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Wraith
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Austin, Texas, USA
Aug 1999
time: 23:25
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As I said I was planning to do, it's time for another installment of Anime Apolyton.
For starters, everyone see my new avatar? It's Reki from Haibane Renmei. There's a very good reason for the change. Haibane Renmei managed to become my favorite anime series. It beat out the long standing incumbent, Serial Experiments: Lain. This was a tough task. Not only is Lain an excellent story that was very well made, it's got a series nostalgia factor for me. It was the series that really got me hooked into anime.
I want to talk about Haibane, but it's such a new show I know most people here haven't seen it yet. I'll keep things general and non-spoilerish for now.
For starters, the art. This was a bit of a draw, since both are done in Yoshitoshi ABe's style. In both series it matches very well with the story. Haibane captures ABe's watercolor work very well, but I can't really discount Lain for the differences, as the story in Haibane is much more suited for this than Lain was.
The animation on both is very well done. Good attention to detail in both cases, although I think Haibane gets a slight edge here. This is probalby thanks to ABe, who gets his sense of humor to show through in some of the smaller details.
The music for both is, again, solid and fitting for the series. Lain has a techno theme, Haibane a classical. I've got both soundtracks, and either is a good one to listen. This is another area that would be a draw, but some of the songs used in Haibane Renmei use harpsichords. I am a sucker for harpsichords, they've always been my favorite instrument. Haibane gets a slight edge here.
On to more subjective issues, starting with the setting. This is kind of hard to compare. Lain is set in modern Japan. There's only so much liberty you can take before it isn't any more. Lain's setting works very well for the story, but for the most part is fairly standard. Haibane's setting was made out of whole cloth by ABe. Some very original touches combined with a good use of symbolism, and a suprising sense of reality. The thirteen episodes manage to present a complete world, and you know there's just more there to be told. Haibane wins hands down here.
Pacing on both shows is excellent. Both are thirteen episode series and both feel like it. Neither wastes the short time they have. Both are the right size for the story they tell. This is a tie.
Now, the plot is a difficult one. Both are excellent, but in different ways. I can't go into real detail on this one without spoilers, so I'll just leave it by saying this is pretty much a tie for me. I enjoy both kinds of story being told.
That pretty much leaves the characters. Lain is primarily about Lain. Very few of the other characters get much development. This is something I can't hold against the show, however. It is part of the point. There are perfectly good story reasons we don't find out much about Lain's parents or the Tachibana Labs boys. Lain is the focus of the show, and she gets the attention she deserves as such. As for Haibane, it is at least in part an extended character study. The two main characters, Rakka and Reki, get plenty of exploration. However, the other characters are not neglected. The other Haibane, the townspeople, they all feel real. Even the characters that only appear for an episode seem like actual, fully developed main characters that are popping in from their own storyline. And I identify fairly strongly with one (which one I leave as an exercise for the veiwer). However, as I said before, they are different kinds of shows. Both are right for what they are. Effectively a tie, but the identification gives Haibane an edge.
Even with the nostalgia on Lain's side, Haibane wins. I can not wait for this show to be released in the US (indeed, I'm not; I'm getting the R2 DVDs, and I've already picked up the doujins the series was based on).
If anyone here finally watches the show and feels like a discussion, feel free to PM me.
Now, on to other news. Early reports are that the Anime Network is off to a strong start. Much stronger than expected, in fact. The cable company is planning to accelerate their plans for getting it into more cities, and start advertising it themselves. This should be quite interesting.
In two weeks I'll be at UshiCon in Austin. If anyone else is going, let me know and we can see about doing something to get together. Several ADV voice actors will be there, and some of the studio reps probably will be. I'll be posting any interesting news I find out here.
Not much new yet on the new US releases. It's only been a couple weeks, after all. Mostly continuations of series that started release last year. Banner of the Stars is the most interesting of the soon to be released series, starting out next week. This will be followed by a Shamanic Princess re-release and ADV finally putting Nuku Nuku OVA on DVD.
A number of highly hyped releases have started or are starting in the next couple months. Noir, Ai Yori Aoshi, Argento Soma, Chobits, RahXephon, .hack//Sign, Tiny Snow Fairy Sugar and Mahoromatic. Make of them what you will, but it looks like there's going to be a large number of new releases this year.
Also of interest is that there are finally firm plans for DVD releases of some of Miyazaki's movies. The Right Stuf has confirmed April release dates for Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, and Kiki's Delivery Service. No details have been given to the distributors yet (standard Disney practice), but here they come.
I think that pretty much covers things for now. It looks like it's going to be a busy year for anime.
Wraith
"The world is full of idiots."
-- Reki ("Haibane Renmei")
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Wraith
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Austin, Texas, USA
Aug 1999
time: 23:25
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--"I hoped this would be some wild cartoon strip with Ming smiting trolls and so on."
