“Space Invaders” – Mars of Destruction (anime) – 1/10 Notebooks

"...why I'm so sympathetic to the monsters. The answer is simple. Because I am one." ~Laurell K. Hamilton

Genre: Sci-fi/Horror

Review Status: Complete (1 Episode/1 Episode)

Licensed: No, it’s not licensed in the US. Thank goodness.

Art/Animation: Even though this was made in 2005, the animation would only be acceptable in 1990- MAYBE. It’s choppy, slow, inconsistent, and in some places non-existent. The art is standard, nothing exceptional.

Dub Vs. Sub: There is no dub. The sub, however, is overdramatic and perhaps the sorriest thing about it is that the voice actors seem to be trying. It’s not done well, though.

Summary: Some time after a space mission to Mars ends in destruction, strange monsters called "Ancients" begin appearing around Tokyo. A group of specialists consisting of three girls and one troubled young boy must fight the Ancients until they can come to understand exactly what it is they are fighting. When one of the Ancients tells them that they are the true invaders of Earth, they must search within themselves to grasp what truly is reality. (Source: ANN)

Review: This is a title that is well-maligned in the circles of anime fans as being one of the worst anime out there. Just to see whether this could hold up to such high standards, I gave it a shot.

There is no exaggeration when people say that this is a terrible anime. It starts out somewhat promising, with some lovely classical music, along with some shots of Mars and space to go along with it. And then you get to the re-entry of a spaceship into the atmosphere, which is dialogue set to a still shot. It doesn’t get any better from there.

This is filled with some of the worst dialogue and logic I’ve ever heard. There was an astonishing leap of logic when someone said that DNA from Mars started humanity on earth (wha?) and another man said that it meant humanity originated in Japan. There was an assertion by one of the ‘aliens’ that they had been awakened by the virus that had destroyed life on Mars, even though the aliens had only shown up a few months before and life on Mars had been gone for thousands of years. The worst of it, though, had to be when the characters were in the hospital. They were in an ICU unit, not surgery, but you heard calls for a ‘heart massage’, and someone said that the girl whose head had exploded wasn’t going to make it. Really? I would never have guessed! To top that off was the interesting way that guns didn’t injure the “Ancient” at all until the young man on the task force had shot him once. Then the bullets proceeded to rip into the alien’s flesh.

Of course, a train wreck of this proportion would be nothing without some stellar characters to carry it through. You have the members of the elite force that are young teenage girls of multi-colored hair. None of them are ever given a name. The only one that seems to be of any importance is the guy, who’s forced into a suit that should give him some serious internal injuries, and forced to fight these creatures. Too bad all we know about him is that his father created the suit and that one of the girls on the team likes him.

There is no reason to like or care about anything in this OVA. The characters are cookie-cutter, the plot entirely nonsensical, and the animation completely sub-standard. It’s a complete waste of the space it takes up, on the internet, on cellulite, and in my mind.

Overall, only watch this if you haven’t seen anything worse than Speed Racer, and you need something to compare it to.

Recommended: Um, no. 16+, though, for the gore. People are killed in this- one girl’s head explodes, two cops have holes shot in them.

Other titles you might enjoy: Anything else. However, for some shows with similar, better storylines…
Ga-Rei Zero (anime)
Macross Frontier (anime)
Super Dimention Fortress Macross (anime)
Gantz (manga)
Birdy the Mighty: Decode (anime)
Bubblegum Crisis (anime)

“Amazing Grace” – Sound of the Sky (anime) – 6/10 Notebooks

Sometimes I think it should be a rule of war that you have to see somebody up close and get to know him before you can shoot him. ~ M*A*S*H, Colonel Potter

Genre: Sci-fi

Review Status: Complete (12 Episodes/12 Episodes)

Licensed: Yes, this anime is licensed in the US. It’s available on DVD, or for free viewing on Crunchyroll.com.

