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Excel Saga, Chrono Crusade Manga and Southland Tales
AnimeTalk a bi-weekly column by Don Houston, John Sinnott, Todd Douglass, and Holly Beeman Anime Talk looks at some great new anime releases this week including Green Green a show with plenty of fan service, the Area 88 OVA set, and the newly released Excel Saga thinpak set. Due to popular demand our manga section is back with a look at the Chrono Crusade series, and guest writer Jamie S. Rich covers something that a lot of you might have missed: the Southland Tales graphic novel. This book is the first of three prequel comics that expand on writer/director Richard Kelly's upcoming film of the same name. If you enjoyed Kelly's film Donnie Darko, you'll definitely want to check out this latest work. We also have a listing of all of the anime of note that will be released in the next couple of weeks, Holly's back with more anime picks for the budget minded as well. Be sure to check out our previous installments for reviews of the best (and worst) anime and manga to be released in region one.
The
Latest Anime Reviews:
Taking place in the future, Kiddy Grade is a fun series from Gonzo that follows the exploits of two agents from the GOTT (Galactic Organization of Trade and Tariffs). Éclair and Lumiere aren't your typical pair of young girls; they are actually powerful butt-kicking femme fatales that always get their mark. This series is a blast from start to finish, though it's a little episodic in its structure. Around the half way point the show gets turned upside down and things change direction entirely. It remains a solid series throughout though and science fiction fans will absolutely fall in love.
If you enjoy fan service harem shows, Green Green: Co-ed Casualties might appeal to you. It’s set in a formerly all boys school in a rural area in Japan. An all girls school is merging with them and the first episode, /Hearts Pounding Deep in the Mountains/ opens up with the ladies being bussed into the school on a trial basis. The lead male protagonist of the show is Yusuke Takasaki and he plays the usual knucklehead boy who is learning about himself as he follows his pack of pals around through their various dumb ideas to score with chicks. He's not exceptional in any way and his grades are average on a good day with limited other characteristics to make up for his apparent lack of brains. The lead female character is Midori Chitose, a gal who knows from first sight that Yusuke is a lover of hers from a previous life with their destiny being that they are fated to live and husband and wife forever. The only down side is that he doesn't share a memory of this prophecy and that makes her forward nature scary to him. The other problem is that an older girl at her school, Reika Futaba, is also aware of the prophecy but seems to be standing as a guardian to prevent it from happening. It will seem familiar to those of you into the genre but merits at least a passing glance if you enjoy this kind of thing.
Kannazuki No Miko: V2: Lunar Priestess continued the exploits of a trio of youth who have embarked on a mission to save Earth, or at least each other, from an ancient foe of the world called Orochi. Modern technology is mixed with popular myth as Himeko, a girl about to enter womanhood on her 16th birthday that is afraid of her own shadow; Chikane, a wealthy young lady with the kind of self assurance and skill that comes only from within; and Souma, a boyfriend of Himeko and moody type who seems drawn towards a different path; are all found facing destiny. The two girls seem to have a very close relationship and their birthdays are just around the corner when all of a sudden, a demon appears out of the morning sky to wreak havoc. Fighting the enemy and their own selfish desires, the second of the three volume show proves to be almost as confusing as the opener but manages to light a spark of creativity all the same.
If you ever wondered what it would be like to be a ninja in today's society then Ninja Nonsense has the answers you're looking for. This peculiar comedy series follows the exploits of a busty young ninja in training named Shinobu as she goes through day to day life and completes various ninja related tasks. In the first episode her master requires her to go to town and steal girl's panties where she runs into another young girl named Kaede. The two become friends and from that point we see the world of ninja from Kaede's eyes. The humor is random, though not as random as Excel Saga, and features a ninja crocodile, a sentient yellow ball, and a ninja with a case of diarrhea. It's laugh out loud funny at times but at others it seems to be trying a little too hard to get that chuckle. From Akamatsu Ken, the creator of Love, Hina, comes another romantic-comedy show, Negima! This story of a ten year old boy with secret magic powers who just happens to be teaching a class of eighth grade girls. It's funny, sweet, and has just a touch of mystery to keep the story interesting. There is also a slightly dark undercurrent that makes the program interesting, and hints of a bigger story that will be told. If the rest of the series can build off of the foundation that was set down with this volume, it'll be a very entertaining show. Fans of Ken's earlier work will surely want to give this series a look too.
