Category: Live Action

Ongoing Investigations: Case #177

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As I was going to Kinokuniya to pick up my ultra vital max priority #1 ultraviolet volume of Fate/Zero for Gen Urobuchi to sign at Otakon. While I was there I decided to also look at their English manga section as well. I was really hoping they had a copy of Rohan at the Louvre but that sadly was not there. (In fact I have yet to see that at any New York comic shop.) But since I wanted to pick up at least something to read on the subway since I was traveling around a lot that day so I picked up a copy of Drifters. I figured I would see what Kouta Hirano has been up to since Hellsing. I would have also picked up Blood Blockade Battlefront but I don’t have that sort of disposable income.

The story is set in a dark fantasy world with elves and dragons. Two god like entities pluck famous humans from Earth as they are dying and use them to fight their battle to control this high fantasy realm. The theoretically nicer god summons Drifters to save the world and the seemingly evil god summons Ends to destroy it. The Ends all have some magical gimmick that deals with their historical background where as the Drifters just tend to be insanely skilled. The story starts with Shimazu Toyohisa apparently dying during the Battle of Sekigahara and then appearing in this strange fantasy world to fight alongside his fellow Drifters.

It is the distinctly the Kouta Hirano we all know and love. Lots of action and blood but not much gore. Very stylish fighting with an emphasis on sword play but some guns thrown in for good measure. Bad guys vs. not nearly as bad guys (although the Drifters are a bit more on the side of the angels than Alucard.) His art style is generally unchanged with a heavy use of inks and shading as well as a love of crazy eyes.

Shimazu Toyohisa is a reckless swordsman who seems to be a nice guy at heart but never hesitant to indulge in his bloodthirsty nature. We also have rare instance of an almost kindly Oda Nobunaga. I mean that in the sense that he is actually a Drifter and not the demon leading the enemy. For Oda Nobunaga that is practically making him saintly compared to 95% of his usual portrayals in anime. The main party is rounded out by Nasu no Yoichi who I swore was gender swapped for his historical basis. But apparently he is just an amazingly feminine dude. There are some other drifters as well but finding out who pops up is half the fun of the manga.

The Ends are led by the mysterious Black King. He is a cloaked figure whose identity is clearly being kept as a big surprise. He commands historical figures like Anastasia with the ability to summon icy winds and Joan of Arc who can burn others while she burns herself. They all seem a bit more crazy than the Drifters who are hardly on the sane side of the spectrum as it stands. There are also the native fantasy inhabitants like the elves and some other strange organizations who seem independent of the Drifters or the Ends.

Drifters is a fun little action series. A nice mix of fantasy fun with some very liberal interpretation of historical figures. It will be a fun romp much like Hellsing. This seems like the sort of series that would sell like gangbusters in the US if it got an anime adaptation. It has the storyline of a shonen series that American audiences are most comfortable with but with the grit and bloodshed that really hooks them as well. But until that anime comes along the manga is fluffy but easily recommended choice.

Finally got my copy of Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Promise Part 2! I was really impressed with the first volume, it slows down a little with this installment but is able to hit an upswing as it goes on.

In Part 2, we learn more about what Toph has been up to at her training school and meet her new students. They haven’t really come into their metalbending abilities yet so that becomes the primary focus for a good deal of this volume. Sokka tries to help out this ragtag bunch so it is a mostly comedic arc. I’m curious how Toph’s students will play into the plot further, if at all.

Meanwhile, Aang is goofing off at his fanclub on the a detour from going to see the Earth kingdom king. So again this section has a lot of comedy elements. This part feels very Aang like to get wrapped up with these girls, though we’ve sort of seen this before. Still, they surprised me in the end with an important contribution.

As for Zuko, we see him only a little as he tries to connect and understand his father. It doesn’t go so well as can be expected and sadly we don’t hear another word about his mother. More interesting was probably the small relationship pieces that occur in this volume which have me very curious about some things we’ve been assuming in The Legend of Korra.

Even though Part 2 doesn’t feel as tense as the first, this is the middle section of a trilogy, you still get some insights. Plus, it ends with some real wheels turning.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #176

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I was lucky that I only recently finished up the original Avatar: The Last Airbender, it had me very excited for the new series Legend of Korra. The entire season was impressive because it was strong on story and character from the first episode onwards. I was completely invested and it just kept getting better and better. Overall I was really happy with the season.

The best part of the show was the amazing, strong and central female characters. Korra is very unlike Aang in her headstrong and aggressive behavior so watching her struggle for an understanding of airbending as well as the spiritual journey was rewarding. She doesn’t fully graps what it is be the Avatar and what it means to people yet. Korra runs into smart and powerful Lin soon after arriving in Republic City. Lin’s transition into ally is excellently earned. Then there’s Asami who, in a complete surprise to me, became my favorite character. From her driving skills to her martial arts to using the equalists weapons against them, Asami is so cool! Asami’s relationship with her father as well as her friendship with Korra and romance with Mako give her great complexity in trying to balance it all. To top it all off, none of leading women are white.

The season finale blew my mind, then blew it again, and then when I thought I knew what the next season would be about it blew it again!

