Indiana Jones and the Scientologist Propaganda

So, I know it's not really an anime but I have to get this off my chest.

1) Spielberg directed A.I (bad movie)
2) Spielberg and Tom Cruise work together on Minority Report (good movie)
3) Spielberg and Tom Cruise THEN did War of the Worlds together (forgettable)

4) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull...how can I put this...?

NO! No, bad Spielberg, bad, that is NOT what a career of over 40 produces, that is NOT how we make movies!

So, Indiana Jones, in a story written by a four-year-old, discovers that El Dorado was actually founded by ALIENS! And the aliens give the gift of transcendental knowledge, knowledge that can put you "in the space between space," or another dimension.

Sounds a little on the Scientology side, wouldn't ya say?

So when Indy assembles the Shrine of the Silver Monkey - whoops, force of habit - I mean the crystal alien skeleton, the aliens come back and blow up their own temple, wedding Indy with long-lost girlfriend #3, and spraying down poetic justice the way a skunk sprays his victims. This film was a madlib of car chases, scenery changes and watered down one-liners. I am rejecting and sending this movie back like a poorly cooked cheeseburger with a big ball of black, springy hair on it. Try it again, Spielberg.

The Cupcake says "no."

Ghoust Hound

We have come to expect big things from Production I.G, which us such young adult heavy-hitters as Ghost in the Shell and Blood +. For their 20^th anniversary project, the studio reunited the director and head writer of Serial Experiments Lain to once again blur the line between dreams and reality.

The small, rural mountain town of Suiten is loaded with secrets. Three middle school students, whom I refer to as the wise-ass (Masayuki), the badass (Makoto) and the dumb-ass (Taro), discover their commonality in their childhood traumas. Once the boys accidentally cross into the Unseen World of spirits in an attempt to uncover the past about Taro’s kidnapping, it becomes clear that their horrors are the least of their concerns. The spirits have followed them home. The result: astral projection.

The boys’ abstract forms look like malformed transparent blue-tinted Lava lamp babies, but who am I to judge?

Taro, our undisputed main character, is fifteen-years-old and dabbles in lucid dreaming. When he was a child, he and his sister were kidnapped, and only he survived. Now, by unlocking the gate of his memory through hypnotherapy, Taro uses astral projections to find his sister’s spirit. His cousin Makoto is a reserved, sharp-eyed punk who walked in on his father hanging himself. Now his ancient grandmother, a previously influential cult leader, is demanding he inherit the family legacy. Finally, Masayuki, the smirking transfer student from Tokyo, developed acrophobia once a student he tormented jumped from the roof of his school.

Eat your heart out, Shinji! You’ve got nothing on these punks.

Fans of Satoshi Kon will definitely get the most from Ghost Hound: it tosses around complex psychological terminology like a harem anime tosses panty shots. Series director Ryutaro Nakamura ambitiously blends the series’ themes of psychology and Shinto mysticism to create a coherent aesthetic. Memories and flashbacks are drowned out by both static and an underwater blurring effect for both their audio and video: you feel as though you are floating in and out of a dream you cannot control. There are also many elements of horror and suspense, so expect a ton of extreme-close-ups.

Ghost Hound blends complimentary styles including supernatural, psychology, horror, and mystery into one genre that aims to literally blow your mind apart. HOWEVER, despite all the smart-people talk, the story is chronological and easy to follow: you are never totally lost.

That said, the series has much that could have been improved. Because it deals with childhood trauma, expect a ton of flashbacks to the same scenes over and over and then over again. Script-writer Chiaki Konaka (Hellsing, Big-O, Lain) juggles many mysteries at once, and while he develops them all evenly, much of Ghost Hound’s sharp intelligence becomes a double-edge sword resulting in some pretty dull episodes. There are mountains of dense psychological theory cluttering the dialog, and the series could easily have been Freud’s PhD thesis. The intense dialog is contrasted by dream sequences and frequent trips to the Unseen World, which may look cool, but remain disappointingly bland.

By the end of the ride, you do feel as though you have grown with these boys, however. Makoto has gained a heart despite his overt hatred for his family. Masayuki has gained courage in confronting the scientist who sexually possesses both him and his father. And Taro gains the brain he so desperately needs. While Ghost Hound definitely runs on anime rules (trauma, Shinto shrine maidens, family, blaming the past for our present inadequacies) it is difficult to imagine an audience for this show. It is for young adults, and while it has great cliff-hangers, it lacks energy and pizzazz. But, just as with the human brain and our dreams, there are far deeper themes and meanings in Ghost Hound than can be fit into a simple blog-styled review.

