DVD Look: Cyber City

Yoshiaki Kawajiri has directed a number of titles, but I think perhaps this is my favorite so far. Kawajiri is famouse for directing Ninja Scroll, the Highlander anime, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust and a number of other titles over the years. Once apon a time he had quite the fan following the US, but now he is barely mentioned. Perhaps someone will talk about Ninja Scroll and mention his name in passing but that's about it. Anyway Kawajiri is (was?) known for ultraviolent, dark, and edgy series. And this is not a diversion from such titles. Kawajiri tends to focus in on the action, and likes to deal with very flawed characters sometimes. Again he sticks to his roots here.

Cyber City, also known as Cyber City Oedo 808 is a action/science fiction OVA series with 3 episodes. The animation was done by Madhouse Studios in 1990, it was written by Akinori Endo , and Central Park Media released it stateside on VHS and later DVD. Manga Entertainment released the VHS in the UK. Anyway it is about a couple of criminals who are given a chance to get out of prison. Of course it's not a get out of jail free card, it's never that easy is it? They must work for it, and work hard they shall. They must perform a number of missions for the government, and for each mission they accomplish a few years are taken off their insanely long sentences (one of the characters has a whoping 375 years left to serve at the start of the series). You see these aren't any old convicts, they are terrible terrible human beings, who commited more crimes then they can remember. Murder, theft, Assault, Jaywalking it's all there...wait. The city government needs more police, so hey why not take the worst scum, and make them work for good for a change right? And hey since they are criminals themselves perhaps they can deal with cracking down on crime just from experience. And maybe they will have an advantage to dealing with criminals since they'll know all their tricks and can use them against them. These specific guys are chosen because of how tough they are, and how good they are at what they do. So yeah your dealing with MANLY men here (ok well not really with Benten...but he's a true enigma). The story takes place in year 2808, where there are super skycrapers, space elevators, and more of sci-fi gadgets to play around with then your local Radio Shack. These convicts must join up with the "cyber police" the police force of this futuristic city, and fight criminals, track down bad guys, or do whatever else they are ordered to do. And to make sure these criminals don't just run off the first chance they get, they are all forced to wear a collars around there necks, that could blow up at one push of a button. If this setup sounds familiar to you, that's probally because it's basically lifted straight out of John Carpenter's Escape from New York. But hey it's a great concept, so sometimes you just gata screw originality.

And although the series focuses on action, it's not afriad to get a little psychological at times. Yes this somehow manages to be a character study. A rather interesting one too I may add. The three main convicts are; Sengoku Syunsuk, arguably the main character and the token smart ass who's good with a gun, Gabimaru "Gogul" Rikiya the big tough looking hacker, who's best weapon is his own mind, and finally Benten Yanagawa, a rather eccentric character I still can't put my finger on. As the series progresses it becomes apparent one episode will be devoted to each character, and I rather liked this format. A major point of the series is dealing with who these criminals are and how they interact with others. And although we never learn too much, it does give us great insight into who these people are, why they are criminals, and why they are so screwed up. This is perhaps Cyber City's deepest aspects. And I found it very interesting. Although this does get brushed aside many times for more focus on the great action scenes. And the action scenes were some great stuff too I may add. But on the large this is a shallow, yet fun action series. But I did enjoy the fact that some deeper issues are at least dealt with a little bit. The action scenes are very crazy, and very well done. They are very violent, bloody and well choreographed. The action scenes have a style to them only Kawajiri can really pull off, and they are very fun! Also they are really, really over the top. And another strong point of the series is the interactions between the three main characters, and between their boss Hasagawa. Many a time Hasagawa will order them to do something, the characters will say that it is clearly impossible, and Hasagawa just won't give a damn. He demands it to be done, and so he sets their collars to blow up in only an hour's time! "Get to it boys!" He'll say. He's never interested in what these guys have to say, and they always try and get back at him with little smart remarks when they can. The way the three main convicts play off each other is also interesting. Benten is usually the butt of Sengoku's very funny jokes, and the way Benten re-acts is usually very funny. A great example of this is when Benten must slowly try and get down a hallway that's riged with a top of the line secruity system. He has to slowly make his way down the hallway, and avoid triping any of the sensor lasers and activating the system. He also has to avoid being killed by the lasers because when they kill whoever they hit. Sengoku is told to try and find away around the system, and when he does, he is told to go ahead and try and complete the mission without Benten. When he manages to do everything on his own and come out, he see's Benten and yells "That's as close as you GOT? Well nevermind..." Cleary he's screwing with Benton here. The way this all happened made me fall off my seat. It was really hilarious. Gogul is usally the more reasonable one of the three, and tells one of them not to run off and do something because it may get them killed, so of course the ignore him and go do it anyway! Hah these three sure understand the basics of teamwork don't they? It's a miracle they don't all die. The many missions these characters go on for the city are never as straight forward as Snake Plissken's quest to retreave the President in Escape from New York. They are very unqiue however, and pushed to their limits. For example the first episodes mission requires Sengoku to save 50,000 people held hostage in a super-skyscraper. Yeah they don't screw around. Not 500, not 5,000, but 50,000 people are at risk here. And that's really how big the building is too. This is perhaps the strongest epsiode in the series, although each episode has it's own little charm. And all the missions are very over the top in style. Again this is probally intentional, and they're never really campy. The series is very dark, gloomy, and a little depressing at times. This is of course countered with a very great sense of humor, that relies on dark comedy, and never failed to get me to laugh.

