You Had Me At Hello (or Shows That Grab You From Episode One)

We've all started books, sat down to television shows, met a prospective suitor or listened to a new album and found ourselves unsure of whether the object of our attention was worth spending additional time on.  Sometimes we might know it is worthy of the time expenditure, but only think the item in question is passable, somewhat amusing, or just okay. 

Then there are other times when from the first word, scene, or song, we are entranced, or at least hooked and we couldn't possibly imagine not continuing the experience.

There are many fantastic anime series.  Many of my favorites I took a little while to warm up to.  Even some classics do not hit their stride until a few episodes in - though I love Cowboy Bebop and think every episode is at least very well done, it was not at least until episodes 4 and 5 (episode 4 when Faye Valentine becomes a regular character and Bebop inhabitant, and episode 5 when Vicious makes his first appearance and you begin to get an inkling of Spike's back story) that I started to understand what all the fuss was about.  By the end of the series I was (and still am) of the opinion that Bebop ranked among the very best shows (anime or otherwise) I'd ever watched.  Similarly, though early episodes of both Eureka Seven and Neon Genesis Evangelion sparked my interest, I did not fall in love with (in Eureka Seven's case) or become morbidly fascinated by (in Evangelion's case) those series until the full casts of characters had been introduced and their future worlds fleshed out. 

That said, others series really did "have me at hello."  That is not to say that those series remained as compelling throughout, or even that they currently rank in personal favorites.  They did, however, have that strange and mysterious chemistry to grab my attention from the get-go. 

When They Cry immediately gets any viewer's attention.  It opens with a remarkably violent scene, followed by a colorful title sequence, and then followed up by what appears to be an idyllic small town.  The juxtaposition of such a graphic introduction with the quiet normalcy of the post-title scene is jarring.  The paradoxical nature of the show is only heightened as it becomes clear that the big-eyed and innocent looking young female characters have incredibly dark secrets. 

Both Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Welcome to the NHK manage to be cerebral, fascinating, inventive and compelling from the first episode.  GitS:SAC is a brilliant and mature science fiction story, well-crafted and logical, and in many ways quite plausible (it served as some of the inspiration for the mega-hit Matrix).  You meet most of the Section 9 team, you get a rough introduction to some of their enhanced capabilities, and you have the Major showing just how much ass she kick (both cybernetic and human). 

In contrast, Welcome to the NHK is a clever psychological drama, comedy, dramedy, black comedy . . . let's just say it is hard to explain.  The show follows the exploits, embarrassments and anxieties of Sato, a hikikomori (Japanese term referring to the phenomenon of socially withdrawn individuals with extreme levels of isolation).  Observing Sato's daily life is usually painful, often funny, and always insightful.  His issues, though extreme, are sadly relate-able, and though the show has definite flights of fancy (not least of which is his burgeoning conspiracy theory behind why Japan has so many hikikomori, and the fact that he sometimes believes the appliances in his apartment come to life and discuss said conspiracy with him), even such unreasonableness is almost justifiable considering the protagonist's state of mind. 

From Welcome to the NHK - how could you not be caught up in this guy's drama?

A good fight can also serve as entree to a series and grab the viewer's attention and affection from the first kick, punch, sword strike, or bullet fired.  Black Lagoon commences with high speed chases, frenzied gun-play, and a head-on-head fight with a helicopter.  Samurai Champloo's first episode feature multiple fights, but the centerpiece is the impromptu clash of Mugen (with an undisciplined and frenetic fighting style, involving both sword and limbs) and Jin (the classic stoic and tightly controlled ronin, whose swordplay is elegant and calculated).  Black Lagoon managed to get even better as it developed; Samurai Champloo is a bit less even, though it was and remains exciting and interesting throughout.

Multiple shows capture their audiences from the first episode because you really have no clue what the hell is going on.  Ergo Proxy was confusing in the first episode, and was confusing in every episode that followed.  It still makes no damn sense to me (OK, it makes some sense, but not enough to be utterly comprehensible).  Ergo Proxy is science fiction/fantasy, and you can tell the authors didn't quite know what to do with all of their interesting ideas.  Which might hurt if looking for logic, but doesn't hurt if you want to be taken for a ride.  The art in Ergo Proxy is brooding, and the music and animation is excellent and apparent from the first episode on.  Baccano! is a fantasy, mafia, Prohibition, alchemy, caper story.  Confusing?  Well, add to that mixed premise the fact that the story is told in non-chronological order, jumping between more than 250 years over the course of its 13 episodes.  Oh, and did I mention some of the characters are immortal?  Yeah, well, the title of the show is (loosely) Italian for a din or a ruckus, and the show is nothing if not aptly titled.  That said, the ride is wild and fast from the start, and as soon as you see a character get pumped full of bullets, only to get up and walk away as if nothing happened - well, you're hooked (if perplexed). 

