Imagine We Still Had VHS - Blue Seed (Episodes 1-3) - In the Shadow of Evangelion

*Blog post started on October 6, 2020.

It seems like there is light at the end of the tunnel in terms of my exhaustion. Lets just hope it is not depression. Eva the Cat has been a little too cozy with me at night even after nearly hugging her to death when I was stoned and New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle" came on. She shared the bed with me and Skimbleshanks yesterday, so either her or I is pretty down.

I went to bed before 10 pm last night. Was I tired after a bunch of errands went south, yes. Red Box sent an email me to me about a free movie promise while making it impossible to gain the promo code (You know enough about me.) which is very frustrating when you find a movie that would need to go on NinetyForChill.com. Auntie Anne's pepperoni pretzel nuggets were the only option that close to closing time, so it was not the fun Hot Topic order pick up mall trip. Never mind the awkwardness of flirting with a girl who wants me to meet them for the first time by coming into their workplace wore my brain out. It is probably best to wait till I need to replace a worn pair of Chuck Taylor's.

In the end, my previous night concluded with me not even finishing my D.P. Dough calzone, a first. Fortunately, I was able to watch some anime the previous night to have content ready to review. That at least took my mind off how do I ask for my poker winnings after embarrassing myself with C-word littered rants fueled by half a fifth of 100-proof moonshine. It was an impromptu game night after I had finished my shift at the retailer. All I had time to do was change, so visiting a liquor store for seltzers was out of the question. I just grabbed what I thought would not need a mixer.

At that party and from my ex who thinks I am going to ruin my life in Peoria tonight, I have found that my under two-minute movie reviews have drawn people to my blog. This means that I should go and make a quick video for this "Blue Seed" review. Guess I will need to swing by Japan House during a lunch hour for proper ambiance.

Yuzo Takada's Blue Seed

After a construction night gas explosion in Tokyo that was seemingly triggered by the presence of Kaede Kunikida, the Japanese government has come to the realization that the Aragami, ancient demons who terrorized the country centuries prior, have returned. The reason for their return is because the Kushinada family that stopped the demons had given birth to twins thus awakening the monsters.

Before they defeated these monsters, the Kushinada would sacrifice a daughter to appease them. The Aragami are dependent on keeping this bloodline alive when there is not a spare daughter to kill. Now that there are/were two they can be a little more liberal in their movements and destruction. Kaede was one of the twins who was separated from her sister Momiji Fujimima for her protection.

During the past 15 years, the Aragami have laid low and picked up on some modern scientific knowledge. This has provided them the means to cancel the curse the Princesses Kushinada had placed on them. It is suspected this allowed them to kill Kaede without any consequences. If they use this method to kill the unsuspecting Momiji, they are free to destroy humanity.

Humanity's salvation can play out one of two way. If they decide to sacrifice Momiji, the Kushinada and Aragami die. The other way is that the Chief Director Kunikida, Kaede's adopted father, and his Terrestrial Administration Center and the Aragami assigned protector of the bloodline, Kusanagi can fight them to the last to protect the remaining princess. Since Momiji is a naive high schooler wanting to get the most out of life regardless of the inconvenience she can be, the prior option is very tempting.

When I was old enough to get into anime beyond "Dragon Ball Z", "Sailor Moon" and "Voltron", my primary source for what was being released was "DieHard GameFan" magazine. It introduced me to video game adaptations like "Street Fighter 2 V", "Street Figther 2: The Animated Movie" (my introduction to KMFDM), and "Battle Arena Toshinden". Most of the coverage at the time was devoted to those being distributed by Manga Entertainment (now a Starz subsidiary) and the defunct ADV Films, so I was well aware of "Neon Genesis Evangelion" and "Ghost in the Shell". In 1996, everything else came across as an after thought to the critics, including the not quite as beautiful or dramatic "Blue Seed".

