Doing an “anime book club” on a series that I adore so much has certainly opened up a mixed bag of emotions. On the one hand, it’s awesome to have the opportunity to watch something I love over again; as I’ve stated many times at this point, it’s not something I give myself a lot of time to do (it usually only happens if I manage to dupe my local anime club into watching some of the weird stuff that I like). On the other hand, I have this creeping fear that I’ll reach a point where I can’t manage to write anything that truly captures my feelings about the show. I have a difficult enough time already trying to make my writing convey the full nature of my thoughts, and that’s compounded by the fact that this is one of my favorite series and I want people to have the same love for it that I do. Sometimes it feels like there’s a weight on my shoulders, though of course this is burden I carry by choice!
This week’s story is told over the course of three episodes instead of two, so there’s a little bit more to take notes on and unpack. It also takes longer for the story to get to the root of its mononoke’s origin, though in my opinion this gives it some additional time to focus on setting and atmosphere. But I’ll leave my commentary for after the episode summaries.
I bet you thought I abandoned this little project of mine. Let’s just call it an extended break during which I did some first episode reviews 🙂
One of the aspects of anime that has always appealed to me is its tendency to feature women. Most anime have at least a few female characters among the cast, and there are many anime in which the main players are only women. That isn’t to say that anime series like this aren’t sometimes largely problematic in some way (*sigh*), since anime casts full of cute girls are often created by and for an assumed straight/male audience and don’t necessarily portray girls’ and women’s lives in a realistic way, but as an anime fan I’ve always felt that women in anime have been at least somewhat more variable in role and personality than a lot of the other Western cartoons and TV shows that I’d been watching as a kid and teen. And when your’e hungry for something, you tend to accept things that are flawed and tough to chew.
The city state of Lisvalletta. Two suns rise above this city, and the people here live peaceful lives, but in the shadows crime and illegal drugs run rampant. Among them is the dangerous, highly lethal drug “Anthem” which casts a dark shadow over the city. The SEVEN-O Special Crime Investigation Unit specializes in cracking down on Anthem. This unit operates in two man “buddy” teams in what’s called the “Double Decker System” to tackle the problem. Doug Billingham is a seasoned investigator, and joining him is Kirill Vrubel, whose abilities are mysterious and unknown. – Crunchyroll
Episode Summary: Kirill Vrubel is an officer with the Lisvalletta police force who, while being a mediocre officer, dreams of becoming his city’s first real hero. He’s wanted to do so ever since he was young, but unfortunately such childish fantasies get in the way of his real-life responsibilities, so his boss has him on notice. What’s also unfortunate is that Kirill works alongside an officer named Jefferson who’s pretty much the peak of competency and a beloved family man to boot. Kirill is constantly overshadowed by Jefferson, and he’s started to get restless and annoyed.
On his day off, Kirill’s landlady sends him out in search of her missing cat. The feline pursuit brings Kirill to an empty warehouse where he ends up as witness to a violent hostage situation. The hostage in this case is none other than officer Jefferson. Worried about whether or not to get involved, Kirill is hailed by a strange man caught in a ventilation pipe. This man, named Doug Billingam, claims to be an operative for an organization called “Seven-O,” which investigates Anthem drug abuse. He promises Kirill rewards and promotions if he’ll help take down the hostage-taker. Kirill comes up with an unorthodox plan which ends up working (in a manner of speaking). Though his rashness gets him fired from the police force, he’s quickly hired by Seven-O and partnered with Doug as part of their “Double-Decker” buddy system. Though their boss has a fondness for weird nicknames, this job might be the pathway Kirill needs in order to become a full-fledged hero.
Impressions: The title Tiger & Bunny brings with it many lofty expectations; as a big fan of that series I’d been hoping for a sequel for a long time. My expectations were so high that it’s probably a good thing that this actually isn’t a direct sequel (as far as we know), but a series set in the same universe that incorporates similar aesthetics and odd-couple buddy-cop dynamic. Gone are the televised heroic antics, to be replaced by an eccentric underground investigative organization that seems content to keep itself out of the limelight. Imagine Section 9, though exponentially more colorful and filled with women who aren’t robots.
An Anthem user goes “Phase 3.”
That was actually one of the first things I noticed, both about the key art and then later about the cast make-up; there are a lot of women in the Seven-O organization. While the diversity in the characters seems to be limited to height and hair color (and perhaps also personal style), I’m pretty pleased with the ratio, at least. Obviously that’s just a first step and the series will actually have to utilize the characters in ways that are meaningful and aren’t demeaning, but the fact that the opportunity is there for it to do right is encouraging. All the characters seem to wear the same type of costume too – a trench coat with pants or something similar underneath. While I’d hesitate to call it a uniform since they’re all so diverse in color and style, it seems roughly universal and that’s kind of a nice change.
