Forum - View topicDoctor Who: The Anime.
|
Goto page 1, 2 Next |
| Author | Message | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
|
|||
|
I was perusing Topless Robot last night (it's my new favourite site; thankyou Rob Bricken for introducing me to it). And as I was looking through the various pages, I stumbled across this entry. It highlights the recent work of one Paul "Otaking" Johnson, who as you may recall did this documentary on Anime fansubs. Say what you like about his disdain for modern Anime, he still knows his classics. He's making a Doctor Who Anime short (Third Doctor) all by himself. And though it isn't finished, from what has been done it looks like it will be great.
So sure it has him in an alleyway beating up thugs with martial arts, and meeting an airheaded and scantily-clad gun-toting redhead. But it also features Daleks (a fleet of them) and their Emperor, the Cybermen (stronger than the ones in the new reboot), and some of the poor humans caught in the crossfire. It also sports the Master, and a cool swordfight between him and the Doctor on Tokyo Tower. The main purpose of this post is to bring attention to it. The video was put up on YouTube ten days ago, yet I don't remember anyone here having talked about it. However, now that you know about it, I would love to hear what you think of it. Do you think it is any good (especially considering it is the work of a single man), and should Doctor Who be turned into an Anime in the first place? Feel free to comment, but please keep to the rules. Or is that "Teh Rules"? Hah. For me personally, like I said it looks great. Some of the lip flaps are off, but it is but a minor complaint. I am really excited that not only the Daleks are there (you can't have Doctor Who without Daleks; not for long), but also the Cybermen and the Master. The choice of the Third Doctor is interesting; I haven't watched much of the original run, so I cannot really say if he is true to character or not. I also liked the dialogue, especially the Brigadier who complains that there aren't any aliens susceptible to bullets. As to whether or not there should actually be a Doctor Who Anime, I am firmly in the "absolutely" camp. I've always wanted to combine my enthusiasm for Doctor Who with my love of Anime. Provided I know the story and characters will be faithful to the series (and with Otaking being decidedly old-school I think that is a given), I am all for it. Perhaps if this short is popular, it may convince an Anime studio to make an adaptation. As to the question of whether Japanese can do British humour, I believe it is possible to utilise the best aspects of both cultures, if the studio is willing to splurge on the money (a hard ask in these times I know). Anyway, those are my views, so once again I invite you to share your own. Cheers. Last edited by dtm42 on Wed Feb 18, 2009 10:00 pm; edited 1 time in total |
||||
|
||||
|
Sam-I-Am
Posts: 121 Location: Midwest US |
|
|||
|
A promising looking project, obvious questions of copyright aside. I found it interesting that he seems to be using audio clips from the classic series to provide most of the voices of the recognizable characters. I personally like the look of the mecha-cybermen - much better than the tin foil and dryer hose costumes used in the originals.
The local public broadcasting station used to run the old Who, but they'd start with Tom Baker, run through Sylvester McCoy, and circling back to T. Baker, so I'm not as familiar with Hartnell/Troughton/Pertwee. The anime version does seem a bit more physically violent than the originals - yes, the Doctor was perfectly willing to throw a punch, but only after other alternatives had been exhausted. More curious to me is naming Davros as a 'Dalek Emperor'... 
The BBC has been doing some of their own official animated series, links here and here. The first is a streaming page with three different stories available, the second link is a story about 'The Infinite Quest', featuring David Tennant's Doctor. 'Quest' is out on DVD in both the UK and the US. The streamed stories are of limited visual quality, more a high end flash animation than the flowing lines and muted colors of a typical anime show, but at least they're experimenting with the form. |
||||
|
||||
Sentire
 Posts: 981 |
|
|||
|
I have always been a sci-fi fan, and Doctor Who is a classic. Interesting prospect, isn't it? I believe Doctor Who would translate well into an anime series. Looking back at the series (I'm recalling the fourth doctor in the 70's, played by Tom Baker), each episode felt complete - it told it's own story, while contributing to the larger story-line (i.e. enter the Daleks.) This would do well at capturing and holding the viewer's attention.
Paul "Otaking" Johnson did a very good job on this short video. The only thing I have a little doubt about are the fight scenes. The Doctor is innately a pacifist. Usually he would avoid brawls - try to escape before having to fight or try to reason with the aggressor. Although I am more familiar with the fourth Doctor (and more recent Doctors)... not the third. So out of curiosity, I looked into the third Doctor's character a bit more. From what I read, he was a user of Aikido, and would physically defend himself, but only when diplomacy and reasoning didn't work. Even then, it would be to disarm the enemy, not kill or knock unconscious. I think it would best to stay faithful to the character of Doctor Who, but it would be a challenge to still keep the fight scenes dramatic and interesting. I'm sure if Mr. Johnson were to pull it off, it would be a great anime series. |
||||
|
||||
|
dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
|
|||
Hmmm, copyright issues would be interesting. But I don't think Otaking is planning on making a profit on it, so copyright wouldn't really matter (unless it is so good the license-holders want to market it themselves, and they wanted his permission to use his work). I'm not really up on copyright law though, so I could be dead wrong. Those Cybermen sure do look awesome. There are things you can do in animated form that you cannot do with a T.V. series on a budget, and one of them is decent fight scenes. Instead of the putt-putt blasters of the reboot (which along with the movie is sadly the limit to my direct experience with the franchise), we get Cybermen willing to throw a car on top of a Dalek. Did I detect fear in the second Dalek's voice? I am kicking myself for forgetting that Davros was their creator; must have been a "brain fart". Thankyou for the links; I didn't know that they had already made an animated series, however short. I don't know if the DVDs are in New Zealand yet, but I'll be sure to keep an eye out for them.
