Ken En Ken: Aoki Kagayaki is based on the 2004 Taiwanese role-playing game Xuan Yuan Jian Waizhuan: Cang zhi Tao, whose story is set in the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history (approximately 770–476 BC). – MAL
Episode Summary: Yin, Ning, and Zhao are three friends who are inseparable until the Taibai Empire’s army arrives and tears their lives apart. Zhao is enslaved by the empire and he believes Yin and Ning were killed as their village burned to the ground. The Empire’s mechanical constructs are now built partly on Zhao’s back. As a quick learner and an insatiable tinkerer, he uses the Empire’s discarded parts to create his own mechanical toys in secret.
Yin and Ning actually survived their village’s destruction. Though Ning lost her arms, she and Yin make a hardscrabble living putting on acrobatic shows as they travel from village to village. One evening as Yin searches for some water, she hears a strange ringing noise from an abandoned house. Inside she’s confronted by a horrifying snake demon and falls through the rotten wood floor to a hidden room. She obtains a mysterious scroll which grants her the companionship of a summoned familiar in the form of a girl named Yun. Yun has considerable power; she’s able to destroy the snake spirit easily. After doing so she disappears. Later, when the village is attacked by Taibai constructs, Yin is able to summon forth Yun and also produce a deadly sword using the scroll’s power; together, they defend the village and destroy the constructs.
In the meantime, Zhao’s illicit tinkering is discovered by the authorities and he and a young girl he’s befriended are taken into custody. Because Zhao was favored by the chief engineer who has since defected to the rebellion, Zhao has now become a suspect. As he faces the empress to receive his punishment, he realizes that she is in fact the girl who became his friend. She grants him a noble title and the all-important task of studying to become the new chief engineer, putting his considerable talents to use for the Taibai Empire.
The city state of Lisvalletta. Two suns rise above this city, and the people here live peaceful lives, but in the shadows crime and illegal drugs run rampant. Among them is the dangerous, highly lethal drug “Anthem” which casts a dark shadow over the city. The SEVEN-O Special Crime Investigation Unit specializes in cracking down on Anthem. This unit operates in two man “buddy” teams in what’s called the “Double Decker System” to tackle the problem. Doug Billingham is a seasoned investigator, and joining him is Kirill Vrubel, whose abilities are mysterious and unknown. – Crunchyroll
Episode Summary: Kirill Vrubel is an officer with the Lisvalletta police force who, while being a mediocre officer, dreams of becoming his city’s first real hero. He’s wanted to do so ever since he was young, but unfortunately such childish fantasies get in the way of his real-life responsibilities, so his boss has him on notice. What’s also unfortunate is that Kirill works alongside an officer named Jefferson who’s pretty much the peak of competency and a beloved family man to boot. Kirill is constantly overshadowed by Jefferson, and he’s started to get restless and annoyed.
On his day off, Kirill’s landlady sends him out in search of her missing cat. The feline pursuit brings Kirill to an empty warehouse where he ends up as witness to a violent hostage situation. The hostage in this case is none other than officer Jefferson. Worried about whether or not to get involved, Kirill is hailed by a strange man caught in a ventilation pipe. This man, named Doug Billingam, claims to be an operative for an organization called “Seven-O,” which investigates Anthem drug abuse. He promises Kirill rewards and promotions if he’ll help take down the hostage-taker. Kirill comes up with an unorthodox plan which ends up working (in a manner of speaking). Though his rashness gets him fired from the police force, he’s quickly hired by Seven-O and partnered with Doug as part of their “Double-Decker” buddy system. Though their boss has a fondness for weird nicknames, this job might be the pathway Kirill needs in order to become a full-fledged hero.
Impressions: The title Tiger & Bunny brings with it many lofty expectations; as a big fan of that series I’d been hoping for a sequel for a long time. My expectations were so high that it’s probably a good thing that this actually isn’t a direct sequel (as far as we know), but a series set in the same universe that incorporates similar aesthetics and odd-couple buddy-cop dynamic. Gone are the televised heroic antics, to be replaced by an eccentric underground investigative organization that seems content to keep itself out of the limelight. Imagine Section 9, though exponentially more colorful and filled with women who aren’t robots.
