badger11’s take on anime

The anime based on the Death Note manga finally appears. I haven’t read the manga series, so I’ve only got a passing familiarity with he story. So I was looking forward to the anime (and the movie if it ever gets released Stateside … released not remade by Hollywood). The show opens with the world of the Shinigami (gods of some sort). We some Shinigami sleeping or gambling. Finally the camera lands on Ryuk who’s off, brooding by himself. Next we see straight A student, Light Yagami(?) in class. We follow Light walking through crowds while news reports are played about murders. In a split screen between Light and Ryuk, they think to themselves that day after day nothing changes. They pretty much think that their worlds are rotten.

Then we see Light in his class (presumably the next day) and while he’s staring out the window he sees a book fall onto the school yard. After class he goes and picks it up and sees that the book is a blank notebook with the title “Death Note” on it. At first he thinks its a joke but takes it home anyways.While at home, he finds instructions on how to use the notebook. They are:

• The human whose name is written in this note shall die.
• This note will not take effect unless the writer has the subject’s face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.
• If the cause of death is written within 40 seconds of writing the subject’s name, it will happen.
• If the cause of death is not specified, the subject will simply die of a heart attack.
• After writing the cause of death, the details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

Still believing it to be a joke, he almost writes down a name, but pauses, wondering if he’ll become a murderer if he writes someone’s name in it. He still thinks its a joke. To test if the book is true, he writes the name of a hostage taker that he hears on a news program on his tv. 40 seconds later, the hostages come running out and its reported that the hostage taker is dead of unknown reasons. Even though he’s shocked, he thinks its a coincidence. His mother reminds him that its time for cram school so he packs the notebook up. It at this point that he gets the idea to only write down the names of criminals.

On his way home from cram school, he sees some motorcycle gang members raping a woman. He over hears the name of the leader and hides in a convenience store where he writes down the leader’s name and how he’s going to die. The woman breaks free and runs away. the leader follows after her on his motorcycle only to be hit by a truck. Which is what Light wrote in the notebook. Finally, he’s convinced that the notebook is real and that he has the power of death over someone.

We then see Light coming home and going to his room where he flips through the notebook, laughing at all of the names he’s written. He’s surprised by Ryuk who claims that Light is enjoying using the book. Even though he’s surprised by Ryuk, he’s not scared by the visit since he knows the book is supernatural. Ryuk explains that once a Death Note falls to the Human world it belongs in the Human world. Ryuk also explains that since Light found the book, its his to keep or to give to another human, but if he gives it to another human, he has to erase Light’s memory concerning the book.

Light wonder’s about the price he has to pay for using the book. Ryuk tells him that the only price he’ll pay is that he won’t go to Heaven or Hell. Ruyk tells Light that he’s the only one who can see Ryuk because of a bond between Ryuk and Light through the Death Note. We also see that Ryuk discovers a love for apples that were left by Light’s mother. While Ryuk is eating the apples, Light asks him why he dropped the Death Note. Ryuk answers that he just dropped it somewhere and didn’t single out Light. He dropped it because he was bored. Which is the same answer that Light gives as to why he used it.

While I was looking forward to this show, I wasn’t sure what to expect. This was a good episode and I hope the rest of the season is just as good. I’m pleasantly surprised that I liked it a lot. While I know that I was going to be impressed with Kanon, I didn’t know that I’d be impressed with Death Note. The artwork is good, the moral implications and how the show handles its great. Because of his boredom and disgust about the crime in the world, he used the Death Note. We see Light go through the process of justifying his use of Death Note, just like a politician. Because he’s targeting criminals and those people he thinks of as rotten in an attempt to build a better tomorrow, a better world with only people that he considers good. Hell, let’s call it a utopia.

I think there’s a flaw in Light’s plan to build a world filled with people according to his standards of good. Nature abhors a vacuum, so where Light kills off a criminal another will appear. And so on and so on, until the criminal might not be an actual criminal, but won’t measure up to Light’s definition of “good”. And if a Death Note user doesn’t go to Heaven or Hell, where do they go? Do they become a Shinigami? Or something worse? I hope the producers of Death Note maintain the moral aspect using a Death Note, even if its going after criminals. If they do, then this will be a great, cerebral show to keep watching. I’m looking forward to the next few episodes.

Based on some of the anime blogs I visit, Kanon is one of the more anticipated shows out there. I know I was anticipating it also. The first episode is long and drawn out, introducing the main character of Yuuichi who used to live in the city where the show takes place, but doesn’t remember much about it. We are also introduced to his cousin Nayuki, who has a huge collection of alarm clocks, Nayuki’s mother Akiko, and Ayu, a girl who literally runs into Yuuichi. There really isn’t much to tell about this episode as it just introduces the characters. Considering that Kyoto Animation (KyoAni) has about 24 episodes to work with (as opposed to the 14 for their previous show, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya). Having a slow open for the series isn’t too bad (jpmeyer describes the opening of this episode as “90 seconds of stuff blowing in the wind porn“).