Well, if we did do an anime style version of Apolyton, trolls aren't the most likely thing for him to be smiting.
Now, deciding on who would have what hair color... that would be a major undertaking.
--"Wairth as usual thanks for updates but would u please attach a sample pic of anime u are talking about?"
Sure. See below.
ABe's homepage and the official site has a bit more, including the one I like the most so far:
--"I've recently seen Doomed Megalopolis and Angel Sanctuary"
Two I've never seen. Your ratings of them seem about typical, which is why.
Escaflowne will be better than either.
--"Is there a link for UshiCon?"
http://www.ushicon.com/
This one is always in Texas (always in Austin, for that matter), but not all of them are. Since I live in Texas, the ones I've been going to are here. I have no idea what kind of anime cons go on in Canda, but you should be able to find some.
And if you've got time this summer, the biggest US con is Anime Expo. It's in California in July.
--"I've discovered the anime section in the local video stores, but the subtitles are in Korean."
That's really odd. At first brush, those sound like bootlegs. Most of the mainstream rental stores don't carry bootleg.
Wraith
"She was sleeping even in her dreams. The ultimate sleepyhead, Nemu."
-- Kana ("Haibane Renmei")
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SnowFire
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New York City, NY
Jan 1970
time: 00:25
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Hmm... well, my anime viewing is almost entirely at the mercy of others, but I'll be sure to remember the name of that show should I ever get the chance. Being that really the only massive disagreement with you I can think of off the top of my head is Record of the Lodoss War (potential != quality, alas)...
Anyway, interesting that Escaflowne was brought up. Our anime club is showing that over Winter Term. Good to see it again, and the first set of episodes were as good as I remember them. Too bad the idiots advertising the next showing may have spoiled it for those that haven't seen it yet (Love. War. Isaac... well, I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen it, but a certain famous name that you shouldn't even be THINKING about if you've only seen up to ep 14).
I mentioned this in a bump of the last Anime Apolyton thread, but I don't think anybody saw it: recently some friends of a friend stopped by here, and happened to be packing fansubs of Witch Hunter Robin, which was in Wraith's giant list of "animes recently shown in Japan but not here." It's awesome, the only question is whether the metaplot will live up to expectations and kick in. I know it was mentioned that it's a bit "monster of the weeky" towards the beginning, but I have no problem with that being that A) it makes sense (for the setting, I don't want an Escaflowne style grand epic battle over Good and Evil, at least not right away), and B) they've been leaving progressively more loose ends (witches who get away, etc.) as well as more sympathetic witches, and C) "HQ" and the Factory keep getting more and more ominous. I simply can't believe that they won't resolve this, so if anything, whetting our desires for overarching plot with just little glimpses is a merit, not a flaw.
Not finished it yet, but it looks like this will soon take its place besides my other series favorites like Slayers, Lain, & Escaflowne.
Edit: Which I just noted is quite the eclectic collection- humor mixed with fantasy, intellectual weirdness with a little sci-fi, high fantasy with mechs, and the gothic modern setting of WHR.
Last edited by SnowFire on 19-01-2003 at 12:01
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SnowFire
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New York City, NY
Jan 1970
time: 00:25
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Nah, never heard of that one.
Record of the Lodoss War is straight fantasy from 70's D&D. The 1st episode is actually pretty darn good, as are some others. The main problem is compression (especially towards the end, but also in parts of the middle- too much stuff goes on off screen), sucky old-school anime style combat (you'll know it if you've seen it- "Rahhhhhhhhh!" charge against weird colored background), underdeveloped characters (Not all of them, but some conspicuous abscenses- like Parn!), and an ending that simply sucks (plot holes galore, and not cool enough to compensate).
It's not a total failure- the crazy barbarian guy & his assistant are pretty neat, and Karla's reasonably interesting, and Ashram (our villianous henchman) is a badass. But as said before, too much potential is unrealized.
The show you're talking about sounds like it sucked from the drawing board on up.
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Wraith
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Austin, Texas, USA
Aug 1999
time: 23:25
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--"but I'll be sure to remember the name of that show should I ever get the chance."
The official English translation looks like it's going to be Charcoal Feather Federation. At least, the show logo has a little winged halo with the letters CFF under it (see attached image).
I am curious how the offiicial translators will handle some aspects of this show. For instance, all the Haibane are named after what they saw in their dream in the cocoon. Hikari means light, Nemu means sleep, etc. I'm hoping they leave these untranslated, along with Haibane. Pioneer's pretty decent about this sort of thing, at least.
--"but a certain famous name that you shouldn't even be THINKING about if you've only seen up to ep 14"
Eek. Yeah, that is a bit of a spoiler.
--"It's awesome, the only question is whether the metaplot will live up to expectations and kick in."