An Anthem user goes “Phase 3.”
That was actually one of the first things I noticed, both about the key art and then later about the cast make-up; there are a lot of women in the Seven-O organization. While the diversity in the characters seems to be limited to height and hair color (and perhaps also personal style), I’m pretty pleased with the ratio, at least. Obviously that’s just a first step and the series will actually have to utilize the characters in ways that are meaningful and aren’t demeaning, but the fact that the opportunity is there for it to do right is encouraging. All the characters seem to wear the same type of costume too – a trench coat with pants or something similar underneath. While I’d hesitate to call it a uniform since they’re all so diverse in color and style, it seems roughly universal and that’s kind of a nice change.
The tone of the episode is interesting; if I had to describe it, I’d say that it reminds me of the 1990’s Batman cartoon series. The city has some grit beneath its art-deco finishings, and it seems to have achieved an alternate technological future where interesting gadgetry and clothing style have superseded development of things we take for granted, like color television. Everyone seems to be fashionable in some way or another; even Kirill’s landlady seems especially put-together for the type of character she is. While the episode certainly isn’t without its share of action and excitement, there’s enough down time to take in a lot of these conscious visual decisions. While I remember noticing some of the same things about Tiger & Bunny back in the day, removing all the pomp and glamour that comes with the Hero TV framework gives us an opportunity to appreciate the subtler things about the setting.
Doug gets the upper hand.
I’m not entirely sold on the two protagonists just yet. Frankly, Doug isn’t a big enough part of the episode to really get a sense of his personality. He’s definitely the straight man of the duo, but beyond his seriousness and ability to do his job competently, the only sort of off-beat moment we get is when he gets stuck in a pipe. It’s in those brief moments that it seems he might have some good-humored appreciation of the ridiculousness of his predicament. Frankly, those are the kinds of things that I find memorable and I’d love to see more. Kirill is definitely an opposing force of personality, but he’s also the type of character I typically find really annoying – the kind that’s self-serving and gets into trouble by overestimating his own abilities. He’s very young and that affords him some leeway in my eyes, but he reminds me a little of the “know-it-all” type characters that are anything-but. Obviously it will all come down to the balance of personalities. Differences are certainly a potential source of conflict, and if that conflict remains perennially unresolved for the sake of cheap tension then I feel there’s no real purpose. But personality conflicts can also lead to growth on both sides, and I’m definitely hoping for that to manifest.
Visually this episode is impressive. I hate to keep making so many comparisons to Tiger & Bunny, but the two series unsurprisingly have similar animation aesthetics and a lot of technological improvement has happened in the seven years(!) since the predecessor premiered. Here the blend of CG character models seems more frequent and yet more subtle and well-realized. In T&B the hero suits and vehicles were the most identifiable use of CG, and there wasn’t as much blending between CG and 2D in the same shot. In this series the characters don’t really wear masks (so far), which necessitates that a lot of the close-up face shots make use of 2D animation (or suffer the uncanny weirdness of 3D anime-style character animation). I think the blend is done well. I’m not a huge fan of 3DCG that attempts to mimic 2D animation; I feel that each method has its own strengths and styles and trying to make one look like the other doesn’t do either any favors, but it’s definitely getting better and better every day. The characters have a lot of detail, their colors are bright and appealing, and overall this looks like a project into which went a lot of care and skill.
Cat-itude.
Beyond that, I’ll simply say I feel positive about this episode. To be honest, I hadn’t gotten into an anticipatory frame of mind for Autumn anime series yet, so when this episode dropped by surprise (thanks, Crunchyroll Expo!) I wasn’t exactly prepared to have composed thoughts about it. I have to say, though, that my curiosity about the series now has a little bit more structure. This episode worked very well as an introduction to the setting and characters, and it did so without being overly referential to the series to which it’s apparently related (honestly, if I weren’t already familiar with Tiger & Bunny I may not have even noticed the few minor and subtle connections that popped up). This definitely feels like its own entity, which ought to be welcoming to newcomers and possibly even to those who weren’t actually fans of T&B in the first place. If anything, you can go sneak a peek at your leisure, since the series won’t start in earnest until October.
Pros: The action animation and visual aesthetics are very appealing and have a strong sense of style. You don’t have to be familiar with the show’s predecessor to enjoy it. There seems to be a good gender balance.
