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Jul 16, 2009
-- Please do not read if you have not watched this and/or do not like any spoilers. Thank you --
Ok, maybe all that FMP watchin' made me want to revisit another tortured love story chock-full of action and beautifully drawn characters, so I cracked open the Special Edition box set of "Vision of Escaflowne." I hadn't seen this series since I was going to UCLA (and I only mention the school bit so that when I admit about my blubbering later, it won't seem too pathetic).
I wasn't sure I would ever want to see this again since my first impression of the series went from
...
indifference to impressed to infatuated with a finale of utter disappointment! I had never cried so hard, not from sadness, but because I was that horrified that any story could build up such a fantastic love story only to part the couple by the greatest of distances. (I'll get into this later but I did want to address the good first.)
Like all good anime, there is a combination of burgeoning romance, love triangles, surrounded by action, good vs. evil, and surprises. High school track runner Hitomi Kanzaki is mysteriously transported to another world called Gaea where she is torn between her feelings for Allen Schezer and the feelings she didn't realize she has for Van Fanel.
Initially, I couldn't get past the character designs based on the overly elongated and pointy noses. Once I got used to it, the rest was easy. As a fan of mecha and medieval knights, Escaflowne does a fantastic job with their Guymelef designs: essentially, they are over-sized suits of armor that have a Da Vinci-esque design of mechanisms ala mechas from Macross, etc.
I love the look of blending medieval and organic materials with modern/sci-fi technology and the designs here don't disappoint. Escaflowne transform into a flying dragon which fits in naturally in Gaea where the Samurai are knights of their respective realms, dragons are slain as a rite of passage, and transportation is via horses and ships (but ships that fly, natch).
Even if the series was rushed and unfairly edited down into their 26 eps (from an original 39, I'd read), they did a wonderful job of introducing us to these various characters who grow and develop over each episode. And here's the rub, for me: the relationship between Hitomi and Van seems platonic enough upon meeting. They are thrown together by fate and no other reason. She is immediately infatuated with Allen because of his chivalry and his looks (since he reminds her of her upper classmate Amano, who she has a crush on). Van is just this young king who is rash, stubborn, and immature in more ways than one. And because of these differences, it's rewarding to see Van gain experience and maturity over the series and to see how much he and Hitomi are always making sure the other is alright. They realize way after the fact that each is in love with the other - it's tender and sweet.
One of my favorite heartbreaking scenes is Van having gone to find Hitomi in the rain, only to see her in Allen's arms (above). This love triangle has some of the best subtle moments of jealousy as evidenced by the characters facial expressions (which says a lot for an animated show), such as when Van extends his hand to Hitomi to jump aboard Escaflowne only to look slightly hurt when Allen picks her up and hops over with her. Hitomi also briefly goes back to Earth only to return to Gaea when she and Van simultaneously realize they want to see each other again.
I prattle on about this because all these great moments are completely annihilated by the ending of the series. The conflicts of war and violence on Gaea have been resolved and the kingdom of Fanelia is in a peaceful era of Reconstruction. Hitomi tells Van she would like to stay on Gaea with him. Van says that's just fine with him, but that they could see each other any time anyway. So Hitomi says goodbye to Van and begins to levitate upwards in the magical light column. Everyone on Gaea is also sending Hitomi their farewells too.
Now, I could live with this kind of vagueness since the very end shows Hitomi back on Earth where Van visits her (whether it be only a vision or a quick light column visit, I can't quite tell but!) and she tells him she is doing fine. What KILLS me is that as she was leaving Van, she tells him that she will never forget him, even when she becomes old - all of which implies she won't be with him ever again! This still upsets me now because it totally ruins (for me) the idea that maybe they will be together again one day, maybe after she's out of school. But to say that you'll never forget someone is to say that you'll never be or see someone again. So WTF is going on there?