Parallel Opposites

*Disclaimer: There have been too many people with too many ideas for anything in this presentation to be original. Apologies and regards to all those unnamed students and professors who have written about this theory before me. This theory, steeped heavily in the teachings of Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung, is meant to deepen one's appreciation for quality story-telling, not just in anime.

Set-Up: There are many ways to read deeper and analyze a work of literature such as the Freudian approach, Jungian philosophy, or social standing. One way to study a piece is by implementing the “parallel opposite” theory to relate a character’s relations with other characters to the larger theme of a piece.

Theory: The Parallel Opposite Theory states that major characters in a literary piece serve to compliment, conflict and complete the protagonist as other parts of his/her psyche in order to develop the theme of said work. A P.O. is recognized as a character that functions in some way similar to the protagonist in skills, bloodline, manners, reputation, goals, or (to a lesser extent) appearance while also holding characteristics that contradict the protagonist’s.

2 Primary Archetypes:

I) Competitor – Those who conflict with the protagonist.

Villain – The most common archetype. In stories like these, the antagonist is somehow linked to the protagonist and stands in the high tower, plotting and awaiting his/her demise. In cases like this, Jungian philosophy is an obvious adjunct analytical tool because of its study of the yin-yang. The villain may represent the hero’s darker side or potential for evil. To conquer this potential for evil, the hero must face his/her “darker side” and destroy it. So long as it exists, it will challenge and conflict the hero; (Just as certain emotions can certainly do when we ignore or hide them.)

Ex: Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader from Star Wars/ Neo and Agent Smith from The Matrix Trilogy

Fellow Student – In this case, the protagonist and the P.O. character have similar reputations and always stand in each other’s way. This often bleeds into the villain archetype. The significant difference between the two is that the Fellow Student’s absence causes a rift and small death within the protagonist. They exist as a peaceful yin-yang and benefit from the competition, but crumble once separated: to lose one’s competition is to lose a piece of one’s self.

Ex: Achilles and Hector from Homer’s The Iliad

II) Companion – Those who assist the protagonist.

Sage – The parallel opposite teaches the protagonist knowledge to complete his/her quest such as a secret trade, skill, or by imparting a key item. Often paired up with the Fellow Student archetype.

Ex: Yoda and Obiwan from Star Wars

Lover – A fairly new trend in literature, this parallel opposite is another embodiment of the yin-yang from Jungian and Chinese philosophy. Their union is often viewed as the anima or animus of the protagonist’s psyche. If a lover P.O. archetype is going to be used in a story, he/she is most likely going to be captured in the beginning, making the entire story a “sacred marriage” quest as described by Joseph Campbell.

Ex: Odysseus and Penelope of Homer’s Odyssey

Helper (Partner) – Most likely the least specific among the companion category, the helper works well to contrast the protagonist and offer readers a different view on the situation. Often the traveling aid on the quest, a helper can be comic relief, an enthusiastic rookie, an honored veteran or even an assigned partner from the office. What separates this sub-type is that the partner often indirectly presents the view of the writer against the protagonist’s views; he/she is rarely an allegorical section of the protagonist as he/she is a tool for opinion or plot.

Ex: Horatio in Hamlet, Han Solo in Star Wars, Samwise in Lord of the Rings

*Twin – Often used in conjunction with the Helper, Fellow Student and Lover archetype, the twin parallel opposite is proof that the story (or that character’s role in the story) cannot function without the other half. For example, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are never separated in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, because, without the other, they lack substance enough to be real characters. When Harry Met Sally, because its plot is about the relationship between Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan, to film does not happen with just one half of the title. Take away one, and you destroy the piece as a whole.

* In many cases, the Twin and the Helper act as aids to the protagonist, though they may not always be major characters. Such is the case of Merry and Pippin from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings epic.

Use as a Plot Device: Writers may implement a parallel opposite for conflict and depth in the story. It is most effective when archetypes cross over. For example, what happens when the Sage becomes the story’s villain? Or when the Lover is a Fellow Student who refuses to let the protagonist have the last word? Confusing conflict is the key to keeping an audience geared toward a story’s development.

