The Series:
Manga has done something a little odd with their release of the anime
Tactics. They've decided to put out this 25 episode series
over five discs, which is admirable. Getting five episodes per volume
(with a MSRP of $25 each) is a nice way to do things rather than draw it
out to 6 or 7 volumes, which other companies have done. The strange
thing is they've released the first four volumes and then put out a boxed
set with the entire show before the final volume has been released.
This is pretty much a slap in the face to the loyal customers who have
been supporting the title all along. Not only do they end up
paying 2 ½ times as much for the whole series as the people who
just buy the set, but they don't even get to see the conclusion first.
I'm not sure what Manga was thinking, but this is a horrible idea.
As for the show itself, it's pretty good. The narrative centers
around Kantaro, a young man who has had the ability to see spirits and
demons since he was a small child. Teased mercilessly because
the other children thought he was making things up, Kantaro has always
dreamed of finding the mythical demon-eating goblin who has been imprisoned
somewhere in Japan.
Now a young adult, Kantaro still searches for the demon-eating goblin.
He already has one servant, a fox demon Kantaro named Yoko.
If anyone names a demon, that creature is tied to the person who names
it and has to do anything they say, and that's exactly what happened to
Yoko. Kantaro struggles for money, he's writing a book that is terminally
late, and also works as a part-time exorcist and all around general investigator
of the supernatural.
While following a map of dubious origins, Kantaro, in the first episode,
comes across a magically sealed prison. Breaking the seal he manages
to release the powerful demon-eating goblin and names him Haruka.
From then on Haruka joins Kantaro and the pushy Yoko in ridding the world
of nefarious demons.
This is a monster-of-the-week program for the most part, but describing
it in those terms sells it short. While there is only a very thin
overriding story, the individual episodes are all well crafted, with interesting
mysteries and demons with curious powers and abilities. The program
reminds me of Mushi-shi in many respects. The driving force of the
program isn't the ultimate showdown between Haruka, Kantaro and the demon,
rather it's the story of what the demon is doing and how.
One of the better episodes comes early in the series when a ghost trolley
starts terrorizing Kantaro's town. At the same time every evening
it will mysteriously appear and cause havoc. Kantaro doesn't have
to fight the trolley however; he has to find out what it wants and why
it is appearing. It's a touching story with a bitter-sweet ending
that will leave you wondering if the resolution was the best thing to happen
or not.
Though the show is supernatural in nature, it's not a horror anime.
There's no blood soaked rooms or heads being severed off of bodies.
Just the opposite, this is a beautiful show. The backgrounds to this
program are wonderful and gorgeously drawn. The nature scenes look
like paintings and the cityscapes are impressive too. The character
designs are very nice, especially Haruka, and fit in well with the attractive
environment. Had less effort been spent on the look of this show
it wouldn't have been nearly as impressive.
The DVD:
The full 25 episodes from this show are presented on five DVDs.
These are housed in full-sized keepcases which in turn are packaged in
a thin pressboard slipcase. The DVDs and their covers seem to be
identical to the individual volumes that were released earlier.
Audio:
This set gives viewers the choice of either the original Japanese audio
or an English dub, both in either stereo or DD 5.1. I alternated
between the two 5.1 tracks and spot checked the stereo options, and found
all four tracks to be very solid. The surround tracks are very similar
and while they don't offer a lot of rear audio, the surround speakers do
kick in when the action starts. Both languages were fine, though
I ended up preferring the Japanese track slightly. There were no
audio defects, which is to be expected with such a recent show. Overall
whichever track you pick, the show will sound fine.
Video:
The anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen image looks quite impressive.
The colors are solid and bright, the blacks are spot on and the lines are
nice and tight. On the digital side of things the encode does its
job well. There are no major compression artifacts and even aliasing
is very rare.
Extras:
Scattered over these five discs are some standard bonus features.
There is a clean opening and closing, some TV ads, a merchandise gallery,
some songs from the show, image galleries and a ten minute interview with
the Japanese cast.
Final Thoughts:
Tactics is one of those shows that shouldn't work, but does. The
idea of a man hunting demons with a super-powered ally is nothing new,
but rather than being a run of the mill anime this series is something
unique. A thoughtful show will well written stories, viewers will
soon find themselves engrossed in the stories and wanting more. This
attractively priced series set is the perfect way to get the whole show
at one time and gets a very strong recommendation.
For another take on Tactics, read Todd Douglass' reviews of the individual
volumes: Volume one,
two,
three, and
four.
Buy: