Baccano: Series Review

I chose Baccano as my first post-bar-exam anime conquest. It more or less paid off in entertainment value and was generally very fun, but the show lacks that special touch, that emotional punch, and would likely have zero re-watch value.

STORY
The storyline in Baccano unfolds in a decidedly non-linear fashion and skips across time and across different points of view. Because Baccano encompasses a cast of over 15 characters, the plot is an ambitious one that tries to tie everyone together in one massive cross-century story. Scenes skip in time, place, and POV, and while I didn't find it confusing, I could see why some might lose patience with the show's slight schizophrenia. The same events will often be portrayed in at least two different ways, creating the appearance of depth and texture.

The problem with breadth, of course, is that in most cases it compromises depth. It was interesting to see the pieces fall into place and the characters' roles get filled out in the plot, but once the plot is all pieced together, it's actually pretty simple. I'm not sure that if the story were told in a linear fashion, it would have been at all compelling (which, to the show's credit, means the writers were smart to jumble it all up as part of the fun). That is to say, Baccano is a show I've watched this once and will probably never watch again.

ANIMATION
Baccano is quite pretty and stylish, with its 1930s backdrop and dark, muted colors. Nothing too bright, although sometimes the faded 'faraway' 1930s look was overdone a bit. I was afraid that I would get everyone confused with the large ensemble cast, but the character designs were unique enough to keep everyone straight. No one character stood out stylistically, though, which in retrospect might have been a good thing. As for the action, while I enjoyed the tommy guns and bloodspatter and knife work, they were nothing special or unique. I also found that some of the scenes on the train (e.g., involving the Rail Tracer) were almost too dark for me to see what was going on.

SOUND
The opening sequence to Baccano is extremely catchy, fun, and also helpful in that it reviews the names and faces of the huge cast of characters. This is the only show that I have watched other than Darker Than Black where I don't skip over the title sequence to start the episode immediately. The music was just too much fun to fast forward through! I wasn't similarly impressed with the ending sequence, but I thought the music throughout the series--all very '30s and jazzy, of course--was well done, though not as cool as Cowboy Bebop or Darker Than Black.

CHARACTERS
Whew, there were a LOT of characters on Baccano. The show, I thought, was an exercise in character definition, not character development. None of the characters were really developed over the course of the series; they stayed pretty much static, with the possible exception of Ennis.

That said, the show did a pretty good job of defining its huge cast of characters, which was necessary to keep them all straight. Well-defined characters don't necessarily translate into good characters, though, and for the most part, I found the characters to be hit or miss.

For example, Isaac and Miria, the two incompetent, stupid, eccentric thieves were kind of funny the first few times they appeared, but then they just got irritating; it didn't seem as if they were contributing anything valuable to the storyline either. Similarly, Eve Genoard and Lua Klein were both meek, subservient, boring characters with no personalities, and Vino/Clare Steinfield and Ladd Russo and the mechanic dude in the OAVs were all pretty much the same character: crazy homicidal maniac. By contrast, I found young Czeslaw quite fascinating and wanted to know more about him and his motives. I wanted very much to like Firo, but I don't think he was developed enough for the audience to really connect with him at all.

...which about sums up my reaction to these characters. They were flashed on the screen, quickly defined so you could tell who they were, but then sort of just plugged in where they were needed. I didn't really have emotional investment in anyone in the huge cast.

OVERALL
I enjoyed Baccano, but it didn't really hit close to home or resonate with me on an emotional level, which isn't to say it isn't good entertainment. Its fun soundtrack and great opening sequence kept me clicking "Play Next Episode" despite the fact that I didn't feel a need to know more about the characters or the plot. All in all, pretty good, but not that great.

Cowboy Bebop: Series Review

Cowboy Bebop occupies something of an exalted status in the anime world, much like Akira and certain Miyazaki films that can do no wrong.

There are a lot of things to like about Bebop, starting with the fact that it is downright COOL and that the music is awesome. But although I really enjoyed the series, there are also a few things I would have liked to see done differently.

Bebop is an episodic, character-driven series that can only be described as... futuristic space cowboy western / noir comedic drama. The concept is simple, yet stylish: we follow the adventures of Spike and Jet, bounty hunters on the ship Bebop, as they hunt down their prey... not always successfully.

There is what I would call a "main" plot involving Spike, his past with the Red Dragon Syndicate, and the storyline with characters from Spike's past (Vicious and Julia), but most of the episodes in the show have absolutely no connection to the main plot and do nothing to advance it.

For me, this was both a strength and a weakness of the show. The episodic nature of the series meant that each of the four recurring characters got screen time and development, even the crazy Radical Edward (who starting out kind of annoying but later wormed her way into my cold, dead heart with her endearing loopy-ness). I loved the episode where bits of Edward's past as Francois are revealed and found her exit from Bebop remarkably... sad! I enjoyed the exploration of Jet's past as a cop and the revelation of how he got his bionic arm.

And, of course, who doesn't love Spike Spiegel--what a sexy, impetuous, cocky badass with a stylish 'fro character design and dark murky past. With his skinny black tie and blue suit, Spike just oozes "cool," especially when his wiry frame is kicking ass and his shot is dead-on.