This episode shows Yuuichi moving in with his aunt and cousin, whom he hasn’t seen in seven years. He and Nayuki tour the city and run into a couple of classmates, Kaoria and Kitagawa. These two have a pretty good interaction with each other as Kaori has Kitagawa carrying all of hers bags and he keeps saying that they’re out on a date.

After watching Kitagawa run after Kaori with her shopping bags, Yuuichi wants for Nayuki outside of a grocery store. He claimed that he’d get lost inside. At this point he hears someone shouting to get out of the way and sees Ayu running towards him. Before he can get out of the way, she bowls him over. She then drags him along, running away from someone chasing her. As they hide in a cafe, Yuuichi sees that its a shopkeeper she’s hiding from. Ayu explains that she got scared by him chasing a off a cat and ran away with some pastries. Yuuichi drags her to the shop (well, its actually a van) and they pay and apologize Ayu’s theft. as they start to part from each other, they finally introduce themselves. Ayu has a reaction when she hears Yuuichi’s name, as if she knew him when he lived there before.

Based on a video game, Kanon was already made into a series a few years ago by and outfit whose name I can’t remember (and am too lazy to find out). I’ve caught a few episodes on Youtube so I have a basic idea of the story. This version is done by Kyoto Animation (KyoAni). From what I understand, excluding the male lead, all of the original voice actors are back for this version. The male lead is done by the actor who voiced Kyon in KyoAni’s recent show, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. That was a show that I liked also.

This is so from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

I thought the artwork in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya was pretty good. I sort of suspect that show was just a training session for Kanon because the artwork here easily out does the artwork in Suzumiya. And that’s one of the few things that I think most viewers will take away from this show. Visually, this is very well done. The story itself, I don’t think will be complex, but it should be enjoyable nonetheless.

As I mentioned, one of the strengths about this show will be its visuals. Lush, beautiful landscapes. All of the females characters are almost guaranteed to make you fall in love with them in a moe sort of way (at least as I understand it). I even found myself saying “kawaii ” a few times. Especially whenever Ayu said “Uguu”. This show is probably going to be the fall cotton candy show for me.

This episode ended with a new ending song and visuals. It starts out with the off-line group enjoying their last meal around a bonfire while Hitomi’s boyfriend, Misaki, and Yamazaki race to find and stop them. In the car, Yamazaki states that it shouldn’t be surprising that Satou was committing suicide. He didn’t have a job or a girlfriend. he wasn’t in school and the game that he and Yamazaki were making was basically finished. The most damning piece of evidence was that Misaki was spying on Satou. When Yamazaki asks Misaki why, all she says was that he was important to him. On the island, Satou is still trying to figure a way out, stating that all he wanted to do was to hang out and have a good time with Hitomi, his senpai. While the others in the group reiterate their determination to go ahead with their deaths.

When Samazaki and the others get to the wharf, Hitomi’s boyfriend tries to find out any information about the off-line group, Yamazaki tells Misaki that since she was spying on Satou, she new he was lying about being a game designer. He also tells her that he’s a victim here too because he agreed to make a game with Satou in order to keep up Satou’s lies. All Misaki can say is that she wanted to help Satou who Yamazaki compares to a stray dog. Hitomi’s boyfriend comes back and tells them where the other group is and that he has rented a bout.

The island group starts to walk toward a cliff when one of the members, and ex-medical student, suddenly stops, not willing to go any further. He keeps saying he can see his mother’s face and her pain. A second member decides not to go through it also. This member is a young teenager and he admits to stealing money from his parents. This leaves Satou, Hitomi and the island owner. The medical student starts trying to talk everyone out of jumping by saying that even they have something to leave for, such as family. The island owner tells everyone that his wife left him and won’t let him see their son. This sets the medical student off, calling him irresponsible even if he can’t see his son. Hitomi, dragging Satou along (still unwilling to end it all) continues to the edge. Right at the last second, Hitomi’s boyfriend calls out from the boat below telling her not to jump, he needs her and then he asks her to marry him. This was what Hitomi always wanted to hear, that he needed her. Satou, hearing this decides to jump.

His crush on his Senpai has now been broken. As he starts towards the edge, the others grab him and Misaki shouts that he’s important to her, that she finally found someone lower than herself in life. Finally Yamazaki shouts to Satou that people like them aren’t allowed dramatic deaths. No matter how depressed or in pain they are, they have to stay in their daily routine lives. This snaps Satou out of it and as he starts to step back, the cliff edge collapses under him. Hanging on to the side, he’s saved by the others.

Even though I was sure that Satou would live in this episode, I was half-expecting that someone from the suicide group was going to die, even though Misaki and the others would get their in time. I also wasn’t expecting the cliff to collapse under Satou. I found Yamazaki’s statements to Misaki to be a little weak, especially when he claims to be vicitimized by her too. The thing is, he could easily have said no to helping Satou lie about being a game designer. I can only assume that since Satou was his senpai in school that had a lot to do with him helping Satou. However, Yamazaki totally redeems himself with the smartest lines said in the show. I think Yamazaki telling Satou that people like them weren’t allowed to have dramatic deaths and could only live routine lives wasn’t brilliant, instead it was practical, which is the brilliant part of this episode for me. This part really made this episode my favorite to date.