Cons: It’s hard to get a good sense of the characters from this episode; Kirill seems especially irritating.
EpisodeSummary: Muhyo, a diminutive child-like individual, and Roji, his put-upon assistant, work in supernatural law. Muhyo is a famous executor who punishes spirits for encroaching on the lives of human beings, his looks and foul temperament belying a savvy expertise. Roji is an apprentice hoping to learn the trade from the very best. One afternoon a young student named Rie approaches the professionals to seek help. There’s a ghost haunting one of the platforms at the local train station, and Rie believes herself to be responsible for its existence. She was very close with her friend Taeko since they were both outsiders at school. When Rie joined the volleyball team she began to disconnect from Taeko, and their last meeting ended when Taeko fell backwards onto the tracks and was killed. Now her ghost is unable to let go of the human world and has been grabbing other passengers by the ankles, searching for Rie. Muhyo agrees to take the case. After nightfall, the three travel to the train platform and wait out the ghost, which doesn’t take very long. As suspected, the creature is an amalgamation of many ghostly grudges with Taeko’s death being the catalyzing factor that’s drawn them together. Muhyo calls upon Hades himself to capture the monster and draw it to Hell. It’s only Rie’s insistence on holding Taeko’s hand that allows Taeko passage into a kinder afterlife. With Taeko now at peace, Rie can live her life normally again.
Yuuto Suoh gets more than he bargained for when he joins his childhood friend Mitsuki Shimoya in testing out an urban legend. When he uses his phone to take a picture of himself with the local shrine’s divine mirror, he is whisked off into another world – one heavily steeped in the lore of the old Norse myths. Using his knowledge gained from school and from his solar-powered smartphone, he has the chance to bring the Wolf Clan, the same people who cared for him, to prominence, all while earning the adoration of a group of magic-wielding warrior maidens known as the Einherjar. – ANN
Episode 1 Summary: It’s been two years since Yuuto was accidentally whisked away to an unknown bronze age society, but in that time he’s managed to become the leader and patriarch of a powerful clan. His goal isn’t exactly to gain control of the entire land, though that might be the unintended consequence; he wants to bring about peace to its various warring groups so that he can then concentrate on finding a way back to his native time and place. Luckily Yuuto still has the use of his smartphone, as it gives him access to military tactics and other knowledge he’s able to utilize to gain an advantage over almost any adversary. His most recent victory is over the Horn Clan, and the leader chooses to become his “sister,” a term for a subservient position beneath the patriarch. Soon after their alliance is solidified, another group makes moves to attack the Horn Clan’s homeland. Though the ink is barely dry on their alliance, Yuuto chooses to honor it by sending his armies to aid his new subjects.
In the year 1274, the invading Mongols have their sights set on Japan. The exiled samurai Jinzaburō Kuchii is in Kamakura when he finds himself face to face with the invasion. – ANN
Episode 1 Summary: Jinzaburo Kuchii is a former general, and one of many criminals facing exile for his crimes. On a storm-tossed boat, he and his fellow prisoners are at the mercy of the seas until a gang revolt sees several dead and Kuchii and the more reasonable members now in charge. They make their way to Tsushima, an island located between Japan and Goryeo (the modern-day Korean Peninsula) where they’re greeted warmly by Princess Teruhi who invites them all to dinner. It’s there that the reason for their exile (rather than alternate punishment) becomes clear; there are rumblings of Mongol ships 900 strong waiting to set off from Goryeo, and Tsushima is directly in their path. The criminals are meant to be the first line of defense to help repel the Mongol invasion. Kuchii vows not to get involved, but is drawn into the conflict when Princess Teruhi is nearly kidnapped by an advance force.
