I seriously cannot sleep tonight, so I guess I'll finish this draft and post it up.
Anime.
It's something I'm into, though not something I obsess over.
Anime.
It's something I'm into, though not something I obsess over.
Ultimately, it all comes back to my thirst for stories and characters, so I'm a bit drawn to most expressive media that include those.
I've been watching two shows lately. Partially it's all I have time for, but there's honestly not much else out there making it onto my radar. Anyway, I've been keeping up with Gundam 00 as well as Xam'd: Lost Memories.
To start, let me say that I'd recommend either show to ANYONE. Neither is as simply defined as what it initially appears.
Xam'd:
The premise for the show is interesting, though fairly typical within anime. The visual style, the music, and the production value are all quite good. The characters are surprisingly well fleshed-out, too, and that's always good. Where I'm starting to get worried is in the pacing. The first 10 episodes moved at a really smooth and quick pace, but the last four have been jarry and off-the-mark. The pacing is a bit hard to get past right now, but once the situation resolves into a new status quo and the main conflicts continue to be addressed, it'll all fit in. Before that, not so much. Still a great watch, though.
Gundam 00:
Most pressingly, we're 8 episodes into the second season. The first season got off to a strong start, but the second took the show in a new direction and really upped the ante for sophisticated animated storytelling.
I shit you not, this show actually pulls the lamest of soap opera cliches, the "identical twin brother of the tragically dead favorite character" and makes it play! New Lockon looks JUST like old Lockon, but you never mistake the two. He's completely his own damn self, and the unique characterization is there to the smallest bit. Excellent.
Also in Gundam 00 news, the English dub started airing a week or two ago, and unfortunately it was done by the Ocean group. That said, it could be a lot worse.
Overall, the biggest issue with the dub is a lack of talent diversity. Several actors take up, easily, 5 or 6 roles, and that's just in the first two episodes! It waters down the performance when the actor has to rely on stupid vocal tricks to differentiate his characters, rather than just acting straight-up.
The second biggest issue: The Ocean group's seemingly contractual obligation to give Richard Ian Cox a major role. Man, did they fuck up this time. Cox's take on Allelujah is just. . . well, I won't say "wrong" because there is no single definitive interpretation (shove off, elitist Japanophile fanboys!) but it's going to be very problematic. Allelujah is a gentle, reluctant warrior. He believes in what he's doing, but feels heart-wrenching guilt for having to pull the trigger. This juxtaposes with the split Hallelujah personality, a psychotic murdering bastard, beautifully. Cox's Allelujah doesn't play as innocent; he comes across as a snotty punk-ass bastard. The problem is that the lines and the stories don't work with this dynamic. Cox will have a very hard time trying to fit his rough, square pegs into the character's smooth, round, holes. Get your mind out of the gutter.
Don't get me wrong. It's entirely cool for the English version to kind of recharacterize a couple folks. It worked beutifully in Gurren Lagann for Kamina and Kittan. However, when the new characterization is so far a departure from the source, it falls out of synch. Cox's Allelujah simply won't make much sense.
Other thoughts are pretty vanilla, though mostly positive. Brad Swaile doesn't have the detachment to play Setsuna quite accurately, but aurally he does the job okay. The one definitely worth mentioning, though, is whoever that dude is playing Lockon. I can't recall the actor's name, but he hits the mark PERFECTLY. He captures the character completely and totally, and his smooth bravado plays like no other.
I will say that his catchphrase has a slight inconsistency, though. He fires a number of shots, THEN announces "Dynames is targeted and ready to fire". . . kind of a B then A sort of thing, no?
Anyway, the shows are good. Watch 'em.
Out.
I shit you not, this show actually pulls the lamest of soap opera cliches, the "identical twin brother of the tragically dead favorite character" and makes it play! New Lockon looks JUST like old Lockon, but you never mistake the two. He's completely his own damn self, and the unique characterization is there to the smallest bit. Excellent.
Also in Gundam 00 news, the English dub started airing a week or two ago, and unfortunately it was done by the Ocean group. That said, it could be a lot worse.
Overall, the biggest issue with the dub is a lack of talent diversity. Several actors take up, easily, 5 or 6 roles, and that's just in the first two episodes! It waters down the performance when the actor has to rely on stupid vocal tricks to differentiate his characters, rather than just acting straight-up.
The second biggest issue: The Ocean group's seemingly contractual obligation to give Richard Ian Cox a major role. Man, did they fuck up this time. Cox's take on Allelujah is just. . . well, I won't say "wrong" because there is no single definitive interpretation (shove off, elitist Japanophile fanboys!) but it's going to be very problematic. Allelujah is a gentle, reluctant warrior. He believes in what he's doing, but feels heart-wrenching guilt for having to pull the trigger. This juxtaposes with the split Hallelujah personality, a psychotic murdering bastard, beautifully. Cox's Allelujah doesn't play as innocent; he comes across as a snotty punk-ass bastard. The problem is that the lines and the stories don't work with this dynamic. Cox will have a very hard time trying to fit his rough, square pegs into the character's smooth, round, holes. Get your mind out of the gutter.
Don't get me wrong. It's entirely cool for the English version to kind of recharacterize a couple folks. It worked beutifully in Gurren Lagann for Kamina and Kittan. However, when the new characterization is so far a departure from the source, it falls out of synch. Cox's Allelujah simply won't make much sense.
Other thoughts are pretty vanilla, though mostly positive. Brad Swaile doesn't have the detachment to play Setsuna quite accurately, but aurally he does the job okay. The one definitely worth mentioning, though, is whoever that dude is playing Lockon. I can't recall the actor's name, but he hits the mark PERFECTLY. He captures the character completely and totally, and his smooth bravado plays like no other.
I will say that his catchphrase has a slight inconsistency, though. He fires a number of shots, THEN announces "Dynames is targeted and ready to fire". . . kind of a B then A sort of thing, no?
Anyway, the shows are good. Watch 'em.
Out.
