Itazura na Kiss

Itazura na Kiss is a charming romantic comedy. The story focuses on clumsy, average (and generally unintelligent) Kotoko Aihara, and handsome boy genius Naoki Irie. Calling Naoki a genius is really an understatement; he’s more like a prodigy. He’s good at everything. He instantly memorizes anything he looks at once, he’s good at sports, he can cook, he’s popular (not in that he has a lot of friends, but that he has many followers), top of his class, one of the best in the entire country, skilled at just about everything he attempts, and is good looking on top of all that. Poor Kotoko is…less intelligent. She’s closer to the bottom of her class, has difficulty studying, can’t cook, isn’t particularly good at sports, isn’t exactly drop-dead gorgeous, and is really the total opposite of the kind of girl Naoki would normally be interested in.

In fact, the book starts off with Kotoko attempting to give Naoki a love letter…which is rejected before it even leaves her hands. Poor Kotoko is devastated by his callous rejection, and vows to put that jerk out of her mind forever. But when an earthquake destroys the new house her father just built, they are forced to move in with an old friend of her father’s…who happens to be Naoki’s father. Naoki makes her promise not to tell anyone of their situation, but circumstances (like Kinnosuke, who is in love with Kotoko, following her home) ultimately reveal their situation to the entire school. Then rumors start spreading that they’re dating, then that they’re getting married, and Naoki is not happy. Making the situation more chaotic is Naoki’s mother, Machiko, trying to push the two together against their (or well, at least Naoki’s) will. She is thrilled to have a girl in the house to dote on, and thinks Kotoko would be a perfect match for her son.

Against Naoki’s wishes, he continually finds himself involved in various situations with Kotoko. He helps her study for her exams because she blackmails him with a childhood photo, Machiko makes up an excuse to clear out the house so Naoki and Kotoko can be alone for a couple of days, and in general Kotoko causes him unending trouble. Naoki is unused to such a hectic life, and Kotoko’s presence throws everything off for him. But for this goalless guy who has no real passion for anything, Kotoko’s enthusiasm is just what the doctor ordered.

What makes Itazura stand out from a sea of shojo titles, is its time span. The story follows Kotoko and Naoki through their final year of high school, their time in college, through internships, and official jobs. All of the characters grow and change over the course of their lives. Some of them get married and have children. It’s not just a moment in time; it’s a lifetime.

I really think I was too hard on Itazura before, when I saw the anime. I didn’t like Kotoko at all; I’m not a fan of girls who throw themselves on or fawn over guys who obviously don’t like them, or put up with such obvious cold treatment. But I’ve read Sarasah recently, which is infinitely worse, and realized that Kotoko isn’t so bad. The heroine of Sarasah really has no redeeming qualities to speak of; but I’ve come to understand that Kotoko is compassionate, caring, supportive, and an incredibly hard worker. All admirable qualities; she just needed Naoki to give her a chance. Circumstances threw her into his vision, and he was forced to see her for who she really is, and not just judge her by her standing in school. And, you know, Naoki really isn’t that bad; he’s the sort of person who is so consumed with studying, that he doesn’t really know how to properly interact with people or convey his emotions. He’s a snob, certainly, but it seems to be a wall that he puts up to avoid interacting with people. It really takes an open, passionate girl like Kotoko to pull him out, and it’s going to take all of her effort to get Naoki off his lofty perch, and down where the normal humans roam.

Itazura na Kiss is published by Digital Manga Publishing, for $16.95 (for a double volume). The manga remains unfinished due to the mangaka's untimely death, but it was finished in the anime, which used her intended ending. A copy was provided to me by Digital Manga Publishing for review (thanks!).

Goong Live Action

What if Korea still had a royal family, a ruling monarchy, in this modern time? Now that we've created the setting.... What if you saw your fiancee proposing to another woman? This is the situation Shin Chae-kyung finds herself in - Chae-kyung overhears Crown Prince Shin proposing to classmate and ballet dancer Min Hyo-rin, and then just days later finds herself in an arranged marriage with him!

Before he died, the king of the previous generation, Prince Shin's grandfather, made a promise with his only true friend. This promise engaged the current Crown Prince to his friend's granddaughter (Chae-kyung). At the time however, the Crown Prince was not Shin, but the current heir's son, Yul. When Yul's father died in an accident, Shin's father became the heir and Shin became the Crown Prince. So you can see how some problems would arise. A love quadrangle forms before you can even spit out the word "quadrangle."