Having seen all of it, I'm going to say it doesn't, not quite. I don't mind the monster-of-the-week stuff too much, but the whole thing feels like they came up with a short story to tell, figured out it'd only take them ten or so episodes, and then just padded it out. Not a bad show, but not nearly as good as it could have been.
--"Which I just noted is quite the eclectic collection"
Nothing wrong with that ^_^ My favorites list tends to be the same way.
--"What was the one where the wierd blue high tech elves take over earth, and the earth 'prince' has to become a fighter pilot?"
That sounds vaugely like Crest of the Stars, with the blue-haired space elves (Ahb), but Jinto never had to become a fighter pilot and none of it was set on earth. It's also quite well done, so that's probably not it.
Can you give a little more detail?
--"OK, so I'm watching a fansub of X up to ep 5 and would like confirmation on the following..."
Haven't seen much X yet (it's being released here on DVD, but I think I'll be waiting for a cheaper boxset before I get it), but what you've got is broadly correct. I seem to recall they were Heaven and Earth rather than Heaven and Underworld, though.
Wraith
"I hope the clock doesn't get drunk from all the alcohol fumes."
-- Kana ("Haibane Renmei")
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Wraith
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Austin, Texas, USA
Aug 1999
time: 23:25
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--"The best series anime seems to introduce its characters well"
Which is one of the reasons I haven't seen all of X TV yet. I do keep hearing good things about it, and the Anime Net recommender put in the recommendation list for me, so I'll get around to it, but the first couple episodes were more scattered than I like.
--"I want more grand anime movies on the scale of Metropolis and Spirited Away to come out!"
Well, Jin-Roh, Escaflowne: A Girl in Gaia, and End of Evangelion did come out last year. The first certainly counts, the other two depend on your taste.
I don't know of much in the way of movies coming out this year, yet. Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door has been delayed until April. Other than that, US Manga might do a theatrical release of Read or Die (by editing three OVA epidoses into a movie). I can't think off-hand of anything else, unless Disney decides to do a theatrical release for Kiki's or Castle in the Sky.
Wraith
"Why can't this thing just materialize me a cup of coffee?"
-- Mihoshi Kuramitsu ("Tenchi Muyo")
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Wraith
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Austin, Texas, USA
Aug 1999
time: 23:25
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--"yeah, Jin-roh is definitely on my MUST SEE eventually list."
Eventually? Heh. Better than never, I guess. This is actually one of the titles you may be able to find at Blockbuster or Hollywood Video.
--"My college is holding a 'small' class called "neon genesis evangelion anime as good film" - should I take it?"
That depends. First, what kind of shows do you like? Metropolis and Spirited Away, I'm guessing, but beyond that?
Second, it depends on the class. Does it cover the whole series, or is it just about the movie? From the description, does it sound like it's going to focus on the religious symbolism? If so, it may not be worth it (the religious stuff is largely gloss to the real symbolism).
Oh, and this bit is very important. Will they be covering the sub or the dub? If it's the dub, save yourself a large amount of pain and don't bother. Especially if it's primarily about the movie (there were a couple script changes that manage to screw up one of the most important plot points).
If you do take the class, keep in mind that there is some footage that is only available on the Japanese home video releases. Nothing staggering, but there are a couple scenes that will make certain bits of the movie clearer.
Wraith
"Man fears the darkness, and so he scrapes away at the edges of it with fire."
-- Ayanami Rei ("Neon Genesis Evangelion")
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Wraith
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Austin, Texas, USA
Aug 1999
time: 23:25
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--"My newest favorite anime is Inuyasha."
Inu Yasha is okay, but nothing special. Definitely not Rumiko Takahashi's best work. Still, it does beat Pokemon, although it drags on longer than it should (not as badly as Dragonball Z, but you do tend to get the feeling things are going in circles far too often).
Also keep in mind there's over 100 episodes out in Japan. Viz has only licensed about half of them so far. In any case, it's around the 30s and 40s that things get obviously dragging on.
--"I'm getting Jungle Wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu off of BitTorrent, and so far it seems to be an odd but very good series."
Same team as Excel Saga. It's basically Excel Saga with even less plot but slightly more crack. Guu's ability to mess with people's reality is quite fun.
There's an OVA after the TV series, too. Jungle wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu Deluxe. One of the best closing videos I've ever seen.
--"Also, I know for a fact that he's a hard-core anime freak, so I sincerely doubt it will have bad-dubbing."
Heh. It certainly could be worth it. If you know the instructor you've got a better basis to judge from. Not sure how that'd fit into the cirriculum, but if you've got the open credits for it...
Wraith
"If Guu's having fun everything's all right."
-- Guu ("Jungle wa Itsumo, Hale Nochi Guu")
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19-01-2003 08:36
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I know a few otaku who don't like it much, but that's their problem. 
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