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Harlock and Load

Since there’s been a resurgence of Leiji Matsumoto’s popularity lately — the second major one of recent years, the first coming in the 90s while Cornpone Flicks fansubbed his Harlock series — I’d be remiss for not mentioning it while I sit here soaking up our readily available and legal (at least for us North Americans) Space Pirate Captain Harlock, Galaxy Express 999, Galaxy Railways, and Gun Frontier.

I for one started watching some of these series a while ago out of the sheer novelty of being able to stream anime on Joost, but recently started getting a little bit hooked on multiple Matsumoto series at once. He has that effect. Just ask LBrevis, who should be claiming at least partial responsibility for my and others’ recent Harlock infatuation.

What’s the big deal?

So what is it about his stuff? Sure, he’s old as the hills and he’s the force behind Yamato (and thus every other Main Cannon ever fired in space), but he’s also a shameless self-plagiarizer (the Ray Davies of anime?) who remains seriously stuck in the past.

Well, it’s not the sophistication of Matusumoto’s stories, that’s for sure. For the most part they’re all simple tales of guys (as in Men) who fight for the things that they believe, follow their hearts, and generally rock out in space. And it probably doesn’t have anything to do with his portrayal of the fairer sex, a term I’m sure he’d approve of. In theory, women can hold any office or position, but vintage Japan makes its presence known since they tend to be relegated to girl sidekicks (Louise, Kei) or wispy mysterious matrons who may or may not have a mouth (Mime or the Supreme Railways Commander).

But it’s not all reinforcing gender roles and defying the basic laws of physics in the name of dramatic breeze-blowing. I think it can all be put into one word: Romance.

Those guys fighting for freedom, following their heart, and generally looking cool and mysterious while they Do The Right Thing regardless of the law or regulations — that’s a powerful image that just begs to be animated. It doesn’t have to be complex because it’s universal. While Legend of the Galactic Heroes or Evangelion take a good sit-down to explain, “The government is corrupt so the only guy who can save the world is a bad-ass brooding pirate with hair that blows in space” is all I need to not only make you understand, but make you want to watch. That is, if you’re not bothered by the hair-blowing thing.

Natsukashii

What’s more romantic than nostalgia? Not just our own nostalgia for anime past, but Leiji Matsumoto’s nostalgia for bygone days. You only have to see one battleship in the sky to know it. He’s obsessed with painting anachronistic landscapes of space where antiquated methods of travel like sailing ships and steam trains gain a new life as spaceships. It’s wistful to think about the glory days of travel on boats and trains, when we were ok with taking a little more time because comfort and class were of utmost importance (and, face it, because there was no other way). Combine that longing for velvet seat cushions and fine china with a Roddenberry-like hope for a space-bound utopian future, and it’s an infectious combination for relieving your cynicism.

Every other story in the highly episodic Galaxy Railways is about one character or another’s lost love from the past, and Manabu’s sole reason for joining the SDF is devotion to a romanticized version of his father. So even on the level of the (admittedly not well-developed) characters, a deep connection to the past drives these shows.

You have no reason not to

At least if you live in North America, you can at least try one of these series with a minimum of effort. It’s kind of a landmark, since Harlock’s original show and 999 have never been officially licensed and subtitled over here. I’m in favor of bumping up Crunchyroll’s numbers so Toei feels prompted to give us more of this great stuff.

Torawhat?

So here’s what I’ve seen so far, and what I’m thinking.

Casshern SINS.

I was going to bust out the live action flick but I looked at the runtime — almost 2 ½ hours — and remembered it’s long and boring. The visual techniques used in it are good for novelty, but the novelty wears off quick. The first episode of the remake of the remake of the anime, however, is pretty neat.

What did I like? The action was great, the atmosphere of the futuristic sci-fi wasteland is just plain cool, and of course it’s made by Madhouse so it looks great.

Potential problems? The director is mostly known for DBZ, and the futuristic timeline puts our hero firmly in the amnesia seat, and I fucking hate anime-nesia.

Clannad After Story.

Sigh.

What did I like? Animation was good, the humor was in place, the story was a light-hearted introduction built around a very transparent “get all the characters back together” device. Baseball. It looked gross on my TV at SD size.

