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silverthunder) wrote2009-10-13 10:37 am
silverthunder) wrote2009-10-13 10:37 am
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Shangri-la Episodes 1-7
In between Tales of Phantasia (waiting for the DVD to arrive) and Tales of Symphonia (watching with Cody), I've been watching another anime on my own which I downloaded based on a review from Star Crossed Anime Blog. It sounded interesting, and I'm always looking for strong female characters, so I figured I'd give it a shot. So far I've watched 7 episodes.
This series got off to a bit of a slow start with me. I think if I'd not been on a Thanksgiving long weekend which Cody had to work all the way through, I might not have made it past the first two or three episodes. As it was, I had a lot of free time on my hands, needed to distract myself from watching the Tales series, and didn't have any other anime series that I particularly wanted to watch, so I downloaded it and determined to stick with it. I ended up running out of episodes to watch because my download wasn't finished, but it was actually nice to watch at a bit more of a leisurely pace rather than marathoning them.
I don't usually go for anime with a lot of semi-complicated subplots, overlying corruption, or dark and evil things going on covertly. I prefer simple, solid storylines that are straightforward and where I feel that the characters' actions have some hope to them rather than leading them further into a cesspool. This series definitely has its share of corruption and complications, but as I watched further, I realized that it probably wasn't going to get convoluted enough to turn me off of it. I have no problem following what's happening (even though in some cases I'm still not really sure what exactly is going on - hopefully they explain it), and despite the fact that it seems as if events are proceeding along some grand scheme the main villain has, I don't get this sense of overlying corruption that turned me off from series like Code Geass and that book series by George R.R. Martin that everyone else loves but me.
One thing that is apparent about this series right from the start is that you need to suspend your disbelief before watching. An 18-year-old girl who looks like she's 14 is going to become the leader of an anti-government guerilla organization in a futuristic setting where Tokyo is partly submerged due to world pollution. With that premise right there, you know not to expect a heck of a lot of realism from this series, and for me, that is absolutely okay. I watch anime as an escapism; if I wanted realism, I'd watch the news. In the name of a good story, I can ignore the plotholes and deus ex machina that crop up from time to time. Thus far, they haven't been that huge or irritating, and the show is entertaining enough that I can overlook them. When I was reading some of the reviews online, I sometimes felt like emailing the person and asking "Seriously, what did you expect when you picked up this anime and started watching it? Did you read anything about it beforehand?"
One thing that someone mentioned in a review which I thought was an interesting observation is that the series has a noticeable lack of preaching about what man has inflicted on the environment. The environmental issues are generally addressed as a political concern (the carbon tax) or a safety issue (potential illness caused by exposure). I'm not sure if this changes later in the series, but at the moment the major concern seems to be the people and how they are treated rather than the evils man has inflicted on the environment.
Hmm... I've already written quite a bit, and I haven't even talked about the characters yet... I'm just barely a quarter of the way through this anime and I already have this much to say - wow.
Anyway, so far the characters are quite solid. Because there are quite a few, it can become hard for some series to define and develop them all. This one manages very well. I'm going to compare it to Gundam Seed, because it's the most obvious example of a series that got way too carried away with its characters. There were too goddamn many and it was only with the help of Wiki that I was able to remember who anyone was. They talked about them like they expected you to remember, and it just got way too confusing at times. In this case, you are unlikely to forget a single character in Shangri-la, because they are all very memorable. Beyond just their appearances, their personalities are distinct and well-defined. As I'm just a quarter of the way into the series, they haven't been completely fleshed out, but I can see some very strong potential. I still don't feel like I know some of the characters as their motivations are hidden, but I'm hoping this will come as the story progresses.
I'll talk a bit about the main character, Kuniko. There is nothing particularly special about her character - she reminds me a great deal of Luna from Uninhabited Planet Survive, although she has less respect and more mischief in her nature. Kuniko also refuses the position of leader despite being offered it - a sign of immaturity, because she wavers through the first part of the series as to whether she really wants to be affiliated with the group, childishly avoiding responsibility and clinging to the ability to do whatever she pleases. Despite this, she's the kind of leader who can inspire others and commit them to her cause: she is passionate and protective. She's your typical heroine (or hero), caring a great deal about the people and leaping to their defense when necessary, but she's got a good deal of charisma and charm. I wouldn't say she's groundbreaking by any stretch, but she's certainly interesting. There were other characters who I found more interesting, although Kuniko really caught my attention in episode 7. I think her character will start to shine more in the coming episodes. We'll see.