The tone of the episode is interesting; if I had to describe it, I’d say that it reminds me of the 1990’s Batman cartoon series. The city has some grit beneath its art-deco finishings, and it seems to have achieved an alternate technological future where interesting gadgetry and clothing style have superseded development of things we take for granted, like color television. Everyone seems to be fashionable in some way or another; even Kirill’s landlady seems especially put-together for the type of character she is. While the episode certainly isn’t without its share of action and excitement, there’s enough down time to take in a lot of these conscious visual decisions. While I remember noticing some of the same things about Tiger & Bunny back in the day, removing all the pomp and glamour that comes with the Hero TV framework gives us an opportunity to appreciate the subtler things about the setting.
Doug gets the upper hand.
I’m not entirely sold on the two protagonists just yet. Frankly, Doug isn’t a big enough part of the episode to really get a sense of his personality. He’s definitely the straight man of the duo, but beyond his seriousness and ability to do his job competently, the only sort of off-beat moment we get is when he gets stuck in a pipe. It’s in those brief moments that it seems he might have some good-humored appreciation of the ridiculousness of his predicament. Frankly, those are the kinds of things that I find memorable and I’d love to see more. Kirill is definitely an opposing force of personality, but he’s also the type of character I typically find really annoying – the kind that’s self-serving and gets into trouble by overestimating his own abilities. He’s very young and that affords him some leeway in my eyes, but he reminds me a little of the “know-it-all” type characters that are anything-but. Obviously it will all come down to the balance of personalities. Differences are certainly a potential source of conflict, and if that conflict remains perennially unresolved for the sake of cheap tension then I feel there’s no real purpose. But personality conflicts can also lead to growth on both sides, and I’m definitely hoping for that to manifest.
Visually this episode is impressive. I hate to keep making so many comparisons to Tiger & Bunny, but the two series unsurprisingly have similar animation aesthetics and a lot of technological improvement has happened in the seven years(!) since the predecessor premiered. Here the blend of CG character models seems more frequent and yet more subtle and well-realized. In T&B the hero suits and vehicles were the most identifiable use of CG, and there wasn’t as much blending between CG and 2D in the same shot. In this series the characters don’t really wear masks (so far), which necessitates that a lot of the close-up face shots make use of 2D animation (or suffer the uncanny weirdness of 3D anime-style character animation). I think the blend is done well. I’m not a huge fan of 3DCG that attempts to mimic 2D animation; I feel that each method has its own strengths and styles and trying to make one look like the other doesn’t do either any favors, but it’s definitely getting better and better every day. The characters have a lot of detail, their colors are bright and appealing, and overall this looks like a project into which went a lot of care and skill.
Cat-itude.
Beyond that, I’ll simply say I feel positive about this episode. To be honest, I hadn’t gotten into an anticipatory frame of mind for Autumn anime series yet, so when this episode dropped by surprise (thanks, Crunchyroll Expo!) I wasn’t exactly prepared to have composed thoughts about it. I have to say, though, that my curiosity about the series now has a little bit more structure. This episode worked very well as an introduction to the setting and characters, and it did so without being overly referential to the series to which it’s apparently related (honestly, if I weren’t already familiar with Tiger & Bunny I may not have even noticed the few minor and subtle connections that popped up). This definitely feels like its own entity, which ought to be welcoming to newcomers and possibly even to those who weren’t actually fans of T&B in the first place. If anything, you can go sneak a peek at your leisure, since the series won’t start in earnest until October.
Pros: The action animation and visual aesthetics are very appealing and have a strong sense of style. You don’t have to be familiar with the show’s predecessor to enjoy it. There seems to be a good gender balance.
Cons: It’s hard to get a good sense of the characters from this episode; Kirill seems especially irritating.
It’s interesting to make note of the rituals of ours that develop innocently out of tendencies and habits. Lately when I’ve been sitting down to write, I’ve lit a candle that I keep on my desk. It doesn’t really do all that much beyond creating a nice-smelling atmosphere and a friendly-glowing light, but I find that lighting the wick now puts me in a certain state of mind. It’s a signal to my brain that it’s time to think, focus, and use my words. Mononoke, and many other anime, are similarly ritualistic in nature; listening to the theme song allows me to focus on the story ahead, and the theater-like sliding screens and the clanking of wooden blocks puts me in a meditative state of mind. It’s definitely not the only reason why this series is so striking or memorable to me, but it definitely makes full use of itself as an art form.
This week marks the beginning of the series proper. While I would still encourage those of you with access to watch Bakeneko if you’re able, I don’t believe this series suffers much for not having seen it. I personally watched Mononoke before realizing that it was a spin off, and mostly just felt that finding Bakeneko was a welcome bonus. Luckily Mononoke is now available on Crunchyroll, so it’s much easier for those of you watching along to participate!
As someone who writes first episode reviews (and tends to take a long time writing them – thank you for your continued support of my slowness!), there’s nothing quite as panic-inducing as moments and events that signal the changing of the seasons. In my area, kids are starting to go back to school, the anime club I attend (which is associated with a local university) is planning its Fall Semester anime showings, and the nights have started to get much cooler (thankfully; I can’t sleep in a hot room). I’m starting to see a lot of news about upcoming anime, too. I’m not even done talking about Summer season anime! Unfortunately the march of time waits for no one, which means I’d better get my act together and get some words on the page.
