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Re-watching this movie the other day may have saved anime for me. I was getting too far away from the raw creativity and beauty of the art form, getting lost in a sea of cliches and contrivances. Aside from Evangelion 3.0 coming out later this year, I had given up on anime as a whole. I'm not going to name names but... Eden of the East, Full Metal Panic, I'm looking at you.
Anyway, this movie is just brilliant. It's a mess of a plot really. I still don't understand a lot of it after the 3rd viewing. But that's not the point in this case. ... The point here is to loose yourself in a truly TRULY bizarre visual roller-coaster ride, the likes of which really have no parallel. This is proof that animation is capable of depicting the most surreal images that the mind can muster- those that we see when we dream. One could compare the conventions found in Paprika to those of The Cell or Inception, both live action films. However, because Paprika is not constricted to a certain level of realism like those films, it is allowed to take similar subject matter (the dream) and outshine them in nearly every facet. The things that you will see in this movie range from orgasmic flourishes of color, back to muted modern sheen, and then back again to the type of psychedelia infused imagery that would send an LSD-user into a shrieking fit of terror.
Anime is interesting to me for this reason primarily: Its difference from conventional western tropes. Maybe to an avid fan of Japanese cinema, the imagery here is not so strange. I suppose if you are subjected to anything enough, it becomes rather average. And maybe that's what happened to me back in 2010, when I, mostly just bored of seeing the same things over and over again, threw in the towel on anime. But this movie may have been all I needed- a relentlessly creative bombarding of the senses. A dream.

Sure its pretty old, but I feel like modern anime, movies and video games could take a page from this book. Like Indiana Jones, 007 or Nathan Drake, Lupin III is a reckless hero who is immensely likable and just plain fun to watch. There is a reason why these stories work so well and this one is a shining animated example. It's goofy at times and undeniably implausible, but if you can allow yourself to be simply entertained you will find a lot to like here. The colorful cast of characters that Lupin brings with him are all endearing and I'm very interested to ... look into this long-running series further.

"Why did we even go on this journey in the first place? I can't remember."

Certainly not the strongest words to end a series on unless you are shooting for a piece of existential film-making. But honestly, Mugen is just about dead on with this assessment of the events that took place prior to Samurai Champloo's conclusion- a conclusion that comes with so little suspense and tension, you could have guessed it after the first few episodes. Not to mention the central driving mystery of the show is spoiled about five episodes before the climax!
What the plot is is your typical ragtag adventure story and ... perhaps one could argue its not so much about the conclusion as it is about what happened to our protagonists throughout they travels; the point of the journey is not to arrive. And truth be told, some of these little stories are quite entertaining. The show is at its best when it is getting goofy and letting it's obviously diverse set of influences (music, sports, street art) shine brightly. Adversely, it is at its most contrived and tedious when it is spouting the same samurai period-piece tropes that are a dime-a-dozen in the anime medium.
Much like its spiritual predecessor, Cowboy Bebop, Champloo is crafted with a strong sense of style and an emphasis on music being a way to convey story and emotion. It works well and is entertaining when it strives to do this but when we are left with somber silence and slow paced exposition, things get pretty directionless and bland.
Where Cowboy Bebop was host to a roster of entertaining characters with rich backstories, populating an inventive and bizarre world, Samurai Champloo features a smaller cast with less humanizing detail written into them and a setting that has been well-tread at this point. I did appreciate the nods to historical accuracy and the brief narration of the history of Japan, but in terms of drama created by the atmosphere of a unique setting, it just can't compete.
Its a bit damning that show show will probably always be unfavorably compared to Cowboy Bebop, but the thing is they are just too similar for the viewer to not instantly draw comparisons.
What is handled very well is the fight scenes. It is almost justifiable to forget about the story completely and just soak up the eye candy that is these frenetic and superbly animated sword battles. The creators clearly have a love affair with the concept of the unbeatable swordsman and it appears that far more care was put into these choreographed dances of death than the rest of the show. For all that Mugen may lack as a character, he is fully realized as a furious, agile, improvisational fighter.
Its a quality show for those who are looking to see some badass fighting set in a traditional Japanese backdrop, with bits of comedic and musical flare peppered in. It just doesn't pull off the drama of this tale, which could have been very engaging, with much finesse.

