*The first draft of the review was originally written in 2009(ish). Hence the "Avatar" joke.

Princess Mononoke: Visual Masterpiece sans Giant Blue Smurfs

Hayao Miyazaki may be the greatest animation director of all time. Coming from anime roots with limited production values, everything he produces/directs is worthwhile and he almost always tops his previous film. With this assumption, it would not be surprising if we all but overlooked the standard set for visual environments in "Princess Mononoke".

After a fallen boar god nearly destroys his village, Ashitaka is cursed for stopping its chaos. No medicine can cure his terminal ailment, so his only hope is to head west to find the Spirit of the Forrest to beg for it to lift him of the burden. On his journey, he learns of the battle between the forest gods and the human settlement of Iron Town.

Each race is fighting for a mountain, and Ashitaka must find a way to make peace between the two races before all of them are destroyed. The key to finding success might be relating to the wolf gods through their adopted human family member, San. Since she was abandoned by her parents as a child so that they could escape the wolves' wrath, she bares no love for any human, but the compassion Ashitaka exhibits may show her a path that does not lead to destruction.

Disney did their best to suppress "Princess Mononoke" from finding success in the states, but with the decline of the quality of their films (at the time), it is good to know that Miyazaki is a household name. Only problem is that his dramas are still generally over looked. (With that said, this feature did not have a talking cat or a humorous animal, so I may see why.)

Perhaps for the sake of anime, it might be better to focus on his tales about children like "Spirited Away" and "Ponyo" than to discuss his feature with intense violence and tentacles. Sad, because I have yet to see a superior artificial environment presented in a cinema. The only flaw with the animation is that the characters themselves are not as vivid, so at times, they may seem out of place.

The story is easy to follow and is wonderfully paced. An animated film having two hours of material was rare at the time (at least stateside), so this film is even grander by having amazing replay value.

To maintain the integrity of the picture, the celebrity voice cast makes it a point to go over the top with their performances leaving the culture and story intact via this translation. If it was not a violent hippie movie, it would have been accessible to nearly any audience.

"Princess Mononoke" is definitely an under appreciated film. It may not be Miyazaki's best, but how long will his latest film hold that title. Missing this film shows a lack of respect to one of animation's most beloved directors. The film shows the range of what Miyazaki can direct and the beauty his animation brings out. It is a must see.

Twitter @ghiblisarchive

Evangelion 1.01: You Can(not) Overlook

 Am I crazy for entertaining the concept of reinventing the "Star Wars" trilogy? Trekkies gave into J.J. Abrams's concept and ended up embracing it, and the flaws of Lucas's scripts are quite prevalent.

Blasphemy. Well, we would all like to reboot the "Saga". No one can deny that, but when it comes to near perfection (with the exception of "Return of the Jedi"), why bother?

It is because we are starved for greatness and we will take our chances. That is why Hideaki Anno's reboot of "Evangelion" captured the world of anime's attention.

Shinji Ikari has been called to Tokyo-3 by his neglectful father Gendo. When he arrives, the city is under a military state of emergency and a battle with a giant monster ensues. After he is rescued by his chaperone, Lt. Col. Misato Katsuragi, he his escorted to Nerv's headquarters to find out his father's expectations. The primary one of these is for this 14 year-old to pilot a giant robot called Evangelion Unit 01 to defeat the monster.

 Should he fail, humanity is lost. But not being able to appreciate his own existence, why should Shinji care about the fate of mankind?

"Evangelion 1.01" is nearly identical in character design to the original television show, but it is far more than just a special edition of the first six episodes. This is a more concise version of the "Evangelion" story with an atmosphere that is more fitting of the dark conclusions of the initial series.

All of the mecha and kaiju have been visually upgraded and the theatrical budge is evident. Since budget held back the production quality of the first series, fans should definitely appreciate the upgrades. That is provided that they can get past the first two acts of the story being exactly like the first four episodes.

It can be frustrating that the "Rebuild of Evangelion's" story does not begin until act three, especially since the comic interactions between Shinji and the supporting cast are all but eliminated. The charm and optimism are removed, so those who did not appreciate the previous two endings that Anno had provided us, they may be left upset.

Those frustrations are worth enduring for the brilliant third act. The new vision and hints of what is coming up left me salivating for the film's sequel. On top of that, the action and drama sequences are greater than anything presented in the first half of the television series.

