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WHITE BASE WIRES
09.30.04
by
Jesse Strycker
[Editor's
Note: I met Jesse at a poker game. Seriously. He's a friend
of Shawn and the Daubs and digs anime. Welcome him to the
team!]
Cat
Soup
Company: Central Park Media
Rating: 
If one
was to walk into a restaurant and find Cat Soup listed on
the menu, it certainly wouldn't be odd to be a little confused.
That same confusion sets in when finding Cat Soup at the video
store mixed in amongst the latest mecha, samurai, and romance/comedy
anime. Title aside, the cover (at least the collector's edition
anyway) may also throw people for a loop, as two anthropomorphic
white cats peer out with large glazed eyes. Assuming you haven't
written it off as a Hello Kitty knock-off or send-up, nor
flinched away from empty stare of the cats, you're in for
something different when you sit down to watch it.
At the
home of a family of cats, Nyaako lays ill while the family
carries on. Only her little brother Nyatta notices that a
strange blue creature has come to collect her soul. Nyatta
follows them and manages to retrieve a portion of his sister's
soul and restores her to life, though she is now clearly lacking.
A simple trip to the store becomes and adventure to fully
restore Nyaako. It's at this point that the past oddities
are quickly left in the dust. The adventure includes a circus
that makes Cirque du Soleil look downright mundane, a desert
that hides aquatic animals, a gimpy sadist, and a visit to
the very gears of the universe.
The director's
description of this work as "experimental anime" couldn't
be more correct. While there are some recognizable anime moments
to be found, CS stays well away from the usual formula. CS
even eschews the typical look of anime (aside from the already
alluded to Hello Kitty), instead seemingly drawing more from
the surrealist movement and Bill Plympton animate shorts.
This makes for a visual combination that is both beautiful
and macabre.
For a
feature with no spoken dialogue, the sound and scenes have
that much more power. I'm not sure I'll ever hear popping
sounds or see a needle and thread in the same light ever again.
While there will be similar moments that will affect others,
there are a number of moments where people will collectively
wonder what exactly the creative team was on when they dreamed
them up. And if viewers can stand the somewhat dry director's
interview they will find the surprising answer.
This
is anime that will leave a lot of people stuck in the middle
of opinion, there's not really a basis for comparison, and
it's difficult to label as good or bad. Everyone will come
away from their journey with Nyaako and Nyatta with something
completely different.
NieA_7
Volume 1: Poor Girl Blues
Company: Pioneer/Geneon Video
Rating:
NieA_7
(yes the title really looks like that, even stranger, it is
pronounced Niea under seven) is a strange little anime whose
purpose is not immediately clear, but perhaps in later volumes
it becomes so. The story takes place in a time where aliens
are essentially everywhere. In a voice over we find that aliens
have been around so long, that once it was discovered, people
realized that very little had changed and went on with their
lives. This brings up any number of questions, none of which
are answered at this point. We do however find that there
is an alien hierarchy of pluses and minuses (or under as they
would say, Niea being an under seven ranks, or negative seven).
Not terribly helpful information, but heck at this point,
anything solid to work with is welcome.
In the
microcosm that is the setting, very few people seem to exist
and no real story line has been established. There are a variety
of long aerial shots that reveal a surprisingly empty city,
outside of a couple of locations. Niea is a freeloader on
a poor Mayuko, a poor female student who makes ends meet by
working three jobs and even then, she just scrapes by. Mayuko
rents a room in a building adjoining a bath house that her
family used to own before leaving for the country. While Mayuko
struggles on a daily basis, Niea is content to whine about
food and collect garbage for the mock UFOs she builds in the
tiny room they "share." The bath house is now run by a young
woman full of plans to improve business, an old lady that
is perpetually sipping tea, and a handy man with a strange
obsession/appreciation for fire. A rival alien of higher status
and an alien-loving classmate round out the main cast at this
point.
I would
like to say that something stood out about this anime, something
that hooked me into wanting to watch more, but I just couldn't
find anything. I'm not writing it off just yet, as I have
known several great series to start slow before hitting their
stride, perhaps this will be the same. There are some interesting
potential plot lines that could be pursued, but they have
only been hinted at for now. I am left at this point with
only a few thoughts: the main character has a greater sadness
to her than most main characters, Niea seems to be a poor
man's Ed (if you don't know the reference, hurry out and watch
Cowboy Bebop, I won't tell anybody this time), and the opening
song is one of the strangest things I have ever heard (that's
an old woman right?!?).
I have
read that this series has a number of people who also worked
on Serial Experiments Lain, which may explain a lot. I have
heard that SEL is a strange series and the few random clips
I have seen from it seem to support that assessment. Perhaps
this little tidbit will offer some of you the hook for this
series that I was unable to find. At best I can rate this
anime as average, until I have a chance to see more. However
unless I find this in a discount bin, for rent somewhere,
or some generous anime company wishes to pass along the next
several volumes, I likely won't see any more it to change
my mind.
Matt's back, Jesse's here, and maybe Kryssa will be back shortly.
And there shall be others! Crazy growth spurts! Email Matt
here.
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