But I actually appreciated Faye Valentine's character the most. Faye was both sexy and kickass, competent and lazy, and beneath that puckish, sassy exterior, she had multiple layers of loneliness, doubt, and the need to belong and find a human connection. Best of all, her voice was nice and low and normal sounding.

I will also note that the relationships between the characters were very well done as well. Despite Spike's proclamation that he hates women and children, by the end of the series, you see that the Bebop crew has, as Faye would say, become a place a belonging.

I mention the episodic nature of the show as a weakness because I wish that there had been a few more episodes or hints, however, dedicated to moving forward the main Spike-Vicious-Julia plotline. The last two episodes of the show were powerfully done, not to mention brilliantly filmed (with strong, striking images). But I felt that they would have had more emotional heft if the audience had received more . . . morsels along the way. For example, earlier, more frequent flashbacks of Spike with Julia, or Spike with Vicious, or of Spike's time with the Red Dragon Syndicate generally.

No review of Bebop is complete without a comment on the amazing music. I can't really explain why it was so awesome. From the second the opening sequences flashes across the screen and the jazzy trumpets blare, Bebop sets the tone of how the series will be: improvisatory and just plain cool. The music is spot on throughout the show, but I noticed its excellence most during the final two episodes. (Angelic choirs, anyone?)

I have a feeling that Bebop will improve with additional viewings, that there are deeper messages and morsels hidden away that I just didn't catch because I watched the episodes so... episodically, for lack of a better word.

This is a series to own! FRIVOLOUS PURCHASE, HERE I COME!

Code Geass: Reaction Post

HUGE DISCLAIMER: This reaction (not really a review) is based on 2 episodes watched.

Code Geass was highly recommended to me from a number of sources / websites. Now, I suppose I could be convinced otherwise, but I just watched two episodes of Code Geass and am finding this show literally UNWATCHABLE. I just could not continue and needed to vent RIGHT AWAY.

REASONS:

1) The annoying character percentage is off the charts. Let's see, we have Lelouch, punk-ass "smart" kid who suddenly becomes chessmaster god. Then there's Lulu's friend with the Indiana Jones-style motorcycle, who seems to be completely useless. And Karen/Kallen (?), the girl rebel with the pink hair, whose only acceptable decibel level is "loud." To her left, we have the entire cadre of rebels who listen to some random guy on a radio link. Across the way, we are briefly introduced to Lelouch's bevy of busty, scantily clad, and annoying schoolgirl mates. Back near the battlefield, there's a random bug-eyed scientist and his meek scientist-girl buddy friend, who talk to Evil Fat General, who communicates with Evil Cocky Badguy with Bug-Eyes in the Knightmare Mecha Machine. And then we have Clovis, the smarmy and remarkably one dimensional evil prince. Top that off with the weird green-haired girl (named CC, apparently) who looks like Amber from Darker Than Black.

Good god, someone please shoot me! In fact, I'm hard pressed to name a single character introduced to me in the first two episodes that I didn't instantly find incredibly, incredibly annoying.

2) Lack of nuance: Oh, really, am I supposed to hate the Brittanians for what they did to poor old Japan? I didn't realize! I needed to be smashed over the head with it. In fact, I think we need another few scenes of Brittanians stabbing Japanese babies with bayonets, just to make sure I get the point.

3) Rushed pacing: Whoa, there's a chess game, whoa there's a country raping another country, and whoa there are mecha robots blowing each other up! And people dying all over the place! And evil people! Whoa, and a school! With babes in swimsuits! And whoa, there's a weird girl with a weird power who gives said weird power to main character! Whoa, now main character is leading a REBELLION!

Um, who ARE these characters? Why should I give a flying f*ck? I'm only just getting used to Japanese people being called 11s!

4) Annoying character design / art: This is just my personal preference, but I hate pointy-chin style drawing. Maybe that's part of the reason I found these characters so instantly annoying. And yes, I know anime eyes are big and often have weird colors and stuff, but this was just color overload. Plus, why does Lelouch have limbs that are like toothpicks? Agh! I wanted to scratch my eyes out.

5) Mecha: Okay, this is another personal preference, but . . . I think I'm realizing that I generally dislike mecha anime. Just as in Evangelion, I just don't find robot fighting to be at all interesting to watch. Maybe I should've known to stay away from Code Geass then, but I think ANY sort of action anime--be they mecha, samurai, shoot 'em ups--can be entertaining to me if done well.

Well, I'm going to drop this anime. I couldn't even stomach 2 episodes without wanting to strangle someone. I'm not sure how I'd make it through ... 20+ or whatever.

Maybe I'm making a huge mistake here and the series gets better and the characters get more developed and the plot more nuanced.

But based on what little I've seen, I doubt it. For now, I'm moving onto something else...

Avatar: Legend of Korra!

I'm drooling all over myself: a teaser trailer for Avatar: The Legend of Korra (the spin-off series following Avatar: The Last Airbender) has come out of Comic-Con.

IT LOOKS SO GOOD. Not to mention the new protagonist, Korra, who is the new [female!!] avatar, looks incredibly kickass! Oh, be still my heart.

The series creators also revealed a bunch of exciting details about the new series, such as the fact that there are metalbending police led by Toph's daughter!

Oh. My. Gah! AND there will be mixed martial arts in the series. Amazing.

I AM SO EXCITED.