I’m happy to report that Anime News Network’s just added Last Exileto their roster of streaming anime. The first four English-dubbed episodes are available, and the entire subtitled 26-episode series is up, free, streaming, and legal! This exceptional, action-packed, and riveting characters(s) study has long been a favorite; the blend of fantasy, steampunk, science-fiction, and epic adventure is masterful. If any of those genres interest you, go check it out (after you finish here, natch)!
The diverse cast is one of the best ensembles that I’ve heard and witnessed, being both convincing and expressive. I’m such a fan of Range Murata, the show’s conceptual and character designer, that I bought the complete season in the Murata Collector’s Box. Just this week I received his “oversized comic” Robot #2 which features stories by not only him, but ABe Yoshitoshi, creator of Serial Experiments Lain and Haibane Renmei, two other “Most Favored” series, due in large part because of the character designs and sensibilities exhibited by both artists.
this is the wonderful wraparound ABe artwork for the Collector's Box
Murata and Yoshitoshi are my two favorite concept/character designers; their subjects seem so alive and expressive, and convey a ton of personality through gestures, facial tics, and body language that all negate the need for writerly exposition or unnecessary scenes. Combined with oodles of minutae and details in their clothing and accessories, we get a very full picture of a real person, complicated, quirky, and very well-motivated. The Viewer gets them, and can easier connect, even when astonished or repulsed. Murata designed quite another cast for the Shangri-La anime, including a couple of transgendered individuals with whom the audience could care about, and other more conflicted good guys ‘n’ bad guys in a story that cuts across cultural and hierarchal boundaries with a decidedly Green economic/environmental message; the OP will serve well to show off the characters:
As an adventure, I enjoyed Shangri-La quite a lot, but to a much lesser degree than Last Exile. The characters and details definitely are Range Murata’s though, and that’s a good (and possibly the best) thing!
This is the wraparound artwork for ROBOT #2, by Murata
In a similar vein, Yoshitoshi ABe’s subjects maintained that distinctive “look” fromSerial Experiments Lainto Haibane Renmei. This is an interesting pair of artists to stand next to each other, and note how complementary they are. Murata seems more the macro concept artist and designer influenced by film, and ABe appears to approach his work via the imaginary visions of the story-world, off the printed page. Still, it must be stressed that each needs a crack team of animators to sustain that consistence with their original designs.
The main cast of Last Exile, by Murata
Yoshitoshi ABe rendition of Rakka
A sampling of ABe’s animes to illustrate my points: first is an AMV from Lain that didn’t get included in the “AMV’d: Serial Experiments Lain” Post from some time ago; some minor spoilers but they’re more subtle than revelatory, given the… let’s say ”uncertain” nature of events in Lain’s World(s)…
…and this stunner from Haibane Renmei, done to the exquisite “Angel” by Sarah McLachlan. The song fits the anime very well; they’re equally touching in different ways. Rakka doesn’t appear until after a few minutes; this AMV focuses more on Reki though it definitely pertains to Rakka as well. It has a few spoilers (hard to find ‘em without any)…
See how ABe improved from the earlier Lain, yet so similar/familiar that the main characters from both titles, Lain and Rakka, could very well be sisters! OR… or… the same person? (Both Lain and Haibane are easily deep enough and ambiguous enough to entertain that and other suppositions…)
Serial Experiments Lain, by Yoshitoshi ABe
Now’s your chance to check out Last Exile, so go for it if anything about the genres and plot intrigues you. The story and subplots are a blast to watch unfold, and the characters of Lavie and Claus go through some heavy changes, as do most of the cast, most notably by the Mercenary leader Alex Row, who’s probably the most interesting character in the series, along with little Alvis who pretty much steals every scene she’s in. The story is very much like Space Opera, but not so grand; it’s more manageable and comfortably fills its 26-episode length with enough excitement, humor, carnage and intrigue taking place in planetary atmosphere rather than the reaches of space, that you don’t even realize you’re not IN space!