Then there's Gunslinger Girl, whose eponymous character(s) is (are) reconstituted girls, rebuilt (after being either abandoned by their parents or otherwise finagled from them by the state) with no memories, a reinforced body, and trained with all the skills necessary to an assassin.  You see Henrietta (one of multiple gunslinger girls in the show) with her "handler," Jose.  They encounter their quarry, and Henrietta's violin case is revealed to contain something far more deadly than a fine string instrument.  You immediately wonder why she is heavily armed, why she takes the lead in the killing, and why you are still watching (it is exceedingly disturbing).  But you don't look away.  The show remains disturbing throughout, but as bits and pieces of the girls' histories are revealed, and the ethical ramifications are tangentially dealt with, it remains gripping and hard not to watch.

Of course, there are those true classics that grab viewers as soon as the hit play.  Any such discussion would be remiss not to mention Fullmetal Alchemist and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.  The shows couldn't be more different, but both are beloved, critically acclaimed, and boast amazing beginnings and steady quality throughout.  FMA opens with the shocking and heart rending scene of Ed and Al breaking the most important rule of alchemy and trying to resurrect their dead mother.  The results are horrifying and lay the groundwork for the following years of their lives, as they try to rectify what went so wrong. 

Haruhi, in extreme contrast, actually has multiple beginnings (depending on whether you watch it in broadcast order or in chronological order) - any way you begin it, the humor is sharp, the satire funny, the characters memorable, and the experience unparalleled.  You just can't go wrong with, or not be instantly absorbed by: a show whose main character meets an alien, a time traveler and an ESPer merely because of the force of her own will; and which is narrated in a dry and witty voice over by the long suffering and only "normal" individual in the show.  Truly brilliant.

Long suffering "normal" dude holding the sign - gotta love it.

Anime Du Jour - WWII and Foul-Mouthed Kindergartners

Life has been incredibly busy - between work and P90X, there seems to be precious little time for my anime enthusiasm.  That said, I have popped a few DVDs into the PS3 and enjoyed, in turns, a bit of alternative history/escapism fantasy and a heavy dose of scatological humor propounded by pint-sized potty mouths.


First up was the first six episodes of Strike Witches.  How to describe this perplexing show?  Well, how shall I put it . . . .  On the plus side, it is an alternative history of World War II.  Rather than fighting the Nazis, Mussolini's Italy and the Empire of Japan, the evil enemies are alien in origin and anything but human.  And instead of fighting only with the historically accurate array of B-17 Flying Fortresses, Class A Destroyers, and Sherman tanks, you can add magical girls to the arsenal.  Yes, magical girls.  Having only watched six episodes, I'm not sure if there is an origin story to explain magic in this alternate universe, or if it is simply a changed detail that we are to accept without explanation (which I can deal with, being a fan of fantasy novels).  These girls, who look (mostly) like normal girls, undergo a transformation when they don their fighting gear. 


"What fighting gear?" you might ask.  Well, the gear is affixed to the girls' legs and allow them to fly - looking like a cross between a missile and the nose of a plane, tipped with propellers, as they tote various weapons (machine guns, rocket launchers, and one with what looks like a samurai sword).  They can shield themselves and as they fly or take off, you can see what look like alchemical circles drawn in their general vicinity. Oh, and when they put on the fighting gear, each girl mysteriously sprouts cat ears and a tail (each girl has a different type of ear and tail).


You might be thinking, "Well, this show doesn't sound all that perplexing.  What gives?" 


Ah, I guess I should get to the point.  There is one major detail that has been left wanting.  In fact, it is something that leads to only one logical question:

Why no pants?  No, really - WHY NO PANTS??!!  I understand the Japanese fetish for lolicon, the fanservice staple of panty shots.  But seriously, people, give the poor girls some pants.  Or even shorts or a mini skirt.  SOMETHING.  If I were facing some rather formidable aliens while flying at high altitude, I'd want some bottoms (other than panties) to protect me from everything from scorchingly hot spent bullet casings to wind burn. 

Honestly, people - don't these girls deserve some trousers? 

Other than distracting the enemy, it certainly doesn't help in the fight

and would make any reasonable alien take their fighting prowess much less seriously.

That said, the show is well-animated, has some very good voice acting, and is an interesting retelling of certain aspects of WWII (quite interesting when one considers the show originates in a country that was among the aggressors in that terrible conflict).  Definitely worth watching if you can learn to ignore the fact that these girls, unlike almost every other person in the history of the earth, do not put on their pants one leg at a time (because they appear to never put on pants at all).

I also spent some time watching episodes 7-12 of Shin Chan (or Crayon Shin-Chan).  Unlike Strike Witches, I can unequivocally say that this is not well-animated.  Of course, that is part of the signature of the show.  The characters are rough-hewn and very out-of-proportion.  The style looks sloppy and amateurish.  Which I'm sure took quite a lot of work to achieve. 