Example of use in To Kill a Mockingbird:

First, identify the story’s protagonist and theme: Scout and racism.

Second, we find supporting characters who move with the plot: Atticus Finch and Calpurnia.

What we can say is that, to Scout, Atticus and Calpurnia serve as the Sage archetypes that give her a full view of racism, how it affects a white family as well as a black family when Atticus takes on his famous case later in the book. Atticus and Calpurnia act as parallel opposites in their relationship, white and black, male and female, the kind of selfless union that Atticus strives for in his standing up against racism. Thus, because of her upbringing in a home without racism, Scout has to potential to rise above it.

Hatenko Yugi or The Threesome That Never Was

Every now and then, you need to watch a bad anime just to heighten your appreciation for the FullMetal Alchemists, the Cowboy Bebops and the Ghost in the Shells that raise your expectations. This show, this Hatenko Yugi, was short enough (ten episodes) to not grind on my nerves too badly.

I give every new series 5-7 episodes to see if I am intrigued enough to continue viewing. More often than not, if a series isn’t groundbreaking, I’m watching it to find out where it’s going.

Hatenko Yugi is about a three-man party: the magician protégé Rahzel, the silent gun-slinging albino Alzeid, and…the other guy name Baroqueheat. Basically, they traverse the land, looking for odd jobs, adventuring, and helping small children cope with their time-consuming flashbacks.

The first episode had very cynical humor coupled with the pacing of base jumping: I thought it’d be good. Two of our characters are given a simple task of eliminating a maiden’s ghost from a forest path. As the ghost goes into her life story, our two characters ignore her and play in the dirt. It episode ran fast and ended in fireworks. There was no set-up: none. And by the time our main character Rahzel had “solved the mystery” we asked ourselves “what mystery?”

The world is inconsistent in the ways of a quickly plotted, poorly thought out RPG. There’s “magic,” but no system. There’s a “military,” but no nation supporting it. The only rule I can glean is that our main characters DO NOT LOSE FIGHTS. The closest thing to an antagonist is the friendly love/hate relationship between Al, Heat, and Rahzel.

Hatenko Yugi is a character-based story, meaning you are watching to see how these characters will develop. Essentially, they form a triad with subtle sexual tension of “which man will she choose” or “what the Hell is that thing on Heat’s arm.” Probably what drew me to keep watching was the polarization between Alzeid and Heat, the calm and the energetic, the gun and the “arm/sword/wackadoo” the pale and the tan. While not nearly as dichotomized as Mugen and Jin from Samurai Champloo, both men do have something of a friendly competition going, but more for K.O.’s of NPC’s than over Rahzel.

Though there are three instances of two-part episodes, the show does not require (nor merit) you to watch every episode in any particular order. When it concludes, and Rahzel is set up to make her difficult decision, the series cops out to maintain the status quo in hopes of a second season.

I feel like I’ve taken a bullet by watching the entire series. Do not be distracted by the blind-folded teddy bear or Rahzel’s illogical costume changes: if you see Hatenko Yugi being sold at a convention, ignore it and move on.

Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (not) Alone

When I was fifteen, I spent a summer borrowing a friend’s VHS tapes of subtitled Evangelion. I was ready for the robots and the boobies, but those are just light reflecting off the tip of an iceberg that was years beyond anything in animation. To this day, I wish more people ignorant to anime could digest and discuss Eva as proof that animation goes beyond Spongebob.

With Evangelion: 1.0, we may yet have a chance. Hideaki Anno has rereleased his touchstone creation through three new hour-and-a-half-long movies which hope to condense the 26-episode series. How’d he do it? By adding visual but sacrificing story details.

At first glance, 1.0 looks like a recap movie. But Anno and his team have put a fresh coat of computer-graphic-tasting paint over his creation, adding immense 3D graphics and details to every last nut and bolt of Nerv’s HQ. Scenes with vague backgrounds have been revisited and placed in locker rooms, jazz clubs, elevator shafts, and military prep rooms, grounding viewers into paying even more attention to the dialog. Action scenes have abandoned the framing-and-flashback technique into straight-forward fights? angels now bleed, spark and then explode. With today’s computers, Anno has added very complex lighting effects, which help create a greater contrast between domestic and action scenes.

This revision of Eva is loaded with new dialogs, scenes, shots and colors which develop Shinji’s story by putting every scene, at last, into a coherent context.

