It's really unfortunate that there aren't too many anime moves, much less good anime movies that aren't a part of a televised franchise. So when a standalone anime film is released, I feel compelled to view it. The Sky Crawlers was released about two years ago. I've know about it for a while but just got around to picking it up. As a general warning, it's not really a film made for the mainstream audience; If you are looking for a quick war romance or action flick, it is probably not for you. The Sky Crawlers is an intellectual and unconventional film with a deep message that can be pretty difficult to penetrate. However, if you know what to expect from a Mamoru Oshii film, then it really shouldn't come as a surprise. In fact, The Sky Crawlers is arguably one of his more accessible films.

On the surface level, this movie is gorgeous looking: The aerial combat is fantastic and the scenery is top notch. I usually dislike blending 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional effects, but in this case it works fairly well, even if there are a couple of graphically awkward moments. I don't know if it is because the film was granted a higher budget or if it is because technology has progressed to a point where we can do stuff like this and not make it look like 90s cheese. I suspect both. Either way, it's pleasing to look at.

I'm on the fence about discussing the plot, even though I probably will. It's not really that hard to get the gist of what The Sky Crawlers is about (I'm pretty sure the back of the blu-ray packaging summarizes it), but I feel as if the movie should be treated almost like a mystery. In some sense that is what it felt like, to me at least. The film begins with a few clues and very little background information. As the narrative progresses, bits and pieces of the story are revealed. The characters themselves have no background; Everything that we learn about them is revealed through observation.

The character designs are simplistic and austere to a point, with heavy, if not exclusive focus on interaction. The Sky Crawlers illustrates a world in which immortal children or "Kildren" are trapped in a bleak, meaningless cycle of never ending, never progressing destruction and conscious ignorance. The pacing of the mirrors the characters' mindset: A dreary haze that reiterates itself day in and day out. If the sprites within competitive online games, Team Fortress 2 for example had lives, this movie would be a pretty close approximation to what I would expect them to be like: Unending, repetitious conflict void of meaning and context. It's a cruel version of ground hog day.

On one level, The Sky Crawlers seems like an anti-war film, we have the tired soldier and the bloody war. But if you take a closer look, it becomes pretty clear as the film progresses that Oshii is painting a very critical picture of the modern day anime industry. The scene with the foreigners and the fact that Oshii has made this film so self referential (Jin-Roh, Kusanagi) makes it pretty apparent. The outsiders look at this "fantasy world" and at the Kildren, a race completely disconnected from modern society, with fascination and udder adoration, not knowing that the pilots themselves are doomed to a cycle of unending, drab repetition. The pilots, like most anime series are literally interchangeable: One dies and is replaced by another pilot who is like in appearance in mannerism, differing only in name. No one cares, no one questions it. They represent the drudgery of escapism.

Oshii's message penetrates the media so much in terms of pacing, atmosphere and length, almost to a fault. Though very strong, the action scenes are far in-between. Essentially, The Sky Crawlers is a 2 hour feature film of slow and deliberate "slice of life"-ish scenes of people going about their daily routines. It is a film of subtle gesture and emotion. Many important points of the story are narrated with little more than an odd glance between characters. If you don't get the overall message and how it applies to the film thematically and mechanically, The Sky Crawlers is going to come across as dull and painfully slow.

It is a very good film intellectually, but perhaps not so much from an entertainment perspective (though I really really did like the plane fights). Even so, if you know what to expect and can appreciate it, The Sky Crawlers is a solid movie and well worth a watch. Oh and make sure to watch the movie through the credits. There is a scene afterwards.

I admit, I have known about the Scott Pilgrim series for some time, heard that it was good, but just put off reading it because I figured that it would either be overly goofy or some lame action manga rip off. Well, it's not. In fact, it's probably one of the better comics that I have read. I know that both the movie and the game will have already been released by the time I bother posting this entry but, go pick up the graphic novels if you have a chance. It's not that long of a series at 6 volumes but it's well worth reading.

