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Nov 28, 2013

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha: The Movie 1st (Anime) add

Recommended

Nanoha is a bit of a strange franchise, it took the typically girly magical girl and injected into it a dose of gundam style action and a much grittier story than common for this kind of series. The result was something of a mixed bag, the early episodes were almost indistinguishable from many other mahou shoujo's. As it went on though the story improved and it turned into something that while no masterpiece could certainly hold its own.

So how does this movie version compare? Quite well. With a much shorter length the story has been compressed and streamlined down cutting out much of the early ... stuff. In fact it seems that almost entire episodes were removed and they certainly took out many of the jewel seed encounters. For the most part this is a good thing. This version of the story gets to the point much quicker and doesn't waste time on filler that did little to advance either story or character.

Unfortunately with the filler has also gone some stuff that really should have stayed. While losing the earlier battles isn't a problem, losing nearly all of Nanoha's quieter time is. There is a significant lack of time spent on fleshing out her character, nearly all the scenes of her with friends or family have either been cut or reduced. True one could claim that as characters they were rather minor in the series itself but they helped to flesh out Nanoha, to show her as something more real. In short whereas before Nanoha was a girl who happened to be a magical girl here she is only a magical girl. In many ways she feels like she's there really just to move the story along.

The other big change (and whether it is a problem will depend on your preferences) is the shift in focus from Nanoha to Fate. This is much more Fate's story and the emotional centre, has shifted over to her. Whereas Nanoha has suffered in the character stakes she has prospered. Fate's story remains the same as before but there is much more focus on her as a person rather than just as the rival. We get more time with Fate and her family, more time to properly understand their feelings and the emotions behind their actions. Precia too seems to be more real in this version, her actions are still deplorable but they come across as more understandable, as with Fate we get a fuller picture of why she has turned out this way.

Is this shift of the emotional centre a good thing or not. It really depends on which character you prefer if like me you find Fate to be more interesting then you'll probably like the change if not then you may feel that too much emphasis has been placed on her leaving Nanoha (who is meant to be the lead) to be rather less interesting in comparison.

Another difference between with the film is that there is much more concentration on action. Though this is less a result of having more battles between Nanoha and Fate and more to do with there being less of the quieter scenes. At times it can feel a little bit like it's going for action for its own sake but most of the battles do actually serve some purpose beyond the visual exhilaration of watching these two girls fight. Each encounter brings them closer to an understanding of each other and helps move the story towards its conclusion.

In terms of art this is unsurprisingly good with improved animation especially notable in the battles but it can also be seen elsewhere, even if it has nothing else it certainly looks good. Sound too is impressive with the old cast returning to provide some excellent performances and the sound complements the action well. The music too compliments the story and the songs being not just impressive in their own right but also helping to make the emotion behind the story resonate more.

You can probably tell that I like this movie and while it certainly isn't the greatest out there it is very entertaining. Yes I do have some concerns, but I'm willing to forgive most of them for what it does right. It cuts out much of the standard magical girl stuff and gets to the point much quicker. It's a pity that in doing so Nanoha suffered a distinct decrease in her quality as a character and that is the only real problem that I can't easily overlook. Still on the whole even this doesn't actually ruin it just makes it less than it could have been.

Do the things it does right make up for the loses? I would say that for the most part yes but I'd rather I didn't have to make that choice. Still you should check this one out. It not only works well as a retelling but is also a good entrance point for those new to the franchise.

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Jul 12, 2013

Dual! Parallel Lun-Lun Monogatari (Anime) add

Recommended

When I first watched Dual it was long back in the mists of time before I had seen Evangelion and I quite liked it. Recently I watched it again and it just didn't have the same effect. Is it a result of my having seen more shows, a sign of me being jaded or simply it wasn't as good as I remembered? Who knows (it was a rhetorical question by the way). Whatever the reason Dual comes across as a rather uninspired generic attempt to emulate far better shows.

To Dual's credit it isn't actually bad and despite it's flaws manages to be quite entertaining just ... as long as you don't expect much from it. While the influences and similarities are obvious it is not a straight rip off and like Rahxephon takes similar elements and uses them to tell a story that is quite different.

Dual's characters are certainly rather similar to Evangelion's, feeling like watered down but still interesting versions of Rei et all. We have Mitsuki, the tsundere, very much a cross between rich girl and a watered down Asuka. The inevitable Rei clone is there in the form of D. They all happen to be believable, with reasonably realistic reactions but quirky enough to be interesting. Unlike many harem characters what is immediately apparent with these girls is not always reflective of what they really feel.

It is because of them that the best parts are surprisingly not the mecha action scenes but the mellower home life bits. It's here that the characters and their personalities come to the foreground, frequently clashing with each other, usually involving the attention of the lead guy Kazuki.

