Video Backlog: Zettai Unmei Mokushiroku

“Revolutionary Girl Utena”
Publisher: Nozomi Entertainment (Right Stuf, USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English dub and English Subtitles
Length: 39 Episodes x 24 minutes
Production Date: 1997
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

I don’t think I can add much to what has already been written about this series, so I’m just going to blab on about my experience and thoughts of the show for a couple of paragraphs. In one of the interviews contained within the three box sets in this handsome reissue, director and co-creator Kunihiko Ikuhara was asked why there was still a strong fanbase for the nearly 15 years on. The answer is of course that there seriously is nothing like the show out there. Not now, nor back in 1997. I suppose you could suggest that “Utena” is the shoujo answer to “Evangelion”. That’s probably a fair assessment, look at the symbolism, the teen angst, the pain of growing up etc., but it’s certainly far more surreal and humorous than “Eva”. This is the third time I have watched the show the entire way through. The first was via Software Sculpture’s subtitled VHS box set of the first 13 episodes and the rest by way of VHS fansubs in 1999. The second was via CPM’s DVDs in 2008. The show was screened here in Australia on the now defunct ABC digital “teenage” digital channel Fly TV as “Ursula’s Kiss” around 2002 or a bit later, which used the same dub as the CPM tapes and discs. Nozomi/Right Stuf have used the recent remastered version which appeared on a Japanese DVD box set a couple of years back. The audio has been remixed for 5.1 set ups and the opening and closing credit text as well as the title card text seem to have been redone. But it’s pretty minor and doesn’t distract.

While the show certainly looks like it’s been influenced by Takarazuka theatre, magical girl anime, “Princess Knight” and certainly “Rose of Versailles”, the liner notes seems to suggest “The Three Musketeers” as a major influence as well as general theatre productions. While I loved the drama as well as the humour and surrealism of the show, I think the way the show is tightly structured is its major downfall. Officially there are four arcs to this show; Student Council Saga, Black Rose Saga, Akio Ohtori Saga and the End of World Saga. The episodes of the first three generally follow a certain pattern; we are introduced to a character and are shown their backstory which includes some sort of event which has coloured their personality, they wilfully or are coerced into duelling Utena (usually after something tips them over the edge), the Shadow Girls perform a play which is in some way connected to the events of the episode, the character duels Utena amid over the top symbolism and finally Utena wins and the character is changed. Sure, there are some very interesting elements to all of this such as the different songs for each duel, but there is a predictability to it all. Not helping this is the reused animation in the duels and the lead up to them. However despite the minor problems with the show, it’s still one of the best anime of that era. 9.5 out of 10.

“Revolutionary Girl Utena Adolescence Apocalypse (Adolescence of Utena)”
Publisher: Nozomi Entertainment (Right Stuf, USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English dub and English Subtitles
Length: 85 minutes
Production Date: 1999
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

The movie version, released less than a year and a half after the TV series finished, is pretty much an 85 minute condensation of the show. The themes and plot are pretty much the same. It’s just the journey there which is quite different. The first noticeable difference is in the character designs for a couple of the cast. Utena Tenjou is now a new student to the school and has short hair and a more masculine uniform than the TV series. Anthy Himemiya has been redesigned almost beyond recognition. The other major character change is Akio Ohtori. His relationship to Anthy and the other characters is essentially the same as such, except he’s much younger here and for some reason another voice actor has taken his role. Touga Kiryuu’s role has changed too. In the film he’s actually Utena’s former boyfriend. The biggest disappointment is the fact Nanami and Chu Chu have been relegated to a mere (albeit quite surreal) cameo. They provided the TV series with the majority of its humour. The other strange element to the film is the truncating of the duels. There’s only two here, the second is only partly shown. While the relationship between Anthy and Utena was pretty much platonic in the TV series, here it is explicitly shown to be a sexual one. I think this strengthens the film’s story. The reasoning behind Anthy and Utena’s desperation to leave together is much stronger. However the actual realisation that there is something wrong in the wold they live in and the decision to leave are not handled very well. It’s like Utena had just decided on a whim. The concluding car chase sequence is pretty good, but quite nonsensical. Yes it’s a movie full of surrealism but can we just have a bit of logic to what is happening?

I recall about a decade ago that a local LGBT group had contacted me to promote their screening of the film (the club I used to run had previously played in the film in late 2000). As this film was created by heterosexual men and women and targeted mostly to a heterosexual female and male crossover audience, I really wondered what in hell they made of the film. I recall another screening, done by another anime club I was helping out, of Shonnen Ai and Yaoi material. They invited some sort of LGBT group along and essentially they laughed at how the relationships were depicted. It makes sense because that material is an idealised version of gay male relationships made specifically for heterosexual women. Hence my curiosity of how lesbians would view this film. So in conclusion, the film is a pretty good adaptation of the TV series material. There are little hints here and there of all the arcs from the TV series. At 85 minutes, I think the film is a little too short. It truncates too much of the show. If it was say 15 minutes longer and showed the reasoning behind Utena’s declaration to leave the world of the school, I think it would have made the film a lot better. Some additional scenes explaining or at least putting the cars into context wouldn’t have gone astray either. At the very least the film looks dead gorgeous, especially considering it’s a cel film with very little CG animation. The scene where Anthy and Utena dance on the flooded duelling arena is one of the most beautiful sequences of any anime film of the period. And just as a side note, this film was screened in Japanese cinemas with the forgettable “Cyberteam in Akihabara” film. 8.5 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 27 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: "K-ON!"

