Category: Ongoing Investigations

Ongoing Investigations: Case #076

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We got a copy of Foiled from First Second Books last week, I was rather excited because it was penned by Jane Yolen! Her imagination and description would surely lend itself to being made into a comic. Just as I hoped, Mike Cavallaro achieved it wonderfully. The art style is this wonderful hybrid between comics and American cartoons. Aleria isn’t a typical teen-aged girl with her kind of rye look at the world, but she is quite relateable in her semi-awkwardness, slightly odd parents, and geeky slant but no real place to fit in. In fact, all of these make her more alive than some exaggerated contemporaries, nothing is totally normal but nothing is too off the wall in her life. But what sets her apart (even more?), besides her attitude, is that she is a fencer and a very good one at that. And of course that is where the story really begins and ends as her latest fencing sword (or as she would yell WEAPON!) was a thrift store find with a weird jewel on the hilt. Throw in a new boy at school, some table top role-playing, and the appearance of a world that rests on top of NYC chockful of mystical creatures and you have a wonderful, fun, and magically little book. The magical world is such a strong element, but it doesn’t really come to the forefront till more than half way through. This was really my only complaint, yes it is important to establish Aleria’s (what she would call) mundane, every day life but with only one book you really want to have the fun of the other world sooner. So this should be remedied by making a sequel!

The first thing that popped into my mind when I read Foiled was Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere (and I loved Neverwhere). Not that the average but slightly extraordinary person who learns that there is magical world underneath the mundane world is a utterly unused storyline but the allure is one that makes it an evergreen concept. Jane Yolen takes this old framework and writes an excellent story for young girls as well as a good fantasy story in general. Aliera is a great protagonist who is a strong female character but vulnerable and awkward enough to be easily identifiable. Her passion for fencing and the way it integrates into the story on both a storyline level and a symbolic level give it a smart feeling while also giving it a cool energy. I especially liked how each of the chapter titles used a fencing term with accompanying art that set the tone for the chapter. I will agree with Narutaki that for a single book story they could have picked up the pace in introducing us to the magical world. It’s not that the beginning should be cut short but I too would have liked to see the fantasy elements pop-up earlier. If nothing else it proves that the story is begging to be turned into something longer.

I received the first book of My Darling! Miss Bancho from CMX this week. The story revolves around the ridiculous (which the manga-ka freely admits) reverse harem that occurs when Souka transfers into a tech school filled with nothing but male delinquents. On one of her first days she accidentally takes down the bancho (boss/gang leader) of the school and by their rules that now makes her the new bancho. Cue wacky antics. The story so far is a fairly amusing series of sillyness mixed with some shojo cliches. I felt he pacing was a little off, especially getting the whole ball rolling, maybe it’s just personal taste but it would probably serve the story, and the humor better, to have her take out the school’s bancho right in the first few pages. Just about every guy in her class is enamored with her (and the entire school is pretty much bowing down to her and hoping for her favor) so she gains a couple of minions who act equal parts crazy and devoted. The main love interest is the leader of the sophomores, Katou, who is sort of a mother hen to the rest of the guys and vows to protect Souka. Souka is kind of a middle-ground heroine so she isn’t too engaging unfortunately. Despite the fact that she takes out the previous bancho, she isn’t particularly tough or feisty, if she were this story might be pushed to more funny heights. So really, while amusing and having its good moments, My Darling! Miss Bancho doesn’t really push its silly premise far enough to make it a rip-roaring good time.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #075

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I continued my journey with Detective Conan in watching the 4th Movie, Captured in Her Eyes. This one clearly makes Ran the focus of the movie but by giving her amnesia after she witnesses a police woman being shot in front of her as part of a series of attacks against police officers. So most of the movie is Conan trying to get her to get her memories back so she can remember the shooting while trying to simultaneously to solve the case.  I got a better insight into every one’s relationships as they tried to explain to Ran who they were. The story is weaker the the last movie but I still found it enjoyable. The story starts off strong with some action and murder and sort of coasts in the middle. The end gets exciting again and has some great chase sequences with a solid finale. Everyone role in this movie was more organic integrated than the last movie which was nice to see. Not the first Detective Conan movie you should see but definitely not one you should skip over either.