Art/Animation: The animation is wonderful, very fluid and consistently good. The art is a little more iffy. The character designs are similar to those of the girls from K-On!, and not surprisingly gets a lot of flack for this. They really aren’t that memorable. While the art tends to be very well-done, the CG can be a little harsh and ugly, feeling very out-of-place in comparison to the rest of it.

Dub Vs. Sub: This is only available in subtitles.

Summary: In a lonely corner of the world, on the edge of No Man’s Land, sits Clocktower Fortress. It’s home to the 1121st Platoon of the Helvetian Army, and their newest member is a 15-year-old volunteer named Kanata Sorami, who enlisted to learn how to play the bugle. When she was a child, Kanata was saved by a beautiful soldier and found inspiration in the clear, golden sound of her trumpet. From that day forward, Kanata decided music would be her life. As the other platoon members train her how to be a bugler and a soldier, Kanata's enduring optimism will inspire them to look for happiness and beauty, even in a world haunted by war. (Rightstuf.com)

Review: The world as we know it has ended- a war has split the world into many countries, the old technology has been lost for the most part, and all that remains is a legend of maidens at a city at the edge of the border to nowhere, and a song that has managed to last through time.

At this outpost in the middle of nowhere, four girls welcome their newest member and interact with the villagers in ways that wouldn’t be approved of by the military or Church headquarters. They take part in local celebrations, help the children that the Church also takes care of, illegally make and sell wine to supplement their meager rations, and fix an old tank left over from the war that ended scant years before.

These activities make for some memorable episodes, from the one where they get involved in a tomato-throwing festival, to an episode where they foil some yakuza and scare Sorami in the process, to the one where the villagers honor the dead in a time-honored tradition. The first two thirds of this series are all about daily life in the fort and village, and while not all of it stood out, it most definitely had its moments. The less memorable moments would have been far better had the characters been stronger- as it is, they’re just carbon copies of all the other girls from 5-girl shows. There’s nothing really memorable about them or their personalities, so it’s the situations themselves that end up being what you really remember.

Then you get to the last few episodes. The drama really begins there, with a girl from the other side of No Man’s Land having traveled to find the village that was spoken of in tales from her homeland. From here on in, the story is serious business. There’s risk of attack, the fort is taken over by the main military force, and there is a surprising, out-of-nowhere reveal about one of the girls. And of course, music helps save the day.

As nice as this is, the first two thirds of the story aren’t all that special though it does have it’s moments.

Overall,this was a nice but indifferent slice of life (until the military storyline kicked in, which is where it became an indifferent story about the war).

Recommended: 13+. There’s no real language, a little bit of inappropriate humor (one of the girls has to stay in front of a phone until it rings and almost has an accident in one of the episodes). There’s one or two scenes with undetailed nudity, one when a girl is dressing and another with the girls in the bath- they’re having a slumber-party setup- but it’s like Totoro in execution. There is also some violence in the last few episodes. You see a battle that one of the girls was involved in- her squadron is killed in action. You do see the bodies. She also comes across a skeleton of a soldier that died many years ago, and hallucinates that it’s telling her to give up and commit suicide.

Other Titles You Might Enjoy:
K-On! (anime)
Yokohama Kaidashi Kiko (manga)
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (anime and manga)
Library Wars (anime and manga)
Haibane Renmei (anime)

“Just A Drop” – Chibi Vampire (manga) – 8/10 Notebooks

“All changes are more or less tinged with melancholy, for what we are leaving behind is part of ourselves.” ~ Amelia Barr

Genre: Romance/Comedy/Supernatural/Drama/School

Review Status: Complete (14 Volumes/14 Volumes)

Licensed: This manga was previously licensed by Tokyopop. As they have gone under and no one has yet picked it up again, it is currently unlicensed.

Art: Nice, clean, bold lines. It reminds me a bit of Toradora!, but the art tends to be sharper than that for Toradora! All the characters are distinct and memorable, while the backgrounds can be terrifically detailed.