Random awesome Range Murata art
And if you enjoy or have enjoyed Last Exile, let us know what you think; it’s good to share ;-)
This Summer’s anime season had all the markings of a very lean schedule, but serving as a good example of why one mustn’t assume too much negativity too soon, has yielded better fare than anticipated. From the early look at the Summer Calendar I only was able to estimate that I’d like maybe four series, and that was stretching things. Now that nearly everything’s been released, I find myself with NINE series that I’m watching, plan to watch, or passing time with before it crashes and burns. That happens sometimes
I’m going to skimp on the verbose descriptions so that you can do some legwork on your own The links of my favored shows will take you to the Anime News Network encyclopedia entries for each, but for the rest I’ll suggest simply checking out ANN’s Summer Review which covers pretty much everything here, and not here. I’ll link to it later after we’re all done here
Series that I passed on sight unseen:Kiroshitsuji II – not big on butlers or sequels of series I passed on the first time, and a few other juvenile-like titles which I forget.
The Fail is strong in this one, yes...
Series I dropped after trying out:Asobi ni Iku Yo!, Shukufuku no Campanella, Strike Witches II, Ookami-san to Shinchinin no Nakamatachi, and Amagami SS. If you’d like a reason, let me count the ways. Or, better not. Suffice to say that there’s a fine line between what’s acceptable for me in terms of fanservice and ecchi, and it’s definitely not at over-the-top levels. I find it hard to take deliberate manipulation by the show’s creators to attempt to titillate me into watching their (usually) lame show by purposefully positioning my point of view right at (A) gravity-free and excessively-bouncing boobage, (B) gratuitous panty-shots, and/or (C) tantalizing scenes that require either white cloud or shadow censoring (UGH). I don’t mind these things per se, but only when used to substitute for a good story. Except censoring; I hate that
Oddly enough, if the story is good, then these things won’t bother me too much (aside from an eye-roll or three), although I don’t often get into the story due to the ridiculous fanservice. Like, I had heard that the Strike Witches story was pretty good, but I just couldn’t get past the premise (not to mention excessive pantsu LOL). A bit much for me…
This review page by ANN’s head-honcho Zac Bertschysums it up perfectly; just scroll down a bit for his pictures of two Viewers’ typical reactions to Strike Witches for a good (and knowing) laugh! Don’t forget to come back now, y’hear? (I’ll link you later with the Reviews main page.)
Series that I had also passed on but decided to give a decent chance to get going:Mitsudomoe, Legend of the Legendary Heroes (yes, that is the doubly-redundant title LOL), Seitokai Yakuindomo, and Nurahiyon no Mago. I’d go over the reasons but I am SO frickin’ tired of spelling these #@$%&*#$!!! Japanese names! Damn, I’ve never been so confused about titles before! ILLOGICAL NAMES DO NOT COMPUTE. If I’d really wanted to be mean I’d have spelt out Legend of the Legendary Heroes without translating it but why be a dick? (okay, okay, FYI: It’s Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu.) These average shows I’ll stick with until unbearable
Here are the Winners for me this Summer Season:High School of the Dead, Occult Academy, Shiki, Black Lagoon 3: Roberta’s Blood Trail (5 episode-OVAs), and an oddity called Cat Shit One. REAL odd! Might as well start with that one, since it’s sooooo… “unusual”!
Cat Shit Oneis actually a stop-motion animated feature that not much is known about (at least by myself, anyway) (or ANN, judging from that linked page). It features a pair of combat-ready rabbits fighting Middle Eastern types who are most likely camels. With really bad attitudes! Involving a battle over an “Iranian Hostage Crisis” the action is fast and furious, hardly ever letting up for the entire twenty minutes. This isn’t actually an anime, but more along the lines of a modern theatrical release, only lower-budget, of course. Not much of a story yet though. That being said, the look and action of this episode is excellent. Very entertaining, and that’s really all that counts
Killer Rabbits???