Shin is the heir to the throne, but Yul isn't about to let him take that position without fighting back to reclaim what should have been his - and that includes Chae-kyung as well as the throne. Problems arise when Yul's vengeful, ambitious mother pulls out all the stops to bring herself and her son back into the palace. Yul plays along for a while, dutiful to his mother, until his love for Chae-kyung overwhelms all his other feelings. Meanwhile, Shin struggles to deal with his feelings for Hyo-Rin, which he is forced to put aside, and strange, emerging feelings for the unlikely Chae-kyung. Chae-kyung struggles endlessly with palace life, her upbeat and outgoing personality constantly at odds with palace rules and regulations. It's hard to decide which boy to root for. They're both good guys, in their way. Shin is just more awkward and less honest with his feelings, and Yul is more forward. But they both care for her - Shin does lots of little things to make her happy or take care of her, though she doesn't always notice; and Yul's stance of not letting his mother screw around with her is admirable.

There's political intrigue, plenty of drama, lots of humor, gorgeous sets and costumes, sweet romance, hot guys, beautiful girls.... What else do you need?
It's a really beautifully shot show, in terms of the environments and the costumes. They went all out. The set designs are incredibly detailed, and the use of updated traditional clothing for the royal family is superb. And apparently very expensive, though I'm sure the level of detail and realism was very helpful to actors, and it certainly gives everything a believable look.

The older actress (Kim Hye Ja) playing the Queen mother has a beautiful, melodious voice, and it sounds like she's singing a song every time she speaks. Yoon Eun Hye is amazing as lead character Chae-kyung, and she's a newcomer! In fact, (most of) the younger actors were fairly new, while the adult characters were veterans; a dynamic that transfers into the story. Shin was played by handsome Joo Ji Hoon, who later appeared in the Korean Antique Bakery film. The main gang is rounded out by talented Kim Jeong Hoon as Yul, and Song Ji Hyo as Hyo-rin.

Unfortunately, I am unable to compare this to the manhwa, because I have not read it. I've skimmed a tiny bit of it, and it looks entertaining. I did notice that the characters in the comic seem a little more animated than their live action counterparts (specifically Shin). But, you know, internal thoughts are a little hard to convey on a screen.

The story does move a little slow, I will admit. I think it could do to have a couple of episodes knocked off, and a few things consolidated. Shin and Chae-kyung bounce back and forth in their relationship an excessive amount, and often you just wish they would TALK to each other, because it would solve things really quick. But Shin is incredibly private and emotionally awkward, and he's constantly put off by how outgoing and honest Chae-kyung is, so it's understandable.

You can purchase Goong, known as Palace or Princess Hours in America (the DVDs are sold as Palace), from the American licensor YA Entertainment. (I got mine from Rightstuf.com.) The box set of the series comes with a bonus disc that has interviews, bloopers, and behind the scenes footage (most of which is really funny).

Head over to Comic Attack for Ludwig II, The Art of Angel Sanctuary: Angel Cage, and December 2009's Previews highlights.

Last Quarter

Oh dear! It's been almost a month since my last post. Sorry about that! ComicAttack is keeping me busy (and so is Dragon Age). But I did want to talk about a lovely film I watched recently, while waiting for Berserk DVDs to come in. This live action film is based on the manga of the same name (in Japanese, Kagen no Tsuki) by Ai Yazawa (Paradise Kiss, Nana). It is called Last Quarter, which is a reference to the last quarter phase of the moon.

When Mizuki was a child, her mother committed suicide, and her father married his mistress, with whom he had a child. Unhappy with her home life, her 19th birthday is further marred by the discovery that her boyfriend (Tomoki) cheated on her with her best friend. Depressed, she walks home alone late in the evening. As she passes by a mansion, she hears a haunting and familiar tune coming from inside. Inside, a young man is playing the tune on his guitar. Mizuki confesses that she learned piano to play the same tune, though she doesn't know the ending, and that she had never heard anyone else play the song before. The young man, who calls himself Adam, claims he wrote the song for her. Confused, but somehow drawn to him, Mizuki returns to the house the next day and stays there with Adam through the week. On the last day, on the evening of a waning moon, a disappeared Adam calls her to tell her he must leave. She pleads with him to take her with him, and Adam tells her that if they see each other before the moon fades that night, they will go together. But what it means to go with Adam, is something that will have a profound effect not only on her own life, but on the lives of those around her. The mysterious Adam leaves everyone scrambling to discover his true identity, and his connection to Mizuki, in order to save Mizuki before the last quarter of the moon fades away for 19 years.

This beautiful story will have you feeling melancholy by the end. It might even elicit a few tears. Love, karma, reincarnation, trust, desperation. All the elements for a tragic love story. Dark and gothic, this is a beautifully filmed movie. The special effects are nice (though not perfect), and the music is fitting. Mizuki is heartbreaking; Adam has an ethereal beauty and a well of sadness that makes you want to wrap him in your arms and hold him tight; and the high school students that try to help Mizuki are endearing. Tomoki...you either love him or hate him, as a character. It's a little difficult to root for him, honestly, given what he's done to Mizuki, and you kind of want to punch him in the face sometimes. All the actors hold their own and capture their characters quite well.

The film stars Chiaki Kuriyama (Gogo in Kill Bill vol. 1) as Mizuki, Hyde (the vocalist from L'Arc-en-Ciel) as Adam, and Hiroki Narimiya (Gokusen, Nana) as Mizuki's boyfriend Tomoki.

For the interested: Last week's Bento Bako Weekly was a review of Natsuki Takaya's Tsubasa: Those With Wings (er, sorry, two weeks ago; last week I (re)posted my S1 Yu Yu Hakusho review). Monday's will be a review of the yaoi manga Ludwig II.

AIR the Motion Picture

An easy (though not entirely accurate) way of describing this film would be to call it AIR Lite. AIR the Motion Picture is a very simplified retelling of the television anime by Kyoto Animation, which is itself closely based on the visual novel AIR by Key.

The first thing you'll notice, assuming you have already seen the anime series (which I would suggest watching first), is a completely different animation style. This is because while the anime was produced by KyoAni, the film was produced by Toei Animation. Toei gives the film more of a visual novel look, but skips around between animation styles multiple times throughout the film. By that I mean, there's a main style they use for most of the film, but occasionally they use completely different styles scattered throughout. The next thing you may notice is that most of the cast has been cut from the film. All of the girls except Misuzu have been removed from the story. Haruko is still there, as is Kano's older sister Hijiri, the town doctor. Some of the other characters have brief, visual cameos, but the story only follows Misuzu and Yukito this time.

If you haven't seen the anime series, there are some spoilers in the film. So I would stop reading now if you haven't seen the series, and wait until I get around to reviewing that instead (or just go watch it!).

Yukito travels to a small seaside town, where he meets Misuzu, a high school girl working on a summer school project about the history of the town. Yukito plans to stay in town to practice his mysterious puppet trade during an upcoming festival, and Misuzu invites him to stay at her house with her and Haruko, as long as he helps her with her summer project. Interspersed throughout their adventures around the town (during which Misuzu exihibits the symptoms of a mysterious illness) is a story about a winged creature named Kanna and her bodyguard Ryūya. Misuzu is following this story as part of her project, because the story is woven into the history of her town and is the basis for the upcoming festival. As the two get closer, Misuzu gets sicker, the result of an old curse placed upon Kanna's race that causes them to die when they verbally express their love for someone.

Toei's animation isn't nearly as beautiful as KyoAni's in the series. The character designs have been changed (specifically Misuzu and Yukito), both visually and in their personalities. It's not drastic, but it's a difference. For example, anime Misuzu is far more childlike than she is depicted in the film. The curse and the story of Kanno and Ryūya play out quite a bit differently as well. In the film, there is a strong romantic relationship between the two, which doesn't really exist in the anime series. It's a good film, on its own; but personally, I prefer the series. The only real upside to the film is that it focuses only on Misuzu and Yukito, instead of having Yukito running around town and helping other girls. But it wouldn't be a Key game based anime series without those extra relationships. So my original declaration of it being AIR Lite is still a decent description. By cutting out 90% of the characters and their stories, the main story is much more simplified. But that's not AIR.

