02.08.10
Posted in Anime, Reviews Tags: anime classics, Ginga Eiyu Densetsu, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, OVA, sci-fi anime, 銀河英雄伝説 at 10:00 am by reversethieves
Legend of the Galactic Heroes can be one of the most intimidating series to start in all of anime with 110 episode in the main OVA series, several movies, and 52 OVA side story episodes it can seem like madness. But this is the definitive space opera inside or outside of anime. There are dozen of reasons to watch Legend of the Galactic Heroes: the complex politics, the epic space battles, and just the overall maturity of the the whole production. But the only reason any of that matters is because the characters are so compelling that they make you care about everything that happens. This is why I never cared for Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series despite how good it might be it never connected me to the characters. I had considered starting Legend of the Galactic Heroes on my own several times but thankfully Narutaki and my roommate decided to join me in watching this series once a week otherwise I would be watching this at a much slower pace. Even if you have to brave it alone know that it few series will reward for your effort and dedication. This review is for the first arc of the series with 26 episodes.
So perhaps you don’t know anything about Legend of the Galactic Heroes. Well, let me tell you, it’s infamously epic and quite long. And no we didn’t write that wrong, it is a 110 episode OVA. You might be saying to yourself, well 110 episodes sounds long but compared to many a shonen fighting show it’s not too crazy. But this isn’t a shonen fighting show, these 110 episodes are a dramatic, political, and strategic running narrative with a cast that swells with significant characters. But don’t worry, as the title implies, you can quite easily break the show into parts. You can even take a break between parts, but I promise you won’t want to. That is what makes it so amazing! Space opera has never been done better than Legend of the Galactic Heroes.
The Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance have been dead locked in intergalactic war for centuries. The Galactic Empire is a decadent monarchy and the Free Planets Alliance is a corrupt democracy both so weakened from within that they cannot conquer the other. But there are two rising stars, one on each side, whose actions will forever change the balance of the galaxy. Admiral Reinhard von Lohengramm plans to overthrow the corrupt regime of the Empire where as commodore Yang Wen-li merely wishes to keep the democracy he loves alive. Reinhard is disgusted with the decadent nobles who stole his sister from him and vows to gain power through the military to get his revenge. Yang on the other hand keeps rising through the ranks despite his best efforts and in the process drawing the attentions of the vile Patriotic Knight Corps. Countless men and women will dedicate themselves to helping or stopping these two men. As a man who studies history, Yang realizes that this story has happened before and will happen again.
Yes, there are huge space battles, we are thrown into one in the first episode where numbers like 300,000 get batted around when discussing the loss of soldiers in an attack. People get blown up, set aflame, impaled, and everything else but LotGH likes to throws these moments at you sparsely, so much so that you get surprised by the graphic nature of things each time it happens. This story is about a huge war that has been waged and never ceased but something about the clash of these two men, Yang and Reinhard, is about to change the course of the war. The ideas they represent, the moral ground that is tread, and the ability to show two sides, each with a set of values that are not demonized is what gives LotGH a unique flavor.
Everyone in LotGH comes off as someone to either root for or hate on both sides of the conflict. Yang and Reinhard are amazingly charismatic each in their own way and the similarities and contrasts between the two of them in the first arc are brilliant. Reinhard with his ambitious and upstanding goals but morally gray motivations and methods perfectly flank Yang with his slacker charm, easy genius, and upstanding character that is seasoned with a realistic view of the world. They are both tactical geniuses but both are remarkable strategists with their own distinct style. Reinhard is able to set up situations where he cannot lose and Yang is able to come up with brilliant strategy on the fly to survive in hopeless moments no matter how horrible the hand he is dealt. I definitely felt myself leaning towards Yang but I was still enthralled by Reinhard’s story. Both Reinhard and Yang strive to make the galaxy a better place but their ideals make it destiny to clash time and time again. Each time they meet it is not only a clash of their military strategy but of their world views. Reinhard wants to burn away the corrupt nobility of the Empire and feels only he has the vision and strength to reform the galaxy. Yang wishes just to keep himself and the people under his command out of trouble but we see that he has deeper and more grand ideals than just survival. Yang just knows you have to survive to make them a reality. As the first arc goes on both of them must also deal with internal struggles within their respective governments which exposes the strengths and weaknesses of both of their philosophies as well. When this part ends both men have changed themselves, their organizations, and the very course of human history itself.
