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April 24, 2006
Tripping The Rift, Karas, and Mr. Stain
AnimeTalk a bi-weekly column by Don Houston, John Sinnott, and Todd Douglass This time around we have a look at some interesting anime. Tatsunko Productions, the producers of Speed Racer and Gatchaman, among many others recently celebrated their 40th anniversary of being in the business. In honor of that event they released Karas, a big budget OVA series, the first volume of which has just been released. Both Don Houston and John Sinnott give their thoughts on the project this week. After teasing fans for the past few months by putting episodes on most of their discs, FUNimation has finally released Mr. Stain on Junk Alley, a funny and creative show that has been worth the wait. This week we also have a look at a show that wasn't made in Japan, but many anime fans will want to check out: Tripping The Rift an animated comedy filled with sexual innuendo, political incorrectness and a lot of laughs. In addition to that, Holly has a list of some of the best bargains in anime, we have out table of upcoming releases so you can plan your anime preorders, and capsule review of the latest anime discs.
The Latest
Anime Reviews:
The final volume of the short-lived DearS series has arrived and when the show ended I was left scratching my head. The last three episodes of the anime felt so rushed story wise that questions were never completely answered and there was no sense of closure. Then again it's not like the show was an epic of historical proportions by any stretch of the imagination. It was good clean (well, technically dirty) fun with a lot of fan service and sexual humor to fill in the gaps where the plot faltered. If the series had more time to develop with an extra thirteen episodes there is no doubt in my mind that it could have elevated to a higher platform. Instead it rest comfortably in the generic harem genre and doesn't really stand out amongst the sea of titles.
One subject that usually stirs a lot of debate in the anime community is censorship. It doesn't happen an awful lot these days, but every once in a while a company makes a decision about a release that isn't in the best interest of true fans. Viz has started releasing the 4Kids renditions of One Piece and it's the perfect example of what not to do. The content has been censored for violence, racial stereotypes, and language. The DVD is also presented with an English dubbing as the only audio track. The three episodes that are on the disc are decent enough if you take them at face value but considering the very nature of this release leaves one with a sour taste in their mouth. Here's hoping that Viz listens to fans and releases an uncut version with the original Japanese content.
Even though it has been going twice as long as most anime series, the eleventh volume of Fighting Spirit finds the show still going strong. Ippo has been climbing the boxing ladder for the whole series, and now has his first chance at a title belt. Fighting the champ isn't going to be easy though, and defeating him will be even more difficult. There's some great boxing and a fair share of comic relief in this volume of Fighting Spirit. One of the more interesting aspects to anime homages is when a series finishes up with the major aspects of the source material and then continues on. In essence, that's the make it or break part of the series where the creativity of the new team is truly challenged so it is with great pleasure that we report that Samurai 7 #5: Empire in Flux not only continued to provide a great show for fans of the Kurosawa classic, but also managed to push forth with a lot of reasons why some of you should pick up the entire series. The bandits are largely defeated and the machinations of one evil man are coming into play, jeopardizing not only the team and the village, but also the entire empire built on a precarious trading arrangement to stabilize the country. Kambei's mission to return the kidnapped women hits a few snags and the rest of the team seem unable to keep his head firmly on his shoulders, preparing the series for the climactic ending. Whether you're new to the series or already a fan, you won't want to miss this volume in the award winning series. The first volume of the second season of Kaleido Star was a big disappointment. They seemed to throw out the charm of the first season and added a group of unbelievable characters and situations. Unfortunately the second disc doesn't improve the story at all. Trying to recreate the tension filled moments from the first season, they put Sora in some difficult situations, but none of them ring true, and a couple are ludicrous. This is a pale imitation of the original and not worth even a rental.
