A Blast from the Not-so-innocent Anime Past

AD Police

Files 1-3

I sometimes hear how far the boundaries are pushed in anime these days in terms of sex and violence. If you feel mainstream anime crosses too many boundaries I dare you to make it through the first episode of 1990s AD Police Files. This prequel OVA to the madly popular series Bubblegum Crisis is very different from its PG roots. Here we are introduced to the "darkside" of MegaTokyo set in the year 2027.

The AD Police are an almost military faction of the Tokyo Police Department assigned to take care of stray Boomers. These Boomers are cyborg servants to man that every so often go a little nuts. Rookie Leon McNichol gets a harsh introduction to the AD Police job in the first episode.

Interestingly enough, this is a series based more in philosophy than it is in linear story-telling. The social ethics behind cybernetic slaves and the line between human and Boomer is explored rather heavily in all three episodes of this DVD. Where is the line between human and machine?

Blade Runner, Robocop, The Terminator, all clear influences on this very 80s style animation. Although the stories ask for some suspension of belief from the viewer, watching CG-free anime does have a certain soul-cleansing quality about it. Sure in 2027 people have Pat Benetar hair-dos and listen to synthesizer music, but that only adds to the fun. (Actually the music adds a sinister element to the dark stories, a bit like the synth soundtracks to The Warriors or low-budget horror from the same era.)

Gratuitous blood, violence and robot boobies abound, AD Police Files is not for kids, both because of the content and because they won't have the patience for the rougher hand-drawn style. But adults with a little hankering for some nostalgic anime from almost 20 years ago will be sure to get a campy kick out of this disc. For this one the cover art says it all. If it looks like 80s cheese to you, then you might not get into it, but if it appeals to you in a strangely nostalgic way, then by all means, give it a shot.

Two Horror Manga Releases to Relish In

A lot can happen in a year. This time a year ago we had, what, a half-dozen or more horror series coming out? We have seen the untimely demise of too many of them, but thankfully, as Fall rolls in, we have some new horror manga to enjoy. These two new series are very different in story and presentation, but both have unique approaches, and will get your blood (or maybe bile) pumping.

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They Say a Parasite in the Hand is Worth . . .

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Parasyte

by Hitoshi Iwaaki

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This meaty first volume is a genre-bender that combine high-school awkwardness with an alien invasion. This kind of local/global dual storyline isn't new (Shingu, Alive) but Iwaaki presents a story that is a mix of horror, comedy and sci-fi and achieves a surprisingly successful juggling act.

We begin with the story of Shin, a typical teenager just trying to survive each school day. The Earth is invaded by tiny super-intelligent alien-parasites that crawl into any available orifice (yes, Chekhov, they "grow in your ear") and enter the brain to use the human host to (what else?) kill other humans. The worm-human combo does have some amazing new abilities, as the parasite can manipulate and morph the human into some wicked and deadly forms.

Worm enters Shin through his hand, but he is able to cut off its passage to his brain by wrapping a wire around his arm, and the creature is forced to take root in his hand. A pretty original start to a wild, weird ride.

The alien (Migi) and Shin are forced to share a symbiotic relationship. Migi depends on Shin to stay alive and Shin depends on Migi not to kill him. Any action Shin might take to expose Migi will force Migi to off Shin (and himself, but protect the race), so Shin is in the ultimate of pickles. On top of that Migi can detect other parasites inside humans (and they can detect Migi), and they aren't interesting in having their international killing spree outed by some Japanese teenager.

This first volume spends much time introducing the premise, but also delivers some pretty heavy gore, which makes up for some of the (intentionally) uncomfortable humor. Iwaaki's style reminds me of a rougher Rei Mikamoto (Reiko the Zombie Shop). It won't exactly give you bad dreams, but you may find yourself holding the book further from your face in some places.

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Psycho, Psycho, It's Off to Work We Go . . .

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MPD-Psycho: Volume 2

by Sho-u Tajima (story) and Eiji Otsuka (art)

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Detective Amamiya has a special knack for solving serial murder cases... and it has more than a little to do with the fact that he is a killer himself.

In the second volume of MPD-Psycho we continue the downward spiral into Detective Amamiya's multiple personalities and multiple lives. As the detective is pulled back into the police force, clues about his past show up in new serial murder cases. These help help the master-profiler, but does he really want to stir up those demons? In each volume we are introduced to more of Amamiya's personalities, and more dark secrets (and thankfully they are charted in the end of this volume).

MPD-Psycho is a journey best made without too much information, as twists and twisted necks can be found in every chapter. This is a mature and calculating series that is not for readers that want to "turn their brains off". Keep your brain on high-alert, for sure. The pieces of the puzzle do slowly fall together in this dark and twisted police psycho drama. In terms of gore, the second volume doesn't meet the body count of Volume 1, but this series is just getting started.