"Evangelion 1.01" is a great experience that promises even more to come. It provides incite into Anno's true vision that was confined to the restraints of 90's television. It is a darker journey, but well worth enduring for the reward of a new future for the franchise.

 

Rhb_RBS
 

 

 

 

Imagine We Still Had VHS: "Cat Planet Cuties" and the Curse of Too Much Physical Media

*Blog post started on February 19, 2021.

Trying to optimize my Twitter feeds (@maineventzombie, @catbusruss, @russthebus) yesterday has put me a day behind in terms of writing. What is the point of staying up late for content if it is not fresh in your mind the next day? There is a chance that the thoughts that ruined your original intentions bleed over into the next day. When you are obsessive compulsive like me, if one thing is optimized, all must be optimized.

That can kill some time at the day job. I may be going through my blogs to make sure that forwarding the reader on to my different blogs is not that tasking on the eyes. In other words, the reader maybe frustrated with reading through have a screen of text to be reintroduced to the same text again when they click on the "Check out..." link. Some further editing is definitely needed.

As for my Wednesday content search, it is a good thing that it was an anime television series. I got home from work, practiced some self care, and made dinner and watched the "NBC News Nightly News" from my DVR. With no wrestling on Thursday (I would say the best day for AEW's next program, but after Dynamite, everything is down hill to BTE on Monday.), it is the perfect day to binge the streaming services or watch those series you impulsively buy on DVD.

When it comes to streaming, I have two hours to catch up on "WandaVision". If WWE does something offensive to my taste on Sunday, the real superheroes can take their place. Which reminds me to cancel the WWE Network for the last time (There is no point to pay $9.99 for 17 days when it will be on Peacock on the 18th). Sorry NXT UK.

When it comes to DVDs, I can obviously make any night a wrestling night in my household, but there are some TV shows that I just have to own. This seemingly means half of post "Game of Thrones" HBO series ("Watchmen" and "Westworld" tell the audience that you need the special features) and what ever affordable anime series I can grab at Disc Replay or Best Buy. There definitely not as many of those.

I have considered getting Crunchyroll or Funimation subscriptions, but Shudder is definitely the greater priority. It might also just be the hunter/collector in me who does not want to have everything at my finger tips. My "Speed Grapher" collection might be the pride of my 2000's/2010's collection. To get all the episodes on four-episode DVD's, the extra $100 spent was worth it. Truthfully, Ebay allowed me to make that hit a lot less.

Not being an anime streamer may also be a need not to develop another hobby. I know there is quite the Japanese animation lineup on Netflix, but I am starting to ponder if that service is worth maintaining. There are some great comedy specials, but again, I do not need the hobby. Especially when I need those sub two-hour time slots for NinetyForChill.com - The Podcast. They may have one series a year that is worth subscribing for. Is each series worth 15 bucks? How do I tell all those using my info that I am cutting it off?

It all comes down to having too much physical media. Yes, there are special features, but what is the point, aside from Steelbooks? I say physical media allows us to be of more critical minds. There are no worries of "Available till" messages, so when you watch them, you can take your time and find out the answers to why something does or does not work.

You can claim that can be done with streaming services, but I have yet to find a remote control that functions as well as those of a physical media player. Personally, the more buttons, the better. Of course there are special remotes, but you can usually buy at least two DVDs for the price of one of those.

Ironically, anime rarely has those kind of expansive extras to warrant a physical copy. But does "Cat Planet Cuties" need that when I could grab it for $10 bucks? I could not pass up something catcentric at that price. It is still a gamble because it is an anime. This is an anime with an American title that implies loads of fan service.

Fan service is best kept as an implication like the promises at the end of episodes of "Evangelion" or "Blue Seed". As a series, I have seen that backfire so many times like "Agent AIKa" and "Knights of Ramune".

 

 Eris from Cat Planet Cuties - ACDb

 "Cat Planet Cuties" - Episodes 1-3

 

"I am coming to drop by." That is the first extra-terrestrial message that humanity has received. It is not necessarily ominous, but the Japanese Self Defense Force is still on edge since the object they are tracking seems to be eying Okinawa as a landing zone. There is an incident of a smuggler's ship blowing up, but otherwise all was quiet the night of the message.