Publisher: Bandai Entertainment (USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English dub and English Subtitles
Length: 14 Episodes x 24 minutes
Production Date: 2009 - 2010
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

Ditzy and vacant Yui Hirasawa enters high school (the equivalent of year 9) and has a real difficulty trying to figure out which club to join. Meanwhile three students who have also joined high school that year, Mio Akiyama, Ritsu Tainaka and Tsumugi Kotobuki, want to join the Light Music Club. The only problem is that they need four members of the club, otherwise it will be disbanded. In their attempts to recruit new members, Yui spies one of the club’s flyers. Misinterpreting the meaning of Light Music (she thinks it means “light hearted” music), she joins up. The girls are delighted at first, but soon discover she can’t play a single instrument or even read sheet music. Yui decided to leave the club, but the others mange to change her mind by having cake, snacks and tea at every meeting. As the other three play bass, drums and keyboards, the only spot left for Yui is guitar, which pretty much forces her to buy one and learn how to play it.

The girls go through some strange trials and tribulations such as Yui failing her exams because she was leaning cords and not studying, practically blackmailing the music teacher, Sawako Yamanaka, to be the club’s adviser and surviving their first live performance. Drinking tea and eating sweets does seem to take precedence over band practice in the club. However a new school year brings opportunity for new members. Yui’s younger sister, Ui, enters high school and takes her friend Azusa Nakano to see the club. Initially not very impressed, Azusa later attends a welcoming ceremony where the band play. The performance impressed her and she joins up. However being in a family where her parents play in professional jazz bands, she takes exception to the lax attitude to practicing. Mio picks up on this and becomes a little more forceful in getting everyone to take things more seriously.

I fully admit that I am not really in sync with what modern day fandom likes. I really hate the poor, unsubtle and emotionally manipulative writing in the Key/Kyoto Animation tittles. I think the Haruhi Suzumiya franchise (the anime part at least) relies too much on gimmicks (broadcast order of the first season, endless eight etc) and the titular character isn’t exactly the most pleasant or likable person in the world. I was sort of bracing myself for a similar reaction I had to previous “hot” otaku shows I’d seen over the last few years with “K-ON!”. However I was really pleasantly surprised with this show. While the set up and personalities of the girls are set to 11 on the moe amplifier, it is quite well written, particular in terms of humour. And the humour is surprisingly genuine and not forced or clichéd for the most part. The girls themselves (oddly the only boys I can recall in the show were Ritsu’s younger brother and his friend whom we only get to see briefly in the final episode) are bunch of rather cutesy moe tropes; Yui is a ditz, Mio may seem to be a normal girl but she gets creeped out by horror or anything she’s not used to like barnacles on rocks at the ocean, Azusa is the new girl which they pick on in cute ways, Tsumugi is the rich girl and Ritsu is the tomboy. But somehow with the way the show is written and the situations they find themselves in, I forgave a lot of that. OK, I forgave all of it and gladly accepted pretty much all of it. It’s just so damn friggin’ cute! Certainly the most “moe” moment of the series was for me a scene where Yui and her sister Ui and snuggling together trying to get warm while walking to school on a cold winter's day. Somehow that flipped my paternal switch on to the max. I really don’t understand why either...

While a lot of reviews criticise the fact the show really has no drama whatsoever to it, I think that the lack of drama is what makes the show so successful. It’s the interactions between the characters as they go about their very pleasant school and after school activities. How is any different from something like “To Heart”? I’d prefer a show like this to yet another robot show with teenage protagonists and tons of angst and melodrama (but I like those shows a well from time to time). There are some problems with the show however. Once Azusa arrives the tone of the show changes a bit. There is some drama (as such) which lasts for an episode or two, but it reverts back to normal afterwards. I really felt this threw the whole vibe of the show off and was kind of unnecessary. I also thought the band itself was a little too tight. None of the bands at my schools were that good. Or could write songs, let alone decent sounding ones. There’s also the issue with Yui’s quick succession from beginner to guitar goddess. I get she’s an idiot savant (well, that’s my interpretation), but come on! And then you have the music teacher with the heavy metal past who makes fetishistic costumes for the girls. That was way too hard to swallow. I mean it’s just s lame cover to get the girls into cute costumes for the benefit of the target audience. But in the end I can overlook these issues. After all it’s just a show with cute high school girls acting cute, drinking tea and eating sweets, playing cute pop songs in a school band. It’s not high art or in any way substantial and it doesn’t have to be. I really liked this show. 8 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 27 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: “Night Raid -1931- (Senko no Night Raid)”

Publisher: Sentai Filmworks (USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English dub and English Subtitles
Length: 16 Episodes x 24 minutes
Production Date: 2010
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

Shanghai, 1931. A Japanese spy agency called Sakurai Agency was formed to weed out threats and problems that may hinder Japan’s influence in Manchuria. There are four main agents; two young men, the rash Aoi Miyoshi and the more conservative Kazura Iha who’s cover is running photography studio, and a young woman named Yukina Sonogi and Natsume Kagiya, a gentle giant of a man who is like a protective brother to Yukina. The four work under a middle aged man named Shinichirou Sakurai, who was a lieutenant colonel in the Imperial Japanese Army. They are sent on a variety of missions such as stopping a sex trafficking ring, to thwart a kidnapping of a Japanese business man and to stop a suspected spy from leaking classified information. What sets the four members of the Sakurai Agency apart from other spies is their powers. All four have a different type of supernatural abilities ranging from telekinesis, remote viewing, teleportation and telepathy.

One day Yukina receives a letter from her missing brother, Isao Takachiho, presumed to be dead, saying he wants to meet her. However a bomb threat on the four biggest department stores in Shanghai brings Yukina in contact with her brother’s offsiders. The bomb threat was part of plot to sprit her away in order for her to secretly meet her brother. Isao’s subordinate also has supernatural powers like the Sakurai Agency, which surprises the team members. Isao is plotting something very big which could destabilise the region. To add to the chaos, Aoi discovers someone close to him has mysteriously returned and seemingly has links to Isao.