Darker Than Black is one tight package. It's a highly enjoyable series with an intriguing premise, a plethora of send-ups to the rich history of anime, spot-on art direction and a set of story arcs that are vast in scope yet end before overstaying their welcome.
The premise of the story, where in select humans are given super powers in a catastrophic accident, is not particularly unique. However, the show manages to tackle the same topic that many have before without feeling stale at all. Although the idea is not new, Darker Than Black manages to stay fresh by examining the dilemmas of its rich ... cast of characters in believable and interesting ways. Nearly all of the the characters have fleshed out back-stories, many of which are very compelling. Even characters who initially seem 2-dimensional and unlikable, like the syndicate affiliated Huang, come into their own and become extremely sympathetic.
The story even has a sense of irony and poetic justice, as the "contractors" (as these super humans are called) must make payments for their powers. This may consist of smoking a cigarette, aligning objects into obscure patterns, composing a poem, or a whole plethora of bizarre and sometimes fitting punishments. The reason for these payments, like many other aspects of the plot (including the catastrophe that gave these individuals their powers) is kept fairly vague. It's a decision for the better undoubtedly, as it creates an air of mystery and confusion throughout the series. It's best to not dwell on the things that are unexplained and simply enjoy the narrative as it unfolds with the scarce explanation that is provided. Really, I still don't know exactly what the story was about, and I'm completely fine with that. All I know is that it was a pretty damn good ride- one that I won't soon forget.
The other piece that makes Darker Than Black so enjoyable is the quality of art, music and voices. Bones studio, most famous for their Fullmetal Alchemist adaptations, are behind this series and bring their accomplished and highly professional look to it. Character models are consistent and expressive, backgrounds are atmospheric and convincing, and there is nary a moments of weak animation to take you out of the experience. The overall visual tone is extremely even too, avoiding the pitfalls of low-budget middle sections that many series find themselves in. Opting out of cartoonish anime "shorthand", the series is a decidedly serious looking one, if not necessarily always as serious feeling show, as moments of levity are strategically placed throughout the narrative.
Darker Than Black, for all of its strengths, does leave i bit to be desired. I haven't watched the second series yet, but honestly a series should stand on its own without using the possibility of a second as a crutch. Without revealing anything, I will say that it doesn't end on its strongest foot, leaving you a bit high and dry. Also, I kind of with things had gotten a bit more bizarre and surreal. There were certainly signs pointing in that direction, and even plot elements that would make contextual sense for things to get more psychological. This isn't the mindfuck that it could have been, but I suppose not all things can be. One can dream.

There is literally nothing about Full Metal Panic! that adds up to being anything more than derivative. It's filled with cliched characters and scenarios, the animation looks horrendous by today's (2011) standards, the voice acting is extremely hollow with only a couple exceptions, the writing is unintentionally laughable frequently, plot threads are started but never resolved, there's pointless filler episodes, etc, etc.
Never has the urge been so strong to stop watching an anime half way through, that exact point being a confoundedly stupid episode in which men in giant robots compete at table tennis and tug of war. Don't get me wrong, this show is ... actually best at its most lighthearted. Unfortunately, this is one of those cases where the goofiness and seriousness are so awkwardly juxtaposed, that it ends up feeling like idiocy that takes itself very seriously.
Maybe there's something I'm missing here, but I can't find anything redeeming about this series. If it were older, I might be able to see as an influence to the giant robot genre, but 2002 really wasn't that long ago. It really kind of feels like a relic that would have been more at home in the early days of the genre, with the likes of Gundam, and Gunbuster.
I realize that maybe I'm being overly critical of something that is just meant to be casually enjoyed and not dissected and analyzed like the best anime can hold up to, but if every step of the way, you are wondering why you are bothering to watch, it's not worth it.