At this time for ADV Films, this and "Evangelion" seemed to be the only TV series that they were importing, so if you bought a tape from this distributor, you were going to see a trailer for one of them. "Evangelion" was my first anime obsession, so it was inevitable that I would succumb to purchase a "Blue Seed" tape. The theme song was awesomely tacky, so $25 bucks did not seem like it would be a total waste.

As it turns out, I had bought the first four episodes three times over, first on VHS of course. Once there was DVD box set, "Blue Seed" was one of my rare anime DVD purchase (I was a creature of habit.). When my little brother's high school friends stole my DVD's, eBay allowed me to piece the series back together at a reasonable price. Upon this revisit, the flaws and redundancies were picked up on, but this is the type of anime that fan service catering should look like (unlike "Agent AIKa").

The characters in this series all seem to be one note, but if a joke calls for it, a ridiculous subversion of the one dimension is almost immediate and rewarding. It plays out like a manga in that sense where a single frame can totally change the tone with different art style, but the reader knows it is just a joke for the moment and does not effect the rest of the tale. You may say that is fourth wall breaking. Fan service is kept separate from the story, not distracting like "Agent AIKa" showing every woman's panties in every shot. My biggest mistake with this rewatch was that the episodes just played after each other unlike the original VHS tapes that ended with a wacky for the sake of being wacky cartoon (kind of like the previews for the next episode of "Hellsing").

With quickly changing art styles, the generally poor animation quality is forgivable. The colors are just flat which were common for mid-90's Japanese cartoons and until you get a character transformation for a joke, the characters are very static. To its credit, the scenery can be very broad and feature a lot of elements, and it is impressive that it all looks good. Soundtrack is the only other element I can think of, at it is pretty solid.

It was really unfair for "Blue Seed" to be distributed along side "Evangelion". The story is epic, but without the intensity of "Evangelion", there will just be a tendency to ignore it. "Evangelion" is the best animated television show ever. The score was magnificent and it was beautifully animated. Nothing in the mid-90's could compete.

"Blue Seed" is a solid anime for its time on the level of contemporaries like "Gundam Wing" and "Tenchi Muyo!". It is fun take on demon themed series and its willingness to throw in jokes and fan service makes it accessible to about anyone. This series is not a masterpiece, but we all needed something to tide us over as we waited for "Bubblegum Crisis 2040", "Samurai Champloo", and "Claymore". This is "Witcher" after "Game of Thrones" but before "WestWorld".

 @AnimArchive - Twitter.

 

Imagine We Still Had VHS (Instead of Depressed Trolls like @CfuFreedom) - Agent AIKa - Naked Missions

 *Blog post started on September 29, 2020.

Adulting can be pretty hard. Yes, I know. That is common knowledge. Everything is probably just a blur to me because I have worked everyday since the 21st and even fit in the time to put 180 miles on the car to visit my parents during this stretch.

Sunday cannot come soon enough. Fortunately, the need to use up my vacation days at the bank next month has given me a few sporadic days off. Which means I should not be too annoyed about any long stretch when the retailer puts me on both days of a weekend. Seeing those paychecks further drive the point home. Here is to hoping that I can get my finances under control so that I am ready to pursue the creative scene once Chicago opens back up.

How did Styx ever have too much time on their hands? Perhaps it is because of the lack of social media. Dealing with racist and sexist trolls can take up a lot of time. I could stop, but now I have some of these assholes following me, so it must mean that I am getting good at it. If picking on me is as important as mocking The Squad and Elizabeth Warren, my ego feels good.

That is the last laugh I suppose. If I can get the point where all these sociopathic conservatives with like those below who have no respect for women's rights become followers:

@kayleighmcenany
@robbystarbuck
@Klutzy84
@Alvaroidz

@TheGoldWaterUS

I will thoroughly enjoy ignoring them like all of my liberal heroes. It is all about making them realize their annoying comments have no value, but for whatever reason, my opinions do.