This show is certainly a refreshing pace from the other stuff I’ve been watching lately. There’s a number of really interesting elements to this show. First is the fact its set in a historical context and for the most part the show's story fits in really well. It does divert off into an alternate history slightly towards the end, but it is quite plausible that the events, bar the big one at the climax of the series, could have taken place alongside real life history. The characters, situations and stories also fit in really well with the time period. The show looks really well researched and correct in almost minute detail to the era. I did think Aoi did look a little too causal for the period and sort of questioned some of the lack of headwear when out in public on some of the characters. But I guess that this is Asia and not the west and men and women weren’t so socially inclined to wear hats in that period. There was also a secondary character, a young Chinese woman who works in a restaurant called Feng Lan, whom I though was a bit too much of a stereotype. The supernatural powers are also handled well in the show. It’s all rather matter of fact and they are sparingly used. The powers most certainly aren’t the focus of the show; it's the political machinations.

In that regard, it was all rather intriguing, but I sort of lost my way a bit with all the factions and who had swapped sides and for what reasons. However by the last few episodes it had pretty much settled down and was a lot clearer. Another great thing about the show is how languages are handled. People not only speak in Japanese, but Mandarin, English, Russian and German. The Japanese actors handle both the Mandarin and English fairly well, but are not so great with the Russian language. The only one out of place was an Indian character who seemed to speak English in a perfect American accent. That sort of destroyed my suspension of disbelief for the few scenes he was in. Also be on the lookout for a tall thin man named Ichishi, who is Shinichirou Sakurai’s offsider. He plays quite an important part in the show. But his part is done very subtlety. The series has three OVAs spread throughout it, which I thought add a bit more depth to the characters and the period. Even the postscript OVA at the end was really quite good. It really felt part of the story, not some tacked on bonus created for the video release. In conclusion this is really good antidote to the rather mediocre and fan pandering anime out at the moment. It’s really well produced, is really intriguing and suspenseful at times, portrays the period very well and is practically nothing like anything else out there at the moment. I did however get a bit lost with the political machinations at some points though and some of it I really did find had to suspend disbelief considering the historical context, but a lot of that stuff was pretty minor. I’m really surprised fandom didn’t warm to this show as much as I thought it would. It’s good, solid entertainment. 7.5 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 27 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: “The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya”/“Nyoron! Churuya-san”

Publisher: Bandai Entertainment (USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English dub and English Subtitles
Length: 25 Episodes x 5 minutes (Haruhi-chan), 13 Episodes x 2 minutes (Churuya-san)
Production Date: 2009
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

I’ll readily admit that I’ve never been a big fan of “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” franchise. I only thought the original anime series was OK and the whole broadcast order gimmick was a bit lame really (though you must admit it worked like a charm). There were a number of references from the light novels which were never explained in the anime series. I always felt that was rather excluded a large part of the show’s audience. I really don’t see why I have to read a novel series to understand the anime. It should be self-contained. Somehow I enjoyed the second series a bit more than the first. The endless eight episodes could have been handled a lot better though (say, some more variation considering each one covers the same time period). And the movie, well I thought it was just a bloated, missed opportunity. That’s not to say the franchise isn’t entertaining. It’s just that I don’t see what others see in it.

I really regretted buying these discs and thought I was in for a relay bad two a bit hours when watching them. However I was really surprised. “The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya” is a set of five or so minute shorts released on YouTube back in 2009, based upon the spin off manga of the same name. Essentially it’s just an SD version of the show played for laughs. Pretty much everyone is the same as the original show. Except Yuki, who has given up books for video games, mostly of the ero variety (yes, the staff are playing to their target audience). The other big change is with Ryoko, who has revived in this incarnation of the show, except she’s a chibi version of herself and is no larger than say 20cm. Yuki manages to save her from a cat and then she sort of ends up as Yuki’s domestic slave, much to Ryoko’s horror. This odd relationship is where most of the humour comes from in the show. But Haruhi and Kyon’s antics are also pretty damn funny too. For the first half of the series, every episode did make me laugh at least once, but the humour waned as the show progressed. The format did wear me down a bit after a while. But then again I don’t think this show was meant to be watched in one hit.

“Nyoron! Churuya-san” is another kettle of fish. It ran in tandem with “The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya” on YouTube and is based on a bunch of four panel manga doujinshi by a circle called Eretto. The main character of this show is Churuya-san, who is essentially a stupid SD version Tsuruya. Everyone else has the same names as in the original show. Each two minute episode is broken up to four or so segment, most of which have to do with Churuya-san talking about, acquiring, eating or doing something else related to smoked cheese. Yup, that’s it. Sample dialogue runs something like this;

Churuya-san: “How do you make smoked cheese?”
Mikuru: “Google it.”
Churuya-san: “Nyoron~”

Vary the first two lines, change around the person Churya-chan is speaking to and repeat ad nauseum. Seriously, that’s it. As you can imagine it gets pretty old pretty quick. Add in the fact the rest of the cast have the exact same faces and the voice actors do weird deep voices for each of their characters. It’s quite dumb and not all that funny. Though I must admit some of the latter episodes did make me laugh. In the end it was pretty bloody annoying though. The disc is rounded out with some more of those bizarre live action commercials (one section is a thirty minute behind the scenes feature with the Japanese voice actor for Taniguchi, which is about 25 minutes too long. For about 10 minutes of that 25, two of the Japanese voice actors are seen wrestling each other dressed as oni in the grounds of a museum dedicated to oni myths. Yeah, great extra) and obligatory English ones made by Bandai Entertainment hyping the Haruhi releases. Seriously, does anyone watch those poorly acted, cringe inducing things? Overall it was quite a surprise and far better than I expected. The Churuya-san segments let down the Haruhi-chan stuff I’m afraid. 6.5 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 27 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: Hungry (and Drunk) Like the Wolf