Potential problems? SPORTS. I felt a little gypped that I watched 22 minutes of baseball.

Kurogane No Linebarrel/Linebarrels of Iron.

After BLASSREITER and Tower of Druaga, I thought Gonzo deserved more of a chance than the average anime blogger gives them. Yeah, BLASSREITER still had a bit of that “we’re for adults, get it?” feel, and it fit well in Gonzo’s business plan: “I have 40 bucks and a computer, let’s relive the 90s!” But it was pretty cool, and some of us would actually like to see more 90s-style anime. Crunchyroll and Gonzo are at it again with this mech series in which a bullied kid gets the power to pilot a mech and hang out with bitches.

What did I like? I was mostly interested in the next episode preview, which hinted at Kouichi’s potential to become a real bastard and use his newfound power for revenge, even if he calls it “justice.” The CG mechs were less overtly “computery” than BLASSREITER’s amalgams, but not quite as neat as Burst Angel’s 3D cartoon look. I see Goro Taniguchi’s name as “creative producer” in the credits, so it pleases me to know that not only did he not quit, he may be lending his powers of insanity to this production. Some of the voice talent is good, including Yuuichi Nakamura, Mamiko Noto as soft-spoken Emi (Raptor scale +1), and the Fruity Menace himself, Jun Fukuyama.

Potential problems? The truckloads of clichés we were delivered in the opening episode really filled up my warehouse of give-a-shit. It’s where Taniguchi and the director (Masamitsu Hidaka of… Pokémon fame…) go from here that will prove make-or-break. Gonzo’s normally interesting and appealing character and mecha designs were nowhere to be seen; I really didn’t enjoy looking at these characters at all. Oh yeah, the big twist of the first episode? Spoil this: Lead character’s already dead. Holy shit, it’s revolutionary! Also, more anime-nesia. Fuck.

Toradora!

Speaking of Shana, I had no intent to watch the newest installment of Rie Kugumiya, Wrathful Loli. But JC Staff, for all their faults, know how to make a series look pretty good, and I’ve already heard quite a few good things going around.

What did I like? Any romance series whose synopsis can start with anything other than “A normal high school boy…” has taken a decent first step. I liked Ryuuichi right off the bat, with his angry eyes and misunderstood personality (Cool & Spicy PLUS). Taiga is already as charming and fun on the whole as Shana was at her most cute. Animation is great, and oddly sometimes it actually resembles one of Gonzo’s better moments.

Potential problems? You can see where the plot is going already — as the two leads help each other with their separate rabu problems, inevitably a romance will start between them. They will of course never touch, never kiss, walk around embarrassed all the time, and possibly be involved in the occasional Nude Misunderstanding. And it will probably just plain suck.

Anybody else watched these? Have anything to add? I can’t wait to try Tytania and Shikabane Hime, provided they get some subtitles.

Bad CG, lack of pants soon to be the norm

Gonzo’s been in the news a lot for its apparent rocky financial situation, even as it enjoys a philosophical victory for being the first Japanese company to get the worldwide streaming out there. But good news came Friday in the form of some investment from the firm Iwakaze Capital in Gonzo’s parent company GDH. GDH then in turn put about $2 mil into Crunchyroll. [Source: ANN]

I really enjoyed/still enjoy Druaga and Blassreiter’s run on YouTube, Crunchyroll, and BOST TV all at once, but I recognize that the YouTube availability was just a teaser. I assume that the CR model for Strike Witches (limited streaming, pay-to-own outside the time frame) is the way they’re going to go in the future for Kurogane No Linebarrel or whatever else they’re bringing to the rest of the world next season. So all the CR haters in the anime-blogosphere will probably have to put a sock in it or stop watching the Gonzo streams. Personally I’ve thought for a while now that CR’s (admittedly still-slow) transition from pure fansub-and-pirate hangout to legit service is going to tell us a lot about how digital distribution will go down in the future.

Incidentally, Linebarrel’s “Creative Producer” is listed as being Goro Taniguchi, so was he pulling our legs about leaving anime altogether?