Tom Baker is the best-known Doctor (in the States at least, so I've heard). So the choice of the Third Doctor is an interesting one; I wonder if Otaking chose him deliberately to bring attention to a lesser-known Doctor? Or perhaps Jon Pertwee was simply his favourite actor; I don't know. Perhaps the Third Doctor's disarming methods (as opposed to knocking assailants unconscious) came not just from his character but from limitations with what action they could include? This is mere speculation I'll admit, so feel free to shoot it down. We know that Anime is a tad more, ahem, "unrestrained" when it comes to action and violence than live-action equivalents. It is not unrealistic to assume that Otaking is trying to fuse Anime sensibilities with a Doctor Who story. I don't know if it will work, but as an Anime fan I think it is safe to say that I will be forgiving if he doesn't get the balance quite right. Even the red-head doesn't bother me (she has to be the biggest inclusion of Anime sensibilities after the increased violence). I guess in the end my biggest gripe with this is that it will be too short. I can't see him going past half-an-hour, which is the same timeframe as Voices of a Distant Star, another work made largely by one person. I want a series, not just a short that makes me salivate over the possibilities and then promptly ends. As I mentioned in the opening post, if this is well-received it could encourage a studio to make an adaptation. I mean, The Count of Monte Cristo was made into a first-class Anime. So there is hope. Last edited by dtm42 on Thu Feb 19, 2009 4:53 pm; edited 1 time in total |
||||
|
||||
|
Sentire
Posts: 981 |
|
|||
Tom Baker is the one I know the best, but that's probably because of my age. From what I can tell, the first two Doctors didn't respond physically to their aggressors... maybe Mr. Johnson picked the 3rd Doctor so that he can incorporate some fight scenes into his video. I would be "forgiving" as well if an anime series didn't exactly mimic the TV series. What would be important though is to still stress the pacifist side of The Doctor. The viewers would need to see that The Doctor took no pleasure in using physical violence and that it was the last avenue The Doctor had to take. Something as small as facial expression would be important here. I agree with you as well that a series would be necessary - this couldn't be just a 30 min short. (At least to take advantage of the full potential, and do it justice.) |
||||
|
||||
EricDent
 Posts: 997 Location: Georgetown, TX |
|
|||
|
I have seen a few of the Pertwee episodes on PBS in the past, and like what I see in the short. However even his Doctor was pretty much a pacifist, so he probably would not go around picking fights with random street thugs. Though he did use the "Venusian Judo" a couple of times.
Also like most of the other people here, I am more familiar with the Tom Baker incarnation of the Doctor. Since Mr. Baker is still with us, he could at least voice the character for a longer show if need be. Plus Pertwee's Doctor was pretty much stuck on Earth the whole time, thus we would not see too many uses of the famous TARDIS, or strange locals on other worlds (which could be really cool in an anime setting). Of course if need be, they could get a younger actor who also played the Doctor to do the voice. Anyways, this is pretty cool, and I hope it goes well. Just hope the BBC does not try to raise a stink if it garners interest... |
||||
|
||||
eyeresist
 Posts: 995 Location: a 320x240 resolution igloo (Sydney) |
|
|||
Classic Who stories took place over 4 or 6 half-hour episodes, none of which would stand alone. Although there were recurrent characters, arcs playing over several smaller stories didn't come in until Peter Davison was the Doctor (notably the Key of Time arc).[/nerd] |
||||
|
||||
Ian K
 Posts: 250 |
|
|||
|
Wow.
Can't say I care much for some of the character designs (especially the female ones), but that's still pretty darn cool. |
||||
|
||||
|
dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
|
|||
Yeah, it does have a unique style, but that it to be expected. After all, it was made by one man, so he doesn't have to conform to the styles of other animators. Which does mean his designs look very strange to us; most of the Anime we watch are very homogeneous visually, so a different look is unusual. I will say that the clothes that red-head is wearing are pretty insane; only in Anime I guess. That said, I'm glad you think it's cool. I cannot wait for it, even if it is only going to be short. |
||||
|
||||
Zin5ki
 Posts: 6680 Location: London, UK |
|
|||
|
The animation was certainly of a notable quality, but perhaps (as has been mentioned) the fact we see him fighting would only be appropriate if such a brawl turns out to be very brief and unavoidable.
