"FLCL" review

It's actually quite difficult for me to write a review about FLCL. It's impossible to place it in a genre, as it is completely unrecognizable compared to any other show. The plot is hidden in a shell of insanity, with a core full of intuitive symbolism and surprising underlying messages. The characters are all incredibly likable while still containing a true human nature. The grunge rock soundtrack fits perfectly, with most songs feeling as if they were made for the series. Conventional language and analysis cannot convey the impression of brilliance brought on by this six episode series, but I'm going to try anyway.

In the first episode, the audience is introduced to the town of small town of Mabase. There's Noata, an apathetic and windrawn junior-high student. There's Mamimi, his older brother's girlfriend, who nonetheless just can't seem to keep her hands off Noata. There's his dad, who runs the town convenience store and secretly prints the towns gossip zine. Sure, this all sounds quite normal, but I haven't got to the robotic television which does dishes and serves curry. Ah, there's also the space alien Haruhara who makes Naota's life a bit more interesting, usually through bashing a Rickenbacker bass guitar to his face. If this all sounds a bit strange, FLCL has not even begun to leap off the deep end. To some viewers FLCL will look like a nonsensical cartoon, just for the sake of being random. However, I can assure confused viewers that there is indeed a point to the madness.

FLCL is surprisingly chock full of symbolism and deep moments, especially when contrasted between destruction and clashy guitar chords. Under the surface there's a very intuitive coming-of-age story, mainly dealing with the many adolescent struggles of becoming an adult. The show only begins to hint upon the various undertones 2/3 into the series, so most viewers don't even notice the messages until then. I won't spoil the various symbolism and subplots here, as I had a blast doing research and re-watching the series again and again to be able to catch them all. FLCL would've been entertaining enough even if these underlying messages weren't included, but the fact that such thought was injected in spite of the madness makes this series almost masterful.

This is all aided by the inventive animation, which gushes with life and personality. Gainax packed alot of TLC into all six episodes, and it shows. Art styles are played around with constantly, detail is packed into every frame, and it all works incredibly well. There's alot of flash to the imagery, but whats nice is that beautifully crazy artwork adds alot while not becoming a staple of the show.

Backing all of this up is an absolutely stellar soundtrack headlined by a Japanese rock band called The Pillows. If I had to compare it to an American band, I suppose the Pixies would be a familiar comparison: jangling guitars, distortion, heavy bass, bizarre lyrics fit perfectly with the show's direction. Every scene where music is included works in complete harmony with the visuals, and adds alot to the experience.

At first glance, FLCL looks like a undiciplined mess, being random for the sake of being random, but in the midst of the insanity the creators create a very functional, deep, and entertaining experience. It just works. It will make you laugh, get misty eyed, then perhaps make you light things on fire and assault people with a bass guitar (right after you buy that bitchin' yellow vespa). If that's not a successful series, I don't know what is.

Writing: A
Animation/Art: A+
Music/Sound: A+
Overall: A+

"Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei" review

Take one terminally depressed, suicidal adult. Make him the teacher of a class full of psychologically disturbed students, each one of them embodying a mental disorder or extreme character archetype. Add to the mix a great helping of dark humour and social insights, and it can easily be said that Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is a must see for anyone itching for a comedy series with a side of philosophy and satire.

There is no plot to follow, characters don’t develop beyond their stereotypes, and often time’s logic is completely thrown out the window. However, it still manages to be the smartest comedy-anime I’ve ever seen. The ideas being given are interesting, and deal with basic truths about society and human behavior. It’s not afraid to delve in taboo subjects either, ranging from jokes about shut-ins, stalkers, drug users, and suicide. Not even the audience is off limits, with some of the jokes taking pot-shots on anime fans and the overly moe-fanatical anime industry. After a while, the basic formula of the show becomes apparent, and it usually it goes like this: One concept is brought forth, built upon, played with by the various wacked out students, and becomes more and more ridiculous. However, with the myriad of unique topics being presented, the comedy remains to feel fresh. Most of the humor is quite universal, although there are jokes that will go over most American viewer’s heads, with jokes and about Japanese celebrities, kanji puns, or Japanese politics. Thankfully these Japan-centric jokes are never the focus of the punchlines, so viewers shouldn’t feel out of place.