Nature made Ash Lynx beautiful; nurture made him a cold ruthless killer. A runaway brought up as the adopted heir and sex toy of “Papa” Dino Golzine, Ash, now at the rebellious age of seventeen, forsakes the kingdom held out by the devil who raised him. But the hideous secret that drove Ash’s older brother mad in Vietnam has suddenly fallen into Papa’s insatiably ambitious hands–and it’s exactly the wrong time for Eiji Okamura, a pure-hearted young photographer from Japan, to make Ash Lynx’s acquaintance… – ANN
Episode 1 Summary: Ash Lynx has made a life for himself among the gangs of New York City. A runaway plucked off the streets by Papa Dino, a ruthless mob boss, he’s now beginning to rebel against the man who raised him. After Ash witnesses the death of a man who hands him a vial of white powder and whispers “Banana Fish” with his dying breath, he begins to suspect that it might have something to do with his older brother’s break with reality in Vietnam years earlier. Cue the appearance of Eiji, a photographer’s assistant from Japan who’s helping with a story about Ash and how he brought together New York’s various gang factions. Eiji is pure and innocent, but manages to make a connection with Ash almost immediately – just in time to end up in the middle of a fight between Ash and Papa Dino’s thugs. Eiji and Ash’s young friend Skip are shoved into a car, and it’s all Ash can do to give chase.
Souya Kuroi has dreams of people with superpowers fighting a massive dragon in the sky, but his real life is almost as weird. He’s had amnesia for about two weeks and been taken in by a maid and an anthropomorphic cat. When a UFO in the shape of a stuffed bear approaches Sorimasaka City and other metros around the world, he’s startled to see seven rainbow-sparkling heroes zoom out to confront it – just like in his dream. Even weirder, the maid wants him to leave his shelter to confront these heroes and take the source of their power. – ANN
Episode 1 Summary: Souya Kuroi is living with amnesia, but seems relatively unaffected by it. Though his family might be dead (maybe?) and he doesn’t really know who he is, he doesn’t have enough of a memory to realize that he should be upset. He was taken in by a maid (“Ginko”) and a giant cat (“Sensei”) after his accident, so he’s got a place to stay and food to eat (though he’d prefer if there were more meat). School is fine, too, though he still has some trouble remembering his class rep’s name, and she seems to be pretty invested in his life so that creates lots of opportunity for embarrassment on his part. One day while Souya is just sitting around in math class, there’s an announcement about a UFO approaching the mainland; it turns out that it’s one of many horrifying bear-shaped aircraft that have appeared all over the planet. The world watches as a troupe of seven “superheroes” arrive out of nowhere to dispatch the “enemy” but Souya is given specific instructions from Ginko to leave the school building and, eventually, fight against those heroes. When he finally confronts one of the seven individuals, he joins with Sensei to become a powerful and strange fighting unit that’s bigger and stronger than either of them. When he obtains a pendant from the defeated “hero,” Souya’s memories begin to come back to him and they suggest some horrifying things.
The world is a dangerous place for a red blood cell just trying to get her deliveries finished. Fortunately, she’s not alone… she’s got a whole human body’s worth of cells ready to help out. The mysterious white blood cell, the buff and brash killer T cell, the nerdy neuron, even the cute little platelets — everyone’s got to come together if they want to keep you healthy. – ANN
Episode 1 Summary: It’s Red Blood Cell’s first day on the job, and like most of her brethren she’s tasked with delivering oxygen and nutrients to the rest of the body. All she has to do is find her way to the lungs and she can finally drop off her cargo. Unfortunately the human body is confusing and full of roads, tunnels, and rooms. It’s also subject to the invasion of hostile bacteria, which Red Cell discovers as she’s trying to make her way through a crowd; a gang of ne’er-do-well pneumococcal bacteria try to make things miserable for everyone by bursting through the ground and threatening the crowd with obliteration. Enter White Blood Cell: he and his group of foot soldiers defend the body against such interlopers, and most of the bacteria are dispatched quickly as expected. But one escapes, and it’s up to White Cell and Red Cell to catch it before it becomes something terrible, like pneumonia or, even worse, meningitis. They manage to track the scourge to the bronchial zone. Just as things look dire for the cells, the body’s automatic defenses bubble the bacterium up and eject it with a rocket-powered sneeze. Having done their duty, Red Cell and White Cell lament the fact that they may never see one-another again. But as part of the same body, there’s always the possibility they could meet again.