Though there is something I found most weird about the ending to this first season, it didn’t leave me with any questions. Everything was wrapped up so tightly that I’m not really left wondering or wanting. It is an odd place to leave an audience knowing there is going to be another season. Still I’m looking forward to it, I just thought they could have left us with a few mysteries. Or at least the start of another plot thread as a teaser.

The Legend of Korra has some pretty big shoes to fill. Avatar: The Last Airbender was a series that generally received universal praise. Avatar had its crazy shippers, overly enthusiastic fan base, and some controversial plot points but was generally well-regarded as a solid piece of kid’s entertainment. In many ways The Legend of Korra continues the legacy for better or for worse. Also like Avatar the ending distinctly got people talking.

My major criticism of the ending is that you could almost feel the hand brake being thrown. I don’t want to go into spoilers but certain things seem to get resolved at the end both in the romantic department and with the narrative near the end that seem like they would have best been served being solved in the second season. I know that Korra was originally only planned to be one season but it seemed like they wrote a plot line that was supposed to continue into the second season and they decided that was a bad idea at the last second. It does make the first season a very complete package but you are left wondering if that was for the best.

I also liked my theories on what was up with Amon but I almost always like my theories more. Overall Amon’s identity was fairly good and was thematically interesting. Of all the things people have been complaining about Amon’s identity is probably the weakest point of attack. A reveal like that is never going to make everyone happy. It comes down to the fact that too many people equate “not what I though it was going to be” with “not a good choice.”

When all is said in done I have a good time with this season of Korra. While I wish they had kept more threads dangling for the next season I’m not going to let that damage my enjoyment of this season. I think it is some of the smartest kid television today and I look forward to the next season. I look forward to seeing how they build on what they created.

Want to hear us talk more about Korra? It’ll be in the next Speakeasy Podcast!

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #175

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I think I have always had a bit of a heretic opinion when it comes to the Space Battleship Yamato. I realize the enormous impact the series has had on the industry. It changed the game for anime on a variety of levels. It certainly helped cement the idea that anime was not just for kids in Japan. I just don’t think it is as timeless as the old school fans. But that aside I feel that if you have any interest in the history of anime it is an important show to at least be familiar with for how much of it inspires what comes after it. So with that in mind I decided to watch the first episode of the new Space Battleship Yamato 2199 OVA.

Space Battleship Yamato is now almost 38 years old. Anime has come along way since the first voyage to Iscandar. I was curious to see how much they could modernize the story while still keeping the magic that made the original so popular. It is far too easy to make something bland when you reinvent it for contemporary audience. There are a pile of 90s OVA rermakes that will attest to that fact. Space Battleship Yamato 2199 changes certain things for the better, one or two for the worse, but most of them are lateral moves that have a very “Your mileage may vary” feel to them.

The most notable are the animation changes. Being a show made in 2012 all the ships are CG. It is never brilliant but it is usually serviceable. But gone are the hand-drawn feel of the original. The other major shift is in the character design. The more realistic the character design in the original they less they changed. Captain Okita is pretty much untouched from this original design while Kodai and Yuki have the distinct sheen of modern character design but are still instantly recognizable as their originals.  But some characters like the very cartoonish Dr. Sado get a complete makeover. Sado looks more like Heaven Canceller than his original design. They also seem to have added a bunch of new character who look much more like modern anime characters than updated Leiji Matsumoto characters. Shockingly enough there might be more female characters than just Yuki now.

The beats of the plots so far are largely unchanged. It is all in the details that the difference lies. I found it a good move that they upgraded Yuki from being a bridge bunny nurse to a more Misa Hayase styled military professional. Also Kodai is still impulsive but a great deal less whiny. When he confronts Okita about the death of his brother it comes off as much more natural. At the end you know he still takes issue with how his brother died but he comes off much more as a military man than a bratty child. He is still running off with experimental fighter craft during an emergency but even then he seems a bit more properly restrained.

I will say that one scene near the beginning where that one young engineer dies calling out for his mom is tremendously ham-fisted. It just comes off like amateur hour drama. And it is not like the series can’t pull off cheesy but strong. The part where Mamoru’s crew sacrifices themselves while singing comes off more like a WWII movie tribute than cheap emotional ploy.

I am curious what the die-hard Yamato fan think of the first new episode. Since I am not super attached to the first series I think I can be a bit more objective about the changes. Where they go with the show from here? I think it has some distinct potential to be a strong re-imagining. The real question is how much the fan base approves of the modernization? Do they still think it contains the heart and soul of the original?

I watched the live action movie adapation of Kimi ni Todoke and it renewed my love for the series.

I haven’t read the manga yet, but the movie covers roughly the first season of the anime with some minor changes. We see the girl that everyone is scared of slowly make friends and open up. We see Kazehaya fall in love with her and Sawako learning what love is. You also get more of a solid conclusion between Kazehaya and Sawako happily. It is a simple story that is very satisfying.

I really liked the casting for everyone especially Sawako and Kazehaya. Haruma Miura is not only a good fit for how cute Kazehaya is, but his expressiveness really added a lot to understanding how Kazehaya felt. He also has a killer smile which is essential! Mikako Tabe also lights up when she smiles so they really fit together.

I cried the last 15-minutes and while I don’t measure all films based on this, it proves how very much it got into my heart. It was really lovely.

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