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CODE GEASS: LELOUCH OF THE REBELLION (VOLUME 6)

November 6th 2009 22:06

Original story by: Ichirou Ohkouchi & Goro Taniguchi
Director: Goro Taniguchi
Script by: Ichirou Ohkouchi
Character Design Concepts: CLAMP
Producers: Hiroshi Morotomi, Yoshitaka Kawaguchi, Takuo Minegishi & Atsushi Yukawa
Starring: Johnny Yong Bosch (Lelouch), Yuri Lowenthal (Suzaku), Kate Higgins (C.C), Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Cornelia), Michael McConnohie (Emperor of Britannia), Michelle Ruff (Euphemia), Liam OBrien (Lloyd Asplund), Deborah Sale Butler (Cecile Croomy), Karen Strassman (Kallen Stadtfeld), Rebecca Forstadt (Nunally), Julie Ann Taylor (Milly Ashford), Brian Beacock (Rivalz), Steve Blum (Colonel Tohdoh), Jamieson Price (Diethard Reid) Megan Hollingshead (Villetta Nu), Kirk Thornton (Ohgi), Laura Bailey (Rakshata Chawla) & Amy Kincaid (Shirley Fenette).
Produced by: MBS, Sunrise & Project Geass
English Version produced by: Bandai Visual in association with ZRO Limit
Released by: Madman Entertainment
Running Time: 100 minutes Rating: M

It seems that in this particular volume the dreams and aspirations of the Japanese people are about to realized in the end of years of Britannian tyranny and oppression seem destined to at last be dispelled. Will the enigmatic protagonist of CG: LOTR at last see his plans come to fruition, will his vow of crushing this Britannia at last finally be fulfilled and he will see the empire that had rejected both him and his sister crushed and humbled at his feet? In a nutshell, no as this is the final volume in the first season of this particularly lush atmospheric anime not the final episode overall. There is a second season that as far I am aware of has not yet made the shelves of outlets here in the Land Down Under but has been screened in Japan and I believe can be watched at the Madman Entertainment website in their screening room.
Tragedy on an epic scale is very much the order of the day, of course it doesnt help that the protagonist of this series has decided to chart for himself a course filled with tragedy and solitude, in some ways he is very similar to the character of Light Yagami in the Death Note anime. He has achieved a power, the power of kings which has near limitless potential to change and shape the world and intends to reshape the world the way he feels it should be. Just as Light Yagami feels he can change the world into a better place by using the Death Note and killing off those who are evil and malicious. The difference between the two characters lies in the fact that Lelouch feels very real sorrow at his actions and the consequences of his efforts and realizes that with each step he takes towards achieving his agenda his humanity and morality is slowly being eroded away. Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely perhaps?
Feeling this remorse and sorrow however doesnt mean that he intends to just give up and throw it all away, that would be sheerest folly. Or would it? This is the other similarity between the character of Lelouch and Light Yagami; they have let their vision become narrowed by their desires and objectives that they dont quite fully conceive the impact that they are having on the people around them or their world. Or the fact that something may come along to cause a major hiccup which is essentially what occurs in the concluding episode of this volumebut more about that later.
Events open on what seems to be a fairly upbeat note; Princess Euphemia the acting viceroy of Area 11 is embarking on a plan to turn the territory into the Special Administered Zone (SAZ) of Japan. From this it would seem that the future is looking bright for the Japanese people, but Zero aka Lelouch Lamperouge has other plans. The efforts of Princess Euphemia do not fit into his plans for the people of Japan and the Britannian Empire, so he attends the ceremony which will be the official launch for the SAZ in order to manipulate events towards his liking to better serve his overall goals. Instead what occurs is a massacre of truly epic proportions that is due to a horrible tragedy which Zero has not foreseen. Essentially his geass that he has gained through the contract he has made with CC suddenly becomes permanent; he can now no longer shut down his geass it is now permanently active. Ah what delicious irony considering that in volume 4 he encountered the cracked Mao who had had a similar thing happen to him with his geass.
Making an off the cuff remark to Princess Euphemia spawns a tragedy of truly epic proportions and thousands end up paying for this with their lives. Zero makes use of this to further his ambitions even though at his core he is shocked and truly horrified by the carnage that has resulted due to his deadly gaff. Of course one wonders if this remorse isnt more the fact that our protagonist is something of a dualistic entity, one where the identity of Zero is slowly taking over the young man Lelouch and thereby eroding the latters humanity and feelings whilst Zero becomes all too willing to take on the mantle of bloodshed and carnage in order to further his aims. And the desire to protect his crippled sister Nunally at all costs seems to be the one thing holding both sides together, but it is this desire that also is his key weak point, his Achilles heel, his kryptonite. It was a fact that was pointed out to him by the insane Mao who was only too happy to kidnap Nunally to fulfil his sinister agenda, though even he was defeated by the efforts of Lelouch and Suzaku that weak spot still remained.
Initially Lelouch hopes that Suzaku will be Nunallys protector but events conspire to put the kybosh on that plan, instead our protagonist in making his main move has his loyal Black Knights takeover the academy and thus watch over Nunally. But another player has entered into the game, someone that Lelouch did not expect, and as a result Nunally ends up being kidnapped. As soon as he discovers this fact Zero abandons the field of battle and rushes off to protect his sister, the fate of his proposed United States of Japan (USJ) is in the balance especially as his 2IC, Ohgi has just been shot and no one else has any idea of what to do. Colonel Tohdoh is brilliant tactically whilst Diethard is a cunning manipulator of the media and information yet neither has the genius to keep things rolling along as well as Zero has, nor his breadth of vision. Is the USJ doomed to be as short lived as the SAZ? Time and the second season will tell us the truth of that
Once again MBS, Sunrise and Project Geass have shown that they have produced an anime series that is taut tight and extremely entertaining on so many different levels. This volume is definitely worth trying to track down and watching, and I have no doubt that the second season will be even more so. Check it out at the Madman Entertainment websites Screening Room if you cannot wait for the DVDs to be realised onto the shelves at your local supermarket or store.

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STRAITJACKET

November 5th 2009 00:34

Original Story by: Ichiro Sakaki
Original Visuals by: Yoh Fujishiro
Director: Shinji Ushiro
Screenplay by: Ichiro Sakaki
Producers: Tomoyoshi Koyama & Tomoko Kawasaki
Starring: Steve Blum (Leiot Steinberg), Crispin Freeman (Issac Hammond), Lara Jill Miller (Kapelteta Fernandez), Bridget Hoffman (Nerin Simmons), Jamieson Price (Reegs), Tara Platt (Filisis Moog), Kari Wahlgren (Rachel Hammond), Keith Silverstein (Jack Roland), Christopher Smith (Falk) & Paul St Peter (Brian Moderato)
Produced by: T O Entertainment & Endeleizo
English Version produced by: Bang Zoom Entertainment
Released by: Madman Entertainment
Running Time: 76 minutes Rating: MA 15

If this movie has a particular flaw its that there seems to be a lot more going on beneath the surface than is revealed in the English dialogue, there is a sense of deep heartfelt sadness and tragedy that just isnt fully realised unless youre actively reading between the lines and even when you do youre not quite sure if you have managed to get the gist of it. Plot wise it is also a movie very much patterned on a circular pattern, which to some viewpoints is very much how real life evolves, that comes full circle within the length of the feature. There are no loose ends in regard to this particular tale, it is tightly told and wrapped fairly well by the time the credits begin to roll in the final moments. Fans of the seminal Cowboy Bebop (CB) series will recognise the voice of the lead character in this feature, Leiot Steinberg; its Steve Blum the actor behind the voice of cool, calm collected Spike Spiegel from CB.
So just what is Straitjacket all about? Interestingly the whole thing begins with a rather surrealistic montage of a flashback that you only begin to piece together as the overall story unfolds. Key to this particular flashback montage is the characters of Leiot Steinberg and Isaac Hammond; ably voiced by Crispin Freeman, who in the initial scenes are very young but we see them as full grown men in the core of the story. The world in which these two pivotal characters exist is a world where sorcery and its effect are very much a reality and in many ways a boon to the society of the everyday individual. It all began back in the year 1899 of the Northern Calendar when an experiment was performed in the Cathedral of St Schuman which effectively changes the world as it was and ushered in this age of sorcery employed for the betterment of human society.
This particular titbit of information is provided to the audience via another of the pivotal characters, Nerin Simmons, an inspector at the Sorcery Management Bureau (SMB), a government bureaucracy that as the name no doubt suggests oversees all forms of sorcerous activity. Despite sorcery being a major boon to human society at large it seems that there is a price to pay and that price ismalediction. It seems that malediction is the sorcerous equivalent of radioactive poisoning or fallout, as sorcery became more and more prevalent so too did malediction. The upshot was that continued exposure to malediction could have some seriously horrible consequences, namely the warping of an individual into a hideous bloodthirsty monster that embarks upon a splatter fest in the nearby vicinity killing and maiming all and sundry.
In order to combat malediction the technology of molds was created to prevent an individual from succumbing to malediction and becoming a monster. Mold tech thus enabled humans to maintain their humanity in the face of wielding the tremendous and reality bending powers of sorcery. Of course as with all things the theory is wonderful but not one hundred per cent perfect, things can and often do go wrong. Enter the Tactical Sorcerist, an individual who is essentially the person deployed to eliminate the poor sods overtaken by malediction. Leiot Steinberg is an unlicensed Tactical Sorcerist, one whose operation seems to be tolerated because he eliminates demons as those who have been warped by malediction are called. Isaac Hammond is also a tactical sorcerist, one who regards his works as an almost heroic duty towards the general public; he is of the opinion that people like Steinberg only end up giving people like him a bad name.
