The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱 Ep. 13 (8) May 9, 2008
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This episode is a very slow one, very calm and relaxing, with a lot of static shots. Not much really happens this time around, so I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to talk about the English dub. The original Japanese cast did an excellent job, and topping (or equaling) them would be a daunting task. Fortunately, Bandai hired some of the most seasoned actors in the business to play the various parts. Crispin Freeman nailed the role of Kyon from the very first line. He has injected plenty of wry, sarcastic humor, perfectly cynical observations, spot-on comedic timing, and a tone of voice that matches the original actor’s. There isn’t another actor out there that could have pulled off this role better than him. Wendee Lee took a little getting used to as Haruhi. It’s not that she did a bad job, but it’s just that I think it took her a few episodes to get into the role. She didn’t quite find the right pitch of voice and attitude for the character until episode 4 or 5. After that, however, she cruised along nicely, completely owning the character. Michelle Ruff did a very good job as Yuki. I always find that pulling off the silent characters in English is more difficult than in Japanese. They always sound like they are forcefully restraining themselves, and not sounding distant and naturally quiet. However, she did a tremendous job. Similar to Wendee Lee, Michelle Ruff took a few episodes to get into the character, but when she finally did, she was excellent. Her deadpan delivery of certain lines always managed to retain their intended emotional impact whether meant to invoke a sense of mystery or humor. Johnny Yong Bosch played Itsuki a little differently than his Japanese predecessor. He still caries the same charm and likability as before, but also infuses a little whimsy and sense of harmlessness as well. He took the established character and added to it just a bit. I think it was a nice touch, and helped to flesh out the character’s personality a bit more. Finally, we have Stephanie Sheh as Mikuru. All I can say is, “Wow!” She did an amazing job at pulling off this character. Not only did she act incredibly well, but the inflexion in her voice, as well as high-pitched meek crying, matched the Japanese actress flawlessly. I couldn’t have asked for better. The other supporting cast performances are equally good, but they don’t have much screen time, so aren’t worth going into great detail about. Overall, I am very impressed by the English dub for this series. It is one of the best I have ever heard. The acting is very high quality, the voices come close to matching those from the original, and they even bring a little something new. All of the actors should be commended for their excellent performances. If you like dubs or are even the slightest bit curious, you should definitely check it out. You won’t be disappointed.
Monster モンスター Eps. 33-34 May 8, 2008
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This pair of episodes certainly upped the creepy factor. In the first, Deiter befriends a young boy who was injured after he fell from the roof of a building. The kid leaves the hospital and wanders around the city. Deiter goes with him, uncertain why, perhaps just to make sure he doesn’t further injure himself. It doesn’t take long before he realizes that this kid is off his rocker. He likes playing a game where he walks along the edge of a rooftop with his eyes closed. It is the only way to feel truly alive. And guess who taught him this crazy game? I don’t have to tell you, as I’m sure it’s obvious. Anyway, this episode was very creepy, and also managed to increase the “Johann is omnipresent” factor, as well. In the second, Tenma stumbles upon a free clinic for illegal immigrants. The doctor there is a 17 year old girl who is practicing without a license. Tenma helps her through a difficult case, and struggles with some personal demons. All in all, this was yet another stellar pair of episodes. Highly recommended.
