ALARIS' REVIEWS

20th August 2010
Anime Sampler #04: Planetes (2003), Last Exile (2003), XXXHOLiC (2006), Hellsing (2001)

Summary: An inexperienced, civilian astronaut joins a rag tag team of space garbage disposalists.

At first glance, I didn’t think I would like Planetes. Slice of life, observational, people collecting space junk – you get the picture. Plus, the DVD cover reminded me of Wings of Honneamise (1987), an animated film which certainly has merit, but which I found slow and arty.

However, Planetes is unexpectedly engaging: from the atmospheric opening scene to the understated episodes which follow the characters’ daily activities.

Ai Tanabe is a rookie astronaut – an idealistic, sentimental, and impetuous civilian, prone to making naïve and sometimes annoying speeches about love and justice. However, the series is partly about Tanabe’s journey to maturity, and her more grounded colleagues are a mostly likeable group of veterans who haven’t quite let go of their dreams.

Planetes excels in conveying the awe and scope of space, the kind of ‘whoa…’ that gets nerds like me so excited. The series creates a real sense of the vastness of the universe, and the fragility of humans working in an alien environment. The animation is beautifully clean, and the story moves at a steady, if leisurely pace.

Planetes nicely captures the mundane camaraderie of Tanabe and her colleagues, and there are companionable touches of humour. There’s no epic drama, but Planetes presents a detailed and convincing vision of life on a space station in 2075, which makes the ordinary seem fascinating.

If the vastness of space makes your breath catch, there are some lovely moments in this.

***

Last Exile (2003): Ep 1

Summary: A human/alien war rages in a dystopian, steampunk world. I think.

From the opening credits, this should have been outrageously cool. Epic airship battles, rattling dogfights, lots of last stand heroics. I was hoping for Porco Rosso (1992) meets Appleseed Saga: Ex Machina (2007). Instead, I got Legend of the Galactic Heroes (1989) meets Tales from Earthsea (2006).

Don’t get me wrong, I found Legend of Galactic Heroes likeable enough, but it was eccentric and interminable. Likewise, Tales from Earthsea was nicely animated, but director Goro Miyazaki had no idea what he was doing.

Steampunk is automatically cool, but Last Exile manages to be disengaging in both its characters and its story. The opening episode hops from character to character, but instead of weaving an intriguing tapestry, it paints a rather laborious yet uninformative picture of the world.

It’s hard to tell who’s supposed to be a main character and who’s a redshirt, since all seem equally bland. There isn’t enough emotional detail to create a connection with the viewer, unlike in Planetes (2003), where even brief exchanges convey a great deal of mood and empathy.

If you love airships, Last Exile is probably worth the investment. However, the series is a bit unfocused for me.

*+

XXXHOLiC (2006): Ep 1

Summary: An uptight schoolboy, who can see ghosts, reluctantly enters into a deal with a dimensional witch who grants wishes.

Popular artists group, Clamp, are well known for their theatrical stories and sumptuous visual style, so I was surprised when XXXHOLiC was a bit…mediocre.

The tone of the series is off kilter comedy, but the pacing reminds me of the Bleach (2004) filler arcs. There is an unexpected amount of circular dialogue, and small moments which could have been smaller, or not there at all.

The characters lack texture and detail, and the story needs to be either more dramatic or quirkier. I wonder if something was lost in the translation from manga to anime. Curiously ordinary.

*+

Hellsing (2001): Eps 1-2

Summary: Flamboyant vampire-turned-vampire-hunter, Arucard, and newly recruited policewoman-turned-vampire, Victoria, hunt down violent vampires as part of the Hellsing special ops force.

This could have been gorgeously decadent, like Vampire Hunter D (2000), or quirky and moving, like Shaun of the Dead (2004), or even cheesy yet cerebral, like The Fly (1958). However, Hellsing is unashamedly over the top horror.

I always see plenty of merchandise for Hellsing, so I’m aware that it’s a popular, cult series. However, the drooling villains and generous splatter in Hellsing aren’t offset with enough genuine drama or blazing cool to give it dimension. I guess I should have known from the main opening scene, in which a woman in fetish gear is shot between the eyes, that this wasn’t my kind of series. And while I’m not an occupational clothing specialist, I’m pretty sure that super tight mini skirts are not practical policing wear. Even for a vampire.

The characters are superficially sketched, the plot insufficiently engaging, and the execution a tad too schlocky. However, if you like graphic horror, you’ll probably enjoy Hellsing.

*