As for the artwork in this series, it's VERY well detailed for a 1990 production. This was perhaps top of the line animation and artwork of this era. So there's very little to complain about. This is probally as good as it gets for early 90's anime, so do enjoy. The art style is done in a gloomy, depressing style. In fact the color palete chosen is very dark and gloomy. Perhaps too gloomy for its own good. It get's very overbearing at times. It does look a little dull at times. But these are small problems that do not subtract from the show in my opinion. Backgrounds are very well detailed and show off the futuristic skylines very well. I really liked the style of the character desings here. They are very flashy, futuristic, and yet still look like real human beings. The 4 main characters each look VERY distinct. You would never confuse these guys for any other anime characters out there, and instantly know what show they are from when you see them. All the minor characters are well done too, and a lot of thought went into each and every one. The characters are never cluttered, but still drawn in great detail. Some of the female characters do look a bit boring when compared to your regular hot anime chick, but they do have realistic bodies and faces, so you really can't complain. The the animation is fluid, never choppy, and always moving. As I said high quality production here. The fight scenes really show off what Madhouse can do, and they look amazing.

As for the music, this has a very futuristic-rock type of music thing going on. And I really liked the distinct style of music used. From the hard rock opener, to the more techno inspired background themes everything seems to work quite well. While not something you'll really want to listen to outside of the show, it is some really good music. Each theme helps to complement each scene and I liked how different the music in this sounded then in most anime. While not a favorite soundtrack of mine or anything, it's still very good. I should probally also mention that for the UK release Manga UK produced their own original soundtrack. While I have not watched the show with this soundtrack on (sadly it's not included in the CPM DVDs, they only have the original soundtrack), I have heard clips of it. And it is also a great soundtrack. I really liked the different tone they gave the music as well, although I do think the original Japanese soundtrack is probally a little better. Still this has a very nice 80's pop/techno style that's fitting for this type of show, although it does kind of age the show more then the original soundtrack. As far as the dub goes, well it's incredbly good. This was dubbed in the mid 90's so for that time period, to get this good of a dub is really something else. It blows my mind that this dub came out so long ago, because it could hold up well against dubs coming out today. Sure it's not perfect, there are some problems of course. But the style and way in which it was done feels very much like a post 2000 dub. Ok so it may not be the best dub you ever heard, but for this time period I dare you to find something better. This was really an all around good dub.Michael Bakewell directed this for Manga UK, so it's really no surprise when you think about it. He also directed the dubs on A Wind Named Amnesia ( a past review), and Dominion Tank Police which were both also quite good. The dub for this is filled with so much profanity that it makes the dub on Black Lagoon seem tame. The F-word is used in between as many words as possible, and somehow this all works. I mean they are all criminals after all. I don't want to listen to them talk like preschoolers or preists. And all the other curse words you love are there, and probally a few you've never even heard of. And this just works perfectly. It's very similar to the dub on Gantz, for example and I must say it does help give this show the edge it needs. I don't know if I'd enjoy this show this much if not for the epic dub. The amount of cursing, and the funny way they all curse really helps make this dub a winner in my eyes.

