Derfel’s Anime Reviews and Articles

First of all, I must apologise for my lateness. Thanks to my ’journey’ back here home, I could not keep my promise regarding the date I’d write my next post on. Anyhow, it is here now, a somewhat laid-back one this time.

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The focus of this post is on the Coroners and Justice Bill again. On Anime UK News there has been a debate as to whether the bill, if passed, will have any adverse effects or not. Thought crime, as a description for what the bill seeks to establish, has been raised, dismisses, raised again and dismissed again and on and on.

It could be said that an anime-themed website could be biased in favour of freedom, as the bill concerns anime greatly, but from what I gather, it is not the unusual bias of a bunch of anime fans. The matter of thought crime had been raised a number of times before and generally issues very similar.

When the bill was put before Parliament consultation papers were distributed alongside to ascertain the vox populi ? public opinion. The consultation papers are a most fascinating read. At one point, it states it straight that the Government is not seeking to demonstrate in accordance with any form of scientific information ? it would appear that nowadays the average MP is meant to be a poeta doctus and a polyhistor, capable of deciding on all matters without reference to any form of evidence. As proof, consider the extract from the consultation papers:

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“We are not aware of any specific research carried out to ascertain whether there is a direct link between possession of these images and an increased risk of sexual offending against children.”

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It is fairly unsurprising that this would strike many people as a bunch of shite, for it is. In the summary of responses to the consultation papers the pro-1984 side (sadly, the majority) tried to argue that there “appears” to be such a link:

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“It was suggested that such images reinforced inappropriate views and feelings towards children, could be used by potential offenders to groom prospective victims, and were frequently found alongside illegal collections of images depicting real abuse.”

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Well, that is very interesting, but I am guessing they also found a large stock of tissues and suchlike as well, so could it be that tissues are now “tools of the trade” too? The case is, perhaps, that there is a connection between tissues and child abuse? Wait! I also believe that most child abusers were caught carrying penises, their own ones, is this not proof that all who carry penises attached to their body (ergo all men) are rapists and molesters? Oh surely, what else could it prove? On a more serious note, is it really a good decision to legislate without any form of scientific proof, instead using only wild speculations?

Arguments to the extent that, opinions accusing the proposed measures of being rather Orwellian are groundless, were raised. Now I do apologise, but I am surprised that such arguments were brought. Is it not black and white? Are the provisions of the act not legible? Again, the reader must differentiate between photographic and non-photographic images. For a photographic image to have been made, a certain state of affairs must have existed which had been photographed. A photographic image of child abuse will invariably have as its source actual child abuse. That is obviously intolerable and must be prevented.

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On the other hand, let us consider non-photographic images. What is their source? Where are they taken from when the creator draws or otherwise actualises them on paper or the screen? From his or her imagination. The artist’s thoughts lead his hands which actualise the thoughts. Thoughts serve as the source of the image. The bill wishes to prevent these thoughts being graphically expressed. This effectively means that parliament finds said thoughts to be criminal, the actualisation of which images must be prevented. If the thoughts were not deemed to be criminal, why would parliament seek to prevent their actualisation? They would have no reason to do so, hence, this must mean that they view the thoughts as criminal.

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These thoughts are not merely my unfounded complaints or worries. They were raised in the summary I have mentioned. My view is that if the bill is passed unamended, that will only be the first step. It will only be precedent for the curtailment of freedom and proof that it is possible to gain support through exploitation of prejudice and public morality.

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That is it for now. The second reading of the bill before the Lords was concerned mainly with provisions related to suicide, so we will have to wait some more for input.http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/consultation-non-photographic.pdf

http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/consultation-non-photographic-response.pdf

Because of the upcoming exams, I will be taking a short break from writing. My last exam is on the 4th of June, so expect my next article or review (still undecided) on the 5th or perhaps even on the 4th. I wish everyone else preparing for exams luck.

UPDATE: Due to some difficulties, namely flying back to Hungary for the summer, I had to postpone the upcoming post. It will be published on the 7th. I apologise.

I must say, at first I was a little confused about Scrapped Princess. I investigated the title superficially, and found the following: it is a fantasy story which has a princess and knights. In addition there are kingdoms. Needless to say, I thought better of watching the anime. A couple of months later, it was recommended to me as a decent post-apocalyptic anime. My perverse fascination with the apocalypse quickly took over and I decided to watch the show. During those 24 episodes that it lasted, I was very positively surprised.

The world of Scrapped Princess, while well-made, is not particularly astonishing. Not until about 4/7 through the anime. The reader is cast into a seemingly usual and mundane fantasy world. In this world the Church of Mauser is the dominant sect, one which has much influence over politics. There is another sect in the anime, the followers of Browning. The followers of Browning form a majority and most believe them to be an organisation of blasphemous wrongdoers. Both faiths demonise each other in their teaching, which will be very crucial later on.