Impressions: As I always say, there’s an anime about everything. Cells at Work! occupies a very strange space where its only neighbors are shows like Moyashimon and, well… I honestly can’t think of anything else comparable at the moment. It’s an odd balance of educational entertainment and science humor, bundled up in a form that revels in taking a bland (or at least relatively serious or dry) subject and finding an exciting and funny way to present it. Honestly, the human body is a miraculous thing, full of so many different interconnected systems that hold our guts together, transport our various juices around, and keep our brains from becoming mush. It really should be celebrated in a way that respects how smart, weird, and kick-ass it can be.
I’m very much in awe of how creative this interpretation of our body systems is. Rather than portraying the various organs, ducts, and connective tissues literally, this series draws from the basic information presented within biological science and interprets its pieces as different facets and zones of a giant city. The capillaries are represented by the endless cramped hallways and similar-looking doorways in what appears to be an old bureaucratic government building. The are a power station, humming as air flows through giant fans and ventilation shafts. The bronchial tubes are a Rube-Goldberg style marble run, transporting foreign material out of the body in a playful and dramatic way. Each place has its own personality, and this episode runs through several of them in very quick succession – I hope that future episodes might slow down a bit and give us a taste of these different interconnected parts.
The show’s real claim to fame is its personification of the various cells that exist within human bodies. While some of these are relatively predictable, they’re still entertaining when used to express the ways in which blood, lymphatic, and immune cells behave in the real world. The red blood cells are functional, dutiful workers making deliveries throughout the bloodstream. The white blood cells are focused killers, waiting for the next notification that danger is nearby. The killer T cells are like a special forces combat unit ready to fall into formation and take out hard-to-handle invaders. The platelets are cute little builders, sealing up holes and cuts so the pathways stay intact. Each cell has its job and all the jobs coordinate to create a fine-tuned system.
This message brought to you by helper T cells.
I like how the premise implies that the bodily systems and the different cells don’t just exist harmoniously by some lucky accident; the title Cells at Work suggests a purposeful, task-oriented movement towards a shared goal that can only be reached when everyone is doing their part. It doesn’t surprise me that this microcosm feels more than a little bit like a mirror of society, specifically an idealized Japanese society, where functionality within a group and loyalty to one’s job are important common goals. That said, the uniqueness of each group is integral to the survival of the system, too; without people willing to perform a certain job, the entire body would collapse. It’s almost like diversity is a requirement for success, or each job is equally valuable… what a crazy notion! You can probably tell that I’m a little bit exhausted with the way the world has been lately; there’s lots of rhetoric out there that aims to devalue different people and the different jobs that they do. It’s just nice to watch something that in some ways states the opposite and also manages to be entertaining.
I want to make note of the fact that for how cute and funny it is, this episode has some violence that crops up suddenly. I’m not going to try to speculate much about the process by which cells, bacteria, and such will bleed when stabbed; I think to search for reason in a situation where blood cells can talk and interact with one-another is a doomed quest. But should you be sensitive to violence and bleeding, well, when faced with invading bacteria, white blood cells get the job done, and violently (I mean, even the “real life” version is pretty hard core) and that’s how the show has chosen to represent that.
I really like weird anime, and it looks like this series is going to scratch that itch for me. It’s got a lot of things to like, including cute characters, overblown theatrics, a creative re-imagining of reality along with some good-quality visuals, backgrounds, and animation. If you’ve ever wanted to know more about how your body works, but were bored by biology class, this might be the ticket to enjoying your learning experience.
Pros: The premise is entertaining. I like how the different characters and groups work together. It makes your guts and tubes seem interesting.
Cons: There are some sudden moments of very bloody violence that might catch some people off guard.
The whole world was devastated by the nuclear war. Under the strong rule of the World Empire, people are all suppressed and deprived of their own lives. A resistance team secretly keeps fighting to break the suppression while everyone is forbidden to possess any force of arms. The team arms themselves with “antique guns” that were left as works of art, and the incarnations of those antique guns are called “Musketeers” appear and join the team, as if they responded to the soul of the resistance. In their battles with the incarnations of contemporary guns who represent and are dispatched from the Empire, the “Musketeers” turn their “Absolute Noble” mode to give a powerful boost to themselves, and bring hope to the world. – ANN
Episode 1 Summary: Dreams of world peace were shattered when, after years of nuclear war and an alteration of the world’s climate, the World Empire took over and subdued the populace by force. Their rule is harsh and tramples over the very dignity of the people. But a resistance has formed in the underground, supplemented by the talents of a group of weapons-turned-human. These individuals have the power and personality of the antique weapons from which they were formed as well as a certain “x-factor” of absolute nobility in the face of danger. Many of the new recruits are forced to attempt a dangerous mission to save a resistance politician being transported to the capital. When the situation seems dire, one of them expresses their nobility and is given enough power to shoot down the Empire’s soldiers. But then he collapses on the battlefield – is this a doomed mission after all?
