A little light season…
Which is good all things conisdered. But lest ye think I am dead to the world, I still have time for lotus dreams, and these are my picks frest from the vine…
First up is Kaiba, simply put Dr Seuss meets Phillip K Dick. A trippy colorful, pre-Astro Boy inspired vision of a bio-morphic future belies the pathos and ethical complexity of a world where memories and bodies can be copied, bought and sold. At four episodes in its not yet clear that the plot will fullfill the promise of such an ambitious subject. Thus our epynomous hero has in best Dicksonian fashion found himself in a damaged body bereft of memories and on the run. He struggles to survive without resources and with little more clue than we have about his brave new world. A unique and appealing animation style and haunting opening and ending songs round it out nicely.
Next is Kanokon, a fairly typical moetic slice of life haremic comedy that nontheless charms me by it’s curvalicious puni puni heroine, and fairly lovely art style. Our hero is an average shoatish middle schooler who has the (mis?) fortune of being the romantic target of a flirtatious fox spirit. This being the 20th century spirits and such are fully integrated into modernschool life, so you can imagine the predictable hijinks. I should warn you that it features a level of fanservice not seen since Mahoromatic, so be sure to close the blinds, but aside from shocking does of titilation there’s nothing here but shallow mindless fluff (fun).
Rounding out the trio of K names, we have Kurenai. The gorgeous rendering alone would make this mashup of The Professional (Luc Besson version) with highschool-slice-of-life stand out, and even possibly overcome the random injection of ancient demonic martial arts. What really makes Kurenai appealing is our hero’s little Miss Marker, a precocious rich brat who’s realistic psychological portrayal puts all the usual anime angry loli’s to shame. Unfortunately since this is an anime there is a few more bathhouse scenes than necessary, but thankfully the show does not seem to be too obsessed with fanservice. The opening animation is also a delightfully unique.
Before touching on the two major events of the season I will note Penguin Musume Heart – a moetastic highschool romp in the tradition of Pani-poni Dash and Hayate. Since this season is tragically lacking Hayate, Penguin serves up self refferential otaku satisfaction with great big gobs of moe and meido, the only problem being the brief 15 minute nature of each ep. Hey, it’s cheaper than Opium.
Of course while the overall season palette is thin,we do have some heavy hitters, the biggest being the return of Macross after the beautiful travesty that was Macross Zero and the low budget noise and fury of Macross 7. Macross Frontiers seems determined to avoid the fate of thoose two and sits us solidly in the best of the post Do You Remember Love worlds. The style and attitude is a touch more in the vein of the utopian caravan to the stars of 7 than the gritty flight school and dystopian cyberpunk milleau of Plus, but the visuals combine the glorious 3D rendered chaos of Zero with the Top Gun inspired techno fetishism of Plus for the first really satisfying update of the original themes and styles. Who knows if the precarious love triangle between girly boy pilot, idol and ambitious starlet has the legs of Hikaru’s classic romance, but so far the inclusion of para-military government contractors has actually updated the war drama in a way that is both fresh and germane. In many ways the original Macross foreshadowed moe in the way fluffy romance and cute idol signers were interwoven with hardboiled space drama. Unlike previous attempts at resurrecting the franchise, this new installment seems to be bringing just enough, *ahem*, deliscious de-culture without upsetting the balance. Certainly culture is always a key theme of Macross, and in the original served as a metaphorical way for nihongo pride, squashed for years under the occupation of coare warmongering giants, to picture a future where they would rise again. We’ll see how it plays out, but I would not be surprised to see something more human behind teh Varja, and I’m really hoping for some major twists – perhaps Alto replaces Sheryl on the stage and Ranka discovers inherent kick ass piloting abilities? Sorry, the fanwank potential is limitless… Good, or bad we’re sticking with this one to the finish.
Finally we have Soul Eater (which incidentally I originally stumbled upon in it’s Manga form in a convini ouside of the Sharp factory in Nara 4 years ago), a fun and clever Ninja high scool adventure drawing fromt he best of anime conventions and Tim Burton stylings. We follow three students in the odly upbeat and silly ‘Death City’ and their sentient, soul eating, anthropomorphized weapons as they seek to become ’scythe masters’. The trio is realtively unique and totaly likable, from the genki yet un-syrupy Ranka and her neer-do-well scythe, to the hyper egotisitcal Star and his demure shirkuen, to the neurotic and obssesive son of the Grim Reaper and his twin pistols. A cast of silly and occasionaly moetic side characters and villans makes Death City real and immersive despite its absurities. I like to think of it as a stylish and tolerable Naruto, hopefully it will become as popular.
Is “deliscious” a typo or a clever pun which my lack of background in Macross prevents me from grasping?
Oh, just one type among many….
also, for things going on this season, “the girl who leapt through time” is going to be getting a very limited theatrical release. i happened to catch it on the big screen when the director was giving a lecture, and it was amazing. i know some screening are subbed, while others dubbed, so check first!