Every once in a while a series takes you by surprise, turning out to be much better than it has any right to be. Planetes is one such show. This program about garbage collectors in space doesn't have giant robots or laser battles, instead it's filled with real people dealing with realistic problems. With excellent scripts and high quality animation, this is a series that earned a coveted place on DVD Talk's Top Ten Anime Series of 2005. Though a little late, we finally received copies of the rest of end of the series and now have reviews for volumes three, four, five, and six. The series ended just as strongly as it started. It's one of those shows that all anime fans should check out. One series that is responsible for turning many impressionable youngsters into otaku is Robotech. That dubbed and edited show introduced a lot of people to the world of animation, and it has been released several times on DVD in various forms. Now ADV is releasing the uncut version of the show, Super Dimension Fortress Macross, using the same beautiful restored video that Animeigo used for their OOP Macross set. The main difference between the releases is that the ADV DVDs have an English dub too. There are some great episodes included on this second ADV volume including the Miss Macross competition, landing on Mars, and Hikaru getting captured by the enemy. With a restored picture and 5.1 audio in both English (for the first time) and Japanese this is the version to pick up if you don't have the hard to find Animeigo set. 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.
by Don Houston
Adult themes tend to get the short end of the stick (pun intended) when it comes to television series these days. While we've come to expect this for network television, cable television has undergone a renaissance in recent years to help liberate us from the mundane nature of what is acceptable to the censors, both corporate and governmental, that seem to hold the most sway these days. It's almost shocking when a show like Firefly has nudity yet even years ago, the clever writers would make sly innuendos that slipped past the people that would dumb shows down. In a sense, this is a constant battle behind the scenes of many programs as each "side" wages a war against the other. Personally, I think anything shown after a certain hour, if not any time, on TV should be open season since the technology exists to protect the fragile little minds of those who'd oppose this form of freedom of expression but I'm part of the true silent majority from what I'm told by those who seek to protect us from ourselves. This mindset was what I went into watching the subject of today's review of Tripping The Rift: The Complete Second Season with.
The ship is called the Jupiter 42, an homage to Lost in Space and is led by Captain Chode McBlob, a guy that really only thinks about porn, sex, eating, and making a quick buck; some would say he's a universal male in that sense. The ship's computer, Bob, is a cross between Hal (of 2001: A Space Odyssey), the dry-witted computer from Red Dwarf, Orac from Blake's Seven, and at least a couple of other similar ship computers from a variety of series that based theirs on those two. Bob is about as helpful as a sack of dirt, generally pointing things out well after the information is of any use to the crew. The pilot of the ship is T'Nuk, and ugly, foul mouthed, three breasted cow that can best be described as the stereotypical mother-in-law who is not above using physical violence to get whatever it is she wants. Chode's nephew, Whip, is a lizard like creature (of a completely different species than his uncle) is the generic teenage slacker who is as smart as a brick and almost as energetic unless under the immediate supervision of an adult. The engineer is a robot named Gus; who is the butt of all the gay jokes since he's clearly designed as effeminate and just inside the closet. Lastly, is Six of One, the sexy android that is a cross between Xev of Lexx, Galaxina, and of course Voyager's Seven of Nine (I think her original designation was to be Six of Nine if you catch my drift). Six is owned by Chode and is programmed with a complete litany of sexual functions, though she's been upgraded to be the science officer of the ship too. If anything, she's the smartest one on the ship, the most likely to do the right thing, and the most willing to use her body to full advantage.