Of course the sad thing is that Steinberg, a world weary character realises that what tactical sorcerists do is not some kind of heroic crusade but simply killing because in spite of all the benefits of sorcery and the wonders it creates it cannot cure someone who has become turned by malediction. The only cure that can be offered to those who have become demons is that of a quick and somewhat brutal death. Makes you wonder why people would want to work with such a power, then again just consider the numerous individuals who work with nuclear power in our own world or the thousands upon thousands of miners who work in coal mines and are exposed to all manner of hazards in bringing forth coal to fuel power stations and what not. We sit in our homes and reap the benefits whilst the individuals who create those benefits are at risk each time that they go to work. So it is in this particular fictional universe where the power of sorcery is very much a given and taken for granted.
Then there is the political angle behind this tale, it seems that in the city of Tristan, the fictional metropolis in which the bulk of the action occurs is being beset by terrorist attacks undertaken on behalf of Oddman, a terrorist organisation which initially had a leftist leaning political agenda but is now pursuing a more materialistic course. It seems that this group are behind much of the demonic incidents that have been taking place throughout the city over the course of the feature and that their rational is also been assisted by someone on the other side, it seems that corruption is the name of the game but it all goes horribly wrong for the conspirators when the wrong person is caught in the crossfire. And in turn when righteous retribution is visited upon the conspirators this in turn leads to further tragedy and sorrow
Straitjacket is an interesting feature; I did enjoy it immensely and felt that the vocal talents of Steve Blum and Crispin Freeman along with Bridget Hoffman who voiced the character of Nerin Simmons gave the show the right degree of gravitas for a story that is two parts action, two parts tragedy and one part thriller. Visually the film reminded me a little of Kikis Delivery Service mainly due to the depiction of the city of Tristan, it had a similar look and feel to it to the city that Kiki ends up living in during the course of her adventures. One wonders if film makers were influenced by the style of Mr Miyazaki in depicting the city in which their story would occur? Well regardless of the artistic influences this feature is worth tracking down and watching, although when the credits rolled I did wonder whether or not this was an actual stand alone or part of a greater whole. Who knows, its something Ill probably check up on over time.

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DEVIL MAY CRY THE ANIMATED SERIES LEVEL 2

October 23rd 2009 22:06

Based on the Devil May Cry computer game by CAPCOM
Director: Shin Itagaki
Screenplay by: Shotaro Suga et al
Producers: Takaya Ibira, Tatsuhiro Nitta, Daisuke Katagiri, Tetsuro Satomi
Starring: Justin Cause (Dante), Rob Mungle (Morrison), Maggie Flecknoe (Cindy), Hilary Haag (Patty), Chris Ayres (Sid), David Matranga (Isaac), Lesley Tesh (Elena Houston), Shelley Calene-Black (Elena Devil), Brandon Hearnsberger (Tim), Adam Jones (Plesio), Chris Hutchinson (Kerry), Justin Doran (Earnest), Kara Greenberg (Elise) & Donna Hannah (Margaret)
Produced by: Showgate, Media Factory & Wowow
English version produced by: ADV Films
Released by: Madman Entertainment
Running Time: 100 minutes Rating: MA 15

Interestingly this particular anime is like the Final Fantasy franchise, it is an anime spawned not by a manga but by a computer game for the Sony Playstation 2. Now unlike Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children there is not the same level of computer animation employed in this particular anime, still the level is very good and there are instances of CGI thrown in to the mix to give the show that little bit of extra oomph. Unfortunately for me I have never come across any of the games, probably because I dont own a Playstation of any particular model, so playing a game for a console has never been my forte although if a look at Devil May Cry 4, the game, is any indication then it seems like I am missing out.
Our protagonist in this anime is the enigmatic and nattily attired Dante, a private investigator with a penchant for strawberry sundaes and all manner of lethal ironmongery from large calibre auto pistols to incredibly ornate and very large bladed swords. In fact the scale of the weapons employed by Dante and others like him is very similar to those that show up in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. And naturally these are not the kind of weapons that dispose of a target with a minimal of fuss, no these are the kind of weapons that are designed with maximum hurt and carnage in mind, and considering the nature of some of the people that Dante finds himself facing off against you can see why that might be the case.
So what exactly are we looking at here with this anime? No doubt the fans of the game will have a fairly good idea of what to expect but if youre like me and never come across this particular game then you may find yourself stumbling around in the dark without some kind of primer. It seems that Dante is a demon hunter slash private detective who goes around taking out all manner of nasties and infernal entities for a price; unfortunately he seems to be continually in debt due to the fact that people are always leaving him bills and no pay cheques. Not a good situation to be in certainly, especially if youre a businessperson, still it seems that Dante never has to hang around too long before he finds himself with paying work.
As for precisely where Dante finds himself working and operating it seems that he and his cohorts along with the many antagonists all exist in a fictional universe, although there are a few similar elements to this universe that are found in our own real lives such as rock music, the Mafia and big cities. The other interesting facet within this particular world is the penchant for various characters, Dante included, to go dressed like they walked out of the pages of some Victorian novel or Gothic fashion magazine. No one wears normal clothes, although considering that Im a guy who wears dark glasses, black t shirts, black jeans and black steel toe capped boots Im probably not someone who should blithely throw around comments on fashion and its applicability to a situation.
This particular volume contains four episodes which each revolve around a particular mission that Dante undertakes to earn some cash in order to pay his bills. In all of these missions there is usually a substantial amount of carnage as our protagonist demolishes a variety of demonic entities, some of these are beings who have slithered into the world via a variety of means whilst some of them have taken up home in various institutions such as prisons or organised crime. When they come against the white haired, red garbed demon hunter though they all find that they are seriously outclassed and are in line to end up in a whole world of pain.
The two stories I really liked were Rock Queen and Wishes Come True; the former is a very Faustian story that only sees its denouement only years later down the track when it seems fate conspires to bring the main protagonist together along with Dante in order for a resolution to be achieved. Elena Houston was an up and coming rock star trying to make it big in a scene that can be notoriously hard to get that big break, she made a deal with the devil and ended up being transformed by it as well as having a serious impact upon her fans, warping and twisting them into blood thirsty zombies. This story comes with a nice rocking tune which adds just that extra bit of oomph to the story, especially when it takes place at a moment of absolute carnage.
Wishes Come True takes the old cliché of someone who rescues a demon that offers to give them a wish in return for them not doing something harmful to it and twists it around something shocking. In fact its pretty much a case of be very careful of what you wish for as it very well might come true in a horrible and unexpected way. Dante naturally employs his considerable expertise in bringing this matter to a close, although all he gets for his trouble is a warm fuzzy feeling rather than any cold hard cash or other such goodies.
This would have to be the first DVD that Ive reviewed in a while that actually does merit its MA15 rating which surprised me, somehow the OLFC managed to get this one right in comparison with the Bleach volume 16 DVD and the movie L Change the World. Perhaps they actually sat down and watched this particular DVD or maybe theyre all fans of the computer game and know what this was all about? Hmmm who knows, although it certainly does raise an interesting point. Speaking of the computer game on this DVD you can find two trailers for the Devil May Cry 4 game along with several cut scenes very interesting viewing. All in all Devil May Cry the Animated Series Level 2 was an enjoyable watch, well worth the hard earned I forked over to by it.

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FLASHFORWARD

October 22nd 2009 22:41

Before I had to have my operation to pin back the detached retina in my right eye I managed to catch the opening episode of this particular television series. Prior to it being aired on Seven nationwide here in Australia one of the local television guides was raving about the show, and I mean raving, using all manner of hyperbole to build up the show and its subsequent series. I have to admit the writer did a good job, a very good job as they caught my attention and I made an effort to attempt to catch that initial first episode and see what was going on and how things would all pan out.
Comparisons were made between Flashforward and Lost, the other television series aired on Seven that has had people raving apparently around water coolers for the last several years all over the country and beyond. Have to admit I dont work where there are water coolers, much of the work I do do, when I do it at all is either in the confines of my home, my local watering hole which predominantly serves beverages of an amber kind or the odd waterside hostelry where I like to take a sample of the cleansing waters now and then. Water coolers are not found in any of these locales and thus I have managed to miss out on the conversation regarding Lost and its values to the mainstream Australian television audience. I also havent bothered to watch the show either as the entire premise just failed to grab me to begin with.
So consequently the idea of comparing these two shows to me is not something I was interested in, it just didnt do anything for me but the actual notion of what was involved behind Flashforward is what essentially got me in. The hook that the creators were using to draw in the viewer and weave their magic sounded very interesting indeed and it was just that alone that I was intrigued, that I knew that the eternal emerald gaze of the Lantern would have to be cast upon the opening episode and reveal what the truth of this show was