As for the characters, although their personalities are paper-thin archetypes, all of them are incredibly enjoyable. Each character adds a lot to the parodies and jokes because of their own different, messed up perspectives. Needless to say, there’s barely any character development (with the exception of one particular student who’s hinted at being quite darker than what she seems…), however most viewers will find their favorite instantly based upon their own individual tendencies. Itoshiki Nozomu (or Mr. Despair) is by far the star of the show, whose suicidal antics and cynical views remain the focus of most of the episodes. One would think that so much negativety would become grating, but the show manages to pull it off quite well. There aren’t many series where the lead character extends an offer to another to commit suicide with him, and have it come off as being endearing rather than evil.

As for the animation, for the most part it’s pretty simplistic, although there are some scenes that are incredibly well animated. What really makes this series feel different are the rapidly varying art styles and angles, which keeps the viewer very much visually stimulated. There’s also a hell of a lot of comedic detail packed into the backgrounds, with the numerous random quips written on the blackboards, or lists of despairs which Nozomu is currently fretting about.

All in all, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is a very funny comedy series which shouldn’t be missed by anyone who likes dark humor, as well as people who want a smart comedy packed with both philosophy and satire. With most anime comedies either being redundant “slice of life” shows or moe-centric “watching cute girls do cute things”, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei is a welcome reprieve.

Writing: A+

Animation: B+

Music/Sound: B

Overall: B+

"Spice and Wolf" review

Spice and Wolf. This title combined with the seemingly furry cover art might make this series look like pure generic weeaboo bait. Well, looks like the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover” is still alive and kickin’. There aren’t a lot of series like Spice and Wolf that can pull off fantasy, economics, and, let’s face it, a goddamn furry wolf girl and be able to do it tastefully and realistically. Ah, and did I mention it somehow makes Medieval Economics 101 somehow entertaining?

Centuries ago, the pagan wolf deity “Holo” traveled south from her homeland and became a goddess of the small farming village of Pasloe. In return for their company, Holo would ensure that their crops would ripen well. As time passed, and farming technologies became more advanced, the villagers slowly backed away from their commitment. In her “human” form she comes upon Lawrence, a traveling merchant. From this, another commitment is made. Holo will try to help with Lawrence’s business endeavors, and in return he will return her to the north. Various antics ensure, involving currency devaluation schemes, price fluctuations, and shepherdess hiring… Just try to trust me when I say that the series does a good job on making these topics both entertaining and interesting.

Imagining an anime series built around economics, especially in a medieval atmosphere, does not seem too appealing. However, the smooth flow of the plot and the tension it creates makes this feat all the more impressive. I will admit that some of the intricacies of economics that the show introduces may go over some viewer’s heads, but the show does its best to tell the general idea as well. There is some mortal danger thrown into the mix at some points, which does well with ramping up the tension, as well as giving Holo an excuse to use her wolf form. As a whole, the plot smoothly transitions between leisurely banter and some of the more tense parts.

That’s not to say it’s all about economics, however. A lot of it has to do with the chemistry and banter between Lawrence and Holo, and their different perspectives and lifestyles. Holo is a pagan goddess who lives life for pleasure and interaction, while Lawrence has a very practical mind, and always thinks like a merchant where everything can be related to economics or bartering. Because of these two perspectives, conversations are quite dynamic, even though an entire episode can pass without much else going on except the two leads talking with each other. Still, the sharp and witty byplay between Holo and Lawrence never seems to get old. Character development is done very well in this regard, and feels quite organic compared to most series where drama seems forced or changes unrealistically. If you’re looking for pure fan service and wolf goddess yiffing, you’re going to be sadly disappointed. Sure, we are talking about a girl with wolf ears and a tail, and there is nudity in some scenes, but it comes off as tasteful with it being more as an expression of character rather than purely pandering to the fans. Her playful and clever attitude, under toned with the loneliness of centuries of isolation, is a welcome reprieve from the generic tsundere heroines which are becoming all too popular these days.

As a whole, the animation is either hit or miss. The backgrounds look very organic and are very detailed, but there are some points where they seemed to have made shortcuts on drawing the characters. Thankfully the facial expressiveness with both Lawrence and Holo remains to be better than most throughout the series. Also, I’m just going to come out and say it: with the parts with nudity, Holo doesn’t have nipples. Yeah. I understand that they need to do so if they want to be TV-broadcasted, but this remains on the DVD version.

The soundtrack, however, is done excellently. Many of the pieces are primarily fiddle or accordion, which creates a folksy vibe that works well with the series. If I have any gripe, it’s the Engrish-laden ending song, but that’s what skipping is for. As for the English voice actors, they do an impressive job as well. Holo’s voice fits perfectly with her personality with the quick and subtle shifts in demeanor, and the general haughtiness in which she speaks doesn’t get old.

All in all, Spice and Wolf’s wonderful character dynamics and unique plots is a breath of fresh air which cannot be compared to any series so far, so long as you don’t mistake it as a furry-pandering fanservice fest. Season 1 is already released in the US (some of which you can see online here), with season 2 coming out in early 2011.

Story: A-

Animation/Art: B

Music/Sound: A

Overall: B+

Black Lagoon Anime Review

As soon as you pop in the disc and watch Black Lagoon’s opening melody of flashy snippets of violence and broken English, one can’t help but feeling this is going to be another mindless shooter anime. However, with its grimy atmosphere, top notch writing, and characters which completely drench with awesome, Black Lagoon will not let itself be written off.

The series kicks itself off with a bang…or punch for that matter, right to the jaw of Rokuro Okajima. This young Japanese businessman has the luck of getting his ship hijacked on an important business trip to Southeast Asia. The pirates get what they came for (a disc of very volatile information), and decide to take Rockuro (or “Rock”, as the pirates decide to dub him) with them as well. The pirates, calling themselves the “Black Lagoon Company”, think they might as well get a little bit of pocket money for a ransom if they can get it. With this, Rock finds himself joining the nefarious underground “delivery company” with Boss Dutch, mechanic and computer hacker Benny, and combat specialist Revy aka “Two-Hand”.

Revy herself basically becomes the poster girl of the series, whose profanity ridden, confident attitude is a very nice change of pace from the damsel in distress/ harem character archetype. When she’s first introduced, one can’t help but feel that there’s not much depth to her gun toting antics. However, as the series progresses and her damaged past reveals itself, it creates a great deal of empathy and depth to a character who just appeared to be a violent bitch. This usually reveals itself through various encounters with Rock, whose suburban and sheltered personality completely contrasts that of Revy. This makes for some very interesting conversations, delving into issues such as survival, existentialism, and environmental perspective. This is when the English dub really shines, pulling no punches when it comes to profanity, and having the voice actors really giving it their all. Needless to say, the script is written incredibly well, with interesting dialogue and unique character development. For an example, feel free to watch this clip which includes Rock and Revy, well, let just say they’re having a grumpy afternoon:

As for the action scenes, this is one part of the series where it’s having a little bit of an identity crisis. It just can’t seem to decide whether it wants over the top shoot ‘em up (battling with a terminator-esque maid), or realistic gunplay (commandeer defenseless cargo ship). Still, it manages to have more than enough action for any adrenaline junkie without it being absolutely ridiculous. That’s not to say there isn’t gore, however. There is more than enough execution shooting, snitch torturing, and cold blood murdering to go around. Just don’t expect overly flashy scenes to be the staple of the show.

The animation differs as well, with some shots being absolutely gorgeous and detailed and some seeming almost completely static. It never becomes distracting, but it becomes easy to notice the transition after a beautifully rendered gunfight. There is some CG thrown in as well, and works well in the few instances that it pops up (usually with gun close-ups and shell casings). As a whole, it looks pretty damn good.

While not ground-breaking, with its coarse-language, graphic violence, and downright awesome characters, Black Lagoon is certainly something to check out for anyone who wants an action anime with a realistic and gritty atmosphere.

Story: A

Animation: B

Sound: A-

Overall: A-