Bruce Martin plays Sengoku, who curses the most out out of the three. And many times it's laugh out loud funny the things he says. This is intentional humor, and you gatta love it. Bruce Martin has some great one liners. The way he says certian lines like, "Now then young man, it's far to late for a little man like you to be out on his own. It's way past your bead time Mother F*cker!" always manage to crack me up. Ok so maybe I have the sense of humor of a 13 year old, but really this never gets old for me. Also keep your ears open for his answer to why he can't take some girl out for dinner at the end of the first episode. That's the funniest line in the entire show. And Martin pulls this off perfectly. Bruce Martin has just enough gruff in his voice to make his character sound right, and just enough youthfulness that comes out that really gives his character some flavor. He always knows what feeling to put behind his lines, and doesn't have a bad line in the entire series. He's at top of his game. Sean Barrett, who I'll always remember as Lieutenant Britain from Dominion Tank Police, plays Gogul and he is also quite good. Sure one or two lines are a little awkward, but really he's almost always great. He plays these older, bigger, and more in charge type characters well in my opinion, so he fits right in here. He has a little older sounding voice, that's very gruffy (like he's been smoking and drinking too much), and it really fits the character. His acting is very good most of the time as well. Daniel Flynn plays Benten, and really does a perfect job at this. Benten is just a little eccentric, very sarcastic, and always thinking about something deeply. Flynn could have easily not thoight much about this however, and just given the guy a crazy, weird voice. But no, he's very genuine here and sounds like a real person you'd meet on the stree. He's very good with the dry wit and sarcasm, and has a freshness in his voice that you can't miss. He's a very good actor and also never gives a bad line. Hasegawa is played by Bob Sherman, and he is perhaps the weakest part of this dub. A few of his lines from time to time sound awkward, and some things he says do not have the right feeling behind them at times. But again let me point out he's not terrible, he's not bad, he's not even mediocre. He's very good. It's just he's not always perfect. As I said, the dub was excellent, and nothing he does is really bad or anything like that. He's just not perfect all the time. I did like his firm voice, and some of his lines came off with a bit of style that really fit his character. Anyway, the dub is a very high quality 90's dub, that I think many would enjoy. Just note, there's more curses in this then most anime out there, so if you have a problem with that beware. However it's a mature show so it's very fitting. A few people may actually dislike the dub because of all the added cursing not in the original script. It is a little liberal, but I thought it made perfect sense and fit the series. I wouldn't want these characters to speak politely and cursing really helps to bring out the fact that yes, these are criminals and they just don't give a damn. Sure perhaps they go overboard with it a little, but they seemed to have had a lot of fun here with the dub. And I liked it a lot. Again, having the sense of humor of a 13 year old might help you enjoy this one more. (For a sample clip of the dub, click here. I think this is legal, as it's only a sample clip. Please do buy the DVDs if you like what you hear though.)