Summary: Karin is a cute little girl who also happens to be a vampire… with a twist. Once a month she experiences intense bleeding from her nose- we’re talking gushers! In other words, she’s a vamp with blood to spare, so rather than stealing blood from humans she actually gives her blood to them. If done right this can be an extremely positive experience that benefits the ‘victim’ as much as the vampire. The problem is that Karin can never seem to do things right! (Tokyopop)

Review: Because this is the first manga I ever read, I definitely had some nostalgia filters on my memories of it. Thankfully, since I own it I was able to go back and re-read it to see whether it was as good as I remembered it to be. While it wasn’t the 10/10 I remembered it to be, this is still a solid romcom manga.

Karin has known she was different for a long time- she didn’t really ever want to leave the human world, and when the time passed when she should have managed to get her vampire powers, disaster struck- she had a massive nosebleed that showed that she would never be a normal vampire. When you’re in a family where the oldest is most definitely a vampire and the youngest is a vampire prodigy and turning to a full vampire early means that the rest of the family worries for her. Things escalate as they discover that there is more to her than the fact that she’s giving blood- like the fact that he little quirk could kill her.

At the same time the family realizes they can no longer protect her from the sun, so they leave her daily care in the hands of Kanta Usui, a classmate that witnesses one of her nosebleeds and nearly is bitten himself. They share what’s wrong with her and he volunteers to be bitten when she needs it- if only he can actually get her to bite him! However, Karin’s growing feelings for him make her nervous and unsure about doing it, since it does affect and change the person who’s bitten for a temporary time.

This manages to mix interpersonal drama- between Karin and her family, between Karin and Kenta, between Kenta and his family- with a rather good overarching story. Karin is drawn into a problem the vampires have with reproducing, which is key to her own strangeness. And while she’s at it, she must deal with balancing school, work, her budding romance, and one interesting family. I love the characters in this manga, from Karin who’s not always bright and perky like most shoujo heroines, to her little sister who’s collection of possessed dolls is a scream, to her parents and grandmother that have quite an interesting dynamic between them. Kenta is also a charmer. He’s hardworking and determined, and really very smart. I also feel so bad for his mom, who’s past history with men is full of misery, but still manages to provide a warm and loving home for her son. While some of the problems that they all encounter border on unbelievable, most of it I’ve seen happen to various degrees, adding a feel of realism to this story that I can enjoy and empathize with the characters.

It’s not perfect-score material, though. The jokes can fall a little flat, and it can fall into ‘silly’ and ‘melodramatic’ at times. Certain parts of the story can feel stupid, like Kenta’s mom fooling the police into closing down a prostitution ring. That wasn’t the bad part, but the execution felt very off. However, the ending seemed fitting, since Karin was never able to live in both worlds.

Overall, this was a sweet romance that had a somewhat bittersweet ending.

Recommended: 16+ is what they have on the back, and I think that’s about right. There’s an instance or two of Barbie-doll nudity, or where the genitals have been covered up. There is a handful of rough language, from the d-word to the b-word. Karin’s older brother is also a playboy, and while it’s never explicitly stated it’s clear he’s both draining blood from and having sex with the girls he picks up. And the fanservice never crosses the line into ecchi, though there are a few boob-grabs and mentions of how jealous someone is/how big they are.

Other titles you might enjoy:
NG Life (manga)
Hana to Akuma (manga)
Vampire Game (manga)
Tsukiyomi: Moon Phase (anime and manga)
Tsukihime (Visual Novel)

“Wellspring Of Knowledge” – GOSICK (anime) – 8/10 Notebooks

"Without mysteries, life would be very dull indeed. What would be left to strive for if everything were known?" ~Charles de Lint

Genre: Mystery/ Romance/ Historical/ Shounen

Review Status: Complete (26 Episodes/26 Episodes)

Licensed: Yes, this anime is licensed in the US. You can watch it free, legally, on Crunchyroll.com.

