Review: Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (TV)

Posted on December 11, 2007 by vissione

Running time: 25 minutes
Number of episodes: 27
Vintage: 2007-04-01 to 2007-09-30
Age rating: ???
Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Mecha, Science Fiction, Slice of Life
Animation Production: GAINAX
Production: Aniplex, GAINAX, Konami
Director: Hiroyuki Imaishi (God)
Planning: Hiroyuki Yamaga

Source: Anime News Network










The burning passion — Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. I really did not expect to be able to enjoy another mecha show on this level so soon. GAINAX knows their stuff, but Eureka SeveN proved that there’s other studios that can do mecha right. However, this one’s special guys — the kind of anime that transcends past all expectations and stays on your favorites list forever. Gurren Lagann is currently the epitome of epic mecha giant robot action shows. Not a single part of me doubts what I’ve just said. It’s the burning passion of hot-blooded action, it’s Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann!!

The show starts off introducing you to Simon and Kamina, two really distinct guys that live in an underground village. They’re not real siblings, but they’re close enough to refer to each other as siblings anyway. Kamina is the older tough-guy and loud-mouth that always gets off on excitement and adventure. Simon, on the other hand, is a very timid child typical of GAINAX anime. You could say he’s a dirty Shinji, if you will, for those of you that have watched Neon Genesis Evangelion, since he likes to dig the ground and find stuff.

Kamina and Simon’s village is forced to stay underground because of some strange fear for what’s on the surface of the Earth. Kamina, being the way he is, makes it clear that he will pierce the enclosure of the ground above and live to see the surface. His father supposedly once left to the surface and Kamina feels it’s his calling to do the same. Simon kind of just tags along, even though he doesn’t quite have the drive to make it to the top — yet.

If you’re still reading you might want to know why the hell am I calling this the epitome of mecha anime, when I haven’t even mentioned them yet. Well, I’m getting there, and much like the show, it won’t kick off for bit. One day as life remains the same underground, a giant mecha, called ‘Ganmen’ falls from above, just like that. Soon after a very foxy girl, who seems to be have been fighting the Ganmen that just came crashing down, falls into the underground village too. Kamina doesn’t let up and immediately lets his fiery personality take over and he begins to interfere acting as if he’s actually helping. Kamina even declares his participation as part of the “Gurren Brigade,” which at the time is composed of just him and Simon. A lot of comical moments ensue, and it leads the pretty girl, Kamina, and Simon to a spot where Simon had been digging earlier and found something strange. To everyone’s surprise it seems Simon found a small mecha buried in the ground and Kamina puts Simon in the spotlight when he tells him to pilot it since -he- found it. Kamina, being the smack talker he is promptly and aptly gives the little Ganmen they found a name — Lagann. You’ll have to find out about the ‘Gurren’ part on your own.

The fight that follows is sensational and at times downright silly. However, pay attention to Kamina’s words because he hints at what the show is going to be about. With shouts of only needing your spirit and guts to succeed in ass kicking, you know something just has to happen for this to make sense. Kamina and his essence, character, and personality is the backbone of the show; the very mold of the Gurren Lagann experience and the ultimate reward for sticking with the show.

Right then and there, the legend is born and the gang in Gurren Lagann begin their incredible adventure towards the top. When I say the top, I mean it, because the sense of scale in Gurren Lagann is ridiculous. I would love to come up with a better way to describe the way the show will rock your world, but it’s better experienced. Also, understanding the pacing in Gurren Lagann is crucial to enjoying the show. The slow start is just the calm before the storm begins. Keep going, because by the end of the third episode you will know that the show is special and if you stick with it you’ll be rewarded with many, many, many great moments of WOW.

It’s about time GAINAX made a full length mecha anime series of this type that isn’t Neon Genesis Evangelion. Top wo Nerae! Gunbuster, Top wo Nerae 2! Diebuster, and FLCL are all classics and each one added to the genre and GAINAX’s stronghold in mecha anime. However, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann mixes a little bit from every great GAINAX mecha and with a solid focus it is able to – literally, as the name implies – break-through the seemingly perfect mold the studio founded in its long history of anime production in the mecha genre.

The show is easily described as the burning passion, a man’s fiery spirit that burns with every waking moment of his step. With the brothers and the brigade of ass kicking, Gurren Lagann, has no equal. A drill in an abstract sense is the fitting image of this sensation. The upwards spiral towards the concentrated single point. All the energy, all the thoughts, power, emotion, and feelings are all in that single point. Put aside logic, put aside reason, this is manly instincts infused with 100% determination and 0% chance of failure. Probabilities of success? MEANINGLESS. They CONTROL probability. They win. That’s it. It’s always do or die. If they miss, they shoot in every direction, then they can’t miss. Never falter, not even an inch. This is Gurren Lagann. Determination by proxy. Believe in me who believes in you. True determination. Not you believing in me, not me believing in you, but you believing in yourself. This show will say to you, who THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?!?

This is man versus beast! Or is it beast versus man? Or is it man-beast versus man! Or worse, BEAST VS BEAST!! The beast within the man, that is. Join the brigade where true men’s spirits live. Be a part of history. Watch this anime. Introductions. It’s all about your introduction. Hot-blooded speeches. Defeat your enemy before you lift a single finger by the power of your words. Enchant your populace, envigor your peers. You have the power to destroy -yet- also to create. Create hope in the hearts of men. Change despair into strength. Strength into spirit. Spirit into victory. Victory into ultimate victory. There is no limit for those with the spiral, the drill, the point of concentrated force that tears through the very fabric of time and space and bores through any and all obstacles. It’s within each and every one of us. It’s in our DNA. We are all potential energy waiting to be moved by the heart and soul of manly speeches. ROW ROW, FIGHT THE POWER!!

This is the burning passion in you, in me, in all of us. You’ll want your kids to see this. It’s that good.

Posted in 2007, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, GAINAX, Hiroyuki Imaishi, Mecha, Science Fiction, Slice of Life, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann | Leave a comment

Review: Hataraki Man (TV)

Posted on October 7, 2007 by vissione

Running time: 25 minutes
Number of episodes: 11
Vintage: 2006-10-12 to 2006-12-21
Age rating: ???
Genres: Slice of Life
Animation Production: GALLOP
Production: GALLOP, Hataraki Man Production Team, Kodansha

Source: Anime News Network





Hatarki Man is genuine slice of life show, so you won’t see anything you wouldn’t expect to happen in real life. Anime doesn’t always seem to work with stories that encapsulate “real” individuals, but this one does it well. There’s a fine line to keep between real life drama and an “animated life,” but Hataraki Man somehow happens to do it and hang on with enough style to keep you interested.

The name of the show stems from the fact that the main character, Matsukata Hiroko, is true a work-a-holic. She rushes to work even when she’s not late, she always surpasses her boss’ expectations, and will constantly blow off dates just to get her work done perfectly. Sure, you could argue she’s just doing it because she likes to, but there’s a lot more to it. Her peers are impressed the most when she actually becomes the Hataraki Man, or “Work Man.” It’s not really what you’d expect since it’s not some kind of superhuman ability. She just unleashes her innermost potential as a magazine editor and fully concentrates on her writing. For most writers, being able to switch on your “zen mode” and spew out words as they come is a gift. Matsukata has that and it really helps her succeed at her job.

The anime takes place in the offices of Weekly Jidai Magazine, a fictional magazine in Japan. It’s a magazine geared towards men with content such as fad diets, fashion, serialized novels, etc. Matsukata’s a journalist working on weekly articles about all kinds of topics of interest to the male readership. She’s not the only editor at this successful company so she doesn’t do all the work herself. There’s plenty of interesting people at the office that also pitch in to make sure the readers are able to get their fill each week with juicy articles and blowout specials.

