Category: Historical

Manga of the Month: May

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Vinland Saga by Makoto Yukimura

There are plenty of manga about ninjas. About robots. About zombies. About pirates. Even space pirates. But there is one division of cool that has gone neglected far too long: Vikings. Enter Makoto Yukimura. I won the first book of Planetes in a contest and I really loved the concept of garbage men in space plus the well written characters. When I found he had another series I rushed to see what it was about. Unfortunately when I first looked there was not much translated. I recently decided to go back and see if any progress had been made. Thankfully they are now up to date!

Vinland Saga opens with an army besieging a Frankish fortress to no avail. A band of Viking mercenaries led by Askeladd note the situation then cautiously offer to assist in the raid with both sides planning to betray the other after the fortress has fallen. A young man named Thorfinn makes a bargain with Askeladd. If he can take the head of the fortress’s commander, Thorfinn will be granted a boon. Then we are treated to an amazing surprise attack from Askeladd troops and Thorfinn’s remarkable one man battle to gain the enemy commander’s head. After the battle Thorfinn asks to duel Askeladd to avenge his father’s death. We we then begin jumping back and forth through history learning how Thorfinn became part of this mercenary band and the ramifications of Thorfinn’s quest for revenge.

Vinland Saga has all the strengths that drew me to Planetes while showing Makoto Yukimura’s range as an author. We have another well researched topic. Who does not want to read a manga where Leif Ericson is an important minor character? Also Vinland Saga has just as strong a cast as  Planetes. Askeladd is a charming and manipulative bastard. Thorfinn is a complex character who we see change from a bright a cheery boy to an obsessed young man. The biggest difference between  Planetes and Vinland Saga is the number of amazing action scenes. Planetes is mostly a dialog filled manga with brief moments of tension and action. Vinland Saga is an action manga that is deftly able to keep the excitement high while still telling a good story.

Short Program by Mitsuru Adachi

Short program is just three volumes long but they are collections of short stories usually one (but sometimes two or three) chapters long. The pieces are looks into different people’s lives through a moment or situation. Each volume of these vignettes takes your through a wide array of emotions from surprise to joy to sadness. Many of the stories have a little lesson in them while others are just there to warm the heart or make you laugh. Unsurprisingly the most common scenario deals with romantic entanglements of varying degrees. Some highlights include: the title work “Short Program,” which deals with a boy and girl who live just across from each other; “Plus I” about a girl and the repair guy that fixes her stereo; and “Memory Off” about a guy who finds a girl with sudden amnesia at his front door. Adachi’s simplistic art style combined with his succinct ability to convey traits and emotion makes Short Program a delightful piece of work. And reminds me how unfortunate it is that Adachi’s manga have not gained much of a fan following state side.

Le Chevalier D’Eon, Who knew Robespierre was drop dead gorgeous?

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Having a historical setting with a cast of mostly real people is always tempting for me. This series also happens to be during one of my favorite periods and in a country with a fascinating, rich history. Now mix in a great studio, Production I.G., and a cast of complex characters and by my standards you have a winner. So I went into this series with a lot of expectations.

I tend to give any show that tries something different a chance to impress me. Also historical anime, even when it throws in wacky magical conspiracy theory, tends to be very good. After playing enough Mage: Sorcerers Crusade I might have been sold harder by the wacky magical conspiracy theory. I admit the Japanese have been obsessed with pre-revolutionary France since Rose of Versailles if not earlier. We also get to revisit the evilest man who was ever evil (or at least according to select anime), the Duke du Orléans. Maybe one day we will get an American Revolution anime. I think that could be hysterical and quite possibly really good.

Can we just talk about the packaging for this series a minute? From the slipcases to the box art to the booklets chockful of information, it seems like no stone went unturned with this (though the boxes change a bit as the series goes on). The booklets certainly being a highlight. I always like seeing conceptual art and the last book has some cute chibi art (which is rather far from the feeling of this series) just for fun. Each one also had an interview with someone working on the production such as the director and voice actors. All of these treats were really a welcome surprise to see on a series that seems to still go unnoticed here in the U.S.

I had a good laugh when they referenced Wikipedia as a source in the liner notes but they also have good references as well. I have no solid evidence but I think ADV had a feeling this was going to be the next big thing. I would go as far as to say they where think it was going to be the next Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. It was an anime from Production I.G. that had a very western setting, a dark tone with intrigue, good animation and fight sequences, and a healthy amount of cool. Le Chevalier D’Eon is one of those shows where if you argue certain points it seems like a guaranteed success and if you argue other points it seems doomed for failure. Alas it never really caught on. It seems to have good reviews from people who saw it but it never got that broader appeal outside of critics. It is a shame too because this is a really well made anime.

