|
Director Pantheon: Akiyuki Shinbo▲▼
|
Rating▲▼
|
| Detatoko Princess (OAV) |
Weak |
|
| Fireworks, Should We See it from the Side or the Bottom? (movie) |
Very good |
|
| Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha (TV) |
So-so |
|
| Maria Holic (TV) |
So-so |
|
It's frenetic, often surprising, the character designs range from exquisite to (intentionally) ridiculous, and there's gleeful viciousness aplenty. But, it's not terribly funny. And worse, the sado-masochistic relationship between Maria and Kanako quickly gets tiresome. To the show's credit, my response to the two main characters was equivocal: Kanako's stupidity and rampant libido meant that I often couldn't sympathise with her as victim; and Mariya was simultaneously and uncomfortably appealing and vicious. But, until the last two episodes (which are very good thanks largely to Father Kanae) there isn't much reward for all the effort being displayed. |
| Metal Fighter Miku (TV) |
Not really good |
|
| MoonPhase (TV) |
Not really good |
|
| (Le) Portrait de Petite Cossette (OAV) |
Decent |
|
Exquisite imagery, a startling soundscape and one of Yuki Kajiura's better musical scores must contend with a cryptic plot, loads of symbolism, and a cast that, while pleasing to the eye, is so homogeneous that it took me more than one viewing to figure out how many female associates and friends of the protagonist, Eiri, actually appear in the story. (I think it's five: the temple woman, the doctor, the food stall proprietor, the tarot card reader and his girlfriend.) And, if things weren't problematic enough already, a second Cossette turns up in a sort of coda. Akiyuki Shinbo's gothic psycho-horror is open to all sorts of interpretations, which is fine, except that none will be definitive and none will have any significance. But it doesn't really matter because it's the beauty of the anime that stands out. In an accompanying "making of" video that comes with the DVD, Shinbo explains that beauty was the most important thing to him as director. In that much, at least, he has succeeded; everything else comes across as either confusing or contrived. |
| Puella Magi Madoka Magica (TV) |
Masterpiece |
|
Writer Gen Urobochi, director Akiyuki Shinbo, series director Yukihiro Miyamoto and composer Yuki Kajiura have combined their talents to create a moving and satisfying appropriation of the once female targeted magical girl formula. Gen Urobochi has done a magnificent job of setting up a story propelled by a sequence of harrowing events and dramatic reveals that upend the viewer's expectations and that overturn normal conventions. All the threads come together elegantly and, despite the character shortcomings, surprisingly emotionally. Re-watching PMMM is a pleasure in itself - just seeing how taut, spare and significant every moment is. Over the course of the story the despair of the girls grows remorselessly and relentlessly. When Madoka finally makes her wish, even if it is the obvious one to make, and takes on a contract with Kyubey, the story's vision of hope amidst despair is inspirational.Another contributing factor to the anime's success is its visuals. Madoka's normal world has all the characteristic Shinbo/Miyamato stylisms: clean geometric designs, gorgeous architecture and a beauty that is somehow both coldly austere and ravishingly baroque. The abiding imagery of her world is that of enclosure and surveillance. Despite the precise elegance there is an undercurrent of menace. This is classical surrealism: in our "real" constrained world there are hidden portals to a different "surreal" world where another reality prevails and our emotions follow their own path. Once the characters enter the other world - the witch mazes - the former style, now seemingly ever so mundane, is transformed into a postmodern maelstrom of pastiche. It's supremely artificial but deliberately so and has two fascinating effects: it makes the witches' world completely ineffable to the girls and allows the creators to provide a running visual commentary on the events on screen and on the magical girl genre in general. It's all very clever and very ironic but, better yet, it's mesmerising to look at.
Yuki Kajiura does yet another spot on musical score. As with The Garden of Sinners her contribution makes the anime better than it might otherwise be and adds significantly to its the emotional impact. Happily it doesn't need to be the prop that it is in the much inferior Garden of Sinners.
Extended review
|
| Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie Part 3: Rebellion |
Good |
|
While Homura has her moments of awesome, Rebellion relies altogether too much on stunts, highly expressionistic visual effects and having our heroines strut their magical girl stuff to please the fans. It doesn't always work. If the gunfight between Homura and Mami is one of the most thrilling scenes in the entire franchise then both the quintet transformation scene and the cake song are interminable. Other than Homura, and unlike the series, the girls don't earn their appeal; the movie assumes we love them already and will be engaged regardless. Add to that a scenario that deliberately confounds the fans' expectations for a goodly part of the running time without developing the scenario to any great extent; and an explanation of events that requires some nutting out to comprehend fully then you have the ingredients for an alienating viewing experience. Unlike the TV series, which spent most of its run time in its coldly beautiful "real" world, the movie is set entirely within a witch's maze until Kyubey's isolation field is pierced ¾ of the way through. This makes for a lack of visual contrast, similar to Redline with its non-stop motor racing fireworks. There is little relief from the bombardment of surreal, expressionistic imagery. The effect is numbing. In the series the mazes were highlights, the one in the movie eventually becomes an ordeal.
Then, ¾ of the way through Rebellion has a major tonal shift. The film is instantly both ruined and redeemed. Ruined? Because, WHAT DID YOU GUYS JUST DO TO ONE OF THE MOST AWESOME HEROINES EVER IN ANIME? Redeemed? Because, for the first time the film is actually interesting. The internal dialogue at the heart of PMMM gets expression in the movie for the first time and it's a mightily interesting dialogue when all is said and done. Problem is, Rebellion isn't convincing. The artificiality of Homura's new universe undermines any expectation of its durability. I suppose that provides scope for one more iteration. The new universe is not only artificial, it's alarmingly unappealing. The supposed saviour, Homura, looks too silly to be a mature, self-aware adult; comes across as selfish rather than pragmatic; isolated instead of involved; and ultimately irrelevant to the future. Perhaps that explains her final, stupefying act.
Extended review
|
| Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko (OAV) |
So-so |
|
