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WHITE BASE WIRES
7.24.03
by
Matt McConnel
Featuring
Reviews of Sai Yuki and Sukeban Deka
SaiYuki
More info: ADV
Films
Rating:  
Based
on the same legend that inspired the DragonBall story, (not,
it is to be noted DragonBall's bastard son Z), Sai Yuki is
the modern telling of a humble monk who travels West with
companions in search of knowledge. The reason for the quest
has changed, as has the offensive capabilities of the monk
Sanzo. Ultimately, the differences are irrelevant in the face
of an ultimately disappointing offering.
Instead
of seeking sutras, Sanzo must travel west to discover why
demons, who up until recently had lived in relative harmony
with humans, are suddenly rising up in rebellion. The usually
factionalized demons are now apparently under the leadership
of one individual, the son of a demon king who was sealed
away eons ago. Now, the son has organized armies and someone
is trying to resurrect the king. To aid him, the beneficent
(and not entirely sane) goddess that governs the world sends
three companions with Sanzo. Gojyo, Hakkai, and Goku all have
their own problems, Hakkai and Goku are demons themselves,
and Gojyo is half of one. Despite this, and their constant
bickering, the party is a formidable force, and despite countless
assassins and obstacles thrown in their path, they continue
into the West to discover why the demon prince has risen up
in rebellion, and who would be mad enough to try to resurrect
the demon king. Meanwhile, the viewer is treated to little
snippets of the opposition, as well as the possible motivations
behind the revolt.
Unfortunately,
none of the characters, not even the villains evoke any real
sympathy. Sanzo is the most human and generally dynamic character,
but he has all the personality of a wet dish cloth. Everyone
is static, despite attempts to flesh out the characters with
side stories and introspective dialogue. On the subject of
dialogue, and I do not usually make a preference on this,
watch Sai Yuki in the Japanese with subtitles. The characters
are a lot easier to buy into when they are being cold and
distant when they are speaking Japanese than English. I suppose
French would also work, but while the American voice actors
are trying, they just can't pull off the icy distance that
the Japanese actors do.
The real
problem is however, the animation. There were choices made,
whether for artistic license or financial convenience that
greatly detract from the story. While the art is really quite
good, and the designs are original, there is little flow in
between. What I mean is, the animators have opted for that
peculiar manner of animating an action scene where the camera
jumps around a static frame again and again. Ideality this
builds the tension of the moment, but when one is seeing it
ever three minutes, and even not in an action scene, it becomes
repetitive, and ultimately annoying. Secondly, the deaths
are strange. When humans are killed, there is some trace of
blood, and usually shadows or silhouettes. Demons are engulfed
in a sphere of light and discorporate. So why would the choice
be made to have death be something that is not seen, or at
least, not humanized? Is it easier on the viewer perhaps?
If that is the case, they why is it that the characters are
so sin ridden? Vice of all sorts abounds with the group, from
drinking, cigarettes, to Gojyo's obsession with the ladies.
If they creators were going to go as far as they did with
the swearing, boozing, and wenching, then why didn't they
give us the killing?
While
the story has some merit, the animation just makes Sai Yuki
painful to watch in some places. It almost seems that there
was no clear sense of purpose in making the series, and that
the different aspects of production did their damndest, there
was something lacking in the final execution. The whole package
is really rather dispointing.
Sukeban
Deka
More info: ADV
Films
Rating:
I like
ADV's penchant for bringing their older titles out in DVD,
it shows a marked care for the history of the company's product.
And if they make a few bucks on the side, well, great. Granted,
not everything ADV produced on the way up is as stellar as
some of their more recent offerings, but it is still gratifying
that they go back into the anime cellar, and bring out a little
vignette once in a while. Sukeban Deka is one of these. While
it is hardly a classic, and for that matter not even very
technically good, it nevertheless is an enjoyable diversion
with a hint of nostalgia.
Saki is
in prison, for reasons that are never entirely clear, but
she is offered a chance to not only get out, but to redeem
herself. The police need a covert operative in the exclusive
private high school Saki was a student at, and they want Saki
to go back. They blackmail her into the job by holding her
mother's death sentence over her head, and give her a badge
in the form of a super yo-yo that also serves as her weapon.
Soon Saki is up to her stylized eyebrows in the plots of three
evil sisters and their politically powerful father. At her
side are two unlikely allies: the assistant principle that
put her into prison, and a transfer student who has fallen
head over heels with her.
There
really isn't much of a plot here, it is really more of an
excuse for some really nice action sequences and very nice
animation. The character designs are clean, the backgrounds
are antiquated, but still good. The voice acting is standard,
there really isn't anything to distinguish any of the language
tracks from each other. It is all pretty melodramatic stuff
really.
I am honestly
not sure why I like Sukeban Deka. It has all the hallmarks
of bad anime that I generally pan. Maybe it is the nostalgia
trip and the fact that the animation for some reason reminds
me of Masumune Shiro. It shouldn't, but it does. The disc
is a romp, little else, and it is gratifying to have one disc
instead of two VHS tapes, but still, this is one I would pull
from the bargain bin, but probably not new.
Matt
is our anime guru. Email him here.
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