There are a couple of characters who are clearly important, but we don't really know why yet. I get the feeling they're going to build up Kunihito as the main love interest, but this series doesn't seem interested in romance, so I doubt it'll go far (which suits me fine). Currently he's on the other side, and he's not been developed a great deal yet. We know that he's got a similar personality to Kuniko's in that he cares a great deal for people and how they are treated, but he's got more respect for authority and seems easily cowed by his superiors. He's also a serious young man who probably needs to lighten up a bit more. I wonder what his role will be. Similarly, Mikuni has been introduced but not explained. I don't really even know which side she's on, or if she has a "side", although she's clearly being controlled by the government. From what we've seen of her character, she is a spoiled little girl who needs to get her own way (well, we've seen what happens when she doesn't) but who is desperately seeking a mother figure - someone who isn't afraid of her and doesn't hold her at a distance. Her obsession with not being lied to is interesting, too. I wonder if there's a back story, but with her being so young, I doubt it. Her bodyguard Sayoko seems like she may get more development than her.
There's probably some significance in the fact that there's 'kuni' in the names of the three targeted by Atlas: Kuniko, Kunihito, and Mikuni. I wonder if they'll mention it at all or if it'll just be one of those symbolic things that don't need explanation.
There are a number of other characters who are interesting and the main villain also seems pretty sinister, but I could go on forever so I'm going to refrain from discussing my impressions of each one. I do want to make mention of the two transsexuals in the cast, though. This is unusual for pretty much any TV series or movie, and even more unusual is the fact that despite their occassional humorous moments, they are serious characters with great influence over the plot. I found them to be two of the most interesting cast members, although they take a little getting used to. I honestly think it may really be because of them that I kept watching, because I've seriously not watched another anime that had transsexual characters of importance who were not there primarily for comic relief. And no, there's no angst over 'I'm discriminated against for being a transsexual'. They just are who they are without apology; others accept it. Momoko in particular is a favorite; she's got such an outrageous flair to her.
While this series does have its flaws, it's a very entertaining watch and shows a great deal of promise. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who watches anime primarily for sexy girls or guys, romance, slash potential, realism, or great philosophical insights. I would recommend it to anyone who is willing to keep an open mind and suspend their disbelief in favor of a pretty enjoyable story. At least at this point. We'll see what happens in the remaining 3/4 of the anime.
This series got off to a bit of a slow start with me. I think if I'd not been on a Thanksgiving long weekend which Cody had to work all the way through, I might not have made it past the first two or three episodes. As it was, I had a lot of free time on my hands, needed to distract myself from watching the Tales series, and didn't have any other anime series that I particularly wanted to watch, so I downloaded it and determined to stick with it. I ended up running out of episodes to watch because my download wasn't finished, but it was actually nice to watch at a bit more of a leisurely pace rather than marathoning them.
I don't usually go for anime with a lot of semi-complicated subplots, overlying corruption, or dark and evil things going on covertly. I prefer simple, solid storylines that are straightforward and where I feel that the characters' actions have some hope to them rather than leading them further into a cesspool. This series definitely has its share of corruption and complications, but as I watched further, I realized that it probably wasn't going to get convoluted enough to turn me off of it. I have no problem following what's happening (even though in some cases I'm still not really sure what exactly is going on - hopefully they explain it), and despite the fact that it seems as if events are proceeding along some grand scheme the main villain has, I don't get this sense of overlying corruption that turned me off from series like Code Geass and that book series by George R.R. Martin that everyone else loves but me.
One thing that is apparent about this series right from the start is that you need to suspend your disbelief before watching. An 18-year-old girl who looks like she's 14 is going to become the leader of an anti-government guerilla organization in a futuristic setting where Tokyo is partly submerged due to world pollution. With that premise right there, you know not to expect a heck of a lot of realism from this series, and for me, that is absolutely okay. I watch anime as an escapism; if I wanted realism, I'd watch the news. In the name of a good story, I can ignore the plotholes and deus ex machina that crop up from time to time. Thus far, they haven't been that huge or irritating, and the show is entertaining enough that I can overlook them. When I was reading some of the reviews online, I sometimes felt like emailing the person and asking "Seriously, what did you expect when you picked up this anime and started watching it? Did you read anything about it beforehand?"