Yang, Yang he’s our man! If he can’t do it no one can! This poor guy clearly comes off as the underdog in the series because not only does Reinhard just have more resources, his own government is constantly getting in his way. The Alliance seems to flip-flop from thinking Yang is the hero of the hour to thinking he is going to plot a coup to overthrow them. This actually stems from their own greed and corruption, they just can’t understand that a man exists who doesn’t want power and dominion, especially one has military and strategically capable as Yang. And this is what makes Yang such a contrast to Reinhard. Reinhard is trying to do all those things! However, Reinhard also has noble ideals and grand dreams for the Empire he so desperately wants as his own. Both of these men are plagued by the deceit, arrogance, and disregard for the people by their respective factions but their personalities and ways of dealing with it couldn’t be more different. Yang has sort of accepted that the democracy that he defends is rotten from the inside, but he doesn’t believe in using military might to fix it. Reinhard on the other hand believes the only way to cure the downward spiral of the Empire is by becoming the Empire himself. They are two sides of the same coin and as such they are perfect rivals.
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02.05.10
Posted in Anime, Manga Tags: Case Closed, Detective Conan, Genshiken 2, Katanagatari, Swallowing the Earth, The Last Wizard of the Century, げんしけん２, 刀語, 名探偵コナン 世紀末の魔術師, 地球を呑む at 10:00 am by reversethieves
Detective Conan Movie 3: The Last Wizard of the Century was quite memorable thanks to a mystery that swirls into a full-blown historical conspiracy. And the appearance of that charming phantom thief Kaito Kid! When the Kid delivers his latest riddle about where he will strike of course everyone is in a uproar but Conan senses something different about this heist as Kid signs the message “The Last Wizard of the Century.” Once they decipher the target as the a recently discovered Fabergé egg belonging to Nicholas II of Russia, Conan is even more perplexed as the piece upon examination contains no jewels (Kid’s item of choice). And that is just the tip of the iceberg as Kid leads them on a chase into a mountain of clues and mysteries that come one after the other. And of course there is a murder afoot as well. Plus Heiji is also in tow as the game begins. Ah, they crammed everyone in this movie but it just makes it more fun and spectacular. The way it keeps leading you to the next mysterious piece of the puzzle is engrossing. This was a great ride!
I have always been distinctly aware of the Detective Conan franchise but never really watched any episodes before this movie. This was a good test of how accessible the movies are to someone who did not watch the TV series. I found that with my general knowledge of Conan and the little intro I was able to follow the story. I might not have understood all the nuances but I was never left scratching my head about anything. What starts as a simple case of stopping the legendary thief Kaito Kid becomes a series of murders surrounding the late Russian royal family. That of course means that Grigori Rasputin is also involved because you just can’t have a story about the fall of the Russian royalty without him. By law. I have to say that if nothing else the movie peeked my interest in watching the rest of the franchise as it seemed very enjoyable and fun. I did not realize what a utter putz Kogoro Mouri is. Also the detective kids seemed sort of tacked on because that is how movies based on TV series work. I will say as I have in the past if you want to see some lovely high budget animation got to the family friendly shows. They get the wide audience that lets them spend money as they will and it shows when they put on a theatrical piece. It was a fun romp with all the murder, action, and mystery you expect from the Conan series.
Since I don’t like NISIOISN I was a bit worried about watching Katanagatari, but something compelled me to do so anyway and I’m very glad I did. When the episode hit the ending credits, I turned to Hisui and said “I LOVED IT!” This is mostly owed to the fact that the characters really grew on me and didn’t drive me nuts and weren’t utter jerkfaces which is pretty much why I stay away from this writer. I really enjoy the simple-nature of Shichika that is dual to Togame’s attempts to be devious and “strategic.” And all the humor that goes along with them is charming. The styling of the show and its storytelling is this really lovely mixture of modern and flat but evokes a very fairytale or storybook feeling. I saw this especially in their use of music, such as the moment when Shichika and Togame meet for the first time. And I was happy to see that the fight was pretty cool despite the obvious animation saving tricks used in the beginning. The only real flaw with this episode was a load of story exposition that was dumped, but it lays everything out for you, and since the episode is 50 minutes long it didn’t come off as unbalanced as it could have otherwise. Katanagatari is like a familiar story that you can’t wait to watch even though you’ve heard it before.