The characters in the office range from Matsukata herself to Tanaka, the rookie editor on the lower end of the spectrum. He’s not quite anyone’s friend and he’s always expressive about doing the minimum effort required for the job. The Editorial Desk manager, Narita, is Matsukata’s direct boss and the chief director, Umemiya, is Narita’s boss. They’re kind of the older and wiser bunch that lead the team through adversity. Editor Nagisa is a nervous wreck and is part of the few women in the company along with Matsukata. There’s plenty of characters that I missed that you’ll eventually find out about on your own. Most if not all of them will make sense in terms of why they’re there and what drives them in their daily lives. They each fit their roles perfectly, exemplifying the typical hierarchical structure of an office in Japan.

There’s plenty to find and appreciate in this show, especially if you have any kind of work experience. To truly succeed you need to have a plan, or you’ll end up drifting away from what you want to do. Then there’s the sacrifices you must make in order to complete your plan. In other words, it’s not quite as simple as laying down a road map and crossing out milestones the moment you reach them. When there’s an aura of satisfaction in your work your life completely changes for the better. The offset of satisfaction when you truly enjoy what you do every day changes your perspective. Being told to balance “work,” and “life” is a fair assessment that we’ve all heard a thousand times. However, when your “work” is your “life” it becomes much more complex to try to imitate the majority of people who are working to live but not living to work. While this show is not as deep as I wish it could be, not as long as I wish it could be, and doesn’t quite end as conclusively as I’d like, it was still an eye opening experience. It reminded me time and time again of my respect for people that strive for success using as a driving force the sheer satisfaction of what they do day after day. The show reduced that feeling to the simplest degree that in my opinion made it much more realistic than I originally thought it would be.

This show made me feel as if there’s no greater achievement than finding your place in life and sticking with it because thats what you believe in. As the show conveyed, sometimes being where you want to be may force you to make choices that will ultimately affect every facet of your “personal life.” When you no longer consider artificial boundaries such as a “personal life,” it becomes much more difficult to control a typical modular lifestyle where you can switch in and out the work you do, while being able to live on your “personal life.” Your life and your work become entwined as one experience and adversely affect each other. Distinction becomes faint and others who may not think like you may end up scorning you for your way of being.

If you’re ever interested in a short story about hard work and dedication, complete with the turmoils of romance this is a great show to watch. You might even get to funnel some of the characters’ dedication into your own life, and allow yourself a moment of reflection. Are you a Hataraki Man?

Posted in 2006, Hataraki Man, Slice of Life, Studio Gallop | Leave a comment

Dropped: Blue Dragon (TV)

Posted on August 9, 2007 by vissione

Running time: half hour
Number of episodes: 51
Vintage: 2007-04-07
Age rating: ???
Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Supernatural
Animation Production: Studio Pierrot

Source: Anime News Network





The Good: Music by Nobuo Uematsu and character designs by Akira Toriyama.
The Bad: Everything else.

Status: Dropped

My impressions and review:

Wow. It’s been a while since I last blogged so I have my old backlog to sweep through plus the ton of stuff that just piled on top of it. If anyone’s been expecting posts for a while I’m sorry (yeah, I’m talking to you — the two people that still read this blog :) )

Getting back on topic, Blue Dragon is a pretty big well-funded project with a lot of motives behind it. Sure I could complain about why Microsoft funding it for marketing, or the merits of the game by the same name, but I’ll just stick to the anime. The plain and absolute truth is the anime is complete and utter crap. The first episode is the best part of the show, mainly because it opens up just like an old school RPG would. This is cool, especially with the Uematsu music giving it the right flavor. However, from that point on it just goes into a downhill spiral of cliche and boredom.

For a show with music by Nobuo Uematsu and nostalgic character designs by Akira Toriyama, I expected a lot more. Uematsu’s music superb, but even the great music can’t save this atrocity. Toriyama’s art is fine, it’s the same stuff we’ve seen since forever, but it’s not enough. Besides the two aforementioned bullet points, the anime is a complete failure and never quite delivers enough to be satisfying on any level of enjoyment. I hardly need to sound off on this show since it has little staying power and many others feel the same way or worse about it. It’s a late but meaningful warning. Stay away from this one folks, it’s not worth the effort.