One thing that someone mentioned in a review which I thought was an interesting observation is that the series has a noticeable lack of preaching about what man has inflicted on the environment. The environmental issues are generally addressed as a political concern (the carbon tax) or a safety issue (potential illness caused by exposure). I'm not sure if this changes later in the series, but at the moment the major concern seems to be the people and how they are treated rather than the evils man has inflicted on the environment.
Hmm... I've already written quite a bit, and I haven't even talked about the characters yet... I'm just barely a quarter of the way through this anime and I already have this much to say - wow.
Anyway, so far the characters are quite solid. Because there are quite a few, it can become hard for some series to define and develop them all. This one manages very well. I'm going to compare it to Gundam Seed, because it's the most obvious example of a series that got way too carried away with its characters. There were too goddamn many and it was only with the help of Wiki that I was able to remember who anyone was. They talked about them like they expected you to remember, and it just got way too confusing at times. In this case, you are unlikely to forget a single character in Shangri-la, because they are all very memorable. Beyond just their appearances, their personalities are distinct and well-defined. As I'm just a quarter of the way into the series, they haven't been completely fleshed out, but I can see some very strong potential. I still don't feel like I know some of the characters as their motivations are hidden, but I'm hoping this will come as the story progresses.
I'll talk a bit about the main character, Kuniko. There is nothing particularly special about her character - she reminds me a great deal of Luna from Uninhabited Planet Survive, although she has less respect and more mischief in her nature. Kuniko also refuses the position of leader despite being offered it - a sign of immaturity, because she wavers through the first part of the series as to whether she really wants to be affiliated with the group, childishly avoiding responsibility and clinging to the ability to do whatever she pleases. Despite this, she's the kind of leader who can inspire others and commit them to her cause: she is passionate and protective. She's your typical heroine (or hero), caring a great deal about the people and leaping to their defense when necessary, but she's got a good deal of charisma and charm. I wouldn't say she's groundbreaking by any stretch, but she's certainly interesting. There were other characters who I found more interesting, although Kuniko really caught my attention in episode 7. I think her character will start to shine more in the coming episodes. We'll see.
There are a couple of characters who are clearly important, but we don't really know why yet. I get the feeling they're going to build up Kunihito as the main love interest, but this series doesn't seem interested in romance, so I doubt it'll go far (which suits me fine). Currently he's on the other side, and he's not been developed a great deal yet. We know that he's got a similar personality to Kuniko's in that he cares a great deal for people and how they are treated, but he's got more respect for authority and seems easily cowed by his superiors. He's also a serious young man who probably needs to lighten up a bit more. I wonder what his role will be. Similarly, Mikuni has been introduced but not explained. I don't really even know which side she's on, or if she has a "side", although she's clearly being controlled by the government. From what we've seen of her character, she is a spoiled little girl who needs to get her own way (well, we've seen what happens when she doesn't) but who is desperately seeking a mother figure - someone who isn't afraid of her and doesn't hold her at a distance. Her obsession with not being lied to is interesting, too. I wonder if there's a back story, but with her being so young, I doubt it. Her bodyguard Sayoko seems like she may get more development than her.
There's probably some significance in the fact that there's 'kuni' in the names of the three targeted by Atlas: Kuniko, Kunihito, and Mikuni. I wonder if they'll mention it at all or if it'll just be one of those symbolic things that don't need explanation.
There are a number of other characters who are interesting and the main villain also seems pretty sinister, but I could go on forever so I'm going to refrain from discussing my impressions of each one. I do want to make mention of the two transsexuals in the cast, though. This is unusual for pretty much any TV series or movie, and even more unusual is the fact that despite their occassional humorous moments, they are serious characters with great influence over the plot. I found them to be two of the most interesting cast members, although they take a little getting used to. I honestly think it may really be because of them that I kept watching, because I've seriously not watched another anime that had transsexual characters of importance who were not there primarily for comic relief. And no, there's no angst over 'I'm discriminated against for being a transsexual'. They just are who they are without apology; others accept it. Momoko in particular is a favorite; she's got such an outrageous flair to her.
While this series does have its flaws, it's a very entertaining watch and shows a great deal of promise. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who watches anime primarily for sexy girls or guys, romance, slash potential, realism, or great philosophical insights. I would recommend it to anyone who is willing to keep an open mind and suspend their disbelief in favor of a pretty enjoyable story. At least at this point. We'll see what happens in the remaining 3/4 of the anime.