I read one post on a message board saying s/he felt they'd be together again once she is done with high school, and I want to believe such a happy ending myself. But if they'd only cut out the "I'll never forget you" crap, I'd feel more optimistic. I can't really explain why this stupid ending upsets me so. I mean, it's a frickin' animated show with a vague enough ending that I really could force myself to believe whatever I want. So why am I still angry? *sigh* I wish I knew. I guess I feel such a beautifully well done story is thrown away when it can't be wrapped up as well as it was unfurled in the beginning. But, there's something about the Japanese (or most Asian) cultures that can't seem to shake the disappointing and unfulfilled love stories.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jul 16, 2009
***Please do not read this if you have not seen this and/or do not like spoilers*** Thank you.
Samurai X: Reflections - the good and the mostly bad
So what's my beef with the third Samurai X OVA? Well, for starters, it's never a real positive when the creator is not involved with development of a new story (with George Lucas as the exception, as exemplified by the SW prequels). Also, I know people praise the animation as being far superior to the TV series, Rurouni Kenshin, but I wasn't a big fan of the new character designs. I'm all for high-quality, better action, more violence
...
when appropriate, but don't strip the characters of the cool looks that made them unique.
I am very grateful for the OVA having animations of the parts of the manga that were never realized by the show (to which it COULD have been done if the third series followed the manga, versus coming in with some totally random and meaningless storylines - but that's a whole 'nother rant I could get into...) especially the Enishi battle, but that too had a lot of problems. And here we go!
The good:
Original voice actors
(BTW, anyone who watches anime with the English dub - you do realize you're not a true anime fan?)
Short of death, productions should NEVER try to substitute their actors - EVER. Hearing all of the original cast can't begin to express my pleasure at knowing production did their job.
More realistic and tender actions by the characters
I loved seeing Kenshin and Kaoru actually touching hands, sharing a kiss, and simply taking the time to stand next to one another while looking out across the horizon, etc.
Flashback re-animations
It was a real treat seeing previous situations brought to life again, such as Kenshin's fight with Jineh, the montage of battles with Sojiro and Shishio, and including important figures like Hiko Seijuro, Shinomori Aoshi, and Saito Hajime.
Yukishiro Enishi brought to life!
The Jinchu arc of the RuroKen manga is my favorite, by far, because it is the most personal story of Kenshin's and the one in which Kaoru is spotlighted as his great love. So seeing Enishi moving and talking and fighting was a huge deal for me, even if the moment only lasted some minutes.
The bad:
Character designs... "Hated it!"
As stated, I did not like the character designs for the OVAs. Hey, I'm all for the realism and a new look, but can't we make Kenshin still look "sharp" and Kaoru prettier? Even Tomoe looked really generic and beyond hairstyles, the two ladies could be interchangeable. BORING. And something in the way about Kenshin made him less attractive - as Kenshin or even as any anime character.
M.I.A. - Saito and Aoshi!!
WTF! We get one glance from Saito in the dojo flashback and you spend all this time on the Jineh fight, but you don't bother to animate ANY of the battle between Saito and Kenshin?! This battle could have been done in a montage fashion without any dialogue, but where is the Gatotsu!
And then we get a faraway image of Aoshi when he, Sano, and Kenshin return from Shishio's lair - again, NO Aoshi interaction AT ALL! And hello! Where was Misao! I realize people may not like her, but I liked the fact she loved Aoshi and didn't have feelings for Kenshin.
Tweaking Kaoru's "Reflections" - especially versus Enishi
I understood that some of the events were changed from how things transpired from the manga or even the TV series, when recollected in the OVA, but some things altered so much, I find it unforgivable. Yes, you can skip the faked death doll as that would be too long and confusing to get into, so I was fine with Enishi straight-kidnapping Kaoru. I even enjoyed the fact they kept in the little exchange of understanding that Kaoru had for Enishi's pain in losing his beloved sister. But what about the final Enishi vs. Kenshin battle!?!