AIR the Motion Picture was originally licensed by ADV Films, but the rights have since transferred to FUNimation for any future distribution. I watched this in Japanese, but I did listen to the English version long enough to note that the same voice actors from the anime were used. So if you want the consistency...because the voice actor for Yukito changes in the Japanese version. Even so, when I watched the anime in English, I was really turned off by the voices and didn't think they fit the characters, so I automatically watched this one in Japanese.

This week's Bento Bako:
Vampires in Anime/Manga, part 2 (the...lesser titles)
November 2009 Previews selections

Black Lagoon

My boyfriend was around while I watched most of this series, and he would ask me, "Why do you like this?" I think the question came because I typically don't go for over-the-top action, with lots of gun fights and explosions. Things that characterize nearly every minute of every episode of Black Lagoon. Never mind the foul-mouthed, scantily clad leading lady who likes to shoot first, and shoot later (there's no talking involved, unless she's yelling at someone about wanting to shoot them). Yet somehow this excessively violent, foul (as in vulgar), dark and hilarious anime struck all the right notes with me.

Rock (Rokuro) Okajima is Japanese salaryman, on business for his company. The ship he is on is attacked by a group of mercenaries/smugglers known as the Lagoon Company. In an effort to first recover, and then to cover up a disc containing classified documents, Rock's company abandons him to his fate. He somehow manages to survive, but refuses to go back to his calm life in Japan, instead choosing to stay and become a member of the Lagoon Company. This band of misfits includes large and tough Dutch, the owner of the Lagoon Company and captain of their smuggling boat; easygoing and peaceful Benny, the company's mechanic and technology expert; and foul-mouth expert dual gunslinger Revy "Two Hand", the company's...well I think it's pretty obvious what she does. Rock joins on as a diplomat, the negotiating voice of the company, and he also serves to keep the short-tempered Revy in check. The story follows the group from one dangerous situation to another, including raiding an old sunken WWII German submarine, running various errands for Russian Mafia branch leader Balalaika, fighting off bounty hunters, and various other situations that typically involve getting shot at and blowing things up.

The city of Roanapur, where the company is located, is full of many other colorful characters. Roanapur is mostly controlled by the Russian mafia group Hotel Moscow, and the local branch of the Chinese Hong Kong Triad. Hotel Moscow is run by former soviet captain Balalaika, whose former troops make up most of her elite squad. The Triad is run by Mr. Chang (one of my favorite characters), an ex-law enforcement officer with an easygoing attitude, who is highly skilled at wielding dual pistols. They maintain a delicate balance of power within the city, often with the aid of the Lagoon Company, which frequently works for both sides. The Church of Violence (more commonly referred to as the Rip-Off Church) poses as a Catholic church, but secretly runs an illegal arms smuggling operation. A one-eyed, tough talking nun runs the operation, along with a smart mouthed, trigger happy woman known as Eda (who also poses as a nun). Eda and Revy are frequently at each other's throats, though they also fight well together when pressed. There are also plenty of bounty hunters around; such as the Taiwanese knife master Shenhua, who speaks in hilariously broken English; the constantly high Irish getaway driver Leigharch; and the voice-box talking, chainsaw wielding, pint-sized girl Sawyer the Cleaner.

The relationship between Revy and Rock is one of the most interesting in the series. At times he is able to calm her down, but at others he only makes things worse. When he once lectures her for what he perceives as grave robbing, she threatens to kill him if he ever tries to force his morals on her again. Rock's naivety and innocence from living a normal life often make Revy uncomfortable and angry, but there are times when she does her best to protect that innocence from the evils of the world she lives in. It often bothers her that Rock lives between the light and the darkness, while she has always lived and always will live in the darkness; she even tries to convince him to go back home, but he feels more at home with Lagoon Company than he ever did in Japan. So as you can see, there are some more serious themes in the show, and the characters are more complicated than they appear on the surface; it's not all explosions and massive shoot-outs...though there's certainly plenty of that to go around.

