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Ongoing Investigations: Case #018

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So I have been watching Toradora! and got up to episode 5. So far I have enjoyed all them as much as the first. Taiga is still amusing, Ryuji is still girl fantasy fodder, and I have been surprised by the fact that Yusaku has not been clueless. I have to agree with Narutaki’s assessment that Toradora! seems more like a gender neutral romantic comedy rather than the shonen romance it clearly is. I know Narutaki was shocked when Ami Kawashima turned out not to be in love with Ryuji. I imagined him doing a doubletake when I informed him this was the case. I am interested in reading the light novels if they ever get licensed. People who have read them seem to love talking about how much better they are.

Finally volume 4 of Hissing has hit shelves! I really appreciate Yen Press continuing many of Ice Kunion’s manhwa titles. We are really getting into the thick of things as Sun-Nam finally realizes he has a connection to Da-Eh’s family. That could complicate things for these recent love birds. Ta-Jun still dominates as my favorite though I seriously doubt he will win the girl. He will be a bit of a monkey wrench in it all I suspect. Hissing is one of the better manhwa being released state side and continues to be funny and charming. The 5th book is coming out later this month and just one more volume to go after that!

Mirror Moon has completed their fan translation of Fate/Stay Night. So, this means I have started the third and final path, Heaven’s Feel. I personally find Sakura the weakest of the heroines but I hardly dislike her as a character. She is so mild compared to the rest of the cast. It is also the most disturbing of the Fate/Stay Night scenarios. With penis worms, rape, and re-grafted chopped off limbs it goes out of its way to be a unsettling. But it is still good to get a little deeper insight into the mechanics of the Fate/Stay Night world. Also more Rider equals more love. But then again Saber gets the short end of the stick in this path which is not fun. One of the high points is the Tiger dojo’s when you die. Loliburuma Panzer Corp. sums it up quite nicely. It also makes me wonder why there are not more Taiga figures.

Three of my favorite shojo manga-ka are starting new series within a couple of months of each other! Arina Tanemura who is best known for Full Moon wo Sagashite starts her new adventure and romance series titled Sakura-Hime Kaden in December. Nana Haruta, who’s work has not been licensed in the U.S., starts a new serial in January. And Maki Yoko, you may know her series Aishiteruze Baby, will start a new work in February. All of this is happening in Ribon, which is why it remains my favorite monthly manga magazine! All of these writers tend to write shorter series, in the under 10 books range, which I really like. I will report back when I can get my hands on these works!

I sampled the first episode of Baccano! on Funimation’s web site. I have been interested after hearing about its unique setting (1930’s America) and unusual storytelling techniques. A young girl named Carol is trying to piece together how a strange series on seemingly unrelated mysterious incidents are related. Her boss and her trade theories which leads to us cutting back and forth between stories. So far I can’t say that any one story stood out as great but I am interested to see how they all connect. There is also an obviously supernatural element to the story. It was considerably less violent than I had been lead to believe. There is violence and bloodshed but I guess I have become desensitized because nothing in the first episode phased me.

Let me just say, “Thank you Shonen Jump USA!” The past two months of it have been some good chapters for Bleach. Just finished chapters 224-226. We are in a slight break from the impending Hecto Mundo arc. Visoreds with Ichigo have been dominating the pages, whoo-hoo! As well as some Urahara (you clearly know I can’t ever be disappointed with that), Chad training, and Ishida reappeared! Oh the joy! Not sure when this streak will end but I am happy with what I have gotten for the moment.

Despite owning it for quite a while, I got to reading The Twelve Kingdoms: Sea of Wind. It was a good read although nowhere near as epic as the first Twelve Kingdoms novel. The first book was a girl surviving in a fantasy kingdom and eventually gaining the throne. This book is the story of Taiki and him learning who he really is and taking the responsibility of being the guardian animal of a Kingdom. I know Narutaki was super happy about there being more delicious Keiki in this book and him getting more screen time. This story is set before the first book which can make several things quite confusing especially when people are only referred to by their position. I only knew about it becuase I looked it up for Narutaki when he was reading the book.

