Errinundra's Anime

It starts of with a breathtaking scene of buildings toppling domino style in Shanghai then moves into an aerial sequence amongst the skyscrapers of a future Roppongi Hills district of Tokyo. Among the other great set pieces are a B2 attack and nuclear destruction of Dubai and a disarming of an ICBM as it flies over Europe and North America. In between these brilliant sequences are the usual Kenji Kamiyama lengthy spoken expositions and altogether too easily obtained answers to plot conundrums. But, really, everything is just an excuse for the 3D visual pyrotechnics that are easily worth the admission price. Full marks to Kamiyama keeping the over-the-top gleefully destructive tone of the two 1960s films, Cyborg 009 and Cyborg 009 and the Monster Wars. Like the end of the Kamiyama’s Eden of the East TV series, 009 Re:Cyborg leaves many of the central questions unanswered: it's a frustrating tease, leaving the way open for a sequel.

Extended review

The protagonist - the amnesiac Akira Takizawa - has a charismatic personality, although it takes a couple of episodes to grasp his worthy intentions and a little longer to appreciate his strength of character. The point of view character - cutesy Saki Morimi - has little bearing on the story, other than to speak glowingly of the protagonist and express her faith in his trustworthiness when everyone else doubts him. She could be written out of the story without any significant change to the central premise and plot. Her role seems little more than ornamental but it fails even on that count because of her drab character design. Hers is not the only unappealing design. Director Kenji Kamiyama collaborated with Honey and Clover mangaka Chika Umino and the result is the unwelcome face faults and sentimental designs of Honey and Clover TV series. Chika Umino's character designs sit uncomfortably in Kenji Kamiyama's photo-realistic world.

In the tradition of Kamiyama’s own Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex productions, the plot thrives on unexpected developments and astounding reveals. Kamiyama isn’t afraid to think big – the future of Japan is at stake here – but the villains aren’t your typical fare and the heroes – including 20,000 naked NEETS – even less so. The big bad, Mr Outside, even has the grace to refrain from making an appearance – he may even be dead – a sure way to make him seem especially sinister. The series ends with the immediate threat defused but leaves plenty of mysteries to be dealt with in the subsequent movies.

Other than these developments along with some back story on Takizawa (which becomes more meaningful in the next movie) there isn't a lot else interesting going on in King of Eden. Putting Takizawa back in America (and losing his memories to boot) seem like a ploy inserted just to give the movie some initial momentum of its own and to create an emotional crisis for Saki. Both are remedied easily and in no way progress the important elements of the plot. If I were cynical I'd say the movie's primary function was to milk the popularity of the series.

The detail and the backgrounding are extraordinary without drawing attention to themselves. For instance, the displacement of the indigenous Yakoo culture by the comparatively modern Yogo is inevitable and poignant, but it isn't made into an ideological issue. The Yakoo even acknowledge the benefits of Yogoan culture. It's a modern reality in our own world, pariticularly if you live in a multicultural ex-colonial country like Australia, Canada or the US. The dilemma of the Yogoan drought mirrors our own approach to global warming. In fact, to an Australian, where drought is a normal part of life, Moribito has tremendous resonance.

Balsa, the shining star of the series, loses nothing in the re-watch. None of the other characters can hold a candle to her, although Tanda has his own endearing qualities. So capable yet caught in a situation she can only partly comprehend, she can be wilfully wrong and often fails to grasp the motivation of other characters. For instance, she never gets a complete handle on why Jiguro sacrificed so much for her - probably because she refuses to acknowledge how remarkable she is, something Jiguro understood from the start. Her design is spot-on: beautiful without being fetish fodder; realistically muscular without any hint of Kawajiri-type grotesqueness.

A special mention to the fight scenes. Normally, they are not a sigificant attraction for me in anime. I absolutely relished them here, even if they are relatively infrequent. The animation is simply superb. Not only that, but I found I was turning the volume of my stereo system right up to enjoy the sound effects. Never has the clash of steel sounded so thrilling.