Impressions: The various ToukenRanbu anime incarnations made their marks by featuring a cast of characters based on personifications of various famous weapons (mostly melee weapons) that appeared throughout history. The Thousand Musketeers attempts to do the same by focusing solely on firearms and attempting to draw forth some kind of identifiable character personality from each classic, historical, or antique weapon. Thus far the end product is a very mixed bag of simple-yet-confusing plot elements and a cast that’s jam-packed with characters that are often difficult to distinguish from one-another.
Napoleon – a fancy gun with a fancy hat.
The opening scenes of the anime present several characters back-to-back in quick succession, each with a title card and a short description of their origin as a famous gun. This is, of course, while they’re all having conversations related to their general duties as agents of the rebellion, their “master” (who is unnamed and has not been shown on screen as of the end of the episode), and other info-dump-type material that might be important to take in, but is difficult to pay enough attention to as one is trying to read everything on the screen. I eventually started pausing the video after a while to make sure that I could read all the character info (not a favorite thing to do; I prefer to take in episodes in real-time), only to find that it was all too easy to forget about everything immediately afterward. Could I tell you who most of the characters’ names were? Absolutely not. Though I do remember Napoleon, whose ridiculously boisterous and snooty personality arrives immediately like a fart and is the one character who manages to leave an impression. There’s also an American one whose visual motif includes stars, stripes (pink instead of red), and pigtails, and while he’s definitely one-of-a-kind in terms of character design his name completely escapes me.
Presented with no further comment.
There’s an attempt to lay out some character relationships throughout the episode, the most memorable of which are between a couple of weapons that were on opposing sides during the American Revolutionary war. The extent of the bickering (especially when the American one busts out an American flag and threatens to hang it up where they’re all bunking together) adds a little levity to what is otherwise pretty bland and frothy entertainment. To be honest, considering how things have been going lately in the US, anything that can make fun of how ridiculous we are here in a way that gets me to chuckle even mildly has earned a point in my book. One thing that wasn’t made especially clear and which may not matter that much (unless you’re a gun collector or historian) is whether or not the boys-who-are-guns are actually using the rifles in battle which they themselves represent. Since all the firearms, as little as they’re actually on screen, seemed different from one-another, I would speculate that the answer is yes (and perhaps that’s something appealing about the game on which this is based). I think it would have made an interesting aside or a cool illustration for the commercial break screens to provide some more information about that.
The rescue operation begins.
Because most anime is based at least partly on some sort of fantasy premise or at least asks the audience to accept things that differ from reality in various ways, one measure of a “good” anime in my book is its ability to suspend the viewer’s disbelief. I’m a little more liberal of an anime consumer than a lot of folks and tend to get really rankled when others start complaining about minor deviations from reality, especially when the series in question is full of supernatural nonsense, magical powers, or fantasy worlds. But occasionally I’ll get caught on a detail and I can’t let it go. In the case of this episode, we’re to believe that the characters are part of a rebel underground where they’re in hiding from the government and living in fear of being discovered. That’s fine and dandy, but there’s a goofy scene partway through where one character offers to make the others “honey crepes.” There’s an entire montage at the beginning of the episode that talks about nuclear devastation, and a lot of the other imagery implies that the quality of life in general has gone way downhill after the literal collapse of society. So where are these resistance fighters, who are, I remind you, living in a deteriorated bunker of some sort, getting things like honey, processed flour, eggs, or milk? Sweet stuff is typically a luxury item in times of scarcity, so I wonder just who their supplier is (though considering that their “master” can take guns and turn them into hot guys, perhaps it’s not that hard to believe they might have some way to produce it). I’d also love to know where they’re getting their clothing, considering that everyone else is practically dressed in rags. Also, how rifles where the user has to arm them with gunpowder and pellets by hand every time can take out soldiers that look like cyborg police. But that might be asking for too much realism.