It is in this world that our protagonist Pacifica Casull was born nearly 16 years before the events of the story. Once born, she was condemned to death. A prophecy foretelling that she would bring destruction to the world effectively convinced her father the king, but really, all followers of Mauser that she must be killed. An order was given to this extent, but as as usually the case, the execution failed.

Pacifica was taken in by a couple who became her foster parents and their children her adoptive siblings. Raquel and Shannon, the siblings in question, protected her almost her whole life. This was a task they were entrusted with by their parents. Scrapped Princess is essentially the story of these three individuals, interwoven with that of a number of others who each play their role very well.

Apart from the handful of key characters, the personae of the inhabitants are not overly complex. The reader must be aware that Scrapped Princess, albeit a fascinating one, is a shounen anime. Characters can often seem scripted, but compared to other shounen titles, Scrapped Princess demonstrates perhaps a bit more autonomy in crafting the characters’ personalities. On the other hand, the characters play their respective roles in a very realistic and well-timed manner. The anime has to deal with a large number of characters, but does it very well. This can be seen best in the second half.

Pacifica is well aware of her own identity, unlike of her own place. She is, effectively, a spoilt princess. Her siblings take care of her in every possible way, and despite their ‘nomadic’ way of life, she cannot even cook. Because she is the putative harbinger of destruction, there is someone attempting to kill her every corner. This causes her siblings much distress, but they patiently endure.

Shannon is a young swordsman with a calm and often seemingly apathetic personality. While he is incapable of using magic, he demonstrates high skill with the sword and excellent swordplay. Pacifica often gives him directions and uses him to take care of her tasks. At some point there appears to be a romantic bond between the two, but the story abandons this early on.

Raquel is Shannon’s genetically related sister, a spellcasting mage with immense magical powers and agility of mind. She is able to utilise her magic in swift manner. Her personality is very calm and forgiving with few exceptions. She is sort of a mother figure able to handle most disagreements and arguments that arise. Much like her brother, she wears dark clothing as well, and would throw her life away to protect Pacifica.

The story is overall interesting. Not so much the first half, but the second. The first half is more fantasy with the emphasis on a small number of characters and how they get to know each other. The reader may consider it a form of long, drawn-out introductory part. In the second half, however, things speed up to a considerable degree. Hell breaks loose and the anime presents the viewer with a problem that must be solved. An issue that goes to the roots of the story and existence. The characters embark on their true journey towards the ending about halfway through the anime.

This second half is very praiseworthy in many regards. I am positively biased towards some of its themes, but it cannot be helped I’m afraid. One noteworthy aspect of the anime is this ‘humanity’s last stand in a post-apocalyptic world’. I exaggerated a bit perhaps, it is not a last stand per se, but major calamity threatens. Another important thing I must note is the lack of definitive foes. While there are actual enemies in the anime, they are but footsoldiers. This is comparable to Evangelion and Xenogears. In neither one could the viewer/player grasp who the true enemy was. This is only a comparison in respect of the absence of definitive enemies, it is not to say that Scrapped Princess is to be judged with the standards of Xenogears or Evangelion. Scrapped Princess is a shounen show and accordingly delivers in a different manner to a different audience. There may of course be an overlap.

There is, in the anime, an absence of malicious plotting. Yes, it is true that some inhabitants of the anime are oblivious of the notions of honesty and fairness altogether, but there is no ‘Grand Cosmical Evil Scheme’, which is a very cool idea in my opinion.¹ Most characters high up seem to have positive intent, albeit horribly twisted by utilitarian logic.

The ending of the anime was a bit diluted. It is not my wish to spoil it for anyone, so I will not go into details. The problem I see with the ending is that the story kept building and building up. The steam in the end was improperly released. There was great theoretical suspense in the sense that a very serious premise was introduced by the story, one that deals with the fate of humanity itself, but the ending was decided on a much lover level. Imagine Shinji at the end of End of Evangelion suddenly returning to the Earth with Eva 01, and there you have it: happy end. This is essentially what I felt after watching Scrapped Princess. By introducing such a complex back story, Scrapped Princess aimed high, but from the ending it becomes apparent that it settled for low. This is an annoying fact, but let it not stop you from watching the anime if the rest seems to be to your liking. The ending is not horrible, it is not an entire mess, it is merely average.

My focus is rarely on the visuals or the audio, but I must touch on these too.

The music was so-so. I could watch the opening an ending only once. The songs were ok, but it is really not my sort of music, so I cannot comment much on it. The seiyuu, as usual, did an excellent job. One thing that pissed me was Mr Knight² using boku all the time. It may just be me, but the use of boku in all circumstances drives me mad. I am finding it very hard to tolerate it.

The graphics and the animation quality are both good. The anime aired in 2003 and for the 2003 standards the animation quality is average. Average in the good sense. There is nothing I could really criticise apart from the general unusual movements that sometimes took place. On the other hand the graphics style angered me a little bit. There seems to be a presumption that in a fantasy story, almost everyone must wear cloaks. I cannot seem to understand why is the anime so full of people wearing cloaks, as there is no justification offered for this.

Now to draw a full circle and conclude things I must say that Scrapped Princess is worth your time. I, for one, surely do not regret watching it. At all times, when watching the show, keep in mind that it is a shounen production. I wish that this was not so, I wish it delivered the raging chaos, death and destruction the anime industry really needs, but it does not. This does not detract so much from the worth of Scrapped Princess although. It is very professional in what it does. Viewed with shounen standards the story is deep and well-thought out. And to really finish this up: Watch Scrapped Princess for yourself and see the underlying premise. I doubt that anyone would claim it is superficial.

1. although the opposite would allow for a hate-filled, all guns blazing, humanity’s last fucking stand sort of story, apocalyptic in the truest sense, where all of humanity is wiped out in one desperate battle against the odds and the universe, my wet dream in other words lol [↩]
2. you will know when you see him [↩]

Mangaka: 浩輝遠藤 - Hiroki Endou
Publisher: 講談社 - Kodansha
Number of volumes: 18
Do I recommend it?: I sure as hell do!

Rating:

The story Eden conjures up takes place in a post-apocalyptic, cyberpunk world. Humanity has been decimated by a lethal virus that devours its victims, petrifying them. In this world the old order has been destroyed, and upon its ruins, the Propater a military organisation was founded. In this bleak world ruled by the Propater, two youths, Enoah and Hannah are being raised by a scientist stricken by the deadly virus. The arrival of Enoah’s father sets the tale in motion. By killing his father, Enoah begins his struggle against Propater, which his son Elijah will inherit. When the story of Elijah begins, Enoah Ballard is already an influential drug baron, son of one of its founding members and sworn enemy of Propater. Eden is the tale of Elijah Ballard’s battle against Propater. And it is also the tale of a lawless world thrust into chaos, its inhabitants and their battles, victories and defeats alike. This is a Machiavellian story of sadism, desperation, apathy, resignation and hope.

Unlike many stories I have seen, heard or read before, Eden is ‘alive’. The manga has a very wide palette of story elements and a very distinct and enjoyable art style to complement it. Anyone who has ever played Shadowrun will know what I am talking about. The dark atmosphere that looms over the reader, not letting lose for a moment. Hiroki Endou drives the reader to feel sympathy towards his key characters, and he forces the reader to feel enveloping sadness when he proceeds to kill them off, which he does on a regular basis. (continue reading…)

This writing is primarily to offer guidelines on safe internet use to the community of www.animeuknews.net, but also to any person who falls within the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom.

Ignorantia juris non excusat or in English ‘ignorance of the law is no excuse’. Right because of this, it is very important for the user to be aware of his legal standing and the legal implications of the use of the internet. Anime and manga are visual arts. The days of trading and swapping VCRs are gone. We are living in the digital age, where the majority of related news and other materials are distributed through the worldwide web. The average fan handles a large number of pictures, video and audio recordings every day. With every single click the user interacts with the laws governing the internet. But not every user has a lawyer to consult. (continue reading…)

Native title: Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~
Studio: Bee Train
Episodes announced: 13
Episodes covered: 2
Do I recommend it?: Yes. Phantom is one of the better shows this season. Give it a shot.

Rating:

(continue reading…)

Native title: 戦国BASARA
Studio: Production I.G
Episodes announced: 13
Episodes covered: 2
Do I recommend it?: Ain’t it obvious?
Rating:

So unsuspectingly I sat down to watch something before I go to sleep. What happened in the end is what you are reading this moment. I decided to watch this new Sengoku-themed anime I have been hearing about here and there. Sengoku is nothing new. It is a common theme, frequently encountered and often poorly applied. Watching the opening, with all sorts of supposedly cool things happening, a terrifying fear manifested itself within my heart: ‘Is this going to be something like Samurai Champloo?’ And indeed, one could argue that there is a similarity, only Sengoku Basara is anything but lame. (continue reading…)

IMPORTANT NOTICE, SKIP IF YOU DON’T GIVE A FUCK: if you are easily offended, do not read this. If you are easily offended, but hate the titles mentioned herein, by all means go ahead and read it. If you’re not offended easily, do whatever you want. Now, this writing’s not meant to be homophobic. The reader must understand that I cannot use the word ‘girly’ or ‘feminine’ or something similar when I want to seriously criticise those crappy titles.

It is fairly obvious that so far my writings favoured their subject anime. However, this time it will be different. I know I have been away for a while, but the bitterness I have built up while concentrating on my studies, will only help being as negative as possible. So let us see some of the worst anime -no one ever should have ever seen- hand picked by myself. (continue reading…)