Sunday, April 22, 2012

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION

4 stars out of 5




            Neon Genesis Evangelion is often considered one of the most influential anime because of its interesting premise and its release date (1995), which coincides with a time when anime was quickly exploding onto the global scene.  Of course, neither of those factors lead to intense popularity without quality writing.  Overall, Evangelion, was a satisfying show that really could have been so much more.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

MUSINGS OF THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF


It's been some time since I wrote a "Musings" entry, which speaks to the difficulties I'm having maintaining the blog in general. But it's still getting done, so no one has to worry too much. A little bit of time management goes a long way, especially when school grows increasingly intensive as the academic year comes to a close.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

KAZE NO STIGMA

3 out of 5 stars.

Earth, water, fire and air are typically seen as the four basic elements planet Earth is comprised of. Many stories have revolved around mankind's ability to harness these powers through mystical means, with The Last Airbender franchise being the most recent and successful example to date. Kaze no Stigma follows this tradition of elemental control in the context of modern Japan, as Kazuma Yagami fights off yoma (demons) with the help of the Kannagi family of fire magic users.

Kazuma Yagami.

Monday, April 9, 2012

BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT

Batman: Gotham Knight is an anthology released by Warner Home video featuring six vignette films about the Caped Crusader, produced by four different Japanese animation studios. Each short film has a very distinct look and feel, an aesthetic Gotham Knight shares with the Halo Legends and Animatrix collections.

The Dark Knight himself.

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

BACCANO!

4.5 stars out of 5


 

            What does it take to write a good story? Do you need characters viewers can relate to?  Do you need a cohesive plot that may or may not follow a conventional path towards the conclusion?  For me, Baccano! inadvertently examined this question while also managing to present an absurdly enjoyable sixteen-episode ride.

            The show begins by following young girl named Carol and the Vice President of the paper Daily Days, Gustav St. Germain, as they try to untangle a series of strange events that took place anywhere from 1711 to 1930.  Carol unsuccessfully tries to search for a main character for the coming story as the Vice President squashes any of her suggestions, simply saying that it is impossible to find a main story.


Carol and the Vice President discussing their story.


            Baccano! then travels back in time to look at a few recent events: the odd events transpiring onboard the transcontinental train, the Flying Pussyfoot, as it reaches New York City, and the search for Dallas Genoard, the son of an influential crime family in New York City.  Specifically, a few passengers are brought to your attention as they meet and greet with their friends at the train station.  Along with this you meet a few other passengers that were lost along the way: Ladd Russo lovingly telling his lady-friend that he will be the one to kill her (it makes sense later, don't worry) and Chane Laforet, a mysterious woman that is floating in a river.  Both are rescued by the FBI who are trying to piece together the enigmatic and bloody ride to New York City.


A few shots of the mysterious Flying Pussyfoot.


            Confused? So was I.  Don't be discouraged though; there is so much going on in each episode that its nearly impossible to adequately describe it in written form.  What you really need to know right now is that much of the show follows the train ride of the Flying Pussyfoot as three different groups of people battle for control, loot, and for the love of chaos.  Lots of people die, except for the few characters who happen to be immortal…

            Ultimately, much of the show comes back to an old sect of alchemists (during the 1700s) that mysteriously gained the power of immortality.  Once this is explained the many events that occur in the show begin coalescing into a single story.  One alchemist attempts to create a powerful elixir that grants immortality.  Many of the “major characters” end up accidentally drinking the elixir, escaping a variety of painful deaths by pure luck.

            Typically, I would devote time in a review to discuss the main characters.  In the case of Baccano! there are none.  Each of the twenty (give or take a few) characters in the show are quite important to the story and equally share the spotlight.  There are a few notable characters that I will talk about, but keep in mind they are not main characters in any way.


Isaac and Miria cheering up a sad friend on the Flying Pussyfoot.

            The first pair of characters that have to be mentioned are Isaac Dian and Miria Harvent.  Isaac and Miria are a pair of happy-go-lucky criminals that steal from all across the country as a means of “making people happy.”  They consistently dress up in absurd costumes that equally match their absurd personalities.  Probably the most ridiculous aspect of these two is that they are incredibly successful, to the point that the FBI is utterly incapable of  identifying them, let alone capturing them.  I loved every second of these two, as they inject a lot of humor into the show.  Their dialogues were hilarious, even when they would just say each other’s name (although that may be a trait of the English subtitled version and not the dubbed).  Needless to say they were very fun to follow throughout the show.

Ladd Russo is a very good hit-man for the Russo mafia family based in Chicago, and he loves his job.  He adores the act of killing, especially those who he feels are too confident, cocky, or consider themselves better than him.  He and his band of “white suits” wreak havoc upon the train for the love of killing.  Ladd was disturbingly happy when he was hurting people and would easily lose control.  The writers did a good job here with his manic personality; it would have been easy to make him a simplistic killer.  But he was written in such a way that he seemed very much like a big kid in a candy shop when people were dying.  Disturbing for sure, but definitely enjoyable in the context of the show.


Ladd Russo enjoying his trip on the Flying Pussyfoot. Yes those are specs of blood on his white suit.


            I purposely refrained from discussing any of the immortals because I would need to spoil parts of the show to talk about them.  Part of the fun is trying to figure out what is going on.  All I will say is that the show’s various alchemists part of what make the show interesting.  The characters are very well done and carry the show for the first few episodes until the plot starts to make sense.

            The plot was not very difficult to understand, but in the context of a sixteen episode show, the first few episodes seemed wasted on orienting the viewer to the writers’ style of story-telling.  There was so much information that needed to be conveyed that I felt that the show needed a few more episodes to truly flesh out some aspects of the story.  As you can tell by my rating, the complaint isn't a very big one.  Looking back on the show I can accept the necessity of the first few episodes to really get the ball rolling until the end of the show. 


Isaac, Miria, and Firo.

            The music was very well done for the show.  It had a very upbeat and happy feel that enhanced the tone of the show.  The show is definitely an action show, but comes off as more of a funny story with some violence tacked on.  The music choices helped to create that vibe while also fitting the time period of the story. 

            Baccano! was truly a thrill ride from start to finish that I wished lasted a bit longer.  The characters were great, and the story was incredibly refreshing as it tried something that I have not come across in any other genre.  At the end of the show I was satisfied, elated, and disappointed because it was over, something that really marks a good show in my eyes.  If you are looking for an upbeat, fun show that won't take too long to watch, Baccano! should fill that time-slot perfectly for you.  Enjoy!

* Baccano! was produced by Brain's Base

-ABC