If you are put off by the art style for some reason, don't be. Bryan Lee O'Malley follows his own style: Relatively simple character designs against detailed background. The overall plot is a simple and somewhat ludicrous story that is at heart, an honest story about a young man's post college struggles with life, love and himself. So, if you are in that age category, go read this series because it should resonate with you on some level.

The fight scenes are good, but not really the focus of the story. Most of the plot is driven by character interactions and dialogue. In fact, I would say that the characters themselves are defined by their voice and interactions and not by their character design. Without spoiling the last volume, I really liked the closure and the character growth the last volume offered. The series has a good message; It's a fun read without being too heavy.

I hope everyone's 4th of July weekend was filled with lots of booze, explosives and marginally legal fun :P. I feel a strong urge to post something well, can't really think of much to post about. In lieu of the holiday, we called off the weekend raids and other than a couple of rounds of WipEout HD I didn't really do a whole lot of gaming. I did though, play with the server quite a bit so uuh, if anyone noticed, it kind of went down for about 5 minutes then rolled back to a restore point earlier that morning. Whoops. Oh, there is also a footer at the bottom of this site now if anyone cares...

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood finished up its 64th and final episode this weekend. I don't know if it is because I am fairly oblivious or if it is because I haven't been actively into anime fandom in uuh years, but I didn't notice a whole lot of buzz going around for Brotherhood, given how many people are watching it. I guess everyone got it all out during the first television series?

Anyway, FMA:B follows the manga's story line. It thankfully rushes past the overlap and splits off at around episode 16 or so. Past that point, it is a very different show than its predecessor. The early parts of FMA:B are still kind of heavy on the dumb short jokes but not to a grating degree. The manga's storyline is well paced and plotted out as expected. It is probably one of the best new anime series that i have seen in a while for whatever that is worth.

The animation, particularly the combat scenes retains its quality throughout the entire series which is notable given its length. In fact, the pacing and the story quality in general were right on track for all 64 episodes. It never at any point diverged off into a filler story or degenerate into a clip show. It's still worth seeing the first series. I think FMA:B assumes that you have seen the original show based on the amount of content that was cut from the first part of the series in order to cut down on the repetition. Awesome show, definitely recommended.

Does anyone have any good suggestions as to what we should watch next? Other than a half-assed viewing of Durarara I really haven't picked up any new anime series in several seasons. It's about that time of the year where the new summer season series start to come out anyways so I might just do the, "download the first and second episode of anything interesting" bit again and see how that goes.

Anime Expo was this weekend. You know, for as long as I have lived in Southern California I have never bothered attending that convention. I would say maybe next year, but we are tentatively planning on attending PAX next year (I formally announced it on the internet so it will happen right?) so I don't know how my vacation and the con schedule will be.

To the two people who signed up for Linode via my referral code: You both rock.

So here is an underrated yet excellent series that I have been following recently. The anime bug hit me again a while back, so I was looking another evening fix. Kemono no Souja Erin came up on several lists of very good 2009 shows to watch, yet I had trouble finding decent information and reviews on it. I don't think too many people are blogging or following this series, which is a shame because it is quite good.

Kemono no Souja Erin is a 50 episode series by Production I.G. It's an anime adaptation of a novel series by Nahoko Uehashi (yay Wikipedia) centered around Erin. Erin is a precocious green eyed, green haired girl living with her mother Soyon in Ake, a small village given the task of raising Touda for the Grand Duke. Touda are semi-aquatic beats used as mounts in combat against the neighboring kingdom. As a general point of reference: They kind of look like the giant lizards that Obi-Wan Kenobi was riding in Star Wars: Episode 3 (but stickier and with horns).

Erin and her mother Soyon are outsiders. Soyon was born as one of the Mist people (thus the green eyes and hair), an aloof and not-so-well trusted people of mysterious ways and origins. She was accepted into the village only because she fell in live with and married the chief's now deceased son. Though Soyon is well respected and even admired as a skilled beastinarian, her ancestry raises suspicion amongst the villagers. Her expertise with the Touda is pretty much the only reason why Soyon and Erin are permitted to still live in Ake, a fact that the villagers remind her of on a daily basis.