I was wary going into Katanagatari. I both like and dislike NISIOISN as an author. The problem is that he has a good sense of how to make interesting stories but a penchant for making characters that get right on my nerves. The story is the standard fetch quest by way of beating highly skilled opponents with gimmick weapons. This hardly dooms a show. It just means that how well the show does is reliant of two factors: how good the characters are and how cool the gimmick weapons are. So far I have greatly enjoyed Katanagatari because we have yet to encounter a “NISIOISN” style annoying jerk character especially as the one of the main characters. Togame and Shichika Yasuri seem very likable and have an easy comical chemistry between them. I’m sure they could add a new character I will want to strangle but so far this has not been the case. I am intrigued by the way the series is being released. It is being released on episode a month and each episode will tentatively be an hour long and based on one of the books in the series. So far great animation with a cool style, amusing characters with nice comedic timing, and the promise of some cool fights is keeping me watching.
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02.01.10
Posted in Experiments, Fandom Tags: fan community, Otaku Diaries at 10:00 am by reversethieves
#0099
I still have a few friends that I knew before I was heavily into anime, but they are few and far between. Most of the people I consider my friends I did meet, in one way or another, through this medium.
Thomas Wolfe said “The whole conviction of my life now rests upon the belief that loneliness, far from being a rare and curious phenomenon, peculiar to myself and to a few other solitary men, is the central and inevitable fact of human existence.” As an anime fan that is also a lonely person I think on that quote and wonder how alone am I in feeling alone? Is the otaku by nature a lonely beast? How much do anime fans have friends? How often do they watch anime with others? Do anime fans still go out there and try to recruit everyone they meet to get the word out about these amazing Japanese cartoons? Is there still reason to do that? I don’t think this will answer all of my questions but I do think we shed some much needed light onto how social the average otaku is.
#0019
Several days often go by wherein I don’t actually vocally speak at all. Before, back when I didn’t use instant messaging, I more or less had zero interaction with anyone.
#0042
I talk to my forum friends at least once a day. I feel that they are close acquaintances that I would get a long with if I met them in real life.
Ah, camaraderie. It was one of the first reasons I came to love the Internet in my youth. The ability to find like-minded individuals with your hobbies from all over the world and you didn’t even have to leave your room was a rather enticing prospect. And it certainly made many times less lonely or even expanded my knowledge. It also had the greater effect of making me appreciate when I could have those people or conversations face to face or watch that anime with another. Ideally you get to participate in both experiences because they both have positive attributes. I think anime fans want to be social for the most part, atleast social within a circle of people who they feel think like they do, and with the combination of technology and real life meetings, there is an outlet for it.
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Posted in Comics, Manga Tags: analysis, design, OEL at 7:00 am by reversethieves
Because of a random comment that occurred while looking at pages from King of RPG’s, I found myself taking a closer look at the use of screentone in manga the past couple of weeks. Essentially the comment was that something about the way OEL uses screen tone feels different from manga which it is supposed to be derived from. But what exactly was the difference, well, that required closer inspection, thus I type before you now.
Screentone use in manga I came to feel, or realize, was lending texture, pattern, the idea of color, or providing emphasis or deemphasis as it may be, and even creating mood. The characters themselves were often devoid of tone, except maybe a pattern on their clothing or perhaps their hair, with little shading.
And shading is where I started to feel the difference. Screentone in manga is used more flatly, whereas in OEL there is depth emerging. Characters in the foreground where not being given pattern with screentone, but instead were being shaded extensively with it in OEL. When screentone was showing up in the background of manga, it was more for pushing back the image in order to let the foreground characters pop. It was also lending a mood or feeling to the events occurring on the page. Contrastly in OEL, backgrounds were becoming less abstract with more of an emphasis on perspective. OEL is attempting to create a more multidimensional space using screentone as the central tool.
Randomly, I feel that digital screentone is still working the kinks out. This method is quite popular in OEL. I won’t say I can always tell when it is being used, but it can be easier to pinpoint. There is such a crispness to the lines when working completely on the computer that it becomes more obviously manufacture. There is a disconnect from the slight fuzziness that happens when scanning in a work of art.
Since all artists have their own styles and quirks there are always going to be exceptions and incidents here and there. But I think I have come to grasp some of the basic general uses of screentone in manga and OEL and the differences that can be seen. While I can’t say what has caused OEL to move in this direction, perhaps it is just a western emphasis on a more realistic aesthetic. The more I looked, the more I came to find OEL to have this emerging stylization even if only by accident.
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