Black Lagoon 3: Roberta’s Blood Trailis a welcome return to the grim world of Black Lagoon. One of my favorite all-time series, Black Lagoon is filled with a tangible, gritty, and decidedly violent vibe that never really goes away. Ever. Its main heroine, Revy, is the ultimate kick-ass girl-with-a-gun, and she’s not afraid to use it. In fact, she rather likes it <— (understatement) If you’re an action fan, this entire series is well-worth checking out; I plan on buying it for my collection when I can afford it. It’s just that good…
...meet the cast 'n' crew of Black Lagoon
Apparently this will be another 5-ep series that is to run through next March. Wow. Nine months for five eps… hm… *getting impatient and fidgety already* Roberta, a secondary character from the previous seasons, is (for all appearances) a maid serving a powerful warlord in South America, and finds herself back in Roanapur, which is somewhere in Thailand (I thought it was somewhere else in the vicinity, but you get the gist), with bloody vengeance on her mind. That doesn’t bode well for her targets… Recommended for action/violence/realism anime fans, highly!
Believe it or not, she can see youuuu... run now!
Shikiis dark, deliciously so. Vampires, characters with wild hair, and a definite Higurashi no Naku Koro ni vibe that is rarely managed successfully in other anime, all conspire to make this a surprise hit for me, at least so far. The character designs seem simple at first, but are slowly growing on me. And those hairstyles! The story is starting to get interesting and has a lot of room for twisting around, so I’m keeping my eye on this one.
High School of the Deadis exactly as it sounds: a zombie-survival show. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, and its tributary homages plainly evident, this show is a glorious, gory-ous romp through zombie hordes, split (zombie) skulls, brains (of course), and sundry typical survival issues that any zombie flick would be proud of. This is an example of my tolerance (or lack of) for fanservice: there’s just enough present to keep me in the story without it being exploitative. I’m not crazy about the flotation devices that pass for boobs on one or two characters, but it’s kept to a minimum, so I’m grateful for that. But really. Someone’s gonna lose an eye for sure, and it won’t be a zombie! (Oh, wait… on second thought that might be cool!) The so-so OP:
Occult Academyis probably going to be my favorite show this season. The character designs are memorable and distinct, and the animation and direction are great. The atmosphere and suspense are even greater than HSotD, and the story is interesting and just quirky enough to provoke a feeling of “this can go anywhere” in the Viewer. Maya, the main girl, is a … well, pretty unlikable person at first blush. Which she’s not really given to doing. But that’ll give her room for plenty of growth, I’m guessing, and it’ll be interesting to see how this girl who “hates the Occult!!!” will in turn transform into someone who is really quite interested in it
Now that your whistle is whetted (as it were), you can investigate these shows for your own self. Isn’t that so much better than me yammering on about them? (nod yes) Well then, hie yourself over to the Anime News Network’s Summer Reviews page, where along with the reviews you’ll find links to watch some of these shows streaming on various (legal/free) websites! And doesn’t that beat downloading? Well… for those not so inclined, I guess it’s just about the only thing better than downloading (aside from having a clearer conscience), as the quality of these streams varies quite a bit. But still… you get to watch new shows online!!! Could a sea change in the methods of delivering new anime to Western fans be in the offing, at last? (nod nod yes yes)
And since we’re on the subject of ANN, here’s a funny little story to add before we close:
I have to admit… some of these Japanese names and titles I still have a bit of trouble with. But damned if an ENGLISH name brought the attention of ANN down on me (and Alastor’s)! In my recent Evangelion post, I’d mis-remembered Mari’s name as Mira and typed it as such in the Post. (I know *sigh*) Right afterwards I received a helpful comment from a “Gia”, who politely brought my attention to the matter, allowing me to correct it before I appeared too much the fool. After wondering “gee, I wonder if she’s cute…” for awhile, as I am wont to do, I thanked her, and then resumed browsing ANN. There, I saw an announcement that they had just hired a new associate editor named Gia Manry. Whoa! :-O
Long story short, it seems that we were blessed by a visitation from the very same Gia! This is an anime expert and insider who definitely knows her stuff, as you can plainly see for yourself by her very well-thought out (and well-written) reviews on the aforementioned review link. Wonder how she managed to find herself HERE?! I’m very happy to have somehow enticedattracted snagged her attention, if even for a brief chastisement correction. Thanks Gia; if you ever stop this way again, be sure and say Hi! Errors will be duly noted and fixed; keep me straight!
