100-man-nen Chikyuu no Tabi: Bander Book

100-man-nen Chikyuu no Tabi: Bander Book is somewhat convoluted in nature having to deal with time travel in the second half completely messes with the flowing narrative of the story but as such that's the only real problem I had with this film. Just because a film can be convoluted in it's own logic sometimes doesn't mean it's bad. I actually found myself enjoying it a pretty good amount. It by no means deserves to be called a masterpiece and is one of Osamu Tezuka's lesser works but it's also simply a product of the time and still makes for good entertainment as a landmark ... of animation.

Art: The Art design is very good for 1978. You can expect a lot of color variety and very distinct designs overall. If I had to describe Tezuka's character designs in one word it would have to be Iconic.

Sound: The sound does what it needs to do and nothing more. The soundtrack for the film is simply mediocre when listened to on it's own but when put at the perfect moment in the movie it works well in providing the mood but nothing else.

Character: The Characters are where the movie shines. Bander may seem like your typical save the day hero and well that's because he is, but you can also relate to his struggle of never feeling like he belongs. All he wants to know his past and his origin but he refuses achieve that by bending his morality. Then there's Mimuru what can I say other than she is probably the most compelling character in the whole movie as you really sense her care for Bander and her willingness to do anything to make sure he okay, and finally there's Black Jack he's just your typical cool guy antagonist with a twist at the end. He serves his purpose and serves it well.

TL;DR Thoughts:

I feel like this was just a bunch of nonsense. The film kept jumping from idea to idea hoping something would stick. I did enjoy the more original bits (like the cultures of the different planets), but the really awkward homages to Hollywood were just off putting. I know that movie references are kinda a Tezuka thing and normally I like them, but these did not feel well integrated at all. At one point they made a reference to The Birds and it just said "A. HITCHCOCK" in the background in text. Like, yeah, thanks for that. Also, Dracula and the mummy show ... up, cuz why not?


Full Thoughts (SPOILERS BELOW):

-As usual, although it's definitely not as smooth as modern shows/movies, 70s anime is beautiful and you can see the passion behind it (especially with how much more difficult animation was back in that time). Some of the character design was pretty whack (Bander's design is really doofy looking), I admire the inventiveness and variety (no same-face syndrome here!) I don't really have the vocabulary to describe it but the simple color palette is very pleasing to the eyes as well.

-I'm very confused how Black Jack fits into this story. I've never read/watched a single Black Jack story, but I had no idea he had anything to do with Sci-Fi. I legit just thought he was a rogue doctor lol. I can't tell if this is supposed to be part of his canon or if they were just reusing the character and this is like an alternate universe where he has a space brother. -big shrug-

-One confusing aspect of the film were characters just magically knowing names. Somehow Banders' adoptive parents knew he was named Bander (was his capsule labelled or something?) and somehow Marina knew Mimuru's name (plant lady powers??) Zero explanation.

-Two very anime/Japan things about this movie: a fixation on boobs (EVERY animal had boobs including reptiles) and the step sister being the love interest, because of course she is. The second Mimuru was introduced as a step sibling, I instantly knew. DangitJapan, it doesn't matter if they're not blood related if you spend 17 years growing up with someone it's weird!!

-The transformation sequences were fun. I bet those were tricky to animate.

-Why did that one lady wear her transformation ring on her nipple and then the dad wore his on his arm? Do these people not know that you can wear rings on your finger? Is that one lady just kinky?

-They did the same thing they did in I'm Standing on a Million Lives where you use the word for horse ("uma") to describe something that's definitely not a horse. I guess anything you ride is an "uma"?? (Unless it's a chocobo).

-The alien designs were a mixture of creative and cursed. That weird water-boob monster in the desert freaked me out lol

-Can't say the female characters were super inspiring. Their only traits were "love interest #1" and "love interest #2" It was also hella awkward how Mimuru was just waiting for Marina to die to swoop in and be the rebound.

-I enjoyed Black Jack's old timey badassery. He kinda reminds me of Tuxedo Mask with his suave cape swishes haha

-I got major Star Wars vibes from some scenes, but this only came out a year after that, so I don't know if they would really have had time to be inspired by it.

-I feel like the movie mostly made sense until we got to the part with Dracula and then I just lost the plot completely. The plot felt pretty aimless to begin with because Bander was just like "I'm going to Earth because a robot told me so!!" Like, he didn't exactly have a plan or goal.

-Dr. Sharaku made no sense. First of all: why is he a baby? I swear they just didn't explain that. Second, why exactly did he create "the power of fear"? He was literally just like "Yeah, I spent 3 years making this uber deadly weapon, sure would be bad if someone used it." Then why'd you make it!? Just for science reasons?

-I could have done without the "history of the world" bit. That honestly felt like padding. Even Bander was like "get on with it!"

-Marina's death sequence where she transforms into a tree was nice. Reminded me of Fantasia 2000. I feel like snippets of this movie are great, but all together it's a bit of a mess.

So yeah, that was a thing. Definitely one of my more obscure viewings (not a lot of info about this online). As far as I can tell, this is a standalone work, aside from referencing other stuff. The way it's called "Bander Book" makes it sound like it's one "book" in a series, so I'm not sure why they called it that. Anyway, it was a hot mess so I give it a 5 outta 10.

This is one of many examples that prove that Osamu Tezuka may have been the godfather of manga and one of the most influential forces in anime, but he was still one really strange guy.

It starts with a Superman origin riff, and then jumps immediately into a planet suitable for a pulp-style adventure worthy of Howard or Burroughs, full of strange acid-trip-inspired creatures. And I'm thinking, okay, I think I can roll with this.

But then we are swiftly informed that anything associated with Earth is Evil and Bad. Oh, and suddenly Dr. Black Jack ... (one of Tezuka's most well known creations) appears. Aaaaaand, from here, the story goes way off the rails.

We are quickly tripping across the universe with West World, Star Wars cantina, Dracula's castle, some sort of Moebius-type plant world, a space chase, H.G. Wells time travel and more. The story just gets more ridiculous and convoluted, and semblance of plot is thrown out the window, and it seems to jump from one objective to another with serendipitous discoveries and Tezuka characters from other unrelated stories making key appearances. Towards the end it just becomes a big wash of noise and motion and you have to turn off your brain to keep going.

Bander Book is one of Tezuka's "minor works" for a reason. It's a mess.