Good Anime II
I am told that my Good Anime post was popular in some circles/used as a reference point for people interested in geting into anime. Well, I've watched a lot of anime since then, and I have a lot to say about it, so here is a follow-up post.
I admit I have eclectic tastes in anime. My own (rather puny) collection has a little bit of everything, ranging from Noein (ruminations on death and alternate realities) to Kodocha (funniest fucking anime ever). Moribito is virtually a Japanese history piece, Nana is sex drugs and rock 'n' roll, and Cardcaptor Sakura is a kids' show. So, without further ado, more Good Anime!
Moribito
I'm not a great fan of historical dramas that take place in the times of kings and knights ... or, well, in this case, ninjas; but this excellently animated, vividly imagined, very well written, wonderfully voiced single-season anime (based on the novel of the same name) is the cream of the crop.
I personally get tired of the battle between the good and the evil/weak-willed, so it was especially rewarding to watch a show in which all the main characters have noble, if conflicting, goals and needs, of the life-or-death variety. I like a show where people are realistically weak, but it's refreshing to see a show where people are realistically strong and unyielding, clever and determined, and each in their own ways, admirable.
The wonderful strong female lead (watch in Japanese--her voice is great, tough and no-nonsense) is Balsa, a fearsome spear-wielder in a time of swords and arrows, who is pressed to save the life of the 12-year-old prince Chagum, who turns out not to be spoiled or unpleasant, but profoundly courageous himself. Chagum's life is threatened by none other than his own father, not because he's wicked but because he believes he must to save the kingdom.
In this day and age, it is uncommon to find a show that moves at the pace of an old classic book, with the same sort of aesthetic (one episode is almost entirely artful images of a metal-smith forging a sword as stories are shared), especially one done so well. You can even show this one to the kids! (Really!) And, really, don't ever show most anime to them--just 'cos it's a cartoon don't mean it ain't incredibly disturbing. To wit:
Noein
Only in anime will you find horrifying semi-religious machines from an alternate reality threatening all existence juxtaposed with a touching reconciliation between middle-school girls fighting over a cell phone ornament. Disturbing, hilarious, surreal, real, profound, simple, this show doesn't seem to have hit the spot for many, but it sure did for me.
The theme is death and its meaning in the context of existence, as multiple versions of the same characters encounter each other and war over aspects of our reality. Only the main character, Haruka, remains unchanged in every dimension: brave, whole-hearted, resourceful, genuine, she navigates life, death, and every alternate timeline to save the simple reality she values exactly as it is.
Beautiful/horrifying animation, original concept that goes REALLY deep, a script that never wavers from its purpose, fascinating characters in multiple guises, it's not for everybody, but it is a great show. Absolutely, positively watch in Japanese.
Gunslinger Girls
Also profoundly disturbing but excellent, this is an entry in the growing genre of unlucky humans (in this case, orphaned girls) being experimented on and scientifically "improved" and put to use by the government for military purposes. Why girls? Because the government's targets (usually organized crime bosses--it takes place in Italy) would never suspect someone who looks so sweet and innocent of being so lethal.
You just can't get good tragedy these days--it's fallen out of fashion--but I love a good tragedy, and this one (at but twelve episodes) never pretends to be anything else. (There is a second season, which I hear is much less good.) You are unrelentingly drawn into the stories of each of the girls and their fraught relationships with their (adult, male) "handlers," knowing that in every case, their lives will be short, brutal, and troubled. (The same technology that gives them super strength also limits their lifespans.) The show doesn't flinch from how the experience twists them (and their handlers) emotionally, either. I can't imagine that it would have been easy to maintain such a delicate balance--it could so easily have gotten either way too twisted or way too maudlin, so disturbing it renders the viewer numb or so soft it loses its impact--but somehow this one pulls it off.
I suspect this one is better in Japanese, but I saw it in English, and it was still very good.
Nana
There is much that could keep this one off the list of truly great anime, mainly that it disintegrates a bit as it nears its end and leaves a ton of loose ends for no apparent reason. It also undeniably becomes a bit of a soap opera two-thirds of the way through the entire show (it spans multiple seasons). Still, it stays with you, it has richly drawn characters and an utterly absorbing story, and fantastic original music. If you love a good rock 'n' roll tale, this one's for you.