Captured in Her Eyes is strangely able to show Ran at her weakest and show her kicking ass in a properly dramatic scene. At first you may think, Ran sees murders all the time as does anyone involved with Conan! However, this time around she was close to death and what’s more, she has seen the killer’s face. There is a much more personal element in this movie, even in the mystery itself as one of the officers targeted is a recurring character. This movie also showcases a little of Ran and Kudo’s connection, not that it isn’t obvious, but it’s not always central and in this case there is a desperation on Conan’s part. For better or for worse, those are the best parts of movie. The mystery itself is enticing for sure but the figuring of it out isn’t as intriguing. Though this is all saved by some really incredible animation sequences including one of Conan skateboarding down this giant ice slide thing and then almost immediately after a nice boat chase scene! Enjoyable of course, but Capture in Her Eyes is more memorable for the animation than anything else.

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Ongoing Investigations: Case #074

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Detective Conan Movie 3: The Last Wizard of the Century was quite memorable thanks to a mystery that swirls into a full-blown historical conspiracy. And the appearance of that charming phantom thief Kaito Kid! When the Kid delivers his latest riddle about where he will strike of course everyone is in a uproar but Conan senses something different about this heist as Kid signs the message “The Last Wizard of the Century.” Once they decipher the target as the a recently discovered Fabergé egg belonging to Nicholas II of Russia, Conan is even more perplexed as the piece upon examination contains no jewels (Kid’s item of choice). And that is just the tip of the iceberg as Kid leads them on a chase into a mountain of clues and mysteries that come one after the other. And of course there is a murder afoot as well. Plus Heiji is also in tow as the game begins. Ah, they crammed everyone in this movie but it just makes it more fun and spectacular. The way it keeps leading you to the next mysterious piece of the puzzle is engrossing. This was a great ride!

I have always been distinctly aware of the Detective Conan franchise but never really watched any episodes before this movie. This was a good test of how accessible the movies are to someone who did not watch the TV series. I found that with my general knowledge of Conan and the little intro I was able to follow the story. I might not have understood all the nuances but I was never left scratching my head about anything. What starts as a simple case of stopping the legendary thief Kaito Kid becomes a series of murders surrounding the late Russian royal family. That of course means that Grigori Rasputin is also involved because you just can’t have a story about the fall of the Russian royalty without him. By law. I have to say that if nothing else the movie peeked my interest in watching the rest of the franchise as it seemed very enjoyable and fun. I did not realize what a utter putz Kogoro Mouri is. Also the detective kids seemed sort of tacked on because that is how movies based on TV series work. I will say as I have in the past if you want to see some lovely high budget animation got to the family friendly shows. They get the wide audience that lets them spend money as they will and it shows when they put on a theatrical piece. It was a fun romp with all the murder, action, and mystery you expect from the Conan series.

Since I don’t like NISIOISN I was a bit worried about watching Katanagatari, but something compelled me to do so anyway and I’m very glad I did. When the episode hit the ending credits, I turned to Hisui and said “I LOVED IT!” This is mostly owed to the fact that the characters really grew on me and didn’t drive me nuts and weren’t utter jerkfaces which is pretty much why I stay away from this writer. I really enjoy the simple-nature of Shichika that is dual to Togame’s attempts to be devious and “strategic.” And all the humor that goes along with them is charming. The styling of the show and its storytelling is this really lovely mixture of modern and flat but evokes a very fairytale or storybook feeling. I saw this especially in their use of music, such as the moment when Shichika and Togame meet for the first time. And I was happy to see that the fight was pretty cool despite the obvious animation saving tricks used in the beginning. The only real flaw with this episode was a load of story exposition that was dumped, but it lays everything out for you, and since the episode is 50 minutes long it didn’t come off as unbalanced as it could have otherwise. Katanagatari is like a familiar story that you can’t wait to watch even though you’ve heard it before.

I was wary going into Katanagatari. I both like and dislike NISIOISN as an author. The problem is that he has a good sense of how to make interesting stories but a penchant for making characters that get right on my nerves. The story is the standard fetch quest by way of beating highly skilled opponents with gimmick weapons.  This hardly dooms a show. It just means that how well the show does is reliant of two factors: how good the characters are and how cool the gimmick weapons are. So far I have greatly enjoyed Katanagatari because we have yet to encounter a “NISIOISN” style annoying jerk character especially as the one of the main characters. Togame and Shichika Yasuri seem very likable and have an easy comical chemistry between them. I’m sure they could add a new character I will want to strangle but so far this has not been the case. I am intrigued by the way the series is being released. It is being released on episode a month and each episode will tentatively be an hour long and based on one of the books in the series. So far great animation with a cool style, amusing characters with nice comedic timing, and the promise of some cool fights is keeping me watching.

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