Category: Science Fiction

Legend of the Galactic Heroes Gaiden 1: A Hundred Billion Stars, A Hundred Billion Lights

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Warning: We assume that you have watched the main series of Legend of the Galactic Heroes (the original 110 episode OVA) before reading this. We will not spoil anything major in the Gaiden series but everything and anything in the main part is fair game.

hisuiconThe first gaiden series looks at the rise of Reinhard and Kircheis after they decide to overthrow the Emperor but before the beginning of the main series. Some of the tales of their dangerous but meteoric rise through the ranks is mentioned in passing before this but here we see a younger and less developed duo. During this time it is made even clearer than it was in the main series how vital the cool-headed Kircheis was to a reckless young Reinhard.

narutaki If you’re like most people who sat through 110-episodes of Legend of the Galactic Heroes, you probably didn’t want it to end. Lucky for us there was plenty of story to still be told. In this first gaiden installment, we go back a little ways to see Reinhard’s entry into military service of which we only glimpsed from the original OVA.

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Gantz movie 1: Do Not Taunt Happy Fun Ball

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Gantz is a franchise that has always had a mixed reputation. The manga is always known to have very extreme reputation with a good deal of gore, violence, sex, and a pitch black outlook. This has earned it a fair share of fans as well as detractors. It also know many complaints have been levied at it loosing its way in its long run. The anime has a similar reputation but has a quick fix ending by Studio Gonzo that almost always gets a poor reaction. But Gantz fans are almost always fans of its unrelenting nature. So while Narutaki and I have been interested in this series neither or us has started it. When animemiz mentioned the premiere in New York I figured that we might want to check it out if for nothing else the fact that it was a simultaneous debut in American and Japan.

This was my first real introduction to Gantz. I have heard small details about it, and I even own some of the anime thanks to a very good sale but haven’t actually explored the series till this live action film. And going to see this movie was pretty much a last-minute whim. So while I wasn’t excited going in, I became excited as we waited for the show to begin. Gantz entertained me, Kenichi Matsuyama contributed to that greatly, while also making me curious to bust out those DVDs I have.

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Karakuri Odette vol. 1: My Life as a Teenage Robot

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I had never heard of Karakuri Odette, not one bit. In a lot of ways, this is what I want from the Manga Movable Feast; I like being introduced to a series, but I get recommendations all the time as I’m sure many others do, so having the push to pick it up is helpful. Karakuri Odette also provides a story that has underlying themes to mull over so it fulfills another point when I think about what I want from the MMF. The series is rather subdued but combines coming of age moments with the moral ambiguity of what exactly robots are for. The storytelling somewhat reminded me of (wonderful) Nari Kasukawa in the quiet approach to humor and relationships but Julietta Suzuki folds in a darker look at morality with it.

As we stated in our Mushishi article for the MMF a compelling method of examining humanity is looking at people through an inhuman lens. Androids fill this niche extremely well because while they look exactly like a human they are still removed from humanity by virtue of their creation. Androids can commingle with humans without creating a fuss but still allow an outsiders perspective of what makes a human a human. Androids are also useful metaphors for those who are alienated or on the fringe due to their nature. They are at first glance part of the group but they are also fundamental removed. Karakuri Odette can be seen as a romantic comedy that uses robotics to examine more than just the concept of can a human love a robot and be loved back. Karakuri Odette takes the older concepts often used in classic science fiction to explore the heart of humanity. At the same time it is a sweet story with tales of friendship and romance mixed with dash of humor. It hearkens back to the day when shojo used science fiction to tell stories while having a more modern sense of whimsy.

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