Two girls, both coincidentally named Nana ("Seven," a number apparently considered to be bad luck in Japan, but in anime you get a lot of people named after the date on which they were born, as in this case), encounter each other by chance on a train, both having abruptly left home to start a new life in Tokyo. One Nana is flighty, silly, infantile, and selfish; the other is a dark and brooding rock singer. An odd couple, they wind up living together and becoming twisted up in each other's life stories as the second Nana's band strives for success. Uncommonly realistic and very romantic, their lives proceed according to their natures, with chance throwing a curve ball now and then. Even the incidental characters are real, and their stories weave in and out of the whole series. It ain't perfect, but it's certainly worth watching.
Make a note: The Japanese dub is far better.
Cardcaptor Sakura
This is an out-of-print classic that never had an English dub (Warner Brothers bought it, chopped it up, and tried to make an American version for kids--as for why I assume they didn't just translate it directly?: lots of the gay). Still, if you can come by a copy, it is well worth watching. More than just a kid's show, it is nevertheless bound to put you in a good mood. Excellent animation, fascinating characters, great voice work, lots of heart, it simply tells a great story, and is freakin' hilarious to boot.
The first season is pretty good, the second season (the surprising and rather wrenching finale of which is carefully led up to throughout both the first and second seasons) is fabulous; be prepared for the third season to be a bit of a let-down. Still, it's nice to follow the situations and characters to their natural ends. Make a note: you will absolutely be disappointed in the final episode if you don't also watch the follow-up movie, which ties up what was artfully but annoyingly left open-ended by the series.
Kodocha (Kodomo No Omocha)
This one didn't sound good to me as described: a middle-school-aged hyperactive TV star? Sounds like it would be someone's contrived fantasy of how awesome it would be to be famous. The show's charm lies in the fact that it's entirely the opposite of a contrived fantasy.
Remember being 12? Okay, now, really remember being 12? It wasn't a bittersweet, adorable coming of age, it was a terrifying, baffling introduction to hormones, child abuse, twisted classmates, and the notion of suicide ... as well as being fun and endlessly exciting, with every day throwing up wild new challenges. Despite its surreal aesthetic, Kodocha is the most realistic depiction of modern life at that age I've ever seen, and somehow, it is also about the funniest show ever.
Definitely watch in English; the Japanese dub is okay, but this is one of the rare cases where the excellent English cast, doubling as directors, producers, and writers (!!), makes more of the raw material than the original. (Other such examples are Solty Rei and Kamichu, both fine shows, but I wouldn't classify them as "great," so they do not go on this list.) Just be forewarned: only the first two of four seasons were licensed in America, so things cut off kind of abruptly. Still, it is WORTH EVERY SECOND.
I admit I have eclectic tastes in anime. My own (rather puny) collection has a little bit of everything, ranging from Noein (ruminations on death and alternate realities) to Kodocha (funniest fucking anime ever). Moribito is virtually a Japanese history piece, Nana is sex drugs and rock 'n' roll, and Cardcaptor Sakura is a kids' show. So, without further ado, more Good Anime!
Moribito
I'm not a great fan of historical dramas that take place in the times of kings and knights ... or, well, in this case, ninjas; but this excellently animated, vividly imagined, very well written, wonderfully voiced single-season anime (based on the novel of the same name) is the cream of the crop.
I personally get tired of the battle between the good and the evil/weak-willed, so it was especially rewarding to watch a show in which all the main characters have noble, if conflicting, goals and needs, of the life-or-death variety. I like a show where people are realistically weak, but it's refreshing to see a show where people are realistically strong and unyielding, clever and determined, and each in their own ways, admirable.
The wonderful strong female lead (watch in Japanese--her voice is great, tough and no-nonsense) is Balsa, a fearsome spear-wielder in a time of swords and arrows, who is pressed to save the life of the 12-year-old prince Chagum, who turns out not to be spoiled or unpleasant, but profoundly courageous himself. Chagum's life is threatened by none other than his own father, not because he's wicked but because he believes he must to save the kingdom.
In this day and age, it is uncommon to find a show that moves at the pace of an old classic book, with the same sort of aesthetic (one episode is almost entirely artful images of a metal-smith forging a sword as stories are shared), especially one done so well. You can even show this one to the kids! (Really!) And, really, don't ever show most anime to them--just 'cos it's a cartoon don't mean it ain't incredibly disturbing. To wit:
Noein
Only in anime will you find horrifying semi-religious machines from an alternate reality threatening all existence juxtaposed with a touching reconciliation between middle-school girls fighting over a cell phone ornament. Disturbing, hilarious, surreal, real, profound, simple, this show doesn't seem to have hit the spot for many, but it sure did for me.
The theme is death and its meaning in the context of existence, as multiple versions of the same characters encounter each other and war over aspects of our reality. Only the main character, Haruka, remains unchanged in every dimension: brave, whole-hearted, resourceful, genuine, she navigates life, death, and every alternate timeline to save the simple reality she values exactly as it is.