To tie this all up let me say I really enjoyed Cyber City. My only real beaf with it is the last two episodes were not as strong as the first. Action series are very hit or miss with me, and this was a big hit. The characters are very interesting, the action scenes are well done, and it's got great animation. Music was great, and the dub was amazing for it's time. However it does feel kinda shallow, even though it deals heavily with its characters. And although its a very fun show, I'm not sure I can give it the full 4 stars just because of that. Still its a solid action/sci-fi series that shouldn't be forgetten. So don't think that 3 stars means it has some big problems, because it really doesn't. Oh and don't let CPM's ugly DVD cases scare you away from this one. Sadly there were not many pictures avaible for such an old show, so they had to use what they had on hand, and it doesn't look good at all. The covers to their box set and DVDs are not CPM's best work. They make the show look cheesey, corny and kinda lame. Which it's not really any of those. Their worst offense is the last DVD in the set which really screams "Chesey vampires of the future and girly cops too!". Ugh...But I do forgive them, because they put a lot of work into this show. And really who else would have touched a show like this? There's only one real extra, but it's very good. It's the director's commentary by Kawajiri himself, and it's very interesting. It's nice to learn that Cyber City was originally going to be a single OVA, but it's instant popularity in Japan made sure they had to make 2 more episodes. Anyway give this old school show a shot, you may find you like it as well!

Prede's Raiting
3/4 Stars

Anime Network Adds more CPM Titles

The Anime Network has added several more titles from Central Park Media, to their online player. These titles are now streaming, legally on the Anime Network. The titles Anime Network has added includes The Haunted Lantern (live Action), Odin: Starlight Mutiny (anime film), and the two documentaries: Otaku Unite and Ultimate Crop Circles . SX AniMedia reports that two other titles from CPM, Baptism of Blood and Zero Woman are to be added in the near future.

Watch the shows legally here: http://www.theanimenetwork.com/Watch-Online


Source: SX AniMedia Blog

DVD Look: They Were Eleven

Today I will be reviewing a favorite mystery anime of mine. In fact the best mystery movie I've seen in a awhile, anime or otherise. Besides being a mystery, it's also set far in the future. Who new mystery and science fiction went so well together? The movie is called They Were Eleven.

This movie was originally released in movie theaters in Japan in 1986. Central Park Media released a subtitle VHS in the early 90's, and later dubbed it and re-released it on VHS in 1996. Luckily for us, they also re-released it on DVD in 2004. Anyway, the movie opens to the main character, Tadatos Lane, taking a test to get into one of the best schools (uh... wait it's a "Space Academy" this is set in the future after all) in the galaxy. He passes the computerized portion of the exam, and is now lead to the next section. The next part of the test brakes the students who passed, into groups of 10. They must all work together to pilot an older spaceship, that is not in the best condition ever. They have to fix it up, and solve any challenges along the way. And they have to get the ship working, and fast because it is slowly spiraling towards the sun! If the group feels like quiting (or feels they are in danger), they can push the emergency button and wait to be rescued, but then they can't apply for the school again for another three years! But when Tadatos, now nickamed Tada , get's on the ship, his group realizes that (*gasp!*) They Are Eleven!

There are only supposed to be ten members of the group, but for some reason they have an extra guy. So all sorts of questions pop up. Like Is he a spy? Is this part of the test? Or is it just a mistake? But the most important question to ask is, does he pose a threat? So now they ask, who is number 11? Being a sci-fi show there are a number of aliens among the group, besides the humans, and they all have their own quirks and whatnot. But even the humans have something interesting going for them, for example Tada has a form of ESP and can tell if people are lying or not. He goes over ever single person, and comes to the conclusion that no one on the ship is lying. No one is number 11! But what does that mean then? Would the best academy in the galaxy make a mistake like this? Perhaps Tada's ESP isn't all it's cracked up to be? Or is it something else? As the story plays out, the characters start suspecting this person, and that person, of being number 11, and your susptions will be raised once or twice for them as well. And as the story progresses things keep getting worse and worse for the characters. It's all played out very well, and you can be sure there's quite a few twists in there to get you. Anyway I don't think I should go on, because being a mystery title like this is, it's best to go into it cold. Just be sure the premise is unique and very interesting. And most importantly the mystery is really good too. Your never quite sure what's going on, who's number 11 or if there is even one to begin with. And the conclusion to the film answers all the questions and is very sasitfying. But before you get there it is a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions.