Ongoing Investigations: Case #015

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Samurai Deeper Kyo 30 was very Samurai Deeper Kyo. We got some villains named after playing cards thrown at us. I keep waiting for a group of villains named after popular fast food chains. Though we at least get some good back story on Hotaru finally. And with the return of Kyoshiro and the discovery of Kyo’s body we may just be entering the final arc of this series. I am very grateful.

GTO: The Early Years 7 and 8 are entertaining as always. I sort of miss the raunchy buddy comedy of the earlier chapters. The sex comedy parts occasionally appear from time to time to break up the action but it has mostly turned into a Bosozoku fighting manga. I had been waiting see the story of the original Midnight Angel Masaki who is so important in the finale of GTO. Without reading Shonan Junai Gumi it seems sort of random for this character to suddenly be mentioned out of nowhere and then be so important to Onizuka. Now we finally get to see who he was and how he effected Onizuka’s life. This makes his appearance in GTO a cool little nod to those who have been reading Tohru Fujisawa’s works since the beginning. Also man, oh, man could fujoshi go to town on this series if they wanted to (and possibly did). The amount of unintentional homoerotic subtext you could read into the predominately male cast interactions are hysterical if you think about it.

Ah, my shojo love is returning! I mentioned a few weeks ago I was in a bit of a shojo slump but thanks to Mixed Vegetables and now Monkey High! I feel my spirit reawakening! Monkey High! is a very funny and sweet romantic comedy about an unexpected relationship. Haruna has just transferred schools and thinks all the kids at her new school are a bunch of monkeys; they are rather loud and wild. And the ring leaders are best friend duo Atsu (tall, handsome, charming) and Masaru (short, cute, goofy). Now you are probably thinking, “Oh I know where this is going.” But you are wrong! She totally starts crushing on silly Masaru and essentially ignoring Atsu’s antics and advances. Not only that but they start dating before the end of book one. And we are off on a ride of fun, non-angsty, new love. The setting is very typical but the characters are well written and charming. I was also quite relieved to see the problems that crop up in shojo manga, like misunderstandings, not linger on for too long. They were put out there, explored, and resolved in a easy manner. Masaru is hard not to love, he remind me a bit of Otani from Love*Com, but not such a curmudgeon about his height. I’m am excited to pick up the next book in this series.

I read Del Rey’s Phoenix Wright: Official Casebook volume 1 manga. It is not the proper Phoenix Wright manga but a doujinshi anthology much like Galaxy Angel Party. So it is gag stories rather than new cases which I am sure is a disappointment to some people but just fine by me. I always like to see different artists takes on established characters. Plus the stories are short so if you don’t like someone’s art style or interpretation you are on to the next before you know it. I was overall happy and nothing was eye or brain meltingly bad. It is no substitute for a new game but it is certainly not a bad supplement while you wait. Also I am slightly surprised that there was not one appearance of Ema Skye. I wonder if this was produced before she was added as a character in the series. I am also curious if Del Rey ever plans to get the main Phoenix Wright manga. I assume they are waiting to see how well this does before they fork over the cash for the main series.

Finally got around to watching the first five episodes Code Geass and really enjoyed it. It has a great and diverse cast. So much so that I can’t dislike any of them, atleast not yet, and certainly can’t pick a favorite. Lelouch’s descriptions didn’t do him justice, I needed to experience this character. The dichotomy of his personalities is fascinating and at this point he hasn’t killed any civilians. The opposite side of the coin, Suzaku, is an equally good study of the differences in the human condition. They really are after the same things but are going about them in completely different ways. So far I am impressed.