Art/Animation: The art is pretty standard for anime, but it looks nice regardless. The colors are bright and vibrant. The animation is also standard, nothing really stand-out. The notable exception to both the art and animation is the opening, which looks like a stained-glass picture come to life. The art and animation for that is simply exquisite.

Summary: The year is 1924, the place, Sauville, a small European country neatly tucked beside the Alps...

Kazuya Kujo has been studying abroad at the prestigious Saint Marguerite Academy, where urban legends and horror stories are all the rage. Most Kazuya ignores but the story of the Queen Berry, a mysterious ghost ship, really gets to him. Of course, his brainy friend Victorique is much more intrigued by true stories, and she uses her unrivaled logic to solve mysteries even the town's famous detective can't. Ironically, it is Victorique's inquisitive nature that leads the duo to board a ship that matches the Queen Berry's description to a tee, a ship that might just hold the key to solving a sinister mystery... (Source: Tokyopop)

Review: This anime was quite a surprise- one part mystery anime, one part character drama, one part romance, GOSICK manages to blend all its elements surprisingly well. None of these elements overpowers the others, and all are important to the overarching storyline. From the beginning you’re drawn into the mysteries that are presented. They all are given facades of the supernatural, from the ghost ship where children were massacred in an evening, to an undead alchemist. However, in the face of Victorique’s logic and ability to unravel a mystery (with the help of her trusty sidekick Kujo!), none of the mysteries remain unsolved. What can be frustrating is that since it isn’t a straight mystery anime, the viewer isn’t presented with all the clues that could help solve the case. This relies on some Dues-Ex-Machina on the part of Victorique.

However, it would be wrong to say that this weakens the story. The mysteries often tie together and reveal something about Victorique and her circumstances, such as her relationship with her brother and why she is stuck in the school. The mysteries aren’t the main part, they just help supplement the main storyline.

The main story is actually Victorique herself- her past, her parent’s past, her future. There are strange things going on in the country of Sauville, and she is at the heart of it. From the third arc onwards, the mysteries reveal the history of the nation, the ongoing war between the factions within it, and why Victorique herself is both reviled and needed by her father.

None of this would work well if the characters weren’t likeable or understandable. It’s hard not to like a tsundere in a Victorian dress, apparently. Victorique is far more likeable than many of her counterparts- she is logical and practical (for the most part), not flying into rages at the blink of an eye. Yet she still has her moments where she’s flustered and frustrated, not liking to ask people for help. And when she has her warm, caring moments, they might embarrass her, but they are still genuine. Kujo is a little less memorable. As an all-around nice guy, he’s often confused by Victorique’s pouts and moods. However, the relationship between the two is firm and strong. He’s willing to get right in the middle of family issues, calling out her brother when he’s wrong and doing small, thoughtful things for Victorique. The way his and Victorique’s feelings grow and change for one another is quite believable and makes you root for them at the end. While the rest of the characters get very little development except for Victorique’s brother, they do play important parts in moving the story along.

This anime held true to the light novels that it was based off of, telling the stories well and having good pacing and characterization. However, when the mystery arcs ended towards the end and went straight to a drama of two lovers torn apart, the story suffered. The war was highly condensed, and this made for some scenes that were glassed over in a way that made no sense- for instance, there was one where Kujo’s legs had disappeared and he was in a sea of sand. How did he lose his legs? Were they really lost? Where was he? And in the next scene he’s getting off a boat in Japan and meeting Victorique. While that was nice to see, it didn’t stop the previous scene from making no sense whatsoever and being completely unexplained.

Even with these issues, on the whole the story was strong, and was a good adaptation of the source material. I think I will be picking up the light novels if they’re ever translated to get the story behind some of the scenes in the epilogue, though.

Overall, this was a good show with a rushed ending, but still very enjoyable.

