe if I come back to this show a year from now I can give it a fair shake. Right now I feel like those people who picked apart Summer Wars until it was devoid of any fun because it got all the hype that it did and I don’t want to be that guy.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #154

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We received a copy of Nozomi’s re-release of Gasaraki. The story follows a war between the Americans backed by the Japanese and the fictional nation of Belgistan. Both sides have bi-pedal robots with main pilots possessing odd connections and powers. It is worth noting that I have tried to watch Gasaraki before, many moons ago and didn’t make it very far. I wanted to give it another chance but this time around I was only able to get one episode further. Despite people’s assertions that this show is a realistic depiction of mecha, I just can’t find it anything but slow and uninteresting. Also my thoughts on what is realistic must be different because this show has Noh dancing magic. . . . In any case, a good portions of episodes revolve around people talking, typing, or staring at screens. Talking heads and computer screens can be made interesting (just ask Evangelion) but Gasaraki fails to put passion or facial expressions into its scenes. This also makes the dub doubly painful since at least the Japanese put some inflection in their voices. The battles are compelling in moments but they are too short or interrupted by looking at screens. The show didn’t capture me in any way.

If I have nothing else kindly to say about Gasaraki I will say that it tried to do certain things that most mecha shows don’t often attempt. Ryousuke Takahashi tried for a more realistic version of modern mecha combat and politics while mixing in some magical elements to spice things up. The fact that there are only two types of mecha in the whole show and the commentary on the Gulf War make the show stand out. The only problem is the show is so amazingly and mind numbingly boring. It takes the tedious parts of part of war and magical conspiracy and focuses on the most mundane aspects of each to the to the point where only the most hardcore fans of realism will find the show interesting. Ryousuke Takahashi showed that you can do a more realistic mecha show like Armored Trooper Votoms and make it compelling. But this swings so far toward the nitty-gritty details as so suck away any enjoyment. They even focus on the boring aspects of the shadowy magical conspiracy behind the mecha action in excruciating detail. When the plans of the magical cabal feel like a run down of someone’s tax audit you know something has gone horribly wrong. I will say that this show has a reputation for a completely magical ending that comes out of nowhere but as far as I can tell the freeky deeky occult aspect of the show is apparent from the first episode. I admit that the few actions scenes are the only parts of the anime that are easy to stay awake so that makes them the most memorable pieces but there is unmistakable and unnerving mystical element present in the show from the beginning. Like Narutaki I watched this show years ago and I wondered if I could come back to the show as a more mature fan and gain a greater appreciation for a show I had disliked in my early fandom. But this show still deserves the infamous reputation it gained with me and other fans so many years ago.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #149

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I had been waiting to watch Hayate the Combat Butler! Heaven is a Place on Earth since it was announced last year. So when it finally come with the latest volume of the manga I was thrilled to watch it. The movie much like the rest of Hayate is a pleasant and warm helping of comfort food. Heaven is a Place on Earth is a nice little story set right after Natsu-comi and the arrival of Kayura Tsurugino but before the beginning of the next semester. It perfectly captures the feeling of being out in the country during summer vacation. The story focuses on the Hayate/Nagi relationship so I am of course totally behind it. But there is a Hinagiku bath scene so all the fans of the pink student council president will be satisfied. The best part of the movie is it feels like a nice minor arc in the manga. While it is a bit surreal at points it feels like it was taken from the source. Too often these little spin-off movies miss any of that spark that make you love the manga but this one captures that je ne sais quoi perfectly. The oddest thing about the movie is it came out BEFORE Kayura was introduced in the manga but the movie makes no real attempt to introduce her. It goes along like she has always been a part of the cast. At this point it is clear who she is but I am sure there were many a Hayate fan trying to figure out who this strange new girl was. Kayura cosplays as Saber in the movie so she is 1000% OK with me though. I will also say that I cannot deny the appeal of Maria with twin tails in a summer dress. This movie is probably not going to win over anyone who is not already a Hayate fan. They don’t make an effort to introduce you to the plot other than showing some newly animated clips from the first episode during the opening song. Oh Ruka does not take part in the main plot but she sings a song and says a few lines of dialog during the movie’s opening. So if she appears in the 3rd season she now officially has a voice actress. I am now just waiting to watch it again when they release the extended cut on the Blu-Ray.

I went to see Arthur Christmas mostly thanks to an article about its production which also alerted me to the fact that Aardman Animations (of Wallace and Gromit fame) made the film with Sony. It really was everything it should have been: a delightful Christmas adventure with plenty of humor and holiday magic plus top-notch animation. It is the story of the one present Santa forgets to deliver on Christmas Eve which causes endless trouble for everyone. Arthur, youngest son of Santa, along with Grand-Santa take up the mission. Arthur isn’t the successor to the Santa mantle. Oh, he has plenty of enthusiasm but he is also absent-minded, clumsy, and afraid of just about everything; still he has a true heart that inspires everyone in true movie fashion. It even gets a little meta at points as Arthur realizes that Santa isn’t a person, it doesn’t matter who delivers the present, Santa is an idea and a feeling. One of the highlights to the animation production is just how Santa does deliveries which is very high-tech nowadays as they attempt to explain the ways in which it is all accomplished using military precision, thousands of highly trained elves, GPS, and a “sleigh” that functions much more as a space ship with the ability to camouflage itself in many ways. But the olden ways must be dusted off and put to use to fix the gift mistake. It has that classic bridging of multiple generations as a key element along with the realization that we each have a place in the world. While the story has some bumps, I didn’t understand how worrying helped Arthur get to the sleigh or why wrapping the burglar alarm did anything at all, it was a holiday film that left me in good spirits!

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