Category: Ongoing Investigations

Ongoing Investigations: Case #091

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hisuiconNo matter how much Akiyuki Shinbo shows might feel like Akiyuki Shinbo shows you cannot mask the quirky trademark humor of Hikaru Nakamura in Arakawa Under the Bridge. I did notice after a while my enjoyment of segments really depended on which characters were in them. Scenes with Nino, Hoshi, Sister, Stella are usually excellent where as Maria and P-ko usually fall flat. Everyone else is hit and miss. I did notice in reflection Nino does not show up nearly as much as you think she would especially in the second half of the anime. I know some people found Kou annoying but I thought it was an excellent straight man to the rest of the cast. Episodes 10,11, and 12 have a story that has a decent conclusion with Kou having to confront his father over the development of the land under the bridge. There is a big confrontation with nothing really changed. But that is usually how you best deal with an ongoing comedy series like Arakawa. Also after episode 13 they announced a second season so they had to maintain the status quo. Overall I enjoyed every episode and always looked forward to watching the latest episode. Arakawa Under the Bridge is not as spectacular as Saint Young Men from what I have seen but always made me feel good after watching an episode. I hope the 2nd season can continue that feeling.

I had mixed feelings going into Arakawa Under the Bridge, while I thoroughly enjoy the humor of Hikaru Nakamura (also the manga-ka of Saint Young Men), Shinbo makes me wary. However, I found myself laughing heartily for most episodes and feeling an overall satisfaction with the show. The wacky premise of a colony of misfits living in a community under a bridge combined with the neurotic Kou joining their circle almost makes you feel at ease in the bizarre. Eventhough much of the humor relies on unexpectedness, the series has the ability to keep taking bigger leaps which allows for fresh moments to appear despite knowing characters’ schtick. Though some of the humor begins to fall flat at moments that rely too heavily on Kou being surprised. The first half is better than the second mostly because some of the resued jokes start to lose their luster and the later half deigns to tell us a semi-serious story which isn’t very compelling. The attempt to insert a plot to cap off the show was valiant but could have been better served by just bringing Kou and Nino closer together without all the rest. In fact, many episodes have just a moment of poignant brilliance (“We want to know who you are not what you have.”) which struck a better balance. The strange humor of Arakawa is certainly worth checking out even if it does ebb and flow at the end.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #090

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We received a copy of Twin Spica 2 at the last Vertical Vednesday, or should I say I zealously grabbed for it because I was just that eager to read more of the story. A minor amount of time has passed between the conclusion of the first volume and the events starting in the second. As Asumi has overcome her first big challenge (actually being accepted to the space academy) her excitement is palpable but she doesn’t become complacent realizing there are tougher roads ahead. Her spirit and energy is quite infectious, as a reader I always believe in her and admire her hard-work. Asumi has taken up residence in a small out of the way dorm with few other tenants. Of course the many personalities we met during her first test are back as students in the school and once again we are confronted with the slow build of friendship between them, especially that of Marika and Kei with Asumi. The first book has some emotionally gripping moments that pulled you into the story almost immediately, this time around they keep you emotionally focused as more history is revealed. I was also surprised to see such direct villain in the series, it was almost cliche, but I want to see how it further develops before making a call and the motive behind him is highly intriguing. Twin Spica is a must-read, if you were foolishly not reading it already.

hisuicon Asumi is settling in after being accepted to the Tokyo Space Academy. She is excelling both physically and mentally while getting closer to all the students she met during the entrance exam. We have our first clear villain of the story although so far he has been utterly nasty in a completely realistic fashion. His grudge manifests itself in petty but powerful bits of acidic behavior. So far this has mostly been set up for the school life and the dynamics of the relationships the characters will have at school. While the confrontation between Sano and Asumi is the climax of the book, there are many story seeds planted in the volume that will surely pop up throughout the series. After the main story are two bonus stories set during Asumi’s childhood. The first story gives us a more insight into Yuko Suzunari and Mr. Lion. The second story further shows how much the Lion incident has effected the lives of Asumi and her father. I will admit that I openly teared up on the subway when I finished the last story. It was rather powerful and moving if a bit more on the fantastical. But all the flash back stories tend to lean toward the fantastical whenever Mr. Lion is prominent. I do find it worth noting that Asumi’s hard work does not make her the best but it does make her stand out if only slightly. This combination makes both Asumi and Twin Spica stand out in my mind. A solid follow up to the spectacular first book that will leave you anticipating the release of the third.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #089

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hisuiconWildstorm sent us a copy of the Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles prelude book. It is a graphic novel that helps link the Robotech TV series and the Shadow Chronicles movie. Rouge officer T.R. Edwards has allied himself with the Invid. Rick Hunter must catch this traitor before he can use his newly stolen technology to strike back at the Earth Forces. The first thing I noticed is that the book has a really American comic feel to it; being a DC Comics imprint and made for American Robotech fans this is unsurprising. Overall the story was nothing objectionable but also immediately forgettable. It seemed mostly for Robotech fans so I felt like an outsider listening to a conversation between old friends to which I was unaware of many points of the undiscussed history. I clicked a good deal more with the characters from the first part of the Robotech saga partially because those are the strongest characters and partially because that is the part of Robotech I remember the most. T.R. Edwards came off as a mustache twirling villain despite the fact that they did make an honest effort to give him some depth. I enjoyed the mechanical designs more than the human and monster designs which seemed bland to me. It was nice to see them dedicating the book to the memory of Carl Macek pretty prominently on the credits page though.

We went to Vertical Vednesday this week which featured the up and coming (and sure to be great seller) Chi’s Sweet Home as well as a look at pet manga in general. Ed even brought along copies of the book for us to peruse which is in full-color if you aren’t familiar with Chi. There is pet manga that stretches back to Tezuka, I urged him to license his dog manga, but Ed felt it really started to get a foothold in the 80’s along side the beginning of josei. And most pet manga today runs along the josei and seinen lines. It was a quick introduction to a small but popular genre, and you’ll be unsurprised to learn cats are the most popular animal. Near the end we also got to take a look at the second book of Twin Spica which I was infinitely more excited about! Vertical Vednesday’s are a relaxed night with the industry making it well worth a short trip.

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