Another distraction to properly using my time is trying to decide what to watch if I do not have a Red Box or a Netflix DVD. We are still two blog posts away from diving back into 90-minute movies, so that disqualifies about half of my options. Most of my remaining unwatched movies really demand a very attentive eye (The Criterion Collection and Terry Gilliam works). This is excluding all the anime.

Because I was reviewing only the first 90 minutes of series, I feel it is best that I not open anything up new and revisit what I had not reviewed. In essence, an entire series is being represented by three episodes, thus I do not want to give the wrong impressions of products that I have yet to have an all encompassing opinion on. The Blu-ray series have all been taken care of in the past four weeks, so lets go through my DVD's, starting at the letter A.

Unfortunately, this leads me to "Agent AIKa" a series I remember for its obscene amount of fan service and objectification of women. The worst thing about that is that I purchased it "used" from an FYI. I do not feel cool just selling it back. If it was a once defective DVD sold at Big Lots or a truck stop, mine opinion about reselling a resell is different.

Those initial statements maybe harsh. I did not have my critical lenses on. Being caught off guard seeing an upskirt shot of every female character, my opinion of the story may have been tainted and I could have missed enduring details. This rewatch should give this series a fair shake. More importantly, it warrants this series being a purchase instead of a rental or a torrent.

Agent AIKa - Episodes 1 to 4 (Naked Missions)

20 years after the great disaster that flooded 95% of the planet's landmass, salvagers serve a vital role for the current society, searching flooded cities for useful resources. One of the best is Aika who is essentially a super spy with her beauty, ingenuity, and combat capabilities. Unfortunately for her, her boss and former partner Gozo Aida's company, the K2 Corporation, is not flourishing because he refuses to take on missions that will definitely put his team at risk. This has allowed his competitors, primarily Gusto and Bandora, to control the industry.

Aika agrees with Rion, Gozo's daughter, that they need to turn their fortunes around regardless of the risks. They first take on an offer from a "government" agency to obtain information and/or samples of a potentially endless energy source called Lagu. Danger presents itself immediately as Neena Hagen and her battalion of maid soldiers attack the meeting. Undeterred and now equipped with her ultranate metal bustier, Aika takes to the skies in her jet to search for Lagu.

Stress is everywhere for Aika. Gusto has also taken of this mission in his far more modern fighter jet and Rion decides to stowaway in her jet. The biggest problem is a military vessel is also en route to the discovery, and they feature a greater armory than that of our protagonists. Gusto and Bandora had been shot down and not long after, a dog fight with Neena leads to a crash landing that the bustier allow Aika and Rion to survive.

 

They are soon captured, but Neena's brother Rudolph seems to be an accommodating captor who has his mindset on bedding Aika or at least find out the true power of the bustier. Rion is far too clever to remain in the Hagen's custody. She soon meets an unlikely ally in a Class A Secret Agent Maypia who may even allow her to complete the mission. Gusto is also on his way to save the day.

 

Are there too many moving parts for their escape to work? Can they afford to escape when Rudolph Hagen's plan seems to be invoking an even greater disaster. In the end, it will probably come down to her and her magical corset.

Agent Aika (1997) - IMDb

 

"Agent AIKa" is the first OVA that I have reviewed since "RG Veda", so it turned out that if I was in for an hour, might as well commit to the end of the disk. It was only an extra 30 minutes. This post reviews the first series of this OVA which was released between 1997 and 1999.

 

This rewatch was needed to be fair to this series. If I was paying thorough enough attention when I first watched the two-disc "Complete Collection Anime Legends", I would have known watching two episodes would have been a suitable amount of this rather misogynistic and rapey action comedy.

The "Naked Missions" (Central Park Media's title of the first DVD release) was definitely a product of the late 90's. Perhaps if I got around to this series when it first made it here stateside, I might have forgave all of this nonsense (Then again, I am not overly forgiving of "Knights of Ramune", another series picked up by Central Park Media.). Now, a series that features an upskirt of a tourist guide whom is only in the opening scene is an immediate turn off. It just screams juvenile. If you want to tease hentai, you need to deliver at some point.

