Guardians of the Galaxy
Showing posts with label space western. Show all posts
Showing posts with label space western. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Movie Review: Guardians of the Glaxay
When I saw the trailer for this film before Captain America 2: The Winter Solider all I could think was Thank God for Marvel and how they've convinced the movie-going public to give sci-fi films another chance and I don't think I'm going to stop being thankful for this for a while (and it's also proving just how loose the definition of superhero really is which is also a good thing in my opinion). I knew absolutely nothing about this franchise going in except what I saw in those trailers but it looked like it was going to be a fun, spaghetti-space-western romp and that sounded like a pretty great summer movie to me!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Anime Review: Trigun
Hmm, I spent a lot of my summer watching old school anime didn't I? Funny enough this wasn't one I was checking out from the local college library (although they did have it), I saw the first bit of the show dubbed on Netflix, saw the movie, found that the show was removed from Netflix, moped, and then discovered that it was avaliable subbed and dubbed in it's entirely on hulu. Whew, but hurray for having a variety of legal sources out there (even if the fact that some of hulu's commercial breaks are oddly placed which always manages to bug me) and it's especially nice since the show is a relicense and for one reason or another those shows normally don't get streamed online, really wish Trigun wasn't a rarity in that respect.
Trigun
Summary: Vash the Stampede, aka The Humaniod Typhoon and the bane of insurance companies everywhere, is actually a really nice guy who just happens to get involved in a whole lot of trouble everywhere he goes. Then again, normally it's because he's such a nice guy who can't stand by and watch people get hurt that he gets involved and gets hurt himself, as well as causing damage to everyone around him. So Meryl and Millie are sent from a local insurance company to try and find this man and keep his damage in check, although as the series goes on it turns out they aren't the only ones who want to find Vash and deal with him, most in a more permanent way.
The Good: It may not have a lot of space in it but it's a fun space western with plenty of shoot-outs, improbable shooting skills and the hero always saves the day kind of fun. There is a central plot thread for those who don't like strictly episodic series and character development that is vital for any series (interestingly enough, Vash probably isn't the character with the most but he has so much backstory to start with that this makes sense and his backstory answers a lot of questions about the series). It's a good mix of those things so it's easy to see why a lot of American fans loved this series and why Funimation decided to rerelease it.
The Bad: For me, the shift between the more light hearted episodes early on in the series to the darker ones later one was a jerky one that could have been paced much better (a problem that is partially explained by the fact that the manga was currently running as the anime was airing, it wouldn't finish until almost 10 years after the anime did). It seemed like the Gung-ho Guns subplot was introduced too late into the series and a lot of backstory was revealed in the last episode which, as a general rule of thumb, isn't a good way to go about it. I also disliked how Meryl's growing feelings for Vash made her go from a capable and cool character early in the series to someone who couldn't do much at all, why couldn't she be capable and in love? Similarly, Millie's attraction to Wolfwood came out of nowhere and only seemed to be around to make certain events more poignant and by that point in the series I was just getting more and more annoyed at the characters and these little details didn't help.
The Audio: The opening and ending song for this series actually fit rather well although I prefer the instrumental opening to the slightly odd ending song myself. As mentioned earlier, I watched this dub (mostly because I simply wanted to) and it's a pretty good dub for the early 2000s. Some of the characters always sound a little flat (and a good number of the one-off background characters simply sound awkward) but the main cast is solid and improves as the show goes on.
The Visuals: It seems that the Japanese release of Trigun featured an altered opening sequence each time to reflect what characters would be in each episode but the English release didn't do that (or if they did I didn't see, normally I don't watch through the credits more than a few times). However, what people are going to notice the most is that this isn't a new show and it looks like one. It's a bit low quality when viewed full screen, the aspect ratio is different from today's anime which means that it's going to be letterboxed (which funny enough is less noticeable if you view it full screen) and it's all hand drawn, cel art so the colors look a bit different as well (although, unlike many mid-90s anime, it's all plenty vivid on it's own). I have heard that it doesn't look that nice played through a PS3 or on a nice big tv screen today but the way I was viewing it it doesn't look awful. Far from it, it doesn't look like the most amazing thing Madhouse has ever produced (considering they make some amazing things these days that's hardly a surprise) but all the animation seemed solid so I think it's alright.
Much like Wolf's Rain, I started out liking this series, took a break watching it, returned to it and then just didn't like the series as much until the very last few episodes and then found the ending kind of unsatisfying, it's eerie how close my opinion on both shows is. Also, and this one is bugging me, I feel like Vash and Knives embody a trope (I have no clue what the name would be, The Chosen One perhaps) that really bugs me: a generally low tech/magic world but the main characters have these incredible powers which could destroy the world and therefore it's their actions that become the climax of the series and that one just rubs me the wrong way. Perhaps it's because I hate series which fleshes out the secondary characters and then they never get to do anything in the climax, that's always felt silly to me and I was frustrated when Trigun didn't use some of it's characters to the fullest in the end.
Trigun
Summary: Vash the Stampede, aka The Humaniod Typhoon and the bane of insurance companies everywhere, is actually a really nice guy who just happens to get involved in a whole lot of trouble everywhere he goes. Then again, normally it's because he's such a nice guy who can't stand by and watch people get hurt that he gets involved and gets hurt himself, as well as causing damage to everyone around him. So Meryl and Millie are sent from a local insurance company to try and find this man and keep his damage in check, although as the series goes on it turns out they aren't the only ones who want to find Vash and deal with him, most in a more permanent way.
The Good: It may not have a lot of space in it but it's a fun space western with plenty of shoot-outs, improbable shooting skills and the hero always saves the day kind of fun. There is a central plot thread for those who don't like strictly episodic series and character development that is vital for any series (interestingly enough, Vash probably isn't the character with the most but he has so much backstory to start with that this makes sense and his backstory answers a lot of questions about the series). It's a good mix of those things so it's easy to see why a lot of American fans loved this series and why Funimation decided to rerelease it.
The Bad: For me, the shift between the more light hearted episodes early on in the series to the darker ones later one was a jerky one that could have been paced much better (a problem that is partially explained by the fact that the manga was currently running as the anime was airing, it wouldn't finish until almost 10 years after the anime did). It seemed like the Gung-ho Guns subplot was introduced too late into the series and a lot of backstory was revealed in the last episode which, as a general rule of thumb, isn't a good way to go about it. I also disliked how Meryl's growing feelings for Vash made her go from a capable and cool character early in the series to someone who couldn't do much at all, why couldn't she be capable and in love? Similarly, Millie's attraction to Wolfwood came out of nowhere and only seemed to be around to make certain events more poignant and by that point in the series I was just getting more and more annoyed at the characters and these little details didn't help.
The Audio: The opening and ending song for this series actually fit rather well although I prefer the instrumental opening to the slightly odd ending song myself. As mentioned earlier, I watched this dub (mostly because I simply wanted to) and it's a pretty good dub for the early 2000s. Some of the characters always sound a little flat (and a good number of the one-off background characters simply sound awkward) but the main cast is solid and improves as the show goes on.
The Visuals: It seems that the Japanese release of Trigun featured an altered opening sequence each time to reflect what characters would be in each episode but the English release didn't do that (or if they did I didn't see, normally I don't watch through the credits more than a few times). However, what people are going to notice the most is that this isn't a new show and it looks like one. It's a bit low quality when viewed full screen, the aspect ratio is different from today's anime which means that it's going to be letterboxed (which funny enough is less noticeable if you view it full screen) and it's all hand drawn, cel art so the colors look a bit different as well (although, unlike many mid-90s anime, it's all plenty vivid on it's own). I have heard that it doesn't look that nice played through a PS3 or on a nice big tv screen today but the way I was viewing it it doesn't look awful. Far from it, it doesn't look like the most amazing thing Madhouse has ever produced (considering they make some amazing things these days that's hardly a surprise) but all the animation seemed solid so I think it's alright.
Much like Wolf's Rain, I started out liking this series, took a break watching it, returned to it and then just didn't like the series as much until the very last few episodes and then found the ending kind of unsatisfying, it's eerie how close my opinion on both shows is. Also, and this one is bugging me, I feel like Vash and Knives embody a trope (I have no clue what the name would be, The Chosen One perhaps) that really bugs me: a generally low tech/magic world but the main characters have these incredible powers which could destroy the world and therefore it's their actions that become the climax of the series and that one just rubs me the wrong way. Perhaps it's because I hate series which fleshes out the secondary characters and then they never get to do anything in the climax, that's always felt silly to me and I was frustrated when Trigun didn't use some of it's characters to the fullest in the end.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Anime Review: Cowboy Bebop
If you're an anime fan and happen to live in the US then you've probably heard of this show and there's a good chance that you've watched it. The show almost didn't get shown in Japan (due to it's depiction of "graphic violence," clearly the definition has changed between 1998 and now) but in the US it was one of the first shows shown on Cartoon Network's [adult swim] block where it gained a huge following for how different it was (in both art style and plot) from the other cartoons on American tv at the time. It's also considered to be one of (if not the first) anime to have a dub that is superior to the original Japanese dub, even anti-dub fans will usually list it as one of the dubs they like. Despite all of these things, many fans haven't seen this show (personally I was too young/didn't have cable when [as] started airing the show) and I had quite a few friends berate me for only now getting to the show when I mentioned I was watching it. Also, this show is distributed by Bandai and they have fewer legal streams of their show than other companies (especially for their older shows, the ones that people really need to see) so I had to wait to watch this until I had enough time to get them all out from the local college library (and notice them there first). But better late than ever and I hope that even more people try this show out.
Cowboy Bebop
Summary: In 2071 Mars has become the new center for humanity (Earth was partially destroyed in an accident involving one of the space travel gates) and life continues on as it always has been. There are the the rich and the poor, the good and the bad and every shade of character in-between including cowboys or bounty hunters. Two of these cowboys are Spike and Jet who operate out of their ship called The Bebop and they travel all over the solar system just trying to find someone to take down in order to pay for their next meal.
The Good: This is a very satisfying show to watch because of how well everything in the show comes together, it feels like a very well produced and cohesive show. The characters, who carry the show, are interesting, complicated, grow at least a little and their interactions are often the highlights of the episode (and their backstories provide the show with the underlying plot threads it needs to be cohesive). The setting is well thought out and established, it never seems like the creators based any of the locations off of a couple of cliches and left it there, even if the technology is a bit retro. But even when something, such as the retro technology, feels a little off it still feels a right, the creators managed to capture so many of the little details of life that it makes sense that people still have tape players in 2071 that you have to hit to make work. That really sums up this show, it just has so many little details in it that the show can't help but feel life like and that's always a huge accomplishment.
The Bad: Some of the later episodes, 20 through 23 in particular, just seem rather pointless and not as tightly written as the other episodes. Part of the problem is their placement, by this point the cast has received almost all their character development so it's clear that something will happen soon and then there are filler episodes that don't do anything new (and, since this is a 26 episode show, two could have been cut easily and it still would have been a full two-cour). While the show doesn't follow the "first half episodic, second half plot heavy" formula, it remains an episodic show to the end, it is frustrating to see so many unconnected episodes that late in the show. Ed's ending was also a bit unsatisfactory, although necessary, and Jet didn't really get a good ending either, his character had the most unresolved ending but again, there wasn't much else that the story could do that wouldn't feel out of place.
The Audio: As mentioned earlier, this is considered one of the first really good dubs in the US and it's just as good as the good dubs today. The characters sound a bit stiff when they start out (except for Ed who starts off good) but by the end of the show all of the characters, even the more minor ones, sound incredibly natural and there really isn't any reason for an English speaker to watch the Japanese dub instead. The music is also equally praise-worthy, if you tried to tell most people that jazz and blues would work perfectly for a space western and that the show wouldn't be complete without it they would probably think you're crazy. Now if you told an anime fan this and mentioned that it was composed by the legendary Yoko Kanno then they would probably understand, even though you still need to really hear the show just to see how incredibly well it works. Kanno composed all the music for the show (including the mostly instrumental opening and the ending, which is thankfully sung by a woman who has a great rang for the song) and it's hard to describe how amazing everything is unless you actually hear it, it's a shame that she hasn't done as much work lately.
The Visuals: These DVDs were some of the Remix DVDss so the show actually looks incridbly good for being over 10 years old (I would put the quality between the super-nice Utena upscales and the not always impressive Evangelion DVDs). The show is entirely hand-animated except for a single space station in one episode (where the CGI is jarringly obvious) and everything in the show, from the backgrounds to the character designs, has a nice level detail which helps it feel like a well produced show.
In case you guys need any more reason to check out this show, this show created Studio BONES. Yes Cowboy Bebop was produced by Sunrise and some of the staff went on to create it's spiritual successor, Samurai Champloo, but the rest of the staff worked so well together that they went on to create Wolf's Rain (which also had Kanno composing) and it's really rare to see people get along that much that they stick together and make another project. The only other example I can think of like that is how the group that made Tokyo Godfathers under Satoshi Kon got along so well that they created Paranoia Agent and then worked on that. So yeah, just go watch this show already, it's on my to-buy list for sure.
TOMORROW AND WEDNESDAY'S REVIEWS WILL BE UP LATE! I'm going to see a visiting author tomorrow (who is actually visiting over an hour away from me, sadly that's still pretty close) and then I've got family visiting on Wednesday so my post might go up around a normal time or it might not, just giving everyone a heads up!
Cowboy Bebop
Summary: In 2071 Mars has become the new center for humanity (Earth was partially destroyed in an accident involving one of the space travel gates) and life continues on as it always has been. There are the the rich and the poor, the good and the bad and every shade of character in-between including cowboys or bounty hunters. Two of these cowboys are Spike and Jet who operate out of their ship called The Bebop and they travel all over the solar system just trying to find someone to take down in order to pay for their next meal.
The Good: This is a very satisfying show to watch because of how well everything in the show comes together, it feels like a very well produced and cohesive show. The characters, who carry the show, are interesting, complicated, grow at least a little and their interactions are often the highlights of the episode (and their backstories provide the show with the underlying plot threads it needs to be cohesive). The setting is well thought out and established, it never seems like the creators based any of the locations off of a couple of cliches and left it there, even if the technology is a bit retro. But even when something, such as the retro technology, feels a little off it still feels a right, the creators managed to capture so many of the little details of life that it makes sense that people still have tape players in 2071 that you have to hit to make work. That really sums up this show, it just has so many little details in it that the show can't help but feel life like and that's always a huge accomplishment.
The Bad: Some of the later episodes, 20 through 23 in particular, just seem rather pointless and not as tightly written as the other episodes. Part of the problem is their placement, by this point the cast has received almost all their character development so it's clear that something will happen soon and then there are filler episodes that don't do anything new (and, since this is a 26 episode show, two could have been cut easily and it still would have been a full two-cour). While the show doesn't follow the "first half episodic, second half plot heavy" formula, it remains an episodic show to the end, it is frustrating to see so many unconnected episodes that late in the show. Ed's ending was also a bit unsatisfactory, although necessary, and Jet didn't really get a good ending either, his character had the most unresolved ending but again, there wasn't much else that the story could do that wouldn't feel out of place.
The Audio: As mentioned earlier, this is considered one of the first really good dubs in the US and it's just as good as the good dubs today. The characters sound a bit stiff when they start out (except for Ed who starts off good) but by the end of the show all of the characters, even the more minor ones, sound incredibly natural and there really isn't any reason for an English speaker to watch the Japanese dub instead. The music is also equally praise-worthy, if you tried to tell most people that jazz and blues would work perfectly for a space western and that the show wouldn't be complete without it they would probably think you're crazy. Now if you told an anime fan this and mentioned that it was composed by the legendary Yoko Kanno then they would probably understand, even though you still need to really hear the show just to see how incredibly well it works. Kanno composed all the music for the show (including the mostly instrumental opening and the ending, which is thankfully sung by a woman who has a great rang for the song) and it's hard to describe how amazing everything is unless you actually hear it, it's a shame that she hasn't done as much work lately.
The Visuals: These DVDs were some of the Remix DVDss so the show actually looks incridbly good for being over 10 years old (I would put the quality between the super-nice Utena upscales and the not always impressive Evangelion DVDs). The show is entirely hand-animated except for a single space station in one episode (where the CGI is jarringly obvious) and everything in the show, from the backgrounds to the character designs, has a nice level detail which helps it feel like a well produced show.
In case you guys need any more reason to check out this show, this show created Studio BONES. Yes Cowboy Bebop was produced by Sunrise and some of the staff went on to create it's spiritual successor, Samurai Champloo, but the rest of the staff worked so well together that they went on to create Wolf's Rain (which also had Kanno composing) and it's really rare to see people get along that much that they stick together and make another project. The only other example I can think of like that is how the group that made Tokyo Godfathers under Satoshi Kon got along so well that they created Paranoia Agent and then worked on that. So yeah, just go watch this show already, it's on my to-buy list for sure.
TOMORROW AND WEDNESDAY'S REVIEWS WILL BE UP LATE! I'm going to see a visiting author tomorrow (who is actually visiting over an hour away from me, sadly that's still pretty close) and then I've got family visiting on Wednesday so my post might go up around a normal time or it might not, just giving everyone a heads up!
Friday, July 29, 2011
And now for something different, common problems in a science fiction setting
I apologize for this being a day late but, since everything was a day late this week I suspect most expected this. Anyway, science fiction! I've been on a bit of a science fiction kick ever since school let out (so about three months) and all the things I've read/watched have reminded me that while I really do love some sci-fi it has an awful lot of problems, mainly in the setting. Now, I don't really care about how hard or soft the science is in these stories since, I mean, I watch Doctor Who which really isn't hard science fiction at all and I'm loving Steins;Gate (the premise of which is that two guys modify their microwave so much that it can now send text messages through time which has caused a bad future). But part of the reason these two series works is because their settings work (DW's changes every week but work goes into each setting and S;G is careful to show exactly when each episode is taking place) and so many creators don't seem to understand that settings make or break their stories. So here's a list of common problems in science-fiction stories, not really tropes or cliches, and just why this bug me so much (warning, it's going to get long).
Over-powered governments with no opposition
I'll admit it, I pay more attention to politics than many people and I also have faith in many democratic/republican governments in the world. I also have noticed that in general, during the course of the world, governments have shifted from monarchies, with a single person in absolute power, to officials elected by the common people for set terms. Clearly this isn't the case in every country right now but look at the recent uprisings in the Middle East and Africa, people like having a say in their government and protest/fight for it even if they don't have huge numbers or the military might intervene and possibly kill them. So, in a science fiction setting that is even farther in the future (ie, most of these governments probably became more progressive at some point) then why are there only oligarchies or no government at all? In Black Hole Sun (which, as I've said before, has absolutely nothing to do with the title) there is an oligarchy on Mars, one powerful enough to stop the terraforming on Mars, and it sounds like a good sized population of rough, tough people who don't seem to care that they have a crappy government. Heck, the police force there don't even do their jobs (yes I know it's actually a metaphor for samurais and rounin and such but still) so WHY haven't the people done something yet? To make matters more interesting, Mars is still in a colonial stage and colonists (if US history is anything to go by) really don't like governments telling them what they can and can't do (having a nice planet being one of the things you can't have) so why are they putting up with it? This is just the most recent example I can think of, I'm hard pressed to think of a science fiction story that has a good, active, competent and nice government that isn't actually evil, these authors just seem a bit obsessed with the idea of people abusing power and then using it a cheap way to establish setting.
Seriously screwed-up environment
To start this with, I agree with green ideology more than any other ideology and I've been part of a email list (for my state) since 2008 so I've fired off many emails to local representatives going "hey, stop that, stop that right now, STOP MAKING MORE STUFF FOR ME TO CLEAN UP DAMMIT!"^ It doesn't always work, think there is a bill right now that is going to pass that I don't like, but bugging the hell out of your local government officials does work for protecting the environment some of the time (and that's hardly the only way to do so), so why does it (apparently) not work in the future? Personally I think that green ideology is one that you can get a lot of people to agree with at least some of the time (I mean, we all do live on this planet) and you can spin it so many different ways* so why do so many stories take place when the Earth is nearly uninhabitable/destroyed/lost because everyone moved off planet/people don't want to live their anymore? It just makes no sense that, similar to the government, people have been more and more concerned with the environment in each generation yet so many sci-fi stories just ignore this. There are series that have a good reason for crappy environments** but by and large many creators seem to screw over the environment just to force setting even though it doesn't make sense.
General ignorance about Earth
First off, this complaint does not apply to series that have either completely destroyed the planet or have been away from it so long that they have actually lost it (yes, I can think of several stories for both of those categories, doesn't inspire faith in humanity I know), if you don't have Earth then it's a little more understandable why you don't know at least basic knowledge about the origin of humanity. Likewise, if the story takes place with a censorship-pro government then I'm not going to expect the character to know a lot about their surroundings, this is everything else. However, I was reading a book the other day (Spacer and Rat, it's gonna be a little bit before that review goes up) and one of the characters scoffs at the idea of their being a body of water larger than a hydroponic tank/big enough to put a ship in, which makes no sense. The character in question does live on a space station but Earth is still around (hell, the character he is talking to is from Earth) and he's been given a basic education, so you're telling me that not once in his education a teacher pulled out a map of Earth and explained just how huge an ocean is? Heck, they've colonized other planets at this point and you're telling me there are no lakes there? I believe I remember a scene in Firefly where one of the characters (Jayne, the dumbest character in the crew) doubts that Earth-That-Was existed but the smarter characters (Simon and River who have had a formal education) never seem to doubt that it was real, now that feels more realistic (plus, they aren't anywhere near Earth at this point, although even Jayne probably knows what an ocean is).
Think that's mostly it, I'm also not that fond of dystopias but that mainly falls under my complaints in the politics and environmental areas (it can literally be summed up as "you did WHAT now and nobody complained?!?") and there are some well done dystopian stories (just like there are stories that avoid all the problems listed above). I want to like science fiction, I really like seeing stories where, one way or another, humans got it right and are living in a decent future that's full of hope so why are there so few of them? You can have drama/intrigue/mystery in a happy setting just as easily as in a dark setting so someone make it happen!
^I mean that literally too.....
*by that I mean (I meant spin in a good way), say there's a factory that is polluting into a river which is legal under current laws. Tell people, hey, it's killing wildlife! and some people will complain. Point out that the water treatment plants might not be able to clean it up and it could get into the drinking water and more people will complain. Or, point out that this pollution is going to cost the area tons of money to clean up so why not make the factory responsible instead and some people will like that idea too. You can get a lot of people behind the idea of "keep this area livable."
**Cowboy Bebop comes to mind, there the Earth is not so nice because one of the gates (structures that allow for hyperspace travel) exploded and left it's mark. The plot of one episode revolves around one scientist who worked on the gates as they were being built, discovered some corruption/negligence (I forget exactly which) in the system and I think that was meant to imply that no, these gates were not being built to snuff and that the technology was new enough that there wasn't a lot of government oversight/civilians who were keeping an eye on what was going on and that's why it went boom. That is a good reason for environmental destruction in fiction, it just really couldn't have been prevented and happened because not everyone knew about the risks (or at least enough to protest it).
Over-powered governments with no opposition
I'll admit it, I pay more attention to politics than many people and I also have faith in many democratic/republican governments in the world. I also have noticed that in general, during the course of the world, governments have shifted from monarchies, with a single person in absolute power, to officials elected by the common people for set terms. Clearly this isn't the case in every country right now but look at the recent uprisings in the Middle East and Africa, people like having a say in their government and protest/fight for it even if they don't have huge numbers or the military might intervene and possibly kill them. So, in a science fiction setting that is even farther in the future (ie, most of these governments probably became more progressive at some point) then why are there only oligarchies or no government at all? In Black Hole Sun (which, as I've said before, has absolutely nothing to do with the title) there is an oligarchy on Mars, one powerful enough to stop the terraforming on Mars, and it sounds like a good sized population of rough, tough people who don't seem to care that they have a crappy government. Heck, the police force there don't even do their jobs (yes I know it's actually a metaphor for samurais and rounin and such but still) so WHY haven't the people done something yet? To make matters more interesting, Mars is still in a colonial stage and colonists (if US history is anything to go by) really don't like governments telling them what they can and can't do (having a nice planet being one of the things you can't have) so why are they putting up with it? This is just the most recent example I can think of, I'm hard pressed to think of a science fiction story that has a good, active, competent and nice government that isn't actually evil, these authors just seem a bit obsessed with the idea of people abusing power and then using it a cheap way to establish setting.
Seriously screwed-up environment
To start this with, I agree with green ideology more than any other ideology and I've been part of a email list (for my state) since 2008 so I've fired off many emails to local representatives going "hey, stop that, stop that right now, STOP MAKING MORE STUFF FOR ME TO CLEAN UP DAMMIT!"^ It doesn't always work, think there is a bill right now that is going to pass that I don't like, but bugging the hell out of your local government officials does work for protecting the environment some of the time (and that's hardly the only way to do so), so why does it (apparently) not work in the future? Personally I think that green ideology is one that you can get a lot of people to agree with at least some of the time (I mean, we all do live on this planet) and you can spin it so many different ways* so why do so many stories take place when the Earth is nearly uninhabitable/destroyed/lost because everyone moved off planet/people don't want to live their anymore? It just makes no sense that, similar to the government, people have been more and more concerned with the environment in each generation yet so many sci-fi stories just ignore this. There are series that have a good reason for crappy environments** but by and large many creators seem to screw over the environment just to force setting even though it doesn't make sense.
General ignorance about Earth
First off, this complaint does not apply to series that have either completely destroyed the planet or have been away from it so long that they have actually lost it (yes, I can think of several stories for both of those categories, doesn't inspire faith in humanity I know), if you don't have Earth then it's a little more understandable why you don't know at least basic knowledge about the origin of humanity. Likewise, if the story takes place with a censorship-pro government then I'm not going to expect the character to know a lot about their surroundings, this is everything else. However, I was reading a book the other day (Spacer and Rat, it's gonna be a little bit before that review goes up) and one of the characters scoffs at the idea of their being a body of water larger than a hydroponic tank/big enough to put a ship in, which makes no sense. The character in question does live on a space station but Earth is still around (hell, the character he is talking to is from Earth) and he's been given a basic education, so you're telling me that not once in his education a teacher pulled out a map of Earth and explained just how huge an ocean is? Heck, they've colonized other planets at this point and you're telling me there are no lakes there? I believe I remember a scene in Firefly where one of the characters (Jayne, the dumbest character in the crew) doubts that Earth-That-Was existed but the smarter characters (Simon and River who have had a formal education) never seem to doubt that it was real, now that feels more realistic (plus, they aren't anywhere near Earth at this point, although even Jayne probably knows what an ocean is).
Think that's mostly it, I'm also not that fond of dystopias but that mainly falls under my complaints in the politics and environmental areas (it can literally be summed up as "you did WHAT now and nobody complained?!?") and there are some well done dystopian stories (just like there are stories that avoid all the problems listed above). I want to like science fiction, I really like seeing stories where, one way or another, humans got it right and are living in a decent future that's full of hope so why are there so few of them? You can have drama/intrigue/mystery in a happy setting just as easily as in a dark setting so someone make it happen!
^I mean that literally too.....
*by that I mean (I meant spin in a good way), say there's a factory that is polluting into a river which is legal under current laws. Tell people, hey, it's killing wildlife! and some people will complain. Point out that the water treatment plants might not be able to clean it up and it could get into the drinking water and more people will complain. Or, point out that this pollution is going to cost the area tons of money to clean up so why not make the factory responsible instead and some people will like that idea too. You can get a lot of people behind the idea of "keep this area livable."
**Cowboy Bebop comes to mind, there the Earth is not so nice because one of the gates (structures that allow for hyperspace travel) exploded and left it's mark. The plot of one episode revolves around one scientist who worked on the gates as they were being built, discovered some corruption/negligence (I forget exactly which) in the system and I think that was meant to imply that no, these gates were not being built to snuff and that the technology was new enough that there wasn't a lot of government oversight/civilians who were keeping an eye on what was going on and that's why it went boom. That is a good reason for environmental destruction in fiction, it just really couldn't have been prevented and happened because not everyone knew about the risks (or at least enough to protest it).
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Movie Review: Trigun: Badlands Rumble
Readers in the US may be aware that Trigun has just hit some theaters across the country (thanks Funimation!) and somehow my theater got one of the first showings and I saw it opening night last Friday. Between friends and other people coming to see the movie we managed to fill up the tiny screening room (the same one from Summer Wars actually, not that this is very impressive since just 17 people made the room pretty full) and generally had a good time. Oh, but I'm still annoyed that regular drinks at the theater were $4.25 while beer was only $1.50, heck I didn't even know movie theaters sold alcohol in the South!
Trigun: Badlands Rumble
Summary: Playing out much like an extended episode, 20 years ago Vash helped a criminal go free (a robber named Gasback whose gang was trying to kill him after they robbed a bank) and it's come to bite him in the ass in the present day. Vash ends up in the town that holds Gasback's next target and does his best to resolve the conflict without bloodshed.
The Good: Even for people who aren't familiar with the series the movie is fairly straightforward to follow* (it really does play out like an extra long, extra high budget episode from the series). It's a film with a lot of action in it and, true to the series, most of the action has a fair bit of humor in it (such as Vash's way of keeping a bar fight from getting out of hand, the audience started applauding at that point). It's a fun, action-filled Space Western film that happens to be animated and not have much to do with space at all.
The Bad: While the movie is easy to get into it's recommended that you have an idea of what the series is about and who all the characters are/their motivations. Some of the newer characters come off as a bit flat (of course, most of the one shot villains in the series feel rather flat too) and Amelia's motivation for wanting to kill Gasback is a bit hazy and illogical. There also seemed to be a few complaints (seen around the internet, not from the other theater attendees) that the movie wasn't a continuation/reboot of the tv series (having not finished it yet I don't have any comment to add to this).
The Audio: This theater was showing the subbed version of the movie and the original voice actors for the four reoccurring characters as the same as their tv counterparts (the same can't be said for the English version where, due to various circumstances, only Vash returns). Milly and Meryl are both more high pitched than their American counterparts but all the voices seem like a good fit for the characters. That applies to all the new characters as well and the music works nicely, no weak spots here!
The Visuals: As one might suspect, the visuals in this movie are much better than the ones in the show (partially because the tv show is almost 13 years old now and partially because it's a 13 year old show that didn't age as well as some others have). It seems as if there's a fight scene every 15 minutes in the movie and all of them look very good, the budget must have been enormous. All the designs look the same as their TV counterparts and the new characters fit the look of the series as well.
There's not a ton else to say, there was a plot to the movie that worked but it was more of a really fun popcorn flick. I'm happy I saw it, even happier that I saw it with friends, and I think that in a day or two I'll get back to the tv series, especially since I just finished up another space western anime series.....
*my brother hasn't seen the series at all and didn't have much trouble following it after I gave him a basic synposis and I haven't seen much of the series either. Heck, I hadn't even seen the episode where Wolfwood first shows up!
Trigun: Badlands Rumble
Summary: Playing out much like an extended episode, 20 years ago Vash helped a criminal go free (a robber named Gasback whose gang was trying to kill him after they robbed a bank) and it's come to bite him in the ass in the present day. Vash ends up in the town that holds Gasback's next target and does his best to resolve the conflict without bloodshed.
The Good: Even for people who aren't familiar with the series the movie is fairly straightforward to follow* (it really does play out like an extra long, extra high budget episode from the series). It's a film with a lot of action in it and, true to the series, most of the action has a fair bit of humor in it (such as Vash's way of keeping a bar fight from getting out of hand, the audience started applauding at that point). It's a fun, action-filled Space Western film that happens to be animated and not have much to do with space at all.
The Bad: While the movie is easy to get into it's recommended that you have an idea of what the series is about and who all the characters are/their motivations. Some of the newer characters come off as a bit flat (of course, most of the one shot villains in the series feel rather flat too) and Amelia's motivation for wanting to kill Gasback is a bit hazy and illogical. There also seemed to be a few complaints (seen around the internet, not from the other theater attendees) that the movie wasn't a continuation/reboot of the tv series (having not finished it yet I don't have any comment to add to this).
The Audio: This theater was showing the subbed version of the movie and the original voice actors for the four reoccurring characters as the same as their tv counterparts (the same can't be said for the English version where, due to various circumstances, only Vash returns). Milly and Meryl are both more high pitched than their American counterparts but all the voices seem like a good fit for the characters. That applies to all the new characters as well and the music works nicely, no weak spots here!
The Visuals: As one might suspect, the visuals in this movie are much better than the ones in the show (partially because the tv show is almost 13 years old now and partially because it's a 13 year old show that didn't age as well as some others have). It seems as if there's a fight scene every 15 minutes in the movie and all of them look very good, the budget must have been enormous. All the designs look the same as their TV counterparts and the new characters fit the look of the series as well.
There's not a ton else to say, there was a plot to the movie that worked but it was more of a really fun popcorn flick. I'm happy I saw it, even happier that I saw it with friends, and I think that in a day or two I'll get back to the tv series, especially since I just finished up another space western anime series.....
*my brother hasn't seen the series at all and didn't have much trouble following it after I gave him a basic synposis and I haven't seen much of the series either. Heck, I hadn't even seen the episode where Wolfwood first shows up!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Book Review: Black Hole Sun
I keep saying that I need to read more science fiction and, well, you can't really get more science fiction-y with a title like Black Hole Sun (which first reminded me of two different Doctor Who episodes, then of the Uplight book series and then another Doctor Who episode). Once I started reading the book then I was thinking about Cowboy Bebop (the Book Smugglers might think of Firefly every time they hear "space" and "cowboy" but I would be remiss as an anime fan not to think of Cowboy Bebop when I hear "mars" and "cowboy") and when I was done with the story I was thinking about how the title of the book had nothing to do with the story and then realized that this was basically The Seven Samurai on Mars. Whew, that's enough bolded text for now, onto the review!
Black Hole Sun by David Macinnis Gill
Well, the images on the cover fit the title but, as I've already said, the title has absolutely nothing to do with the book, it's not even a phrase that one of the characters say. So, since it doesn't say anything about the actual book, the inside flap has less than a paragraph about the book (which isn't a very good paragraph either), I actually had to read the blurb by Suzanne Collins to figure out what it was about, I can't call this a good cover.
Summary: On a futuristic, polluted Mars where the rich are beyond rich and the people are poorer than dirt, Durango (a master less peacekeeper) is approached by a group of miners who want to hire him to protect them from seemingly unkillable monsters.
The Good: It seems a bit contradictory to have a low-tech science fiction story but BHS pulls it off well and has a pretty interesting setting. Vienne was a cool action girl, one gets the impression that most of the fight scenes in the book would make for an interesting movie, and Fuse and Jenkins* get their own moments to shine as well. The whole book is rather exciting, lots of desperate fights, big damn heroes moments, and strategizing that saves the day, it's a fun ride at the very least.
The Bad: The villain in this book seems rather, well, random. There's not enough of a backstory for and and what backstory there is feels weak. The backstory behind the artifical intelligence living in Durango's brain, Mimi, also feels weak. The story explains who she is but never the exact reason why Durango even has an A.I. in his brain, it hints at several possible reasons why but never outright states it. Finally, it's a bit tiresome to see that the standard government for a science fiction setting a hirearchcal society from medieval Europe? It honestly doesn't make sense that our own society is getting more and more progressive and then goes completely backwards once people get off planet, also it's rather boring to see everyone slap on the same kind of government and then blame all the social problems in the book just on the government.
It was an alright book, certainly an exciting read, but nothing new and nothing especially special about it. I did pick up another sci-fi book at the library lately but it's likely going to be awhile before I get to that one, hopefully that one is a bit more creative however.