Coming off the heels of the heartstring tugging K-On!! and the absurdly funny Azumanga Daioh, I found Lucky Star a bit flat. Of the three shows, Lucky Star is by far the most self-aware. It knows exactly what it is and who it is trying to appeal to, and upon achieving that, seeks to do no more. While all of these moe-centric shows are murderously slow and ultimately go practically nowhere as far as plot is concerned, they are redeemed by their breezily entertaining demeanor once you settle into them. Moments of true comedic brilliance shine through every once in a while and even ... moments of genuine depth are displayed. Lucky Star just doesn't have as many of these moments as its competition. Konata, the main character, is the one unique aspect of the show, essentially a female personification of the otaku lifestyle that many viewers will identify with. Her insights and quips about the obsessive and bizarre nature of Otaku culture are by far, the show's best moments- and the most absurd. A certain re-occurring plot theme involving Konata and a group of impassioned manga shop clerks, who idealize her as the otaku's dream girl, are particularly funny because they seem to be in on the show's joke. The gleefully bizarre, Vocaloid referencing OVA conclusion is also a highlight.
The big problem is that the rest of the time, when the show is in typical schoolgirl moe-show mode, it's just kinda boring. The banter between the four main girls is less nuanced than K-On!!'s and far less abstract than Azumanga Daioh's weirder moments. It's just cookie cutter characters exchanging mundane dialogue about nothing in particular. Look no further than the first episode's 15 minute pastry conversation for an example of the general pacing of the show.
Lucky Star takes it's look from the 4-panel manga by the same name. The characters are ultra-chibi to the point of being a bit on the overly-simplified side. Their faces don't really emote much. Where as K-On!!'s characters displayed a surprising amount of depth in their subtle facial animations, the same care wasn't taken by KyoAni on this series. I suppose it falls in line with the fact that these characters just don't have the same degree of believability or human attraction.
Lucky Star may have waned in popularity since K-On!! seemingly took it's place as the epitome of moe anime. Despite a decreased distance between the viewer, the main character essentially serving as a bridge, Lucky Star ultimately shys away from ever taking itself seriously enough to be little more the most derivative thing that moe can be- a sly parody of the schoolgirl tropes aware of it's exploitative nature.

While I will admit that I have not read of the classic revenge novel, The Count of Monte Cristo, Gankutsuo certainly appears to be a more interesting entry into the ever-growing heap of remakes of this tale. However, it failed to make a real impression. It certainly has some commendable qualities, but in the end, its jumbled and inconsistent visuals, stilted dialogue and murderously slow pace ruin any chance of redemption.
The most immediately striking thing about this series in the visual style. Let me make this clear- there is a difference between visual style and animation. The show's visual style is rather stunning. It's main ... trick is that it employs complex textures and patterns in the coloring of any and everything. This looks pretty cool as long as things are still. The animation, however, suffers greatly because when all of these detailed textures begin moving, all depth and illusion of real texture is lost. Instead of the designs moving with the items that they are transposed on top of, they just stay still. Thing look like jarring kaleidoscopic acid trips more often than not and its just way to much to take in. Interestingly, this visual style is actually extremely reminiscent of the way that thing seem to form complex patterns when under the influence of hallucinogenic drugs. Perhaps the first anime conceived on acid? Somehow I highly doubt it, actually.
Gankustsuo, overall, just ends up being a case of the good being slightly edged out by the bad. There is a good foundation plot from the original source material… but the they end up adding mechs, immortal demons, space travel and a plethora of needless non-sequitors. The story actually ends up in a very different place than the original tale, actually. While there is some genuine moments of emotion near the end of this overly-long series, the majority of the plot points are played out with the stilted melodrama of a high school play. The English voice actors, aside from the titular character, are awful. The main protagonist, Albert, is possibly the most whiny, insipid character I have witnessed in an anime, ever. The dialogue between him and best friend Franz is particularly uninspiring. It really is an example of just how bad anime translation can get, both actors doing what they can to make sense of a conversation that has more holes and ridiculous lines than the Matrix movies.
The setting of the show is a rather baffling juxtaposition of 19th century aristocratic France and science-fiction space-opera. The characters travel in space freely and battle in giant mechs, yet they still write letters on parchment and travel in horse drawn carriages. It's like the artists couldn't decide on a consistent motif so they just threw all of their influences into the tub and saw what came together. All of these sporadic technologies and settings create a lack of believable space and time. If you have no relatable setting and no relatable characters, what is there? Just a somewhat-interesting story which takes entirely too long to reach its climax. This series could have easily been a 13 episode series instead of a 26. My mind literally goes blank when trying to recall important plot points from the middle of the series. The big question of the series, whether or not the Count is really evil, just ends up being answered 3/4 of the way through when we find out his back-story. The 15 episodes after the beginning but before that are often mind-numbingly boring. I honestly struggled to finish this series along-side Lucky Star. Lucky Star, dammit!