Since I've mention Kazuki let's look more in depth at...someone else. By far the character that stands out the most is the wonderfully eccentric ken Sanada. A mix of mad scientist with capable commander with a dash of perversion and wit thrown in. From "testing" a suite made to make Kazuki's form more effeminate to commanding the robots in battle he does it all with style.

Unfortunately the lead is not worthy of the same praise. To his credit he's certainly better than many similar characters and does start off quite well. His isolation from his peers leads him to being slightly embittered giving him a more realistic feel than this type of character usually has. As the episodes go on he soon turns into a cross between standard harem guy and mecha hero. It's as if the writers were attempting to create a more heroic version of Shinji (which sort of goes against the point of such a character). However Kazuki lacks the complex inner depth and realism that made Shinji so fascinating while also lacking the wit that often makes more action based characters work or the sheer raw power of someone like Kamina. He ends up uncomfortably in between, being able to pull off neither role satisfactorily.

Back to the story. While I liked the harem like home life bits, more than I usually would for that kind of show; the giant robot action parts just weren't that great. The main story is serviceable but really has little purpose beyond a reason for the battles and giving the various girls reasons for interacting with the lead. Often the story was at it's best when being used to set up one of the comedy scenes. There's a scene for example where one of the females is trying to use the ongoing battle to get out of a marriage interview. The whole section is done with a comic flair that makes the fight better than most of the serious parts.

Some of the more serious parts do work quite well. One in particular early on is when our hero discovers that in the parallel world he is an unknown person and even those he assumes are his own parents don't know him. It's a pity that this wasn't taken further as it's a interesting idea that's good while it lasts.

Animation is mostly passable, though a few cgi robot launch sequences stand out as rather unconvincing looking like they were rendered on a sadly underpowered machine with no consideration given to how they would fit. Character designs are quite good though obviously taken from their earlier works.

Do I recommend Dual? That's not an easy question to answer. If asked after I had first seen it I would have said yes. Now I'd say it's worth giving a shot just as long as you don't expect a great deal from it. Dual's biggest problem isn't being bad (despite my complaints it actually isn't terrible by any means) but rather lacking anything that makes it stand out. It has its good points (some of the characters, the harem bits being better than usual) but really seems like anime by a committee of people desperate to try to recreate the appeal of better, earlier series and not having the skill or imagination to do so.

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Mar 5, 2013

Highschool of the Dead (Anime) add

Mixed Feelings

I hope you aren't coming to this show thinking something like "well High School of the Dead, that sounds an intelligent show with a well thought out plot and deep, believable characters that go through interesting development"

Still to be honest HOTD doesn't need to be intellectual, it's a zombie flick not Orson Welles. Something like this generally has just one aim. To entertain the viewer. Does it do this? Thankfully yes; now HOTD isn't going to win any prizes (I hope) for it's writing but it is certainly entertaining and that's all I think it needs to be.

Characters are for the most part the typical ... sort you may expect and there isn't much to say about most of them. They do their jobs well enough but those jobs could have been done just as well by a zombie. A couple do stand out though. The much hated Rei for example actually comes across as more human than most of the cast; her personality feeling more believable due to her failings and weaknesses. Her behavior isn't always commendable but it is quite realistic. For her not to have been adversely affected in the way she acts by what she has been through would have been far less credible. Yes I know Saeko is hotter (the second sexiest in the whole show and believe me that's saying something) but being sexy does not make someone a good character and she is little more than a sword with a pair of breasts. She's simply too good, appearing as less of an actual human and more of something for the audience to desire.

Easily the best character, and the reason I watched it to the end is the gun loving nerd Kouta. He's highly watch-able, funny and is worth a point all by himself. It's good to see a show that actually treats the otaku character well and like Rei he is more human than most of the cast having some actual flaws and weaknesses.

Now for the story. Well it's okay. It performs the function of giving us an excuse to see walking dead getting dismembered in various ways and that's about it. One problem is that the episodes do get rather repetitive, once you have seen one then you've seen pretty much most of what this anime has to offer. There's the obvious zombie killing, the cast trying to survive, usually trying to escape from one place to another and a bit of drama. The latter usually revolving around one of the girls.

Still a show like this doesn't need the worlds best plot and I guess that while it doesn't seem to go anywhere that's fairly realistic for the situation.

Another problem , when compared to the greats of the Zombie genre is that it doesn't really have anything much to say. Night of the Living Dead for example was a commentary of racism and civil rights movement while Day of the Dead spoke about the culture of consumerism. All this appears to have to say is that breasts jiggle. Now that's a valid point I'll admit but it's not on the same level.

Which brings me onto the fan service. For those of you who are concerned about that sort of thing you may want to give this a miss. It can go barely five minutes without flashing panties or breasts right in our faces.

Arts and animation are both of a decent degree and I have nothing to complain about in the sound either.

High School of the Dead is not a clever series or a particularly good one but if you want some brain dead (pun intended)action to pass the time it's not bad either.

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