Ultimately though, the animation was good enough to convey the stories and the writing, however hit or miss it might be for some, was far better than average, perhaps best described as a version of Futurama made by a group of men sitting around drinking booze while watching old science fiction shows late at night. I know there have been objections about the way the show encourages treating women as sex objects, fosters a mean spirited brand of comedy, and advocates violence as a means to an end but to some of us; those are qualities we wish we'd see more often. By all means, if you're a diehard conservative, a tree hugging liberal, a feminist, or gay rights activist (or anyone else lacking a sense of humor), skip this one but otherwise, this 13 episode set should be required viewing for all movie junkies and as such gets a Highly Recommended. Tripping The Rift: Season Two 1) You Wanna Put That Where? (7/27/2005)
Picture: Tripping The Rift: The Complete Second Season was presented in the same 1.33:1 ratio full frame color it was shot in for release on the Sci-Fi Channel last year. Having seen a few episodes of the first season, it looked like the production company updated the look of the show a bit but still retained the general type of computer generated imaging (CGI) that was reminiscent of Shrek and somewhat more advanced than the wonderfully hilarious Mr. Stain on Junk Alley (an extra on most of the FUNimation releases these days). Without going into a multitude of technical terms, the characters had an internal consistency with all the usual shading techniques and other tricks used to make it look pretty good, if somewhat dated. It also reminded me of an adult animation The Princess Has Come of Age I watched earlier this year, although the voice acting was substantially better with this series. There were some uncaught technical glitches where the animation seemed to distort but I only noticed it a few times, again reminding me of my earlier computer game analogy. Sound: The audio was presented in a 2.0 Dolby Digital stereo English with a French track too (being made in Canada, I believe they had no choice). The music was often a sly imitation of other genre music, even going out of the way to come close to commercials and sound effects employed elsewhere. The vocals were supplied by a number of popular character actors, with the main replacement for the second season being the use of Carmen Electra as Six, replacing Gina Gershon from the first season). In large part, the synchronization between the animated mouths moving and the spoken words was accurate and after a few episodes, they seemed somehow fitting in the roles. As an experiment, I turned off the screen and listened, noticing no unnatural pauses or parts that seemed out of place. Some of the dialogue was a bit rushed but the nature of the material was such that it didn't matter much. Extras: Considering how inexpensive the entire season was, I really didn't expect a lot of extras this time. In the fold out (three page) DVD case, were two discs; one single side and the other a double sided disc, and an 8 page booklet. The booklet started off with a quiz to test which character you're most like (with funny results) and then provided a short breakdown of the episodes in the order they aired. On the second side of disc two was a trailer for the upcoming Sci-Fi Channel series Eureka, a short Blooper Reel (with no audio), and a short feature called Tripping the Rift Season 2: Where No Chode Has Gone Before. In it, the actors and crew were interviewed in short clips with some footage from the show and discussion of the material from the season. It was glossy and upbeat, though amusing how frequently the cast said they wouldn't let their kids watch the show. Final Thoughts: Tripping The Rift: The Complete Second Season was a lot more fun than I had been led to believe by reading up on it awhile back. It combines parody, social satire, and an obvious love of movies with a somewhat darker brand of humor than most of us are used to from an animated series but does so in a manner that typically made me laugh out loud. If you like the kind of stream of consciousness humor used by the writers (there were at least 30 movie/pop culture references per episode, usually far more) and the shots at so many people, including the cast itself, you'll love the show. In short, Tripping The Rift: The Complete Second Season had the replay value of a show that goes far beyond the geek audience it was designed for, with the animated breasts of Six looking like they had a life of their own, the snide brand of youthful humor found in abundant supply on the internet, and it amazes me that such a show could have had two seasons on the Sci-Fi Channel given the nature of how bland most of their offerings are these days (with a few exceptions). Perhaps The Comedy Channel or Cartoon Network will pick it up but it'd be a shame to see the show disappear.
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
and let us know!
April 10, 2006
Patlabor LE and the Naruto Manga Series
AnimeTalk a bi-weekly column by Don Houston, John Sinnott, and Todd Douglass Anime Talk has a look at the new Patlabor Movie release this week, a rerelease that has improved sound and picture and is definitely worth the double dip. Another interesting title this week is Saikano, series that asks the question "what would you do if your girlfriend turned out to be an ultimate weapon of mass destruction?" With all the press about the new Naruto anime series on TV and on DVD, writer Todd Douglass looks at the manga series. Not only is it where the character started, but its the best selling manga in Viz' line. Not only that, but we also have Holly's Anime Bargains and our table of anime discs that are scheduled to be released in the next couple or weeks.
The Latest
Anime Reviews:
Next up were the latest four episodes of the Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender 2 where Aang, Sokka, and Katara seek out the wisdom of the former Avatar, Roku to find out why he has been trying to contact them from the spirit world. The hunt for the Avatar is still on by the ruling Fire Nation but by the end of this volume, the series gets a time line for Aang to learn the other three styles of “bending” in order to challenge the rule of the Fire Nation lest the world be forever plunged into chaos at their hand. With minimal extras and a mere four episodes on the DVD, the value of the set may be questioned but fans of morality plays may enjoy this straightforward series designed to instill a sense of balance in youthful viewers. With the sixth volume, Kyo Kara Maoh takes a turn for the better and becomes a bit more dark and serious. Building on the events that have gone on in the past, as well as filling in some gaps and answering a lot of questions about the series, the four episodes on this disc really bring things to a head as a war is about to break out and the outcome is anything but certain. Much more engrossing than the previous volumes, this volume is one of the best yet.