Posted in Dropped Series | Leave a comment

Genshiken Second Season is Coming!

Posted on April 23, 2007 by vissione

 

Yep. It’s coming. We can all stop pretending we like Kujibiki Unbalance now. According to the official television website Genshiken will recieve an entirely new second season that will air later this year in the Fall. The new character that appeared in the OAV, Chika Ogiue, will be joining the rest of the gang in the clubroom right away. This means we’ll get to enjoy more otaku antics from all sides of the spectrum in a glorious full TV series. For those of you that don’t understand the significance of this news I point you towards the first season and the OAV’s. Don’t be late to the party this Fall!

This is madness!? No, this is Genshiken!!

Source: Anime News Network

Posted in News | Leave a comment

Review: Zettai Shonen (TV)

Posted on April 22, 2007 by vissione

Running time: 25 minutes
Number of episodes: 26
Vintage: 2005-05-21 to 2005-11-19
Age rating: ???
Genres: Drama, Mystery, Science Fiction, Slice of Life
Animation Production: Asia-Do
Production: Bandai Visual, GENCO, Zettai Shonen Project

Source: Anime News Network







Slice of life can be a very interesting genre when it’s presented well and wrapped around a scenario that augments the best traits of the genre. Some may agree that it’s easily described as storytelling fragments inspired by every day life that form the lives of the characters in any given story. These typical encounters allow for some reasonable balance between fiction and what could be a plausible event in the day of any typical person under certain circumstances. This ties in with Zettai Shonen which heavily bases much of its emphasis and focus on delivering an engrossing slice of life style that steps beyond the bounds in many directions. As a result it ends up portraying a striking blend of supernatural mystery and unexplainable things with the routine events of the lives of regular people.

The story in Zettai Shonen starts off with Aizawa Ayumu, a son of a divorced couple that is offered a mountain bike so that he can stay with his father who lives in a rural town called Tana. Ayumu takes the offer and expects to make use of the bike until he’s satisfied. There must be some differences that have pushed his parents apart but Ayumu doesn’t seem to be phased by it. Ayumu also isn’t entirely new to the town since he used to live there many years ago. As could almost be guessed, Ayumu somehow doesn’t remember key details of his stay in the town that soon become the gateway to a very rich mystery. This is where most of the mystery of the town and the elements within it start to revolve around the story in Zettai Shonen.

The town is not quite all that eventful except for the peculiar yet reasonable actions of its inhabitants. The kids in the town have their own agendas and reasons to skirmish around and because of the small size of the town they usually end up bumping into each other regardless of their intent. Some characters are just strange while others seem to know a lot more than they should about the weird things in the town. Included in the mix are characters from outside of the town adding a bit of complexity to the overall mindset of the individuals involved in the story.

The story carries on until there is a small build up that concludes the arc in the rural town where Ayumu stays for the summer. The second half of the story transfers the setting to the city and new characters and a new viewpoint is presented. It’s not quite entirely different from the experience of the first arc, but it does have its own mood and personalities because of the immediate change of characters and a new mystery.

The mystery that unfolds as the story goes by isn’t exactly Earth-shatteringly complex, but it is deep enough that the deeper you go in the layers of its obscurity you will begin to understand things in sync with the other characters as the story unveils. Zettai Shonen’s mystery is much less about the mystery and it’s eventual solution -or lack thereof- but the passive discovery process it entails. The unknown powers at be do not seem dangerous to any of the characters, so there really isn’t any kind of fear or urgency to retaliate at the mere existence of the creatures.

Putting it simply, the show is a mostly a flat line experience with minor buildups towards some of the darker parts of the story revealing some much needed details. I’d compare it to a very slow bass-line only song that throws in the strings only when it needs to and keeps the frequencies low as possible. This makes it a passive experience with a mood that will either interest you or push you away. The strength of the show lies in keeping that balance and plowing through the slice of life and how the things happening in the places where these characters live adversely affect the regular lives of everyone involved.

Posted in 2005, Asia-Do, Drama, Mystery, Science Fiction, Slice of Life, Zettai Shonen | Leave a comment