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WHITE BASE WIRES
2.17.03
by
Matt McConnel
Featuring
reviews of Hellsing,
Noir, and Hello Kitty
Hellsing
More info: Pioneer
Rating: 
Somewhere
on the continuum dodecahedron between Vampire Hunter D and
Cowboy Bebop you will find Pioneer's latest release, Hellsing.
The animation is slick, the story intriguing, and the overall
effect is more of a horror movie than of an adventure/action
anime.
There
are vampires in the world that cause pain, havoc, and destruction.
Nothing new about that, what is new is the Hellsing Organization,
a secret society founded by Dr. VonHellsing and carried out
by his family bent on eliminating vampires who would wreak
their twisted will on humanity. In this endeavor they are
aided by a vampire who carries a grudge against his fellows
that would advertise their presence to the world at large,
and who refuse to live, or un-live, with dignity. On one mission,
Arucard, encounters a young police woman who he is forced
to offer a choice to. Die, or become a vampire. Seras chooses
to forgo the daylight and joins Arucard and the Hellsing Organization.
But they are not alone, for there are others who hunt vampires
and are in direct completion with Hellsing, most notably the
Iscariots of the Catholic Church whose Paladins range over
the world killing vampires using blessed blades. Seras' introduction
to this world comes just as both factions face a rise in artificial
vampires, or living humans who have had some sort of chip
implanted in them that turns them into a vampire in all ways.
The story
makes two major points. One is the rivalry between the Protestant
Hellsing and the Catholic Iscariots. Just as Westerners tend
to Romanticize Eastern religion, so too do some Asians find
the mystical aspects of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam to
be compelling. To use Western religion as a plot device is
not new; Ganix used Judeo/Christian mythos to great effect
in Nadia and Evangelion. The name Evangelion in fact is the
Greek for 'good news', or 'gospel'. What Hellsing drives at
however, is the split between Protestant and Catholic. Granted
there are still divisions between the two sects, but rarely
is it as gratuitous, and certainly not between the Catholic
and Anglician churches, as the creators of Hellsing make it
out to be. Second is the relation of master and servitor.
Vampires create ghouls from people they have fed on, and when
one vampire creates another, that young vampire is bound to
their creator until that creator frees them. Similarly, Arucard
is bound in some way with the head of the Hellsing Organiation,
a rather effeminate, yet specifically non gendered individual
named Sir Integral Hellsing. The relationship seems at times
to be symbiotic, but at others, it is very obvious that Hellsing
is in charge, and Arucard is not a completely autonomous individual.
The animation
is good, very stylized to fit the horror bent. There are brief
flashes of gore, long establishing shots, and some truly disturbing
moments. Hellsing distinctly falls into the Beowulf category
of horror; you barely see Grendle, it is all in your head
until you get that brief glimpse of the real monster, and
it is all the more terrifying for it. There are brief inserts
of computer graphics that are really less than spectacular,
and even less than consistent. The voice acting is really
not that great in either English or Japanese. The Japanese
track suffers from stereotypical voices in all the primary
characters (manly, deep, and cold for Arucard, etc.) and the
English voice actors really do not go much beyond their Japanese
predecessors, although they do wallow in the cheesy lines
a little more. The only time the voice acting becomes decent
is when some of the supporting cast actually use British accents
when the character is British. Among the priciples however,
Arucard is doesn't have an accent, but Seras' is less than
convincing, and Integral's is flat as a pancake.
The real
star of the show is the music. The comparison to Cowboy Bebop
is not far of, as the music displays the same off kilter jazz/swing/funk
that made Bebop so much fun. In Hellsing the theory is taken
one step further, and various scenes are given fitting, or
horribly incongruous music. For example, there is an episode
which the Hellsing Organization is hunting two young punk
British vampires on a killing spree ala Bonnie and Clyde.
Their motif is bad punk music, while Arucard's is the easy
jazz/funk beat. When the two meet, the music seems to meld
until Arucard trounces the two and his music wins out. The
effect is subtle, but enhances the action and flow very well.