Beautiful/horrifying animation, original concept that goes REALLY deep, a script that never wavers from its purpose, fascinating characters in multiple guises, it's not for everybody, but it is a great show. Absolutely, positively watch in Japanese.
Gunslinger Girls
Also profoundly disturbing but excellent, this is an entry in the growing genre of unlucky humans (in this case, orphaned girls) being experimented on and scientifically "improved" and put to use by the government for military purposes. Why girls? Because the government's targets (usually organized crime bosses--it takes place in Italy) would never suspect someone who looks so sweet and innocent of being so lethal.
You just can't get good tragedy these days--it's fallen out of fashion--but I love a good tragedy, and this one (at but twelve episodes) never pretends to be anything else. (There is a second season, which I hear is much less good.) You are unrelentingly drawn into the stories of each of the girls and their fraught relationships with their (adult, male) "handlers," knowing that in every case, their lives will be short, brutal, and troubled. (The same technology that gives them super strength also limits their lifespans.) The show doesn't flinch from how the experience twists them (and their handlers) emotionally, either. I can't imagine that it would have been easy to maintain such a delicate balance--it could so easily have gotten either way too twisted or way too maudlin, so disturbing it renders the viewer numb or so soft it loses its impact--but somehow this one pulls it off.
I suspect this one is better in Japanese, but I saw it in English, and it was still very good.
Nana
There is much that could keep this one off the list of truly great anime, mainly that it disintegrates a bit as it nears its end and leaves a ton of loose ends for no apparent reason. It also undeniably becomes a bit of a soap opera two-thirds of the way through the entire show (it spans multiple seasons). Still, it stays with you, it has richly drawn characters and an utterly absorbing story, and fantastic original music. If you love a good rock 'n' roll tale, this one's for you.
Two girls, both coincidentally named Nana ("Seven," a number apparently considered to be bad luck in Japan, but in anime you get a lot of people named after the date on which they were born, as in this case), encounter each other by chance on a train, both having abruptly left home to start a new life in Tokyo. One Nana is flighty, silly, infantile, and selfish; the other is a dark and brooding rock singer. An odd couple, they wind up living together and becoming twisted up in each other's life stories as the second Nana's band strives for success. Uncommonly realistic and very romantic, their lives proceed according to their natures, with chance throwing a curve ball now and then. Even the incidental characters are real, and their stories weave in and out of the whole series. It ain't perfect, but it's certainly worth watching.
Make a note: The Japanese dub is far better.
Cardcaptor Sakura
This is an out-of-print classic that never had an English dub (Warner Brothers bought it, chopped it up, and tried to make an American version for kids--as for why I assume they didn't just translate it directly?: lots of the gay). Still, if you can come by a copy, it is well worth watching. More than just a kid's show, it is nevertheless bound to put you in a good mood. Excellent animation, fascinating characters, great voice work, lots of heart, it simply tells a great story, and is freakin' hilarious to boot.
The first season is pretty good, the second season (the surprising and rather wrenching finale of which is carefully led up to throughout both the first and second seasons) is fabulous; be prepared for the third season to be a bit of a let-down. Still, it's nice to follow the situations and characters to their natural ends. Make a note: you will absolutely be disappointed in the final episode if you don't also watch the follow-up movie, which ties up what was artfully but annoyingly left open-ended by the series.
Kodocha (Kodomo No Omocha)
This one didn't sound good to me as described: a middle-school-aged hyperactive TV star? Sounds like it would be someone's contrived fantasy of how awesome it would be to be famous. The show's charm lies in the fact that it's entirely the opposite of a contrived fantasy.
Remember being 12? Okay, now, really remember being 12? It wasn't a bittersweet, adorable coming of age, it was a terrifying, baffling introduction to hormones, child abuse, twisted classmates, and the notion of suicide ... as well as being fun and endlessly exciting, with every day throwing up wild new challenges. Despite its surreal aesthetic, Kodocha is the most realistic depiction of modern life at that age I've ever seen, and somehow, it is also about the funniest show ever.
Definitely watch in English; the Japanese dub is okay, but this is one of the rare cases where the excellent English cast, doubling as directors, producers, and writers (!!), makes more of the raw material than the original. (Other such examples are Solty Rei and Kamichu, both fine shows, but I wouldn't classify them as "great," so they do not go on this list.) Just be forewarned: only the first two of four seasons were licensed in America, so things cut off kind of abruptly. Still, it is WORTH EVERY SECOND.