On a side note, the first manga book, that this series is based on, will be released sometime this month in English. I’m planning on picking it up, but I don’t really intend to compare the show and the manga.

Pumpkin Scissors takes place in a country recovering from a major war. Three years after the end of the war, the recovery effort doesn’t seem to be going to well. The show starts off with a military ceremony where the cease-fire is announced and we catch a first glimpse of Lt. Alice Malvin. The story starts when we catch-up with Malvin and two other soliders spying on a group of renegade soliders holed up near a dam. Malvin and the others are part of a military intelligence outfit called Pumpkin Scissors.

Next we’re see Randel Oland, a huge, scarred-face man eating a salad in a restaurant. Malvin and the others enter the restaurant and when she passes by Oland, she gets a feeling on the back of her neck. When Malvin is about to talk to him, an explosion shakes the palce. The renegades have brought their tank into town to extort supplies. Malvin confronts them and they back off after firing a blank artillery round. Soon the villages fall sick and the team realizes that the blank round shot from the the tank was actually a chemical weapon.

Next we see the Military Intelligence HQ. The head of the Pumpkin Scissors, Capt. Hunks, gets ordered by his superior to pull out Malvin the her team. While this is happening, Malvin, Oland and the team come up with a plan to attack the renegades to get an antidote for the villagers. The two soliders under the command of Malvin act as decoys while Malvin and Oland sneak into the base. Here we start to see why the hairs on Malvin’s neck stood up when she’s around Oland.

He turns on a blue light attached to his built and his eyes start to glow. While Malvin searches for the antidote, Oland opens the floodgates on the dam, making it difficult for the tank to manuver.While the tank is trying to escape, Oland attacks it, taking out everyone except for the renedage’s leader, Graywolf. At the end of the fight, Graywolf taunts Oland into shooting him while he’s holding the antidote. Malvin jumps in and gets the antidote.

This show is put out by Gonzo and Geneon.It looks good. Better than Welcome to the NHK! that Gonzo is also involved with. But the, it could just be my monitor. There’s a bit of a spoiler about Oland in the show’s opening, so that has me interested in where they’re going to go with that. Is there going to be a morality tale somewhere at some point in the show?

Overall, its too early to decide if I’m going to like the show or not, but I’m leaning towards the like side of things.

So this final episode starts off with Rena tricking the teacher and then tying all of the students, except for Keiichi as she considers him on her side. In a phone call to the poice outside, she still thinks that Oishi is still working with her. She sends Keiichi out with Takono’s remaining notebooks and demands that an investigation on Sonozaki family starts or a bomb will go off. Once Keiichi returns, he finds her pouring gasoline in the classroom

Its good to have a back-up plan in place, just in case.

When Keiich was handing over Takono’s notebooks to Oishi, he was given a small, two-way ear pice. While Oishi distracts Rena on the phone, Keichi hears from another police officer about the time bomb. Coming up with an excusem Keiichi heads off and starts searching for the bomb. He finds something in a storeroom only to get cornered by Rena. Surprisingly, Rika saves the day allowing him to escape and find the bomb with Satoko’s help.

Ni-paa Power Strike!

Keiichi gets onto the roof and manages to stop on the bomb in time. Rena pops up again. During a bat against hatchet fight, Rena goes on about Keiichi betraying her and allowing the alien parasites to take over humanity.

Keiichi taunts Rena, using their club’s punishment game. If Keiichi wins, Rena will become his maid and wear some sort of maid outfit. If he loses, he’ll believe her. Rena adds in that if she wins, she still gets to wear the maid outfit…Ummm…oookay.

Hey look! She finally made it through a story arc!

Eventually things come to a head with Rena getting the upper hand. She suceeds where Keiichi failed in earlier arcs. In the first arc, Keiichi bludgeons Mion and Rena, despite their efforts to help him. Here, Rena manages to go avoid going that far. She breaks through whatever paranoia that she’s in and its over.

Yep, still alive

This series, I think, started off pretty good, but then just really failed to maintain. I liked the supernatural aspect of it and really wished they stuck with it more than they did. I really could’ve done without the story arc where Keiichi goes after Satoko’s uncle. It felt like they were trying to do something similar to Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart and wound up doing CSI Law & Order: Special Over Acting Unit.

While I liked this show, it wasn’t one that I’d recommend with enthusiasm. But it was good enough for me to keep watching it (obviously). As I said earlier, I really think that if they stuck with the supernatural theme more than they did, it would’ve been a lot more enjoyable.

I still would like to know about Oyashiro-sama, the dam murder, the grey suited guys in the van, Takono and her intentions, the drug, etc. Hopefully, there’ll be a second season or at least an OVA or two (preferably two). Overall, good show, but not a great one.