I see why some people draw comparisons between Code Geass and Death Note but it is mostly looking at apples and oranges. They have more that is different about them than in common. It does suffer the Sunrise robot show curse of taking several episodes to get up to speed. I know everyone we were watching with was really only sold on the show after episode three. I feel everyone should give Code Geass a shot to shine or fail on it’s own merits and flaws. I can’t say that I have picked the Lelouch or the Suzaku camp as of yet if I even wind up picking either. If I had to pick anyone to root for it would be Euphemia li Britannia, if for nothing else my predisposition to support girls with pink hair. I did want to watch Gundam Seed just to see what was up with Lacus and if she was cool or not. Euphemia seems like a cool character but she was hardly in it enough for me to make a solid choice.

Macross Frontier, I’m not an adult, I’m a MAN!

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Macross Frontier is the story of the love triangle between a tsundere Kabuki princess pilot, the greatest Asuka Langley Soryu impersonator of all time, and a girl with the universe’s greatest backpack, a cool cell phone, and living hair.

I want that backpack no joke! Just as much as I wanted a Guvava.

Macross Frontier starts 13 years after the events of Macross 7 and 40 years after the ending of the original Macross. Earth is still sending out colony fleets to settle new planets in hopes of spreading humans and Zentradi throughout the galaxy. On the Macross Frontier a pilot named Alto Saotome meets two girls before a concert that that will forever change his life. One is the insanely popular idol singer Sheryl Nome and the other is Ranka Lee the cute waitress at the local Chinese restaurant. What might have been nothing more than unimportant chance encounters become bonds off fate when a unknown alien force called the Vajra attacks the Frontier with living space ships. After Alto saves Ranka’s life he decides to join the SMS as a military pilot and Ranka decides to try to become an idol singer. This prompts Sheryl to becomes involved with both of their careers.

Alto has a desperate need to fly so much so that he abandons his family’s traditions, and his own personal success, in Kabuki theater, to do so. I found this endearing and admirable, something to really define you as a person. Alto is young and when he meets Ranka for the first time we see they both have dreams. This is a story about how a dream can lead down a very unexpected path. But throughout the series I felt Alto was rather underdeveloped, we learn little more than what I just mentioned about him. I also tended to swing wildly from episode to episode whether or not I liked Alto. I was really blown away at points by his stupidity. He does have a realization of what is most important that comes from moving out of youth but he still wasn’t a man by the end. He ended up being a somewhat of a side character in his own story.

Alto is a passionate soul that has come to repress his feelings over the years. He has passion for flying and for freedom it provides but most of the time he seems very subdued and straitlaced. Although Alto is the pilot of Macross Frontier’s love triangle his background in Kabuki theater gives him a unique insight into performing. Despite being the main character we don’t get a great deal of insight into Alto. He tends to be rather quiet unless promoted but outside forces. We mostly only see how he relates to other characters but rarely do we get insights into Alto himself.

Ranka is a super cute, optimistic, talented girl that is trying to make it as a singer. She really looks up to Sheryl since she is the biggest thing in the universe. This is just a random thought but if this wasn’t Macross, I think Ranka might have gone all single white female on Sheryl. Within the span of a couple episodes Sheryl overshadows Ranka’s entrance into the academy, basically steals her man, and gets her first television appearance canceled. However, things really start to shift in favor of Ranka as the story goes along. She certainly has a passion for singing, like when she gets up the nerve to sing in the middle of a mall. I felt her character slipping at some points nearing the end but her strong will shines through.

Ranka is super fun, super cute and supremely easy to root for but also has a moe vibe surrounding her. Up until the last few episodes they perform a careful balancing act between making Ranka an adorable moe character while still having her have moments of independence and strong character. She pulls it out in the end but I was worried there at points. I really enjoy her character because she is just instantly likable. You want her to see her become a star, you want her to find love with Alto, you want her to be happy. Due to a traumatic incident in her past Ranka has a good deal of amnesia about her early childhood. That could easily be the kiss of death into making her a bad character but they use it effectively and keep her an enjoyable heroine.