“Spice and Wolf” 
Publisher: Funimation (USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English dub and English Subtitles.
Length: 13 episodes x 24 minutes
Production Date: 2008
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

In a European-like post middle ages world, man in his mid 20’s, Lawrence Kraft wanders the countryside trading whatever he can get his hands on. His peddling has again brought him to the village of Pasloe. The village has an ancient legend where a giant wolf named Holo once made a deal with the villagers to look after its annual wheat crops. In the passing decades and with evolving agriculture techniques and the growing influence of the church and waning interest in paganism, Holo’s promise is no longer relevant to the villagers in terms of actual harvesting. However they still celebrate the story of the promise with a festival at the end of the harvest which treats Holo as a myth, a story. After trading for some wheat, Lawrence leaves town. Late at night at his campsite, Lawrence discovers a young naked women sleeping in his cart. She claims to be the human form of the legendary wolf Holo. Lawrence disbelieves the story and asks her to prove it. Holo accepts the challenge and using a piece of the wheat, begins the transformation. Lawrence is horrified at this and quickly returns to Pasloe. There he visits Chloe, a peddler in training he knows quite well. She asks if they can be partners in business, but he declines say she is too young. Lawrence again leaves town and again meets the human form of Holo. Holo wants to leave the town and return to her homeland in the north, Yoitsu. She convinces him to take her on his journeys.

This series follows the pair as they traverse the countryside making deals, sometimes good ones, sometimes disastrous ones and meeting a number of people, including representatives of the church who don’t take kindly to pagan gods such as Holo. This anime is based upon the highly popular light novel series written by Isuna Hasekura and contains the very distinctive illustrations done by Ju Ayakura. Initially thought the series was set in post dark ages Europe, but this is not the case. It’s a fantasy novel series, but instead of focusing on the usual tropes in the genre, it’s focus is on trade and business. With a hot wolf girl of course. Holo in part seems much like Kuu from “Our Home's Fox Deity (Wagaya no Oinari-sama)”, except she’s much more savvy and knowledgeable about humankind. She’s also much more relaxed and comfortable with herself. Unlike Kuu, Holo can’t hide her long tail or her prominent ears in human form; therefore she hides them in nun like habit which Lawrence has to explain away with a story that she is indeed a nun. For the most part, Holo adapts well to human culture, though her instincts regarding food are weighted a bit on the animal side. For the most part the series is quite interesting, however over the 13 episodes, it does seem to get into a familiar pattern; Holo and Lawrence journey and make a risky deal, they are betrayed and in dire straits and then the problem is solved. Admittedly this structure is probably due to the fact it’s been adapted from the first two light novels, with six or so episodes each corresponding to one book. The final arc however was pretty damn good and made up for a lot of the show’s shortcomings. The animation was pretty disappointing and looked rather cheap (especially after watching “Dennou Coil”). A lot of animation is also repeated during the show. Certainly the first half of the first season is pretty good. I felt the second half of the show did mirror the first in terms of actual basic story ideas and this felt a bit repetitive. However the final few episodes and the two main characters more than made up for many of the show’s short comings. 7.5 out of 10

“Spice and Wolf II”
Publisher: Funimation (USA)
Format: Region 1 and 4 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English dub and English Subtitles. Region A and B Blu-ray, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English dub and English Subtitles.
Length: 13 episodes x 24 minutes
Production Date: 2009
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

As Lawrence and Holo bid farewell to a friend they’ve helped out, Holo finds herself being drawn closer to Lawrence. At time she’s almost as giddy as a school girl (in her private thoughts of course), but at other times she’s a bit wary of how attached she is becoming to him. As they continue on their journey and visit the next town, Lawrence meet a fellow trader’s guild member, Amati. He is quite a young trader and immediately takes an interest in Holo. While Lawrence looks for clues as to the exact whereabouts of Yoitsu, he decides to distract Holo by letting Amati show her around the town. Unfortunately this backfires on Lawrence spectacularly. Holo spins a story to Amati that she is forced to travel with Lawrence because she raked up a debt of a thousand silver coins. This horrifies Amati who is now more or less in love with Holo, so he challenges Lawrence that he can come up with the money and free her. If does so he will propose to Holo. Though not exactly having romantic feelings for Holo, Lawrence accepts and attempts to come up a with a large amount of money so he can win the challenge. He really fears he will lose Holo. The money maker in this town is Fool’s Gold (pyrite) which local soothsayers say it holds special properties. However the supply of the pyrite is limited and it is extremely popular with the townsfolk. Lawrence plans to buy up as much pyrite he can lay his hands on, and then sell it all at once to devalue the market as much as he can. Therefore Amati’s stock will be effectively worthless. However Lawrence’s main problem is finding the pyrite.

The second series brings a change of animation studios. Because of this there is an immediate improvement in the animation. It looks significantly better than the first 13 episodes. The other really noticeable change in this series is Holo’s increasing attachment to Lawrence. The first few episodes show hints of her confusion and anxiety brought on by her friendship with him and also the fact she spent so much time with him and in the human world after spending such a long time being alone. There’s also her increasing anxiety that when she finally returns to Yoitsu, she believes no one will be left to great her. These episodes really humanise Holo who has been portrayed as a somewhat gluttonous, alcohol loving but sharp and cunning wolf girl. At the same time there is this attempt by the makers of the show the animal side of her. Certainly she’s portrayed as being more playful and even a bit more impulsive, and her tail is much more expressive here. It clearly gives away what she is thinking and shows her feelings. I really felt as a lot of these inclusions were deliberately included to soften Holo’s character, to make her girly and less intimidating. For the most part I didn’t mind there changes so much as they were mostly not distracting, however I thought it was a bit disappointing that they felt the need to do this. Holo is a fantastic character that didn’t need to be changed.