The next afternoon seems like any other. There is a celebration for Kio's late grandfather going on, but the most stress that could lead to would be Kio's uncle pushing him to flirt with the cosplay girl who just randomly showed up. Showing immediate concern for the confused stranger, Eris, the sixteen year-old ends up getting black out drunk when he consumes the booze that the uncle had meant for the new girl. Fortunately for Kio, Eris is quite caring and is able to walk him home at his uncle's behest.

The next morning, Kio awakens to a half-dressed Eris being curled up by his side. This leaves him immediately startled and Eris further confused. Before she can offer an explanation, Kio's neighbors Manami and Maki stop by to check up on him and inquire about the girl they presume he took home to fulfill some furry fantasies. Eris reveals to them and proves by letting the two pet her tails and ears that she is an alien from the planet Catia. She is on a recon mission to hopefully establish diplomatic relations with Earth, a planet that may lag in technology, but none the less, is very similar culturally to her home world.

With everything explained and established on Eris's end, all should be alright provided the girls do not blab about it. Well, they are not going to go public with it, but that is because they are both covert operatives. Manami has aspirations to join the CIA, so bringing in an alien should secure her a spot.

Maki is a part of the Beautiful Contract, a secret society that is looking to ensure that first contact with space beings will be a magnificent moment in history. To find out that the cosplay ideal is what the superior lifeforms look like does not sit well with them. They intend to eliminate her to prevent the embarrassment.

On top of these two agencies, another one of Kio's friends has been instructed to rid earth of Eris. The shy Aoi is a Japanese immigration agent who specializes in eliminating any threat to Japan. This all sounds like too much for Kio to handle, but Eris has an army of cute helper droids that can carry out almost any command. She is more concerned about figuring out how humans operate especially Kio. It is about time for her first mating season and after seeing some of the manga under her host's bed, she has some ideas that Kio is probably far from ready for.

"Cat Planet Cuties" comes across as a refined "Excel Saga". "Excel Saga" was all about making fun of all of the tropes associated with anime making every episode its own entity. This cat-girl anime focuses on one trope and builds a 12-episode narrative around it. If you are not looking to laugh at all types of anime but want a ridiculous premise, "Cat Planet Cuties" will treat you a lot better than the abrasive nature of a straight up parody like "Excel Saga".

This anime is very well produced. I personally prefer to have my colors a little more subdued as if the project was a manga with motion, but for a bright and loud comedy, you cannot complain about it popping out of the screen at you. Along with a very versatile soundtrack, the premise may have just sounded too nuts for Funimation to talk Cartoon Network into airing it on our shores.

What I really liked about "Cat Planet Cuties", aside from the obvious (six cat tats and counting), is that the storytelling is very similar to one of my favorite anime franchises, "El Hazard". I suppose my comparison to "El Hazard" speaks to how I loved that P-Anime (Pioneer produced Anime from the 90's) more than the better known "Tenchi Muyo!" That title is more appropriate to compare it to since this is a story about an alien entering a teenage boy's life instead of the protagonist being placed in an alien world. Either way, the story revolves around our hero as all the girls for the most part hide their infatuation with him. Either way, for a narcissistic boy, it is my dream (and a really weird one at that when you smoke a bowl before bed.).

As for the fan service fears, the dirty minds of the audience are amused with near tongue-baths and accidental boob grabs, but it does not dominate any elements of the story. The series is nudity-free through the first five episodes, with the exception of the third. In that episode, that is all played up for laughs instead of "Ramune" and "AIKa" who wants the viewer leering at the screen the entire series.

The best homage to fans are through the peripheral elements of Eris. She attacks with a mallet (like Harley Quinn) and her assistant droids gradually become chibi-cat tributes to other famous characters (samurai, even a Hong Kong gunfighter...spoiler for episodes 4 and 5). This series's humor is not breaking new ground, but it is an ode to the serieses that I would pay $25 per 1-hour dubbed tape in the 90's.

"Cat Planet Cuties" shows how important it is too feature relatable and likable characters. When you have those, any premise can be translated into entertainment. After three (or five) episodes, this series has done no wrong. If you can create a series based around cats that is reminiscent of the best comedies of the 90's, any anime fan should be pleased with purchase.

Now to find away to expose this to Anime Ally from Ally's Accessories Shop on Etsy. I may need an expert opinion.