*his name is actually Leeroy Jenkins and has a badass boast about it, I wasn't sure if I should laugh my ass off of face palm at that point.
Black Hole Sun by David Macinnis Gill
Summary: On a futuristic, polluted Mars where the rich are beyond rich and the people are poorer than dirt, Durango (a master less peacekeeper) is approached by a group of miners who want to hire him to protect them from seemingly unkillable monsters.
The Good: It seems a bit contradictory to have a low-tech science fiction story but BHS pulls it off well and has a pretty interesting setting. Vienne was a cool action girl, one gets the impression that most of the fight scenes in the book would make for an interesting movie, and Fuse and Jenkins* get their own moments to shine as well. The whole book is rather exciting, lots of desperate fights, big damn heroes moments, and strategizing that saves the day, it's a fun ride at the very least.
The Bad: The villain in this book seems rather, well, random. There's not enough of a backstory for and and what backstory there is feels weak. The backstory behind the artifical intelligence living in Durango's brain, Mimi, also feels weak. The story explains who she is but never the exact reason why Durango even has an A.I. in his brain, it hints at several possible reasons why but never outright states it. Finally, it's a bit tiresome to see that the standard government for a science fiction setting a hirearchcal society from medieval Europe? It honestly doesn't make sense that our own society is getting more and more progressive and then goes completely backwards once people get off planet, also it's rather boring to see everyone slap on the same kind of government and then blame all the social problems in the book just on the government.
It was an alright book, certainly an exciting read, but nothing new and nothing especially special about it. I did pick up another sci-fi book at the library lately but it's likely going to be awhile before I get to that one, hopefully that one is a bit more creative however.
*his name is actually Leeroy Jenkins and has a badass boast about it, I wasn't sure if I should laugh my ass off of face palm at that point.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Anime Review: Outlaw Star
I’d heard about Outlaw Star before it popped up in anime club one night (namely that Firefly had some similarities to it and I thought I saw somewhere that Joss Whedon was actually inspired by it) but I hadn’t been really impressed by the art I saw. But we voted, gave it a shot, and I enjoyed it quite a bit* and promptly borrowed the set from the guy who brought it.
Outlaw Star
Summary: Gene Starwind and Jim Hawking run a do-everything-and-anything business and try to make enough money to get by, although both of them dream of bigger jobs for bigger pay offs. And they do get a bigger job when they’re hired by the outlaw Hilda to be her bodyguard as she transports a mysterious android to the most advanced ship in the galaxy.
The Good: This was a pretty darn fun show to watch, I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard at a hot spring episode (especially considering the fanservice in those episodes are aimed towards the male fans, not the female ones, and yet I still found it hilarious). There’s something going on in nearly every episode so it was addictive to watch as well, I’m sure if I’d had the whole set over the summer I would’ve marathoned it in a heartbeat. And I can really see why Firefly is compared to this show, beyond the fact that both of them have an eccentric cast of characters on a special ship (heck, if it wasn’t for the no aliens rule in Firefly I’d even say they’re in the same ‘verse), both of them give off a very laid back feeling and I felt satisfied after each episode. It's a fun adventure show where, even if the plot isn't the most original or even there some of the time, it always managed to be stranger than I expected.
The Bad: Having spaceships get into fights where they basically arm wrestle each other makes no sense, not even the rule of cool can justify that. And, while I liked the ending, after the fridge logic set in I realized there were a lot of loose ends. I have heard that Outlaw Star manga is actually part of a larger ‘verse and that those stories explain some things (mainly about the last group of villains) but I have yet to track down any real information on those series. So if the show’s strength is how it plays fast and loose with the explanations all in the name of good fun then that’s it’s biggest problem**.
The Art: Not nearly as bad as I feared from the stills but the art is clearly from the 90s so it’s not as smooth as I’m used to. Combine that with some odd character designs (Melfina’s outfit is actually one of the ugliest outfits I’ve seen in a long while) and I have to admit that I’m not in love with the look of this series. But the fight scenes all looked very good (Sunrise does have quite a bit of experience with fight scenes after all) so it evens out in the end, just don't expect me to be cosplaying anything from it.
The Music: The OP for this series is super catchy and fun (and pretty simple, I can remember the Japanese lyrics for almost half of the song over a month later) but I didn’t really like either of the EDs. Possibly because they were accompanied by some pencil drawings (which didn’t seem to be connected to the story at all) that were in a completely different art style than the rest of the series. Besides, with as fast paced as this story is, having a ballad for an ED just doesn’t seem like the right choice to me.
So, I really enjoyed this series and would love to own it on DVD to watch again, heck, it made me want to get Firefly on DVD so I could watch that again. And I’ve noticed lately that I seem to be really enjoying a lot of shows that were American fan-favorites in the 90s and I’m going to try to track down more older shows in the future. I’ve got a friend whose willing to loan me Wolf’s Rain and there are a few other shows I really want to watch. Now, to see if any of my other friends happen to have them...
*I believe the part that sold me was when the space pirates were flying through the air on a craft made from the bodies of space ninjas while they were doing magic, I mean, how can you not laugh at something that ridiculous?
**although not explaining some things in the end wasn’t as big a problem as it was for Firefly, and I’m quite sure that similarity at least was purely accidental
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