After the first arc of the show, Lawrence and Holo become a bit uh, lovey-dovey, or more correctly very, very chummy. I didn’t really like the character dynamic between them from this point on. The final arc for me certainly wasn’t as exciting as the first. I felt the show ended a bit weakly compared to how it started out. The plans that Lawrence and fellow traders hatch out together are bit convoluted and perhaps a bit implausible I think. However most of the dramas surrounding these schemes are reasonably exciting, though a bit subdued and not as dramatic as I hoped they would be portrayed. Funimation have thankfully included the two shorts from the Japanese releases. In particular, “Stretching with Holo, Yoitz Style”, is a strange but somehow suitable fun little extra. Overall I think the first half of the show was pretty good. The second half had a good set up but seemed to peter out a bit in the second half. The tension of the dissolution of Lawrence and Holo’s relationship disappears at the end of the first arc, so the events of the second arc not as dramatic as they should have been. Bit of a shame really. There’s also the problem that this anime is based upon an ongoing light novel series. The final scene feels really open ended. It really feels a like a third series should be created to give some real closure. Despite the problems with the show, I can still give it a 7.5 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 27 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Video Backlog: "Dennou Coil"

Publisher: Siren Visual (Australia)
Format: Region 4 DVD, PAL, Japanese Dialogue with optional English Subtitles
Length: 26 Episodes x 24 minutes
Production Date: 2007
Currently in Print (as of writing): Yes

By 2015, version 3.0 of the internet has arrived. It involves wearing a special set of glasses that enables the wearer to view an internet world laid over the top of the real one. You actually interact with the world around you bit also in a 3D virtual environment. Fast forward 11 years where the technology has been refined. 12 year old Yuko Okonogi moves with her family to the city of Daikoku. As she and her younger sister, Kyoko, come across various strange things in the virtual world around Daikoku. They see a kind of mist rising from a part of town, and a trail of strange black matter which they latter follow. This leads them to what is colloquially known as an “illegal”, a kind of cyber creature. Unfortunately Yuko’s cyber-pet Densuke follows the creature in what is described as “old space”, an unused area from the beginning of the creation of the cyber world. In it lurks illegal software, viruses and something called metabugs, kind of like bits of data which the children of Daikoku collect and trade. If Densuke stays in old space for too long, it can kill him. Yuko accidently finds a lost cyber-pet cat which a girl her age, Fumie Hashimoto, was looking for. Fumie explains that she is cyber detective who finds people’s lost cyber-pets. In exchange for finding the cat, she rescues Densuke. Fumie and Yuko become friends instantly after this meeting.

While the children of the area happily play in this virtual world including the illegal areas, the local Cyberspace Administration, under the guidance of the company Megamass reformat old areas and wipe out viruses and bugs using a virtual anti-virus like program called Satchi. These strange looking red programs roam the area wiping out anything deemed illegal indiscriminately. As many of the children carry virtual things which are illegal or have illegally modified pets, this leads them to being chased down by the Satchis. Much to Yuko’s surprise and annoyance, her grandmother, known to the children as Megabaa, has opened her own “cyber candy shop”, the Megasi-ya. There she sells various bits of software, including various metatags (made from metabugs), represented as paper talisman, which can be used for various things such as stopping Satchis or repairing things. Megabaa also runs the detective agency that Fumie is a part of. Megabaa manages to con Yuko into becoming a member of the agency. The arrival of another new student at school, Yuko Amasawa who is nicknamed Isako, changes things dramatically. Isako is a street savvy girl who can draw intricate codes in virtual chalk on the ground which enables her to hide from the Satchis or anyone else for that matter. Isako is searching for something and is using people’s pets to draw out illegals. Rumours on the intent begin to mount that kids souls are being drawn into the “other world” by a mysterious humanoid illegal called Michiko-san. Yuko, Fumie and their friends soon find evidence that this rumour may be in fact true.

I really have no idea why this show has taken so long to get an English language release. And of all companies to release it, Siren, for god’s sake! While fans did make a bit of noise about this show, you have to admit it’s been rather more subdued than the hype surrounding other shows. I initially was only mildly impressed by the first couple of episodes, but it slowly built up piece by piece over the entire length of the series into an exciting show. First off the concept of overlaying the internet over the real world (and viewing it via glasses) is a fantastic one. It really is quite easy to think this could be the next evolution in the internet. I also liked the idea of virtual pets (like the virtual spy cats with hand like ears, which play rock-paper-scissors when they meet each other. What a cool idea!) and the new industries (albeit cottage ones) that popped up around it. It’s exactly how the modern day internet has evolved. It’s exceptionally well thought and well integrated into the story. I also saw parallels in the concept of old space and normal space and the “dark net” (i.e. stuff like the Hidden Wiki) and normal internet in the modern age. Though I admit the dark net is more freaking scary than old space. The exploration of ideas such as what a person’s soul is, is quite similar to the ideas explored in “Ghost in the Shell” I thought. But this show just isn’t about technology; it’s about how people interact with it and how people negotiate their way through relationships and feelings as well as negotiating their way through the modern world at the same time. It’s also about grief which I though was an interesting element to mix into the show. I loved how all the elements came together in the last eight or so episodes. It had fantastic technology, drama, conspiracy and action in a very well written story.