Gankutsuo is actually pretty critical acclaimed and I'm not really sure why. Perhaps it's story is a subtle one, revealing itself slowly through repeated viewing ala Neon Genesis Evangelion. Maybe the dub is just garbage and left a bitter taste in my mouth. However, I really don't feel like this should weigh so heavily on the overall experience. Plenty of great pieces of entertainment has cheesy, stilted dialogue. Quentin Tarantino, anyone? Maybe it's the visuals, filled with ambition and moments of beauty but ending up looking like a few too many ideas thrown together. Gankutsuo wants to be a series that is sophisticated in the classic sense of French materialistic excess. However, as we see here, all that glitters in not gold.

Continuing my voyage into the heart of Moe-centric anime, it seemed necessary to watch the series that is perhaps most beloved of the entire genre, Azumanga Daioh. The 1999 anime is a retelling of the popular 4-panel manga by Kiyohiko Azuma, also author of the very entertaining Yotsuba&! manga.
Azumanga Daioh is considered by many to be the finest slice-of-life/coming-of-age-story-revolving-around-a-group-of-school-girls anime out there. Basically, it is regarded in some circles as the premier Moe anime. These lofty claims are justified for the most part as Azumanga Daioh, while average in many regards, has an extremely strong sense of character and humor. While not exactly intellectually stimulating ... by any means, it is an excellent show to just relax and enjoy for what it is, mindless entertainment.
If you want to compare popular Moe anime, it could be said that while Lucky Star is most self aware and K-On! is most sentimental, Azumanga Daioh is by far funniest. Not that the other two are not funny, but this show brings something entirely different to the table. Sure, there is the typical humor that is usually displayed in shows of this variety (back and forth banter about mundane topics resulting in resolution, judgment, or impasse) accompanied by the typical scenarios (culture festivals, trips to the summer house, athletic competitions, and a WHOLE lot of passing periods). From a casual perspective, there is nothing remarkable about Azumanga Daioh and for the first few episodes it is difficult to see what the hubbub is all about. Slowly though, the show's knack for excellent comedic exposition and timing as well as an interest in the just plain bizarre come into focus. The character Osaka, with her sleepy southern drawl, has got to be one of the best anime characters of all time. Her strange epiphanies and surreal daydreams make for many of the show's funniest moments. She is the kind of like that friend that always says the exact right thing at the exact right moment, unintentionally, that pushes the whole conversation over the edge. Magnet-for-abuse Chiyo and hyperactive Tomo are also hilarious quite frequently. The writing of the show seems to have a bit of a dark streak, which is funny given its benign context. Infact, the show's crowning moment of funny is equally parts disturbing and innocent, something that is difficult to pull off. There are also a slew of other gags worthy of being honored as some of the finest that anime has to offer. When a show has it's own chunk of YouTube real estate filled with "top 10 funniest moments" compilations, then generally, you know that it struck a chord.
And that's Azumanga Daioh in a nutshell- a run of the mill, slice of life story with some entertaining characters, peppered with just enough moments of pure comedic brilliance. While some of the gags are great, there is just as much, if not more, of the tedium that can be found in any show of this variety. You will need some patience. You will need to scratch your head at jokes that don't hit on the head. (getting repeatedly bitten by cats doesn't do it for me) Most importantly, you will need to accept the fact that very little actually happens in these shows- it is more about finding a grove in the calm, casual air that exists within them and taking comfort in it.
Make no mistake. Like its contemporaries, Azumanga Daioh is hugely entertaining. It's just plain easy to watch and it compellingly exhibits the qualities that are admirable about Moe and slice-of-life anime while expanding the envelope ever so much, to encompass a more mature observational keenness to the goofiness of everyday life. Although the conventions of this genre can grow stale quite quickly, Azumanga Daioh proves that it is all about the spin you put on it, not the actual content.