L/R: Licensed by Royalty Eps. 1-4 May 7, 2008
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Let’s go back in time to 2003, and check out a little-known series called L/R: Licensed by Royalty. It tells the story of Jack Hofner and Rowe Rikenbacker, two government agents who work for an organization known as Cloud 7. Together they comprise a team called L/R, but which one is the L and which one is the R? That seems to be the question that plagues our two protagonists. This is a cool series that can best be described as the bastard child of Lupin the 3rd and James Bond. It has the spirit and style of both parents, but doesn’t quite live up the greatness of either one. Neverthless, it’s a fun show, and is worth checking out. (more…)
Fantastic Children ファンタジックチルドレン Eps. 25-26 May 6, 2008
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Final Series Score: 8/10
The pacing of the final two episodes was perfect. Dumas attempts to transfer Helga’s spirit back into the body of Tina, but he decides it is wrong at the last moment. This, of course, angers his father, who was recently revealed to be the true villain of the series. There was an emotion-filled showdown between the two, which had an appropriate outcome. Afterwards, Helga’s spirit becomes trapped in The Interval, a world between life and The Zone. Tohma goes there to retrieve her. We are treated to another interesting scene as Tohma reveals who he truly is to her, and they attempt to save each other from the Enma. Once that crisis is over, we get about 10 minutes to wrap up everything. This was very nice, because most anime seem to cram as much crap as possible into the last few minutes and always turn out looking rushed. That didn’t happen here. Careful planning and good directing made for a well-paced ending. Some of the children returned to Girishia, and others remained on Earth. The only thing I thought was kind of weak was the appearance of Soran’s reincarnation at the very end. He did nothing throughout the entire series, and then shows up at the very end and gets the girl. What the hell? But that really is only a minor grievance, and I’m not going to fault the show for not being complete in everything. Overall, Fantastic Children was quite, ahem, fantastic. The first half was slow and at times extremely confusing. The second half made a lot of sense, and the pace moved ahead quickly. Once all the revelations have been made, you look back at the plot and realize that they really had a good story here. I had read on a few different sites that this series has the best plot twist ever. Well, I wouldn’t say it’s the best ever, but it was quite good. If you have a lot of time, and don’t mind waiting a while for some answers, I would say that you should check out this show. It is highly recommended.
Flight of the Conchords - Business Time May 3, 2008
Posted by BrikHaus in : Editorial , 1 comment so farYeah I know, it’s not anime, but who cares? Flight of the Conchords is one of the best bands I’ve encountered in a really long time. They come from New Zealand, and are incredibly awesome. There’s no way you can watch this video and not laugh. If you like it, I’d also recommend checking out their television show (of the same name) which is on HBO.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 涼宮ハルヒの憂鬱 Ep. 10 (7) May 1, 2008
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If I can find any fault with this series, it would be with the placement of the two-parter murder mystery episodes. The previous episode that split them up was so exciting, and brought up so many questions, that going back to the murder mystery seemed lack luster and slow-paced. Nevertheless, it’s a quality episode, but it pales in comparison to the previous one. Maybe the next time around I’ll watch both murder mystery episode back to back. I won’t give too much away, but Haruhi is able to solve the mystery, with a lot of help from Kyon and Itsuki. While watching this episode one has to wonder how much of this was planned ahead of time by Itsuki’s organization, and how much occurred “on the fly” as a result of Haruhi’s wishes. This is a question that can never be answered, but it’s fun to think about it anyway. Yuki continues to crack me up with her deadpan expressions, Kyon’s observations are classic, and Haruhi is so energetic it’s hard not to like her. This episode marks the halfway point of the series, and I definitely look forward to watching the rest of it.
Monster モンスター Eps. 31-32 April 30, 2008
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This pair of episodes had two stories going on simultaneously. The first involved Tenma and the psychiatrist he rescued in the previous episode. The second involved Lotte, and the friendship she developed upon meeting Nina. The two girls go out to unwind, and have to brush off some rude guys. I can’t quite figure out where this storyline is going. Meanwhile, Tenma purchases a high powered sniper rifle, and scouts out the perfect location from which to eliminate Johann. I imagine that since Tenma and Nina are in the same city now, they will inevitably cross paths. This pair of episodes was a bit of a breather, a reprieve from the intensity of the previous episode. Monster is extremely well paced in that it’s action sequences are purposefully placed, and never outstay their welcome. They always leave you wanting more, which is a sign of quality.
Black Lagoon ブラックラグーン Eps. 23-24 April 29, 2008
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Final Series Score: 5/10
If I may quote Family Guy’s character Brian: “Nothing’s happening. Nothing’s happening. Nothing’s happening…. it’s over. A lot of people look pissed.”