That’s right, I said coherent Eva. I know, I was surprised too!

This may be the best thing to happen to Eva since Prozac. For the first time, the story is told chronologically and tersely. Anno’s reworking of the script has eliminated the space and time disorientation that kept the original cut of Eva enigmatic. Hopefully, Evangelion 1.0 will resurrect the series for a new generation of Otaku, allowing potential fans to dedicate an evening (rather than an entire semester) to watching and, more importantly, understanding Eva.

On the downside, Eva fans may not be comfortable with the hasty pacing and Anno’s choices to completely cut out fluff and humor scenes. Some of the surrealism and existentialism remains, but it does not interrupt the action or the plot. Can I get a “Hallelujah?” Story-wise, we still follow Shinij, though he remains as meek and spineless as ever. Evangelion 1.0 had one goal to establish, though: to focus on Shinji’s fear of reaching out and taking responsibility. By the end of this first installment, you feel like he has made a valiant effort.

There may yet be hope for Shinji…unless you’ve already seen Death and Rebirth.

I think Hideaki Anno has gone back, tightened up some loose ends, edited down, and put significant thought into this terse update of his masterpiece. Congratulations.

Slayers - Spells, Swords and Slapstick at its Best

Every fantasy anime falls into many formulaic pitfalls: spells with English names, guys with big swords and even bigger hair, and demon beast resurrections. Slayers, the mid-nineties classic anime, has long ago been recognized as the standard for fantasy/action/comedy. There are many good reasons for this.

Newer fans may be interested to learn that Slayers was announced last month to begin production of a new season, hopefully airing next year. So the excitement has actually yet to begin. Think of this review as bringing an old friend into a new light before that friend is exhumed and revamped by today's computers to remove those unsightly wrinkles and mummy bandages.

Explaining the plot to Slayers would waste more time than the filler arcs of Naruto. Simply put, Lina Inverse is the young, powerful sorceress who can claim more adversaries than Vash the Stampede. She and her badass (though thick-headed) swordsman companion, Gourry, traverse the land avoiding bandits, robbing from the rich to give to their stomachs, and blowing up everything else in between. Every thirteen episodes, an evil monster is reborn to destroy the world until Lina smashes it.

The first season, a convenient boxset sold by Funimation, can be found pretty cheaply these days, which only adds to the bargain of owning this series. Slayers, though slightly younger than Record of Lodoss War, plays through standard adventures with a barrage of zany characters that grow on you, delivering as many laughs as it does explosions. It features that old school cell-framed animation that your grandpappy remembers, which only contributes to the vintage pacing. One of my favorite situations takes place in a city populated by self-proclaimed “champions of justice.” As people charge forward to collect the bounty on Lina’s head, she and Gourry take turns keeping track of how many “champions of justice” they blow away in one blow, knocking down adversaries until Lina proves herself not to be the bad guy. Which is like selling pot to your parole officer.

What I love about the characters is how stereo-typical they can be while breaking the molds at the same time. Though morality is very clear-cut (good versus evil) anyone who proclaims themselves a force of either ultimately turns out to be false. Initially, the homunculus Zelgadas (eat your heart out Moonlight Knight) quickly shifts from villain to ally. The Red Priest Rezo is a world-renowned White Mage/Mother Theresa only until he can cure his own blindness. And best of all, Lina and Gourry never claim to be good or evil, just hungry.

I’m a sucker for old anime humor and mayhem on a medieval scale. Sometimes the pacing brings the action to a rough halt, especially when Lina explains the intricacies of the three schools of magic, but these scenes are few and far between. Slayers loves nothing more than blowing up the monster and getting to the next one. The voice acting is a very early job, one of Crispin Freeman and Lisa Ortiz’s firsts. Just for that, I’m gonna cut them a lot of slack on the mediocre production value.

Not the fantasy genre rewriter that Scrapped Princess turned out to be, but a Hellsing of a lot funnier. Grab your friends and dive into Slayers. Okay, so start at episode five, then grab your friends and dive in.

Baccano!!1

After watching all thirteen-episodes of Baccaono, a question comes to mind: why has no one watched this show? The mafia of Prohibition Aged America – immortal alchemists - bank robbers – guns – sadistic and graphic torture – broads and dames – and that’s just the first episode! This testosterone-fueled ride spanning more than two (or two-hundred) years has more kinetic energy than a barrel of gasoline-soaked fireworks.

