Space Dandy - You're All Wrong, Baby!

Space Dandy was the most anticipated anime series of the winter season. And then it started airing.

And then anime fans fell on it like a ton of bricks. To which I say...

YOU'RE ALL WRONG, BABY!

Space Dandy is not only better than people have been saying, but it has the potential to rival Cowboy Bebop for one very simple reason, which I'll discuss below.

Space Dandy is about Dandy, a young man who catches aliens so he can register them at the Alien Registration Center and get the fee. His companions are QT and Meow.

QT is more or less a souped-up vacuum cleaner with additional robot abilities (as in - actually piloting the Aloha Oe, Dandy's ship, when necessary).

Meow, a dim-witted cat alien from Betelgeuse, does no work and slouches around like a teenager (but can run like a cat on all fours in an emergency).

The art design is beautiful and amazing. The animation production quality is first-rate. The series is currently at episode 8 (I'm one episode behind since I'm watching it on Funimation as a free subscriber) and has had several brilliant episodes already. Like episode 2, where Dandy and the crew search for the phantom space ramen, and find it in another galaxy on a barren planet with a single ramen stand run by an elderly alien with quite a story to tell.

And episode 4, where the crew transforms into zombies. And episode 5, the sweet story where Dandy takes the orphan Adelie to find her lost grandfather. And episode 6, where Dandy and Meow come across a planet engaged in a never-ending war between aliens who favor vests and aliens who favor underwear.

Space Dandy even has Admiral Perry as a character - an evil space American whose ship has the head of the Statue of Liberty on its nose!

There is one great thing and one unfortunate thing about Space Dandy.

The great thing is:

1. Shinichiro Watanabe is the director and creative force behind the series.

Shinichiro Watanabe was the director and creative force behind the classic anime series Cowboy Bebop.

And the unfortunate thing about Space Dandy is:

2. Shinichiro Watanabe is the director and creative force behind the series.

The fact that Shinichiro Watanabe is the director and creative force behind Space Dandy means that all the fans were expecting Cowboy Bebop from the outset.

I've only seen various episodes of Cowboy Bebop at conventions, but I'm going to guess that everyone's first reaction to episodes 1 and 2 was not, "OMG. INSTANT CLASSIC. WHERE DO I PRE-ORDER THE DVDS."

In other words, I'm saying - give Space Dandy some time. It's currently at episode 8 of what will obviously be at least a 24- or 26-episode series. There have already been a few episodes that I would consider classics. And we're still getting to know Dandy, Meow and QT.

Are there legitimate reasons to criticize Space Dandy so far? Yes, of course. Dandy is not particularly heroic, and there is (at this point anyway) no great goal that his character is trying to attain. The villain, Admiral Perry, seems ridiculous and not especially threatening. And Dandy, Meow and QT have all shown a disturbing propensity to abandon each other rather than stick with each other when things get tough.

But with so much going for it, and with a few really excellent episodes having aired already, can people just give Space Dandy the time and room to develop? It has the potential to rival Cowboy Bebop, it truly does - if people would just give it some time.

So I say to everyone who has already judged Space Dandy and found it sadly wanting...

YOU'RE ALL WRONG, BABY!

Just admit that you were wrong about Space Dandy.

You'll feel better. =D

Seiyuu Appreciation Day - The Stand-Ins

Anime News Network reported recently that seiyuu Banjou Ginga would replace seiyuu Ichiro Nagai, who recently passed away, in Nagai's role as Chairman Netero in HunterXHunter.

This reminded me of a few things. I recall hearing once that a certain casting director in Hollywood could remember the faces of literally 10,000 actors. She had to - it was her job.

I was also reminded of how Junko Minagawa replaced the late Tomoko Kawakami as Soi Fon in Bleach. I remember wondering at the time how Bleach's producers decided on Minagawa.

I would think they first thought of Minagawa as sounding similar to Kawakami (both were female seiyuu with low voices), and then had Minagawa audition for Soi Fon. And the same must have happened with Banjou Ginga replacing Ichiro Nagai. (Oddly, Nagai's roles in other anime series are being filled by different seiyuu. In other words, Ginga hasn't been hired to do all of them across the board.)