Reviewer John Sinnott wasn't really impressed with the first volume of Panda-Z, and finds the second volume is actually a bit worse. The limited novelty that the first volume had has worn off by this point, and these very short stories still fall flat. Panda-Z doesn't have a plot, and there is no thread linking the episodes. It is supposed to be a parody of anime, possibly, but it falls far from being either funny or witty. The show involves a panda, Pan-Taron, who sometimes fights in a giant panda robot, and sometimes not. That's about it. With only 15 minutes of content (excluding the credits) on each disc, this isn't worth it. An OVA sequel to the 2004 film Munto, Munto 2: Beyond the Walls of Time is a very gorgeous looking show with wonderful character designs, detailed animation and some impressive battle scenes. Unfortunately the confusing story and drab characters and uneven pacing do little to make the program enjoyable. The show starts off with a quick recap of the first movie and then launches into an impressive battle scene. At about the 15 minute point however, the narrative switches from the battle lines to an Earth girl who spends all of her time staring off into space. Unfortunately she's the focus for the rest of the movie, just zoning out while her friends worry about her, until the confusing conclusion that doesn't really solve all of the problems. This is another disc that you should just skip.
Speaking of InuYasha, Viz has is also releasing the 41st volume in that series. Though it only has a mere three episodes, the trio on this disc are filled with action and some significant plot developments. Not only does Inu battle Bankotsu in a mortal fight, but a very powerful villain from the past proves that it's hard to keep an evil demon down. Fans of the show won't want to miss this one. The surprising, wacky, and off beat series Kodocha returns with the fifth volume, and this time things are a little different. Sana's mom publishes her tell-all book about she and Sana's life, and the revelations have an impact on Sana, putting her on an emotional roller coaster. That's not to say that the series has turned maudlin, it hasn't. There's still the bizarre humor that fans have grown to love, but this volume proves that there's more to the series than just its odd sense of humor. We'll end off this issue's capsule reviews with a look at a show that fans either love or hate: Dragon Ball Z. John Sinnott loves the humor and action in the show (though he'll admit that the fights can be drawn out too much) and is eagerly anticipating FUNimations releases of the earliest episodes in their uncut form. The first volume in the second saga, The Saiyan Invasion, has just been released, and it's a great installment. Things look pretty desperate as not one, but two Saiyans have landed on Earth. They're not here to conquer though, they are here to destroy all life and then sell the planet to the highest bidder. With Son-Goku still not back from the dead, the Z-Warriors have their work cut out for them. 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.
by Todd Douglass
If you watch a lot of anime and consider yourself an otaku then at some point in your life you have read a manga. Just about all of the big series that we see on DVD (or TV) today got their start in a printed publication of some kind. Shows like Full Metal Alchemist, Azumanga Daioh, and Ghost in the Shell first came to us on a completely different medium before their respective animation studios got a hold of the licenses. Recently John had the chance to check out the popular Naruto series thanks to the newly released DVDs by Viz. I do have to admit that I haven't had the chance to check out the anime yet, but I have been a big fan of the manga for some time now. I guess I have been dragging my feet on checking out the DVD due to the edited content and fact that there is only an English dubbing track available on it. Of course that fact doesn't have anything to do with the enjoyment of the manga, so here at Anime Talk we figured that we'd draw your attention to amine's sibling. Naruto is a tale about ninjas, mysticism, and a young boy who loves to cause trouble. You could almost say that he's like Denise the Menace. Well, a Denise the Menace that possesses the soul of a fox demon, aspires to be a ninja, and eats ramen noodles every day. You see, twelve years before the series takes place the Nine-Tails Demon Fox wreaked havoc upon the world. His tails could raise tsunamis and flatten mountains and he was so powerful that he could not be killed outright. Instead the fourth Hokage sealed his spirit into an infant child named Uzumaki Naruto. When the series picks up Naruto is twelve years old and in school to become a shinobi. The only problem is he isn't the most attentive and he really likes to cause trouble to get attention. Due to the nature of his past all of the adults in town have shunned him and he's been basically