It is not a complete failure as an anime. The story is solid enough and if you love an abundance of uniquely drawn anime girls, it may serve as a nice screensaver at a party with some "Block Rocking Beats" or Muse's "Panic Station". Sadly, wanting to shroud our primary protagonist in secrecy and not really developing the other characters leaves us with characters who are stock-photo tropes. That includes our incestuous antagonists.

While the character designs are what every otaku hopes for from gal games and the animation is solid for the most part. It is hindered by never deciding how blond Aika is, but the worst problem is with the presentation of all of the panty shots leading to everything just all blending together. The only means to mix things up are the boob grabs from the villains and the overly aggressive, non-consensual nature of the bustier in "AIKa's " transformation sequences.

"Agent AIKa" does not offer much up to an audience that is not out to celebrate acceptable perversion. That would be an audience with the attitude of, "It is not porn, so do not judge me." If you want to sample this "Anime Legend" (per Bandai Entertainment), I would suggest the Japanese-language track. The English dub sounds like the voice actors know how unimportant their portrayals of these one-dimensional characters will be. It is a generous presumption that that is the case. They may just be the worst team out there.

 

Imagine We Still Had VHS - Hellsing (TV Series) - Volume 1

*Highlighted portions of the blog post were written on September 18, 2020. The rest of the blog was composed on September 2, 2020

It feels like a pretty prolific week in terms of blogging. My release schedule is filled up to October 1. I think trying to finish the "Chris Memoirs" journal may be hurting my intros to the blogs, but that only looks bad if your scrolling through the past blogs.

This may mean I should just use my hosting space to actually develop a web page to avoid maineventofthedead.com opening a bunch of browser tabs, but I do not know if Windows XP era Adobe design software will work on Windows 10. I was lucky that they stuck around through Windows 7. Squarespace is not an option since I already have hosting space.

How to promote entertainment blogs efficiently. First world problems are all I have had the past couple of days. And they are:

• @repstevensmith
• @eaglemom2015
• @wdunlap
• @cardellamatt
• @stubishop_lpd
  

I guess you could lump in the vocal member of classes 1996 to 1999 from Morton High School with these conservative trolls on Twitter. The cunts from Morton are probably to insecure to become one of the sociopathic Twitter twats. They realize that you got to work to earn those fake friends. It is so much easier for them to just type in your high school some barely graduated from (in the case of the wrestling teammate who was proud of his racism which god will forgive because he is opposed to abortion) or those that need to be friendly enough with to sell cars to (in the case of the racist homophobe with an inferiority complex who blames the victims when it comes police brutality).

Some people just want you to be realistic. I had shared a meme that touted how Barack Obama had given us affordable healthcare, constant improvement in the job market, and saved us from the great recession. A person responded with the rise in immigrant detentions, drone strikes, and inequality growth that happened during his presidency. My response was to tell them why that happened and how he brilliantly responded (DACA, troop reduction, and healthcare costing him chances to fix the problem that the rich are). In addition, since Trump had made all of points worse, why do you want us not to think of better times?

I can ignore high school sucking hard. I had wrestling and was team captain on top of that. Bruce Springsteen wrote about the attitude in "Glory Days".

Wrestling and an anime collection allowed me to survive my hometown. Then adulthood almost immediately cut the latter out of my life. I have spoken of this before. Once Toonami, Adult Swim, and IFC took over anime distribution, every kind of release came out in season box sets. College classes and jobs did not allow me to watch the content as it aired stateside, so I could not sample the content before making a decision to buy. It felt like the cost of getting away from Morton, Illinois was half of my sanity.

Fortunately, my little brother was borrowing DVD's from friends, so I occasionally got lucky and caught an intriguing enough series. Thus, "Hellsing", my introduction to Gonzo studio and their standard too harsh for run after "Cowboy Bebop" products.

Hellsing - Episodes 1-3