Sheryl is a loud, self-important, beauty who is the biggest pop singer in the galaxy. In any case I did not like her nor trust her from the moment she stepped on my screen. To me she always looks devious and no one can see it! Like when your friend is going out with a really manipulative girl, but everyone thinks she is great and wonderful. But you know the truth and no one will listen! She sometimes has the “EXACTLY AS PLANNED“ face. We get to see brief glimpses into what really makes her tick, maybe that is really how all people can be seen. There are two major moments that stuck out in my mind pertaining to this, moments where I was excited and rooting for her. And it can’t be denied that her music is beautiful and powerful. And she does scream out “LISTEN TO MY SONG!” I just found these moments of awe too few and far between for me to actually like her.

Sheryl is my least favorite type of strong female character. The full throttle bitch. This means that she is constantly in everyone’s face and doing whatever she wants to get what she wants. I don’t mind characters being assertive and confident but I do mind them having having an overinflated sense of entitlement at the expense of those around them. They often try and give her alternating periods of softness and vulnerability but I feel it can’t redeem her utterly despicable default attitude. Plus while half of her softer moments are genuine and make the character more tolerable the other seem artificial and sometimes for nothing more than plot convenience. Don’t get me wrong I would never have them throw Sheryl out of the show. It’s fun to have a love rival that is realistic competition but fun to hate.

Brera is kind of a wild card. I was super curious about him when he first showed up. I had high hopes. He is important but he is completely underused which I think is a tragedy. They just turn him into this unmovable cock-block. Now on to someone who is as awesome as I thought he was going to be, Ozma. Ozma is big tribute to Roy Focker, and I don’t think we minded one bit. Him and Cathy (the tribute to Misa) were two of my favorite characters to see on my screen.

Well, Ozma is a Fire Bomber fan. He is therefore automatically awesome and that is mathematically provable. I’m sure both of us would sign up to buy the DVDs of Macross Frontier: Ozma Gaiden. It’s a shame we don’t get to see more of Ozma and Cathy as they are awesome both individually and separately. You can keep your Michael Blanc and Klan Klan shrines. I’m a Ozma man. Brera on the other hand is merely there for me. I’m not anywhere as mean as the person who nicknamed him Kaifun Brera because you should never go there but I can’t say I feel any passion for him either.

One character stand out head and shoulders as creepiest person in Macross Frontier and that is Leon Mishima. This is a minor spoiler but it turns out he is not on the side of the angels. I don’t really feel bad saying that because everything this guy does screams he in not a good human being. In fact Narutaki and I have nicknamed him Creepy Kiss Guy after his first scene with Cathy Glass.

I shudder at the thought! How dare they engage Cathy to him. EWWWW! I actually found a screen shot of the kiss but I refuse to reproduce that terrible moment here. Most of the time he spent with Ranka was I afraid he was going to try and creepy kiss her, too. The bigger villain is a little harder to spot, but atleast has an interesting connection to Ranka and Sheryl. However they never really develop them beyond I’m-bad-because-I-am status. It was wasted potential, there was plenty of backstory to work with but instead Snidley Whiplash emerged.

While I always found Minmay to be a dumb bimbo who was selfish and emotionally manipulative, Sheryl is at least intelligent and cunning. So I can enjoy disliking her. I wanted her as a rival, she is a perfect rival. Sheryl and Ranka are very different people though I do think they come to together in a nice way as we learn about their pasts. The love triangle really keeps you guessing from beginning to end. This could account for a few moments that seem rather out of character. There are definitely scenes of dramatic BS that in the grand scheme of things make little sense. Though I can understand the need to desperately keep us on our toes and not have fans be lulled into a sense of security.

In episode eight, High School Queen, we see Sheryl visit Mihoshi Academy and cause an uproar. In this episode the homage to Asuka Langley Soryu is subtle but obvious if you look for it. The scene where Sheryl is talking to Alto by the pool while all the male students look on from behind a fence in a clear reproduction of almost the same scene from episode ten from Evangelion. Clearly it is to make reference to the similar personalities between the characters and to give a nudge and a wink to the fans of both franchises.