branded as a social outcast. That explains the reason that he acts out so frequently and why he always receives failing grades. In fact he's one of the few that doesn’t appear to be graduating from his class. At least until he steals an ancient scroll. It wasn't the act of theft that brought him to the point of respect where he was able to graduate; it was what he did after he read the script. He was duped into stealing it because it held some secrets involving the demon spirit within him, but after reading a portion of it he learns a powerful doppelganger technique. Naruto now has the ability to create hundreds of clones and because of this newly acquired skill he becomes a ninja. The training doesn't stop there and as the school year goes on new sensei are brought in to pass or fail the students. Hatake Kakashi proves to be an unorthodox instructor right from the get-go. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all have the dubious honor of being his newest victims, er… students. From this point the Naruto manga gains more personality. The three prospective ninjas play off of each other very well and having Kakashi tossed into the mix gives a new direction for the second volume. I've read up to the newest (ninth) installment but since we're featuring the first volume in this column I won't spoil anything that’s coming down the road. Naruto has become the best selling manga in Viz's library and with good reason. There have been 31 volumes released in Japan and the series’ popularity continues. The characters are charming, the world is rich with detail, and it's pretty funny to boot. If you’ve watched the anime and want to see how the manga compares, or if you're just looking for an entertaining read you can't go wrong with Naruto.
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
and let us know!
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The
anime company Tatsunko Productions (Speed Racer, Gatchaman) has
been around for 40 years, and to mark this feat they decided to do something
special: create an OVA series that showcases just what they are capable
of. The result is Karas, a present day tale of demons and
demon hunters. Intrepid anime reviewers Don Houston and John Sinnott
both got a chance to see the first half of the series and they came away
with different opinions. Don thought that it was one of the better
releases in recent months with some interesting animation. John,
on the other hand, thought that it was a case of style over substance and
that the plot was a muddled mess. Read both 
One
show that John did like was 
With
its seventh volume, 
Check
Out Your Local Best Buy for:
As
a point of reference, I never saw the entire first season but it was easy
enough to figure out based on an episode or two of the boxed set I picked
up to review. Set in the distant future, space travel and a merging of
alien cultures has been the norm of the universe for as far back as anyone
can remember. The planets are governed by a bland group that resembles
the Federation from Star Trek although a new group led by a man
named Darth Bobo, a cross between Star Wars' Darth Vader and the
clown-faced Creegan from 
Okay,
so we have a crew of antiheroes flying around the galaxy in search of staying
one step ahead of the authorities and those who'd do them harm, much like
the aforementioned 
I
haven't seen the entire first season of the show so if I miss something,
feel free to email about it but the basic humor of the show seems to be
split about 50/50 between sexual references and social commentary, both
using the wealth of material available from past movies and other sources
as needed. From Chode saying "Geez, you bang a chick twice a day and you
think you know her" to Gus (when asked to check a case for a possible explosive
device) saying "I just finished watching Jessica Simpson in that moronic
Dukes of Hazzard. What's one more bomb?", the playful sense of fun often
missing in mainstream shows was offered up in spades. Each episode is replete
with similar one-liners but there was a lot of visual humor too. In the
opening credits, the C3P0 appearing Gus vacuums the ship with an appliance
that looks identical to R2D2 as Whip pilots a smaller version of the Star
Trek Enterprise ship about the cabin. Seeing drunken Vulcans, lightsabers,
and a plethora of other standards from the movies is so common that it's
doubtful that you'll catch them all (even numbers and address if you pay
close enough attention).
Marginal
upgrades (informally known as double dips by fans) are plentiful in anime
these days and usually not worth spending money on but 
What
would you do if your girlfriend turned out to be an ultimate weapon of
mass destruction? That's the reality that Shuji faces in 
Like
many companies, Viz is putting out some of their anime series in season
sets after the initial release has run it's course. Rumiko Takahashi's
fan favorite series 
Check
Out Your Local Best Buy for:
