Wakaranai

It deeply saddens me to see this blog bereft of new “informative critique”, but not as much as it vexes me that I’m not able to post. The sad fact is that I have been without home access to internet for several weeks, and it is a drought with no immediate relief - it will be weeks more. The reason behind this is the fact that I moved into a new, freshly constructed house with my family only to find that the people who laid our phone cable had in fact laid the wrong kind of cable, in the wrong place, and in the wrong way. So when the telecommunications company showed up to connect our phone line they informed us that they don’t do that kind of connection anymore, and that the people who layed our cable are no longer the company they contract. Fantastic. So now, having fruitlessly assailed them with professional complaint, we’re forced to have dug an entirely new trench and lay another set of cables, costing money and TIME. I don’t know whether to take up facepalming as a profession or RAGE my way into the company’s (Telstra) offices and show them what I’d rather do with a shovel (this isn’t 2ch - don’t take that as a serious threat!).

Anyway, this is the tragic tale behind my recent post-free state. I can access the internet at cafes and university, but I can’t really make serious posts. At the very least, I have a fellowship of mates willing to give me the anime they’ve downloaded, so I’ve more or less kept up with my anime, and even got a foot in the new season’s door. I’ve watched both Slayers Revolution and Birdy the Mighty Decode, both of which I’ve been very pleased with, particularly Birdy. Unfortunately, everything else this series looks like absolute rubbish (by all means correct me if I’m wrong, I will be reading all comments). Most importantly, I finished watching Library Wars [Toshokan Sensou]. Although I enjoyed the series from the get-go, by the end of the series I had fallen in love with it - the blend of romance, humour, action and drama was just brilliant, and the themes of the premise (the right and value of freedom of expression) came to the forefront magnificently for the final handful of episodes. The finale was top notch, wrapping things up with gusto and poignancy - an example of an ending done right, exactly what Kaiji didn’t do. I have also been keeping up with Allison to Lillia, which is turning into a really good series - solid entertainment from week to week.

So I hope everyone stays safe, well, upholds their interest in anime through these scarce times, and don’t forget me in the meantime. I have by no means died or lost the will to write post after post into the readerless void - as soon as I have access again I’ll return stronger and more powerful than ever before!

 
 
 
After last episode paraded its mediocrity around for everyone to see, this episode feels very much back on track, or at least back up to the standards of entertainment I expect from Macross F. It may not have pulled the plot much further or featured really crucial character development, but it did provide a heaped serving of angst and action, which is more than enough to tide me over until the next big leap forward in the plot. The interesting thing about the episode was the attention it gave to characters that I’d thought to be minor. Whereas Alto remains almost entirely a mystery, this episode saw us peering into the back-story for Michael, completely changing his character from a simple and carefree sniper, into a man tinged with tragedy who has a deeply emotional drive behind his participation in warfare.

            

Michael has been one of my favourite of the supporting cast, largely because he seemed normal and I didn’t find his presence grating, unlike his silly comrade Luca. But now I like him a lot more, and I especially like the way that his past ties in with Klan’s - it’s a tangible relationship that somehow seems to give the whole crew of S.M.S more of a human believability. Now that we’ve seen a number of its members question themselves and each other, and reflect on why they are in the cockpit, they seem less like a crack squadron of jocks and much more like a real team of people, with real flaws and interrelational complexities. This is really important for me, because seeing them on the frontlines, engaging the Vajra, or Brera, is made much more exciting if I can engage with the characters. Perhaps as a result, the action scene this week was probably my favourite so far. Largely because I really like one-to-one dogfight kind of stuff, but I think also partly because there was this undercurrent of tension between the people involved. The series isn’t all that unpredictable, so you basically know that the characters aren’t going to get killed. Without that excitement it’s important to have elements like wanting Michael to overcome his malaise, and wanting to see Alto succeed as a pilot. Those are the things that keep the action interesting for me.

Of course, the great animation work (CG or otherwise) is the backone of the fight scenes, and once again they were on full display. The dogfights are fast, frenzied and spectacular. The camera work, so to speak, tailing the zooming mecha, is really effective at giving the sequences that energy. As much as I like the Vajra, I’m also really glad that a new player has stepped in. Brera is the mysterious pilot of a VF27 and has proven to be extremely adept at combat, out-manoeuvring Kland an Alto together, only being deterred by Alto’s ingenuity. I’m glad we have someone who can give S.M.S a real challenge, because now that the Vajra don’t have the element of surprise their threat-level has been severely diminished. I liked them more when they were virtually unkillable. Now they feel less like foes and more like pests. But Brera’s role really intrigues me - all we know is that he is not on the Vajra side and he has some kind of connection with Ranka. I also really want to know what exactly happened when he met Ranka at the end of last episode.

Speaking of Ranka, her ascension to the rank of pop idol is still plodding along in the background, and I can almost feel her character becoming a bit too distant - like she hasn’t been around enough to matter any more. It looks like next episode will rectify that with her role in a movie, but because it’s alongside Sheryl, I just hope Sheryl doesn’t overshadow her again. Ranka and Alto really need some alone time in some place far away from the overbearing Queen. But there wasn’t too much to complain about this week, unless you were expecting it to be exceptional. There was some really interesting friction between characters (I really like the scenes between Michael and Klan in particular - but I demand more of her loli form), and an exhilarating battle sequence. Perhaps surprising that the show hasn’t prioritised giving us some back story to Alto, but I can settle with a developed Michael for now.

Next Episode looks interesting. Wikipedia says

Ranka is contracted to act in a minor role during a movie about the legend of Shin Kudo while Miranda, winner of the recent Miss Macross contest, will be the main female protagonist.

And with a name like “Legend of Zero”, as well as clear parallels to the setting of that OVA series, it seems there will be some kind of vague continuity to be found. Clearly that story of Macross Zero is to be the plot for the movie in which Ranka is to be performing. Should be interesting; in-universe movies are always fun.

 
 
 
Standing in the shadow cast by this series’ better achievements, this episode is a disappointing romp, gorging itself on the trappings of fanservice and clichéd school humour. For an episode that strays so far into filler territory, it is not as awful as it could be, and, indeed it was more entertaining than I thought it would be. Its strengths lie in the energy that Yoko Kanno’s music injected into the silly scenarios, and in the fact that we’ve already come to quite like most off the colourful cast enough to endure their less graceful moments. Grace is something this episode unequivocally lacks; the impression one gets is that the episode was a way to save money and waste time simultaneously, which is usually a sure-fire recipe for unimpressive television. Yes, the animation quality was lacking. I wouldn’t describe it as awful - I have seen far worse, but it still mars the ever eroding standards of the show. The fact that both the pacing and the elegance of the animation appear to go hand-in-hand in Macorss F, means that we are mostly treated to a double-dosage of unpalatableness whenever one of the runt episodes come along. If you tried to spy a trend in the quality of Macross F’s episodes you might conclude that they’ve taken up a certain philosophy to their pacing of both budget and plot, a philosophy that sees the strength of the show rise and fall with great peaks and shameful lows. You get the last two episodes delivering a punch and, right on cue, this episode is there to fill in time while the next big episode is brewing.

            

This kind of production strategy might be acceptable for some, but I find it a criminal way to spoil the show. If they couldn’t afford to have every episode animated fluidly and in great detail, with spectacular battles and concert visuals, then they should worked within those limits to make something consistent and restrained. But instead, we get episodes that have stunning animation book ended by episodes with distinctly sub par production. I can put up with it, and I’m not some animation extremist who thinks an anime cannot be good unless it looks polished, but it is vexing watching a series that tries so hard and so little at the same time. Perhaps the animation will be fixed for the DVDs, and although I don’t much like that escape route for animation studios, it would be great to see the series rendered in the quality and consistency I think it deserves.

But there was more to this week’s Macross F than its unexceptional aesthetics, there was also a hit of superficial content. Cliché, crass jokes and fanservice; they’re not always bad things. I’ve been known to succumb to the allure of unintelligent silliness from time to time. This episode, for example, reminded me very much of episode 4 of Mai HiME, and not just because Sheryl took a page out of Natsuki’s book and found her self sans panties (and by a strange creature too). It’s also similar because it represented an all-out gag-fest relative to the rest of the series, which had maintained a degree of seriousness. That episode of HiME was a hell of a lot of fun, but this one wasn’t so much. This is mostly due to the fact that I had this nagging sense that the show was trying to be funny and that I was supposed to be laughing, when I was only vaguely humoured by it at best. I did enjoy the way Sheryl talked to Alto, particularly her calling him ‘princess’ on his distaste for the nickname of ‘slave’. Alto’s patience is remarkable.

But, the only moment that really interested me was the dialogue between Alto and Sheryl as they were flying in the sky. It was casually intimate and didn’t feel forced, further pushing the grounds for romance between the two of them. Speaking of romance, Ranka’s position with Alto is falling even further with her continued inability to make a connection with him. I find it a bit annoying how Alto is so blasé about her, almost to the point of being rude. It’s understandable if they wanted to demonstrate that Alto has no overt feelings towards her, but his outright dismissal of her makes him seem an arse. But then again, if we look at Alto as another goal of Ranka’s, then this problem fits in with her sense of being trapped in Sheryl’s shadow and to the core themes of her character - her shyness and lack of self esteem mean that she can’t pierce the heart of a stubborn Alto like Sheryl can. Perhaps it will be interesting to see her fight the uphill battle to be heard and recognised.

All in all, this episode was largely a pointless diversion, with only a few important moments for the characters. The episode could easily have started with Sheryl enrolling in piloting courses, although I suppose that could have felt a bit rushed given that Ranka joined the school at the beginning of the episode already. The forceful excitement of the previous episode evaporated all too quickly with this shallow if mildly entertaining instalment.

 
 
 
While my ever intensifying obsession with Battlestar Galactica has left less and less space in my heart for other sci-fi, this episode of Macross Frontier fights fiercely not to be ignored. The episode explodes onto screen in just the way that the episodes 4 and 5 didn’t, swiftly and unreservedly delivering exciting action sequences, strong character moments, the introduction of a new key player, as well as expanding its musical repertoire with a constant stream of lively songs. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an episode of tv anime with this kind of relentless skirmishing, it literally launches into battle at the very beginning and never takes its finger off the trigger. Constant fighting is not a positive thing in and of itself, but when the action scenes are done with such detail and magnitude as these ones it’s a captivating, visual sensory overload. The relentless stream of gunfire, the smatterings of explosions, and the torrent of missiles should be a pleasure to watch for anyone even mildly interested in ‘space battles’.

            

The fact that essentially all of it is animated with 3D computer graphics is no deterrent whatsoever, rather, the CG is top notch, giving the producer’s the ability to render such epic scenes in detail and limitless motion. I’ve seen people decry Macross F’s alleged overuse of CG, but those naysayers are the people who unreasonably place a taboo on the use of CG in anime for any reason. With a few exceptions, I often find CG a detriment, but not because it’s CG, because it’s not GOOD CG, or that it doesn’t blend well with the look of the series in question. Well Macross F’s CG is fantastic, and if you think that CG spaceships don’t look right, then you’d better be prepared to apply the same philosophy to hollywood sci-fi movies and US tv shows. But Macross has its own flaws. The animation quality this episode was marred by the cheap and stupid decision to reuse whole clips of animation from Sheryl’s concert in the first episode and the Deculture edition episode. I usually take offence to reused cels, but reusing intact bits of a whole scene is just a slap in the face to the series’ respectability. And, on that note, let me tell you I’m trying to repress the memory of the trailer for next week, which indicates not only a shallow story but also more unsightly cel art. When I saw this screencap of Ranka, and this is no joke, ET popped into my head. Perhaps telling of my unusual thought processes, it’s clear to all that Ranka’s head looks more alien that it should (sure, she’s part Zentradi but the rest of them don’t seem plagued by turnip-shaped skulls).

Thankfully, art is not everything though, and I thoroughly enjoyed this fast-paced episode, which was not only brimming with violence but also progressed the story from several angles. Probably one of the more intended dramatic scenes in the episode was the beat where Alto gets all fired up to rescue a devoured Luca. Personally, the scene didn’t work for me largely because I hate Luca’s character with every fibre of my body. So, as Alto determinedly fought his way through the barrage of firing to rescue him, I couldn’t help but want him to fail; anything to never have to see that shrimp-like git blush his way pervasively and pointlessly into a scene again. Alas, he was successful, but through the rescue we got to meet the mysterious OP character, who is perhaps even more mysterious now, but it’s good to see the show still moving forward. There were actually a few humorous moments this episode as well, mainly with Cathy as the butt of the jokes. So, strong entertainment all round, but perhaps not as emotionally strong as last week’s.

Progression/Speculation

The mystery man appears to have a connection to Sheryl and maybe Ranka too through their voices, as he somehow channels their performances at the concert on Frontier, so that even Alto could hear it when he was near his craft. Is he a repentant villain or an aloof ally? He smells a bit like cliché, but I’m still keen to find out.

I’d say the President’s and Leon’s different reactions to the Vajra battleship pretty much confirm my suspicion that Leon has his own agenda running, or that he is clued in on something that the President is not. Or perhaps he is just morbidly fascinated by the Vajra.

 
 
 
Kure-nai is a simple but unique and charming series produced by a favourite studio of mine, Brains Base (Baccano!, Kamichu!), and directed by Kou Matsuda, who is most identifiable for his work on Red Garden. Red Garden was recommended to me numerous times for its unique direction and visual production, but I was deterred by the character designs and never really got around to seeing it. So Kure-nai provided the perfect opportunity to jump onboard and see what this distinctive creative force in the anime medium had to offer. My reaction to the show, much like its own atmosphere, has been warm. Certainly, it’s not been done in such a way that it reaches out and grabs you - it’s far from flashy, but as the viewing experiences of the episodes begin to aggregate I am getting a better idea of why this show deserves recognition, or at least why it stands apart from any run-of-the-mill slice of life. Forgive me if I tread too deeply into the technical elements of the series, but because few people seem to, I thought I should pitch in with my two cents.

            

Something I greatly enjoy in a series in the ways in which it can create an atmosphere, the ways it can give the show a feeling and not just a look. Something like Soul Eater has colour and style, but the components of its production don’t truly cumulate into a sense of depth and mood; it feels flat. This approach to animation usually fits the bill, and as far as I’m concerned, describes most anime. But at the other end of the scale is something like Kure-nai or the recent Ghost Hound. These are shows that have excelled because the camera angles, the backgrounds, the cel animation, and the music all conjoin to become an inseparable quality of a scene. Rather than picking audio that sounds good and putting it over pieces of animation that look good, every part that goes into the scene is rendered to give it a particular, purposeful note or tone. This kind of professionalism is often overlooked, but I think most people will see it in Kure-nai, which is actually made enjoyable almost solely because of this kind of production. People will see the way in which the dialogue is timed is very different to any other anime; it’s more natural and flowing. Essentially, Kure-nai is slice-of-life not just because it covers topics of day-to-day life, but because it feels like day-to-day life at the micro level. In real life, conversations aren’t perfectly ordered and most people aren’t adept with coming up with the right words for every situation. In real life, people make small talk, they interrupt each other, talk over each other, and it is this sense of reality that you see in Kurenai and that you don’t see elsewhere.

The characters feel like you could meet them in reality; they are troubled and multi-dimensional, but they are also petty and imperfect communicators. Kuhoin embodies the spirit of the child (without much of the whininess, mind you) in her boldness, curiosity, and social pragmatism. She is also exceedingly cute, and so much fun iun her own gallant way. Shinkurou is patient but, on some unspoken level, insecure. All of the characters really stand out, and even if some are still caricatures (like the feminist professional Yayoi), their interplay brings them to life in a soft, understated way. Another factor in creating the languid mood of the show is the voice actors, who appear to have been chosen very carefully. The voices work very well together and they all have a certain frankness and gentleness to them, much unlike the larger than life sieyuus behind the ultra-GAR and the super-moe that permeates much of the anime medium. On sound, the music itself is quiet, unobtrusive and melancholic, sinking unapologetically into the background of the show.

To the quality of the animation itself, yanked naked out of the context of the show and studied for its own merits, is variable and unreliable, but occasionally fantastic. At times it moves slowly and is both consistent and attractively detailed, but at other times, best attested to by episode 6, the motion is given high fluidity at the cost of these fundamental things. Apparently some people appreciate the animation style that reduces the keyframes into looking some sort of horrifically melted alien life form in return for consequently unnatural-looking fluid movement. I personally don’t buy it as being excusable as artistic license or style. It could be appropriate for the kinds of anime Studio 4C do, but when it’s a series with even a faint connection to reality it’s just inexcusable from a production standpoint. What could have been a touching scene to end that episode ended up looking like the result of some kind of sick biological warfare. Most of the time though, it looks very good indeed, enriched by luscious background artwork.

Like our own lives, Kurenai wanders aimlessly along, feeling directionless but often inescapably poignant. It might not be intelligent, gripping or overtly dramatic, but it is creative and humble in its own simple, uncontrived manner. For those who want to engage in anime that is thoughtfully made, then this will certainly charm you. I can easily say that the way this series portrays its character’s interactions relative to reality is far and above the standards that Japanese live-action tv dramas ever seem to be able to achieve. Kurenai is fun to watch, but at the same time I think that the unique way it is directed is probably the main thing keeping me interested, as it has the kind of pacing I usually shy away from and has a tendency, with or without its dashes of humour and drama, to be about very little.

Ratings:

Episode 1

  

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

Episode 5

Episode 6

  Completely inexplicable, yet mesmerising, here is the Russian rendition of the Negima!? OP ‘1000%SPARKING!‘. Watch with me, comrades!
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
One of the more enigmatic shounen series of our time, Soul Eater popped out of nowhere and quickly established itself as being watchable. Certainly, a lot of people will agree with me on this, because it is watched by a great deal of people. While the feat of being enjoyable enough to watch is a triumph for the shounen genre (whose heavyweights, Naruto, One Piece, and Bleach I could never bring myself to view), Soul Eater, courtesy of BONES is a shiny piece of work that lays claim to praise like “great, fluid animation”, “unique and attractive visual style” and “aesthetically colourful and pleasing. Yes, it looks good and it moves with an effortlessly high cel count, an asset which is flaunted as much as possible with as many extended and presumably expensive fight scenes as can be crammed into an episode. Unfortunately, given that its approach to battle is not particularly gritty or thematically relevant, this means that the show ends up being very shallow, with hardly any time left between the rampant melee to cram in any semblance of good plot or thematic depth. The backbone of the story is about as thin as you can get without making it an unlinked series of pretty animated scenes.

“The story takes place at the Shinigami Weaponry Vocational School, a school for creating Death Scythes for Gods of Death. The human and demon students seek the seeds of the souls of 99 humans and the soul of one witch, all of which are needed to turn just one of the demon students into a Death Scythe. One of the human students, Maka Alban, is paired with Soul Eater, a boyish demon whose true form is a scythe, as they collect the needed souls to transform Soul Eater.

            

 
That’s the premise and as of yet there hasn’t been any great leaps forward in the way of establishing an ongoing plot beyond “we need to fight X amount of people to graduate to being a Death Scythe”. I have no doubt that one will manifest, but for now we’re in an introductory arc in a series whose only purpose is to skip from one battle scene to the next with, as the preview at the end of episode one makes clear, ample interjections of fanservice and gags. I must say the presence of these two things actually improve the show, because they keep it from being too self-absorbed and too much like Fight Club for kids. The humour could do with a little extra maturity, because of all the episodes I’ve seen, I’ve maybe chuckled a few times (mind you I found 2×2=Shinobuden hilarious so perhaps it’s more the lack of Norio Wakamoto’s great comedic timing and voice). But the jokes just seem to fall flat almost all the time, especially paired with some people’s extremely annoying voices and characters.

No, I’m not talking about Maka. While a lot of people were up in arms about her seiyuu when the show begun, I always thought she was great, with a unique and very cute voice. On the other hand, the part-time narrator and self-described Death God is about as painful to listen to as a ballad by Christina Aguilera, but harder to avoid. And Maka’s father is an incredibly uninteresting and annoying fool enhanced by the whiny voice of his seiyuu. The other characters are all quite fun though, except maybe Black Star, who can get annoying very easily. I do quite like Black Star’s philosophy of wanting to stand out, exemplified by his statement at the end of episode 5 “Damn, I wanted to be late to stand out.”. I did let loose a grin at that.

The characters themselves can largely be categorised by their ‘gimmick’, their overt personality trait that essentially defines all of their behaviour. For example, Death the Kid is ‘symmetry obsessed’, Black Star has a ‘superiority complex’, and his partner is a ‘patient sidekick’. I could go on, and probably wouldn’t have to stop until I reached Maka and Soul, who are fortunately the main characters of the show (for now at least). I actually really enjoy their characters and the way they work together, and they’re both difficult to classify in such a throwaway manner. But, most of the characters are one-dimensional and almost impossible to relate to. Half of them seem to be present solely to be used as a recurring gag. Visually, the character designs are up to the standard of the show’s polished look, with Maka’s in particular being original and attractive.

This series is decidedly shounen, but at the same time it is given a kick by BONES’ excellent production, as well as the music (from the person who brought us Gurren Lagann’s eclectic soundtrack) and some of the interesting seiyuus. It fits the bill as a colourful and energetic distraction, but if you’re looking for something that will make you feel or think, I wouldn’t put this at the top of my list.

Ratings:

Episode 1

  

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

Episode 5

When it comes to Production IG, I find myself more often than not, enamoured with their works. Not everything they do is exceptional, or even exceptionally animated, but when IG is behind an anime you can usually expect it to be fresh, challenging and interesting. They are undoubtedly my favourite studio, because they so frequently come up with their own stories, and also have a knack for pioneering animation techniques and styles (like the flawless use of cel-shaded 3D started with the Tachikomas in Gits SAC). Compared with a studio like the beloved Kyoto Animation, whose professionalism I nonetheless appreciate, Production IG seems awash with a creative spirit and a truly forward-thinking approach to the anime medium. They don’t sell themselves out to cheap ideas and anime pandering to the otaku mindset, but, and this can be seen in most of their works, they consistently strive for great things, even if it doesn’t always work out. With Library Wars, they’ve hit right on the mark, providing a healthy serving of entertainment with excellent and distinctive visual production and an unusual premise.

            

(more…)

So Real Drive had some gusto concealed beneath its dry and confusing first few episodes after all. For those of you unfamiliar with Real Drive, let me say that it’s a series with a unique and interesting premise, continuing on Production IG’s quest for a niche market in obscurity. Much like Ghost Hound, and Chevalier, it is a series that has a lot of creativity and thought put behind it, but which doesn’t present itself as appealing to the masses.

Here is the intriguing premise behind the show:

“2061 AD. Fifty years have passed since mankind developed the Network society. It was anticipated that this new infrastructure would realize a utopia where people connected with each other at the level of consciousness. However, new social problems such as personal data leaks and proliferation of manipulated information began to surface. Nevertheless, people still relied on the Network to exchange information, and proved unable to opt to abandon it.

In due course, a new Network realm with more effective security measures was developed. This was called Meta Real Network, usually abbreviated as “the Metal.”

The Metal accommodated personal memory data within protected virtual stand-alone organic cyber enclaves called bubble shells and eventually pervaded the everyday lives of people.

However, people gradually learned to release and explode their instincts within the secure environment of the Metal. The unleashed instincts pushed each individual’s consciousness to drown in the sea of information and to be exposed to the pressures of desire. Meanwhile, norms and regulations continued to bind their real world lives. Thus, strange friction between the two worlds began to manifest themselves as aberrations beyond the bounds of the imaginable.
Experts who challenged the deep sea of the Metal to investigate and decipher such aberrations were called cyber divers.

This is a story of a cyber diver, Masamichi Haru, who investigates the incidents that lie between Reality and the Metal.”

            

(more…)

 
 
 
My concerns that the show was being propelled into an extended rut of lighter tone and uneventfulness did not manifest. Instead, this episode was much more than frivolous entertainment, redeeming last week by providing a sense of tension and danger, with the return of the Vajra and the preparations for SMS to go and fight them, as well as an affective sense of poignancy, with Sheryl’s emotion-tinged concert and some insights into her less than comfortable past. All the crucial elements that make up a successful space opera were on display, deftly intertwined into episode which developed the story, the characters, and provided the sense of dramatic depth that I’ve been hoping would appear. I’m not quite sure why last episode was allowed to be so pedestrian and shallow, because it only took two scenes this episode - one with Ranka and one with Sheryl, to establish a strong romantic chemistry between them and to really hammer in the final foundations of the now compelling love triangle.
 

            

(more…)

 
The name and preview did their best to hamper my enthusiasm for this week’s episode of Macross Frontier. With a name like “First Date”, it was a given that the plot behind the Vajra was to be put on the backburner, and that action scenes wouldn’t be making any appearance. With trepidation, I but these forecasts aside and enjoyed the episode regardless of its uneventfulness. It may have been a mistake, but I never got into Macross Frontier to see coy courting and teenage angst play out, I wanted something with more of a punch, something that could grab hold of me each episode and leave me hanging for the next. Of course, being a Macross series there was naturally going to be a focus on a love triangle, which is something I have no objection to at all; I love a good love triangle.

But compared with the riveting romance entanglement seen in Macross Plus, Macross Frontier has approached the romantic aspect in a wholly uninteresting way. Sure, Alto and Ranka have shared a few moments of chemistry, but this particular episode is the culprit in the crime of devolving the whole scenario to a rendition of a Disney high school movie. The core relationships appear to be plodding along immaturely, and they lack in intensity and charm. For a love triangle to work as an impacting dramatic device, I should, at this stage, care about who Alto ends up with, and I should be involved with the emotions of the characters in their romantic struggles. Presently, I couldn’t care less who Alto ends up with. I like all three characters here, but because their relationships are so trifling, developments like this don’t seem to matter.

I suppose this episode served another purpose, which was to give the audience a better look at how the Macross Frontier fleet functions and to lend us a glance at the society spread throughout. This was basically summed up in the preamble though, and Alto and Sheryl’s expedition did not uncover much of interest. I did like the way Sheryl seemed so enamoured with Macross Frontier, giving me a better idea of the disparity that potentially exists between fleets. It means that, even though Frontier seems like a space-bound paradise, a little more depth has been put into the society of colonial humanity than that. But the highlight of the episode, which was definitely unexpected, was Ranka’s song (What ‘Bout my Star?), which is wholly catchy and really showcases the polished pop-idol vocal talent of Ranka’s Megumi Nakajima. It’s definitely my favourite of the songs that have come up so far. Unfortunately the scene wasn’t as good as it could have been due to the shortcuts in the animation used. Unlike Sheryl’s number in the first episode’s concert scene, Ranka’s spot in the limelight was marred by cheap-looking animation. Actually, this whole episode was plagued by typical problems in tv anime: unnaturally empty background scenes, or, if they do have people they’re completely stationary to the point where it becomes a pretty big distraction. When clapping kicked in in the song, and it panned over a completely still audience, it just felt too cheap to ignore. At least the episode was not plagued by less palatable problems of malformed character designs.

Of course, the Vajra story was not entirely absent, and the brief developments on this front were the darker and definitely more compelling side to this episode. I maintain that there is something sinister going on with Leon, especially now that he seems to be coalescing with a mysterious figure (Mr Bilrer). But really, this was my least favourite episode thus far, and I’m hoping that the little cliffhangery scene at the end marks a renewed pace and sense of danger for the series.

Progressions:

Leon is gathering together all the people who know about the existence of the Vajra (Does that include Sheryl), at the behest of an enigmatic figure, Mr Bilrer. It’s not known whether the president is aware of this.

The Vajra are not an autonomous being, but are instead biological weapons being externally, and remotely controlled. This really begs the question: how? It’s no easy feat to control, in real time, from a great distance. So, realistically speaking, some other undetected thing is following the fleet and controlling them from nearby, or they’re maybe even being controlled from within the fleet somewhere (which doesn’t make a lot of sense given that other fleets have evidently been attacked as well).

Ranka seems to have well and truly overcome her self-doubts about going into a singing career, mostly motivated by a desire to prove herself in the eyes of a disparaging brother and Michael. She also seems to have been generated some interest with her spontaneous performance this week.

 
Sword of the Stranger is both unusual and refreshing in the way that it seemed to come out of nowhere and prove to be a remarkable anime. It seems, lately, that anything warranting a large budget and a lot of effort from a studio is either a sequel, an adaptation based on a successful manga or novel, or the next dull addition to a creatively stagnant franchise. None of these things, Sword of the Stranger is an unexpected big-budget film, which leapt instantly to the forefront of my favoured anime movies with exhilarating action sequences, captivating visuals, raw, evocative music and simple but affective characterisation. The look and sound of the show will instantly grab you, and perhaps even carries the film over the insubstantial plot backbone.

Some people have already ordained this film as a classic of sorts, but I’d have to disagree with that, simply because, although it hits hard and fast with splendour, and resonates beyond mere eye-candy, it doesn’t have a crucial element to elevate it into that tier. The characters do have sufficient weight for the audience to empathise with them, and they are also very likeable, but I felt that my appreciation of the characterisation is due largely to the voice talent behind them. So, credit goes to the cast and not necessarily to the way the film was written, which perhaps had more featured characters than it should have. If the film had focused more on the central two characters, I feel it could have been a classic, or at the very least, delivery an even more powerful finale. Perhaps replacing some of the action scenes with more intimate, personal character moments could have helped. But that minor gripe aside, the big problem with the film was the gaping hole where the plot should be.

A plot should always be more than just a vague framework to drive a movie from one scene another all the way to the climax. It should give credence to the movie, so that the film has a certain importance or reason. As it was, the plot, both simple and relatively silly, told me that the film existed for the sake of great action scenes. It’s a valid premise for entertainment, but it means there’s no lasting impact on the audience because it doesn’t really have anything much to convey. There’s no story here I haven’t seen before in this genre, and for much of the time the plot is a little too confusing.

It seems I’d almost forgotten the potential for animation to be so visually compelling. On a technical level, the anime medium has frequent success, but transcending animation quality, it’s a very rare experience for an anime to be truly visually compelling, creating not just mood and detail, but also scenes of beauty. This film achieves that in a way that totally blew me away, and I don’t say that very often (I’m not one of those apt to calling every Kyoto Animation production flawlessly animated). The climax of the film, a roaring skirmish amidst snow and fire, is breathtaking and elegiac. More than just an impressive, visceral action sequence, it is tinged with emotion and dramatic tension, which drives the film up to its climactic pinnacle.

As I say time and time again, the concept of a conclusion is highly important to me. When anything ends I expect more than a bit of excitement, or an explanatory wrap-up, I want the climax to resonate and to pay-off the themes of the series/movie. This film does achieve that, and even though it is devoid of really challenging and engaging themes, it still manages to be moving with likeable characters and endearing score music. In my mind, an anime that can end on a powerful high note, with stunning production and consistent pacing, is a winner. Even though the film falls prey to a number of action film clichés, and at times feels like a rehash of bits of the samurai film genre, and even though its plot is undemanding and almost silly, it is irresistibly engaging. Beyond anything else, this should definitely be approached as an action film, and with that approach, I can safely say it is a great accomplishment in its genre. It is fast-paced and features fierce, clever battle sequences, but more importantly, overshadowing the violence (which any action film can claim on), it is rendered with artistry and beauty, and effortlessly tugs at your heart. Frankly put, the only flaw in this film is the slight lack of depth to the characters, and the completely unremarkable plot. But if, like me, you’ve grown tired of the relative mediocrity of most anime television and want something to renew your love for the anime medium as an art form, this would be a good bet.