The characters in the film are a real diverse bunch. Some people dislike others for their own reasons, and a click or two forms, but they are still forced to help each other out, and stick together. And part of the strenght of the movie is how they work together (or fight against each other) in order to fix the ship, and the many problems that keep popping up. The way the characters interect is just great. And it helps that despite the short running time they develop most of the cast quite well. It's really something else to note how well you know each of these guys by the end of the story, and how some of them have changed. While most anime TV series devolp their cast of characters very well most of the time, it's actually quite rare for a movie to do so. But this somehow finds the time to do it, even with it's large cast and short lenght. That's a real feat if you ask me.

The artwork for this anime is full of light colors, and silly looking characters. The color palatte used is quite cheery and colorful, and the character designs are quite cartoony looking, with a bit of shojo thrown in there for the hell of it. At first it will look very odd, and unapealing, but it does grow on you a little bit. And for it's time period it is actually pretty well animated too. Everything looks very good, if you can get past the cartoony style of it all. It may not appeal to newer fans used to digital paint and CGI in their anime, but the story is so good I think they could forget about the artwork for 90 minutes.

Music in They Were Eleven is actually quite good. The music is largely synthetic, in futureistic (well 80's futureistic) vein. Some of the background music gave off a big "space opera" feeling to it all. Although a few themes made it felt very much like a mystery. I liked the main theme that keeps coming up very much. Although it's not exactly a song most would listen to or anything, as it's just background music, I thought it was quite well done, and made everything feel very grand, space like, and just cool. The ending theme really impressed me as well. It had a great sound, and the singer was really good. I tend to enjoy it when a movie ends to a great song like this! The dub for this title was produced in 1996, as I said. And it is also quite good, although I can imagine it won't fly for everyone. It's a little cartoony and very lighthearted at times, but it knows when to tone that down, and does so very nicely. And after a short period of time it falls into a more drama-like sound, which honestly fits the tone of the movie much better. Curtis Jones plays the main character, Tada, and he easily gives the best performance. While none of the other actors are bad or anything, he just sounds very authentic and natural. He won me over very fast. Steve Blum plays one of the characters, and he really did not impress me with this one. He was well cast, but he just does not feel right all the time. It's not that bad, but he just felt a little off to me. Wendee Lee plays an important character, and she puts on an anoying southern accent. Now I'm all for accents, and arguably that type of accent fits the character, but the way she does it just is anoying. I would rather not hear her do that ever again, although despite the accent she acts quite well. She was very believable, just grating. Now I feel like I'm being way to critical of this dub, as it's very old. I really did like it very much, in fact it's very well cast and acted overall. But some things just came off a little bit wrong to me, and I felt like pointing them out. And like I said this may not float with other dub fans, as it's a little different then most dubs. But give it a try, you might find you like it. I bought into it all.

They Were Eleven is a really good movie. It's intellgent, unique, and riveting. I highly suggest it to all anime fans. When I first saw it really impressed me, and left a strong impression on me. I was not expecting something so well done. It has very strong writing, and all of the characters are relatable, realistic and sympathetic. It's a real oddball of a movie, a bit strange, but very enjoyable. I found out about the movie from Justin Sevakis's Buried Treasure review, and bought the DVD from Rightstuf on a whim. I got it for less then ten dollors and it was more then worth the price. This is such a good movie but it's a little sad it's never talked about. Although being so old, looking like it does, and being as odd as it is, it's really no surprise.

You can buy the DVD from Rightstuf if you like, It's well worth the price.

The Boy Who Wanted to be a Bear, now playing on Anime Network's Online Player

Jannik Hastrup's animated film, "The Boy Who Wanted to be a Bear" is will be coming to The Anime Network's online player soon. The animation was produced by Les Armateurs studio in 2002. Les Armateurs is the production studio behind the Academy Award nominated movie "The Triplets of Belleville" . Central Park Media licensed and released the film in 2005. The English dub production was done in New York City.

Watch the film on The Anime Network's online player.
You can buy the title on DVD off of Rightstuf.

