Throwback Thursdays: Elfen Lied (2004)

Konichiwa!

So, I've decided I'll do a new feature for this blog: Throwback Thursdays! This is where I review an anime series that is at least ten years old and whether as a complete series it still works. This is a feature that I think will be less frequent than Movie Mondays, another upcoming project, as a movie is much easier to watch than an entire series comprised of episodes that can be up to a hundred long. However, today I'm going to begin with a simple anime series that is infamous for gore, nudity and a beautiful soundtrack.

Series: Elfen Lied
Year: 2004
Director: Mamoru Kanbe
Original Writer: Lynn Okamoto
Adapted Screenplay: Takao Yoshioka
Studio: Arms Corporation
Original Run: July 25th, 2004 - October 17th, 2004
Episodes: 13

Elfen Lied (meaning "Elf Song" in German) was first published as a manga back in 2002. It grew a large fan base and eventually Studio Arms decided to take the first half of the manga and adapt it into a 13-episode anime series. Studio Arms doesn't have the best reputation in the anime industry, with names in their roster such as Ikkitousen and Queen's Blade. It also doesn't help that when they were first set up, they were intended to only produce Adult OVAs. That's right, they were only going to make hentai! However, for all their massive faults, the two series that stand out from all the others in their collection are Elfen Lied and Brynhildr in the Darkness, although of the two, Elfen Lied has a less messy story and more memorable characters. So, let's get on with this!

The Story: 6/10
The story of Elfen Lied is one that is fascinating but is rushed out way too quickly. Lucy is a Diclonius, a being that looks human but has horns on its head and has telekinetically controlled arms that can manipulate and cut anything in their reach called "vectors". Because of her race, she has been kept for the majority of her life in a lab, where experimentation and imprisonment go hand-in-hand. At the beginning of the story, she escapes in one of the most violent opening sequences in any series I have ever seen. As she makes her way out of the compound, she is shot by a sniper and falls into the sea, washing up on a beach in Japan. There she is discovered by Kohta and his cousin Yuka. However, the shot to the head has made her forget everything: what she is, her past, even the ability to speak. She can only say "Nyu". Kohta and Yuka take her into their home, where for the rest of the series she is pursued by the military and other Diclonii. Whilst the plot is structured well and has a very solid opening, the overall presentation is quite messy. Lucy will suddenly come out of her Nyu shell at very convenient times and the rest if the story is a lot of repetitive melodrama, albeit interesting repetitive melodrama. The plot is constantly in danger throughout the series of completely breaking apart but just about holds itself until the end. The ending was also, I feel, quite rushed and just overall unsatisfying, as the ending does seem quite abrupt and sudden. However, the story is okay in my opinion. It could have been better executed but with an anime where tits are openly shown and there are shocking scenes of violence and murder, you know the main focus is not going to be the story.

The Characters: 7/10
Lucy/Nyu is one of the most iconic anime characters of all time. This is mainly to do with the anime's reputation for extreme violence, which bolsters the image of Lucy/Nyu. However, I really don't like the Nyu side of the character. She is basically brought down to fan service levels and is turned from complex character into a Pokémon. The rest of the characters are also not that complex or interesting. Kohta is a boring male protagonist, Yuka is your typical bitchy character with feelings for Kohta and the rest are just really not that memorable. The only two characters that really do stand out are Lucy and Kurama, the doctor in charge of the Diclonii facility. Kurama's back story is so sad and brilliant and Kurama himself first appears to be a terrible human being but the viewer comes to gradually understand why he does what he does. Lucy is also one of the most badass and simultaneously vulnerable anime characters I have seen. I think her breakdown at the end of the series is a fantastic representation of what being outcast can do to a person.

Animation & Sound: 8/10
This is where I think the anime overall really shines. The opening is beautiful. Notice I said beautiful and not fanatstic or terrific. The opening to Elfen Lied is BEAUTIFUL. It is a simplistic sequence: "Lilium" by Kumiko Noma is played whilst several still images are shown. The images were inspired by the works of Gustav Klimt and in particular a piece of his called "The Kiss". However, the simplistic artistry and the soundtrack make for one of the best openings I have ever seen. The animation throughout the series is also very well-done, although character design is a little too weird, with everyone having massive eyes other than the villains. The soundtrack is vibrant, the action scenes well-animated and the backgrounds really accurate to the setting of Kamakura. However, the English Dub is straight-up terrible, especially with Adam Conlon as Kohta. I really feel that Kira Vincent-Davis was trying as Lucy/Nyu but the rest of the cast is just bad. Try and watch it in the original Japanese if you can, because the script is also a lot better in Japanese.