 
Macross Frontier is always a pleasure to watch, and this spirit lives on even in this episode, which shows signs of a deteriorating degree of polish on the visual production, as well as marking what appears to be the beginning of a slow-down for the show. Although the plot is still moving along nicely, and there is little filler, the sense of danger and intensity that were initially present have whithered away to be replaced with a more day-to-day tone, showing the more humoured, natural personalities of the characters. I’m not too sure I agree with this shift in tone. Although I should have expected it given its predecessors, the first episode got me so excited partially because it hinted at a hard-hitting, thrilling momentum for the series. Sure, this episode still had good action (very good action scenes, to be honest), but it didn’t have an air of danger, nor a sense of tension.

The show was never without a sense of humour, and neither am I; a good laugh is appreciated in any genre of any medium - but at the start it also had a sense of danger and urgency. With the slow-down effect, the first episodes could be considered a spark that simply died off rather than ignited. Was the beginning just an audience-grabbing attempt, which will now dissolve into a more comfortable, easygoing series? I personally hope this light-hearted nature, and the room for cliché it brings, is but a temporary lull, and that the show will go back from being simply entertaining to being gripping. This is the first time so far that I haven’t been looking forward to the next episode.

A lot of people tend to justify slower points in a series by saying it allows for necessary character development, but I say that’s nonsense. Generally the most important and profound character exploration happens in a crisis situation - most people don’t show their true selves in their everyday life. And so, barring a sincere moment between Ranka and Alto (which was little more than a repeat of last week’s), there was essentially no important character development. The reason I didn’t find the episode a complete waste of time is because it was still enjoyable to watch, sometimes even really funny (like Bobby applying some unwanted makeup to Alto, Alto being made to do la, or Ranka bowing right into the microphone). We did meet a new character (the colourful Klein Klan) and get to see a little more of the workings of the S.M.S (though not as much as I’d have liked). I must say, Klein Klan’s character seems to have no depth beyond comic relief, but she’s cute in her loli form nonetheless. I’ve gradually warmed up to Mikhail, but I still have great distaste for Luca.

One other thing of note was in regards to the production. This episode was no improvement from the less than flawless animation last week. Looking at the way the background detail is drawn or animated, it’s clear that the animation standards have plummeted. Some background characters are inexcusably simplified, scenes in the cities show little if any movement, and some shots felt jerky and cheap. It was a mixed bag though, almost as if there were two teams working on the episode - one on Alto’s segments and the other on Ranka’s, the latter of which was the main offender of poor animation. I won’t be pessimistic on this though, and I wouldn’t say it disturbed my enjoyment of the episode.

This is an episode guide for Macross Frontier. I haven’t really found a good guide for the episodes with synopsis around, so I decided to make one much like I did for Gits SAC 2nd GIG. Each episode has a link to my review/blog entry.

Note on the star ratings: The star ratings are not the same as the ones I used in the episode reviews and for anime in general. If I used those star rankings, which represent the average of the anime medium, then too many episodes would be highly rated. Instead these ratings represent the quality scale of the Macross F series, where 2.5 stars represents an average episode.

Please comment, or suggest something I can do to improve the page. If there are any other valuable sources of Macross F discussions for each episode, I can link to them.

Click on the episode title for my review.
 
 

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Of course, there was no way Macross F could just get better and better, and more and more exciting with every episode, so the fact that episode 3 is rather more subdued and less remarkable than the two before it is no real disappointment. Honestly, the slower parts in this episode could have been better used to facilitate more intimate and revealing characterisation (mainly the scene with Alto, Ranka and Sheryl trapped in the shelter together, which could have really been used to unequivocally establish the love triangle). And the brief scenes of mourning for the lost soldiers in the recent clash lacked real emotion, perhaps in part because of the use of music in those scenes, the score compositions just not being emotive enough. The scene wherein Ranka discovers that her brother isn’t quite as behind a desk in his line of work as she’d been told, seemed to be a bit overdone or overacted (or perhaps Ranka’s devastated outburst was just so at odds with her usual cheerful persona that it felt a bit jarring for me ). On the other hand, there were a number of important steps forward in the plot, and the interchange between Alto and Ranka chat at the memorial grounds achieved what their other encounters had not in really creating a sense of chemistry and a genuine emotional connection between them. It was also a great scene in that explored the characterisation of the two characters in a slightly new light, in that Ranka exposed her more fragile, introspective self, and Alto, finally in a situation that doesn’t preclude him to being either angry or stubborn, proves to be rather charming and emotionally mature.

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