Forum - View topicShelf Life - Woman Power
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Fronzel
Posts: 1906 |
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It's diminishing returns in the stylistic lineage from Cowboy Bebop to Samurai Champloo to Michiko & Hatchin.
I thought the setting was specifically fantasy-Brazil rather than a more general "Latin America", probably because of the fairly well-known Japanese minority in that country. The series has some really neat turns on paper but as the review mentioned somehow they don't really work out that memorably. I'd call it missed potential. I don't really care for the original Bubblegum Crisis OVA, but I kind of hated Tokyo 2040. It wastes a lot of time doing not-very-much, probably to save money because doing not much isn't as expensive as being an actual action series. I was a little disappointed how it pretends to inherit the original's connection to music (Priss is still in a band) but ultimately never followed through on the idea at all despite spoiler[the final shot being Priss singing as the sun rises.] Didn't really lay the groundwork for that to hit home. The plotting also gets really sloppy toward the end even before the really weird space-stuff the review mentions. There's an episode where they kill some blob taking over a building and suddenly the next episode opens with the blob they already killed having taken over the city. Not to mention the fact that when robots go crazy they bulge and deform like they're made out of flesh. It kind of feels like they would have preferred to do something about genetic engineering or something (pretty trendy at the time, right? Resident Evil was big.) but had to use robots because it’s a BGC remake. More charitably, it was trying to shake off the jaded reaction audiences likely have to robots in a sci-fi setting and trying to present them as strange and incomprehensible new things that can come off as very threatening. I can’t say it works. Kind of surprising how limp it ultimately is considering Chiaki J. Konaka wrote for it. Well, the writer can't make a show on his own, I guess. |
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penguintruth
 Posts: 8461 Location: Penguinopolis |
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Bubblegum Crisis: Tokyo 2040 has its pluses and minuses. It has a full narrative, a complete story arc. It has characters that develop over time. It has thematic cohesion, proper build up, and a proper climax. Many of the things the original OVA can't claim to exhibit. However, it just isn't quite as fun as the original. It can be very cold, clinical, and paint-by-numbers. It just doesn't have that awkward charm that the original has. But I'm glad to have watched it and to own it.
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6868 Location: Kazune City |
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My main problem with BGC 2040 was the Boomers -- as I once stated on the formerly-useful tropes site, they go from fairly believable sci-fi cyborgs at the beginning to flying magical Fusion-Dancing zombie ghost mecha by the end. The last handful of episodes, yeah, those were WTF territory, but every studio at the time had to have its super-weighty Evangelion-esque theatrics. Still, I don't regret buying/watching the series, and the English dub is an old-school ADV/Matt Greenfield classic. Which is why I feel no need to buy Funi's version to replace the 2004-05 "Essential Anime" releases, since Funi lacks the ADV-specific extras. At least Funi's release has the 5.1 English remix from those Essential Anime discs, unlike Discotek's Dragon Half that only has stereo for English. And surprisingly enough, the OOP ADV EA editions aren't terribly expensive; it'll cost more to ship them than to buy them from Amazon Marketplace. (Too bad there's apparently no reliable place to see audio channel data for anime discs -- the old AnimeOnDVD reviews at mania.com used to have that info, but they've been purged.) <- That's what I would have said, but I managed to find the BGC 2040 info from Funi's own shop site. Still, those looking for audio channel data on older/non-Funi releases may be SOL. |
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penguintruth
Posts: 8461 Location: Penguinopolis |
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That's not exactly a bonus. At least it's better than Evangelion's English dub, but otherwise, it's not particularly great. Christine Auten and Hilary Haag are the only ones truly pulling their weight in it. |
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belvadeer
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I'm surprised Escha and Logy is sub only.
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4089 |
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The original Crisis is born of the 80's simplistic OVA boom with no idea what anybody wanted to do with it. I was never impressed by it, as I gather a number of people are even if they proclaim its pluses of music, charm and period help sell the show of "armored humans fighting robots" with a straight face. 2040 at least had more separating the characters than "color" and "sexuality". Wait, I'm supposed to find the flaws with 2040 as that's the mindset these days. No, I liked the "boomer to monster" change as a representation of out of control technological evolution, all the Saber Knghts, Mason and Galatea, the plot which escalates from "evil corporation seeks single evil scheme for unholy matrimony" to "humanity versus technology at the cellular level" and it evens manage to touch upon robosexuality in both positive and negative lights. I even like the Ad Police and the fact they're not 100% useless. 99.9995 maybe but that's not a 100. I hated the fact that Linna's choices for romance were cut off every time, no matter which sex? No, I liked that too as not every character needs to be paired up. I can even hear the opener in my head to this day. I hated the fact there wasn't a sequel? No, they would have just ruined it. The animation? How can I hate that as it has the classic anime design and colors? They really need to relearn how to use the color black these days; You don't have to see everything. Fun? Isn't the definition of fun watching Linna do a roundhouse kick to a Boomer's face? How about running down a cephlepod on foot, I mean, a motorcycle in heels? Nene? Leon, Daley, hello? Priss may be a stick in the mud, which helps the dynamic by the way, but I'll take an impassioned Sylvia over the oversexualized one. I really do love this series. 2040 forever or at least for 25 more years! |
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manapear
Posts: 1525 |
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That's a pretty fair review for Mt/eH. Hasn't it been reviewed here before, though?
Either way, it's definitely one of my favorite anime/animations. It has something a lot of other shows don't. And I definitely agree that it's quite feminist. I think part that's because it's by a (very aware) female director that made the show for a female audience, specifically. It also has a lot of Brazilian influence because the team actually traveled to (or at least heavily researched?) Brazil. I remember seeing photos they used and stuff. Pretty cool! I always appreciate when research is done. I think the show can stay engaging, but if the episode gets lacking, it falls hard. There were a few that I just hated or didn't appreciate at all, but can watch and feel meh or even okay about now. Excellent show though; a lot of fun and very refreshing. I hope she gets to work on more anime soon~. (Still need to check out the Fujiko series too.) |
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Kimiko_0
 Posts: 1796 Location: Leiden, NL, EU |
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@ Alyssa's shelves - Whoa, you have some rare stuff there
 
Both Fancy Lala and Full Moon Wo Sagashite, but not Creamy Mami? I thought that's the original both are derived from (couldn't get through Full Moon myself, but Fancy Lala was okay). |
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Tenchi
 Posts: 4471 Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer. |
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I've never watched it but I presume it could also be influenced by Peru, which also has a significant Japanese ethnic minority as evidenced by Alberto Fujimori, who was the Peruvian President for 10 years (1990-2000). |
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
 Posts: 3904 Location: CO |
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Yep, it's a re-release, but I wanted to get a different writer's opinion on it. And the timing with the Adult Swim addition seemed like a nice opportunity to talk about it again. |
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fuuma_monou
 Posts: 1819 Location: Quezon City, Philippines |
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Most of the on-screen text in Michiko & Hatchin is in Portuguese, so that pretty much narrows it down to Brazil. |
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manapear
Posts: 1525 |
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Ah, okay. Makes sense~. (And I'll never complain if the show is getting fair/positive attention. >u<) |
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Wyvern
 Posts: 1562 |
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M&H has its problems, but overall it's one of the best TV anime of the last decade. It's got some of the best standalone episodes I've ever seen in a series, though there are also a couple of serious clunkers. What makes it succeed are its commitment to a unique setting and the fantastic interplay between the two title characters. Hatchin may need Michiko to get her out of danger, but that doesn't mean Hatchin isn't just as important to their survival, because Michiko is a mess at anything that doesn't involve kicking ass or causing mayhem. Michiko's flaws as a person force ten year old Hatchin to be the grownup in the relationship, and the way these two navigate that uncomfortable dynamic is a joy to watch.
It does have some issues with cutting animation corners, and a bad habit of focusing away from the two leads a bit too often (did Atsuko really need her own episode?) But it's still a worthy companion to the likes of Samurai Champloo, and while it's not quite on Bebop's level, it's a lot closer than you might think. |
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motormind
Posts: 89 |
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"it's even more exciting to get one that isn't concerned with romance, but rather a relationship between two women."
Those are not diametrically opposed, you know. |
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prime_pm
 Posts: 2337 Location: Your Mother's Bedroom |
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Was anyone a little put off by the dub for Michiko & Hatchin? Namely Monica Rial's portrayal of a black woman?
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