The voice casting directors in Tokyo must have 10,000 seiyuu voices memorized in their heads, ready to get a group of suitable actors together to audition in case the worst happens.

I recall watching the ludicrous (but enjoyable) Ixion Saga a few years back and recognizing Akira Ishida as the character Variation.

I was busy patting myself on the back for recognizing Ishida by his voice alone. However, when I looked at Ixion Saga's cast list, I got a big surprise.

It wasn't Akira Ishida - but Yuki Kaji who voiced Variation.

Kaji (also known as Eren in Attack on Titan) sounded a dead ringer for Akira Ishida as Variation in that series. I mean, he completely fooled me. It makes me wonder if anime casting directors keep a list of which seiyuu sound like other seiyuu - just in case of the unthinkable.

And then sometimes - seiyuu who sound similar present a different potential issue altogether.

In the long-running One Piece series, Hiroaki Hirata plays Sanji, one of the main characters. I've loved Hirata's rough masculine voice ever since I first heard him as Gojou in Saiyuki all those years ago.

But strangely enough - there's another seiyuu with an almost identical rough masculine voice to Hirata's - who also plays a main character in the same series.

Kazuya Nakai plays Zoro in One Piece. If you close your eyes and listen to Hirata and Nakai, their voices are almost exactly the same in terms of lowness of pitch, deepness, timbre and intonation and everything else.

I have to say I've heard Hirata and Nakai in numerous other roles, but I actually don't watch One Piece so I can't say when they're playing Sanji and Zoro whether or not they sound like each other. But judging from hearing their voices in other roles, it seems impossible that they wouldn't sound similar as Sanji and Zoro in One Piece. XD

So I wonder what One Piece's producers were thinking all those years ago when the show was being cast. If God forbid something ever happens to either Hiroaki Hirata or Kazuya Nakai, the remaining seiyuu will be unable to stand in for the other - unless they think no one will notice both Sanji and Zoro being played by the same seiyuu! :-O!

Happy Valentine's Day 2014

Levi (who only pretends he doesn't care ;-D) - wishes you a very happy Valentine's Day!

How to Do Darkness the Right Way

I prefer to keep things positive in this blog, but sometimes one can only express disappointment about an anime.

Samurai Flamenco started out as a lighthearted send-up of the superhero genre, with likable male model Masayoshi Hazama moonlighting as a pretend superhero who actually becomes a real superhero. Along with his buddy, straight-man cop Hidenori Goto, Hazama brought his innocent sense of justice to every crime and villain he encountered.

At the end of episode 7 however—all of that changed. A number of insane and fantastical creatures started to show up, beginning with a gorilla with a head-chopping guillotine for a stomach.

It turned out that all of these creatures were the minions of a secret powerful villain: King Torture.

The King Torture arc lasted from episodes 7-10, and rapidly divided the fans who loved it from the fans who hated it. I marathoned episodes 8-10, to my regret. The King Torture arc basically killed the show for me.

A reviewer on ANN discussed the King Torture arc, and the comments section shows how divisive the arc was for the audience (here’s the link if you’re interested: Samurai Flamenco - King Torture Arc Discussion).

I’ve said that I’ve been dropping more shows in mid-stream recently, but Samurai Flamenco gave me good cause to. Not only was the tone shift drastic and unforgivably dark, but the King Torture arc wasn’t entertaining or inspiring enough (by which I mean – of course Hazama and Goto wind up defeating King Torture so good eventually does triumph over evil – but their triumph comes too late to save some important characters in the story) to justify its existence in the storyline.

I’m a writer, so I understand and appreciate the need for storytellers to take risks. If the King Torture arc had been darkly funny, or brilliant in its set-up and payoff, or simply executed extremely well and integrated into the story overall as part of the Samurai Flamenco canon universe that you could accept as necessary—I would still be watching the series.

But not only was none of the above true, but the producers seemed to be presenting the arc for the one reason I can’t respect—for sheer ugly shock value. Because in the episode after that, Hazama simply started a new adventure arc, with a shonen Power Ranger-type team. In other words: the show just resumed its usual silliness. I stopped watching at episode 11, and from what I’ve heard the succeeding episodes haven’t been any better.

If you’re going to take big risks with a story, fine. Just respect the audience that’s been with you up to that point... if you want them to come along with you.