Teknoman: Collection 2 was released too; the edited version of the original Japanese series /Uchu No Kishi Tekkaman Bureido/ brought back in the form of the second part of a three volume double disc set. The next 15 episodes are presented here with the Vemenoids stepping up their attack on Earth as they recruit all new Teknomen to fight Blade. His friends and allies travel with him as he learns about his sorted past from a family member, just in time to fight off that past; most of which have been enhanced with the same type of powers he enjoys (though without the imposed time limits he must follow). After winning numerous battles, it seems the team is losing the war through attrition with the same political intrigue causing problems once again. If you enjoyed the Americanized version ten years ago, this might serve to whet your appetite until the restoration of the original is finished so check it out already. Though Shojo (girls) manga and anime are good sellers in Japan, there have been relatively few series that have crossed the Pacific. Viz, publisher of Shojo Beat a monthly magazine devoted to manga aimed at young women, has tried to reverse that trend by publishing several shojo manga series and they have started to release Shojo anime too. One of their first titles is Full Moon the story of a terminally ill 12-year-old girl who wants to be a singer. A light show with a good amount of humor and some cute bits, the series is getting off to a good start. Mitsuki is a likable character and the humor generally works well. Though the volume was a bit on the slow side and had some aspects that were hard to swallow, it was still a lot of fun to watch. Not all anime has to involve giant robots fighting with teen aged pilots, and this series is a nice change of pace. Be sure to take a look at recommendations by DVDTalk's twisted cast of reviewers in their Best Of Anime 2003, Best Of Anime 2004, and Top Ten Anime discs of 2005 articles.
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by Todd Douglass
Chrono Crusade Manga Volumes 1 & 2 The Chrono Crusade manga has been out for some time and the same can be said for the anime. Chances are very good that by now you have checked out one or the other depending on your level of interest, but in case you missed it we got the first couple of volumes to take a look at. Nuns with guns are the main draw for this action series and one nun in particular finds herself being the center of attention. The year is 1928 and Rosette Christopher is an exorcist from the Magdalene Order who has a talent for sniffing out trouble and an even bigger talent for getting herself in the middle of it all. Luckily for her she's not flying solo since she tends to drag her pointy eared buddy Chrono along for good measure. In the first volume things get started rather ominously with an ocean liner crashing into New York harbor. A demon leaps from the boat and onto the pier to start scaring the bejesus out of people, luckily for them Rosette's car is expendable. With a resounding bang Rosette and Chrono crash head-on into the monster and drive him back onto the tanker. They pursue the beast and with the help of some of the Magdalene's trinkets and Chrono's demonic powers they subdue their foe. Oh, did I mention that Chrono is a demon? As this volume progresses we discover that he had actually made a pact with Rosette and is bound to her soul. A watch that hangs around Rosette's neck is not only the capsule for his demonic strength but also shows how long Rosette has left to life. Every time the seal is broken on the watch her soul diminishes so needless to say they need to use it sparingly. This is something that gives the higher ups in the Magdalene Order reason for concern, but due to the strength of the friendship between the two partners they don't intervene. As the volume continues the pair's next mission involves a young girl named Azmaria who has been bestowed with an angelic voice. Dark forces are trying to utilize her powers of healing in order to turn them into that of destruction. Rosette and Chrono slip in and rescue her but before long Azmaria falls back into the hands of the bad guys. This leaves it up to our two heroes yet again to go save her. One of the two men responsible for kidnapping the girl is actually a shadow from Crhono's past. He's a demon with a vendetta against Chrono, who finds himself in trouble with his powers sealed in Rosette's watch. Naturally, since Rosette is foolhardy, this means the seal is broken and Chrono's true nature is unleashed. A really cool fight scene comes next and leads up towards the end of the first volume. As the manga moves into the second volume Rosette's character gets more fleshing out with some flashbacks into her past. Having watched the anime there is some stuff that comes up with her brother that impacts the entire series in a big way. The second installment of the manga introduces some of those juice morsels and really takes a look at the characters of the story. There's a little bit of action to be had but it isn't really the running and gunning stuff that the series started out with. If you're into manga, or just want to see where the anime drew its inspiration from, then Chrono Crusade is a definite must have. The characters are deep, the story is far reaching, and the action gets very creative with a great deal of intensity. The second volume feels a little more drawn out than the first, but in the grand scheme of things everything here is important to the plot. Six other volumes remain in the series and there is a lot of room for development.
Something
you might have missed...
SOUTHLAND TALES
Graphitti Designs $12.95
Some stories are too big to tell in one slice. Consider Richard Kelly's first film, Donnie Darko. Though Kelly didn't originally set out to have two versions of his movie, now that they both exist, each cut casts its light in different directions, becoming two pieces of a larger whole.