Dark Horse editor Carl Horn recently said at a panel at the Kumoricon Anime Convention in Vancouver, WA that when pitching a new series to company president Michael Richardson, he finds the most vile, controversial scene in the series and shows it to him. If he can stomach that scene, then the series is a go. The scene Horn showed him from MPD-Psycho is in Volume 11, so we can be sure that there will be more grisly stuff to come. Personally, the psychological horror of MPD-Psycho is what keeps me reading. As Amamiya unlocks more personalities more mayhem is sure to ensue.

Both Parasyte 1 and MPD-Psycho 1 & 2 are available now.

Manga mention in Wired Magazine's "Geekopedia"

The Ocotber issue of WIRED includes a "Geekopedia" full of A-Z terms the modern geek should know. The Japanese mentions included "Robot" and "Otaku" but none got 1 and 1/3 pages like the "Manga" entry. One small step for manga, but if you read closely, the recommended readings are mostly from titles that came out years ago. Oh well. We can't expect the techies to be up-to-date on everything. Recommending Pokemon for shonen manga? BOLD!

Death Proof is Coming!

Here is the cover of the October issue of EIGA HIHO, and this is one of the best ones yet.

I need to get one of the Kurt Russell Transformer-Death-mobiles. I thought I was done with toys, but this is .... ACK!

On that note, Death Proof comes out on DVD this week. Why both Grindhouse movies aren't coming out together, I do not know.

EDIT: I realized the Death Proof pic wasn't clickable, but now it is. I also added a couple pics from pink director and writer Noribumi Suzuki. Fun stuff.

Kawaii Defined.

Nipponia Magazine (a quarterly from the Japanese Embassy in the US) did an extensive article on KAWAII. This was a very impressive effort, and I bring you their chart on the KAWAII cross-section.

Is it safe to say that this is how the Japanese government defines "kawaii"? I am not sure.

Personally, any Ungirls reference is a good one to me.

(click to enlarge)

End of Summer Chirashi
Here are a few end-of-summer Japanese movie posters. I especially like the Planet Terror one. I think it a nice reimaging. Hero is apparently a remake of the Takuya Kimura home-drama series in movie form. (click to enlarge)

Japan Festival at Uwajimaya this weekend!

This is always a fun, end of summer event for those in the Portland area. Lots of booths, entertainment, and free sake and beer samples! I liked the inclusion of the beer garden last year.

There is also live music and demonstrations and The Yuuyake Shimun will be there, as well as a Kumoricon booth.

More info at their website.

Hope to see you there!

September Issue Out.

OK, so I am a couple days behind. I have been a little double-booked, but am pretty much back on top of things.

Here is the last Mecha Mecha Media column. In it you will find reviews and mentions of Kon Kon Kokon, Hanami: An International Love Story, Translucent, BoBoBo-Bo BoBoBo (DVD), and The Third: The Girl with the Blue Eye (DVD).

I am also excited to announce that a translation I worked on was published last week. The Great Adventure of The Dirty Pair by Haruka Takachino is the original incarnation of The Dirty Pair. This is not a novelization, but the original work, that later was turned into anime and comics.

Since I worked on it, I won't gush too much, but I was a fan of the anime that was released state-side in the early 90s, and enjoyed the violent and irrerverent tone of the series. The roots of that are laid down pretty deep here, and it goes from funny to violent to dark and back rather jarringly, and in a style that American readers may not be used to. This isn't a Hannibal novel, and is appropriate for a wider age range of readers, but I think fans of the anime and comics, as well as fans of retro-sci-fi will enjoy it. Dana Lewis translated the first "case" the Dirty Pair "solve" and I did the second. I would love to hear reactions... (and, by the way, the second book in the series comes out early next year.)

KUMORICON (Round 3)

Okay, last KUMORICON pics for this year. You'll see one of these in the September Yuuyake Shimbun, and then a feature article (just in time for Halloween) in the October issue.

I've been busy with a couple projects right now, but will have some news and reviews in the next couple days.

KUMORICON Pics (Round Two)

I went back to Kumoricon on Sunday for Day Two. It was interesting to see some of the same faces, but in different costumes. Here are a few more for you to enjoy. One of these will be in the September issue of The Yuuyake Shimbun (!!)

click on any pic for full size

KUMORICON First Pics

I spent most of today at KUMORICON, which is the Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA anime convention. This is the 5th Anniversay, but my first attendance.

Here are few pics from today. The event goes through Labor Day. (click for larger images)