See what I mean?

That said, like the first show I discussed, this show includes some very good voice acting.  In this instance, the Shin Chan cast does some incredibly funny comedic acting, made possible by an often disgusting, almost always hilarious script re-write in the vein of Ghost Stories. The rewrite incorporates many cultural shout outs to contemporary US pop culture.  Jokes about Paris Hilton, young Republicans, crack whores, unexpected pregnancies, dining and dashing, and boob jobs are only the tip of the iceberg.


The main characters are mostly Shin, a five-year old with a vocabulary that could make sailors blush and an obsession with toilet humor, and his classmates.  Add in: his precocious baby sister and his sarcastic and very put-upon parents, a potpourri of neighbors, school teachers, and annoying acquaintances friends; mix in a complete lack of political correctness; re-write in such a way that American audiences get all of the timely and inappropriate jokes.  Result: a show you might be embarrassed to admit you find amusing. 


Did I mention that Shin likes to bare his ass in inappropriate and disgusting ways?  Threatening people with farts? 

Yeah, like I said, totally embarrassed that the show makes me laugh out loud.

Thank You For Being a Friend

As odd as it sounds for a devout anime otaku, I truly loved the television show The Golden Girls.  Sadly, Rue McClanahan passed away recently.  This started me thinking about all the wonderful moments on that show, and then I soon segued into thoughts of various anime series that depicted friendships among women (or girls).  I thought that topic would make for a nice and timely blog entry - so here we go, in memoriam for Rue McClanahan (bka Blanche Deveraeux).  We'll miss you!


A surprising number of anime series have found their source material in manga written by (and often for) women and/or girls.  As a result, many such shows involve interesting and realistic (or, sometimes less than realistic) examinations of growing up and friendship among women.

Case in point, Fruits Basket - the main character in the manga and anime is Tohru Honda and the mangaka (author) is a woman.  Tohru has multiple friendships, but her oldest and most meaningful existing relationship is that with her two best friends, Arisa Uotani and Saki Hanajima.  This trio exhibits a pure and mostly unselfish friendship.  They accept each other for who they are and Arisa and Saki would literally do anything to protect Tohru from harm.  Misunderstandings among the three often lead to comic results, but there is always a core of poignancy at the heart of their interactions.  The show has involves fantasy elements and some minor paranormal details, but the show's foundation is truly built around the emotions of its characters. 

As the majority of men and many women have learned, some of the most lasting friendships (and most important life lessons) arise out of playing sports.  In both Bamboo Blade and Princess Nine sports teams are the impetus for the development of meaningful relationships and self-exploration.  In Bamboo Blade it is a kendo team and in Princess Nine it is a girls' baseball team.    Both include athletic prodigies, girls who are supremely confident, those that are shy and attempting to come out of their shells, others who are struggling to communicate with their parents, and some who need the help of friendship in order to conquer their own self-loathing. 

The friendships in Bamboo Blade (whose manga was illustrated by a woman) grow in the dojo as the team develops their skills and become familiar with each others' strengths and weaknesses. 

In Princess Nine, the friendships on the diamond solidify as the young women face one challenge after another - from the challenge of building a team with a sufficient number of players, battling stereotypes and outside pressures (who are mostly aligned against the idea of a baseball team populated by girls), and developing confidence in and trust of each other.  Both shows occasionally overdo the sentimentality, but not by much and usually within the bounds of realism.

In other shows, the characters involved have transcended mere friendship and evolved into family relationships, though often nontraditional families.  In R.O.D., three young women without families of their own bond and agree to care for and protect one another.  They share a unique link as they are all "papermasters," meaning they can manipulate paper in mysterious ways.  In Haibane Renmei, the story takes place in a semi-fantastical world where some of the inhabitants resemble angels, complete with halos and wings.  The young women, who periodically appear in the world and are hatched from structures called cocoons, are unsure of who they used to be in their prior life or why they are there.  Each of these young women, called the "haibane", eventually knows when it is time to depart and disappears as mysteriously as they appeared.  The haibane guide each other through the rules and customs of the new world in which they find themselves; there is self-examination and coming to terms with any vague past memories and perceived shortcomings.  The older haibane act as surrogate parents to the younger and all have to be prepared for the inevitable moment when the family's ties are broken and individual haibane leave.

Friendships are the cornerstone of so many people's lives, and so many series explore these relationships in entertaining and great detail.  Some shows offer tried and true story lines that would be familiar to people the world over, others inject interesting twists on the typical relationships between friends.  Watching these shows reminds me of friendships past and present, and makes me reminisce about the wonderful hours I've spent in the past watching Golden Girls and enjoying their antics and their wonderful friendships.