Volume 1, Two Roads Diverge introduces four distinct characters. The first three are Boxer Santaros, an action movie star wandering the desert without his memory; Fortunio Balducci, a rootless gambler; and Krysta Now, a porn star who dabbles in poetry, black marketeering, and the occasional psychic vision. The fourth is a largely unseen force--the government, perhaps?--watching their every move. This presence is felt through satellite pictures and the occasional panel or inset to remind us that everything is being watched and recorded, the images shifting to black-and-white, the red light of a camera viewfinder inspiring paranoia. These are the moments where Weldele shines, and it's what makes him a perfect collaborator for Kelly. Having previously drawn the sci-fi adventure The Surrogates (Top Shelf Productions) and the Shakespearean political thriller Julius (Oni Press), he's got the prior experience to be able to handle Kelly's interlocking conspiracy theories and post-apocalyptic future. Southland Tales takes place in 2008, and America is still recovering from a nuclear strike that rocked Texas in 2005. It's a smart move on Kelly's part to set his yarn within our current timeframe. It makes Southland Tales an alternate reality rather than a futuristic fantasy. Time can never catch up with him if the events chronicled have already happened. Weldele also cannily steps over some stylistic bear traps. Comic book tie-ins to movies can often be hobbled by artwork that loses its verve due to an artist being shackled too heavily to recreating the likenesses of well-known actors. If you know Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays Boxer and Sarah Michelle Gellar is Krysta Now, you can see them in Weldele's sparse renderings, but it's more of an essence thing than a realistic recreation. He goes for the aura that makes them who they are rather than photo referencing the panels to death. Additionally, his solid color washes create mood with subtle strokes, using less detail to achieve greater impact.
All in all, the scope of Southland Tales suggests a move forward for Kelly. The dialogue is more adult, both in sentence structure and subject. In some cases, the relaying of information through captions can distract, giving information we see in the pictures and suggesting a filmmaker who is not as comfortable with the silence on a page the way he might be on screen. For the most part, though, the captions are chosen for their lyrical relevance, ricocheting off the action to give us a poetic insight into what the characters are doing. (Poetry plays an important part in the story, including Krysta's haikus and the regular references to Robert Frost and T.S. Eliot.) While Weldele delivers a lot of concise exposition through well-chosen images, Kelly adds to the sense of purpose by giving us hints of what lies beyond what can be seen. By the close of the first book, Southland Tales: Two Roads Diverge does exactly what the start of a serialized story and a prequel is supposed to do: make the audience hungry for more. At the last page, I wanted to know what happened to Boxer and where Krysta is taking him. I was curious of who was watching and why. If Kelly and Weldele can make me want to read volume 2, and then volume 3, then I'll probably want to see the Southland Tales movie, as well. Rather than a cash-in, this graphic novel reads like a true supplement to something bigger. If that bigger story is as good as this one, Southland Tales is in business.
What do you think about the column? Like what you see? Don't
like it? Have a comment or suggestion? Drop us an e-mail
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More
One
title we agreed on this month was 
As
in all things, even the best of series have to end some time so it was
with bittersweet interest that we watched the concluding volumes of the
Samurai
7 series with 
Fans
of whacked anime rejoice, ADV has finally released a thinpack collection
for 
Check
Out Your Local Best Buy for:
For
his second film, Southland Tales, writer/director Kelly has thought
ahead, drawing up a plan to give his story room to breathe beyond the multiple
cans of film it will take to show it in theatres. To give his audience
every piece of the narrative, he has turned to graphic novels. Working
from elements of Kelly's original script, artist Brett Weldele has joined
with the writer/director to adapt these segments into a three-volume
Southland
Tales comic book prequel.
Donnie
Darko fanatics will find plenty to chew on in Southland Tales: Two
Roads Diverge. There are some hints of time travel that have a payoff
that has yet to be seen, but where the folks who love to hang out on the
internet and pick apart whacky stories like this will really go to town
are the metafictional elements. Krysta decides to use Boxer for her own
purposes, and to manipulate him, she unveils a screenplay she wrote, The
Power, that has some prophetic parallels to the predicament Boxer has
found himself in. In an excellent contextual move, the book shifts from
the graphic element to ten pages of screenplay, turning Two Roads Diverge
into a comic adapted from a movie script about lost souls whose lives are
informed by a movie script. Have fun with that, story theorists.