And you, Dear Visitor, just keep on keepin’ on, and enjoy your Summer Season!
The Spring anime season has pretty much wound down, with most of the series I’d been tracking having run their last episode this past week. All in all, I consider the Spring ‘10 crop of shows one of the best seasons in recent memory, although many endings could have been much better, which would have helped to make the anime all the more memorable as time passes in the recollections of the fans. The bulk will be forgotten. The mark of a really exceptional series is by how it’s remembered years later, after the blush is off the rose. This is why Toradora is still widely loved, while Code Geass not so much, due to a very different closure process. One left you satisfied, the other somewhat lacking. Looking back, Toradora seems fresh in my memory, and CG quite distant…
Let’s see how many of these Spring 2010 series can prove to be “memorable”, starting off with my remaining Winter 2009 title, Durarara!!, that just ended its 24-episode run.
It would have been enough if the creators of Durarara!! had simply let it be a sequel-of-sorts toBaccano! and left it at that. They could have just used the same type of random time jumps that the original did, the sudden character-POV-swapping, and the singularly-twisting storylines, merely duplicating their original masterpiece with the formula of a proven recipe. But they made DRRR!! to be as distinct as Baccano! is, and in its own twisted way Durarara!! is quite a different animal. While maintaining that “anything can happen here in this city” element of mischievous delight, something a bit more menacing and malevolent is always lurking in the background… In Baccano! this is used expertly and to great effect; in Durarara!! to a somewhat lesser degree. But it is delicious, yesss…
Working with such a large cast must be unwieldy as hell; Baccano! had around fourteen principles and DRRR!! somewhere over twenty! Where both of these series shine is in presenting each one as an individual, with quirks and faults galore, to separate him (or her) from the rest. Unfortunately this requires a great many sacrifices in character development and backstory from many other characters whom you want to know more about, such as Celty, the headless biker, and the pursuit of her head. Believe it or not, that isn’t the main plot!
(Not the main plot, but should be:)
The plots in Baccano! seemed more labyrinthine, especially effective considering that it was a 13-episode season (plus three Specials). Spread over centuries, the editing and pacing gave the impression of an almost-timeless story being told/shown to you. On the other hand, DRRR!! is told over the course of a much shorter time-span, giving it a feeling of being condensed and choppy, even though granted a 24-episode lifespan. Also, the characters of the former seemed more relatable, even though murderers, thieves, schemers, and vampires :-O Both stories always kept me “turning the page” and wanting to know (and see!) what happens next…
(A bunch of fluttering pages from Baccano!, done to a rockin’ tune:)
On to the regular Spring 2010 summary! Of the eight series I’m tracking, two (K-ON!!and RAINBOW) are going for ~24 episode seasons. The other six have all concluded (for better or worse) and are covered here. I’m including my MAL scores just as a reference; Your Mileage Will Vary, and all that
Angel Beats!was a mixed bag for me; scored it an 8. I really wanted to like it (being a major Visual Art’s/Key fan) but had trouble connecting due to a lack of backstories from most castmembers. This was most likely caused by the short run; this series would’ve benefitted from more time to develop the intriguing story and its characters. Most memorable for me is the character of Tenshi/Angel/Kanade, whom I suppose will be always and forever more held high in the running for Most Moe~
Arakawa Under the Bridgeis my favorite show of the Season. When all is said and done, from beginning to end, it was brilliantly funny, surreal, poignant, and always whimsical, and to degrees far surpassing its competitors. The usual SHAFT-ness of the art and animation styles thankfully keep progressing over the years (though the closeup-eyeball cuts are certainly on the verge of becoming cliche), and Akiyuki Shinbou’s distinct vision is rendered and presented well through the workings of his and his crew’s unique talents. I wavered between giving a 9 or a 10, and decided that any minor faults didn’t warrant lowering it from a Masterpiece and so gave it a 10