Lothos, who is probably lurking around here someone where, doesn’t watch Macross Frontier. But he is my Eva expert so I sent the episodes off to him and said “Just watch these and tell me if you noticing anything. I don’t want to say anything else to influence you.” He did just that and he came back with more than a couple of Evangelion references, he saw them right away. But I think you are supposed to. Homage is fun!

Macross Frontier is filled with winks, nudges, and references to other Macross series. We have Ozuma’s love of Fire Bomber and several references to Basara, Fire Bomber, Song Energy, and the Protodeviln. We have several references to Mao Nome and insights into what she has been doing since Macross Zero. There is movie that is made with the story of Macross Zero much like how Do You Remember Love is a movie about the original Macross series set in the Macross universe. At one point Alto saves Ranka using a Valkyrie in almost the exact same way Hikaru saves Minmay. The Zentradi warrior Tehmzin that instigates a rebellion in episode twelve is a clear homage to Kamjin in character design and philosophy. There are even some dread Pineapple Salad references.

Macross Frontier starts off with incredible looking battles sequences and great music, two things essential to the Macross franchise. And while the budget for the epic space frays stays high possibly as nice looking as Macross Zero, I feel that the character animation starts to get slop pretty early on. It then picks up quality at the end.

There are some real Yashigani scenes in this anime. They really seem to put the A team on the space battles so they look gorgeous. They are well choreographed and beautifully animated with the best CG. They seems to farm out the character animation to the B and C teams and in some episodes the Z team. There is a sequence so horrible in the TV broadcast of the 10th episode I can only assume that they will clean it up to something watchable on the DVD release. If nothing else Wataru will have another rarity for his video store.

I thought the music got better as the series continued. The first opening grew on me, I enjoyed all the insert songs, and the endings were always good. I loved the second opening song, but have little to say about the actual opening animation besides that I thought it was poor compared to the first. Some people think Yoko Kano to be overrated, but I always find her music to instill something in me. For someone who is not very musically inclined, I always remember her music and the way she portrays the moments in a series uniquely.

Like I mentioned in the Macross Plus article when you put Yoko Kanno together with Macross you have an unbeatable combination. The great thing is how artistically they dovetail the animation with the music, like when they use music to enhance a fight sequence. A perfect example is in episode four when they cut back and forth between Alto fighting in a training mission and Ranka singing My Boyfriend is a Pilot during the Miss Macross competition. Both sequences match up so well with each other that they harmonize into a great whole while still having a infectious sense of whimsy. Also despite how much I dislike Sheryl as a character her songs are quite catchy. I really liked Diamond Crevasse with it’s strong refrain in a otherwise soft reflective song. But I would be remiss to forget super cute Interstellar Flight is.

I would be lying if I said the last episode didn’t excite me. It was beautiful, suspenseful, melodramatic fun. The battle was stellar and the music was grand! And it was certainly better than the few episodes of lead up. But it didn’t hold up its end of the bargain in telling us what the heck was going on. It really should have been spread out over a few episodes and not crammed in these meager 30 minutes.

I feel the last third is the weakest for various spoilerific reasons but the finale while rushed is definitely enjoyable. I guess I was upset with parts near because of people making decisions and events seem to happen more for emotional impact that for common sense. The ending delivers even though I feel some people are going to be rather upset and others are going to demand more. It was a mixture of action and melodrama and definitely in the spirit of Macross. I would have been a little happier with the standard 26 episodes rather than 25 with content of 25 and 26 spread out over the two episodes. There was more than enough material for it and it could have given time for some set-up and revelations. I am eagerly waiting to see what the new Macross Frontier movie will be about. Will it be a Do You Remember Love style re-imagining of Macross Frontier or will be be a new story? Either way I am excited.

Top 5 most disappointing anime endings
5. Martian Successor Nadesico
4. Death Note
3. Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny
2. Honey and Clover
1. Vision of Escaflowne