There were a couple of problems with the show I felt. The big one for me was the lack of explanation of some of the some of the technology used in the show, however most of the time I could suspend disbelief quite easily. There were some minor leaps in logic, but I could forgive most of these. The show took a couple of missteps story wise I felt, but again these were kind of minor. Like most of Siren’s recent stuff (i.e. from 2008 or so) this show is presented and packaged very well. The video for the most part is drop dead gorgeous for a NTSC to PAL transfer, however there are some minor frame meshing in the last disc on the second DVD set. This is mostly unnoticeable in my eyes. Siren has also included a bonus disc in the second set which has about 90 minutes of features. It’s mostly promotional material, interviews and the like, but it was a nice inclusion (and everything is subbed too). In conclusion, “Dennou Coil” is one of anime’s best kept secrets. It may be a mainstream NHK animation aimed at children, but seriously it’s too good for kids. Somehow it perfectly blends themes about technology, relationships with others in the modern world, grief and explorations of a virtual after life with conspiracy theories and urban legends, drama and most importantly a great big dose of humour. It’s also really well written and paced. Not a lot of anime can claim that now days. This is easily one of the best shows I’ve seen in the last couples of years. It’s a shame that it hasn’t got a dub or better distribution in the west so more people can have the chance to see it. 9 out of 10.

Remaining Backlog: 27 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).

Doom, Doom, Doom From the Land of R1; Why, It’s All the Fault of Fandom!

One would think that it would be very unwise to bite the hand that feeds, especially if you’re in retail. Gerry Harvey knows this all too well. After Bandai Entertainment pulled out of the US market (and Beez Entertainment has also pulled out of France/UK/Germany), I knew that finger pointing would begin and eventually it would be pointed at consumers. Oh silly fucking us, we’re here to provide you with jobs and income, aren’t we? Robert “Bob” Brown of the Anime Corner Store has always been quite “vocal” for a number of years with some rather insulting opinions, some of which I think he should really keep to himself. In particular I find his beef with his rival the Right Stuf (which he bizarrely labels “Brand X”) rather immature at times. Certainly I can understand that retail isn’t a great business to be in, however openly whinging to you customers via your blog and newsletters makes you look like a dickhead. While I switched over the Anime Corner Store to “Brand X” many years ago (pretty much due to the cheap prices) Bob’s never ending rants haven’t exactly persuaded me to return to his store.

Bob usually has a “State of the Industry” section of his weekly e-mail newsletters, which is pretty much doom, doom and more fucking doom, week in and week out for over the last four plus years. It gets a bit tiresome really (hey, I know I should unsubscribe…). Of course Bandai Entertainment’s demise got a look on in Friday’s newsletter. He quotes Ken Iyadomi's interview from ANN, but is rather blunt in his own assessment of what happened;

“The US fan base has driven the price of Anime so low that it must be a bitter pill for many Japanese licensors to swallow having such cheap versions of their shows on the market, with many now preferring simply to just stay out of this market. Fan's rarely consider this when they wonder why so many series now never end up with an R1 release”.

Did everyone get that? Its anime consumers fault. You know, the people who actually buy the stuff. OK, how about some facts here?

Anime Companies Fucked Themselves On Pricing
Sorry, but who exactly put the cheap box sets of anime in the market place? Oh that’s right; it was the US distributors themselves. Back in 2004 or so, the major companies of the time, Geneon, ADV, Funimation, Media Blasters etc., released single DVDs, then after the final disc in the series, boxed up the series cheaply some six to eight or twelve months later. This became a regular occurrence, practically like clockwork for some companies. Consumers certainly aren’t stupid. They can see patterns in price fluctuations of products and can sniff out a bargain a mile away. It became obvious to consumers what was happening and they began to wait until the cheaper box sets came out rather than buying single DVDs which was clearly more expensive. So what, you’re going to blame consumers for buying the cheaper product (the box set) rather than buying the more expensive one (single DVDs) which is practically identical? Well fuck me, whose fault is this? Is it consumers for rightly trying to get a better deal?

Consumers Are Not Responsible For Your Business Model, Nor Should They Care About It
The one thing some companies pull out is that anime’s business model is heavily reliant on video sales, even in Japan. US distributors have to make their money back on DVD/BD sales alone. Sorry, but consumers did not choose this model. Acquisition, production, marketing, distribution and sales of anime are in the hands of the companies themselves, not the consumers. We really have very little or more than likely no say in any of these matters. We’re not responsible for your budgets, which titles you acquire, your troubles with licensors, or the insane bidding wars you loons got into in the mid 00’s (a six figure sum for EACH episode of “Heat Guy J”? Get the fuck out of here). But most importantly, we as consumers shouldn’t have to care, or dare I say it, understand what it takes to get anime DVDs and BDs on to shelves. It should have absolutely no bearing on whether we purchase an anime disc or set or not. And why should it? What exactly makes it any different or special to any other physical media jostling for shelf space in any store?

Anime Does Not Exist in Some Sort of Vacuum Divorced From All Other Entertainment
Here’s what really gets me; do those in the industry who bemoan the current state of anime retail in the US really understand that anime is just one miniscule part in an ever increasing choice of entertainment? If a box set of “Dexter” or “Underbelly” or “True Blood” is say $40 or $50, then consumers rightly wonder why they only get 13 half hour episodes for $70. “But it’s the business model” you scream, “we have to make dubs and the big studios have an unfair advantage over us because the show has already made its money back”. Oh yeah? Well, so fucking what? Is that my problem? You want me to pay more for a title when other non-anime titles are cheaper and better value for money? People who aren’t hardcore fans aren’t going to pay $20 or more for half season of anime when they can get a DVD or BD set of a US, UK or Australian TV series for much less. It’s the truth. The reality is that anime is competing with all other forms of entertainment. It does not have some sort of special exemption in the marketplace.