Mushishi does not march toward some sort of conclusion or final purpose. Much like it's main character, Ginko, the anime merely drifts around, dispensing bits of wisdom and wonder. It is an almost zen-like meditation on the mystical unseen natural world and holds many parallels to our own lives, as it deals mainly in the unanswered and mysterious questions that we all find ourselves asking in life. It excels at acute observations on the state of humanity and revels in our lack of understanding. Most importantly, it romanticizes the things that we do not understand and creates a new language to describe it's nature. This ... language is the Mushi, an unseen force which holds great mystical power. This series plays out like a sort of collection of folk tales concerning the Mushi, centered around a sort of sage who helps people with their problems as he wanders the Japanese countryside. It is quite slow and is probably not for everyone, but if you have patience and a sense of wonder about the natural world, you will almost certainly gain something from this.
This anime is beautifully drawn. Taking place mainly in the forest and small villages, the show contains an unfathomable amount of painstakingly painted backgrounds. You don't really notice how beautiful it is after a few episodes, but the fact that there is never a significant dip in quality to call your attention to it is impressive in itself. Characters are a bit more generic looking. Because this anime is meant to have an aesthetic quality similar to that of a restrained traditional Japanese painting, there is no overt craziness in the character's designs. They all have dark hair, wear traditional Japanese garb, and life in modest homes. What distant visual flare there is comes from the atmospheric and believable settings that the show dwells in. The caves of a tunneling Mushi, a foggy sea, a field set ablaze, and an inescapable bamboo forest are all brilliantly infused with personality and a sense of realness that is uncommon in animation. The Mushi themselves are also highly creative at times.
The series score is done by Toshio Masuda, also the composer for Naruto. The music here is restrained and has an almost improvisational feel to it. Each episode has it's own piece of accompanying music, which is nice, however many of them sound the same. Repetition also sinks in when the few other pieces, like the one used when Ginko is describing a Mushi, are used EVERY episode. I will say though, the opening theme, "Sore Feet Song" is absolutely amazing. It conveys the feel of the show perfectly and for all 26 episodes, I never skipped through it. It prepares you perfectly for the quiet and contemplative experience you are about to have.
Mushishi, as I said earlier, dispenses bits of wisdom about the age-old relationship between mankind and nature. The story, if you wish to call it that, is all about different people and their experiences with the unknown and the unexplainable. The show never really makes any assertions on good vs evil, right vs wrong, etc. Instead, it makes simple observations about the things that exist in nature and twists them into bizarre phenomena. For example, it details the experience of closing your eyelids vs truly not seeing or actually finding the end of a rainbow. Although there is peril in many of these stories, they are usually resolved through natural and logical means. If there is one overarching message, it is that things simply are. Trying to control what simply is is a futile exercise. In this way, the series draws similarities to the Zen Buddhist outlook on life and existence. This show is, in-fact, as close to a meditation as any piece of popular entertainment I have seen.
So what is wrong with the show then? As I just said, this show succeeds brilliantly as a meditation. However, It fares less well in terms of entertainment. Despite the show being beautifully done, If you know what the conflict and resolution is going to be going into each episode, you kind of lose interest. In each episode, you know after a certain point that there will be a problem which at first seems unexplainable, it will be explained as being the work of Mushi, there will be some way to fix it, and everyone will go home. Although there are deviations from this outline, they are somewhat rare. The real reason to keep watching is not to see what happens so much as it is to see what there will be. The scenarios and settings are sufficiently interesting and beautiful to keep you wanting to return to this world. However, you may become fatigued, as I did, and take a break for some more straight-forward entertainment.

This is a review of the 1988 OVA series Gunbuster. Be sure to also read my review of Diebuster, the second part of the Aim For The Top! series. I had never seen either before so I decided that watching both, one after the other, would be a great way to witness the progress of Gainax as a studio and perhaps to observe trends in the anime genre at large. After all, Gainax's productions has always had a certain effect on the industry. This is the one that started it all for this studio, so it's importance is inarguable.