The totality
of Hellsing is a little disconcerting. On the one hand it
really is just a two bit vampire hunting anime, but on the
other it displays some real potential and intelligence behind
it. The fact that it has not quite decided to be a horror
or action series is a little disconcerting, but really doesn't
detract from the overall effect. The show is very watchable,
in small doses, and definitely bears some time to look at
it.
Noir
More info: ADV
Rating:
Noir is
many things; on the one hand it is a sexy action assassin
thriller with a fantastic soundtrack and a storyline that
keeps getting deeper, and deeper. On the other, it is a horribly
paced attempt by Japanese animators to make a series similar
to the European films like La Femme Nikita, The Professional,
or the colors trilogy. While it is difficult to see past the
odd, even poor, stylistic choices, Noir is still a worthwhile
watch for anyone who likes a good yarn, good animation, and
overall good production value.
The story
is more or less a straightforward set up. After a rather cryptic
intro, the assassin Mireille Bouquet is sent a message from
person(s) unknown containing the name and picture of a young
Japanese girl. When the two meet, the girl describes how she
woke up with amnesia and was then chased by men with guns.
She knows how to kill quickly, efficiently, and quietly but
does not know how. All she remembers is the word 'Noir'. The
only other clue is a computer with information on Mireille
and a pocket watch. Mireille agrees to help the girl, but
also promises her that when they find out the truth, one must
kill the other because they know too much about each other.
Each succeeding episode reveals more and more about the story
and the mystery just gets deeper. Whoever is out to get the
two women keeps sending them out on jobs only to betray them,
or working against them on their other assignments. Finally,
the enemy has a name, contained in a rather cryptic message,
but that just opens the mystery further.
The major
problem with Noir is that it tries to be a European film and
tries to convey a lot with meaningful looks, and tense moments.
Considering anime as a form is generally prone to this already,
the flashbacks and moments become repetitive and throw the
pacing off horribly. There is a scene that is repeat four
or five times before it is overtly stated what was happening,
even if the implication the first time is more than enough.
Re-capping the previous episode is also popular; understandable
for a weekly show, but the frequency is far beyond even this
requirement.
Noir is
the sort of anime you want to watch without much on your mind.
It stays a direct course and there is not much to trouble
you on the side: The captivating action more than makes up
for the otherwise poor pacing. The writing is alright, but
again it is the action that is the major draw.
Hello
Kitty
More info: ADV
Rating:
for the little 'uns
My mid
is going… I can feel it… Kitty… Kiiiiity… Kiiii… There really
is not much more to say about Hello Kitty's Paradise but that
it should only be viewed by those under, as the French would
say, 'a certain age'. The series is designed for a significantly
younger audience than most animation, and should not be mistaken
for anything but a show for the very young.
This is
not to say that Hello Kitty is a useless investment. It is
in fact a very slick little production, and one any television
network would be well advised to lay their hands on. The character
of Kitty is very probably the single most recognizable entity
in Japanese exported popular culture and while she is no Mr.
Rodgers the bent is to teach children and to do it in a fun
and friendly way. To the rest of us however, Kitty is sickeningly
cute and wholesome.
The stories
concern Kitty, her twin sister Mimmy and their parents. For
a series that purports to have so many friends, there are
surprisingly little, but this is really a side note, and not
the main thrust. The stories concern developmental issues
that all children deal with: manners, sharing, imagination,
etc. and are little more than quick excursions. The DVD boasts
no special features (a jiggle counter on this one would just
be disturbing) but they do not need to. The scene break down
is clean and the menus are well laid out. It is a very pleasant
package all together.
The episodes
are only about 10 minutes in length and are interspersed with
little bits called 'paradise fun and games' which are quick
little actives such as guessing shapes, connecting dots, and
number puzzles. While the division in animation is rather
jarring, from the traditional hand drawn pastels of the main
episodes, to the computer generated activities, it is a good
delineation of difference between the two.
There
really isn't much else that I can say on this one, it is a
show for kids, and unless you have some yourselves, it is
doubtful you will really enjoy the show. It is however, a
good show for kids, and while I would not rank it as high
as something hallowed like Sesame Street or Mr. Rodger's Neighborhood
it is certainly better and less horribly disgusting than some
other children's programming out there.
Matt
is our anime guru. Email him here.
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