I feel like Brian’s comments perfectly sum up my thoughts on Black Lagoon as a whole. For a series that claims to be action oriented, and to have a hardcore facade, it really lacked a whole lot of punch. One would at least expect the finale to have an appropriate amount of excitement. Not this series, however. Episode 23 was so miserably bad, I finished watching it 45 minutes ago, and I already can’t remember what happened. Episode 24 featured the showdown between Ginji and Revy, and dealt the finishing blow to the Yakuza group. The fight reached new levels of absurdity as Revy failed to hit Ginji at point blank range with two guns, numerous times. The fight was interspersed with the laughably bad philosophical waxing that I have come to associate with this series. I mean seriously, you guys, who actually talks like that? When it was all over, Revy and Rock hooked up, took a little vacation together, and then rejoined the Black Lagoon crew. In the very end Rock took up smoking. Oh wow, look at all the incredible character development! (Please not the sarcasm.) Overall, these two episodes were quite a boring affair, and the little action that was featured was so stupid, it was difficult to enjoy.
Black Lagoon suffered from a number of problems. 1.) Very little action, 2.) The action sequences were incompetently directed, 3.) The acting was atrociously bad, 4.) No character development, 5.) A lack of interesting/likable characters to which the viewer could become emotionally attached, and 6.) Inconsistent animation quality.
I think this series could have been good if two things had been done. Firstly, it should have been given to a competent action director. The last thing you want “spicing things up” is a zombie who lumbers around shooting bad guys who are so dumb they don’t shoot back, or even move out of the line of fire. Secondly, it should have been shorter. The many, boring, needless episodes could have easily been excised. If they had made this a 13 episode series, and focused on the maid arc, the counterfeiting arc, and the Yakuza arc, they could have used the budget to animate more exciting action sequences. Plus, the show would have moved ahead at a better pace. Instead, it meandered along with no real direction whatsoever.
For the life of me, I can’t really fathom why this show is so popular. I guess it’s because the female lead is hot, and there are a lot of guns. This is really the perfect series for gun otaku. The characters gush over different guns, and while this may make gun otaku horny and keep them interested, the rest of us have our eyes glaze over and we stop paying attention. I suppose if you don’t mind terrible acting (and let’s face it, the Japanese acting was godawful), no plot, no character development, and you like guns (but don’t mind that the guns are rarely fired), then Black Lagoon may be the series for you.
Fantastic Children ファンタジックチルドレン Eps. 23-24 April 28, 2008
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Warning! Spoilers abound!
Wow! There were a ton of revelations in this pair of episodes. Finally, every secret has been revealed. Looking back at everything now, it is quite easy to say that this series has an excellent, well-planned storyline. They clearly had planned out the majority of this stuff before the first episode aired. A story this intricate couldn’t have just been made on the fly. The coolest parts had to do with the true identities of Dr. Gherta, and real life scientist Dr. Conrad Röntgen, the discoverer of X-Rays. Of course, there was an obligatory revelation that showed us Tohma was actually one of Befort’s Children, as well. I’m sure everyone saw this coming a mile away, but it was cool, nonetheless. Why? Well, they kind of faked me out. I had expected him to be Soran, Tina’s lover, but he actually turned out to be the reincarnation of Sesu, the spurned ex-lover who murdered Soran. That was a great twist. How will it affect Helga/Tina when she inevitably finds out? The only thing that really bothered me, and has done so for the majority of the series, is this propensity for overly-long shots of the children staring ahead, shocked. They have their mouths agape, and they shiver and grunt similar to characters in Dragonball Z, who had just witnessed the most powerful attack imaginable. They do this way too often. Otherwise, I don’t really have any complaints. There are only two episodes left to go. How will it all end?
Gurren Lagann Live Dubbing April 18, 2008
Posted by BrikHaus in : Gurren Lagann , 1 comment so farHere’s a cool video featuring the cast of Gurren Lagann performing some of the best scenes of the series live. The twist is that they are doing some role switches, for example, Kamina’s voice actor playing Nia. Viral’s voice actor does an awesome GIGA DRILL BREAKER, as well. Even though there’s no subtitles, it’s a lot of fun, and you should check it out.