Speaking of montages, there’s a comically-unconvincing training montage where the newer recruits prepare themselves to carry out the rescue mission. They’re show running through the forest with their guns in had (probably holding them in a manner which would irritate actual gun owners, I’d wager). I was actually taken aback by the fact that, half an episode in, we were already treated to such a goofy and cliche presentation device, but the more I think about it the more it seems appropriate for such a goofy show.
Despite my obvious eye-rolling towards this episode, I can’t say that I wasn’t entertained. Even if the entertainment value was mostly unintentional and based on the fundamental weirdness of the premise, I still don’t feel like my time was wasted. And if I had to choose between The Thousand Musketeers and Upotte!!, the female expression of a similar idea, you’d better believe I’d choose silliness over sexualization. If your tolerance level is higher than mine (or if you’re thirstier for a variety of bishounen characters, I suppose), this might provide some entertainment.
Pros: The premise is mildly educational in a silly sort of way. The episode uses its resources wisely, saving some of the nicer-looking animation for the action in the second half.
Cons: This episode is a confusing character dump of epic proportions. I have a hard time believing that an underground resistance movement could afford such luxuries as honey crepes and fancy outfits.
It is Tib the black cat who leads Mary to the strange flower in the woods. When she discovers a little broomstick shortly afterwards, she is astonished to feel it jump in to action. Before she can gather her wits, it is whisking her over the treetops, above the clouds, and in to the grounds of Endor College, where: ‘All Examinations Coached for by A Competent Staff of Fully-Qualified Witches.’ – ANN
Summary: Young Mary Smith moves to the countryside to live with her great aunt Charlotte while her parents are away. Mary wants more than anything to be useful, but she’s a clumsy person and often causes more problems than she solves. While lamenting her situation one day, she encounters two cats – Tib and Gib – who lead her to a forest glade where a cluster of spectacular blue flowers are growing. Mary takes the blossoms back to her room to admire them, but soon discovers that they’re more than just attractive blooms – the flowers, called “fly-by-night” by magic users, bloom but once in seven years and have the power to grant magical abilities to even the most mundane of user.
Mary stumbles into these mystic powers and finds herself a magic broom, which takes her to Endor College, a witch school above the clouds. She’s mistaken for a magical prodigy and the headmistress goes so far as to approach her about joining the honors classes, but it isn’t long until her secret is discovered and the faculty of the school chases Mary down in search of the fly-by-night blossoms. Mary must them protect herself, rescue her friend Peter and his cats, and make sure that the flowers don’t fall into the hands of those who would try to use them for horrifying experiments.
Review: This review contains mild plot spoilers for the film.
It’s cliche at this point for one to speculate on what Japanese animation studio will turn out to be the “next Ghibli.” It’s difficult to define exactly what that’s supposed to mean – Ghibli’s output has encompassed films aimed squarely at very young children (Ponyo or My Neighbor Totoro, for example), to more intense adventures that families can enjoy (Nausicaa, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away), to films that I’d argue take more maturity to appreciate (Porco Rosso, Only Yesterday, Grave of the Fireflies). Does Ghibli mean “animation quality?” “Story craft?” “Character and background design?” I’ve seen all of these traits thrown around as potential components of the Ghibli magic that’s captivated animation fans all over the world, and even somehow managed to gain credo with the incredibly insular, inscrutable, and in my opinion, sometimes downright infuriating Academy Award voters (seriously, Boss Baby over Your Name? You’ve got to be kidding me). Whether or not there’s a definitive way to identify the Ghibli style is a question that I’ll leave to others who are more invested in it. As for myself, I’m just enjoying the fact that, as animators and directors graduate from Ghibli, we’re able to enjoy the new perspectives they bring to this classic film making form.
Much like Hosoda Mamoru, Hiromasa Yonebayashi worked for Studio Ghibli as an animator and director before venturing off on his own to join the newly-established Studio Ponoc. Mary and the Witch’s Flower, the studio’s first feature-length animation, captures a lot of the classic family-friendly charm that typifies the bulk of Ghibli’s output, while providing a enough freshness to distinguish itself and its creative staff from their predecessors.