Recommended: Sure! 13+, as some of the deaths and dead bodies are shown but not in graphic detail. Some could be slightly disturbing (one man is burned alive, for instance). Others have the situations surrounding them be even more disturbing, as apparently one deals with children that were made paranoid enough to kill each other. One man apparently can be possessed by the ghosts of ancestors to tell the future. This is only relevant to one story arc, and is not pertinent to the storyline… only a relationship within the story. Some people are drugged. There are also a few other scenes that are violent- a beheading is done offscreen, you see a head roll onto the floor, some people are stabbed onscreen (this is not prolonged, the actual stabbing is offscreen or with the figure in shadows), and there is a burial on the seas.

Other titles you might enjoy:
Detective Conan (manga and anime)
Rozen Maiden (anime and manga)
Occult Academy (anime)
Denpateki na Kanojo (anime)
Detective Academy Q (anime)
Spiral: Bonds of Reasoning (manga)

“A Little Bit Of Life” – Four Shoujo Stories (manga) – 7/10 Beach Balls

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. ~Maria Robinson

Genre: A mix of Shoujo and Josei stories. Other than that, it’s in the review for each one-shot.

Review Status: Complete (1 Volume/1 Volume)

Licensed: Yes, this manga is licensed in the US. However, it is out of print, and due to when it was brought over (’96), the art is flipped in the US printing.

Art: The art is slightly dated, though still pretty typical for shoujo series. The lines aren’t always clean, but you have long-haired girls and big eyes. Some of the art is better than others. The one-shots collected in this are from all different time periods- They Were 11 was published in ’75, while some of the others date from the 80’s and 90’s.

Summary: In the review for each one.

Review:
This collection of stories is was the first shoujo manga published in the US. It’s a bit of a shame that it’s now out-of-print. Four stories from various mangaka that sprawl various genres and situations, this collection shows the roots of shoujo. However, I regret that they didn’t always pick the best stories to be published and really show Shoujo’s abilities. Two were very good, but the other two were poor in execution and story. However, the two that are good are worth seeking out on their own.

‘Promise’ by Keiko Nishi (Slice-of-Life/Drama/Supernatural)
A girl’s who’s become lost in life meets a stranger who is strangely familiar, and helps her gain back some understanding and happiness in life. Reiko always knew her mother wasn’t going to stay a widow forever, but when her mother suddenly introduces her to her husband-to-be, it comes as a shock. Reiko’s feeling as confused and as in turmoil as many people do when their parents decide to remarry- something that’s far from uncommon in today’s society. She has a hard time coming to terms with it and wishes she were dead so that she wouldn’t have to deal with it all- like her twin brother who never got a chance to live. Of course, the mysterious stranger who becomes friend and confidant expresses the idea that perhaps her brother is the one who is jealous of her. Perhaps in dealing with all the stress and discomfort of family life, Reiko is the lucky one. This was nice because it’s so relatable for so many people. While it’s not the best one-shot I’ve read, it most definitely is one for when you’re stressed by family and feel like giving up. 8/10

‘They Were 11’ by Moto Hagio (Sci-fi/Psychological/Mystery/Shoujo)
Only 10 students were sent out in on the mission into space. So why are there 11? Who is the extra, and why are they there? This is by far the best one-shot in the volume. This slowly explores the mystery of the ship- why it was abandoned, what happened to the people on it- while getting into the psychology and suspicions of the students. Tensions start building from the beginning as they can’t verify who is and isn’t a student. Accidents begin to happen and things start centering on one student who has empathetic abilities. Whether these students will survive is questionable, and will keep you on your seat! Good enough to have had a movie version made of it, this is a great story for anyone who enjoys thrillers! 10/10