Erin aspires to become a beastinarian just like her mother. She is an overly curious and genuinely kind girl who cares for all living beings. The focus of Kemono no Souja Erin is on her journey as well as the trials and tribulations of raising animals. First of all, don't judge this series based off of the art style or first few episodes. It comes off as a kiddy show because I suppose it kind of is, but overall I would consider it more along the lines of a series good for people of all ages to watch.

Kemono no Souja Erin starts off a little slow (not too unusual for a long series). The first 5 episodes focus on introducing the characters and the general setting while following the, "Touda problem of the week" formula. More interesting events don't start to occur until around episodes 6 or 7. Kemono no Souja Erin actually has a fairly dark undertone that is slowly introduced as the series progresses. It paints a fairly strong message without being preachy

It almost feels like something Studio Ghibli might make in regards to the show's general feel. It has a solid story with well developed characters. The art style is composed of beautifully painted pastel backdrops with fairly simple character designs, allowing the story to be fairly dramatic without being explicit or inappropriate for younger viewers. There's no fan service, the animation isn't flashy like most new series and there isn't an excess of any forced anime cliches. There are a couple of comedic characters, but they are well balanced and develop beyond being laugh fodder.

Kemono no Souja Erin is different than new series that are currently out. It won't cure anyone's thirst for boobies or bloody shounen action, but if you are looking for a relaxing show with a good plot and good characters, give this one a try.

Since there's absoutely nothing on normal television to watch and no new games that I'm interested in playing, I've been on an anime bender lately. So bear with me while I make an entry or two about several things that I liked.

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 is a disaster themed 11 episode drama by BONES, the same studio that has produced the Cowboy Bebop movie, Fullmetal Alchemist, Soul Eater, etc. It's airing in the noitaminA block on Fuji Television (Higashi no Eden, Honey and Clover; I guess it's a drama time slot?).  I ended up marathoning most of this series earlier this week. It's one of my favorite series of the season, if that means anything considering how little anime I've picked up recently...

The premise of the story is revolves around the prediction that there is a 70% chance that a magnitude 7.0 or greater earthquake will hit the Tokyo are within the next 30 years. Tokyo Magnitude depicts a series of events and consequences that might occur if a magnitude 8.0 quake hit a large metropolitan area. Much of the story itself is supposedly based on interviews, data and research from actual earthquakes.

The story is centered around Mirai, a middle school freshman just about to start summer vacation. While taking her little brother Yuuki, a cheerful third grader to visit a robotics convention in Odaiba (a man made island in Tokyo's bay), the quake hits. Somewhere along the way the meet Mari, a motorcycle deliver woman who lives with her mother and young daughter. Together they must get home to their families.

There is a lot that Mirai should be thankful for: a loving family, the privilege of being able to attend a very prestigious school and a stable social life, but she's not and spends the entire first episodepissmoaning about every little thing whenever she doesn't get her way. But, that's pretty much the point I guess. Mirai's characters leaves a lot of room for personal growth and realization. Take note of the relationship between Mirai and Yuuki throughout the series.

Take the disclaimer at the beginning of each episode with a grain of salt. Tokyo Magnitude is best viewed as a fictional representation of a large natural disaster with a high degree of realism, rather than a documentary or simulation. If you want to nitpick, the story takes a dive in believability during certain segments of the show (particularly during the second half). But the focus of the series isn't in the authenticity of every single small detail, but rather the in how the characters develop react with each other and the environment (it is a character dramaafter all).

Tokyo Magnitude is a fairly short series at 11 episodes, but it doesn't feel short because it is very well paced. There's not really any filler and nothing drags on too long. Some of the drama is a bit drawn out at times, but overall it's interesting, consistently well animated and a very good series.