I commented on social media that one thing that charmed me about the film was that it seemed to speak to me as a little girl who always wanted to grow up to become a witch. Similar to the Harry Potter series, Mary and the Witch’s Flower suggests that there might be an entire secret world out there, where magic is real and those with a talent for it might be able to distinguish themselves and make impossible things happen. It helps that film eschews the tendency to make its heroine a strong but unattainable fantasy version of feminine purity, seen in such characters as Nausicaa or Kiki. It’s not that those characters are inherently terrible for women (and to be honest they’re much better role-models than a lot of “strong female characters (TM)”), but they also feel like an outsider’s perspective on what girlhood should be, when in reality it can be messier, more painful, and more awkward than it is often portrayed. I’m definitely not saying that Yonebayashi and friends have insider knowledge in pre-adolescent girlhood, but Mary feels closer to the type of person someone could meet in real life. She’s fundamentally kind and not overly-rebellious (which tends to be another direction writers take these kinds of characters), but she’s not particularly talented, gets bored easily, and goes against orders sometimes. She also lies by omission in order to feel better about herself, which ultimately gets her into trouble but is so understandable from the perspective of someone who often feels unworthy of praise. The idea that there could be a world out there somewhere in which the differences that one dislikes about oneself are seen as beneficial can become intoxicating.
The film also makes some attempt at real-world commentary, its most discernible issue-of-choice being animal (and human!) experimentation, as an offshoot of the typical environmentalism that crops up in similar films. Whether this is entirely successful is up in the air; my attitude was something akin to “I see what you did there” but more from the perspective of being repulsed by the mild body-horror aspect than buying into what I thought the creators were trying to say.
Visually the film doesn’t disappoint, and manages to combine traditional character animation, lush, vivid background art, and even some CG effects into a very appealing package. It straddles the line between traditional and modern very well, making an argument for utilizing new animation techniques even while trying to maintain a mostly hand-drawn look. After watching Shirobako multiple times, it’s interesting the kind of things I tend to notice when watching animation. In this case it was the animal movement- one of the film’s climactic moments involves a herd of animals escaping from captivity, and the horde of different creatures moving across the landscape feels very natural, chaotic, and whimsical as well. The depiction of the English countryside that serves as the setting for the more mundane parts of the story recalls some of the background art from The Secret World of Arietty; the lushness of the plant life and the misty hillsides are almost a character all their own.
One aspect of the film that I really liked was the revelation that Mary’s aunt Charlotte played an important part in the story when she was a youngster, and that Mary as a descendant of that family line is in prime position to draw things to a close. Even when young women have central roles in a narrative, it’s often the case that they’re the only female in a sea of men. In this case there are important connections between Mary and Charlotte, as well as the Endor headmistress. Additionally, Mary comes to the rescue of Peter, her male companion, multiple times throughout the film, which was a refreshing surprise.
The one thing that detracts from this story, and I suspect that others may agree with me, is that the whole package feels a bit rote. Stripping away the visual trappings and the spunky main character reveals a story that’s competently formulaic but not otherwise special in any way. It’s a fairly typical “heroine’s journey” in which a young girl is forced to look inside herself and make personal improvements, all in the guise of going on a grand adventure that, once completed, brings her back again to her mundane normal life. That said, it’s the type of movie that I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable watching with a child and which demonstrates an example of how to be heroic and fight for something ethical. It’s certainly more tolerable than your typical CG talking animal movie, and it doesn’t talk down to its intended audience.
The more creators there are making great movies, the better, and having graduated from Studio Ghibli I think Yonebayashi has a bright future ahead of him bringing to screen the type of anime films that have wide appeal. Mary and the Witch’s Flower is an above-average interpretation of a Western-style fairy tale that centralizes a somewhat-atypical female heroine and brings to life a magical world that might make some viewers long for the opportunity to attend a witch school. Check it out at a local film festival, or grab the disc when it’s released in May.
Pros: Mary is a spunky heroine with some realistic pre-teen flaws. The female relationships provide a good through-line to the film. The artistry is excellent.
Cons: The story is pretty average and can feel like a re-hash of old concepts.
Streaming: Crunchyroll
