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Sep 18, 2013
If Interstella5555 was supposed to be an AMV, then I think that it is one of the most original, most gripping, and the most stand-alone AMV to date in terms of story, and if anything, if AMVs are supposed to have a plot of its own, then it holds recognition for being the best of them all. It was created in 2003 as a visual realization of Daft Punk's second album Discovery under the supervision of Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, the duo that make up Daft Punk itself, and directed under Leiji Matsumoto, an acclaimed director who formerly directed space opera anime like
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Space Battleship Yamato, with whom the duo claim as their childhood hero.
If you see an anime associated with a music album, you should be probably expecting an AMV of sorts with some scenes from the original anime. Interstella5555 begs to differ in that it presents a story for the album, not to mention it has an original story that has most likely had the album follow its themes, and yes it did right, but we'll talk about that later. Basically its all about an alien band being abducted by an evil human manager, and the struggles they face in order to defeat the managar (even though they are purely band members for that matter). Abducting humans is one thing (and quite an overused trope I tell you), but aliens abducted by humans? Now that's cool to see if not original. Also take note that this anime has no dialogue. Its like a variation of the silent movie type, not to mention it has minimal sound effects heard all throughout the movie, so all you gotta see and hear are people moving and hearing only Daft Punk's soundtrack in the background. Amazingly though, this doesn't even deter the anime in the slightest, since the execution of the plot is quite straightforward yet excellent in approach, and the apparent integration of memorable themes found usually in space operas like the romanticism of noble sacrifice and remembrance of fallen friends is quite emphasized to a degree here. Also, the ingenuity of the plot to integrate plot twists out of nowhere is quite high-leveled that it's quite safe to say that it can be compared to other great anime movies out there with exciting plots, though it can also be said of plot devices that can be found in Interstella5555 that also pop out of nowhere and give a rather irrational justification to the story.
Daft Punk's influence is quite heavy in this anime, since they are the producers and with which the anime gets to be an outlet for advertising their second album, and vice versa. Their famous electronic (and heavily auto-tuned) song 'One More Time' served like an opening salvo and from thereon, tracks from the second album like 'Digital Song', 'Something About Us', 'Face to Face' and 'Aerodynamic' roll in one by one. You can't help but notice that each song serves like a theme or as an appropriate BGM for the scene, and this is one of those good points that Interstella5555 excels at.
It is the characters of Interstella5555, however, that seems lacking in the movie, since we know for one fact that they don't have any dialogue here whatsoever, and thus the lack in depth for the characters. This however was luckily overshadowed by the fact that the music alone served the purpose of subtlely integrating an atmosphere over the scenes, thus relaying to the audience how this scene should act out even with just the characters moving around without so much as even a sound effect.
I honestly can only say a little about the animation, since its really been generated to look like one of those pre-2000 standard fare space opera anime, even so, the animation was crisp and clear enough, and the character designs on Earth were highly reminiscent of the '70s and '80s attire of most singing idols we know today in detail.
Well, talk about luck, having discovered this great piece of an anime in such an unlikely place like Youtube, not to mention in one of those 'purportedly crappy' Billboard tracks. One of my mottos in life was: "You'll find great things in life if you know where to look", and this anime proved to me that I am just an insignificant mole in an already expanding universe of ideas, and they're just there for the picking, it's only just a matter of finding and trying.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 20, 2013
Responsibility, when thrust upon you as sudden as lightning, could be at times life-changing indeed, and reflects how much you have to improve yourself for the sake of accomplishing a goal, or in the case of Otaku no Musume, sacrificing your desires in exchange of a lifetime commitment, that is, taking care of a child of your own blood. Given the success of Usagi Drop, many manga with child upbringing themes followed suit (e.g. Papakiki, Aishiteruze Baby), considering the many situations that'll happen when your responsibility as an adult takes precedence over others, and what do you know, they became popular too, and so is
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the same with this manga.
Otaku no Musume is a manga by author Sutahiro and was completed in 2011 with 63 chapters and 11 volumes in all. At first glance, Otaku no Musume would remind any reader of Usagi Drop, which is pretty popular especially among slice-of-life fans, because of its similar themes. Funny thing is, Otaku no Musume takes parenting to new heights as it somehow combines the themes in Usagi Drop coupled with adult characters that resemble those of Genshiken. Yes, almost all adults here are otaku, and when there's a young kid suddenly mixed in among the crazy tenants, its sure is gonna be one hell of a chaotic household!
The story follows Kanau Yukimura, an innocent and cute 9-year old girl who is meeting her father for the first time in her life, after her mother sent her to him after being neck deep in debt. Turns out her father, Kouta Morisaki, is one hardcore otaku, with his apartment room filled with anime figures and hentai doujins. Not to mention that the apartment named Higansou is filled with otaku tenants too, ranging from the long-nosed lolicon Chihiro (Kanau's nemesis!), mangakas Haruka and Sousuke-sensei, the lovely highschool landlady Taeko, to the Nagatos, the 'invisible' hikikomori (shut-in) family of four. You just can't help but laugh at the situation that poor Kanau is in itself, adding to that Kouta's world having turned upside down because first of all, he doesn't even know that he had a child from his former love interest in high school.
The story at first follows the usual gamut of otaku comedy, slapstick, and of course references, with an even funnier omake at the end of each volume, however what sets this apart from the usual run-of-the-mill comedy is that it has its own serious side, and it is delivered in that it approaches the failures of bearing responsibility at a realistically parental level, at times even in-your-face. Plot twists abound with each revelation, and the manga ends at quite a plot twist that no one even expects, and the foreshadowing of the events preceding the ending are very subtle yet so intricate (with the exception of one minor flaw in it), it's almost unbelievable, and to date it is one of my favorite endings for a comedy manga.