Central Park Media trailer reels posted on youtube

This is not really news, but I think it's very interesting and worth posting.

Recently there have been some interesting Central Park Media/US Manga Corps trailer reels posted on youtube (by other fans). I thought I'd post links to the videos here for those who are interested. Many of the titles in the reels are from the VHS era. These are some great nostalgia trips for some that's for sure...

Oh and for those who are wondering the song that is used in both US Manga Corps 1 trailer reel and Central park Media Previews reel is from "Project A-Ko" the song title is "Explosion". The song from US Manga Corps Part 2 reel is from "Genocyber" , the song title is "OST II: Fairy Dreamin' (Instrumental)". Be sure to thank the video posters for pointing this out. And don't forget to thank them for posting the videos in the first place.

US Manga Corps Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLyArZpSI74&feature=related

US Manga Corps Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kctlrahZsM&feature=related

Central Park Media Previews

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwRI9KZzHVY&feature=PlayList&p=EC8C9CC13579BDE2&index=117

Enjoy!

DVD Look: A Wind Named Amnesia

This is a movie I’ve wanted to review for a very long time now. But I wanted to take my time with it and get everything down right, because I wanted to do it some justice. Anyway this movie is called A Wind Named Amnesia and it’s easily one of my all time favorites. I first saw this movie on Comcast’s Anime Selects on Demand Channel. CPM used to put tons of titles from their catalog up on Anime Selects, but I still think I was lucky to find this movie and watch it. I just randomly watched this movie, because the title seemed interesting, that’s all. I didn’t really read the little plot synopsis or anything. I was bored, and there was an anime movie, seemed like a good idea. And I’m lucky that I choice to watch this, because I am still impressed by this movie all these years later. I later bought it on DVD (the version in the “Kawajiri Brick Pack” collection).

The movie was created by Madhouse studios in 1990, and directed by Kazuo Yamazaki (not the wrestler), who is known for directing Urusei Yatsura, Please Save My Earth and Maison Ikkoku. Titles which seem nothing like this anime. But what’s really interesting about this movie is it was based off of a novel by Hideyuki Kikuchi. Kikuchi is famous for writing the original Vampire Hunter D novels, along with several other novels turned anime like Demon City Shinjuku, and Wicked City. Kikuchi’s novels are pretty dark, bloody and violent, as are the anime series adapted from them, but Amnesia is the odd one out here. It is a mature movie, but it is not as violent, bloody, or graphic as any of the other titles I’ve mentioned. And it’s a very smart film, not at all an action type movie. And what’s even more surprising still is the screenplay was written by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, who used to have quite a fan base back in the day (in the US at least). He is well known for directing titles like Ninja Scroll, Biohunter, Running Man, Cyber City Oedo 808, Highlander: The Search for Vengeance (the anime movie), and most of the Kikuchi anime adoptions (Vampire Hunter D, Wicked City, Demon City Shinjuku). Although he has directed titles that aren’t dark, graphic, and violent (i.e. the original Birdy the Mighty OVA’s, a future review no doubt), we all know what he is best at. And he’s damn good at directing the violent stuff too. But again Amnesia is nothing like these series, which are all horror or action type shows. The tone the film takes is just so different from all these other titles it just stands out. I’ve called this film “…philosophy ridden and feels like a traditional sci-fi story. Directed and written by people who you'd never dream of being involved in those things.” And I stand by that.