It’s not like I’m not sympathetic to what most companies are saying, but they aren’t special entities in the marketplace. They have to solve the problems they currently have. The consumers cannot change anything about their situation. They aren’t charities; we shouldn’t have to “fund” what they do as such. I also want to comment on Bob’s following statement;

“Ken has also said recently that Bandai was the only one of the US based Anime companies to still be operating in the black. While it's hard to take claims like that seriously and imagine Bandai as the single profitable company in the industry, I can certainly believe that most of the other folks here in the R1 business are currently loosing money on almost everything they release, but are 'making it up in volume' due to the ultra low price points. Anime has become a product that no one in R1 can make any money on - not at production, or distribution. or retail. Trust me, I would know this”

I don’t know much about business, but one would assume that if you are continually operating in the red, then perhaps it’s time to refocus the business on something other than anime, or drop out of video market altogether. If it’s not working, and hasn’t been working for a while, the question has to be asked; why in god’s name do you keep doing it? Are you some kind of martyr sacrificing yourself and your business for a few thousand anime fans, many of which are unappreciative of what you do? Are these people masochists? Seriously I don’t understand what’s going on. If you are fed up with the industry and aren’t making any money, well, just leave.

I’ve bought several thousand DVDs, video tapes, laserdiscs and Blu-rays from the US anime industry over the last 15 years. I think it’s completely insulting to suggest anime fans that have paid for their anime (irrespective of what legit cheap DVD box set they bought) are in some way responsible for the current situation. The Japanese licensors don’t like cheap box sets? Tough. That’s how pricing for all home video works, not just in the US market, but in the UK and Australia too. Anime should not be an exception. If taking the blame for an anime company’s demise is the response I get supporting the legit US industry for well over a decade and a half, then retailers like Bob can go bankrupt for all I care. I shall continue to use “Brand X” for all my anime needs and continue to ignore twats like Brown.

The Demise of Bandai Entertainment and the Future of Anime in English

When I heard the news about the effective cessation of operations of Bandai Entertainment on Monday, I felt a mixture of apathy and a bit of sadness. Somehow they’ve managed to almost get out all of the titles I was interested in just before their closedown date in February. The only other unreleased title I was interested in, “Nichijo”, will most likely be released in a physical format (probably DVD rather than BD) by Madman Entertainment, but there’s also a slim chance they might do the same for the long delayed “Turn A Gundam”. Well, one can only hope.

Initially I was going to do something similar to a post I did for another blog a couple years back in regard to the demise of Central Park Media, which involve looking at about half a dozen of the more esoteric or underappreciated titles they released. Looking at some of the reaction to online, well, it kind of narked me off really and my enthusiasm for doing my piece on some of the unloved Bandai titles evaporated. ANN’s interview with Ken Iyadomi of Bandai Entertainment made my heart sink in regards to the future, or lack thereof, of anime in English. First I think I’ll quote some of the more interesting titbits from the interview;

“Bandai Entertainment's corporate parent at Namco Bandai Holdings made the decision to exit the American home video business. Iyadomi says he wasn't privy to the fine details. "The decision was made in Japan by the contents SBU (Strategic Business Unit)." That business unit originally included the video games division, but recently was merged with all of the company's audio visual businesses, including Sunrise, Bandai Visual and Bandai Channel.

But the broader reasons are quite clear from the outside. The physical anime business in North America has shrunk substantially over the last five years, and shows no sign of returning to its former glory. "A couple of times we were hit with huge returns, and the financial result was pretty bad," Iyadomi admits. Still, he believes the division might have been able to keep going for a few more years, had the SBU allowed it.

"The pricing range for our products kept dropping in Western countries, and people tended only to buy sets with very reasonable prices, which we understand is what fans want, but it lead us to a different strategy than what Japanese licensors wanted," he remarked. "So we always had a problem [with licensors wanting something different than what consumers wanted].”

So the main thing we can take from that is that there is a clear disconnect between what consumers in the US market want and how a great number of Japanese distributors want to market anime. Seriously, how stupid is this? I fully understand that revenue from the US model is far less than a Japanese model. That is Japanese DVDs and BDs being sold at say 8,000 yen with lower amount of units sold is far more profitable than selling four times that amount at a much cheaper $25 price point. The gap widens significantly when you take anime series into account, i.e. in Japan a single 26 episode series on DVD may span 8 or so discs at 6,000 yen (about $75) or so per disc, compared with $50 - 70 for a half season set in the US. The bigger money maker is clearly the Japanese model;

“Only one thing is clear: the role of a distributor for anime in North America is changing, and some well-equipped licensors can now cut them out of the process entirely, if they choose. Japanese publishers can now create Blu-rays with English subtitles, ready to import to English speakers worldwide. While those won't sell as many copies as American-produced discs, the higher price point and lack of middleman can still result in a decent amount of revenue with little additional cost. Bandai Visual Japan recently discovered this for themselves with their release of Gundam Unicorn. "They found the results pretty good, and that's how I think they would like to move forwards," Iyadomi says.”

As previously mentioned by Iyadomi, not only is Bandai Visual releasing Gundam Unicorn this way (total cost for all six OVAs on BD will be about 33,800 yen, about $425), but other series such as “Horizon on the Middle of Nowhere” and “Tiger & Bunny” are getting similar treatment. Currently the only legitimate physical media with any sort of English on it (in this instance English subtitles only) are the BDs made in in Japan. To obtain all nine “Tiger & Bunny” BDs with English subtitles, it will set you back 50,500 yen (about $630). Note that in that example I did not include shipping from Japan, which is pretty expensive. Compare to Funimation’s half season DVD/BD combo sets which retail for about $70 each.