Like many a good mystery we start with a murder. Lia de Beaumont’s body floats down the river in a coffin with the words Psalms scrawled on it. Her brother D’Eon de Beaumont vows to find out who killed her and is soon entangled in a continent spanning conspiracy involving a magical book called the Royal Psalms and a cabal of sorcerers called the Poets. King Louis XV has D’Eon along with three other royal agents investigate these revolutionaries and how they are tied into Lia’s murder. There investigation gets them involved with the royalty of Russia and England as well. D’Eon soon finds that as he investigates his sister’s murder that Lia has the ability to posses his body in order to enact her revenge against those who killed her. Lia’s ability to posses her brother is useful but D’Eon worries if he is losing himself and going down the wrong path.

The complexity of court politics is well portrayed here. While we do spend the most time with bigger names, it becomes clear that everything that is going on involves multitudes of people and planning. Just as in history, it takes a lot of people to form alliances and conspiracies. Trust and betrayal go hand in hand as we are taken through this story. Le Chavelier does a great job of creating a mist around everything. There is plenty of mystery to be unraveled because once one part is solved it opens the door to another and the secrets just get deeper and deeper. No one is as they seem and even those that appear the most straightforward will surprise you by the end.

Le Chevalier D’Eon draws us in on a seemingly simple murder mystery and slowly builds the complexity of the conspiracy that surrounds it. The problem with many series with mysteries and conspiracies is that they dole out answers painfully slow. This can lead to frustration especially when we only get answers at the very end. Le Chevalier is constantly giving us answers it is just that those answers lead us to new questions and greater questions as we slowly see the greater picture unfold. The mysteries are set up like a Matryoshka doll inside each other. The best part is that any twists and betrayals are clearly set up before hand. There are no surprises that come out of nowhere. There are some red herrings to keep things from being too easy to figure out. Oh and the Duke du Orléans being a bad guy is no surprise. Japan cannot and will not allow anything else.  

The real D’Eon du Beaumont is a fascinating historical spy. His life and the many secrets involved it in make him a prime candidate to make some great stories around. In our story here he is already a knight and informant of Louis the XV’s court. His loyalty and sense of duty certainly define him but they also blind him. With the addition of his sister’s spirit he seems to age a little as he realizes the world is anything but simple. Even his own sister had many secrets. While we are supposed to reconcile these two souls as one by the end, throughout the beginning D’Eon is sometimes quite incompetent in his abilities to spy and fight. Lia awakens often to make up for it. However, D’Eon continues to move forward in the series after misstep and betrayal at every turn. In the end he loses just about everything he believed in but he is able to make a life for himself despite it.

D’Eon is a real life cross-dressing spy so he is a good choice for a historically set anime. All of the places that the fictional D’Eon goes are actually places that the real life D’Eon served as a spy. Our fictional D’Eon starts off as a naive but determined young solider who wishes to solve his sister’s murder and work the betterment of his beloved France. Although D’Eon is a very skilled soldier his lack of experience in a world of intrigue holds him back. As the series goes on D’Eon becomes more skillful in his espionage but slowly finds that his fervent patriotism is often tested.

I love this little group of the “Four Musketeers.” Besides D’Eon, the members are all fictional but they contribute big things to this story. The camaraderie along with the varying degrees of knowledge about the world make it a great mix and keeps the relationships spry and intriguing. Everyone is learning, for better or for worse, from each other. Since the alliance is based on trust it is also a great way to throw mysteries and secrets at us and keep us guessing who is loyal. Robin was my favorite (he got an extra 10 points just for being named Robin) I found him fascinating to watch as his youth was chipped away at. He also has three grown men with very different ideas around him which makes things confusing for him.

The Four Musketeers cater to any sort of fan girl fantasy you might have. We have the soft and pretty D’Eon, they we have the charming rouge Durant, then the spunky boy Robin, and the distinguished gentleman Teillagory. Although each of the Musketeers is working together for the betterment of France each of them has their own agendas, alliances, and secrets that are constantly pulling them together and apart. Robin without a doubt grows the most out of all the characters. I guess that is understandable being that he is the youngest character. He has the most room to grow but it’s still an interesting and well-plotted transformation. Durant and Teillagory don’t change, instead we learn who they truly are over the course of the series.

Since we mentioned him in the title I suppose we should devote a little time to one of the more interesting characters. Maximilien Robespierre appears a little out of his actual historical context to good effect as one of the more enigmatic characters in the series. When he first appears he seems like an oh-so-evil villain but as we get to see him more we find he is certainly not strictly on the side of the devil. He has much more complex motivations and plans than it would first appear. And he does play the role of morally ambiguous pretty boy to fan-girl squealing perfection. Where is all the Robespierre yaoi doujinshi Japan?