‘The Changeling’ by Shio Sato (Sci-fi/Shoujo/Drama)
Lin has come from earth to contact and research a civilization started a thousand years ago. What she finds is a civilization that had a revolution 70 years ago, destroying a decadent noble class and establishing a virtual utopia. But why did it happen only 70 years ago and no sooner? What’s the secret behind these people that have genetically engineered themselves to no longer be able to breed with humans? This story is pretty short and to-the point, written in the vein of ‘I, Robot’ or ‘Bicentennial Man’. It isn’t half as sophisticated as those stories, though, and fails to have much dramatic emotional impact when the secret is exposed or when the explanation for everything is given. With such weak characters and a rushed pacing, this is a very weak addition to the volume. 6/10

‘Since You’ve Been Gone’ by Keiko Nishi (Josei/Drama)
The second contribution to this collection by Keiko, this story is about a man who’s been visiting his mistress when an earthquake hits. Enticed to stay, he starts reminiscing about how he met and fell in love with his wife. But was it really love? Or does he love his mistress? What does each woman really mean to him? It’s not as well put-together as her other work in this, ‘Promise’, is. It only shallowly explores his feelings for his wife and how they got together, and his relationship with his mistress is downright annoying. His mistress behaves like an immature child, while his wife lives out-of-touch with the world. The plot is pretty tragic, though, since when he realizes who he truly loves that person ends up dying. Overall, though, this is another poor story. 5/10

Overall, the four stories in here do manage to convey the range of shoujo and josei stories out there, but are of mixed quality.

Recommended: 14+. There is a little language, I remember the d-word being said twice. There are two instances of Barbie-doll nudity or where the genitals are covered up. ‘They Were 11’ had alien races involved, and two of them are hermaphroditic until maturation- one never matured and lives an extended life as a monk among his people, another will gain the ability to become fully a man if s/he passes the test they are on. S/he and another guy develop a somewhat romantic relationship, and s/he states that s/he would become a woman for him. In another story, a man is having an affair. No nudity or sexual situations are shown, just his bare chest and some of her legs. Any and all deaths are either offscreen and/or implied.

Other titles you might enjoy:
They Were 11 (anime)
Solanin (manga)
Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan (manga)
Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms (manga)

“The Yellow Brick Road” – Dorothy of OZ (Manwha) – 8/10 Beach Balls

All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware. ~Martin Buber

Genre: Comedy/Action/Adventure/Fantasy/Ecchi

Review Status: Incomplete (4 Volumes/5 Volumes)

Licensed: Yes, this manwha is licensed in the US. However, Udon cancelled it at volume 4.

Art: Bold lines for everything- there is rarely a weak or non-existent line to be seen. This isn’t a bad thing- the art is bold, and it suits. The colored pages are brightly colored, and there is great contrast between the blacks and the whites.

Summary: When Mara Shin’s dog Toto gets lost one fateful day, she goes in search for him along some yellow brick road and ends up in the wonderful land of Oz! Everyone starts calling her Dorothy, but these aren’t the cowardly lion, scarecrow, and tin man adventures you remember! This fantasic fairy tale features familiar characters… but with a definitely action animated twist! (from back cover of the first volume)

Review: Mara has been to this land once before as a child. She no longer remembers it, though she has seen the Yellow Brick Road. As her dog Toto decides to go barking down the road she follows- and finds herself in a world that she could never have imagined. This is not the Oz that most people are familiar with- the Witches are actually advanced scientists, at war with each other. Each witch has their own forces and ways of trying to take over, from the clones from the South that have psychic powers (one of which is codenamed “Scarecrow”), to the androids from the North (one of which is codenamed “Tin Woodsman”), and the magic boots of the witch of the east, which age her body ten years but help her access her magic.

It’s a dark, funny, twisted take on the tale. OZ is being ripped apart from the inside and attacked from the outside. All the witches of the Four Points are at war with each other, using their armies, while a force from the outside is insidiously gathering power from others that want to rule. And the Wizard is the worst of them all- someone with real magic and the original owner of the glove that Mara brought back from OZ when she was a child.