As somebody who prefers having a physical format over watching streaming video, I would certainly hate for large Japanese companies to release anime this way. I certainly understand why they would prefer this model. They have complete creative control over all aspects of production and distribution and wouldn’t have to worry about reverse importation. But it’s a bit of kick in the teeth to western anime fans. To be able to buy nearly half a dozen anime series for about $300 (with discounts of course) versus more than double that for one single series. I really can’t justify that, even for a series like “Tiger & Bunny”, and especially for series like “Horizon on the Middle of Nowhere”. There’s also the problem of the lack of English dubs on these discs (“Gundam Unicorn” being the exception of course). While I don’t really listen to dubs, a lack of one does immediately reduce the audience of the show by a huge number. While I think Funimation, Sentai Filmworks, NIS America, Nozomi (Right Stuf), Media Blasters and Discotek won’t be going away anytime soon, the market looks pretty shaky and has so for the last couple of years. Sure we have Siren Visual and Madman Entertainment as well, but Australia is a tiny video market and anime is niche product in that tiny market. Despite Siren’s many sub only releases, sub only anime isn’t exactly a big seller. For the moment, I still keep buying anime on a physical format (though I’ve cut back on purchases quite a lot), but it really feels my choices of anime in English in future may be severely limited. It’s quite frustrating and not a good way to treat English speaking fans, especially when they’ve supported anime for more than a couple of decades now.

Video Backlog: "Magical Meow Meow Taruto"

Publisher: Bandai Entertainment (USA)
Format: Region 1 DVD, NTSC, Japanese Dialogue with optional English dub and English Subtitles
Length: 12 Episodes x 22 minutes
Production Date: 2001
Currently in Print (as of writing): No

I generally don’t read anime reviews, especially the supposedly “professional” ones from the big anime sites. I find that a lot of hate is spewed unnecessarily towards certain series. Oddly enough a lot of righteous moralism is also applied to some series as well. Even those which most normal people think are completely innocent. This is one show where the reviews completely baffled me. Going by some reviews you’d honestly think it was about molesting small children and killing cute puppies and kittens. The show contains a whole heap of cat people creatures which are about knee high to a human. One review thought it was creepy that one of the female cat people was curled up in its owner’s lap. Uh huh. So the question is; is that a horrible creepy sexual fetish or is it just a cat sleeping on a person’s lap because, you know, it’s a fucking cat? Another review from a well-known defunct anime website suggested the series was aimed at paedophiles and “skunk fuckers”. Yep, oh kay… I seriously believe that when someone sees sexuality in something as innocent as this show, well, I think that speaks volumes about what goes inside their heads. What an awful existence their life must be.

With that out of the way, I might talk about the show. The setup is a little weird, so stick with me. Long ago a race of cat people called the Kinka lived in an alternate universe to the human world. A war developed between a second race of cat people called the Byoh. The Kinka loose the battle and the princess of Kinka disappears. In the human world, a cat called Taruto and her master Iori have moved to a new house with Iori’s niece, Kinako. Iori is a rather gentle man who is interested in cooking than anything else. That is until he spots Anzuko Domyoji, a rich, young and wealthy woman who is an avid cat collector. Smitten by Anzuko, Iori inadvertently promises to give Taruto to her. Not only does Taruto have to deal with not being caught by Anzuko, she also has to deal with the teasing by two local cats, Charlotte and Chitose. However they do eventually become friends. Taruto believes she can perform magic and somehow makes a squirrel called Kakipi, who is found living in the roof of the house, fly. He soon becomes a close friend of Taruto. Charlotte and Chitose have difficulty believing Taruto’s claims about magic, however a local wise cat, Rakugan, decides to train her as she maybe the lost Kinka princess. However two mischievous cats, Chips and Nachos, are ordered by a mysterious old witch to thwart Taruto. Adding to the confusion is that three masked cats in capes are searching for Taruto.

So, the major problem with this show is that the true nature of these humanoid cats is seemingly never articulated in the show. Watching the show, it immediately occurred to me that even the wild cats wore clothes. This really made no sense at all. That was until I later read that only the cats (and the audience) see themselves as anamorphic creatures. The humans just see them as plain old garden variety normal cats. That’s why some imagery around the humans regarding cats actually looks like cats rather than little humans with cat ears and tails. While it may seem that the cats can speak and converse with the humans, if you watch closely that’s not the case. The lack of any overt explanation of this situation in the show really lets it down in my opinion. Surely a few shots early on from the perspective of the humans would have made everything so much clearer. Why this wasn’t done, I’m really not too sure. Certainly in the context of how the cats see themselves it explains why Taruto thinks she has magical powers and that perhaps a lot of what is depicted in the show is just in the imaginations of the cats. However I must say that the rules in terms of cat and human interaction aren’t followed at times. It’s obvious that the creators have cheated a bit in some sequences. I also had some difficulty with the believability of some of the human characters, Iori in particular. That frilly shirt was just a bit too much (well, you know what they say about single men who own cats). The setting was odd too; a mish-mash of Japan and a generic European city. Overall I think the show was slightly too sugary for me and certainly Taruto herself was a bit too clueless and silly for my tastes.

The fact is that this show is a children’s show, originally screened at 6pm on satellite station WOWOW back in 2001. I think most reviewers seem unable to comprehend this. If you see sexuality in this show, well, you’re fucking weirdo. Apparently Bandai Entertainment put liner notes (in regard to the cats and the world of Taruto) in the original single DVD releases of the show, but didn’t with the collection I have. Shame, as it would have helped me immensely in figuring out what was going on. The bonus materials on the discs include about six music videos which have the main three voice actors (Hisayo Mochizuki, Masayo Kurata and Maria Yamamoto) singing character songs while dressed up as the characters. It’s extremely weird and the girls look slightly self-conscious. Overall it’s a rather cute and fluffy show, but it was just a bit too sugary and silly for me. Still it was a fun little show in many parts and was quite entertaining, so it gets 6 out of 10 from me.

Remaining Backlog: 27 months (it's much easier this way than listing the number of discs).