The characters have been well developed thanks to well-executed flashbacks and of course dealing with the real world thanks to Kanau's intervention. Most important of these is having Kouta come to grips with his world totally changing with the arrival of Kanau, and somehow accepting all of the responsibility as a father in the end as he grows attached to a daughter he hasn't even seen before. The other tenants of Higansou, having become attached to Kanau as time goes on, have opened up to her despite their hikikomori tendencies, and at times tell about their interesting backstories. Likewise even Kanau has somehow accepted the people around here to the point that she even goes together with them to Comiket twice a year, watch anime and say her opinion on it, and cosplaying too.
I could say little of the art though, apart from me noticing that it's inconsistent at times especially when they are viewed at a different angle. Other than that, it depicts their actions accurately especially during slapstick moments, along with their hilarious expressions.
All in all, it's been quite an enjoyable experience with Otaku no Musume for me, having laughed my lungs out in the middle of the night, and got teary-eyed when it almost reached the end. Having said this, It'll be justifiable if I place Kanau among the ranks of Kaga Rin and Ushio Okazaki as one of the child characters in anime and manga that tugged at my heartstrings, and for me, at the very least, giving myself pointers for my probable future as a parent.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 15, 2013
Ah, that feeling of boredom eating away at you when you have godlike stats in your game. Or just passing any test in school with no sweat. That's what Saitama, our protagonist in this action shounen manga, similarly felt when all of his enemies, big or small, fast or slow, all fall down, or worse dissipate into thin air, with one punch. Yes, 1 punch is all it takes, and thus the title of this manga. Worse of all, he is being underestimated because of his mundane looks and attire, like some crappy '80s superhero in tights. It doesn't even help that he joins an
...
organization of heroes who look down on him too. And thus we follow his story of looking for his best contender in the whole universe!
At first one may be put off with Saitama's character design because of his looks, to some it may be enough to detract themselves from reading this manga, and his looks greatly contrasts with his newfound sidekick Genos, a white-haired bishie cyborg with equipment that can rival Iron Man's who wants to be trained under Saitama's tutelage, as well as other heroes and villains who have way too cool designs and gadgets with them. But this is okay, because it is compensated by the great variety of designs, and even the details of their hands are different.
As for the characters themselves, you can't help but feel for Saitama, who even though strong, is left with a boring superhero life. Genos' development is such that he realizes his cyborg body may not be enough to defeat all those who stand in his way, and thus he strives to improve himself as Saitama's sidekick, much to the master's chagrin. Villains though are cliched, and are rather made to prove that Saitama overpowers them in a match. Even so, their interactions with each other are hilarious, especially when Saitama knocks them out.
All in all, the enjoyment factor is very high for a shounen manga, and albeit the battle scenes are quite short when Saitama enters the fray, the panels are very detailed to the point that one panel of their movement encompasses one page. Which brings us to what I think is a minor problem here. I don't know if this is one of the mangaka's quirks but detailing one page with only one movement frame of the character could slow down the pace of the manga indeed, in fact in one scene it took 2 chapters to finish one villain, and with one punch too. Nevertheless, if this is intended by the mangaka, I think it is really original for such a medium.
Anyway, if you're into action shounen, then Saitama's antics will make your day complete! Not to mention sympathizing with him when he feels down as his day comes to an end knowing he didn't met yet his rightful rival.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 5, 2013
Ok, so pretty much everyone here knows or even heard of Hataraku Maou-sama right? The one where the Demon Lord is transported the the human world and forced to live among the society of humans. Well, Saint☆Onii-san is pretty similar to HM, only that instead of a demon lord, we've got religious icons living their daily lives in the human world (disguising as ordinary citizens as part of their two-month vacation from their holy duty), and those figures are Jesus and Buddha.
Yes, you've heard right. That Jesus. And that Buddha.
Kinda sounds like a scene coming from the song One of Us by Joan Osborne if
...
I say so myself. And upon seeing this OVA (2 episodes, one episode for now), it made me laugh so hard and said to myself, those religious zealots screaming blasphemy will be having a field day upon seeing these, and that could be annoying. Well, sorry for them, but this anime preaches nothing but pure fun and hilarity.
In fact, this anime basically answers: What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us, Just a stranger on the bus, Trying to make His way ho - er, damn, I just sang that song. Funny thing is, they are roommates in an apartment managed by Matsuda-san the strict landlady. Even more funnier is the fact that two of the most revered religious figures in history are scared shitless of her! The scenes usually shift from Matsuda-san's perspective to the two 'foreign men', but usually most of the screentime is allocated to Matsuda-san, who in all honesty, suspects the two as anything but ordinary foreigners renting and sharing a room. Its understandable, because since they boarded there, strange things have happened. Like Jesus' unintentional miracles (levitating much?) and Buddha's godly charisma (it literally glows!). Hilarity ensues when she scolds them afterwards!
That said, this light-hearted anime should not be taken seriously and in all honesty, parodying the daily lives of religious figures is quite novel in itself, if not daring. So enjoy this nice addition to this season's to be watched anime, and at the end of the day, you'll be wondering if Joan Osbourne's song influenced the author into writing this funny piece of a series.
Welp, looks like I just made my first ever review, lol. Thanks for reading!
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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