Category: Supernatural

Manga of the Month: January

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Mirai Nikki by Esuno Sakae

I will state right off the bat that Mirai Nikki is not for everyone but anyone who does not mind some disturbing violence should give it a try. Also the main heroine could easily turn off many readers. I am not sure myself if I like Mirai Nikki but it is fascinating enough that I keep reading. Oh, Narutaki wanted me to mention that Mirai Nikki translated literally to English is Future Diary which he felt was rather a lame name. I can’t disagree.

Yukiteru Amano is an introverted young man. One morning he discovers that the observational diary he keeps in his cellphone now updates daily to tell him the future. And there are eleven other diary holders who have similar diaries who want to kill him. The survivor becomes the next god of time and space. Amano’s main problem is that his diary is limited to how he wrote it before the game began so it only tells him the action of others and nothing about himself. Yuno Gasai, a beautiful honor student, also turns out to be a diary holder. Her diary does nothing but tell her what happens to Amano. Because it’s her stalking diary. It turns out that Yuno is quite quite unbalanced and has a rather disturbing obsession with Amano. Amano reluctantly teams up with Yuno but wonders if his ally is worse than his enemies.

Amano trying to figure out who the other diary holders are and what the strengths and weaknesses of their diaries are is my main draw to the series. All the other diary holders seem to be as psychotic as Yuno and out to kill him. The confrontations move at a good pace so that we get a good feel of how most of the other diary holders work while not dragging on. Unless they decide to throw in some story extending plot development I am fairly sure the series will end around book 12. There is also an insanely awesome side character who I want to talk about but in doing so might ruin their sheer awesome. I know that Yuno’s insane antics which are sometimes played for laughs but mostly rightfully damn creepy are the main draw for the vocal fans of the manga. I myself can’t really fall in love with anyone that creepy but I think she fits in well with the themes of the manga and give the manga an unique feel. Try it because you just might like it.

Atashi wa Bambi by Yoko Maki

Maki Yoko is known for her fluffy shojo romances and Atashi wa Bambi is certainly that but it has another layer that makes it one of my favorite works by her. Mai starts high school with a goal, fall in love and get a boyfriend. She has changed her attitude but retains her free-spirit and isn’t a pushover. She meets best friends Sen and Yaezou, she is attracted to Sen and eventually starts pursuing him. The guys seem like opposites, Sen is dark-haired and quiet and Yaezou is light-haired and snarky. Yaezou forms an instant dislike for Mai practically coming to blows before she learns that he has also fallen for Sen. Thus their rivalry-friendship begins. And that is really where the series excels, the sweet and sad friendship that develops between these two. They love and lose but form a real bond and end with something better than they were out looking for.

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

Special Screening: Death Note the Last Name, aka The True Ending

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With the love-love that is nigh palpable from Narutaki, there was no way were going to miss the big screen showing of the second Death Note movie. Instead of going to the theater in Union Square we went to Clearview’s Chelsea which was significantly less crowded. If they continue to get anime movies at that theater, I think I will go there from now on. It was a nice place and they had an awesome waffle shop across the street. I myself had some good chai bubble tea. There was a closed shop called Burgers and Cupcakes which I am sure could have been saved by Narutaki if only he knew of its existence before.

Wow, what a big difference between two theaters that are just a few blocks from each other. Our experience at Union Square, while not sold out, was still packed and we were stuck with crummy seats. This was a whole other story, sadly there were only about 10 to 15 people besides us at the screening. However, compared to the number of people in total at this theater that night, that doesn’t seem like bad numbers. The theater was really nice and clean, I will definitely be picking this place over Union Square.

The first Death Note movie ended with L and Light meeting face to face for the first time. The second movie then takes the remaining books and and combines them into 1 movie. This means a whole bunch of extraneous characters, plot lines, and one very controversial plot point got the ax. We get a greater disparity between the movies and the manga than the first movie. I know this leads to some rather strong opinions towards either the manga or the movies.

While the first movie was different from the manga, it still kept some of the major plot lines and interwove them just a bit differently. The second movie starts pushing it in a very different direction. Where the manga stumbles through some of its shifting plot, the movie removes altogether. Afterall, there is only this one movie to wrap up the story so inevitably a lot of things will go missing. To create a solid ending for a series like this in just 2 hours was a challenge that was handled really well.