Speaking of dark stories – up until recently I stubbornly kept BTOOOM! on my “still watching” list on MyAnimeList, even though it’s been over a year since the series finished airing.

BTOOOM! is—despite its silly name—a dead-serious seinen drama. Set in the near future when people can send their enemies to a deserted island to play a vicious game of survival, BTOOOM! is dark and desperate from the outset.

Despite this darkness, moments of humanity shine through the muck from the main characters and others. And the story has numerous solid dramatic scenes and great payoff scenes.

I stopped watching it because too many scenes literally turned my stomach - but it's an anime worth finishing. I’m currently stalled at episode 8, and it’s only a 12-episode series. I don’t know when I’ll finish BTOOOM! but I know I will finish it, because the story is strong and none of its darkness is out of place or unexpected.

Finally, I’ve found a new winter series that does darkness, well... in a light and funny way.

You’ve never seen Hell quite like this!

Hozuki no Reitetsu is set in Hell, or rather—one of the hells. In this crazy universe, apparently there are several hundred different hells.

In the Asian Hell (I’m serious – there’s also Western Hell, Egyptian Hell, etc.), Great King Enma rules over all.

Unfortunately, Enma isn’t very smart, so he often turns to his Chief of Staff Hozuki to resolve the problems that arise in administering Asian Hell.

Hozuki is ultra-competent and handles every situation that comes his way with a terminal look of bored displeasure on his face. ;-)

Although there are a few dark aspects, Hozuki no Reitetsu handles even those in a light way. For example, there’s Animal Tormentor Hell where humans who tortured animals in life get attacked by small enraged dogs, cats and monkeys (kind of a justified hell in my opinion).

The art is gorgeous, particularly when Hozuki leaves Enma’s palace and goes out into Asian Hell. Every background looks like a woodblock print. The beauty of the art reminds me of Mononoke.

In episode 2, Satan, the ruler of Western Hell, pays Asian Hell a visit. Of course, his secret motive is reconnaissance for a future invasion.

As Hozuki shows him around, Satan is increasingly unnerved by Hozuki’s cool and ruthless efficiency. The final straw comes when he sneaks into Hozuki’s room and discovers Hozuki’s plan to cook and eat him.

Satan runs screaming back to Western Hell as Hozuki picks up his cookbook, noting that he’d misspelled a word. He meant "Santa," not “Satan.”

If you find the concept of Santa Claus being cooked and eaten in Asian Hell more funny than, well—not—you might give Hozuki no Reitetsu a try. =D

Sekai-Ichi Hatsukoi Movie Preview!

The movie featuring Yokozawa and Zen Kirishima will be released in Japan on March 15!

And it looks like all six main characters from Sekai-Ichi Hatsukoi will play supporting roles! =D

Oh, to be in Japan.

Supporting the Industry - What I Did in January 2014

In January, I attended Anime Los Angeles and supported the industry by my registration fee, staying in the hotel block, purchasing sundries and eating at the hotel, and buying a few (very few) things in the dealer's room.

I got the above America keychain from Hetalia.

And the above Aomine keychain from Kuroko's Basketball.

It's sort of a tale of the licensed and the unlicensed. The Hetalia keychain is all packaged up, has the Funimation label and the copyright notice citing Hidekaz Himaruya/Gentosha Comics/Hetalia Project as the owners and licensors.

Whereas, the Aomine keychain was hanging bare on a mesh wall. LOL. It's well-made and all, but I doubt it's a licensed product. Um, sorry, Tadatoshi Fujimaki.

I asked one of the vendors why there wasn't any licensed Kuroko's Basketball merchandise. The answer I got was that no one had the license in North America and that importing the merchandise from Japan was cost-prohibitive, i.e., one couldn't make a profit on it.

There was a Kuroko's Basketball T-shirt made by a Japanese company featured on Crunchyroll recently that I would love to buy:

I went to the Japanese website (like I would even know how to order from there - all the text was in Japanese), and the shirt was sold out.

Alas, if the Japanese producers only knew how many Kuroko's Basketball fangirls would plunk down cold hard cash for some of their merchandise items. Maybe by Anime Expo this summer they'll have figured it out, and we'll see some KuroBas goodies in the exhibit hall then. =D