This time we have a very “alphabetical” set of follow-up series. Below/within are spoilers for subsequent episodes of Angolmois, Asobi Asobase, Banana Fish, and Chio’s School Road.
So, this series of posts has been a long time coming. I’ve wanted to do a deep-dive on Mononoke for several years but never felt equipped to take it on. Part of that is because I like the anime series so much and really, really want to do it justice in the way I talk about it. I have some baggage about this series that I’ve mentioned in the past and won’t go into detail about right now (the short version is that I got ridiculed for liking it because I couldn’t properly articulate why it wasn’t just something that “looked cool”), but ultimately it only drove me to attach to the series even more. I suppose maybe I’m just petty like that (or I just really, really like great anime!).
It’s a series of several stories that are all interesting to me, and some of them I believe speak to me on a personal level in a way that’s unlike so many other anime (even anime I like a lot!). Many people believe that the original story, which we’ll be covering this week, is the “best” one; I’d have a difficult time arguing that as it’s self-contained and arguably unlike pretty much anything else that came before it (it’s also absolutely the best of the three stories in the anthology series from which it originated). Despite that, though, the series as a whole sets a standard that I feel few can match, as I hope you’ll eventually agree!
Going through this process once again has reminded me of just how much interesting anime there is out there to watch, and how little free time there is to follow everything that I would like to follow. When you haven’t sampled a little of everything, it’s much easier to look from outside and decide that this show or that show doesn’t really look that interesting. Watching it, though, causes you to invest yourself sometimes, if even just a little bit. Of course, being invested doesn’t always mean that the investment is going to pay off; in the words of Kenny Rogers, sometimes you have to “know when to walk away, and know when to run.”
In this entry, I’ll be checking out some more of Island, Phantom in the Twilight, Planet With, and Angel of Death. If nothing else, this definitely gives us a taste of many genres!
Unfortunately the first book club entry for Mononoke is going to be delayed (well, is already delayed), probably just until this coming Sunday the 26th. I have just a few personal things going on that interrupted my workflow and I thought it best to wait a week rather than attempt a mid-week post (that, and I have other things I’m planning to put up instead and I don’t want to crowd this space too much). I hope this gives you the extra time (and motivation) you might need to check out the “Bakeneko” story arc from Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales!
It’s been a long journey making my way through the Summer anime season already, but the party’s not over! Getting a taste of so many anime has really only whet my appetite for some of them. Sometimes the first episode was so good that I’m dying to see more. Sometimes I’m somewhat intrigued and need some more information to make a final decision. And sometimes I feel like there might be a train-wreck brewing, and I need to sate my curiosity in some way. Whatever the reason is, I’ve put together a list of series I wouldn’t mind watching some more of, and I’ll be sharing my thoughts about them over a few different posts (one post would just be unwieldy). You can expect about four series per follow-up, in no particular order. It should go without saying, but below are spoilers for all the series covered (Mr. Tonegawa, Hanebado!, Harukana Receive, and Cells at Work!).
Now that all the available first-run anime has been taken care of, I thought I might do a compilation post of all the sequels and miscellaneous short anime available this season (at least those which can be had legally at the time of this writing). Some of these are sequels I’ve been anticipating quite a bit, and some of them are sequels of series that I’m not familiar with – there isn’t anything that’s a short that’s not also a sequel, and it appears that there wasn’t really any “stuff” (what I call anime made for kids that won’t hold much interest for most adult viewers) to speak of this time. I know my providing commentary on something I have little context for will be controversial to some readers, but I plan to approach it from the angle of whether I would want to go back and watch the previous episodes or not. Apologies to anyone who feels that I’m misrepresenting any series here; I imagine I’m not the only person in history who’s approached longer-running anime this way, though.
It goes without saying, but there are likely spoilers for every series written about here; if you’re not caught up on your favorites, you’re likely better off waiting until you have time to get up to speed. Also, I skipped Overlord III because it seemed more like a split-cour continuation rather than a true sequel… and I watched about three minutes of it and had no idea what was going on!
Doing an “anime book club” on a series that I adore so much has certainly opened up a mixed bag of emotions. On the one hand, it’s awesome to have the opportunity to watch something I love over again; as I’ve stated many times at this point, it’s not something I give myself a lot of time to do (it usually only happens if I manage to dupe my local anime club into watching some of the weird stuff that I like). On the other hand, I have this creeping fear that I’ll reach a point where I can’t manage to write anything that truly captures my feelings about the show. I have a difficult enough time already trying to make my writing convey the full nature of my thoughts, and that’s compounded by the fact that this is one of my favorite series and I want people to have the same love for it that I do. Sometimes it feels like there’s a weight on my shoulders, though of course this is burden I carry by choice!