Baccano, Italian for “cacophonous noise,” follows a cast of over ten well-crafted and diverse characters across two seemingly separate stories. By the end of the opening credits, you learn how perfectly the title fits. The opening theme, Gun’s&Roses, is a rhythmic brass drive that rivals Tank! for smoothest opening theme. Fans of Guy Richie’s film Snatch will enjoy the mono-chromatic close-ups of the characters.

Did we lose the plot amidst the noise? Well, on one hand is the mystery of New York mafia playboy Dallas LAST NAME, whose sudden disappearance expedites a feud between crime bosses. On the other, the cross-continental train ride aboard the treacherous Flying Pussyfoot bubbles into a powder keg of violence as four colliding, gun-wielding parties struggle for control of the train and its passengers. There’s also an alchemist cult crossing the Atlantic during the 1700’s, but that’s just baccano…

What separates this series from every other anime experience of 2007 is its groundbreaking slaughter and rebirth of story-telling structure. Baccano jumps around time with a blur that would make Quinten Tarrantino’s head spin. But it does this between two stories! Disorienting? Yes. Rewarding? Beyond your expectations.

Tarrantino would praise Baccano for its graphic violence, barrage of badass characters, and structure that holds the same logic as a Bingo board. I do not hesitate to say that the blood-level is gratuitous and even an R rating would be generous. Therein lies the problem in establishing a fan base: even desensitized viewers today can be unnerved by Baccaono’s absurd level of violence, bloodshed and torture.

Without the violence, however, the impeccable humor (both character and situation-driven) would not shine through as brightly. You may cringe at Ladd Russo’s gleeful puppetry of his mangled comrade’s skeleton, or you may be taken by gallows laughter. Either way, the scenes move with such breakneck velocity, they skip from heavy-handed to light-hearted with a masterful grace. The darkness of the comedy plays off well with the tongue-in-cheek severity of the bloodshed.

The series struggles to find a main character and, in fact, dedicates its entire first episode to guessing who should be the central protagonist. But finding the central character in Baccano is like naming the badass in Bleach: it’s not gonna happen, but it’s fun as Hell to wonder. I cannot mention my favorite dozen characters without leaving out my second-favorite dozen, so I will sum up the bombardment of amazing personas with four words: Sweet Suzumiya, Rail Tracer.

Even with its cluttered narrative, Baccano delivers, brilliantly wrapping itself up in a finale that is chaotic, disorienting and unquestionably satisfying. Strap yourselves in, ‘cause this bumpy ride makes an offer you can’t refuse.

Shigofumi Reviewed

Shigofumi

Remember when you first realize anime could grapple with real world issues and deep philosophical issues while America spent its time resurrecting Tom and Jerry? Shigofumi, a bizarre little show overloaded with social commentary, was licensed by America after the third episode premiered in Japan. This unprecedentedly fast licensing led a lot of us to believe Shigofumi was going to be a cut above the rest.

Shigofumi follows a deadpan, reserved girl named Fumi and her partner/multi-tool Kanaka as they deliver shigofumis, or letters from the dead, to their desired recipients. Did your mother commit suicide and wanted to tell you it’s not your fault? Send a shigofumi. A fun twist is that, while Fumi is technically dead, everybody in the real world can see her.

Fumi’s job has her travelling a lot, leaving the show’s structure to seem disconnected and episodic. Yet as it progresses Shigofumi slowly reveals the true mystery and connections between all the characters. In fact, the show almost surpasses itself in intrigue when a character recognizes Fumi during one of her missions, revealing a fact from her past that would compel even the most taciturn viewer to stay tuned.

While Fumi’s outfit is slightly reminiscent of Boogiepop Phamton and the show features the abstract philosophies of Serial Experiments Lain, Shigofumi takes issues such as high school harassment, suicide, school shootings and child abuse and presents them in a magnificently crafted new light. It is heavy-handed, but far easier to follow and thus, much more rewarding. Even with its daring approach, the humorous episodes of Shigofumi become uniquely heart-warming and sentimental while skipping back into traumatic black humor with the grace of a falling feather.

This series is fearless in its portrayal of criminals, eccentrics, victims and bullies alike. In short, I cannot remember being this overwhelmed by the poignancy of an anime’s message in recent history. So long as you do not watch the final, thirteenth episode, you will be overwhelmed.