Posts Tagged ‘white fox’

Taking place in the Edo era of Japan, a young man and his sister are the last survivors of the Kyoto Ryu martial arts family on an island their family was exiled to after the previous revolution. One day, a woman named Togame arrives looking for the head of Kyoto Ryu, currently seventh generation Shichika. Working for the shogunate as a master strategist, Togame needs Shichika to be her sword as she searches for twelve legendary swords made by the legendary sword maker Shikizaki Kiki to bring ultimate power to the government.

Good and the Bad

I admit it, I’ve been having a torrid love affair. The name of my affections vary but the source is always that which adapts the works of NisiOisin. It started innocently enough with Bakemonogatari but then I met Katanagatari and knew that my heart would be forever stolen by these series. In my defense however, it’s only because this one in particular is so good.

For the entire length of this set, Katanagatari is going to challenge the audience in many different ways. First of all, this is an action series that chooses to go a slightly different route with as an action series. Yes, there is action in every episode but they aren’t always the defining moment of the episode. If you’re looking for an action series that is going to deliver this non stop, you’re in for a world of disappointment.

What truly defines this series is the artwork and writing which make this series stand far away from all of its predecessors of the genre. For the look of this series, studio White Fox went with liberal use of colors and the character designs from Tsuyoshi Kawada are cartoony and lack any real definition. The look of the series is admittedly something to get used to but it’s also thanks to these unique fixtures that this series looks nothing like any other series in recent history that I can think of.

Then there’s the writing and storytelling. The endless writing. The writing that will go on… and on… and on sometimes. As a twelve episode series told in hour long chunks, Katanagatari keeps itself moving forward by being a dialogue and banter based series. The good news is that this banter and storytelling is constantly doing something interesting to keep the viewers attention and this is where the series earned it’s highest marks with me.

Katanagatari is plain fearless when it comes to playing with the audience and constantly taking them on journeys or detours that they were not expecting to take. Most of the time, the audience is allowed to go along and enjoy things as they come. Some times, things are made a little easier with episodes flat out spoiling what is coming next or breaking the fourth wall for a short joke.

Still other times, the series goes with a bait and switch approach. In one episode, the next episode preview features an epic battle as Shichika does battle for one of the twelve swords… and that ends up being the most you ever see of the battle as the next episodes features none of it. In yet another instance, a certain character will be introduced with one personality, only to be revealed to be almost yandere and delivering the line “My apologies. I must commit torture now.” These are just a few examples of the many ways Katanagatari keeps the audience guessing and wanting to see more with a sense of humor.

Music

Like the animation, the background music composed by Taku Iwasaki is interesting in its many different styles and genres being brought together. For quieter scenes involving lots of dialogue, there are more traditional sounds including strong, full string themes. But then there are times when things are the complete opposite and you’re hearing a soft hip hop beat for a lecture from Togame or one of the battle scenes. The unique mix worked well for this series and felt particularly well in place during the funnier or more flirtatious moments featuring the lead couple.

Extras

As with all NIS America sets, it’s hard to complain about the packaging or extras. Along with the oversized box there is the collector’s book included with this set which is a wealth of artwork and information including episode and character guides as well as liner notes (which would’ve been easier to read had they been alphabetized).

Overall

This is going to stand out as one of the better releases of the year. The quality of the series is high and the packaging is just an appropriate bonus. This is a different type of action series and it’s better because of it. Stylish and fun, this is worth going onto your shelves.

Steins;Gate
Studio: White Fox
Premiere Date: 4/5
Genre:  Sci-Fi
Available via Crunchyroll

First Impression: Alright, I know I just watched something.

Okarin is a self professed mad scientist ready to change the world his inventions along with his assistants Mayuri and Daru. While visiting the lecture of another professor, Okarin is pulled aside by a girl who claims to have cornered by him with something important to say just a few minutes earlier. Naturally Okarin has no idea what she’s talking about and suspects that it’s the secret Organization that he is convinced is out to foil his every move.

Then the world changes. The girl that he saw stabbed in a hallway is now alive, the lecture he attended is canceled due to a mysterious satellite crashing into the building and a text he sent went into the past.