I feel like the Aim For the ... Top! series fits into the category of media in which the original was a cult phenomenon that gained critical appreciation over time, and when the sequel finally came out much later, there was no way it could live up to the unrealistic expectations placed on it. Another recent example of this is the Tron sequel that was just released. For something like Tron or Gunbuster, their fandom has become something of an institution- something that has far reaching implications in the rest of the medium. They have been attributed with pioneering and shifting tropes that exist to this day. Like the more popular Evangelion, Gunbuster is seen by many anime appreciators as a series that was ahead of it's time, heavily nuanced and far deeper than it may seem from a glance. To what degree should we attribute this to actual quality, as opposed to nostalgia? As we know, nostalgia can cloud our perceptions of things. As a viewer with no sense of nostalgia, this should be an unbiased comparison of both Aim For The Top! series.
Gunbuster was Hideaki Anno's debut as a director and in many people's opinions, it is the first real reveal into the mind of a man who is one of the greatest ever to grace the anime genre (a sentiment I would agree with). I'll say right here that if you are looking for an expertly paced, beautifully twisted, life altering experience on par with Evangelion, you will probably be disappointed. Gunbuster does not set it's goals and stakes nearly as high. So, in a way, Gunbuster is the smaller, more simplistic prototype of the masterpiece which was yet to be told.
This is only a six episode series and there is very little time for the subtle character development found in Eva. However, it is very noticeable that Anno MAKES as much time as possible, even at the cost of much explanation of the setting and plot itself. Like Evangelion, it is very clear that while the story could easily focus on the stunningly rendered sci-fi world, it would rather spend time in the minds of the main characters, searching for what it is that makes them tick. I have absolutely no qualms with this approach but there are a couple nagging issues that don't work in it's favor. Length is one. There is simply not enough time to develop anyone other than Noriko. In Evangelion, we got to really get inside the heads of five or six characters. Here there is just one or two (you could maybe argue that Amano counts). The other thing is that the main character, Noriko is simply not as deep and multifaceted as some of Anno's later characters. Her motivations are pretty two-dimensional. That being said, she is still deeper than the majority of anime characters. She is almost a more simplistic representation of the themes that were later fleshed through Shinji Ikari in Evangelion. She is given a seemingly impossible task despite very little experience, the fate of humanity rests on her shoulders and she has a very hard time with this, she is desperate to be accepted and loved. She has deep insecurities about abandonment and self-worth. The only thing that is lacking is a sense of maturity in storytelling of knowing how a character would actually behave and react in given situations. You can see the raw emotion that went into this character but there is very little restraint and subtlety. So, Noriko is perhaps a perfect personification of this series- ambitious and filled with volatile emotion, displaying hints of some great untapped potential. Noriko is a great character to discuss. However, she is unfortunately the only really developed character in the series. The only one that even comes close is Amano, Noriko's idol. Her most discernible quality is the tendency to be utterly two-faced. A sort of Asuka Langley Soryu prototype shows up too, in the form of Jung Freud. (haha get it? Anno likes psychology) It would have been nice to see more of her too. There is nothing to set her apart from any other hot-headed pilot. It's hard to knock Gunbuster for it's characters though. After all, it is only six episodes long. Although better characterization can be seen in just as short a span of time (FLCL, much later), it is an admirable and impassioned early try.
Okay, so… art style. It looks dated. No way around it. Compared to the quality of animation in say, Diebuster, it looks pretty uneven. Where as Diebuster comes off as a culmination of everything Gainax had done up to that point, Gunbuster has the visual look of something in it's insecure infancy. You can see vague traces of what would come to be known as the Gainax style, (female character designs, jiggle, interesting robot ideas) but you really have to search for them. For the most part, the characters, animation and designs look generic. Not bad, just a lack of that certain exaggerated visual flair found in later productions. The music is notable for being far more produced and expertly done in many places than the visuals. The theme song for when the Gunbuster machine first makes an appearance is a relatively famous piece of music that is both instantly recognizable and invigorating. Other orchestral pieces are found throughout and are extremely effective at conveying the emotion of the series. The 80's style OP and ED just sound dated unfortunately- they remind me a bit too much of 80's montage music.
Gunbuster was Gainax's first take on the giant robot genre, originally made popular by the likes of Gundam and Macross. It serves as a unique and interesting take on the concept, with a heightened sense of personal drama and inner turmoil. I've said it already, but this series should really be longer. It is just too grand a story to be crammed down into six episodes. This problem could have been potentially solved had the sequel, Diebuster, been a continuation or embellishment of the story instead of an update… Stick around for that review.