Oh Robespierre, only Japan could take a historically blood-thirsty, devious revolutionary and make you root for him. He is handsome, look at that face and blond locks! He is also magical which is a nice way of side-stepping anyone’s analysis of historical fact. I also liked the way the characters was animated and directed, because he really speaks very little throughout the show. This also keeps him in a thick cloud of mystery. But indeed for a character that starts off as our seemingly baddie of the bad he becomes very gray and full of surprises by the end. I also like how he shapes and influences events yet to come at the end of the series.

We have an interesting mix of villains. The Poets range from well fleshed out antagonists to evil spell-caster of the week. Most of the antagonists are just as historical as the heroes with villains like Madame de Pompadour and the Comte de Saint-Germain. Come on what other anime is going to have the inventor of the sandwich, one of the leaders of the French Revolution, and the Count of Cagliostro (sans his castle) as antagonists. I enjoyed the fact that when they go to England they encounter Sir Francis Dashwood’s Hellfire Club as an antagonist but they never mention it by name.

The supernatural aspects of this series is what kept me on the fence in the beginning and to be truthful I never fully liked it. It wasn’t quite interwoven enough. The bulk of the story, the major mysteries, and the relationships could have been told using the superstitions of the time without making them real. However, as the story unfolds I came to accept this as part of this director’s vision. It keeps the series from being true historical fiction and perhaps that is what he wanted to prevent. If you push something this far no one can really cry foul at historical inaccuracies that they might otherwise. And was it just me who got a few good chuckles out of women coming out of the woodwork branded with the letters HO?

I actually liked the supernatural elements but I suppose that comes from my fascination with historical magical beliefs. I feel many of the elements of the story could have been told without them but it gives the series a certain flavor as if it were an alternate history or a secret shadow history. It’s mostly a matter of taste. I though it was reasonably well integrated with many of people’s powers and mysteries being based on rumors, conspiracy theories, and actual facts of their real life historical counterparts. It’s more than French historical fiction with mercury zombies and spell casting historical characters but you are going to have to accept those things if your going to get any enjoyment out of Le Chevalier D’Eon.

Production I.G. did a wonderful job of bringing this story to life. From the sword fights, to the outfits, to the backgrounds, the animation was well done and was able to capture the period. I would also be remiss to not mention how much I loved the opening and the song that came along with it. At the beginning I was often saying, “Wait, wait! Don’t skip it.” By the end Hisui didn’t even bother asking.

As you know, here at Reverse Thieves, we love a good mystery. Le Chevalier served us one gourmet batch of it that was thoroughly filling. I have to admit that it has been a long time since an ending genuinely surprised me in almost every revelation. This series was engrossing from beginning to end. And while you might not be able to grab up these beautiful DVDs very easily, a complete collection was just released at a very reasonable price!

Top 5 Anime Endings
5. Revolutionary Girl Utena
4. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai
3. Irresponsible Captain Tylor
2. Cowboy Bebop
1. Maison Ikkoku

Sword of the Stranger, Why’d you have to go and make things so complicated?

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This was our second experience at the Imaginasian theater and it continues to be a nice, quite place to see a film (though it was about 40 below in the theater). My only issue was the film was dubbed, I was quite surprised. I figured a place that specializes in foreign film would show it in its original language. When I asked about it they said they have no control since it is just what the company gives them. Bandai! In the Anime News Network coverage it said it would be shown in Japanese.

I think it all revolves around the fact that anime companies are convinced that the majority of people want dubs over subs. That is a mantra you here all the time. So they release movies in theaters with dubs because they assume they will get more people in the theater. That might make more sense if this had a large number of theaters it was playing in. But as it stands Sword of the Stranger is only playing in a few select theaters across the nation. At that point you’re only going to get less casual anime fans (more otaku) and art house movie goers, both of which tend to prefer subs. I understand their position but I too would have preferred watching the Japanese version.

The movie begins when Kotaro and his faithful dog Tobimaru are on the run from warriors from China. The monk Kotaro has been staying with tells him to run to the main temple in the area where he will be safe. While trying to get to the main temple Kotaru takes refuge in an abandoned shrine and meets a nameless swordsman. Soon warriors come to take Kotaro away and the nameless swordsman defends the boy but Tobimaru is poisoned in the fight saving the swordsman. Kotaru then hires No Name to save his dog and escort him to the temple. No Name reluctantly agrees but must wonder why such powerful warriors are attempting to kidnap such an ordinary child.

Sword of the Stranger presents a simple tale of a man who did something terrible in his past and lost his warrior spirit. Through the events he becomes entrenched in he regains his desire to fight.