Well after all my rambling, I should at least explain the basic plot. One day, seemingly out of nowhere, a wind blows all around the earth, and this wind (you guessed it) caused everyone to forget everything. And the people did not just forget who they are, and what they did last night, but they also forget that they were people. They forget how to drive cars, talk, use technology, etc. Basically this wind set mankind back to the Stone Age. The film follows two people, Wataru and Sophia, who for their own reasons (which I won’t spoil) are normal, as they travel all around the United States looking at was has become of it. They can talk, they can think, they can use the tools of mankind. In essence they are regular people. And as they travel through the wasteland that was once the US, many different themes keep popping up. The film constantly asks us what is mankind without all this technology? Other themes the film deals with heavily are religion, society, the use of power, and the government (watch out for slight nods to Plato's Republic). All in all the things this film has to say about these topics are, while opened ended, are still very clever. In fact this is more of a “thinker’s anime” then anything else. If you want endless robot fights, don’t bother with this movie. As it’s a very slow movie, where fight scenes are sparse, the dialogue is heavy, and there are moments where seemingly nothing important happens on screen. There are however some action scenes thrown in at the perfect time, but best not to think of it as a fast paced anime. Think Oshii’s newest film The Sky Crawlers, for pacing and timing of fight scenes if you need an example. And just like The Sky Crawlers, this movie is much, much more then throw away entertainment. It is a very deep, well thought out film. With great direction and brilliant writing. The only problem with this film is a completely ludicrous and unneeded sex scene at the very end of the movie. On my first viewing of this movie (on Anime Selects VOD) this was cut out, and I am firm in my belief that it is a better film without this. But the ending is still very good, when you look past this terrible, terrible scene. I’ll just pretend it didn’t happen, as I think it was thrown in there to get some more money from the producers or something. It’s so out of place this has to have some sort of rational explanation for it’s odd placement at the end.

Anyway…the general concept is brilliant in and of it’s self. It’s so simple one would think it was already a staple in western science fiction, but I can’t find anything similar in books, movies, or TV shows (although if you know of something similar please make a comment and tell me about it). Although some titles in the sci-fi genre may touch on these ideas very lightly, nothing else really seems to be out quite like this. In fact this movie plays out like a very traditional sci-fi live action movie. And the philosophy in the film is really something else. None of it feels tacked on, or out of place. It’s well worked into the plot, although ultimately it’s so powerful and profound the plot doesn’t really matter anymore. Like Justin Sevakis points out about The Sky Crawlers, “what's happening on the surface has little to do with what the film is actually about.” And that works for this film as well. What I mean here is that what happens in the movie in regards to the characters and progression of the plot, has very little to do with the main point of it all. Although the plot isn’t terrible or anything, and one could easily enjoy the film without picking up on any of the philosophy in it, it should not be the main focus of the viewers. We must look deeper then the surface plot to really get everything out of this film. And the brilliance of the movie is that every time you watch it, you may pick up some more things you missed last time, and change your mind on what certain things mean. All in all the movie is very original, very smart, and very enjoyable to watch. And it’s not at all hard to follow or grasp. Which is a sign of great writing.

As far as animation and artwork goes, this film was some high budget stuff back in the day. Backgrounds are highly detailed, and look like beautiful watercolor paintings or oil paintings (depending on the scene). Feel free to pause the DVD to take a look at the works of art Madhouse used for the backgrounds. From the Rocky Mountains, to some valleys, and lakes, deserts, feilds, and streams all of it looks amazing. The inner city backgrounds are also great, and give it a real gritty, decaying urban feel to it all, and these backgrounds here are much more detailed, although they look less like paintings and more like regular backgrounds. Character designs are also not disappointing. They are very detailed for their time, and flow very well. The characters’ hair seems to be drawn with less detail then the rest of their bodies, but it still looks great when everything is all together. This movie is a treat for the eyes. Even almost 20 years later, everything looks great. And one little tidbit that I can’t help but throw out there. I really think this anime looks a lot like the music video for Pearl Jam’s “Do the Evolution”. Some scenes in that video even seem to be drawn to reflect certain scenes in the movie (Cavemen around the fire, skeleton in a cockpit, city in the middle of a field, girl running in field as wind blows, etc). It’s even drawn in the same style, with the same color palette. It helps that that song and music video also deals with many similar themes as the film. It’s very possible that the animators or the band were inspired by this anime, since that song came out years after this was originally released on VHS (song in 1998, VHS in 1995/1996). But it’s just such a random title I think the odds are really against that being what happened. Still it’s a great coincidence, well worth looking into.