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A FLAW IN THE LENS

October 16th 2009 22:13

The other day I went to my local optometrists to have my eyes checked out, I was worried that I had gotten some dust in my right eye as a result of the sever dust storms that have been afflicting the east coast of Australia recently, in fact I have to say the big one just recently made things look very end of the world but I digress. It was a Saturday when the optometrist saw me and I thought initially that due to the dust storms I had gotten some dust in my eye, alas alack such was not to be.
Rather than the mundane problem of dust in the eye, which is what the two people who went before me had, I had ended up with a detached retina. Fortunately for me my optometrist, Selwyn Peake at OPSM in Settlement City took on board what was happening and set in motion a course of action to do something. After consulting with a specialist he recommend I get myself down to Sydney and the Sydney Eye Hospital and have a procedure done to hopefully repair the damage and pin back the retina.
The upshot of all this is that the staff and doctors at the Sydney Eye Hospital were able to get me in and operate on me without further adieu and I am now safe at home recovering from the procedure. But I am in a period of recovery and so there will be little opportunity for me at the present stage to get around to viewing, reading and reviewing as much as I would like. So Im on something of a hiatus for the next few weeks as I let myself recover and get back into full health. Once that is achieved the Green Lantern will once again be casting its viridian vigilant viewing out into the ether and disseminating the results of such viewings to you the audience out there

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L CHANGE THE WORLD

October 9th 2009 22:07

Based on the Death Note manga by: Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata
Director: Hideo Nakata
Screenplay by: Hirotoshi Kobayashi

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BLEACH THE BOUNT VOLUME 16

October 6th 2009 23:44

Based on the original Bleach manga by: Tite Kubo
Director: Noriyuki Abe
Screenplay by: Masahi Sogo et al

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ELEKTRA: DEVILS DUE

September 22nd 2009 02:35

Publisher: Marvel Entertainment
Production Team: Mike Carey writer, Salvador Larroca pencils, Crimelab Studios inks, Liquids Aron Lusen colours & Chris Eliopoulos - letters
Cost: US$11.99

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B.P.R.D: PLAGUE OF FROGS

September 20th 2009 22:37

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Production Team: Mike Mignola story, Guy Davis art, Dave Stewart colours, Clem Robins - letters
Cost: AU$15.22/US$17.95

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B.P.R.D: 1946

September 16th 2009 02:11

Created by Mike Mignola
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Production Team: Mike Mignola story/cover art, Joshua Dysart story, Paul Azaceta art, Nick Filardi colours, Clem Robbins letters & Dave Stewart cover art

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Comment by Tom
on That Which Should Not Be...

February 27th 2008 00:28

Yes I couldn't belive that they'd do this and I have now seen proof of the horror that now walks this world ready to pounce on unsuspecting comic/graphic novel fans in their local comic stores.

Hopefully the more discerning comic fans will heed my warnings and avoid this work like the proverbial.

Comment by Tom
on Batman: Year One

January 24th 2008 00:38

What was freaky about doing this post was that as I was doing it I heard the news that Heath Ledger, who plays the Joker in the new Batman film; Dark Knight, had just died. Kind of raised the hackles on the back of my neck I can tell you.

Comment by Tom
on Akira (Special Edition)

January 8th 2008 02:22

Yes it has to be one of the longest anime features I've seen, and apparently it doesn't scratch the surface of the material that's actually in the manga. I remember seeing an acutal copy of the manga years ago and it was thick, several hundred pages long and a price to match. I'm not sure if was the whole series in one volume, several volumes in one or horror of horrors actually one volume.

Cheerio
Tom.

Comment by Tom
on Laputa: Castle in the Sky

January 4th 2008 22:30

You can get it on DVD from Madman Entertainment, (www.madman.com.au), I don't know if any video stores have it amongst their stocks for rental, if they did it would most probably be in the Kids Section.

Cheerio
Tom.

Comment by Tom
on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - Nights of Anger (No 16 - 17)

January 4th 2008 22:09