Atleast it would be simple but the director, Masahiro Ando, insists on throwing in dozen of side characters and secondary plots. The are over half a dozen Chinese warriors who have their own little stories. There is local lord and his servants who are working with the Chinese while plotting against them. There is also several sub plots that are only tangentially related to our main character’s story.

Don’t forget the drug plot! Oh and they guy who wants to marry the Princess. Along with the man that sort of knew No Name in the past.

I admire the director’s ambition but if this were a series of OAVs or as TV show I would understand the need to throw in so many different plot threads. But it is a movie so he would have done better to simplify some of the plots or reduce the number of changes to make things run a little smoother. I realize he wanted more fleshed out characters and themes but this movie did not need them. All it needed was a simple plot to attach us to Kotaru and No Name and more quality with less villains.

It is true it might have served better is some longer format, but I still saw what was important coming through to the surface. The characters that were supposed to stick out did and the fights were great. And while the plot does have a too many threads, it isn’t done poorly and it isn’t confusing. The film sets the tone and pace with the fight in the rain kicking it off then gradually building up to the final confrontation.

Indeed the director has the good sense to make sure we never got too bogged down in the byzantine plot. We spend a good deal of time watching Kotaru and No Name bonding. We also learn quite a bit about all the people scheming to get Kotaru and scheming against each other. In between all these scenes are some awesome battles. Anytime things get close to getting slow someone will challenge No Name or the Chinese warriors will get into a fight. This is an action movie and it know you came for the fights so they deliver.

No Name (Nanashi) is a totally sweet combination of Kenshin (from Ruroni Kenshin) and Jubei Kibagami (from Ninja Scroll). His refusal to draw his blade doesn’t keep him from beating the tar out of everyone that tries to attack him. His past haunts him and though he claims to be helping the Kotaru and his dog for payment he grows to genuinely care for both of them.

Unlike Kenshin, No Name seems to have made no such vow as not to kill. He quite impressively proves that a sword can still be an effective killing weapon even if you never unsheathe it in the first fight. He is a laid back fellow with many secret although one of his secrets was rather odd and I’m not sure why it even existed in the first place.

Kotaru is your stereotypical anime brat. An inexperienced angry little know it all punk in the beginning he definitely grows into being a much more likable character as the movie goes on. I liked the scenes where No Name teaches Kotaru to ride a horse. They let you bond with the characters as they bonded with each other. Tobimaru is an awesome dog though out the movie and one of the most likable characters. I am sure Narutaki wishes he had a Tobimaru.

We get a wide variety of villains, some with a little gimmick and some who are just damn good with a sword. Like the whip guy who was the first to show up was out of control. But then our major baddie, Rarou, is just looking to slice and dice in a new country. He establishes himself as a force to be reckoned with when he kills an entire group of bandits in the opening. His only real motivation is to pick a good fight, well he certainly picks a good one when he runs into No Name.

Rarou is an evil (more evil?) Kenpachi from Bleach. He is always fighting in hope of finally finding someone who can give him a run for his money. In fact he is only with the Chinese because he knows they are were the action will probably be. The Chinese bad guys were without a doubt cooler than the Japanese ones. They mostly exists to get their bums handed to them by cooler fighters.

The battles were beautiful, fluid, and bloody! Heads rolling, limbs flying! The movement was smooth and they always kept you right in the action. I just keep thinking of the fight that starts on some stairs. It was only a moment but it was so cool! Also liked how the terrain was coming into play for some of these fights, just kept it interesting. They were everything I was hoping for.

The fight choreography was well done and beautifully animated as only a movie could be. I liked the fact that most people had their own unique but interesting fighting style. There are even good deal of horse mounted fighting which in not something you commonly see in anime. The end battle is quite the bloodbath which is a fitting climax for the movie. It is quite a nice series of battles even if Narutaki thought that the music was too epic for the actions taking place. I would definitely see other action anime by Masahiro Ando again.

As much as I complained about the plot I could see this being a break out hit in America. It is a one shot movie with a good amount of violence which is usually popular among casual anime consumers. In fact, the plot complications might give it a boost among the casual anime fans. Most of the plot additives where added to give a sense of depth and philosophy to an otherwise standard story.

My initial interest in this movie stemmed from a need to see some really well done and totally cool fight scenes. Everything else that might have happened was just gravy so on that note I was totally satisfied. Sword of the Stranger doesn’t do anything new, doesn’t have an incredible plot, but it has a serviceable story with totally amazing battles and great animation to boot. I will be happy to own this movie.

Top 5 Favorite Swordsmen
5. Guts (Berserk)
4. Magatsu (Blade of the Immortal)
3. Kenshin (Rurouni Kenshin)
2. Zoro (One Piece)
1. Manji (Blade of the Immortal)

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