The dub for this was produced at Manga UK, with a cast of British and Canadian born actors. Dubs from this era range in quality greatly, but this is possibly the best dub from that studio. Michael Bakewell directed the dub, and he does a wonderful job. I liked what he and Manga UK did for the dub on Dominion Tank Police as well. He seemed to have some skill and it’s a shame they weren’t used more back in the day. Since this is a film with very few people in it who can talk (most just grunt like caveman), it would need actors who could sound believable with little else to compare them to. It’s a bit different and a little difficult (in my opinion) for a film to have a very small cast of talking roles, and many other grunting roles to contrast them. And the actors are up to that challenge. This was very well cast, and overall the acting is of great quality. Adam Henderson plays Wataru, and he gives everyline a very innocent and naïve feeling to it. And do to certain events that occurred in the past and are revealed early on in the film, this is very appropriate. But I always felt he made Wataru sound a little too naïve, and a bit too spaced out. But he has a great voice quality, and he is very capable of acting. Sophia is played by Denica Fairman, who gives the character a warm, yet still very mysterious vibe, which is very necessary to make that character work. The way she says things like “Well to start with I’m called Sophia…but I don’t want to say anymore about myself. Tell me your story” (while dodging the question to why she is still normal) really help display this. Lee Tyler plays Johnny, a character from Wataru’s past whose shown in flashbacks. While I feel his overall acting quality is decent, some lines from him seem a little off. But he’s usually quite good. The other speaking characters are played by Peter Marinker and Susie Baker, who do a very good job of establishing their characters for the short amount of time they are on screen. You really feel for both of their characters, and that is, in part, an accomplishment of the actors. The other people in the film are basically caveman, who do nothing more then grunt, moan, cry, or make other caveman-like noises. And all the actors playing these characters do a good job. No eye rolling grunts in this one guys. And as far as other sound goes, the background music is all very low key, but very well done. Certain themes enhance the action sequences, or quiet moments, but the one theme that stood out to me the most usually plays with Sophia around. It’s a very simple piano piece, but it adds to the mystery of not only who she is, but of what happened to the planet. It’s just a little sad, but not at all depressing. It’s quite amazing how something so simple, can display so much, but it does.

Raphael See of THEM anime reviews called the film “ a sleeper classic”. And it truly is. He also stated “A Wind Named Amnesia is probably one of the best titles I've never heard of.” and there really is no better way of describing it. This is easily one of the best movies out there that no one ever heard of. I highly recommend this. There’s very little information about the movie out there, and there seems to be no one who saw the film either. It’s almost never talked about on anime forums too. But it should be more well known, as it’s an all around great anime. This is only for mature viewers however, who want to watch something that's much deeper then some throwaway entertainment. The movie touches on things like religion, love, society, and many other themes, and the philosophy is great. It's very much like Kino's Journey although less preachy. Many different places separated by great distances, traveler observing the land, and studying the human condition. Both are dark, slow, mature, and refined. But both are excellent.

(Sorry the review is so long, but I wanted to do this movie some justice)

CPM Bankruptcy: Abandoning Property, other developments

Since Central Park Media filed for bankruptcy on April 27, 2009 , news regarding the bankrucpty has been pretty scarce. However the Nigorimasen Blog (Calaggie) recently reported that "Two Notices of Abandonment of Property were filed along with corresponding Certificates of Service on July 27th and on August 17th.". John O'Donnell ,the debtor’s principal, has stated "the property of the Debtor would not have any value to anybody" David R. Kittay, the trustee the estate, will "abandon his right, title and interest in the personal property of the Debtor (described as approximately 17,148 media titles contained in approximately 556 boxes)". Therefore the property will be returned to the debtor (Central Park Media). This means that those items will not be auctioned off (as of yet anyway), but instead will return to "the 'Personal property' of CPM." (as Calaggie writes).

Calaggie also reports that "September 1st was the deadline for filings of Proof of Claims as well as for Objections (to the intents to abandon property)". No known objections to the claims have been made, and so we should be moving past the preliminaries.