Hakouki… this one was all over the place, not many of them good ones. Too many characters that seemed the same, vague shifting alliances that made little sense, and a somewhat annoying and useless main character. For a historical setting, darned little history goin’ on. Gave it a 6, meaning “just above average… barely”
House of Five Leaves(Saraiya Goyou) was stubbornly true to iteself, and that’s definitely a good thing. Even though based around a timid samurai, and with action possibly just around the next corner at every turn of the plot, never did it break its liesurely stride and resort to gratuitous violence. Or much of any violence, really. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. More a character study than anything else, this story unfolds matter-of-factly, and seemingly on a need-to-know basis. The ending was sort of ambiguous, and that fits as well. I gave it a 9; while ultimately satisfying, I found too much of the story was left out or neglected, which, if included, would have vaulted the score to a perfect 10. Once I accepted that there likely wasn’t going to be swordplay, and simply let it be, it became truly enjoyable and enchanting in a considerate, casually-paced and patient manner. Kind of like Mushishi, only with samuraiii~!
Working!!was a fun, harmless little ride that accomplished exactly what it set out to do: entertain. That’s about it though. To be honest, I had this show at a 7 pretty consistently from its start; the endless (and literal) man-bashing got to be pretty much a one-trick pony, as did the cross-dressing (don’t ask LOL). Fortunately the show didn’t hang its hat on just those elements, and delivered up some decent character development and other small delights, mostly involving newly-added cast members Aoi Yamada and (at last!) Maya Matsumoto. I ended up giving it an 8 despite my disinclination to reward stupid plot elements (such as a man-hating waitress and the ”necessity” of the main character having to cross-dress to appease her ohgodshootmenow…). But, it was fun while it lasted
This brings us to The Tatami Galaxy… and words totally fail me. If you like “deep” anime, or “arthouse anime”, or like to ponder philosophical matters whilst slurping “cat soup”, then this might be right up your alley! Nobody else though. Damn, is this show a trip! Hilarious and insane, oftentimes both at the same time! I’ve mentioned it recently already down below, so we’ll leave it at that. A real mind-fucker… in a good way! I’ll leave you (again) with the apropos Tatami ED, as it seems to bring the epic Spring 2010 season to a final close with its last notes and visuals. As for the little bit that comes after, I have no idea LOL
Spring 2010 certainly served up a bountiful harvest! The bad news is that Summer 2010 is looking awfully bleak; I’ve checked out five series so far and none of them looked even remotely interesting. Still, it’s early yet, and if I recall correctly there might have been 4-5 series that had caught my interest when the Summer season preview came out, so I’ll be looking forward to those shows. Feast or famine, *sigh*…
Here’s an idea: Maybe we can use the lack of worthwhile new shows to spend some time with the multitude of unearthed gems that have gone overlooked or underappreciated in the past? It would be fun to dig down further into anime’s history and find out what we’ve missed. Surf over to Anime News Network’s video page for a huge sampling to choose from; use the title’s encyclopedia link to check out the genre, synopsis, and ratings and so on.
And if it fits, wear it ;-)
on the water
Welcome to Alastor's Reflection, the re-imagining of Fingal's Cave; a much more suitable environment than that poor soul's indwelling. Fingal resumes his journey in the pages of UNBOUND, while another solitary Spirit remains in this Place to muse with his Muse on the pursuit of "Life, Joy, Empire, and Victory," and the beauties therein...
As you know, I’m a total fanboy when it comes to ef. Yes, rly. The...
The links of my favored shows will take you to the Anime News Network encyclopedia entries for each, but for the rest I’ll suggest simply checking out ANN’s Summer Review which covers pretty much everything here, and not here. I’ll link to it later after we’re all done here 