Since I cannot bear any 2005+ Who, chiefly due to the characters, I'm at least satisfied that the appearance of this Doctor is a little more reminiscent of that of the Retro eras. That said, I was more than happy for the franchise to remain in the past before it became 'down with the kids' once more. Any new material just doesn't feel as homely as Baker wandering around a wobbling set. |
||||
|
||||
|
Sentire
Posts: 981 |
|
|||
|
||||
|
||||
Emerje
 Posts: 7390 Location: Maine |
|
|||
For me I think the character design issues are due to the disjointed sense of time. A '70s Doctor, '80s frame rate, 90's female character designs, and '00s setting. Still, for a one man project it's very impressive. He's no Makoto Shinkai, but who is? Emerje |
||||
|
||||
wedgeofpie
 Posts: 20 |
|
|||
|
Wow.
Thats quite the take on Doctor Who I must say. I wouldn't mind seeing the finished project, if only for an excuse to see more of thsi over the top loopiness applied to the Who universe. I'm glad he chose the 3rd Doctor. Here in England at least I can say that John Pertwee is very well known and fondly remebered as one of the greatest of the timelords incarnations. As enthusing it is to see this kindly english gent let loose with an insane display of martial arts, it goes a bit beyond what you come to expect from the Doctor. He was always pretty limber and others like Tom Baker and Christopher Ecclestone were much more physical in their approach, but his one true weapon has always been his mind. Well, that and the sonic screwdriver. Cybermen throwing cars at Daleks is all good though man. I need to see more of that. 
Davros did on one occasion present himself as the Dalek Emperor. In the story Remembrance of the Daleks he appeared on the bridge of the Dalek flagship in the same orb shaped module and referred to himself as the Emperor until the Doctor guessed his true identity. Props to including Lethbridge-Stewart as well. The man is a legend. |
||||
|
||||
|
eyeresist
Posts: 995 Location: a 320x240 resolution igloo (Sydney) |
|
|||
|
I finally got around to watching this.
It's an impressive achievement for one guy. I thought the subway dalek sequence was particularly convincing. However, he makes a mistake in reducing Doctor Who to an action show (like the rebooted series). A better approach would be to make the Doctor like Vash the Stampede or Captain Tyler - an unpredictable oddball who's smarter than he looks, and definitely an alien. The more generic action hero approach doesn't really interest me, and it's not in keeping with the best qualities of the show. |
||||
|
||||
|
dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
|
|||
I disagree, partially. While I too wonder about the large action content, part of that "comes with the territory" of adapting it into an Anime. Besides, as I mentioned before, one of the factors that may have made the Doctor such a pacifist may have been the limited budget and tight schedule preventing the production crew from inserting decent fight sequences. With no such limits in non-commercial animation they can do far more with the action. I've often dreamt of what it would be like if real alien killing machines fought one another; there wouldn't be any "putt putt" energy guns, that's for sure. And a 900-year-old alien, for all he is interested in - and fascinated by - humanity, probably wouldn't put up with a few punks who are foolish enough to try and interrupt him (let alone rob him). And making the Doctor an oddball like Vash wouldn't go down very well. While both characters have tragic pasts, Vash mostly struck me as a man-child obsessed by his past, while the Doctor seemed like an old "man" trying largely to forget his past and make himself anew. Most of the humour Vash displayed probably would fall flat when applied to the Doctor. Though the Doctor may act silly or manic at times (especially in the reboot), there was always something else lurking inside him, something dark and dangerous. Forcing Vash's naive morals and carefree personality onto the Doctor would be a big mistake in my eyes. Since I've never seen The Irresponsible Captain Tylor, I cannot talk about how good a fit he would be. Don't get me wrong, I know what you were trying to say. I too do not want the Doctor to be just an action hero. I am saying that an animated portrayal is able to up the action significantly, so why not seize the opportunity to render such foes as the Cybermen and the Daleks as strong and as terrifying and as brutal as they can be. And with regards to the Doctor's personality, making him an oddball to the degree that Vash is wouldn't be doing his character justice, in my opinion. I can only hope that the footage Otaking showed us was deliberately heavy in fighting to get us salivating, and that the entire short is not just twenty-five minutes of action and a scantily-clad girl. Of course, with such a short runtime I don't see how we can get a decent plot out of this. But do we really need a plot? So long as I can watch the Cyberman and Daleks pounding one another, and what looks to be a slick sword-fight on Tokyo Tower, my "right brain" doesn't really care about a plot. The Daleks are sociopaths, the Cybermen are emotionless, the Master is evil, and the Doctor is the only person who can save the human race. So what I'd rather have is not plot so much as characterisation. No-one's expecting much depth out of something so short, but the characters should at least be quirky, interesting and memorable. Tough to do, I know. But I believe the true success of the project hangs not on cool fights or an elaborate plot, but focusing on the cast. People may (and will) watch it for the fights, but they'll love it for the characters, if they are done properly. You are right eyeresist in that the Doctor has never been a generic action hero. I hope he wins by use of his intellect rather than by brawn. Phew, that was longer than I had intended. But well worth it. |
||||
|
||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group