It plays with things that we know from the story and other common anime tropes. For instance, Mara -nicknamed Dorothy early on due to a belief that she is the key to a prophesy that isn’t really explained- ends up with magic boots when the Witch of the East dies (and she definitely does not die from a house on her head!). Those magic boots give her a Magical Girl transformation, one that she is fully aware of, as are her enemies and friends. Mara’s friends are all bishies, which is played with since she seems to have a small crush on Abee (the shortened version of “Scarecrow” in Korean). Jokes and crazy situations abound. In the first volume, though, we get a glimpse of the darkness that is taking over OZ, and know that things won’t be pretty. People die left and right, some of them innocent, others not so much. Interesting and violent creatures abound, putting our hero’s lived in danger.

Through it all, they manage to keep a brave face on. I deeply regret that this manga was cancelled early in Korea, at 5 volumes, and wish that Udon would have printed that last volume.

Overall, this was a great twist on a familiar story.

Recommended: 16+. There is some rare language (no f-bombs). There is some perversion from side characters, and of course Mara is self-aware about the magical girl transformation. All the important bits are covered by strips of floating cloth or her hands, though you might see some bare bum. Other characters obviously see the change, though. Some of the outfits for women can be pretty stripperiffic. Tick-Tock ends up in the hands of dwarves, and she starts getting stripped due to the dwarves planning on melting her down for scrap metal. The violence is pretty solidly there, though. People are stabbed, shot, crushed with stones… most of it is off-page, but it’s obvious what happened. You do see dead bodies, but it’s never graphic- just them in their clothes with some blood around them.

Other titles you might enjoy:
Toto: The Wonderful Adventure (manga)
Yureka (manhwa)
½ Prince (manhua)

“The Final Frontier” – Planetes (anime) – 10/10 Beach Balls

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity..."
- extract of a T.E. Lawrence quote

Genre: Sci-fi/Romance/Slice-of-life/Drama

Review Status: Complete (26 Episodes/26 Episodes)

Licensed: Yes, this anime is licensed in the US

Art/Animation: Very nice. This goes for a more realistic look to the art, and the animation holds up to standards. There’s some absolutely wonderful CG work thrown in, and while it can be rather obvious where it is, it’s not an eyesore.

Dub Vs. Sub: Dub is pretty decent. I overall preferred the sub merely because the voice actor for Hachimaki puts such energy into his performance, but both are watchable.

Summary: In 2075 AD, regular commercial flights can take you to cities on the moon or space stations orbiting the Earth. But there exists a thread that may seem trivial but left unchecked can prove fatal: Space Debris. This is the story of the Debris Section of the space station ISPV-7 who diligently collects orbital debris to keep space travel safe. Hachirota “Hachimaki” Hoshino, an experienced EVA (extra-vehicular activity) worker, toils away at his thankless job, hoping to one day own his own spaceship. (from back of DVD cover)

Review: I had read the manga a while ago, so I came into this thinking I knew the story. I was wrong. These are different enough that I cannot compare them on any level, and so will not be doing this review with any comparisons.

The members of Debris Section, or “half-section” as they are oft referred to due to a lack of a full crew, are all working hard to fuel their hopes and dreams. We follow Tanabe as she meets and gets to know them, the perils of the job revealing themselves to her the longer she stays and becoming more than she could ever have imagined. Tanabe herself is a rather naïve newbie in Half Section. She believes in love- that everyone should be cherished, that tributes to it should be admired, that people want nothing more than to be together and love one another deep down. Her idealism is brought down a notch in the first episode, but throughout it morphs into a deep faith in people and into doing the right thing- and she is a strong character for it. Hachimaki is an unrepentant dreamer. He manages to hold tight to his dream of having his own ship for a good long time, and must face demons of an accident in order to cling to them. He goes down the wrong path in trusting and loving others, but manages to make it back. The rest of Half Section are almost as deep and complex, from Fee, a rather mysterious smoker that is willing to face down terrorist attacks to get a smoke and has friends in high places in the system, to Ede, a temp worker that almost never talks, but has a drive and determination to overcome her past that puts many to shame. Even minor side characters manage to come across as multi-dimentional, real people. The first half of the anime is spent developing them, rarely taking itself too seriously, but with undertones that more serious stuff is afoot.

