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WHITE BASE WIRES
03.28.05
by
Matt McConnel
BY ALL
THAT'S HOLY!!!! IT'S BACK!!!!!
Samurai
Champloo
Distributed by Geneon
Rating:  
It seems
I only come out of the cloister when an anime either thrills
or disgusts me. Such is the case with Samurai Champloo. Go.
Buy. This. Now. I had been hearing rumors sloshing about since
its release in Japan under a year ago and lemme tell you dear
readers that the rumors are true: This anime rocks; well,
in this case, hip-hops.
Geneon
like a phoenix has risen from the ashes of Pioneer; that is
perhaps an unfair statement, but Pioneer never had a terribly
exciting pipeline (aside from their Dragon Ball franchise
rights), but now they have not only Champloo lined up but
also the new Appleseed as well as the follow-up series to
Sai Yuki. How hot can that be sports fans? Not only that,
but someone had the marketing stroke of genius to include
the soundtrack with the first volume of Champloo. We're not
talking a cheap-ass CD wedged into the slip cover with three
songs either. Full on, holds-no-bar jewel case with 17 tracks!
The whole package is well priced in the 25-30 range which
if you have been looking at the stores these days is a pretty
good deal retail-wise.
The story
follows three characters: Mugen, Jin and Fuu. Mugen is a deranged
womanizing and sword swinging lunatic while Jin is a quiet,
cool and precise ronin. Fuu is the glue (not to mention piss,
spit, vinegar and baling wire) that holds the trio together
as they search for her "samurai who smells of sunflowers."
Huh? Exactly. The series makes no pretence at seriousness
or even accuracy. The whole exercise reminds me of Tsukikage
Ran carried to new and illogical heights. Well, what did you
expect from the guy who made Cowboy Bebop?
Oh, did
I forget to mention the two words to send your hearts aflutter?
Shinichiro Watanabe. For this project he has stacked his deck
with some high powered names including the fellow who gave
us the disturbing animation sequence from Kill Bill Vol.1,
the pen behind Last Exile and the latest in Japanese hip-hop.
HUH?! Japanese hip-hop? Just as Bebop explored the jazzy back
beats of the clubs, Champloo delves the street beats. Being
the painfully white boy that I am, I cannot speak to its legitimacy,
but it sounds good and backs the style of the series very
well.
I have
only one complaint. In the dub, which is very good by the
way, many of the voice actors from the Bandai Bebop are used.
While this does lend continuity to Watanabe's work it begins
to make me feel uncomfortable. Most voice actors can alter
their sound just enough to make the character feel different,
but David Lucas (aka Steven Blum) has the horribly stereotypical
role of Mugen. He looks like Spike and acts like Spike on
a bender. Pity. Mr. Lucas has a very wide range which become
very apparent with a look at his CV. He was Wolverine in the
video game X-Men: Legends for pete's sake and he didn't sound
like Spike. The man has tremendous range and it is a pity
the voice over director did not let him explore it.
Ghost
in the Shell: Innocence
Rating:
So pretty.
So very pretty. Too bad it can't hold up to its predecessor
nor the spirit of the manga. Ghost in the Shell: Innocence
picks up where the first movie left off but so far skews from
the main line created by the two manga collections and first
movie that it is a wonder that Shiro has not gone postal.
Basically,
Mamoro Oshii is far too infatuated with the animation to pay
attention to the story. Yes, long shots of little to no dialogue
or camera cuts are the norm in anime and Japanese filmmaking,
but in a movie that clocks in at an hour forty, I would swear
to you that there is little more than an hour's worth of dialogue.
In the first iteration of the anime the long shots were worthwhile
to some degree; the techniques were innovative and interesting.
But unfortunately for Oshii, many of the tricks he uses we
have already seen in recent anime but moreover in The Animatrix
and Final Fantasy: Spirits Within.
The story
picks up more or less where the first Ghost left off and tacks
on an episode from the manga. Batou and Togusa must find out
why sexaroids have been going insane and killing their owners;
of course, anyone who has read the manga already knows the
answer to the tomiliand question and can go about their business.
Oshii feels it necessary to bring back old ghosts, forgive
the pun, however and… Well, that would be spoiling it. The
ending is slick, I will give it that, but all in all this
was not something I relished adding to my personal collection.
There
are beautiful moments in the movie that make you forget its
flaws, Batou's dog is absolutely incredible and the landing/into
to the Far North is just stunning. But after a while even
the beauty begins to wear on you in light of what is otherwise
a rather lackluster piece.
Matt's back, Jesse's around, and others wait in the wings.
Email Matt here.
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