Good and the Bad

In the first episode, Steins;Gate really tries to be a lot of different things. In the first half, the series wants to be a simultaneously hilarious and creepy. In the lead character, the audience gets a man who is obsessed with his inventions and convinced that there is a conspiracy out to get him. Everything he says, no matter who he is speaking to, is based around these two simple premises which lead him into a serious amount of mad rants.

In the second half, the mood changes as Okarin starts to realize that things are different. Now suddenly Steins;Gate wants to be compelling and creepy. The memories people have of the past are different from his and the text he sent alerting Daru that a girl had died were sent to a completely different time.

The problem is that no matter which half of the episode is playing, and in spite of moderate amounts of success late in the episode, it always feels like the episode is supposed to be funny or supposed to be serious. Instead of feeling natural, the mood of the episode always feels forced instead. 

Allowing the characters to almost completely carry the story, Steins;Gate has little in the way of exposition here beyond introductions. If you were looking for a clear explanation of what is going on, you’re going to be in a world of mental pain as things very slowly unravel in front of you. That is unless you consider the initial outbursts from Okarin as exposition in which case you’re probably onto something before the rest of us. Once again though, they may seem funny but really they are just a random guy shouting conspiracy theories to someone that he barely knows. As I mentioned, once things begin to calm down a little in the second half there are moderate amounts of success to be had. There really is a compelling story here, it’s just that it’s currently so jumbled up that it’s hard to tell what it is. 

Music

One thing that I did like about this episode is that there is very little music. In fact, it’s almost an entire 8 minutes before the first music can be heard. Only catering to mood, Steins;Gate is happy to let its characters completely fill things in by themselves and I gather that this is going to be a running trend throughout. While the mad rantings of Okarin fill more than enough of the foreground, there are also quiet moments when the lack of music really captures the moment such as when the mad scientist looks up and finds himself in an empty city.

Overall

While the early comedy felt entirely too forced, Steins;Gate manages to find lots of early traction once it gets into the second half. Curiosity is mostly what’s driving me forward at this point but with so many shows appearing this season, anything that makes the audience move forward is a good thing. This is a series with a lot of initial promise and I’m already curious to know if it will be able to live up to its potential.

I am back with another trailer roundup! You may have noticed that I took last week off. With the new season starting in only a few days, I knew it was going to be my only chance for awhile so I took it. I did discover that I need to back down my update schedule so look for some changes in 2010. For now though I’m back and the winter trailers have started to flow!

In the first draft of this article, this is the point where I started talking about Dance in the Vampire Bund because a new promotional video has been uploaded to the official website (click ﾑｰﾋﾞｰ in the top navigation bar). Before you get too excited about seeing the new video, it’s only fair to warn you that MediaFactory has blocked the video from being seen in the US (via YouTube at least). If you can see the trailer from your country, leave a comment below and let the rest of us know what we’re missing out on!

Moving onto trailers that everyone can see, a new three minute trailer has been posted to the official Katanagatari website. Premiering on January 25^th, the 12 episode series will air one hour of animation a month until the end of the year. If you saw Bakemonogatari last summer, you’re already familiar with the creator of this one as well. Based on another novel series from NisiOisin, the series will be told in 12 one hour episodes which will air once a month until the end of the year. I’m still really excited to see this one but am still really unsure about the animation created by White Fox (Tears to Tiara).

<Via ANN, Dance in the Vampire Bund image via official website>

Tears to Tiara
Studio: White Fox
Premiere Date: 4/5/09
Genre: Fantasy

‘Tears to Tiara’ takes us all the way to Albion in episode three staying with the game for at least one more episode.

The Story 

With Rhiannon safely back in the village and the empire in hot pursuit, the Gael tribe has decided to flee their homeland for the island of Albion. The empire doesn’t intend to let them disappear so easily however and steals their ships. This requires Arwan to launch a mission to get them back and come face to face with his primary enemy, an imperial soldier named Gaius.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tears to Tiara
Studio: White Fox
Premiere Date: 4/5/09
Genre: Fantasy

It’s not always pretty but White Fox manages to dish up something largely entertaining.

The Story

In a fantasy medieval setting, a dark priest working for the holy empire visits the Gael tribe and kidnaps the chief’s daughter and oracle priestess to sacrifice her to a newly resurrected dark god Arawn. Things don’t go exactly as planned however when her brother Arthur storms in to rescue him and the priestess Riannon decides to make the dark god into her husband and further chief of her tribe.

Read the rest of this entry »