Character development is blended beautifully with the plot. At first it seems like the daily life of the debris collectors- sharing in their lives and loses, discovering the things that keep them in space or away from Earth. It seems very down to earth, with realistic situations involving the hierarchy of the company and various company politics. It soon grows into more than that. Internal and national politics come into play early on- the same episode that Tanabe’s idealism comes against a wall. An early forewarning of a more serious plot is the bombings of the smoking rooms on the Moon- as funny as the episode where this is introduced was, it’s terrorism nonetheless. As the crew of Half Section is pulled into these events during the regular course of their duties, they find themselves mixed up into planetary politics and company politics that have far-reaching consequences for everyone on and off of earth. Friends become foes, conspiracies and double-dealings abound, and subtle maneuvering wins the day though it might not be a perfect happy ending to the situation.

Of course, that’s not the end of things. Not by a long shot. Bad things happen to good people. No one within Half Section is left unaffected, least of all our main characters. And a decision is placed before Hachi that makes fulfilling his dream of going out into space on a 7 year cruise to Jupiter a hard choice to make. It does get a little philosophical as Hachi wrestles with the fears that were left from an accident that occurs during the series, but it’s through this that he’s able to come to terms with leaving and why, and who exactly he’d be leaving behind. He’s lived with his father doing it to his family, and he must figure out how to be at peace with it… or abandon his hopes altogether. The very ending is beautiful- a simple scene of family life that is touching and yet so bittersweet when I realized what exactly it meant.

Overall, this is a realistic and brilliant anime about garbage men in space.

Recommended: 15+. There’s some rough language- I don’t remember any f-bombs being dropped, but at least once an episode someone was dropping a “What the h---“, and occasionally using the alternate word for donkey, calling someone an illegitimate son, and there was one written instance of the word for female dog. Sometimes it was unnecessary and just the way the person spoke (which I can sympathize with as my brother speaks like that), and sometimes it was definitely situation-appropriate. The anime also deals with some heavy themes. One woman was abused and forced into prostitution by her husband, a few characters deal with the idea and consequences of killing another person- when it’s okay, and how one can be brave enough to sacrifice themselves- along with the dangers that come along with their jobs (from being hit with debris, to drifting off into space, to dying of cancer from radiation).

The violence is just a bit worse than Star Wars- most of the instances of death have discretion shots. The first people who die you see some blood fly and then another person moves over so you don’t see the bodies. Many of the shots you see some blood fly and then they fall over. However, there were about three times when the death was emphasized for horror and to show how terrible it was, not by making them gorefests but by making the people fall into another’s arms or other things. There was never anything excessive shown- I actually feel that it was done more tactfully than most PG-13 movies show. As far as sexual content, in the first episode Hachimaki picks up a porn magazine and tells Tanabe (who’s outraged) that it’s a long trip and things could happen between men and women, so it’s necessary. He’s forced to put it back. It does make a cover appearance in two other brief shots in the anime, but one time unless you’re paying attention then you’ll probably miss it. There is some slight sexual tension a few times- they are asked whether they’ve had sex twice, Tanabe is told that having dated for about two months might be the time to do it, and they do end up in a hotel room together. This goes absolutely nowhere, though.

Other titles you might enjoy:
Planetes (manga)
To Terra… (manga and anime)
Saturn Apartments (manga)
Eureka Seven (anime)
Moonlight Mile (anime)
Twin Spica (manga)
The Wings of Honneamise (anime)
Real Drive (anime)