Originally released by Geneon, you can now find the series re-released by FUNimation. The 24 episode anime is sold in two 12-episode sets - Black Lagoon, and Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage. There's also a manga, distributed by Viz Media, and a light novel that is currently unlicensed. A third season should be out in 2010. The show features excellent animation from Madhouse, great music by Edison, and a totally rockin' intro theme called "Red Fraction" by Mell. The normal discs come with standard DVD extras (clean credits and the like), but if you buy the sets (each season comes in a lovely steelbook) you get a bonus disc in each with things like interviews and music videos. Though the only thing I really found worth watching was the fantastic "Red Fraction" music video. The English voice over is pretty solid, though I was bothered by the sometimes heavy, sometimes missing Russian accent for Balalaika. Shenhua's (Saffron Henderson) broken English comes out hilariously, though. Megumi Toyoguchi is very distinctive as Revy, but Maryke Hendrikse also does a good job.

If you're a fan of shows like Cowboy Bebop, Trigun or Outlaw Star, this should be right up your alley.

This week's Bento Bako Weekly is a re-do of my Midori Days review. I'll be out of town next weekend, so I don't think I will have a Girl G33k post. But if you go over to ComicAttack.net, you'll get the first half of my two columns highlighting vampire anime and manga.

Skip Beat!

I was working on a Black Lagoon anime review, but got busy with various things. If I don't get it up later this week, it will go up next week instead.

However, I did do a review of one of my absolute favorite shojo manga, Skip Beat!, over at ComicAttack.net. You should head over there and read it.

Noir

This week we'll be looking at Noir. This 26 episode anime series was directed by Kōichi Mashimo (Dirty Pair: Project Eden, many .hack// series), written by Ryoe Tsukimura, produced by Bee Train, and released domestically by ADV.

Mireille Bouquet is a professional assassin who goes by the name "Noir." One day she receives an email from a young girl named Kirika Yuumura, who seems to have some connection to her past. Mireille hunts her down, but the two of them are attacked by unknown assailants. After dispatching them together, Mireille learns that Kirika has amnesia. She knows nothing about her past, but does have a familiar looking pocket watch that plays a familiar sounding tune...one that Mireille knows very well. Having seen Kirika's incredible skills with a gun, and seeing her as a connection to her past, Mireille decides to team up with the mysterious girl in an attempt to unlock the secrets of both their pasts. As they dig deeper into the secrets of an underground world, controlled by the mysterious group known as the Soldats, they discover that they have much more in common than they thought. They also discover what it truly means to use the codename "Noir."

For one of the top assassins around, Mireille's not that great. She's a really good shot, but that's about it. Kirika, some random, amnesiac girl she picks up in the street, is 10x the assassin she is; and she doesn't even have any memories to back up her obvious training. In fact, compared to Kirika and another young assassin they meet later, Mireille kind of sucks. Kirika, on the other hand, is a complete badass; 5 years younger than Mireille, she manages to make the woman look like a complete novice.

Animation is average for...basically anything that moves. It's clear they had some amazing scenic painters (backgrounds and environments are detailed and beautiful), but the animation is mediocre at best. For a show from 2001, it's not that impressive visually. They do pay a lot of attention to the eyes, but only on closeups. And for a show filled with so much violence, death and shooting...there's almost no blood. That's possibly an aesthetic choice, or something to keep it in a lower rating (so it can air during the day); but it is a little odd, and it makes it hard to tell when the main characters have been injured (or how serious the injury was).

The plot is drawn out, predictable and dull. You can see every plot "twist" and reveal coming from a mile away. By the time they get to the moment of some great "secret," it's not interesting anymore. In fact, the entire story in general is not even remotely interesting until disc 4, and then it comes and goes. There are too many episodes; really could have been half that and it would have been fine. 13 instead of 26. I found myself fast forwarding through some of the really slow parts (and ceaseless flash backs) out of impatience. It somehow made me think of Ryoko's Case File...and how I'd rather be watching that instead (even though there's really nothing related about them; it's mostly a genre thing). It's not that I hated it, because I didn't; it was just...uninteresting.

The music is by Yuki Kajiura, who I've mentioned before in my Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle review. I'll say the same thing I said then: her music is beautiful, but it's all basically the same from show to show (or game to game). Actually, in the case of Noir, it really overshadowed the show.

English voice acting is average. I've heard some of these people in other shows, where they did better jobs. Neither vocal track is really notable, other than some pretty outrageous accents in the English dub.

DVD extras include production sketches, clean credits, and interviews. DVD menus are uniquely designed, but they're kind of a pain to navigate.