Overall Enjoyment: 8/10
I like Elfen Lied, I really do, but it undeniably has problems in its story, a couple of its characters and its English Dub. However, Elfen Lied does have several high points in its animation, opening and soundtrack which I really feel can't be overlooked. Top that with an impressively well-known character from a studio that mostly makes hentai pornography and you have a relatively enjoyable series that can literally be viewed in an afternoon.

Final Verdict: 7.25/10

Elfen Lied is a good series to view, if not for you, then for your overall anime knowledge banks. The series is currently licensed by ADV Films in the U.S. and 101 Films in the U.K. Whatever you do, try and get the Complete Collection, which has four DVDs and comes with a nice case, artwork and a double-sided poster. For other recommendations, I point you in the direction of Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni, a horror anime in which different scenarios play out, and Future Diary, which also contains copious amounts of violence and a lot of dark humour. Between those two you should find something you will enjoy.

So, thanks for reading my review, until next time

Sayonara!

Review: Knights of Sidonia (Sidonia no Kishi)

Konichiwa!

Is it me, or are apocalyptic scenarios really popular in this day and age? In the past ten years, we've seen the rise in popularity of zombies, nuclear fallout and just general doom for the human race. We've seen movies like The Book of Eli, 28 Days Later and The World's End, video games such as The Last of Us, Mass Effect 3 and God of War 3 and pieces of literature exemplified by World War Z and Metro 2033 become extremely popular and hit the mainstream market with an impact that the apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic genre has never had before. Of course, this is a trend among anime viewers now as well. The biggest anime last year was Attack on Titan and now it seems as though the copyists are here. Two anime came out this Spring that functioned on the same level as Attack on Titan: Black Bullet and Knights of Sidonia. Both were set in a city that was constantly under threat by monsters and the characters all faced dilemmas that were very similar to the sort SNK's faced. Today, I'm going to review the one which I preferred: Knights of Sidonia or, in Japanese, Sidonia no Kishi.

Story: 8/10
The story of Knights of Sidonia is actually quite interesting. The setting is 1000 years after the humans fled Earth after it was destroyed by giant shape-shifting and tentacled aliens called the Gauna. One of the ships which the humans escaped on is called Sidonia, where our story takes place. Nagate Tanikaze has lived his whole life underground, until one day he is discovered and taken up to Sidonia, where he is selected to be a Guardes pilot, Guardes being huge Mecha that carry spears and fight the Gauna. The overall story presentation is well done and in each episode the viewer feels that they have learnt something important about either the history, the environment or the characters, which is something any good story should do. The show is definitively story-driven; I did not see in any of the twelve episodes anything that deviated from the overall plot. The only complaint I have is that it is left extremely open-ended and, unless the creators make a season two, that overall diminishes the score.

Characters: 8/10
This is the department where I think the anime really does suffer overall and this is mainly because Nagate, the main character, is boring. You know those stories where there is a chosen one who will topple evil? Well, in those, I really do tend to hate the chosen one, especially when he is declared the chosen one only after about seven episodes. The thing is, Nagate's growth as a character is not really that well handled. We know he's a good man and that he is learning about the world around him, just as we are, but there isn't much that goes on from there. We don't know his likes or dislikes, something that I think should be essential to any character growth. However, with that said, Nagate isn't the most boring character I've ever seen and the rest of the characters are quite interesting in their own right. The Immortal Crew Members, for example, are absolutely fascinating as they have a history of making Sidonia what it is in the present time of the story. Izana Shinatose, one of the main characters and Nagate's best friend, is defined as not having any sort of gender, as part of a hermaphrodite race that grew after the humans left Earth. The characters are all filled with ideas of what a post-apocalyptic sci-fi scenario may look like and it's little touches to the characters that pretty much save the fact that Nagate is not very interesting.

Animation & Sound: 9/10
One of the things that bugs a lot of anime fans about this anime is the splicing of CGI and hand-drawn animation. Many have criticised it for being quite ugly and unnatural. However, I disagree, I believe the splicing of CGI and 2D animation is a good idea because it accentuates the sci-fi art style and the action scenes look a lot better with it. I also loved the way the characters and environments were drawn into an almost ancient-looking civilization. The sound is just fantastic. The opening and ending themes are awesome, the sound effects are cool and the voice acting is pretty top-notch. I loved Aki Toyosaki (Anohana, K-On! 2009) as Izana and Satomi Arai (Code Geass) as Hiyama. There is no English Dub as of yet, so when it finally does air, I will make sure to tell you whether the dub or the sub is better.