There is no real reason to change the entire events of the Enishi vs. Kenshin battle on the island. Here was the perfect opportunity to show the fans all the major characters in RuroKen even if they never speak or are shown battling the "Four Gods" from the manga. I loved this part where Kenshin allows his comrades to shine in their respective artform in battle - Saito/katana; Aoshi/kodachis & martial arts; Yahiko/shinai; Sano/fists. Instead, Kenshin arrives alone - not even Yahiko and Sano are allowed. What a complete waste.
And then, they completely altered the concept of the "truth" that Kenshin had found within his heart that brought him out of the self-imposed living hell he fell into once he thought he'd lost Kaoru. That truth was that no matter what, Kenshin would always pick up his sword to help someone in need - that is his way to find atonement for his past, and to carry on the sacrifice Tomoe made for him to live on. So WHY the hell would Kenshin offer up his life to Enishi? He is completely tossing aside the truth he found for the sake of one person when his goal was to save as many because dying is too easy - living is what is hard.
They could have bypassed the gun fight problem by still letting Kaoru stand between Enishi and Kenshin at some point, but to have Kenshin not only fall to the ground to offer his life up, but to lie there and not even react when Kaoru fell over him to protect him from Enishi's sword? Wrong, wrong, wrong!
And now, we step into the realm which completely pissed me off the first time I saw this OVA years ago that made me want to throw this DVD away. (Actually, I was going to sell it until I stumbled across some images of Enishi online that made me realize this "flashback" was on this disc. Whew!)
The mighty UGLY:
The major problem here is that not involving Watsuki in the creative/development department meant missing his desire for Kenshin, as evidenced by the open-ended but happy place Kenshin and Kaoru found themselves at the end of the manga.
Watsuki's own feelings about the OVA ending was that, "Kenshin went through so much crap and deserved a happy ending." And what did these OVA people do instead?
- Kenshin decides to help his country by assisting those devasted by war and disease throughout Japan, so he leaves behind his son, Kenji, and his wife, Kaoru, for weeks upon weeks.
- Then, Kenshin has some kind of incurable disease (some surmise it is leprosy) and they decide to further this depressive them by letting Kaoru sacrifice herself by contracting the disease as a sign of love and devotion. (Um, YEAH.)
- Finally, Kenshin using his last bits of energy returns home to Tokyo to at least die in Kaoru's arms, to which only then his cross-shaped scar finally disappears because he has found his peace and happiness in death. And based on Kaoru's health, she is soon to follow Kenshin aka Shinta to the grave.
WHAT THE F*CK people! What upsets me about this ending is how far from the truth of Kenshin's character this OVA Kenshin has proven to be.
For instance, at the manga's end, his truth is to stay alive and protect the helpless. However, in the end, Kenshin has found some peace by starting a quiet life with family. He evens gives up the sakabato as a symbol of having moved on past the concept of living and dying by the sword.
I found Kenshin's desire to help the sick and destitute while he himself is sick and forsaking responsibilities to his own kin as being incredibly selfish and narcissistic. WHY? Because, the idea that one man, who has already done so much would continue to try and save the world, is a man who is acting as a martyr - even acting like God. He should let the era continue on. He should not try to affect the outcome for every generation. That is egotisical. He is supposed to help those he sees in front of him, not the memories of his past, etc., as expressed in the Jinchu arc. But that is all thrown out.
**huff, huff, huff** ... OK. I'm calming down now.
But there really was no need to let us see Kenshin die, let alone in such a pitiful and painful way, after "all the crap" he went through. We don't need to be given any kind of "realism" for a beloved character. There's nothing wrong with "happily ever after." There's a reason Cinderella and Prince Charming ends with the wedding and a kiss. We don't need to find out that 10 years later, they have a kid and marital problems, whether that be the truth or not, you know? Give us our joys.
I gotta stop ranting - I'm getting annoyed and losing focus. Plus I'm tired and cranky and there is still work tomorrow morning.
Basically, I totally dismiss Reflections from the official RuroKen canon and will adhere to the manga as Kenshin's true ending.
Naturally, this is all my own personal ranting opinions, so it is what it is.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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