The movie begins with Misa Misa gaining her own Death Note and becoming the second Kira. L tries to prove that Light is in fact Kira while also trying to catch the second Kira. Light is as always trying to kill L and mold the world to his vision. The plot then follows the manga in a condensed manner up until the Yotsuba Arc. We get a thankfully short version of the arc and deals with one other new Kira. Of course, no Death Note adaptation would be complete without the most infamous line in the series, “exactly as planned.”

The cast carries over from the first film and that is much to its credit. These actors, especially Kenichi Matsuyama, really brought great things to these characters in the first film and continue at the same pace here. You read an in-depth view in our review of the first movie. But we have a few new additions to discuss, namely Misa Amane, Rem, and Kiyomi Takada. Misa starts off our tale and follows rather closesly to her path. Light proves how easily he can manipulate women though never to the misogynistic extent of the manga. Kiyomi is sort of a mish-mash of characters from the manga. She helps exhibit that desire for power present in Light but not seen in Misa. I thought she did an excellent job portraying how easily one can fall into it. The character also solidified my feelings that Light, while a genius, doesn’t have ideals that are new or even unique.

The original Kiyomi Takada from the manga was Light’s girlfriend in college that eventually becomes Kira’s mouth piece as a news announcer. In the movie she is an aspiring news anchor who is a closet Kira supporter. She eventually becomes more involved with the Death Note due to Light’s schemes. Kiyomi Takada works fine in her role. I can’t say that she was extraordinarily gripping but I don’t think she was supposed to be. She is supposed to be a person who feels she has grand designs but really just has very petty schemes especially compared to the machinations of Light and L. Misa Misa is now is now fully integrated into the movie so her full force of annoying is apparent but thankfully has a shortened appearance. Less Misa Misa is always better. Rem is generally the same as she was in the manga but they never make note that Rem is in fact female.

The dub as per the first film makes people giggle at inopportune times. Though Ryuk didn’t seem nearly as out of control. Once again we talked a bit about this in the first film review. Everyone basically stays on target. Though I always miss not hearing Kenichi’s voice just because I like him so much.

I don’t really think about dubs anymore being a subtitle person. I don’t hate them but I just don’t think I pay attention. Therefore someone has to stand out as being really good or really bad for me to notice. The Death Note dub did not have anyone standing out for better or worse. I, like Narutaki, did notice that people were sometimes laughing at the wrong times but it was not anything that negatively effected my viewing experience. Then again I wonder if I really notice anyone being anything other than extraordinary for better or worse in Japanese.

Well, thank goodness someone realized how crappy the extras for the first movie were. They certainly stepped it up a notch with this release and had the actors talking about their roles and working together. It also had some fun scenes of each one performing their final lines for the film and then being given flowers!

I also think the directors insights into the movie were a little more interesting because he was doing more than simply adapting the manga. He was making it his own. It was interesting to see what all the principal actors thought of their roles.

A lot of things about this shorter version appealed to me. Biggest of which was the intensity, the manga became so enormous that it couldn’t hold on to that edge. It started to become too sensational, but with the movie you stayed glued exactly as long as a person can. L also always stays a focus, as he should. He is the perfect foil to Kira and the only one suitable for this life or death game with Light. Plus, strangely, I don’t have enough time to hate Misa in the movie because she is never there for any exorbitant amount of time bumbling things. And if you couldn’t guess it has the ending as I always wanted it.

The Death Note movies are the definitive version of Death Note for me. The second movie takes the best of the middle and end of the manga and condenses it into a climatic ending. The director has the ability to use 20/20 hindsight and take the best while tossing away the chaff.  I felt the manga went on for far too long due to its popularity and lost much of its focus in the middle.  The movies also have the ending that I feel a majority of fans wanted from the start. I know it has the ending I much prefer. You could say they basically ended up in the same place but I feel both conclusions leave a different taste in your mouth.

Top 5 L quirks
5. No shoes
4. Great tennis player
3. How he holds a phone
2. Making pastry shish-kebabs
1. Crouched sitting position