Overall Enjoyment: 9/10

I really, really liked this show. From the opening theme to the sci-fi setting, I couldn't get enough of it. However, when I look back on it overall, my overall enjoyment was still high but not as high as it was. I think I've realized to just how much of an extent this rips on SNK's story. However, while it was definitely a knock-off, the overall enjoyment is still at a good level.

FINAL SCORE: 8.5/10

My recommendation of this show is that you should probably stream it rather than buy it and it seems that it is your only option at the moment, as Netflix are the only ones legally broadcasting it. An English Dub is under production as we speak, with Johnny Young Bosch, Todd Haberkorn and Spike Spencer to fill in roles. As for the open ending, it appears that it will be fixed as production on the second season is happening even as I write this review. So, until next time,

Sayonara!

My Thoughts On The Future Of Studio Ghibli

Konichiwa!

So, it turns out that I haven't died and God obviously decided that my work on Earth wasn't complete. Just kidding, but before I begin this article, I do apologise for my long absence. The reason was that, on top of exams, I had to go to work in England for two and a half weeks and my laptop crashed on the first night and wasn't to be fixed until two days before I left. So, I'm sorry, let's move on.

Ever since Hayao Miyazaki, the Walt Disney of Japan, announced his retirement in February, there have been many rumours circulating about the future of Studio Ghibli, the company where Miyazaki creates all of his films. Now, if you're an anime fan, then you definitely know who Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli are. For those who don't, a short history.

Hayao Miyazaki made his first major feature film in 1979, which was called Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, part of Monkey Punch's Lupin III animated film franchise. The film has achieved cult status since it's release and is loved by many anime fans. This was Miyazaki's debut and it was a major hit in Japan. After this, he made Nausicäa of the Valley of the Wind in 1984, which also proved to be a huge success. With two excellent films under his belt, Miyazaki, with fellow filmmaker Isao Takahata and Tokuma Shoten chairman Yasuyoshi Tokuma, set up Studio Ghibli, an animation company with the intent to broadcast to a children's audience, in 1985. Over the past twenty-nine years, Ghibli has become one of the most successful and highest-grossing animation studios in the world, making classic children's movies such as Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and Princess Mononoke.

My own opinion of Studio Ghibli: anything by Hayao Miyazaki is pretty much gold or at least a very bright silver. The rest of the directors tend to be hit or miss. Isao Takahata, for example, only made two films that I liked: Grave of the Fireflies and Pom Poko. Only Yesterday and My Neighbours The Yamadas were mediocre in comparison to the rest of the Ghibli catalogue. Goro Miyazaki made one excellent movie (From Up On Poppy Hill) and one that is arguably the weakest of all the studios films (Tales From Earthsea). So, you can get my point about the other directors being okay. The truth is that, without Hayao Miyazaki, the studio would not be at the point where it is today as a world-renowned and loved animation studio.

This is where rumours of the Studio Ghibli closure arose from. The main talk was of who would be the successor to Miyazaki in terms of quality and quantity. Miyazaki has, in total, made nine films for Studio Ghibli, dating from 1986 to 2013, all achieving high recommendations and Spirited Away winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2002. Somebody has to now follow in his footsteps and, with worries that it is an non-achievable goal, closure rumors pursued.

So, is the much-loved Japanese animation studio going to close it's doors and hang up the stuffed Totoro toy forever?

The answer is: OF COURSE NOT!!!

The studio has made it very clear: they will not be closing. However, they are going through a stage of redevelopment. What does that mean? Well, with the departure of Miyazaki, Ghibli is having to change. It was inevitable. Of course, this still means that they will be primarily targeting films at children but they will probably need to get a new name to help push the studio into the future. So, the plot thickens: who will be the next big Studio Ghibli director?

Well, the truth is we don't know yet but there are some very likely candidates. Hiromasa Yonebayashi, director of The Secret World of Arrietty (2010) and this year's When Marnie Was There, is a very likely successor; as is Isao Takahata, who returned to directing after a 14-year hiatus in 2013 with The Tale of Princess Kaguya. So there are already two major players withing the company. However, outside the studio, there is a lot of fresh, new potential. Mamoru Hosoda, director of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006), Summer Wars (2009) and Wolf Children (2012), is someone who is shaping up already to be the next Miyazaki, along with Makoto Shinkai, director of the beautiful 5 Centimeters Per Second (2007) and The Garden of Words (2013).

So, in conclusion, all I have to say is that fellow Ghiblites shouldn't worry about the possibility of closure. It's definitely not happening. However, with the departure of Miyazaki, the studio is changing. All I can say is that I look forward to when Ghibli announces Miyazaki's successor and that there is a possibility of an even brighter future without Miyazaki. So, until next,

Sayonara!